After the Titanomachy, before the world was created...

"Brothers, we have defeated Kronos and successfully taken control of the Cosmos. The time has now come for us to draw the lots and possess one of the three realms-- of which each of us here will seize and make our own," Zeus declares.

Hades and Poseidon nod their heads in agreement, eyeing the three sticks in Zeus' open palm. The agreement was that each was to pick a small wooden rod, and whomever chose the longest would gain dominion over the Heavens. The medium sized stick would relinquish power over the majestic waters of Earth, and the shortest gave authority over the dead and all the treasures found beneath Gaea's foundations.

Without eyeing the wooden rods on his hand, each was to unknowingly choose a realm. Aidoneus and Poseidon followed the agreement and extended a hand to pick, the former choosing the Underworld, and the latter choosing the waters. One could not say they were satisfied, but the selection had been made out of their own will and action, they would not counter the arrangement. Unbeknownst to the participants, however, the youngest son of Kronos had tampered with the agreement, and shifted the position of the longest and shortest rods so as to give him the greatest advantage.

When all three opened their eyes, each now carried a rod of varying size. They silently took in the future of their newly conquered world, each contemplating the outcome of the arrangement and its effect on the creation Gaea planned to conceive. She had called them human-- creatures made in our likeness with only a fraction of our lifespan. The Fates had foretold their establishment and creation ages ago, and now Gaea has brought their design into fruition.

Hades watched his brothers rejoice with hidden contempt. Of course he would be cemented to a realm devoid of light-- one permanently marked by the stench of death and sorrow-- one very alike to his father's stomach. It was cold and damp, full of nothing but despair and loneliness as his father's body had been.

All three brothers had fought alongside their siblings and divine relatives on the soil of the three realms. And of the dazzling skies, soothing waters, and barren Underworld-- it was the latter he finished up with. It is ironically suiting he thought, that as the eldest of Kronos' children I am the first to receive unwarranted punishment.

A heavy hand lays atop his shoulder, making him level his gaze to Poseidon's.

"You will not rejoice in our victory, brother?" he asks carefully, looking much too serene for a man who just subdued his own father. Hades stiffens upon his touch.

"What victory, Poseidon? I return to the cold darkness made known to me in Kronos' stomach. I return to the acrid waters that flow in equivalence to the acid in his gut. You and Zeus may rejoice, but I will mourn the existence of Rhea and her conception of an eldest son."

The god of the seas presses his lips together.

"Be that as it may brother, we are all victims of Fate," he counters, turning to his younger sibling. The third son of the overthrown tyrant was secretly reveling in the triumph of his deception, having successfully gained dominion over the skies and Gaea's planned creation. He paid no attention to his surroundings, much less to the two brothers he'd managed to fool.

"Zeus," Poseidon calls, approaching him. He is admiring his own reflection on the first streams of the River Styx, the waters that have not yet become divine for they exist on earth. The brother pays no heed, choosing instead to grin at his golden looks as the vain narcissist he is.

"Zeus," Aidoneus chastises. His voice is sharp enough to make even Uranus turn, and the bright god scowls as he levels his gaze above to his elder brothers.

"What is so urgent?" he snaps, earning himself surprised looks from the other two present. Hades frowns, stepping forward.

"I harbor no respect for Rhea's favored one, yet for the safety of my younger brother Poseidon and the creation Gaea has yet to conceive, I will subject myself to the cosmo's new state. Something must be done to constrain the titans, and I propose we imprison them equally throughout each of our realms. Pay heed to your surroundings lest your engrossment in your own interest jeopardizes Gaea's planet."

Poseidon nods tersely in agreement, taking his eldest brother's side.

"I agree, brother. But I can not shelter the dormant titans, my waters are much too close to the new creation. We can not encounter the risk of feeble human minds and bodies coming to know of the vast power in ancient deities."

Hades feels anger boil inside him, as usual it becomes his responsibility to clean the mess his brothers leave behind. And Poseidon's weak excuse stands witness to that.

"You suppose then, that I should stand guard over their dormant bodies? Zeus will certainly not take that responsibility, he is much too impulsive and capricious to fulfill such an arduous task. You leave me with your accounts as if it were my labor to see them through!"

Poseidon sighs, rubbing his temple. At times, Aidoneus could be quite obstinate. Once he made an impression of one, such unyielding image of oneself was seldom altered. He often felt as if his bitterness could be attributed in part to the duty he took upon himself to look after him in Kronos' stomach. Poseidon suffered not only his mother's rejection, but his eldest brother's judgement as well.

"Aidoneus, for the sake of the Fates! We fought much too laboriously to endanger the lives of Gaea's creation with the presence of the titans! Push aside your self-righteousness brother!"

Hades looks away as if stung, he was more than justified in demanding they share the burden of the titans. It was always he harboring responsibility, and it was always he shamed for reminding them of it.

"Now," Poseidon starts, "What do you propose we do about Kronos? We must take preventative action so no uprising occurs in the future. He was born a leader, we must sever his ties to his companions."

Aidoneous surveys the expanse of the earth, flitting his gaze quickly to the heap of sleeping giants several feet away. The only way to ensure Kronos would never find an ally again, would be to take his very source of power and sense of self-- his soul.

"Kronos will know not of his selfdom if we take his heart," Hades suggests, turning to the isolated giant. He sits dormant against a tree, apart from his companions should he wake and disturb them from their enchanted slumber.

"I second this," Poseidon says, materializing his trident. Summoning his strength, he raises the weapon and charges at the unsuspecting titan, plunging the blunt ends into his chest and piercing the thick layer of skin, making golden ichor ooze out the punctured wound.

The man stirs in his sleep, writhing in agony and moaning.

The tallest of the Big Three wrenches out his weapon, tearing through the skin of his father. The movement breaks his ribs and the bones surrounding it, making a cracking noise combined with the pulp of the titan's innards. They slosh out into a heap of aurelian goo as his heart is clawed out, perhaps the only evidence that the titan did indeed, have the beating organ.

Poseidon lowers his trident, reaching to detach the heart from the ichor-soaked prongs. Striding to his two brothers, he extends a hand in their direction, opening his palm and revealing the gruesome sight.

"Let us now divide the heart ripped out from Kronos' breastbone, and encase the fraction of his soul in the toughest stone existing beneath Hades' realm," he says, throwing the organ on the ground.

Aidoneus stares at it, pondering his brother's words.

"Diamonds," he responds, opening his palm and materializing a solid, black stone. He walks to the organ lying on the grassy floor, and unsheathing his weapon, slices a third off it.

Groans and grunts of protest erupt past the sleeping titan's lips. The noises of agony are a confirmation of Hades' suggestion. Without his heart and soul, he knew not of his selfdom. Even as he slept, his body felt the bond being severed.

Meticulously cracking open the precious stone, he slips in the contents of his fraction of Kronos' soul. With his dark power, he encases the chipped gem and freezes its parts back as a whole.

"I know where to guard this safely, the responsibility of the two other thirds now rest upon your heads."