#625Falling into the riverAI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Chapter 623 Falling into the River
This was not Hades' first encounter with the wizards of Silvermoon City.
Long ago, due to the existence of the undead, he had noticed the things those humans had invented.
Compared to the generally low intelligence of most undead, and the Wisdom that might only gradually awaken after long years, the phylacteries created by those humans were very interesting.
They could directly transform a rational, complete, intelligent being into an undead existence close to Death, granting them a seemingly immortal Life, with the only cost being the weakening of their humanity and emotions as mortals.
In the eyes of the God of the Underworld, this was undoubtedly no cost at all, so he had once dispatched his subordinates to learn about related matters, and even exchanged corresponding research with them for things mortals dreamed of.
In recent years, Hades had even recruited some powerful mortal spellcasters, allowing them to transform into this very special Life form after Death.
Neither living nor dead, neither human nor god, transformed by wizards, akin to demons, they called themselves liches, and Hades felt the name was quite fitting.
This new race, unable to reproduce in a normal way, was categorized under undead Life and reshaped with a certain power newly acquired by the God of the Underworld.
Ultimately, they became dependents belonging solely to Hades, an intelligent species with a distinct social structure.
"Charon."
Speaking of wizards, it was as if he remembered something.
Hades looked at the ferryman and asked about another matter.
"How is the transaction between you and that divine-blooded witch progressing? How much longer until the ritual capable of directly summoning abyssal Life can be created?"
"This... it should be soon, right?"
Uncertain, Charon's response was somewhat vague.
"...As soon as possible."
"Although many forbidden existences are hidden in the Abyss, I'm gradually discovering that it's also a great treasure trove, it just depends on whether you know how to find it..."
With an inexplicable expression, Hades glanced at the Nether Moon in the Sky.
He remembered that when he first wanted to expand the number of undead, he had reasoned with her, but in the end, a confrontation was unavoidable.
Such a thing happening once was fine, but if it happened again, it would be a problem with his personal ability.
However, for the birth of the undead race, the existence of magic and Spirituality were indispensable, so what should he do?
"Naturally, go through the trash..."
Sighing, the God of the Underworld felt a little awkward.
"In Tartarus, who knows how many chaotic and varied source powers have ultimately evolved into all sorts of strange creations."
"Since the Authority and laws of the current world have all been divided, no one can stop me from rummaging through the garbage heap for some things, right?"
"Although the difference between chaos and order is very obvious, little by little, a solution can always be found."
"Setting aside other things, at least in the face of Death, all beings are equal."
Although the Chaos World never lacked powerful goddesses, when it came to power, there seemed to be a very obvious gender bias, whether it was the God of the Underworld, the Sea Emperor, or the God King.
However, in contrast, the Nine Realms had an exception.
The ruler of Helheim, a descendant of an otherworldly God King, the Goddess of the Dead who rules the underworld—Hela.
She was one of the rare female monarchs, even if only the monarch of the world of the dead.
It was just that Hades didn't know much about her, because even after searching for a long time, he had never found the true legacy that goddess left behind in the world.
...
"Come... come... come be with us..."
"..."
"Go to hell... go to hell... all go to hell..."
"..."
"Who are you... Who am I... Who will save me..."
"No... let me go... let you go... kill you... let's die together..."
"..."
Boom—
Holding a bronze club, Heracles moved through the Sky full of soul shadows.
Roars, pleas, curses, howls... countless voices intertwined, like a chorus from purgatory.
Even with the power of the golden balance, the Great Hero had transformed the spiritual damage he suffered into material damage.
But without the blessing of extraordinary power, the symphony of these billions of voices still made it difficult to calm one's heart.
Even though countless souls were shattered with each swing of the bronze club, this was meaningless to the Thousand-Faced Soul Eater.
Because even without Heracles' existence, the souls within it were constantly being born and perishing.
As long as it wasn't obliterated by a special Authority like Death, or had its spiritual power extracted after its soul body shattered by a spiritual realm deity, simple destruction was merely crushing a portion of souls and feeding them to another portion of souls.
Gradually, the Great Hero also realized this.
But facing the true body of an Ancient Evil, although he could contend with it with the aid of a divine artifact, it was difficult to truly deal with the opponent.
Bang—
"Phew—I can't go on like this anymore."
His expression was solemn as he looked around.
At this moment, rather than saying Heracles was fighting the Thousand-Faced Soul Eater, it was more accurate to say he had been swallowed by it.
Looking around, the Great Hero was as if in a world belonging to departed souls... Yet at this moment, he seemed to notice something.
"What is that?"
His expression shifted slightly, and Heracles swung his club to open a path.
At the end of the path, a giant bronze coffin floated in an ocean made of countless souls.
A faint light emanated from the giant coffin, making nearby souls unwilling to approach—that was the radiance of divinity.
But almost visibly, this light was gradually dimming, being eroded and assimilated by the power of the Ancient Evil, becoming part of its power.
"This aura... the power of a god, and it belongs to the domain of Life."
Stepping forward, he opened the bronze coffin, and a girl in a green dress lay quietly within the coffin.
She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, yet also suffering.
From her pale face, her condition was undoubtedly not good.
"This appearance... it's the Goddess of Youth, Hebe."
"How did she appear here, and why did she fall into the body of an Ancient Evil?"
Unable to understand the cause and effect of the matter, he closed the coffin again, leaving only a small gap.
With the bronze coffin on his back, Heracles had a way to deal with the evil creature.
Although his power could not completely obliterate the soul body of the Thousand-Faced Soul Eater, he would find something that could obliterate its power.
This thing naturally couldn't be Hebe, but she could become bait to attract the Ancient Evil.
"Let's change the battlefield... River of Forgetfulness!"
He soared into the air, enlarged the bronze club in his hand a thousandfold, and then smashed it down.
