The Tale of Life - (1)
The gods had Prometheus, a Titan deity who foresaw the future and defected to their side during the war against the Titans, create a new race called humanity. His brother, Epimetheus, brought forth all the other living creatures I knew—pigs, horses, birds, and the rest. At this critical turning point for the world, what was I, the King of the Underworld, doing?
“Lately, the number of souls crossing the River Styx has increased dramatically.”
“Hades, in the end, isn’t humanity the most important? Taking care of every other living thing as well… the workload is simply too much.”
“I’ll ask the God of Sleep, Hypnos, to lend a hand for now. Once the Underworld stabilizes, we’ll only bring in humans from then on…”
I had been completely swamped reorganizing the Underworld because of the countless deaths among the newly created lifeforms. The Underworld was never meant to be a place exclusively for humans. As countless souls who had reached the end of their lives poured in from every direction, my duties as its administrator skyrocketed.
If I had spent my early days as a god in leisurely comfort, now I had to step up properly as the King of the Dead and manage everything in earnest.
All the newborn creatures died far too easily. The lifeforms cast into nature by the gods began a fierce struggle for survival, and Thanatos, the God of Death who escorted the deceased souls to the Underworld, started complaining about exhaustion.
Overnight, he became the busiest worker in the entire realm. He began dispatching countless shadows—no, duplicates—of himself to collect the dead, and soon the underground was teeming with souls. At one point, there were so many waiting for reincarnation that the place felt overcrowded.
Fortunately, this was a problem time could solve. After enough years passed, the newly born creatures would learn wisdom from their surviving ancestors and live longer than they did now.
“Hades, these days I keep wondering if siding with the Olympians instead of Cronus was the right choice.”
“…Just endure it. I’m struggling too, Thanatos.”
Still, for the time being, a few gods had their paths to suffering thrown wide open. The personification of death, Thanatos, had grown haggard with sunken eyes from controlling so many duplicates. His once-glossy wings looked dull and dry, and his steel-like black feathers gave the illusion of falling out one by one. Could an immortal god—especially one of Nyx’s children—actually collapse from overwork?
“Hearing the Lord of the Underworld say that is truly terrifying. Please, even as a joke, don’t say such things.”
Thanatos made a face as if he had bitten into something sour and let out a deep sigh.
Oops. I’d spoken my inner thoughts out loud again. The Underworld is so quiet that I’ve developed a habit of muttering to myself.
After a great deal of time passed and the cycle of life and death returned to normal, peace finally returned to the Underworld. We all cheered with joy. From the perspective of immortal gods, it hadn’t actually been that long… but the animals had adapted to their environments, humans had begun living in groups, and the frequency of easy deaths had decreased.
The hellish workload that had felt like Tartarus was finally showing an end. If only Zeus hadn’t created that woman named Pandora and sent all those diseases and harmful substances to the surface, things would have been much easier. Or perhaps he could have made Prometheus work like a slave in the Underworld as punishment for giving fire to humans.
Honestly, having an eagle tear out and eat his liver just for sharing a bit of fire seemed excessively cruel. Thanks to that, humans occasionally offered me sacrifices… but because of the box Zeus had cast upon the earth through Pandora, the Underworld had been in a state of saturation for a while.
Couldn’t the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, at least be sent down occasionally to help? Anyway, after such a long time, we finally had some breathing room, so a modest party was held in the Underworld.
Thanatos and Hypnos, who had suffered the most, the Goddess Styx who had helped with the Underworld’s affairs, and several other gods all gathered inside the Underworld’s citadel. They ate Nectar and Ambrosia.
In one corner of the banquet hall, a few souls played lyres made by humans, and servants bustled about carrying drinks and food. I sat at the head seat, sipping Nectar while inwardly cursing Zeus with all my might.
Ding.
Ding-ding~
“Gulp, gulp. Haa… Now I can finally rest a little.”
“It’s a relief that our stories have spread widely among humans, making the work of collecting souls with duplicates much easier.”
