A Few Hours Later
Tartarus
Hades sat on his throne with a cold look on his face. His expression was completely emotionless, carved from stone rather than flesh. His hands rested on the armrests of his throne, fingers curled slightly.
The entire hall was empty, devoid of the souls that typically wandered through this realm or the various servants and functionaries who usually attended to the Night of the Underworld. The silence was absolute, broken only by the distant echoes of suffering that permeated every corner of Tartarus.
His eyes were closed, though not in rest. He appeared to be contemplating something with the patience of one who had eternity to consider his thoughts.
Just then, a golden light materialized behind the throne. The glow started as a pinprick before expanding into a luminous portal that illuminated the dark chamber with warm radiance.
If it were someone else, they would probably have been on high alert at this intrusion. An unannounced arrival in the throne room of the Night of the Underworld was typically either incredibly foolish or incredibly dangerous.
But Hades showed no reaction whatsoever. He knew who it was. The energy signature was as familiar to him as his own, perhaps more so after countless eons together.
The golden light materialized into a goddess with a breathtaking appearance. Half her face was covered with an ornate folding fan, and a black silk cape was draped elegantly around her body, contrasting beautifully with the golden light that still clung to her form like morning dew.
The goddess lowered the hand holding the fan, and the accessory simply vanished as if it had never existed. With the fan gone, her full face was revealed - features of incomparable beauty that had been the cause of one of the most significant conflicts in divine history.
There she stood in all her glory, her curly golden hair cascading down her shoulders like spun sunlight, each strand seeming to possess its own inner radiance. Her eyes held depth that spoke of both innocence and wisdom, a contradiction that somehow worked perfectly on her divine features.
This was Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, Queen of the Underworld, and Hades's one and only wife. The being who spent half the year in the world above, bringing life and growth to the mortal realm, and the other half here in the darkness beside her husband.
She was just a few steps behind the throne, standing in the space between light and shadow that seemed to define her very existence. She moved forward gracefully, her steps making no sound against the cold stone floor.
Hades's eyes remained closed, as if he refused to acknowledge her presence. His posture did not shift, his breathing did not change. To an outside observer, it would appear as if he were completely unaware of her arrival.
But Persephone knew better. She could read her husband in ways that no other being in existence could. He was aware of her presence, and he was making a point by ignoring her.
She reached the throne and moved around to stand behind it. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around Hades from behind, her embrace warm and affectionate despite his obvious coldness.
"Ignoring me, husband?" she asked, her voice carrying amusement mixed with affection.
Hades grunted in response, a sound that was neither confirmation nor denial but somehow managed to convey his displeasure all the same.
This made Persephone smile even wider. She loved seeing this side of her husband - the annoyed, sulking side that he showed to no one else.
Most beings saw only the cold, implacable Lord of the Dead. But she got to see the god who could be irritated, who could pout like a child when things did not go his way, who had emotions he usually kept buried deeper than the souls in his care.
"Still mad at me?" she asked, her tone playful now. "We both know that even if I had not asked you to save Diana, you would have still made sure that no harm came to her."
Hades grunted again, though his posture relaxed slightly as her arms tightened around him. The warmth of her presence was working its way through his defenses, as it always did.
"And what is the point?" he spoke finally, his voice carrying frustration. "That little girl will still find another way to slip out of the Underworld and go around protecting those mortals who do not deserve her sacrifice."
He paused, and when he continued, there was confusion in his tone. "I do not understand what she finds in those mortals worth protecting. They have wrought destruction upon Gaia. They poison her rivers, burn her forests, slaughter her creatures without thought or care. They wage wars amongst themselves constantly, creating suffering that feeds my realm endlessly. What is there to protect in such beings?"
Persephone's smile became gentler, more understanding. "We both know that this is her path. She is destined to be their guardian, whether we approve of her charges or not."
She rested her chin on his shoulder, speaking softly into his ear. "And it is our responsibility to protect her until she is capable of fulfilling that destiny on her own. You know this, my love. You have always known this."
Hades grunted again, a sound that was becoming less annoyed and more resigned. "The only reason I went to the surface was because Zeus dared to use my pawns without my permission. The Harbingers, the Tetracide - both were mine to command, stored in my domain for when they were needed."
His voice grew harder, colder. "He is getting bolder and bolder. It seems that my dear brother does not wish to keep his oath anymore."
Persephone's face also took on a cold look, her expression hardening in a way that would have terrified mortals. When she spoke, her voice was like ice cracking. "When has he ever kept his oaths?"
The bitterness in her words was earned through eons of experience with the King of Olympus. Zeus's inability to honor his word was legendary, a failing that had caused countless problems throughout the ages.
