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The One I Choose Is the True King🔥 🔥 🔥
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00:00My name is Elena, daughter of Nike, the goddess of victory.
00:05On the day I was born, the three fates stood beside my cradle and gave their prophecy.
00:12Whoever marries Elena will be worthy of the throne of the gods.
00:18Every god in Olympus wanted me.
00:21And I, foolishly, loved only Cassius, the illegitimate son of Zeus.
00:31Kira hated him. She drove him out of Olympus and exiled him to an island beyond the sea mist.
00:37For seven years, I stayed with him through divine punishment, monsters, freezing nights and the contempt of the gods.
00:45I had seen every scar on his body.
00:51I had seen him at his weakest, his ugliest, his most abandoned.
01:00Elena, when I return to Olympus, I will never let you suffer for me again.
01:05I believed him.
01:07So when Cassius announced that his coronation would be held in two months and that he would name his queen
01:11on the same day,
01:13every god came to congratulate me.
01:16Hermes sent a golden feathered messenger that could cross the cloud seas.
01:22Apollo sent a sun harp, saying the future queen's chamber should never be without music.
01:31Poseidon's palace sent pearls from the deep sea, each one glowing blue.
01:36The temple of the moon sent a silver white bow.
01:41Dionysus's temple sent twelve jars of divine wine.
01:46Aphrodite had her handmaidens deliver a box of rose balm that would never wither.
01:51Even Hera sent a length of white veil, saying the future queen should at least enter the hall with dignity.
01:59Lady Elena, Olympus is already waiting to call you queen.
02:04I thought I was about to become the happiest goddess in Olympus.
02:09But now, outside a side corridor of Dionysus's temple, that belief shattered.
02:15From behind the white stone pillar, I heard Cassius's voice lazy with wine.
02:21I will not marry Elena.
02:26For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
02:30Then the Olympian men laughed, and every word after that became sharper than the last.
02:35Cassius, this queen trial of yours is brutal.
02:40Nineteen candidates, one golden apple each.
02:44Every apple has ten golden veins.
02:47One vein is worth ten points.
02:51If she pleases you, a vein lights up.
02:53If she irritates you, it goes dark.
02:55Ten veins means a perfect score.
02:57Fall below three, and she is out.
02:59If Elena finds out you put her on that list, and that she has only three veins left,
03:03do you think she will lose her mind?
03:06Laughter rolled through the temple.
03:09Cassius lounged on the couch, his voice heavy with wine.
03:12I gave her a chance.
03:16I gave her a chance.
03:16Whoever performs best becomes queen.
03:20That is fair.
03:21But Daphne's apple is already glowing with all ten veins.
03:26And Elena's has only three.
03:29You clearly want Elena to lose.
03:33Cassius gave a low laugh.
03:36She is too stubborn.
03:38She suffered with me on that island for a few years,
03:40and now thinks I have to choose her for less for the rest of my life.
03:43The queen of the gods needs to be agreeable.
03:48Daphne is young, obedient.
03:51She knows how to make me happy.
03:54Another man asked the question that should have mattered most.
03:58What about Elena?
04:00She is the one in the fate's prophecy.
04:02She cannot leave me.
04:04Even if another woman becomes queen,
04:08allow her to stand beside the throne and serve me.
04:11That should be honor enough.
04:13I stood behind the pillar as the cold crept into my fingertips.
04:17For seven years I had bled beside him.
04:20Now he was offering me permission to serve beside the throne that my own choice would help him win.
04:26I did not storm in.
04:28I did not demand an answer.
04:30I did not cry.
04:31I turned and walked to the end of the corridor.
04:35Behind me, the men were still laughing,
04:38already discussing which candidate would please Cassius next.
04:41I summoned a messenger bird and carved a letter into its feathers with my power.
04:48Hades, I once rejected your proposal.
04:53Now I take that answer back.
04:56If you still want me, I will place victory in the throne in your hands.
05:02The messenger bird spread its golden wings and flew toward the dark edge of Olympus.
05:06As it vanished into the clouds, I touched the place where my heart should have hurt.
05:12Strangely, it was quiet.
05:16When I returned to the temple I shared with Cassius, Daphne was standing at the steps with a golden cloak
05:21in her arms.
05:22But the way she looked at me was not innocent at all.
05:29Lady Elena, I am Daphne.
05:38Aphrodite's temple sent me to serve Lord Cassius.
