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The Underworld existed within Hawk's Cosmo.
Every movement within it was perfectly clear to him. No soul could enter without his awareness.
But ever since yesterday's deal with Mephisto...
The sound of souls entering his Underworld hadn't stopped since.
After all, Hawk had just acquired jurisdiction over the entire Western Hemisphere's deaths.
As Everyone knew, There was a reason for the West's lower population. Whether through self-inflicted stupidity or various shootings, people were dying every second of every day.
The constant stream of incoming souls was getting annoying. So Hawk added a new setting.
All souls would go directly to the First Prison upon entry. The Blood Elves temporarily managing the Blazing Prison would judge each soul's earthly deeds and assign them to the appropriate level of punishment.
This way, Hawk could simply mute the endless notifications of soul arrivals.
But he'd only muted the Blazing Prison.
Pure Land and the rest of the Underworld remained within his perception.
And this particular soul had landed directly on Pure Land after entering the Underworld.
Only one type of soul could do that.
Friends he personally knew.
Hawk was initially confused about who it might be. But when his consciousness reached out, his expression froze.
"Anna!"
"...Right, Anna."
Gwen heard Hawk say this and thought he was still discussing the situation at hand. Her eyes lit up as she nodded.
"Hydra. Only Hydra had your—"
"Anna's dead."
Hawk cut her off.
Gwen blinked in surprise.
"Dead?"
"Yeah. I need to check on this."
Hawk acknowledged briefly, said nothing more, and closed his eyes. His consciousness descended into his Cosmo.
At that moment.
In the Pure Land of the Underworld.
Anna—who had just arrived—wore the same dazed expression as any newly deceased soul, looking around at her surroundings in confusion.
Blue sky.
White clouds.
Lush green grass, and beneath that azure canopy—a pristine white staircase stretching upward to a palace floating in mid-air, radiating an unmistakably divine aura.
She stood there, bewildered and lost.
Anna struggled to recall what had happened before.
She'd received a message from Alexander Pierce. She'd learned that Strucker had—without authorization—used artificial synthesis to extract DNA from Hawk's blood, created synthetic gametes, and through artificial insemination, produced a healthy baby girl carrying Hawk's bloodline.
Anna had immediately recognized the catastrophic implications. The moment she received the message, she'd rushed to Sokovia to defuse this ticking time bomb before it could bring Hydra's annihilation.
But she hadn't dared to simply drown the infant.
Because, Whether Hawk acknowledged this baby or not, the child carried his bloodline. Given that, how to handle the situation was Hawk's call alone.
So, Anna's plan had been simple. Take the baby from Strucker. Place her with an unremarkable couple in some obscure country—people with no connection to anyone. Let them raise her. Then find an opportunity to tell Hawk.
The result?
Complete failure.
When she'd arrived in Sokovia, entered Strucker's castle stronghold, and reached for the baby in the red-haired woman's arms—
The accident happened.
Blazing Phoenix Fire erupted from the infant's cries.
She'd died.
No, wait!
'I... passed out.' Anna's eyes gradually cleared as the memories returned.
She vaguely remembered that she hadn't died—but had been on the brink. They'd hooked her up to life support. As she'd slipped into unconsciousness, she'd heard Alexander Pierce's furious screaming at Strucker.
After that—
She'd slept for what felt like an eternity. She'd only just woken up, still groggy, when she heard a somewhat deep, raspy voice.
"Shit. Not mine. You're in the wrong place. You don't belong to Hell—go where you're supposed to go."
...
So I really am dead?
But if this isn't Hell, then where am I?
Anna had finally pieced together everything from before her death. Her eyes were no longer dazed—but she still looked around in confusion at this world that couldn't possibly be Hell.
Could this actually be Heaven?
That was impossible.
Someone like me—did I deserve Heaven?
Anna laughed bitterly at herself. Then her peripheral vision caught the temple seemingly built in the sky, connected by nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine jade-white steps.
A figure seemed to be emerging from the temple.
No, wait.
This white-clad figure had two crimson-dressed women following behind.
It was Anya.
Initially excited because she'd thought it was her brother, Anya practically teleported to Anna's side in the blink of an eye.
