"Are you sure?" Zeus questioned him hesitantly.
Thinking back to those days, Hades finally relented with a struggle ans nodded, "I shouldn't have encouraged him to take this chance that I only dreamt of receiving. As a result, this was the price I received. Peony, was it? Just this once. Take these kids and get the hell out of my domain. The next time I see you, you better have properly crossed over instead. But, remember this. Even if I let you off, there is a law of leaving the underworld. Once you have already come into contact with the underworld, it would curse you of your energy. With my power I can make one exception, but to one person only."
Peony nodded in response, "I understand. As a cultivator, however, this curse will not harm me, so you do not have to place your blessing upon me. However, those three..."
Hades shook his head and sighed, "My descendant will not be affected by the powers of the underworld, so he is safe. However, those other two..."
"Lord Hades, I-" Rook began only to be interrupted.
"Give your blessing to Rook." Vil responded aloud.
"Vil!" Rook look to him in shock.
"I don't understand fully on what's going on, but I know it's serious." Vil replied, "If it's something as simple as energy, Rook will need it to get me out of Tartarus. I will find other ways to replenish my strength. The world is big and full of possibilities. I will figure out a way myself."
"The opticism is so over the top that it's scary..." Hades grumbled in dismay.
"Right?" Idia muttered in disbelief, "The world is big, sure. But, do you know how long it will take to traverse all of it's mysteries? It's better to just stick to what you know and ask around on the internet. It's faster that way."
Hearing this, Hera burst out laughing.
"Dear?" Zeus looked to her in disbelief.
"My Queen?" Dike looked to her in confusion.
Hera patted her chest with a bright smile as she replied, "Oh, it's nothing. It's just being around for so long and interacting with mortals brings along so many surprises. Why, this child's demeanor and words. He's just like you when you were but a rebellious teenager, dear brother."
"Say what?!" Those two blue fire hair guys exclaimed much to Idia's shock.
"Is that so..." Zeus noted curiously, "You rarely talk of the past, so I never had the chance to hear you talk about your relations and growth before my arrival, darling. You must share more of these stories with me and mother later. Haha! Look at those two! They're like splitting images of one another! I wonder if there's another like myself in the mortal realm. Anyway, those stories..."
"Perhaps, I shall." Hera replied with a soft laugh before turning to Vil, "I admire this bravery you have for wanting to rescue others, even if it was for your own goals. That's why I shall part you a way to regain your energy faster and inscribe it in the back of your friend's mind, though temporary. Remember this, back at your school, question the young prince of the Valley of Thorns to help you regain your energy. Then, you shall return to the way you were."
"Malleus?" Vil questioned in surprise, "Well, owing a debt is better than suffering from lack of energy."
"You won't be owing him a debt." Peony responded, "When you return, your physical feature would be more than enough to prove to him what had happened to you and, if the phantoms did leave Tartarus, not even the Briar Valley would be able to leave unscathed. So, in truth, the Valley of Thorns will be the one owing you the favor and a favor paid for by Malleus who can represent the kingdom."
"This..." Vil hesitated.
"Vil." Peony pointed out with a small sigh, "It is true that we have our discontent against one another, but right now, I do not have the exact power to give you back your vitality. For that I require more time. But, I will admit this. From the past where you have tried to take the sole reason for another's life, you have indeed changed and have shown your own strength of heart is as formidable as the beautiful Queen's by risking your life to save others, even if it was done so without thinking. But, not being done by thinking means that it was by heart and beliefs. So when you risked your life to save Idia who is not even from your dorm, it shows that you also have a bold and kind soul willing to help others without thinking twice. It's foolish, yes. But, it was admirable and, for that, you have my respect, at least. The three hearts of mind, soul, and body all act differently. This time was the heart of the body that was willing to jump in to save another. Idia is also a friend of mine personally since my arrival to the school, so for that I will also have to thank you for saving this guy."
"W-We're really friends?" Idia responded with a blush.
"Huh? That's right." Peony responded matter of factly, "I do not knowingly go risk my life this far for just a stranger, you know. Ortho is also a friend of mine and seeing his condition brought me great concerns, even more as he has half the soul of your brother."
"I-I have a friend?" Idia repeated nervously in confusion, "And it's... Um..."
"Idia?!"