05:43She held the cloak out to me.
05:47Lord Cassius left this in my chamber last night.
05:52He was in a hurry this morning, so he asked me to bring it back.
05:59Years ago, on that island, Hera's eagle had torn open Cassius' back.
06:05I ripped my skirt apart and wrapped his wounds with the fabric.
06:11When he returned to Olympus, he had that piece of cloth woven into the cloak by a divine craftsman.
06:17Cassius had once said it was proof of everything we had survived together.
06:22Now that same cloak had been carried back from another woman's bedroom.
06:30Daphne acted as if she did not see my silence.
06:33She kept smiling.
06:36He slept so well last night.
06:40He said he had not felt that relaxed in a very long time.
06:45In that moment, exhaustion rose inside me.
06:49My heart did not tear open.
06:52I felt no dramatic pain.
06:54Only disgust.
06:59Thank you for making the trip.
07:04Errand for you.
07:10What is that supposed to mean?
07:12Are you treating me like a maid?
07:15You brought the cloak yourself.
07:19I paid you for the errand.
07:21What is wrong with that?
07:27Do not get too smug, Elena.
07:31In the queen trial, my golden apple already has all ten veins lit.
07:38And yours?
07:39Do you know how many you have left?
07:43Three.
07:44His highness said,
07:46You are too stubborn.
07:48Too boring.
07:51She thought she had one.
07:53She had no idea I had already withdrawn.
07:56Daphnia.
07:57If you want the queen's seat,
08:00take it.
08:01The man too.
08:04But the next time you come here to run your mouth,
08:06you will get more than a copper oin.
08:27Take it back.
08:28I do not keep filthy thing.
08:31The copper coin rolled from Daphne's hand and struck the stone step with a tiny sound.
08:39Of course, Daphne ran to complain.
08:44When I returned to the temple to pack my belongings, I realized I had almost nothing to pack.
08:55I had spent seven years in exile with him, and after we returned to Olympus, I had lived in this
09:00temple for only three.
09:06Yet every curtain, every divine lamp, every step repaired after a storm had my touch on it.
09:14I once thought this place would become my home.
09:18Now it only looked like a queen's chamber I had prepared in advance for Daphne.
09:31Why did you hit Daphne?
09:34I placed an old battle robe into my bag without turning around.
09:39He walked closer, holding back his anger.
09:44She is a nymph who just arrived in Olympus.
09:47Why are you lowering yourself to fight with her?
09:50She is young.
09:51She does not know better.
09:53Must you act like a child too?
09:59She came to my temple to deliver the cloak you left in her bedroom.
10:04Cassius, what exactly did you expect me to do?
10:08He frowned as if I were being impossible.
10:14It was only a cloak.
10:18Stop making everything sound so ugly.
10:24You are the ugly part.
10:28Elena, you have become so sharp lately.
10:33I thought you would be more generous than those women.
10:36The last warmth in my chest went cold.
10:48From the island to Olympus, I had never treated him like that.
10:52Now I looked straight at him and said each word clearly.
11:00Cassius, I am letting you have what you want.
11:03Go choose your queen.
11:05I withdraw.
11:09What are you throwing a tantrums about now?
11:13Because of one nymph?
11:16Because I did not rush to coax you?
11:18I no longer cared to explain.
11:22He always believed that whenever I was angry, I was waiting for him to comfort me.
11:30He never imagined I could truly leave.
11:35You are leaving.
11:39Where will you go?
11:40Back to the Temple of Victory to cry?
11:43Or are you going to find Hades?
11:45I did not answer.
11:48Elena, I am warning you.
11:50Do not use Hades to make me jealous.
11:57You have no right to warn me anymore.
12:06I stood there, my fingers trembling.
12:09The tears came because I had to admit that the boy who had held me on that island and sworn
12:13he would never betray me was long gone.
12:16A black feather slipped under the window, cold with underworld frost. The messenger bird had returned.
12:24Hades' reply was carved into the feather in dark fire.
12:28Hades' reply.
12:29I still want you.
12:31Come when you are ready.
12:32I will not ask twice and I will not force you once.
12:40For the first time in days, I could breathe.
12:47The next day, I received a message from the Temple of Victory.
12:54Cassius had sent someone to open my private vault and take the crown my mother, Nike, had left for me.
13:04That crown had nothing to do with the Queen's crown.
