Reflection of an Absolute Power

by Jyggilag

This is another story that came about from my explorations of the CYOA genre. But rather than being a geek power fantasy, the entire thing failed before it even began and instead allowed Hades, God of the Underworld to gain a new vessel for his soul after the death of his body, and access to an entire multiverse of unsuspecting worlds. Plus a harem of beautiful women and Servants.

6. Prologue: Part 6

Author's Note: Finally done! It has taken me almost 3 and a half months to have this chapter, not only because of the everyday IRL stuff I have to deal with, but because… Well… I was feeling inspired…

As I've said, I was going to return the focus of this story back to Hades, and once I did… I simply couldn't stop writing, in fact, I was writing so much that I decided the chapter was already too long as it is so I decided to cut it and release it as it is. 50 pages in total, with 10 already done and waiting in the backburner for the next update.

This is because this is a very plot-driven chapter in which I reveal Hades' goals and aims, very important stuff happens in this chapter, stuff I had not previously considered in the first place.

Before we begin… Just a small notice, I have decided to do a Retcon in this story. Instead of being 25 servants, I have increased the number to 36. This is because someone had mentioned in the reviews, what would be like for Hades to react to the Greek servants. And I decided, you know what? It is actually a god idea. So I increased the number of servants which incidentally, opened new possibilities I had not considered before. New plot threads became available.

So yeah, there's that. I am still able to make changes of this nature because we are still in the early phases, but only for ideas that would truly intrigue me and make me curious to explore.

At any rate let's begin with this already…

Disclaimer: I own nothing; copyrights to the different series and/or franchises that appear in this fic belong to their respective owners.

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THIS CHAPTER IS UPLOADED ON THE 11/05/2022

!

Prologue

IN THE COMPANY OF THE DEAD

Part 6

!

Demeter's face lit up in joy at the confirmation of Hades' identity. "It is you! My heart rejoices at seeing you alive again. The last time we saw you was when Zeus killed you and made sure to destroy every last trace of your existence…" The blonde goddess exclaims in relief.

"Zeus! Kill me…!" The lord of the dead exclaims with equal incredulity and disgust. "For all his vaunted vainglorious strength, not even Zeus is capable of fully killing a god of my caliber. As I was telling these mortals, the body of a god might die, but the soul and spirit remain…" He states as he gestures to the other people in the room.

"But your words puzzle me dear sister…" He is prompt to add. "It is not by the hand of my little brother, but that of his daughter Athena, that I'm now standing in front of you inside this mortal vessel. The last of the Holy wars that we have been fighting since the age of myth, concluded with Athena and her Saints making their way into my underworld and breaching all of its defenses until they were able to assault the sanctity of my Elysian Fields, confronting and slaying me in the heart of my own domain… Forcing my spirit to take umbrage inside this human coil rather than wander through the ether aimlessly and having to wait another two hundred thirty years in order to recover my strength…"

Both Goddesses looked confused at that. "Brother, are you from proper human history? Because I think you and I might be from different timelines…" Demeter commented, only to be replaced by a gasp as the baby in Hades' lap began to get fuzzy, drawing the attention of the Olympians upon her tiny frame.

"Elaborate dear sister… Don't tell me you've been having dealings with our father, Chronos?" Asked the lord of the dead in mild confusion as he tended over his daughter while Demeter watched with heart-crushing longing.

"Hades! Who is that baby? And why I can feel traces of my daughter in her?" Emerald-clad goddess inquired as she pointed at baby Hotaru with a dainty finger.

Hades casually glanced at his daughter. "That's because this my daughter Makaria, one of the many children Persephone and I had together, once upon a time… She's your granddaughter…" The Lord of the dead simply said as he caressed the baby in his arms earning a string of giggles from the little darling.

"My granddaughter…" Demeter repeated softly as tears began to fall down her cheeks before she turned into a helpless sobbing wreck as she fell to her knees. "My daughter… My sweet Persephone… I remember now… I remember it was Zeus who forced me to kill her… She died because of him! And I was the one who killed her… I killed my baby… I KILLED HER! I'M SO SORRY! PERSEPHONE! I LOVED YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU!" The blonde goddess hysterically began to chant as her mental condition worsened with each second and she began to flare her power in distress.

The entire tower, no! The entire floating city began to shake as Demeter gathered her energy in preparation to unleash her Scream Eleusis in her madness.

Whatever trace of emotion that could be discerned in the face of the king of the underworld disappeared in an instant and was replaced by a cold unfeeling expression, the pitch-black darkness of his Cosmos once more threatening to engulf the whole universe in its entirety as with but a gesture he stopped Demeter cold in her tracks, canceling the ongoing accumulation of magical energy in an instant. Abruptly yanking the distress Goddess out of her frenzy due to the sheer impression alone.

"Enough of that Demeter! Get a hold of yourself! You are one of the twelve Olympians, so you better make sure to show the dignity and poise worthy of our station instead of screaming and raging like some mad cur!" Hades said with artic disposition before turning his cold unfeeling eyes towards the Goddess of love. "Aphrodite… For your sake, you better make sure that an explanation is the next thing that I hear coming out from your mouth."

"Hey! What about the rest of us!? What are we? Chopped liver? We came here to get some answers as to why we were all brought here, not hear some Bishonen boy who likes the sound of his own voice a little too much spout endless nonsense and his dumb bimbo sister going all psycho on us and trying to kill us all!" A rather rude and uncouth voice called from among the newcomers that had just arrived at the throne room and were currently standing in front of the main double doors.

The response to such an impertinent breach of decorum was immediate as Pandora snapped in the direction of the gathered arrivals. "WHO SAID THAT!? WHO AMONG YOU DARED TO ADRESS MILORD HADES SO IMPUDENTLY!" She demanded, her voice echoing across the room as she lashed with her Cosmo, causing a physical pressure to fall upon everybody in the throne room.

There were lots of groans of indignation at the sudden unwanted burden, but it did nothing to stop a certain Sukeban with a red fringe on her hair to make her way to the front of the gathered newcomers. "I did! Got a problem with that, princess…?" Ryuko Matoi declared in a rather brazen and confrontational tone of voice.

"You little… Insolent… Insect… What could possibly be running inside your dull-witted head to make you think you can simply speak towards a god so carefreely…!?" Pandora slowly enunciated with palpable venom dripping from every word, barely able to speak, let alone think coherent thoughts due to the sheer outrage. And only keeping herself from lashing out due to the tremendous iron-clad control she had over her emotions.

"Hey! Don't call me dumb you condescending harpy, or I'll punch the snobbishness out of you with my two fists! None of us are here to hear whatever crappy family drama your so-called lord Hades has with his slut sisters! You better give us some answers after having brought us into this strange city against our will, or I'll make sure to extract them myself with my little friend here…" Ryuko threatened as she brandished her scissor-blades in the direction of the violet-haired maiden.

Rather than finally spending all of her patience and reacting with violence, Pandora's reaction was the complete opposite. A pitched long haughty laugh answered Ryuko's declaration, protracted guffaws that echoed throughout the throne room the point of becoming awkward, threatening to double the maiden in black dress over as she clutched her abdomen and pissing off Ryuko greatly.

"What the hell is so funny, you second-rate emo reject!?" The Sukeban demanded, hefting her scissor-blades tightly.

Pandora ignored her as she kept laughing, but as the seconds stretched, she was able to regain control of herself. Nonetheless, she retained an amused smile on her expression as she addressed Ryuko again. "You are such an adorable ignorant child…" It was all she ultimately said.

"The fuck!? You are not any older than me yourself!" The Sukeban complained.

Pandora said nothing, and simply turned around before kneeling in front of the Lord of the dead, her face still sporting her entertained smile. "Milord Hades… Please, allow me to teach to this insolent girl the proper manners on how to address the gods..."

The king of the underworld simply gestured his consent. "I grant you leave to do so Pandora. Please, make sure to be thorough in showing her the error of her ways…"

A pleased contentment fell upon Pandora's as her smile turned outright sinister before she got back to her feet and turned on her heels to deal with Ryuko once and for all.

"Oh? So, we finally are going to get on with it? Are you done asking your boyfriend for permission? Can't do anything on your own without getting the approval of a man first? So lame, so sad!" Ryuko taunted, trying to get a rise out of Pandora.

Again, her efforts failed, as Pandora simply stood at the foot of the dais of Hades' throne, waiting placidly. "Is that all you can do? Just throw boorish insults that grasp for the lowest hanging fruit only…? Didn't you said you were going to extract answers out of me using those ridiculously oversized scissors of yours? Go ahead… I'll even let you throw the first punch, won't even try to defend myself… Let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is, unless of course, you are simply all bark and no bite like the little hopeless puppy you appear to be?" The violet-haired maiden said in an arrogant patronizing tone.

Ryuko glared. "I'll enjoy wiping that high-and-mighty smile out of your face!" She declared before rushing towards Pandora.

Hades' second in command just kept smiling as her form began to shine with the power of her Cosmo, solar winds starting to emanate from her body as her profile was enveloped in the raging fires of a star, illuminating the entire throne room in blinding light.

"Tsk…! The hell are you trying to pull here!?" Ryuko exclaimed as she covered her eyes from the searing light with a hand.

"RYUKO!" Both Mako and Satsuki called after the Sukeban girl, a dreadful feeling gnawing at their insides.

"Not now! Do not distract me!" Ryuko barked back at her companions, but as she tried to take a step again towards Pandora, she immediately felt something was wrong. "What the…?"

As she tried to make her way towards the black clad maiden, Ryuko took notice on how each step she took became much harder than the last. A visible pressure seemed to become more and more palpable as the distance between the two young women was reduced, until Ryuko felt herself in danger of being blown away by the solar winds that began to smack her in the face. Inevitably, it came a moment were the Sukeban was incapable of taking any further step forward, bracing herself against the raging winds lest she was to be thrown back from where she came.

"W-What? What is this!? What sort of trickery are you doing!?" Ryuki demanded in outrage, as she struggle against the invisible force pushing her back.

"Me…? I am not doing anything…? Just leaking but a sample of my Cosmo. Yet this insignificant fraction of my power is more than enough to almost blow you off your feet. Pitiful… Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, this is simply the difference that exists between us…" Pandora stated disdainfully.

"Stop being vague and get to the point!? What is it that you're trying to say!?" Ryuko demanded as she gritted her teeth, not having the patience for Pandora's ambiguity as she braced herself as best as she could against the maiden in black's Cosmo.

"My point being, there's simply no comparison between a lowly human and a God like Milord Hades… Especially, when he resides in a completely different scale far above the likes of you. Do you really thought you could simply walk over here as if you own the place and demand answers out of any of us if we didn't feel like giving any in the first place? The mere idea is laughable if it weren't utter blasphemy. Just look at you, unable to do anything but shiver helplessly in fright against my might… If you cannot bear such a minuscule sample of my own power, then you have no hope in all of heaven and hell to even begin to think that you have a chance to demand any answers from my lord Hades; for this power that you're feeling is the same as the one he wields, and his prowess and mastery over Cosmo are far beyond of what I myself can handle…" Pandora declared matter-of-factly, all amusement in her semblance gone in an instant and replaced by stern rigidity.

"Tsk…! You're claiming to be a god too!? So, fucking egotistic!" Ryuko exclaimed in indignation, feeling herself shamed and humiliated by the sheer smugness displayed by Pandora.

That caused the violet-haired maiden to laugh again for a moment, raising a hand to her mouth the way a noble laughs. "Compared to you…? I might as well be one, little girl…" She said as she regained her composure but kept smirking condescendingly. "Compared to my lord Hades!? Well… It would be the same as the difference that exists between you and me…"

That answer actually managed to shock the Sukeban as her eyes widened for a second, but Pandora kept speaking heedless of her reaction. "It is nothing to be surprised about… As we've already told you all several times by now. He-Is-A-God. And his power is beyond the understanding of any mortal…" The maiden in black dress enunciated to make sure the statement finally sticked.

"Tsk! Stop calling me little girl! My name is Ryuko! …!... Dammit!" The delinquent girl exclaimed in response to the derisive appellation towards her person, only for her strength to finally come to its breaking point and leaving her with no choice but to let herself be pushed back away several feet in order to escape from the unmovable pressure and gain some reprieve, landing a little roughly but without much issue with her knees bent.

"Well, Ryuko… It seems to me you are finally beginning to understand your place at the bottom of the food chain. Are you ready to get down in your knees and beg for forgiveness…?" Pandora smirked mockingly, knowing exactly what kind of reaction such words would have on the Sukeban girl.

"AS IF!" Ryuko replied hotly as she got back to her feet. "Perhaps I am unable to get near to you due to that weird aura of yours! But that doesn't mean I'm not going to stop from trying to wipe that smirk off from your smug face until I succeed!"

"Oh, really? Then perhaps you could be so kind as to inform us of what exactly do you plan to do in order to overcome this not so insignificant obstacle, if you please?" Pandora inquired patronizingly as if she were addressing a dullard.

Ryuto growled. "Pretty simple… THIS!" She declared triumphally before throwing before throwing her scissors blade in a straight line right towards the middle of Pandora's face.

The maiden in black did nothing but hold a bored expression as the melee weapon flew rapidly through the air in her direction, she did absolutely nothing to try to evade or protect herself from the razor-sharp instrument approaching distressingly fast.

And she was right not to bother, as the scissor blades stopped in cold right in the middle of the air with a piercing hum, not even having traversed halfway the distance separating her from Ryuko. So, she just limited herself to give another condescending look of superiority at the Sukeban. "You are as predictable and simple as you look, your every intention is so transparent that I don't even need to concern myself in the least…!" She mocked haughtily.

"W-What…!?" Exclaimed a stupefied Ryuko as she could do nothing but stare with a gob-smacked expression.

"I've told you already… There's a great gulf of difference between a simple human and the gods, both practically exist in different planes of reality. The fact you expect to be so simple a task to lay your hands on me as you would to any other person is proof enough of your naivete. You cannot ever hope to strike me the same way as you cannot ever hope to strike the sun or the stars. Might as well try to strike the heavens themselves while you are at it, it is simply not done…" Pandora declared disdainfully, looking down at Ryuko as if she were a dullard. The Sukeban gritted her teeth in outrage, nonetheless, the violet-haired maiden was yet not done.

"However, the opposite is not true… For you see, there's a steep price to be paid for those who dare to raise their fists against the gods… Those that dare strike at their makers, will soon find their aggressions being reflected and thrown back at them a thousand-fold…" Pandora lectured, before the scissor blades slowly began to turn around until their pointy tips were aimed straight back at the Sukeban that had threw them.

"W-wait!" Ryuko exclaimed with a start, knowing exactly what was about to happen and dreading such outcome immensely.

Pandora just smiled viciously, and then the scissors where shoot towards Ryuko in an instant, moving at the speed of lighting. Ryuko tried to evade the assault by moving beforehand, having enough early warning to know an attack was inevitable. Yet all she managed to do was to turn a one-shoot kill injury into an aggravating wound, as instead of being pierced through the heart and slain, she was rammed on the left thigh instead mid-dodge.

"AAAAH!" The Sukeban exclaimed in pain as she roughly toppled to the ground, clutching her thigh in pain as her blood slowly began to stain the ground red. Ryuko could do nothing but squirm in the ground on agony.

"RYUKO!" Both Satsuki and Mako bellowed in alarm at seeing their sister and girlfriend respectively being brought down.

Pandora scoffed at seeing the previously brash and arrogant Sukeban wallowing in her own misery at the verge of tears. "You bore me…" She said before proceeding to head towards her harp, taking her seat besides the musical instrument as she reached towards its strings. "How about if we lighten the mood a little? I will be generous with you and allow you to feast your ears on a delightful tune. A captivating piece that will work as your very own death march to be played at your funeral…" The Maiden in black dress smiled as she began to play her harp.

BGM: Requiem de Mime (watch?v=ozDXZmo1tTA)

Ryuko grunted as she struggled to pull the scissor blades out of her leg, letting out a yell of pain at her success, discarding the giant scissors aside with a loud clatter as she clutched at her wound to stem the bleeding before turning her sight towards Pandora in outrage. "You're insane! What kind of sicko decides to play music after stabbing someone!?"

Pandora smirked amusedly at that. "I am simply trying to be considerate, after all… This will be the last piece of music you'll ever hear before you die…" And soon as she said that purple gales of cosmic wind lashed out of the harp like an energy whip that tore upon the defenseless Sukeban, cutting at her body all over with such a strength as to rip both her clothes and flesh open in an instant, and riddling her in a myriad of small lacerations.

"AAAAHHH!"

The violet-haired maiden was now openly smiling as she continued with her concert. "Did you like it? It is but a small sample of what I have in store for you… There's no punishment that can be too mild for those who have dared to defy the gods…" Pandora ominously stated as she kept playing her harp.

"Y-YOU BITCH!" Ryuko declared in outrage as she attempted to recompose and get a moment of respite to nurse her wounds.

But as she tried to lift herself from the ground, she found her limbs to be unresponsive and a sense of nausea and disorientation fell upon her senses. "What? What is happening!? I-I can't move! What did you do to me!?" The Sukeban demanded from Pandora, knowing exactly she must be the one behind this new peril.

"Oh? So, you finally took notice? Took you long enough… My music does more than simply cut at your flesh… It buries deep inside your being, allowing me to either take control of your actions or cause you excruciating unimaginable pain from the inside. For example, I could if I so desired, stop your heart from beating but with a single pluck of my strings…" The Maiden in Black stated joyously, and to prove her words true she did exactly that. Playing her next note with such finality that it seemed to echo poignantly across the entire room and piercing deeply into Ryuko's very core before bringing her rendition to a brief pause, her amused smile still in her face.

