Hera sat silently upon her throne within her own temple, hiding away from the rest of the world as she beheld her 'creation' with a sense of loss, rage, and a strange feeling she could not put into words.
The deformed babe in her arms staring at her curiously while reaching for her long, silken hair with his chubby hands.
The Queen of Olympus chuckled bitterly as she held the babe close to herself, a strange sense of helplessness, self-hate, and a long list of other such bad emotions practically radiating off of her.
"He looks rather intelligent."
Hera shook her head gently, making the divine baby stare at her locks as they swayed with her movement before shifting his eyes to the god standing beside his 'mother'.
"He is an abomination. A failure."
Once again, she chuckled bitterly as she turned to look at her brother, the only one with whom she ever shared all her thoughts so freely.
A privilege not given even to her husband.
"As expected of a failure like me, right? Brolios? After all, only a failure can give birth to another failure."
Brolios took the baby, the child that had yet to be named, as he was just born not long ago, into his arms gently as he sat down on the throne in front of her.
"I do not remember you being this pessimistic and self-pitying. The Hera I remember growing up with was someone with a fiery temper rivaling Demeter and someone who took her role as my 'older sister' very seriously."
"Do not mock me!"
The Queen's temper flared as she rose to her feet. Her divine might washing over the area like a tsunami. Power that would have crushed any lesser divinity, and maybe even a young Olympian like the twins who were born mere months ago.
Yet, to Brolios, this show of her anger and display of power was not even worth registering in his mind, as his gaze remained locked onto the deformed body of his newborn nephew.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the golden armor-clad god raised his eyes to meet his sister's gaze, holding nothing but the warm love of a brother who wished to support his heartbroken sister.
Under that familiar, warm gaze, Hera could no longer hold herself back and wept bitterly as she collapsed on her throne.
Brolios rose to his feet and walked to her side, placing his palm on her shoulder in silent support.
"....I should have listened to you and mother, back then. I should have never taken on this domain of marriage."
She spoke between her sobs as her brother remained by her side.
"If I had known that this would be the result of trusting Zeus and his vow, if I had known the pain I would have to endure being the so-called Queen of Olympus, I would never have taken up that domain so wilfully, believing that it suited me because of my marriage."
Brolios remained silent, letting Hera air out all her grievances, knowing that this had been a long time coming.
From the very beginning, he knew that the domain of Marriage was not something that called to his sister.
For a god, it is important that they bind themselves to a domain that they have a natural inclination towards, lest their own domains become their shackles. A truth that Mother Rhea had taught all of her children after they were freed from Kronos's belly. Except for Hestia and Brolios, whom she taught this fact before they were swallowed.
That is why their mother was appalled when Hera wilfully took on the domain of Marriage on the day of her wedding in front of all of Olympus and their allies. A feeling shared by Brolios when he returned from his trip outside to see what kind of mess Olympus had become in his absence.
Because Hera never had any inclinations toward that domain.
In fact, she never had any inclinations toward any domains growing up, which was one of the many reasons why she was the last one to condense a domain of her own naturally. Something that she did right after the defeat of Kronos with the birth of her domain of Family. A domain she shared with Hestia.
This was the main reason why his nephew was born deformed like this.
Because Hera's self-appointed domain of Marriage demanded that her children be born of her union with her husband and rejected the child that she created on her own through the crystallization of her own divine essence. A clash that deformed the infant's divinity when he was within her womb.
However, Brolios did not blame Hera for taking on the domain of Marriage despite knowing the consequences, because he knew the motivations behind her act.
Her awe and longing for the relationship she beheld between their uncle, Oceanus, and his wife, Thetys. The unending love between the two titans of old, and her wish to have something similar.
She hoped that, by taking on the very domain of marriage, she would have the same kind of lasting, loving relationship as the Titan couple. And, if she had married anyone other than Zeus, maybe her wish truly would have come true.
Unfortunately, reality is often disappointing.
Brolios felt the familiar, slimy tendrils of the three old crones reach across the metaphysical. Reaching for his sister and his newborn nephew.
