Hongbin and Sanghyuk snuck up behind a pillar, peeking out from behind to make sure that the coast was clear.

Hongbin turned his head a bit to see his partner staring at the massive marble pillars with his mouth hanging slightly open. 

The elder couldn't help but crack a smile. "Your first time up here?" he guessed.

Sanghyuk nodded. "I know Olympus was supposed to be, like...grand and all, but I didn't expect this."

"I understand," Hongbin grinned. "I felt the same way when I first came here."

"Wasn't that, like, millenia ago?" Sanghyuk asked.

Hongbin nodded. "It was," he agreed with a dreamy sigh.

The clanking of armor got close and the two hid behind the pillar again as a god dressed in full armor passed by them.

"Is that Helios?" Sanghyuk wondered.

Hongbin nodded. "That's Helios alright," he agreed. "I'd know that heat radiating off him anywhere."

"He seems to be in a hurry," Sanghyuk noticed.

Hongbin hummed. "I agree with you there," he replied. "He could have found us easily but didn't."

"Why do you think?"

"It seems this war has got them all on their toes," Hongbin surmised. "Well, it works for us."

Once they were sure that no other entity was hanging around, they came out from behind the gigantic pillar. 

"Alright," Sanghyuk huffed lightly. "What now?"

Hongbin reached into his jacket and pulled out a small glass sphere. 

It was small, fitting snugly into the palm of his hand. Inside the transparent object swirled luminescent blue streaks of a spell, making the sphere look like some sort of magical snowglobe. 

"We install this behind Zeus's throne," Hongbin said. "It should be the last link to break the spell."

"And remind me why we have to do this?" Sanghyuk asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Because this is the final piece of the puzzle," Hongbin explained. "Hades can break the spell and stop further transfer of Taekwoon's power to Zeus, however, its not all that needs to be done. This spell," he held up the globe, "will transfer Taekwoon's power back to him."

"And why did Hades need to contain the spell in a globe?" 

Hongbin shrugged. "I think it was his idea of a practical joke."

Sanghyuk opened his mouth to question before he just shook his head. He would never come to understand the way the Lord of the Underworld's mind worked, and he had no idea why he should even try.

Another thumping sound seemed to be getting closer, and the two once again hid behind the pillar. 

Athena strode past them in a fury, lost in her own thoughts. She was closely followed by a barn owl that flew unwaveringly behind her, when it paused for a moment near the pillar.

They held their breaths as the owl looked to the left and right as if it suspected something. Then it seemed to realize that Athena was getting further away and flew off, leaving the two demigods to heave a sigh of relief.

"Thank Hades for these," Sanghyuk breathed out, his hand going to the sapphire stone hanging around his neck.

Hongbin nodded. "I'll agree, using these objects to conceal our true energies was a genius move by him. It wouldn't do for us to get caught now."

They came out from behind the cover and looked around. "Which way did Athena go?" Sanghyuk wondered.

Hongbin pointed in the direction the Goddess took. "That's the way to the main throne room," he said. "She must have been summoned by Zeus."

"So we have to go there?" The youngest asked.

Hongbin shook his head. "Not really," he said. "All the Twelve Olympians have chambers, essentially temples, up here. They gather to discuss in the main throne room, but their actual powers lie in their personal chambers." He scratched his chin. "Each of them have their own thrones in their chambers where they hold individual council. Hades was referring to Zeus's personal throne."

"Okay," Sanghyuk said, straightening up and rubbing his hands, "where do we find Zeus's personal throne?"

"Up there."

Sanghyuk followed Hongbin's arm, his eyes widening.

Hongbin was pointing to a grand staircase littered with old fashioned Greek temples along its borders. At the end of it, stood one magnificent Greek temple, tall with its white marble pillars and Zeus's symbol boldly engraved into the top.

Sanghyuk gulped. "D-do you realize how many temples are there between the bottom of that staircase and the top?" he asked. "Not to mention that there is literally no cover, so if we get spotted, we're done for?"

Hongbin took a deep sigh. "I guess that's why he sent us to do the job."

Jaehwan stood over the table with Athena at his side, poring over the map that showed the positions of all the players involved on both sides. 

"If we try to attack Kratos here, he will destroy us," Athena warned, pointing to an area on the map. "However, if we bide out time and lure him here," she moved her finger to another area, "we may have an advantage. We will stand a much better chance of challenging him."

