Episode 114: Goddess of the Night, Nyx – (1)
This was the underworld’s training ground.
Chiron stood there, staring absentmindedly at one particular scene— Heracles, whose vigour had been rekindled by Hades, fighting Megaera, one of the three goddesses of vengeance.
On a cliff, the hero and the goddess of vengeance were locked in combat. The clash of their powers shattered rocks and sent debris flying everywhere.
Boom! Crash!
“Huff!”
“Haha…”
Heracles charged at the goddess, swinging his club as if intending to kill, while she stood still, easily fending off his attacks with her torch.
Chiron knew that Heracles was stronger than any hero, but...
“He’s not just some lesser deity like a river god—he’s fighting one of the goddesses of vengeance…”
The words escaped Chiron's mouth without him realizing it. He felt a pang of unease. A hero who had yet to accomplish any great feats was already battling a goddess.
Though the goddess of vengeance was merely accepting his attacks and occasionally countering, how many humans could stand against a god?
This monstrous man was his student, the hero whom Hades had entrusted him to educate.
Today, the centaur sage felt the weight on his shoulders grow even heavier.
Not only Chiron, but past heroes and hero aspirants alike were watching their battle.
“What… what am I even witnessing?”
“I knew Heracles was strong, but I didn’t realize he was on par with the goddesses of vengeance.”
“This can’t be real. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d think it was nonsense.”
“He’s already at the level of a great hero, and he hasn’t even returned to the mortal realm yet…”
“Not just a great hero—hasn’t he defeated everyone here except Cadmus?”
“And without a single injury… I swear, if I ever return to the mortal realm, I’m making sure I never become his enemy.”
The eyes of the aspiring heroes, who had trained alongside Heracles, were filled with a mix of jealousy, admiration, envy, and longing. They were watching the embodiment of power, the very thing they had always dreamed of, unfold before them.
Rumble... Crash!
Chiron, turning away from the collapsing cliffs, called out to the hero aspirants.
As a teacher, he knew well how to draw out zeal from feelings of envy and admiration.
“I’m sure seeing that has made you all think.”
“...Yes, it’s incredible.”
“That’s Heracles, all right…”
“Hm. For a hero chosen by the gods to be that powerful…”
The moment Chiron mentioned Heracles, murmurs arose from everywhere. He could hear the discouragement and resignation in their voices, and so he sought to stir them up.
“So, are you going to give up on becoming heroes?”
“…That’s not…”
“But compared to Heracles…”
“Are you overwhelmed by Heracles' strength? Do you think no matter what you do, you’ll never reach his level?”
They didn’t answer, but Chiron knew that a wall had appeared before the aspiring heroes. Not a god’s, but a fellow mortal’s overwhelming strength had cast doubt on their self-confidence and pride.
For those who had once brimmed with confidence and pride, Heracles now seemed like an insurmountable mountain.
“Strength, intelligence, noble lineage—all those things can set heroes apart from ordinary men. But the most crucial difference is their spirit.”
“…”
“When you return to the mortal realm to complete your tasks, will you simply give up when a powerful monster like Heracles sets its sights on you? Will you find comfort in telling yourself it was impossible because of his lineage or talent, and return here as a dead soul?”
"At Chiron's shout, those who had lowered their heads began to meet his gaze one by one.
There wasn't a single person here who lacked the burning desire that surged from deep within.
Those who were not fully committed to walking the path of a hero…
Had been filtered out long before they crossed into the underworld, at the very oath of the River Styx.
The training they had endured here, the memories of battling mythical monsters or the war god Ares..."
And it was Chiron's words that sparked the flames in the logs of ambition and dreams each of them carried.
Before long, the eyes of the aspiring heroes, now lifted, were quietly burning with determination and a desire for improvement.
“…Now you’re showing the kind of fire I want to see. So, is there time to be standing around?”
“No, sir!”
“We’ve been a disgrace to you, Master Chiron.”
“The difference between a hero and an ordinary man lies in the spirit…”
The aspiring heroes scattered in every direction to begin their training. Fiercer than ever before.
* * *
I was sitting on the throne of my fortress, listening to the reports of my messengers.
As always, reports poured in from all over the underworld. Since there were often critical matters mixed in, I couldn’t just skim through them.
Especially when they involved the Protogenoi, like right now.
