"Understood, your majesty." Horkos and his companion bowed their heads with a solemn and angry expressions on their faces, "It is my honor to have come across such a serious case. This cannot go unnoticed. The parents have broken the law, so they should be condemned for their actions."
"Totally not the conversation I was expecting..." Hades muttered in surprise and irritation as he realized he had been turned into an errand boy!
Ignoring Hades' words, Dike nodded, "Horkos, since mother could not be here, let us at least judge the parents and those gods for this child. Although a difficult case, my mother never turned her head away from a single case, not took any side but one of justice."
"I agree." Horkos nodded with a solemn voice and turned his head to Peony, "I am Horkos, Son of Iris and Aether. This is the goddess of justice and moral judgement, Dike."
Dike closed her eyes in deep thoughts before she responded, "In light of your past, I've concluded that you have repaid your crimes during the ten million years of suffering and living as a lost soul. The taboo you speak of does not exist in this realm nor is it against morals of the highest degree. You are fortunate, Lady Peony. Your crimes have already been paid in full. Though, it is unfortunate that I cannot do anything regarding the continued loss of those children's lives. What has been brought upon those parents have also been repaid through death and I trust the hell of your world to punish them coherently. However, the child and those gods concerns me. Tell me... Are there dots to be connected?"
Peony nodded her head in dismay, "I'm afraid so. I have witnessed it myself."
Hearing this, Horkos was enraged, "To think there were gods this corrupted! This is worse than that incident the last thousand years ago!"
"How long as it been going on?" Dike questioned calmly.
Peony grimaced, "It would seem it has never stopped. Even now, a few races of our people have been completely wiped off the earth."
"You bear no hatred towards us despite being of the same status." The goddess noted curiously.
Peony shook her head, "My mind is still clear, even in death. Through the incident, I have learned this. The gods and their descendants are powerful beings, but, even they have the ability to feel and have their own choices. In the past, there was one god who took pity upon me and offered me a few minutes to a few days of freedom by turning a blind eye and detaching the strings around me. I never learned of this man until the day the other divines discovered this and took away his divinity. His enemies later took away his life. I remember his last words as a god was that no matter how powerful a god is, it is no match for the world itself. Perhaps, if he had not said this, my anger would not have quelled to the point at which I can retain my sanity. For the sake of a lower being, he risked his god status and life to protect a single soul selflessly. For this, I wish to stop this madness, so that his efforts were not in vain."
"Very well." Dike nodded and turned to Horkos, "Send for my brother Haephestus and my father and mother. I need him to remodel a weapon out of the bow and arrows my dear brother, Hercules, used when he was a mortal. Then, speak of this matter to my mother and, with her approval, get my father's permission."
"Um, what's going on?" Idia looked around in bewilderment, "I don't understand what they are talking about..."
Vil shook his head as he turned to his vice-dorm leader, "Rook?"
Rook sighed in dismay, "It seems Peony is a reincarnated soul."
"What?!" They looked to him in disbelief.
Rook nodded, "I only wish I was wrong."
He retold them of what had happened in simpler terms as the gods discussed what could be done according to the limited understanding he attained from their conversation to fill in the missing pieces themselves. It wasn't long before Horkos returned with a large buff man with blond wavy hair and a well brushed beard in a purple tunic and a familiar gold medallion with a gold lightning on it.
Seeing the familiar medallion, a thought flashed into Idia's mind as he stammered in bewilderment, "I-It's the leader of the gods, Zeus!"
The man looked to the four mortals and stared upon Peony narrowing his eyes in deep thoughts and examining her soul closely before he nodded his head with a heavy sigh, "I... I permit this. By my words, I, King of the gods, will ally with Peony Hui, the other world's queen of life to bring judgement upon the tyranny of the gods of her world. She is thereby granted a remodified weapon crafted out of the bow and arrows my beloved son broke during his last battle as a mortal and it shall be crafted by my equally talented son, Hephaestus!"
With this, thunder could be heard in the distance
"Seriously?" Hades muttered in horror and disbelief upon hearing this, "Is this really happening?"
