Nico had trouble realizing what had actually happened. It was easy to explain, it was easy to acknowledge, but it wasn't easy to accept. The golden wheat fields around him whispered of rest, and Nico could easily agree with them. Today was the day that rest finally happened. Being a son of Hades, it would only be a matter of time before his father appeared and took him to the throne. A single tear rolled down Nico's left cheek as he imagined what that would be like. Standing by his father's side forever, always being loved, always being reunited with his family. His mother, his sister, his father, finally together again. Nico had spent his entire life longing for this, but now that it had actually happened, Nico knew in his heart that his plans would never have gone through.
Nico's face was soaked with tears by the time he finally found Will. His pale shimmering ghost, lost in time and space, trying to remember who he was. Nico put his hand on Will's head, and color returned to his spirit. The blank look in Will's eyes was replaced with tears, as he looked down at Nico. Nico took hold of Will's hand.
"I'm sorry it had to turn out like this, Will."
Will leaned forward and kissed Nico on the forehead. "Never be sorry for making a difference. Today is the day that eternity ends."
"I love you sunny side." Nico said, wiping the tears from his face. "If things had turned out differently, maybe we could have lived together here, peacefully and happily.
Will punched Nico lightly on the shoulder. "Silly little son of Hades," Will said with a smirk, "don't you know that happiness is just an illusion created by the ignorance of what is really out there?"
Nico felt his heart breaking as he turned toward Elysium one last time, before turning back towards the Fields of Punishment, hand in hand with Will. "Maybe your right, Will. But after today, we will make a step toward happiness by eradicating the greatest source of despair."
"I'm sorry." said Will.
"Me too." replied Nico. With that they marched one step at a time straight for the gates of hell. The guards at the door didn't stop them, their only job was preventing people from getting out, they didn't care who went in, they didn't even warn the two boys of the obvious fact that it was a one way trip. A man in a yellow suit came up to great them, but he soon found it hard to come any further, as Nico had imbedded his sword in his throat. The man melted into shadow and dispersed into the air. People never really died forever here, they'd just come back later. Until today. Nico stood with Will in the middle of the Fields of Punishment, on a hill under a tree. A panoramic view of the landscape met their eyes, and Nico felt Will start to shiver with fear. Nico supposed he must have also been afraid, because he was trembling as well.
"Oh gods, Will, why are we even doing this?" Nico asked, his mind trying to talk him out of what he was about to do.
"You know why, Nico, you know that this is the only way..." Will's voice broke. Will turned and tackled Nico in a hug, sobbing. Nico immediately returned the hug, and for awhile they just sat there crying together.
Finally, after what seemed hours, Nico broke apart from the hug and summoned a ring of shadow above them. Will created a sphere of light around them. The two objects began to collide and build pressure. The ring of darkness spun at an extreme speed around the light, which was spinning equally fast on it's axis. The sound of an airplane seemed to grow louder and louder from the sphere. Nico took hold of both of Will's hands, looking into his eyes.
Nico took a deep breath. "I, Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, Ghost King and Master of Shadows, hereby revoke the right of regeneration for myself or Will Solace, as payment for the revoking of the regeneration rights of this segment of the Underworld. I take full responsibility for the damages, and have no intention of ever letting this place regenerate again. I give my soul to keeping this place destroyed forever."
The spinning light and darkness started to contract around them, Will and Nico fell to their knees to prevent being destroyed by it's power. Nico and Will leaned closer to each other. "Maybe one day we'll be remembered for what we've done?" asked Will.
"Anyone who can forget this is an idiot. Will, it was a pleasure having you by my side, in life and death. All in all, I'm glad that this is how we spend the last chapters of it. I'm not only glad about what we're about to do, but that you were here with me." said Nico. Nico leaned forward and kissed Will as the light became too bright for anyone to see anything. The darkness enveloped the light, and the entire thing collapsed into a tiny point, taking Will and Nico with it. The tiny point suddenly expanded rapidly as an explosion. Fire and ice evaporated solid rock, stone was immediately turned into air. The explosion shook the entire Underworld, and 1/3rd of it was eradicated. The ball of fire grew high enough to scorch the ceiling of the Underworld. The flaming explosion lasted for almost a minute, burning as a second sun and rocketing throughout the tunnels and chambers of the hell that was being destroyed. The fire scorched and melted a good portion of the Fields of Asphodel, and the damage could even be traced back to the gates of Tartarus.
Finally after what could have been felt as eternity, the dust settled. Hades stood where the gate to the Fields of Punishment used to be, or rather he stood a few hundred yards back. A huge empty void filled the space where it used to be. The sides of the floor he stood on were liquified rock, the ceiling above him was scorched white from the flames. Two stones that had been compressed into diamond still floated in the void, pulsating with a bright light that evaporated everything that came near it. In his heart, Hades knew that those diamonds would be there forever. Gods rarely cry, but tears hit the ground under where Hades stood. "My son, your sacrifice will never be forgotten." In his mind, Hades silently agreed that he would never create the Fields of Punishment. Anyone who permanently sacrifices their soul deserves to be heard, to be heeded.
Nobody wants to die forever, nobody wants to disappear,
The cries of the forgotten are the worst kind you can hear,
To be remembered, that is all we desire,
It keeps us alive, our names burn like fire,
A name carved stone, a memory that won't cease,
That is all that I need, to rest, finally, in peace.