Hades Renrink was a mysterious figure which hardly was anyone ever seeing and even more hearing of. But about all mouths in Valencia and out of it had to say a lot about him. The rumors and theories were a lot more than what anyone actually knew was valid about him.

but i know more because i'm obviously the author of this whole thing going on for 5 or 6 years and i can explain in more details, stopping also from breaking the 4th wall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvXbEO5Kbgc

but mind you, i'll start rumbling again non-stop, giving you big amounts of side lore equivalent to that of the garten of ban ban game

also, angst lovers, i believe the first part of the chapter will be a small delicacy for ya all. come get yourself some!

Hades' family lineage was well known all over Valencia. The Renrinks were founders and had ownership of what was the equivalent opposite of temples of Life scattered around the city. That's right.

Just like how there were sacred places where the were monsters worshipping Life, there were also temples that were worshipping the mysteries of Death. But while in the temples of Life were accepted only female monsters that had to stay virgin for as long as they lived to serve, in the ones of Death there could even be male worshippers.

Not mixed, there were just temples exclusively for priests and for priestesses. Also they were not obligated to stay virgins, after all the temples of Death weren't just about worshipping one thing for the rest of your li-... hmmm, existence probably I should say. Matter of fact it wasn't rare for a member of such temple to find their other half from another.

That was kind of the case for Sufrimio Renrink, Hades' father. It was tradition in the linage of the Renrinks for the members of the family, after gaining first basing training with classes at home, to be send then in one of the temples of Death and learn its teachings, from the age of 10.

They could return home when they were reaching their twenties and where their training to be the next successor was beginning. Anyways, during such a case, via interaction with another temple of Death, Sufrimio met Pestornia, a priestess of Death, who's temple had accepted his to prepare for a celebration they were planning.

The priests had stayed for a whole month with the priestesses, but it didn't take not even half of it for the 2 skeletons to realise to themselves they were feeling... something for each other. They kept quiet however.

After all the members of the temples of Death were taught to 'discipline' their own feelings and keep them under control, to the point of suppresion. Even when the celebration was over and the priests left, the 2 didn't show anything.

Also, with them meeting for the first time at the ages of 20 and 17, where Sufrimio had completed his time in the temple to return home and train as the next in line of the Renrinks, they separated. 10 whole years passed, in which none forgot each other, until they met again in his mansion for a party. His birthday party.

Amongst the guests would be also a few members from each temple of Death in Valencia and Sufrimio had really hoped to see Pestornia to make sure that what he felt for her the first time he saw her had stayed the same, because it was very interesting. Well, he wasn't disappointed. Matter of fact the feeling got stronger than before.

Seeing her more grown up and in that black dress surrounded by a purple transparent fabric with embroidered lilies and roses on the long skirt. Seeing that kind of fabric was also located in the area of her arms, shoulders and neck, being the only one 'covering' those. The whole night those 2 had hardly taken their looks off each other.

Though one could easily mistake those said looks as hostile glares at each other, they knew that they meant else. And while they stared in silence, their souls were singing at their hosts that even if they didn't know each other well yet, they were meant.

Their moment to finally confirm what they had for each other appeared when the present to the party priestesses started dedicating each from a dance to Sufrimio. One by one they would go to the middle of the grand hall and dance gracefully.

It was interesting and impressive, but the birthday man could barely pay attention as he waited for Pestornia to dedicate her dance too. As if she was doing it on purpose, she went last to dance. But when she did, Sufrimio had almost forgotten to blink as he saw her performing her choreo. Stars, he wanted her.

And suddenly, as she was 15 steps away, when he blinked just once, he saw her just a breath away from him. He stood up, as he was sitting all this time and looked around. All guests had frozen like statues. Sufrimio looked again at Pestornia, who dared to walk even closer to him and her hand fearlessly stroke gently his cheek and jaw.

In that move the male backed away, at first slightly anxious. As a necromancer he was, not anyone could touch him and just be okay after that. Only the monsters that could control abstract meanings such as virtues or sins, Death itself of course, or Life, could tolerate it.

Lucky him then that Pestornia had in her magic possessions the abstract meaning of Time, mainly able to stop it temporarily or slow it down. Seeing nothing happening to her, he walked closer to her. She removed his gloves, threw them a few feet away and then cupped his face with her hands, having also the rather thrilling audacity to approach her face close to Sufrimio's.

