Tantalus's Tale - (2)
With Tantalus collapsed on the ground, Zeus approached me.
With each step Zeus took, flames and lightning flickered, and thunder continued to roar from the heavens.
"I apologize, brother. I never imagined that Tantalus would act this way."
"... That madman must be thrown into Tartarus."
"Since he killed his own child and made him into food, it would be fitting for him to suffer eternal hunger."
Should I call upon the goddess of hunger, Limos, for help?
No...
That insane fool must endure pain for a long time.
There’s no need to waste Limos's strength.
Long ago, there was a madman who lived in the same era as Sisyphus, who imprisoned Thanatos.
This man, known as Erysichthon, swung an axe at a sacred oak tree cherished by Demeter.
Crack.
Boom!
"Ah... Blood from the oak!"
"Erysichthon, please stop chopping even now!"
"I will surely take revenge on you... human."
The oak, bleeding from the cut, vowed to take revenge, but he paid no heed and continued to chop it down.
Thus, Erysichthon, having incurred Demeter's wrath, received a visit from a goddess sent by her...
"Food! Bring me more food! Sell everything to buy food!"
"Father... You've already had more than sixty portions..."
"I'm... hungry! Hurry!"
The goddess, tasked by Demeter, plunged Erysichthon into a terrible hunger, causing him to squander all his wealth, and ultimately, he ended up devouring his own body.
That goddess was none other than Limos, the deity of hunger.
As Zeus gazed upon the pile of human flesh that Demeter had shown him, he spoke.
Though he was the king of the gods who had lived for many ages, he could not hide his agitation at the actions of this madman.
"Demeter. I must go to the three goddesses of fate, the Moirai, and seek to resurrect this poor soul."
"If I reshape him, I can bring him back to life."
"... Then the souls that have come to the underworld must be sent back quickly."
Just then, the sound of fluttering wings echoed from the sky, and with blood streaming from their eyes... the three goddesses with snake-haired heads appeared.
With bronze wings and torches in hand, it seemed that the avatars sent by the goddesses of vengeance were heading towards Tantalus.
"Ah. You. Kill. Your. Children?"
"You. Must. Suffer. Pain. Forever."
"Your. Sin. Will. Never. Be. Forgiven."
The avatars sent by the goddesses of vengeance were illusions visible only to the guilty.
Tantalus would be tormented by these illusions for eternity until his death.
Wait, if he is tormented by illusions until his death... then he will be freed from them after he dies.
Did Poseidon think of that as well? He looked at me.
"Hades, how about we imprison that despicable man alive in Tartarus?"
That sounds like a splendid idea.
Tantalus awoke with a start, cold sweat dripping from him.
Had he not died for deceiving the gods? Surely, the palace had been destroyed by Zeus's wrath...
Then, could this be the underworld?
Tantalus tried to move his body to rise, but he was tightly bound by ropes and could not budge.
Struggling to lift his head, he saw a scene resembling a cave.
"Are you awake, Tantalus?"
'Pluto? The underworld...?!'
A chilling aura lingered around him, and following a voice he heard from somewhere, he saw Pluto sitting on a black throne, gazing at him with sharp eyes.
Around him were gods who seemed to dwell in the underworld, a dark-winged male deity and a goddess with turquoise hair.
The surroundings were pitch black, and the few torches that illuminated the area were losing their light.
The darkness emanating from the throne seemed to consume the warm glow of the torches, creating an illusion in his eyes.
"Your. Sin. Will. Never. Be. Forgiven."
"Ugh..."
And the whispers he had been hearing since earlier seeped into his mind.
Were they the goddesses of vengeance? Indeed, it seemed impossible for a human to deceive the gods.
As Tantalus groaned, he heard Pluto's low voice.
If he remained silent, he would die...
Pluto was also a god of mercy, so he had to somehow evoke that mercy...
"Then now... I shall discuss your sins with your grandfather and relatives regarding the death of your grandson."
"Is it really such a grave mistake to deceive the gods?"
"Shut up! You wretched insect!"
Boom!
At the roar of the dark-winged god standing next to Pluto, Tantalus's head was forced down, striking the ground hard.
However, when the lord of the underworld waved his hand, the pressure that had made him unable to resist vanished.
"Hmm. Thanatos. Please calm down for a moment. Even a sinner has the right to defend themselves... Now, speak."
Tantalus racked his brain for a response.
The underworld was entirely Pluto's domain; even his father, Zeus, could not interfere.
Thus, if he could somehow persuade the god sitting on the throne to show mercy, there might be hope...!
But it was highly likely that lies would not work on a god.
He had killed his own son and made him into food, but no god had eaten it, had they?
Even the goddesses of vengeance were tormenting him...
"Do you have nothing to say?!"
"Ah... No! It’s just that..."
Yes, sympathy! He needed to evoke the feeling of sympathy from that dark-haired god.
His sins were blasphemy, daring to steal the food of the gods and deceive them by cooking it as a human.
