The King of the Underworld is Tired

Chapter 115: Goddess of the Night, Nyx – (2)

“Oh my, isn't it uncomfortable to keep your head bowed like that?”

At the soft voice, I slowly raised my head and faced the goddess before me.

Like me, she had jet-black hair, black eyes, and black wings like the god Thanatos.

The goddess in her flawlessly beautiful black clothes looked as though she was an artificial sculpture, exuding a beauty beyond human.

As if to claim, "This is what the beauty of a living being should be," despite not being a living thing herself.

Swoosh—

“Yes, it's fine to raise your head. Aren’t you my descendant after all?”

“I understand, Lady Nyx.”

The goddess of the night looked at me with curious eyes.

Beside her, the Hecatoncheires brothers stood with their heads bowed, not even making a sound.

“Hmph… My children all speak in unison. They asked me to, no, they begged me to help you protect us from Gaia's threat.”

“……”

“Were you that afraid of Gaia? Hehe… How cute. How pitiable.”

Was she mocking me, or was that a sincere sentiment, as she spoke with a slight smile, covering her mouth?

She is the mother of the night and a being equal to Uranus himself, one of the Protogenoi…

“Yes. To be honest, I am afraid of Gaia.”

“Oh my?! How honest of you… I was just joking a bit…”

“Gaia created the monsters known as the Gigantes because we imprisoned the Titan gods in Tartarus, and she even gave birth to the powerful Typhon. We wish to defeat these monsters and earn Gaia's approval, but we also consider the possibility that she might remain hostile toward us.”

The goddess of the night, Lady Nyx, is far less merciful than Gaia when angered.

The primordial night signifies both annihilation and death. Another name for Lady Nyx is the Mother of Death. After all, her son Thanatos is the god of death…

I glanced at the black-clad goddess.

She had been playful with me, but her black eyes remained expressionless throughout.

“…Is that all?”

“……”

“If you rely only on the requests of my children and my personal favor, I will not be able to help you.”

Of course, she would respond this way. The terms offered were far too weak to involve a Protogenoi.

However, there was one thing… One thing I could offer as a gamble.

“If you help us, I will make sure that among all the Protogenoi, your name is the most praised.”

“Hmmm?”

“My temple is a place that honors nearly all the gods of the underworld. I will place a statue of Lady Nyx in the highest seat there, and those who know the blessings of the goddess of the night will praise you every day.”

Under normal circumstances, the reverence of mortals would not be enough to move a Protogenoi.

However, unlike other primordial deities, Gaia and Lady Nyx often interact with mortals.

They are likely more interested in mortals than deities like Lord Tartarus, who exists only here, or Lord Erebus, who is darkness itself.

The black goddess, who was deep in thought about my words, finally spoke.

“Oh, you're talking about humans. Those noisy mortals, always disrupting the peaceful night.”

“Pardon…?!”

“Instead, how about this? If you wipe out all the noisy humans that exist in this world… Then perhaps the tranquil nights of old would return, and I might be inclined to help you. Of course, I cannot exclude even those who worship you.”

Is she serious?

* * *

I looked at Lady Nyx, but I couldn't discern any change in her expression.

No emotions or disturbances could be felt. It was impossible to read the intentions of a primordial deity, who had been personified from a natural phenomenon.

Why did she say that? Was this a test for me?

But there would be no reason to test me using humans.

Does she truly desire the quiet of night and wish to wipe out all noisy mortals?

“Why aren’t you speaking? It would be an easy task for you.”

“……”

“You could just recreate them, couldn’t you? That race that you once wiped out with a great flood.”

It’s true that it would be easy. Any of the twelve Olympians could easily wipe out mortals.

Compared to the threat of Gaia, eradicating humanity is a cheap price to pay…

And it’s also true that they could simply be recreated…

Humans are easy to recreate; all you need is to leave one alive and toss a stone over your shoulder.

After all, weren't humans originally created to give birth to heroes to face the threat of the Gigantes?

Even though I may be seen as the most merciful of the gods toward humans,

I, too, am an immortal. My family, my brothers and sisters, are more precious to me than humans.

However…

“Oh, great Lord Pluto! We beg for your mercy!”

“Please, let our son, who died on the battlefield, find happiness in the underworld…”

“Thanks to the mint you sent us, from the god of mercy…”

“Lord Pluto, please protect me…”

I didn't want to betray the expectations of those who trust in me, pray to me, and sing songs of my mercy and fairness.

The priests who did not leave my temple, even when they were threatened by the madness of King Oedipus. The worshippers who seek my mercy.

The judges who pray to me to make fair decisions in trials. The terminally ill patients who seek peace in the afterlife…

It’s not because I want to maintain the title of the god of mercy, given to me by humans.

It’s not because I want to uphold the pretense of valuing mortals over my Olympian family, just to gain their reverence.

“I’m sorry. I cannot bring myself to exterminate humanity once again.”

“…?”

I just didn’t want to be as capricious as the other gods in dealing with mortals.

