The Underworld didn’t seem scary anymore since you’d been at Hades’ side. People whispered about it as some cold, unforgiving realm, but you knew it was much more than that. It was quiet. It was serious. And even in the darkness, there was something beautiful—especially when you held his hand.

Your world had been stable… until that day.

The phone call cut through your soul like a blade. Lexa—your best friend—had been hit by a car. The voice on the other end was shaky, and you could only hear the words: “critical condition… broken limbs… collarbone… brain hemorrhage… not sure he’ll make it.”

You froze. And then only one thought remained in your mind:

Hades.

You found him in the throne room of the Underworld. The darkness sat on his shoulder, as if it were breathing with him. He had his back to you, but he knew you were there. He always knew.

“Please,” you said. Your voice was shaky, but not weak. “You have to help. Lexa… she’s going to die if we don’t do something.”

Hades slowly turned. His face was expressionless—that familiar, immortal calm you loved so much about him. But now… now you wished it weren’t so blank.

“You know it’s not that simple,” he said quietly.

“But you’ve helped me before. You’ve brought people back from the dead. Please do it again! Just this once…

He just looked at you. Not with anger, not with regret. Just… infinitely tired. Then he moved. He pulled down his top, and for the first time you really saw them—those deep black stripes crisscrossing his skin.

“The goddesses of Fate did these to me,” he said quietly. “Every time I brought someone back… they wanted innocent souls in return. One life – at the cost of another.”

Your finger carefully touched one of the stripes. It was hot, as if it was still burning into his skin.

“These aren’t just marks. These are… pains. I felt my skin burn away with each one. A part of me was lost each time.”

Your heart sank. But Lexa lay there, in a hospital bed, hanging from machines, between the helpless hands of doctors. She was the one who had been there with you in every hellish moment, when you hadn’t known the Underworld yet. She was the one who always knew when you were lying, when you were crying, when something inside you was breaking down.

And now Hades looked at you. His eyes were dark, bottomless – yet somewhere deep inside there was pain.

“You have to choose,” he said. “Me… or Lexa?”

Time stopped inside you.

He didn't threaten. He didn't blackmail. He just showed you the truth. The price of your decision would be his pain. Or... your friend's life.