Wine?!

Aurelia sat frozen on her bed, staring at the god who had apparently decided her apartment was his new throne room. Hades, the lord of the Underworld, loomed in the dim light, his presence consuming the space like a shadow too vast for the walls to contain. His aura was oppressive, a tangible weight pressing down on her chest. It wasn't just his towering frame or the unnerving glow of his crimson eyes—it was the sheer gravity of who he was.

"Let's try this again," he said, his deep voice making the air ripple. There was no anger in his tone, only icy authority, the kind that brooked no defiance. He moved closer, his boots utterly silent against the wooden floor, as if he existed outside the constraints of sound. "You summoned me. Explain why."

"I—uh—" she stammered, her brain fumbling for words as her hands clutched the edge of her blanket, gripping it like it was a shield. "I didn't mean to? I mean, I did the ritual, but I thought it was fake! I wasn't expecting… you."

His sharp brow arched, the faintest flicker of irritation crossing his otherwise unreadable face. "You tampered with powers beyond your understanding for amusement?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" she muttered under her breath, the sarcasm slipping out before she could stop it.

His eyes narrowed, and her skin prickled under the intensity of his gaze. "You mortals truly have no respect for divine law. Or common sense."

"I wasn't trying to disrespect anything!" she shot back, the pitch of her voice rising with her nerves. "I was just… having a bad day. It was supposed to be harmless fun. How was I supposed to know it would actually work?"

"You didn't," he replied coldly, the words slicing through her feeble excuses like a blade. "And yet here I am. Bound to your foolishness."

Aurelia opened her mouth to argue, but what could she even say? "Sorry for summoning you" didn't exactly seem like an appropriate response. Instead, she snapped her jaw shut, her fingers twisting in the blanket as her mind scrambled for a solution she didn't have.

Hades began pacing the room like a caged predator, his dark cloak trailing behind him, rippling unnaturally as though it had a life of its own. With every step, the temperature in the apartment seemed to drop another degree. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Summoning a god—me—is a violation of cosmic balance. Mortal lives are fleeting, fragile things. You are not meant to meddle in divine affairs."

"Okay, I get it," she said, the words spilling out in a rush. "Huge mistake. I'm sorry. But I didn't mean to meddle! I don't even know how I did it!"

He stopped mid-stride, turning his piercing gaze on her once more. It was like being pinned by the weight of the world. "The ritual you performed is ancient. Forbidden. No mortal should even possess the knowledge."

"I found it in an old grimoire," she blurted out, desperate to explain. "At some random antique shop. It wasn't like I planned this! It was just sitting there in a dusty box labeled 'Summoning the Underworld.' I thought it was some kind of gimmick. A joke!"

"A joke," he repeated, his tone flat and deadly. "You tampered with powers older than your species… for a joke?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly expecting results," she said defensively. "I lit some candles, said some words, spilled a little wine—and poof! Nothing happened. It was just—"

"You spilled wine?" he interrupted, his eyes narrowing further.

"Yes, wine! The instructions said blood, but I wasn't about to start cutting myself for a prank. I figured it didn't matter. How was I supposed to know it would actually work?"

Hades let out a sound that could have been a laugh, though it was devoid of humor. "And yet, here I stand, summoned by a mortal who substituted sacrificial blood with wine." He shook his head, a dark amusement flickering in his eyes. "How fitting."

Aurelia bristled. "Look, I didn't exactly have a user manual for this! It was just… one of those weird, impulse buys. I didn't think it was real."

"And that," Hades said, stepping closer, "is exactly why mortals should not meddle in the affairs of gods."

The air grew colder, so much so that Aurelia could see her breath fogging in front of her. The dim light of her bedside lamp flickered, then extinguished entirely, plunging the room into darkness. Only Hades' glowing eyes cut through the shadows, twin embers of ominous power.

"What's happening?" she whispered, her voice trembling despite her attempt to sound composed.

Hades tilted his head slightly, his expression sharp and calculating. "You didn't just summon me," he said, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down her spine. "Something else heard your call."

"Something else?!" she repeated, her voice pitching high. "What does that mean?!"

"It means," he said, still staring into the shifting shadows, "you've invited company, and not the kind you can offer tea and biscuits."

Aurelia's heart was pounding so hard she was sure it might give out. The shadows had taken on shapes now, their twisting forms vaguely humanoid but not quite solid. They moved unnaturally, slithering like liquid smoke, their edges flickering as if they were struggling to stay tethered to reality.

"This is bad, isn't it?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

Hades didn't look back at her. "For you? Likely. For me? It's just Tuesday."

Before she could retort, one of the shadowy figures lunged forward, faster than her eyes could track. A guttural snarl tore through the air, and Aurelia flinched, her hands clutching her blanket like a lifeline. But Hades was quicker.

With a flick of his wrist, a jagged obsidian blade materialized in his hand, glowing faintly with an eerie, ethereal light. He swung it in a wide arc, cutting through the shadow with ease. The creature let out a shriek that sounded like nails on a chalkboard before dissolving into a wisp of smoke.

"Stay. Behind. Me," he said again, each word dripping with irritation.

Aurelia nodded furiously, retreating until her back hit the wall. "Trust me, I have no plans to do otherwise!"

