57 Chapter 53

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Today was my birthday once again… yeih, my one hundred and fifty-two birthday, at this point I had lost all hope of anyone rescuing me, but at least I had recovered some of my… old self, after devouring millions of souls, be it monsters or humans, I had ascended to a higher plane, I wasn't sure if I was a god, but the harsh environment of Tartarus didn't bother as much as it used to.

"I would kill for a homemade meal.... I miss Hestia," I chuckled, wondering if she even remembered me.

The winds outside my cave/house were harsh, almost howling, "Time to hunt," While I didn't have any hope on others rescuing me, I still had faith to this day I would find a way to escape this nightmare, and yes I know it took Percy and Annabeth days to escape it, but now I knew the author didn't know… how terrifyingly good was this place to keep its prisoners.... which mean there was NOOOO way in hell, Sushi roll and Pennybeth managed to escape this in nine days.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and walked out of the cave, catching my reflection on the edge of my blade, I had changed a lot… I was a good six feet and six inches tall. Surprising if you ask me, I thought I was going to be small, as for my clothes I was wearing stuff I had made with my magic, otherwise I would be naked…. Which contrary to most beliefs makes fighting a bit harder.

My face had changed a lot though…. My eyes they lacked something they once had, but if I had to describe myself, I would say my face had a well-defined jawline, a pair of pencil-thin lips, and a fairly masculine profile that had stayed the same… for a long time, I had stopped aging after I turned twenty-five or something, so since that day not much had changed. Well.. I suppose my eyes had changed that day... they went from brown to hazel, a weird change… but not important enough to investigate… alright let's see… I described my beautiful eyes, my face… oh my hair, I knew I missed something, my hair was still black and boy it looked good on me, it helped accentuating my features well.

Oh, I almost forgot, something very important! I have a six-pack now! heck yeah! what can I say… training and exercising and eating monsters and human souls alike has given me a sleek, tight featherweight's six-pack. And above it, a well-defined chest…. Not much to do down here, besides killing monsters and training so… results are expected.

"Oh well," I chuckled, "Nothing like admiring my sexyness before going on a hunt," I chuckled, before sheathing my blade, knowing it would be a long day, years of hunting and eat monsters had given me a… reputation down here, monsters and sinners alike feared me and would avoid me at all costs… and I couldn't blame them… but that only left the impossible targets like… the Titans, the Gigantes, and the Primordials out in the open, beings with enough strength to still trash me like a bitch if I took a wrong turn, and I was not ready for… that.

With a sigh, I shook my head and decided to focus on the matter at hand, but then I felt something, one of the big fishes was moving, "I guess I won't find any souls today…." I muttered, feeling that Hyperion the Titan of the Heavenly Light was on the move once again, he was my predator you could say… unfortunately for me... every predator has a predator that's the natural order of things… Kronos had ordered Hyperion to capture me… at least I assumed as much, and like the good obedient bitch he is, he accepted, unfortunately for him, I was very good at not being captured and killed… but unfortunately for me… hunting with that monster around was a big no, I almost got captured twenty years ago…. And well, let's say reattaching an arm is not as painless as anime makes it seem, nor as easy.

"Oh well," I sighed, going back to the cave.

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[Hestia POV]

I have never… been in Tartarus, and well needless to say it was a place even gods would avoid, but I had to rescue him, and for that reason, I had begged Hades to help me, at first he was reluctant… I knew he didn't want to believe Adam was a traitor, but Hades was so used to betrayal, to people backstabbing him… that he let himself for a brief moment belief, Adam was fake.

But I knew my little brother, and I knew it was bigger the part of him that believed in our friend, so it the end, it was easy to convince him, Persephone helped a lot in that, saying she never liked the little shit of Luke, to begin with…

"Do you really… believe, he's innocent?" Hades asked, he sounded hurt, hurt at the prospect he opened himself to someone… and that someone might have used him.

"I know he isn't guilty," I declared, I believed in him… his words had to be honest, they had to… I refused to believe he tricked everyone… I refused to believe his smile was fake, "I know it,"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time Zeus fucked up," Hades chuckled humorlessly, "Very well… let's do this… if we are lucky… if he is lucky, the time dilatation curse in that realm will have not affected him, if it did… and was still alive when he arrived, there is no telling if we will find him alive or not,"

"What… what do you mean?" I asked, trembling at the idea… that all we would find was his corpse.

"Well… each person lives Tartarus in their own way, for some… a second there will be a millennia here, for others a second here will be a millennia there…. It all depends on whos suffering, and what they fear the most," Hades stated, his lips forming a thin line in contemplation.

"So… in other terms… if Adam is affected by that curse… and he fears being alone… he will…" I gasped… how long had I LET him suffer there, how long!

"I just want you to know… there is a big chance we won't find him alive," Hades muttered, "If the time curse affected him… there is a big chance that if he didn't die fighting the monsters around, he died of old age,"

"But…. doesn't that curse only affect immortals?" Persephone asked, tears forming on her green eyes, "You told me that, that the curse was put there to make immortals suffer more,"

"Yes, but…. If he entered Tartarus like I think he did… there is a big chance Kronos made it so rescuing him would be impossible, ergo… putting a curse that would kill before anyone managed to clear his name," Hades clarified.

"I know he's alive," I would not stop believing in my champion… I couldn't.

"Then he didn't get the curse," Hades sighed.

"Even if he did, I know he's alive," I stated.

"Then that would mean Adam was a god… or somehow ascended inside that realm," Hades replied, "Let's make haste… every second we spend talking… is time he is suffering there,"

"Thanks for helping me… and for believing in me," I hugged him,

"Don't worry," Hades smiled, ruffling my hair, "I would've come for him eventually… after my paranoia ceased… you simply pushed me to that faster, and besides… I know what is like to be betrayed… and I know what Adam must be feeling right now… and no one deserves to feel like that,"

"No… no one does," I nodded.

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Time spent on Tartarus: 140 years

Real world : 28 Hours