A Day in the Life of Hades

A day in Hades's life began with waking up at his desk. When he opened his eyes, half his mind was still on the desserts from last night's banquet. He had already decided which varieties would become the new favorites in his office. The other half began planning out the day's schedule.

By the time his hand reached the soft crust of the first plate of breakfast, Hades had already settled on the day's itinerary.

With the first plate, Hades quickly reviewed the documents distributed while he was resting. The messages on the command board were always 999+.

Hades handed the plate, still bearing a few pastry crumbs, to the Servitor that came to clear it away, then began notifying the institutions he would visit today with the Reborn System's assistance.

On the second plate, steam rose from the thin skin of the buns. The day's first visitor entered beneath the predawn night light. It was Black, here to give his routine report on the Sons of the Lord of the Underworld.

The job should have gone to Buz, but the Ultramarines had dragged Buz off to work, so Black was filling in.

After the report, Hades gave Black, who had not yet eaten breakfast—or perhaps had not yet gone to sleep—two buns. Black left with the buns in his mouth, leaving behind the Sons of the Lord of the Underworld who had come to take over.

By the fourth plate, Kirkland rushed in smelling of machine oil from head to toe. Hades swiftly stopped him from saluting. This Kirkland avatar had just returned from the shipyards of Jupiter.

First came the routine torrent of flattery. After repeatedly failing to persuade him otherwise, Hades had given up trying to correct Kirkland's behavior. Once the praise was over, Kirkland reported on