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It has been a while, hasn't it.
Hythlodaeus doesn't speak at first, a bit stunned at the sight of a familiar soul, so small he's never seen one like it in Amaurot, but still so familiar that the simulacra of his own soul can't help but reach for it. He's nothing but an empty image created for the solace of a lonely man, he knows this and acts the part of an empty shade in the Architect's stage, but…
Ah, that explains why.
He'd recognize their soul anywhere. It had always been of a special hue.
Hythlodaeus had loved them like family, of course even a reflection of himself would be drawn to it, just like Hades in this time. With a smile, Hythlodaeus approaches them as they hold their head in pain; perhaps distracting them would help– he's done this before.
"Daeus..."
"Breathe, Persephone, it'll go away."
A sigh. "How can you knoooow–ugh, this is it, this is where I die. Tell Lahabrea he can stick his back-up requests where he can, I'm not doing any more of his mixes after this," they whine, making Hythlodaeus chuckle at their antics as he watches the dizzying vapours leave the room through the window. In his friend's defense, there isn't a day where you can't see any weird fumes coming from the Akadaemia, so he's sure their superiors will let Persephone be. Besides, everyone knew Lahabrea's requests were quite hard to fulfill.
"Dramatic much?" he teases, gently, "someone's been spending some time with Hades."
At that, combined with the familiarity of the true name only they're allowed to use, his friend purses their lips together and he's sure they're getting slightly red in the face beneath their mask. Hythlodaeus pokes it, he can't help it and the distraction to keep the headache at bay seems to be working "So?"
"We're always together, Daeus. The three of us, in case you," they poke his mask back, setting it slightly askew, "forgot. We've been friends for centuries now, it's obvious I'd get sucked into his theatrics sooner or later."
Hythlodaeus has to bite his lip to avoid laughing as he mutters "ah, only his theatrics?"
Persephone gapes at him like one of those fishes Elidibus had created the other day, eyes wide and silly and face growing redder and redder to the point it matches their mask perfectly before they softly smack his arm. Hythlodaeus can't hold his laugh any longer and it bubbles free out of him, earning another smack. "Oh, my friend, forgive me, but you set yourself up for that one."
"You're terrible, the both of you are!" But Persephone is laughing and so is he, and when Hades' enters the room, worry showing clear on his face, he lets out a sigh of relief at seeing his friends good and well and sits with them, keeping Persephone busy until their headache is gone and they can all go back to work before the scholar Lahabrea decides to pay a visit and face a lecture from an angry Persephone about giving out unlabeled liquids for his works.
"May I?"
They gaze up at him, and oh, how small they look, just like an Amaurotine child and nothing like his old friend in his recreated memories, but that soul... he'd recognize it among those determined eyes anywhere. He wonders if Hades has, too.
Of course he has, Hythlodaeus thinks. One of his last memories before Zodiark and the newborn will clashed was Hades' shaking form, clutching Persephone's limp body to his chest as he begged and cried Why?! Why would you do this?! Please, please come back to me! Please, Persephone! Please!!
Just then, the world split, and Hythlodaeus, filled with grief for his friends and family, ceased to be. And that was it.
And you, Persephone? Have you forgotten?
"Have you followed in the wake of Emet-Selch?"
The tiny soul narrows their eyes at him, wary, but Hythlodaeus means no harm to them, and knowing their soul, they would accept him, eventually.
Persephone had always been one to accept people, to defend them if they asked for aid, to protect those who couldn't do it themselves, no matter what came forth. It had been what drew Hades to them in the first place, and Hythlodaeus could've not wished for a better partner for each other. Such special souls were meant for great things, and together they made an unstoppable team, even when young… How many times had they run away from their caretakers to explore the hidden corners of their city under the amused looks of their elders? How many times had they watched over each other as they grew? Too many to count.
He'd loved them both the same. They were his close friends, his family.
He'd never seen Hades so happy until they announced they would be bonding together, and Hythlodaeus had let out a loud "finally" that earned him a stern look and a smile from each before they pulled him into a hug. How foolish they'd looked, the three of them, but they never cared. Not until the Convocation, at least, and his two friends began to slowly slip away from each other. Even with his efforts and previous history with their squabbles, the fate of their star was too heavy and it ended up breaking them apart.
