~Hades~

The Underworld was quiet, save for the faint murmur of flowing rivers and the distant sighs of restless souls. I sat in my throne room, the obsidian seat cool beneath my fingers as I watched the mortal world through the Veil, a construct made of shadows that allows me to see anywhere I desire. . The men of Odysseus's crew had landed on Thrinacia, the sacred island of my daughter, Apolla. The golden herds, a gift from Helios to her, grazed in serene splendor, their coats shining with divine light that no mortal could mistake for ordinary cattle.

I should have known better than to trust mortals to respect divine boundaries.

From the moment their ship touched the shore, the men grew restless. Days passed with their provisions dwindling and Odysseus forbidding them from so much as glancing at the herds. Eurylochus, the most insolent of them, muttered darkly about their suffering, his resentment festering like a wound. His whispers spread, and soon hunger gave way to audacity.

I leaned forward as I watched Eurylochus lead the others toward the sacred herd. Apolla's golden cattle, ever docile and trusting, did not flee as the men surrounded them. The first stroke of the blade was like a thunderclap in my mind. My hair began to writhe, as it transformed into tendrils of blue primordial fire. The Veil rippled, reflecting the growing storm within me as the men butchered my daughter's sacred creatures, laughing and feasting as though they had earned their meal.

My fingers curled into the armrests of my throne, and the Underworld seemed to darken in response. She loved those damn cattle, how dare they touch them!

With a burst of power, I stepped from my throne room to the shores of Thrinacia, the stench of blood and desecration assaulting my senses. I rose in height to over 30 ft tall as I vanished and reapeared through the fire they were coooking the meat. The mortal men froze as I appeared, their laughter and crude jokes dying in their throats. They scrampled back as I rose through the flames and rose to my new height as I unfurled my wings as I stared down at the mortal men below me, hate to admit it but seeing their scared expression and them scattering was quite pleasing to see.

Eurylochus was the first to falter, his knife slipping from his fingers as he fell to his knees. The rest followed, their faces pale and twisted in terror. My voice, deep and resonant, shattered the silence.

My voice, deep and resonant, shattered the silence. "Who among you has dared to defile the sacred gifts of my daughter?"

The question hung in the air, each word laden with the fury of a god wronged. The men looked at each other, terror etched into their faces. Finally, Eurylochus, the instigator, stumbled forward. His knees buckled as he fell before me, his head bowed low.

"W-we were starving!" he stammered, his voice cracking under the weight of his fear. "Odysseus... he left us no choice!"

I turned my gaze to Odysseus, who stood apart from the others, his posture tense but unyielding. His face was grim, though his eyes betrayed the flicker of doubt that no mortal could entirely conceal. He opened his mouth to speak, but I raised a hand, cutting him off with a single motion. The ground trembled beneath me as I stepped closer, each stride deliberate, my wings spreading wide to block out the dim light.

"You allowed this," I said, my voice cold and unyielding, like the granite walls of Tartarus itself. "The blood of these divine creatures stains not only their hands but yours as well. You, Odysseus, who claims to be a man of cunning, now stand before me as a leader who cannot control his own crew. You failed, and now their sins are yours to bear."

Odysseus's jaw tightened as he drew himself upright, his defiance simmering just beneath the surface. "I forbade them!" he said, his voice steady but strained. "I warned them of the consequences, but they did not listen. Punish them, if you must, but I—"

"Silence!" My voice thundered across the island, the power behind it shaking the ground and sending waves crashing against the shores. The men cowered further, their faces pale as death. "You would so easily offer their lives to save your own. Very well. I will grant your request."

Eurylochus scrambled forward, his face contorted with desperation. His hands clawed at the dirt as he groveled at my feet. "It was me! I convinced them—it was my idea! Spare the others!"

I regarded him with cold detachment, his pleas nothing more than the futile cries of a condemned man. My wings flared behind me, their black and gold feathers shimmering with a light that seemed to draw in the very darkness around us. I raised my hand, and a swirling orb of blue and gold primordial fire formed in my palm. The heat from it was unbearable, searing the air itself as the mortals cried out, shielding their faces in vain.

"Odysseus has already made his choice," I said, my voice echoing with the finality of judgment. "And so I pass mine: all of you shall answer for this crime in the afterlife, should Pythagora not devour your souls before they even reach the gates."

The orb expanded in my hand, its flames roaring as it engulfed the cowering men. Their screams pierced the air, the sound of their torment reverberating across the island. The fire consumed them entirely, leaving nothing behind but ash, which the wind carried away like whispers of their short-lived rebellion.

When the flames subsided, only Odysseus remained. He stood rooted in place, his face pale and his eyes wide with horror. I turned to him, my gaze unrelenting.

"You chose their lives over your own, and so you will live to bear the burden of their deaths," I said. With a flick of my wrist, I conjured another orb of flame, smaller but no less potent. It hurtled toward him, striking him square in the chest. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious but alive, his body writhing briefly before I spoke again.

"You shall be sent to a place where you will rest," I said softly. "The journey has been hard on you, Odysseus. Soon, you shall return to your wife and son—but not yet. You will endure this penance first."

The flames around him shifted, consuming his form but not his flesh. Sparks of light danced around him as I transported him to Ogygia.

As the mortal vanished, I turned my gaze back to the desecrated island. The golden cattle that remained stood in solemn silence, their luminous coats unmarred by the blood that had soaked the earth. I reached out with my divine power, erasing the evidence of what happened.

With that, I returned to my throne room in the Underworld. The Pool of Shades rippled once more, showing me the unconscious form of Odysseus as he appeared on the shores of Ogygia. Calypso, the keeper of the isle, emerged to greet him, her expression unreadable.

I sat on my obsidian throne, getting quite relaxed when I heard Apolla call for me and I cursed under my breath.