Ch. 138: Soul Ritual
It was just after I had showered, the cool droplets from my damp hair still trickling down my neck, when a sharp knock interrupted the rare quiet in my room. I opened the door to see Renee, Charon’s more energetic daughter, grinning as if she had just discovered something amusing.
“Heyo, dinner’s ready!” She greeted me with her usual bright, bouncing energy, cheeks flushed pink against her fair skin, her eyes gleaming with an almost unnatural sparkle— a bright blue flecked with stars. It struck me as out of place here in the underworld, a rare shade for anyone bound to this realm. But I had long since stopped asking questions about this island long ago. My goal was simple: grow strong, then leave.
I nodded, running a hand through my wet hair. “Sure. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Renee, however, didn’t budge. Her gaze lingered, and an odd smirk played across her lips. She tilted her head as if studying me with sudden interest.
“You’re cute, you know that?” she said, flashing an innocent yet knowing smile.
I raised an eyebrow, then sighed, brushing past her and heading down the narrow hallway toward the dining room. “If you’re going to keep pestering me, you might as well walk and talk.”
Renee laughed, skipping ahead like a child, the sounds of her footsteps echoing against the polished wooden floor and the portraits that lined the walls. They were mostly pictures of Renee and Yvonne, Charon’s daughters, through various stages of their lives, often with Charon standing in the background, stoic and silent. The thought crept into my mind that these two were more than they appeared, yet Charon had been as closed-off with me as his daughters had been direct.
Renee slowed, jumping in front of me with surprising speed, forcing me to stop. She looked up at me with her usual mischievous grin. “So… Yvonne talked to you earlier, huh? Did she already make her move on ya?”
I found the question not in my interest and when I did not answer, she pressed on, unabashed. “Alright, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Dad wanted us to ‘assist’ in your training— if that is what you call it— but Yvonne and I wanted to see what you would do on your own before butting in to actually help. You see my dad sort of had this… idea, you see. Said that if one of us could seduce the almighty Lord Hades, well, he could steer this realm exactly where he wanted it. It was something like that, I think.”
I chuckled, feeling a twist of unease. Seduce me? It was laughable— yet oddly disturbing. I wondered if he was speaking truthfully or just trying to make fun of me again.
Thankfully, we reached the dining room before she could say any more. The long table was laden with steaming dishes of shrimp, stew, and greens that filled the room with an aroma that made my mouth water. Yvonne was already seated, knife and fork in hand, her eyes downcast as though she were completely uninterested in anything around her but the food. Yet, there was a focus in her gaze that I could not ignore.
As we dug into the meal, the silence lingered longer than usual, punctuated only by the clinking of cutlery. I savoured every bit of the food and it felt really good. The silence that stretched long was very much appreciated by me.
Finally, Renee, eating with her usual carefree abandon, looked over at me with an impish grin and I knew immediately, my long cherished silence would soon be cast aside like gutter trash. “So… you’re planning to fuse your soul, huh? Yvonne’s gonna help you with that?”
I glanced at Yvonne, who met her sister’s gaze with a hint of exasperation, then looked back at me, her tone edged with irritation. “Yes, I’m helping him. Do you have a problem with that?”
Renee laughed, waving a hand as if swatting away Yvonne’s annoyance. “Nah, just… curious. I’d like to see you at full power, Hades. So let’s hurry up with this soul-fusing business, and maybe we’ll get to the fun part sooner.”
Yvonne rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. “The ‘fun part’? You mean the part where you ‘train’ him?”
Renee shrugged, grinning again as she dug into her food. I wonder if she had her own ulterior motives.
“So,” Yvonne addressed me, “how did your soul end up shattered in the first place?”
I set my fork down, feeling their eyes on me. “I was poisoned,” I said simply, though that barely scratched the surface of the truth.
Yvonne raised an eyebrow. “And what kind of poison could affect a god of the highest realm?”
I simply smiled, the kind of answer that ended conversations. “Why do you girls want to get off this island?” I had an idea that they were held against their wishes but I waited to hear them out.
Renee looked over to Yvonne as if asking for permission before turning to me and saying. “To be honest we just want to experience the outside world and to one day attend college, have fun, being cooped up here is no fun.”
Then a silence set in and I did not dare to pry any further and soon we finished our meal.
It was fully dark outside, a chill in the air as they led me to the training ground. Renee moved quietly for once, her gaze intent as she took her position a few yards away, watching. Yvonne stood beside me, her movements precise and efficient as she began carving intricate symbols into the ground. When she finished, she looked up at me with a serious expression.
“I’m activating a soul reconfiguration spell circle,” she said, voice barely louder than a whisper. “Now, summon your other half.”
I hesitated only for a moment before calling forth the black book. It materialized with a swirling shadow, its pages fluttering as it floated in the center of the circle. The air grew thick and heavy, and I could feel the book pulsing with the ancient power it held— the part of me that was still lost within it.
Yvonne’s voice remained steady as she spoke the spell’s incantations, her words weaving a web of light around me and the book. The energy intensified, and I felt my skin prickle as though needles were pressing into every pore. My body grew heavier, weighted down by a force that seemed to be pulling me apart and piecing me back together in the same breath.
“Now we will be one,” a voice whispered from the book, almost like an echo from my own mind.
The light around us blazed brighter, and I felt a sharp tug deep within me, as though my very soul were being torn and sewn back together all at once. Every nerve in my body screamed in pain, but I forced myself to stay still, clenching my fists as the fusion reached its peak.
Finally, the light faded, leaving only silence and a sense of eerie calm. I staggered, catching my breath as the black book dropped to the ground. As I reached for it, it crumbled to dust between my fingers, vanishing as if it had never been there at all.
Yvonne stared at me, her eyes wide. “That… that went too smoothly. There should have been more resistance, some kind of backlash.”
I looked at my hands, feeling the strange, amplified energy coursing through me. “You’re right,” I murmured, feeling unease creep in. “What did your spell do?”
Yvonne glanced toward the ocean, her face pale. “It wasn’t just my spell.”
Renee laughed, pointing out toward the dark waves where three massive whirlpools had appeared, each spinning with a terrifying, unnatural speed. “You devoured souls from the River Styx— thousands of them. They fueled the ritual, Hades. Look what you’ve done.”
I took a step forward, staring at the whirlpools in disbelief. Green and purple lights shimmered on the ocean’s surface, casting an eerie glow on the island. I’d drained that many souls just to bring myself closer to wholeness? I clenched my fists, feeling a strange exhilaration mixed with horror at the power surging within me.
“This… this is incredible. I can sense everything,” I murmured, barely able to contain the rush that filled me.
Yvonne gave me a look of pure exasperation. “You know, dad is so gonna throw a fit, right?”
Renee smirked, clearly entertained by the spectacle. “You’ll have to take responsibility for this. But for now, welcome back, Lord Hades. Looks like the true power of the Underworld is in your hands once again.”
I watched the lights on the water fade as the whirlpools calmed, feeling a mix of satisfaction and dread settle deep within me. This was only the beginning, but now I knew— I was on the path to becoming a true god. And I wasn’t certain if I could control what lay ahead.
If I revive a magic castle I will mass release 10 chapters
