The Underworld

"Hey, you can open your eyes now, big brother!"

At the sound of Circe's voice, Phaethon obediently opened his eyes. He realized that they had passed through the very essence of Erebus, the primordial god of darkness, and arrived at the depths of the Underworld, in the Fields of Truth.

The Fields of Truth were a vast, gray plain, with two paths branching off—one leading to the abyss of Tartarus, and the other to Elysium, where the gods of the Underworld resided.

It was said that after the death of the fourth generation of humans, their souls would come to the Fields of Truth to be judged by the three judges of the Underworld.

But at this time, the fourth generation of humans, created by Deucalion, son of Prometheus and the sea goddess Pronoia, and Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, had only just been born. No human had yet reached the end of their life.

The future judges of the Underworld—Aeacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthys—had not even been born yet. In fact, their mother, Europa, might not have been born either.

So, what Phaethon saw in the Fields of Truth was neither the three judges presiding over trials nor the souls of humans awaiting judgment.

"The Underworld is so empty and quiet right now... I can only see the souls of a few animals wandering around," Phaethon remarked.

After a moment of silence, Circe spoke in a shy voice, "Big brother, you can let go of me now."

"Oh—sorry!"

Realizing that his hands were still wrapped around Circe's waist, Phaethon quickly pulled them back. Trying to change the subject, he asked, "Circe, how are we supposed to get back to Colchis from the Underworld?"

"Don't worry, big brother! Since we're already here, we should visit Hecate first before we leave."

With that, Circe took Phaethon's left hand in her right and began leading him toward the path to Elysium.

"You're in the Underworld, big brother! Don't you want to take a look at where the gods of the Underworld live? I'll take you to Hecate's temple!"

But just as they stepped onto the path leading to Elysium—

In an instant!

Two gods of the Underworld, their forms and faces concealed by dark power, appeared in front of Phaethon and Circe, blocking their way.

The god on the left spoke in a mocking male voice, "Son of Helios! Have you come to the Underworld to report in as one of the dead? Even if you escaped Zeus' lightning, you still can't outrun your fate. I almost want to congratulate you."

The god on the right chimed in with a teasing tone, "Or maybe he was just tricked by Circe! Poor Phaethon, sent to the Underworld by his own sister. You must be feeling pretty heartbroken and hopeless right now. But don't worry, whether you're a god or a mortal, everyone gets to enjoy the equality of death. The eternal dream will bring peace to your soul."

"Thanatos, god of death! Hypnos, god of sleep!"

Recognizing the two gods, Circe immediately stepped in front of Phaethon, her eyes wary as she faced them. "Please stop with the cruel jokes! My brother Phaethon is here as a living god, and even though you're the gods of death and sleep, you don't have the right to decide his fate."

Thanatos and Hypnos were twin gods, born of Nyx, the primordial goddess of night.

Though they were not as powerful as the first generation of Titans, they still possessed divine powers that surpassed many other gods.

In the distant future, during the Trojan War, Hypnos would dare to use his powers to lull Zeus into sleep, successfully trapping the king of the gods in a dream.

This alone showed how formidable Hypnos was.

As for Thanatos, being Hypnos' twin, he wielded powers and authority equal to his brother's.

If Death and Sleep decided to make Phaethon face his destined death, even with his divine power as a greater god and his radiant light-based divinity, he wouldn't be able to resist them. He wouldn't even be able to escape.

Seeing Circe bravely standing in front of him, shielding him, Phaethon blinked in surprise, momentarily stunned.

Snapping back to reality, Phaethon quickly stepped up beside Circe to face the twin gods together. With a relaxed smile, he said, "Circe! After Zeus and Poseidon wiped out the humans of the Bronze Age, there are barely any humans or animals left on the surface. These two old men are just bored and messing with us. You don't need to take them seriously."

"Son of Helios! Do you really think we're joking with you?" the god on the left said in a stern tone. "Though you escaped Zeus' lightning and avoided death for now, the shadow of death still looms over you."

"You're Thanatos, the god of death, aren't you?" Phaethon asked, recognizing the god on the left. Without a trace of fear, he continued, "Of course I know death will come for me eventually! But right now, you two old men aren't going to lay a finger on me—am I wrong?"

"You, a god of light, have entered the Underworld. We're just here to remind you of something," Hypnos, the god of sleep, explained from the right.

"Phaethon, god of light! The radiance you emit can cause great harm to the souls of the Underworld. If you don't want to be expelled or punished by the gods of the Underworld, you must constantly restrain your divine power and avoid disrupting the darkness here."

"I'll keep your warning in mind, old men! So, can Circe and I head to Elysium now?" Phaethon asked.

Though Thanatos and Hypnos didn't respond verbally, they stepped aside, clearing the path for Phaethon and Circe.

As Phaethon held Circe's small hand and was about to walk between the two gods—

Hypnos suddenly spoke up, "Grandson of Hyperion! Since you've been so polite, let me give you a piece of advice. Stay here in the Underworld and become the son of Hades."

Both Phaethon and Circe froze in shock at his words.

Hypnos continued, "Helios may be a good father, but he's not powerful enough to protect you. Hades has no wife and no children. If you stay here and become his son, even Zeus wouldn't dare threaten your life anymore."

As Hypnos said, Helios, the highest god of the sun family, wasn't strong enough to stand against Zeus.

Despite Helios' repeated attempts to resist Zeus' oppression of the sun gods, even forming an alliance with Poseidon, it ultimately ended in failure. The sun god family fell into decline.

After the age of demigod heroes ended and the descendants of Troy, with Apollo's help, established the Roman Empire that unified the continent of Europa, the divine powers of light, the moon, and the sun that once belonged to the sun god family were gradually taken over by Apollo and Artemis.

As one of the three Kings of the Gods, alongside Zeus and Poseidon, Hades, who ruled over the Underworld, was undeniably powerful.

Staying in the Underworld under Hades' protection would indeed allow Phaethon to escape his grim fate.

But…

"Because my father isn't strong enough, I should become the son of a more powerful god just to survive?" Phaethon shook his head without hesitation.

"Grandpa Hypnos, I understand that you mean well! But I'm not afraid of death, and I will never betray the sun god family."