(Greek Mythology) The Abyss
Chapter 45
The underworld bestowed the godhood of Hades upon the gods quite decisively and freely. The sea realm wasn't much less lenient. While not as completely relinquishing power as Tartarus, Poseidon, after marrying Amphitrite, also relinquished the godhood of Poseidon and most of the rule over the oceans to him.
Therefore, in this calculation, Zeus, the king of the gods, was actually at a disadvantage. While the godhood of Poseidon couldn't compare to the godhood of Hades, who had never had a master, it was still better than the godhood of Zeus, whose power had been largely depleted by the curse of Uranus. Moreover, the divine realm still had a host of troublesome figures.
One can easily imagine Zeus's miserable face upon learning the truth; it's just too unfortunate! (What's with this cheerful tone?)
In the lavish and magnificent palace, the banquet exuded an atmosphere of decadence and debauchery. The shifting lights and the lively atmosphere, combined with the stimulation of alcohol, made the already unrestrained gods even more unrestrained.
Gaia, watching her unsuspecting grandson's smug expression not far away, lowered her head slightly to hide her gloating. Although she had played a significant role in her grandson overthrowing her son, it didn't mean she was happy to see so many of her children imprisoned in Tartarus. Therefore, Gaia decisively chose to vent her anger on Zeus, and thus, she was more than happy to see something that would annoy Zeus.
Gaia downed her glass of red wine in one gulp. A slight blush on her cheeks added to her allure, and every smile and gesture exuded charm. Her stunning beauty and fiery figure attracted many furtive glances. Gaia understood the meaning behind those gazes; Greek gods were always so shameless, and she herself was one of them.
However, not all gods were the same. Gaia thought of her elder brother. His extreme, almost obsessive-compulsive, fastidious nature was practically bizarre in this environment, making the entire Underworld's atmosphere exceptionally chaste and incompatible with other places.
Fortunately, Hades had drawn the Underworld. When she first saw that child, she felt he was perfectly suited for the Underworld. His calm, almost indifferent eyes, and the icy silence surrounding him, always gave her a sense of déjà vu, even though they didn't look alike, and while their personalities shared some similarities, they were not entirely the same.
If Zeus or Poseidon had drawn the Hell's door, Gaia had no doubt Tartarus would have thrown them out immediately; that would have been quite a spectacle.
Just imagining that scene...hmm...it seemed rather interesting.
Okay, Gaia tried to pull herself back to reality. She didn't want to think about it anymore; she didn't want her grandson coming to her for help. She had no desire to get involved in that kind of trouble.
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The Hell
The newly appointed King of the Underworld was rather troubled lately. Of course, he wasn't annoyed by the gods of the underworld or the creatures of the underworld. In fact, they were all quite cooperative and supportive, almost unconditionally obeying all of the King of the Underworld's orders. They were the kind of diligent, responsible, obedient, and disciplined subordinates any boss would want. And the great gods had also delegated authority quite thoroughly.
Hades was utterly speechless. The jubilant atmosphere, the beaming expressions, even made Tartarus, who never interfered, feel a sense of relief. Tartarus had even trusted Hades enough to grant him partial access to Hell, including the Abyss. All of this made Hades feel like he'd taken on a huge mess. (Tartarus: Finally, I don't have to listen to the laws' nagging anymore, how can I not breathe a sigh of relief?)
Then his feeling was indeed confirmed. Staring at the rather impressive "mountain" of documents for a few seconds, Hades rubbed his temples in exasperation. Was he going to spend his future life surrounded by documents?
Although it was annoying, based on his sense of responsibility, Hades dutifully began to sort out the mess that Erebus and Nyx had created, arrange the work of the Underworld personnel, and improve the order of reincarnation for living beings.
Of course, during this process, his worldview was constantly being challenged.
Before arriving in the Underworld, Hades heard these rumors: →_→
① The Underworld is lifeless, desolate, dark, oppressive, and barren (what kind of adjective is that?)...
Heh, so absolute! Watch out, Eudora and Esheri might cry for you!
The gods of the Underworld: Who the hell is spreading these rumors? Even though it's dark, the area around our temples is still quite beautiful, okay?
The rest of the Abyss (except for the prison): I'll just laugh and stay silent.
② The gods of the Underworld are all gloomy, cold, cruel, bloodthirsty, and capricious...
The god who spread the rumors: We don't know if Aether, the goddess of space, and Hemera, the goddess of daylight, are gods of light. We know nothing.
In Hades's view, while the rumors contain many exaggerations, they still have some truth to them.
However, the truth is...
#Erebus, the infamous god of darkness feared by countless beings, is it really a man to be so henpecked?#
#Hermes, the supposedly noble and elegant goddess of day, why are you so unrestrained (and adorably silly)?#
#And Eris, the goddess of discord who is always cold and aloof, do you know that acting cute is shameful?#
Besides these, there are many, many other gods whose personalities are completely different from the rumors, constantly refreshing Hades's worldview.
Recalling Tartarus's devastatingly handsome face, Hades truly doesn't understand the mentality of those gods rumored to be ugly and bizarre in appearance.
Gaia, who had inadvertently misled others: "Is it my fault? Should I tell them that Tartarus, the god of the abyss, is not only a boy but also a cross-dresser? Of course, I could only gloss over it. Who knew their imaginations were so vivid (their minds were so wild) that they'd conjure up such a story?"
All these circumstances made Hades deeply understand the meaning of "rumors are not to be believed." But to twist them like this, are you really spreading rumors, or just making up stories?
Chapter 45