The King of the Underworld is Tired

Chapter 27: The Story of Phaethon – (1)

This is the underworld, the place mortals fear the most, where they inevitably face death.

It is also the dwelling place of Hades, one of the great three gods who rule over parts of the world.

"Hmm..?"

Because of this, all sorts of things happen here.

Extraordinary events beyond human imagination occur, but…

Whooosh!

“What in the world..!”

No one would have thought that the underworld would suddenly be filled with light.

"Hades! Hades! The entire underworld is now illuminated!"

"I can see it myself!"

The goddess Lethe hurriedly burst into my chambers.

I quickly dressed and stepped outside to survey the situation in the underworld.

“What on earth is happening?”

“Could it be that the god Apollo has descended into the underworld..?”

“What nonsense! This could only happen if Zeus' lightning had struck the underworld!”

“That can't be! Where is Lord Hades?”

The souls were panicking, just like vampires under the sunlight seen in some of Hades' past life, the 21st century's fictional works.

Of course, that's understandable… The underworld is so deep that light never reaches it.

There are hearths of Hestia placed here and there, and although they emit some light, it's very faint.

Most of the underworld is dark, pitch-black, and cold.

“I'm telling you, this is definitely the god Apollo's wrath!”

“Maybe Lord Hades is fighting with Zeus!”

The entire underworld quickly descended into chaos.

Spirits were running around, and the attendants were trying to calm the situation while also seeking out the gods.

But were the gods calm, then…

“What in the world is going on!”

“Hades! Have you quarreled with the god Zeus?”

Not at all.

Starting with Hypnos, the god of sleep, who rushed into my office...

No, Lady Styx, I've never quarreled with him...

“No one but Zeus could have caused something like this...!”

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Well, first, we need to quickly get this situation under control.

“Morpheus, go down to Tartarus immediately and check if the Titans are securely imprisoned!”

“Yes, sir!”

Next, I ordered the attendants of the underworld to calm the chaos among the souls as much as possible.

Additionally, I instructed them to send lower-ranking gods to the mortal realm to investigate if anything unusual was happening there since, aside from the light, no other anomalies had been detected…

“Argh! Lord Hades!”

...What? I just sent him to check the mortal realm, so why is he back so soon?

“L... Lord Hades! The sun... the sun is too close!”

What nonsense is this?

* * *

The lower god who had gone to check the mortal realm returned, with parts of his body scorched and ichor flowing from his wounds.

What does he mean by "the sun is too close"?

“Helios is driving the sun chariot dangerously close to the earth! The mortal world has become a Tartarus!”

“That can't be... Is this another act of Apollo?”

Helios.

The Titan god, son of Hyperion and Theia, who holds the divinity of the sun.

He drives the sun chariot, which even Zeus cannot control, and thus maintains his position as a sun god alongside Apollo.

Of course, he sided with us during the Titanomachy, along with his sisters Selene, the goddess of the moon, and Eos, the goddess of dawn,

But still, Helios has never stopped driving the sun chariot.

“But this is definitely not the power of Apollo! The divine horses pulling the sun chariot were running wild!”

The divine horses that are always aflame are running wild?

I have always trusted Helios' perfect ability to control the sun chariot.

Did Helios fall under Aphrodite's enchantment…?

Or was he attacked by the Gigantes…? Or what on earth could it be?

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the bright light that had cast a shadow over the underworld began to fade away.

As the underworld returned to its usual darkness, the souls and gods alike sighed in relief.

“The light is finally receding. What on earth could have happened?”

“Should we send a messenger to Olympus to find out?”

“Although the situation has calmed down…”

“There's no need for that, as I've already brought the cause.”

The gods, who had been discussing the situation, turned their heads towards the deep, resonant voice that echoed through the hall.

There stood Thanatos, the black-winged god of death, wearing an expression as grim as the god of destruction, holding the soul of someone who appeared to have just died.

* * *

That soul is the one who caused the underworld to light up just now?

As all eyes focused on him, Thanatos frowned and continued speaking.

"...This is the soul of one who was struck by Zeus' lightning and fell from the sun chariot to his death."

"For now... Mnemosyne, please fetch some water from the Well of Memory."

The soul was of a young man who appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties at most.

With his golden hair... and his features resembling those of Helios, could it be?

"Ugh! Wh... where am I? I was sure that..."

