52 A new age

A new time was upon us. Hades understood that well. He knew what would happen now that Pandora was going to open the box eventually and out fly all manner of evils, sorrows, plagues, and misfortunes. 

However, the bottom of the jar would hold one good thing - hope. And Hades himself had given Pandora something valuable. He had given her the chance to get through those times and to help others get through them as well. 

He was unhappy. It could have been prevented but ... he understood that it was necessary. He was no longer a human. He was now Hades, the honoured one, a god and that was the reality. He had to start acting like one. 

It did not mean that he would turn his back on humanity. On the contrary. He had created the Underworld with humanity in mind. He will make sure that he does his part and builds up strength and then when the time is right ... he'll go all Juha Bach on this world.

The fates, Gaia, the fourth-dimensional imps, no one will be safe. For death ... comes to everyone.

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It was now time for Hades to move on. The Underworld was working perfectly and he had only minor things to do. His shadow dimension was connected to the Underworld and his shadows could do a lot of things. 

Now it only needed someone to take care of things and watch over it when he was not there. And he thought he knew who to pick. But first, he had to do something. 

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In the Caucasus Mountains, there was a man who was chained to a rock with unbreakable adamantine chains. An eagle was circling him and flew towards him.

(Prometheus POV)

Here he comes again. Every day the same deal. That eagle comes and eats my liver. It must taste very good for him to come every single day. The punishment does not suit the crime. To suffer like this for eternity? 

I would do it again. The humans have taken a special place in my heart and I have grown fond of them. But I fear of Zeus' wrath. He will do something that will throw their progress back. And I can't see them suffer.

I watch as the eagle approaches, a sign of pain. The eagle is not a very fast eater, so it takes a while for him to finish.

Today something different happens though. The eagle dives and just before his claws dig into my skin, a ... mouth????, comes out of my shadow and swallows the eagle whole. 

... what? ...

"It seems you're in a bit of a pickle.", a voice says behind me. I try to see who it is but, without luck. The rock I'm chained to is massive and the chains don't allow any freedom of movement. 

I can hear steps and then ... I see him. I don't think I was ever so happy to see someone as I am right now. Why am I happy? Because if he's here, then I can have hope. 

Hades. The eldest of the Olympians and yet, I'm sure he would not claim to be an Olympian at all. He was always different. From the moment I saw him after Zeus freed his siblings, to the time when he cut off Zeus' hand and fed it to him, to the time he returned and singlehandedly finished the war. 

"You seem happy. Did you expect me?", he asks.

"Not at all. I am just happy to see you."

"I guess you can guess why I'm here. Zeus has completely gone overboard this time. Let us get you out of here."

I then watched as he didn't even use his hands, while the unbreakable adamantine chains fell to the ground.

"What now? Zeus will never let me go. I don't know where I should hide now."

"Haah. Come now. It should be pretty obvious that you can stay in the Underworld if I make the effort to free you."

"Thank you, lord Hades."

"Yeah Yeah. Now come on, let's get out of here."

He grabbed my shoulder and then we sank into the shadows. It was a weird way to travel for me. I couldn't see anything and then suddenly ... we were there. 

"Welcome to the Underworld. Now as a citizen of the Underworld, you are required to swear on me to uphold all the rules that are stated in the law of the Underworld. If you want you can first read the manual, or ask Hecate for the details."

"Once again I thank you for allowing me to stay. I, Prometheus swear to uphold the laws and regulations as Lord Hades wants for as long as I live."

"Very well. Now that that's out of the way, you can follow this soul around as it tells you about the Underworld and then settle wherever you wish."

A small woman walks towards us nods at Hades and then looks at me. I can see that it is indeed a soul. How did Hades manage to do this? Souls are not required to work and yet ... this soul seems to be doing that by choice. 

What sort of man is the god of the Underworld?

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(3rd Person POV)

Hades sat in his throne room and was in thought. He had experienced something this ... 'year' that he would have never thought possible. He had become the ruler of an entire Force. The Sixth Note was not truly a force like the Speed Force or the Still Force. It was more of a concept.

He was not truly able to do the unthinkable and it was now not impossible to truly incorporate things from other universes here. And he had plans for that. 

He thought about the future of the DC Universe and what came to mind were of course the modern times, where heroes arrested the villains and those broke out again.

Hades wanted to do something that would allow humans to undergo tests where they're character would be tested. It would test how much willpower they possessed and how much talent. 

And if they managed to go on this journey and reach the end ... Hades would reward them with the ability to use their Life force. 