The Sukeban's eyes widened and turned vacuous as she felt her heartbeat come to a sudden stop, a horrible consternation took hold of her mind as blood was ejected from her mouth in a fit of coughs while she helplessly tried to clutch at her chest in an attempt to force her beating organ to work again. Her frantic wheezes became more and more prominent as her desperation grew at her failure, feeling herself slowly losing all strength as the literal grip of death holding her hostage began to claim all her senses. An endless impregnable darkness that wanted to envelope and swallow her whole.

Seeing the frenzied erratic thrashing of the Sukeban made Pandora's smile to become even more content as she proceeded to resume her recital and return all functions to Ryuko's heart. "So, do you understand now? You are completely and utterly helpless in the palm of my hands, do enjoy these last few minutes of bliss, and listen to my music before I pull down the curtains on you for all eternity…"

Ryuko shook her head and brought her hands up to cover her ears. "No! I will not listen to your infernal music! I will not be a puppet under your control!" She declared stubbornly as she curled in a ball on the ground.

Pandora laughed at her reaction. "Oh, you are so hopelessly adorable in your feebleness. I'm afraid that won't work… As I've told you, my music buries itself deep within your being, and once it takes hold it will never let you go. So, it does not matter if you try to cover your ears, as soon as you listened to the first notes of my performance, you were forever and inexorably under my control…" The violet-haired maiden kept smiling as her music reached a crescendo and Ryuko began to scream and writhe unsettling as a horrible agony ignited within her throughout her entire body. It was like being stabbed by a thousand knives all at the same time that were then twisted by the hilt just to cause her undue pain for good measure before burying themselves again in her flesh to repeat the process.

A look of satisfaction appeared on Pandora's face at seeing Ryuko's screaming for dear life. "Yes...! That's exactly how I want to see you! On the floor, suffering and howling in pain like an animal! This torment you are under is the very least you deserve for having dared to question the motives of Milord Hades! So, how does it feel!? I hope you're choking on it… Make sure to savor the sensation, as that's the last thing I'll ever allow you to experience! Because you see… The time has finally arrived to put you out of your misery! So, rejoice for your wretched pathetic life has finally come to an end!" She declared triumphally, letting the feeling of victory go over to her head and dramatically rearing a hand back for flair as she prepared to tug at the last string that would bring an end to Ryuko's life.

Only for metallic hum to reverberate with a screech as a Katana suddenly stopped in mid-air after being thrown in her direction.

"LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE YOU WENCH!" Satsuki declared forcefully as she jumped in front of the collapsed and stood defiantly against Pandora.

Slowly, but noticeably, the contented smile of the Maiden in black disappeared and was replaced by a blank unimpressed expression, as Pandora simply stared at Satsuki with a face that said 'Seriously?'. Eventually, Pandora broke eye contact with a sigh.

"You know, I was trying being merciful by carrying out this foolish girl's execution as gently as I could… But of course, meddlesome interlopers had to interfere…" She commented, glancing again at Satsuki with a pointed look.

"You call torturing someone with puppeteering music being merciful!? What the fuck!?" Ryuko's elder sister called back in incomprehension.

Pandora simply genially nodded. "Yes… Because you see... As much as I like playing my harp, it is in the end a musical instrument and unsuited for actual combat." As she spoke, her left hand began to reach towards her trident, resting besides her harp. "No… My actual weapon is this…!" She declared triumphally as she brought the trident to bear, the steel suddenly gleaming like a blinding beacon of light that struck Satsuki in the chest in full, fanning her clothes and hair as if a gale of wind was blowing at her face before blasting the unprepared girl directly into the roof in a straight line.

The yell of surprise from the swordsgirl was brought to an abrupt stop as she crashed in full upon the high domed ceiling with a thunderous crack that resonated loudly through the entire throne room. Satsuki could only whimper in pain, stuck as she was stuck inside a crater on the roof before gravity reasserted itself and she dropped bonelessly back to the ground, broken pieces of masonry falling alongside her as she smacked into the floor in a mangled heap besides her equally injured sister. That was all it took to completely defeat Satsuki and squash any resistance and fighting spirit in her, a single attack.

Pandora just helplessly shook her head at the sight of the groaning and defeated teens. "Honestly, what made you think it was a good idea interfering in my little disciplinary session?" She asked rhetorically out loud, not really expecting an answer, but getting one nonetheless from Satsuki.

"Kkkkkhh… I told you… Ryuko is my sister… And I cannot abandon her to be tortured and killed by the likes of you…" The swordsgirl replied, trying to appear defiant, but to hurt and injured to give a proper glare.

For a moment, Pandora had a vision of a certain saint who also refused to do what was most expeditive and efficient, all if it meant that the life of his own brother would be spared, even at his own personal detriment. "No… I suppose you couldn't really stand aside while your sister was under my ministrations, I'll grant you that much. Sadly, for you… Milord Hades has given me an order, and a command issued by a god is an absolute. Therefore… I'm afraid the dispensation of punishment must continue; and because of your interference, you must now undergo the same agony that was in store solely for your sister…" She declared ominously as she began to lift her trident again.

"For what is worth, know that I hold no animosity towards you, your sister on the other hand..." Pandora trailed off gesturing dismissively towards the also injured Sukeban. "Regardless, I have my orders, and I have no intention of going against Milord Hades' wishes…" She declared sternly before her trident flashed again and the two sisters found themselves being struck by continuous bursts of cosmic energy.

"YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

Time and again the two girls were struck mercilessly, their screams eventually being drown by the sound of the impacts raining upon them. So much energy was coursing through their bodies that at times their bones and whole skeletal frame became briefly visible through their skin, as if looking at an X-ray picture as smoke began to leak from their forms. When the assault finally abated, the two girls could do nothing but lay on the floor, a couple of smoked battered lumps.

"You know I could kill you two whenever I might want, right? No one here will lift a finger to help you. No one will miss you…" Pandora stated conversationally, as if like an afterthought. "But it can all be brought to an end; all you have to do is ask Milord Hades for forgiveness and say you're sorry for your crass behavior and breach in decorum. Do that, and all will be forgiven…" The maiden in black said affably, gesturing for the girls to accept her (in her mind) generous offer.

The two sisters refused to give an answer out of principle, too hurt by Pandora's ministrations to even bother to put a veneer of defiance. Both girls were simply in too much pain to even attempt to move, but despite that, Ryuko couldn't help but give a worried glance towards Satsuki, as if looking at her older sister for guidance. The Elder sister simply gave one of her customary stern expressions and shook her head in a negative. Neither of them offering a response to Pandora and instead allowing the growing silence to be their response.

The violet-haired maiden sighed. "You two are so unreasonably stubborn, is my offer not generous enough? What else could you possibly want? Or is it simply you two being thickheaded children? Do you expect for your defiance to be rewarded if you are able to hold out in your insolence long enough? That you'll able to accomplish anything other than being some minor nuisance with your petty rebellion? Foolishness!" Pandora declared with a look of incomprehension before recomposing herself and becoming resolute.

"I reiterate, there's nothing for you two to gain with your disobedience… There's no one to help you, no hero in the sidelines waiting for the last moment to save you…" She began to say as she resumed her assault and cosmic energy began to lash upon the sisters forms once more, reigniting the screams. "No prize waiting at the end of this road, just an ignoble death and oblivion. If you were simply to forsake your useless pride and beg for Milord's pardon, he will be gracious enough to grant you clemency. But it is just so typical of humans, to spit in the face of the gods after they are willing to grant them mercy. Very well… If you two have no intention to concede, then you can suffer together in your obstinance!" She declared unyieldingly as she prepared to unleash more and more Cosmic bolts upon the two screaming girls. Only for her expression to morph into a visage of surprise and outrage.

"What!?" She exclaimed with a wrathful scornful expression, as the two injured girls suddenly found themselves being safeguarded inside Euphemia's protective embrace. The pink-haired princess staring straight back at Pandora with a defiant look as if daring her to take issue with her actions.

"That is enough! You have made your point, there's no sense in continuing with this torture out of sake for your wounded pride!" She declared confrontationally without a single ounce of fear.

Pandora's expression seemed to twist into utter scorn, but before she could react in any way a completely terrified voice rang out. "EUPHEMIA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Cornelia exclaimed in alarm as she ran towards her sister with extreme urgency before bodily tackling the Pinkette into the ground with the intention of dragging her away from the mounting clusterfuck.

"Ouch! Cornelia? No! Don't Cornelia, don't try to pull me away! I will not stay quiet while an injustice of this magnitude is happening in front of me!"" Euphemia protested as she struggled against the hold of her elder sister.

"What were you thinking, sister!? What could possibly made you believe that Interfering in this mess was a good idea!? Can't you see it is too dangerous!?" A rather frantic Cornelia berated at her younger sibling as she tried to ineffectually pull her from Pandora's sights.

Talking about the young maiden in black, a feeling of coolness began to take over her features as her fury abated and her expression began to turn stolid and impassive, lowering her trident as she watched the shenanigans of the two royal siblings. Her mouth becoming a thin flat line as her gaze turned indecipherable. "Cornelia… What is the meaning of this interruption?" She demanded of the Fuchsia-haired princess with a complete expressionless tone that broke through the bickering of the two sisters like a knife, leaving a rather tense atmosphere behind as an uncomfortable silence ensued.

"…!..."

"It wasn't my idea! I didn't know Euphemia was going to intrude… J-just let me take her out of your hair, she will not cause you any further hindrance…" Cornelia pleaded as she signaled her sister to keep quiet with a glare.

Pandora simply closed her eyes and shook her head in a negative. "I'm afraid that's not how things work Cornelia…" She opened her eyes again to pin the older princess in place with a fulminant stare. "If I remember correctly, you made a deal with Milord Hades, your life and living soul in eternal servitude in exchange for bringing your sister back from the dead and protect her from the ravages of both time and injury. Isn't that right…?" The violet-haired maiden inquired rhetorically, gesturing towards Cordelia who couldn't refute her.

"…."

Pandora kept speaking. "Therefore, you are responsible for every action that your sister takes since you became her caretaker after interceding in her behalf, everything she does reflects of you. Which brings us to our current issue… An oath-sworn subject openly opposing and interfering in the designs and commands of her liege lord…" A pensive expression fell upon her. "I wonder what should be done about this…?"

A cold sweat began to form on Cornelia's brow as a chilling tremor coiled inside her, all she could do was let out an anxious gulp as she knew very well the kind of power Hades had upon her and her sister, and the potential consequences of going against the ruler of the underworld could be…

Immediately, she put a hand behind Euphemia's head and pushed her down to the ground on her knees into a Seiza bow alongside her, making sure both of her heads were touching the cold marble floor. "I offer my sincerest apologies to Lord Hades for my sister's behavior, and I'm willing to do whatever is required of me as a mean of apology for any unintentional offense she might have caused to his Excellency…" Cornelia pleaded as formally and properly as she could.

"Cornelia! Please, No! You do not need to demean yourself in this way for my sake!" Euphemia retorted trying to escape form the suddenly unyielding grasp of her older sister.

"I suggest you should keep quiet girl!" Pandora commanded towards Euphemia. "Your sister is doing everything in her power to make sure Milord Hades does not banish your pitiful soul back into the underworld, and here you are throwing her sacrifice down the drain with your impertinence! What a terrible sister you must be!" She mocked, lifting an arm to cover her mouth with the back of her hand.

Euphemia scowled at that. "My sister has nothing to do with this! Leave her alone! It is me who is defying your god!" She

"So, you admit to your rebellion…? How audacious of you… No, not audacious… Reckless? Moronic? I really don't think you're truly grasping the kind of danger you are currently in, little princess…" Pandora stated with a demeaning gaze. Euphemia glared and was about to open her mouth again, but the maiden in black stopped her with a dismissive gesture before she could do so. "But that does not matter right now, it will be up to Milord Hades to decide what is to be done with you two for your insubordination…" She stated ominously as she turned towards the King of the underworld and asked for his command with her gaze alone.

Hades opened his eyes and focused his sight upon Euphemia. The Pinkette feeling all sense of resistance evaporate from her in an instant as she felt herself being suffocatingly trapped in the hollow empty gaze of the king of the underworld. "Mortal…. Do you wish to intercede in these girls' defense for their breach in decorum and the offense given towards my divine personage?" He inquired upon the lithe girl.

Euphemia required a moment to compose herself as she felt deeply unnerved by the attention being bestowed upon her by the ruler of the dead. "I… Yes… I believe this constant torture to be cruel and inhumane, and completely unnecessary if you aim is simply to teach them some manners in how to behave…" She declared with conviction.

"Noted…" It was all that the ruler of the dead said as his empty gaze turned next towards Cornelia. "And you Cornelia… Do you stand by your sister's actions? Are you willing to support her claims and help her into advocating for these two foolish girls? Know that if you do decide to sponsor her, then the price to pay for her insubordination will fall squarely upon your shoulders…" He stated to the Fuchsia-haired princess with cold certainty.

Cornelia began to shiver in terror at the implied threat in Hades' tone, yet still she stood resolutely by her sister's side. "She is my sister… I will always support her in any endeavor she might decide on, even if I do not fully approve. So yes… I'll take whatever punishment you demand in my sister's place…" She declared, relying on her entire royal upbringing to keep her voice from breaking.

Hades just stared without replying for a moment, before finally nodding in approval. "So be it… Pandora… Administer the due punishment. This time without any interruptions…" He said, before retreating into his throne and closing his eyes.

"At once Milord Hades…" The violet-haired maiden acknowledged with a bow.

A look of horror appeared on Euphemia's face. "No…. NO! Do not dare to lay a single finger on my sister!" She declared as warning, ready to throw herself in front of Cordelia in an attempt to shield her from the imminent danger.

Pandora, however, was completely unmoved. "Quiet! You've meddled enough as it is child! Stand aside and let the adults speak!" She commanded, flaring her Cosmo again to push Euphemia, and the still injured Ryuko and Satsuki away and into a far corner of the throne room where she kept them in place, unable the move with her power alone.

She brought forth her trident at the ready, and began to march resolutely until she stood in front of the still kneeling Cordelia. Glancing down at the awaiting Fuchsia-haired princess, Pandora began to idly trace the steely surface of her trident's blades single-handedly with dainty fingers in anticipation before letting out a tired sigh.

"You know… I really have nothing against you Cornelia, I'll go as far to say that I was beginning to like you, so this entire fiasco makes me feel awkward to say the least… But as I've said, my loyalty towards Milord Hades is absolute, not even a budding friendship is enough to dissuade me from my course. In fact, it is because I like you that is even more adamant for me to show the heights of my dedication. To prove I can do my duty without hesitation or playing favorites. So, for what is worth… I am sorry things ended in this way, and I hope you don't hold this entire situation against me for what I'm about to do…" The Maiden in black stated in what could be considered the first traces of real emotion she has shown since her initial introduction of the underworld's king.

Cornelia simply grunted in acknowledgement as she mentally reinforced herself for what was about to happen. "Just do it! Carry on with your duty and prove your loyalty to your Lord! Make him proud!" She declared without hesitation, even though she was terrified on the inside.

Pandora simply stared down at her without a word, with one last sigh she closed her eyes and raised her trident, the blades shone like the sun… And Cornelia's world was swallowed by pain.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Cornelia's screams echoed throughout the throne room as Pandora's Cosmo surged across her body, forcibly breaking the bonds of her very atoms before pulling them back together in an endless cycle of destruction and restoration that caused unbelievable torment to the fuchsia-haired princess. At times it seemed as if her entire body was turned into dust in an instant, disappearing from all sight altogether, only to return into full view at the next moment whole and seemingly unscathed. Obviously, the sight of such an extreme transition between states of matter was less than pleasing to the eye.

"NO! STOP! CORN

ELIA! GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER, YOU MONSTER!" A deeply distressed Euphemia exclaimed impotently as she witnessed the torture of her eldest sibling.

A scowl appeared in Pandora's face at the Pinkette's recriminations. "Shut up, girl! It is your fault this is happening in the first place! You just had to try and play the hero, and just look where that has got you! To you and your sister! Oh I'm sure you must have felt quite brave and invincible when you thought it was only you who was risking her own live the save the hides of those two brats! Where has all your bravado from earlier gone? Not so confident now when it is not just you who has to deal with the consequences isn't it? Because that is exactly what happens when you try to meddle in the affairs of the gods, it is not only you who has to pay the price, but your entire family and every single person you've ever loved…!" The violet-haired maiden declared hauntingly as she increased the grip of her Cosmo upon Cornelia, causing even louder and frightening screams to come out from the helpless princess. Bringing further and further distress upon Euphemia, who by this point could do nothing but cry desolately on her knees for her elder sister's sake.

Pandora stared impassively as she continued to torture the fuchsia-haired frame pilot. "Do you know what Cosmo, the power that I wield, is girl?" She asked towards the anxious Euphemia at the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"W-what!?" The Pinkette replied in a brief bout of incomprehension.

"Cosmo… That is the name of this power of mine, the power that is under the command of the gods, and those blessed few that have been given the honor to wield it." Pandora began to lecture. "It is the cosmic power that came into being with the Big Bang, the great explosion at the origin of the universe. Every single living thing possess traces of this primordial explosion in the form a small miniature universe inside them, and when you ignite this mini-universe and cause it to explode inside your body, you release the primordial energy of destruction known as Cosmo. The power of the stars themselves being born and collapsing upon themselves in an eternal cycle of death and resurrection…" She stated with utmost solemnity.

