The Story of the Dead
The afterlife, a final destination and resting place for souls.
Here, countless gods exist, just as humans know.
First, there is Hades, the king of the underworld, along with Thanatos, the god of death, and Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness.
Then there is Styx, the goddess of absolute oaths, Hypnos, the god of sleep, and Morpheus, who governs dreams...
However, they are not the only ones in the afterlife.
For example...
"Ferry fare."
"Ugh... What...?"
The high deity, son of Erebus, the god of darkness, and Nyx, the goddess of night...
"Is there none? If not, I cannot take you across."
"Uh... something's in my mouth..."
"Just open your mouth; I will take it myself."
He is Charon, the ferryman of the Acheron River, suffering from the hard labor of rowing every single day...
"Yes, it is indeed one obol (one-sixth of a drachma). But another coin? Tsk."
With white hair, a tired face, and the appearance of an old sailor, Charon is truly the diligent worker of the underworld, burdened with work rivaling that of Hades or Thanatos.
When a person dies in the mortal realm, they first meet a manifestation of Thanatos, who drags their soul to the entrance of the underworld...
Next, they encounter the first river of the underworld, the Acheron.
Waiting by the wide and calm riverbank, an old man rowing calls out to the souls.
"I am dead... Ugh... But what are those people?"
"Why ask when you already know? If you don't pay the fare, I cannot let you cross the river."
Charon, the ferryman of the Acheron.
He will never allow souls to cross the river without receiving one coin (one obol).
Because of this, many wandering souls weep by the banks of the Acheron.
Charon's tale has spread even to the mortal realm.
Thus, when burying the dead, families usually place a coin in the deceased's mouth.
However, travelers who die far from home and are devoured by beasts.
Souls who die on the battlefield and cannot receive a proper burial.
Those punished by the gods, leaving no trace of their bodies.
Such souls cannot find peace even in death.
Although many souls flock to the Acheron every day, making Charon immensely wealthy...
Swish—splash.
The money Charon can actually keep starts from the second coin; the first coin must be thrown into the Acheron.
This is the law of the Acheron, which is why Charon remains poor.
"Sigh... Working to death, yet my pockets are always empty."
Now, let us briefly shift to Hades' past life...
Isn't this just passion pay, almost like being an unpaid slave?
"We have arrived. Get off, you lot."
"Ugh... Yes..."
"Mother... I’m sorry."
"Damn it... I should have dodged that knife..."
Before long, the souls that boarded Charon's boat found themselves already on the other side.
Thus, Charon lets the souls off and rows away again.
After crossing the Acheron, the next river is the river of lamentation, Cocytus.
"Ugh..."
"Mother... Aaaah!"
"It's so cold..."
This river reflects the past appearances of the souls, causing them to feel sorrow.
Regrets from the mortal realm, moments of love shared, memories they wish to hold onto.
And now, facing death, the situation shakes the hearts of the souls.
The deceased, crossing the river of lamentation with gloomy expressions, encounter...
The river of flames, Pyriphlegethon.
"What the... The river is on fire?"
"Flames everywhere..."
"But it doesn't feel hot?"
Fire in the mortal realm is hot.
The souls hesitate for a moment at the memory but soon realize there is no heat.
"Isn't it really not hot?"
"Indeed, perhaps it’s because we are already dead."
The souls' bodies catch fire, but they feel no heat.
Instead, a refreshing sensation, like washing away grime, envelops them as they cross the river again.
Thus, purified from the filth of the mortal realm in the river of flames, Pyriphlegethon, they face the river of forgetfulness.
The river of forgetfulness, Lethe.
"Go that way..."
The beautiful silver-haired goddess Lethe sometimes appears by the riverbank to guide the souls.
Following the goddess's finger pointing across the river, the deceased leap into the water.
"How much further... Ah... oh..."
"This river is not much different from the mortal realm... eh..."
The souls do not choke, but the water of forgetfulness naturally enters their mouths, erasing memories of the mortal realm.
Sometimes, souls with strong grudges do not forget their memories, but this does not apply to ordinary souls.
Following their instincts, the deceased finally reach the last river to enter the underworld.
The river of hatred, Styx.
A long and wide river that encircles the underworld nine times.
Sometimes the goddess Styx guides the deceased, but today, her attendants hurry the souls along.
After crossing the river and walking a bit, the grand fortress of Hades comes into view.
"Yikes..."
"Uh... oh! Over there..."
The fortress of Hades spreads across the entire underworld,
the imposing darkness of the castle visible even from afar intimidates the souls.
