Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

But as he left the room, he bumped into Gina and Lysandra, who were hurrying to his room after hearing him yell. But they froze when they saw him.

"...you changed again?" Lysandra asked, carefully looking at him.

"Those horns! Take them off!" Gina lunged at YuWon, pulling the small horns.

"Ow! Back off, will you?" YuWon pulled her hands off, rubbing his head. "I need to clean the room."

"How clean do you want it to be?" Lysandra asked, peeking into the room.

"What do you—?"

YuWon turned and saw the room was... spotless. Even the broken mirror was fixed, making him wonder what happened while he was out. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed something.

It was Lilith, with a miniature bucket and a mop wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"I cleaned it all up!" Lilith triumphantly declared.

Having a fallen angel clean up after you... it's not that bad.

***

Meanwhile, somewhere in the world tree...

The cave shook violently as something slammed against its walls. Massive claw marks were all over the bloodstained walls.

In the middle of it was a towering figure with the upper body of a beautiful woman with pale skin and wavy black hair. But from the waist down, she was a massive coiling serpent with a tail that was easily the size of a banyan tree, capable of crushing anything or anyone under its weight.

Countless monster corpses were around her, but even killing them all didn't satiate her anger.

She grabbed a nearby attendant, one of the many lesser creatures that served her, and threw it to the wall. Its body shattered on impact, only leaving a bloodstain behind.

A goblin was hiding away, not wanting to meet the end like that of his colleagues. But it couldn't hide forever. Suddenly, the woman's tail wrapped around the goblin's feet and dragged him out.

"She died..." the woman hissed, wrapping her hand around the goblin's neck. "Those mortals killed her!"

The goblin struggled to free itself, but with a quick squeeze, she crushed him as if he were made of clay and tossed the lifeless body aside.

"SHE WAS MY DAUGHTER!"

One of her attendants, a harpy, tried to speak. "M-Mistress, please—"

Even before she could complete what was on her mind, Echidna's tail crushed the harpy, killing it.

"My beautiful Hydra..." Echidna couldn't hold back her tears anymore and collapsed.

It didn't matter how much she tried, or how many creatures she killed, nothing could replace the grief she felt. Just then, a figure appeared in the cave, lighting the otherwise dim place.

Helios stepped out of his golden carriage, carefully entering the primordial being's home. His flaming hair and golden armor filled the place with light as he looked around at the carnage.

Echidna wasn't happy with the intrusion and didn't even let Helios speak a word. She sent her tail towards Helios with all her strength, but Helios didn't flinch. With a flick, he pushed the tail away, sending it crashing into the wall next to him.

"That was a warm welcome," Helios mumbled.

"Leave!" Echidna hissed, baring her fangs. "I am in no mood to entertain you, Helios!"

"I'm not here for entertainment either, Mother of Monsters," Helios scoffed. "I have plenty of willing partners to be with."

However, realizing he had stepped out of line, Helios bowed slightly before Echidna.

"I come not to fight you, Echidna. But to bring my deepest condolences. Hydra was... a magnificent creature. A beast capable of ruling the world. It's a shame—"

"Save your flattery for someone else," she snarled.

Echidna knew very well how much the gods respected her daughter. They had mated with her so often that she was still laying eggs, even after thousands of years of celibacy.

If she hadn't been weakened from laying all those eggs, those mortals would could never defeat her. In a way, the gods were also responsible for Hydra's death.

"Very well," he said, smirking now that he didn't have to pretend. "I ask you this, Echidna... do you want revenge? On the mortals, of course."

Suddenly, everything fell quiet. Her hatred for gods was immense, but so was her desire for revenge. She wanted nothing more than to tear apart whoever was responsible for Hydra's death and make them suffer as she was suffering now.

But she knew everything with gods was always transactional. Helios wouldn't offer her the chance of revenge without wanting something in return. But Echidna wanted those mortals and for that, she would do anything.

"What are you proposing?" she asked.

"I know who killed your daughter and I know where they are," Helios sighed. "Unfortunately, the gods have an agreement to not intervene in the entertainment. But... not everyone is bound by the rules."

Echidna raised her eyebrows, wondering what the little god had in his mind. The gods weren't allowed to physically intervene in the trials until the mortals reached the canopy of the world tree.

But the primordial beings weren't any better off. She couldn't interfere until the mortals reached the deep root or the primordial realm. Unfortunately, no mortal would ever enter the place.

After all, the primordial realm existed deep below the roots where the mortals lived. All trials were supposed to help them climb the tree, not dig deeper within. Hence, Echidna was confused by Helios's statement.

"A new being," Helios explained. "What if we created a new being, one with the power of a god and a primordial being—?"

"Enough!"

Echidna's eyes burned with hatred as she imagined what Helios was suggesting. She hated gods and even if she didn't, she would never betray her husband.

"Leave, Helios..." she snarled. "Or I'll tear your heart out myself."

"I wouldn't dream of deceiving you, Echidna," Helios chuckled, stepping closer to her. "But I need you to have an open mind. Our child—"

"No!"

"What good is a husband who isn't even here, grieving for his daughter?" Helios shrugged. "But I won't force you. I'm not like my successor."

With that, Helios turned and walked away. But he had only taken a few steps when Echidna called him back.

"Why do you care about... this, Helios?" she asked. "What do you gain from this?"

Helios smiled inwardly. What did he have to gain from this? Everything. Not only he would take credit for killing the mortal no one else could, but he would also outshine that bastard Apollo.

Ever since the fall of the Titans, the Olympians have caused problems for the remaining Titans. Their duties and powers were taken away and bestowed upon young Olympians.

Although Helios still held control over his relics, it was only a matter of time before Olympians would hand everything to Apollo. That's why he wanted to use the opportunity to cement his position as the superior god.

But for that, he required outside support. And Echidna could provide it to him. However, she couldn't let her know that. MVLeMpYr-unofficial-chapter

"I have my reasons," Helios replied. "What matters now is what you want. You can have your revenge, Echidna. All I ask is that you let me help you."

Echidna paced back and forth in the cave. Though her initial instinct had been to reject it outright, she couldn't deny how tempting it sounded. A new child with the blood of a Titan could surely avenge her dear daughter's death.

But then her mind went back to Typhon. He had been absent for centuries and even now that their daughter was dead; he was nowhere to be seen. His absence left a void, one that had grown over centuries of neglect.

It had been so long since Typhon had paid any attention to her. That angered her almost as much as Hydra's death. That rage decided for her.

"Very well," she said, turning to Helios. "But no one can ever know about this. Especially not Typhon."

"No one shall ever know," he agreed.

Echidna agreed, slowly revealing her alluring form to someone other than Typhon for the first time. Following her lead, Helios snapped his finger and his golden armor shimmered before vanishing.

But as he stepped toward Echidna, she slithered toward him. Before he knew it, she had wrapped her tail around him, pulling him closer with a strength that made even the god's eyes widen.

She brought her face close to his and ran her forked tongue across his face, as her hand explored the treasure between his legs.

"You'll do fine," she whispered in his ear. "But if we're to do this, it'll be on my terms and my way."

Helios got disarmed by her seductive gaze and nodded. It wasn't how he had expected it to be. But, he reminded himself, the means didn't matter. As long as their union resulted in the birth of the powerful child he needed for his plan, everything would be fine.

"Your way..." he whispered as she dragged him to the bed.