Euphemia could barely understand what Pandora was talking about. "Why are you telling me this…?" She inquired with mounting dread.

"Because…" Pandora affably elaborated with a gesture. "Being able to wield Cosmo means being capable of destroying all matter without exception by severing the bonds between its atoms, essentially, it means being able to destroy a thing at their atomic level." She stated with a smile as she then motioned towards the defenseless Cornelia, causing Euphemia to come to a terrible realization.

Pandora simply continued with her lecture, uncaring of the Pinkette's terror. "It is not only the complete destruction of atoms, mind you, but also the manipulation of them. You can destroy their bonds, reconstruct them, forge entirely new bonds or even… Arrange them in unique and different forms from their original shape…" And with a malicious smirk, the violet-haired maiden slammed the butt of her trident right in the middle of Cornelia's sternum.

"OOOFF!" The fuchsia-haired pilot grunted as her lungs were forcibly emptied of air, quickly clutching at her abdomen with both arms as Pandora retracted her spear. For a straight heartbeat, a look of confusion was plastered on Cordelia's face as she blinked in stupefaction; only for her to suddenly heavy a distressingly large amount of blood from her face's orifices, staining her entire front crimson.

Cornelia collapsed upon the blood-stained floor like a sack of potatoes, squirming and writhing in agony as her laborious and miserable wheezes became more and more pronounced. Evidencing the fact she was trying to breathe, yet no air reached inside her lungs.

"CORNELIA! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?" Euphemia exclaimed in alarm at seeing the deplorable state of her elder sibling.

Pandora shrugged. "All I did was rearrange her internal organs into places and positions they were not meant to have…" She simply and calmly exclaimed, completely and utterly freaking Euphemia out.

"I-I… I can't breathe…" Cornelia wheezed feebly as she floundered in the ground, become increasingly desperate with each passing second. "I can't breathe!" She wailed as she began to feel all strength leaving her and her struggles slackened, dwindling more and more with each passing second until all action almost completely subsided.

Euphemia couldn't bother quelling her tears or any other notion of propriety for that matter as she literally cried a river, lying on the floor in defeat as she impotently watched her sister's consciousness beginning to fade on the edge of death. Ryuko and Satsuki tried to give her all the emotional support that they could by holding her from the shoulders, but unable to look at her in the eyes as tears of shame and outrage trailed down their own cheeks. "We're sorry… We're so sorry…" The two Matoi sisters kept repeating over and over in disgrace for what they felt was their fault.

In a hazy fever as she felt herself faint, Cornelia employing the last vestiges of strength inside her, forced herself to lock eyes with her little sister. "Euphemia… it's alright…" Her voice came out as a whisper, but was clearly heard in the now silent throne room. "It is alright, little sister… Do not cry…" She tried to reassure her younger sibling as she shed her won tears. "Just remember… I will always lo—I will always…"

But Cornelia was unable to utter her last words, with a final wheeze, all remaining faint movement came to a stop abruptly and she simply laid still on the cold floor, eyes still staring wide open in the direction of her sister though all light in them having disappeared. Euphemia's mind crumbled into despair as she wailed in denial and broke down into a sobbing mess.

A rather tense pause followed, as the Pinkette cried for her dead sister, Pandora closed her eyes and stood at the ready for further instructions from her lord. When all of the sudden, Hades' mark lit up like a raging fire in the middle of Cornelia's forehead, and the previously lifeless princess rose to her elbows with a yell of pain as she was forcefully kept from entering the halls of Hades' underworld.

"W-What!?" Cornelia spoke aloud incredulous, as she suddenly felt a great discomfort inside her as her organs shuffled back to their original positions. "What is this!?" She questioned with disbelief before a tear-wrecked Euphemia slammed into her from behind, her heart eternally relieved at seeing her still alive.

"CORNELIA!"

"Uck!?"

Hades' clear eyes zeroed in upon the squirming form of the newly revitalized princess. "Remember my dear Cornelia, you accepted becoming my eternal subject in exchange for the life of your sister. And as guarantee of our pact I bestowed upon you all of my blessings, eternal youth and immortality… Meaning… You cannot die, because I will not allow you to die… If someone strikes you down, you will simply rise up again without any injury as any damage or alteration to your body will be corrected within moments. As promised, you are now exempt from the ravages of time and violence, to remain forever young and beautiful as long as you remain in my good graces. That includes your sister too…

So, make sure never to forget: You are mine… Now and forever in mind, body and soul… I will forgive your transgressions, and those of your sister just this once. But know that even the immense benevolence of a god of my caliber has its limits. Is that clear…?" He asked pointedly, demanding an answer with his sight alone.

…

…

…

"Y… Y-Yes L-Lord Hades…" It was all that Cornelia could force herself to say after her ordeal.

The King of the underworld nodded before delivering his judgement. "You are all forgiven for your offenses, you Cornelia, your sister and those two girls. Effective and immediately, however… You are now responsible for those youths the same way you are responsible for your sister, they are your new wards. If ever they are to step out of line again, then it is you who will have to deal with the consequences. Such is my decree…"

He then turned to the rest of the room at large. "Now… Does someone else wishes to say something? A matter important enough as to decide to interrupt my proceedings one more time? Anything that would take my attention from addressing my immediate family? Or will I finally be allowed to settle my own business first in peace?"

No one dared to say a word.

"Very well…" Hades stated before gesturing at Aphrodite. "Aphrodite… Proceed if you are so kind…"

The Goddess of Love quickly began to explain their situation with a small summary regarding the working of Parallel worlds. How the "Universe" permits the birth of unlimited possibilities, countless Adjacent Worlds, and divergent developments of history. But due to the fact that unrestricted propagation of this process would quickly exhaust the Universe's lifespan, those extraneous possibilities that are removed from the category of "timelines characterized by strength and stability" are periodically culled by the existence known as the World so as to prevent the needless expenditure of energy. All this through a process that is referred to as the Conservation of Phenomena which is affected by way of a series of heuristic audits of cumulative timeline survivability made in order to ascertain a Timeline's future prospects and judge its potential to branch out into further Parallel World's across the subsequent century.

"So, you're saying Gaea culls other timelines that diverge too far from the agreed chronological record…" Hades succinctly surmised. "I must assume then that you and Demeter must have come from one of these diverging timelines. One where Zeus killed me… And my beloved… Yet by your own admission, this should not be possible since the world itself makes sure no divergent timelines might exist to threaten the stability of the universe…" He inquired further.

BB then spoke, interjecting in the conversation. "That is correct my Master. If left alone the Great Tree Known as Time will continue branching out further and further without restriction, therefore the culling process serves to remove those divergences that are unnecessary, leaving only the Foundations of the human order (also known as the Foundations of the rationality of man) free to advance into the future. This is why worlds that lie within the foundation are said to be comparable to each other; meaning the human civilizations extant within them largely resemble one another in expression and format.

If a world were to advance too far into ruin or prosperity, it would inevitably be led towards immutable outcomes, which would make it be considered bankrupt of any potential to diverge into further Adjacent Worlds, and therefore culled as consequence. Those events that are considered part of the foundation of man, are preserved and anchored as absolutes by the manifestation of Time-Locks and receive the designation of Average Expressions or Values of phenomena and occurrences. Both because the contents of preserved realities tend to be 'commonplace' amongst Adjacent Worlds, and because their outcomes on average aren't biased toward a positive or negative valence."

The plum-haired girl lectured as she donned some glasses over her eyes out of nowhere and raised her pointing stick for emphasis.

"So, a cluster of parallel worlds form the axis of time, its Primary Branch if you will… Comprised of the confirmed pathways of the History of Man; that which remains at the end of the completion of the culling processes, meaning those worlds that exist along their 'proper axis' representing 'the Average Expression and Average Values' of phenomena and occurrences across the timelines of humanity which are designated through the implementation of time-locks upon those events that are categorized as vital to the foundation of man…." The King of the underworld declared his understanding of what he had just heard.

"You have such a talent for summarizing my most beautiful and brutal master… However, I must still make a small correction. The axis of time is formed by a cluster of adjacent worlds, not parallel. There's a difference…" BB simply replied with a nod.

"Which is…?" The lord of the dead inquired.

"Parallel Worlds refer to those timelines that advance in perfect parallel with no relationship of divergence." BB began to explain. "Adjacent Worlds, however, refer to divergent timelines that advance in adjacency to one another. This is the potential that is qualified to determine if a timeline is designated for culling when it entirely lacks the potential to diverge into Adjacent Worlds. That is to say, it does not have the capability to survive beyond the next one hundred years and thus it is incapable of branching off into further possibilities…"

"These time-locks; elaborate on them further…" Hades succinctly commanded.

"Quantum Time-Locks are pretty much the Foundations of Human Order as they form the premises upon which the rationality of humanity necessarily operates." BB answered without missing a beat. "Any history deemed important enough for the foundation of humanity is secured by a Time-Lock in the form of an anchoring band and becomes an existence impervious to interference from the past and the future; and therefore, the events or phenomena that exist within the purview of this anchoring band are considered utterly immovable.

Hypothetically, this means if one were to travel to a chronological position in the past of an 'anchoring band' with the end of modifying history, as time progresses unto the Time-Lock, history would be forcibly corrected back to its state of record…."

"So, no changing history by travelling to the past. History abhors paradox after all…" Hades commented.

BB just nodded again. "Correct my master… Though it is not completely impossible to affect changes to a timeline despite the existence of a Quantum-Lock. Make no mistake, although universes wherein Quantum Time-Locks are imposed and the 'outcomes' that have been registered to the anchoring bands become categorically unchangeable, causing that which would be open for time travelers to modify to become invariably restricted to process.

It is still potentially possible that by some immense undertaking, the course of the History of Man could be fundamentally denied by the successful revocation or destruction of a 'Quantum Time-Lock'—but even by this method, that which is denied is restricted solely to 'the History of Man' that falls subsequent to the anchoring band. However, interference of this scale would require a ridiculous amount of energy that is at least equivalent to that of a true miracle and hypothetically have such a catastrophic effect on the History of Man to the point of reducing everything to a mass of arbitrary possibilities. Therefore, a total rewrite of history would require more energy than that which exists on Earth."

"And why is this so?" Hades inquired further.

"Because as I've already said, there's only a finite amount of energy in the universe and only so much of it can be spent in the creation of diverging timelines. Worlds that have evolved too fast or crumbled too quickly are effectively Dead Ends with predetermined outcomes, where the future cannot be changed. And since the process to create new worlds expends the energy of the Dimension, there's simply no utilitarian reason as to why a part of the Dimension's finite energy stores should be spared for the creation of further divergences from Dead End worlds. Only outcomes that would not cause undue difficulty in managing the next generation are supported, hence the manifestation of a Time-Lock in order to carry out two important functions:

1.- To preserve the Human Order by making certain all 'future histories' become immutable. And…

2.- To ensure timelines recognized as 'Dead Ends' are closed to the future and cease to be allotted energy for branch proliferation."

"And what do you think would happen if energy were still to continuously be fed into one of these 'Dead End' worlds despite their lack of a future?" The King of the underworld queried in curiosity.

BB became pensive for a moment as she thought of an answer, tapping the side of her jaw with a dainty finger. "In theory, 'Dead End' worlds would be capable of further proliferating into more 'new worlds' if continuously allotted energy by the Dimension. But all of them would still be worlds without future, and as I said, there's no reason as to why a useless thing like that would be done in the first place…" She answered with a shrug of her shoulders, causing certain attributes of her to jiggle enticingly.

Hades rose an elegant eyebrow at BB's response. "So, you're saying only a god has the power to change time…?" He then turned towards his fellow Olympians. "Is that what you and the rest of my kin did in your world, my dear sister? Did you tried to steer history into a more agreeable path to your liking?" The ruler of the dead asked towards the still prone form of Demeter.

The blonde emerald-clad woman took a moment to rub the tears off her eyes and compose herself a little, trying to keep her sniffs down. "You're… You're not wrong… Zeus did indeed attempt to keep the influence of the gods from vanishing from the world and continue our rule upon humanity all the way to the modern era by strong-arming us into helping him in his plans. Going even as far as subsuming and enslaving our wills against our wishes in order to eradicate all opposition. That's when he killed you… That is to say your counterpart we are familiar with. But not even the entire might of all the Olympians was enough to change the course of history. We needed the help of an Outsider God and his tree of Fantasy to alter reality and neutralize the World's attempts to prune our timeline…"

"So, this version of you, my dear sister, does indeed hail from a Dead-End world without future… Interesting…" Hades replied with mild attention.

"We call it 'Lostbelt', our Belt of strange tales…" Aphrodite spoke.

"Indeed, it is a strange tale that reaches my ears. Zeus having killed me and my wife, the gods keeping their rule over the Earth until the modern era. And for how you are making things sound, my brother became an abhorrent tyrant just the same as our father, Kronos, I can hardly believe it myself…" Hades commented with no discernable reaction.

Aphrodite just shrugged. "Well to tell the truth you weren't exactly killed by Zeus as it was more like you committed suicide in order to spite him and keeping him from stealing the rest of your authorities…" She elaborated.

Hades smiled faintly at that. "Now that does sounds like something, I would do…" He said, his gaze becoming distant for a moment before refocusing and turning back towards his listeners. "Regardless, all this would be a little too much to accept if it weren't for the fact, I am already well aware of the existence of other far distant dimensions were history has taken different courses. But that is a realm of Authority that falls exclusively as the pure view of my father Kronos, the king of the titans that used to rule over time… I got a small glimpse of these divergent worlds when I inherited his Dunamis…" The Lord of the dead confessed as he reminisced over the past.

"Wait… What!?" A beautiful blonde woman in a white dress-like toga said, a look of shock on her face.

The goddesses standing at the front of the incoming retinue were not any better, as they too sported expressions of surprise. "Brother… How…? When did you inherited the Divine Power of our father?" Persephone asked in open surprise.

An amused nefarious smile spread upon Hades' features with a malevolent chuckle, he refused to answer his sister's question and instead turned towards the rest of his visitors. "I can feel the presence of Heroes that have walked through the gates of my kingdom in the past among your companions, dear sister. I wonder, do they too come from a Dead-End world or another divergent timeline…? It's been a long time since they've stood in my presence and accepted my judgement… Come forward and speak to me: Atalanta, Medusa, Caeneus, Penthesilea, Europa, Pollux, Castor, Circe, Medea, Galatea and Cleopatra. I want to have a word with you all…" He commanded all of a sudden to the hall at large.

Wordlessly, the called servants stepped to the front without a single show of defiance due to the presence of Hades' Cosmo that pulsated in the general background of their surroundings.

"What is it that you desire Lord Hades…?" Caenis said respectfully as she bent the knee.

"Oh? You seem quite thoughtful of your manners Caeneus… No… It is Caenis since it seems you have reverted to your original gender after your death. Curious that you still seem to possess the blessings that my brother Poseidon bestowed upon you in life…" The grip that Caenis had on her lance tightened at the mention of the God of the seas, Hades made no discernable reaction that could tell he had taken notice. "But never mind about that, I had expected for you to hold some disobedience inside your heart considering your past history with my brother. The same for you Medusa…?" He finished, turning towards the giant winged snake woman.

"I hold a special kind of hatred towards your brother for what he did to me that much is true Lord Hades. As for the rest of the Olympians…" Caenis began to say without raising her gaze. "I care not about them in the least, but all said and done, I have no quarrel with you. I remember you treated me justly when I first passed through the gates of the underworld…"

"It is the same for me Lord Hades…" Medusa spoke. "Our hatred is reserved only for those who were our enemies in life…"

"Do not believe the lies this ungrateful floozy is spouting divine uncle! There's not a shred of respect towards the gods inside Caenis heart! She is rude, uncouth and cares not for propriety. She is more trouble than what she is worth, it would be best if you were to strike her down were you stand and rid us all from her filth!" Pollux declared fervently as she kept her gaze fully focused on Hades, her twin nodding silently in agreement.

A look of utter fury and contempt took over Caenis features as she glared daggers at the twins, only keeping herself from lashing out thanks to a monumental effort, since she was not stupid to pick a fight in Hades' presence after having a taste of his Cosmo.

The Lord of the dead sinisterly chuckled at the blonde girl's declaration. "Castor, Pollux… My dear nephew—and niece…" He stated, briefly puzzling over the fact that Pollux was a girl but quickly dismissing such fact from his mind as unimportant. "Your loyalty towards your divine forefathers does you credit, as children of my brother Zeus, it is understandable for you to always be on guard for any sign of heresy against the gods… But for the moment, I would suggest you keep your opinions to yourselves. As long as Caenis is a guest under my Aegis, no harm shall fall upon her unless I command it. So, until the time comes that Caenis does something to lose my favor, I will not tolerate any ill will towards her person. That goes for anyone else standing right now within these halls…"

Castor looked extremely incensed at that, a great hatred reflecting in his visage. But ultimately, he bowed his head towards Hades in fealty, despite clutching his disc in a strong grip. "I ask for your forgiveness Divine uncle, but I cannot do that. I cannot accept the presence of Caenis anywhere close to our Divine family. Her mere existence is an affront to the gods. A mere pathetic and weak human raised in status by the blessings of our uncle Poseidon and daring to stand in the same level as a Divine being!? Blasphemy! Such an insult should be punished with impunity!" He declared with outmost irrational hatred.