Then—
Anya looked at Anna standing before her and blinked.
"Who are you?"
"Anna. And you are..."
Anna answered instinctively, then studied Anya's appearance. An image of Hawk's sister surfaced in her mind. She asked uncertainly, "Are you... Anya? Hawk's sister?"
Anya's eyes lit up at this.
"You know my brother!"
"Young Miss."
Anya's guard captain—Kayla, the first female Blood Elf—spoke up. "The Master has said that all souls go directly to the First Prison. Only souls connected to the Master—souls who are his friends—land in Pure Land upon their first entry to the Underworld."
Anna stared at the Blood Elf Kayla with wide eyes. Then her gaze swept across her surroundings once more.
"So this place is..."
"My Underworld." Hawk's voice sounded beside her. The next instant, his form materialized silently on Pure Land.
Anya spotted Hawk and immediately ran over, her eyes bright.
"Brother!"
"Hawk??"
Anna also watched Hawk appear, crying out in shock.
Hawk held his sister Anya in a hug while meeting Anna's gaze—her expression painted with shock and disbelief. He smiled. "Welcome to my Underworld, Anna."
Anya looked up at Hawk from within his embrace. "Brother, this sister won't leave as soon as she arrives like the last one, will she?"
Hawk blinked, looking down at Anya.
"Last one?"
"The one who came for a little while and then disappeared in flames."
"..."
Hawk realized who Anya meant.
Helen Stacy.
"That's your future aunt-in-law." Hawk shook his head to correct her, then nodded. "And yes—Anna won't be leaving anytime soon."
Anya's smile was genuine.
True, Pure Land was wonderful. It was practically Heaven. And Hawk had created the Blood Elves to be her companions.
But Anya couldn't really talk to these creatures who treated her with such reverent formality. And they'd never been to Earth.
Hell might have been worse, but at least there had been other souls there.
Anya hadn't told Hawk any of this. She didn't want to burden her brother.
So Anna's arrival made Anya genuinely happy.
Not just because she'd have someone to talk to.
Most importantly.
Anya felt she could learn from Anna exactly what her brother had endured these past years to save her.
Her brother always said it was nothing. But she didn't believe him.
Just like when she was twelve and had been hospitalized again. If she hadn't found that medical report herself, her brother would never have told her anything.
Her brother was the best brother in the whole world. He always shouldered everything alone, keeping her safe and protected.
So Anya knew—her brother must have suffered tremendously during these four short years to rescue her from Hell.
He might not tell her. But she couldn't pretend she didn't want to know.
That wouldn't be right.
Anya thought this to herself. Looking at Anna standing before her, she was already eager to hear stories about her brother.
Hawk noticed his sister's barely contained excitement at making a new friend.
But not now.
...
After a while.
Hawk sent his sister away first, then led Anna to the banks of the River Styx.
Anna's gaze crossed the dark waters to the Eight Prisons shrouded in endless death and despair. Her mouth opened slightly.
Hawk stood beside her, glancing at her but saying nothing.
Anna withdrew her gaze from the Prisons across the river. Her eyes lowered.
"August 13th, 2013."
"10:05 AM."
"Alexander Pierce contacted me urgently. Told me something had happened."
"Strucker. The leader in charge of European operations. After obtaining your blood, he'd used cutting-edge artificial synthesis technology to extract your DNA and create synthetic gametes."
"Then he'd used artificial insemination to have a volunteer carry the pregnancy to term. She gave birth naturally to a healthy baby girl with your bloodline."
"Alexander Pierce was furious when he told me."
"I was furious too."
"But Hydra's leaders—though we're all Hydra—operate more like allies than a unified command structure."
"Alexander Pierce had only just received word himself. He contacted me immediately."
"I left for Strucker's location at once."
"Strucker's castle was in Sokovia. Deep in the mountains. I saw the baby girl with your bloodline. And her mother."
"But just as I took the baby and was about to leave—"
"The accident happened."
"Blazing flames erupted from the infant's body. Before I lost consciousness, I saw something—a phoenix bathed in fire."
"After that... I remember Strucker's people rushing to put me on life support. Then I fell into a very, very long sleep."
"When I woke up again..."
"I was already here."
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