The next morning, the mansion stirred to life in its usual way, soft footsteps echoing. In one of those shadow-lined corridors, Helios stood waiting, dressed and composed despite the weariness still tugging at his limbs. Kurai arrived first, as silent as a shadow, dressed in her usual black. Then came Skuld, slightly hesitant but composed, her expression carefully neutral.

Helios eyed the two of them as they approached, already sensing the tension crackling in the air like static before a storm.

Kurai glanced at Skuld with her usual frosty disdain. "Why are you coming?" she asked, her voice devoid of curiosity, only judgment.

Skuld met her stare evenly, tone as cold as the air around them. "Because if either of you gets hurt, someone has to patch you up. And more people means a better chance if something goes wrong."

"More liabilities, you mean," Kurai said flatly.

Helios sighed, already regretting not bringing earplugs. "Can we not do this now? You two clearly hate each other. Just pretend the other doesn't exist for the duration of the mission. It'll be better for all of us."

They didn't respond, but their mutual glares promised future battles in the form of passive aggression and cold shoulders. Helios could only shake his head. The animosity had been simmering ever since they met. It wasn't just personality clashes. Kurai, born of darkness, seemed naturally repelled by Skuld's blinding light. Skuld, in turn, clearly found Kurai's presence unnatural and discomforting. The more Kurai sneered, the colder Skuld became, and the loop continued endlessly.

What puzzled Helios, however, was Skuld's insistence on joining them. She had all but demanded to come. Though she gave her reasons, Helios suspected something more personal lay beneath. He remembered her expression when he had casually mentioned returning her to Aqua after the mission. She had looked hurt, genuinely hurt, as if he'd just driven a dagger into her chest. The fear of being left behind, of being forgotten again, must have weighed heavily on her. And perhaps that fear now compelled her to stay close, no matter how much Kurai's presence grated on her.

Helios pushed those thoughts aside as he opened the corridor of darkness.

The swirling dark portal loomed before them like the maw of an ancient beast, but none of them hesitated. They stepped through, swallowed by the cold embrace of shadow.

They emerged outside the gates of the Underworld.

Helios blinked at the sight before him. The change was instant and undeniable. Where once the land was covered in bleak grays and black, followed by volcanic rocks with a green river under an errie green sky, now the terrain shimmered with unsettling hues of violet and deep indigo. The air crackled with latent magic. The towering gates remained, but they were now etched with strange glyphs that pulsed faintly like veins filled with starlight.

"Well," Helios muttered. "It definitely has a new ruler."

The Underworld had changed to reflect its new master—or better yet mistress.

The floor beneath their feet was no longer scorched stone but dark obsidian laced with glowing cracks that pulsed with an eerie rhythm, as if the land itself was alive. Wailing spirits no longer floated aimlessly but moved in synchronized paths, whispering prayers or curses in languages long lost. Floating crystal lanterns cast a cold, surreal glow, illuminating their path forward. The rivers no longer green and filled with souls; they shimmered like liquid night, flowing quietly under arching bridges made of bone and blackened ivy.

Statues of Hecate now stood at intervals along the path—tall, regal, with three faces and six arms, each bearing a different tool: a torch, a dagger, a key, a scroll, a crown, and a staff. Helios wondered if this was her true form compared to her normal dark indigo hair with a lighter blue streak in it, pink skin, and wearing a blue headdress. She wears a blue dress, cape, and armbands on both wrists.

Skuld looked around, visibly unnerved. "This place… it's like the darkness has receded."

Kurai exhaled slowly. "It's just cleaner than before. The amount of darkness is the same; the only difference is that Hecate has order, even if it's oppressive."

Helios nodded, observing a procession of spectral guards marching along a distant ledge. "I wouldn't say I like it better, but it is more… composed. Less chaotic."

The three walked in silence through the twisting paths, moving deeper toward the heart of the Underworld. As they approached the grand central citadel, they passed through a hallway of soul crystals, walls lined with glowing orbs that seemed to watch them with unseen eyes. It looked like Hecate stored the memory of every soul that passed through these lands here—a living archive of death.

"We should be careful," Skuld whispered, hugging herself.

"We always are," Helios replied.

At last, they reached the entrance to Hecate's new throne room. The doors were immense, crafted of polished obsidian and layered with enchanted runes that shimmered with both ancient and recent power. Two guards flanked the gate—creatures resembling tall, armored wraiths with skeletal faces and ethereal weapons pulsing with energy.

Helios stepped forward and announced their arrival.

"Helios, Kurai, and Skuld. We've come to speak with Lady Hecate."

One of the wraiths nodded and stepped aside. The doors opened slowly, and a wave of cold magic spilled out like a gust of frozen wind.

The throne room was vast, an eerie cathedral of shadow and starlight. Glowing constellations danced along the vaulted ceiling, and beneath them sat Hecate herself. Draped in deep sapphire and black, her three faces all turned to them in perfect synchronization. Her indigo hair drifted like ink in water, and her many arms rested on the arms of a throne forged from skeletal remains and cosmic ore.

She smiled—all three of her faces. "Welcome back, children. Have you come to claim your prize?"

Helios stepped forward. "Yes, we have. We hope you're able to keep your word, Lady Hecate."