Ring

In the living room, Hypnos sat on the sofa, grabbing the glass of nectar from Thanatos and gulping it down.

"Did they tell you?" Thanatos asked.

"They did," Hypnos said as he set the half-empty glass on the table. "They told me Everything. Who knew our world was so exciting?"

"I think what he meant to say is," Aether added. "Horrifying,"

"How do you feel about it?" Thanatos inquired, glaring at Aether.

"Oh, come on, Thanatos," Aether said, "stop coddling your twin. You're no longer kids,"

"Why do you say that, big brother?" smirked Hypnos. "Are you envious of us?"

"What? No!" Aether scoffed. "As if I'll ever be jealous of you,"

Hypnos' smirk broadened, and a bad feeling rose in the heart of Aether. The Lord of Dream extended his hand, revealing an ethereal star in his palm.

"Is that...?" Aether's eyes widened.

"A pathfinder to the edge of the cosmos," Hypnos chuckled as realisation dawned on his brother's eyes: "Yes, brother, your assumptions are indeed accurate. Not only will I join the astral front, but I will also take charge of overseeing it. From now on, you will work under me, Aether," he said, staring at his big brother and emphasising each word.

And Aether grimaced back into his seat as his words sank into his heart, stunning him thoroughly.

Hypnos cracked up, savouring the look on his brother's face.

"You—" Aether leapt from his chair, his form shedding scintillations of blazing light as he approached Hypnos.

"Is it a fight that you want?" Hypnos enquired. "Then let's settle it the old-fashioned way—" he grinned, facing his brother in the middle of the room.

"Enough!"

"I've had enough of both of you!" Thanatos appeared between them, pushing them apart and back to their chairs. "Always bickering like ghosts," he strode towards the middle of their chairs and glared at them. "I'm not going to have any of this anymore."

As their ever-calm brother lost his patience and barreled down on them, Hypnos and Aether hung their heads. And let them tell you, they had no idea Thanatos could be so terrifying.

"Reconcile immediately," Thanatos demanded.

"You've got to be kidding," Hypnos protested.

"Reconcile," Thanatos emphasised with a steely voice.

And so they did: Hypnos and Aether shook hands with phoney smiles on their faces. If there was an award for the lamest reconciliation, then it would surely go to them.

Thanatos sighed inwardly as he saw them like this. But he didn't press them any further; after all, just getting his brothers to take this step could be considered a miracle.

The Lord of Death finally sat back down in his seat. There was a moment of awkward silence where nobody said anything; the only sound in the room came from Hypnos pouring another glass of nectar, and after taking a sip from it, he broke the silence,

"For your first question, brother, I am fine. The truths were shocking and terrifying, but nothing I couldn't handle in the end," he told Thanatos, puffing his chest.

"See, this is what I meant by telling you to stop coddling your twin," Aether immediately followed, trying to soothe Thanatos. "He has grown strong in his own right."

Hypnos gave his shameless brother a stink eye.

"That's good to hear," Thanatos nodded, his expression betraying nothing.

Hypnos quickly changed the subject, attempting to divert attention away from himself: "Enough about me. How did you find the past year? Was there anything noteworthy that happened?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Aether picked up a glass of nectar from the table and sipped it. "Well," he began, capturing their attention. A sombre look flashed across his face.

Aether told them about a situation, which he described as strange. Throughout the previous year, demons from hell wreaked havoc and chaos in many parts of the world. The Angels dealt with them swiftly, banishing and killing the demons immediately, as situations like this were very common. Some inferior demons would allow their emotions and dreams to take over their heads and attack Earth with their meagre force with the intention of conquering the world, but reality would slap them into non-existence as soon as they set foot on Earth.

"What is odd about this?" Hypnos asked Aether after he finished his tale.

"At this time, demons continue to enter and attack the earth. They haven't given up like the previous times," Aether said, gazing at Hypnos. "I suspect that they aren't going to stop for a long time to come,"

"Aether, just say it," Thanatos pressed.

Aether hesitated for a moment, but he ultimately relied on his intuitions to them: "I just feel that hell is planning something big, something that is going to affect everything."

A solemn look flashed past the eyes of Thanatos and Hypnos; at their level, intuitions cannot be ignored at all, for they could very well point towards the happenings of the future.

"We will keep an eye on the situation," Thanatos suggested, "and if we find any anomalies, we will immediately notify our parents." He particularly stared at Hypnos, saying, "No trying to solve it ourselves, as Hell is way out of our powers."

