22 Origins: The Abduction of Persephone

Despite being reserved a seat in Olympus, the Lord of the Underworld, Hades, rarely goes there for visits. He felt more at ease being in his realm, which already became synonymous to his name. He is often described as the coldest and most reserved among all Olympians, for he seldom communicates with them, or crosses the boundaries of his domain, where he rules all over the dead men who can no longer tell their tales.

In his upper realm, Erebus, the screams of the damned souls from the Fields of Punishment delights him, the long queue of ordinary souls seeking refuge towards the Meadows of Asphodel always irks him, and the wails of those souls who wasted their lives on unrequited love in the Mourning Fields amuses him, for it is them whom he pities the most.

The lower realm, Tartarus, however, is a place which makes even him uncomfortable too. Only the most horrible souls – the most terrible ones who can't even die properly, are resting there. Strictly speaking, it is not directly part of of his Domain, because it is as far beneath the Underworld as the Earth is beneath the Sky. Night is poured around there, and in its pits, the VVIPs, Cronus, along with the other Titans were cast to damnation.

One fine evening, as he was admiring the darkness of his kingdom, two particular souls of a young man and a young woman wandered about near the Elysium, or the place that is reserved exclusively for the most virtuous and heroic souls. They were judged at the entrance as someone deserving to rest in this special place. However, the man kept on looking towards the direction of the Mourning Fields. The woman, who was a little far from him, only stared at him.

Hades wondered how long they lined up in the queue of the dead before they were finally admitted inside. He always say that that's the first struggle when a person dies - the Line for their Judgment.

They were about to enter Elysium when suddenly, one of Hades' Erinyes, or the bat-like women, who manages his kingdom's deathly affairs approached their poor souls.

"Reeeekekek! False alarm! You were misjudged! Pardon us, Narcissus and Echo, correct? Please proceed to the Mourning Fields to continue your bawling and pining. Just go straight and turn to the left, and another attendant will guide you there - rekek. Thank you!"

".....thank you." The girl replied.

'Ah, victims of love.' Hades thought. He went back to his throne and played on the livestream of the Vision Incognito courtesy of the Olympus' Eye extension to his Domain, showing the recent happenings in the mortal world. He's not fond of going out, but he doesn't appreciate being left out of the latest events there, either. For the lack of better term, he got bored after seeing those lost souls.

Then, as if by an unforeseen twist of fate, alas, he found a beauty that he so longed for – the beauty worthy of his Kingdom, worthy of being his Queen. How ironic that he too have succumbed to the feeling he so awfully despised. 'How cruel. But what must I do to quell this emotion?'

The answer of his heart was instantaneous. 'Of course, I shall make her mine.'

He later on got the report from one of the Erinyes about the latest soul who was admitted to the Mourning Fields. The man was punished by the Goddess Nemesis, and from his body sprang forth a beautiful flower, worthy for a Queen. Inspired by this, he ordered the Goddess and told her to grow the cursed flowers in the Nyssian Plains, where his future Queen was taking her sweet time.

Soon, Hades received the affirmation of Nemesis, and he got himself prepped for his first date. Donning on his Helm of Darkness and Cloak of Invincibility, along with his luscious obsidian chariot with four coal-black steads, he travelled above ground, in search for his love.

--

On the surface, Julius awaited for the young maiden's reply.

"How did you know my name?" Persephone asked back.

"But how…how are you even here?" The other girl with the auburn hair interjected in their conversation.

Corinna was perplexed. She can vaguely recall from her memories, but if she's right, she already met these people from over a hundred years ago….in Olympia.

"Hey, does the myth mention anything about another girl in the setting?" Rexis frowned at her reactions.

All of a sudden, a strong whiff of a very sweet, delicate fragrance filled their nostrils. It was Persephone who reacted to it first. She forgot about everything else, and her thoughts were only filled with one thing. 'I must reach that flower before this girl destroys it again.'

Quickly, she ran near the edge of the meadow, where she saw the bloom of the flower she so desired. She knelt to the ground to pick it up. From the cliff, a chariot cloaked in the darkness of the night abruptly appeared right in front of her, and the figure of the man at its command snatched her from the grass.

"AAAAAAHH! HELP ME!" Persephone cried, letting go of the narcissus.

"NO, PERSEPHONE!" Julius yelled. Him and his other companions went after the maiden, whose screams echoed throughout the valley of the Nyssian Plains.

After getting over from the initial shock, Corinna trailed after them – now angered by the fact that a maiden like her was abducted forcefully by that mysterious man, right under her nose.

"GIVE HER BACK YOU PEDOPHILE!" Julius shouted the savage insult at the God. Then, using the theory behind his power, he tore through the fabric of space and disappeared, only to reappear just above Hades' chariot. He landed on the black cart right beside Persephone, earning himself the ire of the Lord of the Underworld.

Hades swerved to the right in an attempt to sway Julius away, but he already got used to the bumpy ride thanks to Apollo, so he managed to retain his balance. Persephone, however, was almost thrown out, and that only made her pleas for help louder. This prompted Hades to steady his driving, careful to not let his Queen fall into the chasm below. 'Curse you mortal, I'll drag you to hell if you insist on this!'

"What the – didja see that?" Rexis turned to Sayo and Tobias, whose jaws were dropping in awe. It was the first time they saw Julius do something amazing like that.

From behind them, Corinna had the same surprised expression. But she did not dare waste a second to let out her thoughts and continued her run, until she reached the cliff, and the chariot now appeared within her striking range. 'I must get her back, as my Mistress would also do when I'm in the same situation.'

In the same instance, she drew her arrow and tied around it the Lasso that wraps around her waist. The next second, she launched the arrow towards the chariot, hitting the back of the cart, and she too was pulled away from the cliff by the godly vehicle towards the entrance of the Underworld.

With a wave of his hand, Hades made a black curtain of shadows appear. It was a bypass towards his Realm.

"YOU THREE, TRY TO HANDLE HER MOTHER! MAKE HER CALM DOWN! I'LL SAVE PERSEPHONE!" Julius yelled to the remaining trio in the cliff.

"Got it! Make sure you come back, Julius!" Tobias heeded his call, but the other two had no words.

'Fools.' Hades thought. 'As if you can return after you enter my Kingdom.' And then, they were completely swallowed by the shadows.

Unbeknownst to them, a young man clad in black was observing the entire thing from a distance, along with his company of Erinyes.

'The details of the myth are indeed altered.' He frowned, apparently not pleased with the idea of going after them. But he has to do it, for the sake of his mission, so he decided to pay a visit there too, since he can do the same bypass, after all.

He must be careful not to meet the Lord of the Underworld, though. 'Ah, time paradox.' He sighed and shook his head, thinking of the daunting task ahead.

--

From the oak where she was currently relaxing, the horrible screams of her daughter cut through the air and it brought Demeter into her knees, in a state of panic. It was a futile, desperate call for help….and she wasn't there for her.

"Persephone? PERSEPHONE?!!" She shouted in response, but no one answered.