Zeus approached me, leaving Tantalus lying stunned on the ground.
Flames and lightning flashed with every step, and thunder continued to crash in the sky above.
“I'm sorry, brother. I never thought Tantalus would do such a thing.”
“...That madman should be thrown into Tartarus.”
“Since he killed his own son and turned him into food, it's only fitting that he suffers eternal hunger.”
Should we call upon Limos, the goddess of hunger, to help us?
No... That madman deserves to suffer for a long time. There's no need to have Limos waste her power.
Once upon a time, there was a madman, a contemporary of Sisyphus who imprisoned Thanatos.
His name was Erysichthon, and he swung his axe at Demeter's sacred oak tree.
Crack. Thud!
“Blood from the oak!”
“Lord Erysichthon, please stop swinging your axe, even now!”
"I will have my revenge on you... human."
The oak bled from the spot where it had been cut and vowed revenge, but he did not care and chopped it down.
Having thus incurred the wrath of Demeter, Erysichthon was visited by a goddess sent by her...
“Food! Bring more food! Sell everything and buy more food!”
“Father... You've already eaten more than sixty portions...”
“I'm... still hungry! Hurry!”
At Demeter's request, the goddess cast Erysichthon into an insatiable hunger,
causing him to squander all his wealth and eventually eat himself to death.
That goddess was Limos, the Goddess of Hunger.
Zeus glanced at the pile of human flesh Demeter was holding and spoke.
The king of the gods had lived for many millennia, but even he couldn’t hide his shock at such madness from a mortal.
“Demeter. I should go to the Moirai, the three goddesses of fate, and revive this poor soul.”
“Perhaps if we reshape his body, we can restore him.”
“...Then we’ll have to return the soul that’s already come to the Underworld.”
Just then, the sound of wings fluttered in the sky.
With blood in their eyes and snakes for hair, the three goddesses appeared.
Bronze wings and torches in their hands,
the Furies sent their avatars toward Tantalus.
"A FATHER, KILLING HIS OWN SON?"
"YOU SHALL SUFFER ETERNALLY."
"YOUR SINS WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN."
These were apparitions sent by the Furies, visible only to the guilty.
Tantalus would be haunted by them eternally—until his death.
Wait... if he’s haunted only until he dies, he’ll be free of them when dead.
Poseidon, seeming to reach the same realization, looked at me.
“Hades, why not imprison that wretch alive in Tartarus?”
That was an excellent idea.
Tantalus broke out in a cold sweat and opened his eyes wide.
Wasn't he dead for deceiving the gods? Surely the entire palace had been destroyed by Zeus's wrath...
Is this the afterlife?
Tantalus tried to move, but his body was bound tightly with ropes.
He struggled to lift his head and saw a cave-like scene.
"Awake, Tantalus?"
Pluto? The... Underworld?!
A chill hovered around him, and following the voice, he saw Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld, sitting on a black throne, staring at him with piercing eyes.
Nearby, a male god with black wings and a female goddess with sea-green hair, both from the Underworld, stood.
The surroundings were pitch black, with only a few dying torches dimly illuminating the room.
The blackness emanating from Pluto seemed to devour the light of the flames.
"YOUR CRIMES WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN."
“Ugh...”
The echoes of the Furies’ voices penetrated his mind.
Had he really thought he could deceive the gods as a mere mortal?
Tantalus groaned, and Pluto's low voice resonated.
If he stayed still, he would die... But Pluto was also the god of mercy, so perhaps he could invoke his mercy...
"Now... let us discuss the punishment for killing your own grandson and deceiving your family."
“Is deceiving the gods such a great crime?”
"Silence, you worm!"
Boom!
The black-winged god beside Pluto roared in fury,
and Tantalus’s head was slammed to the ground, striking it hard.
But as the Lord of the Underworld raised his hand, the overwhelming pressure disappeared.
"Mm. Thanatos, calm yourself. Even a sinner has the right to speak... Go ahead, make your excuses."
Tantalus quickly weighed his options.
The Underworld was entirely Pluto’s domain; not even his father, Zeus, could interfere here.
If he could somehow sway Pluto’s mercy, he might have a chance...!
But lying to a god would likely fail.
He had killed his own son and turned him into food, though none of the gods had eaten it.
Even the Furies were hounding him...
"Don’t you have anything to say?!"
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"N-No, it’s just that..."
Yes, pity! He needed to appeal to Pluto’s pity.
His crime was sacrilege, having stolen ambrosia and nectar and attempting to deceive the gods with human flesh.
But the rumors about Pluto were that he was the most merciful of all the gods.
