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Ophelia stands on the edge of a small cliff with her eyes shut tightly. With all her might, she makes a wish to the night sky.
“I wish my dreams would come true,” she eagerly wishes.
A voice in the distance shouts, "Ophelia, hurry, let’s go; we’re done taking pictures!” She turns around to see that it was her cousin, who had already walked a distance between them. She begins to run towards him, keeping perfectly balanced.
“Let’s go,” she adds. “I am sure grandma is waiting with her slippers by the door to turn the key upon us.”
As they run through market stores and people, Ophelia repeats her wish for her dreams to come true.
Ophelia reaches the hotel where they are staying, and as expected, her grandmother is waiting for her.
“I always knew you two wanted me dead, coming home at such an hour!” Her grandmother yells, throwing the cloth that she had been holding in their direction. It hits her cousin across the face, and Ophelia holds back her laughter.
"Jester, are you okay?” She asks, holding back her laughter.
Ophelia, her grandmother Mave, her cousin Jester, and her grandfather Aksel were all on a family trip to Rhodes. They had been there for a week and would soon return to Denmark. She had discovered that cliff one day on her way back from the beautiful beaches and now frequented it at sunset to make a wish. It was her last night there, and she wanted one last try at making a wish. In the dead of the night. She sneaks off by herself to the beach to see the stars once more. There was a particularly bright sky, which she loved to wish upon.
She takes a seat in her usual spot and gazes at the still sea when suddenly a bright light is reflected on the waters—a shooting star, she thinks. She makes another wish. The light gets brighter and closer. Suddenly, the ground trembles as the glowing star hits the sand. Ophelia instinctively runs towards it.
She finds a person lying where her star should have fallen, and she approaches, asking if they were okay. She turns the person around, and in shock, she backs off. It was the man that she had dreamed of every day for five years, since her 17th birthday. He opens his eyes, and a confused Ophelia approaches once more. The man called out, “My midnight.” She takes the hand that he had stretched out to her, and they are both enveloped in light. Ophelia sees darkness, and she can feel herself losing consciousness.
A distant voice echos, and both Ophelia and Helios wake up, taking note of each other's presence. They are still by the seaside, but to Ophelia, it was unfamiliar.
"Where are we? she asks" in a shaking voice.
"Rhodes, of course," Helios replies.
The confusion was enough to make Ophelia lose her mind about what to say next. The earth shakes, and a beastly hound emerges from it, a distance away from them. Helios gets to his feet and pushes Ophelia away. He charges at the demonic creature, shouting, "Hell-hound, what, why?" He strikes at the creature with a glowing fist, and it is pushed into the water. The beast regains its footing and is now walking on the surface of the water.
In shock, Ophelia begins to run. Helios senses the immediate danger and charges at the demon once more before it takes an interest in her. The demon shatters to pieces, turning into blue dust and fading into the waters. The waters begin to foam, and a dark light, darker than the current night sky, rips through the water. A figure begins to emerge from it. It flies towards Helios, landing in front of him and shrinking as he does so to human proportions. It was a man in a dark robe, ancient to Ophelia's eyes, normal to Helios.
"Cousin!" The voice resonates. "What a pleasant surprise, Helios. My hounds sensed that a life was about, something that did not belong; had I known sooner that it was you, I would not have allowed them to leave."
Helios stands there in silence, still shocked about what was going on. He races towards Ophelia, ignoring the presence of the man in front of him. He checks to see if she is unharmed and hugs her tightly. Ophelia accepts the embrace, unable to move or refuse due to his overwhelming strength and the pure fear that she is feeling. He turns to speak to the man who was walking towards them with an amused look on his face. The man begins to clap arrogantly, his smirk getting bigger. "You truly are a brave one, Helios," the man says, his voice dripping with condescension. "But unfortunately for you, your little display of defiance has put you both in grave danger." Helios glares at the man, his protective instincts kicking into overdrive. He knows they are in a dangerous situation, but he refuses to back down. Ophelia, still unable to move, looks up at Helios with a mixture of fear and gratitude in her eyes. The man's smirk fades as he realises that he may have underestimated the determination and bond between these two.
As the man gets closer, Helios finally recognises his face and voice.
"Hades?" He asked, though he already knew the answer to his question.
"Yes, cousin," Hades replies.
Hades rarely left his kingdom out of hatred for Zeus, and when he did, it was for a scheme that exceeded that of what his other cousin Zeus could ever come up with. Hades always left a morbid taste in his mouth, but unlike Zeus, Helios knew that whatever question he asked would be answered honestly, for Hades was unable to lie.
"I have been asleep for many twilight's, and when I last counted, the year was 2000, but now I open my eyes to be back in my present, cousin. What is going on?"
Without hesitation, Hades crouches down to meet Helios and Ophelia and begins an explanation that leaves them both equally confused. He told a tale of their grandmother Gaea, the same person who helped Zeus and Odin, granted Ophelia a wish—her one and only wish. A wish granted to a soul so pure that it had merit even to the arrogant gods.
"How do you know of these facts, cousin?"
"Why do the dead tend to whisper?"
"The dead?" Ophelia is more terrified than ever.
"The girl speaks; she is wonderful. You girl, yes, you wish to have your dreams come true. And you, Helios, wasted your eternity away amongst the stars. Gaea, who felt guilt for what she did to her grandson, granted his first true love a wish."
"No, no, I am going back to Denmark tomorrow. I need to return to Grandma; she will be worried."
Ophelia leaves Helios' grip and begins to run towards what she assumed was the hotel.
"Leave her only son of Theia. She needs to see the truth for herself. You know that I cannot willingly cause you harm, cousin."
Helios watches her run with a heavy heart, knowing that Hades cannot harm mortals. He also had the strength to take on any harm that might fall on her. As Ophelia's figure disappeared into the distance, Helios felt a sense of unease wash over him. He knew that Hades was a formidable force, one that could easily manipulate and deceive mortals. As Ophelia reaches where the hotel should have been, she is greeted with trees, rocks, and more sand. She falls to her knees and screams in horror, eventually losing consciousness.
Helios flies over and picks her up. He gently cradles her in his arms, his face etched with worry and fear for Ophelia's safety. The realisation that Gaea may have played another cruel trick on him fills him with anger and determination. Helios flies back in the direction of his palace, determined to confront Gaea and make her pay for his deceit. As Ophelia stirs in his arms, Helios whispers words of reassurance and promises to protect her from any harm that may come her way.
As he flies off, he turns to Hades, whose smile had turned into a frown, and warns him, "Keep away, Lord of the Unseen." Hades watches Helios disappear into the distance, a deep scowl etched on his face. He knows the power that Gaea wields and the danger that lies ahead. As Hades looks at the unconscious form of Ophelia, he knows that he must find a way to protect her from the impending confrontation. With a heavy heart, he prepares himself for what may come, steeling his resolve to stand by Helios' side even though it was clear that Helios did not yet believe in him. Hades, after all, always garnered fear, not belief, and so he was willing to wait for the truth to unveil.