Hades said nothing and simply stared consideringly at the oldest twin.

"Castor that is enough! Do not make a scene in the presence of your uncle…" A long-haired blonde woman in a white dress with red accents and a kind gaze pleaded.

"Silence, Europa! You're not any better that Caenis in that regard!" Castor rebuked with hostility at the kind blonde.

"Big brother, you shouldn't speak towards queen Europa in that way!" Pollux chided in alarm. "Remember that she still holds the Divine essence of Lady Hera inside her."

"So, what!? That only makes her a lowly demi-god unlike us who are fully Divine Spirits, regardless of the fact she is our father's wife or not…" Castor replied with derision.

Baby Hotaru didn't like the hostility that Castor was projecting into the ambience and soon tears began to swell in her little baby eyes before breaking into full-blown cries.

Hades took a single look at his crying daughter in his grasp and his expression immediately hardened… "Enough…!" He commanded with a wave of his hand that caused an invisible wind to spread throughout the throne room and physically bring all commotion to a halt. Successfully regaining the attention of everyone in the premises. "I will hear no more about this subject! I have given my judgement and it will be carried out to the letter, am I clear…!?" He commanded, giving Castor a pointed look as if daring him to complain.

The oldest twin gritted his teeth, but ultimately acquiesced with a nod. "If that is your wish Divine uncle…"

Hades accepted the acknowledgement without fuzz. "Good! Now… What is this about this woman being Hera? My divine senses tell me you are Europa, sister of Cadmus and one of Zeus' first lovers out of wedlock and the only one whose affair was never discovered by…" The Lord of the dead suddenly stops mid-speech and begins to give a closer look to the blonde woman. "Ah, I see now what is happening… It is indeed you little sister… My dear Hera. You are using Europa's body as the vessel for your spirit to inhabit. Just how exactly such a bizarre occurrence came to pass?" He asked with some confusion.

Europa' gave a warm smile and her voice suddenly took a more regal pitch. "It's not entirely correct as you say Lord Hades. I am the summoned heroic spirit of Europa, the ancient founder of Crete that was once Zeus Lover, brought forth in the vessel of a Servant. But at the same time, I'm also Hera, his divine sister and wife, as I had the Divine Core of the queen of Olympus fused with my Spirit Origin…" She placidly revealed as she offered a bow to the King of the underworld. "As Demeter and Aphrodite have already told you, there was a war among the Olympians that saw half of our ranks which among them were Hestia, Ares, Apollo, Hephaestus, Athena and you yourself as casualties of the fighting. I myself had my Aletheia destroyed and thus Zeus ordered my divine core to be implanted inside this body so that my essence would not be lost forever, just so he could be with both his wife and mistress at the same time since he loved us that much…" She stated with a seemingly placid smile that hid unfathomable depths. "So, if you find the way I speak or act particularly odd, well… That is simply the natural outcome of both of our personalities, Hera and Europa, fusing together…"

Hades simply shook his head at this new information. "I see… I am not surprised our brother decided to do such a thing. He was always quite the degenerate after all…" He ultimately stated.

"I've heard many stories about my husband's many indiscretions in proper human history. Make no mistake, inside the Lostbelt, he had very little resemblance with the image you might have of him. For fourteen thousand years he ruled over all of the Earth with an iron fist as a Tyrant that surpassed even our own father's cruelty after usurping the authorities of the rest of the gods and acquiring the power of the entire Olympian pantheon as a whole in order to defeat the White Titan. Standing alone in the end as the sole monarch of Olympus and the planet, but because of his actions, all of us gods hated him for infringing upon our respective domains without our consent. When the time came to decide whether us Olympians would continue ruling mankind or coexist with them, Zeus took the unilateral decision of ruling over humanity by himself without the input of the rest of us, standing in direct opposition against our wishes. And thus, the Olympiamachia came inevitably to pass.

He is the one who personally defeated you and killed Athena and the rest before throwing their destroyed mechanical bodies into the seas of Atlantis, whose wreckages ended up becoming islands. And then he proceeded to punish the survivors by enslaving them to his side: Artemis and Poseidon were reprogrammed to serve as defense layers of Atlantis. Demeter was forced to murder her own daughter Persephone, driving her to madness as result…" After saying that, the Goddess of the Harvest in question broke again into sobs at the memory of her crime, making baby Hotaru to take pity on her and begin to tug at Hades' sleeve to gain his attention while pointing at the dejected Goddess of the Harvest with her other stubby hand.

Hera kept speaking as she gestured towards Aphrodite. "And Aphrodite had her nature as the goddess of Love overturned and was forced into becoming a cold goddess who holds dominion over all of humanity through mental control. And me… Well, I've already told you what he did to me just so that I could serve as both his priestess and Divine Bride…" The white-clad blonde then let out a sigh and shook her head before continuing with her retelling.

"In truth, I would have preferred for Zeus to have been a womanizer and adulterer as he is in proper human history rather than the merciless tyrant and usurper, he became inside our Lostbelt. As the mother of all civilization, I couldn't allow the existence of such a stagnating world to continue any longer regardless of how much my husband fought to protect said world. It is why I made the decision of betraying him and help the Chaldeans (the surviving dregs of humanity that fought to erase the existence of the Lostbelts) instead. Which brought the death of my two children and the rest of my fellow Olympians here as a consequence for my treason; but my gamble paid off (Much more successfully than I had anticipated) and with my assistance the humans managed to defeat all of us remaining gods, Kill Zeus himself and destroy our Lostbelt…" Hera said with great sadness as she glanced towards the Dioscuri with longing, who simply stood there in their places trying to ignore her. Resolutely and uncaringly by Castor, and awkwardly and contrite by Pollux.

"You are not, and never will be our mother Europa, so don't go around acting as if you were…" Castor sternly stated.

"I am the mother of all civilization, all the children born in the lands of the west can trace their lineage back to me! And I'm also the wife of Zeus, your father, and the queen of Olympus." Europa declared with authority of her own.

"No! You are just some lowly human who happened to be the best suitable vessel we had at the time to hold Hera's Divine Origin. You do not deserve to stand with the rest of us, Gods! The only reason as to why I am not striking you down where you stand after your betrayal is because of the wishes of my Divine uncle!" Castor bitterly proclaimed before falling quiet.

"I see…" Hades stated expressionless without a hint of emotion, but a certain tension could be felt in his voice. "Honestly Europa, I do not blame you for having betrayed our brother and plotted his downfall if he indeed had become such a terrible Tyrant as to surpass our father Kronos… But I am not pleased that you would choose to aid the humans over your own kin. It reminds me too much of Athena's own betrayal…" He said, cutting himself off at the end to address back towards his fellow Olympians. "And what about you Aphrodite, Demeter? What do the two of you think about Hera's betrayal…?" The Lord of the dead asked, pointedly staring at the two goddesses in question with an unblinking stare.

For a moment an uncomfortable silence fell upon the room, only for Aphrodite to shrug her shoulders uncaringly. "Honestly… Now that the reconfiguration and limitations that Zeus had placed over us have been broken after our destruction, I too do not blame Hera for her actions. Tartarus, I even approve of them. Zeus needed to die, end of story! He gained the eternal enmity and hatred of all of us Olympians for having stolen our Authorities and refusing to give them back. The only thing that annoys me is the fact that we gods had to fall at the hands of humans for it to happen!? It was one of the most humiliating things I had to endure in my whole life!?" The Goddess of love declared with no small amount of scorn.

"I know what you speak off dear aunt, I know exactly the indignity of enduring the blasphemies of humans daring to raise their hands against the gods who created them…" Hades declared with simmering outrage beneath his seemingly placid exterior.

"Well… Small comfort that is… By Chaos! I need a cigarette right now…" Aphrodite replied looking pretty tense.

Hades then turned towards Demeter, asking for her input with his sight alone as an expression of grief became plastered upon her fair features. "Do you want to know what I think...? I am happy that Zeus is dead… He deserves to rot for all eternity inside Tartarus for having forced me to kill my own daughter… My beautiful Persephone…" She declared with soul-splitting heartache. "The only thing I regret, is that I wasn't there to see him suffer…"

Hades quickly took his gaze away from his sister, as a sudden fury began to swell inside his cold dead heart. It took him a great deal of effort to wrestle back control over his emotions. "I see… Very well… If that is your consensus, then I see no reason to punish Hera for her actions. We will speak more about this subject later… Now as for the rest of you…"

The king of the underworld turned back to address the Servants kneeling in front of him. "I must be correct into assuming you all will have no complaint into working for me as my agents. Obviously, there would be some side benefits if you were to accept since I can't stand seeing you all in front of me in that fake state of pseudo-life that is the materialization of your souls inside the vessel of a Servant. It is an insult to me who has complete command upon the forces of life and death to witness a flawed method designed by mortals into attempting to cheat death. Especially when it is within my power to restore you back to life with a true perfect resurrection…" Hades declared as he stood from his throne, his robes billowing beneath him and slowly he began to walk through the length of the hall. Baby in arms as BB trailed behind him.

The servants present were surprised by that declaration. "I… Sorry to speak out of turn Lord Hades, but could you please repeat that…?" Pleaded a rather stunned Cleopatra.

Hades made no reaction that could tell he had heard her, and it was instead BB who answered that question. "Milord Hades is capable of raising the souls of the dead back to life at will, he turned me into a living breathing person as reward for my allegiance during our first meeting since I, just like you, am a Servant that was summoned to aid him. I would not distrust his word that easily if I were you little piggy…" She warned, uncharacteristically serious for once.

"Does that… Does that mean you are capable of bringing my husband back to life?" Cleopatra inquired with rising hope.

Hades opened his eyes and focused his attention fully on the kneeling green-haired woman. "Your husband, my dear Cleopatra VII Philopator, heir to Alexander himself…? Which of all your husbands are you talking about? Is it Marcus Antonius or one of your brothers?" He asked for clarification.

Cleopatra felt a little insulted at the question if her scowl was of any indication. "My brothers are of no importance! And Marcus… Although I hold no ill will towards him as he was kind enough to offer succor and console me in my grief, all other men fall short in comparison to my beloved Caesar." She declared with great longing.

"Ah! You are talking about Gaius Julius Caesar, the first emperor of Rome, I was under the impression he had simply been your lover… What a surprise it is to know you had actually married him too…" He stated in realization before scoffing in derision. "I find your question to be almost insulting my dear Cleopatra… It is true that I am most diminished after the death of my physical body and the injury done to my soul and spirit, but even so… Despite being consigned inside this mortal vessel, the longer I command this body, the greater it becomes attuned to my spirit and my power grows as result. No single soul is beyond my reach regardless of space and distance…" He declared matter-of-factly.

Hades then turned all of a sudden and began to approach his broken Divine corpse. "Yet that might not be enough still, limited as I am by this prison of flesh… I would need the might of my divine blood to achieve this feat…" He said as he stood over his dead body still clad in his armor.

"Divine Blood!?" Several voices exclaimed.

"Ichor… The blood of the gods which retains the qualities of the nectar and ambrosia that we immortals consume as our nourishment. No lowly human could ever hope to survive coming into contact with it, as it is completely toxic to their ilk and will instantly kill them upon the briefest of touches. This mortal vessel of mine cannot hope to withstand such blessing, but no matter, the will of my spirit alone will be enough to preserve this body from the throes of death…" Hades declared grandiosely before turning towards Demeter. "Perhaps you would like to better acquaintance yourself with your granddaughter, dear sister of mine…?" He proposed before offering little baby Hotaru towards Demeter.

"I…! Yes…" The Emerald-clad goddess exclaimed in surprise before nodding in agreement and approaching her brother to take the child from his grasp, the infant happily accepting the motherly embrace of the Goddess as Demeter quickly became enamored by the little baby girl in her arms.

Wordlessly, Hades turned back to his corpse, and with his will alone he commanded the black Ichor to move into his new vessel. The black ooze surged into the air in an instant before settling back down and crawling its way towards the form of the king of the underworld, quickly moving up his body before entering inside him through the orifices of his face.

As soon as that happened, the aura of dread that Hades' Cosmo exuded greatly intensified, smothering all of creation with its death grip. That's pretty much what all the people in the room felt, a feeling of absolute death that seemed to swallow the entire universe inside a black void. Thick impenetrable shadows fell upon the throne room, covering everything under the mantle of the Lord of the dead in an endless darkness. The rich crimson hair of the lord of the dead began to change color once more, turning into a deep midnight ebony that extended from roots to tip as his skin tone acquired a sickly pallor. The veins of his body bulged and became openly visible on his face as it appeared as if they were being clogged from the inside, black liquid dribbling from his mouth and the corners of his eyes.

He turned, looking more like a deceased corpse being puppeteered by some terrible presence than an actual living, breathing human being. "Rejoice Cleopatra! For your deepest heart's desire is about to be fulfilled! Therefore, raise your head and witness the true power of a god…" He declared before locking eyes with the Green-haired woman who was trembling in fear in his presence and using his divine will to peer inside her mind so that he could put a face to his target. Then he extended his senses beyond the reach of this universe and into infinity, searching through distant dimensions on the lookout for his objective. Space and distance were meaningless for a being like him, once he had a target in mind, no place was beyond Hades' Authority.

The animated corpse that was Hades' vessel seemed curious for a moment. "What is this…? Some strange dimension beyond time and space where the souls of legendary heroes gather…? Ah! This must be the throne that BB had spoken about. No matter… I have found my target, and nothing can deny my Authority over the souls of the dead…" He declared before, with a sway of his robes, revealing the kneeling form of a middle-aged man wearing a red suit and golden breastplate, looking pretty out of sorts at suddenly finding himself in an unknown place.

Cleopatra's eyes lighted up in marvel at such feat, and she immediately launched herself towards the newcomer. "CAESAR!" She exclaimed happily as she slammed into the disoriented emperor with a hug.

"Cleopatra!? Where are we…? And… How am I alive once more…?" The former ruler of Rome inquired with great puzzlement.

"It's all thanks to lord Hades!" The green-haired queen declared without breaking the hug, rubbing her cheeks on her husband's chest.

Caesar was immediately shocked by that response. "Hades…?" He quickly glanced about in search for the god in question and when his eyes fell upon the king of the underworld, he instantly assumed a deferential demeanor. "Milord Pluto, to what do I owe for having received such a generous boon?" He asked, lowering his face in deference as he held his wife in his embrace.

Hades didn't reply right away, instead he released a thick inky cloud of darkness from his mouth that quickly diffused itself among the surrounding shadows, causing the semblance of the God's mortal vessel to improve, his hair turning back to its former crimson color. Only then did the Lord of the dead finally deigned himself to answer.

"Apologies, but I needed to seal my blood away since this body was on the verge of breaking down because of it. Now as for your question Emperor Caesar, speak to your wife, she interceded in your behalf and pleaded with me to bring you back to life. And I in my infinite mercy decided to grant this request to her that was within my power." It was that the king of the underworld said before turning back towards the Egyptian queen. "Now, Cleopatra, that I have fulfilled your heart's desire… Will you refuse to become my servant? And I don't mean it in the sense of you being an incomplete summoned spirit forced to inhabit a magical vessel, but as an agent of my will tasked with fulfilling all of my orders without question and strive to see all of my designs come to fruition…?" Hades pointedly asked, staring down at the kneeling queen.

"We servants are nothing but tools to carry out the will of our masters, familiars conjured to fight and die in their name. I have no reason to refuse to serve under your aegis Milord Hades… Especially after you have fulfilled the only single wish I had…" Cleopatra replied in submission, refusing to look up at the god.

"Good… And what about the rest of you? Penthesilea, grandniece of mine… Do you have any objection at the notion of me becoming your new lord and Master?" Hades asked to the white-haired amazon.

"I only have one wish Granduncle…" Penthesilea began to say before her expression hardened with the white of her sclera turning black and her irises turning red. "I want to kill Achilles with my own two hands!" She declared with such strength as to create a small shockwave that displaced the air around her while her voice echoed throughout the room.

"Ah? So, you still hold great resentment inside your heart towards Achilles even after all these Millenia? Well, I suppose that's understandable considering how he killed you in combat and then proceeded to rape your corpse afterwards." Hades commented with a disinterested air, however the mention of the past caused Penthesilea rage to increase even more, making her surrounding shake a little due to the sheer hate to the point of nearby people becoming nervous.

"Very well, grandniece, I will restore you back to life and give you the chance to gain your revenge upon Achilles…" The King of the underworld simply added, uncaringly.

"Then I pledge to serve you forever from now on without complaint, Granduncle…" Penthesilea said before lowering her gaze again and earning a nod from the Lord of the dead.

"Then I accept your servitude Grandniece in the spirit it is being given, and what about you Atalanta?" He asked towards the Gray-haired cat-girl with violet bangs dressed in black furs with the head of a boar as shoulder guard.

"Before I answer that… Could I ask about you lord Hades…?" Atalanta requested.

"Me? And what is that you wish to know about my person, favored of Artemis?" Hades inquired raising an eyebrow.

"You are clearly from a divergent timeline different from the one we know Lord Hades, so I would like to ask about your past history and what your current goals are…?" The gray-haired cat-girl asked respectfully without raising from her kneeling position.

"My goals and history… Very well, I suppose it is natural for you to be curious about your prospective new lord, so I will indulge you…" Hades replied affably. "As I've said many times already, my name is Hades, King of the underworld and ruler of the dead… And my goal is to bring forth the complete and utter eradication of mankind so that I can have free reign to build a new eternal paradise upon the Earth…" He declared ominously with such certainty that many among his audience were left stunned speechless at such horrendous ultimatum, while many other more were instead intrigued by his words.

