Reborn As Hades In Olympus

Chapter 80: Ch. 80: Hephaestus & The Dove in the Cage (Hermes' POV)

Ch. 80: Hephaestus & The Dove in the Cage (Hermes' POV)

Hephaestus dropped his fourth bottle of vodka, the empty glass thudding against the cold, metal top of the table. His eyes, dark and hollow, drifted to the ceiling, as if there was something up there only he could see. His face, worn and creased from years of anguish, bore the look of a man whose soul had long been crushed under the weight of his own genius. "I didn't tell Talos this, but...

I found her on the battlefield. Hundreds of years after Titanomachy, in the chaos. I was the son whose mother wanted to kill."

I was halfway down my own bottle, the burn of the alcohol numbing my insides. "Sounds painful," I muttered, unsure if my words were enough.

Hephaestus' voice was raspy as he continued, like he hadn't spoken about this in centuries. "What I craved above all else was my mother's— Hera's love. I would have given the world for her to even glance at me, even in contempt." His eyes flicked towards me, I guess he really was that desperate, hard for me to know how he felt though. "But she never did. I think... I think I was cursed.

Cursed with this mind of mine, cursed to create."

His words sent a shiver down my spine. I tipped my bottle back, gulping as if the liquor could wash away the discomfort of hearing him unravel. But he didn't stop. He wasn't done yet.

"I was patrolling the lower rings of the realm,