Soulstone door swung open with a sound like something ancient dying—seriously, it was the kind of noise that makes your bones itch. And the moment it did, this wave of memory just slammed into Hades, like someone set off a divine bomb inside his skull. Not gentle, either. We're talking wildfire, burning through every nerve, every thought. The air went weird—shimmering and splitting into a dozen broken visions: armies crawling over blood-drenched fields, skies ripped into ribbons, gods falling, whole worlds kneeling under one shadow. His shadow.
> [Title Triggered: Vox Mortem – The Voice That Called the Dead to Revolt]
[System Integration Going Deeper... Heads up: Suppressed Power Busting Loose]
[Mythic Class Dungeon Authority: Grabbed]
The place in front of them was ridiculous—circular as if geometry was invented just for this room, big enough to make you feel like an ant, and the walls were lined with statues of gods. Not the friendly kind, either. Every statue had its head lopped off, a spear through the heart. Someone had a theme, and subtlety was not invited. Center stage? An altar, old as time and glowing like some radioactive ghost.
Lirael edged forward, her whole vibe shifting—less "badass rebel," more "acolyte at midnight mass." "This is where you picked that fight with the gods," she whispered, like the walls might tattle.
Hades trailed his fingers along the altar, feeling all the cracks and burnt marks. "Yeah. Was mortal back then," he said, a spark of pride (or maybe regret?) flickering in his eyes. "Still almost won, too."
The floor had something to say about that—rumbling and shaking under their feet, like an earthquake with an attitude problem.
Then, from the darkness at the edge, something truly nightmarish started moving. Imagine a behemoth stitched together from leftover nightmares—bones lashed with shadows, gold runes pulsing like sick veins. It looked like regret, rage, and betrayal decided to have a baby.
> [Dungeon Guardian: Amon the Betrayer]
[Rank: Calamity-Class]
[Objective: Kill the King Before He Wakes All the Way Up]
Amon did not do small talk. He just charged, roar so loud it blasted statues to gravel. One swipe, and the floor exploded—Lirael went flying, landing in a heap of blood and broken chains.
Hades? Didn't even blink. If he'd been drinking coffee, he wouldn't have spilled a drop.
He raised his hand, and the darkness didn't just move—it snapped to attention, like dogs waiting for a command.
> [Skill Unlocked: Sovereign's Command – Raise the Legion]
The ground split, and out came an army—skeletons, armoured ghosts, knights whose names history had already forgotten. Obsidian armor, infernal eyes, the whole "loyal dead" package. They didn't shamble, they marched. Hundreds, then thousands. The kind of army that makes even legends pack up and run.
Amon barreled through them anyway, smashing undead like they were made of wet paper. The floor was carpeted in bones. But Hades? He just grinned. The kind of grin that says, "You're already dead, you just haven't realized it yet."
"You missed something," he said, cold enough to freeze hell. "This is my dungeon now."
He vanished—one second there, next second hanging above Amon's head, eyes and palms blazing with fire that wasn't natural, wasn't right.
> [Skill Unlocked: Mythic Flame – Soulfire of the Damned]
He brought both hands down, and just—boom. A river of soulfire, pouring down from nowhere, smashing into Amon's skull. The beast howled, bones melting, runes flickering.
Hades came down with him, pulling a blade out of thin air—something bright and dark at the same time, as if hope and vengeance had gotten drunk together and made a weapon.
> [Summoned Weapon: Gravemind – Blade of Eternal Revolt]
One hit. That's all it took.
Amon's head split open like a rotten melon, body crashing to the ground with a sound that rattled the world. Molten ichor everywhere. It was over in a blink.
Silence. Not peace—more like the hush that comes after a bomb drops.
And then, like the room itself was watching, everything responded. Statues bowed, stone groaning under the weight of ancient submission. The dungeon itself trembled, not afraid—no, it was surrendering.
> [Dungeon Heart Assimilated]
[New Title: Dungeon King of the Underworld – First of His Kind]
[Dungeon Authority: World Modification On the Table]
Lirael picked herself up, blood dripping down her face, chains in pieces at her feet. There was fear in her eyes, sure, but also awe.
"It's starting," she said, voice thin as paper.
"What is?"
"The second war. The gods know you're back. The System's losing its mind. And you…" She looked at him, and he could see the weight of it in her stare.
> "You're not mortal anymore, Vox. But you're not one of them either."
> "You're something… worse."
---
Meanwhile, upstairs in celestial country—
The gods were losing it. Storm God, all thunder and spit, slammed a fist into his throne. "They said he wouldn't remember!"
"He wields Gravemind," another god muttered, voice tight.
"He has a Dungeon Heart," whispered the law goddess, shaking so hard her scales rattled. "He can rewrite death. He can rewrite us."
For a second, nobody said a word. Fear hung in the air like poison.
Then, the Prime God—crown of thorns, eyes that looked at you like you were already judged—leaned forward.
"Let him come," he said, fake calm dripping from every syllable. "We killed him once. We'll do it again."
But the lie was thick, heavy. They'd never killed him. Not really. All they'd done was buy themselves a little time.
---
Back in the Underworld—
Hades stared at his own hand—black veins crawling under his skin, burning hot and cold at the same time. His heartbeat was slow, deep, echoing in his chest like war drums. He could hear the dungeon itself breathing, whispering his name in a thousand voices.
The place was alive now. And it worshipped him.
> "Dungeon King Vox Mortem."
Lirael stepped up, limping but still standing.
"Where now?" she asked. If she was scared, she hid it well.
He turned, eyes on the heart of the Underworld, already thinking a dozen moves ahead.
> "We wake the other dungeons."
Then he looked up, past stone and shadow, right through the world toward the place that had betrayed him.
> "And then? I'm breaking into Heaven. Let's see if the gods can handle round two."
He smiled, and for the first time, even the dead felt a shiver. Because now? Now he wasn't just fighting for survival. He was coming to rewrite the rules.