13:07It belonged to the bloodline of the Goddess of Victory.
13:10My mother had placed it beside my cradle on the day I was born.
13:15No one was allowed to wear it without my consent.
13:19But Cassius had taken it.
13:23Divine Messenger.
13:24Lord Cassius said Lady Daphne was humiliated yesterday and needed to regain her dignity.
13:32Divine Messenger.
13:33He wishes her to wear Nike's crown at the candidate's presentation.
13:37So the gods will see he has not neglected his favorite woman.
13:40When I read those lines on the Divine Scroll, I laughed.
13:43Years ago, when Hera exiled him, Cassius had been covered in wounds and too weak to hold a spear.
13:51I pressed Nike's crown to his forehead and begged my mother to grant him one victory.
14:00Elena.
14:02I will never make you bow your head for me again.
14:05Now he was using my mother's crown to comfort another woman.
14:09I did not go to him to argue.
14:14I went straight to Themis's Hall of Justice.
14:20Nika's crown was taken from my private vault without permission.
14:24I asked the Law of Olympus to retrieve it.
14:27The mark of the Goddess of Victory lit up on the scroll.
14:31Goddess of Justice and Divine Law, lowered her scales in acknowledgement.
14:35Themis immediately sent her attendants to retrieve the crown.
14:45The other 18 candidates lined the white stone steps.
14:50The siren princess from Poseidon's palace wore a blue silver gown, tiny droplets of water floating behind her.
14:56The silver-bowed maiden sent by the Temple of the Moon stood silently in the shadows, her bow in her
15:01arms.
15:03The priestess from Dionysus's temple smiled lazily, her fingertips stained with wine.
15:08Daughters of minor divine houses arrived with gems, war horses and contracts for small territories.
15:16A golden apple sat before each of them.
15:20Mine had been placed in a corner like an old object its owner had forgotten.
15:30Three dim veins marked mine, like wounds that had never healed.
15:39Here to cause trouble again?
15:48Lord Cassius gave that to me!
15:53He had no right to give it.
16:04Nike's crown belongs to Lady Elena.
16:07No god may take or use it without her permission.
16:11The hall fell silent.
16:22The crown will return to its rightful owner now.
16:27Any further violation will judged will be shudged.
16:31As an offense against the victory bloodline.
16:36A few candidates lowered their eyes, others exchanged looks, suddenly realizing that the woman pushed into the corner was not
16:43someone Cassius could casually discard.
16:55The wait was familiar.
17:00It reminded me of my mother, of the day I first chose to save Cassius and of the day I
17:05should have chosen myself.
17:17Lady Elena, must you embarrass me like this?
17:22You wore what was stolen from me.
17:25If you feel embarrassed, return what you took next time.
17:31Cassius's jaw tightened.
17:33He hated being challenged in front of other gods.
17:37Elena, come with me.
17:41His voice sounded calm, but his hand was already gripping my wrist hard enough to hurt.
17:50I did not struggle.
17:51I let him drag me toward the side chamber because I wanted to hear, one final time, how he would
17:57defend himself.
18:00Behind us, Daphne stood beneath the bright golden apple, crownless and shaking.
18:08After Themis left, Cassius dragged me into a side chamber and lowered his voice.
18:15Did you have to embarrass me in front of the gods?
18:21You stole Munder Rissoma Lee, my crowned Wyve, and gave it away.
18:27You think you are the one who was embarrassed?
18:30Cassius took a deep breath, as if he were offering me the last of his patience.
18:36Elena, I have made my decision.
18:42Daphne will be queen.
18:44But you stayed with me.
18:47But you stayed with me for many years.
18:49I will not truly mistreat you.
18:54When I take the throne, you may remain beside it.
19:03You can be my goddess of victory and serve at my side.
19:08As long as you behave and stop making scenes, I will give you enough honor.
19:13The man in front of me felt terrifyingly unfamiliar.
19:16He had folded my seven years, my love, and my prophecy into one phrase.
19:22Serve at his side.
19:25Cassius, do you really think that is a gift?
19:29Do not be ungrateful, Elena.
19:31Many women would beg for the chance to stand beside the king of the gods.
19:39Then wait for your coronation.
19:43Let us hope the crown of the god-king is willing to accept you.
19:47On the day of the coronation, the bells of all twelve temples in Olympus rang at once.
19:52White gold petals covered the steps before the hall of the god-king.
