For the next two years, the six of us worked to rebuild the Underworld. With my dominion over the land, I cleared several boulders, flattened some mountains and cleared some land. Forcefully convinced the nymphs of the five rivers to move where I needed and after a very long few weeks getting the land how I wanted, I took a week long nap to regain my strength.
In the time of my rest, Brontes had his brothers help him gather all the materials they needed as they mined and traveled between the realms of earth and the underworld bringing lumber or other materials the Underworld didn't naturally have.
They went ahead and started construction on the Lower and Upper City of Asphodel and Elysium. When I awoke I got to helping them and we finished construction of the major three cities in a couple months. I went ahead and moved the souls of the dead to the Lower City of Asphodel.
These were some of the first humans that Prometheus had made. From what I learned from one of the souls, they lived in four different tribes located around the land of Greece, a place they took to call, Theídos. The Land of Gods. From the way that they spoke it seemed that they spoke some very primitive version of Ancient Greek.
We moved on from the city to work on the surrounding land as we planted hundreds of seeds. I granted permission for them to grow in my land. Turns out that was something that I was supposed to do. Over time, the plants grew and flourished.
The Underworld had never looked so alive. Flowers, trees, and plants of every kind bloomed and grew, I don't mean to brag but it seemed that I had quite the gift with plants, maybe I should have become the God of the earth and nature instead.
My greatest achievement, however, was the Garden—a perfect replica of the Hirosaki Park I had once seen in my past life. A beautiful mahogany bridge was painstakingly constructed by Brontes and his brothers, that stretched gracefully across the River Styx, it arched high over the river as I planned to have Charon ferry souls through the garden when taking them to be judged. Lady Styx herself had approved of the garden, her pride clear as she dubbed the bridge "The Styxian Bridge." I let her claim it. After all, her river did flow through it.
Cottereus had the idea of creating terraces that overlooked the entire Underworld, offering breathtaking views. It was built on the side of some mountains and led down to Arkadia.
Arkadia was a literal wild land that we put enough effort into to make it something nice before chucking all the animals in there. My ranch however stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with stables and barns crafted from polished wood and adorned with golden accents.
It took some hunting before we gathered everything that would be considered a farm animal. I gathered 400 Aurochs, 100 chickens, about 17 goats and 30 sheep, 40 boars, and a herd of 200 horses. Of course they were all wild and had never been tamed even when they were alive… so I would leave it to whoever I hired as my beast caretaker.
Ah, before I forget, Briareus and Cottereus actually managed to get those four black stallions. When I first met them face to face I was shocked by how large and muscular they were up close, standing taller than even I.
Oh and it turned out that I was wrong, one of the horses was actually a female. I named her Nycteus, and as for the males I dubbed them Orphnaeus, Aethon, and Alastor. Unlike the others, Alastor had a white mane and tail, he also had long hairy white stockings, making him look like a Shire horse. From what I could tell, it seemed that the others treated him more like the leader of their little group.
Our next project was the Hall of Judgment where the souls would be judged. I had no plans to have some dead mortal kings judge the dead. I actually had eyes on two options, one was a Goddess and the other was a Titan.
A beautiful marble temple was built where the judge would judge the life of the dead. I took inspiration from the Egyptians and had a golden scale crafted that would sit in the middle of the room. My plan was that the life string that the Moirai cut would be used to weigh against a white lily that would represent purity and innocence.
For those who are judged to have committed too far of a grave crime will be consumed by my very own Ammit, now I had done some thinking and I had selected the perfect creature. The Pythagora!
Now what is the Pythagora? Well I am glad you asked, the Pythagora is a 70 foot long umbral python. I had taken an unhatched black whipsnake and I had infused the unborn snake with my divinity and using my dominion over souls, I rewrote the snake's entire physiology.
Now what do I mean by that? Well just as a program contains complex instructions and logic that define its functionality, a soul can be seen as the underlying essence or code that gives life, shaping thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
The problem was that I had to be careful or I could destroy the soul completely and create something I don't want, like a zombie or an eldritch horror that is hellbent on destroying the world.
It took me several tries and a waste of over a hundred snake eggs before I managed to get it right. Pythagora or Ophis as I took to call her, was placed in the temple where she coiled up to sleep.
Brontes and his brothers in the meantime had gotten to work on my castle. Selecting the largest mountain and the best materials they built this gothic black castle. They said that they wanted to build something that would suit the Lord of the Underworld. A stone pathway leads from the entrance of the castle and down the side of the mountain and connects to the stone streets that lead through Asphodel.
Inside, they spared no effort, their greatest creation was my throne room, they made a throne of black marble sitting it in front of an obsidian slab. Two large banners hung on each side of the throne with my symbol, the astronomy symbol of Pluto that I had shown to them.
The path from the throne to the great doors was covered with a long black carpet. Twenty large gothic pillars were placed on either side, banners hanging from them also bearing my symbol. lighting up the throne room were four large chandeliers.
Oh, I can already hear the complaints. "But Hades," you say, "you're in ancient Greece—way before electricity, chandeliers, or even basic plumbing!" Yeah, I know, I can practically hear your voices in my head. But here's the thing: they didn't have indoor plumbing, or parchment paper, or fountain pens either, did they? And yet, somehow, I managed to plant the idea in Brontes and his brothers' minds. The next thing you know, I've got electricity running through my castle, and I'm sitting pretty with all the modern comforts. Don't tell me it's impossible darling—I am a god after all.
☼
I had never feared pain.
That's what I told myself when I lay down on the stone table, staring up at the ceiling of Gyges' lab in Elysium. I had given them all places of their own and let them choose what they had wanted to be. It was the least I could do after they asked to stay in the Underworld with me
"Comfortable?" Gyges asked, towering over me with four eyes, four arms, and an unsettlingly cheerful smile.
