Sisyphus... The Tale of Thanatos - (2)
Lately, the goddess Styx has been avoiding me. It’s probably because of that embarrassing scene she showed me last time. Even while she helps with the affairs of the Underworld without complaint, whenever our conversation drags on…
"Ah…"
Her ears turn red first, then her neck, then her whole face, and she quietly slips away. Did I ever try to stop her? Of course I did.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
"Ah…"
She sprinted away like a maiden fleeing from Zeus, so there was nothing I could do. And that wasn’t the end of it…
If I glanced toward a corner a short distance away, I would catch a gaze fixed on me. There stood the goddess Lethe, her eyes dead and lifeless.
Those vacant eyes had never felt so terrifying as they did recently. It was as if she was silently reproaching me; my skin prickled with guilt.
While I was staring blankly at a sheet of parchment, troubled by how strange our relationships had become lately, a soul rushed toward me with a desperate expression.
"Lord Hades!"
"…?"
"Souls have stopped coming to the Underworld for several days now!"
Just as I thought. There was no way the Underworld could ever enjoy true peace. I immediately convened an emergency meeting of the Underworld gods.
The other deities must have received reports about the sudden disappearance of death, because they arrived quickly.
"Suddenly, starting a few days ago, souls have stopped arriving in the Underworld!"
"Lord Thanatos himself has completely vanished!"
Thanatos, the very personification of death. Bringing souls to the Underworld was his duty. But hadn’t I sent him to Olympus because Zeus asked for him? Something about capturing a heinous criminal. I had dispatched him to bring the soul back for judgment.
Yet he still hadn’t returned?
The gods of the Underworld clearly sensed something was wrong; they offered their opinions with grave faces. Even the goddesses Lethe and Styx wore serious expressions for once.
"Could he have encountered a Gigante while trying to capture that criminal?"
"To break the cycle of life and death, capturing Lord Thanatos would be the fastest method."
"Perhaps it’s the work of a monster like Typhon?"
The Gigantes that Cadmus had seen near Thebes, or the possibility that Gaia had created a new monster to succeed Typhon and ambushed Thanatos. Thanatos was a powerful god, but he was not invincible. It was entirely possible for him to be overpowered or captured by such creatures.
"For now… let’s contact Olympus and assess the situation on the surface."
Without Thanatos to govern death, the other gods would have no choice but to suffer even more. The current state of the living world was utter chaos.
"Aaaargh! The dead chicken is moving!"
"I cut off the cow’s head but the body is still alive!"
"Damn it! Why won’t this thing die?!"
"You’re one to talk—you’ve got a knife stuck in your skull and you’re still standing!"
For the time being, the gods Moros and Keres, who handled certain aspects of death, worked frantically to reap as many souls as possible. Hypnos put those who should have died into a deep slumber to buy time. And we had no choice but to contact Olympus to inquire about Thanatos’s whereabouts.
"Damn it! What kind of mess is this because of Thanatos?!"
"He’s probably just resting somewhere because he was overworked, right?"
"No way! Have you ever seen Thanatos rest for even a few days?"
"Now that you mention it… never once!"
Meanwhile, at Olympus.
The situation here was just as urgent as it was in the Underworld. Because living beings on the surface were no longer meeting their deaths, countless gods had stormed in to complain to the king of the gods, Zeus.
"Father! The humans on the battlefield aren’t dying!"
"This… at this rate, the natural cycle of life will…"
"Lord Hades of the Underworld has lodged a strong protest. He demands to know the whereabouts of Lord Thanatos…"
"Wait, Thanatos should have gone to capture that demigod, shouldn’t he…?"
Even the supreme god Zeus could not fully grasp what was happening. Athena, whom he often consulted for advice, was absent from the meeting because she had stepped away on other business.
"How could a mere mortal possibly defeat Thanatos?!"
From what Zeus had seen, Sisyphus only seemed clever; he hadn’t sensed any special power in him. Then the nature god Pan spoke up, giving Zeus even more confidence.
"Lord Zeus… perhaps he was ambushed by a monster like Typhon… or a Gigante…?"
"That makes sense. He must have been attacked while trying to capture Sisyphus!"
