The throne room of Olympus was silent.
The gods sat in their thrones, the air tense. The hearth flickered lower than usual, shadows dancing across polished columns.
Then the Mist appeared, surging in from the doors like a tidal wave, before receding just as quickly, leaving behind Hecate. She stood proud, her gaze meeting all those in the room without fear. Her eyes were calm, but beneath that calm lay a quiet fury, centuries old and too long contained.
Her cloak shimmered like starlight woven into night. She did not bow. She did not greet them. She simply walked to the center of the circle.
She faced Zeus and softly asked.
"May I ask the reason for my summons?"
Her poise must have offended Hera, who sneered with disdain. "From your attitude, it seems you already know. I say we stop wasting time and deliver your punishment and then deal with that child of yours."
Hecate ignored her. Hera's hair bristled like an angry cat's tail, but Hecate turned only to Zeus, calmly awaiting his answer.
Zeus focused on her alone. "You were summoned to answer questions regarding your departure during the Solstice gathering just after Rhea's final visit to Olympus. You left without explanation."
Hecate raised an eyebrow. "Even as a minor goddess, am I not entitled to privacy? Especially at a gathering I was not required to remain at?"
A faint smirk touched Dionysus' lips as the vein above Zeus' brow twitched.
Athena, growing impatient, intervened. "Hecate. You were summoned for your secrecy. A prophecy was made. It was hidden. And it concerns your child. I do not believe you do not know of this. Speak."
Hecate spoke out. Her voice was low, controlled.
"I will speak. But not to excuse myself. There is nothing to excuse."
Zeus narrowed his eyes. "You admit it, then?"
"It seems Apollo finally understood its contents if you summoned me here. I acknowledge that I veiled the prophecy. And I do not regret my actions. I do not know why I am even here, there is no law stating I must share a prophecy with you."
The room stirred.
Hera scoffed. Ares cracked his knuckles.
Hermes arched a brow, questioning."This is a prophecy that speaks of betraying Olympus, one that may even connect to the Prophecy of the Big Three. Hiding it can be seen as an act of rebellion. Yet you claim to do no wrong?"
"Indeed"
Hecate turned slowly, facing the ring of thrones. Her gaze swept across them all.
"For eons, you have sat on these thrones, wielding power and privilege, speaking of balance, while forgetting those who fought beside you, who supported you. Even now your people cry for your help and look to you for order. The minor gods. The wild natural spirits. Even your own children. But you ignore it all. We exist in the shadows of your convenience."
Her voice sharpened.
"You speak of unity and order only when it suits you. But what place have you given us? The minor gods have no place at Camp Half-blood. Our children have no homes, no identity. The spirits slowly die, with no new god taking over Pan's duties. It is always you who decides without care for others, never welcoming us into your court."
Hermes frowned. "You've always been welcome among us."
"The doors were indeed open to us" Hecate said, "but not a voice. Not a vote. You made us ornamental. Ignored our contributions. We tolerated it, for the sake of what Olympus claimed to be. But no longer."
Athena leaned forward. "Then what is it you intend to do?"
Hecate's expression did not change. "I remove myself from your order. From this council. From Olympus, and together with others, we will create a better place."
Power rolled off Zeus in waves, lightning arcing through the chamber. The air grew heavy, vibrating with the force of divine wrath.
"You defy Olympus? For wounded pride?"
But then another presence joined Hecate, diverting the force of Zeus.
Hestia stepped forward slowly from her place by the hearth. All eyes turned to her.
"Hestia," Zeus said sharply. "Return to your place."
She hesitated.
"No"
Zeus's eyes narrowed, darkening.
"Do you understand what you are doing? Betraying your family, everything you stand for? Everything we built?"
"It is not I who betrays everything I stand for."
Hestia said. Her voice was quiet, but steady.
"We built a house, the six of us, wanting to be better than our father and his kind. We wanted smiles, a better world. But we let rot take root in its walls. You're too proud to see it. I cannot keep mending cracks when the foundation is broken."
Zeus's aura flared again, but this time not alone, so did the others, angered at Hestia's implication of their failure.
"Seems like fun, mind if I join?"
An unfamiliar voice echoed through the chambers.
From the shadows, Nemesis stepped forward, resting her blade across her shoulder.