With familiar ease, Brolios pulsed his Hakai, burning those tendrils to nothingness, much to the disappointment of the three fates, who expected this result yet still tried their tricks nonetheless.
'If Zeus and his idiocy are one of the reasons, then those three are the other part of the equation that hurt you the most, Hera.'
Brolios thought to himself as his gaze stared through the duplicity of the Mist and locked onto the three who gave him a cheeky look. One that sent shivers of disgust and absolute rage down his spine.
With a sigh, Brolios sat down in front of Hera once again.
"Hera. What is done is done. There is no use regretting such things. There is simply no way to get rid of a domain once you have taken it on. It is simply the way things are."
"...Not necessarily."
The goddess, who was once famed for her intelligence, cunning, and strategy that contributed a lot to the gods' victory during the Titanomachy, alongside her martial prowess with her Lotus Staff, looked at her brother with a gleam in her eyes.
Unfortunately, Brolios knew her and her recklessness all too well and directly shut down her idea.
"No. I will not use Destruction to sever your connection to your domain. It will cause an unhealing wound on your own divinity and permanently damage the very concept of Marriage as a whole. You know this better than anyone."
It was one of the main reasons why he refrained from completely erasing the Fates from all existence. Because he did not know if his actions would forever break the Greek realms and put his family in the very danger he is trying to save them from.
Once again, her gaze dimmed as she sat listlessly on her throne.
"Then, what am I supposed to do?"
For once, the famed God of Destruction, Nature, and the Lost, who was known for his wisdom that rivalled even Athena, the Olympian goddess of wisdom, fell silent at his sister's words, for he too had no solution to her predicament.
So, he did the only thing he could.
He turned their attention back to the babe who had already fallen asleep under the gentleness of the god's Ki and magic, which said god was continuously pumping into the baby, hoping to try and reverse the conceptual damage done to the boy.
"Have you decided on a name for him yet?"
Hera ignored the blatant attempt at changing the subject, one that she knew all too well since this was how Brolios always avoided topics that he was helpless against.
Trutfully, she never expected her most loving brother to have any answer to her predicament either. Mainly because there was no precedent of a god, titan, or primordial wanting to get rid of their domain as she did.
That is why she let Brolios change the subject like this.
She turned her gaze to the babe, a gaze filled with pity, revulsion, and a strange motherly love buried deep within that was overwhelmed with her own inner turmoil.
"I was planning to name him Hephaestus."
"The 'Fire-Spirit' is it? I see. A fitting name. Well then."
Brolios got up from his throne with a mysterious smile on his face. One that made Hera vigilant instantly, as she knew that this smile on her brother's face meant trouble for everyone involved.
And sure enough, his following words made her panic instantly.
"Let's go to mother and show her the newest addition to the family. Also, let's get that idiot Zeus and show him that you can have children on your own, even without that fool around to give you one."
"Brolios! No! Stop-"
Brolios did not give his sister the time to speak as she placed his palm on her shoulder and activated his Instant Transmission technique, knowing that Hera would try to fight his divine teleportation technique if he used it.
That night, the mother of the gods happily made a feast in honor of her youngest grandson's birth. Hera spent time with her mother and finally let go of all her troubles for now under the gentle love of her mother.
And Brolios visited a certain trio for their regular beating at his hands, knowing that it would mean nothing to the Moirai, who would still try to meddle in the affairs of Olympus even after this beating, yet knowing no other way than this to try and deter them.
At least, the fates thought it would be a regular beating anyway.
For the god in question, however? This was no mere beating.
This was the straw that broke the camel's back.
This was a line that they crossed for the last time.
He had refrained from ending them completely, if only for the sake of his family. But no more.
They have finally run his patience thin.
And now, they will pay the price for it.
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Hephaestus: (Click here for image)
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Author Notes: Fun fact. It seems many scholars believe the word 'Hephaestus' to either mean 'Volcano' or 'Fire-spirit' in the native language of ancient Lemnos, the island where Hephaestus was worshiped the most. So that is the meaning I am going with in this.
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