Hectate's first attempts were disasters unstable fusions that blew apart in violent bursts of energy. Each time, the backlash carved deeper cracks into the frozen battlefield.
She steadied herself.
"Alright… start from scratch. Night with Moon, then add Underworld."
The instant she combined them, something different happened: a strange resonance thrummed through her body, harmonising like a chord. Then the energy shuddered and tore itself apart in a sharp detonation.
Cough… cough. She wiped the frost and smoke from her face. "Just now… it resonated. Let's study those three first."
Night with Moon again the same deep harmony… then instability, then another blast.
But she didn't step back.
This time, she joined Moon divinity with the weak but adaptable Nether energy. Surprisingly, they blended into a stable dark-blue Lunar Energy. She added Night divinity once more, resonance… then failure.
Still, it was enough of a hint.
"Alright. The problem's core is in the Underworld divinity. First note down what I know about it… This belongs to Hades. It has the potential to reach a primordial level. It's one of the king-class domains."
She froze mid-thought. "King-class domain… means a divinity supreme over other divinities. In the ancient era, they were known as the primordial origin of the divinity."
She counted through her own.
Night. Moon. Crossroad. Ghost. Arcane. Darkness. All of them connected back to the underworld in some way.
She conjured orbs of each divinity, but didn't fuse them; instead, she placed the Underworld at the centre and linked the others to it like spokes on a wheel.
They all resonated. Stable.
Her lips curved slightly.
But they still weren't fused. She had solved the first half of the puzzle, the foundation, but not the unification.
She mentally replayed the moment she'd fused Night, Darkness, and Underworld. Then the answer clicked.
"Underworld creates the medium and stabilises the link… but for fusion, I have to connect their properties in a closed cycle while keeping stability intact."
Carefully, like threading a needle, she began. Darkness → Night → Moon → Crossroad → Ghost → Arcane → back to Darkness. The first cycle is complete.
Then she cross-linked: Arcane to Moon, Ghost to Moon and Night, Crossroad to Darkness and Night.
The energy pulsed. Every divinity resonated in harmony, slowly merging into a single point of light. It condensed into a silver core, thrumming with the power of all her domains.
A surge of understanding flooded her. Her grasp of divine structure deepened, her rank ascending to mid-level god chief.
"Yes!" She laughed, triumphant. "There is nothing in this world the genius Hectate can't do!"
She shaped the silver energy into a lance, spinning it until it howled like a drill.
"I'll call you… Silver Judgement Lance."
With a flick of her arm, the weapon launched a streak of silver tearing through the air, leaving a glowing trail. It pierced Rantor's massive body as effortlessly as a needle through cloth, then blasted through a mountain behind him.
A silver dome blossomed from the impact, even larger than her Arcane Nova, erasing everything in its radius. The shockwave rippled across the underworld, fissures spreading like spiderwebs.
But instead of the usual dimensional cracks, the force created a dimensional hole, a void that began to pull everything inward.
Her breath caught. "A black hole…?"
It grew. Fast.
Then time stopped.
From nowhere, a white-robed maiden appeared, her presence silencing existence itself. With one graceful motion, she closed the hole and restored the battlefield to its untouched state, as if nothing had happened.
Hectate immediately knelt. "Greetings, Lady Ananke."
Ananke's cold, sharp gaze pinned her. "Do you have any idea what catastrophe you were about to cause?"
Hectate quickly kneel down "I… apologise, Lady Ananke. I didn't intend— it won't happen again."
Ananke sighed. "Stand. I accept your apology."
"Thank you, Lady Ananke. Next time, I'll take full precautions for the safety of the world."
"Next time? Are you implying such an event will happen again?"
"No, no, I mean… when I create something new, I'll consider all safety measures."
"Hectate… do you even understand what you just created?"
"Yes. A new type of energy, and a powerful spell."
"Not 'simple' energy. This holds force equal footing with cosmic energy and is even classified among the forbidden. And this…" She massaged her temples. "…is the third time you and your husband have tampered with such things."