Athena spoke sharply. "Nemesis? You, too? What of all your honor? You claim to serve justice yet you do not hesitate to betray."
Nemesis met her gaze.
"And I do," Nemesis said. "But justice does not belong to Olympus. You indulge. You manipulate. You let your pride excuse your failures, basking in the glow of your own tales. No more. It is my duty to tear down the proud and powerful, to punish those who have become blinded by Hubris, and none are more deserving than you lot."
Aphrodiate spoke out in a mocking tone.
"Nemesis, you have spent too long in that pit of your mother's if you truly believe-"
But a second voice cut in.
"No mother, she is right."
Then Eros appeared beside Nemesis, radiant and sharp.
Aphrodite rose, surprise flashing in her eyes.
"Eros? Even you stand against us? You would stand against me?"
"I watched as you manipulated the love of mortals for you own twisted amusement, watched the horrors and pain that it brought. I saw broken hearts and torn families. And worst of all, I watched you twist love into a tool."
Eros continued, his voice soft but unwavering. The room was silent, almost like everyone was afraid of Eros' attention.
"What you put Psyche through, wanting her to marry an ugly monster, putting her through impossible tasks, and even when she was at death's door, and I begged you, you didn't want to help her. No more. Love may be a free spirit, but it must never become a tool for your own games, nor forced upon others."
Eros turned to Zeus and Poseidon. "And you. You've done worse. Love should not be desecrated by power."
Poseidon was infuriated by this, already some minor gods dared to criticise him, now another dared lecture him. He lashed out, face contorted in fury, in his anger, he forgot about the common fear Olympus had for Eros and his powers.
"You dare point fingers my way, boy?"
"You always were fond of loudness, prefering to shout instead of converse brother. Maybe less focus on volume and more on dignity?"
From the hall's far edge, Hades emerged, robes dragging shadows with each step.
Zeus scoffed. "Of course. You crawl from your crypt to stand against your family, always the same."
Hades smiled coldly. "Family? This is a first...Were we family when you isolated me in the kingdom of the dead? Were we family when you kept violating the rules of death, reviving those you wish and killing those you don't, going against my duties? WERE WE FAMILY WHEN YOU TOOK MY MARIA AWAY FROM ME!?"
"Always with that pathetic mortal Hades. Their existence and their children were a threat to Olympus, you remember the prophecy do you not? What I did was to protect Olympus" Zeus bellowed, his voice like thunder, his face hardened in a stern gaze.
"And what of your own child?" Hades turned to Poseidon. "And yours? You forced me into an oath, and yet you both broke it."
Poseidon appeared shocked, stepping back as the attention of the gods focused on him.
"Poseidon, did you break the oath?" Zeus questioned, already knowing the answer from his reaction
Hades voice was laced with venom, shadows flaring behind him.
"Don't think you can hide it, the day he was born, the lingering spirits brought it to my attention upon entering my domain. You both forced me into an oath to not have children, I followed it even after what you have done to me and my children, but I pushed my pain aside. I still put my duties first. Yet both of you betray the oath."
He turned his glare on Zeus. "Originally, I came for Persephone's sake, she wanted me to protect that friend of hers. But truly? I wouldn't miss this chance to watch you fall and face the consequences of your tyranny."
That seemed to bring Zeus and Poseidons attention back onto Hades.
The three brothers confronted each other, fully releasing their powers. The force caused all the other gods to tense, the marble around them cracking under the force.
And then the air shimmered.
Three figures stepped forth, the Fates.
They did not speak, but stood beside Hecate.
"It seems we know how the prophecy was hidden," Dionysus murmured from his throne, cutting the silence.
Zeus huffed, glancing at the Fates.
Hecate's voice rose one last time.
"We are not your enemies. We seek no war, no rulership. But we will no longer answer your calls. We will no longer kneel."
Zeus stepped back to his throne, face unreadable.
Sensing the atmosphere retreat back to its original stillness, Hecate turned walking out of the throne room, followed by those who arrived to help her.
The gods watched.
Hecate
Eros
Nemesis
Hades
Hestia
The Fates
And perhaps more would follow.
The remaining gods turned to Zeus, awaiting command.
His knuckles were white upon the throne. He closed his eyes, burying the storm.
When he opened them, they were calm.
He glanced around the chamber, eyeing the other gods, and gave his orders.