Chapter Fifty-Nine: Twilight Guardian

  Jace read the notification with a mix of excitement and trepidation. There were no other notes or details about the new class. He tried to remember what he had heard about class specialization.

  Lore Skill Success

  Lore Primer Knowledge Activated

  Jace felt a rush of information flood through his mind.

  Specialization is the process of advancing deeper into a class, sacrificing some traits while gaining others. Specialization can be achieved through:

  ? Class Progression

  ? Powerful Artifacts

  ? The Gift of a God

  Specialization becomes available after Adept and requires a special trainer. Hades has made an exception for you. Your class is now your passion, leaving no time for a separate profession. Henceforth, if you accept the Class Specialization of Twilight Guardian, your Profession and Class will rank up simultaneously.

  But what does the Twilight Guardian entail exactly?

  No data available.

  Great.

  The lack of a clear class description only heightened his wariness and just reminded him of how little he knew of the world. This was no ordinary upgrade, and Jace knew better than to blindly accept anything without understanding its full implications. Before he made any decisions, he needed to speak with Hades.

  Thinking back to his encounter with Hades, Jace felt a familiar unease stir within him. What just happened lingered in his mind, causing heat to bubble up from deep within him—a mix of tension and unresolved questions.

  Jace’s anger flared like wildfire as he stormed into the Underworld, the darkness curling around him as if drawn to the heat of his fury. Shadows slithered across the walls, whispering the secrets of the damned, but Jace didn’t hear them. His thoughts were too loud, too chaotic, pounding in his skull with each step.

  The throne room yawned before him—a vast cavern of obsidian and despair, where flames flickered like ghosts in the gloom. Hades sat atop his throne, a brooding figure carved from the darkness itself. His eyes, burning embers in the abyss, watched Jace’s approach with an eerie calm.

  Jace stopped at the foot of the throne, his rage barely contained. “The girl was tormented by a greater demon—a herald,” he spat, his words like daggers in the thick air. “How could you let this happen? Aren’t you supposed to be the one in charge here?”

  Hades leaned back, a slow, deliberate movement that reeked of ancient power and endless patience. “Mind your tone, mortal,” he said, his voice a rumble that echoed through the chamber. “Remember who you’re talking to. I am the Lord of the Underworld, not your friend.”

  “I thought that you had control, that you could stop things like this.”

  “Control?” Hades’ lips curled into a half-smile, though there was no warmth in it. “My domain is vast, Jace. But it’s not absolute. There’s a balance—one we gods must keep. If I intervene too directly, it gives the others a free hand to do the same. And trust me, that’s a mess you don’t want.”

  Jace clenched his fists, frustration bubbling over into sarcasm. “So, what? You just sit back and let people get hurt because of some divine stalemate?”

  The flames around Hades flared, bathing the room in a hellish light. The god’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, the room seemed to tilt, reality-bending under the sheer weight of his presence. “Careful,” Hades warned, his voice as cold and lethal as a winter storm. “You’re treading on dangerous ground.”

  Jace’s mouth went dry, but he refused to back down. “I’m just trying to understand why you can’t—“

  The rest of his sentence died in his throat as Hades stood, his form swelling to fill the room, a towering inferno of divine wrath. The very air around him crackled with energy, and the earth beneath Jace’s feet trembled.

  “You dare question me?” Hades’ voice was a thunderclap, reverberating through the bones of the Underworld. “You, who I have granted power beyond your mortal understanding?”

  Jace staggered back, the words from Hades hitting him like a sledgehammer. His pulse pounded in his ears, drowning out everything but the primal urge to drop to his knees, to plead for mercy. But he stood firm, his body quivering under the strain of defiance.

  “The pain of her soul could have been avoided. You could have done your job when it was given to you,” Hades snarled, each word a lash against Jace’s already frayed nerves. “Instead, you found excuses, shunted your responsibility, and look at the cost.”

  The accusation cut deeper than any blade. Jace’s chest tightened, a suffocating mix of guilt and anger warring within him. He wanted to scream, to deny it, but the truth weighed too heavily on his tongue.

