For someone like Hades, who had lived for nine eons, the passage of time was weird.

When he did not pay attention, tens of thousands of years would pass in the blink of an eye.

He had only intended to take a breather, and calm his inner turmoil before meeting the child again.

However, years had passed before he realized.

He hurriedly returned to check the child.

And…

Emaciated bones.

Gaunt skin.

A voice that did not know how to speak.

And eyes desperately searching for warmth.

That's what Hades saw when he saw the child.

'I'm pathetic.'

'I left a child neglected like this.'

Hades decided to send the child to someone who could give him the love he deserved.

His mind told him that this child was what he had been searching desperately for, that he should use him like a weapon he was supposed to be.

But he couldn't do it.

In the end, he gave the child to the Witch of Gluttony, the weakest yet the one that loved everyone the most.

As years went by, Hades kept an eye on the child and the Witch.

He, who had long stopped smiling, would do so when he would watch their adventures.

He would also help them in secret.

When the Witch reincarnated, and the child was desperately searching for her,

Hades secretly helped him find Vornaz, the Demon of Ruin, and he used the favour the Witch of Time owed him to make her help the child travel through time and reach the Witch of Gluttony.

More time passed.

Their life was going happily.

The child would occasionally return to Hades's palace, demanding a name.

But Hades would reject him every time.

'Someone like me doesn't deserve to name you.'

More time passed, the child wanted to marry the Witch. He came asking Hades for advice.

But Hades just sent him away.

Because Hades was busy.

He was looking for a way to revive someone beyond Eons.

For Hades, who had grown attached to someone for the first time in eons, he did not want to watch the child die.

But nothing could be done.

The 10th Eon began.

The Witch went insane.

The child was dead.

Hades, despite being called the strongest, couldn't do anything.

Then, the war began.

Hades faced Ouroboros, the Supremes, the Witches, the Demons, and the Devils.

Even the Witch, whom he had hoped to see marry his child, stood against him.

To kill him.

"Someone like you doesn't deserve to live! You are a monster! A hypocrite who acts like a saint while wearing a mask. A bastard who wants to cause death and destruction!"

'You are correct.'

"All kindness you show is for your own good! Isn't it just something you show because you know you are going to cause much more suffering in the future!"

'You are correct.'

"Everyone deserves to live! We have free will! You don't get to decide whether we live or not!"

'You are correct.'

"We refuse to leave the fate of the Cosmos in your hands. We will not let you complete your heinous plans and cause destruction!"

'I'm sorry.'

They were correct. Hades was a monster.

Perhaps all kindness he showed was his way of asking for forgiveness for what he would do in the future.

Perhaps he was just a selfish person.

Hades wholeheartedly agreed with them.

A monster like him shouldn't be allowed to exist.

He was someone who brought a life to the world, just to use it and cause it immense pain.

And yet…

Hades crushed the opposition in the war brutally.

Because Hades couldn't be defeated yet.

Until he had destroyed the Cosmos.

Until he had saved this doomed world.

He could not die.

Perhaps that was his mission. Perhaps that was why he had the Undeath Singularity.

Hades had to stay alive.

He had yet to destroy the Cosmos.

'Ouroboros. He looks like the child Mother used to give fruits to.'

'Supreme of Flames. He was a cook in the royal palace of Sahiya Palace in the 4th Eon.'

'Blessed One of Light. She was the dancer who won the 18th Annual Competition in Karta Region in the 7th Eon.'

For these people, this might be the first time they were seeing Hades.

But for him, who remembered everything, he had seen them countless times.

The people might be different.

Their lives might be different.

But the faces remained.

And Hades remembered.

Everyone.

Everything.

Every moment.

It was his duty as the one who would take everything for them.

It was his duty to know whom he was fighting to protect.

'I'm sorry.'

Hades crushed the rebellion with overwhelming might.

But…

He was tired.

How many deaths had he caused?

Would he be able to handle the sorrow of killing the entire Cosmos, when he was broken just by a single war?

A hollow laugh left his lips.

His mind was too weak.

Harming people was too burdensome for him.

For someone like him, who was so kind that he was ready to destroy the Cosmos to protect it, killing everyone, watching their sorrow was impossible.

His resolve… was not enough.

Through all this, Ouroboros' words kept ringing in his head.

"The new generation deserves to live."

"They will carve their own path. They will make their own choices."

"You don't deserve to end their future."

While Hades was fighting the guilt and grief, the Mother of Dragons, having long gone insane, made her move.

She believed Hades must've been injured after the war, and this was the time to seal him and end him for good.

Hades had to fight.

He had to throw his mother at the Witch of Gluttony with his own hands.

He had to see with his own eyes, watching her being devoured.

And perhaps by a cruel twist of fate, she had regained her sanity in her final moments.

"My child… Please forgive me for being unable to share your burden… and thank you for allowing me to rest…"

As if she had known the choice Hades had made, she comforted him.

But those words, that kind smile, broke Hades.

He couldn't continue.

He couldn't kill the entire Cosmos.

He did not have the resolve to cause endless suffering.

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