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There is a legend that Death appears as the dying person's most beloved. Be it a mother, a son or a partner, when the time comes, Death will appear as such and act as such, soothing the confused soul into the afterlife.
Of course, that was Thanatos' job, not his, but he had been forced to after a special request from the Star Stream had been made to personally accompany this soul to death.
He hid behind the school. Kids played happily and talked in the outside seating area, munching on their lunches and some even doing their homework in break. It was... a fairly normal scene, not somewhere where death could be found. Hades wondered what he was doing here, at a random soul in Seoul. What in tartarus was the Star Stream doing? Who here was so important that he, the King of Riches and The Underworld, was summoned to help pass onto the hands of death?
He looked around, before his shape took the form of a tall, black haired and handsome man with a fierce look. He wore a black coat and a sword was attached to his hip. Was this the person's favourite book character or something? Who was he here to help? Whose story was he supposed to collect?
And then he spotted him.
He's sitting on the edge of the roof, his legs dangling above some trees. He looks so small and frail, even a bit malnourished. He's just a child, a small child. He was wearing a school uniform, but it looked old, worn out. The edge of his sleeve was dirty and his shoes looked like they were about to tear any moment. His black hair swept past his eyes, midnight, messy and clearly not taken care of properly. Hades sighed before appearing behind the boy. He can see the boy's eyes reflecting stars in the night sky, even though it was midday. There was something special about the boy. He had so many stories with him, even when he was about... eleven maybe...too young...
He was too young.
And suddenly, the boy stood up, legs wobbling. There was a solemn look in his eyes... perhaps contempt in them as well. Hades reached out to the boy, attempting to grab the boy, call out and reach for him before that determination got him bleeding and broken. There were tears in the boy's eyes now, sorrow in the shadows of his eyes. Hades could tell that this boy had suffered far too much.
And now he was going to kill himself.
Hades reached out, before grabbing the collar of his shirt, pulling him back fiercely. The boy toppled to the ground, hands covering himself in fear of the older man and face looking aghast. The boy yelped, fear in his eyes as he laid beneath the foreign man. He seemed especially startled, terror growing as he eyed the blade at his waist.
"Are you mad, boy? You could die!" Hades reached out to him, offering a hand to the boy so that he could get up. But the boy didn't take it, instead cowering, backing up in a crude attempt at saving himself.
Hades sighed. This was going to take way too much time. What was the Star Stream thinking!? This was an eleven year old boy who was not even dead yet. How did Thanatos do it? He frowned to himself before looking at the boy once more, who was also staring at him with deep eyes.
"Kim Dokja... was it?" Hades shook his head as he kneeled beside the boy, trying to take a better look at this specimen. The boy backs away once more, biting his bottom lip and looking frantically for help.
"Yes," he finally replies, a little less fear in his eyes as he realises this man isn't doing anything yet. Maybe that sword was a fake and he wasn't so scary after all.
Hades gets up, eyes observing the boy, and he offers a hand once more, trying to get the boy to get up and the boy finally takes that hand and steadies himself, looking a bit ashamed at himself for getting caught.
They stand there for a bit, unsure of what to say to each other before the boy finally asks, "Who are you?".
Hades looks at him for a while. He was supposed to know the incarnation's form he had taken. Rather, he should be extremely happy... or sad or... at least more emotional than confusion. Hades looked around in slight panic. A case like this had never happened and even if it did happen, it was never his job to deal with it. Darn it.
The boy watched the man as he stared around, slightly panicked and then, with folded arms and a fiesty face, stated, "Are you some sort of Death?".
Hades looked at him suddenly, blinking twice before giving up, "Yes,".
The boy frowned before replying, "But I'm not dead yet,".
"Good observation," Hades sighed, pinching the brook of his nose. The boy scrunched up his nose in response and, with a sudden boost in confidence, asked, "Why are you here then?".
Good question, kid.
Hades said nothing. He watched as the boy stared him down and wondered how this kid had managed to gain so much confidence in less than five minutes. Regardless, he didn't know what to do. He had just saved the kid. He wasn't supposed to do that. He was supposed to watch as the kid died and collect his soul and stories.
So, why did he do that?
The boy looked down at the floor for a while, not saying a word, before saying,"Why did you save me?".
Hades looked down at the floor once more, "Because you have so many years ahead of you, Dokja,".