“Hades, my mother has successfully persuaded Lady Nyx. The rest is up to you.”
The letter I was reading was from Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness. Lethe’s mother was Eris, the goddess of discord, and her mother was none other than Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night.
Even if we trained Heracles to defeat the Gigantes…
There was still the chance that Gaia wouldn’t acknowledge us.
That’s why we had a backup plan.
We aimed to persuade Nyx, one of the primordial gods born under Chaos, just like Gaia.
However, Lady Nyx had long withdrawn from the affairs of the world, remaining an observer. She had stayed uninvolved for millennia, whether Gaia or we won the war.
I had asked Nyx’s children to help, hoping they could arrange a meeting where I could try to persuade her.
Nyx’s children—Eris, Thanatos, Hypnos, Moros, and the Keres—had taken turns visiting her dwelling.
After a long time, for reasons unknown, the stubborn Protogenoi had finally agreed to hear me out.
A rare opportunity to gain the favor of a primordial god, one as powerful as Gaia herself.
I wouldn’t waste it.
* * *
The Goddess of Night, Nyx, born from the primordial Chaos, embodied darkness and extinction itself.
Her divine nature was the complete opposite of Gaia, the Mother Earth, who created and produced everything.
That’s why I thought she might have a perspective different from Gaia's and decided to try to persuade her.
And that’s also why I, who was at least somewhat familiar with the nature of the night, had to meet her in person.
Step, step.
Nyx’s dwelling was in Tartarus, in the most terrifying region of it.
However, it wasn’t as though she was trapped there. She simply switched places with her daughter, Hemera, the goddess of day, when night fell.
As I descended the path to Tartarus, I encountered another goddess of the underworld, Eris.
“Oh, Hades.”
“Lady Eris. Thank you so much for persuading Lady Nyx on our behalf.”
Although her beauty was striking, her expression was colder and more spiteful than Demeter’s.
With a dismissive attitude, she replied to me, “It was nothing. My son-in-law asked, so I just said a few words to my mother.”
“Son-in-law…”
“What? Don’t you plan on marrying Lethe?”
Seeing her gaze starting to narrow, I quickly changed the subject.
“No, of course not. Thank you. Mother-in-law.”
“Oh hoho! It seems your years as ruler of the underworld have made you quite the smooth talker. You’re heading to Tartarus?”
“Yes, since you’ve arranged for me to meet with Lady Nyx…”
“I’d suggest you don’t enter Tartarus but wait at the entrance. She’ll probably come out. Take care.”
Though others avoided her, my occasional visits to Lady Eris had paid off.
Even though strange incidents seemed to always happen when I invited her to banquets, causing them to end early…
One must always show respect to one’s elders, after all.
“…Take care, Lady Eris.”
After parting ways with the goddess of discord—no, my mother-in-law—I continued downward.
Further… and further… Soon, I could feel the evidence that I was nearing Tartarus: mist creeping out and a chilling cold in the air.
Roughly 300 paces to the bronze gate of Tartarus.
Surely, Lady Nyx knew I had come this far.
Countless arguments and ways to plead my case ran through my mind, only to disappear.
No, this would be far more difficult than convincing Prometheus.
No matter what rhetoric I employed, it would be impossible to hide that I was asking her to fight Gaia on our behalf.
The bronze gate came into view, and before it, three great beings sat in a row.
The three Hecatoncheires, with their fifty heads and one hundred hands, greeted me.
“Oh! Hades!”
“It’s been a while. I heard you met Prometheus recently?”
“Cronos has been quiet lately. So have the other Titans. What brings you here today?”
“Well, today…”
Whooosh...
Just as I was about to tell them about Lady Nyx, the air suddenly grew heavy.
A pressure was closing in, the light disappearing. This force far surpassed Zeus, and even exceeded the overwhelming presence of Cronos...
No one here failed to understand what was happening.
The three Hecatoncheires quickly stood up and straightened their clothes.
I, too, finished preparing myself to greet the entity that was about to appear, bowing my head toward the gathering power.
Soon, the surroundings were engulfed in darkness, and I felt the overwhelming presence before me.
At the same time, a sweet, melodic voice reached my ears.
“Oh my, isn’t it uncomfortable to bow your head like that?”
The goddess of night and primordial Protogenoi, Nyx, had descended.
* * *
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