Odyssey 2018

**Odyssey 2018** is part of a series of annual events in SMITE to celebrate the World Championships. The 2018 edition of the event began on September 13, 2017 and ended on January 9, 2018.

## Description

Welcome to the 2018 Odyssey!

Following the death of Zeus, Athena and Ares clash as their ideologies oppose one another. Ares travels across the globe killing those who oppose him as Athena journeys to other Pantheons seeking allies. Both siblings will eventually cross paths, which might end deadlier than anyone expected.

All 28 Odyssey items can be obtained through direct purchase and collection bonus items can be earned by collecting Odyssey points through completing Odyssey quests. There are 28 items corresponding to every 28 Odyssey levels, each requiring 3500 Odyssey Points to unlock. Purchasing an Odyssey Item will grant you 3500 Odyssey Points which will unlock an Odyssey Level. Exclusive collection bonuses are unlocked every 3 levels, ending with the T5 Ullr skin.

The Odyssey journey will end once we have reached the 2018 SMITE World Championships in Atlanta on January 4th, 2018. Each Odyssey item purchased comes with a FREE ODYSSEY CHEST that can be claimed in the Rewards Center or the Odyssey Collection Bonuses page!

## Odyssey 2018 Cosmetic Items

These are the items that were available during the event, sorted by pantheon. Items were sold at a 20% discount during the patch that they were added.

### Unlocks

* Mayan
* Norse
* Japanese
* Chinese
* Hindu
* Egyptian
* Roman
* Celtic
* Greek
* Other

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### Collection Reward

With every Odyssey level unlock you will receive a free Odyssey chest roll! This Odyssey Chest could include a voice pack, skin, ward, avatar, booster, recall skin, announcer pack, global emote, or a rare exclusive skin.

Purchasing Odyssey items will also earn you exclusive collection rewards! Completing all Odyssey quests can grant you up to 3 free Collection Bonus Rewards. Some of these rewards will only be available during the 2018 Odyssey event.

* Level 1
* Level 3
* Level 6
* Level 9
* Level 12
* Level 15
* Level 18
* Level 21
* Level 24
* Level 28

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## Quests

Each Odyssey quest rewards 500 Odyssey points. Odyssey Points collected from completed Odyssey Quests can ONLY unlock collection bonus items. Completing all 56 Odyssey quests can grant you up to 8 levels and 3 free Collection Bonus Rewards. Only one Odyssey quest can be completed per day.

Completing 7 Odyssey quest sets for each pantheon, for example 7 Mayan quests, will unlock the Mayan conquest achievement which will grant the player a loading screen background. In total there are 8 achievements and 8 loading screen background to unlock.

All Odyssey quests will expire on the LAST day of the Odyssey.

### List of quests

* Mayan
* Norse
* Japanese
* Chinese
* Hindu
* Egyptian
* Roman
* Celtic/Greek

These quests were enabled on September 13th, 2017.
Completing all mayan quests will unlock the Mayan Odyssey Loading Screen.

These quests were enabled on September 26th, 2017.
Completing all norse quests will unlock the Norse Odyssey Loading Screen.

These quests were enabled on October 10th, 2017.
Completing all japanese quests will unlock the Japanese Odyssey Loading Screen.

These quests were enabled on October 24th, 2017.
Completing all chinese quests will unlock the Chinese Odyssey Loading Screen.

These quests were enabled on November 6th, 2017.
Completing all hindu quests will unlock the Hindu Odyssey Loading Screen.

These quests were enabled on November 20th, 2017.
Completing all egyptian quests will unlock the Egyptian Odyssey Loading Screen.

These quests were enabled on December 5th, 2017.
Completing all roman quests will unlock the Roman Odyssey Loading Screen.

These quests were enabled on December 19th, 2017.
Completing all celtic/greek quests will unlock the Greek Odyssey Loading Screen.

## Lore: The Fall of War

Ares sets out to avenge his father's death. Athena searches for the murderer. Brutal vengeance and calculated investigation divide the siblings as a new Odyssey commences -- a journey of revenge, with high stakes and godlike rewards.