"Brother, I may be daring, but I am not suicidal," rebuked Hypnos.

"I know, Hypnos," Thanatos said, nodding, "but I wanted to emphasise it just in case."

"Anyway," Aether said, "that settles it."

Hypnos and Thanatos nodded together.

"So, Thanatos, it's your turn," Aether continued.

Thanatos hummed contemplatively. "Last year, ah," he admitted, "nothing interesting happened."

"Oh, come on, brother," Hypnos objected, "your duty is the second most interesting among us, right below mine."

"Hey!" Aether glared at Hypnos.

"Well, if you include the bad reunions, then something interesting did happen," Thanatos said quickly, before his brothers could go at each other's throats.

"Bad reunions? Totally! Tell us everything," Hypnos said quickly, his attention drawn to the interesting and exciting stories.

Thanatos informed them. It went like this: in the summer of last year, Izanami and Thanatos were out and about, carrying out their responsibilities together.

That's when they came across Izanagi, who blocked their path. After many aeons, the Creators of the Shinto Pantheon finally reunited, but the confrontation that Hypnos and Aether were expecting did not happen; rather, the next development completely surprised them: Izanagi actually wanted to reconcile with his Izanami, asking for forgiveness for his previous follies.

As you might expect, that went about as well as being dead. Izanagi immediately rejected his apology, exploding in rage at her ex-husband for believing that a simple apology could make up for his betrayal. Thanatos and her children—who had descended after noticing the fight—stopped her from going at his neck. She finally left with Thanatos after making it clear to Izanagi that their relationship was all but over, much to his pain.

"Oh, that was bad," Aether said.

"Tell me about it," Thanatos said. "You know, working with Izanami is like always walking near the deep end. You don't know when and where she will explode."

"Then why are you still working with her?" frowned Hypnos.

"Hypnos," Thanatos dryly chuckled, "that's a stupid question."

"You both may have intersecting domains, but that doesn't mean you have to always do duties together," Hypnos said, cocking his head. "Talk to her and divide your responsibilities. This will also make your duty easier."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Aether admitted, "Hypnos has a point."

"You don't think I haven't considered this? But Izanami is mad," Thanatos said. "I'm not sure how she'll take this."

"Go for it, Thanatos," Aether encouraged, "and if anything goes wrong, we'll be there for you."

"Indeed, brother," Hypnos stated emphatically, "we are here. I am pretty sure if she so dares to even lay a finger on you, mother will tear her apart,"

Thanatos gave a light smile. "Fine," he said, "I'll handle it."

"That's spirit." Hypnos patted his shoulders.

And so they talked and laughed and bickered in between tales and stories for another hour, until Hypnos stood up from his seat, took out a pocket watch, and looked at the time, saying, "Anyway, it's time to save my beloved from the bundle of merriness. See you next month, Thanatos."

"Wait," Aether said, stopping him.

"What?" Hypnos furrowed his brow, gazing back at him.

Aether paused for a moment. "Be careful of Lady Destiny," he cautioned solemnly, "and use your words carefully with her. Understand?"

Hypnos hummed, "I do," he said, "words have power; it is you who taught me that."

Aether allowed himself a smile.

"Don't smile, idiot," chuckled Hypnos, punching his shoulders. "Have you forgotten that you will now work for me? We are going to have a lot of fun,"

"Do you have to rub it on my face like that, Hypnos?" Aether punched his shoulders back.

"Of course," laughed Hypnos.

Seeing his brothers, Thanatos merely shook his head, a smile forming on his pale lips.

———————

"Look at you, Hypnos," Hemera smiled, "got yourself committed and all."

"Surprised?" Hypnos inquired.

"No, honestly," Hemera replied. "Among the two of you, I expected you to fall into the snare of love first."

"I, too, expected that," Hypnos admitted shamelessly.

"After all, I don't see anyone moving his cold heart,"

Hemera suddenly frowned, "You are right," she worriedly whispered as she considered his words. "Thanatos…"

Hypnos suggested. "How about this? We'll try to set him up on a date if he doesn't find someone in the next few centuries."

"Great, that's a pact then," Hemera nodded cheerfully.

"A pact," Hypnos fisted bumped with Hemara.

"All right, I'll go now. I know you want me to leave you lovebirds all alone," Hemera said as she approached the open door.

"Sister—" Hypnos began, rolling his eyes.

"She's in the balcony," Hemera cut him off. "Enjoy the night, lucky guy," she teased as she closed the doors.

