The words came out of my mouth sounding very hollow and full of disbelief. My voice matched perfectly my entire expression; I was in complete disbelief.

Completely at loss for words, I looked at the others as I thought to myself about whether such a thing was even possible. End of the world? Of course I've heard about it. I had even pondered about it with Henrietta at one point. But I mostly objected its very existence. I will admit that in the past, I was quite a sceptical person who didn't really believe in all these things that had something religious to do with it. I also didn't really put so much belief in the scientific part of the topic.

But now, right here, the very Greek God of Prophecies was telling me that it will happen. I have read before that Apollo was a god that always spoke the truth. And it was clear in his eyes and voice that he definitely wasn't lying. However, I was still unable to register it into my head.

"No," I heard myself whisper after a few long minutes of silence. "No. That can't be. That's entirely impossible."

From where he stood, Hermes muttered seriously under his breath, "Not for us."

I quickly glanced over to him with wide eyes, and then back to Apollo, who looked at me worriedly. With a hammering heart, I stammered, "So it's true? Doomsday? Armageddon? Apocalypse? It's really going to happen? But we won't die along with it?"

He bit his bottom lip as he looked downwards, very deep in thought. I waited patiently for his answer, but the wait was extremely suspenseful. It made me feel worse with each passing millisecond.

"How do I explain this…." he murmured. With a deep breath, he then said, "It's not exactly like that. There won't be any tsunamis, or earthquakes, or meteor showers. The Earth will remain, but it will change to how it originally was from the beginning of time."

My confusion rose to a maximum. "I don't understand…" I murmured.

Apollo sighed, and scratched his head as he thought of a more elaborate answer.

"The Earth would return to how it used to be during our prime era. The buildings and monuments of today will be gone. The Earth would start becoming healthy once again, with open lands, rivers, hills, forests and mountains. The human lives of today will end, but new ones will start to live the new era, and they will be taught to worship the gods. So in conclusion, it's kind of like a rewind of time. Only on a new and reborn Earth."

I didn't say anything when he finished. I sat still, trying hard to absorb the heavy new information. But as the words replayed itself in my head, the more impossible and unrealistic it seemed. But like what Hermes said, nothing was impossible for us.

I didn't realize that tears had appeared in my eyes until the first few ran quickly down my cheeks. Some traveled to my lip, and I could taste the hot, salty tears. It was not a pleasant taste.

"Persephone…" Hades murmured with genuine concern in his low voice. I felt his hand under my chin, but I flinched away from him. In fact, I just quickly got off the couch and walked over to a corner of the living room. There, I covered my face with my hands and allowed myself to cry freely.

As I wallowed in tears, I felt a hand touching my shoulder gently, and Artemis said, "Persephone. I know this is difficult…"

She didn't finish her sentence, because I whipped around to her sharply, and shouted loudly through tears, "It's more than difficult! It's already bad enough that I learnt I was just a goddess a few days ago and that my mother manipulated my entire life into one huge lie, and now I learn that the end of the world is coming? I have a human life too, you know! I have friends, I have a job and I have problems like any other human! And now I discover that all of them will die without anyone even having an idea of what's going to happen?"

When I had finished screaming at Artemis' face, I looked away from her to Hades, who looked at me with wide and worried eyes.

"You knew about this, and you didn't tell me?" I asked him accusingly, my voice breaking and heavy with tears. I couldn't help but feel betrayed that Hades had kept such important information from me.

I could see it in his fathomless black eyes how sad and guilty he looked. He held my gaze with those sad eyes, and he said gently, "Your mind was still too fragile. I didn't want you to break apart so soon."

I stared at him through my tears, which were now stinging my eyes and blurring my vision completely. The weight of this whole situation was so strong that I couldn't keep myself up any longer, and I fell to the floor and cried even more.

The whole thing was too much for me. I knew that inside, I was glad that I could be able to return to Mount Olympus and the Underworld, consequently getting all my memories back and be reunited with my family. But I couldn't fight the guilt I felt for the humans. Right now, all of them were all sleeping in bed, none hadn't the slightest clue that in a matter of a few days, they would be gone.

Faces of many people flashed into my mind. Henrietta, maybe my one true friend in Heatherton. Mrs Edridge at the bookshop, who always supplied me with books. An old man who I had helped crossed the street one time, who rewarded me with a blessing a kind smile.

All of them would cease to exist soon, while I would continue to live.

I felt warm arms enveloping me, and I lifted my head up slightly to see Hades. His black eyes still held worry, but this time, it was laced with pure and undying love. He planted a kiss to my forehead as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"I'm sorry, Persephone," he whispered. "But please remember that no matter what, I'll be there for you. I swear."

I sniffled and wiped away the tears from my eyes gently. With a voice that could barely be considered a whisper, I said, "I know."

I then felt someone else beside me, and I turned to see Hestia kneeling.

She reached out to cup my cheek, and I could immediately feel her warmth in her palm. Her eyes too held sadness and pity, but she willed herself to give me a small but gentle smile.

"What Hades says is right, dearest Persephone," she told me reassuringly. "No matter what, all of us are here for you."

I looked from her to the rest of them, and saw them looking at me with caring eyes and assuring smiles. At that moment, the sadness in me only went away slightly, but it was still an improvement.

I didn't say anything. Instead, I simply gave a small smile in return.

Hestia leaned forward and gave a kiss on my cheek. "Now, I think it's time for all of us to retire. It's been quite a long night."

