Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Zeus selectively announced the results of this journey, and the end of the Titan war was quickly declared.

With Hestia’s help, the three Hekatonkheires finally captured the Titan god Atlas. This fearless deity was not willing to surrender, but remembering Cronus’s final words before his departure, he ultimately accepted the task of holding up the sky.

Thus, after a fall of six days, with a thunderous noise, the western sky finally ceased its descent.

Atlas revealed his divine true form, and when he merged with the symbol of sky-bearing, as long as he continued to fulfill his mission, the world no longer restrained his divine power. Hence, under the Titan’s strength, the sky slowly rose again, but it could never return to its original height.

This did not come as a surprise, for Olympus was born from the Forefather of Mountains; it was inherently in symphony with the split symbol of Mount Othrys, something Atlas could not achieve.

Therefore, from that day onwards, the sky in the East was higher than that in the West, and the God of Strength thus earned the praise as the Sky-holder.

On the other hand, after being besieged for three months, the God of Meteorology, Crius, was finally captured. The now-idle Hekatonkheires cornered him on both sides and followed Hades to the Underworld.

Nominally, these two giants would serve as guardians of the Abyss, but in reality, all deities knew that Tartarus needed no guard, for it was a formidable barrier in itself. The two Hekatonkheires were merely part of the arrangement agreed upon by the brothers who were divine kings, assigned as aids for Hades in his dominion over the Underworld.

Hades was pleased with this arrangement; he had long known of the Hekatonkheires’ valor in battle. With their help, Hades easily subdued several deities who had long dwelt in the Underworld.

For these deities who proclaimed themselves descendants of the Primordial Gods, Hades was mostly satisfied. Apart from that one goddess of lust who always sought to seduce him, the godhood of “Sorrow,” “Deceit,” “Destruction,” and “Doom” were very useful. Coupled with some Nymphs brought from the surface, the framework of the Underworld was finally established.

Hades appointed Minta, a Naiad, as the leader of the sprites and manipulated the waters of the magma lake at the entrance of the Underworld, the remnants of a fallen great sun, to form a river of fire. This separated the various regions of the Underworld. Lastly, he summoned the incarnation of the River of Sorrow, Acheron, the elderly-looking ferryman of the Styx River.

“On my way here, I saw the Underworld lands filled with wandering skeletons and corpses, as well as some spiritual bodies that move between the surface of the Spirit Realm and the mortal world. I meant to erase them with my authority, but to my surprise, I found that some possessed wisdom and were worshiping the Nether Moon above the Underworld, regarding it as the origin of all things,” he said.

Since Hades’ divine palace was still under construction, with the Cyclops brothers working tirelessly day and night, he could only stand on the vast gray plains and seek counsel from the old man before him.

“You and I were born one after the other, Charon. The River of Sorrow emerged as the Underworld welcomed its master. In a way, you are also my brother,” he said.

“So I wish to ask you, why were they born, and do they have any connection to the Goddess of the Nether Moon?”

“Your Majesty, there are countless plants in the mortal world, and even some in the Underworld, but does the Mother Earth who created these plants care for each one of them?”

Standing opposite Hades, Charon replied respectfully.

He was not, in fact, a deity of good temper. Charon had once refused all wraiths that sought to cross the River of Sorrow, or pretended to agree and then tossed them into the water midway. However, facing someone stronger, the aged ferryman knew what to do.

“I see,” Hades replied, nodding his head, understanding the other’s implication.

Perhaps these spirits that roamed the Underworld were indeed born of the light of the Nether Moon, but the mistress of the Nether Moon never cast her gaze down upon them.

In the eyes of that powerful goddess, maybe everything in the Underworld went unnoticed by her.

“In that case, from now on, as the lord of the Underworld, I forbid the unwise spirits from entering the Fields of Truth,” Hades decreed.

The Fields of Truth, the name Hades gave to the core of the Underworld where he would dwell in the future. Unlike the gods above, his naturally dark godhood did not disdain those beings shrouded in negative energy, but they had to possess wisdom, to be capable of communication.

So, when the Lord of the Underworld made his decision, under the influence of divine authority, the heart of the Underworld barred all unwise spirits. From then on, they could only wander the periphery of the Underworld and not approach Hades’ divine palace.

“Summon those wise beings for me, and then tell them: Although I am a god from above, henceforth I will dwell in the Underworld, which is also my domain by right,” Hades instructed.

“I will not slaughter them wantonly, but they must follow my order and heed my commands,” he declared.

Lastly, after a moment’s hesitation, the Lord of the Underworld added another directive to Charon.

“I allow them to continue worshiping the Nether Moon, but they must also erect temples to honor me, as a proper respect to the lord of the Underworld.”

“I will uphold your command, Your Majesty,” said Charon.

Bowing slightly, Charon took his leave, carrying the new Lord of the Underworld’s will.

“Huh——”

Letting out a long sigh and watching Charon’s retreating figure, Hades took another look at the Nether Moon in the sky, feeling somewhat troubled.

He once harbored the notion of marrying his own sister because, as the goddess of all that grows, Demeter could bring vitality to the Underworld.

