"Why do you not have records in the Underworld?"

Asked Hades, the king of the Underworld.

Asche blinked twice. She was confused for a moment, but she quickly realized what the god meant. Probably her record in the living and her record on the dead.

'How would I know that?'

"What do you mean...? Did you lose it---"

Hades raised his brows.

"Do you think we will lose something important?" Asked Thanatos who was staring at her with a blank expression on his face. "That will never happen, not in a million years."

Asche stared at Hades and Thanatos.

"I mean... Underworld is such a busy place, with a lot of overworked employees-- ahem, I mean overworked individuals. It must've been too tiring to handle those souls, it won't be illogical if you guys lost it..."

Both gods stared at Asche with a piercing gaze. How could this Nymph assume that they will lose something important because they are overworked?

They have been working in the underworld since the gods defeated the Titans!

They worked...

Whole day...

With no breaks...

And yes they are overworked...

Thanatos suddenly glanced at his lord upon realizing something. Meanwhile, Hades suddenly fell into deep thoughts.

'Did we lose it?'

That is what they were both thinking.

Hades cleared his throat and snapped his fingers. Three cups of tea from the mortal realm suddenly appeared in front of them, he quickly took his cup and gobbled to calm his nerves.

"Losing such important records will never happen under my rule, never, that's why you should not evade my question, Nymph."

'He sounds in denial'

Asche sighed and scratched her hair.

"I don't really know... How would I know when I don't work in the underworld?" She mumbled. "And what type of record were you talking about...?"

"The living and the dead," Thanatos answered. "You don't have any records of your birth, and now... your death. When I took your soul, your death record should have appeared in the Book of the Dead, but it didn't."

Asche sighs.

So, she is really dead huh?

She's hoping that Hephaestus will just do fine in the world of the living. Thinking about Hera and Artemis, they will surely be sad and furious about her death, but they will immediately move on.

They should bury her body in a warm and sunny place.

Well, it's not like they will come here to take her back, right?

"But how come? I was born out of Demeter's breath, Artemis was there when it happened," Asche mumbled. "The other nymphs were also there as my witness. We can also go to goddess Demeter to prove it..."

"Demeter...?"

Asche raised her head when she noticed the frown on Hades' head upon mentioning the name of his mother-in-law and his sister.

Right, in Greek mythology, Hades who kidnapped Persephone faced the disapproval of Persephone's mother when she finally fell in love with him, and up until now, Goddess Demeter is still showing her disapproval of their marriage.

Because of this, Persephone had to stay with her mother for 6 months each year, and another 6 months with Hades. This phenomenon caused the birth of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

Oh, Winter, that good child.

Asche thought.

Demeter had a point tho, would you let your daughter be with the man who kidnapped her? Asche will personally disagree with that too... Girls shouldn't fantasize about being kidnapped... (She's correct, but girl, you were kidnapped too, lolz °^°)

Hades shook his head.

"You want me to approach Demeter for your evidence?" Hades asked.

Asche paused and scratched her head again.

"For the sake of investigation? Underworld is fair, right?" Asche mumbled in an awkward voice. "Right?"

Hades frowned and glanced at Thanatos.

"You go," Hades told Death.

Thanatos, who was about to drink his tea stopped and glanced over his master.

"My lord? Pardon?" Thanatos replied.

"I said go to Demeter and investigate," Hades told him.

"My lord... We can directly ask her using your contact with your wife..." Thanatos replied. "Right now..."

"I said go, my contact with my wife is only for my wife."

Asche glanced at Thanatos and Hades who both didn't want to have a conversation with goddess Demeter.

'Geez, they don't want to face the fierce mother-in-law huh?'

Asche thought.

Thanatos frowned as he placed his teacup on the table and he vanished into thin air. Now, only Hades and Asche were left on the table, drinking tea.

"So... Uh... Lord Hades, what will happen to me now?" Asche asked.

Hades sighed and crossed his arms.

"Since you are an unidentified soul, I can not decide which part of the underworld you should stay," Hades answered before staring at the dead flowers on a pot.

"I see..." Asche mumbled to herself. "Can I still go back to the world of the living...?"

Asche asked with a hopeful voice.

"You can," Hades replied which widened Asche's eyes. "However, only after we identify who you are."

Hades quietly stood up and walked towards the window of his castle. His eyes went to the souls down there, who were either waiting to be judged or asking for justice.

"This is the first time it happened to the underworld. Every soul no matter how insignificant their existence was will always have their own record here in the underworld," Hades told her. "Even the souls who tricked death, have own their records."

Asche listened carefully to Hades. She somehow felt nervous while listening to this.

It was as if he knew something about her...

It wouldn't be a surprise, after all, Hades rules the dead. Even if her soul came from another dimension or universe, she's still a soul...

Hades can probably sense the difference in her soul.

"It's either you are a God who cannot be touched by death, or your soul simply does not exist here..."

Asche paused at that statement. When she raised her raised, she quickly noticed the glowing orbs of the god. It was as if she was staring directly into Tartarus.

"Who are you and where did you come from?" Hades asked with his cold and stern voice.

"You are not from this world---"

"My love, what are you doing?"

Hades suddenly paused when he heard a familiar voice.

Persephone?

His eyes went wide when he saw his wife who was supposed to come back at fall with Demeter who had a frown on her forehead.

What are they doing in the underworld?

"My lord, I brought your wife, and Goddess Demeter, for this investigation."

Asche doesn't know if Thanatos was being sarcastic at this moment.

•••••••••••

Hai hai, this is the first update for February, and hoping that this is not the only update for this month 😆

Anyway, I published a short story called 'I know where my Mom is' so if you are interested, you can look for it in my account...