An intimidating personage sitting on a throne of sulphur, holding the scepter of his realm in his right hand, and with his left strangling a soul. - De deorum imaginibus libellus, chapter 6, "De Plutone"

The next day. *Woof* *Woof*

"Yea, your foods coming." Alex was pouring Barney his dog food while training the new intern.

"Hades, welcome to the team. As long as you meet your quota, you'll enjoy a long career here," Alex said to Hades, who now existed in his inner world.

'...It's an honor, my Lord.'

Meanwhile, Scott was busy giving Hades a tour of Cardopolis. When seeing the majestic city of cards, Hades was also shocked. Then he grew furious, berating Scott for swindling him to follow a crazy bastard that would build something like this. Eventually, he calmed down after Scott explained Alex's background to him.

"Still. What use is this bizarre civilization going to be to the Lord?" Hades asked.

Scott sighed. "Probably none, but who knows. I'm going to keep exploring to find if there is anything valuable here. If not, we'll just have to make do without any resources for now. Meanwhile, you should go introduce the Lord to your ability." Hades nodded.

"Lord," Hades petitioned.

"AHH Damn! Don't you knock?!?" Alex had stubbed his toe on a doorway when the unexpected voice of Hades suddenly spoke to him.

"...I apologize Lord. I'll be sure to...knock from now on."

"What is it?"

"Lord, is this a good time for me to introduce my ability to you?"

Alex was about to say he was busy, remembering Scott's useless sandals, before reconsidering. 'Wait, this guy Hades has a rep, he probably even has a Wikipedia page. I don't have much hope but let's see what he can do.'

Alex walked over and sat down on the couch preparing for disappointment. He swung his right arm around, warming it up for the impending throw. Barney panted, growing excited for the upcoming game of fetch. "Yes, go ahead."

"Please summon my soul item, Lord." Alex did as instructed.

A light ball emerged in front of Alex, quickly materializing in his hands to form a helmet. It was pitch black matte, seemingly absorbing all light around it. Shaped in a simple greek style, it protected the whole head down to the jaw, including both sides of the face. The areas of the eyes, nose, and mouth were uncovered, save for an armor strip hanging down the bridge of the nose.

It was the coolest helmet Alex hadever seen.

"Lord, this is the Helm of Darkness."

Even the name was cool. Alex almost got excited just based off that, but he would not be fooled twice. "What's its ability?"

"It makes the wielder invisible."

Alex stood up and unleashed a savage barrage of fist pumps into the air. He began to launch dance moves around the apartment while shouting out various emotional phrases. Barney ran circles around him, jumping up on his hind legs to join the dance-off. Only after exhaustion hit after many minutes did he finally calm down. He remembered something.

"Scott, don't you feel any shame? Why couldn't you bring out something cool like this? Instead, you make me look like a brokeass hipster. Hades, well done, you just took the lead in the running for a promotion."

Hades sheet-white face bloomed red as his lips slightly curved upwards. The lord of the Underworld was blushing.

Simultaneously, Scott hung his head down in silence. One man's joy became another man's sorrow.

Alex took the Helm and went over to his bathroom mirror. While watching his reflection, he put it on and gawked when he disappeared. He took it off and reemerged. Then he did this about 20 more times to check he wasn't dreaming. While wearing the Helm, he could view his body normally, but from all external perspectives, he was not there.

"I need to properly study this power. I can't slack off." He decided it was time for experiments.

The scientific process involved teasing Barney for a quarter hour. By the end of the experiment, Barney was convinced the apartment was haunted as he went to hide in the corner, laying on his dog bed with a chew toy squeaking in his mouth.

"My hypothesis was correct: Barney is scared of ghosts."

Meanwhile, Scott had been exploring the large world of Cardopolis since yesterday, but had yet to find anything that could be of use to the Lord. This civilization was a very strange one. He had never heard of anything like it. Somehow, these people had managed to use cards as their fundamental building block of everything, as other worlds might use cement or stone.

The planet itself was rich in these card-shaped minerals of various sizes, which could also be cut and transformed. It was a great shock to him when he first dug into an ore vein and discovered such a thing. However, outside of being interesting...

Scott was on his last hope. He had found a reclusive temple in the mountains that was releasing unusual energy. He entered secretly without anyone perceiving his existence. In inner worlds, Generals were extremely powerful, with a multitude of abilities, so this was a casual matter for him.

Passing by several card courtyards with majestic gardens, he stumbled upon...a woman's back. Her long black hair draped over her white silk robe down to the small of her back, where it was tied into a loose ponytail, as if holding it back from blanketing the entire room in its elegance.

Scott felt that strange energy pouring out from the front of this mortal. With growing interest, step by step, he approached her side. Finally, he saw it. His eyes opened wide with shock and he gasped.

'This is...'

Author's Note:

Helm of Darkness: https://cutt.ly/asgO7X5

Info on Hades: https://bit.ly/3jBQ0em