19:57Envoys from every temple stood on both sides of the long staircase.
20:02Poseidon's palace sent a tide chariot.
20:05The sun temple sent sacred lamps burning with golden fire.
20:09The moon temple sent a silver white bow.
20:13Dionysus's temple delivered rows of divine wine.
20:17Everyone was waiting for Cassius to place the crown of the god-king on his head.
20:21Everyone was waiting for Daphne to become the new queen.
20:25Cassius stood in the center of the hall in a golden robe.
20:30Daphne followed behind him, her skirt sweeping across the floor, rose branches from Aphrodite's temple woven into her hair.
20:37When she noticed Elena was not there, she could barely hide her smile.
20:42My lord, Elena truly is not coming, is she?
20:46Cassius glanced at the high divine steps. His tone was casual.
20:52She will come.
20:55She would never miss my coronation.
21:00Even if she comes, she cannot change anything.
21:03Cassius sounded certain, yet his fingers kept rubbing the cuff of his sleeve.
21:09That was what he did whenever he was nervous.
21:12On the island, when Hera sent monsters to surround their cave, he had rubbed his sleeve like that too.
21:18Trembling while telling Elena he was not afraid.
21:21Daphne did not understand it.
21:23She only thought he was still thinking of Elena, and the smile on her face faded.
21:27My lord, after I become queen, will you drive her out of Olympus?
21:35She won't be driven out.
21:37The prophecy still needs her.
21:43Daphne wanted Elena's place.
21:45But she had forgotten that Elena's place had never been held by Cassius' affection alone.
21:49Just as Themis prepared to read the coronation oath, the heavy sound of wheels rolled in from outside the hall
21:55of the god-king.
21:56Black underworld fire rose from the foot of the white stone steps.
21:59A carriage from the underworld stopped before the hall.
22:02Hades had arrived.
22:05The gods fell silent at once.
22:07The king of the underworld rarely stepped into Olympus.
22:11He certainly did not attend the coronation of a young illegitimate son.
22:16Cassius' face shifted.
22:18Then he forced a smile.
22:21Uncle, you came at the perfect time.
22:23Today is my coronation.
22:26Since you are already in Olympus, why not come inside and witness it?
22:32He was afraid.
22:34Afraid Hades had come for Elena.
22:36Afraid the gods would see his panic.
22:39Hades stood at the entrance in a black and gold robe, the hem falling to his feet.
22:44His gaze passed over Cassius and settled on the empty queen's seat.
22:49Very well.
22:50I will watch.
22:52Daphne wrapped her hand around his arm and whispered.
22:56My lord, the ceremony should begin.
23:03The crown had been forged from ancient heavenly fire, old kingship, and the thunder of Olympus.
23:08When a true king inherited the throne, the crown would descend by itself.
23:12If fate accepted him, it would be as light as a laurel leaf.
23:16If fate rejected him, no god, however powerful, could force it down.
23:21Themis slowly lowered the crown.
23:23But just before it touched Cassius' head, thunder exploded.
23:27The crown hung in Midr and refused to descend.
23:29The hall erupted in whispers.
23:37Something must have gone wrong with the ritual.
23:40The crown has never refused a king in public.
23:43Someone looked toward the three fates and immediately lowered his head.
23:47The three fates did not move.
23:49Their white robes hung still as stone.
23:53For the first time, tension crossed Themis' face.
23:57She tried again.
24:02The crown still hovered in the air.
24:05Cassius lifted his head, panic rising in his eyes.
24:09Daphne clutched his sleeve, her voice shaking.
24:12My lord, how can this be happening?
24:16Continue.
24:17Your highness, the crown is resisting.
24:21I said, continue.
24:30Your highness, if I force it again, the fire may devour the altar.
24:36On the third attempt, Themis nearly forced the crown downward.
24:39The heavenly fire on the crown flared against Themis' hands.
24:43Even Themis was forced one step back by the crown's judgment.
24:49The crown flew back to the altar with a heavy crash.
24:52Cassius' face went bloodless.
24:56At that moment, the doors of the hall of the god king opened again.
25:01I walked in, dressed in the white gold robe of the goddess of victory, Nike's crown resting on my head.
25:08Step by step, I climbed the white stone stairs.
25:14With every step, golden laurel leaves lit beneath my feet.
25:24Cassius looked as if he had found his last lifeline.
25:32Elena, you came.