Caenis tilted her head in curiosity. "And why are you so adamant to see the humans dead Lord Hades? Not that I care one bit about them, I just simply wish to know…" She stated nonchalantly, with a complete lack of concern in her voice.

"Because that is the desire of the gods and we have commanded it…" It was Hades simple answer, but then he elaborated. "But if you wish for a more in-depth explanation, well… I did agree to Atalanta that I would give a brief summary of my past history." He began before entering into a lecturing mode.

"As you know, humanity was first created back during the reign of my father Kronus, shaped after the image of the gods from a lump of clay by the titan Prometheus. This was a time of prosperity where people lived in peace and harmony with nature. There was no evil, no fear and no punishment; neither greed nor mistrust existed on the world, allowing all living beings to simply enjoy their lives and be happy. Animals could speak with a human voice and no one would grow old or become ill. Together, they lived in abundance for the earth itself provided everything these wandering creatures needed. This was a time of Eternal spring where fruits grew without seeds planted, fields were covered with heavy bearded wheat without being plowed, rivers flowed with milk and nectar instead of water and trees produced honey by themselves. It was a paradise on earth where the world itself and its people remained intact in every possible aspect and even when their time was over, their death came during their sleep and without any pain.

This was the time when Earth was ruled by the Titans, with my own father, Kronus as their king and leader after he dethroned his own father Ouranus. But instead of settling himself to a life of peace, Kronus, after hearing Ouranus' prophecy that foretold he would be overthrown by one of his children in the same manner he did to him, went and devoured me alongside four of my siblings the moment we were born; except for Zeus who later returned to challenge out father and set us, his brothers and sisters, free from the stomach of our father. We then rebelled against our father and fought him and the rest of the titans in a ten-year long divine war for the dominion of the universe, the Titanomachy, which ended with the destruction of the golden age after my siblings, and I arose victorious.

Even though the golden age was no more, the golden race still existed and roamed the earth as benevolent spirits. The war was over, we Olympians had won, and peace was achieved when Zeus consigned Kronus and the rest of the titans to Tartarus until the end of time. So, it was the perfect moment for the gods to create a new, silver, generation of mankind. This was the time where the Silver age prevailed and Zeus broke the Eternal spring into three different periods of Spring, Summer and Winter, destroying Paradise forever. People now had to adjust their livings, planting seeds and plowing in Spring to harvest crops to supply for Winter and had to build wooden houses to keep them warm and safe during the wintertime.

However, as time went on, the silver race proved to be inferior in all terms to the golden race. They were immature and needed a hundred years to grow up. But when they finally reached their adulthoods, they lived short lives because of their foolishness to keep sinning and not listening and honoring the gods who began to lose their patience in them. Eventually, Zeus became so mad that he destroyed this silver race of beings completely and ended the silver age for good. Their souls were sent to my underworld and became my blessed spirits, the labor force of my sunless kingdom.

But Zeus again grew bored and decided to make a third generation, called the brazen race of men. These bronze men were strong and warlike, had weapons and armor of bronze and even houses made of bronze. They worshipped the destructive works of Ares and, instead of bread, ate the hearts of fellow men. Although they never directly committed a crime against the gods, in the end they were consumed by their own rage and depravity, which made Zeus become disappointed and outraged by their aggressive and cannibalistic behavior, and ultimately causing him to bring an end to the Bronze Age by sending forth the Deluge. A Great Flood that cleansed the Earth of all life and sent the souls of the Bronze people to the underworld for all eternity, never to see the light of the sun again.

And finally, Zeus created the last race of man, the race of iron, during a time of constant stress and labor where humans grow old quickly and are constantly beset by troubles and pressures. At first, everything was peaceful despite the constant struggles that humanity had to endure, and men lived trying to eke out an existence while upholding their faith towards the gods. But as time went on and mankind reached the peak of this new age, people began to no longer feel shame or regret at their wrongdoings, and no help against evil could be found anymore. Humans started to stray more and more away from the gods that created them and forgot all about their existence to the point they now believed them to be nothing more but tales and relegated them all into myth.

Morality is gone and men are constantly opposing each other, lying and seeding mistrust among themselves, a malignant great evil has prevailed upon the Earth, with people becoming corrupt and selfish. Modesty, truth and faith have been forgotten, replaced by deceits, frauds, violence and lust for personal gain. Even the relations between family members have become fragile or worse. Meanwhile, human beings simply meander aimlessly without any true path or purpose while man suspects his fellow man greatly. Worst of all, the earth itself is no longer intact. Wealth is being dug up from its innards by the humans, who have been overcome by greed, and stockpiled for their own profit. The seeds of envy and hate have been planted and nurtured with violence until they bloomed into the wars that constantly erupts between the nations of man.

The Gods have had enough of humanity's blasphemy and came to the decision of forsaking them the same way they have forsaken us. Zeus himself gave the order that would herald our return to destroy their pitiful race, just as it has been done in the past. There is no help for humankind anymore.

And yet… Despite the appointed destruction of humanity being the will of the gods, there are those that dared to stand against our designs. Athena, Zeus firstborn, betrayed her kin and family and decided to side with the humans and protect them from our Divine wrath. Teaching them our sacred arts that allows us to control the fundamental forces of the universe and command the power of the stars themselves, all so that they could raise their fists at the very gods who created them in defiance. There are no words to express the severity of such a vile blasphemy, confirming simply what we had already discerned on our own, that the humans are beyond salvation.

If that wasn't enough, Athena has personally led the humans in their rebellion and struck against the rest of Olympus. First coming into conflict with Poseidon, slaying him in combat and sealing his spirit away for all eternity. And then daring to intervene in my divine mission to purge mankind. Since the times of myth our armies have clashed time and again to decide the fate of the Earth and its people, every two-hundred forty-three years without fail my specters break out from the underworld to bring ruin to the world of man and cleanse the Earth from their taint in the fires of the holy war, and yet each time they have been repelled by Athena and her saints. Thirteen times the holy war has been declared, and thirteen times has Athena managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and banish my armies back into the underworld. For more than three thousand years we have been locked in this stalemate, neither managing to achieve a decisive victory over the other that would see a definitive end to this precarious situation.

Yet today… Today with the end of the latest Holy War has brought the worst of all defeats she has managed to inflict upon me. My sunless kingdom invaded, all of its defenses and those of the Elysian Fields breached, my Paradise destroyed, my divine body broken and shattered upon the cold ground as you can clearly see…" Hades briefly gestured towards his corpse.

"My very soul and spirit struck with a devastating injury that it will take me centuries to heal and forced to seek refuge inside this vessel of mortal flesh, the minor gods under my command slain and my armies of specters defeated and sealed beyond my reach while I am banished from my own realm and into unknown dimensions… And yet… Despite all these setbacks, I am still free and capable of exerting my influence upon the world… Free to plan how to best carry out my vengeance against Athena and the remaining saints under her command. And all thanks, to the failings and arrogance of the very same mankind that she decided to take under her protection…" The visage of the meat-puppet under the command of the Lord of the dead smirked in a malevolent smile.

"What do you mean by that Milord Hades…?" Atalanta inquired in a rather subdued tone of voice.

"It is not by my will that any of you find yourselves inside this place, but rather of a foolish human mage that tried to take advantage of my moment of weakness after being struck by Athena by attempting to bind my spirit and steal my divine power from me, obviously… He failed…" He declared in a factual tone as if there was ever any doubt about the result. "But he had plans for all of you to become his playthings, considering most of you are females, I don't think I need to explain just what sort of debaucheries he had in store for you all…" Hades stated in a rather unconcerned tone of voice, rather upsetting many of the females in the room.

"How did you learn any of that, lord Hades?" A rather attractive red-haired, red-eyed woman said, wearing a purple and white form-fitting suit that looked Chinese in design while hiding her lower face behind a fan.

The King of the underworld just gestured towards BB. "BB here managed to access the control systems of this moving city, and found records of the mage's plans in there. I particularly do not care much about it, considering I've already destroyed his soul and dispersed it into the Aether…"

"And do you have any designs for us yourself Milord Hades…?" Maleficent asked pointedly in a respectful tone.

"I have little need for pleasure slaves while my soul and spirit are consigned inside this mortal vessel and in need of healing from the crippling injury I've sustained. However, without my armies, I find myself in a rather and undesired position of vulnerability. Therefore, my first immediate objective is obvious: To replace the losses in my ranks that I've been inflicted and reform my lost legions…" Hades simply explained, the face of his vessel showing no apparent expression or reaction whatsoever.

"And that's where we come in; isn't it Milord Hades…?" Caenis commented with a rueful smile.

"Indeed… So, this is my proposal to you all… Join my ranks as soldiers for my army and agents of my will; and help me to bring about the eradication of the human race from the face of the Earth, as it has been ordained by the gods. Do so, and in exchange I will grant you all my boons and blessings that only a god can bestow upon his acolytes… Eternal youth and release from the fear of death…" The King of the underworld declared imperiously. "Now that you have heard my goals, do you have anything to complain about, my dear Atalanta?" He asked, looking down at the kneeling cat-girl.

"None Milord Hades…" Atalanta simply replied.

Hades raised a single eyebrow at that. "Interesting… And why is that? I would have considered for a renowned hero of humanity to have quite a few things to say, regarding my intentions to exterminate her entire species…" He inquired with just the faintest hint of curiosity.

Atalanta hesitated for a moment before deciding to answer the question. "You've already been told about the Lostbelts Milord Hades…" She entreated.

The lord of the dead simply gave a stiff nod. "Indeed, do you mean to say you hail from one of these belts of divergent fantastical history?" He inquired.

The pale-haired cat-girl swayed her head in a negative. "Not exactly Milord, I was summoned by the Counter Force (The system in charge of safeguarding the continuous existence of Mankind) into one of these Lost Belts in order to correct the divergence and restore history into its proper path. However, rather than focus on fixing the issue, I instead decided to betray humanity for the sake of the people dwelling inside the Lost Belt…"

Now Hades was pretty intrigued by this revelation. "Oh? Interesting… And what pray made you decide to leave your entire species to die, not that I'm complaining…" He said with obvious amusement in his voice.

Atalanta's eyes hardened as she gave her answer. "It's because I was not going to sacrifice the life of innocent children for the sake of people that had already died…" She declared fervently.

Hades remained silent for a moment as if processing the archeress' response, before letting out a loud sinister laugh. "Well said, Atalanta… It is exactly as you say, why should we spare a thought for those who are already doomed? So, I take it I can count with your support too…?"

"I only ask one thing of you Lord Hades…" Atalanta began to say.

"And what is that?" Replied the King of the underworld.

"I beg of you Milord Hades, please spare the life of the children. Extinguish the life of every single adult if you wish it but have mercy on the little ones, I implore you!" Atalanta pleaded on her knees in front of the king of the underworld.

Hades said nothing and just limited himself to look down at the bow-woman with a blank expressionless face, it was clear he wasn't pleased with this new petition. "Atalanta, rise your chin and look me in the eyes…" He commanded without room for rejection.

Without hesitation, the gray-haired woman immediately complied, easily holding her gaze locked with the bottomless aquamarine pools that were Hades' eyes due to the madness inside her mind despite feeling as if her entire being was stripped and examined piece by piece by the stare of the Lord of the Dead.

With his great Will, Hades peered inside Atalanta's mind in order to discern her reasons for such a distasteful request, and he quickly was able to pierce the layers of her past to find his answer. "I see… So, you hold the life of children precious above all else because you yourself were abandoned by your own father and left to die in the mountains as a newborn because he wished for a son. The only reason as to why you survived was because of the mercy granted to you by my niece Artemis, and since then you vowed to protect the life of all children to repay the kindness given to you by her… As you should, since it is only proper to show gratitude for the blessings bestowed upon you by the gods…"

Hades then became pensive for a moment before speaking to the cat-girl again. "Tell me Atalanta, what would you do if I ordered you to purge an entire city from its human infestation?" He lazily inquired.

"I would personally shoot down every single human with my arrows until all of them were dead since there is no point in showing mercy to the weak… Except, the children…" Atalanta immediately replied without vacillation.

Hades felt like chuckling. "Fuh… Yes, I do believe that's exactly what you would do… Very well, Atalanta. I cannot spare a single human from their sins, but I am a merciful God and your devotion towards Artemis deserves it's just reward… I will spare the human children from eternal damnation and allow for their souls the be granted salvation in the form of immediate entry into my Elysian Fields, where you will be able to watch and guard over them for all eternity, if you were to desire it so. In a land of eternal spring and bliss beyond the pain and suffering of the mortal world where neither despair nor want are to be found…" He declared solemnly.

Atalanta was confused by that sort of answer, unable to decide whether it was a good thing or not, or even if she should try to do something about it. "What do you mean Lord Hades…?" She asked with clear confusion.

The Lord of the dead waved a hand in dismissal. "If you are incapable of grasping my divine designs, do not despair. All will be revealed in time… Meanwhile, I will simply ask for your loyalty and service with the same devotion you show to my niece Artemis. Do that for me, and you will be rewarded beyond your wildest imaginations…" He proclaimed affably.

The gray-haired cat-girl could only nod. "Very well, Milord Hades, I will not question your word…" It was all she said before falling quiet.

"Good…" Hades said before addressing the remaining servants kneeled in front of him. "What about you Galatea? Do you have a request of your own?" He asked towards the quiet pale servant.

"I have no request to ask Lord Hades… I am but a statute that was given life thanks to the blessings of Milady Aphrodite, if she were to command of me to follow your orders, then I will do so without question." It was all that Galatea said before becoming silent, earning a look of curiosity from the Goddess of love.

"I did that…? How interesting…" Aphrodite idly commented before falling quiet.

"I see… And you Caenis, what say you?" Hades inquired at the tanned woman.

For a moment Caenis remained silent, actually giving some serious consideration to the offer of the God of the dead. "So, it is indeed true, you truly are able to bring back to life anyone you might desire Lord Hades." She asked with a most serious expression.

"Oh? Do you doubt your own eyes, Caenis?" Hades lazily replied.

Caenis remained quiet for a moment before, ultimately, shaking her head in a negative. "No… I do not doubt your power Lord Hades, but I do have to wonder; with such a great Authority as to allow you to judge who might live and who might die, why are you so keen into following Zeus orders and eradicate the humans? I ask, not because I care about what might happen to them, but because I did not expect for your lordship to be in good terms with your brother…" She inquired with curiosity.

Hades made no apparent reaction to the tanned woman's inquiry, though it seemed Castor had taken insult at her inquiry, but the king of the underworld commanded him to stop before he could say anything with a single motion of his hand. "It is as you say Caenis, Me and Zeus are not in the best of terms. I carry out Zeus' will to eradicate humanity because it is beneficial to my own aims, not because I'm interceding in his behalf."

"Then why?" She said, raising the question that many in the room wished answered.

"Two main reasons…" Hades began. "One, because I too detest humanity and want to see them all purged from the Earth and their souls punished for all eternity for their sins. In this matter, Zeus and I are both in agreement. And second, to finally gain dominion over the Earth as it was meant to be by my right as Kronos' eldest at the end of the Titanomachy…"

Caenis supposed she shouldn't be surprised by that sort of answer. "So, does this mean you hold some resentment over Zeus for having gained dominion over the heavens while you were relegated to rule over the underworld?" She asked a little too pointedly as to border on insolence.

"On the contrary dear Caenis, I've never cared over the fact that I ended up with the rule of the underworld. It is a most peaceful and serene place unlike Olympus or the Earth, as the dead are beyond petty emotions like rage or anger and thus my realm has never had the misfortune of suffering the twin calamities of violence and strife; and I preferred it that way. That is until Athena's invasion…" Hades replied with his now signature lack of expression. "But that does not mean I do not hold some resentment towards Zeus for other slights… As I've said, our relationship is strenuous at best. For a time, me and my brothers lived in peace, each of us overseeing our own domains. Zeus the Heavens, Poseidon the seas and I the underworld. I was even thankful towards Zeus for ensuring my matrimony with Persephone despite his mother's (Demeter's) protests. But such status quo came to an end the day he decided to assume my visage in order to copulate with my wife, his own daughter…."

That last sentence caught many off-guard who hadn't expected such a thing to come out in the open, many turned green at the implication, Demeter becoming evidently shocked by this news unsurprisingly. Europa However, was the most stumped among everyone else present. "Alright… I guess there's some serious downsides to my husband's behavior in proper human history too…" She dejectedly stated with obvious sadness.

Hades ignored the reactions to his revelations and kept speaking. "Therefore, the destruction of mankind presents a golden opportunity to increase my influence at Zeus' expense, as whoever among the ranks of the Gods manages to cleanse the Earth from its human infestation will be able to claim it for his own. And thus, gaining the recognition of bringing the last realm of creation back into the direct hands of the gods that had been lying beyond our reach since the end of the Titanomachy, giving me free reign to build a new Paradise on the Earth in my own image and likeness." He grandiosely declared with what could be described as desire in his otherwise impassive voice. "A gift from myself to myself…"

"I see…" It was all that Caenis said as she mulled over the words of the King of the underworld before coming to a decision. "In that case, I will follow your commands Lord Hades but with a single condition…" She declared.

"Name it…"

"I want my previous Master whom I served in the Atlantic Lostbelt, Kirschtaria Wodime, to be brought back to life!" Caenis declared without hesitation.