Hectate frowned. "Third? No… this is the second. First was the Cosmos Marriage Oath, second is—"
Ananke's glare silenced her. "It seems your husband has kept secrets from you."
"Now, what he done"
"During the Noctandrath nightmare, he unconsciously unlocked his Apocalypse form which holds enough strength to erase the universe. That, too, is forbidden."
Hectate swallowed hard. "Oh."
Ananke's voice dropped, dangerous. "Tell me… are you two dissatisfied with the universe, or do you wish to destroy it?"
"No!"
"Then why do you keep unlocking forbidden powers?"
"Just… coincidence."
"…Coincidence," she repeated, unconvinced. And mumbling to herself and sighing "I'll turn a blind eye this time. But if it happens again, I will punish you both severely."
Cold sweat trickled down Hectate's back. "Understood. We'll never give you a reason."
Ananke gave a single nod then faded into nothing.
"Phew…finally it's done"
Then she looked at the silver energy in her end and gulped it down. " For now, seal this energy."
Then she stored Rantor's corpse in her dimension pocket.
And teleport to the temple.
---
When she returned to the temple and entered the throne room, Hecate froze.
Empty bottles were scattered across the floor like fallen soldiers.
And there was Hades, slouched on the throne, tipping back yet another bottle.
"Hades," Hecate's voice sharpened, "what is all this?"
"Hicc—oh! Hecate, you're back. This is nothing… just—hicc—battle with Miramor stressed me out. So… little-little."
Because of their soul bond, she could feel exactly how much stress and fatigue he was carrying. Brief flashes of his fight with Miramor crossed her mind, each more brutal than the last. Her irritation melted into worry.
"Hades, I know you're stressed," she said softly, "but this isn't the right way."
"Then… what's the right—hicc—way?"
"You could pick up a new hobby. Cooking, drawing, singing… even dancing."
Then a thought struck her, and her eyes lit up to cheer him up.
"I'm stressed too after dealing with Rantor. Why don't we dance together? Might help both of us."
"I don't know how to dance."
"Don't worry. Just follow me."
Hades stood, wobbling slightly, and joined her in the open space. Hecate waved her hand and a gentle, flowing tune filled the room, the air humming with magic. She began with slow, easy steps, her movements light and graceful.
Hades, meanwhile, looked like a dignified statue trying to learn to walk robotically and stiffly.
"Hades," she said with a half-smile, "you really do look like a golem trying to walk."
He chuckled awkwardly. "You're the one who looks like a fairy dancing on a pond under moonlight."
Her cheeks warmed at the compliment. "Don't just stand there, follow my steps!"
Gradually, he loosened up. His steps were still clumsy, but he was laughing, actually enjoying himself. It wasn't about the dance it was about the rare, quiet time spent together.
Then his foot landed on a bottle.
The glass rolled. His balance went with it.
"Ah—!"
Hecate lunged to catch him, but his weight pulled her down too. They tumbled to the floor, and suddenly she was lying on top of him. Their faces were so close she could feel the warmth of his breath.
One inch.
Half an inch.
Their lips were just about to meet—
"Big sis! Where are—"
Amazel stopped dead in the doorway, her face going crimson.
Her eyes darted between them, then a smirk tugged at her lips.
"Ohhh… don't mind me. Just… continue."
Hecate's soul left her body for a moment. Amazel snickered, waved, and bolted out before Hecate could hurl a spell at her.
Hecate's face darkened. Amazel was the last person she wanted to witness this. She started to push herself up
But her hand slipped. Before she could react, her lips pressed to his.
Her eyes went wide. Her heart skipped. Her face felt like it was on fire.
She broke away quickly, standing up in a rush. Without meeting his eyes, she stormed out, muttering under her breath.
"Idiot chicken… that was my first kiss. No romantic build-up, no perfect moment just a drunken kiss. And now my mouth tastes like alcohol."
Her voice rose as she paced the hall.
"Ahhh! So frustrating! What do I do with this dense blockhead? I can't even kill him… and yet… why did I have to fall for such a blockhead, why?"