I shook myself out of the memory as I dragged myself to the stynx.
“ahh... guess I really am a failure.” I mumbled to myself as I reached the river,
“son” the voice sent my body into freeze mode.
“Moirai” I called her Greek title looking shocked that she, one of the fates was here.
“let it be. She must cross the stynx this time.” Atropos was always the stern one. She meant business where ever she was. She definitely was not called ‘the mother of death’ for no reason.
“I can’t let that happen” I said, barely audible. I barely had the strength to say anything.
“well, you have no choice” she said, her face becoming even more stern as she looked at me. There she was,
Valerie
She looked back at me, unable to talk as she went into the boat.
I looked to scylla, it’s not like she could do much anyways. She was only but a lesser god compared to me.
I dropped down to my knees “wait!!” I said, stopping everyone. Making then look at me with shock and irritation respectively.
“what now, you don’t have all day”.
The air was thick with the scent of ancient parchment and the quiet rustle of timeworn threads wafted through the air as she looked at me. ‘if I was not quick, the other sisters would.make their way here.’
“Moirai ” I began, my voice echoing.
“You dare ask a favor from me?” Atropos’s voice was like the whisper of a blade slicing through silk, sharp and final.
“I do,” I said, bowing my head in acknowledgment of her power. “I know that what I ask is not within the usual bounds of fate, but I cannot bear this existence any longer. It is not worth it if i have to live like this .”
“Interesting” she said, a spark in her eyes.
“Valerie, is gone. She was taken from me by the very threads you wove” i took in a deep breath, I would rather not get her upset now or she would not grant me what I needed “I.don’t want to live without her anymore, so please” i bowed my head, blinking away the tears.
, her gaze softened as she regarded me. “You would forsake your throne, your immortality, for a chance at a mortal life? A life that is fleeting, filled with pain and suffering, and ultimately, death?”
“Yes,” I replied, the certainty in my voice undeniable. “I would rather live one brief lifetime with her than an eternity without her. Let me be reborn as a mortal, and let her soul be reborn with mine. That is all I ask.”
Atropos, silent until now, stepped forward, her shears gleaming in the dim light of the chamber. “And if we grant this request, what will you do with this mortal life? What makes you think you will find her? The threads of fate are complex, Hades. Even we cannot guarantee that your paths will cross.”
“I will find her,” I said with quiet resolve. “No matter where or when we are reborn, our paths are always meant to cross, right?.”
“So you are sure you would give up immotality for her?” she looked at me, looking like she was unable to believe I was going to do it.
“Yes” I had no time to think it through when ..
The air felt thick, oppressive, as if time itself had slowed to a crawl, waiting for the moment when everything I had ever known would be irrevocably altered. I stood motionless, my eyes fixed on Atropos as she raised her shears, the instrument that would sever life
I had asked for this—begged for it, even. But now, as the cold edge of Atropos’s shears hovered over my thread, doubt crept into my mind. What would it feel like? What would it mean to be stripped of the eternity I had always taken for granted? The Underworld had been my realm, my domain, for eons, and I had ruled it with the surety that came from knowing I would never die, never falter, never change. Yet here I was, willingly surrendering that certainty for something as fragile and fleeting as a mortal life
But it wasn’t just any mortal life—it was a chance to be with Valerie again. That thought made me smile a bit.
I felt it—a sharp, piercing pain unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was as if a piece of my very soul had been ripped away, leaving a gaping wound that bled power and life.
It felt as though my throat was closing in on my. The air felt hot
I gasped, the sound more mortal than I had ever known. It was raw, primal, a desperate reflex as I clutched at my chest, as if I could somehow hold onto the power slipping through my fingers. But there was no stopping it. It was done now
My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the cold stone floor, my hands scraping against the ancient surface. Pain lanced through my body, deeper and more intense than anything I had ever felt. It was as if every nerve, every cell, was being torn apart, reshaped into something weaker, something vulnerable. The agony was relentless, each moment stretching into an eternity of suffering.
“Foolish boy” I heard her mumble, but I did not care.
My connection to the Underworld, to the countless souls that had passed through my realm, was being severed, leaving me adrift in a world I no longer belonged to. The weight of eons, the memories of countless lives, began to slip away, leaving behind only the raw, unfiltered experience of pain.
“You will come to realise that it is not as easy as you think. Two hundred years. That’s how long you would stay in abyss before you are able to both be reborn.” She said looking at me anger.
“mortal soul, here” she said, giving her a cup in which Valerie took.
The tea of oblivion.
I widened my eyes despite the pain.
“no!” I tried to stop her from drinking it, but i was too far away and my legs did not seem to work, because with each step I took, it felt like my very existence was going to be ripped away. And very soon, all I saw was darkness but even as I fell into darkness one thought plagued my mind.
‘Valerie drank the tea, she was never going to remember me” before I closed my eyes completely, I smelt it.
Someone was also pouring the tea into my mouth, giving me no chance to fight it.