A loud gasp was heard in the ensuing silence, coming from among the audience inside the throne room, Even the Dioscuri were left surprised by such a request.

"Huh? It is the first time in your cross-breed life that you have a decent idea, Caenis…" Castor commented, not openly mocking but still with obvious derision in his voice.

"Shut it!" The woman clad in Golden armor warned, glancing briefly in the direction of the twins with malice in her eyes before returning an impassive gaze back towards Hades.

"I do not know who this Kirschtaria Wodime might be. I assume some magician since you refer to him as your former Master and your current condition as a servant makes it so for you to be an existence that can only be summoned through magical rituals. That said, has he left such an impression on you Caenis as to make you petition me for his resurrection? Intriguing…" It was the reply of the lord of the dead before making up his mind.

"That's coming up short, nephew…" Aphrodite commented, taking a drag from a cigarette that she had acquired somewhere. "This single human mage from proper human history was able to defeat Zeus in singular battle on his lonesome." She declared with an impressed expression. "Honestly, it was something I didn't expected to be possible. He's also the one who killed the twins and formed a contract with their spirits to turn them into servants."

Pretty soon Aphrodite realized how much of a bad idea it was to have revealed such information, as Hades' Cosmo surged from him like a shadow that strangled the light of the stars themselves. "Blasphemy! For a human to vanquish a god! And Zeus the King of Olympus at that! You better have a good explanation for this travesty, Aphrodite! Because if you don't, then I will strike you down where you stand and condemn your soul to an eternity in Tartarus!" The Lord of the dead declared as the darkness of his Cosmo kept lashing out enveloping the universe more and more in its gloom. A black fire that was unbearable to resist, causing everyone in the room to flinch back from its ardor. Hades' vessel was brought to its limits again, and soon enough black-inky blood began to trail down from the orifices of the red-headed boy's face.

Terror took hold inside of Aphrodite's heart, as Hades' power was something that far outclassed that of her Lostbelt's king, it was something much worse than witnessing the wrath of the ruler of Olympus. She almost immediately lost control of her limbs, the hand she was using to hold her cigarette was shaking uncontrollably, refusing the commands of her body.

The Goddess of Love knew she had to speak fast. "I—I-I-I don't know what to tell you, Lord Hades… It was a turn of events none in Olympus saw coming, we couldn't even imagine such a thing could ever be accomplished. Kirschtaria was able to use a spell from even before the age of the Gods that allowed him to command the power of the heavens and the stars themselves to make meteorites rain down upon the Earth. Though it is true that Zeus only lost because he didn't take the fight seriously from the very beginning, using less than ten percent of his power to fight Kirschtaria as he didn't consider him a threat and was caught off guard as result. Nevertheless, Zeus was impressed that the human was able to accomplish that much one way or the other, and thus gave Kirschtaria a place of honor in Olympus, even going as far as naming him his personal friend and equal…" Aphrodite stated, hoping for dear life that her explanation was enough to satisfy Hades.

"So, Zeus lost because of his own hubris? I can believe that…" The king of the underworld stated as his tempers began to simmer down, and his Cosmo receded. "I'll be honest Aphrodite; I am not liking this news you are conveying. For Zeus to have lost against a lowly human due to his vanity, and a novice that is just barely learning to control the power of his own Cosmo, nonetheless… Such an insult to the pride and dignity of Olympus and the gods… But if he has decided to extend his hand in friendship towards this mage, then I will not defy his edict and accept this decision no matter how humiliating I think it to be, for the judgement of the gods is always right and fair. It would not do to have the Gods of Olympus undermining each other because of petty differences…" Hades declared before falling quiet, and indecipherable expression in his face.

"Soooo… Does that mean you will accept my request Lord Hades?" Caenis dared herself to ask in the ensuing silence.

Hades remained quiet, unwilling to give an immediate answer. But eventually, he came to a decision. "Very well, Caenis. I will grant you this boon that you ask of me…" He announced. "Let's see if this human, this Kirschtaria Wodime, is as extraordinary as you all seem to believe he is…"

A small inscrutable smirk appeared at the corners of Caenis' lips. "I thank you for your benevolence Lord Hades, my Lance is yours to command as you might see fit…" She said enigmatically while briefly lowering her head in acknowledgement towards the King of the underworld.

Hades then turned towards the Dioscuri without further glance or word to Caenis, dismissing her utterly from his attention. Shockingly, Caenis did not mind as she began to ponder over her own plans. "And you, my dear nephew and niece, what is that you would wish to ask of me…?"

Both twins bowed their heads further as they kneeled at Hades feet. "Oh, divine uncle, we have no problem in helping you eradicate those lowly humans. They are vermin and deserve to be exterminated for daring to believe themselves equal to the gods. We will gladly lead the assault against them and spill their blood in your name until the seas run red without any need for you to ask… That said, there's one thing my sister and I would like to ask of you more than anything else, Divine uncle…" Castor began to say with outmost reverence. "Not as a condition to gain our service, but as a personal favor to us due to our kinship…"

"Oh? And what might that be, nephew?" Hades inquired.

"To be brought back to life, and have our Divinity and Immortality granted to us by our father Zeus restored. I know you and father are not in speaking terms, but we beseech you, divine uncle… Please, allow us to drink from your Divine Ichor, the same way our father Zeus allowed us to drink from his, so that we might take back our place among the gods. Do this for us, and we will be eternally loyal to you and your cause…" Castor pleaded submissively, linking a hand with that of his sister for support.

The answer of the Lord the dead was immediate and without hesitation. "There is no need for you to ask me for such a thing my dear nephew. As children of Zeus, it is your birthright to have a place secured among the gods. As king and God of high standing myself, it is my duty to see our most ancient traditions be enforced and followed to the letter. So have no fear, you will soon be able to walk besides your forefathers again…" He said with unusual solemnity.

A smile of pure unaltered happiness and joy bloomed in the faces of the kneeling twins. "Thank you, uncle. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!" Castor declared with unconditional admiration, bordering on worshipful.

Hades simply patted the shoulders of his kindred and without further word turned to the next servant. "Circe, daughter of Helios and Perse, Granddaughter to Hyperion and Okeanos. It has been some time since you last walked the Earth… Have you anything to say for yourself…?" The king of the underworld said as he glanced towards the winged woman.

"I am not against helping you in your schemes Milord Hades, if you were to ask me nicely and make it worth my while that is…" The pink-haired maiden said a little coquettishly. "Being brought back to life and having my eternal youth restored would be nice, but do not ask me to become a full-time member of your rank and file. You know very well that the only Deity I worship is my Lady Hecate, she's the only who holds my allegiance and servitude. Not even my father Helios gets to have me calling for his name in prayer." She stated with a bit of a lecturing tone, which brought some frowns to the faces of Hade's closest advisors.

"Yes, I do not wish to have accusations of poaching the retainers of a fellow God being thrown my way. Very well, I can concede to your terms; but make sure not to betray me or my designs or I will drag you to the deepest pith of my underworld, the fourth layer of the ninth circle of hell: Judecca, where you will be entombed on ice 'til the end of time and beyond, distorted and twisted in every conceivable position, unable to speak or move as you lay abandoned and forgotten in a frozen wasteland of eternal blizzard." Hades declared, focusing the orbs of his eyes upon the lithe pinkette with all the weight of his divine spirit behind it.

Circe gulped as she tried to control the shivers that began to run down her limbs all of a sudden, trying to keep her mettle in the face of the God of the underworld. "I will not betray you Lord Hades; you do not have to worry about that… I am not a fool to dare defy the will of the gods…" She demurely professed before bowing her head to the Lord of the dead in subservience.

"Good…" It was all that Hades said as he turned to the last kneeling servant. "And what about you, little Medea? Do you have a desire you wish fulfilled too?"

Medea Lily hesitated for a moment at being addressed, but she steeled herself and managed to gain the confidence to answer Hades' question after having Atalanta pass an arm protectively over her shoulders in support. "I… There's only one thing I would like more than anything else Lord Hades…" The God of the dead prompted her with his sight alone. "I would want for my beloved Jason to be brought back to life…" She requested most eagerly.

Only for a resounding 'NOOOO!' to reverberate throughout the room, spoken loudly from the throats of Caenis, both Dioscuri twins, and (surprisingly enough to Medea) Atalanta herself.

Circe just stood there on her spot with a deadpan expression. "Oh? Him…"

"SCREW THAT!" Caenis was the first to voice her objections. "I do not want that piece of shit around us, I had enough of his undesired presence back in Atlantis! If he even dares set one foot in this place, I'll fucking kill him!" She declared with abject hatred.

"As much as it pains me to agree with the mixed-breed, I have to concur…" Castor spoke, turning to look at the small form of Medea in Disdain. "We should not pollute the sanctity of your dominions with the presence of that failure, Divine uncle…"

"Failure… Yes, that is an apt description of Jason. A man who had the blessings and favor of the gods that would allow him to accomplish a brilliant destiny, only to lose it all in the end and achieve nothing but a pathetic and ignominious end…" Hades stated in reminiscence before looking down and focusing on Lil' Medea again. "I am surprised Medea that you wish to be reunited with Jason, considering how he betrayed you and abandoned you… Discarding you like so much as a pair of broken sandals…" He inquired towards the elfin girl.

Madea gripped her staff tightly at the reminder of her legend, nevertheless she drove herself to answer despite the heartache. "I am well aware how things ended up in tragedy between me and Jason. Nonetheless, despite his betrayal and infidelity, I still love him after all these years…" She solemnly declared.

Hades' disposition turned glacial cold in an instant, and once again a shiver ran down the spines of the people present. "Do not ever speak that word in my presence!" He commanded with all his authority as the Lord of the dead.

Medea lily stammered at the sudden interruption. "M-my Lord Hades… I don't…"

"Love… Never dare mention such an empty falsehood to my face again!" He announced with finality.

The elfin girl was left speechless at the extreme reaction of the king of the underworld, and yet she quickly came to a realization that left her disheartened. "You care nothing for love Lord Hades…?"

"Love…" Hades scoffed in derision. "What is love but an illusion that the humans have created to bind others against their will and turning them into puppets for them to do as they please, being little more than slaves in all but name…" He looked down at Lily with a dispassionate expression, yet one could feel traces of disappointment in his voice. "Just look at you Medea, an empty shell of a person that is incapable of moving on with her life on her own and chained to the memory of a man who cared nothing for you! Who abandoned you for another woman just because it would give him political leverage! Forsaking you and the children you two had together without a second thought, without even a moment of hesitation, just because it was convenient for him…. So much for your vaunted love…"

The words of the King of the underworld cut deep into the heart of the elfin girl, each venomous accusation causing her to reel back in pain. Yet Hades kept pressing on, unmindful of her discomfort. "That is exactly why I detest such fallacy! The humans are always lauding the virtues of love, saying they will always cherish each other and never abandon or betray those they profess to love. Yet, at the first opportunity they will forget all about their pretty words and stab each other in the back if it is beneficial for them. Such deceit is beneath the dignity of the gods! But the humans, of course, cannot see this, and they swear and vow regarding their supposedly everlasting love that can overcome any difficulty. That is because love is a delusion that does not exist in reality, it is only a fantasy created by their flawed minds, a lapse in judgment that they try to desperately justify above all else. Yet deep down they know the truth, that such a thing is not real, and they are all simply deceiving themselves," His eyes began to show just the faintest traces of condolences. "I pity you Medea… I really do…"

"NO! I cannot accept such defamations about love and remain quiet!" A lithe white-haired girl in a white toga declared as she moved forward past everyone in the room and pointed towards the King of the underworld with an accusing finger.

Hades gave a single look at the newly appeared girl, only for his expression to be filled with a sudden loathing, making it clear he wasn't fond of this individual. "Eros, child of Aphrodite….! No! You are Eros, the child of Khaos!"

"YES! It is I grandnephew! Amour, Primordial Goddess of love fused with the aspect and authority of Eros, child of Aphrodite and Ares, and using the body of Caren Cupid Hortensia as the mortal vessel of my divinity!" The newly introduced Amour declared grandiosely, usually Amour was fine letting her vessel be the one in control, but Hades words had made the Primordial deity to feel such an affront as to take matters on her own hands.

Hades seemed less than pleased by this revelation. "What. Are. You. Doing here!?"

"Well… It appears I've been summoned alongside mother dearest and the rest of our fellow Greek deities. But never mind that for now, you have much to answer for your slander against love, Hades…!" Amour warned with complete seriousness.

The king of the underworld scoffed at the temerity of the love goddess. "Slander you say! The truth hurts deep isn't it, Eros? After all wasn't Hippocrates himself who diagnosed how passionate love can become a depressive disease? A sickness brought by love typified by sadness, insomnia, despondency, dejection and physical debility. And ultimately devolve and manifest itself in violent and manic behavior." Hades then turned towards the small Medea. "Isn't that exactly what in the end happened to you Medea, didn't you turn to murder and violence to extract your vengeance upon Jason for having forsaken you?"

"I… I…" The elfin girl couldn't dare herself to answer, knowing the god of the underworld was right and being brought to the edge of tears in despair because of it.

But Amour wasn't so easily undeterred. "Enough! You are misconstruing catastrophes brought about by tragedy and extremes to suit your own warped views about love! Love in its true forms is the appreciation of the beauty within a person's heart, so that they may discover and appreciate true beauty itself. It helps the soul to recall knowledge of this beauty and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth, the ideal form of youthful beauty that leads humans to feel erotic desire – to aspire for the non-corporeal, spiritual plane of existence; that is, to find the truth of their existences, and just like the act of finding any truth entails, it leads to transcendence. Inspiring Lovers and philosophers all to seek truth through the means of Eros, of myself!

It is the dispassionate virtue, coined by Aristotle in his work on ethics, as Philia. Expressed variously as loyalty to friends, family, and community, that requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. It is also the root of Philautia of self-love from which a general type of love will arise, a love between family, between friends, a desire and enjoyment of an activity, as well as between lovers.

It is the common and natural empathy, felt by all parents for their offspring. Known as Storge, that can also apply on the love that can be felt for one's country.

It is the self-love of Philautia. To love oneself and regard for one's own happiness, which is both a basic human necessity and a moral flaw, that indeed can led to vanity, selfishness and egotism as it turns into a self-obsessed love. I will not deny the flaws of love, but on the other hand, it has the potential of evolving into self-compassion.

It is the institutionalized relationship rooted in generosity, gift exchange, and reciprocity of Xenia. The ritualized friendship and hospitality towards foreigners and guests that historically has been understood as a moral obligation throughout the ages. The laws of Hospitality towards foreigners honored by Zeus himself!

And last, but not least, it is the brotherly love and charity of Agape! The love that humans feel towards the Gods and the love the Gods feel towards humans! Which is unconditional and without limit because it symbolizes the infinite affection that the Gods have for their creations!"

"Love between gods and humans!? Nonsense, such a thing does not exist!" Hades declared with complete certainly as he dismissed Amour's entire speech as inconsequential. "Because if it did, humans would not have strayed so far from the path Zeus and the rest of Olympus had set for them, they would not have abandoned the laws that were placed to keep the world at peace and safe from falling into strife. They would not have forgotten all about our existence to the point they now believe the gods to be mere fairy tales… No Eros (Or Amour, however you wish to call yourself) you are mistaken, humans do not love the Gods and we do not love them in turn. There's no reason as to why we should, we are the ones who created them in the first place. Their entire lives were outlined by the fates themselves from the very beginning to fulfil the designs we gods had intended for them and Earth. They came into existence because we wanted it, they are alive because we allow it, and they will die because we command it… Nothing more, Nothing less…" He stated as if he were simply reciting cold-hard facts.

A look of disgust fell upon Amour's features, knowing there was simply no reasoning with Hades. "You are not listening! And you keep being disingenuous and hard-headed. Stubbornly closing off your cold black heart from the touch of love and pretending you've never heard its call. Or perhaps it is indeed true you never did… I wonder if this is how you always treated Persephone? Makes me wonder how did you two managed to have so many children together. So, it must be true that you abducted her and forced yourself on her just like Zeus has done upon many helpless women…" Amour declared scathingly with the intention of making her words hurt.

Hades did not appreciate the accusations of the Primordial deity and his Cosmo rose again in an instant, causing his vessel to start bleeding again due to it being incapable of containing the full might of his spirit as a complete blackness began to swallow the room whole. "Compare me again with my brother! Or speak about my wife with such impertinence once more, and I will strike you down were you stand Eros! I will not allow anyone, least of all an undesired reprobate like you, to disrespect me to my face!"

"Very well… If words will not sway you, then I will simply shoot one of my arrows at your dead unfeeling heart to impart upon you the meaning of love…" Amour immediately replied as a threat.

All it did was pull out a dark sinister chuckle from the lord of the dead. "You are simply proving my point Eros… Facing opposition beyond your influence, your first thought is using those arrows of yours that befuddle the senses and bedazzle the mind to try and ensnare me into becoming one of your puppets… It is as I've said, love is nothing more but a disease of the mind that drives humans into madness!" Hades declared triumphantly with a derisive smirk.

