A month passed.
In those days, many things shifted in the underworld.
In the central land, 7 dominos from each clan are selected and trained for the elite unit. And a demon who is gifted in the art of magic craft joins an elite unit.
A new currency had also been introduced, the Nether Coin, spreading rapidly until it became the lifeblood of trade. Cities prospered, infrastructure bloomed, and for the first time, the underworld began to glitter with progress.
Whereas, dukes completely exploit slaves in every way possible. Either in alchemist as test rat, food for beast, as miners, as toy for their pleasure.
They also develop their land at the same level as the central land in their own way. But in the whole process, which once had a 70% population, has now been reduced to a mere 30%.
---
Meanwhile,
In the dark cave, Hades studies divinity and has done many experiments like fusing two or more divinities and creating more spells.
Gleam of nightmare: It creates an illusion of the most dreadful and scariest thing that opponents fear. It was made by the fusion of secret, fear, and demons. He got inspiration from Noctandrath and Miramor.
Nether crown: Summons a crown. It enhances user strength and grants absolute domination over every creature and divinity related to the underworld. It is made by the fusion of underworld, soul, demon and minerals. It is the same crown that was once summoned during the fight with Miramor.
His eyes lingered on the cluster of divinity orbs, floating like luminous stars against the void. Their light pulsed slowly, as though the cosmos itself had been reduced into his grasp.
He leaned forward, voice echoing in the cavern.
"When I look at Underworld and other related divinity. And study its property and nature. Result shows that Underworld and related divinity purpose is…end."
He drew the underworld orb into the centre, letting the other spheres orbit it.
Slowly, he connects each essence with the underworld and maps invisible relationships between them.
"But if they study their property and nature more deeply and link it to other realms and other divinities. Result is that one thing is common in Underworld and related divinity, either directly or indirectly, and that is another hidden purpose, as a…preserver."
He looks at the web of divinities. And turned first to the orb of Fear, watching its black-red glow.
Fear is a force of nature or emotion that living beings create for themselves and draw a boundary line for their life. And forces creatures to pause, to stay within lines. But the moment they cross that boundary, they begin to change and evolve."
He connected Fear to every essence. The web grew.
Next, he raised the essence of Demon.
"Demonic energy is present on all the demonic and magical creatures, but it is completely misunderstood by others. They see it as chaos and an evil force. That's not true. They are hidden guardians of nature, regulators of population. They end excess, so that balance remains."
He drew lines to Magic and Death. The orb of Magic shimmered faintly.
"Magic, it is Flexible, adaptable…and weak energy. It transforms itself into other forms of energies and supports them in their work, but remains weak so that it doesn't dare to replace others."
He bound Magic with Darkness, Soul, and Sleep.
Then came Imprison. Its essence radiated sharpness, like invisible chains.
"Another word for it is Rule. It is the law that binds the world, the framework of order."
He wove it to Darkness, Soul, Death, Secret, Sin, Mortality.
Sin pulsed crimson, almost alive.
"Sin… born of negative emotions, yes. But negativity is not only corruption it is also the fuel for growth, ambition, rebellion."
He tied Sin to Sleep.
Sleep drifted with tranquil radiance.
"Sleep and mortality are similar to fear and sin. Both remind us of limits. Both humble us into growth."
He linked Sleep with Darkness and Mortality, then Mortality with Death, Darkness and Soul.
The essence of Death pulsed like a silent bell.
"Death is like the demon divinity. It ends one life so that another can begin. It is an opportunity for rebirth."
He tied Death to Darkness and Soul.
The Soul orb shimmered like glass.
"The soul is the vessel. It carries life, and determines the end of life."
He bound it to Sin and Darkness.
The Secret orb flickered like a veil.
"Secrets… they hide dangerous truths. Truths that, if exposed, could unravel all things. By concealing them, secrets protect the world."
He linked it to every essence.
Finally, he looked upon Darkness. Its aura flowed endlessly, touching every orb.
"Darkness… it is like the underworld, like magic. A supporter. A silent backbone."
Only Minerals remained. Hades frowned.
"Last remaining mineral, but how do you support or preserve the world. Only your destructive side comes to mind."
He asked this question to himself and ministered divinity like a madman. He drowned in his own thoughts.
He leaned back against the cavern wall, hand brushing against something damp and spongy. He turned and saw a small purple mushroom growing from a bloodstain on the rock.