Hades nodded his head and gently pulled me up to a standing position, but he didn't take his hands off me. "Persephone and I should return now," he said.

Hestia rose to full height and shook her head. "Nonsense, Hades," she exclaimed in an objecting tone. "You and Persephone should stay the night. It is also quite late already."

Indeed it was. One quick glance at a clock on the ceiling showed me that it was just a few minutes past four-fifteen in the morning. And I felt too tired to move so much, shown in how I let out a yawn.

"Alright," Hades murmured as he rubbed my back comfortingly. "Thank you very much, sister. I really appreciate it."

Hestia nodded her head graciously before instructing Artemis to show us to the guest room. Artemis then walked ahead of us, leading us up the flight of stairs. On the second floor, she led Hades and I to a room at the end of the hallway.

Turning on the lights, she said, "Just knock on any of our doors if you need anything." Hades nodded his head, and then replied, "Thank you, Artemis."

She nodded her head in return, before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her. I looked around the room. It was pretty simple. It had pale blue walls and a white marble floor. In front of us, there was only a single king-seized bed with beige sheets and a night drawer with one lamp.

There was a mirror nailed to the wall on the right of the bed, with a study table and an armchair nearby. There was a window with the pale yellow curtains drawn on the opposite wall and a door near it, which I presume led to the bathroom.

Hades led me to the bed and laid me down gently on the left side. My head came in contact with a cool and soft pillow, and I could feel sleep taking over me then. The interior of the room made me feel so comfy.

He drew the blanket to my chest before walking away to switch off the lights. When darkness took over the room, I felt him sliding under the sheets, keeping a chaste distance from me.

I thought it would feel strange, sleeping in the same bed as Hades. But I had to remind myself continuously that he and I were married, and there was no wrong in sleeping on the same bed. Besides, I felt the need to have him close.

"Is it alright if you could come closer?" I whispered, turning to face him in the darkness. There was no answer, but I could feel him just right in front of me, and he then wrapped an arm around my waist.

"I'm so sorry that you had to know all this, Persephone," he whispered, his lips speaking against my forehead. "If I could make it happen, I would have kept you safe from all this cruelty."

I sighed and reached a hand out to caress his cheek. Shifting myself closer to him, I answered, "It's alright. I understand now that this is all the doing of the Fates, and we cannot change anything about it." And then, after a bit of hesitation, I added, "And I'm sorry for accusing you just now."

He shook his head and kissed my forehead. "It's alright, love. I forgive you."

Then he moved his lips to mine, and we kissed gently. None of us made a sound. We just concentrated on the sweet kiss.

When we both pulled away, I whispered to him that I loved him. I could feel him smile and he told me that he loved me too. And then, he beckoned me to sleep.

And so I did. I fell into the most blissful of all sleeps; right in his arms.

"She's a very strong one," Atropos remarked. "I applaud her for that."

Lachesis nodded her head in agreement. "One of Persephone's strongest traits. She graces it very well, don't you think?"

Clotho agreed with her sister knowingly. "I agree, Lachesis. So let us hope that her strength will help her for what's to come ahead."

The room was only lit dimly by the first rays of sunshine from the rising sun, which were coming through the curtain-drawn windows.

Hades was sitting still on the armchair next to the bed. There, he gazed at his still-sleeping wife, his eyes focused on her calm sleeping face which was covered partially by her russet hair. He thought to himself about how beautiful she looked. Truly, he was blessed to have her; she who brought light into his life, giving him warmth with the shine of her aura.

He was all dressed up in new clothes that were given to him by Hestia, all ready to leave on important business. Honestly, he did not want to leave the bed. He wanted to be there for when his Persephone had finally awoken. He wanted to greet her good morning and give her a kiss. But he really did have to leave.

Just then, there was a gentle knocking on the door. Hades quietly rose from the chair and headed to the door, opening it slightly. Through the small gap, he saw Hestia, all dressed up and ready.

"How is she?" she asked quietly as he exited the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"She managed to sleep soundly," he answered her. "That's a good thing."

Hestia nodded her head thoughtfully, but Hades sighed afterwards. "I'm just really worried about her. She has too many things on her mind right now, and I'm afraid that she won't be able to handle it."

The both of them then walked to the kitchen. There, Hades perched himself on one of the bar stools of the kitchen island, while Hestia took out two white mugs from a shelf.

"She seems to be faring quite well," she commented as she poured coffee in both of the mugs. "That's a good thing. But of course, she needs all the support she can get."

Handing one mug of coffee to Hades, she added, "But like I had said, we're there for her. And so are you. That's all she needs."

Hades silently grasped the handle of his mug and gave his sister a thankful smile. Indeed, Hestia can be wise. But suddenly, his mood darkened and he scowled menacingly as he muttered, "And then there's Demeter…."

Hestia sighed and said, "Don't think about her right now, Hades. Your mood always becomes terrible whenever you do. But honestly, how did you two end up hating each for two millenniums? Can't the both of you just forgive-and-forget soon? Both of you are siblings after all."

Hades' scowl deepened and he answered briskly, "I don't really want to talk about it, Hestia. Please."

Hestia pursed her lips and shook her head in dismay, but she said nothing more. She knew her limits, and did not want to provoke her brother any further.

"Alright, alright," she said. "Now drink up your coffee. The car ride to New York is going to be a pretty long one. About eight hours." Then, she huffed, "Honestly. Can't Zeus pick any closer location?"

Hades simply shrugged his shoulders and continued to drink his coffee.