Chapter 84: Persephone (9)
‘What should I get? I hope it’s something shiny… like a sparkling jewel.’
At that time, young Persephone had no real concept of what a divine authority truly was.
To her, a god’s authority was nothing more than:
A shiny treasure
Something pretty like a gemstone
A symbolic “bond” tying her to Poseidon
She at least knew it was something engraved into the soul—
But that was about all.
Looking at Persephone, who was practically vibrating from excitement, Poseidon and Demeter could only sigh.
The problem was simple:
Poseidon didn’t have any “light” or harmless divine authorities he could give to a child.
Every divine authority he possessed was too powerful, too vast in influence,
And far too dangerous to bestow lightly—especially on a kid.
So Demeter stepped in.
“Persephone, dear. Uncle Poseidon says he has nothing he can safely give you. So how about this—your mother will share one of hers instead? I even have a power that lets you create all the gemstones you love.”
“…….”
Persephone didn’t even look at her mother.
Anything from her mother had zero meaning in this moment.
Seeing that reaction, both Poseidon and Demeter shared an awkward, troubled expression.
At this point even Persephone began to slowly grasp the situation:
Uncle Poseidon… Didn’t want to give her a divine authority.
And that could only mean one thing:
“UWAAAAAAH! So you’re ABANDONING me!!?”
UWAAAAAAHHHH!!
“It’s because Mom nagged you, isn’t it!! It’s ALL because she nagged you!!”
Her wails exploded across the meadow.
The sound was so loud birds burst from the trees, And the sheep grazing nearby bolted back to their pens in terror.
Waaaaah!!
“You—you! Didn’t I tell you not to throw tantrums!? You’re not a baby anymore!”
Demeter scolded her sharply, But Persephone’s tears wouldn’t stop.
Because in her mind, her father—
Her real father—
Was rejecting her.
There was no way she would stop crying easily.
Watching the scene, Demeter sighed heavily and waved Poseidon away.
“Just go. She’ll forget about this in a little while.”
“Snnf… sniff! This is all because Mom nagged you…!!! Don’t go!!”
Persephone shrieked and wrapped herself around Poseidon’s leg, clinging fiercely.
Her way of saying: I won’t let you escape.
Poseidon understood the gesture instantly and let out a strained smile.
Demeter tried to pry Persephone off him, apologizing rapidly between tugs.
“I’m sorry. You already have so much on your shoulders, and… If I’d known this would happen, I never would have asked you for help raising her. I’m really sorry.”
“Well, what can you do? Kids just… really like me for some reason. Hahaha.”
“You’re LAUGHING right now!?”
“Wait, wait—don’t get mad. Let’s calm her down first.”
Poseidon lifted the now-hoarse Persephone into his arms.
Her cries had become ragged little gasps.
Then he created a beautiful rose of glittering blue ice in his palm.
“Here. A gift for a princess.”
Waaah— hic!
Still sniffling, Persephone peeked out from his chest and involuntarily gasped at the delicate icy flower.
Then, realizing she’d just reacted, she quickly shoved her face back into his chest.
Because what if he used the flower to distract her and run away?
“Haaah… How is a child this stubborn?”
“She gets it from you.”
“…Do you have a death wish?”
Poseidon quickly changed the subject before Demeter could kill him.
“Anyway—this is something only princesses are allowed to have. You know that, right?”
“???”
As Poseidon spoke, the icy rose resting on his palm began to glow—
A vivid, radiant red light spilled out from within.
The light shifted, reshaping itself into jewels, then stars, then circles, then unicorn motifs—
All the shapes Persephone adored—
Before finally settling and sinking into the icy rose…
Transforming it into a red crown.
Persephone, still burying her face in Poseidon’s chest, peeked up instinctively.
And she froze.
The sight was so enchanting that she forgot to cry, Forgot to breathe, Forgot everything except the shimmering crown.
To Persephone, the scene looked exactly like:
—A crown worn by the princesses in the bedtime fairy tales Poseidon had read to her.
More importantly…
Her mother, Demeter, didn’t have anything like this.
“Woooow! It’s like the stars turned into a crown!”
Poseidon chuckled.
From crying her lungs out one moment to laughing like an angel the next— Kids were kids, even if they were gods.
He finished shaping the crown.
The absorbed red light wove through the ice petals, Forming a delicate rose-themed tiara.
Then, like a blossoming bud, it took on the exact design Persephone loved most:
A dainty, sparkling princess tiara.
And soon, the work was complete.
“Now then, princess—please bow your head.”
Persephone stared, mesmerized. Her loud tomboy bawling vanished as though it never existed.
Instead, she lifted her skirt hem daintily and tilted her head like a fairytale princess.
“…Yes…”
Demeter let out a laugh despite herself.
So much for claiming she didn’t care about girlish things.
When Poseidon set the crown on Persephone’s head, It flashed brilliantly—
And then connected to her with a thin thread of light.
Wuuuuung—
Delicate strands of crimson traced across her skin, Before sinking fully into her body.
“You— don’t tell me…?”
Demeter choked, horrified.