Judging the explanation reasonable, Zeus immediately summoned Ares. The god of war should have no trouble dealing with whatever monster had defeated Thanatos.
"Ares! The time has come to show once more the same bravery you displayed when you swung your sword to save me!"
"Oho! So you heard of my exploits, Father!"
"He was surely attacked by a monster on his way to capture that insolent human. Go rescue Thanatos and deliver death to that mortal!"
"Understood! Leave it to me!"
Ares clenched his fists with renewed determination, a ferocious smile spreading across his face. If the creature could defeat Thanatos, it had to be of Typhon’s bloodline or a Gigante. Thinking of the thrilling battles he had fought against Typhon, Ares donned his armor and retrieved the famous new sword Hephaestus had forged for him after the recent rebellion.
The monster (?) that had attacked Thanatos would surely fall before the god of war.
Ares drove his chariot with great momentum and arrived at Corinth. Since Thanatos’s trail had gone cold here, he planned to investigate. But no matter how hard he searched, there were no signs that Thanatos had been dragged away by a monster.
Finding this strange, Ares headed for the palace of the human Zeus had mentioned—Sisyphus. He intended to interrogate the man, who had originally been Thanatos’s target, and demand whether he had seen the black-winged god. Since the fellow was also a king, he might have information about any monster that had appeared nearby.
"Intruder! Thrust your spears!"
"Who the hell are you?! This is the royal palace!"
Ares casually glanced at the Corinthian soldiers surrounding him. No one equipped with special weapons. No gods or heroes. No monsters that could threaten him.
Yeah. Nothing worth paying attention to.
The god of war simply ignored everything and strode straight into the depths of the palace. The poor soldiers thrust their spears and swords at him, but no mere human could wound a god—especially one of the twelve Olympians.
"Uwaaaah! Stop him!"
"N-No! The spear broke!"
"The sword doesn’t work either! Run awaaay!!"
While the humans shouted in panic, Ares paid them no mind and continued searching for King Sisyphus. Deeper into the palace, descending a little further down…
There he was. The one in luxurious clothes and a crown, wielding a club for a surprise attack. The demigod-looking fellow swung a wooden club and shouted something.
"Zeus sent you to kill me! But this cornel wood—"
At that moment, something caught Ares’s senses, which had reached all the way into the depths of the palace. Ignoring the club swinging toward his head, he expanded his divine power and broadened his perception.
Underground. The power he felt from below was unmistakably the aura of death.
Crack.Thud.
"Wh-What?! I hit his head but the club shattered?"
There was no longer any need to pay attention to this criminal. If Thanatos, presumed to be underground, began to move, Sisyphus would be dragged off to the Underworld on his own. Ares dashed forward and flung open the door leading to the basement.
Why was he sensing Thanatos’s power from underground? Had the god been injured by a monster and was recovering down there?
Snore—Grrraaaw—
What Ares saw after descending into the basement was… a black-winged old god sprawled out in a starfish position, having casually snapped the ropes that bound him, fast asleep. He looked incredibly comfortable. Even in his sleep, Thanatos was snoring, one hand lazily scratching his belly. Then his eyes opened… and met the incredulous gaze of Ares.
Ares might be violent and simple-minded, but that was only because his divinity symbolized brutal war. He himself was not that stupid. It was true that he was constantly tricked by Athena, but that was only because his opponent was the goddess of wisdom.
In the god of war’s mind, memories from the great flood resurfaced—when he had fallen for Athena’s scheme and ended up working in the Underworld…
"Damn it! What the hell is wrong with these souls…"
"Huk… Ares?! Hey, come help me line up these souls!"
"My wing feathers keep falling out these days… Is this hair loss, or rather, feather loss?"
Thanatos had dispatched countless clones to the surface and was working day and night without rest. No god in the entire Underworld—or even the whole world—was busier than him. And he worked so hard that he never took even a moment’s break.
If Ares had been in his position, he would have desperately craved rest. His suspicions grew stronger, and the physical evidence gradually lined up.
Thanatos, who had been watching Ares’s face gradually rot with displeasure, opened his mouth in a voice still thick with sleep.
"Haa…"
Wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth before you lie, Thanatos.
Ares quietly pressed a hand to his forehead.