The remaining shadows circled, their movements growing more erratic, as if enraged by the loss of their companion. Hades smirked, spinning the blade in his hand with practiced ease. "They're hungry," he said, almost casually.

"For what?" she asked, though she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

"For you," he replied bluntly. "Congratulations. You've become a snack for wayward souls."

Aurelia's blood ran cold. "Fantastic. Just what I needed."

One of the shadows darted toward her, its twisted form reaching out with claw-like appendages. She screamed, bracing for impact—but it never came.

Hades moved like a force of nature, stepping into the creature's path and slicing it in half with a single, precise motion. The shadow disintegrated into nothingness, leaving the room eerily quiet for a moment.

"Are you trying to die?" he snapped, turning his glowing eyes on her.

"I'm not the one playing shadow piñata!" she shot back, her voice shaking.

He let out a low growl of frustration but didn't argue. "They'll keep coming as long as the summoning mark remains active. I need to seal it."

"What summoning mark?" she asked, glancing around frantically.

Hades pointed to the center of her living room, where a faint circle of glowing symbols now burned into the floorboards. "That one."

Aurelia groaned. "Great. My landlord's going to kill me and I'm being hunted by shadow monsters. Just perfect."

"Focus, mortal," Hades snapped. "Do you want to survive this or not?"

"Obviously!"

"Then stay out of my way," he said, striding toward the circle. "And try not to scream. It's irritating."

Before she could respond, the shadows surged again, and Hades dove into battle, his blade gleaming as he tore through the dark.

Aurelia watched, wide-eyed, as Hades made short work of the encroaching shadows, each swipe of his obsidian blade sending another wraith-like form disintegrating into the void. Despite the chaos, his movements were precise, almost elegant—like a deadly dance against the darkness.

But no matter how many shadows he vanquished, more seemed to pour from the glowing summoning mark on the floor. It pulsed with a menacing, otherworldly light, its symbols shifting and twisting as if alive.

"What do I do?" she yelled over the din of shrieking shadows and the low hum of unnatural energy.

"Seal it!" Hades barked, his blade slicing through another shadow.

"How?!"

Hades turned to her, his crimson eyes blazing with irritation. "You made this mess—fix it! Use the grimoire!"

Aurelia's stomach dropped. "The grimoire?! I don't even know what half of it means!"

"Then figure it out, mortal," he growled, ducking to avoid a lashing tendril of shadow. "Before we're both dragged into the Void."

The Void? That sounded bad. Very bad. Panicking, Aurelia scrambled off her bed and dashed toward the grimoire, which still sat on the coffee table where she'd left it earlier. Her hands shook as she flipped through the fragile, ancient pages, the unfamiliar symbols and cryptic instructions blurring together in her mind.

"Come on, come on," she muttered, frantically searching for anything that looked like it might undo the ritual.

Behind her, the sounds of battle continued, punctuated by Hades' sharp commands and the unearthly wails of the shadows.

Finally, her eyes landed on a section titled Reversing the Bound Threads. The instructions were vague and riddled with ominous warnings, but it was the only thing that seemed remotely useful.

"I found something!" she called out, her voice high-pitched with urgency.

"Then use it!" Hades snapped, barely glancing at her as he impaled another shadow.

Aurelia read through the passage as quickly as she could. "It says I need… salt? And blood? Oh, come on!"

"Then get the salt!" Hades shouted, his tone leaving no room for argument.

She sprinted to the kitchen, yanking open a cabinet and grabbing the salt shaker. "What about the blood?"

"Yours," he said bluntly. "Obviously."

"Of course," she muttered under her breath, rushing back to the summoning circle. She could feel the dark energy radiating off it, making her skin prickle uncomfortably.

Taking a deep breath, she sprinkled the salt in a clockwise motion around the edge of the circle, as the grimoire instructed. The symbols flared brighter, and the shadows seemed to hiss in protest.

"Now what?"

"Your blood, mortal!" Hades barked, his blade clashing with another shadow. "Hurry!"

With trembling hands, Aurelia grabbed a shard of broken glass from the floor—likely knocked over in the chaos—and pressed it against her palm. She winced as it sliced into her skin, a small line of crimson welling up.

She let the blood drip onto the summoning mark, right in the center of the glowing circle. As soon as it touched the symbols, the entire room seemed to tremble. The shadows screamed in unison, their forms writhing before being sucked back into the circle like water draining from a tub.

The light from the summoning mark flared one final time, blindingly bright, before winking out altogether.

Silence fell over the room.

Aurelia sank to her knees, clutching her injured hand and staring at the now-charred spot on her floor where the mark had been. "Did… did it work?"

Hades stood over her, his blade vanishing into thin air as he surveyed the room with a critical eye. "For now."

"For now?" she repeated, her voice incredulous.

He smirked, the faintest hint of amusement flickering across his otherwise imperious face. "Congratulations, mortal. You've temporarily unfurled chaos itself. Next time, perhaps think twice before summoning a god."

Aurelia groaned, flopping back onto the floor. "Next time? I'm never touching a grimoire again."

Hades chuckled darkly. "Wise choice. Though I doubt the consequences of tonight will let you forget so easily."