Whose side are you on? Will you support Ares as he conquers the other pantheons? Will you aid Athena in her quest to find Zeus's murderer?

### Prologue

Zeus, King of Olympus is dead. His surviving brother, Hades, assumed the throne and set the Olympian army upon the Kingdom of the Sun, where Anubis, the suspected murderer, was shielded by the Sun God, Ra. Unmatched in battle, Ares commanded the Olympian assault, crushed the desert city, and defeated Ra. In his rage, the God of War blinded the Egyptian King, thus blackening the sun. Anubis, however, was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Athena, guided by Neith, pursued Zeus' true murderer, Loki. Across the Roman countryside the Trickster God traveled, wielding Zeus' mighty thunderbolt with reckless glee. Athena finally caught Loki at the Gates of Asgard where it was revealed that Hel, Loki's daughter, was the mastermind behind the assassination. Zeus' thunderbolt, like Sun Wukong's Staff, was a weapon capable of breaking the chains that bound Fenrir.

Thor, Sun Wukong, and Athena battled and ultimately defeated Loki, but not before Hel wrestled the thunderbolt for her father and escaped, setting her monstrous brother free. Fenrir's howl became the wind and Gods from every Pantheon heard that horrible peal.

So began the war that would end all wars. A battle between Gods foretold to break the world. For most, this conflict would mean death, for those that survived, the global worship of mortals and power beyond imagining.

### Chapter 1

Cloudless hung the sky, darkened at the edge of perpetual twilight since the Eye of Ra was dimmed. No wind stirred the jungle canopy. No rain washed the leaves or filled the drying rivers. Fields of corn hung limp, withered with thirst. The Mayan Jungle was dying.

Torchlit, the courtyard was filled with mortals. They gathered in desperate prayer at the foot of a white stone pyramid. Cresting the stairs that climbed the exterior stood Chaac, God of Rain, axe in hand that he might cleave the sky and wash the land once again. Jaw set, body poised, Chaac drew back, muscles tight, and swung his axe in a mighty arc. Air was cleft and thunder rumbled in its wake, but the heavens remained whole and no rain came forth. The mortals grew silent.

"Do not despair," Chaac implored from atop the pyramid.

"We are dying, Mighty Chaac," croaked a voice from the crowd.

"Rain!" cried another, "We need rain!"

""I will not cease until the sky opens again!" Chaac promised.

"And if the sky refuses to answer?" came a voice, strong and hard, from beyond the crowd.

Peering, eyes narrowed, Chaac sought the source of the voice. "Who speaks, to doubt me so?"

A towering figure, broad of shoulder, face concealed beneath a Greek war helmet, save the curled lip, passed through the crowd of mortals as a shark through the sea. "It is Ares, God of War."

"Ares?" Chaac straightened. "You are far from home. Why have you come?"

Booted feet set upon the pyramid stairs, ringing metal against stone with each step. "Anubis, the spineless mongrel, flees my vengeance. The murder of my father, Zeus, is on his hands. To this place have I tracked him."

Warily, Chaac eyed the God of War as he reached the pyramid's apex. "Anubis was here, but has gone. After a battle with Camazotz, he was severely injured. I tended his wounds before he journeyed West, across the ocean."

"Tended his wounds, you say?" said Ares.

"I did," replied Chaac.

Ares tore the Rain God's axe from his grip and brutally buried the blade into Chaac's chest. "To aid my enemy is to be my enemy," Ares growled. Stunned, the mortals below collectively gasped.

As Chaac fell, the face of his beloved came to mind. The woman he loved, the wife of his brother, their affair relinquished so long ago. "To see your face... one last time..." Tears slipped from his eyes.

Finally, then, the sky was rent and sweet cold rain cascaded on the mortals below. Ares wrenched the axe free from the slain God and stood before them.

"Ares!" They cried. "You have saved us!"

"Ares," said the God of War to himself. His own name bitter to the taste.

### Chapter 2

Asgard was on fire.

