Episode 32: The King of the Underworld is Tired

Episode 32: Sisyphus… The Story of Thanatos – (3)

As soon as Ares met eyes with the awakened Thanatos, he immediately rushed to the Underworld and reported everything to Hades.

"Uncle Hades! You won't believe what Thanatos has been doing..."

"...?"

Ares, who had hoped to witness a fierce battle between Thanatos and a powerful monster, was now sulking like a child whose toy had been taken away.

Upon realizing the full extent of the situation, the gods of the Underworld were furious.

"What? So this whole situation was because..."

"Who the hell is this Sisyphus human?"

"Dammit! You’re telling me Thanatos was sleeping all this time?!"

"Ares, are you sure you're not lying...?"

"I swear by the River Styx that everything I, Ares, said is true!!!"

Thus, some of the gods in the Underworld ambushed Thanatos as he was bringing Sisyphus back, tying him up at the entrance to the Underworld.

"Urgh! Hypnos, what are you doing! And you too, Styx!"

"Do you have any idea how much we’ve suffered while you were neglecting your duties and sleeping?"

"Ares even said you were snoring!"

Thanatos was bound and dragged away like a criminal under the strict watch of the two gods.

Of course, Sisyphus, utterly dazed by this unprecedented situation, walked along in a stupor.

"No... Uh... Ah...?"

The only one welcoming Thanatos, who had neglected his duties for a while, was the ferryman of the Acheron River, Charon.

"Ugh... I was just enjoying a short rest, and now I have to row again..."

And so, Thanatos and Sisyphus were dragged before me, Hades.

Thanatos, bound tightly with ropes by the enraged gods, stood there defiantly, while Sisyphus, dazed, knelt with a blank expression.

"What? Just because I took a nap for a few days, you're doing this to me? I only meant to sleep for a day!"

Thanatos shouted boldly next to the completely out-of-it Sisyphus.

My head aches, as if I'm Zeus swallowing Metis.

"You must have found harvesting souls rather exhausting, Thanatos..."

"Exactly! Hades, you understand my hardships well! I really only meant to take a brief nap..."

At that, the other gods standing beside me immediately exploded in anger.

First, Hypnos, who had been traveling around the world forcibly putting to sleep those who couldn’t die.

"What?! A brief nap, you say? Where do you get off saying such nonsense, Thanatos!"

Then Moros and Keres, who had also been suffering as they traveled the world because their domains overlapped with death.

"Thanatos! Do you even realize what you’re saying?"

"You disrupted the cycle of the world for several days, and now you say that!"

Morpeus, who had been appearing in human dreams night after night to suggest that lives not be taken for a while, added,

"Lord Hades! Thanatos must have conspired with the god of time, Cronos! Otherwise, how could he think that time passed so quickly...!"

Many other gods and officials condemned Thanatos’s actions as well.

By now, no one was paying any attention to Sisyphus, who had already been condemned as a major criminal by Zeus.

"You... you vile wretches! If you all had to do my job, you wouldn't think this was such a big deal!"

"What?! I’m busy every day distributing sleep to the living!"

"I’m constantly dispatching my clones to make people dream; do you know how exhausting that is?"

"Do you think we don't work hard?"

"Don't tell me you think you're the only one working in the Underworld?!"

That’s right.

All the gods in the Underworld are constantly working to death.

Even I, the supreme ruler, only occasionally get some free time.

Of course, Thanatos and Charon are the busiest,

But that doesn’t mean the other gods are lounging around.

Take Morpheus and Hypnos, for example. As soon as night falls, they have to work tirelessly, controlling their clones.

In such a situation, Thanatos’s neglect of his duties for several days meant that the other gods in the Underworld had to handle dozens of times their usual workload.

 

* * *

I waved my hand to quiet everyone down and then spoke.

Since we had to decide on a punishment for Thanatos, who had neglected his duties by using Sisyphus.

"First... we need to decide on a punishment..."

"Tartarus!"

Hypnos shouted, his voice strained from lack of sleep.

He is the god who gives out sleep, yet he hadn’t slept a wink for several days.

"Sending him straight to Tartarus wouldn’t be a bad idea."

"Indeed, the crime of disrupting the cycle is serious. Hades, you should pass a fair judgment..."

Moros and Keres, their eyes shadowed with exhaustion, added. They had been forced to live practically among the living for days while harvesting souls.

"Since sending him to Tartarus alone might be too light a punishment, how about making him continuously push a boulder up a hill?"

"Morpheus! That’s a great idea!"

"As expected of the god of dreams, your imagination is very creative!"

"Tartarus! To Tartarus!"

Morpheus, with wild eyes, spouted his crazy suggestion.

It seemed he harbored a strong resentment against Thanatos for not having taken a break.

"You lunatics! Do you think you wouldn’t rest if you were in my position?"

"I’d rather not take a nap at the first chance I got..."

"Thanatos! Stop making excuses and accept your punishment!"

"To Tartarus with Thanatos!"

I massaged my temples as it seemed the Underworld was turning into a madhouse, and then I quietly muttered,

I infused my voice with divine power so that all the gods could hear,

"So, if we send Thanatos to Tartarus, who will harvest the souls?"