  And then, as suddenly as it began, the storm broke. Hades shrank back to his usual size, but the fire in his eyes still smoldered, now tinged with something far worse—sadness, sympathy. “Do you think this is the only soul in pain? What’s coming is greater than us both, boy. There are forces at play that you can’t begin to comprehend. The trouble you and your kind are facing, being trapped here—this is just the beginning. I can’t allow room for the other gods to interfere. If I act directly, I give them the same right, and I can’t control what they’ll do.”

  Jace swallowed hard, his anger faltering as Hades’ tone shifted, almost gentle, as if speaking to a child. “I’ve given you a gift, Jace,” the god said, his voice now eerily soft.

  “A gift?” The word felt alien in Jace’s mouth. “What gift?”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “You should have received a message from the System. A unique class—one that carries my mark, with many paths before you.”

  “Why?” Jace’s voice cracked, a tremor betraying the turmoil inside him.

  Hades hesitated, a flicker of something unguarded passing over his face. When he spoke again, his voice was weary, raw with a rare honesty. “Because I chose you. And because I need you. What happened—it shouldn’t have been possible, and you’re right to question it. But these are not usual times. I cannot guarantee I’ll be here when you need me most.”

  Jace’s frustration boiled over. “What does that even mean? Why are gods always so cryptic? Where are you going?”

  “I’m already on the edge of what I’m allowed to reveal,” Hades replied, his gaze distant, troubled.

  For the first time, Jace saw something almost like fear in the god’s eyes, a flicker of uncertainty that sent a chill through him. Hades wasn’t supposed to be unsure. He was a god, infallible, unshakeable. But in that moment, he looked anything but.

  Jace nodded, swallowing the last of his pride. “Alright. I’ll use it.”

  Hades’ expression softened, just a fraction. “Good.” He paused, then added, almost as an afterthought, “And Jace? Don’t make me regret it.”

  Jace tried a smile. He thought back to the last moments with Damon and Ponos.

  “There is one more thing,” he added. He opened his inventory and pulled out the item he had taken off of Ponos’ body. His fingers brushed against the cool metal of the ruddy bronze locket. He hesitated for a moment, the weight of it settling heavily in his palm. The dim light of the chamber seemed to retreat from the object, as if repelled by the dark energy it emitted. He turned to Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, standing at his desk with an air of ancient weariness.

  Jace held the locket out. “Ponos had this on him. It seems strange. Important somehow.”

  Hades’ eyes narrowed, his expression shifting from curiosity to something far more guarded. He recoiled slightly, refusing to touch the locket. “Set it down,” he ordered, his voice sharp, cutting through the thick silence of the room.

  Jace did as instructed, placing the locket carefully on the desk. The moment it left his hand, a coldness seeped into the room, a chill that seemed to emanate from the locket itself. Hades eyed it warily, then turned his gaze toward a small, flickering lamp on the far side of the room.

  Without a word, Hades extended his hand toward the lamp, his fingers curling in a summoning motion. The smoke rising from the lamp began to twist and coil, darkening as it gathered into a dense, swirling cloud. From within the smoke, a figure slowly took shape—a spirit, its form ethereal yet somehow solid, like a shadow-given life. The spirit’s eyes glowed faintly as it regarded Hades, awaiting his command.

  “Take this to the place,” Hades intoned, his voice low and resonant with authority.

  The spirit nodded, understanding the unspoken gravity of the task. It reached out, its smoky tendrils wrapping around the locket with a gentleness that belied the danger Hades had sensed. As the spirit lifted the locket, the air around it grew colder still, the temperature dropping as the locket was lifted from the desk. With a final glance at Hades, the spirit drifted silently out of the room, vanishing into the shadows beyond.

  Hades watched the spirit depart, his expression grave. He turned to Jace, his eyes dark with a seriousness that made Jace’s breath catch.

  Hades shook his head slowly, the weight of what he knew pressing down on his shoulders. “Best not to speak of this to anyone, if it can be avoided. This is worse than I had thought. I must speak with the others.”

  Jace frowned, a knot of unease forming in his stomach. “What is it? What’s going on?”

