Half-Blood | NCT DREAM

Chapter 23

"Whoa." Chenle exclaimed as Haerin stepped back, the rock in front of them turning to dust to reveal Jaemin on the other side, staring at her in awe.

"You did it." Mark said, giving Haerin a smile as she caught her breath, wiping the small droplets of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead.

"Yeah, I did." Haerin mumbled as Jaemin, dusted himself off.

"I look awful, don't I?" Jaemin asked, earning looks from the others.

"You're covered in dirt." Haechan told him. "But we don't have time for that, where's the others?"

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Haerin." Jaemin said, pointing ahead. "But I think you have to do that a few more times."

Haerin gulped as she followed Jaemin's finger to another rock wall further down.

"Great."

...

Haerin was starting to regret freeing Renjun when him and Haechan began bickering once again. Jeno, who normally stopped the two, was way too exhausted from being trapped for so long, making the bickering worse than usual.

It didn't help that there was still one more wall to break but Haerin felt like her life had been sucked out of her. Dasom had to be the last one trapped as well.

"Whoa, easy there." Mark said, tightly wrapping his arms around her waist as she tripped over a rock in the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Just feeling a little light-headed." Haerin mumbled, before resting her head on Mark's shoulder, closing her eyes.

That's when the sounds around her slowly began to fade and the world became black.

...

Haerin woke up to see that she was lying on ground of somewhere dark, different from the cave she was in before. There were flames in the distance, the sky glowing orange, red, and purple, like a dark sunset.

She looked around her, searching for the other demigods but instead, she saw a dark figuring sitting on what seemed like a throne of skulls.

Hades.

Hades stared at his daughter as she slowly pushed herself up, still feeling weak.

"You look exactly like your mother."

Hades got up from his throne, slowly making his way towards Haerin, as she stood in front of him.

For some reason, Hades gave her a sense of comfort, reminding her of her dark cabin back at Camp Half-Blood. She had never met the god of the underworld before, yet she felt like she had known him her entire life.

Hades was a tall male, with pale skinny, sporting black hair. His eyes were dark as the night, but Haerin recognized the look her father was giving her.

It was the same one she had seen him give to her mother. The look of affection.

"You must be exhausted." Hades said, lifting his hand. Haerin was surprised by a rumbling sound and turned to see that her father had raised a bed made of rock and dirt behind her. "I promise you, it's comfortable."

Haerin felt herself sink into the bed, and surprisingly, it was decently comfortable like her father had said. Hades took a seat beside her.

"You probably have a million questions about me, don't you?" Hades asked.

"I guess." Haerin responded, feeling the tension. She didn't really know what to say.

"I'm sorry about your mother, Haerin. I wanted to protect her, but I failed." Hades said, bowing his head. "That's why I sent you away. Seeing you and how much you resemble her, I couldn't bear having you around me. It was a constant reminder of my failure. Plus, I couldn't afford the others knowing that I have a daughter."

Haerin watched as Hades turned his head, reaching his pale and slender fingers out, slowly running them through her hair.

"You're all grown up now. And I can't help but wonder what it would have been like to be with you every step of the way." Hades told her before removing his hand. "I'm proud of you."

"I've done nothing to earn that." Haerin argued. "Literally nothing."

"That's not true." Hades replied. "You're the reason why your friends have been saved."

"I guess." Haerin muttered, clutching onto the edge of the bed. "But I couldn't save Dasom."

"That's why I came into your dream." Hades said, placing his hand on his daughter's shoulders. "To give you my blessing."

"Your blessing?" Haerin asked. Hades nodded his head, giving her a small smile.

"I think it's time for you to wake up."

...

Haerin opened her eyes to see Mark's face right in front of hers, eyes closed, soft breathing noises coming from his mouth. He was asleep.

She sat up, looking around her to see that they were inside one of the tents, both across an open sleeping bag. There was no one else inside, just the two of them.

"You're awake."

Haerin turned back to the male to see that his eyes were half open, a yawn escaping his lips as he sat up, stretching his arms above his head. He froze halfway, eyes widening as he caught sight of her face.

"Is there something wrong?" Haerin asked, tilting her head ever so slightly.

"Yeah, your eyes are red."

Haerin grabbed her phone, turning her camera on as Mark lit a small bolt between his fingers to light up the tent. Sure enough, like Mark said, her eyes were glowing bright red.

That wasn't the only change in Haerin's body. She noticed that her hair was jet black, identical to Hades.

"His blessing." Haerin whispered as she placed her phone down, but Mark heard her.

"Who's blessing?" Mark asked, placing a hand on her arm.

"Hades." Haerin told him. "I saw him in my dream."

"That explains a lot." Mark said, running a hand through his hair.

"What do you mean?" Haerin asked, staring at the male.

Mark motioned towards her. "When you receive a god's blessing, your features change. Each blessing is different. Aphrodite's blessing is how she claims her children, and I remember Jaemin was looking like a celebrity for a good week from that."

"Doesn't seem like much has changed since then." Haerin said before realizing something. "Wait, doesn't that mean..."

"Haerin, hold up!" Mark cried as Haerin ran out of the tent, heading straight towards the stone wall inside the cave. Mark's yell woke the other boys up, and soon they were crowded around Haerin, half asleep.

"It's way too early for this." Haechan mumbled, earning a nudge from Renjun.

"It's fine, stop complaining." Renjun responded.

"Shut up, moon boy."

"Yah!"

"Both of you shut it." Jeno demanded, immediately silencing the two. It was clear that neither of them wanted to anger the son of Ares further, the male already triggered by being woken up in the middle of the night.

"Come on, come on." Haerin muttered as she placed a hand on the rock, taking a deep breath.

Hades' blessing had definitely helped, the girl feeling much stronger than she ever did before. The wall soon turned to dust, revealing Dasom sitting there with a bow that glowed pink in her hands.

Eros' bow.

Dasom looked up as she caught sight of her friends, a small smirk on her face as she met Haerin's eyes.

"Took you all long enough."

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SHE DID IT!

I swear if anyone mentions dora 👀