Chapter 1 - The General Reinates in Another World

  I had no idea how long I had been dead or ceased to exist. The cept of existence had ended for me as soon as I walked into the entrance of the hell that my old friend Charon showed me.

  Charon and I had a love-hate retionship. After I killed Hades and took over the Underworld, I made sure it ceased to fun so that no God I killed could be sent there. In my mission to kill Olympus, I o ehose ing ones wouldn’t find a way to return to life. So, I had to break Charon's boat, take trol of the Underworld by killing Hades, and shut that pce down. I basically fired Charon.

  Death didn’t disappear from my old world; it tio exist. The only thing that ged was that I bahe dead from that world, so anyone who died had to go to another Underworld. As for the Gods, once you die, your existence is erased forever. However, they had made a deal with Hades to use the Underworld to return if that happehat pce was like a ‘Life Insurance.’ Who pnned such a thing? My greatest enemy, the Goddess Athena.

  Unfortunately for them, I decided to start my jouro free the Titans and wage war against Olympus, but I made sure to bee the Lord of the Underworld first. I stole Hades’ power and all his treasures, including his servants. My old friend Charon had to mahout his boat and had to make a longer jourhan usual to carry souls beyond that reality. I guess that’s why he didn’t like me. In the end, I destroyed the world, so you know… I kind of overloaded Charon's work even more. Imagine having to suddenly carry all the dead of the world in that little boat? Now you uand why he was a bit angry with me?

  When I fulfilled my revenge against the world and became the Supreme God by stealing the power of all the Gods and even... having a brief retionship with Mother os. I was also surprised when I discovered os was a woman... a beautiful woman, by the way, so you weren't the only one shocked. It was quite obvious, after all. os gave birth to the Gods... so it was clear she had to be a woman.

  To help me defeat Olympus, why not ally with their greatest enemy? In the end, os left... I don’t want to talk about it. But she left after pleting her revenge. After that, I had a world to govern with Titan servants and the humans I deemed worthy. In the end, I destroyed the world... in a different way. I abdicated being the Supreme God to bee human again, which shifted the world's bance, making it cease to exist... at least for me. I must have banished myself somehow or something like that, but that’s no longer my problem. In the end, I became human to die and be sent to hell.

  When I wished to go to hell by dying like that, guess who came personally to ese to my eternal torment? Yes, my friend Charon. I khat guy liked me. In the end, he said he would seo hell, and I accepted it gdly. After all, I take responsibility for my crimes and don’t regret them. The problem is that he said this would be a different hell, a hell where I wouldn’t want to leave and would fear losing it. What kind of hell awaits me oher side of this vast darkness? I’m about to find out… now.

  “Waaaaah!” What screams are these? Are these the demons that will devour my soul already?

  “Waaaaah!”

  I’m seeing only darkness, but this unbearable scream must be from some kind of imp. A high-pitched wail, a sharp and shrill cry.

  “My dy! Finally, after hours, your baby is out,” said a strange voice. What do you mean, baby? Is this some kind of auditory halluation? Am I hearing the ments of other tormented souls? Or is it some demonic baby? Do they torture while having children in hell? If so, this is definitely a level of madness I didn’t expect.

  “Waaaaah!”

  Every time I try to speak, this unbearable s me off. Who is the unlucky soul making this racket? At least let me curse my torturer—why am I not being tortured yet? Shouldn't my eternal torment have already begun?

  I feel hands moving around my face, and the darkness before me fades. My vision is blurry, but I see a woman… dressed as a maid? Strange. Is she the torturer's assistant? Why is she looking at me like that? She's cheg my ‘dots.’ Miss Assistant Torturer, if you're starting the torture there, I think I'll have a pretty sad eternity without being able to pee properly.

  “It’s a boy! gratutions, my dy, you have a son.”

  The assistant torturer lifts me up… wow, she’s strong. Not t, but after ing the power of all Olympus, it would take divirength to lift me… she's a giant. This assistant torturer is a giant… wait… am I small?

  The torturer’s maid servant is smiling at me.

  “Please, let me see my son's face,” a female voice calls.

  “He’s a beautiful boy,” says the assistant torturer.

  Is she hitting on me? I don’t uand. What do you mean, boy? I’m 25 years old… at least, that’s the age I was when I stopped aging and became immortal.

  A warm cloth s around me, and I’m being hao a womaher these demons are titan-sized—believe me, I know their size—or somehow, I’ve shrunk.

  For some reason, I ’t move my hands. I try to give the assistant torturer the finger, but it won’t work.

  “Oh, he wants to hug me. What adorable little fingers,” says the assistant torturer.

  She’s going to eat my fihe torture begins… oh! She kissed them… this assistant torturer isn’t doing her job.

  “My baby boy!” a woman takes me.

  I feel warmth at her touch, a gentle warmth. She’s holding me in a way that all the ess in my soul seems to vanish. What is this woman? Some kind of evil entity? Am I under a spell?

  The woman’s gentle embrace feels like she’s holding on to me as if I might slip away.

  “I’m sorry… your mother isn’t in good health. It took me too long t you into this world because of it,” the beautiful woman says, kissing my forehead.

  When she said those words, it felt like my heart aralyzed by Medusa’s curse. Her look veyed both pain and genuine happiness. Seeing this woman, slightly pale and sickly, I uood everything. Gng around, I saw many blood-soaked cloths in a bucket.

  Somehow, I’ve been reinated… I’ve beeo another world. The look in that woman's eyes told me everything… she loves me.

  For the first time, I uood a mother's love—all in a single gnce. She’s holding me so tightly… a tear falls from her eye.

  “I thought… I thought I wouldn’t make it. But I did… I had my little boy,” the woman said, g and hugging me.

  What is this feeling? Why is this embrace affeg me so much? Is this love?

  The maid removed the bloody cloths—more than usual for a childbirth.

  “My dy, you o recover… it was a miracle… for both of you,” the maid said as another ehe room with fresh cloths.

  The woman holding me was closing her eyes and slowly l me.

  Is she dying? No!

  “Waaaaah!” came the sound of a baby g.

  Please don’t die! I o uand what I felt when you hugged me! I’ve never felt something so… so warm. A fme that warmed my soul.

  “It’s alright, child…” she whispered. “I just o rest… it’s been a hard day.” My mother was growing paler, her eyes slowly closing.

  “What’s his name, my dy?” asked the maid, pg a damp cloth on her forehead.

  A name? Who cares about names right now! Help her! Help her!

  “Nathan…” she murmured.

  Help my mother, damn it!

  More women arrived with wet cloths.

  “A beautiful name. What does it mean?” the maid asked, trying to keep her awake.

  “Gift of God…” my mother murmured in response. Her eyes fully closed, and her arms lost their strength. My mother was dying.

  ‘A hell where your suffering will be the fear of losing it…’ te’s words echoed in my mind, and I saw the Goddess Athena hiding in a er, ughing at me.

  MOTHER! DON’T DIE!