With that, Idia fainted on the spot causing Peony to jump up in shock as Vil caught him.
"Ugh... Give me a break..." Vil grumbled in dismay upon seeing the sorry sight of his classmate, "It doesn't look like he'll wake anytime soon, but, at least, he's all right."
"Huh. I see..." Peony sighed in relief shaking her head to remove the worries.
Seeing this, Persephone drew closer to the knocked out teen nervously, "Oh dear... Is he all right, Dear?"
"He's fine, darling." Hades sighed in dismay, "To think he'd faint on the spot..."
"Oh?" Zeus laughed, "You had little problems when Persephone fainted on the spot before too, brother."
"Ah, quit teasing me already." Hades grumbled, "My wife and daughters are both another case."
Hearing this, the gods and goddesses laughed seeing that there were still some affectionate side at least to this gloomy man after so many years of darkness and rebellion.
"Still, won't Idia get hit by the curse too?" Vil questioned in confusion.
"He won't." Peony explained, "As I thought, none of you realized this while I was talking. The thing is the Shroud family is said to have descended from an exiled individual who tried to overthrow the Jupiter family. However, that exiled individual is the descendant of a demigod child who was fathered by Hades and mothered by Persephone."
"What?!"
"I won't repeat this twice. So, listen well." Lotus stated firmly, "It would seem somethings happened so the demigod child was forced to live as a mortal in the human realm. However, he still retained the heart of a god. If not for this heart, the Shroud family would not have survived under the curse placed by the Jupiter family for long. Blue flame hair was the result of the two combined. It forced the god trait to grow stronger and awakened the blue flame hair aspect in response to the curse. So, long story short, Idia is related to the son of Hades from over hundreds of years ago and the royal family of the Underworld. Through this connection, he also inherited a small portion of the god's fate causing the resemblance of history and threw a small rebellion in the facility. This also gave him the unique power to open the gates to the underworld as he gained better control of his magic."
"This guy here is related to the gods?!" Vil cried out in disbelief before he sighed in disappointment, "Now, I'm glad he's out cold. Otherwise, he'll just faint a second time if he heard this."
Peony nodded in disappointment, "He's always been one hoping he'd be no different from the others to the point that he found a group that shared his own interests. Well, it was fun playing virtual games with him."
"I see. So, he found a place where he belongs on his own." Zeus sighed in relief, "Even our own child came back to us because he could not find a place to fit in the human society..."
"But, why would such a child come all the way down to the Underworld?" Hera questioned in confusion.
"Well, it's actually like this." Peony retold the story of how Idia lost his brother when he was younger and the result of it was the robotic Ortho until it reached to this point.
Hearing this story, Persephone trembled tearfully, "Oh no! So, the reason he turned exploded in blot was because of this reason?"
Hades sighed painfully. It was all too similar. All too similar. In the end, not even the child who resembled him the most could save the one closest to him.
"I've come here to help Ortho re-merge his soul back together using the property of the hell fire of the king of the Underworld." Peony explained, "Now, Idia just needs to rebuild the body and give him time to slowly regain his self-awareness. At most, he will regain his emotions from the moment he awakens in a mechanical body."
"I'm actually surprised that the hell fire has such a property to it, though." Persephone noted in surprise.
"It did..." Hades sighed as he shook his head, "It was just unfortunate that I have forgotten it for so long since I never used it that way anyway."
Peony nodded, "Hell fire is troublesome against those of the living, but it is very compatible to the souls of the deceased. Manipulating their souls with this flame is what makes it so powerful. Now, even though Ortho no longer has a body, he can, at least, function and stay by his brother's side on the surface."
"Permission granted." Hades nodded in confirmation upon seeing the brother still holding the memory card tightly in his hand. Even now, the child has not let go of his brother. He turned to Peony and said firmly, "As you said, nothing is eternal. Not even my poor memory... So, tell him should he ever remember this day. Never let his brother out of his sights again or he can go take a dip in the river before his brother!"
"Understood, sir." Peony responded smiling victoriously as her long winding plan finally she'd light to their predicament.
"Then, we are free to go?" Vil questioned her in bewilderment as Peony nodded her head and turned to them.
"Before that..." She sighed in deep thought before opening her eyes, "I need you to forget everything."