Following the path he had opened, Heracles pressed forward.
The River of Forgetfulness, that was the passage he had planned to use before, and also where the Ancient Evil was plundering souls.
But in contrast, once the souls forming the Thousand-Faced Soul Eaterwere dispersed there, the opponent would permanently lose this part of its power, which would then be plundered by the Styx River.
It was just that he probably couldn't delay for too long there, otherwise, this level of conflict would easily attract the attention of spiritual realm deities...
He didn't know that if it weren't for a conflict that had just occurred on the mortal earth, where even the God King was temporarily sealed, and the true body of the Well of Reincarnation remained in the mortal world, perhaps the eyes of the spiritual realm angels would have already noticed all of this.
Heracles merely stirred up the power around his body, stimulating the potential within him.
Ender was not by his side at this time; to divert a fragment of the Silent Crown, a simple clone would be very difficult to achieve.
So just like the beginning of the journey, now he was alone again.
"...But this is by no means my end."
"Thousand-Faced Soul Eater... come on."
He spoke in a deep voice, and on the land of the Underworld, two forces collided, tearing apart the strata and low mountains.
...
Plop...
"Hoo... inhale..."
"Hoo... inhale..."
Whoosh...
In the darkness, a chill.
Who knows how long had passed, in the bone-chilling river water, Heracles did not resist, but drifted with the current.
Enjoying the tranquility of the moment, relaxing the muscles of his body.
The bronze coffin on his back had been thrown out at the last moment; at this moment, the Great Hero floated alone at the bottom of the river.
He had originally intended to come with Ender, which he had promised the other party, but he had underestimated the power of the Ancient Evil.
Even compared to its kin, the Thousand-Faced Soul Eater had been shattered several times in the past years, causing its power to be far from its former peak, but the remaining portion was still powerful enough.
In this long battle, Heracles had defeated more than half of the opponent's body, driving millions upon millions of souls back to the bottom of the Styx River.
But under the opponent's frantic outburst, the Great Hero was also struck down into the Styx River, bathing in this river that washes away the Memory of all things.
Fortunately, he was well prepared, and his goal in the Underworld for this trip was precisely this Styx River.
Although somewhat regretful of Ender's absence, Heracles still took out the potion from his embrace and drank it all.
In an instant, the powers of Life and Death alternated here.
The part originally belonging to the living was absorbed by the potion, and a false Death covered his body.
As a living person, the Great Hero was no longer repelled by the power of the Styx River; and not having completely died, prevented the Memory-cleansing power from acting upon him.
This potion, recorded in the book of purgatory, just as it said, could help the living dive into the fourth layer of the spiritual realm along the River of Forgetfulness, and reach the Well of Reincarnation that cycles the souls of all things.
Of course, all of this was predicated on you being able to evade the gatekeepers of the Myriad Spirit Realm, those two rotating, casually shooting angels of love and desire; then hiding from the psychic dragons swimming in the ocean of dreams and occasionally visiting; and finally passing the guard of the three Goddesses of Reincarnation, to reach the central axis of the Myriad Spirit Realm...
Holding the golden balance that had fallen with him, watching it bathe in the waters of the River of Forgetfulness, Heracles took a deep breath, and then nearly choked on the water of the River of Forgetfulness.
At this moment, he remembered what Ender had once said, and his own past intuition.
"Entering the spiritual realm through the River of Forgetfulness, this is not the correct path, although it is indeed a shortcut."
"I can go in with you, but I don't necessarily have to."
"Because I am going to the spiritual realm to seek an answer, and the existences in the Myriad Spirit Realm cannot provide my answer."
That day, facing the Great Hero's confusion, the puppet looked up at the starry Sky.
"Only by following the most orthodox path to the peak of the spiritual realm can one truly get what they want... I don't know if you can achieve your wish at the Well of Reincarnation, but I'm not optimistic."
"Of course, fate is unpredictable, and no one can truly grasp it."
"So go ahead and try... Perhaps on either side of this wrong path, you might see your true fate."
"..."
"True... fate?"
Wandering at the bottom of the river, Heracles could feel that the power of the Styx River seemed to penetrate time and space; its flow surpassed the understanding of mortals.
And following this invisible feeling, he looked towards both sides of the riverbank, trying to see that so-called fate.
At a glance, the Great Hero saw nothing.
But beneath the ceaselessly surging river, he seemed to truly see something.
Those were two completely opposite paths: one paved with gold, emeralds, and jewels, with Nymphs singing and gods dancing.
The other was immersed in bones and darkness, churning with sin, degradation, leading to an unknown destination.
And at the end of both, there seemed to be the same person.
He sat on a high throne, looking down on the living beings between heaven, earth, and sea.
And with just a raise of his right hand, the world would sink amidst the roar of thunder.
"Zeus..."
Was this the other's path, or his own path?
Was this a real future, or just an illusion?
The Great Hero didn't know; he merely gradually fell into slumber under the effect of the potion, crossing the boundary between Life and Deathin the most subtle state.
Presumably, when he awoke again, the Myriad Spirit Realm would already be before him.
...
At the edge of the Myriad Spirit Realm, dreams overflowed with a few splashes.
Liana had not yet returned, and the three Goddesses of Reincarnation had only left dull clones here, continuing to fulfill their duties.
The Well of Reincarnation had departed, but this did not mean that the spiritual realm had lost its ability to operate reincarnation.
Just as sprall's mirror left the spiritual realm, it did not mean that this place lost its Authority over space.
At the edge of the interface, the Styx River flowed slowly, traversing one winding and entrenched space-time after another, finally flowing straight to the midpoint of the Myriad Spirit Realm.
Floating unsteadily at the bottom of the Styx River, Heracles slowly approached his goal.
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