A Slightly Different Story of the Underworld - Chapter 1
And so, together with Demeter, I crossed the threshold of the Underworld in my chariot.
"I’ve only heard about it, but is that the famous steel ship of Charon...?" "Demeter?! What brings you to the Underworld?"
We encountered Charon, who was busy rowing his boat on the Acheron River, ferrying souls across the waters.
Grrr... Growl!
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"A monster descended from Typhon? This kind of creature exists in the Underworld?" "I infused it with my power and made it a divine beast, so it’s safe."
We also saw Cerberus, who was guarding the entrance to the Underworld.
"Pick up that stray parchment over there!" "Damn it. The recent Gigantes attack has increased the number of souls." "We’re running out of space for them..."
Demeter, witnessing the overworked administrators of the Underworld, let out a deep sigh and spoke to me, concern etched across her face.
"How could Kore live in a place like this...?"
With Demeter, I returned to where Persephone was staying. Surprisingly, my niece was behaving rather calmly. Unlike the mischievous demeanor she showed me earlier, she was sitting quietly, weaving a tapestry.
As soon as Demeter saw her, she rushed over and embraced her tightly.
"Kore! How lonely you must have been in this cold and dark Underworld. Now that I’m here, let’s go back..." "I wasn’t lonely at all, Mother. Please stop treating me like a child..." "But you’re so young, how can you live in this dark Underworld...?" "I’ve already eaten food here, and I want to live in the Underworld with Uncle Hades."
Persephone, with a pouty expression, gently pushed Demeter away. Despite being a significant deity, Demeter’s overprotectiveness seemed excessive.
"Sigh... That’s because of Eros’s arrow. The feelings you have aren’t natural..." "I swear by the River Styx, nothing has changed in me, and even before the arrow, I wanted to marry Lord Hades!" "What... What?!"
Sigh...
Demeter turned sharply to glare at me. Swearing by the River Styx... Even Eros’s arrow isn’t powerful enough to create false memories. The strength of the golden arrow... It clarifies the exact moment one fell in love.
Therefore... what she says is true.
When someone already in love is struck by the golden arrow... it likely only strengthens that love, or rekindles a love that might have cooled over time.
So, it’s not that she fell in love because of Eros’s arrow, but rather, a fleeting crush has been transformed into an unchanging love...!
Demeter looked at Persephone with a devastated expression, and Persephone quietly embraced her mother.
"Kore... Why, of all beings, would you fall in love with the lord of the Underworld..." "Well... I was in danger, with my neck gripped by a Gigantes, and Lord Hades saved me." "A Gigantes gripped your neck? Are you all right now? This must have been during the attack on Mount Etna...!" "Oh, Mother, I’m fine. Uncle Hades saved me just in time."
Demeter infused divine power into Persephone, inspecting her for any injuries and looking at her with deep concern. It was time to lay out the facts.
"Regardless of the arrow or love... You’ve eaten food from the Underworld, so according to the law, you must stay here..." "Hades...!" "But Persephone, you are the goddess of spring and seeds. If you remain here constantly, the cycle of the seasons will be thrown off balance."
The laws of the Underworld were established to maintain the balance of the world. If a goddess of the seasons were completely bound to the Underworld, the world of the living would be in peril.
"Uncle, do you dislike me? I’m not doing this just because of the golden arrow..." "You swore by the River Styx, so I believe your words are true, and since you’ve eaten the food here, you must live in the Underworld... But do you understand how important your role is in the world of the living?" "Ugh... But still..." "Think back to what I told you earlier. You are the goddess who governs one of the seasons and the seeds."
Her eyes lowered, and her voice grew softer.
"...I understand. I’ll just visit the world of the living from time to time. Right?"
That’s a relief. But instead of saying she’ll occasionally return to the Underworld, she said she’ll occasionally go up to the world of the living... Does that mean she plans to spend most of her time here?
"I’ll only go up when I’m needed as the goddess of spring." "Sigh... Well, Hades is certainly better than other gods who might covet your beauty..."
Fortunately, it seems the world of the living won’t lose its spring.
I gathered all the gods in the Underworld to discuss the outcome of the Olympus meeting and to address Persephone’s situation.
Though many of them had already met Persephone, it was necessary to formally introduce her.
“...So it’s decided that Persephone will stay here periodically.” “Hehe. Let me reintroduce myself: I’m Persephone, and I’m going to marry Lord Hades!”
My dear niece...
"As busy as we are, a new deity is always welcome." "Tsk, tsk... So young, yet already bound to the Underworld. Love certainly blinds one..." "M-marriage?! On whose authority?"
"Now that we’ve settled Persephone’s situation, let me inform you of the results of the Olympus meeting."
I shared with them the decision to connect the outskirts of the Underworld with the world of the living so that Chiron could train heroes. We had also received the Omphalos stone to facilitate this.
"It seems like a solution that fits the prophecy and is appropriate." "We’ll need to impose strict restrictions to ensure the hero candidates keep their mouths shut..." "But who will oversee this? Does anyone have the time?" "Let’s place barriers around the training gorge to prevent them from wandering around the Underworld."
Since the Underworld is also home to dead monsters and Gigantes, there will be no shortage of opponents for the heroes to train against. Fighting creatures that can’t die will surely forge strong heroes.