And perhaps that’s the reason I could say something like that in front of a Protogenoi.

Maybe that’s what it is…

* * *

At the moment when I thought we had failed to win over the Goddess of Night,

I heard a laugh, as if someone had been holding it back before finally bursting out.

"Puh... Puh-huhut...! It was just a joke. Why are you reacting so seriously?"

“What…”

The oppressive atmosphere I had felt just moments ago vanished without a trace, and the Protogenoi smiled at me.

Her beautiful smile brightened the surroundings, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile back.

Was it really a joke? The gods of Olympus are known for their whims, but could it be the same for the primordial gods like Gaia?

What she just said to me might have been nothing more than a fleeting whim…

"My children all say in unison that the King of the Underworld, Hades, is the fairest and most merciful of the Olympian gods... and a god worth helping."

"That's an excessive evaluation."

"I was simply curious, as I’ve heard you care deeply for mortals. Don’t take it to heart."

Fwoosh—

The black goddess plucked a feather from her black wings and held it out to me.

The feather contained a considerable amount of divine power, befitting the body of a Protogenoi.

As I accepted it with both hands, Nyx, who had been running her fingers through her hair, continued speaking.

“Take that feather and go to the Sky God. He—or rather, she—will recognize it at a glance.”

“Surely you don’t mean…”

The Sky God is Zeus. But if she’s referring to a "she," only one being comes to mind.

Uranus, who was castrated by his own child and lost his manhood, now regarded as a goddess.

Like Nyx, Uranus is a Protogenoi—and my grandfather.

The banished Sky God, who held dominion over the world before Cronos.

"Yes. Uranus, who became a goddess. Explain everything to her… and if you can bring back her token, I will help you."

The reason Nyx gave me her feather was to allow me to converse with the banished Uranus.

No one knows what Uranus, who was castrated by Cronos, will think when seeing us.

This is a test—to see if we Olympians can win Uranus’ favor.

Knowing we’ve already overthrown Cronos, we should be able to reason with her… I hope.

“I understand. I will do my best to persuade Uranus.”

“Huhu… I’ll be looking forward to it.”

One challenge after another.

Now I must bring back the token of another Protogenoi, the Sky God Uranus…

* * *

After Gaia’s grandson—now known as the King of the Underworld—Hades departed,

Nyx closed her eyes and let herself sink into the darkness of her abode, deep within Tartarus.

The battles for dominion over this world, the conflicts with Gaia, the extinction of species... none of these concerned her.

Like a river flowing forward, pushing aside the waters that come from behind,

The changing of generations is a natural part of the world’s flow.

But she had little intention of interfering in Gaia's efforts to halt that flow.

At least until recently...

"Mother."

"Eris? You’ve come again. Last time, Thanatos was here pleading with me..."

“If you would just listen to my son-in-law’s words this once…”

"Ah... Are you here?"

"Ceres. You’ve been busy harvesting souls. What brings you here?"

“I’ve come for the same reason Eris came yesterday. Please, just this once…”

Nyx’s children tried to persuade her periodically.

Though Nyx had never thought much of Hades, her curiosity was piqued as she watched everyone praise him so highly.

None of her children are younger gods compared to Hades, Gaia’s grandson.

Has he won the hearts of them all? This young—no, practically infantile—grandson of Gaia?

Curiosity welled up within her, and so Nyx swapped places with her daughter Hemera, the goddess of daylight, and rose into the sky.

In the dark, overcast night sky, the primordial goddess gazed downward.

Selene, guiding her moon chariot, drifted among the clouds… as Nyx descended further, she saw mortals below.

The beings brought to life by the Olympian gods, including Zeus.

Mortals who prayed earnestly under the night sky, their hands clasped, begging.

Nyx’s attention was solely on the stories related to Hades, the ruler of the Underworld.

“O Lord Pluto. Today again, we praise the grace of the mint leaves you have bestowed upon us…”

“O Lord Pluto, who governs fairness and mercy, we…”

“Do not cry. Even if I go to the Underworld and fall into Lord Pluto’s arms, there is no need to worry. He is…”

She found countless humans offering prayers to him.

Devout faith. The fairness of the judgments passed on the dead. The god of mercy and justice.

No one spoke ill of Hades.

Even though he ruled over the feared Underworld, their evaluations leaned positively.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Nyx's favorite pastime was observing the beings beneath the night sky.

Pluto—or rather, Hades—was exactly as her children had described: a god who deeply cherished mortals.

He was someone worth testing, at least once.

If he could return with Uranus’ token, she would gladly support the Olympians.

Of course…

“Mommy, which god creates the night sky?”

“Hmm… It’s thanks to the grace of a goddess named Nyx.”

“Nyx? Is she stronger than Lord Zeus?”

“Um… I don’t think so. Zeus is the king of the gods, after all.”

“We will create a sacred place in honor of Lady Nyx, and every day we will sing praises to her grace under the night sky.”

It wasn’t because some mortals saw her as lesser than Gaia’s grandson.