"No," I said flatly. "Nor should I be."
Aegaeon grunted nearby, setting a tray of tools beside the table. Each tool was crafted from Adamantine and looked very creepo
I tried not to look too closely.
Aegaeon leaned into view next, his four arms working in synchronized motion to coat each scalpel, chisel, and prying hook in sterilized ichor. "There's still time to back out."
"I'm not backing out," I muttered.
"You're about to let us flay you open and rebuild you from the skeleton out," Gyges said. "Might be the one time backing out is the smart option."
I inhaled slowly through my nose and let the breath out through my teeth. "If I'm going to turn my bones into armor, into weapons, into something more… they can't stay as they are. My normal bones are way too fragile and break far too easily."
Aegaeon stepped beside me, holding a small flask. "Drink this."
"What is it?"
"Sedative. It'll shut down the mind and freeze pain. Nectar, mostly."
"Lovely," I muttered, then took the flask and downed it in two gulps.
The last thing I saw was the flickering ceiling.
The last thing I felt was my heart slowing, then—nothing.
—
The room dimmed.
Aegaeon's upper right hand touched Hades' wrist as he leaned over him, watching the slow ebb of his pulse. "He's out."
"Still breathing?" Gyges asked, his voice a low hum.
"For now. Start the stasis enchantments."
Gyges nodded. He stepped to the eastern wall and pressed his thick palm against the inscribed runes etched in black bone. Golden light spilled across the room as the glyphs lit — casting Hades' body in a gentle cocoon of suspended time.
"Vital field is stable," Gyges said. "Stasis is holding."
Aegaeon took a breath.
Then he picked up the scalpel.
"I'll begin the incision."
The first cut was clean — a single line down Hades' sternum, then branching outward in a Y-shape across the collarbones. The skin parted with gentle resistance, revealing pale muscle and the pearlescent shine of ribs beneath.
"Muscle density has increased since the last examination," Aegaeon muttered.
"He's growing stronger by the day," Gyges replied, laying out tools. "It's why he wants this done now — before his magic becomes too potent to tamper with."
They worked in silence for a moment, the sound of cutting flesh and the occasional hiss of cauterization echoing in the chamber.
As Aegaeon peeled back muscle and sinew, exposing the full ribcage, he whistled.
"Gods above… look at that."
Hades' bones shimmered faintly — a hint of his divine essence already bleeding into the marrow. They weren't like a mortal's anymore — but they weren't ready for what he wanted.
Gyges stepped beside him, carrying the replacement.
The artificial skeleton.
Crafted from Elder Dragon bone — twenty-five percent adamantine, fused with necro-steel, bathed in ambrosia and tempered in Tartarus flame.
They laid it beside the table.
It looked human. Barely. The joints were too seamless. The lines of the femurs are too elegant. The spinal column was segmented like a serpent, flexible and gleaming with inlaid runes.
It looked like a god's skeleton.
And now it had to become Hades'.
"Begin removal," Aegaeon said.
They started with the ribcage. Chisel and hammer. Quiet taps. Bits of inchor flicking across their aprons as they extracted each bone with surgical grace.
One rib cracked.
"Too dry," Gyges muttered. "Damn it."
He grabbed a vial of nectar and sprayed it across the chest cavity. The flesh pulsed. Stabilized.
"Left clavicle," Aegaeon said. "Dislocated. He's taken too many hits. We'll need to reinforce the shoulder later."
They continued. Spinal cord. Hip joints. Arms. Legs.
Piece by piece, they dismantled the God of the Underworld.
Gyges carefully placed each bone into a glass sarcophagus at the far end of the room, where Prometheus had said he would study them later.
Aegaeon guided the new skeleton into place — beginning with the spine. The runes flickered as they fused to what remained of Hades' nervous system, delicate filaments of silver light weaving through his muscles like lightning veins.
For a moment — nothing.
Then the body twitched.
"Stop," Aegaeon barked. "We've got feedback. Nerve shock."
Gyges grabbed the stabilizer wand and touched it to the exposed spine. A deep vibration rippled through the body. The twitching ceased.
"Wand's low on charge."
"Then pray it holds," Aegaeon muttered, replacing vertebrae with inhuman precision.
The chest cavity was next. They slotted in the ribs like puzzle pieces, clicking together with tiny pulses of light. As the heart settled back into place, it flickered once — like a broken drumbeat.
Then again.
Faster. Stronger.
"Heartbeat restored," Gyges said, eyes wide. "The body's accepting the skeleton."
They moved faster now. Shoulder sockets. Humerus. Radius. Ulna. Pelvis. Thighs. Knees. Ankles.
Finally — the skull.
Aegaeon lifted it delicately, almost reverently, before slotting it beneath the skin and closing the final seam with a line of golden thread.
The body shuddered.
Muscles pulsed.
Then, light — not bright, but slow. Pulsing. Radiating from beneath the skin like heat rising off coals.
"Integration complete," Gyges said softly.
They stood in silence, watching.
The room stank of ichor, sweat, metal, and old breath. But through it all, Hades lay still. Until—
A deep gasp.
They breathed a sigh of relief as they got to work cleaning up everything. WHen they were done they carried the young lord's body to his private chamber to rest.
Gyges scrubbed a hand through his hair. "He's alive."
Aegaeon nodded. "I am actually surprised that it ended up working this well, how do you think he will feel when he wakes up?"
Gyges glanced down at the quiet god. "Oh he is going to be in so much pain."
They turned and left the chamber, the door sliding shut behind them with a soft hiss.