The Vanishing Sword: Chapter I

D​arkness soon covered the snowcapped tower high in the mountains. A few fires dimly lit up the tower, but the bone-chilling cold was still present. On the tower walls were scorchmarks, arrows, and large holes where boulders crashed against the spire. Inside lay fallen warriors and piles of golden dust. Celestial bronze weapons were scattered all over the place, with the occasional Imperial gold sword lying amidst the rubble.

At the top sat a king, dressed in murky black armour with purple trim, smeared with red blood and ichor. He wore a horned helmet that covered most of his head, almost identical to Hades' Helm of Darkness, but the helm had a deeper sense of malevolence and terror. His face could not be made out, as the shadow of nightfall and the helmet covered most of his face. He lay still on his throne, waiting for something to appear, until at last a golden figure appeared before him, shining with such brightness that any mortal nearby would be incinerated. In his hand was a large bolt of lightning, and the king could see his stormy gray eyes locked in a dark stare.

"Why have you come?" the king said to the golden figure. His voice was low and commanding, with hints of malice and hatred.

"You must surely know, Azazel." the shining apparition replied.

"Yes, I realized you must have come to combat me in battle, haven't you Zeus? That was a lot of gods and giants that I slew in the Black Spire, but I had no idea that the massacre would be so dire as to send the King of the Gods, himself." Azazel replied, shifting his pose on his throne.

"I'll have your head for what you did in there." Zeus said venomously. "Hera, Ceres, Hermes... those were my kin, and yet you still had the nerve to kill them." His lightning bolt hummed with great intestity, and above him huge thunderclouds brewed.

Azazel stood up from his throne, unsheathing a five foot long greatsword made of Stygian Iron, a rare metal forged only in the River Styx. It's hilt was colored dark purple, matching his armour, and ornate runes adorned the blade itself.

"Strong enough to slay the Lord of Time and his sycthe Backbiter." Azazel gloated, raising his sword in an aggresive stance. Zeus stepped back, but not in fear, but to increase the size of his lightning bolt, generating errant bolts of lightning every now and then.

Suddenly erupting in a miasma of dark energy, Azazel lunged forward, tackling Zeus by surpise, sending them plummeting to the mountain. Zeus used his aerokinesis to an advantage, stopping midair and throwing bolts of lightning at Azazel, who deflected them with his blade.