Chapter Text
Nico looked around the Fields of Asphodel.
The Underworld had never quite fully recovered from all the wars. The two successive Great Prophecies had left many dead, creating a huge backup in the Underworld system. The period when Thanatos was chained and the Doors of Death were left open certainly did not help with the problem either.
Nico dusted off his pants. After three years, it seemed like the Underworld was finally operating smoothly again. He looked at the new borders of the Asphodel that had finally been constructed and gave a sigh of relief. The Fields of Asphodel had to be expanded after so many mortals and demigods alike had died from the Titan War and Giant War.
Finally , Nico thought. He was looking forward to a long vacation.
Of course, the Fates just had to crush his hopes. Just as Nico was preparing to shadow travel, Thanatos appeared.
“Nico! I’m so glad I caught you before you left!”
Nico sighed. “What needs to be looked at now?”
“Well,” Thanatos pulled out a folder. “As you know, there was a time where I was imprisoned and the Doors of Death were opened. During this period, a few souls were able to escape.”
Nico looked at the thick stack of papers inside the folder.
“If I’m guessing correctly, that doesn’t look like just a ‘few.’”
Thanatos ignored his remark. “We aren’t going after all the souls who escaped. We’re only after the ones who may have a big impact on the fates of many others. For example,” Thanatos pulled out the first paper, “Peter Michaels. Michaels was a serial killer, and so you can see how him coming back to life is an issue. He’s probably already made some changes by killing some unfortunate people before their strings were supposed to be cut.”
“Let me guess, you want me to go after these people?”
“Yes, you can use any weapon, godly or not, to retrieve these escaped souls,” Thanatos put the paper back into the folder. “I’m so sorry for dumping all this work onto you. I was…unexpectedly pulled into another task. I’m afraid there was no other choice but to come to you. But, to make it a little bit easier, I will give you my blessing. It should help increase your stamina and resilience, as well as your affinity to shadows and death.”
Thanatos muttered a quick blessing before Nico could protest.
“How will I find these people?” Nico asked. He hoped this task would be quick.
But before Nico got an answer, Hades voice boomed throughout the Underworld. “Thanatos." He sounded enraged.
Thanatos’ dark wings flitted nervously as he quickly shoved the folder into Nico’s hands. “Looks like I have to go! You’ll find everything in there!” He thanked Nico hastily before teleporting away instantly.
Nico just sighed and wondered what he had gotten himself into now.