King of Underworld

Chapter 29 The Story of the Dead

The Underworld, the final destination and resting place of souls.

Here, as humans know, exist numerous gods.

Starting with the king of the Underworld, Hades, there is also the god of death, Thanatos, the goddess of oblivion, Lethe, the goddess Styx, who presides over absolute oaths, the god of sleep, Hypnos, and Morpheus, who rules over dreams…

But they were not the only ones in the Underworld.

For example…

“Fare.”

“Huh… yes…?”

Despite being the son of Erebus, the god of darkness, and Nyx, the goddess of night, a deity of high rank…

“No fare? Then I can’t take you.”

“Huh… wha? Something’s in my mouth…”

“It’s there. Open up, I’ll take it myself.”

He had to row the boat every day without fail, suffering under this grueling labor…

He was the ferryman of the Acheron River, Charon.

“Alright, 1 obol (1/6 drachma) it is. But another single coin, huh. Tsk.”

A male deity with white hair, a tired face, and the appearance of an old sailor.

Isn’t Charon, the ferryman, who suffers under a workload as heavy as that of Hades or Thanatos, the true worker of the Underworld?

* * *

When a person dies in the mortal world, they first encounter a doppelgänger of Thanatos, who drags their soul to the entrance of the Underworld…

Afterward, they encounter the first river flowing through the Underworld, the Acheron River.

If they wait on the wide and tranquil riverbank, an old man rowing a boat will call out to the souls.

“I’m dead… Ugh… but who are those people?”

“Why ask when you already know? If you don’t pay the fare, you can’t cross the river.”

Charon, the ferryman of the Acheron River.

If he doesn’t receive a coin (1 obol) from the deceased, he absolutely won’t let them cross the river.

Because of this, there are always countless wandering souls lamenting along the banks of the Acheron.

The story of Charon is well-known in the mortal world.

That’s why, when someone dies, their family usually places a coin in their mouth during the burial.

But for travelers who die far from home and are devoured by beasts,

for souls who die in battle and whose bodies are never found, or for those punished by the gods whose corpses leave no trace,

such souls could never find peace even in death.

Given that the dead from the mortal world flock to the Acheron River daily, one might think Charon is extremely wealthy, but…

Whoosh—Splash.

The money that Charon could actually keep started with the second coin he received. The first coin had to be thrown into the Acheron River.

This is the law of the Acheron River, and because of it, Charon is always poor.

“Sigh… I work to the bone, but my pockets are always empty.”

If we briefly consider Hades’ previous life…

Isn’t this nothing but exploitation, almost akin to a slave working without pay?

“We’ve arrived. Get off, you lot.”

“Sob… Yes…”

“Mother… I’m sorry.”

“Damn… I should have dodged that knife.”

Before they knew it, Charon’s boat had already reached the other side, and the souls disembarked. Charon rowed a few more times before drifting away.

After crossing the Acheron River, the next encounter was with the River of Lamentation, Cocytus.

“Ugh…”

“Mother… Ahh!”

“It’s so cold…”

This river reflects the past of the souls, making them steeped in sorrow.

Regrets from the mortal world, moments of love, memories they wished to hold onto.

And now, confronted with the reality of death, these memories shake the souls’ hearts.

Once the souls, laden with sorrow, crossed the River of Lamentation, they encountered the River of Fire, Pyriphlegethon.

“What the… The river is burning?”

“Flames everywhere…”

“But it doesn’t feel hot?”

Fire in the mortal world is hot.

The souls hesitated, recalling this memory, but soon realized that they couldn’t feel the heat.

“It really isn’t hot, is it?”

“Yeah, maybe because we’re already dead.”

The souls’ bodies caught fire, but there was no sensation of heat.

Instead, as if scrubbing off old dirt, a refreshing sensation enveloped them, and the souls continued to cross the river.

Once they were purified of the filth from the mortal world in the River of Fire, Pyriphlegethon, they faced the River of Oblivion.

The River of Oblivion, Lethe.

“Go that way…”

The beautiful silver-haired goddess Lethe would occasionally appear by the riverbank, guiding the souls.

Following the gesture of the goddess pointing across the river, the souls leaped into the water.

“How much farther… Ah… Ah…”

“This river is not much different from the mortal… Ah…”

The souls did not suffocate, but the water of oblivion that naturally entered their mouths erased their memories of the mortal world.

Sometimes, souls with particularly strong grudges would not forget their memories, but this did not apply to ordinary souls.

Following their instincts, the souls pressed forward and finally arrived at the last river they had to cross to reach the Underworld.

The River of Hatred, Styx. A long and wide river that circled the Underworld nine times.

Sometimes, the goddess Styx herself would guide the souls, but today, one of her minions was urging them onward.

After crossing the river and walking a short distance, the souls finally caught sight of Hades’ fortress.

