… with sealing the dealing

"Where... where are we?" Elladan groaned, his head throbbing with pain.

Hades knelt beside him, offering a reassuring smile. "Long story short, we are safe now, my Cerberus," he said softly.

Elladan's eyes widened in realization as the events before his unconsciousness flooded back to him. "But... but why did you knock me out? Why didn't you trust me?"

Hades sighed, his gaze filled with regret. "I apologize, my Cerberus, but time was of the essence. I couldn't risk your safety by debating our course of action. Trust that my intentions were to protect you."

Elladan frowned, his conflicted emotions evident. "I... I want to trust you, Hades, but I need to understand first. Why have I seen you in my dreams? Why do you keep calling me your Cerberus? Who or what is the Cerberus? Tell me the truth."

Hades deeply sighed, then nodded. His features softened. "You deserve the truth, and you shall have it. But for now, we must leave this place. The path ahead is long, so there will be plenty of time to talk about it. Now, please, tell me, can you go on your own?"

Elladan shook his head, saying "No, I can't!".

The god of the underworld sighed once again and took his little fellow up onto his back. And so their journey has begun. As they ventured forth from the shadows of the mountain chains, where the slave depot was located, the sun's rays greeted them and illuminated their path to an uncertain but enthralling future.

During their travels, Hades began to share the story that bound their fates together. His voice carried the weight of ages as he recounted the origins of their connection, weaving a tapestry of the myth that made Elladan curious.

"In the realm of the gods," Hades began, "there exists an only and unique bond that transcends time and space. It is the bond between you and me, little boy. You are the Cerberus, a guardian of my realm, the Underworld. You are a creature of immense power! And you are the one destined to serve as a companion to me, Hades the lord of the Underworld. And the most interesting thing is that we are destined to be together in any world, whether it be the Lower World, the Upper World, or the Underworld itself. You understand now?"

"Yeah…" the boy nodded in agreement. "When you say to be together, you mean like family?"

"Sure, like a family" confirmed the deity.

"Family like father and mother?" asked the boy once again.

"NO! Totally no! Oh hell, no freaking way that this scenario is gonna take place! You understand? There is no way of us becoming like father and mother!!!" Hades became totally out of his mind by the words he just heard. And his answer went pretty aggressive.

"Huh… good then!" the boy also felt quite revealed. "What's next?" then he asked

"Of course! You see, my Cerberus, our meeting in the Lower World is no mere chance," Hades explained. "It was foretold by the rules of ours…"

"When you say "ours", you mean..."

"The rules of the gods! Probably you heard some tales about the beginning of the Age of Gods when were bored up in the sky and decided to descend here?"

Elladan has nodded.

"Then you must know that we have constrained our divine powers and agreed to live as common human beings, don't you?" asked Hades.

Ell nodded again.

"But… since I was… hm… let's say very specially treated among my "colleagues", there was the additional limit for me. I can have only one familia member."

"Why?!" the god's young companion was very surprised after he heard the thing about a single familia member.

The smile on the face of Hades became very nervous once he heard that question.

"Hm… I suppose that they were afraid of my greatness! That is why they begged… yes, they begged me for this concession! Zeus was the one who begged the most, ha-ha-ha!" even his laughter was shaky and nervous, but Ell couldn't understand what does it mean, thus he didn't pay any attention to this.

"I see, I see, Lord Hades. May I ask you to carry on your story?"

"Anything for you, my Cerberus!" Hades seemed to be cheered up and eased. "So, once I was not great only, but a kind-hearted deity, I agreed to their requests. But! I had a counter-condition – to bring my loved Cerberus with myself down to the Lower World!"

"I thought only the gods could go between the realms. Does this mean that Cerberus is an exception?" asked Ell.

"Unfortunately, no exception was allowed by initial rules… But, Hermes, a good friend of mine, found a loophole in the rules. Even though stated that the Cerberus indeed cannot be transferred to the Lower World, he claimed the soul of the Cerberus could do so. Other gods were kind of lost with this idea, but they didn't have any valid arguments to present in opposition. Thus, for the last UnknownHowMany centuries, I was traveling in this world along with you, my Cerberus!"