25:34Tell them the prophecy chose me!
25:36I ignored him.
25:37I walked to the altar and reached for the crown of the god king, the crown that had refused to
25:42accept him.
25:46The heavenly fire that had scorched the altar went still in my palm.
25:50The hall fell so quiet.
25:52Cassius stared at my hand.
25:54Elena, what are you doing?
25:56I turned and walked toward Hades.
25:59Cassius understood what I was about to do, and his voice changed.
26:04Elena, don't you dare!
26:14Are you certain?
26:16I sure.
26:18This time, I choose you.
26:26In an instant, the bells of all twelve temples rang again.
26:29Black fire from the underworld and the golden light of victory shot into the sky together.
26:35Elena, has chosen.
26:37As their voices fell, Cassius' golden apple cracked on the divine steps.
26:41Its three dim veins went out completely.
26:44Even the peel lost its shine, becoming a dried out husk.
26:47Daphne's apple, the one with all ten veins lit, began to tremble.
26:51The golden veins peeled away inch by inch.
26:54The longer it had shone, the faster it broke.
26:58It did not fly toward the queen's seat.
27:02It rolled down the steps and stopped at Daphne's feet.
27:11The favor she had won with ten glowing veins did not even make a sound before the true crown.
27:15As the new king of the gods.
27:19Where victory points, there the throne shall stand.
27:26Impossible!
27:28Lord Cassius should be king!
27:33What right does Elena have to change all this?
27:36No one answered her.
27:38Fate had already answered.
27:44Hades stood high above the hall and took my hand.
27:47Before he spoke to the gods, he lowered his head to me first.
27:54Elena, from this day on, you are my queen.
27:59I swear by the river Strix, by the throne, and by my name as the new king of the gods.
28:05Only you will stand beside my throne.
28:07Only you will enter my chamber.
28:10For as long as I live, there will be no other woman.
28:14He paused, then turned to the twelve temples.
28:17From this day forward, the queen's seat will have no trial, no candidates, and no one offered by temples to
28:25please the throne.
28:28Anyone who measures a woman by her obedience, and calls that worthiness insults my queen.
28:35His words cut like a blade, severing the last shred of dignity from that absurd trial.
28:40Among the nineteen candidates, some breathed in relief. Others lowered their heads with shame.
28:48The silver-bowed maiden from the moon temple was the first to remove the trial emblem from her, chest and
28:53throw it into the sacrificial fire.
28:56Then the siren princess, the priestess of Dionysus, and the daughters of the minor houses stepped away one by one.
29:03No one looked at the golden apples again. From that moment on, those apples were nothing but a symbol of
29:09humiliation.
29:12If I ever break this oath, may the Strix erase my name, and may the crown leave my head.
29:18Those words weighed more than any sweet promise. Gods could lie, but no god joked with the sticks and the
29:24crown.
29:26The gods' eyes changed when they looked at me.
29:30Before, they had looked at me as a piece that could decide the throne.
29:34Now none of them dared look at me like a prize. I had chosen the new king with my own
29:39hands.
29:39I had ended Cassius' fantasy with those same hands.
29:43The coronation became Cassius' public disgrace.
29:48Daphne's golden apple, once glowing with all ten veins, sat alone at the foot of the divine steps.
29:54The priestesses and handmaidens who had surrounded her moments earlier all lowered their heads and avoided her eyes.
30:00Cassius stood frozen, as if he still could not wake from that moment.
30:04He looked at me, then at the crown on Hades' head. Red slowly crept into his eyes.
30:10Elena.
30:15You cannot do this to me.
30:17What exactly did I do to you?
30:24You knew how much that prophecy meant to me.
30:27I waited for years.
30:28I fought my way here.
30:30I was so close.
30:32Why did you have to destroy me at the very last moment?
30:36I almost laughed from sheer disbelief.
30:41Cassius.
30:42You destroyed yourself.
30:49You chose the 19 candidates.
30:52You handed out the golden apps yourself.
30:54Daphne's ten glowing veins came from your own hand.
31:02You took Knights' crown to comfort her.
31:04You said I would not be queen, but you were willing to reward me with a place serving beside your
31:08throne.
31:08You treated my seven years at your side like an old debt you could settle with a scrap of honor.
31:12Now the crown rejects you, and you blame me?
31:18My lord, I never thought this would happen.
31:22I did not know.
31:25I...