"None of them will be worth it," the boy looked away. Hades looked at the boy once more.
Hades would never say he was good with kids. Even as the oldest sibling, he'd always prefer to stay away from the others. He got married but he never had any kids and any children that came to the underworld were dealt with by his wife, who was much more eager to talk with kids than him.
Regardless, he wasn't going to leave this poor child alone. He was going to make this kid see the wonders of life, and that, he decided, was his mission.
He grabbed the boy's hand and teleported them to a market. The boy stumbled back a bit in surprise, then backed away from the man, suddenly very aware that this man was not a normal man.
Hades patted the kid on his head before looking around the market. It wasn't bustling at all but there were still some shops open, some food stalls still selling and a supermarket still running. It was one in the afternoon so it was okay, wasn't it?
"Where are we? Why are we here?" The boy looked around, a bit fearful.
"This is a market," Hades simply replied. The boy glared at him a bit as if to say he was aware. Hades chuckled at the boy. It was funny how this boy went from fear to annoyance at the click of the finger.
Suddenly, a food stall caught the boy's eyes and he stared at it, clearly hungry. Hades chuckled once more before grabbing the boy's hand and dragging him there. He checked his pockets and, sure enough, he only had a few coins with him. This won't do. He needed won, not coins. He pursed his lips before dragging the boy to a nearby bush and plucked out a leaf.
The boy sighed a bit, glaring at him, clearly not amused, "We use won here, not leaves,".
Hades smirked a bit, covering the leaf with his hand and then, "Poof!" he said. The boy stared at the hand covering the leaf and, to his surprise, a crisp banknote flopped in the wind in between the man's fingers. The man straightened it, winking at Dokja with a smile that said, 'What do we use here, again?' and running up to the man in the stall to buy the pair a corn dog.
Kim Dokja stared at the man in surprise and shock, before smiling to himself and running up to the man, snatching the corn dog in the process and running off. Hades ran after him, yelling for the corn dog and smiling underneath. Dokja runs away, yelling, "Please ahjussi!" and the world doesn't seem any better.
Hades never wanted children but... today... all he wants to do is chase after the sneaky boy through the empty markets. They're both laughing and the boy has ketchup smeared all over his face but it feels so good. He felt responsible for this boy, as though this was his own son or younger brother and a sudden sadness washed over him as he realised that, about an hour ago, this boy had tried to kill himself.
No. He would make the boy live... because in a way, this boy was making him live, reminding him something he had lost a while ago.
He catches up to the boy and wraps his arms around the boy's waist, before lifting him up in the air. The boy yelps, still clutching onto the corn dog for dear life. Hades then spins him around and the boy claws at his arm, begging for release before he is finally let down on the floor and as a victorious Hades takes a bite out of the corn dog.
The boy finally stops feeling dizzy and hits Hades' arm, his eyebrows furrowed as he pouts, "Ahjussi, you're mean!". Hades can't help himself, and he pinches the boy's face and gives him the corn dog, watching as the boy gulps it down in just a couple bites. The boy seems so hungry, and he feels content that the boy has finally had something to eat.
Hades can't stop himself from grinning like an idiot as the boy scarfs down the corn dog. It feels so... unreal... so happy... something as though in a book... unrealistically wholesome. It makes Hades feel so happy and the only thing that could make it better was if his wife was here.
He's brought back to his thoughts as the boy tugs on his sleeve, face bright as he spots an arcade. Hades follows him, laughing slightly at the boy's enthusiasm. He's so young and pure and Hades couldn't imagine anyone even trying to refuse this cute little boy with skinny arms and messy hair.
But he was about to commit suicide.
Someone had broken him.
Hades looks back at the boy as they stand before the counter, buying a card for the arcade with a bunch of more leaf-money.
Someone hurt him so much that he didn't want to live anymore.
And suddenly, Hades feels this anger towards the world. It wasn't worth it, since he knew the free system of this planetary service would be terminated soon and the scenarios would start soon but... he felt anger towards anyone who had hurt him. He couldn't bear it anymore.
The person at the counter gave him his card filled with about five hundred points. The arcade shone brightly in neon lights and each counter was a story of its own. The boy rushed to a game of pacman, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out the mechanics. He died four times before Hades sighed and, with a smile, grabbed the joystick and showed him how to play.
