“Too tired to,” Hades said with a sigh. “I’d planned on it, but I think I’ll save it for when I’m feeling testy with you,” he said, and it was hard to tell if he was joking. With his soul still so deeply intertwined, he could feel the prick of the Doom shrapnel as well.

“I wonder what they’ll do without us, at the convocation,” Hades mused aloud. One by one, the members had all taken strides to make their own children... Zodiark had encouraged it, and everyone agreed that it was too lonely. Even for a curmudgeon like Hades.