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Zagreus had long been trying to learn about his father's past. No, not the past when Hades and Persephone were together, or when they parted in grief and both had to somehow endure it all. He already knew all about that, by the way, thanks to which he had managed to reconcile them and bring peaceful days back to Tartarus. What interested him was specifically his father's childhood.
It sounds strange, but Hades seemed to carefully avoid giving detailed accounts of his past. No, he did say that his childhood was bad and how his father abused him, but the details? Never. And what's more, even the memories of his "bad childhood" were not rich in information. Everything was bad — and that was it, topic closed.
And honestly, the young man had even forgotten about this topic due to his work as head of security. But then came Chronos's return; he, unfortunately, was caught before he could do anything; then his sister somehow contacted him; the victory over the Titan; and, of course, the acceptance of this Titan of Time into the family, even though almost everyone was against it except Melinoë and Zagreus, who were the initiators of the reconciliation.
The question of Hades's childhood arose when he argued with his son over the renovations. The young man didn't think it was necessary to restore everything to the way it was before their grandfather appeared. He had wanted to update the house's design even before that, but never got around to it. And after the almost complete destruction of the building, Zagreus realized this could be a chance. Finally, he could update or even replace everything. Especially since they needed to create an atmosphere where Melinoë, even despite not having a childhood in this place, would feel at home.
Hades, on the contrary, for some reason, desperately wanted to restore everything to how it was. He was doing all the restoration according to old documents, some of which literally had to be restored to be usable. The man argued that this was so Melinoë could experience the old atmosphere of the house before its fall and the Titan's uprising.
Of course, this led to arguments, because even though Hades was in charge, Zagreus was the one delivering most of the materials, running through the halls of the house and finding everything necessary. So until one agreed, the other would either not bring the materials or not allow the shadows to work. Because of this, the renovations dragged on for a very long time, as arguments happened almost every day.
And then, during one such conflict, Hades said a phrase:
"When I was your age, I didn't behave anywhere near like that! I always obeyed my father and did what he said."
Of course, it was a pretty ordinary phrase, and the father probably even forgot he said it, but the young man stopped to think for a minute. Since he so often talked about behaving well in the past, and since the man decided to use it as an argument, why not check if it was true? To see how obedient the God of the Underworld himself was as a child.
And no, this was not for the purpose of future blackmail or to remind him how things really were. Not at all! After all, Zagreus was a diligent son and would never use such a thing against his father. He just wanted to change himself using his idol as an example. To, so to speak, follow in the right footsteps to avoid making stupid mistakes.
It was first decided to ask his foster mother Nyx about it, but unfortunately, she knew little about Hades's past before the fall of the Titans. As it turned out, in the past, his father lived more on the surface or on Olympus than in Tartarus. At that time, Tartarus was more under Nyx's control, so she didn't see much of the man. Their close communication only began after the division of power between the brothers, and it was decided to give Hades one part of Chronos's kingdom, namely the underworld.
Another option was Hecate, because according to his sister's accounts, she had met with him in the past before the fall of the Titans, but there was a problem… The woman hated Zagreus. He realized this quite quickly, especially at the celebration for the liberation of most of the prisoners from Chronos's trap. The young man tried to pretend he was imagining it and that he just hadn't fully regained control of his body yet, but… No. The Goddess of the Crossroads was literally boring a hole into the poor boy with her gaze, as if wishing to incinerate him.
Of course, Zagreus tried to remember what he could have possibly done for the Titaness to hate him, but Melinoë assured him it wasn't because of him. That yes, in a sense, he was indirectly involved in her attitude, but he was certainly not to blame. They just needed to give her some time, and everything would surely be fine. Strange, of course, but if his sister said they just needed to wait, then so be it. After all, she knew her mentor better.
That left only… Chronos.
Yes, their relationship was, to put it mildly, not the best. Starting with the fact that because of their dear grandfather, many of Zagreus's loved ones suffered, like Melinoë or Cerberus. Ending with the fact that the dear grandson was a bit… annoying to his grandfather. Not without reason, but to finally understand the family situation himself and give his sister at least some respite from all this family drama. And when she told him about the vision from the Moirai and the information about HOW exactly such a huge amount of golden dust appeared in the main hall, the young man simply couldn't leave the Titan of Time alone, fearing possible problems for the man himself.
But still, if you want to get to the truth, you have to take a little risk and approach your dear relative again to find out everything from him. He could try to ask Melinoë for help, but no. The girl already had many problems and worries to also carry out her brother's, frankly, rather stupid request. Besides, it was time for him to take on many responsibilities. There was no need to keep burdening his sister.
As a result, Zagreus was walking very slowly towards Chronos, who was watching the restoration of one of the rooms. The young man had been looking for him for quite a while, as it seemed the man was specifically choosing the most remote rooms for repairs. Apparently, to have as few shadows as possible watching his work.