Ash blended with snow, filling the ship shaped city suspended atop the branches of the world tree. It eddied into corners, piled in the alleyways, drifted between flames that licked wooden lodge rooftops and rubble strewn streets. All sunlight was choked by a sea of roiling black clouds, angry and flickering with green, soundless lightning. Panicked cries replaced the thunder as mortals fled the devastation. Fenrir, the monstrous wolf, was loose. His howl pierced every heart.

"Ragnarok," breathed Odin, King of Asgard, as he surveyed the chaos. "No legend can embody this horror."

"We must not despair, father," Thor, God of Thunder urged. "There is fight still in us!"

They watched Ymir, flanked by more Ice Giants, smash through a tower, leaving it shapeless rubble. Mortals hurtled through the air, their last moments filled with terrified flight. Elsewhere, shadows ripped free of their makers, snatching them like goblins and feasting. Hel had unleashed terrible foes to aid her wolf brother.

Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom emerged from the city, rushed the palace steps to kneel before Odin. "I gathered as many of the mortals as I could and prepared them for evacuation, but Fenrir found us. He is on my heels even now!"

"Evacuation?" Odin's eyebrows came together.

Tyr placed his metal hand upon Odin's shoulder. "It is time, my lord."

"No," Thor growled. "We fight! As we always have!"

Odin turned to his son. "And we shall. But not you, my son. You will lead the people to safety."

"I will not abandon you," Thor gripped his father's arms.

"You must. The mortals must survive. You must be king when I am gone."

Like an avalanche of violence, Fenrir tore through wood and stone to stand at the foot of the palace steps. Heaving, slathering, his monstrous hide towered over all around him. He howled into the air, a sound that heralded the death rattle of the world.

Odin hefted his heavy spear. "Go!" he ordered. "Tyr, with me!"

Athena pulled Thor's arm as Odin and Tyr rushed to meet their enemy. "The mortals, Thor! They need us!" Reluctantly, Thor turned away.

Through smoke and ruin they raced. Through the shattered streets, chased by the horrid clash of conflict. Mortals lay broken and still at every turn. Thor slowed.

"You have done admirably for my people, Athena, but I cannot flee Asgard with only some of them. I must gather everyone that lives, else they will be devoured and slain as these have."

"There is no time," Athena urged. "Your army is broken. Without more soldiers you cannot rally your people to safety."

Thor gripped Mjolnir tightly. "I cannot abandon them as I have my father."

Athena recognized the pain. Her father, too, was taken from her, murdered by the Trickster God Loki. Mistakenly, they had believed Anubis the culprit, but Athena learned the truth and brought Loki to justice, but not before the Greek Army marched on Ra's kingdom.

"The Greek Army!" She exclaimed. "My brother, Ares, took our forces to the Kingdom of Sun. I will retrieve it and bring it here to aid you."

"Yes," determination ignited in Thor's eyes. "Yes! I will hold the city until you return."

Athena nodded and turned to go.

"Athena," Thor called. "Be swift!"

"I will," she said, jaw tight, then raced away.

### Chapter 3

One brilliant cherry blossom petal remained.

It clung tenaciously to the otherwise waifish fingers of the tree. The others had long since blown away in cold Autumn winds. Ares crept silently through the forest. Aokigahara welcomed no sound. No birds. No crickets. No rustling of branches. Only a powerful silent stillness that even Ares was loathe to break.

In pursuit of Anubis, he journeyed to Yomi No Kuni, the path to the Underworld, but a cascade of boulders blocked the entrance. Now, he searched this dark place. The Suicide Wood, where the wall between Hell and Earth was most thin.

Opposite the Cherry Blossom grew a twisted oak, lifted above the ground on gnarled roots to form a black hollow beneath. Sickly moss dangled across the mouth like diseased fangs. Whispers issued forth. An invitation to death. Cautiously, Ares approached.

A woman hurtled from the darkness like a spider, clawing through the wet soil, skin pale, black hair stringy, eyes vacant. Ares effortlessly leaned away so she clawed empty air. White ribbons, stained and splotched, snapped tight about her wrists, preventing escape, leashing her to the shadowed recess behind. She snarled and spit and eyed Ares like prey.

"Free me," she whispered. "Free me and I will grant your greatest desire."

Ares lifted his chin. "Who offers me this?"

