Elysium, a beautiful place. It was a space opened by Hades, created to serve as a counterpoint and contrast to the hells of the Underworld. It was said that only those pure of heart in life could reach it after death. Here there were no worries, no harm, no pain, no strife—none of the mortal world's schemes, struggles, or greedy torrents—only goodness.
Even the gods of heaven often came here, drawn by its fame.
Mortals called it heaven.
Thanatos, called the strongest and most loyal of Hades's twin gods, was seated on a meadow in full bloom, plucking a harp. One graceful phrase after another floated on the air with the movement of his fingers.
It was a music not of the mortal world. Even masters like Mime and Sorrento, upon hearing Thanatos play, would feel ashamed by comparison.
Thanatos was nothing like the sorry figure from the SS arc. He was, one could say, the archetype of the near‑omniscient and omnipotent god. Strategy, games, martial skill, music—he was accomplished in all of them, and possessed, of course, the unique arrogance and pride of the heavenly gods.
A textbook image of a deity.
All around him gathered many beautiful maidens, listening in silence.
They were not human women, but sprites and fairies born in Elysium. Each possessed peerless beauty—less than Aphrodite's, perhaps, but enough to cause a sensation anywhere in the mortal world.
"Thanatos, you're slacking off here again. If Lord Hades learns of this, you can expect punishment." The speaker, whose face was nearly identical to the harper's save for the color of his hair, was Hypnos, the other of the twin gods.
There was another difference between them: temperament. Thanatos acted more wildly, seeing all beneath him, while Hypnos, though always lofty, was comparatively more cautious.
Waving the fairies away with a laugh, Thanatos turned to his brother. "What's there to 'manage' about Specters? Isn't Pandora there? If we have to do everything, what's the point of her?"
He spoke as if it were only natural, and with thick disdain.
"She is, after all, Lord Hades's elder sister," Hypnos said, displeased by his brother's tone, though admitting he had a point—only that saying it so bluntly was ill‑advised.
Strictly speaking, Pandora belonged to the heavenly realm as well, though not as a god. (Heaven held not only gods, but demigods, divine constructs, angels, etc. The Heavenly Warriors were chosen from among them.)
"Sister? That's just a joke to fool the masses. Do you and I not know what she is? What is she, really?" Thanatos's scorn only deepened. "Nothing but a toy made by that lame Hephaestus. She has divine power, yes—call her a powerful plaything."
"Thanatos, you've grown too bold! Have countless years of strife with Athena made you forget the respect due to the Twelve?" For once, anger showed on Hypnos's face. "Whatever else, that one is still one of the Twelve, not someone you may disparage here."
Thanatos seemed unconcerned, his disdain unchanged. "He's just a pitiful wretch who couldn't even keep his own wife. What's there to fear? You're too cautious, Hypnos. And even if he did hear it, so what? I don't think you and I are inferior in strength to those twelve by much. Take that so‑called goddess of beauty, Aphrodite… Besides, don't forget—Lord Hades isn't one of the Twelve. From the beginning, our Underworld was never on their side."
Now it was Hypnos's turn to fall silent. Though his brother sounded arrogant, he was not entirely wrong. They were twins; their natures differed, but their hearts were alike. In essence, what Thanatos believed, Hypnos believed as well.
"Besides Pandora, aren't there also those so‑called Three Judges among the Specters? Leave it to them. We… what—" Thanatos cut himself off, eyes widening as he leapt to his feet. His harp fell into the grass.
Hypnos wore the same look of shock. "This Cosmo—vast and cold. It can only be Lord Hades's. But he should still be years away from full awakening! How is this possible?"
"Calm yourself, Hypnos!" The impulsive brother was, for once, the one to urge restraint.
"The place where Lord Hades's Cosmo is flaring… There's no mistake. It's Athena's Sanctuary!"
"Damn it. Athena stirring up trouble again."
"Summon the Brothers of Dreams for me." "Summon the death god Anubis."
In the Pope's Hall of the Sanctuary, Shun had shed his Cloth and lay on a cold stone bier, eyes closed in unconsciousness.
Standing nearby were Meruem and Saori, her face full of worry.
Streams of purple Cosmo were slowly being drawn from Shun's body and into an ornate little box placed to Meruem's right. That Cosmo was deep and immense; even the wisps that spilled out as it was channeled made the entire hall tremble.
"As expected of one of the top gods who fought Athena for countless years. Compared to that brute Poseidon, Hades's divine power is greater by far—an entirely different class than the likes of Ares. A pity that soon you'll be sealed." Meruem spoke with a teasing lilt, but his hands never stopped. Together with Saori, he was slowly peeling Hades's soul from Shun's body.
Had the host not been one of Athena's Five Personal Guards, Meruem might have been far rougher, and the sealing would have gone much faster.
It also helped that Hades's soul was still in deep slumber. Otherwise, extracting it would not have been so easy.
Sensing something, Meruem paused and exchanged a glance with Saori, a triumphant smile tugging at their lips.
As expected, they had come.
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