"But... can humans withstand the energy of the Underworld?"
This is where the problem arises. Even well-trained heroes might struggle, but how can aspiring heroes withstand the power of the Underworld?
The Underworld is a place where mortals can only enter after shedding their flesh through death. Even in the outer regions, the aura of death emanating from all sides is detrimental to the living.
"A living being would waste away just by staying in the Underworld for a short time." "Demigods or completed heroes might manage, but pure humans..." "If we use our power, it would only make the aura stronger... We need a god from the world of the living."
"Uncle Hades, I think I can solve that problem!"
Just as I was considering separating a part of the Underworld, Persephone spoke up. She suggested using her power as the goddess of spring and seeds to solve the issue.
"Can you really do it? This is my domain, so it will require a significant amount of power..." "I can handle a small gorge!"
“Are you sure about this? Persephone, you may be the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, but you’re not quite on the level of the Twelve Olympians.” “...It might be too much for a young goddess like you.” “Neutralizing the aura of Hades’s domain, especially for someone as young as you...”
“I can do it! I can’t just laze around in the Underworld!”
If she can manage it, it would be ideal since she’s bound to stay here periodically due to having eaten the food. However, sustaining her power in the gorge could be exhausting.
Even if we asked another god to help... No god would be willing to stay in the Underworld for long.
And the Twelve Olympians, with their heavy responsibilities, couldn’t afford to stay here either.
“...Very well, let’s head to the outskirts together.”
We arrived at the outskirts of the Underworld where the heroes would train. There, Chiron was already waiting for us.
“Lord Hades. I’ve been informed of the situation.” “Yes. As you know, we’ll need you to train heroes here.” “I never imagined I’d be training disciples in the Underworld, but...” “So it’s impossible?” “There are actually some advantages. Using the dead monsters here as teaching tools could be beneficial.”
The monsters who had died and come to the Underworld were blessed with the boon of forgetfulness, becoming docile. Some even became divine beasts, like Cerberus, guarding various parts of the Underworld.
“Python, whom Apollo killed, is also doing well here.” “You’re referring to the giant serpent that was the original master of Delphi.”
Python, the great serpent. One of the monsters birthed by Gaia with Poseidon, was the original master of Delphi. It had the power of prophecy and foresaw that Apollo would eventually kill it and take its place, so it tried to kill the young god but failed.
Later, a fully grown Apollo shot thousands of arrows to kill Python, and Python’s wife, Pythia, submitted willingly, so he spared her life and made her the priestess of the Delphi temple.
Of course, Apollo could only kill Python, the child of Gaia and Poseidon, because...
“Poseidon, Gaia is now our enemy. That includes her monstrous children...” “Hmm... It is fated to die, but...” “The god of prophecy must be on our side.”
It was possible because the gods who opposed Gaia turned a blind eye to it.
“Along with Python, we have the dead Gigantes, the Sphinx killed by Oedipus, the sea monster killed by Perseus...” “Hmm, I hope the heroes won’t find the training too difficult. Hahaha!” “Um... Uncle Hades. Shall we get started?”
It was time to neutralize the Underworld’s aura. After giving Persephone the go-ahead, I asked Chiron to step back.
Rumble...
First, I used my power to create as much separation from the gorge as possible. I then disrupted the aura to minimize Persephone’s burden. After I nodded to her, the goddess of spring and seeds unleashed a bright light from her body.
Whoosh—
“Ugh...”
At the same time, I felt a warm, gentle force enveloping the gorge. I also saw the sweat trickling down Persephone’s neck and the ichor flowing from her nose.
“Ugh...”
The area designated for hero training was now completely covered by the divine power of spring. The gorge, which felt like part of my domain, now had an unfamiliar, slightly awkward feeling, confirming that the transformation was successful.
However, Persephone, having expended all her strength, collapsed on the spot.
Thud.
I quickly moved to support her. As I wiped the sweat from her brow, she looked up at me with a weary but contented smile.
“Are you all right? You’ve pushed yourself too hard.” “Hah... It’s a bit tiring, but... I’ll recover soon if I rest...”
Shrr...
The goddess of spring, having overexerted herself, fell asleep in my arms. I looked down at the goddess, whose unguarded appearance still exuded warmth and vibrancy, even in sleep.
“...Lord Hades.” “The fact that Persephone was struck by the golden arrow... might have been a blessing for us gods.”
Chiron, aware of the circumstances that led Persephone to stay in the Underworld, approached quietly. She had clearly overextended herself because of her feelings for me.
Having sworn by the River Styx, it wasn’t because of the golden arrow that she developed feelings for me, but without that arrow, I wouldn’t have considered bringing her to the Underworld.
I would have dismissed it as a young goddess’s fleeting emotion.
“Without the goddess of spring periodically residing in the Underworld, it would have been difficult to train heroes.”
Though I often try to ignore it...
Not all souls that come to the Underworld are those who suffered from the gods’ violence or tangled affairs. Some come because they loved each other too deeply to be apart, even in death, or because they embraced death together, happily, in the same moment.
“Love... It’s a difficult thing to comprehend.” “Even the goddess Aphrodite would struggle to define it clearly.”
Not wanting to wake Persephone, I carefully lifted her, cradling her gently in my arms.