"Yes, boy. This is the underworld. Were you driving the sun chariot in place of Helios?"

"The... underworld! Then, as I feared...!"

"Now, tell me exactly how you ended up here, and the reason why you fell from the sun chariot to your death."

The soul, who had been in a state of shock, finally opened his mouth after being prompted by Thanatos.

"I... I am Phaethon, son of the god Helios..."

We listened closely as the soul began to tell his story.

Phaethon, who was raised by his mother alone without his father.

When Phaethon came of age, his mother told him that his father was Helios, the sun god.

With that revelation, Phaethon left home and traveled far and wide to find his father.

When he finally found him, the god Helios, in his joy at meeting his son... swore on the River Styx that he would grant him any wish...

"The River Styx... Ah..." 

At this, the goddess Styx, who was standing beside me, groaned as if she had realized something. Most of the gods seemed to understand the cause of this calamity.

I signaled Phaethon to continue, wanting to hear the story through to the end.

"Yes... I made a foolish choice there... I asked my father, who had sworn on the River Styx, to let me drive the sun chariot."

"What?! You madman!"

"Hah! That's a chariot that neither Apollo nor even Lord Zeus can control! And you, of all people..."

"Were you listening to the whispers of Dionysus?"

The horses of the sun chariot can only be controlled by Helios.

As the son of a great god, yet raised as a mortal, Phaethon could never have hoped to manage them.

It was obvious what would happen if the sun came too close to the earth.

Right now, the mortal world must be filled with charred bodies and withered trees.

If Zeus hadn't thrown his lightning bolt to destroy the sun chariot, all life on earth might have perished...

"...As the horses ran wild, the earth was utterly scorched... and eventually, I was struck by lightning from the sky and sent here."

Phaethon, who seemed to be at a loss for words, began to weep softly.

It's truly a tragic story—meeting his father only to lose his life due to a reckless request.

"Hmm... Your judgment will be postponed for now. Wait over there."

But that aside...

The crime of causing so much suffering and death must be punished severely.

With countless souls from the mortal world flooding in, I had Phaethon set aside. His fate would be decided shortly.

* * *

Not long after, in a heavy silence, Phaethon knelt with his head bowed, awaiting his judgment.

Before him sat Hades, the god of the underworld, behind a large desk.

A low voice emanated from the somber god, reaching Phaethon's ears.

"...I shall now pass judgment."

As the other gods, who were gathered to witness the judgment of a sinner who had greatly affected the mortal world, fell silent,

Only Hades spoke of his crimes.

"The damage your reckless actions caused to the mortal world is immense. Rivers dried up, many villages and cities were set ablaze, and countless lives were lost due to the heat of the sun chariot that you could not control."

The son of Helios, his head bowed, could do nothing but weep.

He did not utter a single word in his defense.

"Ignorance is not a crime. But you must bear the consequences of the destruction your ignorance has caused."

Phaethon was prepared for severe punishment.

He, too, had seen the countless lives perish while the sun chariot ran wild above the earth.

"Ahhh! Apollo, please save us!"

"It's too hot... My skin... It's burning..."

"Water... I need water..."

"Lord Zeus... Why...?"

In his mind, he could still see the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people who had begged for their lives as they were burned alive.

And that was just the humans—there were also the animals, plants, nymphs, and all the other forms of life.

Even though he had never imagined such consequences would result from driving the sun chariot,

He knew he had to pay for the countless lives lost because of his actions.

"You will be sentenced to labor for several hundred years on the outskirts of the underworld. This is the karmic retribution for extinguishing so many lives."

At least a few hundred years—Phaethon's lips tightened.

But this was not the end.

"Furthermore, you will be denied the blessing of reincarnation, and even after your sentence is complete, you will not receive the blessing of forgetfulness."

The blessing of forgetfulness, governed by the goddess Lethe, is essential for mortals who have limits to their mental endurance.

No mortal can handle the accumulation of endless memories.

Though the other gods, with their tender hearts, showed a bit of pity on their faces, that was all.

They too thought that Phaethon's punishment was fitting.

However, Hades had not yet finished speaking.

"...But considering that your father, the god Helios, neglected you."

Wh... What...?

"And the fact that you acted without malice, as well as the fact that your father rashly swore on the River Styx, I shall show you a bit of mercy."

Phaethon, who had been in despair, instinctively looked up at the lord of the underworld.

Mercy... really?