The Story of Tartarus - (2)
The dull, heavy thud of metal rang through the depths.
Boom!Thud!
Father Cronus was striking the thick bronze gate. True to his reputation as the strongest of the Titan gods, he endured the scorching heat near the door and continued hammering away. Then his voice boomed out once more.
“Hades! I heard that Zeus has seized dominion over the world!”
His cry sounded like the roar of a beast, distorted by the agony of the blistering winds. The three Hecatoncheires brothers glanced at one another, preparing for any sudden move, and began gathering their power.
I placed my hand on the Styx blade at my waist and approached the bronze gate. The Hecatoncheires had suggested simply ignoring him, but he had already heard my voice. I needed to crush any lingering hope he might have of being released and stop him from bothering the three brothers any further.
“What does that have to do with you?”
“Of course it does! Are you truly content to remain the lord of this dark underworld?!”
I had wondered what nonsense he would spout… so he was trying to sow discord using the outside news I had just shared with the brothers.
“If you free me, I will drive out that damned Zeus and give you everything beneath the heavens!”
I have no interest in power. And you, who tried to kill your own children and even started a war, think you can tempt me with authority?
“Any goddess you desire—except for Rhea, of course—shall be yours! Just imagine it, those beautiful…”
“Abandon your futile hopes and remain locked away forever.”
It was impressive that he could still withstand the heat beyond the gate.
“Why?! Do my terms not please you? Those hideous creatures may guard it, but someone of your caliber should be able to open the gate for a moment!”
The ‘hideous creatures’ he spoke of were the Hecatoncheires brothers, whom Grandfather Uranus had cast into Tartarus and whom Cronus had simply left to rot. Hearing his words, their already fierce expressions twisted even further.
No wonder he lost to us. The chief god who once ruled the world had such a rude personality.
“No matter what conditions you offer, I have not the slightest intention of releasing you, so…”
When I continued to refuse, Cronus shouted in a desperate voice.
“Krrgh… Hades! Have you no pity for your father?! You are the child of me and Rhea!”
The Lord of the Underworld, Hades, was counted among the greatest benevolent gods.
It was hard to believe that the god of the dreaded realm of the dead could be a benevolent deity, yet at least that was how Lethe felt.
Despite holding the lofty position of one of the Three Chief Gods, he treated even minor deities like her with respect. As the god of wealth known as Pluto, he lived modestly without even wearing common ornaments like bracelets. He always showed the qualities of a wise ruler, deeply concerned with the lives of the souls who had become his people. A merciful god who cared more for mortals living their short lives than for the authority of the Underworld.
He was so different from Zeus and Poseidon, the other two of the Three Chief Gods. Unlike those two who would seize any goddess they desired by force, Hades was not a brute like his brothers. When she wore clothing that revealed her figure, she could feel his gaze upon her, yet he did not seem to indulge in such vices… With such power and authority, why did he never lay a hand on any goddess?
Perhaps that was precisely why she had fallen for him.
Hades might not realize it, but there were countless women aiming to become the mistress of the Underworld. Many goddesses of Olympus, the goddess Styx, nymphs who inhabited certain objects or natural features… and finally, the goddess of forgetfulness, Lethe herself.
That was why, just now, she had subtly focused the power of oblivion to satisfy her own desires. In the end, he had noticed that she was holding his hand, but she liked how he had not scolded her harshly and simply let it pass.
Yet that same gentle, benevolent god was now truly enraged. Lethe could tell.
“Did you just call him father?”
The god of the Underworld glared beyond the bronze gate with a savage, twisted smile. The entire Underworld trembled. His form was enveloped in pitch-black, icy divine power, transforming into a silhouette of darkness. Even a single word revealed just how violently his emotions were surging.
This fury was on an entirely different level from the warning he had sent to Olympus through Iris during the great flood. Overwhelmed by the immense release of divine energy, Lethe could only retreat helplessly. Even the Hecatoncheires brothers, who had distinguished themselves in the Titanomachy, could not disregard it. They watched Hades’s back with hardened expressions.
