Hades stood before the Outer One, suspended within the void where even the concept of space dared not exist, and for some inexplicable reason, he found himself smiling.
It wasn't the polite smile of diplomacy he wore when dealing with other gods, nor the cold smirk of superiority that came naturally to him, it was something deeper, something raw, primal, and unrestrained.
His fingers brushed his lips almost absently, as though confirming it was real, that he was indeed smiling at this very moment.
He shouldn't be. This was no time for amusement, this confrontation would determine whether their entire plan, the hope of countless beings across multiple universes, would succeed or be obliterated into nothingness.
Yet that bubbling excitement within his chest refused to fade, that pulse of exhilaration thrummed through his divine veins like an old, familiar melody he had forgotten but now remembered vividly.