But Poseidon ignored her and asked Persephone:
“So? Now you know I’m not abandoning you, right?”
With Poseidon’s mischievous grin, Persephone broke into the exact same grin and shouted at the top of her lungs:
“Yeah!!!”
***
“So that crown back then… Was actually imbued with the divine authority of ‘Mother of Monsters’?”
“That’s right.”
“…You lunatic.”
Hecate cursed before she could stop herself.
Giving a child a tantrum-triggered weapon of mass destruction? That was insanity.
Understanding her frustration, Hestia soothed the goddess gently.
“Don’t be too harsh. We added several safeguards. And that child already had a prophecy tied to the Mother of Monsters—like Echidna.”
Most gods didn’t know the prophecy— It was too ominous to spread— But Gaia had spoken the moment she first saw Persephone:
[This child will someday succeed Poseidon.]
When this prophecy circulated among the few who heard it, chaos erupted.
Triton and Charybdis existed already— Yet suddenly a daughter of Zeus was destined to inherit the mantle of the Sea?
—“Zeus’s children always ruin every prophecy…”
—“Iris, look into it more closely. It’s strange Gaia only dropped a prophecy and left.”
—“Hmph. I wasn’t planning to raise her as Zeus’s child anyway.”
—“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
All speculation finally ended when Clotho, one of the Fates, visited Poseidon.
“This child is the one who will inherit the power of Tiamat— A ‘Mother of Monsters’ like Echidna.”
“…Huh?”
“You didn’t know? She is the only daughter of the earth who can inherit a divine authority that should have belonged solely to the gods of the sea.”
“How is that even possible?”
“I cannot tell you that. I only came because… one day, Poseidon, I hope you choose correctly—follow your heart.”
“……”
Hearing Clotho’s words, Poseidon realized something immediately:
Gaia had deliberately withheld the explanation from him.
It was her idea of a joke.
Afterward, he shared what he’d learned with the few gods who knew the prophecy.
“I see… so even you didn’t know that part.”
“Well, of course. That prophecy about Persephone was told to no one except a handful of siblings. It was too dangerous. And Zeus—after what happened with Metis—was especially paranoid.”
Hestia chuckled, remembering how anxious Zeus had been at the time.
Hecate finally nodded in understanding.
And with that, she understood Hades’s motives too.
If Persephone could inherit a divine authority like Echidna’s, Then if she ever bore a child…
The resulting deity would be unimaginably powerful.
That alone explained why Hades wanted her.
“So, Lord Poseidon… what will you do? Your… daughter-like child has been kidnapped.”
“……”
Poseidon remained silent for a moment, then made up his mind.
“I need to go to Demeter. She’ll be angrier than anyone right now.”
Hestia nodded, but Hecate frowned.
“You’re not worried about Persephone herself? She must be suffering. The Underworld is not a gentle place.”
Hecate’s concern was valid.
But there was one thing she didn’t know:
Persephone hadn’t just received one gift from Poseidon.
She had received several.
***
“Unbelievable… Poseidon actually gave her something like that?”
Before Hades now lay a landscape not belonging to him:
Nyx’s Underworld.
Or more specifically, a portion of it—A field known as the Western Flower Garden.
“This… the Western Flower Garden…”
This place was not part of Hades’s Underworld at all.
Ordinary Underworld territory was created from the bodies and powers of the primordial gods Tartarus and Erebus.
The realm of the dead, as mortals understood it, was built upon these two.
Hades now ruled over that Underworld—
But there were exceptions.
One exception was the domain of Nyx, sister of Erebus and goddess of night and shadows.
Nyx did not sleep like Tartarus and Erebus—she watched everything silently.
A primordial, second only to Gaia.
Thus, Nyx’s hell-realm was usually governed by Nyx herself or by her children.
And despite being called “hell,” it wasn’t a punishment ground for ordinary souls:
It was instead the dwelling place of rare beasts, materials, and artifacts—
So valuable that Poseidon often used it as an item farming zone.
Among all realms under Nyx, only one place had a formally recognized owner:
The Western Flower Garden—owned by Poseidon.
How Poseidon gained ownership was unknown to almost everyone, Hades included.
“I see. What a shame for you. I happen to be the keeper of this garden.”
“…Persephone.”
Hades sighed.
“Listen. I’m not asking for much. I only want a child—born from you and me— One powerful enough to rival Poseidon or Zeus. You don’t need to live down here forever. But I know Zeus’s daughter would never willingly help me dethrone Zeus.”
Persephone blinked, then froze.
There were so many things wrong with that statement that she didn’t know where to start.
‘Zeus is… my father? But it was Uncle Poseidon who raised me, shaped me, took care of me.’
‘And he wants a child as strong as Zeus or Uncle Poseidon? Isn’t that… weird?’
On top of that, she privately thought:
‘Even if the Underworld and Olympus went to war, it wouldn’t really have anything to do with me… right?’
But she didn’t say that aloud.
For all she knew, her mother Demeter might like Zeus.
After all…
‘She asked me to search for Typhon’s traces. Maybe she really does care about him…?’
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