The realm of the Underworld.
A primordial land that has existed from the beginning of time.
It is the place where the souls of those who have died are supposed to go, according to the newly created laws of the world.
Of course, right now, it is a sparsely populated place with nothing much to talk about aside from the entrance to Tartarus and the homes of the various Chthonic gods and goddesses.
It is in this realm that its current ruler, the Lord of the Dead, resides in a colossal and opulent palace of his own.
As Hades went about his day as usual, ruling over his realms, keeping the peace between the various Chthonic gods who had disputes, and juggling all the headaches that come with said parleys, he suddenly felt a familiar divine pressure that only one being could ever produce.
With an exasperated sigh, Hades leaned back into his throne and spoke out.
"Have I not told you not to interrupt my court? Brother?"
"You did. But where is the fun in that? After all, you give me the best reactions when your carefully calculated ruling is disrupted."
Hades gave a glum look at his brother, who simply grinned and plopped down on the throne that materialized out of nowhere.
It is normal for a god to manipulate their divinity and create things out of nothing. Such is the power of their very existence. However, the way his brother does things is too different from the others.
For he does not weave his divinity into solid objects. Instead, he somehow materializes them through his own will and the strange power that he calls 'magic'.
More importantly, unlike the creations of other gods, which are temporary unless their domain deals with creation, his brother's creations are a permanent part of the world.
Hades sighed once again and leaned back into his throne.
"Why are you here? Brolios?"
Brolios, the God of Destruction, Nature, and the Lost, grinned at his brother's words.
"Just visiting. You've been missing on Olympus for many months now. Given the way you always hide in the shadows, someone has to drag you back out lest you spend all of eternity cooped up in your comfort zone."
At his brother's words, Hades chuckled ruefully.
To him, Brolios had always been like this, even during their imprisonment in their father's stomach.
He was the light that would always force his radiance on Hades's shadows, whether he wanted it or not, and always drag him around to train and learn.
Even after the war, when the Olympian council was officially established, and Hades caught the first glimpse of the fear that others held for him and his chosen domain, his brother alone remained the same. Unaffected by the new power and perspective they all gained. He was the only one who would come down here willingly, for no reason other than to spend time with the Lord of the Dead.
That is why Hades loved him so much more than the rest of his siblings.
Because Brolios never changes. He always remains that kind, loving brother to them all.
'Even if his temper needs some work.'
Hades winced as he remembered the thrashing his brother and sister had taken recently at his brother's hand for yet another mishap. Especially Zeus, whose fate sent shivers down the spine of every single male being in the Greek realms.
'Speaking of...'
Hades observed Brolios's face for a bit before speaking again.
"Are you still thinking about what he and Hera did?"
Brolios's smile fell instantly as he grimaced.
"....How did you know?"
Hades smiled. This time, in amusement.
"It's an open secret across the realms."
"That, and I felt your overwhelming power more than a month ago and knew that something seriously ticked you off. I also heard from the others on Olympus how you thrashed Zeus and Hera for an entire week, then enacted that....punishment on him before disappearing. After hearing that, I investigated things and, well...."
Hades trailed off as Brolios now sported a glum look before sighing.
"I simply don't understand, Hades. Why does he go around mating with women like that? Especially when he is already married to Hera? Is she not enough? Am I the one who is going about this the wrong way? Is it my thinking that is strange?"
"More importantly, why do women keep flocking to him despite knowing that he is a married god? And the fact that he is married to the literal Goddess of Marriage herself?"
Hades had no answer to his brother's words because he, too, did not understand his brother's thought process, nor his sister's, for that matter, when she chose the domain of Marriage despite having little affinity to it. Ignoring all the advice that Brolios and Mother Rhea gave to them all back then.
Brolios sighed tiredly and leaned back in his throne, waving away the various undead servants of Hades with a smile who approached him with some nectar and ambrosia.
"You and Persephone, I understand-"
Those words immediately made Hades choke on air as he glared at his brother for bringing up the embarrassing way Brolios discovered Hades's affair with Persephone.
Brolios, of course, ignored that glare.
"-You loved her dearly, and she, too, fell for you eventually under your pursuit. Because it was mutual love, and you don't have the tendency to cheat on her like that idiot, I helped you two and talked to Demeter so that you could marry the girl. Even if there was that slight mishap by the end."
"But I don't understand why, despite clearly loving Hera, Zeus still pursues other women, both mortal and divine?"
Hades let go of his embarrassment and anger and thought about his brother's question.
It is true that without Brolios's help, who knows what extremes Demeter would have gone to to get her 'precious daughter' away from a 'brooding, evil idiot' like him without Brolios intervening and forcing Zeus, Demeter, Persephone, and Hades to sit down and talk things through?
It was one of the many things that Brolios did for him that Hades would forever be grateful for, because Persephone truly was the love of his life.
As the two Olympians remained silent, lost in their own worlds, the doors to the throne room were pushed open, and a beautiful maiden walked in. Her gaze full of surprise when she spotted her beloved uncle sitting beside her husband.
"Uncle? What are you doing here? Aunt Hestia has been worried sick in the past month, when you disappeared into thin air after that fight and refused to answer any summons from the others."
Brolios smiled at the sight of his niece and waved her in.
"Nothing much, Seph. I was just talking with Hades about some matters. As for Hestia....Hm, I am not sure when I will be back on Olympus, so tell her that I will return eventually, when I have thought things through."
"But-"
"No."
"Why not-"
"No."
Persephone pouted at the way Brolios interrupted her speech and grinned at her, knowing that he was successful in messing with her, just like he always did ever since she was born.
With a sigh, Brolios got up from his throne and waved at the couple.
"Alright, I won't interrupt you two anymore. I'll visit you again when I have the time."
"Where are you going to go now?"
Brolios stopped moving at that question and spoke softly.
"...I don't know. For now, I think I will investigate those strange divine power fluctuations I've been picking up near Cyprus. I need time to think. To understand....all of this."
Then, his eyes gleamed with a malice that sent shivers down the couple's spines.
"Also, there are three certain idiots who need to get their teeth kicked in again."
Hades did not press further, letting his brother disappear, and turned back to his wife with a slightly worried expression, one he did not show in front of Brolios, for he did not wish his brother to know how much he worried for the gentle god's mentality.
"Do you think he will be fine?"
Persephone sighed and leaned into her husband's shoulder while sitting on her throne.
"He should be. Uncle Brolios always did bounce back from most things rather quickly. But, I think this incident has left a far greater scar on his heart than all of the previous incidents combined."
He too stared worriedly at the empty throne to the side.
"I know that too, but I still worry that his way of thinking will cause harm to him sooner or later. Especially with how our family is most of the time."
Persephone nodded at her husband's words and remained silent.
Hades's mind raced, trying to find a way to help his brother, just like his wife's mind did at the moment, showing the synchronity in their thoughts.
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