Extra's Death: I Am the Son of Hades - Chapter 601

Chapter 601: Partial Soul
Zagreus, who had been standing a few steps behind him, tilted his head.

“You heard something?”

“Yes. A voice.”

Zagreus didn’t seem alarmed.

“Don’t worry about it. What you heard was from a broken soul. Sometimes, fragments like that retain echoes of their old selves. It’s just bits of memory, and reflexes. They speak without really being aware.”

Nameless Death looked at the flame again.

He could tell it had no Seed of Existence or Core inside it.

Just as Zagreus said, it wasn’t alive, not anymore. It was only a piece of something that used to be.

He took a slow breath and stepped forward again.

This time, he moved carefully, letting his fingers hover above the flame for a few seconds before lowering his hand into it again.

The fire accepted him quietly.

And the voice returned. It was smoother now, and more coherent.

“Neo… what happened to you? Why are you so injured?”

Despite being prepared, the voice caught him off guard. It was too warm, and soothing.

The tone had a motherly gentleness that reached into a part of him he didn’t know was vulnerable.

He clenched his jaw.

‘It’s just a reflex. Don’t think too much about what its saying,’ he told himself.

It was a fragment of soul without thought or awareness, like a muscle twitching after death. The voice it let out was an automatic response from a broken remnant.

Still, something about it felt real.

‘Her sound is making me too composed. I need to stay cautious. This might still be a trap.’

“Don’t move… for a minute… I will heal you.”

She didn’t wait for his agreement.

The flames moved on their own, slipping into his body like threads of silk.

These threads were soothing, and gentle.

They moved, and fluidly passed through the layers of his Seed of Existence.

They reached his central layer of his Seed of Existence, and touched his Intent of Existence, and his Consciousness.

Nameless Death realized immediately how significant that was.

To bypass the wall of covering the central layer, this easily, meant that whoever this soul belonged to had once wielded tremendous power.

The flames continued their work. They moved slowly, steadily, and wherever they passed, the damage inside him began to mend.

A system window appeared in his vision.

[Soul of Persephone copy percentage: 1%]

He frowned.

The name felt familiar, but he couldn’t place a finger on where he had heard it.

He searched his memories, pushed through the haze, but found nothing. The only thing left was a lingering feeling that he should know the name.

Then something else caught his attention.

‘This message says Soul.’

‘So I’m being healed by a soul, not a technique or a Concept?’

This meant, the healing ability belonged to soul. It seemed to be neither a Concept, nor a technique.

Nameless Death wondered if this was a Path he was not aware of, or if it was a level of mastery of techniques he simply hadn’t encountered before.

[Soul of Persephone copy percentage: 2%]

[Soul of Persephone copy percentage: 3%]

[Soul of Persephone copy…]

[Soul of…]

[…]

He watched the percentage tick upward, slowly.

The voice returned.

“What… have you done… to your memories…?”

There was a pause, then the tone shifted into something close to scolding.

“You’ve completely torn them so badly… I can’t even bring them back through healing…”

He said nothing.

The flames moved across his body. Arms, torso, legs.

Wherever they touched, the scars vanished.

The voice didn’t say anything anymore, but he felt its sorrow upon seeing his injuries.

He looked at himself with Intent Vision. The scars had refused to disappear, having become a part of Existence, healed.

Finally, the flames reached his eyes.

He didn’t resist them.

For a moment, it felt like he was being embraced by his mother.

Despite telling himself again and again that this could be a trap, some part of him felt safe.

Then came the last surge of warmth.

His vision returned.

The world snapped back into sharp focus. He could now see with his physical vision, not just with Intent Vision.

[Soul of Persephone copy percentage: 100%]

[New entry in Abyss Mirror: Soul of Persephone (1/17)]

Nameless Death blinked.

His eyes were healed.

Intent vision was better, but physical sight had its own charm.

He exhaled audibly. For the first time in what felt like ages, he could see.

He looked at the notifications again. The copy percentage had hit 100%. And the second line…

‘1/17.’

Just as Zagreus and he had said, the soul was just a piece.

He stared into the fire.

‘This soul’s healing ability is exceptional. It can repair Intent of Existence and Consciousness.’

‘Now that I’ve copied it, I can recreate it, and use its abilities for myself.’

The thought made sense.

But what followed didn’t.

A wave of revulsion passed through him.

Nameless Death froze, genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected to feel this strongly about it.

‘Why am I so disgusted by the idea of creating a fake copy it?’

Whatever the reason was, he couldn’t make a copy.

If not copy, then maybe… devour?

If he devoured it, he would be absorbing it, then he could use the original parts and to create the new partial soul.

He raised his hand slowly. Darkness pooled from his fingers, coiling like ink in water.