31:26I only wanted to be your queen so badly.
31:29He had loved this side of her once.
31:32He loved her softness, her worship.
31:35The way she looked at him as if he were all of Olympus.
31:37Now the sight of her only stung.
31:40Shut up.
31:45Cassius flung her hand away and stumbled toward me.
31:49Guards from the underworld stepped forward at once, blocking him.
31:54Elena, I was wrong.
31:56I should never have created the queen trial.
31:58I only wanted you to be jealous.
31:59I wanted you to lower your head.
32:00I wanted you to see that I was no longer the pathetic exile from that island.
32:03I never meant to truly lose you.
32:07But you have lost me.
32:14I can give up the throne!
32:16I only want you back!
32:18You have nothing left to trade for her.
32:25Uncle, you were waiting for this day, weren't you?
32:30I waited for her for eight years.
32:33But I never forced her to choose me.
32:36You had her for seven years, and you pushed her to me yourself.
32:43Let's go.
32:45This time, I did not look back.
32:51Elena!
32:52My lord, please!
32:54For the first time, she tasted what it felt like to be abandoned in front of everyone.
32:58This time, she was the one left watching someone else walk away.
33:03At the entrance of the hall, Hades slowed his steps but did not pull me closer than I allowed.
33:08If you want to stop, we stop.
33:11If you want to leave, we leave.
33:13I looked back only once, not at Cassius, but at the cracked golden apple on the floor.
33:18Leave!
33:19Black fire opened a road through Olympus, and I walked into it without turning around again.
33:25Behind me, Cassius took one step forward, but Hades' guards crossed their spears before him.
33:34The queen has chosen to leave.
33:39After Hades became the new king of the gods, the winds in Olympus changed quickly.
33:46Poseidon's palace was the first to send an oath of loyalty.
33:50The sea bows to the king recognized by victory.
33:56The moon temple recalled the silver-bowed maiden it had sent to Cassius.
34:00The moon does not offer its daughters to a trial that no longer exists.
34:03Dionysus' temple carried all 19 golden apples to the front of the hall of the god-king and melted them
34:09into a pool of gold before everyone.
34:11Let no woman in Olympus be measured by this again.
34:15Aphrodite also sent handmaidens to take Daphne away.
34:19The perfect candidate for future queen had become the most painful joke in the temple.
34:25Everyone remembered that she had helped Cassius lose the throne.
34:30Aphrodite's temple took back the rose mark on Daphne's body and stripped away the divine favor she had once been
34:35so proud of.
34:37Once, a single tear from her could win sympathy from an entire hall.
34:42Now she cried outside the temple gates all night, and no one opened the door.
34:48She went to beg Aphrodite.
34:52The temple sent out one handmaiden, who helped her up from the steps and removed the rose gold chain from
34:57her wrist.
34:59The woman the temple offered was meant to become queen.
35:03You failed to take that seat.
35:07The temple has no reason to keep you.
35:15After that, Cassius searched everywhere for me.
35:20He knelt outside the temple of victory.
35:23He waited at the entrance to the underworld.
35:26He stood at the foot of the hall of the god-king steps for entire nights.
35:31Every time, he said only one thing.
35:34Let me see Elena!
35:36Hades did not humiliate him.
35:38Each time, he simply ordered the underworld guards to keep him outside.
35:43One day, I came out of the hall of the god-king and saw Cassius standing in the rain.
35:49The gifts he had brought lay piled at the foot of the steps.
35:53There was the wooden bow I had once used on the island, the divine lamp he had carved by hand,
35:58and a box of white island flowers long since dried.
36:01Those things had made me soft many times before.
36:06Now they looked like evidence that had arrived too late.
36:09They proved I had truly loved him.
36:13They also proved he had destroyed that love with his own hands.
36:18Cassius was soaked through, his eyes frighteningly red.
36:24Elena.
36:31Do you remember that year on the island?
36:33Hera sent divine eagles to peck out my eyes and you stood in front of me.
36:37You told me that as long as I was alive, I would return to Olympus one day.
36:45You cannot abandon me now.
36:48I stopped.
36:50Those memories were real.
36:53The Cassius from back then had been real too.
36:55But hearts change.
36:58Promises rot.
37:00I am not erasing the past.
37:11But the past cannot save the man you are now.
37:14Teyr slid down his face.
37:19I can drive Daphne away.
37:23I can drive every candidate away.