"My boy, I hope you realize that it's very impolite to sneak up on someone from behind."
The Titan's voice sounded, and his head turned slightly towards his grandson. The latter, sighing heavily, smiled.
"Dear grandfather, I…"
"No."
Chronos immediately replied, then turned back to the flying debris. Zagreus blinked in surprise.
"But I haven't said anything yet."
"Is it related to the restoration of the hall?"
"No, but—"
"In that case, my answer is still the same. No."
The young man took a deep breath and exhaled. He now understood a little better why Melinoë looked irritated when mentioning their grandfather during their conversations through the mirror. Gathering even more patience, Hades's son detached a bottle of ambrosia from his belt. But this was not quite ordinary ambrosia.
Zagreus had found it a long time ago, even before his mother's return to Tartarus. It was covered in dust, the bottle was of a strange shape and very different from other ambrosias. When the young man tried to give it to Nyx, she immediately refused, saying that this type of ambrosia was too strong, as only Titans drank it. His father, by the way, also quickly refused and even told him to throw the bottle away, just in case, but his son decided to keep it, just in case.
And it seemed that case had finally arrived.
"Dear grandfather. Considering the importance of your work and the fact that I'm about to distract you a little, would you be opposed to accepting this gift?"
Zagreus said, holding out the bottle of the most ancient ambrosia to his interlocutor. The latter finally turned completely to his grandson, measuring him with a displeased look, until he noticed the drink in his hands. Then the man raised one eyebrow.
"And where would a young pup like you get such a rare item?"
He asked, still in a displeased voice. The young man only shrugged at this.
"It just happened. I was lucky enough to find it during my walks. And it seems to me that only a connoisseur of the finer things like you could appreciate and accept it."
He said, smiling. The Titan of Time only narrowed his eyes at this but took the bottle, beginning to examine it.
"And for what reason did you decide to give me this gift, my dear grandson? Just be so kind as to speak quickly; work still awaits me."
"Of course, of course, I would never in my life delay you for no reason."
Zagreus nodded, then, clearing his throat awkwardly, began:
"Dear grandfather, I know that you are the smartest and wisest Titan in this house. It's very hard to find—"
"Get to the point."
Chronos said, clicking his tongue in displeasure and making the ambrosia disappear with a wave of his hand. The young man rolled his eyes at this but sped up a little.
"Recently, I had a conversation with my father, and the topic of his past came up. He claims that in the past, he was a good and obedient son. I'd like to know if that's true or a slight exaggeration."
He said quickly, then looked closely at his interlocutor, waiting for a reaction. The latter thoughtfully placed his hand on his chin, shifting his gaze to the ceiling.
"Well. Hades was indeed a calm child."
He said slowly. Zagreus sighed disappointedly, thinking he had been wrong in his assumptions, until his grandfather continued.
"Compared to Zeus and Poseidon. Otherwise, surprisingly, my boy, you are far too similar to your father in childhood."
The young man, hearing this, first wanted to clutch his heart. First Melinoë says her brother looks like his father, now his grandfather says he is similar to him. Could the nightmare of a possible boring and dreary future still come true? Although, that wasn't really the important thing.
"Compared to Zeus and Poseidon?"
He repeated. Chronos nodded and finally looked at his grandson.
"Yes, those two caused me the most problems, especially Zeus, but that doesn't mean Hades behaved appropriately. Even ignoring his help in my murder, my son often created many problems."
The man waved his hand boredly, continuing.
"His most frequent mischief was arson. My boy, you've probably already noticed your and your sister's peculiarity of fiery feet. Of course, due to your mother's genes, they are not as hot, but with Hades…"
Here the Titan of Time sighed heavily, putting his hand to his head.
"How often he would set fire to things he didn't like. Furniture, outfits, study scrolls. He even once set a mortal with too long a chiton on fire. Allegedly, she was too rude to him. The fact that she was a teacher explaining a topic while he, as usual, wasn't listening, of course, didn't bother him."
"Is that so…"
Zagreus drawled quietly, listening attentively to his interlocutor and mentally recording the situation for the future. Chronos turned slightly, not stopping his speech.
"Ah, and his pranks? When he would constantly scare my servants? The poor things. So many times he would jump out at them, chase them, throw snakes or worms he dug up from the garden. Sometimes his pranks were more creative, and he would simply make scary sounds, causing panic among everyone. The servants would start hiccupping at the mere mention of my dear son. I'm not even surprised that the rumor from the Olympians about torture in my house spread quickly and everyone believed it."
He said, removing his hand from his face. The young man quickly nodded, chuckling softly. Oh, how often he had heard lectures from his father about how one shouldn't play pranks in the house, as it was wrong and many might not like it. Although, maybe he too should have made sounds or chased everyone, and then there would have been no lectures.
