Chapter 136: 2.13 Paradise (7)
"Ok, what else do they know? Is Hades creating the ruptures? How does he get them into Paradise?" Sora asked Lox.
"What god or goddess would you imagine creating such things in Paradise?"
The room sat silent for a moment before Xander pulled out his notebook and started flipping through it.
"Do you want me to read off some names and see if anyone makes sense?" Xander asked confidently.
"That’s a good idea Xander. Maybe hearing names will help!" Brie exclaimed.
Xander read each name slowly.
"Artemis, Dionysus, Hera, Rhea, Ares, Demeter, Hephaestus, Hestia–"
"Wait, Demeter is on the list?" Athena asked, shocked.
"Yes. She always has jet black swirling inside her body." Xander said with a frown.
"She’s the goddess of agriculture and Hades kidnapped her daughter. They got married in the Underworld," Athena said while shaking her head.
"Wait, someone who was kidnapped agreed to marry her captor?" Brie asked, confused. "Why would the Mother of the kidnapped child join their side?"
"That is why I did not expect her to be on the list. I thought she’d be angry with the two of them and want to protect Paradise," Athena said, with a hint of frustration.
"Let’s stay on topic. Demeter would know how to perfectly hide any secret portal," Aphrodite sighed. "But what if we’re wrong?"
"Does it matter?" Lox answered bluntly.
"I’m gathering my group for you to easily catch us conspiring. You’ll find out quickly whether or not Demeter is responsible. I’m sure Hades has someone else waiting in the shadows."
"Thank you. What else do you need?" Athena asked politely.
"Do you have a map of Paradise? I will show you the locations of the ruptures. Always look for the black stones. One of the stones activates the portal." Lox explained.
"Two are brand new, so they might be a bit trickier to locate. The others will be easy, as one is quite large. It’s in a spot no one other than our group visits."
"Will the stone with pentagram pupils always unlock the portal?" Sora asked. "What’s with that creepy eye anyway?"
"Ah, that’s the symbol of The Fallen. Hades aims to create abominations with pentagrams for pupils with unique abilities. He’s been testing souls and most of them end up as mindless abominations." Lox scoffed. "I will draw the symbol for each area. Make sure not to touch a rock or it’s a one way ticket to the Underworld. They teleport you to the outer tunnels and the only way to get out is to go through Hades’ realm, which he has heavily guarded by gods, goddesses and his hellhounds."
After about 20 minutes, Lox finished circling the locations, labeling them with the symbol to look for, and Xander opened a portal for Athena, Sora, Brie and himself.
"Lox, please go spend time with your children. I’m certain once the ruptures are destroyed, the masked god will eventually summon you, so you’ll need to gather everyone quickly. Thank you for everything and I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job protecting your children," Athena said as she hugged Lox. "Had I caught this sooner, you would have never been in this predicament. I am sorry."
"Thank you, your Majesty. It’s not your fault." Lox said, knowing the end was near.
Lox squeezed both of his children tightly and cherished every second of the embrace.
"If your dad doesn’t come back, remember he loves you always and Skylar will be there for you until Mama and Ignis get here, ok!" Lox said enthusiastically.
"Thanks dad! You’re the best. Go save the dragons! I love you," his son said joyfully.
"Dad, be safe! We know Mama has a new boyfriend. Maybe both of you will bring back dragons and it will be a whole bunch of them! Skylar is very pretty and I can’t believe Miss Athena is going to let us live here while you’re away! Love you, see you soon!"
Lox smiled as he teleported to the center of Paradise, where most of the fallen followers spent their time.
"We need to have a meeting. I just discovered a destroyed rupture. Hermes, please send word to meet here immediately."
Hermes gathered everyone together but had a strange suspicion something was wrong. After assembling the souls, he quickly teleported away and prayed to Hades’.
"I need to get out of here, now." Hermes prayed and he allowed himself to be pulled away from Paradise.
*****
Athena made quick work of the first Rupture, blasting through the rocks while laughing at the stone marked with an arrow.
"What a strange symbol to use. It literally points to where you’d fall..." Athena said while shaking her head.
They continued traveling to each rupture site, and as the last one was destroyed, a unique crying and screaming sound echoed throughout Paradise.
"That’s not good." Brie said nervously. "Why didn’t we think they’d have a failsafe?"
"It’s ok Brie. Calm yourself. I can sense a large gathering of people near Lox. Xander, if you would, please."
******
Lox successfully summoned the majority of the Fallen followers of Paradise for a meeting.
"I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve gathered you, but have any of you noticed that since the Lockhearts arrived, we’ve had nothing but trouble?" Lox asked his group. "Well, one of Demeter’s ruptures was destroyed."
"You mean the weird ones without golden eyes?"
"Well, the child has golden eyes. He carries around a notebook and is always jotting down coded words in it."
"What is he writing down?"
"You don’t think they’re here to help Athena look for possible spies or traitors, do you?" a goddess asked, nervously.
"Oh everyone, relax. They’re obviously here because the child lost control of time and Athena wants to babysit them. I don’t even consider the child a pure god because his father was a filthy hybrid and his mother was a human who Athena handed her a free pass through the trials," Freya stated rudely. "They’re all filthy and deserve to die. Master Hades is the true ruler of this realm."
"Well, you all heard the screams and cries a moment ago, didn’t you? That means our ruptures are destroyed and we’re back to square one. What do we do Demeter?" Hathor asked, frustrated.
"It’s just a minor inconvenience. They’re easy to create, they just need time to blossom. I’ll have our hidden ally summon me and I’ll return to the Underworld." Demeter said with a laugh. "Not like the idiot of a child can tell which of us are in the fallen and which of us aren’t."
"You really think my son is an idiot?" Sora laughed as the Lockheart’s walked through Xander’s portal.
"Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Could you make it any more obvious that you’re betraying Paradise?" Brie teased.
"What do you mean we’re betraying Paradise? We’re all honest and humble gods and goddesses assembled in the name of the great Athena to prote–"
"Stop with the act. Seriously, where else would ruptures come from?" Brie giggled. "Xander, do you see anyone who shouldn’t be here who is here?"
"Nope Mama. Time to call Nana Fena."
Xander opened a portal and Athena walked through gracefully.
"Well, I must say I am disappointed. After all this time helping you all achieve a peaceful afterlife, this is how you all repay me? As Divine Ruler, I sentence you all to death."
"Ok your majesty. We’ll just head to the dungeon then. Let’s go, everyone!" Demeter laughed hysterically.
"Wasn’t Eris a prisoner recently? Oh, that’s right. She’s out absorbing souls while destroying planets because your little Lockheart lover’s power is so juicy."
Sora grinned. "Eyes of Lockheart: Illusion of tranquility"
Everyone in the Fallen started swaying back and forth blissfully.
"What a gorgeous day in Paradise!" Hathor said. "How did we get so lucky to have such a great life up here?"
Lox saw his children playing with Leila.
Sora knew it was only a matter of minutes before Lox would be summoned by the masked god, so he released him from the illusions.
"Give Leila my love." He said before he vanished.
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