From swirl of portal, Hades and Minthe emerged from the portal into the dark soil of the Underworld. The portal snapped shut behind them.
"Minthe, open your eyes. We have reached our destination," Hades said, his voice cheerful against the mournful whisper of distant ghosts.
Minthe's eyelids fluttered open. She saw a twilight sky, felt the gritty black earth beneath her, and inhaled air thick with the scent of death. Her body hair stood on end and her face turned pale. "Whe-where are we?" she stammered, her voice thin with dread.
"The Underworld," Hades stated, his tone utterly nonchalant.
"Underworld!?" The word was a screech. Minthe turned to flee back through the portal, but the portal is already vanished. She stumbled backward, her head connecting with something hard and scaly.
"Ouch!" She rubbed her skull, tears of pain welling in her eyes, and looked up. Her breath hitched. Towering over her was a monstrous Ice Dragon, its maw frozen in a silent roar, bound in chains thicker than ancient tree trunks.
"Aaaaa!! Monster!!"
Her scream echoed as she ran away, only to collide with another figure and tumble to the ground. A hand, cold as a midwinter stream, appeared before her. "Are you okay, miss?" a voice asked, sweet yet hollow.
Trembling, Minthe took the hand and was pulled upright. 'His skin is like ice,' she thought. She looked up and saw the gloomy, ghostly face of Acheron, his disheveled hair covering one eye, leaving a single blue eye visible.
"Aaaaa!!! ghost!" she shrieked again, backpedaling so fast she nearly fell.
The commotion drew Phelegthon, who lumbered over. "What did you do, you bastard?" he grumbled at Acheron.
Minthe's wide, terrified eyes landed on the fiery giant. "Aaaahhh!!" Her third scream was the loudest yet.
Both river gods approached slowly, hands raised in a placating gesture. "Calm down! Don't cry," Acheron said, attempting a reassuring smile that, on his ghostly features, it enhance the grimous face.
To Minthe, they were a nightmare duo one a laughing fire monster and another hungry ghost closing in for a meal. "Waaa!! Don't eat me! I am not tasty! See how thin I am!" she wailed, hugging her slender arms to her chest.
Phelegthon, ever literal, leaned in and peered at her. "Huh. It is true. You are quite thin."
Acheron shot him a look of pure exasperation.
"What is happening here?" a new voice cut through the chaos. Hecate and Nyx emerged into the courtyard, their presence immediately imposing order. Hecate's eyes narrowed at the two river gods. "Are you bullying this little girl?"
Acheron and Phelegthon took a synchronized step back. "No! We were just trying to calm her," Acheron pleaded.
"I was merely examining her physical state," Phelegthon added. Acheron glared at him. Phelegton genuinely confused by the blaming glares.
Nyx's gaze, cool and assessing, swept over them before settling on the trembling little girl. She and Hecate moved past the rivers and knelt before Minthe. Nyx placed a soothing hand on her head. "Little one, the panic is over. No one will harm you here."
The primordial calm in Nyx's voice finally broke through Minthe's terror. She threw herself into Hecate's embrace, pointing a shaking finger. "Big sis! These two monsters wanted to eat me!"
Hecate held her, her chilling gaze returning to the two gods. Acheron frantically waved his hands. "A complete misunderstanding! You know how Phelegthon is. He is tactless, but also not malice!"
"Indeed," Nyx said, her voice leaving no room for argument. "Acheron, I believe that Lethe has been calling you both. See to it."
Understanding the dismissal, Acheron grabbed Phelegthon's arm. "At once, Lady Nyx." He dragged the still-protesting fire god away. "Come on, you blockhead."
Nyx turned her attention back to Minthe. "Now, child. Who are you, and how did you get here?"
"I am Minthe," she sniffled, mimicking horns above her head with her fingers. "A man with black wings and horns brought me here."
The air around Hecate chilled deliberately. "Hades…" she said, the name dropping like a shard of ice.
---
Meanwhile, Hades sat cross-legged before the Giant ice dragon, a manifested spirit of Cocytus.
"Cocytus, your lamentations have a place in the new order," Hades stated, his voice echoing with finality. "But you will have to submit to my authority. Accept this, or I will have to…" A sphere of soul-fire bloomed in his upturned palm, its light causing the frozen ice on his scales to sizzle.
"Wait! I submit! I will flow where you command, Lord Hades!" Cocytus wailed. "Had you but shown your true divinity earlier, I would never have contested you!"
Hades' eyes narrowed. "You attacked me the moment you awoke."
"A thousand pardons! But you appeared as that infernal bird that has been plaguing my den! A feathered menace that keep disturbing my slumber! If I ever catch it, I will freeze its squawking beak for eternity!"
'Aha, he must be talking about creature escape from the sky giant chasm,' Hades mused. With a wave, the binding chains dissolved. "Very well, I forgive you."
