Nyx, the Goddess of Night - (1)

This is the training ground of the Underworld. Chiron stood transfixed, his gaze locked on a single spot.

It was the place where Heracles, newly revitalized by Hades, was fighting against Megaira, one of the three Erinyes (Furies).

On a cliff, the hero and the goddess of vengeance clashed, smashing rocks and sending shards flying in every direction.

Boom! Crash!

"Gasp!"

"Heh..."

Heracles, charging forward as if to kill, swung his club with all his might, while Megaira, calm and composed, parried his attacks with her fiery whip. Chiron knew better than anyone that Heracles was stronger than any other hero...

"Not just some minor river god… He’s actually holding his own against a Fury."

The words slipped out without Chiron even realizing it. He felt a slight burden—here was a hero who had yet to achieve any great feats but was already capable of contending with a goddess.

Though Megaira was merely responding to his attacks, occasionally striking back, how many mortals could boast of facing a deity?

This monstrous human was his pupil, the hero Hades had entrusted him to train. Today, the wise centaur felt an added weight on his shoulders.

It wasn’t just Chiron. Other past heroes and aspiring ones alike were also watching the fierce battle.

"Hah… Am I really seeing this?"

"I knew Heracles was strong, but to be compared with a Fury…"

"Is this even possible? If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d think it was nonsense."

"And he’s already a great hero without even leaving the Underworld…"

"He’s beyond just a great hero, isn’t he? Hasn’t he already defeated everyone here except for Cadmus?"

"And he hasn’t even sustained a scratch… I’d rather not be his enemy when we return to the mortal world."

Jealousy, admiration, envy, and longing all glistened in the eyes of the other heroes who had trained alongside him. They were witnessing a true pinnacle of power—something they had only dreamed of achieving.

Rumble… Boom!

Chiron, glancing away from the crumbling cliffside, called out to the aspiring heroes. As an instructor, he knew well how to draw forth the desire and ambition that lay behind their envy and admiration.

"Watching this must have stirred many thoughts in all of you."

"Yes… It’s truly astounding."

"So this is Heracles…"

"Mmm. To think that this is the power of a hero chosen by the gods…"

The moment Chiron mentioned Heracles, murmurs filled with a sense of defeat rippled through the crowd. Picking up on the discouraged tone, Chiron raised his voice to snap them back to attention.

"So, will you all give up on becoming heroes?"

"...That’s not it."

"But compared to Heracles…"

"Are you really going to let yourselves be overwhelmed by Heracles' strength, thinking yourselves failures? Believing no matter what you do, you’ll never match him?"

Chiron heard no reply, but he knew a barrier had risen before the aspiring heroes. This wasn’t some unbeatable god but another mortal shining right before them.

For these heroes who had brimmed with confidence and pride, Heracles' existence was like an insurmountable mountain.

"Strength, intelligence, noble blood… All these things can differentiate a hero from ordinary folk. But the most decisive difference is in their spirit."

"......"

"When you go to the mortal realm to carry out your tasks, will you surrender if you encounter a powerful monster like Heracles? Will you resign yourself to failure because of lineage and talent? Will you return here as a soul, defeated?"

Chiron’s cry forced them to lift their heads one by one. Not a single person in that place lacked a burning desire deep within.

Those who lacked the resolve to walk the hero’s path...

Well, they had been filtered out by the oath of the River Styx before even reaching the Underworld.

The countless trials they had endured in this place… The battles with mythical beasts and with Ares, the god of war... And now, with Chiron’s words adding fuel to the fire, their ambitions blazed anew.

In the eyes of the heroes, their determination and zeal were quietly rekindling, now that their spirits were alight once again.

"Ah, now that’s the look I wanted to see. So, do you really have time to be standing around like this?"

"No, we don’t!"

"We apologize for showing such weakness, Chiron!"

"Heroes and mere mortals differ in spirit…"

The heroes scattered in every direction, resuming their training with renewed fervor.

More fiercely than ever before.

I was in the fortress’s throne room, receiving reports from messengers. As usual, there were reports from all over the Underworld. I couldn’t afford to dismiss them lightly, as they often contained significant matters.