"I am Izanami," she purred. Bony fingers extended to caress his chest. "What is your desire? A lover unlike any the world has known?"

Ares pushed her hand away. "My lover is the most beautiful creature in the universe. You do not tempt me."

"What of power?" she retreated, drawing a sinuous blade from the darkness of the cavern and holding it to him. "None will be your equal."

"None are my equal," Ares growled. "You have nothing to offer me, demon." Ares turned to leave.

"Wait!" cried Izanami rushing forward until her ribbons pulled. "What of vengeance?"

"Vengeance?" Ares halted.

"Name whom you seek and I shall find him for you. You need merely swear to free me from this prison."

"Anubis," hissed Ares.

Izanami inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. "West. He is West. I will take you to him. Free me!"

Ares frowned beneath his helmet. Slowly, he nodded. "Take me to him."

"Swear it!" she writhed against her bonds. "Swear to free me!"

"I swear it. Once Anubis is dead, you will be free." Ares wrapped her ribbon chains around his forearm and pulled. "Until then, you are mine."

The last Cherry Blossom petal fell.

### Chapter 4

The Yellow River ran heavy with rain.

Izanami pulled on her silken leash like a hound eager to hunt. Ares held fast the reins. For days they had surveyed the river's Northern banks, searching for a crossing, but the waters feverishly churned, flooding the sides before breaking into countless waterfalling cascades.

"Why do you deny my crossing?" Ares roared at the river.

In answer, a bubbling torrent geysered upward, spilling and roiling, forming the lower half of the God, He Bo. "Because you bring that demon with you," declared the River God, white eyes flashing at Izanami. "No abyssal monster such as her will cross this river, nor venture further into our land!"

Ares ground his teeth.

"Kill him!" Izanami hissed. "Give me your command and I will slaughter him for you."

Scanning far Westward, Ares spied mortals at the river's side. They drew long nets to collect fish. Their mills used the water's force to grind grain. They washed their clothes and bathed. This river was their life and without it they would die. And without the mortals, He Bo would fade away.

Further West, still, massive mountains erupted from the landscape, shrouded in clouds spilling rain into the valleys that fed the great river.

Ares hefted Chaac's axe.

"With this axe, I command the rain," Ares bellowed over the river's roar. "Let us pass or I will rip those clouds from the sky. Your river will dry and those mortals that worship you will die. You will be God of nothing!"

He Bo's face tightened, then fell. "You, Ares, are as much a demon as the creature you bring with you," He Bo raised a hand, the waters calmed, and a path across formed. "But I will not risk the lives of the mortals. You may pass."

Izanami glared and sneered at the defeated River God as Ares led her across. "We can still kill him," she whispered to Ares as they climbed the Southern bank.

His grip tightened on the Axe. They had crossed the river. Anubis was ahead of them. He Bo was nothing. And yet…

"Kill him," she urged.

"I shall do worse than kill him," Ares hefted Chaac's axe and swung. Those distant clouds split then dissipated like smoke. Weeping rains ceased.

"No!" cried He Bo.

"Now," Ares turned away. "No one will even remember He Bo the River God."

### Chapter 5

Winter fog swallowed Ganesha's temple.

Though Ares could see little, he trusted Izanami to lead him here; a squat, white temple, arches adorning all four sides. Deep braziers flickered energetically, burning away the fog but illuminating closed ornate doors on each side. Atop the temple rested a placid statue of the elephant faced God, eyes closed in peaceful repose, painted gold by the shimmering corona of the eclipsed sun.

"Here," Izanami proclaimed, gesturing with a gnarled fingernail. "Anubis hides within."

Ares marched over, dragging the demon with him. A mailed hand pushed against the intricately decorated door, but it did not budge. Ares pushed again, exerting the full force of his mighty strength, yet still the door did not yield. A third time he heaved, both muscled arms straining, but his efforts were in vain.

"Why does it not open to me?" Ares roared.

"Because the path is blocked," answered a voice from above, cool and calm as a breeze. It was no statue atop the temple, but Ganesha himself, God of Obstacles.

Ares gnashed his teeth. "You conceal Anubis from me , the God that murdered my father! Open these doors or you shall know my wrath!"

