Ch. 99: The Ties That Bind
**Part One: Hades POV**
I hadn't slept much through the night; it was a force of habit that clung to me like a shadow. Talos, on the other hand, slept soundly, wrapped in the blanket I'd seen her collapse under. I initially suspected her dreams were haunted by the losses she'd endured— Hermes and Hephaestus— but I wondered if it was more than that. Perhaps time travel had left her body weary, an echo of her former self. As for me, I bore two souls' burdens, intertwined in a way that was becoming both a comfort and a curse.
Speaking of souls, my mind flickered to the black book left behind in the Underworld. It had always been a part of me, a lingering presence I both trusted and feared. Suddenly, a thought struck me, and I reached out, calling on it as I had done before. It did not take long; the power surged through me, and with a puff of smoke, the black leather book materialized before my eyes.
