26 Chapter 25

Im not dropping, I put to much work into it to just give up, In my nurgle fic I said that this'll go on hiatus for like a week or two.

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(Personally, I want to get to the modern era now, but if you want, I can make interlude chapters of his other adventures.)

In my past life, I has always wanted to visit Japan. White winters and bountiful summers—a haven for dedicated foodies, fearsome festivals, fresh powder snow and vast fruit orchards. A truly beautiful destination.

Except I couldn't. We didn't have enough money, at all. My mom had 12 kids, 5 boys and 7 girls, so times were hard.

God knows what we had to do to survive for another day and know here I am, without my family, standing over the entire island of Japan.

'Tray would've liked this.' I started to reminisce on my twin brother. We were the exact same person, it felt like we shared souls, we were so close to one another.

'Hehe, the only thing we couldn't agree on was whether or not Goku could beat Superman.'

Thats why when he died, a part of my soul died too. I simply felt an unholy amount of emptiness. Not even sad, just a void of emotion.

I never had a chance to get better since 2 more of my brothers died trying to get some payback a year later. Thats what broke my mom, she simply wasn't there anymore.

It was like she didn't care anymore. When I needed her most…she vanished(emotionally).

"What are you doing, Ares?" Hachiman comes up beside me.

"…Thinking about death."

His face takes on a face of momentary confusion, "Death? You fear death, Ares?"

"…I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it. What about you ?"

"…I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens." He replies to me.

"Hehe…heheheheheheh!" For some reason that made me laugh, it wasn't particularly funny, I just…..laughed.

3rd POV——

Hachiman looked at his companion in pride, never had he made another god or goddess laugh.

"What of mortals? They fear death, you see It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. They all know that their time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of them will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up."

"And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone you know. It is like walking up the stairs to a bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things." Ares blurts out, momentarily forgetting to distance himself when talking about mortals, not speaking of observation anymore, but from experience. He continues on.

"If you gave someone your heart and they died, did they take it with them? Do you spend the rest of forever with a hole inside you that couldn't be filled?" Ares says.

"When he died....all things soft and beautiful and bright, were buried with him."

Hachiman contemplates Ares's words, not understanding his use of 'you's'.

"You know what its like to be mortal, Ares?" Hachiman asks, not with a tone of interrogation or interest, but one of trying to relate.

Ares gives no direct answer, "You know how mortals have sayings? 'Life flashes before your eyes as you're about to die.' Well its true, its just called life."

Hachiman descends into a moment of silence at Ares's words. "You speak of great loss. I know of it, when I was but a mortal, my father died. It was like I loved him so much, the gods were punishing me for it, like I lost a part of myself."

"However the thing that he said to me on his death bed has always stuck with me, 'To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die. You see I have asked people around me , does it hurt to die? And they responded, Yes, but it hurts much worse to live.' "

"I might not know who, what, when, where or how you have lost something or someone so dear to you, Ares. I do not know how you know of mortal struggles and I do not care, but ill give you some words I have come to accept, 'Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day.

Unseen, unheard, but always near; still loved, still missed and very dear.' "

"I hope that whatever you may have experienced becomes a little better for you, Ares." Hachiman gets done talking to Ares, patting him on the shoulder and then walking away, to leave Ares in his thoughts.

'I miss you bro, hopefully you are still with me now.'

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Hachiman walks around the palace, taking in its beauty. "What information did you gain from the greek, Hachiman?" He hears the voice of Amaterasu behind him.

Kneeling down, he addresses her, "He told me of the weather, Empress, how beautiful the weather is today is all." Hachiman had great respect for her and had known her way before Ares, but he felt as if that conversation was theres alone, on his heart, he would never tell another about it.