Amour just stared in silence for a moment. "You know what, forget my arrows, for you personally, I will take a hands-on approach and beat the concept of love into you with my bare hands alone…" And as soon as she said that the albino girl slowly rose into the air while a red thread appeared under her feet and started to twist and knot upon itself. Amour then curled upon herself and turned into a silver egg in the shape of a valentine's heart, utterly dumbfounding everybody watching due to the bizarre sight. The egg cracked and a giant Amour with two angel white wings and two inverted black devil wings underneath rose until she towered upon everyone in the room. A blue band was wrapped around the white dress she was now wearing and held fast with a golden heart brooch clasped to her right shoulder, the same color as the hairpin in the shape of three hearts that had a golden cross hanging from the left side of her face. Finally, a white staff was firmly held in her right hand.

"Experience the unconditional and infinite love of the Heavens!"

The Greatest Hits – "Calling Agape": Universal Free Infinite Love

The entire room was bathed in golden light in an instant, showering the entire form of Hades' vessel with the full might of God's Love. By virtue of her Primordial Authority alone, which surpassed even Hades own, Amour was able to impart the full effects of her attack upon the king of the underworld's vessel, spirit and soul… And even his dead divine body that was still lying atop in the middle of the red carpet leading to Hades' Throne was affected by the golden light. Unknown to Amour her attack was particularly doubly effective, since while inside a mortal vessel, Hades' spirit becomes vulnerable to attacks made by the element of Light.

On top of all that, Amour's golden light was distinctly abhorrent to the king of the underworld, as it reminded him too much of Athena's own light which carries the infinite Love and mercy she feels towards humanity. Yet, just like Athena's own light, it is not enough to defeat the Lord of the Dead on its own. Against a god capable of shattering entire universes and bending the stars themselves with his will alone, it falls short to the task. True, it might cause him to flinch and rear back, it might even injury him, but it does not vanquish him.

Hades fell to one knee, his vessel's face turning into a disfigured mess that outpoured torrents upon torrents of black blood. "You should have not done that Eros…" He said as the formerly pretty red-haired boy swayed on his feet and slowly toppled to the ground, his voice starting to morph as gradually the layers of his mortal container began to fail and show glimpses of the God underneath.

"Milord Hades!" Pandora exclaimed with a sudden bout of worry; she had just begun to rush towards her liege's side in order to assist him… When Hade's Cosmo suddenly exploded out of his vessel in full and pinned the violet-haired maiden in place, effectively and undeniably proving that Hades was far from being defeated.

Apprehension began to grow inside Cornelia's heart as her mark began to glow and resonate strongly, she turned to look over her shoulder towards her sister, Ryuko, Satsuki and the rest of the still living and breathing humans that had somehow decided to take shelter behind the fuchsia-haired princess due to her mark. "Stay behind me and don't move!" She ordered seriously before turning her attention back towards the ensuing confrontation.

A shadow spread and swallowed all of reality, the throne room disappearing from all sight and senses, it was as if everybody had suddenly stepped into a Dimension of infinite darkness. However, from among the darkness little pinpricks slowly began to be discerned, the light of distant stars. Even a complete void does not signify a state of complete emptiness, as matter and particles can still be found floating inside the vacuum. Soon enough the unending blackness started to be filled by a myriad of celestial bodies, constellations and star systems. Cosmic clouds began to spread and paint the void in exquisite hues of purples, blues, pinks and reds; entire galaxies were born in violent and bright conflagrations to be tossed far and deep into the void until they lost themselves in the darkness or smashed upon each other in brilliant shows of beautiful destruction.

This was the power that Hades commanded at will. The power of the entire Cosmos, of the universe itself.

"This mortal body is such a hindrance… So frail and weak… It is incapable of enduring the entirety of my Divine might. It just breaks so easily and forces me to hold only to a minuscule fraction of my full power in order to keep it from breaking apart. Why does Athena willingly choses to exist in such a diminished state so that she can live among the humans is something neither I nor the rest of the Olympians are able to understand. It is insanity, to purposefully cripple yourself to be less than what you truly are… But no matter, I will simply have to dispense with the need of having a mortal body for the moment. It is as you've said Eros… I will personally have to take matters into my own hand in order to deal with you…"

And as soon as the kneeling boy finished speaking among dribbles of blood, a black cloud of starry night appeared and enveloped his entire form, only for the cloud to spread and increase in size before finally receding to reveal the true appearance of the King of the Underworld.

A tall broad-shouldered youthful looking man with attractive but stern and cold features, dressed in a splendid four-pieces habit with silver accents, black-gloves, shoulder pads with golden accents that ran down his chest and connected with a golden belt around his waist, black pants and shoes. His long hair was of a midnight Ebony but it was the eyes that truly revealed it was still Hades as they were of the same frozen aquamarine as those of his mortal vessel. However, a most curious feature was apparent in the bleeding injury Hades had in the spot where his heart should be.

"To think you have the gall of forcing my spirit out of my vessel, just like Athena… Very well, Eros. I will show you how love is nothing against the power of death, it can wither and die just the same as everything else…" He declared before, with a single gesture, redirect the entire might of his Cosmo towards the Primordial Goddess of Love.

Amour's clothes were suddenly ruffled violently by and invisible force that struck her in the sternum, and it was all the warning she had to scream as she was launched backwards with incredible strength. Only for her entire body to smash on her back upon one of the still visible throne room's pillars that hadn't managed to disappear and was still placidly floating inside the void. The albino girl impacted with such force as to crack the marble before simply sliding down all the way to its base in defeat, the section he had struck crumbling down into rubble that fell all around her in clouds of dust and detritus.

It was in that moment that the universe disappeared and be replaced by the interior of the throne room once more. Amour whimpered in pain, attempted to push herself from the ground with shaky arms, only to miserably fail and collapse on the floor again.

"It is as expected, whatever power you might think Love can possess, it is nothing when compared with the power of the gods…" Hades simply stated in a lecturing tone, as if Amour's complete and utter defeat was an outcome that had never been in question, his voice losing his unearthly quality and returning to a more ordinary pitch.

Outwardly, he was all confidence and certainty, but inside he was confused. His attack should have ended the life of Eros with a single strike, yet here she was still alive and breathing despite suffering the full brunt of his Cosmo. He had contained himself from using all of his power at the last moment, he had the suspicion of having heard the voice of the distant memories sealed within his human vessel gnaw at his resolve just before his strike. Which is utterly ridiculous considering he had erased the primary soul that was taking residence inside his vessel when he first took possession over it, no distant ghost of the past was present to interfere with his actions. Most likely it was a brief lapse due to the injury inflicted upon him by Athena, just a lingering pain in his soul from the strike that had brought an end to his immortal body.

Regardless of the reason, Hades' attention was brought back towards the fallen Goddess as Amour gritted her teeth and attempted to move past the pain, she was simply too much injured to easily answer Hades' boasts. With great superhuman effort, she was able to wriggle her body to an adequate enough position as to stare towards the ruler of the dead. "Y-you still don't understand Hades, Love is not something you can kill with mere violence. I have already imposed the effects of my Authority upon your body, spirit and soul. Even if you were to strike me down this very moment, it will change nothing in the end, for I have already won… I have now placed my curse of love upon you, you are now bound to fall in love sooner or later, regardless of time and place… And my curse will not be lifted until you feel on your own flesh what it is to lose your breath in the presence of another person, to have every single of your waking minutes haunted by the ghost of someone that is not by your side and feel the heartache brought by worry and despair for the sake of whoever has caught your every thought as you anguish over their wellbeing. Your torment will not come to an end until you form a lasting bond with another and know truly what it is to love someone and be loved in turn by them…" Amour solemnly declared in the most dignified way she could despite her disgraceful situation.

At first, Hades said nothing and simply allowed Amour to say her piece. However, one could clearly see her words didn't bring him any amusement as his disposition turned somber and stern. "Your words and curses are meaningless to me Eros… However, since it appears you have no qualms about dying at this precise very moment, perhaps we should extradite the process and finally rid us all from your unwelcome presence, don't you think?" The Lord of the dead formulated his statement as a question, only to suddenly make a yanking gesture and for Amour to be dragged at Hades feet throughout the floor by an invisible floor. The Albino girl having no notice to do anything but yelp in surprise.

Amour could only grunt as she slammed upon the small steps that led to Hades' throne, she barely had time to nurse her injuries as she took notice of the King of the underworld looming menacingly over her. Hades raised his right hand in the air dramatically, red streams of energy slowly began to emerge all around, blinding in their intensity in the same way as if one were to stare at the heart of a star and painting the entire room in a crimson sunset while coalescing inside his open palm. With a sweeping gesture to the right, Hades' sword materialized into existence, standing at the ready to strike down the enemies of the king of the underworld.

"Any last words, Eros…?" He asked out of formality.

Amour gave no apparent reaction. "You expect me to beg, Hades? Perhaps to throw more curses at you or lament my fate? No, Hades… As a goddess of love, it is not within my nature to hold feelings of anger or regret inside my heart. I do not hate you Hades, and neither do I begrudge you or blame you for wanting me dead… No, if anything… I feel pity towards you… Pity that you would so quickly turn to violence at the thought of allowing other people to get near you. To be afraid of opening your heart to others. To never know love… That is a sad existence to live by…" It was all that the Albino girl had to say a look of profound sorrow fell upon her features.

"It is all the same to me…" The Lord of the Dead replied a little tartly, before hefting his sword high with his dominant hand, preparing for a single decapitating motion. Despite Eros presence being odious to him, at the very least, he will give his fellow goddess the dignity of a swift death.

The entire world seemed to fall silent and focus only on the impending execution, no one dared to even utter a breath in such a tense atmosphere, when all of a sudden, the moment was broken by the bawling of a fussy baby that didn't took long to evolve into full-blown crying.

"BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The attention of the King of the underworld was unsurprisingly drawn towards his daughter being currently held against Demeter's bosom, the frazzled Goddess of the Harvest was frantically trying to soothe the crying baby (If only to not have Hades' attention focused on their direction during such a hair-raising moment) and being helped in her endeavor by an equally frazzled Atalanta. Both failing miserably in their efforts.

Hades suddenly came to the realization that he was about to kill someone in front of his daughter, he felt concerned for some reason at the thought. He hesitated for a moment, but as he kept watching the futile attempts of the two servants to calm his wailing baby girl, the king of the underworld felt the corner of his mouth curl upward in the ghost of a smile. His semblance relaxed…

Only for blood to suddenly surge out of his mouth in a hacking fit of coughs, his sword arm faltered, and he had to resort to use his main weapon as support.

"Milord Hades!" Both Pandora and BB exclaimed in concern, wishing to assist their liege, but Hades motioned them to remain on their place with his free hand. "It seems the injury gifted to me by Athena is acting up again…" He let out a self-depreciating chuckle. "It appears luck is on your side today, Eros… As my spirit cannot afford to linger outside my vessel any longer…" With that said, the form of the Lord of the dead turned to smoke and retreated inside his mortal container, taking his sword with him. The blood-stained red-headed boy made act of presence once again and simply turned away from the defeated primordial goddess of love, turning his back to her.

"Consider yourself very fortunate as I've decided to spare your life for now… You should thank my daughter, as it seems she is not keen on witnessing an execution today and I find myself without the taste of thoughtlessly spilling blood in front of her, that said…" Hades trailed off, only for streams of Cosmo to swirl out of his body and strike at the helpless Amour, who could do nothing but scream as her entire frame was ravaged by the searing currents of cosmic power.

Her torment lasted for just a few seconds, yet it felt an eternity of pain to the pseudo-servant. When Hades finally released her from his hold, the Albino girl simply toppled over the steps of the throne like a boneless fish, groaning in affliction at the edge of consciousness.

Hades kept speaking without deigning to glance at her. "That does not mean I will simply forgive you for daring to raise your hand at me, even my vast mercy has its limits… Pray that you never become unlucky enough to discover them…" He simply said before walking towards Demeter and his daughter waiting on the Goddess' arms.

The king of the underworld uttered no word as he stood in front of the little baby girl, his entire attention focused solely on the wee bundle of joy. "You must forgive me Makaria, sweet daughter of mine, for addressing you in such ungenteel condition, battered and covered in blood. It is unwarranted for the daughter of a god to be exposed to such sights. Demeter, I must also offer to you my apologies for my current ghastly countenance…" Hades stated with such unbelievable poise and dignity as to completely offset his bloodied appearance, something that was truly impressive to watch.

Demeter hesitated for a second, as even the likes of her were not immune to Hades sheer propriety. "It's… It's alright, Hades… It is not your fault…" She then dithered for a moment before daring to make a question. "Are you going to be alright…?"

There was no apparent reaction that could give a glimpse as to what the inner thoughts of the king of the underworld might be. "This body has quickly reached its limits; it is starting to break down. As I've said, it is frustrating to have my divine spirit inhabit a vessel incapable of withstanding my full might. But no matter, I'll simply will have to make do… Regardless how many times this body might break, I can simply pull it back together just as many times as I might want." He simply stated with a particular lack of expression.

A small contrite voice spoke out. "P-perhaps I could be of assistance Lord Hades…?"

The Lord of the dead turned his Gaze around to glance at the kneeling Medea Lily raising a hand from her spot. "Oh? And how is it that you can be of use to me, Medea?" Hades simply asked raising an eyebrow between blood-smeared eyes.

"I could heal your body Milord Hades, return it back to its prime condition. I am well versed in the healing arts, taught to me by auntie Circe alongside the mystical arts that she learned from lady Hecate herself…" The elfin girl offered earnestly.

"And I suppose you will be doing me this service out of the goodness of your own heart, is that right Medea? Or more likely, there is something you wish from me in exchange for your help?" Hades stated with a knowing tone.

Lil' Medea hesitated for a second, tapping the tips of her index fingers together for a moment before recomposing herself. "You already know what is that I want Milord Hades…" It was all she dared herself to say.

"Yes… I do…" The King of the underworld simply replied unsurprised. "Very well, Medea… If you make a decent enough job of healing my vessel, then I will acquiesce to your desires and bring your cherished Jason back to life." He stated resolutely.

The elfin girl nodded and rose herself from her kneeling position and into a bow. "By your leave Lord Hades…" She requested for permission as she wasn't careless enough to forget about her manners in the presence of a god of Hades' power and caliber. Her response was a simple wave of the hand as a go ahead.

Lily finally rose into a full stand and proceeded to lift her staff. "May it become a world where no one gets hurt or hurts others. Pain Breaker!" She recited, releasing a pulse from her staff that heralded a brief shower of light, literally washing away the injuries and damage that Hades' vessel had incurred by resetting his body to a previous healthier state. It also came with the plus of filling back Hades' spirits and lifting his weariness alongside erasing any negative status that he might have incurred as result from a curse, the only thing Medea Lily was unable to heal was the wound that Athena had inflicted on the heart of the king of the underworld since that injury was caused by a Divine Construct made to slay gods, and she was also incapable of removing Amour's curse since it had been applied by the Authority of a Primordial Goddess. The elfin girl's healing and dispelling skills were simply not high enough to deal with such huge conceptual weights.

But regardless, the important thing was that all the damage that Hades' had incurred upon his vessel for overusing his Cosmo was undone and the God of the afterlife seemed to be fairly pleased with the results. "You've done a good work healing my vessel, Medea. I am satisfied by the results…" He stated after briefly testing the range of motion of his limbs. "Very well… As promised, I will fulfill my end of the bargain and return your dear adulterous husband back to you…" Hades declared in his usual drone.

"Divine Uncle!" Pollux called out in dismay as means of protest.

But the king of the underworld was unmoved regardless. "I have made my decision, niece. Do not argue with me on this… But now that I'm on the subject, I suppose I should also take the opportunity to deal with your own petitions. Yes… Let's test how much of a good healing work on this vessel of mine Medea's has done and put this body through his paces again… Pandora, please retrieve my daughter from my sister Demeter and hold her with you for a few minutes…" He commanded, gesturing towards the violet-haired Maiden.

"Yes, Lord Hades…!" Pandora replied with a bow before walking towards the Goddess of the Harvest and giving her an expectant look to hand baby Hotaru over. The bodacious blonde gave a pleading look towards her brother in an attempt to make him consider his orders, but she found no sympathy from Hades' expressionless face. With a sigh, she handed the child over much to her dismay into the expecting arms of the maiden in black dress, she was missing the baby girl already.

"Now, come near into arms' length all of you, so I can take your vows of fealty, but keep in mind to remember your courtesies… Atalante, Medea, Galatea, Penthesilea and Cleopatra to my left; Medusa, Caeneus, Castor, Pollux, Circe, Hera, Demeter and Aphrodite to my right…" Hades commanded gesturing towards those he called by name who promptly decided to obey his orders while showing the expected reverence despite wondering what the intentions of the God of the dead were.

"Let us proceed then, I take it all of you accept my authority as your new ruler and Master? Do I count with your loyalty from this moment forward?" He inquired dispassionately.

"Yes, Divine uncle, you have our loyalty…" Castor and Pollux said in unison, one by one each of the other servants gave their vows of fealty, with varying degrees of honesty in some cases but enough for Hades' nonetheless.

"Very well… Then I accept you all into my services and grant to each and one of you my blessings as your new patron…" He declared affably before placing a hand upon Atalanta's head.

"!?" The gray-haired cat girl appeared distressed puzzled for a second before she began to feel the changes that Hades' benediction brought upon her body. When the process was done a mesmerized Atalanta was left glancing down to her body in amazement.

"I'm… I'm alive again…!" She declared with no small amount of wonder as Hades' sign began to glow brightly upon her forehead.

"I have restored you back to life as I promised, and granted upon you the boons reserved for those who have sworn fealty and loyal service under my aegis, eternal youth and immortality…" The King of the underworld explained as if it were just a simple small deed. He then proceeded to do the same to the rest of the servants he had called to his left. When he was done listened to the words of thanks and reaffirmed vows by grateful servants, he turned towards those standing to his right.