"Sorry ahjussi, I've never played at an arcade before," Dokja said, staring at the bright screen in wonder.
For some reason, Hades' heart clenched at that. He had never been to an arcade before? To Hades, this was something he always did with his wife whenever he came up from the Underworld yet... this boy had never done this before.
What else had this boy missed in his life?
Dokja ran up to another arcade machine, one where you had to use the hammer and hit the area as hard as possible to win. Hades swiped the card and Dokja swung his arms and hit. The plate went up a bit before hitting... thirty. Dokja shook the hammer as Hades laughed, teasing the boy for his gigantic amount of strength. Dokja shoved the hammer into Hades' arms, daring him to get higher than fifty.
Hades, with a wink in Dokja's way, hit the hammer, and the plate went above the hundred mark. The game flashed its line and played its tune as tickets rushed out of the slot. Dokja diverted his attention from the failure and started collecting the tickets, pointing at one of the stuffed fox toys hanging at the ticket booth.
They played many games. They played Whack-a-mole (surprisingly, Dokja was very quick), and Street Fighter (Dokja had accidently chosen Mika and had spent more time covering his eyes than actually playing much to Hades' amusement) and a shooter game which Dokja was, very surprisingly, very good at.
At the end, they had gained over a hundred tickets and Dokja had skipped to the ticket booth, dragging Hades' with him. The person at the ticket booth had smiled at them both and the two piled up all of their tickets and handed it to the person working there. She, after checking the number of tickets, had pointed to some stupid slime and slinky toys, much to Dokja's disappointment. Dokja's face had sunken for a while, before he smiled at Hades and told him to pick anything because he wanted to give him a gift.
Hades' heart skipped a beat at that, at the fact that this boy loved him so much that he would gift him something, but he shook his head and, grabbing the tickets, took Dokja to a corner and, with another wink and finger pressed to his lips, turned the one hundred ticket into five hundred tickets. Dokja's face shone at the massive amount of tickets. In all honesty, the small boy could probably hide within the massive amount of tickets due to his sheer height but Dokja carried them in his arms, dropping some because he couldn't see, only for Hades to pick them up after him as they made their way to the ticket booth.
The person at the ticket booth looked shocked at how much the pair had managed to gain in a matter of minutes and Hades, with a cunning smile, said that they had forgotten some. The person working there merely shrugged and handed Dokja the fox toy. Dokja squeezed it in his arms, burying his face in between the fox's ears. Hades laughed as he did. He looked so cute and Hades wanted to snap a picture of his adorableness.
They stepped out of the arcade with full hearts and smiles on their faces. Hades remembered that Dokja should probably go home as it was night time now but... he couldn't bear it... he didn't want to give this token of sunshine up. He wanted to keep Dokja and raise him as his own in the Underworld so, as he realised it was getting late, he didn't say a word, because he didn't want to.
It was getting late and Dokja was feeling hungry again. Hades shook his head and, with a smile, took the boy to a convenience store nearby. There were so many options for what you could eat and Dokja went through all of them with curiosity, reviewing each instant noodle brand, each drink and each chocolate that was there. Finally, they decided to get two instant ramen cups and a peach drink to share as Hades was running low on leaf-money and was running very low on probability so decided it was best not to risk it and just share. Dokja looked happy regardless and Hades, too mesmerised by this young boy's cuteness, let him have the peach drink to himself, despite Dokja's constant insistence.
The pair are sitting on a curb outside of the convenience store in the middle of a busy market. Hades notices Dokja's eyes, which reflect the light from the constellations and he wonders whether this boy, who he just met earlier this day, could be one too. He was so small and yet far too big, and Hades knew that if he was a constellation, he would be the most cunning and powerful of them all.
Maybe, one day, that would be true when the scenarios started but... right now... he was just a young boy, shoving noodles into his mouth despite crying about the spice a minute ago. Hades chuckled, looking at the stars.
"Thank you, ahjussi," Dokja said in a quiet tone. Hades merely smiled at him, wiping some of the sauce from his lips.
And then, very suddenly, tears start welling up in Hades' eyes and he grabs the boy's back and clutches onto it, hugging the boy. The boy, quite startled, rubs his back calmly, as though soothing a child.
"Ahjussi, please don't cry," the boy coos. Hades can't help himself.
