The most central sleeping quarters of the Underworld—there was no bed in the ordinary sense here, only a resting place composed of the purest darkness and silence, like a miniature cosmic abyss.
Hades lay perfectly still within it, the light of divine power flowing around him much dimmer than usual, as if he had sunk into a deep slumber.
His perpetually cold face was now relaxed, reflecting a rare, defenseless calm.
Metis stood quietly beside him, like a beautiful sculpture devoid of life.
She looked at Hades, her eyes filled with complex emotions—fiery love, cold resolve, the madness born of wisdom's weighing, and a barely perceptible fear that even she herself did not acknowledge.
Between them, there had been only the end of a password-less confrontation, only silent mutual awareness.
Those seemingly ordinary conversations about managing the Styx and the cycle of souls—each word carried a double meaning, testing the other's position and perception.
In the end, Hades had shown a silent fatigue, and he chose to 'rest', revealing his state to her without reservation.
This was both trust and the ultimate temptation.
Metis took a deep breath, her breath as cold as the chill current in the depths of the Styx.
She reached out her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly from nervousness and resolve, but her movements were unusually confident.
Her target was the dull ring on Hades's finger, made from the 'Chains of Resolve'.
The moment her fingertips touched the ring, a powerful repulsion and cold warning surged instantly—the artifact's instinctive resistance to a non-owner.
Metis's eyes were cold. The divine aspect belonging to [Wisdom] within her body operated at full capacity, and simultaneously, the wisp of 'Primordial Night' lurking in the depths of her soul, from Nyx, quietly spread, like the gentlest deception, enveloping her intentions and breath.
The resistance of the 'Chains of Resolve' gradually weakened under the cover of the 'Primordial Night' and the skillful resolution of [Wisdom].
After all, this was an artifact forged and acknowledged by Hades, and Metis, his lawful Queen of the Underworld, shared the deepest connection with him.
The ring let out an almost inaudible hum and finally slipped from Hades's finger, falling into Metis's palm.
Having lost the harmony and protection of the 'Chains of Resolve', the deliberately restrained divine power around Hades seemed to lose its last foothold and began to rapidly recede and fall silent, bound by invisible shackles.
He still lay quietly, as if unaware of what was happening.
Metis clenched the cold ring and, with her other hand, touched her chest.
There, an extremely condensed 'night' gradually emerged.
She closed her eyes, using her will as a blade to cut open the dark cloak given by Nyx, the one that could even absorb perception.
In an instant, the air was filled with an indescribable aura of power.
It was not violent, but possessed a sweet, soul-piercing temptation, like the source of all eros and pleasure in the world, yet in its deepest depths lurked the mad essence of all things that distort everything and tear wills apart—the remnants of the divine power of Eros, the ancient god of love!
This power had been sealed and tamed by Nyx with supreme force, removing most of its destructive madness, but preserving its core characteristics—'forced connection' and 'emotional distortion'.
Metis hesitated not for a second. She guided the pink, serpentine divine power to slowly advance towards the sleeping Hades.
"Forgive me, my Hades... No, you will never forgive, and you will no longer have thoughts of 'forgiving' or 'hating'..."
She murmured, like a curse and a word of pity.
"We will go beyond all this... We will have only each other, forever, forever..."
The divine power of Eros, like living vines, coiled around Hades's sealed divine body, trying to penetrate the core of his divinity, forcibly imprinting an eternal, twisted bond of Eros, erasing all other emotions and possible betrayals.
At the moment this power was about to fully invade,
Hades opened his eyes.
In his violet eyes, there was no shock, no anger, not a hint of surprise.
There was only a bottomless calm, as if he had seen everything.
"I trust you, my Queen of the Underworld."
His voice was as calm as ever, without the slightest fluctuation of divine power, but it was like thunder exploding deep in Metis's soul.
Metis's hand suddenly trembled, and the divine power of Eros halted. She looked at Hades in disbelief, at the clear abyss in his eyes.
"You... you already knew..." For the first time, her voice lost all calmness, a slight tremor appearing.
"From Mnemosyne's warning, from the 'foreign feeling' incompatible with the Underworld, even if hidden by Nyx, from your increasingly paranoid gaze..."
Hades said slowly. He didn't even try to break free from the seal on his divine power, but simply stated calmly.
"I trust your wisdom, Metis. I believe you clearly see that this power, stemming from Eros, this forcibly distorted 'eternity', will ultimately bring only mutual destruction, not the peace you crave."
He looked at her deeply, as if he could pierce into the deepest fears and desires of her soul.
"I also trust your... 'love' for me. Trust in that bond you try to protect in the most misguided way, beneath this distorted appearance."
Metis froze in place. The divine power of Eros flickered in her hands, like her struggling heart.
The shame of being completely exposed, the panic over the plan's failure, and the overwhelming impact of Hades's 'I trust you' nearly broke her.
"No... You don't understand! Only like this... only then can I be sure you won't be like Uranus, like Cronus! Only then will you forever belong to the Underworld, to me!"
She nearly roared, tears finally escaping control and sliding down her pale cheeks, but with a cold temperature.
Hades looked at her quietly for a moment, and then made a move that stunned Metis.
He relaxed his body, completely abandoning any resistance, even... taking the initiative to guide the divine power of Eros deeper into connection with his divinity.
"Then, as you wish."
His voice was low, carrying a resolve that Metis could not understand, almost with compassion.
"Let me see with my own eyes what that 'eternity' you choose looks like. Let you also experience for yourself whether forcibly bound stars bring warmth, or a flame that consumes everything."
The divine power of Eros, under Hades's active acceptance, was like a flood breaking through a dam, instantly surging into the core of his divinity!
The pink light was so brilliant that it completely enveloped them both.
Countless distorted illusions of eros and the forced fusion of emotions engulfed their consciousness. The seal of divine power was overlaid and intertwined with another form of authority under the law of Eros.
To the outside world, they seemed like eternally intertwined idols, solidified in supreme eros and obsession.
However, in the deepest part of consciousness, within the forcibly forged, twisted bond, Hades's will stood tall amidst the pink madness, like an unsinkable iceberg.
He coldly observed this imposed 'eternity', feeling the emptiness and fear that enveloped Metis at this moment after achieving her goal.
He did not resist; he needed an opportunity. A chance to transcend the system he himself had built...
Hades needed to consider whether fate was helping him construct Reincarnation.