* * *

“Gasp…”

“Uh… Uh…! Look over there…”

Hades’ fortress, which stretched across the entire Underworld,

its imposing black walls visible even from afar, struck fear into the souls.

As they walked down the wide avenue leading from the River Styx to the fortress,

a gigantic gate leading into the Underworld’s fortress appeared.

And in front of that gate stood the three-headed monster, Cerberus, baring its teeth.

“Growl…”

“Grargh…”

The foam dripping from its sharp fangs was laced with venom.

The dignity of this divine beast, born of Typhon, the god of storms, and empowered by Hades, terrified the souls.

However, when Cerberus saw the approaching souls, it stepped aside as if uninterested.

The divine beast that faithfully followed Hades’ orders would only devour souls trying to leave.

As the souls cautiously passed through the enormous gate guarded by Cerberus, the administrators of the Underworld appeared and guided them somewhere.

“Come this way, humans. There are still some who need to be judged, so wait here for a moment.”

“And most of you will live here in the Underworld, so you must be mindful of certain things…”

“You must have forgotten your memories of the mortal world after crossing the River of Oblivion, right? We will inform you about the gods once more.”

The souls, led to a structure resembling a building or plaza, listened to the explanation.

As new knowledge entered the minds of the souls who had forgotten their memories of the mortal world, the dead began to understand the situation they were in.

“Judgment…?”

“Was I a good person in the mortal world?”

“I’m so anxious…”

As the souls, preoccupied with absorbing the new knowledge, gathered their thoughts, an administrator approached them.

“It’s your turn now. You, from here to there, follow me.”

The souls rose one by one, following the administrator in order.

From this point onward, they were heading to the place where Hades would pronounce his judgment.

When about a hundred souls had gathered in a wide, open space, they beheld a male god with black hair and black eyes.

Looking extremely tired and holding a parchment in his hand, this was Hades, the ruler of the Underworld.

He was rifling through a pile of documents stacked on the podium, receiving reports from the administrators.

As the god of the Underworld lazily waved his hand, his power manifested, and a black wind swept through the crowd.

As the black wind brushed past their bodies, causing the souls to stagger, a voice devoid of emotion reached their ears.

“There are no souls bound for Tartarus or Elysium, so then… next…”

“Move in this direction.”

“From now on, you will be taken to the judges.”

After Hades’ simple judgment, which filtered out serious criminals, heroes, and special individuals, the souls were taken to be judged by the three Minos brothers, the judges of the Underworld.

The Minos brothers carefully examined the sins committed by each soul in the mortal world, handing down appropriate punishments.

Sometimes, the process was reversed, with the Minos brothers judging the souls first and sending those whose verdicts were difficult to decide to Hades.

“You committed the crime of murdering three neighbors and stealing their property in the mortal world…”

“Then let’s sentence you to forced labor on the outskirts of the Underworld and repairing the fortress.”

“Is that old man the next soul?”

Minos.

He was the son of Zeus and Europa, and in life, he had been the king of Crete.

After death, he became one of the three judges of the Underworld alongside his two brothers.

Their judgments were renowned for their fairness, and Hades trusted the three Minos brothers to handle the judgment of souls.

Those who committed grave sins would serve their punishment in the Underworld.

Those whom the three brothers deemed had committed little to no sin would live in Hades’ fortress.

The landscape of the Underworld was not so different from the mortal world.

The only difference was that all the souls were semi-transparent and did not consume food.

Here, too, laws and order, jobs, and rules existed.

In the vast space of the Underworld, as large as the mortal world, souls who had not yet reincarnated conversed with one another.

“In a little while, will I be reincarnated?”

“I’m going to stay here and become an administrator of the Underworld.”

“Once again, the goddess Lethe looks truly beautiful today…”

“Watch your mouth. She is the mistress of the Underworld.”

“Wasn’t that the goddess Styx?”

Souls that had cleansed their sins prepared for reincarnation according to the order in which they arrived in the Underworld.

If during this process, a soul refused reincarnation and wished to remain in the Underworld, they were usually permitted to stay, depending on the situation.

Those who remained in the Underworld were typically assigned jobs as administrators or lower-ranking gods.

They might serve as guards patrolling the Underworld, as attendants or maids to gods like Hades or Hypnos, or take on roles like repairing the vast fortress or building homes and spaces for the souls to reside.

“It seems a lot of dust has gathered here… I should clean it up a bit.”

“A hole has formed in the fortress? This needs to be fixed quickly.”

“I heard that Hades’ maid has reincarnated?”

“Really? They’ll be recruiting again soon. Should I apply?”

Additionally, souls adapted to the dim underground world and could see even without light.

The hearths of Hestia placed here and there provided the souls with comfort and warmth, though they had little need for actual light.

As a result, they were more accustomed to night than day, to darkness than light.

This was the daily life of souls living in the Underworld.

A massive system where life and death repeated in cycles.

But what if this cycle were to be disrupted…

Wouldn’t that be a catastrophe?