The King of the Underworld is Tired

Chapter 28: The Story of Phaethon – (2)

“…I will show you a bit of mercy.”

Mercy, for someone like him who had probably killed thousands, maybe tens of thousands of lives? What was this about?

“Those who come to the Underworld after death can never leave, especially not a criminal as severe as you. But…”

Phaethon focused all his attention on the next words.

“If you wish, I can invite the god Helios to the Underworld so you can meet him one last time.”

The worlds of the living and the dead are strictly separated.

Though gods are free to come and go, it was impossible for a great sinner like Phaethon to meet someone from the living world.

He hadn’t even dared to hope for mercy to lessen his punishment.

“I sent a messenger to Olympus and learned that the god Helios is in seclusion, mourning your loss. But if he could meet you, he would surely come to the Underworld.”

“Thank you… so much.”

Tears welled up and fell from Phaethon’s eyes.

If he could see his father one last time… to apologize...

“This is not entirely for your sake. If the god Helios remains in deep sorrow and does not move the sun, the world will be thrown into chaos.”

Though the god Hades said this, Phaethon knew the truth.

If the sun did not move, and the night continued without end, more people would die, increasing Hades' power.

The more lives lost in the world above, the more the lord of the Underworld would benefit.

This was indeed an act of mercy.

* * *

Helios’ Sun Palace.

The sun god Helios, grieving over the death of his son, had not left his palace.

Without the palace’s master to drive the sun chariot, the world above was left in continuous darkness.

“Why hasn’t the sun risen today either…”

“Lord Helios! Please have mercy and grant us light!”

“Lord Zeus…”

“Sigh… At this rate, all the crops will die…”

The world above was filled with the pleas of all living beings.

Eventually, Zeus came to see him personally.

Standing outside the palace, Zeus cleared his throat and called out to Helios.

“Helios! Are you in there?”

But the grieving father gave no answer.

“I’m sorry that I had to strike down your son with a thunderbolt, but I had no other choice.”

Not knowing if Helios was even listening, Zeus continued to speak.

“The world is in chaos because you haven’t driven the sun chariot. I understand the sorrow of losing a child, but could you please return to your duties?”

But the master of the palace remained silent.

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No matter what Zeus, the one who had struck down his son, said, it wouldn’t change Helios’ feelings.

“Hmm…”

Zeus briefly considered forcing the door open and entering, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

He feared that such a rash action might worsen Helios’ seclusion.

“Father! You were here, after all!”

“Hermes, what’s the matter?”

It was the messenger god Hermes who approached Zeus, who was troubled by the sun god’s strike.

With a confident expression, Hermes spoke.

“Uncle Hades has offered to let Phaethon meet Helios one last time. If we explain this well to Helios…”

“What? My brother will allow a meeting with a soul already dead...?”

Before Zeus could even finish his sentence, the door to the Sun Palace opened.

And from within emerged a god.

He was a god with radiant golden hair and golden garments, and his eyes burned with the heat of the sun.

It was the great sun god, Helios, who had come out after hearing Hermes’ words.

Looking extremely anxious, he rushed to the messenger god and shouted,

“Hermes! Is that true?! Hades will let me meet my dead son?!”

* * *

A bright light filled the Underworld.

But it was different from the rampaging light of the sun chariot Phaethon had driven.

This light was coming from just one person, no, one god.

“Hades! Let me, let me see my son!”

It hadn’t been long since a messenger had been sent to Olympus, yet the god Helios had already arrived in the Underworld.

The more his emotions flared, the more the energy of the sun radiated from his body.

Even I could feel the heat, and the souls of the dead had already retreated far away.

“Phaethon is over there…”

“Phaethon…!”

The god Helios hurriedly ran toward a corner where Phaethon was.

And so, father and son were reunited.

“Hic… Father… I’m… I’m so sorry…”

“No, it’s all my fault. I should have taken you to Olympus the moment you were born…”

“Because of my reckless actions, the world… and even your sun chariot…”

“Enough. Say no more. I’m just glad I could see you one last time…”

They hugged each other tightly.

Tears streamed endlessly from the eyes of the father and son who had been estranged.

“I was wrong. To your mother too… Please forgive me…”

“No, Father…”

But the time they could spend together was limited.

The world of the living and the world of the dead, the dead and the living, must remain strictly separated.

If they pitied Phaethon and brought him back to life, the god Helios would start feeding his son nectar and ambrosia…

And then all the other gods would beg me to bring back their beloved humans, just as in Helios’ case.