Who brought her closer to him until their ribcages were stuck to each other, their souls already beating in sync. After staring into each other's eyesockets intensively for some more, Pestornia once again, becoming the bolder one moved her hands from the other's cheeks to his nape.

"Your gift from me, my Lord."

Even though it was just their second time seeing each other, their first kiss didn't lie about the genuine feelings they had for each other. Thrilling and chilling, causing immense shivers to their bodies. When they separated, the woman escaped the other's embrace and in the blink of an 'eyesocket' dissapeared, only to go back to dancing.

Everything had gone back to normal, the music kept playing and no one had understood anything.

A year later Pestornia had been allowed to be removed from her priestess' duties, as the young Renrink had asked for her hand in marriage and unison. Of course and they had found some time to get to know each other better during then. They got married in general applause and Sufrimio's parents passed down to him the leadership of the house.

With them both being trained and disciplined when being part of the cult of Death, they were showing most of the time a cold face to their surroundings. Only when they were by themselves they were showing to each other their love and affection, in the way they both knew how to enjoy. For many years it was just them, until Hades' arrival, for which they didn't show to be so thrilled.

Don't get them wrong. Or maybe, don't blame them much.

It was sadly common in the family of the Renrinks. The members were disciplined showing no emotions to anyone and anything. All Renrinks who had been trained for a while as members of the Death's cult, weren't encouraged to show emotions, especially positive ones. Not even towards any other member of their family.

Exception was towards their love, those were the only feelings that couldn't be supressed in the logic of the cult of Death. The relationships were just cold, at most. Sufrimio had a slightly better relationship with his mom, but with his father there were no fond father-son feelings.

Just... typical. Nor hate, nor love. After all, there wasn't much time to bond when the Renrinks were send to the temples at 10 years old, by their parents, not seeing each other until 10 years later.

And Hades, being born by parents both once into the mysteries of Death, from day one he was shown no fond feelings. None of his parents had ever caressed him, hugged him close, showed him a big bright smile, or even a small one for that matter. He just existed to them.

A mini them in their house that would success them one day, nothing more, nothing less. The few times Hades really needed a hug as a child, his parents just wouldn't respond to it. At best they would allow him hug them by the leg and never return the hug. Eventually he had just stopped asking for affection.

There was no point. And it was bound for him to become a serious, sullen boy. Until he turned 10, the age to be send to the temple of Death, he was focusing on his first lessons. Being swarmed by those already to learn languages, science, math and other. From just 6 years old.

The closest he had ever 'bonded' with his parents was when they would personally teach him the first things about controlling his magical abilities, but even that was just emotionless. There wasn't much difference when he moved onto the 10 year priest training and embracing the mysteries of Death.

Discipline, control and suppresion of emotions until almost forgetting what were those. He had perfected his magical abilities there. When he returned home at 20 years old, the treatment from his parents hadn't changed one bit. Their greeting towards their son was typical and strict, their body language stiff and distant.

The next part of his training was about just to keep going with his classes and learn the mannerisms of a Renrink. This training would end in 7 years and then he had to get married if he wanted to success his parents. But just a few months away from being done with his training, calamity would occur in his family and Hades would have to become the new master faster than planned.

It was just him and his mother in the house when someone was brought in, pale and shaking as he looked at Lady Pestornia and offered her a small box with painted lilies on it. She started immediately loosing her chill, she didn't even open the box as she knew what was inside. She forced the messenger to speak up, tell her what had happened.

The ship in which Lord Sufrimio was, as he had left the house for business, on its way back to Valencia was attacked by another unknown ship, killing almost everyone on it and leaving the Master heavily wounded, unable to heal and recover. He had told the messenger to go back home and tell what had happen. And then he-

Pestornia hadn't even let him finish. She told him to get out of her sight and luckily the messenger listened and left on time, as seconds later she started screaming. It was said then that her scream of despair, anger, sadness and frustration was heard downtown, through the whole Valencia.

The box had escaped her hands, which had opened, revealing a pile of monster dust. From her screaming, the clocks inside the house were going crazy, moving clockwise and the other way around, the walls of the house were inflating and deflating and whatever flowers and plants were kilometers away were wilting and going back to their blooming state.