But Hades knew that a simple day at the market couldn't fix this boy's life. He couldn't keep this boy. He didn't want to burden him with the woes of The Underworld, yet he didn't want to let go.
"Tell me about yourself," Hades finally choked out.
The boy bit his bottom lip, not saying a word, before saying something entirely different, "There was once a boy named Joonghyuk and one day, he was riding a subway when...".
Hades felt himself get lulled by the story, and he continued hugging the boy, listening to the story the boy had laid out as he stared at the stars above. Yes, this was more preferable than awakening some bad memories.
When the boy finally said that it was the end, Hades detached himself from the boy and kneeled in front of him and, with a finger rubbing his cheek softly, he said, "Dokja, I want you to know that... perhaps a lot of people here don't like you... they might abuse you and hurt you but..." he stared at the purple mark on Dokja's hand, "but I love you, okay?".
Tears ran down his cheek as he stared at the boy, "So don't give up...".
"Ahjussi," Dokja hugged him as he teetered on one leg and he hugged him back, hand clutching his back as though he was his life source... his salvation.
Finally, Hades took one hand and cupped the back of Dokja's face and, with a kiss to his forehead, used the remaining probability he had to make Dokja fall into a peaceful, happy dream filled sleep.
And then Hades, quite reluctantly, picked him up, preparing to carry him to a nearby hospital. Dokja's eyes opened a bit and, with a slurred tone, managed to ask, "What's your name, ahjussi?".
Hades smiled, before replying, "Yoo Joonghyuk," as Dokja fell into slumber, a content smile on his face. He wouldn't remember him after that. He would merely think that his suicide attempt failed and be a bit reliefed that he is not in tremendous amounts of pain.
And Hades knew he would never meet this shining light again.
Atleast, he thought.
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Kim Dokja woke up in the hospital. His head hurted and his arms and legs felt sore. Beside him, his aunt and uncle yelled. He sighed. It was too much money to treat him, anyways, wasn't it? They would probably hand him over to someone else when they found out the bill and yell at his mother and him again.
Sometimes, Dokja wished that he lived a normal life with loving parents... but that was just fiction now.
He sat in sorrow as he got yelled at, and he wished that it had not failed, wished that the trees had not picked him up and that the floor had delivered its final blow to him... but it didn't. He's alive, regretfully, and he doesn't have the spirit to ever try again. He'll just live this awful life, now. Nothing mattered anyways. He'll wish that every passing car would deal him in instead because there was no hope in trying again because the universe hated him and wanted him to suffer.
It was one in the morning and his aunt and uncle had left. He picked up the old, broken, hand-me-down phone he had gotten gifted for his fifteenth birthday. He tried to search up something on Youtube, perhaps to soothe the pain that he was in right now, but the URL got misspelt horribly due to his fingers being hooked up to the machine beside him. He frowned at the new website that had popped up. It was some silly website with a bunch of webnovels.
Dokja stared at some of the titles. They included isekais like, "I got reincarnated as my best friend" and scary ones like "What lurks beneath". It seemed interesting to Dokja, and would surely provide him some escape until his aunt and uncle came back again.
After all, he was Dokja. His job was to read and so that's what he would do.
He scrolled down the page before he found one that caught his eyes.
Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.
It had a typical determined protagonist named Yoo Joonghyuk who was a handsome and tall, black haired man with a fierce look. He wore a black coat and a sword was always attached to his hip. He fought monsters that the scenarios brought on him and dared to war against the constellations.
Kim Dokja fiddled in delight as he opened up the first chapter. In the back of his mind, something was telling him that the person's name and description was familiar, but he continued reading, ignoring the small voice.
And so, Kim Dokja sat in a hospital, and that was the first time he opened TWAS.
And the rest is history.
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Hades lay on the floor, in his wife's arms. He tried to say something to his wife, the light of his life and the reason he's breathing, but she simply shook her head.
[Do not worry, my ancient night.]
’s sun was setting above her head.
He would be dead soon. He, who was immortal, would finally be put to rest soon.
He closed his eyes, hoping that, at the very least, Dokja would be safe, because he was his shining light, and his son.
And so, as his story fragments scattered and as Persephone's tears fell, he felt himself getting lulled into the deep blanket of sleep.
He would do anything for his family.