Ah, it’s quiet now.

The gods fell silent as they realized they hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Everyone began to glance at each other nervously.

"Well, isn’t death just like a deep sleep? Hypnos, you could..."

"Keres, maybe your domain over disastrous death might be more suitable..."

"Um. We should think this through more..."

Just as I expected.

Everyone seemed to be avoiding any additional work.

Now I can finally speak my mind.

“Thanatos cannot be sent to Tartarus… If a deity has a complaint, they’ll take it as a sign that he’s shirking his duty to harvest souls instead.”

“Ahem. Well, lucky you, Thanatos.”

“No other choice, I suppose…”

“Hmph… For someone who has committed a wrong to go unpunished, the goddess of justice, Dike, would weep…”

“Hmm…!”

“Instead, the god Thanatos will be sentenced to a few extra days of hard labor. In addition, he will not receive any offerings from humans for a while…”

Considering Thanatos is the busiest in the underworld, along with the old god’s dignity that has existed since the beginning of time…

Some random additional punishments should suffice.

Thanatos’s face scrunched up as he untied the rope binding him and slowly stood up.

It seemed he had realized there would be no more vacations for him.

“And since there’s something I haven’t been able to take care of for you all, I will regularly request support from Olympus…”

“But Hades, what are you going to do about that human?”

The goddess Styx, who had been frowning silently, pointed at Sisyphus.

* * *

I looked at Sisyphus, the human Zeus had sent Thanatos to capture.

His forehead was drenched in sweat, and he looked half out of his mind.

“Let’s see, your crimes are…”

“Ah…”

“Don’t be so afraid; there’s a petition on your behalf.”

I reached out and picked up the parchment scroll handed to me by Iris, the goddess of the rainbow.

A while ago, the river god Asopus had asked me to deliver this petition to the underworld.

I handed the parchment scroll to Minos, one of the three judges of the underworld who was standing beside me.

He slowly examined it and began to read aloud.

“Then I shall read it. To the lord of the underworld, upon hearing that the human Sisyphus has been captured…”

The content of the document the river god sent me.

It detailed how his daughter, Aegina, had been wronged by Zeus and expressed his gratitude to Sisyphus.

It also contained worries about Sisyphus being retaliated against by Zeus.

“…Therefore, I humbly plead for some leniency and mercy towards him.”

As Minos finished reading the petition, the faces of the nearby gods turned pale.

“Sigh… Zeus, again…?”

“This time, was the river god the one who suffered…?”

“What if it’s a lie? Shouldn’t we ask the goddess Mnemosyne to verify it?”

I nodded,

and soon the goddess of memory read Sisyphus’s memories and relayed them to me.

“Then I will render judgment.”

Sisyphus looked up at me with a face showing a glimmer of hope.

“Your crime of ambushing Thanatos, the god of death, and disrupting the cycle of the world is indeed a grave offense.”

But…

“However, the reason Thanatos came for you earlier than your destined time was not your fault.”

To be precise, it was because Zeus, angered after his assault was discovered, sent Thanatos.

Still, it’s not like Sisyphus is entirely blameless.

From what I found out, he planned to stir up sympathy by claiming that his wife didn’t hold a funeral.

But the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, examined his thoughts and informed me.

It’s never easy for a human to deceive a god.

“Trying to invoke my sympathy by using the funeral was indeed wrong, but… you are well regarded among the people of Corinth, and are even called a virtuous ruler. Moreover, the real grave offense is…”

“…Ahem, ahem!”

I glanced sideways at the god who was shamelessly holding his head up high.

When Thanatos, who had recently returned from a restful few days in the mortal realm, met my gaze, he coughed awkwardly and looked away.

“…Originally, Thanatos had no intention of using you, and if you had been dragged to the underworld, Minos here would have ruled you innocent.”

“If… If that’s true!”

Minos, standing beside me, offered an awkward smile and added, “Well… when it comes to matters involving Lord Zeus, it’s a bit… ahem…”

But I ignored him for now.

“Therefore, I will judge your sins when you return to the underworld after living out your natural lifespan.”

“…! Thank… Thank you! Lord Pluto!”

Sisyphus, his face showing relief, prostrated himself and repeatedly thanked me.

Though he’ll forget everything he experienced in the underworld.

I nodded to Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness, and she approached Sisyphus from behind.

Her power of oblivion began to manifest.

Sisyphus would forget all the memories of what happened in the underworld.

“Huh…? Huh…”

“Oh, by the way, when you return, I will also hold you accountable for imprisoning Thanatos, who collapsed on his own.”

I finished speaking as I watched Sisyphus’s eyes become clouded and his memories fade.

It’s true that Thanatos had deliberately tried to use Sisyphus, but he must still be punished for keeping him tied up in the palace basement.

When Sisyphus arrives in the underworld after his lifespan is over…

He might spend tens or hundreds of years working in the outer reaches of the underworld with Phaethon.

“Morpheus, send a messenger to Olympus to summon Iris to the underworld.”

“Yes? Why call for Iris, the goddess of the rainbow…”

What? Is there a serious criminal and you want to send Thanatos?

“I’m going to personally complain to Zeus.”

What nonsense.

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