A strong yet warm wind swept through the garden. The lush grass swayed in the breeze, and the tiny green leaves danced lightly in the air.
The colorful flowers seemed to have sensed nature's call as well. They bent their bodies and gently swayed together with the grass.
Other than the howling of the strong wind by their ears, the entire garden fell into silence.
At this moment, the atmosphere of this land suddenly became somewhat mysterious and frightening.
Even the vast snowfield surrounding the grassland was swept up by a fierce wind and snowstorm that rolled through the sky.
For a moment, this land became extremely restless.
Then, that ethereal voice rang out as well, carrying a little more dissatisfaction, "This isn't funny, sir."
"What you see now is me as I am."
"This garden, this cottage, and everything outside in the wind, snow, and winter cold are all incarnations of me."
Hearing this, Erika's heart filled with intense doubt and astonishment.
She never would have thought that the land before her was actually the mysterious existence whose voice had come from high in the sky.
Wouldn't that mean she was currently sitting right on the other party's body?
This instinctively made Erika find it unbelievable.
Just as she was confused, Viktor's voice clearly rang out in her mind, "She's telling the truth."
Viktor's confirmation shocked Erika even more.
Viktor was also very familiar with this mysterious existence who had no physical body and had taken the form of a lush grassland.
The Queen of the Underworld, Persephone.
Every year, she was forced to remain in this garden for four months.
Her physical form would become a vast snowfield covering a layer of Hell, while her power would merge into this land, creating this ever-spring garden.
As the fierce wind and snowstorm over the outside snowfield gradually subsided, that ethereal voice rang out again in surprise, "I didn't expect you to even know this. You really are quite special."
"Looks like the appearance of that ear of grain in your hands wasn't a coincidence."
Their exchange left Erika, who was listening from the side, completely confused.
She felt as if she were standing in a cloud of mist, completely lost and unable to understand anything.
What ear of grain? What exactly were they talking about?
Just as she was wondering, the gentle voice from the sky rang out again, "May I take a look at the ear of grain in your hand?"
The Queen of the Underworld's voice suddenly became lighter, and her attitude also seemed much more respectful.
When Viktor first appeared before the gates of Hell, he had already entered her sight.
At that time, the Queen of the Underworld had developed a strong interest in this human who dared to enter Hell.
However, what interested her wasn't Viktor himself, but the powerful divine power on Viktor.
It was extremely similar to that of a certain god she knew.
If this human before her had indeed received that goddess's favor, then it was only natural for her to treat him with a somewhat sincere and respectful attitude.
Hearing this, 'Erika' slowly closed her eyes.
The trench coat behind her seemed to be lifted by an invisible strong wind, swaying in the air.
A cyan mist slowly emerged from the surface of the trench coat, burning with pale flames.
The deep mist wound around one of 'Erika's' arms.
In the blink of an eye, the flesh and skin on that arm faded away, revealing white bones wrapped in cyan mist.
At the same time, the space beside her was torn open, revealing a hazy world overflowing with smoke and dust.
A crack also split open in the land wrapped in cyan mist, slowly opening.
'Erika' reached her undead arm into the crack. It was as if she had grabbed something, and she slowly pulled it out.
In an instant, an intense golden light burst out from the crack, illuminating the entire land with an incredibly sacred glow.
The golden light even pierced through the clear sky, making the sun hanging high above shine even brighter.
Countless colorful flowers filled with life raised their heads under the bathing of this mysterious holy light and gently swayed.
The instant it saw this golden ear of wheat, the entire garden seemed to become uneasy.
Only this time, it was no longer so-called chaos and anger, but an uncontrollable joy.
A gentle breeze swept across the grassland, as if awakening every living thing upon the earth.
"Sure enough, you really are a human favored by her."
The Queen of the Underworld's voice was filled with obvious joy.
The colorful petals all around gently bent in the breeze.
They seemed to be leaning toward this golden ear of wheat, trying to touch it.
But the next moment, 'Erika' suddenly withdrew the ear of wheat, and the waves of holy light disappeared along with it.
At that moment, the Queen of the Underworld's voice carried a little grievance, along with a hint of reluctance.
"How could you..."
At the same time, 'Erika's' cold voice rang out again, "I can give you the ear of wheat, and I can also let you escape from this state."
"But I want you to help me with something."
After hearing Viktor's words, the Queen of the Underworld immediately became curious.
This human before her was actually claiming that he could let her escape from her state of being transformed into a garden?
Doubt filled her heart.
'How is that possible?'
Thus, the Queen of the Underworld temporarily treated Viktor's words as a joke.
But she really was somewhat tempted by that ear of wheat.
The Queen of the Underworld couldn't help thinking.
She knew Viktor's current condition very well. Her bright eyes were enough to see through it.
Viktor was currently residing in someone else's body in the form of a soul, and could only move around while attached to a living person.
So she roughly understood what Viktor wanted.
Therefore, the Queen of the Underworld's voice calmly rang out in the air, "I can't help you convince Hades unless you return his dog to..."
"Impossible. That's a gift I already promised to give my family."
'Erika' blurted it out.
She didn't even have time for any further reaction before directly refusing.