Pestornia was gripping her chest and crying loudly. Even when she had stopped screaming she fell on her knees, just sobbing. Never once in his life Hades had seen any of his parents showing such strong emotion as of then.

Never had he hear his mother calling in such soulbreaking way her love's name, holding in her hands Sufrimio's dust and gripping it tightly in her fists. It had lasted for hours! No one had dared to approach and interrupt her from mourning.

When she stopped, when finally no sound was coming out of her, only then Hades dared to approach. He stood in front of his mother, he looked at her silently, not knowing what to say. Slowly Pestornia raised head to look at him. Her eyesockets had gone hollow.

Her mouth had cracked from how opened she had it when screaming. She slowly stood up and silently walked away. Hades didn't follow her. He looked at his father's dust with emotions he couldn't identify. Was he sad he was dead? Or not? Never once they had shared any worthy 'good' memory.

And then he heard his mother's crazy laughter echoing through the whole house.

"I'm coming for you my love!"

Then, a minute later Hades felt an ugly shiver running down his spine. He knew that feeling well. Somebody had just died. He teleported himself in his parents' bedroom.

Another pile of dust was resting on the floor, with his mother's dress above it. Hades just stood there, staring at the pile emotionlessly for long. Then he clenched his fists and teeth angrily.

"... Why did they hate me Cerdia?" He asked, as he had felt the younger then pig woman's presence behind him. She didn't reply. Hades turned to face her, still with that angry expression. "Did they really hate me so much that even mother couldn't tolerate living with me?!" Cerdia thought about it before looking at Hades stably in the eyes.

"No, young Master. I don't think your parents ever hated you. But I think they couldn't love you either. Never in their existence they were taught to love anyone, but themselves and each other. Lady Pestornia didn't end herself to avoid you because she hated you, but because she loved Lord Sufrimio so much it hurt her emotionally to even think of herself without him by her side. Sadly such love hid big egoism. She didn't think of you, but him only and she ended herself."

It had probably taken a lot of courage to dare say all that in Hades' face, but as she had lived for a long time in that house, she had toughen up. Silence befell between the 2 for a minute that felt like an hour. Eventually Hades' stopped clenching his fists. He relaxed slightly. And then he walked passed Cerdia.

"It wasn't just with my parents. It has been happening from the beginning of this lineage. If this is how love works in this damn family, then I want nothing to do with it. From this day on I am the sole owner of this house and fortune, for as long as I will exist."

"You mean-?!" Cerdia was about to ask surprised.

"Yes woman. I'm not dragging to this mess of a family anybody else! I'm not going to expand it!"

"But Master! Who will success you after death?!" The pig woman asked more surprised. Hades snapped his head to look behind.

"Don't you get it? Ŋø øŋə. This bloodline đ ı ə s w ı τ h m ə." He declared coldly.

~

Hades was a capable man. Barely after his parents leaving him behind, it didn't take long for his authority and power to everyone in the city be known. Calm and collected, cunning and manipulative, excellent with his words and dangerous at bargains, that was a man you didn't want to oppose or try to fool, because then he was becoming extremely persuasive and pressuring too.

The parties and social gatherings he had ever thrown in his house were never about fun. Only for political purposes and business. This skeleton was the talk of the town every day. Especially for the maids around the house, who couldn't shut up once about him, how cold and serious he was. Only Cerdia had never in her life bad-mouth him.

I mean, she had seen him all those years and how he was treated and silently her soul was bleeding from sadness. He was like that because he wasn't taught any other way. A little bit more than any other maid she had tried to show support towards him, even if it wasn't really of any use.

The damage had been done, he had been deeply neglected emotionally. Everyone feared him for his cold and distant attitude and the fierceness he had if getting angry. It had better for anyone when he didn't know or acknowledged one's existence, because once he laid eyesockets upon somebody, they were done. Possibly done.

That exactly was what Persephone had feared when she saw him around her daughters, hearing the girls saying that he was the one who was after all giving them stuff. For whatever reasons, for a few years he had been going after Aphrodite and Artemis.

