Hades.
During Metis's interrogation—"Hades, who is so high and mighty, still 'cares' so much about other women?"—he found himself in an unprecedented predicament.
Explanation seemed pale, and silence felt more like an admission.
Metis's gaze, scrutinizing and dangerous, seemed to be weighing how to 'deal with' this husband who appeared to have a 'wandering heart'.
At this critical moment, a slightly hurried footstep broke the deathly silence between the thrones.
Thanatos, the god of death, always shrouded in shadow and silence, entered this place, which even he considered too 'heated', with slight reluctance at this moment.
He could almost feel that His Majesty's imposing, murderous gaze instantly fixed on him, adding a touch of chill to his already cold body.
He mustered his courage, ignoring the suffocating pressure, and knelt on one knee before Hades on the throne. His voice was as steady as ever, but carried the urgency of completing a mission:
"Your Majesty, Hephaestus requests an audience."
This brief report, like a natural sound, instantly diffused Hades's predicament.
He almost breathed a slight sigh of relief, and a rare flicker of clear approval appeared in his eyes as he looked at Thanatos—right on time!
Thanatos stood in the sharp contrast between the King of Hades's praise and the Queen of Hades's cold gaze.
He dared not be negligent and hastily added an explanation, trying to extricate himself from the matter:
"He... he wants to come to the Underworld to see you. His subordinate does not know his purpose, and he remains silent about it."
Thanatos spoke a little faster.
"However, the gates of the Underworld are guarded by the God of Destruction, and without your order, a soul I have not extradited shall not set foot in the Underworld—this law cannot be broken, even if the God-King comes personally."
He paused, a hint of barely perceptible helplessness in his voice: "Before Hephaestus started pestering me and trying to chase after me... he was already... well, covered in bruises."
Thanatos did not describe it in detail, but the words 'covered in bruises' were enough to illustrate the problem.
Apparently, this son of Hera, when trying to force his way into the Underworld, had already been ruthlessly 'repaired' by the god of destruction guarding the gate and had suffered greatly.
Hearing that this was a serious matter, especially concerning the iron laws of the Underworld and a request for an audience from an external god, the dangerous light in Metis's eyes dimmed slightly.
She snorted coldly, no longer pressing Hades, but her elegant hand gently stroked the chain coiled around her wrist, with a hint of implication—the [Chain of Absoluteness] that binds all gods.
This gentle touch, heavier than any verbal threat, made Hades and Thanatos tremble simultaneously.
In the end, Metis said nothing, only cast a meaningful glance at Hades, turned, her gown sweeping the floor, and silently disappeared into the shadows of the throne room.
Only when the oppression had completely subsided did Hades and Thanatos breathe a sigh of relief.
Thanatos even felt he had never been so nervous as now.
"Bring him in," Hades restored the majesty and calm of Hades and commanded in a deep voice.
Thanatos, as if pardoned, immediately bowed to accept the order, and his figure quickly dissolved into the darkness to extradite Hera's son, who was eating behind closed doors outside the gates of the Underworld.
When the battered Hephaestus was limping towards the throne, escorted by Thanatos, the god, known for his stubbornness, couldn't even observe basic etiquette and spoke enthusiastically, his voice hoarse with pain and anxiety:
"Your Majesty! Please... please save my mother goddess!"
Hades sat upright on the throne, his deep gaze gliding over Hephaestus's clearly destructive wounds, and he did not look surprised by his intentions.
His low voice echoed in the empty hall with a hint of cold understanding:
"When Hera deceived Poseidon with lies and tricks to seize power quickly, she should have foreseen the bitter consequences of today."
His words were like fate, revealing the root of Hera's current situation.
Hephaestus looked pained, nodded with difficulty, and began to intermittently relay the details, while Hades, like the calmest listener, pieced together the complete picture from them:
As Hades had expected, Hera was the first to suffer the brutal backlash from Poseidon's marriage.
The inherent hypocrisy and fragility of a marriage forcibly concluded on the basis of deception shook the foundations of Hera's role as the patroness of marriage.
When the truth about the marriage was revealed and the bond was broken, the force of the backlash was like a tide, striking Hera's divine core and plunging her into unprecedented weakness.
And just as her divine power was waning and she was too preoccupied to care for herself, she could no longer control Zeus's endless philandering with her thunderous means as before.
She could only watch as the God-King became more and more unscrupulous, watching as one goddess or nymph after another became a footnote to his desires, watching as Leto, in despair, uttered that vicious curse, and watching as the marriage between the God-King and the Queen of Heaven completely became a laughingstock in the eyes of the beings of the Nine Realms.
This was far more humiliating and destructive for Hera than any blow to her power.
The foundation of her marriage priesthood was shaken again, and the power she once held as a witness to marriage continued to tear at her already weakened soul.
This was a second severe blow to the very marriage she was trying to preserve, but which was full of holes.
However, upon hearing this, Hades's ancient eyes flashed with a slight doubt.
He interrupted Hephaestus's account and asked a key question:
"But, as far as I know, Poseidon has long lost interest in power and his consort since he became obsessed with his 'art'. The Sea Queen is nothing more than a lie to him. Why did his marriage suddenly collapse to such a strong reaction?"
This was indeed unreasonable.
As a husband who didn't care who his spouse was in the marriage, how could he have such a reaction that could strike the goddess of marriage due to the breakdown of a marriage that began with deception?
Unless...
Hades's fingertips gently tapped the armrest of the throne, waiting for Hephaestus to reveal this final secret.
Hera's fate seemed to depend on this unexpected answer.
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