Especially now, given the issues concerning the Protogenoi.

"Hades, my mother has managed to convince Lady Nyx. Now, it’s all up to you."

This message was from Lethe, the goddess of Forgetfulness. Her mother is Eris, the goddess of Discord, and her grandmother is Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night.

Even if we train Heracles to the point where he can defeat the Gigantes…

Gaia might still refuse to acknowledge us.

That’s why I devised a countermeasure—to win over Nyx, Gaia’s counterpart among the Protogenoi and sister born from Chaos.

But Nyx had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs, observing passively. Whether Gaia won or we did, she’d remained indifferent for millennia, so I enlisted the help of her children.

I asked them to arrange a single meeting where I could persuade her.

Nyx’s children, including Eris, as well as Thanatos, Hypnos, Moros, and the Keres, had visited her residence in turn.

After a long period, she’d finally consented to meet with me, though I knew not why.

A rare opportunity to gain the favor of a primordial god on par with Gaia.

I wouldn’t let it slip away.

The goddess of night, Lady Nyx, was darkness and obliteration itself, born from Chaos, the absolute god. She was the antithesis of Gaia, who created and nurtured all things as the Earth Mother.

It was this opposing nature that led me to believe she might be persuaded to support us. And, as the god of the Underworld, I was perhaps more attuned to her essence of night.

Clink, clink.

The residence of Lady Nyx was deep within Tartarus, in the most dreaded of areas. Though she was not imprisoned there... At night, she emerged in place of Hemera, her daughter and goddess of the day.

As I made my way down the slope into Tartarus, I encountered Eris.

"Ah, Hades."

"Lady Eris. Thank you for persuading Lady Nyx on our behalf."

Eris, a goddess of striking beauty but with an expression colder and more menacing than Demeter’s, spoke to me nonchalantly.

"It was nothing. My son-in-law asked, so I merely had a word with my mother."

"Son-in-law…"

"What? Don’t tell me you aren’t planning to marry Lethe?"

Under her steely gaze, I quickly changed my response.

"No, no, I am. Thank you, mother-in-law."

"Ohoho! You’ve gotten quite sly, living so long as lord of the Underworld. So, you’re on your way to Tartarus?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, I can finally meet with Lady Nyx."

"You’d best not enter Tartarus itself. Wait by the entrance—she’ll likely come out to meet you. Good luck."

Her notorious reputation as the goddess of discord didn’t deter me from visiting her often and paying my respects. Although… whenever I invited her to gatherings, things tended to go awry, often bringing those events to an abrupt end...

Still, respect is due to one’s elders.

"...Farewell."

After bidding Lady Eris—no, mother-in-law—farewell, I continued downward, deeper and deeper, until a mist began to rise and a cold air enveloped me, a sign that I was nearing Tartarus.

About three hundred steps from the gates of bronze that marked Tartarus. Lady Nyx surely knew I was here.

I cycled through various arguments and methods to appeal to her in my mind, only for them to fade away again.

No, this is different… Convincing Prometheus had been hard enough, but this would be even more difficult.

No flowery speech could conceal the truth that I was here to ask her to fight Gaia on our behalf.

I approached the bronze gates, beyond which stood the three hundred-handed giants, the Hecatoncheires, who bowed in my direction.

"Oh! Hades!"

"It’s been a while. I heard you met Prometheus recently?"

"Kronos has been quiet lately. So have the other Titans. But, what brings you here today?"

"Ah, well…"

Ssshhh—

I was about to respond when the air grew heavy, and a profound sense of pressure filled the space. The light receded, and an aura greater than Zeus, surpassing even the might of Kronos, enveloped us.

Everyone here knew exactly what was happening.

The three Hecatoncheires straightened, adjusting their attire hurriedly. I, too, prepared myself and bowed toward the gathering force.

Suddenly, the darkness thickened, and a powerful presence stood before me. At the same time, a sweet, mellifluous voice echoed.

"Oh my, won’t that make you uncomfortable, bowing so low?"

Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night, had arrived.