Chapter 171: Chapter 16
Aphrodite’s voice carried through the obsidian halls of the Underworld like a soft melody, her footsteps light and rhythmic, almost a dance in themselves.
She hummed happily, her aura radiating warmth and beauty that clashed with the cold stone walls.
Ever since Orpheus’s harrowing quest had ended, her mood had been brighter than anyone could remember—so bright, in fact, that even the shades of the dead whispered about it.
And her daily visits to Hades’ office shoes that.
Just like right now.
The great doors of Hades’s office creaked open, and Aphrodite swept inside, golden hair shimmering like firelight against the gloom.
Behind his vast obsidian desk, Hades was just setting down his pen, the latest stack of parchment signed and sealed.
"Lord Hades!" she sang, her voice sweet with cheer.
Hades glanced up, his expression neutral, but his dark eyes softened almost imperceptibly.
He gave her a small nod. "Mn."
She sauntered closer, leaning forward against the desk with a mischievous smile. "Done with your endless mountain of work?"
Hades leaned back in his chair, folding his hands. "For this hour, yes. I have a short break before the next reports arrive."
That was all the invitation she needed.
Aphrodite’s grin widened, and without hesitation, she slipped her hand into his. "Then come with me. Let’s go on a date."
Hades blinked, staring down at her fingers laced through his, then back at her expectant face.
"A date? Aphrodite, I am incredibly busy. The Underworld doesn’t rest."
She pouted, her lips curving downward, her eyes wide with deliberate innocence.
The goddess of love deployed her most devastating weapon—her puppy-dog eyes.
For a long moment, the Lord of the Dead stared at her, unmoved... or so it seemed.
Then, at last, his shoulders dropped, and he let out the long, familiar sigh of a man who knew he had already lost.
"...Very well."
Aphrodite’s face lit up with triumph.
She clapped her hands together, then tugged eagerly at his arm. "I knew you’d say yes! Now hurry, hurry, let’s not waste time!"
Hades rose slowly from his chair, adjusting his cloak as if he were preparing for battle rather than a date.
His expression remained stoic, but as Aphrodite’s laughter rang through the chamber, there was the faintest twitch at the corner of his lips—an almost smile.
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The Underworld was never meant for dates. Its buildings all were carved of black stone, its skies forever shrouded in twilight, and its rivers reeked of sorrow.
Yet when Aphrodite clasped Hades’s hand and dragged him along, the realm seemed to soften ever so slightly, as if even death itself bent to her charm.
"Come on, come on!" she chimed, her golden hair swaying as she led him through the a long dark pathwalk.
Hades followed at her side, tall and imposing, his dark cloak brushing the floor.
He carried himself as always, silent, stoic, a weight of millennia resting on his shoulders.
Yet he did not pull away from her hand, nor did he stop her when she all but skipped ahead, tugging him through the gloom.
Their first stop was the Fields of Asphodel.
Souls wandered aimlessly, their faces blank, their movements slow.
It was a place of eternal mediocrity, neither joy nor suffering, just an endless sameness.
Aphrodite twirled once, her laughter echoing.
"Look, Hades. I have learned a thing or two from Demeter ." She gestured, and with a snap of her fingers, roses of radiant pink and red sprouted amidst the pale asphodel.
The wandering shades paused, their dull gazes flickering faintly at the sight.
For a brief moment, life flickered on their eyes.
Hades observed quietly, his sharp gaze caught the brief moment that life seems to return to the eyes of the wandering souls. "You’re disrupting the natural balance."
"Nonsense," she said, plucking one and tucking it into his cloak. "I’m beautifying it. You could use a little color."
Hades stared at rhe flower. He hesitated for a moment, but didn’t take it away.
Next, she pulled him to the Elysian Fields.
Golden meadows stretched infinitely, where some heroes of old feasted and sang.
Many saluted Hades with solemn respect, yet their eyes trailed after Aphrodite, who gleamed like sunlight breaking through their eternal dawn.
She waved back at them cheerfully, then leaned close to Hades.
"You know, if you ever wanted to, we could spend eternity here. Just you and me, in endless spring."
Hades’s gaze swept across the fields, then down at her. "Elysium is for heroes, not gods. And I have no wish to abandon my duty."
Aphrodite pouted, "Can’t you at least lie to make me happy?"
"Lies will only make you unhappy."
Aphrodite giggled, "You know me so well."
Then, they passed by the edge of the River Lethe and Aphrodite decided to stay for a moment.
Lethe’s waters shimmered faintly, rippling with the power to erase memory. Souls bent down to drink, their pasts slipping away in the current.
