‘…Livia.’

A man stood silently in complete darkness where not a sliver of light entered. In his hazy eyes flickered the image of Livia, her entire body melting from the poison he had emitted.

Her skin turning black from the poison, revealing red flesh underneath, the woman moaning in pain, her fragile body crumbling as easily as it was soft…

That warm, soft flesh that Zagreus had so desperately yearned for was too weak to even withstand his poison.

Indeed. The physical body was inherently weaker than the soul, withering so easily from small wounds or illnesses.

A soul freed from its physical form could endure the cruel trials of Tartarus, but a living human could not – this was proof of that fact.

So, for Livia to become ‘truly’ strong, she needed to abandon that physical body first. Though her body would lose its warmth and rot away, that wasn’t all there was to Livia.

Livia was meant to become complete only after abandoning the world of the living and coming to the underworld. The same went for the revenge she so desperately sought.

Revenge without being prepared for death wasn’t revenge at all. That was merely cowardly talk disguised as moderation by those without courage. The strong return exactly what they received.

No more, no less, just that much. Death for death. If death must be risked in the process, then so be it.

‘The strong…’

At that moment, an unpleasant afterimage flickered in Zagreus’s lightning-struck eyes. The shadow of the water-colored man who had embraced Livia’s body while pouring healing power into her.

“How dare he.”

That man had said ‘How dare’ to Zagreus.

“How dare you approach.”

The angry voice, the sharp gaze, the killing intent directed at him…

But more than anything else, what filled him with self-loathing was his own pathetic figure, powerless and wretched, unable to move an inch before that man.

“…Ha.”

Zagreus roughly wiped his pale face with his hand.

No matter how much time passed, the vivid sense of defeat that made his eyelids burn wouldn’t disappear. Rather, like a snowball rolling down a mountain, it only grew larger with time…

He had lost her again.

Livia who had come into his arms, his prey whom he had marked, he had lost her again to the god of the sea.

Because I was weak, because I was weaker than him…!

‘To think I’m even trapped in the underworld, unable to go out and forced to hide.’

Once again, a miserable feeling writhed as if it would burst through his gut.

Zagreus pressed his throbbing forehead as he paced in place. His rough footsteps created deep indentations below, making the ground nearby shake violently.

“Damn it!”

As he struck the empty air, there was a sound of something invisible breaking.

Though he knew this would cause a massive earthquake that would shake Tartarus and excite the prisoners, Zagreus didn’t particularly care.

He just tried to calm his boiling mind by taking deep breaths.

A little excitement could draw out potential, but too much excitement would blur one’s vision and ruin the match instead.

After taking deep breaths for a while, Zagreus, with a somewhat calmer face, muttered his friend’s name into the empty air.

“Morpheus.”

As his voice dispersed in the air, someone poked their head out from the darkness, rubbing sleepy eyes.

“…Yeah, Zag. Did you call me?”

The one who emerged while letting out a long yawn with a sleepy voice was Morpheus, the god of dreams.

Though he looked no more than eight or nine years old, he was actually a god who had lived far longer than Zagreus.

However, he had spent most of his time sleeping, which had slowed his growth.

“I need your help.”

“…What? Isn’t this supposed to be your time of self-reflection? Aren’t you not supposed to go out?”

“That’s why I need your power. It’s difficult for me to go out alone right now… Will you help me?”

At Zagreus’s words, Morpheus, uncharacteristically wide awake, began to seriously contemplate. Though it wasn’t a difficult task to help, he seemed worried about getting scolded by Hades if found out later.

“Hmm…. I’m scared.”

“If we get out, I’ll let you ride on my back. You said you wanted to sleep while riding on my back, right?”

“…As an eagle or a wolf?”

“Whatever. Whatever form you want.”

“Then a lion! Can you be a lion too?”

His excitement made him look exactly like a child.

When Zagreus nodded readily, Morpheus, as if he had never hesitated, brought out huge golden wings and flew up above his head.

As he flapped his wings, rainbow-colored powder scattered like flower petals from beneath them, enveloping Zagreus’s body.

“But you have to come back quickly. I don’t want to get scolded by Uncle King!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll just check if she’s okay and come back.”

“Okay! Then I’ll sleep here until then. Yaaawn…!”

Morpheus, letting out a long yawn, wrapped himself in his huge wings and closed his eyes. At that moment, as Zagreus brought out his eagle wings, he warned the half-asleep Morpheus.

“Don’t try to follow me secretly. If you get caught, you’ll get hurt too.”

“…Tch.”

Having his intentions exposed, Morpheus grumbled and waved his hand in acknowledgment.

Like ruffling a thoughtless younger sibling’s hair, Zagreus messed with Morpheus’s luxuriant golden hair before floating up into the air.

The dream powder that Morpheus had scattered sparkled in the air, and his figure instantly vanished into the darkness.

“Yaaawn…. Zagreus will come back soon, right? If I just sleep a little, he’ll be back right away?”

Morpheus, who had been watching the place where he disappeared with sleepy eyes, soon rubbed his eyes and buried his face in his large wings.

Morpheus, who now filled the darkness that had been hiding Zagreus, fell into sleep while making innocent breathing sounds.

***

At some point, Livia’s dreams had always become drenched in water.

When he first entered her dreams, there had been vast green meadows and frequent sights of sheep frolicking in the fields, but now everything had completely changed.

The sea. Only the sea. Nothing but the sea.

The endless ocean had swallowed Livia whole.

Zagreus shook off the wetness soaking his wings with disgust as he flew over the rainy sea.

Though he had expected it wouldn’t be easy to enter her dreams since Triton had taken her, it was much easier than anticipated. Her unconscious mind, offering no resistance, seemed to welcome him by opening its doors wide.

Was Morpheus’s powder this powerful…?

Though puzzled, he didn’t have much time allowed, so he put aside his questions and hurried to find her.

Though he could clearly sense Livia’s energy nearby, she was nowhere to be seen.

‘As expected, is she down there?’

Zagreus looked down at the sea with a troubled face. Though he knew Livia was beneath the black sea, it wasn’t easy to approach.

Even in dreams, the sea was his domain… If he entered carelessly, he would be caught and his wings would be broken.

‘What should I do…’

Perhaps the only way was to transform into a sea creature and approach by deceiving his eyes momentarily. As he circled above the undulating sea and was about to descend, the surroundings suddenly began to darken.

‘What’s this?’

Zagreus, sensing danger, hurriedly lifted himself from the sea. The surroundings instantly turned pitch black, becoming as gloomy as a starless night.

Then at some point, Livia’s voice began to be heard from far away.

“Hic… huuk….”

Crying sounds…

It was Livia’s crying.