Epilogue – 21st Century Olympus
A god is an immortal being.
Unlike mortals, no matter how much time passes, they do not die.
Even if they lose the faith of humans, are trapped in Tartarus, or have their heads cut off, they persist.
B.C. and A.D.
According to the arbitrary concepts created by humans, it’s now the 21st century A.D.
The Olympian gods still exist.
And that includes me, Hades, the god of the underworld.
I've had many children, and much of the underworld has been automated, leaving me with a considerable amount of free time.
Of course, there are still moments when I must make important judgments, but compared to the past, life here might as well be Elysium.
Naturally, the faces of gods like Charon, Thanatos, Hypnos, and many others show a certain ease.
On the other hand, I’ve been dealing with a rather bothersome issue—my children.
“Father, it’s me.”
I was leaning back, my eyes closed in the audience chamber, when I heard someone calling for me from outside.
It was the voice of Zagreus, my son born of Persephone and me.
“Zagreus? Come in.”
“Yes.”
The door to the audience chamber opened, and Zagreus walked in.
His neat black suit, tired face, and the way he rubbed his eyes—he had pulled another all-nighter.
Stopping a bit away from the throne, he poured out a complaint directed at me.
With a slightly aggrieved look and gestures, it seemed someone had caused trouble again.
“Father, please do something about Melinoë.”
“…?”
“She’s run off again with Morpheus. Of course, she’s abandoned her duties. Thanks to that, not a single human had nightmares last night…”
Melinoë.
The goddess of nightmares, ghosts, and madness. My daughter.
Born of the river goddess Styx, Melinoë inherited her mother’s beautiful long black hair, but she often displayed a rather lax or negligent attitude.
Perhaps it was because she shared part of the domain of madness with Dionysus. Sometimes, her behavior was utterly unpredictable…
“She’s not in the underworld?”
“No. Lady Lethe and I searched the entire underworld but found no trace of her. She must have fled to Olympus.”
“Olympus? Could she not have gone to the mortal world to play? Surely Olympus is…”
“No, it’s definitely Olympus! Do you know how often she went on about how much she loves Olympus? I’ve heard her say countless times that she prefers the bright and lively Olympus to our dreary underworld!”
Once again, she’d run off in pursuit of love and escaped the underworld.
But to run off with Morpheus, the god of dreams, of all beings… How large is their age gap? No, wait—considering I married Persephone, I have no room to talk.
“Because of her, it’s just Macaria and me struggling! I don’t understand why she despises the underworld so much…”
“Alright, alright, I understand. I’ll go to Olympus and look for her myself.”
“What? You’re going personally, Father?”
“Yes. It’s been centuries since I last saw Zeus anyway. I’ll retrieve her myself. In the meantime, you’ll oversee the underworld.”
“Again, it’s me…?”
It seemed I’d have to leave the underworld in Zagreus’s care and head to Olympus.
Was I asking too much of him? Zagreus slumped his shoulders, muttering under his breath.
“Can’t you ask Macaria or one of the other children instead?”
“Hmph. Who else can I trust but you? Besides, the more you get used to the responsibilities of the god of the underworld, the better you’ll become.”
“…Fine. I understand.”
I patted Zagreus’s shoulder a few times and stepped out.
I may have many children now, but the most reliable one is still Zagreus.
Another of my daughters, Macaria, born of Lady Lethe, represents the peaceful aspect of death.
She’s always busy assisting Thanatos with his duties.
Because of that, I often leave the underworld in Zagreus’s hands while I take my leave.
If he grows further, then even if something happens to me, the underworld won’t fall into chaos.
One could say he’s akin to Triton, Poseidon’s son—a successor with a similar standing.
* * *
Vrooooom—
Crossing the Acheron River in Charon’s boat, I emerged onto the surface world.
The first thing I saw was an airplane soaring through the sky.
When those invention were first invented, the reactions from the Olympian gods were extraordinary.
Because I had knowledge from my previous life, I wasn’t particularly surprised, but the others made quite a fuss.
“This is so advanced that humans might soon reach Uranus’ domain and conquer space!”
“Humans seem to thrive just fine without heroes. Do we gods even need to stick around?”
“We should immortalize the inventor of this thing by turning them into a constellation!”
Suggestions like that came up often.
Of course, those ideas were dismissed following Zeus’ policy of minimal interference with the human world.
“Ah, Uncle Hades? What a coincidence—I was just planning to visit the Underworld soon.”
“Hermes. It’s been a while. Your outfit looks... different.”
“Haha, you mean this? Oh, nothing special. Just a little help from Hephaestus.”
At the entrance to the Underworld, I came across Hermes, whose attire had indeed undergone some changes.