37:27I will swear to the three fates again.
37:30Cassius.
37:31I am already married.
37:36And I no longer want to be your victory.
37:45Cassius lunged forward the moment I turned away.
37:49Underworld guards crossed their spears before his chest and Blackfyre climbed along the blades.
37:54Step back.
37:56Move!
37:56His voice was hoarse, stripped of the arrogance that once filled the Hall of the God King.
38:01I only need to speak to her again.
38:04Hades walked down the steps slowly, his black and gold cloak untouched by the rain.
38:08She has spoken enough.
38:10You think you won because was angry!
38:13When she calms down, she will remember me!
38:17She remembered you tonight.
38:22That was why she knew exactly where to cut.
38:27Do not touch those!
38:29The Queen ordered them removed.
38:31They are ours!
38:36Nothing that was used to chain her remains yours.
38:41Blackfyre swallowed the old flowers first, then the lamp, then the bow.
38:58No answer came from inside the hall.
39:02Daphne was even more unwilling to accept it than Cassius.
39:04She escaped from Aphrodite's temple and ran to the Hall of the God King, begging to see me.
39:07She no longer looked as bright as she had at first.
39:09Her hair was tangled.
39:11Her skirt was dirty.
39:12The pride in her eyes had shattered.
39:16When she saw me, she rushed forward.
39:19The underworld guards drew their swords at once.
39:22Step back from the Queen!
39:26I raised my hand and folded them back.
39:28Let her speak.
39:30Daphne had nothing left that could hurt me.
39:35Elena, are you satisfied now?
39:41You are already Queen!
39:43How much farther do you want to push me?
39:46What have I done?
39:49If you had obediently stayed by Cassius' side, he never would have lost the throne!
39:54The moment you left, Aphrodite's temple threw me out.
39:58You already had everything!
39:59Why did you have to steal my future too?!
40:03Daphne, Cassius created the 19 candidate trial.
40:06He handed out the golden apples himself.
40:08The crown of the God King refused him.
40:10That has nothing to do with me.
40:11You wanted the Queen's seat.
40:13You wanted the glory beside the throne.
40:15You wanted every God to bow to you.
40:18You traded your body, your tears, and your lies for it.
40:22When it did not work, you came to blame me?
40:25Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
40:27But he promised I would be Queen!
40:30He said I was more obedient than you!
40:33Younger than you!
40:34Better at making him happy!
40:36Why does he get to regret it now?!
40:39For one second, she no longer looked like a rival.
40:41She looked like another offering Cassius had thrown into the same fire.
40:44But pity was not forgiveness.
40:46Then ask him.
40:49Ask him what his promises are worth after the crown has rejected him.
40:56Later, I heard that Daphne had found Cassius.
40:59By then, Cassius was half drunk.
41:03Daphne called him useless.
41:05You could not even keep one woman.
41:09You are the son of a God King.
41:13Yet Hades stole the throne from you in front of everyone.
41:17At first, Cassius stayed silent.
41:21Then she mentioned Elena.
41:25When Elena was humiliated by you, you enjoyed that too.
41:35Now that Elena doesn't want you anymore, why are you acting so devoted?
41:42That sentence finally broke him.
41:45He seized Daphne by the shoulders and roared.
41:48Shut up!
41:50Daphne struggled, reaching for the cup in his hand.
41:54I will not shut up!
41:55You lost the throne and you lost Elena because you are pathetic!
42:02In the struggle, Daphne knocked over the sacred fire altar of Dionysus' temple.
42:10Cassius shoved her away on instinct.
42:13But her foot slipped, and she fell straight into the rising divine fire.
42:17Daphne's scream tore through half of Olympus.
42:20By the time the guards rushed in, it was too late.
42:24Daphne died in the very temple where she had most wanted to be seen.
42:28When news of Daphne's death reached the hall of the God King, I was helping Hades sort through the oaths
42:33sent by the temples.
42:34My queen, Daphne fell into the sacred fire during a fight with Cassius.
42:38The temple guards arrived too late.
42:43She had mistaken my restraint for weakness and Cassius' favoritism for destiny.
42:48In the end, destiny gave her a fire that burned all her ambition to ash.
43:03I looked toward the western sky, where the last red light still clung to the clouds.
43:11Will Cassius be punished?
43:13He will be judged for all of it.
43:16Not only for tonight.