Oh, how he misses his friends.
But he knows they're long gone, and so is he.
All he can do is try and reach for them, as he'd always done whenever they fought in the past. Perhaps Hades still had a last chance to be able to rest, for Hythlodaeus had seen the man walking, tired and hunched and dragging his feet through the phantom city, just to where he remembers Persephone let out their last breath.
Sometimes he heard crying, but he could only walk past the broken man as the shade he was meant to be, just like the many others.
Hades, you were always so stubborn, taking the burdens of many on your shoulders without telling anyone, not even us...
He asks them about what they know and they oblige; the tiny soul knows what's to happen to his home, of course they do. He figures Hades told them, perhaps in a desperate attempt to stir their memories and bring them back to him, but Hythlodaeus knows.
Their soul was meant for greatness, bigger and greater even than Amaurot itself. It was a matter of time for them to remember, for another piece of their soul walks alongside them with the same unmistakable hue.
He'd only hoped the three of them could stay together, or at least with him gone they would take care of each other, but alas…
He knew his and Hades' time was up.
Maybe one day they would see each other in the beyond again, and perhaps then they'd be happy once more, this time forever.
Please take care of Hades, Persephone. I know you're in there, somewhere. Help him find peace… the weight has long crushed him.
When their name is called (and he smiles, thinking what Persephone would think of it) they jump down the bench, looking even smaller to him. Hythlodaeus wonders how Hades has managed to keep the teasing for himself, knowing how when he'd reached his growth spurt he'd used it to reach for Persephone's head and ruffle it whenever he could just to rile them up.
Just remembering it gives him a sense of peace.
Ah, well, it doesn't matter now.
"Fare you well, my new old friend. May you find what it is you seek."
Hythlodaeus then leaves, and waits.
"Ah, Hades, my friend."
Golden eyes look back at him from the Beyond. Blurry shapes come and go past them, but they don't matter. They have their places to be, and so does Hythlodaeus. He's long overdue.
Hades looks at peace, as if the weight of their people has been lifted off him.
I'm glad.
"I saw… I saw Persephone, just for a moment, before we clashed," he says, voice almost cracking at the mention of their name. Hythlodaeus smiles at him.
"Did you, now?"
"Yes. They were as fierce as ever."
"Persephone always fought for what they believed was right," Hythlodaeus pauses, unable to resist. He's missed this too much. "I assume you ate the floor, as you usually did when you fought?"
Hades snorts, making Hythlodaeus grin. "I'm dead, Daeus, show some respect."
"Hah! I'm dead too, Hades, I think we're even in this field."
Another pause. Hythlodaeus can see the change from mirth to grief in Hades' eyes. "I miss them. I've missed then. I'd hoped–" Hades chokes on his words, a difficult feat that turned easy whenever it came to Persephone. "I'd hoped they remembered and joined my cause to bring you all back so we could all be together again." A shaky breath followed by something akin to a sob. "I still love them. My Persephone..."
Hythlodaeus pauses and waits, waits until the pent up grief leaves Hades through choked sobs, but ever the one to try and put on a strong face for them when needed, he sobers up pretty quickly and shoots Hythlodaeus a brief apologetic look.
As it's always been with his friends, alive or dead, Hythlodaeus understands "I miss them too. I wish they knew." He will tell Persephone that, when they meet again. Even with the splitting of the star, he's missed them greatly.
It's time to go.
Hythlodaeus extends his hand towards his friend, who takes it and walks with him to where they're waiting for them, free of any wills and tempering and the crushing weight of their world. Their Star is in good hands now, with Persephone taking care of it, and it is enough.
"You should tell me what you've been up to, it's been pretty boring over here without you two being overly sweet, or overly dramatic. Or both, with an extra of longing that I always had to end up fixing."
Hades laughs at the jab, carefree, a sound Hythlodaeus hasn't heard in more than millenia, and listens to the tale of Emet-Selch from the very beginning, starting when three tiny Amaurotine children met when trying to reach a red fruit hanging from a tree to eat its seeds.
In the Beyond, Hythlodaeus and Hades wait.