The room was frozen in time.
No one moved. No one spoke.
"I will be the death of all the Gods."
Odin let out a thunderous laugh, his booming voice shaking dust from the rafters. "HAH! I haven't heard such a bold declaration since Wukong swore war on the heavens!" He turned to the Monkey King, smirking. "Takes after you, doesn't he?"
Wukong scoffed, kissing his teeth. "Don't insult me, old man."
Zeus, still seated, didn't blink. His eyes locked coldly onto the boy. "Who on Earth," he said slowly, voice dripping with disdain, "do you think you are?"
The teenager tilted his head, unfazed by the presence of gods and monsters.
"My name is Bjorn," he said. "I will be the cause of calamity."
Shiva stood, folding his arms. "That stench-" he said, nostrils flaring, "you reek of Hellfire."
Bjorn turned to him, eyes glowing crimson. "Then keep your nose out of my business."
The audacity in his voice sent a ripple through the room.
He turned to the monster's side of the table, his expression neutral his but his tone icy. "This war has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it."
Silver's lip curled, the air around him growing colder. "I don't like the disrespect in your voice,e boy," he growled. "You speak like you've lived for a thousand years. But all I see is a child playing with fire."
Amaterasu narrowed her eyes. "How did you even get in here? And where did you find the arrogance to stand before gods and issue threats?"
Bjorn smirked. "Your questions are irrelevant."
Wukong burst into laughter. "Finally! Someone who speaks my language." He leaned back s
Bjorn turned back toward Zeus, his smile vanishing. He raised a single finger and pointed it directly at him.
"You," he said, "will be the first to die."
The air turned to ice.
Even Wukong kept silent.
Shiva, voice dry as bone, muttered under his breath, "Damn."
Zeus rose slowly, golden aura crackling around him. "That's enough of this nonsense for today. I'm not entertaining this nonsense."
He clapped his hands.
In an instant, like light itself had obeyed, two gods appeared.
The temperature shifted. Time itself seemed to have been around their arrival.
To Zeus's left stood Apollo, the god of the sun. His golden hair burned like the heart of a star, his eyes twin infernos. In each hand, he held a radiant blade, glowing with solar energy. Both were already crossed at Bjorn's neck.
To Zeus's right stood Artemis, the moon huntress. Her silver hair shimmered like moonlight on water. In her grasp was a crescent-shaped scythe, curved and impossibly sharp, its edge resting gently but deliberately against the boy's throat.
Both of them radiated immense, suffocating power- yet neither blinked. Their expressions were empty. lifeless.
Orion, watching from behind Nyx, felt a chill run through his bones.
"They don't.. feel alive," he whispered. "But I can tell they are strong."
Bjorn didn't flinch. He looked between the blades and the scythe, then tilted his head back.
And laughed. A full, manic, unhinged laugh that echoed through the hall like shattering glass.
Then, suddenly, he stopped.
"... it's time for death."
Above them, the ceiling cracked open.
All eyes turned upward.
A jagged rift ripped across the sky, darkness bleeding through it like ink in water.
BOOM
A black mass dropped down from above, slamming onto the centre of the divine table. The entire chamber shook.
From the smoke rose a figure—tall, skeletal, wrapped in tattered robes of scorched bone and obsidian. His skin was grey, sickly, and tattooed with ancient demonic runes. Large wings, broken and chained, extended behind him. His presence felt wrong, as though reality was folding inward around him.
Agares.
Nyx grabbed Orion, pulling him behind her. "That," she said, her voice low and urgent, "is a demon. A real one. Stay close."
Odin rose, summoning Gungnir to his hand in a flash of divine light. "How in all the realms did a demon get in here?"
Shiva's eyes narrowed, his voice suddenly tense. "... Wukong. Can you feel that?"
Wukong's expression darkened. "Yeah."
Cracks exploded across the walls.
One by one, rips in space appeared, glowing red with infernal energy.
Then they started pouring in thousands of demons- each one clawing their way through the fractures, snarling, screeching, some winged, some crawling, some wielding hellforged weapons that dripped in blood.
Agares raised his hand.
"Kill them all!" he roared."Slaughter every god in this room! And any monster who stands in our way—cut them down too!"
Chaos erupted.
The gathering was over.
The war had begun.