43:20At Dionysus' temple, Cassius stood outside the burned hall.
43:23His hands blackened with ash he had not dared touch.
43:29I did not mean to kill her.
43:32Meaning has nothing to do with judgment.
43:37For the first time, Cassius did not argue.
43:40He only looked at the sacred fire as if it had burned away the last excuse he had left.
43:48The judgment bell of Olympus rang at dusk.
43:53That bell only sounded when a god committed an unforgivable crime.
43:58I had not planned to attend the trial.
44:04You do not have to forgive him.
44:06But you have the right to see the result.
44:10On the judgment platform, Hades sat upon the throne of the god-king.
44:16Cassius knelt in divine chains, looking as if everything inside him had been hollowed out.
44:24Not one of the Olympian men who had once drunk with him and laughed at me stepped forward.
44:30They all kept their heads down, afraid to be dragged into that absurd queen trial.
44:38Cassius, son of the god-king, privately established a queen trial and humiliated a prophecy of fate.
44:47In the name of golden apples, he treated the future queen as a candidate meant to please him.
44:54He took Nike's crown without permission and violated the sacred law of the victory bloodline.
45:02After the failed coronation, he disturbed the hall of the god-king and later caused the death of the divine
45:10consort Daphne in Dionysus' temple.
45:18His crimes cannot be pardoned.
45:23Cassius did not defend himself.
45:27He only raised his head and looked at me.
45:32Elena.
45:37If I had never created that queen trial,
45:43would you have married me?
45:44The question came far too late.
45:47Yes.
45:48For one brief second, light returned to his eyes.
45:51If you had not betrayed me, humiliated me, or treated my choice as something owed to you,
45:56I would have stayed beside you and helped you take the throne.
45:59But you chose wrong at every step.
46:05Cassius will be stripped of his right of inheritance and locked forever in the Tower of Sunset.
46:15The Tower stood at the far western edge of Olympus.
46:19Every dusk, the setting sun would pour through its windows and cast the shadow of a crown at his feet.
46:25He would be able to see the throne.
46:29He would never touch it.
46:32Before he was taken away, he looked at me through the divine chains.
46:37Elena, I am sorry.
46:40I never thought it would end like this.
46:43Take him away.
46:45Cassius's chains dragged across the Judgment Stone.
46:49For seven years, I had once followed every sound of his footsteps.
46:54This time, I listened until they disappeared, and I did not move.
47:01After the trial, Hades waited for me outside the hall.
47:08He simply draped his black and gold cloak over my shoulders.
47:13Shall we go home?
47:14On the road back to the Underworld, I did not speak for a long time.
47:18Hades did not force me to be happy.
47:20He only held my hand and let me walk out of those old wounds at my own pace.
47:25After a long while, he asked softly.
47:28Do you regret it?
47:31I just did not know an ending could still hurt.
47:36Then let it hurt for a while.
47:39The Underworld will not rush you to forget.
47:42He did not demand that I heal beautifully and immediately.
47:46He would give me time to set down each old wound, one by one.
47:50At the edge of the Underworld road, silver-white flowers opened along the dark riverbank.
47:57Their petals did not bloom for celebration.
47:59They bloomed quietly like a place patient enough to receive grief.
48:02You are not my trophy, Elena.
48:05I know.
48:07Good.
48:08I would rather be your choice than your cage.
48:12For the first time, the word home did not feel like a promise someone could break.
48:16It felt like a door I could decide to enter.
48:19Later, the three fates came once more to the bank of the sticks.
48:23They carved the prophecy into the divine stone again.
48:27Elena is not the prize of the throne.
48:30Her choice is victory in itself.
48:36I looked at those words and the last weight in my chest slowly eased.
48:40I did not belong to anyone as a qualification or a tool.
48:44I could choose Cassius and I could leave him.
48:46I could marry Hades and I could still simply be myself.
48:50Who held the throne was a battle for the gods.
48:53From that moment on, my life belonged only to me.
48:57As the Underworld carriage left Olympus, I looked back once at the Tower of Sunset.
49:02There was no victory there.
49:04No future.
49:06Ahead of me, the sticks flowed in silence and silver white flowers bloomed along its banks.
49:14I had once given seven years of my youth to someone who did not deserve it.
49:19Now I was queen of the underworld, daughter of the goddess of victory, and the master of my own fate.
49:25This time, I will not place the throne in the hands of the wrong man again.
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