The man sighed heavily again.
"But the worst began after the birth of Poseidon and Zeus. Hades decided that he had accomplices in his mischief, causing dark times in my house. If something went missing, broke, or changed, it meant that Hades had come up with a brilliant idea and decided to involve his brothers in it."
"And what exactly did they do? And what were your father's and uncles' most frequent pranks?"
Zagreus asked, tilting his head to the side. He was ready to memorize every word of his grandfather when the latter unexpectedly looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"My boy, I think that's enough for you. Although your gift is valuable, it's not so valuable that I should completely recount your father's past. Besides, as I said before, my beloved work as a builder awaits me."
"Ah, yes, right."
The young man muttered, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. A second later, he shrugged, then made a quick bow.
"Well, in that case, thank you for at least somewhat satisfying my curiosity. I truly appreciate it."
He said, to which Chronos said nothing. Zagreus only straightened up at this, not surprised, and, turning around, walked towards the exit of the hall. He had managed to take a couple of steps when a voice suddenly stopped him.
"My boy, since we're having a moment of honesty, would you mind answering my question as well?"
The Titan asked, placing both hands on his staff. The young man turned around in surprise but nodded.
"Of course. I'm ready to answer any questions, if I know the answer, of course."
He replied. The man was silent for a while, thinking over his question, then, looking directly into his grandson's eyes, said:
"Why don't you hate me?"
"What?"
Zagreus repeated, even more surprised. Chronos waved his hand towards the debris that continued to slowly return to their original form.
"I trapped you and your entire family in my trap. Completely destroyed your house and tried to get rid of your beloved relatives on Olympus. Caused real chaos on earth. So why don't you hate me, but even try to help? You defend me from my sons and Nyx. You always carry out my requests. You even try to communicate with me, even though it's a foolish idea."
He tilted his head to the side, continuing to bore his gaze into his interlocutor.
"Melinoë's behavior can still be understood. Her mind was washed, turning her into a puppet and raising her as a barbarian. The Moirai gave her some of my memories. She is confused and doesn't know how this world truly works. The fact that she can draw strange and illogical conclusions is a natural outcome. But you are different. Even considering your kind behavior, there must be a limit to your patience."
"Quite… an interesting question."
Zagreus muttered, looking somewhere to the side and placing his hand on his chin. He thought for a few minutes, then, nodding to himself, answered.
"Actually, I do hate you. Very much, even."
"Oh, really?"
The Titan of Time raised one eyebrow upon hearing this. The young man nodded again, continuing to look somewhere to the side.
"You caused too much pain to my family. Because of you, my own mother cries over my sister's lost childhood. Because of you, my sister doesn't know us at all and considers us strangers. Because of you, Cerberus is afraid to come to Tartarus, expecting to be hurt again. And that's just a small part of how many people felt bad because of you. But…"
Here he unexpectedly shrugged, spreading his arms.
"My hatred would do little good. If I hate you, try to hurt you, insult you, hinder you, or even kill you, I won't bring back the past. Melinoë won't love us. Cerberus won't be happy. And the house won't be restored either. You and I would just have one more enemy — that's all."
After this, Zagreus, putting his hands on his hips, looked at Chronos.
"And considering your past… I think you can be understood. No, not justified, but understood. I realized long ago that you… uh, the older generation don't really like to deal with their feelings."
He waved his hand, smiling slightly nervously.
"Of course, that's not surprising: in those times, feelings were the last thing on anyone's mind, but still. You hid them, waited for them to pass on their own, or even looked for solutions that just eased the pain but didn't fix the root of the problem. As a result, you didn't understand how you were hurting yourselves."
The young man shifted his gaze to the ceiling, continuing.
"So when Father, and then Melinoë, started telling me about the evil grandfather, I thought: did you just become evil, or were there reasons for it? Why did you become so evil, and why did neither Father nor my uncles try to mention you often? When Melinoë told me about your past, I understood everything: that the problem was not in you, but in your upbringing. You just did what you thought was right because you didn't see other options."
"How foolish. My boy, has no one ever told you that you seem to see the world through rose-tinted glasses?"
Chronos asked, clicking his tongue in displeasure. Zagreus only chuckled at this, shrugging again.
"Maybe. But thanks to that view, I was able to reconcile my parents and talk my sister out of a terrible mistake."
"What mistake?"
The man asked, frowning. The young man only smiled mysteriously at this, waving his hand.
"And I think that's enough answers for today. Besides, dear grandfather, you have work to do, and the moment of honesty is over. Perhaps I could answer that question sometime if you… well, I don't know, gave me some nice gift."
"You…"
The Titan of Time hissed, gripping his staff, at which Zagreus quickly turned and ran out of the room, leaving his grandfather alone, breathing heavily from anger.