For a moment, he froze. Then he remembered plant basic science from his past life knowledge.
His eyes widened
.
"Yes, this is it."
He stands up and looks at the minerals' divinity essence
"Minerals present in the ground, water inside plants and creatures with different forms, provide nutrition and help in growth."
He connected Mineral to Soul.
At once, the orbs began to pulse in resonance. The connections webbed together like a living constellation.
Then he compressed the sphere, collapsing toward the centre and fusing them all. Radiance flared and a wave of immense energy radiated out in all directions. And form a new type of energy which looks like a flame that burns with golden, purple, blue, red and orange colours
Hades staggered back, smiling while looking at the fruit of his hard work. Suddenly, an earthquake happened, and at the same time, an Energy surge occurred in Hades. He ascended to the peak level of a god chief.
The newborn energy glowed in his palm. Hades carefully observes it.
"Hmm…this energy can manipulate life force. And can make it possible for rebirth, evolution and reincarnation-like things. I name it Twilight flame."
As a test, he enveloped the energy in his arm and raised his hand towards the mushroom.
'Life Harvest.'
In an instant, not only the mushroom, but the surrounding earth itself was drained of vitality. The soil withered. Pebbles cracked. Even the faint aura of life deep underground was sucked dry. And all life force drifts inside him.
By mistake, Hades created one of the most terrifying spells; this spell is even more powerful than Hectate's silver judgmental lance.
Hades' eyes widened. He snuffed the spell at once.
"…Oops. Well. I might have just unlocked another forbidden part of the universe. Again."
He scratched his cheek, glancing upward as though the void could hear.
"Lady Ananke… you aren't going to condemn me again, are you? You know this was…just a little bit of curiosity and A little accident. I didn't mean to create it, it just happened."
He bowed deeply to the ground.
---
The quake tore through the entire underworld realm. Panic erupted. Citizens screamed, thinking a catastrophe or a primordial battle had begun.
In her office, Hectate also felt the tremor, but at the same time, her energy rose and her silver energy flared up inside her. She knew instantly what this meant.
Her smile blossomed… then froze. She pinched her temples, sighing deeply.
"Oh no. This fool. He's gone and unlocked another forbidden part of the cosmos. Lady Ananke definitely scolded us severely again. Or worse… punish us."
She quickly joined her hand in protest.
"Please, Lady Ananke, forgive that fool. Please, I promise, when he comes back, I'll scold him properly."
A knock broke her muttering. She straightened her dress, changed into queen mode, and called.
"Enter."
Druvak and Amazel hurried in, both pale.
"Big sis—Lady Hecate!…"
Both speak in unison, so their voice are mixed up. Then they look at each other and again say in unison
"The earthquake struck everywhere! It must be the work of those evil bastards!"
She cut them coldly:
"No. It was caused by Hades."
They blinked. Druvak stammered
"Just what could Lord Hades possibly do to cause this?"
Her gaze sharpened, lowered her voice a little, and a chill covered the room and the room atmosphere became more serious.
"There are secrets that are kept hidden for the world's safety. These secrets we call Forbidden secrets. And Hades just touched one of them."
Amazel's curiosity rises, before she asks something, Hectate continue her talk.
"I know both of you are curious about this secret. But I advise both of you until you are strong enough or time itself reveals this secret. You both never dare to search for this secret. Sometimes things are much better if no one knows about them."
A silence fell. The air grew even heavier. Both of them shuddered.
Amazel swallowed.
"Then… what do we tell the people?"
Hecate sighed.
"Say nothing. Time erases panic faster than explanation."
---
In a distant nebula, Lady Ananke stirred from her slumber. Rubbing her eyes, she waved a hand and a cosmic screen shimmered into view.
She watched every moment, a forbidden ritual for the creation of the 14 gates of oblivion, the creation of the twilight flame.
She pressed her temples.
"Wonderful. He's done it again. And this time, he broke his own record: three forbidden revelations at once."
She groaned, sinking back into her cloud pillow.
"Sometimes I think this underworld couple is competing with each other over who can cause me more headaches."
"At least I rest a little bit as Nyx and Erebus are watching over them, so… maybe nothing catastrophic will happen…Maybe."
She yawned.
"I'll deal with them later. For now… sleep is more important."
And the goddess of inevitability drifted back into dreams, muttering about fools who tamper with forbidden secrets.