"Your path is blocked," Ganesha's voice remained steady. "For your journey is flawed. This is a day of decision, Ares. Two roads lie before you. One continues within this temple, and to your vengeance, but concludes with the destruction of the world. You will incite fire and ash, slaughter innocents, and destroy the very things you hold dear. The other road leads away, home, where you may mourn your father, forswear revenge, and lead every God from every Pantheon and all the mortals of this world in an age of unprecedented peace."

Ares chewed the prophetic words. His decision came easily. "Too far have I come to give up now, when my prey is so close. I am no God of Peace. I am the God of War!"

To Izanami he gave one command. "Burn it."

Gleefully, the demon toppled each brazier, scattering sweltering coals across the temple walls. Smoking cinders danced with the fog as flames crawled up the walls and the white arches blackened.

Ganesha was gone and the doors were opened.

Anubis leapt from the smoking temple interior, coughing from his jackal maw. Ares was on him instantly. They rolled and wrestled until Ares came out on top, blade drawn, pointed tip hungrily inching down toward Anubis' chest while the God of the Afterlife strained to keep his death at bay.

"Your father," Anubis panted. "I did not kill him. By now, you must know this."

"It no longer matters," Ares put his full weight on the blade pommel, shoving the steel through his enemy. "All that matters is my vengeance." Without further word, Anubis went limp.

Izanami crept forth, blackened with soot as the temple burned high behind her. "It is done," she whispered. "You made an oath."

"I did," Ares rose from his slain foe. "And I will keep it. You are free."

Silken ribbons fell away. Izanami's cackle vanished into the fog.

Ares watched the temple burn.

### Chapter 6

Smoke rose from the ruins of the Kingdom of the Sun.

Athena stepped through the shattered gates, streets strewn with rubble from broken sand-colored structures on either side. Countless fires, left blazing after the assault, further blackened the eclipse stained sky. Greek soldiers, her soldiers, having long since sacked the city, now marched imposingly down the wide thoroughfare, sending locals scampering for safety. Other soldiers lounged curbside, feasting on looted food and drink from nearby homes. At the sight of her, they hastily rose to attention, dropped their prizes, and saluted, hands on hearts.

No words came to her lips. No scathing reprimand could she give. Was this the same army she had trained? Is this what her brother, Ares, had done to their honor?"

She fell still before a raised pedestal that decorated the center of a busy intersection. Nearby were smashed remains of a Deity's statue, pulled down from this platform, the features stomped into unrecognizable dust. Where the statue would have stood was Ra, God of the Sun, bound in chains, bent to his knees, a bandage across his eyes, stained with blood and dirt.

Athena leapt upon the pedestal, lashing out with her spear. Chains shattered. Free of his bindings, Ra slumped, groaning. Reverently, the Greek soldiers slowly approached to watch their Goddess of Wisdom.

"Is this what you would become?" She called to them. "Is this what mighty Greece would be? My father, Zeus, built this army to defend our home. Instead, it has been used to conquer another. In but one campaign under Ares you have fallen to looting homes and frightening the defeated. I ask you, does this make you proud?"

None met her gaze.

"Then, if shame is what you feel, and regret, aid me now. Ra is a king among Gods. His wounds blacken the sky. Show your faith. Pray to him. Honor him that he might be healed and the sun shine again!"

It began slowly at first. A few bowed heads. Then more. Soon, the entire crowd were on their knees, praying to Ra. Then, a single brilliant shaft of light lanced from the darkened sun and struck the hawk-headed God. He leaned back, absorbing the glorious ray. Hand shaking, Ra reached for the bandage over his eyes and pulled.

Sunlight, bright and powerful erupted across the land. A day as clear and white as the first that ever dawned. Ra's glittering eyes, now healed through faith, reflected the naked sun. The eclipse was undone.

Yet, he did not behold the world about him, nor the dazzling light from above. Not yet. Ra was beset by a vision of Asgard, smoldering in the fires of defeat. Mighty Thor lay beaten, broken, his simmering hammer sparking inches from still fingertips. Odin the All Father grappled still with the fearsome beast Fenrir, but his arms shook with weariness while the wolf slavered with intent. Surveying it all sat Hel upon Asgard's throne. Her face a perfect pale personification of victory. And then, it was gone.

