After Elmar came back from the short walk to the tiger cubs, he was met with a stone faced Hades and a chipper Persephone. Rozimer was absent and that made Elmar worry all the more.

“I will not take my words back,” said Elmar as he tried to walk past Hades.

“And I don’t expect you to. I have a solution for all your problems, but we need to go now,” said Hades, a hand gripping Elmar’s arm.

“Your father is going to bend the rules for you! Isn’t he wonderful, dear?” Exclaimed Persephone. Hades smiled at that, and that made Elmar frown.

“What scheme have you come up with now?” Asked Elmar. He shook his head and made a couple of steps towards the entrance of the house.

“I will walk you through the underworld and when we come back to the surface, you will be alive and human again,” said Hades.

Elmar’s face turned red with rage. He jabbed his father’s chest with a finger.

“You watched me put myself through pain, and yet you decided to get me to become a human now? Do you have any idea…”

“I do. I am a shape-shifter too, remember? A neat little skill. You should keep at it. Now, be a good boy and blink,” Elmar didn’t want to, but he did so anyway. Then, he was in the land of plenty again and Hades was wearing the guise of a rabbit with shark teeth once more.

“The gate we have to pass through is over there,” Hades pointed in the distance. There was something glimmering there, but Elmar couldn’t make out what it was.

Then Hades turned his back to him and took his hand. He tugged and they were moving. Pictures flashed before Elmar’s eyes. Of his life and time as a Lich. Even of the small-time in-between when he had been dead.

Then other images flashed. Of Hades and Persephone happy, sad and everything in between.

“Why do I see this?” Asked Elmar, but Hades did not answer. He kept tugging him ever forward. Then, Elmar’s shoes disappeared, and he could feel the grass beneath his feet as if it was cut glass.

“Ouch! We have to stop. What are you playing at?” Asked Elmar. He looked down and saw that his feet were covered in blood. Then, when a cloud passed over them, the shadow it cast showed Elmar in his shoes, intact, and without any traces of blood on them.

“This is all an illusion. And you can’t speak. That would break the ritual,” said Elmar. One of Hades’ ears twitched, and that was all the confirmation the boy needed.

“Then I will keep quiet too, no matter what happens,” said Elmar, and he stilled his emotions. He found, moments later, that the illusions couldn’t ensnarl him so easily if he tried to ignore them.

But they still succeeded from time to time. A dog ran to Elmar and bit into his foot, growling. Elmar kept silent and continued forward. The only thing that could show that he was affected was him squeezing Hades’ paw.

A whimper escaped Elmar when he saw the souls of the dead. They were beckoning him to come to them. Something in him wanted to go, but a bigger part was afraid.

The spirits marched behind the duo, and they threw insults at Hades. The deity took them with his chin held up. Not once did he stop. Elmar felt admiration for the man then.

When they passed a pond, Elmar could see slimes resting by its edge. They moved, far quicker than any slime had the right to, and coated the earth with slime. Elmar was like glued to the ground for a minute.

Hades held his hand for the whole time, not once looking back. Then a cloud passed over them and the illusion, spirits, slimes and pond, was dispelled. They kept moving and finally, after what felt like days, they reached a door.

It was a shabby thing. With rotten hinges and a half-eaten doorknob. He could hear growling from behind it, and he wondered if the door could hold whatever was on the other side.

Then Hades opened the door calmly, and stepped through. Cold spread through Elmar. Cold and fear. Had Hades lied, again? Was he leading him into the underworld, the real one, not this illusion?

In the end, it all boiled down to trust. Persephone might want him to become a permanent resident of the underworld, but the boy liked to believe that she would be hurt to see her last living son die for true.

And then there was Hades. He played games, but he played by the rules. Would he doom Elmar for a rule? Certainly. But then, Elmar was tired. And he wanted to avoid being a Lich anymore.

He was sick of eating bugs, and he wanted to see his friends at the Swamp Heaven inn again. Even Lucius, who was a bit too haughty at times, but meant well.

Gulping down his fear, Elmar walked through the door. He blinked, and then he was in Rozimer’s hut. Persephone was clutching her sides and crying. But she was happy, too. So happy that Elmar thought she was the most beautiful being in this world. This mother of his.

Warm arms embraced him and he returned the gesture. He turned to look at Hades, who was human again. The deity looked remorseful and like he wanted to join in on the hug, but felt like he wasn’t welcomed.

Then Elmar did the hardest thing he had ever done. He extended his arm towards Hades and uttered a single word.

“Father,” Hades was in the hug pile in seconds. A chuckle broke out of him, from somewhere deep in his chest, and then he broke out in a relived laugh.

They heard clapping and loud nose blowing. As one, the family turned to see Rozimer at the base of the stairs.

“I am so writing a book about this. Although, few would believe that the great Hades is a family man,” and then he rushed to them and included himself in the hug pile, albeit uninvited.