As they walk along the wide road from the Styx to the fortress,
a massive gate leading into the underworld appears.
And before the gate stands Cerberus, the three-headed monster, baring its teeth.
"Grraaar..."
"Argh..."
The foamy drool dripping from its sharp fangs is laced with poison.
With Typhon, the god of storms, as its father and the might of Hades, the divine beast's presence terrifies the souls.
However, upon seeing the approaching souls, Cerberus moves aside, seemingly uninterested in them.
The guardian of the underworld, faithfully obeying Hades' orders, only devours souls leaving the gates.
As the deceased cautiously pass through the massive gate guarded by Cerberus,
the overseers of the underworld appear to guide them somewhere.
"Come this way, humans; there are still those awaiting judgment, so please wait here for a moment."
"And most of you will live in the underworld, but what you need to be careful about is..."
"Having crossed the river of forgetfulness, your memories of the mortal realm have likely faded. Let me tell you about the gods again."
The souls, having moved to a building or plaza-like space, listen to the explanation.
New knowledge enters the minds of the souls who have forgotten their memories of the mortal realm,
and the deceased begin to understand their situation.
"Judgment...?"
"Was I a good person in the mortal realm?"
"I'm feeling anxious..."
As the souls, overwhelmed by the new knowledge, absorb it, an overseer approaches them.
"It’s your turn now. You, come follow me."
The souls rise one by one and follow the overseer in order.
They are now moving to the place where Hades will pass judgment.
As hundreds of souls gather in a spacious area, they see a dark-haired, dark-eyed deity.
With a very tired face, holding a parchment, he is Hades, the lord of the underworld.
He rummages through a pile of documents on the podium while receiving reports from the overseers.
As the underworld god waves his hand dismissively, his powers manifest, and a black wind sweeps through the crowd.
An emotionless voice reaches the souls, who stagger as the black wind brushes past them.
"There are no souls going to Tartarus or Elysium, then next..."
"You all move this way."
"You will now proceed to the judges."
After Hades' simple discernment, filtering out major criminals, heroes, and special individuals, the souls are judged by the three judges of the underworld, Minos and his brothers.
The three brothers examine the severity of the sins committed by the souls in the mortal realm and impose appropriate punishments.
Sometimes, the procedure is altered, with the three brothers judging the souls first and sending those whose judgments are difficult to Hades.
"You committed the crime of killing three neighbors and stealing their wealth..."
"Then let’s impose a labor sentence on the outskirts of the underworld and a punishment of repairing the fortress."
"Is the next soul that old man?"
Minos.
He is the son of Zeus and Europa, and in life, he was the king of the island of Crete, but after death, he became one of the judges of the underworld along with his two brothers.
Their judgments are well-known for being fair, which is why Hades entrusted the judgment of souls to the three brothers.
Those who have committed serious crimes will serve their punishments in the underworld,
while those deemed to have lesser or no sins by the three brothers will live in Hades' fortress.
The scenery of the mortal realm and the underworld is not that different.
The only difference is that the dead souls are all translucent and do not consume food.
Here, laws and order, jobs and rules also exist.
In the vast space of the underworld, souls that have not yet been reincarnated are conversing.
"Will I be reincarnated soon?"
"I want to stay here; I want to become an overseer of the underworld."
"I think the goddess Lethe is truly beautiful today..."
"Be careful with your words; she is the mistress of the underworld."
"Isn't that the goddess Styx?"
Souls who have washed away their sins begin preparing for reincarnation in the order they arrived in the underworld.
If during this process a soul refuses to reincarnate and wishes to remain in the underworld, it is allowed to stay based on the circumstances.
If they stay in the underworld, they are usually assigned jobs by the overseers or lower gods.
Patrolling guards of the underworld, attendants or maidens of gods like Hades or Hypnos.
Or roles such as repairing the vast fortress or building homes and spaces for the souls to reside.
"It seems like a lot of dust has accumulated here... I should clean a bit."
"The fortress has a hole in it, right? We need to repair this quickly."
"I heard that a maiden of Hades has reincarnated?"
"Really? They will soon recruit again. Should I apply?"
Moreover, the souls of the underworld, having adapted to the dim underground world, could see without light.
The hearths of Hestia placed here and there provide comfort and warmth to the souls, but light itself is not greatly needed.
Thanks to this, they are more accustomed to the night than the day, to darkness rather than light.
This is the daily life of the souls living in the underworld.
A part of the vast system where life and death repeat.
But what if this cycle were to break...
Wouldn't that be a disaster?