Jaehwan nodded and opened his mouth to give instructions when a small thought poked at his mind. 

He closed his mouth and held his chin. That sliver of a thought had been bothering him since this whole thing began, yet he'd never paid much attention to it. But what if it actually had some merit? Something that he had overlooked?

"Athena," he said, "does something seem out of the ordinary to you?" 

"Kratos's behavior is certainly out of the ordinary," she agreed. "Not to mention Zelos, Nike, Ares, Hephaestus-" she counted off on her finger.

"Why would you say so?" Jaehwan questioned. "You've seen Kratos in action before, haven't you?"

Athena nodded. "Definitely, but there's something about the way he's fighting, something I've never seen before." She pursed her lips. "It is as if he doesn't want to win, rather prolong the war..."

"A diversion," Jaehwan murmured.

He stepped away from the table. "Excuse me, I feel like I am needed elsewhere."

He turned around and left to the protests of the other gods.

"This should help you till Hongbin and Sanghyuk are successful," Hakyeon said as he held a cup of a clear yellowish tea up to Taekwoon's lips.

Taekwoon grabbed his hand. "What if...they aren't?" he asked.

Hakyeon shook his head. "That's impossible," he said. "I trust them with my life. They will be successful."

"The...last...time...didn't go too...well," Taekwoon weakly said.

Hakyeon shushed him. "Last time was different," he said. "They were under Zeus's oath. They're not anymore. They won't betray us."

Taekwoon said nothing, simply leaning back on his chair and closing his eyes. 

Hakyeon sighed. "Taekwoon, please," he pleaded desperately. "Drink it and last. You will get your powers back, but you need to last out till then."

Taekwoon opened his eyes, seeing the look on Hakyeon's face. His cousin held a mixture of different emotions in his expression, guilt, desperation, sadness...

He nodded, and Hakyeon again held the cup to his lips.

At that moment, time froze.

The doors burst open and Jaehwan strolled in, followed by flashes of lightning.

The God of the Heavens walked over to the motionless figures of Hakyeon and Taekwoon, the former holding a cup for the latter to drink. He considered the desperate expressions on both their faces.

He chuckled darkly. "My word, big brother," he said. "You've certainly executed this well, right down to the last detail."

Wonshik then walked through the door and stood in front of Jaehwan, not saying a word.

"I must say," Jaehwan admitted, "of all the people, I never thought you would be the one to betray me. But I guess that is my fault, as I overestimated my hold over you."

Wonshik folded his arms across his chest, not taking his defiant stare off Jaehwan. Noticing that, Jaehwan tightened his jaw.

"But I digress," he said, casting his eyes down and running a finger on the table. "Getting the demigods to help you remove the crown was a fantastic plan. And to have Kratos go to war to distract me? I never even thought of it. But," he raised his eyes to Wonshik, "what made you think that you could do anything without me eventually finding out about it?"

He stepped away from the table, walking up to Wonshik, his voice getting higher and higher with rage. "Have you underestimated me, brother? Have you forgotten who I am?"

Wonshik shook his head. "No, I am very well aware of who you are."

"Then why in ing hell would you think defying me was a good idea?" Jaehwan roared. "Do I need to remind you of your imprisonment these last couple of years? I can very well imprison you for eternity for this act of treason!"

Wonshik's lips then curved into a smile. "But you won't be able to."

Jaehwan took a step back. "And why not? I am the Lord of Olympus. Once the boy dies," he pointed to Taekwoon, "I'll have my full power back."

"About that," Wonshik rubbed his hands together. "No one's dying today." 

Jaehwan narrowed his eyes, surprised by his brother's confidence. Why wasn't he trembling and begging for forgiveness? "What are you on about?"

"You may have stopped time here," Wonshik pointed out. "But you haven't stopped it there." He raised his pointer finger towards the ceiling.

Jaehwan followed the finger to stare at the ceiling for a moment, wondering what Hades was talking about when it suddenly clicked in his mind. 

He looked back at Wonshik with wide eyes. "What did you do?"

Wonshik shrugged. "I did nothing," he said, holing his hands up in defense. "Only that right at this moment, those two demigods are probably finishing the last of the spell."

It was right then that up in Olympus, Hongbin finally rolled the glass sphere onto the seat of Zeus's throne, and a blinding white flash consumed all.