The name is Deimos. Just in case you don't know who that is, mortals having a short memory and all, I am one of the ancient Gods of Greece. A son of mighty Ares, Lord of War and Lady Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. Ever since Yahweh and His Angels along with the Primordials brought about the Twilight of the Gods, I've been hiding out on the planet Earth. I still can't believe that upstart Yahweh managed to get rid of all the ancient gods and goddesses, not just of Greece but of just about every land or culture I can think of. Those who survived joined the Aristocracy of Hell and are lorded over by the fallen archangel Lucifer Morningstar, Yahweh's estranged son and sworn enemy. Oh, well. I guess that's what happens when you get cocky and think you're invincible.
I always knew the Twilight of the Gods was coming. No one truly lives forever. Even if you're an immortal or even a god. Sooner or later, someone or something is going to come along with a lot of power and they're going to take you down. It's what happened to Father Zeus and the Olympians, and the Titans before them. Nowadays, I'm told that Thanatos is running the show in the Underworld. He took over after Lord Hades and Lady Persephone were murdered by the Primordials allied with Heaven's Angels.
I'm quite saddened by the deaths of my fellow gods and goddesses but you know what, I'm just glad it wasn't me that got killed. Hey, that's what most people think after someone dies, regardless of what they say. I'm just more honest about it. Anyhow, life goes on, you know? I built a nice life for myself in the mortal world. These days, I'm Harold Winston, the CEO of MetalWorks Tech Incorporated, the leading supplier of weapons to the United States Army.
Yeah, it was fairly easy to gain control of this multi-billion-dollar corporation. The owner and CEO was a real dandy. A six-foot-two, lean, bronze-skinned, black-haired and green-eyed, sharp-featured man in his early forties. His father, Arnold Winston was a wealthy Irish businessman and his mother Elisa Mendoza was the gorgeous Puerto Rican gold digger who stole the billionaire's heart and bore him his only son before divorcing him and collecting ten million a year in alimony. Their divorce was tabloid fodder and even the subject of a TV movie in the early 1980s. I'm only mentioning this because both of Harold Winston's parents were mysteriously dead shortly after I first encountered him. A great ball of fire blew them away. I had to get rid of them. This made it easier for me. He was single, with no girlfriend, boyfriend or offspring. I burned him to a pile of ashes and assumed his identity. For one with my divine powers, shape-shifting is all too easy. I can make myself look like any man, woman or animal on this planet. All I need is to look at them once.
Why did I go through all this trouble? Simply because Harold Winston is one of the U.S. Government's favorite businessmen. They get their best weapons from him. He's in the business of war. War is in my blood. For this, I would risk my existence. Hey, even though there are Angels gunning for me with everything they've got, war is still in my blood. It comes as natural to me as flight does to birds, as slithering comes to snakes and treachery comes to the men and women of the human race. I'm just doing what I was born to do.
Recently, I found out that my brother Phobos the Tracker got himself in some trouble with his boss Thanatos, the God of Death. I knew this was coming. You see, Phobos has always been a bit of a prankster and Thanatos is as merciless and humorless as they come. I told my brother working for that madman was not a good idea. But Phobos never listens to me. I'm told that he shacked up on Earth, possessing a human body and indulging himself. Did he really think Thanatos wouldn't find out? Of course he did. And he sent Erebus to bring Phobos back. Who knows what horrors Phobos is enduring in the Underworld right now. I shudder to imagine. And as the inventor of three hundred forms of torture, I'm not squeamish. Still, Thanatos has levels of misanthropy and cruelty which the universe hasn't seen since the goddess Hecate passed away.
Thanatos and I have never been friends. He was the lead errand boy of Lord Hades, God of the Underworld, for untold thousands of years. As soon as his boss perished, Thanatos assumed the throne and began calling himself master. Oh, please. He's a boring little bastard with a superiority complex. Thanatos is a dumbass and a bully. And everybody knows it. Sooner or later, someone's going to kick his ass. I was kind of hoping Lucifer Morningstar would do it but the fallen archangel cut a deal with the God of Death instead. Someday, Hell and the Underworld would be allies against the Kingdom of Heaven. Lucifer intended to dethrone Yahweh, the God of the Covenant. I wish him the best of luck but I don't hold out much hope for someone who's going up against prophecy.
Speaking of Lucifer, I've got a meeting with him right now. When I teleported to my office in Manhattan, I found him already there. Lucifer Morningstar stood before me. A tall, good-looking young black man dressed in a dark gray Armani suit. He looked simply gorgeous. His magnificent white wings, invisible to mortal eyes, and intangible to mortal touch, shone brightly in my sunlit office. I smiled at him. He grinned, and said we had to talk. It's always a pleasure to chat with the Devil. He's a very astute businessman. He's the second most powerful being in the universe. Able to bend time and space to his will. Able to create or destroy worlds merely by thinking about it. He was invulnerable, immortal, super-strong, super-fast, able to fly, read minds, generate magical fire, shape-shift and do all kinds of other superb things. He could do things Pagan gods and goddesses could only dream of. Only Yahweh's Power was superior to his.