The Boatman of the Three Paths River
Charon, the ferryman of the Three Paths River, couldn't accept what was happening no matter how hard he tried. The situation defied all understanding. To think the day would come when I'd carry a living person across this river on my boat. Honestly, he still couldn't believe it. For Hades himself to violate the laws of the underworld and allow a living soul into the realm of the dead. If the messenger had been anyone but Lady Thanatos, Charon would never have believed a word of it.
Just who is that human?
Even as he rowed, Charon's eyes kept flicking toward Kain, who stared blankly at the river's surface. It's all posthumous curses.
Meanwhile, Kain—whether aware of the constant glances or not—was completely absorbed in analyzing the rivers of the underworld. It began with the River of Wailing, Acheron, at the entrance. Then came the River of Lamentation, Cocytus, which was cold enough to make even an absolute being like Kain feel a chill. Next was the River of Fire, Pyriphlegethon, which drew infernal flames from the depths of hell to purify souls, followed by the River of Forgetfulness, Lethe, that erased all memories of the living world. Finally, they were crossing the deepest of them all—the River of Hatred, Styx. Every single one was saturated with powerful posthumous curses born from the melted grudges of the dead.
The Styx in particular triggered an instinctive revulsion in Kain. The curse was so potent that even at his current level, replicating it would be nearly impossible. If Charon could have summoned the waters of the Styx itself, it was hard to say whether the King of Bones alone would have been enough to overwhelm him earlier. One would be even. Two would mean victory... Something like that?
The mere existence of Hades produced phenomena on this scale. His subordinate, the woman called Thanatos, was equally extraordinary. So just how much power did Hades truly possess?
"......"
They had come here by invitation, but things could always go wrong. It never hurt to stay on guard. Thinking he might need to use these eyes, Kain unconsciously adjusted his glasses.
"...I've heard the stories, but those eyes are truly horrifying to behold."
Thanatos shook her head with a weary expression. Beyond the revulsion Kain felt toward the Styx, she felt genuine fear every time she looked into his black pupils that occasionally flickered with purple light. It was only natural. Those eyes were something that could not—should not—exist in this world. An abomination.
What an impossible being.
First, the fact that such power had been granted to a human. Second, that the human continued to live normally despite it. Third, that such a monster had existed in the living world all this time without causing total chaos. Three miracles that were nearly impossible to bestow even once had overlapped because of his existence.
His very existence was a miracle. Whoever first named him had been right—with those eyes alone, he was more worthy of the title Death King than anyone. More so than even the ruler of the underworld himself.
"Death King, do you know why this river is called the Three Paths River?"
When Kain looked straight at her, Thanatos changed the subject, as if trying to shake off her fear of those eyes.
"If it splits into five branches, wouldn't Five Paths River be more accurate than Three Paths River?"
"Who knows."
"The reason is that at the end of this river, it divides into three paths."
The upper realm—commonly called heaven—where souls who accumulated good deeds in life receive their due rewards. The lower realm—called hell—where souls burdened by evil deeds are punished until their sins are cleansed. And finally, the path of reincarnation, where souls who have received both reward and punishment proceed.
"Hades knows the complete life story of every human in existence."
And with that knowledge, he judges the dead. Whether a soul belongs in the upper realm, or should fall to the lower one. Or whether the person before him is truly dead, or someone who still deserves to live.
"Oh?"
Kain nodded, finally seeming to understand. In the first case, coming here and examining the person's life was enough to render judgment. But the latter was different.
"So observing their life story happens in the present progressive form."
"As expected, your comprehension is swift, Death King."
Present progressive. It seemed Hades was currently observing the life stories of every human still alive in the living world. That explained it—how he had known Kain would come here and sent Thanatos ahead.
"Still, there seems to be a time lag. You were sent rather late, after all."
"The dimensions are simply that different."
"What can be observed simultaneously is limited to the life stories of the living. It appears the stories of the dead cannot be seen."
The qualification for that ability depended on whether one had passed through the path of reincarnation. Even if they lived in the mortal world, having gone through the laws of the underworld and returned allowed Hades to interfere in this way.
"Truly impressive. Even I couldn't fully follow the reasoning this time."
"It's simple. With someone of your skill, if you could see the life stories of the dead, you would've collected them before any incident could occur."
The grim reapers. Those who wandered the living world, gathering the souls of the deceased. There was no reason they couldn't claim the soul of someone who had died and then arbitrarily returned to life. The only reason she hadn't acted was because she couldn't pinpoint their location. In other words, even Hades couldn't accurately detect those who had died and come back.
"That was a pretty good explanation. Got anything else? Something that could help me gauge Hades's power level."
His insight was outstanding. It bordered on the level of future observation. So that's what it takes to wield those eyes. Monstrous power paired with monstrous talent. Impossible things all jumbled together. This was the fourth miracle. Never before had he encountered someone whose very existence felt so fundamentally unreasonable.
"...I would enjoy speaking with you further, but it seems we've arrived."
At Thanatos's words, Kain looked ahead. The thick fog that had obscured their path slowly lifted. They had reached the end of the underworld river—at the edge of the Three Paths River. A massive gate, so enormous it was strange they hadn't noticed it sooner, floated on the water like a mirage. Thanatos spoke as she gazed at it.
