However, just as this thought arose, Hades noticed something strange.
Where had the scythe, containing the primordial curse and the power of the end, been placed after he had broken the cycle of reincarnation?
A thought came to mind that made his heart clench slightly—could it be...
At this moment, a warm feeling, mixed with a cold fragrance and a dangerous aura, quietly approached his back.
Metis's soft body pressed against him, her arms like flexible vines gently coiling around his neck, her lips almost touching his ear, her voice
a light and penetrating whisper: "What? You only just realized?"
Hades's body tensed slightly.
He did not turn around, but the aura around him instantly deepened.
Indeed...
Metis seemed to sense the momentary tension and laughed, a laugh as crisp as ice drops on a jade plate—crisp, yet chilling.
"Don't worry, darling." Her breath slid along the side of his neck, with a wildly pulsating feeling of intimacy and absolute control.
"I won't hurt you."
Hades knew that Metis was telling the truth, at least on the direct level of 'causing harm'.
All her actions, no matter how paranoid they seemed, were always aimed at their shared future, or more precisely, the future she defined as such.
But being under her control and having her control such a danger still caused him an uncontrollable feeling of discomfort.
After a long time, Hades spoke softly, not a trace of emotion in his voice: "...What are you going to do with it?"
Metis did not answer directly, but gently pressed her cheek against his broad, cold back and sighed softly.
"We will always have to 'separate', Hades." Her voice no longer carried the usual playfulness or danger, but was filled with a rare solemnity.
"Have you ever thought about how to 'separate' when the time comes?"
Hades knew exactly what 'separation' and 'division' meant.
This was one of the main goals of their long-term plan.
But he truly hadn't deeply considered the details of 'how to separate'.
It wasn't just about lifting the burden.
Their divinities, their essences, had long been deeply intertwined with the roots of the world, like the roots and soil of a great tree.
If they were forcibly separated, the result would most likely be the collapse of the world and their own destruction.
Metis asking this question at this moment and mentioning the god-killing scythe, capable of cutting through the most primordial laws... The implication of this hint sent a chill through Hades.
She wanted to... use this scythe to make the most thorough 'cut' between them and the world?
Hades slowly turned and looked at Metis.
He looked into his wife's eyes.
"You know what this means," his voice was low and with unprecedented seriousness.
Using this scythe would not only be painful, but also mean facing the most fundamental void and destruction, the consequences of which were unthinkable.
"I know," Metis looked at him without flinching.
"But it is the most thorough method, isn't it? To sever all bonds, including the deepest connection with the world. Only then can we achieve true freedom, not be forever tied to a world we saved, but which has also become our cage."
She raised her hand, her fingertips gently tracing the outline of Hades's cold face, her voice soft, but with a firm will:
"I would rather hold the scythe and endure the pain and risks of separation together than see you, in order to preserve this world, eventually be completely assimilated into another 'Chaos' and lose all parts of 'Hades'."
"And," she tilted her head slightly, showing a sad smile.
"Don't forget the curse... 'the wise do not fall in love'. Although the curse is lifted, it reminds me that bonds can be too heavy—whether with the world or... any other existence can become the fuse for destruction. We must remain 'independent', even at the most painful cost."
A long silence fell between the thrones.
Hades looked at Metis, at this wife who had gone through countless reincarnations with him.
Hades did not agree nor object.
He simply reached out and pulled Metis back into his embrace, an indescribable weight in his movements.
"That day is still far away," he finally said simply, his voice returning to its usual coldness, but the complex feelings contained within could only be faintly sensed by Metis, who was close to him.
The heavy atmosphere was broken by a slightly hurried footstep.
Catia, the goddess of the Underworld, burst in without being announced.
"Father God! Mother Goddess! It's... Eros, she..." As soon as Catia's words began, she looked up and saw the throne above, and her father-god tightly holding the goddess Metis in a rare gesture.
Although the picture was still solemn, the atmosphere was clearly a personal moment.
"Um..." Catia instantly choked, two blushes rising on her cheeks, and her steps were nailed to the spot, in a dilemma.
"...It's okay, I... I seem to have come at a bad time, sorry for disturbing you."
Having said that, she was about to turn and slip away.
Hades released Metis, returning to his usual cold majesty, but frowned slightly: "Stop. Eros? What kind of trouble has she gotten into?"
He knew little Eros's ability to cause trouble.
Catia quickly waved her hand, as if trying to disperse some non-existent smoke:
"Trouble? No, no! Not this time! Eros has been... quite good recently."
She said this, lacking a little confidence.
Not getting clear information, even Metis broke free from her heavy thoughts and suspiciously tilted her head: "Since she hasn't caused trouble, Catia, you're so anxious, what happened to Eros?"
Catia's face reddened even more, her fingers nervously twisting the corners of her robe, her gaze darting, and she answered hesitantly:
"Actually... it's Freyja from the Vanir... She, for some reason, taught Eros some... um... not very appropriate things..."
"Not very appropriate?" Taught by Freyja, the god of love and beauty, to Eros?
Hades didn't think much about it, and his thoughts instantly crossed space, casting them towards Freyja.
However, the scene he 'saw' made Hades's unchanging divine thoughts recoil, as if burned by a soldering iron.
An extremely rare stiffness appeared on Hades's face, and cold sweat trickled down his back.
Almost at the same moment his mind went there, Metis beside him was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly exploding!
She also sensed the fragment caught by Hades's mind—Freyja was not only teaching Eros!
She was simply conducting an open-air seminar on 'feminine charm' and 'special knowledge' for a large group of goddesses!
But that wasn't the most terrible thing.
The most terrible thing was that the place where this 'seminar' was being held was an open-air bath!
In the heat of the hot springs, figures of white flowers were vaguely visible...
At this moment, the scene in the bath became even more 'wonderful':
several goddesses, known for their voluptuous figures, unceremoniously held their proud bodies, unscrupulously comparing and displaying themselves to each other, and laughter echoed through the bath like silver bells, full of confidence and... a certain sense of rivalry.
Amidst these 'turbulent waves', the little love god, Eros, looked blankly at her own chest, and then, comparing it with the 'high mountains' of the sisters and aunts around her, her small face turned red, and she angrily stamped her feet.
Seeing her so anxious she was about to cry—the skills of 'attracting attention' and 'showing charm' taught by Freyja couldn't be used with her equipment!
Metis very, very slowly turned her head, a sweet and eerie smile on her face, but one hand quietly touched Hades's waist, like a spiritual snake.
"Darling~love~~~" Her voice seemed soaked in honey, but with the cold of Siberia.
"Just now... what did you 'see'? Hmm? Can you describe it in detail to your Queen of the Underworld...?"
Hades: "..."
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