"Hades…" The voice from behind him was Nyx's, and it was cold enough to rival Cocytus. He turned to see his wife and Nyx, with a tear-streaked Minthe between them. Nyx's expression was unreadable, but her aura was one of profound disapproval.
"Can you explain this?" Nyx asked, her tone level yet demanding an answer.
Hades' mind worked quickly. He smoothly take out the black contract from his pocket. "I have neither abducted nor wronged her. I make a free and fair deal with her for her creation 'mint'."
Nyx took the parchment. Her eyes scanned the text, then paused at the very bottom. "It appears to be in order," she said, then her gaze sharpened. "Though this documented here, written in script so minute one might miss it… 'The signee will never betray contractor and follow all order of contractor'…isn't it a slave contract.' what is this Hades?"
'Crap! She found it' Hades quickly give an excuse "An oversight in the drafting. Lady Nyx. The intent was to offer a prestigious role, not to enslave. I will amend it to be perfectly clear"
"An oversight?" Nyx repeated, a whisper of her primordial power brushing against him. "From the King who hold near omniscient ability?" She burn the contract. "Rectify it. Ensure the terms are as clear and fair as the deal you offered. I will be watching."
She then produced a simple ring of obsidian and gave it to Minthe. "Keep this, child. If ever you feel injustice or someone harshly treat you, just call me. A king must be reminded that his power is given because of responsibility not for tyranny." With a final, meaningful look at Hades, Nyx turned and melted into the shadows.
"Hah… I thought I was done for," Hades breathed, the tension leaving his shoulders
Hecate stepped forward, a mischievous smile finally gracing her lips. "So, how does it feel to be scolded like a mischievous child, Mr. Husband?"
Hades gave her a weary look. "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"
"Immensely," she confirmed, her smile widening. She then gently took Minthe's hand. "Come, Minthe. Let's find you a room to rest."
As they left, Hades slumped against a petrified tree. "Argh… I'm tired. By now, Atlas must have reached Mount Othrys."
---
The next day, in the temple office, Hades unrolled a vast parchment across the table. Hecate looked at it. "Is this the new map of the Underworld?".
Hecate leaned over it, her eyes tracing the volatile borders. "Idea is good. But is it even possible?"
"Yes, It is possible." Hades replied, his finger tapping on the word written above the map. " Hectate, I want help in this matter."
Hecate's lips curved into a mischievous smile. "This is quite difficult task and I got nothing for my hardwor. Isn't it unfair for me"
"What do you want?"
"A promise. For one day. You will spend it with me and you will do whatever I wish."
"Wife," he said, a hint of his usual authority returning. "I am king of the Underworld and the Master of thirteen divinities. My time is—"
"—Ours to negotiate," she finished, her eyes glinting. "I am the Queen of the Underworld and your wife. I am merely claiming what is already mine. You can agree gracefully, or I can make your life… interesting. The choice is yours."
He sighed in mock defeat, a small smile playing on his own lips. "Sigh…fine."
As he turned to leave, he paused, retrieving a small, black box from his dimensional pocket.
"What is that?" Hecate asked.
Hades opened it to reveal three vials filled with a swirling, opalescent liquid. He took one and placed it in his own robes, then set the remaining two before Hecate. "Mysterious potions from the Giant Chasm. They multiply the user's power fivefold for five minutes. You'll be powerless for a day after. Useful for tomorrow."
"Why two?" she asked, picking one up. The liquid seemed to drink the light from the room.
"One is for the ritual," he said, his voice turning serious. "The other is for you. Keep it hidden. If a day ever comes when you are in dangerous situation and I cannot reach you… use it. It will save your life, even if it leaves you powerless afterward."
After a moment, he left the office.
---
Hades flew to the entrance of the Tartarus, the very pit of the universe. The air grew dense and heavy, the weight of eternity pressing down.
"Lord Tartarus!" he called, his voice echo in the pit.
From the abyssal void, two crimson eyes ignited, older than time itself. A profound voice vibrated through Hades' very soul. "You have come, Hades."
"I seek your aid, my lord."
"What aid can I give?"
"Tommorow, I will separate the Underworld from the earth realm. This is quite above my capabilities. Please lord Tartarus help in this."
"I will. But in this weak state, I can't come to aid. So take this." A crimson liquid manisfate in front of him. "This is fragment of mine. It will give you immense power which will helpful in separation."
"Thank you, Lord Tartarus." Hades bowed deeply.
The crimson eyes faded. Hades come out from Tartarus and flew to vast and empty plain "Lady Ananke. I know you can hear me. I call upon the favor you promised. Tommorow I am going to separate the Underworld and Earth realm, please supervise the process, to ensure that everything is stable."
For a long moment, there was only silence. Then, a single, inarguable word formed directly in his mind, the voice of inevitability itself.
< I will. >
"Thank you, Lady Ananke." With a final bow to the cosmos, Hades turned, his wings of shadow and flame unfurling, and flew toward the central plain where the future would be forged.