"And now for the rest…" Hades said, turning towards the servants to his right. "This will require for me to unseal my blood again…"

"Divine uncle, are you…?" Pollux began to say but was interrupted by the lord of the dead.

"Yes, dear niece… As I promised, I will not only raise you all back to life, but I will also let you all drink from my Ichor in order to restore your Divinity…" Hades declared grandiosely, earning him a lot of mesmerized looks from his listeners. However, after the initial delight a scowl suddenly appeared in Castor's face.

"But Divine Uncle… You intend to give this exceptional gift to the likes of Caenis too? When she…" The older twin was kept from finishing his sentence too.

"I've already told you I don't intend to keep arguing the subject further Castor. If my brother Poseidon decided that Caenis was worthy of being raised into the ranks of the gods, then I will abide by that decision regardless of any personal opinion. Remember, we are the gods of Olympus, the rulers of all creation and our judgement is always the correct one…" Hades announced with finality, staring down at Castor as if daring him to object.

It was unbearably painful for the former Argonaut to swallow his pride and keeping himself from complaining, as he did not wish to jeopardize his and his sister's opportunity to having their Divinity restored by unwittingly insulting his uncle. "Very well, Divine Uncle, it will be as you command…" He eventually acquiesced by lowering his head.

"Good…" Hades said as his skin began to pale and sickly while his hair turned into midnight black again, signifying he was unleashing the power of his blood again. The King of the underworld summoned his sword again in a stream of red and then proceeded to make a cut on his left wrist with it, black blood blooming immediately from the injury that he then proceeded to lay in offer towards the Dioscuri. "Now come and claim your birthright children of Zeus…" He said, extending his dripping arm and gesturing for the twins to come forth.

Castor and Pollux were rendered speechless for a moment by the gesture, only for full wide-open smiles to bloom in their faces, an expression of eternal gratitude. "Yes Divine uncle, we are forever thankful for this gift…" The Dioscuri recited, before both twins leaned nearer towards Hades in unison and opened their mouths to catch the droplets of black blood. And as soon as they did…

Pain…

Pain like none they had felt before, just as Hades had lectured, the Ichor of the gods was pure poison towards humans. A toxic substance that was viciously killing both twins from their insides, their mouths and throats turned black as they felt as if their very breath was being strangled out of them taking all strength from their bodies. They couldn't even scream because of the unbearable agony; only small pathetic whimpers were all that could escape from their mangled windpipes. They felt as if they were about to die, the divine poison seeping into their spirit cores and saint graphs, infecting everything in its path. And when it finally managed to come in contact with their cores…

Apotheosis…

Their beings were finally awakened to eternity, the amazing cosmic power of the Greater Universe which connects all things and gives birth to smaller universes that dwell inside every living being. The Dioscuri became aware to their own inner Cosmos and like two newly born stars, they began to burn brighter than any sun. Having recovered their capacity for speech, the twins screamed as their Cosmos literally exploded out of them in miniatures reenactments of the Big Bang detonation that gave birth to the universe. Fire spread out of their bodies in blazing crowns of solar flares that illuminated the throne room with piercing blinding light. The temperature rose into dangerous levels thanks to the extreme heath radiated from the bodies of the Dioscuri, only kept in check by the might of Hades' own Cosmo.

Through great struggle (And a little coaxing from the King of the underworld) the twins managed to gain control of their newly found Cosmo and were finally able to rein it back into themselves. Nonetheless, a visible aura was left enveloping their bodies, like some ethereal flame that burned around their forms, a liquid fire that ebbed and flowed in beautiful and alluring rippling patterns.

The twins inhaled air as if breathing for the first time and were left completely speechless at the power radiating from their bodies, power like they have never felt before, more power that completely eclipsed what even Zeus was able to call upon at his greatest height inside the Atlantic Lostbelt.

"I—I have no words to express what I'm feeling right now uncle… This feeling… This power… It's like we were blind our whole lives only to finally be able to see the light of day for the first time. It is a feeling like none in the entire world…" A humbled Castor stated with utmost reverence, staring at the flames released by his burning soul.

"It is more than that big-brother… More than simply being brought back to life and be granted a divine blessing. We have been reborn… Reborn into power! It's like the entire universe, the starts themselves are at our fingertips for us to command as we see fit… It is almost too much…" Pollux declared as if in a trance, the flames of her body intensifying at her words.

"It is as you say my dear niece…" Hades spoke, breaking through the Dioscuri's stupor and drawing their attention back towards him. "I did more than return you to the land of the living and give you back the blessing granted to you by Zeus; I have awakened your Cosmo, so that you might finally take your rightful place alongside the ranks of the gods and command the power that belong to us by birthright…" He simply stated as if telling a mere mundane fact of the world.

The twins kneeled even more submissively in complete adoration and lowered their heads at the King of the Underworld. "We will always be forever loyal to you Divine Uncle for this gift you have given us… Command us as you see fit, and we promise you, all the humans will die in pain and agony…" Castor vowed with resolute certainty, a dark promise having been made this day. From behind the twins, the constellation of Gemini was seen gleaming like little bright diamonds in the night sky.

"Rise my niblings, as the first officers of my newly restored army…" Hades commanded to bring an end to the proceedings. The Dioscuri acknowledged, getting back to their feet and standing at attention. The Lord of the dead then turned towards the others.

"Caenis, step forth…" He ordered, reaching with his bleeding arm again.

Caenis didn't hesitated and wordlessly she proceeded to drink from Hades' Ichor. Just like the twins, she was subjected to an unbearable pain that viciously wanted to tear her from the inside out, before… Rapture!

With a scream, Caenis' Cosmo exploded in wings of flame that took the shape of a giant fiery bird behind her. Just like the Dioscuri, she is left staring mesmerized at the flames of her burning Cosmo, unlike the twins a dark laugh escapes from her throat at the thought of all this wondrous power that is now at her fingertips. Yet despite this, she is mindful of not forgetting her manners.

"Thank you for the gift Lord Hades…" She declared with a vow, and she even mean it this time. Usually, she doesn't give a flying fuck about the gods and could care less about their bribes. But this time it was an exception, since the power bestowed upon her fell so damn good. It leaved her pleased enough as to consider deigning herself to extend an olive branch towards the God of the underworld just for today. Tomorrow… Well, tomorrow things will simply go back to the routine. There was still the matter of Kirschtaria, her former master, and maybe… Maybe this will give them the edge needed to achieve their shared dream.

Hades then continued granting the blessings of his Divine blood to the rest of his family counterparts. The Cosmo detonations caused by his fellow Olympians were the most potent until now, yet still Hades' Cosmo was more than enough to keep all of them contained on its lonesome, clearly showing the difference between newly born Cosmos and one that has been nurtured and grown through the passing of millions of years.

"Brother… Is this the power you command!? The power of the Cosmos and the stars themselves!?" Demeter exclaimed in awe as she felt the explosions of stars being born, clashing and collapsing within her in an endless cycle. This power was greater than any that the Machine Gods of the Interstellar Mountain City ever held between their fingers, even Zeus at his highest could not compete. They always had felt the greatest beings in all of creation for having been the Gods that had managed to cross the sea of stars before arriving on Earth, but they had never possessed the capacity to create the oceans of stars themselves on their own. This revelation was world-shattering, even for a being as ancient as her…

Hades then replied in his usual monotone. "I ignore exactly what kind of power the counterparts of my fellow Olympians had inside that Lostbelt of yours. But from the Dimension I hail from, this is simply the power that Gods of our caliber are expected to wield. Our kind was the one that gave birth to the universe in the first place, and all the things that live within it. Creation exists in the first place because we decided to make it so… It is only appropriate that the forces which came into being thanks to our direct influence be under our complete control, don't you think so…?" He casually stated, making all of his listeners to become quiet at the implications of what he was saying.

"But… Why share this extraordinary power with me too and restore my Divinity Lord Hades…?" A puzzled Gorgon hesitantly asked.

The cold features of the king of the underworld's vessel morphed into a sinister grin. "Because Athena is my enemy dear Medusa… I want to see her dead, and I know you will be a wondrous ally that will aid me with all her might to make this endeavor become a reality. Considering your past history with my niece, I am certain we can help each other so that we might both be able to gain our revenge upon her. They do say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, is it not?" Hades stated in an amused tone.

Gorgon looked away from the joyful visage of the ruler of the dead, unable to answer. Unable to dare herself to answer…

"Well, if this is the kind of gifts we can expect from now on for serving you Lord Hades, then consider my loyalty guaranteed!" A rather peppy (And wingless) Circe declared mirthfully before letting out a sigh. "The only thing I regret is that my wings were destroyed during the bestowal of your Ichor Lord Hades. Now I will have to build a new mystic code from scratch which is an annoyance, but despite this small inconvenience, I am rather pleased with this gift…"

Hades simply nodded without emotion. "I am glad to hear that Circe, just make sure to remember never to break the oaths given to the Gods. Do that and I will see no reason as to why should I keep you from indulging in your… Proclivities…"

"We might have to work on your expressions Lord Hades. It is not good to be as serious as you are all the time… You need to learn to have fun!" Circe remarked with a happy face.

"Yes, it is quite noticeable is it not?" BB rhetorically interjected. "Milord Hades is always sporting this look of unflappable stoicism that makes it really hard to know what he might be thinking, that is when he is not glaring down at people with those cold soul-piercing eyes of his. Do not misunderstand me, the look of the gorgeous imperturbable Ice ruler really suits him, but it will not hurt if he were to smile a little. I'm sure he could be quite the lady-killer if he were to express some joy from time to time…" She stated with a nod.

Hades purposely ignored the comments from his Servant and proceeded to move on. "Now for the last clause, Medea… Come forth and look me in the eyes so that you might witness the absolute power of he who rules over all the dead…" He commanded towards the elfin girl. Medea complied, and her life became a book for Hades to peruse. His robes billowed in a sweeping motion, and the hero from ancient Greek Jason was revealed for all to see.

"What in Tartarus…!?" Jason exclaimed with an expression of utmost irritation as he glanced around his surroundings.

"Lord Jason!" Little Medea exclaimed happily.

Jason's semblance paled in dread at hearing her voice. "Oh gods, please don't make it true! Please don't tell me that's my crazy ex-wife whom I'm hearing!" He suddenly exclaimed out loud in a rather screeching voice.

"You are correct Lord Jason! It is indeed I, Medea! Your lovingly and loyal wife!" The elfin girl replied joyfully much to Jason's despair.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! OW!" The blonde hero exclaimed in pain as Caenis bonked him in the head with her shield.

"Shut the hell up Jason before I shove my lance down your throat! Fuck! Bad enough it is that you cheated me out of an easy victory back in Atlantis and aided the Chaldeans into giving me a humiliating defeat! I don't need your ear-busting screeching wails on top of that! This time there's no fragment of Poseidon's core to help you in breaking through my divinity, so you better keep your mouth shut before I rip your larynx out and fashion a sailor whistle out of it!" The bronze-skinned beauty declared with boundless scorn lacing her voice.

Jason grimaced at taking notice of Caenis. "Ack! Caenis! As if things couldn't get any worse… What do you want!? What are you even doing here of all people? Don't tell me you hate me that much for having helped Orion into kicking your sorry ass that you decided to help my psycho ex into bringing me back to life just so the two of you could torment my existence? Girl, you should learn not to be so hung over what happened in the past, you'll never find yourself a husband that way…"

Caenis just turned completely quiet as she stared at Jason, her eyes showing utter loathing and contempt before her Cosmo exploded in a burning Corona as her hatred rose into the firmament. "You… Stupid, son-of-a-bitch… Do you wish to be turned into a corpse again that much? SAY THAT TO MY FACE AGAIN IF YOU DARE YOU SHIT-STAIN!"

Jason, unsurprisingly, was pretty freaked out at seeing Caenis literally burning with hatred. "A-AAAH! WHAT THE FUCK!? Crap! I always knew you were a witch Caenis! But I never thought you would actually go and turn into one for real!" It is also nothing to be surprised about that Jason simply kept digging himself into a hole further with his words alone.

"NO LORD CAENIS! PLEASE DO NOT KILL MY HUSBAND!" A rather harried Medea lily pleaded basically throwing herself at the Golden Clad Lancer's feet.

"Get the hell out of my way Medea before I send you too back to the grave alongside this piece of useless trash!"

The Dioscuri simply shook their heads in disappointment, Pollux facepalmed while Castor just glowered disapprovingly. "Shameful…"

Jason obviously took notice of that comment. "Well if it isn't the wonder twins… What are you two losers doing here?"

The two children of Zeus however refused to play Jason's game. "Don't say a word to him big brother, you know we don't speak with failures…" Pollux declared haughtily as she began to tug her brother in the arm to move him away from Jason's attention.

"I wasn't intending too, dear sister… Nothing good can ever come from mingling with those that have lost the favor of the gods…" Castor simply replied before following after his sister.

"Yeah… yeah, you two are probably too busy stroking your father's ego." Jason stated making obscene phallic gestures. "As expected of Zeus' personal bootlickers. Has he finally taken notice of you lot and decided to induct you in your family's old tradition for incest by ploughing your tight stiff assess? Oh, I forgot… The only people you like to screw is each other, so on that note you two already been dutiful little sycophants by keeping the family tradition alive." He stated with mocking derision.

Those comments were enough to get a rise out of Castor who simply stopped in his tracks and wheeled around to face Jason. "As crass and disgusting as always for what I see… I shouldn't even be surprised… Make no mistake Jason, we are not friends despite our previous association. We actually hate your guts and would be very pleased with the idea of gutting you out like a pig and paint the floor red with your intestines. You, pathetic little coward who couldn't even accomplish the simple task appointed to him by the gods and squandered all the blessings and favors given to him to make such an enterprise a trifle. The only reason you are even here back among the living is because our Lord Hades, in his infinite kindness, decided to repay Medea's assistance by doing her this small courtesy…"

Jason was understandably perplexed at that declaration. "Hades…! What are you…!?" The leader of the Argonauts suddenly became quiet as a cold chill ran down his spine and his danger senses began to blare with urgency. He turned, only to find the God of the underworld standing right behind him and looking down at him. He knew without a shred of doubt that this was Hades, no one else could give such a strong stench of death but him.

"L-L-L-L-Lord Hades….!" He exclaimed in trepidation before immediately falling to his knees and start groveling. The entire room fell quiet under Hades' sheer presence, even Caenis stopped in her efforts of trampling Medea to get to Jason in the presence of the Ruler of the Dead.

"Jason…." Hades simply said with a complete blank face, but with a tone of voice that easily conveyed revulsion and disapproval. "It seems it is just as Caenis and the Dioscuri said… Your entire existence is an offense to my eyes… A slight and an indignity against the benevolence we gods have shown humanity in the past. You are a perfect example as to why your species is beyond redemption and undeserving of our mercy… Medea…" After giving his harsh judgement, the King of the underworld simply closed his eyes, not wanting to blemish his sight anymore with Jason's presence, and called towards the elfin girl.

"Yes, Milord Hades…" Medea lily dutifully answered as she kept her head lowered.

"Take this sorry excuse for a hero that is your husband and drag him out of my sight… I do not care where, just make sure he's no longer in my presence. Caenis… Come near… It's time to bring your former human master back to life." He commanded, turning away from the disgraced couple as to signify the end of the discussion and turning his attention towards the well-toned Lancer.

Lily immediately materialized at her husband side and began to pull him away, telling him for once in their lifetimes to keep quiet and follow her for heavens' sake. Usually, Jason would have replied with an insulting comeback and blow her off, but for all his faults the former king of Iolcus was not stupid and knew very well his entire wellbeing hanged over the fact if whether or not he could follow his former wife's lead without causing a scene. Grimacing, Jason swallowed his pride with great displeasure and followed after the elfin girl.

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That's it for now. As I've said, there's still like ten more pages done that I have already written for the next chapter, so it may not take me months before I post the next update. Or perhaps it will, it all depends on how inspired I might feel.

Now to clear some stuff, can Hades access the throne of heroes and bring its inhabitants back to life. Yes, he can because his Authority allows him too. I don't want to delve too deeply into specifics right now, but Major Gods like Hades in Saint Seiya are multiversal threats, the saints themselves have traveled between dimensions before so it stands to reason that a god like Hades will have no problem in doing the same. He created entire dimensions foreign and independent from Earth in the form of his underworld, the hyperdimension and the Elysian Fields. Only a deity in the level of Zeno or the Choushin can stand a chance against him and win, not even the Gods of destruction can defeat him since he has the capacity to no sell the Hakai just by deciding it so by his nuts.

And regarding the wishes of Cleopatra, Medea Lily and Caenis to revive their spouses and/or previous master, there is no universe in which these three will not take the chance to make this wish once they saw that Hades has the capacity of bringing the souls of the dead back to life, it is simply something that will not happen considering their personalities.

It would have been pretty out of character if they hadn't asked this boon out of Hades. Luckily the rest of the servants have no wish of this nature so it is something I do not expect to crop up in the future.

Anyway, I am really considering in cross-posting this story in QQ due the superior formatting options available, just so I can add more stuff like hyperlinks, images and music. But that's something for me to work later.

In the meantime, as always, leave a review and tell me what you think. Recommend this story to your friends, and visit my Pa- t. re-on if you feel like tossing a coin my way and I'll read you all next time…