The air was suffocating.
Not just hot. Not just heavy.
Crushing.
Like the entire realm had collapsed onto my shoulders, pressing into my bones, forcing me down.
Every breath burned.
Every step felt like I was being shoved into the ground by an invisible force. My skin prickled, every nerve screaming as something beyond gods pressed into my very soul.
It was like standing at the edge of a black hole—being dragged into something I couldn't fight, something so ancient, so overwhelming, my instincts screamed at me to kneel.
I could barely stand.
And then I saw him.
Hades stood in front of the gate, barely holding himself up.
His hands braced against the massive doors. His head hung low. The shadows around him weren't just flickering anymore—they were eating away at him.
He was fading.
His chest rose and fell in slow, labored breaths.
This wasn't the father I knew.
The man who commanded the Underworld like it was an extension of himself. The man who ruled with unshakable dominance, who could summon legions of the dead with a single word.
That man was gone.
All that was left was this—
A broken king.
And then—
He looked at me.
His face—
Gods.
His face.
Too pale, too hollow. His usually sharp, calculating eyes were dull, rimmed with exhaustion so deep it made my stomach churn.
He looked old.
For the first time in my life, Hades looked old.
I forced my legs to move, one agonizing step at a time, until I was close enough to speak.
"Where are the others? Where are the gods? Why aren't they helping?"
Hades let out a dry, humorless chuckle. A bitter, hollow sound.
"They were never going to help."
His voice was strained, like every word took effort.
"From the beginning of time, they cast me down here. No care, no concern. They left all of this to me—the souls, the burdens, the things they didn't want to deal with."
His gaze lifted, his expression unreadable.
"The other gods don't care what happens in the Underworld, Kael. They only care about what happens above."
The words cut deep.
"But you're their brother."
Hades exhaled, shaking his head.
"No. I'm their shadow."
His grip on the gate tightened, knuckles turning white.
"This is the Curse of Hades, son. We are abandoned. We are forgotten. And in the end—" He let out a shaky breath. "We are the ones who are swallowed."
I swallowed hard, the weight of his words sinking in.
"And yet you fought anyway."
His gaze softened just slightly, like something in my voice had reached him.
"What else was I supposed to do?" he muttered.
"You could have let it be someone else's problem."
"No, Kael." Hades' voice turned firm. "It was always mine."
BOOM.
The gate buckled violently.
A massive splinter of golden light tore through its surface, cracking open like a fractured universe.
And then—
The gate shattered.
A force so overwhelming, so utterly primordial, surged outward, obliterating the stone beneath us, sending a pulse of darkness across the entire realm.
I stumbled back, my entire body recoiling from the presence pouring through the opening.
And then—
He stepped through.
Kronos.
The Titan of Time unfolded from the abyss, stepping out like a shadow into the light. His golden eyes burned with ancient power, his body wreathed in the very essence of time itself, shifting, warping, bending reality as he moved.
His gaze landed on Hades.
For the first time in eternity—
Father and son stood face to face.
"It has been a long time since I last saw you, my son."
His voice was layered. A thousand echoes speaking at once, his words stretching across past, present, and future.
Hades didn't flinch.
Didn't tremble.
But I saw his fists clench.
I saw the weight pressing down on him.
Then—
Kronos lifted his scythe.
The first strike came like a thunderclap.
Kronos swung his scythe, and time shattered.
Reality warped as the blade sliced through the Underworld itself, carving through existence in a golden arc.
Hades barely dodged, shadows consuming his form as he blinked in and out of sight, reappearing behind Kronos with his sword raised—
CLASH!
The impact sent a shockwave so massive the entire Underworld quaked.
The rivers of souls screamed, the Phlegethon's flames flickering violently as the two gods collided again and again, each blow shaking the realm to its core.
Kronos moved too fast, flickering across different points in time, attacking from a thousand directions at once.
But Hades matched him.
Barely.
Shadows coiled around him, forming spectral chains, whipping out and binding Kronos' arms—
Only for the Titan to reverse time, the chains unraveling before they could lock in place.
"You cannot stop time itself." Kronos sneered.
"I don't need to stop time." Hades' voice was grim. "I just need to stop you."
He lunged forward, driving his sword at Kronos' chest—
But the Titan caught the blade, time distorting around his grip, rusting the sword away in seconds.
Hades abandoned the weapon just as Kronos retaliated, swinging his scythe in a deadly arc.
A split-second decision.
Hades couldn't dodge.
So he took the hit.
The blade pierced through his chest, time unraveling his body from the inside out.
The moment Kronos landed the strike, the battlefield shifted.
The air rumbled.
Then—
The Chains of Tartarus came alive.
From deep within the abyss, the ancient chains surged upward, wrapping around Kronos' legs, his arms—
Tugging him downward.
Kronos snarled, struggling, but the Primordial Chains had waited long enough.
Hades staggered back, barely standing.
His gaze met mine.
"Kael. I was never meant to be the last."
Hades staggered back, barely standing.
His breath hitched, his voice softer than before.
"It was good talking to you, son."
"Watch over your mom."
The words hit me harder than the battle itself.
His fingers brushed my forehead.
The Underworld shook.
A pulse of raw energy poured into me, so powerful my body nearly collapsed under the weight of it.
Then, from the shadows, the Helm of Darkness formed.
"You are my son."
Hades placed it on my head.
Power surged through me.
The shadows welcomed me.
And then—
Hades let himself fall into Tartarus.
Kronos screamed, his body convulsing as the Chains of Tartarus dragged them both into the abyss.
The gate slammed shut.
Hades was gone.
His soul given to Tartarus.
And in return—
The Curse of Hades had been passed.