However, the rumors he had heard about Pluto were that he was the most merciful of the gods.
Unlike the cruel and capricious Olympian gods, if he could persuade this somewhat soft-hearted god of mercy...
"Is it such a great sin for a human to want to test the gods?! Oh, Pluto!"
"......"
"I was born as the son of Zeus, a demigod, and I have always had questions! The tales of the gods are filled with good deeds, but there are also stories of them tormenting mortals or making mistakes! I merely expressed a small curiosity about what the gods truly are, so please forgive me mercifully!"
"......"
"I believe I have already been punished for my blasphemy through death! Please have pity on me and allow me to meet a peaceful end! O god of mercy...!"
Having said this, Tantalus glanced at the being seated on the throne.
For some reason, the surrounding gods were also silent.
This sight filled him with growing anxiety.
A moment of silence passed, and Pluto, who had been glaring at him sharply, burst into laughter.
It was not a hearty laugh, but a mocking one...!? Had he failed to persuade the god?
"Hahaha! You think you are dead? No, you are still alive. Thanks to Thanatos not having claimed your soul."
"What?"
"And the greatest sin you committed was not trying to deceive the gods, nor stealing ambrosia and nectar."
"...?!"
"I was curious to hear what excuses you would make after killing your own son, and that is all you have to say?"
At that moment, Tantalus realized the mistake he had made.
The mercy he had hoped to exploit from Pluto... extended even to his son.
"Th-that was..."
"If you had only stolen ambrosia and nectar, you would have ended up laboring for decades in the underworld. If you had died for deceiving the gods without harming anyone else, it would have been considered for a suitable punishment."
"Ah..."
"But you have never once mentioned the fact that you killed your son. You have no sense of guilt at all... Your judgment has been decided."
Tantalus desperately tried to defend himself, but no words came out.
Before him, the lord of the underworld calmly pronounced his judgment.
"Murder is a crime. You killed your own son, so it is a grave sin. Not only that, but you also deceived your relatives to feed them your son's corpse, which is an even greater crime."
"......!"
"You will never be able to atone for all these wrongs, even after thousands of years. Therefore, you will be sent to Tartarus..."
"......!!!"
"...where you will suffer eternal hunger that can never be resolved, and you will periodically have your insides torn out by Cerberus as punishment."
Tantalus struggled to shake off the hands of the dead that held him.
However, he could not resist the power of the specters that were escorting the sinner.
The madman who had cooked his own son would receive just punishment.
I etched the final moments of Tantalus being dragged away by the dead into my memory.
Like the eagle that feasted on Prometheus's liver, Cerberus would now periodically devour Tantalus's insides.
As a divine beast, Cerberus was always hungry and drooling, so he would have a steady supply of food.
Even if Tantalus's insides were continuously torn apart by the gatekeeper of the underworld, he would not die and would regenerate.
Thanatos would not take his soul, and I would ensure he remained alive.
But why did the gods willingly attend the banquet thrown by Tantalus, who had stolen ambrosia and nectar? Perhaps they expected him to act rudely at the banquet, providing a justification to punish Tantalus, the son-in-law of Atlas...
Could it be a kind of indirect warning? With justification on this side, it would prove to the remaining Titan gods in the mortal realm that the balance of power in the world had indeed shifted...
Being the son of Zeus, it could be said that he was punished while suppressing his sorrow.
...
No. I shouldn't think too much.
I didn't directly ask Zeus, and it could just be my baseless speculation.
"Such a man... I've never seen before."
"Don't be too surprised, Mente. Living as a god for a long time, one encounters all sorts of things."
Mente gazed blankly at the spot where Tantalus had left.
She seemed somewhat shocked; after all, she had originally been a Naiad living leisurely in the river.
When I was her mentor, all humans must have revered her, and after becoming a goddess, she had mostly been busy spreading mint or handling paperwork, so such a scene must have been unfamiliar to her.
She had hardly attended the trials of the dead, either.
Even so, Tantalus was truly a madman...
"To think there are such humans... Humans are really..."
Shaking her head, the goddess of mint displayed her disgust.
Oh no...
If things continue like this, it could lead to an unfavorable direction, and Tantalus's actions might instill prejudice in her.
I opened my mouth toward her, who was lowering her head in a somewhat gloomy manner.
Since I had already visited the goddess of Styx and the goddess of Lethe in the mortal realm, perhaps I should take Mente out for a change of pace.
"Mente. How about we visit Thebes after a long time?"
"...?!"
"... It’s the walk we couldn’t take due to the Gigantes' attack last time."
Her eyes sparkled again as she lifted her head.
In her brightly shining turquoise eyes, there was no trace of gloom.
"Re-reward! Finally, I too will be alone with Lord Styx and Lady Lethe...!"
"...? How do you know that?"
"Of course, the rumors have spread! These days in the underworld, everyone is curious about who will be Hades's consort..."
I wish everyone would stop concerning themselves with my love life...