Chapter 169
The Nethersun hung at its zenith, dimming as it slowly gave way to the Nethermoon. Hades emerged from the stretched shadow of the castle.
Everything looked normal—too normal. The gates should have been open. Guards and servants should have been at the doors. Yet no one was there. The doors were closed.
Strange. Where is everyone?
He pulled the door open. A small girl drifted toward him on tiny violet wings, wrapped in white cloth. She settled into his hands.
A soft, tiny hand pulled the white cloth aside, and a pair of purple eyes peeked out. He gently removed the cloth from her face. The two of them stared at each other blankly.
After a long moment, she gave a soft, cute smile that instantly melted his cold heart. His lips curved upward, warmth breaking through his usually cold expression. “My…” His voice faltered. “Child.”
Yawn~
Her eyelids grew heavy and slowly closed. She slept soundly in his arms. Hades’s ears twitched at the faint sound of footsteps. He whispered, “Silence.”
With that single word, a transparent dome enveloped them, isolating them from the outside world. Not a single sound could disturb her sleep.
Then a thin blue energy film covered his entire body, and he levitated just above the ground. Rather than risk his footsteps disturbing her, he chose to hover.
As he floated forward, Hestia—along with a few guards and servants—came running toward him. They were in complete disarray: clothes drenched, faces dusted with flour.
The soldiers and servants bowed before him.
Hestia was saying something, but her words could not reach him. Hades snapped his fingers. The transparent isolation field shrank to encircle only the sleeping girl.
“CAN YOU HEAR ME NO—”
Ssh~
His eyes flicked toward the sleeping girl. Hestia glanced at her and whispered, “Have you found the other two?”
He jerked his head up and stared at her with wide, astonished eyes. “Other two…?”
Hestia’s lips curved upward, amused by his reaction. She leaned close and whispered in his ear, “Yes, you heard right. Not one. Not two. But three.”
She patted his shoulder. “Congratulations—you are the father of three walking disasters.”
He stood stunned, his mind struggling to catch up with what his ears had just heard. Unable to fully accept it, he called upon his secret divinity.
The past unfolded before his eyes.
Hecate was in intense pain. Her teeth were clenched, her hands gripping Asterius’s tightly.
“Just one more push, my child,” Asterius said softly. “One more push.”
A maid wiped the sweat from her brow with a warm, wet cloth.
After a cycle of pain and struggle, the room echoed with the cry of a baby. It was a baby girl with violet wings and violet eyes. Rhea quickly took the baby and gave her a warm bath, then wrapped her in a soft white towel. “She looks just like Hades did as a baby.”
Right after her, two more cries were heard. One was a boy with azure-blue eyes and wings; the other, a girl with crimson eyes and wings.
They received the same care. Hestia and Rhea carried the babies to Hecate.
Hecate sat up in bed. Her face was still pale, her breathing rough, but her eyes were eager to see her children.
As Hestia and Rhea brought them close, saying, “Congratulations!” Hecate briefly looked at them, then gently touched their cheeks. One by one, she held them and kissed their heads.
Her happiness knew no bounds, overflowing as tears from her eyes. She looked at her mother, Asterius, who nodded. Then she named each of them: “Arya. Kael. Lyra.”
Asterius held Kael and said, “You are exhausted. Rest now—we will take care of them.”
“But—” Asterius cut her off mid-sentence and gently nudged her back into bed. Hecate accepted the advice and lay back, her eyes slowly closing, though for a fraction of a second they did not leave her children.
They placed the babies in a small bed adjacent to Hecate’s, with pillows serving as boundaries. Kael was placed in the middle, between Arya and Lyra.
Most of the servants and physicians left, but a few remained to watch over them.
Rhea, Hestia, and Asterius sat in chairs, sipping tea wearily.
Meanwhile, Lyra turned slightly in her sleep. Her hand fell on Kael’s cheek like a slap. Startled by the pain, he woke up and cried loudly. “Waaaahhhh!!!”
His cry was not normal—it released a chaotic temporal wave. Time in the room became chaotic, sometimes freezing, sometimes fast-forwarding or reversing.
But this cry was only the beginning of the chaos. Both Arya and Lyra woke up. Irritated by his crying, Lyra put her hand over his mouth, but her touch released a spatial wave.
A series of portals opened in front of Rhea, Astraeus, and Hestia, blocking their path. Rhea and Asteriusdodged them easily—but not Hestia. She stepped into a portal and fell from the ceiling.
Her chin hit the floor hard, and then Nixi landed on top of her.
Suddenly, another portal opened right in front of them. A small, cute yellow rabbit peeked out. Hestia and Nixi stared at it. “How cute.” “Meow.”
Hestia realized something was wrong. Hundreds of identical yellow rabbits poured out—silent, blinking in perfect unison.
“Ow! Not my face!”
Nixi jumped from Hestia’s back onto the bed. She stared at the other two: Rhea and Asteriusfroze mid-movement, caught in a looping moment.
Nixi’s eyes met Arya’s. A spark of intrigued surprise lit her eyes—shock mixed with the thrill of discovery.
Suddenly, an ominous chill ran down her spine. She turned and ran away before anything else could happen.
Arya then rolled over and beat her small wings. She flew toward the wall, which turned into steam. She chased after Nixi. Lyra followed close behind.
Hestia and the servants chased after them. As they exited the room, they found Lyra sitting on the ground, playing with a thread. Hestia slowly approached her. “Lyra, my sweet girl, come to sister Hestia.”
“Hyaah!”
Lyra threw the thread and flew away.
As they took another step forward, the ground vanished beneath their feet, and they fell into a pond. A frog jumped from Hestia’s head.
“HADES!!!”
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The vision ended. Hades looked at the sleeping Arya, then at Hestia and the servants. “You all have done well. I will take care of things from here. You may go.”
They nodded and dragged their tired bodies away.
Hades snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Lyra appeared before him, nibbling a chocolate cookie with her toothless mouth. Flour was stuck to her face and hair.
She blinked rapidly at Hades, bewilderment crossing her face as she tried to piece together what she was seeing. Before she could escape, Hades caught her and whispered, “Sleep.”
She fell asleep immediately in his arms. He wiped the flour from her face and hair, then hovered toward the room.
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Deep within the giant chasm, a red, menacing light glowed in the dark cave.
“Reality… Awaken… Drexnor.”