About Athena she didn't know if he had his 'interests' upon her too, but the moment he still was after 2 of her girls, she was terrified. What did he want from them? What did he want to accomplish? Because there was no way he was being nice and a giver out of genuine kindness.

That time when he had defended the girls, it wasn't the first time Persephone was seeing him. Or ever seeing his face for that matter. Rarely she had ever encountered him and it was said, amongst so many other, that most of the time this man was seen only when he wanted you to see him.

The first non-physical way Persephone had seen what Master Hades looked like was when she had gone to the basement (that same basement where Aphrodite had been locked) with the chore to find as many broken stuff as possible, bring them up and throw them out later.

As she was going through them, the moment she was picking up a box, that pushed some other object and it caused something like a big dark fabric fall down on the floor. Behind it were hiding a few big paintings. About 10 family portraits of the past Renrinks until of the previous masters.

Each and every one of these were only inculding 3 family members. The father, the mother and their child, all serious, all almost glaring front. Their names were written at the bottom of the paintings. It didn't take long for Persephone to see the one portrait with Hades' name and of his parents.

The taller ones were standing close, their hands placed at each other's shoulder. Little Hades was standing to his father's right, but he was having no direct contact with him. Almost pushed aside. He was staring at the viewer with not exactly a serious expression, rather melancholic, as if he had a complain, a sorrow about something.

Persephone had been lost staring at him for minutes before she finally snap out of her daze and pick up the stuff she was meant to take out. However she covered up the paintings with the fabric, trying to leave them as they were before. The boy's expression in the painting hadn't leave her mind.

Cerdia hadn't been able to tell her much about Master Hades. Even the walls had ears she had said and no matter where she was in the house, everything could be seen and heard. Even in Persephone's garden she didn't feel safe to talk about him. Damnit.

The second time the skeleton woman had seen him and this time physically, was in a random moment in the day. The triplets were 10 at that time. She was assigned to bring afternoon coffee to the trusted doctor of Hades' the one who was supposed to keep his eye on the house as long as the real Master was away.

Or when it seemed he was away.

Unfortunately for her, a human maid had the audacity to trip her up and the tray with the coffee flew in the air. As the maid ran away laughing, Persephone chose to start cleaning the mess, only to soon realise a pair of feet dressed in dark clothing was in front of her. She silently gulped as she begged for the one in front of her not to be the doctor. But it would be much worse.

"Get. Up." That was a voice she didn't recognise and yet the threat made her make a good guess of who she had in front of her. Mustering all of her courage, Persephone put up her retarded persona and stood up slowly. She didn't raise head. "State your name." His voice commanded her. As much as she wanted to speak up out of her fear, she kept her silence. Things became a lot more difficult when she felt his hand grabbing her tightly by her chin and forcing her to look up. "You dare ignore me insolent maid?!" He asked then. Persephone felt almost breaking as she looked in Master Hades' daggered eyesockets looking at her, easily ready to rip her to shreds. And yet she proceeded to just let her mouth open and look at him with perked up empty eyesockets. That action instead of angering the skeleton man further, caused him to raise brow in confusion and annoyance. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Master Hades, don't bother. Morana doesn't understand much, she's retarded." The head maid that had succeeded Cerdia appeared to save Persephone from the position she was in. Deus ex machina if you ask. Hades looked at her momentarily surprised, then looked again at Persephone confused.

"Retarded? Huh..." He commented quietly as he let go of the skeleton woman. Then, as he backed away, he dissapeared in a black cloud.

"Stars Morana, you just had to bump into the Master and spill the coffee all over him?! He's away from home for long periods of time and you just had to mess up in front of him?!" The head maid scolded her. But then she sighed and shook her head left and right. "You know what, nevermind. Come on. Let's get back to the kitchen, I'll ask the cooks to prepare another coffee for doctor Caninto. Don't spill it this time." She hadn't seen that Persephone had been tripped up, she couldn't have know.

No one ever really knew when Master Hades was out of the house or just lurking in its shadows. That fact was keeping the monster maids on their toes most days, while the human ones were naive enough to think that just because they weren't seeing him didn't mean he wasn't there.

His expression had brought shivers to Persephone from that day they came face to face. He had seemed to buy the retarded act, but never again had the skeleton woman felt so insecure in her life. From that day on she would feel she was being constantly watched.