After Daphne dragged Aaric back to Hades' castle, Luna and Daphne were giving Aaric a lecture as he sat on the couch with them standing in front of him, their arms crossed.
"I would have expected these things from Lord Hades. Not you," Luna said with a small pout.
"Yes, you cannot meet with him any longer," Daphne said, nodding at Luna.
They were insulting Hades more than they were chiding Aaric.
After fifteen minutes of insulting Hades, disguised as lecturing Aaric.
Luna could be seen sitting on Aaric's lap as Aaric held Daphne by the waist to his other side, coaxing them both with kisses and promises.
To the side, Hades sat with sunken cheeks as if he had not eaten in days, his eyes dead and expression lifeless.
"It was his idea," Hades muttered to himself again and again.
Persephone giggled as she saw his state and held his face, giving him a kiss.
"It seems I will be the one pampering you instead of the one receiving the coaxing," Persephone said as Hades hugged her tightly.
"He tricked me, and now our chosen, these sweet girls think I am a pervert," Hades lamented as Persephone hugged him and gave him kisses and love to bring him out of despair.
It started to work, and Hades got a little color back in his cheeks as he hugged his wife.
"You both are right. I should have stood my ground and not let him drag me with him," Hades heard Aaric's words and he lost it.
Hades stood up and pointed at Aaric. "How shameless can you be? It was your idea!" he shouted with bloodshot eyes.
Aaric just held his girls and smirked. "Don't listen to him, he is just sad he got caught," Aaric said to Daphne and Luna, giving them a kiss on their cheeks.
Daphne and Luna nodded and turned their heads to Aaric. "We believe you," they said together.
An almost skeletal-looking Hades was dragged away by the giggling Persephone after those words were spoken.
Aaric, Luna, and Daphne laughed as they saw Hades' face before he was taken away.
"Now, tell me, love, where were you?" Aaric asked Daphne, who was resting her head on his shoulder.
Daphne smiled and stood up before standing in front of Aaric and Luna.
She spread her hands, and her crown formed on her head as if molten gold reshaping itself.
Her cloak formed around her as if rippling water.
Aaric and Luna looked at the transformation with grins on their faces.
"Now both my girls are angels," Aaric said after the transformation was complete and kissed Daphne and Luna.
"Well, what pantheon was it?" Luna asked after Daphne sat beside Aaric again, with Luna once more in Aaric's lap.
Daphne grinned, still in her transformation, and explained the whole story to Aaric and Luna.
Aaric frowned after Daphne told the whole thing. "Did I ever make you feel inadequate?" Aaric asked her.
Daphne shook her head and held his face in her hands. "No, never. I just wanted to stand beside you," Daphne said and gave Aaric a deep kiss to show her feelings to him.
Aaric locked eyes with her after the kiss was over. "I am proud of you," he said with a smile.
They stayed there for some time, enjoying each other's company and sharing their recent adventures.
"Should we apologize to Lord Hades? I think we went a little too far with the joke," Luna asked.
"He can take care of himself," Aaric said with a shrug and waved his hand dismissively.
Daphne and Luna looked at each other and giggled before giving Aaric a kiss and going to console the half-dead and depressed Hades.
Aaric watched them go and got up. "Let's see that flower Daphne mentioned," Aaric muttered and went out.
He stumbled into Hera along the way and greeted her with a polite smile.
"Lady Hera, it seems there is something in the place... we met first. Would you like to check with me?" Aaric asked Hera.
Hera frowned and reluctantly nodded after a minute.
Hera snapped her fingers and they reappeared in the place she was punished at.
Hera looked around and immediately saw what Aaric was talking about and went up to the flower as if captivated by it.
"This... Hephaestus," she whispered and touched the flower gently.
Aaric was standing beside her and heard her whisper. "My Lady?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
"My blood and tears... they reformed a part of his divinity," she said with hope in her eyes.
"All we need are his memories," she said and produced a portal beside her and plunged her hand into it, producing another flower from it.
"What is this?" Aaric asked, and she smiled, looking at the flower.
"You know what divine seeds are, right?" she asked, and Aaric nodded.
"These flowers are formed when a divine seed is nurtured. I made an avatar and a world in the waking world that worships Hephaestus and where everyone knows his full story," Hera said and glanced at Aaric, who nodded at her to say he understood what she was talking about.
"They formed the divine seed that bloomed into this flower. However, they were not able to form him fully," Hera added.
"This flower has his memory and a part of his divinity?" Aaric asked, and Hera nodded.
Aaric smiled as he saw her nod. "This is great. I hope you will be happy after this," Aaric said.
Hera patted Aaric's head gently as she heard that. "Thank you, child," she said.
"I saw Daphne has been blessed by them," Hera mentioned, gesturing to the portal to their side.
Aaric nodded and told her the story with a proud smile.
"If it were anyone not connected to you who had done that, they would be in grave danger," Hera said with a frown.
Aaric sighed. "I thought the same thing as well. But I cannot chide her for this... She did this for me after all," he said.
Hera smiled as she heard that.
"Aren't you... dissatisfied with me? I am in love with two girls and you are the goddess of marriage," Aaric asked her, more out of curiosity.
Hera shook her head. "The things I did... although inexcusable, were because my divinity was fundamentally broken because of what Zeus did to me to make me marry him," Hera said with a look of disgust.
"They love you and you love them. That is all that matters," Hera added.
"Are you... better now?" Aaric asked her.
"Yes, I have healed with his death and the help of... Prometheus," Hera said with a soft smile.
"I am happy for you," Aaric said with a genuine smile.
"Thank you, Aaric. You and the girls will always have my blessings for that," Hera said and patted Aaric's cheek softly.
Aaric them glanced at the bigger flower "What do we need to do?" He asked.
Hera just merge the two flowers before stepping back "Wait.. for about a year." She said.
A/n: Please leave your thoughts on the chapter.
And leave those tasty power stones as well.