“It’s time to say your final goodbyes. The guilty must be punished.”

“Ah…”

I stepped away to give them some privacy to say their last farewells.

* * *

"Sniff..."

As I stepped away, I heard the sound of someone sniffling from somewhere nearby.

The sound was coming from the outskirts of the fortress. I started walking toward it.

"Sniff..."

The goddess leaning against the fortress wall was shedding tears of sorrow.

Styx... the goddess?

The face of the goddess Styx, who was quietly crying with her hand covering her mouth, was wet with tears, and her hands were busy wiping away the flowing liquid.

She must have sensed my presence because she quickly turned to look at me.

"Ah… Hades..! P-Please, don’t look over here!"

"Is it because of Helios' oath?"

The goddess Styx fell silent.

An oath sworn on the River Styx is an unbreakable vow, even for the gods.

It was a reward for the goddess who was the first to come and lend her strength in the war against the Titans.

But every time a tragedy occurred because of an oath sworn on the River Styx, her heart...

“Sometimes… I just think… If only the oaths on the River Styx didn’t exist...”

I could guess the rest of her thoughts.

The tragedy of Semele, the mother of Dionysus, and Zeus, and now the tragedy of Phaethon,

All were caused by the gods who could not break the absolute oath sworn on the River Styx.

"These tragedies are not your fault, my lady."

"But… if I had just refused Zeus' offer to use my river as proof of an oath back then..."

We gods are immortal and possess incredible power beyond comparison to mortals.

Even the goddess Styx, who is crying in front of me now, could easily curse and destroy an entire city.

But because we possess such great power, we are arrogant and proud.

The River Styx, where any promise must be kept, is the shackle placed upon us.

Even Zeus, the king of the gods, must keep any oath sworn on it.

But not all vows sworn on the goddess's name bring negative results.

I was about to share this truth with the goddess Styx.

"The oaths sworn on the River Styx don't always lead to tragedy. Today's event is an unusual case."

"What...?"

"It seems you've been too busy lately to pay attention to the world above... but how about listening to the prayers of the mortals once again?"

The world above, where countless people of all ages walk around.

In my temple, where the statue of the goddess Styx stands, people still gather.

"Why did you call me here?"

"Because... I swear on the River Styx that I love you. Will you marry me?"

"Ah…!"

A man confessed his love to his partner in front of the statue of the goddess Styx.

"I swear on the River Styx! I didn’t steal the sheep! Now it's his turn!"

"I... I..."

"If you have nothing to hide, swear like I did!"

"Well, the truth is... things have been difficult lately..."

People used the oath on the River Styx to reveal the thief who had stolen from them.

"I swear before the statue of the goddess Styx. Even if the old man is called by Lord Thanatos..."

"Oh, come on! There's no need for such a vow… But, well… then I too swear. If my wife should go before me..."

An elderly couple vowed to carry on with each other in their hearts even if one of them died first.

"Humans swear to reveal the truth, profess love, and exchange vows."

"Oh..."

"If the weight of the goddess's name didn't exist, we wouldn’t witness such scenes."

When humans break an oath sworn on the River Styx, they are sucked into Tartarus after death.

Though mortals feared this, they also used the oath to affirm each other’s hearts from time to time.

“Humans… they make oaths more often than I expected…”

"I was surprised too. Perhaps it's because a statue of the goddess has been erected in my temple?"

The goddess Styx, who had been thinking that oaths sworn on her name only brought misfortune, looked up at me.

She seemed more at ease now, her face more relaxed than before as she pondered for a moment.

A somewhat awkward silence passed, and then the black-haired goddess, who had wiped away her tear stains, smiled faintly.

Had the guilt-ridden heart found some relief?

“Thank you, Hades... I always thought you only played pranks on Kynee…”

“What...? Testing the durability of weapons is an essential task.”

"Pfft... Puhuhuhu..."

I have never once sworn an oath on the River Styx that I played a prank on Kynee.

But I chose to remain silent because I wanted to keep watching the beautiful smile of the goddess who was now laughing.

After laughing for a moment while covering her mouth, the goddess Styx stepped closer.

Her softly rising lips and the enchanting smile in her eyes...

"Please don't tell anyone about what happened today…"

The goddess, who had moved close to me, placed one palm on my chest and her right index finger on my lips.

Both my chest and lips felt so soft that I was tickled by something.

I answered her as if I were entranced.

"…I swear on the River Styx."