Helios stood over the kneeling god, the air between them thick with the lingering echo of the last spell. Hades' chains rattled as the god shifted, the blue fire atop his head guttering low but stubborn.
"Mm," Hades drawled, voice still full of smoke and mockery despite the scorch marks along his arms from the last blast of lightning. "That was cute. Almost like you're trying. You want me to give you tips, kid? Because I've got centuries of practice in making people wish they'd never been born."
Helios' lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Oh, I've been paying attention. I'm just giving your own tricks back to you—improved."
Without warning, he raised his keyblade and let magic surge into his palm. Water burst from nowhere, drenching the god from head to toe in an icy sheet. Droplets hissed against the obsidian floor as they ran off his shackled frame.
Hades' grin sharpened. "Really? Water? Again? What's next, a sponge bath?"
The crackle of building static silenced him. Thundaga's charge filled the room with the scent of ozone, the light flickering in Helios' eyes like a storm about to break. The spell struck an instant later, lightning racing across the water-soaked chains, ripping a roar from Hades' throat as every link became a conduit.
Helios tilted his head, voice almost mild. "You once told me pain was sharper when the mind was more active. Thought I'd test the theory."
Hades coughed, forcing a rasping laugh through clenched teeth. "Not bad, kid. Still… not enough."
Helios stepped in close and tapped the keyblade against Hades' sternum. "Then let's make it personal." A sphere of Aero pressure erupted from the contact point, the force driving into Hades' chest like a fist made of pure wind. It compressed his lungs, cutting his next insult into a choked wheeze.
"That's for the little 'gut-burning finger pokes' you enjoyed so much," Helios said evenly, pushing harder until the chains groaned. "I figured I'd skip the fingers and go straight to crushing everything inside."
Hades' eyes narrowed, the blue flame flaring a touch brighter. "You're still thinking too small. I've seen mortals pull nastier tricks."
Helios leaned in until his voice was a whisper against the god's ear. "I'm not done."
Blizzaga.
The frost raced up from the floor, encasing Hades' legs and hips in jagged ice. The cold sank deep, gnawing into bone. Helios didn't stop there—he layered Aero inside the ice, making it vibrate and grind against Hades' skin like an endless rasp.
Hades' teeth clicked together hard enough to spark. "You think this'll make me beg?"
"No," Helios said, circling behind him. "Begging would be merciful. I'm here for memory. I want every moment you put me through burned into you so deeply that nine years won't be enough to forget."
A flare of darkness coiled around Helios' free hand. He didn't fire it; instead, he pressed it against the base of Hades' skull. The magic seeped inward like oil through cloth, prickling every nerve it touched. The god tensed, recognizing the sensation.
"That's my trick," Hades growled.
Helios' smirk was cold. "No. This is my improvement." He pulsed the darkness with precision, sending it crawling down the god's spine in bursts—mimicking the way Hades had once toyed with his nerves until they felt aflame. But instead of fire, it was the slow gnaw of void, a suffocating absence that hollowed muscle and thought alike.
Hades jerked against the chains, forcing a strangled breath. "You're… learning."
"From the best," Helios said flatly. "And the worst."
He stepped back and let the magic fade, only to snap his fingers. A Reflect sphere bloomed around Hades—except Helios inverted the barrier's purpose. Instead of blocking, it trapped the ambient magic in the air, compressing it until the pressure alone pressed against the god's skin like glass about to shatter.
"Ever feel what it's like to be your own prison?" Helios asked.
Hades' smirk faltered for the first time. "You're playing a dangerous game, boy."
"You're chained," Helios replied. "And I'm winning."
He dropped the barrier and immediately followed with another Water spell, flooding the floor again before lacing it with Thundaga. This time he held the lightning longer, letting it dance and crawl over Hades' soaked frame like a swarm of silver serpents. The smell of scorched ozone bit at the air.
Hades coughed, a hoarse sound that ended in a laugh. "You really want to hurt me, you'll have to—"
Helios cut him off with another Aero strike to the ribs, the blast sharp enough to make the god's words choke off mid-sentence.
"That's for the ribs you broke while I was still bleeding out on your floor," Helios said quietly.
Silence followed, save for the low hum of residual magic. Then Hades looked up, eyes blazing. "When I get out of these chains, I'm going to make you regret—"
"You've said that before," Helios interrupted, stepping close enough that his shadow fell over the god. "And I survived. The difference now? You're not the one holding the knife."
For the finale, Helios lifted the keyblade and gathered power in its tip. The air around them cooled, moisture condensing until droplets hung suspended like tiny glass beads. Blizzaga roared to life again, but this time Helios mixed in a tight Aero spiral, turning the ice into a drilling vortex that slammed into Hades' midsection. The god's breath hitched, a sound halfway between rage and pain.
Helios held it there for a long moment, watching frost creep across the chains. Then he cut the spell, letting shards of ice clatter to the floor.
He stepped back, exhaling slowly. "That's enough… I've wasted too much time."
Hades straightened as much as the chains allowed, his grin returning in pieces. "You done, kid? Already? Too disappointing."
Helios turned toward the door, pausing just long enough to glance over his shoulder. "I know, I've got years of creative in my head but no time to use it. It's time for us to leave. I just need to pick something up before we go."
The door shut behind him with a final, echoing thud, leaving the god alone with the frost and the lingering sting of lightning.