Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

As a deity of the earth above, she was not very fond of the gloomy Underworld. However, unlike before, there was no longer a mother forcibly demanding that she must stay in the narrow valley.

She could freely reside in this vast land, even if it was still a bit monotonous now. Although reason told Persephone that it was Demeter's decision to protect her, she could understand her mother's actions. However, to make a girl filled with curiosity about everything live in isolation and remain in a secluded valley for a century was torture in itself.

Besides, in her view, perhaps her own mother had better ways to protect her instead of hiding in a corner deceiving herself.

Therefore, Persephone resented Zeus, who had led to all this, but she was not particularly close to the mother she had only met a few times. She felt like she was just a 'seed,' still buried between crevices and rubble, just like her godhood.

That was why she had not told Demeter of her whereabouts before, and she had watched as the other caused disasters in the Mortal Realm. Because she wanted to disgust Zeus, and also hoped to push this goddess who clearly held extraordinary authority.

She was also a daughter of Cronus, and all six of her siblings were powerful True Gods, yet Demeter acted so timidly. Did she not know that the weaker one was, the more they needed to reveal their thorns, to at least make others hesitate when picking the fruit?

Fortunately, with her disappearance, her mother finally remembered her authority and learned to protect her through threats rather than escape… At this moment, Persephone felt that her actions were, after all, very right.

Some people's nature is such that you need to corner them before they show their threatening side. Without a doubt, her mother was one of these people. If she had acted this way immediately after being forcefully taken by Zeus, the other gods would have long known to give her a bit more respect, even if just on the surface.

But thinking of this, the goddess then turned her gaze towards Hades.

Demeter might have let the other gods see her in a new light since she had always held that authority, only never mustering the courage before. Persephone, however, did not have that luxury.

Her own divine power was truly weak, and no matter how much she bluffed, the outcome would be no different. So all she could count on was this man who had brought her here.

"So think of a way, Hades. Aren't you the king of the Underworld?"

"Zeus is just your younger brother. As his elder, are you only capable of grovelling and fawning before him?"

Looking at her future husband, Persephone sarcastically said, without mincing her words.

And in front of her, listening to the goddess's words, Hades was not angry. Or rather, he never got angry over these insignificant things.

"If it was only to win a temporary victory, Perse, I wouldn't have given up competing with Zeus for the throne of the Divine King in the first place. Besides, now, the power he has shown is starting to become unclear to me."

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Shaking his head, his expression somewhat indescribable, Hades once again sipped the nectar in his cup.

The resurrected wraiths retain some memories of their mortal lives, so the crafts of the Mortal Realm have also spread to the Underworld. Even the materials became available after Persephone's arrival.

Within the Fields of Truth, the goddess created a garden and used her power to grow various crops from the earth above. Whether it was the fruit they ate now or the nectar, she had planted the materials herself.

"However, Perse, I do not envy him, for I know there is no power gained without cause in this world."

"The throne of the Divine King appears tempting. My grandfather, my father, and even the current Zeus, they gained supreme power for it. But who knows what the cost is?"

"Heh."

Persephone scoffed at Hades's words, disregarding them completely.

"By the time he pays the price, you might already be trained so tame and docile. Big truths anyone can utter, Hades, but the fact remains, Uranus did as he pleased for an epoch, and in front of Cronus, you wouldn't even dare to speak up."

"State your intentions... or do you want to tell me that you went to all the trouble of bringing me to the Underworld, just so I could amuse myself here for a hundred years, and then meekly be sent back to Olympus?"

Unfooled, perhaps in terms of certain sharpness, Persephone indeed inherited some of her father's traits.

Just as she said, if Hades dared to bring her down, he should have a way to make her stay.

"...You're right, Perse, I can indeed make you stay here—however, not permanently."

After a moment of silence and having made up his mind, there was no need for further hesitation. The years they spent together allowed Hades to understand his future queen more clearly. Although she never knew how to speak politely to him, when she actually set out to do things, she was quite measured.

Perhaps, as she herself said, the unkind words were just a cover for inner insecurity… So, facing Persephone's gaze, Hades's expression finally became serious. Silently, that authority belonging to him, half of the Underworld's, was summoned, converging towards his palm.

The grey and black energies intertwined. As a nexus where the powers of the four Primordial Gods collided, the forces of the Underworld were inevitably tinged with aspects of each of them: weighty, mysterious, and with a twist of order, or rather, the rules within the shadows.

Twelve crystal clear fruits gradually emerged in Hades's palm, and with their appearance, even the color on Hades's face turned somewhat pale.