Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

After all, deep down, the Divine King did not wish to have a falling-out with the lord of oaths for the sake of Hades.

As for the Nether Moon, that was an easier matter to deal with. Zeus could simply stand by the wall under the pretext of ‘giving face to the Primordial Gods’, watching Hades and his neighbor become enemies without compromising his own authority.

Conveniently, Poseidon had his own foster father as an adversary in the vast ocean. If the Underworld could also have an existence to counterbalance Hades, then nothing could be better.

“Boom—”

Lost in thought, Mount Olympus was shaken for the third time. Zeus knew that he should do something now. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, the Divine King continued to speak:

“In the past, I had made a promise: everything in the Underworld belongs to Hades, just as everything above the sea belongs to the Sea God. Even as the Divine King, I shall not interfere in their respective domains, so Hades has the right to do whatever he pleases in the underworld.”

“However, his actions have ultimately disturbed the peace of the gods. Thus, I believe someone should look into the matter to understand the cause and effect.”

Zeus looked around, but the gods fell silent upon hearing his words. They had no interest in meddling in this affair.

Merely from the disturbance, it was apparent that it was a confrontation between two powerful divine forces. Hades himself possessed a divine power level of 18 or 19, which would only become stronger when he wielded half the Underworld’s authority. And the deity clashing with him must also be formidable.

This effectively ruled out nearly all the deities present. Therefore, with the Divine King unable to go in person, they all turned their gazes towards the Sea Emperor and the Guardian Goddess Hestia, who had come for the feast.

Under the gaze of all the gods, Poseidon remained unfazed, as he would not run errands for Zeus. Only Hestia stood up.

Since the various offspring of Zeus had not yet been born, Hestia, the flame and guardian goddess, was his only available force that he could command. As always, Hestia spoke softly.

“Let me go. I will ascertain the situation.”

“I appreciate your efforts.”

Nodding, Zeus also knew this was the best outcome. Then, under the gaze of all the gods, Hestia transformed into a beam of red light and dashed towards the underworld.

Near Mount Olympus, there was a rift that led directly to the Underworld. By passing through it, one could reach the gates of the Underworld directly.

·······

Rustle rustle—

At the edge of the Underworld, where the powers of the two Ancient Gods met, the waters of the River of Sorrow, Acheron, surged and roiled.

The ferryman of the Styx River, Charon, sat in the wooden boat that was born with him, gazing at the distant dazzling purple moon and the gray light rising from the earth before sinking down, feeling somewhat pensive.

This was the second time he had witnessed such world-shaking power. The last time was during the transition of ages when he saw darkness spreading from the Realm of Lightlessness.

However, perhaps because the power level was so high last time, Charon could not understand where the opponents were or how they collided. But this time was different.

The power of the Nether Moon was released unabashedly in the Underworld for the first time, causing the entire range of the Underworld to momentarily expand. On the desolate land, raging magic power swept through all quarters, the waters of the river of fire tumbled out of its course, and the Styx River and the River of Sorrow might have been indistinguishable had deities not been in charge.

But vaguely, with the collision of the powers of the two Underworld principal gods, Charon thought he sensed an unusual presence at the end of his sight.

This feeling was somewhat familiar to the ferryman of the Styx, but he couldn’t remember where he had felt it before.

“This is the Underworld, indeed. Although desolate enough, it never lacks powerful deities.”

Dipping the oar into the water, the turbulent Acheron barely stabilized a fraction. Suppressing the restless Styx River, Charon couldn’t help but feel reflective.

The deities of the land had at least the vast sky and ocean, which could separate gods of different camps with distance, but the Underworld was different.

Whether willing or not, Styx was right at the entrance of the Underworld; any who come and go must pass her. And the ‘sky’ of the underground was nowhere near as high as that of the land above; the Nether Moon and the gray soil were almost directly opposite each other.

“Fortunately, my neighbor has always lacked presence; otherwise, it truly would be problematic.”

Glancing at the endlessly winding Styx River nearby, which conceptually ‘encircles the Underworld seven times’ but in reality spans the breadth of the Underworld on one side and plunges into Tartarus on the other, Charon felt quite relieved.

Thankfully, the eldest daughter of the God of the Ocean usually did not concern herself with world affairs. Otherwise, she too would be qualified to contend for the dominance of the Underworld. If the authority of the Underworld were divided into ten parts, Hades would hold two, the Underworld soil and Nether Moon each would have three, leaving Styx River with the remaining two parts.

If Styx, as the oldest and mightiest of the rivers, demanded to rule all the rivers of the Underworld, Charon really didn’t know whether to side with her or Hades.

Although that Hades seemed a bit stronger

Swoosh—

Lost in thought, a sudden disturbance from within the gates of the Underworld caught Charon’s attention; it was the sign of someone entering the Underworld. Under his watchful eye, a red light flashed and then stopped by the bank of the River of Sorrow.

The light gradually faded, and the mild-mannered Guardian Goddess appeared. She floated by the river, looked at the core of the Underworld where gray and purple clashed in the distance, and then noticed the old man on the river.