But now, it seemed, perhaps spirits were more suited for the Underworld, and thematically, the Nether Moon seemed more in harmony with the Underworld than the ‘vitality’ above.

However, Hades could not fathom why the powerful Goddess of the Nether Moon would leave the Spirit Realm to dwell in the Underworld and ‘feed on dirt’. Just as he had refrained from inviting Demeter directly because he knew that few gods from above favored this place.

They are not like Hades—no matter how grand the Underworld might become, their divine power would not increase in the slightest.

“Forget it, there’s another goddess who gives me a headache, and I wonder when she’ll be willing to come out and meet me,” Hades mused.

He shook his head. In Hades’ perception, the presence of the River Styx, the River of Vows, was without a doubt.

As Zeus became the ‘Oathkeeper’ and ascended to the throne, the power of oaths was naturally further strengthened by the world. Hades had to face a reality that even if the Primordial Gods surrounding the Underworld ignored him, he still had two powerful goddesses at his own doorstep.

Moreover, by the looks of it, neither of them had any intention to pay attention to him, the newly appointed Hades.

“It’s still better than Poseidon… At most, I’m ignored, while he has to directly face the pressure of the God of the Ocean’s lineage.”

He laughed a little, perhaps taking pleasure in his misery, Hades felt somewhat happier.

Upon the sea.

After capturing the God of Meteorology, Poseidon handed him over to his eldest brother, then, accompanied by several children of the Primordial Sea Gods, came to the ocean.

Since the disturbances in the East Sea remained unsettled to this day, he chose the waters of the south as his abode. But here, the first thing Poseidon did was neither to build a palace nor to recruit followers, but to ‘pursue’ a sea nymph he had only met once.

It was hard to say exactly why, after all, this sea nymph was the eldest son of Pontus, the daughter of Thalassa. Perhaps Poseidon did this to solidify the relationship between them and not simply out of lust. In any case, this ‘pursuit’ lasted for more than a few months.

Everyone knew that if he wanted, Poseidon could capture Amphitrite in a moment, and even the sea nymph herself was aware of this. Yet, she still chose to flee, not because she rejected the marriage; in fact, quite the opposite, she was very satisfied with it.

The reason she did this was simply to satisfy her vain heart.

The Sea King, appointed by the Divine King’s brother, chased after her, but she paid no heed, which was something worth boasting about. Thus, she traveled to many places in the great seas over several months, seeking ‘help’ from every creature she met to escape the relentless pursuit of the Sea Emperor.

Of course, as expected, none of those she asked for help had the ability to do so. Hence, Amphitrite continued on her proud journey. What she didn’t know was that Poseidon, who wielded control over ‘Tsunamis,’ ‘Storms,’ ‘Earthquakes,’ was not a patient deity.

If it weren’t for a slight consideration for her father, the Sea Emperor in name only would have already lost his temper.

“Where did she go this time?”

He casually inquired a ‘fortunate spectator’ nearby. Poseidon didn’t really want to engage in such a meaningless act. The desire aroused by her appearance had subsided over the months, and now he was purely going through the motions.

However, Amphitrite’s actions were somewhat effective. In less than a year, she succeeded in spreading the name of Poseidon across the sea. So, when he went to the sea god Nereus, seething with anger, and received an explanation, he continued the chase game with the sea nymph.

The premise was, she’d better not go too far.

“…Your Majesty, it seems that the lady has gone toward the western end.”

“The west? I understand.”

He nodded and was about to set off again when he suddenly stopped.

He turned to look at the nymph, his expression frightening.

“Did you say she went to the western end?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Without daring to lift her head, the nymph born among the waves answered.

With a livid face, Poseidon didn’t possess the ability like his brother’s to hide his joy and anger. He immediately realized the foolish woman’s thought; she probably heard of the warlike renown of the Titan Atlas and thus hid there. She likely thought he would nobly go there, ‘turn away’ the Sky-holder, and then she would begrudgingly accept his pursuit.

But the fool probably never considered that if the three Hekatonkheires and the deity they had just captured decided not to act out this play but felt insulted and erupted in battle, what consequences would be wrought?

Most crucially, as long as Atlas was supporting the sky, he would be the only being able to wield divine power upon the earth.

“…Just let her stay there, the damn fool.”

He said, one word at a time, and was about to leave, but Poseidon noticed the nymph’s trembling body out of the corner of his eye. He casually dealt with this unlucky creature, then turned and left.

He gave Amphitrite one last chance. In three months’ time, he would randomly pick something to fetch her. If she agreed, then he would tolerate this once, and they would talk later.

If she remained dissatisfied, then Poseidon felt he couldn’t hold back anymore. In fact, he wanted to give in to his godhood’s influence and indulge without restraint there and then.

“Come here.”

Surveying his surroundings, the Sea Emperor caught a fish of unknown species; in any case, it looked decent. Some time later, Poseidon finally calmed down.

“Go find Nereus first, see the daughter he’s raised! Such a fool, she might as well stay in my palace as an ornament from now on!”

He snorted coldly as Poseidon took to the sky and headed for the Southern Sea.

Mistakes had to be paid for, and rightly so, he could take the opportunity to demand a stretch of the sea from her.