He wore a collared shirt and shorts, his staff (Caduceus) disguised as an ordinary walking stick, his winged sandals now resembling regular sneakers, and he even carried a backpack.
Is this the latest travel trend?
“Have you seen Melinoe on Olympus by any chance?”
“Oh, your mischievous niece of mine, the one who likes to play around with nightmares? Hmm… I think I might have seen her. You’ll probably find her in the banquet hall.”
“Banquet hall?”
“Yes. Uranus has paid a visit to Olympus. He’s discussing humans’ ventures into space.”
After hearing more news from Hermes, I made my way to Olympus.
Naturally, I didn’t forget to conceal my presence from the satellites and various detection devices humans had launched into space.
I remembered how Apollo once ventured near the sun to examine its heat, only to be caught by a satellite.
It caused quite an uproar in the mortal realm—debates over whether it was a god or an alien filled the news. Since then, the gods have been more cautious.
* * *
The scenery of the Olympian palace, which I hadn’t visited in a long time, had changed significantly.
The grand structures built atop clouds remained majestic, but…
Viiing—Shuuuung…
What looked like marble columns turned out to be intricate mechanical devices.
By the river where the Milky Way seemed to flow, floating automated devices hovered about.
And then there were humanlike figures without souls—no, they were more like cyborgs. These machines, resembling beautiful humans, bowed their heads toward me.
“Welcome, Lord Hades. Thank you for visiting Olympus.”
As I approached the grand steel gates, an automated voice, imbued with Hephaestus’ divine power, greeted me.
Oh, it’s detecting my divine energy. Hephaestus has truly transformed Olympus.
A small aperture flickered red before the doors opened automatically.
It resembled the automatic doors of human modernity, yet something felt off—it was built atop clouds, after all.
No matter how skilled Hephaestus is, there’s no way he built all of this in a single day. How much effort must he have put into it?
When I stepped into the banquet hall, the sight before me was truly... astonishing.
I wasn’t sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me—perhaps Zeus’ thunderbolts had messed up my vision—but Olympus had changed so much.
Even if I hadn’t been to the palace in centuries, I didn’t expect it to look like this.
Ding ding ding~ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫
"Ahahaha! Pour another round!"
"Apollooo! Turn the music up a bit, please!"
"Of course. Euterpe!"
"Haha! Hera, come over here! You look especially beautiful tonight."
"Oh my, really? Then, just for a moment..."
The ceiling of the dimly lit Olympus Palace shimmered with colorful lights, powered by divine energy.
On one side, DJ Apollo, decked out in sunglasses and a sharp suit, was manning the music equipment, playing lively tunes.
Meanwhile, Zeus and Hera shared a kiss under the moody lighting.
As expected, the most ecstatic of all was Dionysus, dancing with the nymphs.
In another corner, goddesses swayed gracefully, displaying their captivating beauty.
"Hmph. They’re putting on a decent show. It’s quite entertaining."
A figure with white hair and a small, childlike frame sat casually on a chair, wearing a simple white dress and sipping nectar.
It was Uranus, one of the Protogenoi, watching the scene with a gaze like someone amused by a jester's tricks.
His eyes shifted to me.
"Hades, is that you?"
Well, I should at least offer a greeting.
"Greetings, Uranus. What brings you to Olympus?"
"Zeus, that rascal, invited me. It was a pleasant distraction; I’d grown tired of staring at constellations all the time."
"Ah... But I hope the hospitality isn’t lacking?"
"This is fine. Not bad at all. Isn’t this how your humans enjoy themselves? They call it a club, I believe."
Ah, a club. That explains it.
The music, the atmosphere, even the machines Hephaestus built to serve drinks—it all resembled a mortal club.
In the past, gods would introduce culture to the mortal realm.
Now, it seems we’ve come to the point where gods adopt the mortals’ culture.
To thrive and advance without the gods' aid, even surpassing us… How remarkable.
As I was talking with Uranus, a nymph in a black dress called out to me.
I noticed a shelf stacked with faintly glowing bottles. Clearly, not all of them were nectar.
"Um, Lord Hades, would you like a cocktail?"
"A cocktail? Not nectar? Very well, let’s see what you can do."
"Yes, my lord!"
Pour...
The nymph grabbed a glass and set it before me, deftly pouring from various bottles in quick succession.
Was this the floating technique I’d heard about?
When her skillful movements stopped, a cocktail with vibrant, layered colors stood before me.
"...What is all this?"
"Ah! At the bottom is nectar, above that is juice from the golden apples harvested from Lady Hera’s sacred tree, the next layer is brandy brewed by Lord Dionysus himself, and then honey syrup made by bees personally tended by Lord Aristaeus.
Finally..."
They really went all out with this.