Greek Mythology: Evolution from the Gargoyle

A little earlier.

In the Temple of Hades.

The gods have left.

The king sat in the darkness, silent, just as he had for thousands of years.

Next to the throne, a shadow boiled.

Persephone, just stepped into it.

"..." Zagreos remained motionless, staring at the shadow.

"Hee hee hee hee hee hee!"

"Brother~~~Brother~~~Why don't you~~~ go in~~~" Melinoe, the goddess of conspiracy and ghosts, circled Zagreos and kept flying.

"Queen of the Underworld~~I love you so much~~It really makes me~~jealous~~"

"You go in~~Let the Queen of Hades~~continue to love you~~"

"Hahahaha!"

"That's enough." Zagreos turned his head and grabbed Melinoe's neck.

"My dear sister, do not trouble my heart any more."

Brush - Melinoe's whole body erupted with divine light. She transformed from a physical state into a pure ghost state, and easily escaped from Zagreos' hand.

"Brother is so rough~"

"I~~ don't like it!"

She flew aside and cursed Zagreos under her breath.

"Let the maggots bite you~!"

"Rotten into blood-red flesh~!"

"Finally turned into bones~!"

"he he he he he!"

Zagreos acted as if he hadn't heard and ignored her.

He continued to stare into the seething shadow.

"My mother of gods..."

"She has been beautiful, majestic, and powerful since I can remember."

"My Godfather has not spoken for a long time. She single-handedly rules the underworld."

"I respect and love her so much..."

Zagreos's face instantly turned pale.

"Why...do I feel fear?"

"I don't want to step into that shadow at all!"

"I don't want to meet my God Mother at all!"

"why is that?!"

"Why do I have such a premonition..."

In the distance, Melinoe looked at Zagreos' painful appearance and smiled ferociously.

She trembled and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Hee hee hee hee hee hee……"

"My dear brother, come in quickly...hehe..."

"Let the underworld be once again colored with uneasiness and taboo... Hehe..."

Zagreos stood there for a long time, and finally he took a deep breath.

"In any case, the Mother of Gods asked me to go into the shadows to find her."

"I must go."

He gritted his teeth and walked into it.

brush--

He stepped through the shadows and came to a gorgeous palace.

"This is...the palace of the Mother of Gods."

Zagreos looked around with a look of surprise on his face.

Persephone's palace is located in the deepest part of the Temple of Hades and is made of dark rocks.

There was a huge black diamond floating in the air in the palace, emitting a cold light and illuminating every dark corner in the palace.

The ground is covered with precious black gems from the earth and the River Styx.

The interior of the palace is gorgeous and desolate, with five murals in bright colors hanging on the walls.

What is depicted is death.

In a mural, a male lion fell to the ground under siege by ferocious beasts, its eyes still burning with unwilling flames, and scarlet blood flowing from the corners of its mouth.

A mural shows a group of antelopes being chased by cheetahs, one of which has fallen to the ground. It is not dead yet, but death is destined to come to it.

In a mural, a white lark spread its wings and was about to fly, but it was tightly entangled in bright red thorns, and its white feathers were dyed red with blood.

A mural, a dark river flows quietly, with countless corpses of creatures floating on the river, some have begun to decay, and some still maintain their last expressions in life, swimming peacefully towards the dark country.

In the mural in the center, a young and beautiful woman collapsed on the steps of the dormitory. Her eyes were dull, her face was as white as paper, and the clothes on her chest were soaked in blood.

Her screams and wails before her death seemed to be echoing around her, but silence finally won, and only death acted arbitrarily in this space.

That woman looked exactly like the Queen of Hades.

"My mother would actually hang such a mural..."

Looking at the mural, Zagreos's heart moved, as if a dagger had been stabbed into his heart. He felt cold all over his body and extremely uncomfortable.

It was also his first time to visit the Queen's palace.

In the center of the dormitory is a huge black bed. Chains and sharp knives hang from it, declaring that the Queen of the Underworld and death are eternal companions, even in dreams.

Beside the black bed stands the throne of the Queen of Hades.

Behind the throne stands a huge black skeletal statue with snakes and bats entwined around it.

The Queen of Hades was sitting in the throne, watching Zagreos quietly.

Her face is beautiful and deadly, like a black lotus blooming in the winter.

There was a cold light in her eyes, and when she was stared at by those eyes, it was as if she was being dissolved little by little, into the eternal night.

"Mother of Gods. May your existence be as eternal as your death."

Zagreos knelt down on one knee, his heart beating wildly and feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"My beloved son. Please get up."

Zagreos stood up and saw the Queen of Hades gently raising her hand, showing the white back of her hand.

This was for him to go over and kiss the back of her hand.

"No……"

Zagreos felt that his blood was boiling, and his body was about to explode due to discomfort.

"No...my God Mother...I...I can't..."

"Ha. Don't you even dare to kiss the back of your mother's hand, son of the underworld?"

A cold light flashed in Persephone's eyes, and then passed away.

"Don't be nervous. I asked you to come here just to prepare for the cruel battle that will follow."

"That's it...that's all?" Zagreos thought to himself.

Persephone said quietly: "In a hundred days, you have a small chance of winning in the battle with that powerful dragon."

Zagreos raised his head and stared at Hades.

"Ten percent."

Persephone smiled and said, "Ten percent."

"It is because of trust that deception is easy to succeed."

"And mothers are always the easiest to be deceived by their sons."

"I'll ask you again, what are your chances of winning?"

"..."

Zagreos was speechless for a moment.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Seventy percent."

"Seventy percent..." The Queen of Hades raised her eyes and stared into the distance.

"My favorite son, you bear the future of the underworld. That is your glory, your destiny, and your shackles."

"Don't let those shackles tie your heart."

"For the last time, let's be honest. A few percent."

"!!!" Zagreos was shocked.

After a long time, he said slowly.

"Sixty percent."

"Queen of Hades, I'm not lying hypocritically. This is what I really think."

"I don't need to use the source of my divine power to defeat Naji."

"I am the strongest among the new generation of gods in the underworld!"

"Even Thanatos, I can fight him!"

The Queen of Hades nodded gently, "Yes."

"But that giant dragon did not use the source of its divine power in the battle with the three-headed dog of hell."

"That doesn't matter!" Zagreos suddenly roared, "The three-headed hell dog, that weak beast!"

"It is not qualified to guard the gate of the underworld!"

"There is no glory in defeating that beast!"

"Ha." Persephone smiled and said softly.

"My favorite son. You know what?"

"I predict that you have a slight chance of winning in the battle with that dragon."

Before Zagreos could answer, she said softly.

"Less than 20%."