"For the rest, I suggest you ask Hades directly."
Perhaps sensing the boat's presence, the gate—which looked far too heavy for anyone to open—pushed aside the waters of the Styx and swung wide. An intense surge of otherworldly magic washed over them, powerful enough to overwhelm even Kain.
"Well, fine."
At last, he would meet the ruler of the underworld. Excitement and tension stirred in Kain's chest—emotions uncharacteristic for someone so indifferent to worldly affairs. With a faint smile, he stepped off Charon's boat and followed Thanatos through the gates of the underworld.
The reddish sky, dim as twilight, carried an indescribable air of mystery. Standing proudly at its center was a single castle. The only structure in this vast world might have seemed lonely and desolate, yet its presence was so overwhelming it felt as if it filled the entire realm.
So that's Hades's residence.
Technically, the underworld began at the Three Paths River that Charon had guided them across, but only after entering this place did Kain truly feel he had arrived in the underworld. The atmosphere alone was on another level. Where the river had been shrouded in eerie ominousness, this place pressed down with overwhelming intimidation and terror. To the right flowed the searing heat of the Eight Hot Hells. To the left radiated the freezing cold of the Eight Cold Hells, both emanating from a cliff thousands of meters high. The narrow single path stretching between them toward the castle entrance was a spectacle magnificent enough to make the dead forget their fear of death.
Are those souls?
A faint haze shimmered along the path, so subtle it was barely visible. These were not undead like specters or ghosts—condensed thoughts of the dead given plasma form through magic—but true souls. For a dark mage like him, seeing with his own eyes what countless mages had failed to explain theoretically was an invaluable lesson. Something that defied logical, scientific explanation.
"The more I see, the more astonishing it becomes, Death King."
Noticing the direction of his gaze, Thanatos widened her eyes once more.
"Did you just see a soul?"
"Only a blurry outline."
"......"
"From your reaction, I take it that's not normal."
"Of course not."
For a human to see a soul was fundamentally impossible. The very dimensions they inhabited were completely separate. There were occasional claims of people seeing ghosts or the forms of the dead, but those were usually hallucinations brought on by exhaustion or brain tricks. According to multidimensional theory, while they could influence one another, they could never truly see each other with physical eyes. It was common sense that not even absolute beings were exempt.
Is it because of those eyes?
That was likely the only reason it was possible—his unique ebon. But even then, for a living human to be able to perceive the forms of souls awaiting Hades's judgment... He had thought there was nothing left that could surprise him, yet the man called the Death King continued to exceed all expectations.
"Do I have to join that line too?"
"How unexpected. I thought you were a man who didn't understand jokes."
"......"
It hadn't been a joke. He was simply matching the courtesy they showed him by respecting their rules.
"It may look short from the outside, but countless souls are condensed within. If you waited for all of them, it would take quite a long time."
"Roughly how many hours?"
"Not hours. Days, most likely."
In the underworld, there was the common concept of the forty-nine day rites. The deceased received judgment seven times, once every seven days. A single verdict decided whether they ascended to heaven or descended to hell. Naturally, to avoid errors, the severity of their sins had to be examined with great care. While it didn't literally take forty-nine days, it did require a considerable amount of time.
"You don't even complain."
If it had been him, he would have grumbled about why it took so long, Hades or not. Perhaps crossing the river of the underworld erased not only memories but emotions as well.
"As I mentioned before, the soul state and the physical state are classified as entirely different dimensions. Naturally, time flows differently as well."
What felt long to them would seem like the briefest instant to the souls.
"Of course, in hell it's the opposite. The time we perceive as an instant, they experience as something close to eternity while suffering."
"The time axis is completely messed up."
"By our standards, yes. But within that dimension, time flows consistently. Simply put, the underworld acts as the mediator connecting those two realms."
He roughly understood. Nodding, Kain turned his gaze back to the souls. Thanatos continued as if adding to her explanation.
"Therefore, Death King, when you return to the outside world, a fair amount of time will have passed there. Unlike us grim reapers, you lack the passive ability to anchor the time axis of both dimensions."
It probably wouldn't be too extreme. A few days at most. Of course, the longer he stayed, the greater the difference would become.
"I'll have to learn that too. Never know when I'll be back here."
"I'll write it down in a book for you before you leave."
"No need. I already get the general idea."
If he stayed by her side until meeting Hades, he figured he could figure it out. It didn't seem like a particularly difficult technique.
"......"
That might have been natural for him, but to the listener it was anything but. His words were the equivalent of watching a fish breathe through its gills and saying, That looks necessary for living underwater. I should learn it. It was merely a courteous offer—thinking that even an absolute being might need a book to imitate the technique—but the response had been utterly absurd.
"...This way, please."
The constant stream of surprises was becoming mentally exhausting. Cutting the conversation short, Thanatos guided Kain through the souls.
Finally, I'm meeting the master of this place.
Feeling his heart beat with rare anticipation for the Hades who awaited him within that massive castle, Kain slowly followed after her.