Hypnos walked to the balcony along a long and winding passage and soon entered it amid the brilliance of billions of stars. Hera was there, her hands clasped around the railing as she leaned against it. Her loose hair swayed in the winds of celestial bodies as she gazed out at the brilliant mansions that covered the land as far as the eye could see.

Hypnos joined her, and together they gazed at the magnificent expanse of his mother's eternal realm.

"It's ethereal, isn't it?" Hera inquired.

Hypnos hummed, pushing her hair locks back. "How was your day?"

Hera said, emotionally, "Inedible." She stared at him in the eyes, "Your family is great, understanding, and so different…" She trailed off, her final words unspoken, but Hypnos knew what she said: "from mine."

"So, you like them?" Hypnos raised his brows.

"Like?" Hera immediately retorted, "I love them."

Hypnos chuckled, pulling her into his embrace. "Didn't I say everything would be fine?"

"You indeed did, my love," Hera replied, pecking his cheek, "I never doubted you."

Hypnos chuckled at her sweet talk—not that he was complaining.

"Anyway," Hera asked, "what did your parents say to you? Is it about us?"

"They did talk about us, but that was not the reason they wanted me alone," Hypnos explained.

"What exactly is it?" Hera inquired, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Secrets," Hypnos merely said.

Hera looked at him for a moment, but all she saw was gloom on his face, so she asked. "Are they dangerous?"

"Very," Hypnos hummed, "it's better if you do not know them until you get stronger."

"How much stronger?" Hera pressed.

"Primordial stronger," Hypnos revealed after a moment of silence.

Hera's pupils dilated at his words. "Hypnos, how dangerous is our home really?" she asked, taking a deep breath to calm her raging emotions.

"Truth?" Hypnos inquired, his haunting face illuminated by the stars. "Or lie,"

"Always the truth," Hera said without even thinking about the other option.

"Ah, the truth?" Hypnos spoke in a wry tone. "Our cosmos is vaster and more infinite than you can imagine, with some beings powerful enough to surpass everything and everyone. Compared to them, I am nothing,"

"On second thought," Hera said, sighing heavily to the sky, "I shouldn't have asked for the truth."

"Curse my curiosity,"

"Don't worry about these things," Hypnos reassured. "I and other primordials will take care of them while you concentrate on the world."

"But, but," Hera bit her lips with hesitation.

"Just work harder, my love, and the day will come when you can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me," Hypnos sighed, seeing through her worries. "I promise you that," he assured her.

Hera took a deep breath and nodded conclusively. "I will,"

"That's the spirit," Hypnos said, kissing her cheeks. "Enough with the depressing topics for today; I've had enough."

"Fine, then tell me what your parents said about us," Hera said with a smile.

"Well, they gave us their blessings and asked when we were going to get married," Hypnos said, peering at her.

There was a period of silence as both of them weighed the issue; since Hera's proposal last year, they hadn't really thought about marriage, let alone set a date for it.

"Marriage.." Hera spoke in hushed tones. "We should make that decision,"

"We really ought to," Hypnos nodded repeatedly, "it's about time," and then he did something Hera had half expected, but it still took her breath away:

Hypnos raised his hand and positioned it in front of a star, appearing to grasp it with his forefinger and thumb. Then, like a queen on her throne, that star began to brighten and shine until it dwarfed every other star in the dark canvas of the cosmos.

And he plucked at it in one fluid motion, and the night sky dimmed for a moment, as if in mourning for its loss, before returning brighter than ever. The ethereal veils of night seemed to fill the cosmos, converging on Hypnos and Hera as if they were the centres of the world, the cosmos, and everything at this moment in this unending moment.

The intense moment seemed to grow longer. No one said a word. Their eyes remained glued on one another, brimming with emotions.

Hypnos kneeled in front of her, his hand raised to her, and within his grasp was a crystal ring, craved from the brightest star in the cosmos. "When I met you, I knew I'd met my match. It was only a matter of time until we arrived at this moment," he proposed, his bright eyes staring solely at her, "so what do you reckon—you and me, together forever?"

Hera began to cry. She covered her mouth with one hand. "Yes," she said through her tears, and immediately drew him into a hug. "Together forever," she breathed out.

Hypnos smiled, his smile as bright as the stars, and stepped out of her embrace, placing the ring of stars on his new fiancée.

Hera immediately kissed him; their lips sealed one another. And everything faded away, leaving them stranded in their own world, alone and content.