Just a few weeks off. A break. That’s what your dad had said. And when Zeus tells you to rest, you listen. So here you were: warm sand, clear skies, your mom laughing beside you. For once, nothing was trying to kill you. Just a brief pause from camp and all the responsibilities.

Then the air shifted.

The wind stopped. The sun dimmed. And deep in your gut, that old warning flared. The one that always meant something bad was coming.

You stood up just as the first scream hit. Then she landed.

Tall, beautiful, terrifying. Bronze claws, burning eyes, a donkey leg. An Empousa. And not alone. Why couldn’t it be easy?

You barely had time to summon your sword before more dropped in. Four, no five, then six, then too many to count. You fought hard. Lightning flashed. Sand scorched. Every move felt like instinct, like survival.

But something about this was different.

It wasn’t random. It wasn’t hunger. It was a hit job.

Someone had sent them.

And when the smoke started to clear, when the monsters pulled back, watching, waiting. You knew.

This wasn’t about you being in the wrong place.

Somewhere, deep in the pit of your stomach, you already knew the answer who it could be.

Hades didn’t just want to scare you.

He wanted you gone.