Unlike the cruel and capricious Olympians, if he could appeal to Pluto’s gentler side...
"Is it such a terrible sin for a mortal to test the gods, O Lord Pluto?"
"......"
"I am the son of Zeus, a demigod, and I have always been curious! I’ve heard tales of gods tormenting mortals or making mistakes! I only wanted to understand the gods better! Please, forgive my small curiosity!"
"......"
"I believe I have already paid for my crime through death! Please take pity on me, O Merciful God... let me die a peaceful death!"
Tantalus watched Pluto’s face closely as he finished speaking.
For some reason, the gods around him remained silent. This silence only deepened Tantalus’s unease.
After a moment, Pluto, who had been watching him intently, suddenly burst into laughter.
But it was no joyful laugh—it was mocking. Had he failed to sway the god?
"Hahaha! You think you're dead? No, you're still alive. You’re only here because Thanatos hasn’t yet claimed your soul."
"What...?"
"And your greatest sin wasn’t deceiving the gods or stealing ambrosia and nectar."
"...?!"
"I asked you what excuse you had for killing your own son, and this is what you come up with?"
It was then that Tantalus realized his mistake.
He had tried to appeal to Pluto’s mercy, without even considering his son.
"Th-That’s..."
"If you had stolen only ambrosia and nectar, you would have spent decades in servitude here. If you had merely died for deceiving the gods, your punishment would have been relatively light."
"Ah..."
"But you never once mentioned the murder of your son. There is not a single hint of guilt. Your sentence is decided."
Tantalus tried to protest, but his voice failed him.
As he struggled to speak, Pluto delivered the verdict with cold finality.
"Murder is a grave sin. Killing your own son is a capital offense. Worse still, you tried to feed his flesh to your kin."
"......!"
"You cannot atone for this crime, even after tens of thousands of years. Therefore, you will be sent to Tartarus..."
"......!!!"
"And you will suffer eternal hunger, and Cerberus will periodically feast on your entrails."
Tantalus thrashed in vain as the wraiths dragged him away.
But there was no escaping the punishment for his sins.
The madman who had cooked his own son was now receiving his just reward.
I watched as Tantalus was dragged away by the dead.
Like the eagle that tore at Prometheus' liver, Cerberus was allowed to feed on Tantalus' entrails periodically.
It's not the most pleasant meal, but it'll keep Cerberus, who is always hungry and drooling, well-fed.
Tantalus won’t die, but will regenerate, even as his innards are continuously torn out by the gatekeeper of the Underworld. Thanatos will not claim his soul, and I will keep him alive.
But why did the gods agree to attend a banquet hosted by Tantalus, who had stolen ambrosia and nectar? Perhaps they expected him to commit further blasphemy during the feast, giving them a clear reason to punish Atlas’s son-in-law harshly...
Perhaps it was an indirect warning, a way to show the remaining Titan gods that the balance of power in the world had definitively shifted... He’s also the son of Zeus, so maybe it’s safe to say they punished him while suppressing any grief.
...No. I shouldn’t overthink it.
I didn’t ask Zeus directly, so this might all just be my speculation.
"I've never seen a man like that... never before," Mente said, still in shock.
"Don't be so surprised, Mente. When you've lived as long as we have, you'll see all sorts of things."
Mente stared at the spot where Tantalus had been taken, completely dumbfounded.
Of course she was shocked—after all, she was a Naiad who had once led a quiet life along a river.
When she was my priestess, the humans revered her, but since becoming a goddess, she mostly spread mint and did administrative work, so a sight like this must be entirely new to her.
She didn’t even attend many trials of the dead, so her exposure to such madness was limited.
Still, in Tantalus’s case... he truly was insane.
“Humans like that... they really exist...” Mente muttered, shaking her head in disgust.
Ugh... this isn’t good. I can’t let her develop a prejudice based on Tantalus’s actions.
Seeing her shake her head gloomily, I decided to speak up.
Since I’d already visited the mortal realm with Styx and Lethe, I thought perhaps I should take Mente out as well, to lift her spirits.
"Mente. How about we visit Thebes again, after all this time?"
“...?!”
"Remember? The last time we tried, we were interrupted by the Gigas attack."
She looked up again, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Her previously melancholic turquoise eyes now glistened with anticipation.
“P-Po-san! At last, it’s my turn to go on a walk with you! Just like Styx-sama and Lethe-sama...!”
“...How did you even know about that?”
“Of course! Everyone in the Underworld talks about it! Lately, the gossip around here is all about who will become Hades-sama’s consort...”
I wish everyone would stop prying into my love life...