The long dark trek through the skies of Helheim proved as uneventful as one might expect. The wind whipped past the chariot with enough ferocity and freezing power to flash freeze a man in a few seconds. Within the confines of the chariot, however, it was merely unpleasant to the point of barely avoiding frostbite.

Time seemed to stretch onward into infinity as there was no way to pass the time other than to stare at the scenery. Unfortunately, the darkness obscured much of it and what was left amounted to a frozen hell. Other than the occasional gleaming ice sculpture that once was a living being, there was nothing but snow and desolation.

Eventually, they drove down from the sky and landed on a particularly flat patch of permafrost. Hades reached into a bag at his side and pulled out a shining bit of crystal. “We will remain here for a time to rest.”

“Won’t we freeze if we leave the chariot?” asked Scott.

“Perhaps,” said Hades. “However, I have a means to prevent that.”

He showed Scott the little crystal in his hand. While a blue screen did not appear, he did receive sudden insight into what the item happened to be. “A crystalized tear of Persephone…?”

“Yes. She is the goddess of spring rebirth,” said Hades. “As you know but may not remember… she is a living embodiment of that concept. Her tears are like unto the season of spring itself.”

“What did you do to make her cry, though?” asked Scott.

Hades coughed into his fist then said, “One does not have to be unhappy to cry… there are other ways to bring tears to someone’s eyes.”

It wasn’t an answer, but Scott accepted it. There was no reason to press the issue.

Tear in hand, Hades stepped down from the chariot then took a few steps forward. Even he began to slow down almost immediately. The bitter cold in this place was of a primordial nature. Even the first gods in creation were not immune. Only the master of the realm, and her subordinates enjoyed that luxury.

Hades rammed his index finger down into the permafrost then planted the tear in the hole like it was a seed. Within seconds the ground began to heat up. The ice and snow thawed as the power of spring took hold.

Warmth! Blessed warmth! Scott hopped down from the chariot and trotted over to Hades. At his feet a small green sprout had shot up from the ground.

“How long will this last?” asked Scott.

The darkness driven back by the inexorable power of high spring; the sweet scent of wildflowers assailed his nostrils. This was so much better than being stuck in that frozen Hel!

“A few hours at most. This place, it can only be survived. Never overcome. Even frost giants wear an extra layer of clothes in this place,” said hades.

“You know, I wonder why it’s necessary to make it so difficult to walk this path,” said Scott. “I get that it’s the abyss, but that doesn’t really start until we drop to the level below…”

“It’s the nature of the place,” said Hades. “The iconic design might be different than the memories you held of your original life, but it’s close enough.”

Scott nodded, but said nothing. He was too busy reveling in the feeling of being surrounded by spring.

Hades reached into his bag and brought a few chairs to sit in, and a picnic basket.

Scott glanced at the basket and noted the pink cloth that covered it. “Persephone?”

Hades grunted but said nothing else. Instead, he opened the basket and offered it to Scott.

“This is…” Scott reached in and pulled out a tiny plate of food. A few seconds after he pulled it out, it expanded in size until it was a proper meal. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens, and… ambrosia.

“Should I really drink any more of this stuff?” asked Scott. He showed his cup of ambrosia to hades.

“It’ll protect you from the cold. I will be giving some to my horses as well. They’ll travel faster for the next few hours,” said Hades. The dour god pulled out his own meal… a salad.

Scott glanced at the salad then looked Hades in the eyes. Hades grunted again, then pulled out something interesting.

“Low fat dressing…?” asked Scott.

“What of it, brother?” asked Hades.

“Does that even matter… isn’t your constitution… divine?” pressed Scott.

“Perhaps I enjoy the taste,” said Hades.

Scott looked him in the eyes once more. Slowly, he reached out and lightly gripped Hades by the shoulder. “You can twist your words to try and lie to me, but don’t lie to yourself, bro.”

Hades snorted once then cracked a hint of a smile. “She likes when we do things as a couple…”

“I figured Persephone had a hand in this somewhere,” said Scott with a laugh. “What, is she on a diet that doesn’t matter?”

“Always,” grumbled Hades. “I was given leave to eat whatever I wished because you came to visit, brother.”

“No wonder you didn’t want me to leave too quickly,” replied Scott with a grin.

“A century or so. Do you have the time, brother?” asked Hades in a tone of voice that seemed a little too serious to be a joke.

“I suspect that if I stayed a while, she would try to put me on a diet as well,” said Scott with a chuckle.

Hades nodded to him then looked at his salad with cold, dead eyes. He sighed morosely. “How far have I fallen… subjected to eating the food that my food should eat.”

A certain twinkle entered Scott’s eyes. With a bright smile, he asked, “Now who’s making the dad jokes?”

Hades glanced over to Scott the down to the chicken in his plate. “Can you keep a secret, brother?”

“I don’t want to trade chicken for half of that rabbit food,” said Scott with a wave of his hand.

“Your cruelty inspires me,” said Hades.

“If you hate it so much, why eat it? I understand doing it when she’s around, but it’s not like you can get fat,” said Scott.

“I had to agree to it in order to get her to shed a few tears.” Hades gestured to the slowly growing plant nearby.

The dread lord of the underworld stabbed a piece of lettuce with his fork then sighed. A promise was a promise, and he adored his wife. He would devour the food that his food ate.