Chapter 1 - Zagreus
It always surprised Zagreus how lax the security of the Underworld could be. Hades had much too much faith in the loyalties of his people. His daughter, Melinoe, should have been close by to guard the doors to ensure no souls escaped.....she wasn't even in the Underworld.
No matter, this made everything a little bit easier for Zagreus.
It was easier for Zagreus to slip into the Fields of Asphodel, which were severely overrun by the mortals who had not achieved anything
particularly noteworthy while they'd been alive. Further crowded due to the overpopulation that ran rampant in the Living Realm.
It was easier for Zagreus to then slip, undetected, into Elysium.
It was so very easy to find the soul he was looking for. They'd been a part of the Underworld, of Elysium, for over three thousand years and that left a mark. But they hadn't changed from the last time Zagreus had seen them.
It was so very easy for Zagreus to nab the little soul and abscond from Elysium, through the Fields of Asphodel, beyond the pit of Tartarus, and back out into the Living Realm. Zagreus carried them back to the hospital where he had to mist a nurse that was on her way to the room with the little one.
Carefully removing the stasis from the little seashell, Zagreus introduced this vibrant, loving soul to its new body. And with just a little push, Zagreus restarted the heart and knew that this was it.
With breath held in trepidation, a breath that Zagreus did not need, he waited. And moments later, the little seashell took their first breath. And their eyes opened to show an unexpected mark. The right eye was sea-green, the colour an almost exact replica of Poseidon's very own - showing just how much ichor ran through the little seashells veins. The left eye was a stunning, deep purple - the colour
reminiscent of the little soul's original eye colour....the colour that had been transferred to the flower that he was made into upon his death.
The stunning, deep purple of a hyacinth flower.