The Queen of the Underworld fell silent upon hearing this answer.
She always felt that the human before her was being unreasonable.
If you wanted to give someone else a gift, why did you have to take a dog from the Underworld?
But only a moment later, 'Erika' spoke again, "However, I never intended to have you convince Hades."
As her voice fell, all the flowers around them curiously straightened themselves, raising their colorful petals as if they were all paying attention to what Viktor would say next.
'Erika' smiled faintly and casually said, "You only need to give me a golden branch from your garden."
Hearing this, the Queen of the Underworld fell into another brief silence.
The flowers and grass around them seemed to sense the change in atmosphere as well. They lowered their heads and sank into silent contemplation.
Finally, she asked, "Are you planning to take this living person into the Underworld?"
'Erika' nodded.
In the game, if players wanted to directly enter the Underworld of Hades, the normal methods made it impossible.
Because players were regarded as 'living people.'
And living people could not enter the Underworld.
So, through constant research and attempts, the players finally found a way to enter the Underworld as 'living people.'
First, the player had to possess the item [Wheat of the Goddess of Abundance].
Then defeat the Cerberus and enter the Gates of Hell.
Go to the River Styx nearest to the Gates of Hell, give coins to the ferryman, and finally find the Queen of the Underworld.
Exchange the [Wheat] for the [Golden Branch], then submit the [Golden Branch] to the ferryman Charon, and Charon would lead the 'player' into the Underworld.
That was roughly the process.
"If all you want is a golden branch, I can help you."
Along with the Queen of the Underworld's promise, the flowers and grass around them began to sway.
The giant tree behind the tall wooden house gently shook as well.
Before long, a golden branch fell from the treetop, lightly drifting into 'Erika's' hand.
"Next, it's your turn to fulfill your promise."
The Queen of the Underworld's imposing voice slowly rang out, carrying a hint of expectation.
'Erika' merely smiled faintly and replied, "Of course. No problem."
For four months every year, the Queen of the Underworld would transform into a garden filled with blooming flowers.
This wasn't her own intention. It was because of the changing seasons that she was forced to bind herself to this land covered in ice and snow.
When the human world entered the four coldest months of the year, the extreme cold made it difficult for most vegetation to survive, and the entire world would produce nothing.
Even the flowers and grass had no choice but to fall dormant and stop growing.
At this time, the Queen of the Underworld in Hell, sensing the arrival of winter, would be forced to transform into a garden.
Providing the flowers and trees in the cold world with a habitat that would not freeze.
Therefore, people had also given her another title, the 'Goddess of Evergreen.'
If they wanted to remove her restriction, they only needed to turn the winter here into spring.
Just then, the black trench coat behind 'Erika' suddenly began flapping violently.
Six elemental colors flashed across the surface of the swaying trench coat, their radiance intertwining to form a brilliant stream of light that slowly enveloped the snowfield.
The sun in the sky seemed to rise higher, becoming hotter.
The snow accumulated across the vast snowfield began to melt, transforming into clear streams that nourished the soil.
New soil was born, and immediately afterward, spring rain fell.
Feeling everything happening around her, the Queen of the Underworld's voice was filled with astonishment, "What..."
BOOM!
A dazzling bolt of lightning fell from high in the sky and struck the earth with a thunderous crash.
When the light faded, a gentle breeze slowly blew from all directions, brushing across the land.
In the blink of an eye, tender green shoots broke through the soil from the cracks split open by the lightning and rapidly grew.
Looking around, the soil where the white snow had sparsely melted was covered in lush green in the blink of an eye.
Sensing the changes in this land, the Queen of the Underworld's voice trembled in the air, "This is... nature?"
The scent of spring gradually grew stronger, causing the Queen of the Underworld's originally ethereal voice to slowly become higher-pitched, like the soft voice of a young girl.
Immediately afterward, dense and complicated tree branches resembling deer antlers rose from beneath the earth, intertwining in a tangled mass.
Then, clusters of colorful flowers rapidly grew around the branches, completely covering them.
In the blink of an eye, petals drifted down from the sky like rain, gradually concealing the deer-antler-like branches.
And within that sea of blooming flowers, a lively young girl slowly appeared, wearing a flower crown and a pure white dress.
She looked to be around the same age as Erika.
The girl stared dumbfoundedly down at her own body.
This was the first time she had ever felt the arrival of spring, and it had actually come so quickly.
And this had actually been accomplished by a human.
This left her incredibly shocked.
Then, a golden ear of wheat radiating warm holy light fell before the girl's eyes.
She blankly raised her head and looked at that sacred golden ear of wheat.
Following the arm wrapped in a black sleeve, Persephone raised her head.
What entered her eyes was a tall man.
He wore a black trench coat, and his calm, expressionless face revealed a heroic air.
Persephone widened her eyes in surprise, covered her mouth, and stammered, "You... you're not..."
Before she could finish, Viktor's cold voice abruptly interrupted her, "I told you, as long as you let me see you first, I'd be willing to let you see what I look like."
As he spoke, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a gentle smile.
"I wonder if Madam would be interested."
"Accompanying me on a trip to the Underworld?"