It had nearly brought them to the brink of a war with Asgard.
Hades was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "But Diana did not need my help at all."
This caught Persephone's attention immediately. The cold look disappeared from her face, replaced with curiosity. "Huh? I did not realize she had grown so strong this early. Has her training progressed faster than we anticipated?"
Hades shook his head slightly, the movement barely perceptible. "No. She has grown stronger, certainly. Her progress is remarkable for one so young. But she was not yet strong enough to face that particular challenge alone. The Tetracide would have killed her, consumed her soul along with her body."
He paused for emphasis. "She found a little help. Or should I say, she found HIM."
Persephone's face became completely neutral, an expression that was somehow more intense than either joy or anger. "Him?" she asked carefully. "That being!?"
Her words were full of shock and maybe even anticipation for them to be confirmed true.
Hades sighed deeply, a sound that seemed to come from the very depths of his being. "He matches the prophecy that was given to us. The being who would be bound to Diana's fate..."
Persephone completed his words, her voice starting mesmerized but quickly taking on a hint of something wild, something that contradicted her calm composure until now. "The Crimson Calamity!?"
The Crimson Calamity - a prophecy spoken ages ago, a prediction that had been whispered about in divine circles but never fully understood.
She suddenly started laughing. Not a gentle laugh, not the musical sound one might expect from the Goddess of Spring. This was loud, extremely loud, her voice carrying a hint of near madness that seemed completely at odds with everything else about her.
The sound echoed throughout the entire Underworld, reverberating off the walls of Tartarus itself. The laugh carried through the caverns and chambers, reaching the ears of every soul imprisoned in this realm. Those who heard it felt chills run up their spines, a primal fear that transcended their already considerable suffering.
Even the River Styx seemed to shudder at the sound.
Hades's eyes remained closed throughout this display. He was completely calm, as if his wife's sudden descent into manic laughter was nothing unusual. He had seen this before, knew this aspect of her nature that she kept hidden from the rest of existence.
He calmly placed one of his hands over hers, where they rested on his chest. "Calm down, wife," he said softly, his voice carrying neither judgment nor concern, just gentle direction.
Persephone's laughter cut off abruptly. She took a deep breath, composing herself with visible effort. "I got a bit spooky there, did I not?" she asked, her voice returning to its normal melodious tone as if the manic episode had never happened.
"Nothing I have not seen before," Hades replied evenly. "But you are right to be excited. This changes many things. However..." He emphasized the word. "It is not the time yet. He is not ready yet. Neither is Diana, for that matter."
Persephone spoke with a smile that held both warmth and anticipation. "Soon it will be. The pieces are moving into position, just as was foretold. The Crimson Calamity has arrived, and with him, everything will end soon."
Hades nodded slowly, finally opening his eyes for the first time since Persephone had arrived. His gaze was distant, looking at something far beyond the walls of his throne room. "And for that to happen, Diana needs to grow stronger still. She must be ready for what is coming, must be able to stand beside him when the time comes."
His expression hardened with resolve. "She must start facing her trials now. We can shelter her no longer."
He turned his gaze toward a seemingly ordinary section of wall. To his attention, the wall began to shift and change.
Behind the opening stood a massive beast. It was tiger-like in its basic form, but that was where any resemblance to a normal creature ended. The beast was enormous, easily the size of a large building, with muscles that rippled beneath fur.
The creature was bound in chains- not the black chains typically used in Tartarus.
The beast's eyes opened at Hades's attention, and they glowed with an inner fire that spoke of intelligence and malevolence. This was no simple monster. This was his creation, his Chimera.
Persephone looked at the creature and nodded in understanding. She spoke quietly. "You believe she is ready to face it?"
"She must be," Hades replied. "Whether she is ready or not, the time has come. The prophecy is in motion now. There is no more room for preparation or delay."
Persephone hummed as she hugged her husband once more before disappearing into golden particles.
...
Unknown Location
Around a large table sat eight individuals - three women and five men. They were dressed in various styles of professional attire.
These were not normal people.
The table itself was projecting a holographic display, creating a three-dimensional image space above its surface. Multiple scenes played simultaneously, each one showing different locations and events from around the world.
One section was showing a red buzz of light, which, on zooming in, was a man who was moving extremely fast and was saving multiple people from gunshots.
Another section showed a man in a black costume with a giant axe-like symbol on his chest, fighting multiple people at once.
One section showed footage of Gateway City, the destruction caused by the Harbinger invasion still visible. Another showed various news broadcasts covering the mysterious events.
And prominently displayed among all these scenes was footage of Kon-Rao - hovering in the air, his crimson hair unmistakable, his power undeniable as he split the Tetracide in half with his heat vision.
.....
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