Chapter 9 - Call Me Kore

Chapter 9 – Call Me Kore

The girl dithered slightly. “Oh… Tartarus is that scary? Are there that many monsters down there? Have you ever seen a giant, Hades?”

“Even I don’t want to step into a place that is deeper than the abyss and has unending darkness that no god can reach. The essence is that it is just a deep pit. It has become a horrifying place because it’s full of trapped souls. It’s been a long time since it’s been used to wipe the earth of its insipid things.” It was a more cynical sentiment than before. Hades’ stare fell on the speechless girl.

Persephone, her head bent down and hands clasped around each other, asked, “Do you hate the gods of Olympus?”

“You know about my relationship with them?”

“A little.”

“If it were you, what do you think you would do?”

She just shrugged as she couldn’t imagine what she would have done.

“I don’t like them. That’s a fact. But they’re not worth hating. It’s been a long time since the earth and the underground were divided. It’s true that if Zeus didn’t cause all kinds of headaches, I won’t have much to do with them.”

“Why?”

“Being in this place for so long, the earth and sky have become irrelevant to me. Sometimes, I even feel more compassion for them.”

“I see.” She nodded as she pondered over what he had said.

With his waist leaning toward her, Hades returned to his initial warm tone.

“There’s something you want to say, isn’t there?”

“No, not quite.” Persephone shook her head as her lips pressed into a smile.

An uncomfortable feeling swamped her desire to say what she wanted to say. Persephone knew that Hades once joined the Titanomachy  and that he was pushed down to the underworld by the other gods. Looking back, it had been a long time since the earth and underground were divided, and her mother had never shown any affection for the underworld, so the same would be true for Hades. What would Hades think if he found out that she was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter?

“And I didn’t even ask, what’s your name?” He lightly shook his head over how foolish that was.

“Oh…name?” She pointed her finger at herself “My name?”

“That’s what I said.” He breathed out a laugh.

“It’s N-Niasis”

“Niasis?”

“I’m a river nymph.”

Hades tilted his head at her unpleasant tone, then tested her name out on his tongue. Persephone, who had blurted out the name ‘Niasis’ in the spur of the moment, curled her toes.

“Kore.” She nervously intervened Hades’s deep thought.

“Kore?”

“Please call me Kore.”

With raised eyebrows, Hades leaned back as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Virgin? You want to be called that?”

“It’s my nickname, but I like it better. Much better than…Niasis.”

“You really are special. I guessed that why you annoyed Kharon.”

Hades, still brooding over the nickname Kore, turned to the distant river lost in thought. Persephone shifted her eyes, following his actions to see what was going on, suddenly felt a weak rumble from the ground accompanied by animal sounds roaring into the air.

“Did that noise come from over there?”

“The prisoners in Tartarus complain often.” This so-called complain was too generous a roar. As Persephone was about to open her mouth, Hades, who was staring far across the river, said without a glance, “It’s chaotic.”

“What’s going on?”

“Girl, didn’t I ask you why you were roaming around the edge of the underworld and try to reason with you to go back?”

“Yes but-”

“It’s time for Phoibos to get up soon, so you should go back to where you’re staying. No matter where you hide, this place doesn’t fit you.”

“Well, then will we meet again next time?”

Hades, who was half-turned to her, let out a low laugh.

“I’ll come to see you again, Hades.”

“There’ll be no point.”

“I’ll be waiting for you to come to look for me.”

After a moment of silence, Hades walked up to her and straightened out her cloak. Persephone’s eyes followed the movement of his hands as her heart threatened to bet out of her chest. His hands pulled and tugged, knotting her cloak neatly again. She couldn’t have been more attentive to the god of death hovering over her head.

“Death and wealth follow my tracks. Do you know why the two of them are together?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Death, once captured, won’t let anything be locked inside. What should be feared is not death coming to you, but what it will take away from you.”

She just guilelessly stared at the man.

“If you are innocent enough that nothing of the underworld scares you, it would be more appropriate to roam the paradise in the sky than this dark abyss.” With a thin smile painted on his face, Hades patted her on the head, his fingers lingering on her hair for a long second and returned to himself; turning his body to the rocks below.

“If you walk straight in the direction of that enormous tree over there, you’ll reach Acheron. Since you’re going back the way you came, you can find your way back.”

“Hades, you’re really like a father.”

Upon hearing this, Hades twisted to look at the girl in shock.

“I don’t have a father, that is. You are like a father figure. I hope to see you soon. Even though you said there would be no point, I’ll be waiting.”

Hades looked at the girl for a long time, who wouldn’t listen to a word he said; he turned around and headed down the path in the rocks. Persephone blatantly stared at his back until he was out of her sight. Her neck, the place where death had grazed her, was warm.