Hera nodded solemnly with a heavy sigh, "I was afraid of this. This child have grieved and suffered for far too long. I cannot fathom the horrors the people of her world is facing now. Something like this requires my husband's attention more than mine. Death is unavoidable. These gods have truly gone mad... Speaking of which, brother, why have you not told me about this? Weren't you the one who asked us all here?"
"I didn't know!" Hades responded in shock, "We had a bet, you see, and I told her that she could make any wish she liked as long as it is not to let them out of the underworld. I never knew that, by asking you for an audience would go into her talking of this big mess of the other world! Had I known about this, you know I'd call for my younger brother, even though I made the mess last time... Ugh..."
"A bet?" Horkos raised a brow in bewilderment.
"Uh... Oops..." Hades managed as he realized what he has done.
"Oh dear. Brother, I understand it's been a while, but you really need to stop with this bad habit of yours." The might Zeus muttered in dismay before shaking his head, "Please tell us what was the bet on this time. If it's a swim in the river of styx again, I'll help fish you out after you jump in."
"It's definitely not that." Hades grumbled, "After that incident, I don't even want to try betting on that again."
"Whatever the bet was, please just tell us honestly what you betted on, dear. Let's work it out together this time. You should also be able to tell that our child's predecessors are also amongst them."
"Our child?" Hades raised a brow, "But, wasn't that just honorifics?"
"You seriously cannot recognize the prized traits of your child anymore?" Persephone bursted in tears, "There's a soul standing next to the one with the exact same beautiful blue fire hair as yours and you didn't think it could be his descendant?!"
"This..." Hades took a better look at the four again upon realizing that there was a fifth amongst them in deep slumber. As the others looked to each other in deep confusion, Hades began to recall small bits and pieces of a past of warmth he had forgotten. Warmth he miraculously attained after his punishment from the failed rebellion, yet lost all so easily. Before his eyes, the child was small in figure and anyone could tell it was a child that has passed from the recent emergence of blot. However, upon seeing the actual body shape of the child and the shape of his innocent eyes, he stood there motionlessly in disbelief as he muttered, "It's really him... It's-!"
Zeus sighed and nodded his head before patting on his eldest brother's shoulder, "Brother... Tell us the bet..."
After hearing this, Hades finally heaved a heavy sigh and nodded his head before replying what the bet was. When he was done, he shook his head in disappointment, "I didn't think twice, despite the clear evidence that it might be his children... That boy..."
Hearing this, Zeus sighed and patted his brother on the back before responding with a saddened tone, "That event was mine to bear as well. My wife gave the child a new body, but we stopped watching him after that. This time, I will pay the debt with you. A long unpaid debt."
"As will I." Hera added, "What happened to that child was my fault. Naturally, I must make up for my actions."
"This... I..." Hades was flabbergasted! He didn't know what to say! Anger, grief, insanity, and loss all flooded him at once!
That day, he remembered the birth of a child with the same blue flaming hair as his and innocent bright eyes full of optimism and confidence as his mother. It was nothing like this old man who could only stay underground having given up on everything.
One day, I will help father and uncle and the two of you can finally talk things out together! Then, we can be one big family again!
That was all the child ever talked about. Who knew that the big guy would decide to make him his heir just be the could wield his brother's lightning bolts, which incurred the wrath of his sister and brother's wife, Hera. In exchange, Hera relented and felt remorse upon seeing the sadness of Persephone over the torn-up body of her son. So, she gave him a mortal body. However, a mortal body was still a mortal and a mortal could not live amongst the gods, so he had to live on the surface in the human realm. For over hundreds of years, he had not seen his son for so long and eventually forgotten about him. Yet, here he was before him as a re-emerged soul. It wasn't his son's soul, that's for certain, but the resemblance was too uncanny.
Anger and blame rose in his mind many times more stronger than in his past years by himself under the damned seal, but what shone from it all was the innocent transparent figure with striking uncanny resemblance to his son! One who knew little of the darkness in other's heart and the wishes to soothe over others troubles. A bright light that was birthed in the dark underworld. Thinking this, he relented and shook his head, "No... I'll take full responsibilities."