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Before the great gates loomed Cerberus. The three-headed hound hulked in a coalescence of shadows. Each maw gaped wide. Fangs gleamed wetly in the dim light. Foam dripped from jagged edges and hissed upon the obsidian floor with an acrid burn that curled sharp into the air. The beast's six ember eyes pierced the gloom. Coals drawn from a forge long cold, they burned without warmth. The stench rolled forward first. Hot breath carried sour spit, iron tang, and the heavy rot of old meat. It struck Kore in a thick wave. Her throat tightened against the assault. She swallowed once, tasting the storm-metal bite that lingered on her tongue.
The gate itself rose behind him like a wound in the world. Older than any craft of hands, it sweated cold from iron-black surfaces. Rivets stared out like blind, unblinking eyes. The seam between the doors invited no touch. Chill radiated outward in slow pulses. It prickled across her lips with every breath and settled cold behind her teeth. The obsidian underfoot drank what little light existed. Veins of pale gold threaded through it, faint and throbbing, as though the earth's own blood moved sluggishly beneath the stone. When her bare soles pressed down, the floor felt slick with condensation. The gold veins brightened for an instant beneath her weight, then dimmed again, as if acknowledging her and then forgetting.
Kore drew a slow breath. The air tasted of deep minerals and distant water. Earlier, on the winding descent, she had glimpsed the Styx gliding black and silent past jagged rock. Its surface refused reflection. Oaths bound into its current still hummed faintly in the stone around her. The walls here carried half-eroded carvings. Serpents twisted outward from a woman's torso. A giant's snarl froze mid-roar, mouth stretched impossibly wide. She traced one coiled tail with her gaze and felt the echo of ancient bloodlines stirring. The same monstrous vigor that spawned this hound before her. Storm-born. Scale-hearted. Shaped to stand forever at the edge where light ended.
No torch burned here. Light seeped instead from cracks in the living rock. Pale phosphorescence bled violet and ash across the chamber. It coated everything in bruised hues and made shadows deeper by contrast. The air carried a low, constant hum. Subtle vibration rose through the stone and into her bones. Somewhere far off, water dripped with patient rhythm. Each drop struck a hidden pool and sent a delayed ripple through the stillness. The ground exhaled. Slow sighs of long-passed shades brushed past her ankles like cool fingers.
Hades moved at her side. His steps made no sound. Dark robes drank the faint glow and gave nothing back. He paused now, one hand resting lightly at the small of her back. The touch carried no weight, only presence. His skin felt cool against the thin fabric of her peplos, yet not cold. Controlled. Eternal. She felt the steady rise and fall of his chest though she did not look at him yet. When she did, his eyes met hers. Midnight pools reflecting nothing and everything. Patience shaped them. A god who had waited longer than seasons for this moment.
The central head lifted first. Ember eyes caught hers and held. No snarl rose. No hackles lifted. Instead a deep, resonant hum rumbled up from all three throats. Distant thunder gentled into something nearer welcome. The vibration traveled through the stone and into her soles. It settled warm in her chest. Hot breath washed forward again, but softer now. Waves of it carried the metallic bite of old blood and something warmer beneath. One head dipped low. The others followed in slow accord. Massive shoulders shifted. The ground sighed beneath the redistribution of weight. Shadows drew back as though making room.
Kore took one step closer. The obsidian felt warmer here, directly before the beast. Foam still dripped from the jaws, but slower. Each drop struck the floor and sizzled briefly before cooling into pale crust. The acrid scent mingled with deeper notes. Damp earth. Smoke from unseen fires. The faint, sweet rot of asphodel carried on breath drawn from fields far below.
Hades spoke at last. His voice rolled low, steady as the stone itself. "He senses what approaches."
She glanced at him. One brow arched in silent question.
He gave the smallest tilt of his head. "Blood remembers blood. Duty remembers its shape."
Cerberus shifted again. The great body eased forward. One outer head lowered until its muzzle hovered near the hem of her gown. Warm breath stirred the fabric without touching skin. Steam rose where it met the cooler air. Scales glinted beneath thick fur along the powerful neck. The viper tail remained coiled at his haunches, motionless. Serpent strands in the mane lay quiet, watchful but not threatening.
Kore lifted her hand. Fingers trembled once, then steadied. She extended them slowly. The central head watched the approach without blinking. When her fingertips brushed coarse fur, warmth flooded her palm. Wiry strands over dense muscle. The heat of living furnace beneath. Breath enveloped her hand fully now. Thick with smoke and damp earth. Muscle shifted under her touch. Not resistance. Yield. Built to hold back armies, yet bending now beneath the lightest pressure.
A low rumble rose. Not growl. Something deeper. Approval shaped into sound. It thrummed up her arm like roots seeking soil. The great head pressed forward into her palm. Eyelids lowered halfway. The other two heads turned toward her as well. One nudged gently at her wrist. The third rested its massive chin near her hip. Warmth radiated through fabric to skin. Foam ceased dripping entirely.
Hades watched in silence. The corner of his mouth lifted. Barely a smile, yet it softened the severe lines of his face. His hand moved from her back to rest lightly over hers on the hound's broad skull. Together their fingers sank into thick fur. Cerberus exhaled a long, contented breath that stirred strands of her hair.
"He has never bowed so quickly," Hades murmured. Voice pitched for her ears alone. "Not to hero nor god nor shade."
Kore felt the weight of that truth settle in her chest. She traced the scarred ridge along one ear. Old wound, long healed into raised tissue. The beast leaned harder into the touch. A soft whine escaped one throat. Plaintive. Almost pleading for more.
She obliged. Both hands now buried in coarse warmth. Nails scraped lightly at the base of one ear. The great body shuddered once in pleasure. All three heads pressed closer. One tongue lolled briefly. Rough as gravel, yet careful. It grazed her wrist without pressure.
Beyond the gate, faint sounds drifted inward. Oars creaked on distant water. Souls murmured across the Acheron. Lamentation wove thin threads through deeper gloom. Hidden fires pulsed somewhere far below. Colder currents carried echoes of judgment yet to come. The air thickened with promise. Not threat. Invitation.
Kore drew her hands back slowly. Cerberus lifted all three heads. Ember eyes tracked the motion. They glowed warmer now. Steady. Watchful in a new way. The massive frame settled back onto haunches. Yet the posture changed. Shoulders squared toward her rather than the gate. Guardian realigned.
Hades stepped forward. The beast rose fluidly to allow passage. One head dipped again as Kore moved past. Warm breath brushed the back of her neck like blessing. She felt the weight of that gaze follow her beyond the threshold.
The gate stood open now. Less scar. More doorway.
Hades offered his arm. She took it without hesitation. Fingers curled around the cool strength of his forearm. Together they crossed beneath the iron arch. Cerberus watched them go. Three pairs of eyes burned steady in the gloom behind. Not sentinel alone anymore. Something deeper had awakened in that ancient blood.
The hound settled once more before the gate. But his posture faced inward now. Toward the depths where they walked. Guardian of what entered as much as what tried to leave. Kore glanced back once. Cerberus met her gaze across the distance. One head dipped low in silent acknowledgment.
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