As if unaware of his rage, Cronus continued speaking from beyond the bronze gate.
“Though our relationship has been rocky, are we not still father and son?! Remember when you were born and held in Rhea’s arms…”
“If it were possible, I would rip out every drop of your blood that flows through my veins.”
Intense emotion burst forth, cracking the ground where Hades stood… yet his voice sank into an eerily calm tone.
“How dare you! Those born from my father’s blood shall judge you!”
“The Erinyes are getting along quite well with me. They visited my castle not long ago.”
“What?!”
He was referring to the three goddesses of vengeance born from his father’s blood—the Erinyes. Born from the blood of Uranus’s severed member, they were beings everyone feared and avoided. The goddess of forgetfulness, Lethe, knew well of those who dwelled in the Underworld.
Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera.
These three goddesses were the avengers with bronze wings, eyes that wept blood, and hair of snakes. They punished all manner of sins, but especially took vengeance on those who committed kin-slaying, and they were particularly strict with crimes of immorality.
They were terrifying goddesses of vengeance that everyone avoided, yet the King of the Underworld approached them without hesitation. Now they had grown close enough to visit him occasionally.
“You were the one who tried to kill us first, weren’t you? The Erinyes are not fools, contrary to what you seem to think.”
“Hades! I am your—”
“As the Lord of the Underworld, I declare,”
Hades’s icy voice cut off the God of Time and Agriculture mid-sentence. At this moment, his words became both a proclamation and a law. A declaration backed by the divinity of the god of the dead bound Cronus. It was not quite an interference with fate, but it would become a prophecy carrying a power that was nearly impossible to defy, at least within this underground realm.
“You will never escape from that place.”
“Krrgh… Y-you think you’re any different…! Eventually, when someone threatens your own authority…”
The voice beyond the bronze gate gradually grew distant. Even Cronus could no longer endure the swirling heat. As the voice slowly faded, Hades too calmed his emotions. The spine-chilling black silhouette vanished, and he returned to his usual gloomy male form.
With a bitter smile, he spoke to the Hecatoncheires.
“Sigh… The Underworld must have shaken quite a bit. The souls are probably startled. I’m sorry, but I’ll be heading back now.”
“Mm… Then we’ll see you next time.”
“Today wasn’t a good day to reminisce.”
“Go in peace. We will guard this place.”
As expected, he truly was a benevolent god.
What a madman. To appeal to blood ties by calling himself my father—did he really think I would fall for that?
What? He would share everything under the heavens and give me goddesses if I freed him? Because of that lunatic criminal spouting such insane nonsense, the Underworld shook more than it should have. Failing to control even simple emotions like this… not a good look for a ruler…
“Um… Hades.”
The goddess Lethe, who had been quietly following me back to the Underworld, finally spoke. Her face held its usual dreamy expression, yet somehow it seemed as if she pitied me.
“If you’d like… I could make those memories a little fainter for you…”
“…It’s fine.”
She must have said it because she saw how furious I had become… but it wasn’t to that extent. I was merely a little displeased. More importantly, rather than my own feelings, I needed to take care of the citizens of the Underworld who had been startled by that earthquake. When I get back, the goddess Styx is going to nag me again.
As we climbed higher, the soldiers stationed here were gripping their weapons tightly, all of them visibly tense. They probably thought an enemy had invaded because of my mistake just now.
“Lord Hades. There was a vibration from deep underground…”
“Did something happen to the sinners in Tartarus…”
I told them it was nothing and to pay it no mind as I walked past. I needed to return to the castle and get back to work.
“Lord Hades!”
“Morpheus? What’s the matter?”
The god with striking green hair was Morpheus, the God of Dreams. As the son of the god of darkness Erebus and the goddess of night Nyx, he was one of the deities of the Underworld. Like the God of Sleep Hypnos, he usually had a gentle and soft demeanor… but right now, his expression was extremely urgent.
It was nighttime, so he should have been away from the Underworld, delivering dreams to the living. Yet here he was.
“Huff… huff… The god Hermes has collapsed at the entrance to the Underworld, covered in blood!”