Entering Apocalypse in Easy-Mode
Chapter 432: Black Lake

Chapter 432: Black Lake

A low murmur spread through the chamber as Zeus’s words settled in.

Poseidon crossed his arms, frowning deeply and said, "It has been eons since we stood beside Demons. And even then, only in silence and distance. Never like this."

Athena, ever composed, nodded. She said, "Our histories are carved with suspicion and conflict with that race. But now we need to stand side by side with King Bael’s kind... it is a dangerous gamble."

"Demons do not forget. Nor do they forgive. But even they are not our greatest concern, are they, brothers and sisters?" Hades’s voice echoed coldly from the shadows.

Zeus looked toward him, his expression tightening because he about to say something that will make this situation feels even worse.

"There is more," Zeus said. "We will not only march with the Hell realm. We will also fight alongside Eden. The Archangels are joining us if you might not know already."

The room stiffened at once.

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "You mean to say we are to stand on the same field as the two of them? The race of light and fire?"

Apollo shook his head slowly. "Demons and Archangels... in the same war council? This is not unity. This is like a spark over a dry forest and we soon will be burn as well between them."

Hermes scoffed, though the tension in his voice betrayed his unease.

"Will they not kill each other before the first blade is drawn against this ’anomaly’?" Hermes said. even though he already knew about this news hearing it directly still makes him rethinking it.

"I don’t trust either of them. One drinks blood, the other demands obedience. What happens when they turn on themselves instead, or even to us?" Ares said with loudest voice amongsts them.

Demeter, quiet until now, let out a breath. She said, "If this is the path we must walk... then the world is truly on the edge. Eden and Hell, fire and heaven... What force is so terrible that this is the answer?" she shook her head in disbelieve. Until this moment she still couldn’t believe that all of this was happening.

Zeus stood taller, his voice thunderous with divine weight.

"This is not about trust. It is about survival. The anomaly is not of Hell realm and is not of Heaven, yet is able to wield both power in balance. It is something else... something older and wrong. And it is already spreading, you see it for yourselves, didn’t you? We need this alliance to kill them."

He looked each god and goddess in the eye.

"We will not let old grudges decide the fate of all realms. Bael has agreed and I assumed all the Demon Kings were also agreed. So have the Archangels. You will do the same. The other realms will also be joining. I’m sure of it."

Silence fell again.

Then Hera, regal and calm, spoke softly. "Then let us do what we must. But keep one truth close, my king... When you place a Demon King and Archangel in the same room, do not be surprised of what will happens next."

Zeus nodded. "I expect some misunderstanding and ruckis. But I also expect all of us to hold the line together."

The chamber remained silent after Zeus’s proclamation. One by one, the gods and goddesses slowly began to nod in agreement nonetheless.

They had no other choice.

With a wave of Zeus’s hand, the meeting was finished. He dismissed them to their domains, instructing each to fortify their lands, handle their followers, and prepare for the inevitable battle ahead.

The gods departed in silence.

All but one. Hades still lingered there.

Zeus noticed and turned as his brother remained still.

"You have something to say," Zeus said, folding his arms.

Hades stepped forward, and said, "If we will face this creatures again then we cannot rely on only conventional power."

Zeus’s brows furrowed. "What are you suggesting?"

"I will unlock the gates of the Unclaimed," Hades said. "And I will gather the souls that denied by peace and I will forge them into my army."

Zeus’s eyes narrowed. "You haven’t taken new souls from the Selection Stage in centuries yet now you will take the souls of the damned. They were sealed by your own oath."

Hades’s expression didn’t change. "Yes, and now I break it."

There was a long, heavy pausee between them. Zeus looked into Hades’s eyes, and for a moment he saw something cold and vast, like the empty reaches of the afterlife.

"It’s dangerous," Zeus said at last. "Cruel and disturbing."

Hades tilted his head slightly. "So is our end."

Zeus looked away, the tension in his jaw showing his inner struggle. Finally, he gave a slow nod.

"Do it then," he said. "I guesss we now arrived at the time where we need every power. Even the ones we swore never to use."

Without another word, Hades turned and descended into shadow. The sound of his footsteps faded as a dark mist coiled around him and carried him away.

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In the Underworld.

Back to the domain where the dead whispered, and forgotten power slumbered.

There, beneath the deepest crypts and beyond the River Styx, Hades begin the process without hesitaion. He actually already made up his mind about this and was about to start this before Zeus called him.

He call upon the forsaken, thee ancient warriors , the condemned kings. The soldiers who had died without honor, purpose, or name.

And he would bind them to his will.

Hades emerged in the deepest layer of the Underworld—the Forsaken Crypts.

The air was still and cold. Before him stretched a vast black lake with surface as black ink. It did not reflect light nor ripple with breeze.

The water was motionless. Beneath its glassy surface shapes drifted slowly. They were souls that had long been forgotten or denied passage.

A constant murmur of soft, broken whispers, regret, sorrow, and rage echoed across the cavern.

Hades stood at the lake’s edge. His obsidian eyes stared out over the dark waters. Then, they began to glow.

He raised one hand, fingers outstretched like a conductor.

The ink-black water trembled. The murmurs rising. Then came the agonized, furious, eternal scream.

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