  But Hades was already heading for the door, his thoughts clearly elsewhere, tangled in secrets too dangerous to share. “I’ll handle this,” he muttered, more to himself than to Jace. “Trust me, but don’t breathe a word of this to anyone—not a soul—unless you’d bet your life on their loyalty. And even then, tread carefully. I need to speak with the others.”

  And with that, Hades left the room, leaving Jace alone with the lingering chill of his departure, and the unsettling knowledge that whatever the locket had awakened was far beyond his understanding.

  The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the distant drip of water and the faint crackle of dying embers. Jace stood there for a long moment, the weight of the encounter settling over him like a shroud. There was power in him now, new abilities he didn’t yet understand. But there were also questions, too many questions, and no answers in sight.

  And that, more than anything, terrified him.

  Achievement Unlocked

  A Frayed Soul

  Your soul bears the scars of immense pressure, crushed beneath the weight of a god’s will. Congratulations, it’s only your first month in school, and you’re already making friends.

  +1 to Spirit Constitution

  Hidden Attribute Unlocked: Spirit Constitution has been revealed.

  Spirit Constitution: 17

  Spirit Constitution: This attribute directly affects your ability to withstand spiritual pressures and influences and affects all spirit-related spells and the very core of your soul—your essence. Elevating this attribute requires immense effort, dedication, and a relentless pursuit of self-improvement.

  You’re embarking on a journey of self-awareness. Improve this attribute to improve your You-ness.

  Jace lingered in the now-empty room, the weight of his encounter with Hades still heavy in the air. The god’s cryptic words echoed in his mind, unraveling into more questions than answers. He exhaled slowly, trying to shake off the unease that clung to him, but it followed him as he made his way back to his dorms.

  He wasn’t sure why he kept delaying the acceptance of the class specialization. Maybe it was the uncertainty—the sense that once he took this step, there would be no going back. The decision loomed over him, a shadow he couldn’t quite escape.

  Back in his dorm, Jace headed for the shower, letting the hot water wash away the grime of the day. He scrubbed at his skin, as if the heat could somehow clear the thoughts tangled in his mind. But even as the steam rose around him, his mind kept drifting back to Hades, to the bronze locket, to the ominous tone in the god’s voice.

  Later, dressed in starlight pajamas adorned with strange constellations that seemed to shimmer in the dim light, Jace stood before the full-length mirror in his room. He hesitated, his reflection staring back at him with the same uncertainty he felt inside. The notification for the class upgrade hovered in his vision, pulsing softly, as if urging him to make a decision.

  Accepting the class upgrade felt like crossing a threshold, a point of no return into an unknown that could reshape everything. His life had already changed so much—what was one more step? But this... this felt different. There was a gravity to it, a sense that whatever lay on the other side could alter his fate in ways he couldn’t predict.

  He sighed, running a hand through his damp hair. What choice did he have? Hades had given him this gift—whatever it truly was—for a reason. If the god’s words held any truth, Jace would need every ounce of power he could muster for what was to come.

  The reflection in the mirror didn’t offer any answers, just the same wary eyes staring back at him. But deep down, he knew the decision had already been made, long before this moment.

  With a deep breath, Jace selected to accept the upgrade.

  The moment he did, a surge of energy exploded within him, as if a dam had burst, releasing a torrent of raw, unbridled power. It tore through him, setting every nerve on fire, burning away the exhaustion and fear that had been tormenting him. He gasped, doubling over as the energy flooded his veins, coursing through his body like liquid lightning. It wasn’t just physical—it was something deeper, something that resonated with his very soul.

  His vision blurred, the room around him fading into a haze as the power continued to build, spiraling higher and higher until it felt like he might shatter under the intensity of it. But just as it reached its peak, the energy began to coalesce, condensing into a potent, focused force that hummed with purpose.

  It was as if he had been plugged into the heart of the universe, drawing from an infinite well of divine power. The sensation was both exhilarating and terrifying, a heady mix of strength and clarity that left him breathless.

  Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the rush subsided, leaving him standing there, panting, his skin tingling with the residual charge. A notification flashed before his eyes, crisp and clear.

  Class Upgrade: Twilight Guardian