The Greece Antagonist

Perhaps, this is an opportunity...

Luo En's heart stirred, and he took the initiative to grasp Persephone's hand, looking sincerely at the quietly aggrieved Queen of the Underworld as he earnestly spoke.

"I don't know why, but when I see you, I feel like I'm seeing my mother."

"Your mother?"

"Yes, she was very kind to me, but she passed away a long time ago."

Luo En nodded in response, then added with a touch of sorrow.

"I came to the Netherworld this time hoping to see her, but even her soul no longer exists..."

Upon hearing this, Persephone looked at the youth who had suffered the loss of his kin, her face revealing a deep pity and a hesitant helplessness.

Only the gods can obliterate a soul.

Clearly, this child was still entangled in the quarrels of the gods.

No matter how many times he repeated the cycle, no matter what changes he underwent, he couldn't shake off the chains and curses of fate, being thrown into the vortex time and again until the "potential" within him was completely eroded.

At that moment, Luo En touched the mark on his chest named the "Wheel of Hecate" and defended the Goddess of the Nethermoon on his own initiative.

"I know you mean me no harm, but I think Teacher Hecate is the same. She planted this curse mark on me probably just as a precaution, so I wouldn't die in an unclear manner like my mother, hoping to somehow safeguard my soul."

"Foolish!" Read the latest on empire

Persephone snorted coldly, interrupting Luo En's defense, and gave the "naïve" silly child in front of her a fierce glare.

"She's not trying to protect your soul, but covets the 'potential' within you!"

During her speech, an even deeper resentment filled the Queen's eyes.

"That woman seeks to complete the integration of her own divinity, yet fears the might of 'Fate' and dares not attempt it herself. Instead, she uses you, who possess 'potential,' as pawns to leverage the 'inevitable,' tossing you onto the gambling table over and over again, hoping for you to succeed, so she can reap the benefits!

It was the same with the unborn Porus, with my little Zagreus, and with you..."

"Luo En, you can call me Luo En..."

"Is that your name?"

"Yes."

Luo En nodded, his sincere gaze returning to the Queen of the Underworld.

"Although I don't quite understand what you mean, and I'm not certain if Teacher Hecate will do me harm, I believe you mean me no harm, because I feel from you a warmth that resembles my late mother's."

As he spoke, a hesitant look crossed Luo En's face as he tentatively began.

"If it's okay with you, may I call you—Mother?"

The Queen of the Underworld was taken aback at his words, her lips tightly pressed as she fell silent.

"Mother!"

Before the hesitation could linger too long, a sincere call broke the deadly quiet of the garden.

With the utterance of this title, Persephone's body trembled, and as she lifted her head, gazing dazedly at the young man before her with an honest face, she no longer suppressed her inner emotions — giving a slight nod as her lips slightly parted.

"Buzz!"

Just as the garden was about to witness the mother-son recognition, a dead gray radiance cut through the dim skies of the Netherworld, speeding towards the verdant garden.

"He's here! Run!"

Seeing this, Persephone's expression changed, and she instinctively pushed Luo En behind her.

At the same time, she casually broke off a golden branch from the garden, thrust it into Luo En's hands, and solemnly instructed.

"Take this, follow the river and find Charon, he will take you out of the Netherworld!"

The poem "The Aeneid" mentioned that while Charon's main responsibility was to ferry the souls of the deceased, if a living person managed to obtain a golden bough snapped from the garden of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, and presented it to the Ferryman of the Underworld River, he could be ordered to transport them in and out of the Netherworld.

Luo En looked at the [garden golden bough] in his hand, still warm, and at the figure standing before him, who was fully invoking the aura of life to block the deathly atmosphere of the Netherworld, and seemed to understand something.

Perhaps, the Queen of the Underworld never truly intended to forcibly keep them in the Netherworld.

What she possessed and showed, was simply a mother's longing for her deceased son.

"I will come back!"

Luo En declared loudly, and upon seeing the figure in front of him tremble visibly, his face broke into a bright and genuine smile.

"Once the affairs of the world above are settled, I promise I will visit you in the Netherworld! I swear this by the Styx River!"

"Are you not going yet?"

The Queen of the Underworld in front frowned sharply, swinging her hand backward.

Instantly, a gray-black vortex formed beneath their feet, swallowing up Luo En, Tethys, Sisyphus, and Adonis all at once, and in an instant, along with the pulse of the earth, they vanished.