-House of Hades, Underworld-

In the spacious throne room of the home of the Underworld monarchs, three people stood opposite each other.

The atmosphere between them was tense and rather melancholic.

"I took him to Madeira, as far from Olympus as one could possibly go..." Hermes proclaimed with droopy eyes.

He was speaking to Persephone.

The latter was unlike her usual lively and joyful self, and her red eyes and dry face hinted at her sadness.

Hades stood by their side, and his face looked down at the ground.

If they could see his face, they'd have perceived a single tear forming on his right eye.

"I think I need to go, Apollo and Artemis are waiting for me," Hermes stated, and unfolded his wings.

Suddenly, Persephone grabbed his arm.

"Hermes, come by to the Underworld more often, will you?"

Hades also slightly nodded.

Hermes forced a smile, and replied with resolve, "I will."

Then, he went back out from the front entrance and found Charon waiting for him.

When the monarchs of the Underworld were melancholic, the rest of the realm followed, and the lively kingdom of the dead was 'deadly' silent.

"Charon, take me back to the mortal domain, please."

Charon's skull-like face nodded and he hinted at his boat.

Hermes got into the boat, and the boatman paddled away from the house.

His consciousness drifted away, and when he woke back up, he was in front of his mansion.

Hermes immediately entered his home and found that Apollo and Artemis were much more agitated than usual.

"You two, what's wrong?" Hermes proudly smiled at the children who grew up so quickly.

Five years ago, they were little babies in his arm, yet, now they were already fully grown and both had found their passions.

However, their next words almost broke his morale.

"We're leaving Olympus," Apollo calmly stated.

Hermes' heart beat rapidly, but he calmed down and awkwardly said, "This place is no longer safe, is it?"

Unexpectedly, Artemis ran up to him, and she whispered.

"Hermes, we're not leaving because we dislike you, we just can't risk Hera targeting you too, especially now..."

These words tugged at his heartstrings.

Truthfully, even though he promised he would protect the two from their Stepmother, he knew he didn't have the strength to do so.

He was willing to make great sacrifices for them, but if she ended up hurting them anyways, what was the point of it all?

"You two, both of you, come here."

Artemis was already next to him, and Apollo also obliged.

He took the two in a hug, and murmured, "What are you going to do from now on?"

Artemis exclaimed, "I found a really nice forest, I think I'll move there."

Apollo replied, "The mortals and the nymphs have far advanced us in musicality, I will roam the mortal world for more instruments."

Hermes laughed, "Of course, I know the pan-pipes wouldn't be enough to satisfy you."

A rare smile crept up on Apollo's face.

"No matter what, you two should take care of yourselves, and remember, power is everything, if you want to protect yourselves, and your loved ones, you need strength!"

'Unlike me, who couldn't protect Sophus, who couldn't protect your mother, who couldn't protect you two...' Hermes kept this remark in his head.

The two nodded.

'They don't show it, but they're both very sentimental," Hermes noticed that Artemis' eyes were getting moist.

When she saw his stare, she immediately ran out of the mansion.

He was now left with Apollo.

Surprisingly, Apollo held out something to Hermes.

It was the serpentine staff of the twins.

They called it the Caduceus.

It could heal illness, injury, and even death in the short term.

"What are you doing, Apollo?"

"Hermes, take it."

"I can't, you two grew up with the staff."

Apollo shook his head and remarked, "Artemis agrees too, so take it."

Ultimately, Hermes had to accept it.

'I'll treasure it very dearly.'

"Was I a good parent?"

Apollo simply stated, "The best we could ask for," And then, he left.

Hermes felt the emptiness growing again.

"Won't you accept my proposal?" The omnipresent voice of Chaos reverberated in his head again.

"Where does 'Hecate' live?" In the past, Hermes was reluctant to do anything Chaos ever demanded of him, but in his desperation and quest for power, he was now more open to it.

"Asterian Mountains, in Minos."

'Minos? That's quite close, it wouldn't hurt to go,' Hermes made his decision.

He flew out of the mansion, and towards the southern island.

"Good choice."

He soon found himself in said mountains, and the leaves of the trees seemed to move on their own.

They formed a straight path for Hermes.

"It must be their doing," Hermes sneered and followed the path.

It led him to a cave, but 12 beasts protected the cave.

A half-man, half-horse archer galloped in his direction and stretched out the strings of his bow.

"Centaur! Halt!" A feminine voice ordered the 'Centaur'.

A silhouette emerged from the cave, and into his sight.

It was a tall woman, whose features were memorable.

She had long, voluminous dark-purple hair that reached the very ground, and loose black robes covered her body.

Freckles dotted her face, and black gems stared at his every movement.

The woman frowned, and asked, "An Olympian? If you're here to recruit me, you should go back, I refused your leader's offer a few decades ago."

"Are you Hecate?"

"That's me-

"Can you teach me?!" Hermes didn't even know what he was saying.

"Teach you what?" Hecate's face exhibited deep puzzlement.

"Everything, anything."

"You seem quite desperate, come in."

A moat surrounded the cave, and when they were entering, a young mermaid emerged from the waters.

Hecate crouched to the ground, and softly told the mermaid, "Virgo, protect the cave."

The mermaid nodded and went back into the water.

Hermes felt awed when they were inside.

The interior of the cave was cluttered and rather disorganized.

In one corner of the cave, a cauldron emitted an ominous smoke.

In another corner, a large telescope pointed at the sky, and tools for astronomical calculations were placed on a table under it.

There were also numerous bookshelves and a cabin with exotic-looking herbs.

The entire premise smelled like frankincense and myrrh, a pleasant aroma.

"Welcome to my abode."