In the vast palace, Queen Persephone, dressed in a black gown, stood before the mirror, gazing at her makeup... Not far away, the master of the Underworld held a dark-red wineglass in his hand and looked out at the sky.
Hades suddenly said, "The Underworld's winter is almost over."
At his words, Queen Persephone turned and glanced lightly at Hades. "There should be four seasons in a year."
Hades merely smiled casually and continued gazing beyond the Underworld palace... at the mountains, blue-black and lifeless; at the barren land of Hell, where sulfur and magma flowed.
As the King of the Underworld, ruling over this realm, he could no longer say whether such scenery was ugly or beautiful... At first, he had found it desolate and unattractive—the scenery on Mount Olympus was beautiful.
"You shouldn't have adopted a human child who accidentally wandered here," the Queen of the Underworld said abruptly. "Humans can't adapt to the Underworld's environment... You only wanted a toy to relieve your boredom. Hades, you shouldn't have done this for the sake of a toy. The creatures of the Underworld will find it difficult to accept a human as their young master."
Hades turned around with a smile. "Persephone, perhaps you should meet this child. He's so lovable. His fair skin resembles yours, and his eyes look much like yours as well. That will ease my longing for you while you're away... Besides, he can adapt completely to the Underworld's environment. He isn't an ordinary human."
Persephone merely frowned slightly at the Underworld King's sweet talk. "You mean this child isn't human... He's the offspring of a human and a god, a demigod like Heracles?"
The King of the Underworld said indifferently, "My Queen Persephone, please don't mention anything in my territory that might remind me