Just as it neared the flame, a hand clamped down on his wrist.

“Stop,” Zagreus said sharply.

Nameless Death turned slightly.

“What are you doing?” Zagreus said, gripping his arm tightly.

“Let go of my arm—”

“Think of devouring that flame again,” Zagreus said in a voice filled with cold, simmering anger. “And I will make you regret being born.”

“You’re acting like this now? Earlier you spoke like these flames were worthless to you. ‘Broken souls with nothing left.’ So why does it matter to you what I do with them?”

“What I say and what I’ll do aren’t the same. Just know that if you try to devour that flame, I will kill you.”

The two stood locked in a silent contest.

Nameless Death’s eyes burned with pressure, but Zagreus didn’t look away. He didn’t even blink. There was no hesitation in his gaze. He meant every word.

Finally, Nameless Death clicked his tongue and pulled his arm free.

He wasn’t backing down because of the threat, but because the moment he reached out to devour the flame, disgust rose in him.

He wasn’t disgusted at the flames but at himself for even coming up with such thought.

An intense repulsion warned him against eating those flames (soul).

‘I can’t believe I have such a huge power in front of me, and I can’t use it for myself because of my own thoughts, which I don’t understand myself.’ He clicked his tongue.

The flame flickered softly, still embedded in the plant statue.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t take it from the statue either, since it would break.

He stepped back and exhaled quietly.

“I’m healed now,” he said, not looking at Zagreus. “So start talking. You promised to explain the Shadow Trial.”

Zagreus didn’t say anything at first. Then he nodded and gestured for him to follow.

They walked a short distance through the forge.

The tension between them had lifted, at least slightly.

Zagreus led him to a raised stone platform where two oversized chairs sat, which were the seats for the dwarves.

Zagreus dropped into one of the chairs and glanced at him.

A short snicker escaped his lips, seeing how ridiculous Nameless Death looked sitting in that huge chair.

Nameless Death sat down anyway, ignoring his snicker.

His feet didn’t quite touch the floor, and the armrests stretched too wide for comfort.

“Start talking.”

“Alright. My Shadow Trial is simple, in theory at least.”

He raised one hand and pointed toward the ground.

“It is to heal this planet, and return it to how it once was, free from Chaos Elements.”

Nameless Death frowned.

“Heal the planet? What does that even mean?”

“It means destroying the medium.”

“What medium?”

“The one the Berserker is using.”

Zagreus expained.

“Ambient Elementals belong to Supremes. They can’t exert influence in the material plane (our universe) unless they have a medium. That’s why when we offer them our existence to use as a medium by using Incantations when he need their help.”

Nameless Death nodded slowly.

Zagreus continued,

“Chaos Elementals here are the same. The reason they possess anyone they lke, destroy, or kill them is because they have a medium that allows them to exert their influence. When I destroy that medium, the Chaos Elementals would disappear. Healing the planet would be simple after that.”

It made sense.

But something still didn’t add up.

“You said ambient elementals are from Supremes. So they need a medium to influence this world, right?” Nameless Death asked.

“Get to the point, bitch.”

Nameless Death didn’t react to the insult.

“Chaos is a hybrid element created combining Death with Void. There is no Supreme of Chaos. The Chaos Elementals here must be created by someone other than a Supreme, probably by a God who once existed in the past.

“Since they are elementals of Gods, they should be able to exert influence in material plane without needing a medium.”

Zagreus nodded, listening to his words.

He folded his arms, and a faint smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.

“Interesting theory. What’s your reasoning behind it?”

“The Alliance told me the Sites appeared due to the battle between the Monarch of Death and the Supreme of Death. I think there battle created these Chaos Elementals. Maybe they mainly come from Monarch of Death. If so, they wouldn’t need a medium.”

“…What?” Zagreus’ smirk faded. “Who fought who?”

“Monarch of Death versus Supreme of Death. That’s what I was told.”

Zagreus muttered something under his breath, then glanced toward the silent demon octopus floating beside them.

Its tentacles were tucked close to its body. Its massive eye stared at the ground.

Something was off.

‘Everyone thinks father’s fight with Supreme of Death is why the Sites are created? It’s like everyone’s memories have been tampered with.’ Zagreus thought slowly.

He turned to the demon.

“Why are memories about this place so messed up? That’s not how the Sites came into existence.”

The demon octopus didn’t respond.

Its reaction made Nameless Death frown.

‘It told me everything about Devils, demons, and witches without hesitation. But it won’t talk about the Sites? What are these places?’

Zagreus clicked his tongue in frustration and looked back at him.

“Anyway,” he said, his tone returning to normal, “regardless of your theory, I can confirm it now. The Chaos Elementals here do belong to a Supreme.”

Nameless Death was surprised.

“Which Supreme?” he asked.