Rising, Ra placed a hand upon Athena's shoulder. "Asgard," he croaked weakly. "The end draws near.".

"Then I have no time to waste," she replied before turning back to her soldiers. "There is honor yet to regain. A battle yet to be fought that would bring peace. Let us undo the atrocities that have been done here. March with me. March North!"

They raised their spears, they battered their shields, they cried her name, "Athena!"

They would follow her anywhere. Even into Ragnarok itself.

### Chapter 7

A soundless night entombed the Roman countryside.

Rows of tents marked the Greek Army's campground on its march North. Cooking fires burnt to embers, mounts fed and tied, only the watchmen remained awake. Alone in her tent, Athena found no rest. Ra's vision of Asgard plagued her.

"The end draws near," he'd said. Was she already too late?

The still darkness did nothing to put her at ease. No wind tugged at the tent flaps. No crickets sang to the stars. This night seemed almost unnatural.

A bloodcurdling cry shattered the silence. Athena burst from her tent, spear in hand. Black shapes, once shadows, now given life of their own, turned on those that cast them, hacking with black blades or ramming with dark spears. These were the same monsters Athena had seen at Hel's command in Asgard.

At the edge of the camp stood a lone Ice Giant, frozen beard reflecting ghostly moonlight.

"TO ARMS!" Athena called, breath misting in the cold air. "Douse all fires! Beware your own shadow!"

Without waiting, she hurtled for the Frost Giant. Soldiers answered from their warm beds, weapons in hand, snuffing torches to the dirt and dumping filled buckets across the cookfires. Anything to remove light. But with guile the shadows set tents aflame, conjuring larger, more violent shades between the tongues of light.

Leaping at the giant, Athena buried her spear through his chest. A mere annoyance to the giant. With a massive fist he snatched Athena from the haft of her weapon and held her aloft, squeezing her between fingers the size of trees.

Ravens cried as dozens descended upon the giant. Free hand swinging, the birds were too small for him to catch as they pecked his face. Dropped, Athena fell to the earth. She fell at the feet of Nox.

Face concealed beneath a metal mask, dress black enough for the space between stars, Nox stood against the giant with only a pale candelabra, lit with tiny otherworldly flames. Raising a gloved hand, she drew the darkness to her. Clawing at the dirt, the killer shadows were unwillingly pulled to her like the eye of a vortex. They were swallowed in the blackness of her dress, consumed by the embodiment of night.

Once absorbed, Nox cast the shadows forth like a swarm of insects, swirling and scratching at the Frost Giant. He flailed and cried in agony, to no avail. The night devoured him and he fell.

Athena gained her feet and collected her spear. "You have my thanks, Lady of the Night," though Athena was the daughter of Zeus, Nox was a primordial creature. One to be feared.

"I do not require it," Nox replied, voice like a whisper from a tomb. "This is a night of unnatural making. From Asgard it came. From the birth of Ragnarok."

Athena gestured to the soldiers repairing the camp after the assault. "I take this army North to defend Thor and his people."

"You will spend their lives in doing so," Nox warned placidly. "Asgard is fallen. Another darkness, this from below, rises from the East. From your home."

"What darkness?" Athena asked.

"Were I you, Manerva the Wise, I would march this army to Greece. They will only die in Asgard, but may stand a chance against Pluto." Without further word, Nox unraveled into the night.

Athena wrestled with the warning. Both Ra and Nox spoke of Asgard's fall, and now Greece was in danger, it seemed. Her men watched her, eyes wide. Wordlessly, they urged her to guide them home, to see their families and protect their children.

Turning North, Athena shed a tear. "I'm sorry Thor, my friend. I will not be there to aid you."

### Chapter 8

Olympus was braced for a storm unseen, but felt by all.