Aphrodite crouched at the bank, dipping her fingers lightly into the water, watching the ripples spread.
"Strange, isn’t it? Mortals fight so hard to live, and yet when they come here, so many choose to forget."
Hades stood beside her, his voice low. "It is mercy. To remember everything is a weight too heavy to bear. Of course, there are also those who chose not to forget. But the dead must move on."
She tilted her head, gazing up at him. "So what about you, Lord Hades? If you were a mortal, would you willingly drink the water from Lethe? Or would you struggle?"
Hades’s expression didn’t change, though his silence lingered longer than usual.
At last, he shook his head. "Honestly, I have no idea. I feel like I have forgotten a part of me, and I don’t have any thoughts of remembering them back, so if I say that I would struggle would make me contradict myself. But I also would not willingly forget. After all, being unable to remember anything...is quite scary, isn’t it?"
Aphrodite rose, stepping close, her hand sliding against his chest. "Then I will remember for you. I’ll remember how you sighed but agreed to come with me today. I’ll remember how you walked beside me, even though you claim not to care. I’ll remember everything that you are, and everything you’ve done. So that one day, if you’ll ever forget, you’ll remember too."
Her words hung in the still air, sweeter than any perfume.
For once, Hades did not sigh. He simply stood there, silent as stone, while Aphrodite rested against him, smiling as if she had already won.
They stayed still like that for a few moments, before Aphrodite leaned back. Hades thought that she finally had enough and was about to suggest that he return to his office.
But Aphrodite was far from done.
She tugged his hand again, her eyes sparkling like a girl who had just found treasure.
"We’ve only just begun," she said with a grin. "You didn’t think one stroll would count as a proper date, did you?"
Hades exhaled slowly, resigned, though his steps never faltered as he let her lead.
She took him first to the secluded gardens where Demeter and Persephone’s hand had coaxed life out of the barren Underworld.
Pomegranate trees bowed heavy with fruit, and dark lilies stretched toward the faint glow of the ashen sky.
Aphrodite plucked a pomegranate, split it open with graceful fingers, and held out the glistening seeds.
"Here. Taste."
Hades gave her a flat look. "Pomegranate is my symbol. I have gotten tired of its taste."
"Hehe, why don’t you try it first." She brought the seed closer to his mouth, "You know food tastes better if a beautiful girl feeds it to you."
Against his better judgment, Hades accepted one.
And though he remained as stoic as ever, he did admit that it tasted better than what he had eaten before.
But he will not tell her that.
They stayed here for a few more minutes before she dragged him up to a fortress walls, where obsidian battlements overlooked the Styx’s endless current.
Torches lined the stone, their flames an eerie green.
Aphrodite leaned forward, elbows on the railing, her hair catching the ghostly firelight.
"It’s beautiful in its own way," she whispered. "The world above always looks to the heavens for beauty. Little do they know, the true beauty lies hidden in the darkness."
Hades stood beside her, following her gaze over the river where lost souls floated like mist. "Most see only fear in this place. Only you would call it beautiful."
She smiled knowingly. "That’s why I’m the goddess of beauty, and you’re not."
Hades chose to remain silent.
"Anyway, let’s go." Aphrodite extended her hand, and Hades took it as she dragged him away.
He really thought that they would return, but Aphrodite insisted on one more stop.
She brought him to the boundary of Tartarus, the deepest pit of Underworld, where the cries of the damned rose like a grim chorus.
Titans and traitors writhed in endless torment, their chains glowing red.
Even here, Aphrodite hummed as though nothing could sully her mood. She clasped his hand tighter, ignoring the wails.
"I want to ask, lord Hades... do you ever grow weary of this? Judgment, torment, eternity? Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be free of it?"
Hades’s eyes stayed fixed on the horizon, his voice steady. "My burden is eternal. To wish otherwise is meaningless."
She turned her head, studying him.
Then, softly, she smiled. "Is that so? Then let me share eternity with you. I’ll be your freedom, even if you never leave these halls."
For the first time, Hades did not immediately reply.
His silence, heavy and unreadable, said more than words.
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By the time they returned to his office, Aphrodite was glowing with satisfaction.
She twirled once more before his desk, planting a soft kiss on his cheek before dropping gracefully into a chair.
"See?" she said, utterly smug. "Wasn’t that the best break you’ve had in centuries?"
Hades returned to his desk, setting his pen against parchment.
His sigh was deep, yet softer than before.
"...Perhaps."
Aphrodite’s grin widened like a sunrise.