“Exactly. These days, most humans who see my wings simply resign themselves to death.”
Did you know? The drink of the gods, Nectar, doesn’t have just one flavor. When it touches the tongue, it feels refreshing, smooth, cool, and sweet all at once—an utterly mysterious sensation.
“Pwah…! The Nectar tastes especially good today.”
That must be why Goddess Styx was gulping it down like crazy.
The food of the gods, Ambrosia, was even more peculiar. It tasted exactly like whatever the person eating it currently craved most. In my case, it tasted like the samgyeopsal I used to eat in my previous life. And once I grew tired of that, it switched to the flavor of sweet chocolate chip cookies.
“Hades. Do humans offer you many sacrifices as well?”
Goddess Styx, who had been drinking Nectar beside me, brought up the topic of humans. I had heard that nations had formed among humans on the surface. The stories of the Olympian gods had spread widely, and there were even humans who occasionally called my name when making offerings.
Shall I listen to what the humans are saying right now?
I tilted my ‘ear’ for a moment.
Hmm. The surface really is a mess.
I remembered the face of that commendable believer who had offered me dozens of the cows he had raised, then closed my ear again.
My other name was Pluto, the generous one. I was the God of Wealth. There were humans who worshipped me as the God of Abundance—probably because of the common belief that the underworld was a rich place. After all, the underground was overflowing with gems and minerals precious to humans. On top of that, I possessed this Cornucopia, so I also held the divine authority of wealth.
If you reached into this large horn, you could pull out as much food and treasure as the owner desired, infinitely. It was an incredible item perfectly suited for the God of Abundance, but what good was that? I wasn’t human, so it didn’t mean much to me.
“Hadeeees…”
Please stop clinging to me, Goddess Styx. You’ve had far too much Nectar.
“My Lord of the Underworld… a report…”
One of the souls standing guard with a spear quietly approached and whispered to me. He was a male soul who had lived about thirty years before dying. Those who refused reincarnation and wished to remain here were given roles like this.
I had thought very few souls would choose the Underworld, but because they passed through the River Lethe and forgot their memories of the living world, there were more than I expected. Of course, since the balance of reincarnation had to be maintained, we couldn’t grant every request.
I pushed away Goddess Styx, who was personally demonstrating the power of the great Nectar that could even intoxicate gods, and listened to the soul’s words.
“The Goddess of the Rainbow, Lady Iris, has come to visit the Underworld. She says she brings a command from a high personage…”
The moment the ghostly soldier delivered the message, the modest festival came to a sudden halt. Goddess Styx looked as if she had sobered up instantly. Thanatos and Hypnos set down the Ambrosia they had been eating. Everyone turned sharp gazes in my direction.
“Don’t tell me… we just started resting…”
“It can’t be… right? Oh, Lord Zeus.”
The doors of the banquet hall opened, and a goddess with beautiful turquoise hair and white wings entered. A faint rainbow-colored halo radiated from her body. Under normal circumstances, her exquisite appearance—enough to make even Zeus take notice—would have left people spellbound. But in this place, only tension filled the air.
“I, Iris, greet the Master of the Underworld after a long time.”
The Goddess of the Rainbow, Iris, was the messenger who delivered the will of Zeus and Hera. However, she usually carried Hera’s messages more often than Zeus’s, so there was still hope.
“Lord Zeus has decided that he can no longer tolerate the depraved humans and will punish them with a great flood.”
Suddenly…? Depraved humans → punishment → great flood → mass human deaths → explosive increase in Underworld population → death by overwork.
The thought processes of the gods seated here spun rapidly. The conclusion their brilliant minds reached was that from now on, their workload would not only explode—it would completely overflow.
“Hypnos, can you put me to sleep?”
“….I swear on the River Styx, I will make sure you don’t get a wink of sleep until the great flood is over.”
“It seems difficult for me to help with the work this time, Hades. In that case, I’ll be taking my leave…”
“Oh Lord Zeus, please.”
Tartarus… I suppose I’ll have to open it.
I seriously began considering a coup.