Athena climbed the narrow city streets, dismissing soldiers to their families and homes. Each embraced a mother, a spouse, a child. Joy broke upon those faces. Relief, it seemed, was plentiful this day, but hope was in short supply. Breath held, the citizens of Olympus watched Athena with pinched eyes. Weary and worn, they bowed courteously, but frayed nerves prevented more. A young woman, mouth open to ask the Goddess of Wisdom for guidance, stopped short and retreated home. Children did not laugh and play along the cobbles, but clung silently to doorframes.

Spear grip tightening, Athena headed for the throne room, where Hades held court in the absence of her father. Great doors barred her entrance.

Steel boots rang on stone. Ares, eyes cold as winter's peak, met her. Chaac's axe clutched in one fist.

"Our father's murder is avenged," he proclaimed, chin lifted. "Anubis is dead."

"Anubis was not the murderer. It was Loki of Asgard, in league with Hel." Athena eyed her brother carefully. "By now you must know this."

Ares bristled with accusation. "What I know, sister, is that today, the sun lights the sky. This can only mean Ra's vision is returned and his throne restored."

"Both were done," she confirmed. "Your war left Egypt destroyed and humiliated. I restored their dignity as father would have wanted."

"What makes you think you know what he wanted?" Ares sneered.

"I know he would not wish our people scared of their king," Athena gestured to the city below. "Hades has them cowering, brother. I was warned a darkness was coming."

Ares' eyes lit with flames from Ganesha's temple. "I too was warned of darkness."

"Will you help me stop him?" her hand extended.

For a moment, hard eyes on her hand, Ares considered. Then, without word, he heaved against the throne room doors, opening a grim hallway before them.

Braziers, once lit with warm light, now flickered with ghastly green flames. Gone were sigils and banners of Zeus' lightning bolt, replaced by Hades' skeletal hand. Encircling the throne were bones, piled floor to ceiling. Skulls staring blankly, teeth bared in eternal grimace, white femurs and slotted fingers, an impossible quantity to count. Howling spirits swirled in and out like torn banners caught in the wind. Before it all hunkered Hades, hands raised to the macabre collection like a conductor to an orchestra.

"What is this," Athena entered carefully, breathless.

Hades slowly turned. "For your sake, I hoped this would be done before your return."

Ares brandished Chaac's axe. "Explain this, uncle."

Facing them fully, Hades eyed his niece and nephew as they closed on him. "The Asgardians have incited Ragnarok. That unbridled chaos will spread without regard. To save Olympia, to save our people, I am left little choice."

"For what?" asked Athena.

Hades' yellow eyes narrowed. "To wage war."

"That was not father's wish," Athena said through clenched teeth.

"True. Zeus did not understand. He wanted peace with the other Pantheons, but it is too late for that. I could not convince him, so he had to be removed."

"You did murder him!" Ares growled.

"I have kept him safe!" barked Hades. "What do you think those other Gods would have done to him had I not shielded him in my underworld? What would have become of his soul?"

"I cannot allow this," Athena's stance lowered, spear pointed at Hades. "I will stop you."

"Your compassion blinds you, Athena," Hades chided. "Our goals are the same."

Athena scoffed. "To wage war when peace can still be attained? That is not the same."

"And what of you, Ares?" Hades' hooded head swiveled. "We did not invite this war, but it is upon us. I can give you an army of mortals unburdened of death. Invincible, they could fight Asgard's plague, with you at their vanguard."

Ares remained still, poised like a serpent at the verge of striking.

"Ares," Athena urged. "You cannot consider this!"

Ares whispered, "Why?"

"He killed our father!"

"He's not my father!" Ares snarled. "Zeus' hatred of me was always clear. I journeyed to avenge him. For his approval. But I know now, it was not for him I battled. Or slew those Gods. It was for me."

"They may choose to follow me or be destroyed."

"That isn't worship. That's fear!"

"IT'S THE SAME THING!" He roared so the ceiling shook, spittle flying from his lips.

Eyes hardening, Athena turned to face her brother as he, too, settled into a warrior's stance.

"War is upon us, sister," Ares' mailed fists tightened on Chaac's axe. "I am the God of War."

"Your wars will leave this world dead," Athena raised her shield.

Hades extended his arms to the angry spirits behind them. "That is the exact idea."

It began.