Page 81 of The Hellbeast's Betrayal

“I do.”

“But if so, then why not…”

“Help you the moment I saw you, because I am Greedy in nature and always require a bargain to be made. One that proved to be most useful,” he replied after first cutting me off, giving me cause to sigh in frustration before asking,

“Then you know of what Garmr plans to do?”

“I do, as does Hades.”

Again, the revelations just kept coming.

“Then why doesn’t he do something, why doesn’t he stop him?!” I shouted in outrage.

“That, you will have to ask him for yourself,” he said, lifting the portal key from its hiding place and handing it to me. The power of the thing pulsated in my hand as if I was carrying some kind of energy bomb about to explode.

“I will ensure my son returns and makes it to your realm with some of my legions to aid you in this battle.”

Naturally I was surprised by this and enough to ask, “But why?”

“Because if you fail to win this war, then all the kingdoms will fall.”

He then bowed his head to me and took a step back with his son. Leaving me with nothing more to do than throw the portal key, knowing it would open a gateway wherever it landed. Which meant that seconds later, and I was now staring at swirls of light shimmering like gold dust in water.

So, knowing this was the only reason I was here, I didn’t hesitate to step inside, momentarily swallowed up by the sensation of falling. Just like what happened with most portal travel, it was disorientating at first. This meant that by the time I made it through, I had to shake myself free of the dizziness that gripped me.

After blinking through it and the bright light I could now see, I found myself in a garden. One that I imagined was a mirror image of what was now destroyed back at his own ruined castle.

The walled garden was teeming with life. Marble arches half covered with vines and ivy, each that held plinths holding statues of half-naked Goddesses. Flower beds created walkways, framing the pale stone slabs with every color imaginable. Flowering trees and manicured shrubs created a pattern and flow to the large space, but there in the center of it all…

Was Hades.

He was standing with his back to me, looking up at the large white tree. The poplar tree was void of any bark and was so smooth, it almost didn’t look real. Its branches created a canopy of delicate white leaves that almost looked woven with silver thread. And as a total contrast, there was the King, dressed entirely in black. Making him the only thing here that was void of any color.

His long black cloak showcased his wide frame, and was made bigger thanks to the spiked armor pads that looked as if horns rose up from his shoulders. His midnight black hair curled at his neck just under the high fold of his robe. Upon his head was a crown I had never seen before, as it had replaced the last one he used to wear. This one was made from the twisted white tree branches from the tree he looked at now.

“She was the most beautiful creature I ever beheld,” he said in his deep, unsettling voice, and still with his back to me.

This comment made me sigh when I realized he was talking about Ella’s dead mother. I walked closer, only stopping when I stood next to him. I was used to seeing his face, despite this being the first time doing so as the man I now was.

For my HellBeast, however, the memory of him was engraved on our soul. His light grey skin, one that rippled with an unnatural amount of muscle as his bare torso showed. The lengths of black material hung from his waist, hiding his legs from view. And as for the face I knew, a man that looked to be in his late forties held a wealth of knowledge in his dark, perceptive eyes. His black beard tapered down into a point, very much like my own, which was cut shorter at the sides of our jawline.

“You finally returned to the Underworld,” he stated, moving on from speaking about his lost love.

“I did and you know why,” I said, getting right to the point, something I knew he would appreciate.

“I do,” he said without looking at me, his gaze still fixed on the tree.

“Then you also know why I am here,” I stated, having no choice but to look up at him, as he was easily a foot taller than me.

“Yes, for it is time, Fate has decided and appointed you as the one to hold the dial.”

I frowned, asking,

“The dial?”

He finally turned to face me, taking my hand and lifting it up so as he could place a piece of the tree branch into it, one no bigger than the length of my forearm. Then he told me,

“For her to decide which way it will point in your hand.”

---