To reach this goal, the humans would have to go on this journey. On this journey, they would learn martial arts, unarmed and armed as well as other skills that helped control their body and some theoretical knowledge.

The ability to use their life force would be in the form of either Haki or Nen. But Haki seemed like the better idea. Although it might also be interesting to see Batman with a Hatsu ability kicking ass. 

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Hades thought about what he would do for now. There would come a time when Poseidon or Zeus would f*ck up again and he had no interest to help them.

But if Greek mythology was correct, then Gaia might be their next problem. The Gigantes might be born from her and Tartarus. Hades was sure that he would also get his personal Gigante. And he was interested to see how they would make him.

Would it be the same as in mythology? Or would they make it stronger? Overall, Hades would deal with Gaia in the future. That woman was not fit to govern all that power. He was better.

... was he getting over his head? He was in search of power but not for the sake of power. It served a purpose. So he thought it might be time now. Time to go to another world. 

He had stayed here for a while and it might be time to go somewhere. And to get a taste for the next world he had in mind ... he first had to go somewhere else.

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(In another Universe)

(Hades POV)

Ah, what a feeling. Walking through the modern city. I was in Japan. The country where many mangas take place. And I was here for two people right now. And as it happened, they were both dead.

I walked to a very distinct graveyard. I had already let my shadows do all the necessary information gathering to find where these two were buried. 

I used this time to look around, eat some things and simply listen to others talk. It was refreshing after what I had experienced these past years. Or more like year, singular.

"My King, we have found the two you were looking for.", I could hear Beru say.

"Ok, lead me to them."

We walked through the streets, left the busy area behind and went outside to a small hill where multiple people were buried. I could feel them underneath the ground. 

I stood there and had a smile as I read the inscription on the tombstone. 

-Here lies Yuuichirou Hanma-

Yes, I was here to add Yuuichirou Hanma to my shadows. And not only that, I will add Musashi Miyamoto as a shadow as well. And the reason for that? I will have them teach me Martial arts. 

Yuuichirou would train me in unarmed- and Miyamoto in armed combat. It will help me, especially because I thought about going to Bleach next. And for that, I would have to know how to handle a blade. And Miyamoto Musashi from Baki was quite a badass for a 'normal' human.

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"Rise and Serve."

I felt the soul resisting for a second and then obeying my command. This was a human with a remarkable spirit and soul. Granted I didn't even use 1‰ of my power, but it was still an impressive feat for a human. 

The ground shook slightly and from the grave rose Yuuichirou Hanma. He was an imposing figure, characterized by his significant muscular build and exceptionally broad shoulders. I understood that some observers within the world of Baki consider him inhuman.

"You have an impressive spirit for a human. I commend you for your strength.", I say to him.

"Thank you... my ... king..."

I notice that he has a problem with addressing me as king. I find this to be funny, but considering who he is, I understand. I can feel all about those I call to be my shadows. I know their characters when they were alive, all because it is still engrained into the soul.

"Yuuichirou Hanma, you are a humble man who is still very proud of his immense strength. I permit you to call me anything you wish as long as it's appropriate. My name is Hades."

"Thank you ... Hades. Is there a reason a being such as you came to this world?"

"Indeed there is. I am planning to go to another much stronger world shortly and I am preparing for that. Not that I truly need any help, I just thought I'd learn from one of the best.

That is also why I will be taking Musashi Miyamoto with me."

"I understand."

After that, I had Yuuichirou get into the Shadow Dimension and went to get Miyamoto. The legendary Samurai was quite the beast in this world. And having him teach me things will be beneficial, even if it is not technically necessary. 

But you don't say no to strong shadows and good teachers. Even now, I can feel Yuuichirou still growing stronger as a Shadow. Not much but it is there. He will probably reach the level of the Monarchs.

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(3rd Person POV)

After Hades had found Musashi Miyamoto's grave and added him to the mix he walked around the different cities for a while, before heading back home. Humans would now actively die a lot. He wanted to make sure that the Underworld worked flawlessly.

And then he had to finally get something that would allow him to manage the finer details of the Underworld. He first thought about getting a Butler to keep things afloat, but he wanted to have something else look after the Underworld when he left. 

And after a long time of thinking, Hades thought about something that would be perfect. The world Hades was thinking of was Tensura. The world where an ordinary man gets reincarnated as a slime. 

And the skill he thought of was 'Great Sage'. Hades knew how to evolve the Great Sage and make it seriously strong. And together with his boundary manipulation, that will be seriously OP.

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There is a new Arc. coming soon.