Remnant Of The Gods

Chapter 38

Hades

The shrouded form of an old man hovered over the fallen girl, her hair matted in the water as the glowing soldier flowed underneath her in an effort to keep her afloat. Her raven hair and long eyelashes reminded him of his beloved Persephone that lie still within the deep slumber at his kingdom. Strange, he thought to himself.

The great beast's breaths were laboured as the three-headed creation remained still, far from where the old man was standing and shaking his head. 

How long was I slumbering? He thought as he took in his reflection in the water. Time had not been kind to the Lord of the Underworld as his lip curled in distaste at his dishevelled appearance.

He took a moment to look once more at the girl, her head turned towards one of his many deliverers, which was mirrored back towards her in turn. Their positions, so drawn to each other even when they lay spent, only added to the strangeness of the situation. With a flick of his withered wrist, he summoned the soldiers to carry the two lifeless forms towards his kingdom. With a scathing look outward to the remaining giant lump, he took a moment to both aid and punish his most loyal servant.

Scouring the thoughts in each of the three heads he found the story between the girl and the deliverer. Flashes of protection, co-operation and... devotion? How could this one human weave through the complexity of creation and purpose and change it to her will. Healing his devoted beasts wounds he created yet another burdening head onto the creature to always protect his unprotected back.

Turning on his heel, the Lord quickly caught up to the party on the way to the kingdom while he observed the many other strange occurrences within his realm. The soldiers carried her almost devotedly as they held her lightly and comfortably as possible as the lord scowled.

His gaze turned then to the hellhound that shared some form of bond with the girl, the ties that held them invisible to the naked eye were deep. Deep enough to sever his own link to the hellhound and usurp his control over the beast. An avalanche of jealousy reared its ugly head as he touched the hellhound lightly with the veiled hand of death.

The very thought of taking her life as payment for this treason seemed an abomination to his very being. And the thought of his compulsion to take her as his own flesh and blood was equally disturbing. As he stared he saw as a glow, akin to his own, slowly charging her body as it brightened and his brow furrowed in confusion. She was not glowing when he had found her, and for a being to be so powerful - powerful enough to almost destroy the guardian to his realm was unheard of. A being who could regenerate her powers this quickly had to be a descendant of the gods.

A soft murmur came from blood stained lips as her body tried to awaken itself. The veiled hand rose once more the finish this unsolvable riddle, stopping a hair breadth from her torso, unable to complete the killing blow.

A being capable of the greatest attributes of their kind.

Perhaps, he thought, it is time to awaken my brothers.