Heroes Bring Their Own Misfortunes (Bonus Chapter)

Nyx.

She is the daughter of Chaos, the god of the void, a goddess draped in black robes.

In Orphism, Nyx is regarded as the supreme deity of the Triple Goddess, simultaneously possessing three distinct transcendent identities: she can be Ananke, the goddess of necessity; Adrasteia, the goddess of retribution; and Heimarmene, the goddess of causality.

Nyx's three transcendent identities belong to a trinity, each representing a different manifestation of her as the supreme goddess.

She bore a vast number of offspring with her brother, Erebus, the god of darkness; most of these descendants are neutral deities or gods of the Underworld.

Therefore, although this goddess is not among the Olympian gods, even Zeus, the Great God, dares not show her disrespect.

After all, Zeus was raised by Nyx.

And now, With the help of Hermes, Thaumas is about to head to the Underworld to negotiate with this goddess, Nyx.

There is no help for it; while this feels a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul, it has to be done, doesn't it?

One can only guess what kind of task or demand Goddess Nyx will impose on him this time.

The Underworld is the destination for the dead in Ancient Greece, forming the world of Greek mythology alongside the mortal realm and the divine realm.

Beyond the original gods of the Underworld, some humans—especially heroes—became unique entities within the Underworld after death.

To reach the Underworld, one must either be dead or have the assistance of a god.

The Underworld is located deep beneath the earth, and volcanic craters are considered one of its entrances, as the toxic gases emitted from them can kill any living creature.

Because this is still the Age of Gods, the Underworld is physically located underground, though it is generally difficult to reach.

Hermes guided the soul of Thaumas through the darkness of Erebus to reach the Hell Gate.

The area is planted with black poplars and barren nut trees. The Hell Gate is guarded by the three-headed hound known as Cerberus; once anyone enters the Hell Gate, they can never return to the land of the living.

Having passed through the darkness, Thaumas saw this Gate of Hell.

"Hermes, what important soul have you guided here this time?" the left head of the three-headed hound, Cerberus, asked, opening its mouth.

The middle head sensed something amiss, lowered itself, and sniffed carefully: "Hm? This isn't the scent of the dead. You're still alive! Hermes! Are you provoking me?"

"Whatever, I don't care about you two, just hand over the honey cakes! Then get out of the Underworld," the right head clamored greedily.

"What? Honey cakes!" "I smell them too!" "Hand them over!" Cerberus threatened.

How should one put it? The way they sang in harmony was quite amusing.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Thaumas carefully observed this miraculous creature.

It is the hellhound of Ancient Greek mythology, typically depicted as a vicious dog with three heads.

Looking closely, each head has a mouth dripping with venomous saliva, its lower body ends in a dragon's tail, and the fur on its head and back is composed of coiled, venomous snakes.

In Greek mythology, Cerberus lives on the banks of the Styx, guarding the gates of the Underworld for Hades, the King of the Underworld.

Its primary duty is to allow every soul of the dead to enter the Underworld but to prevent anyone from leaving (and likewise, it forbids the living from entering or exiting); thus, in Greek and Roman mythology, very few have ever returned from the Underworld.

The name Cerberus has no definitive meaning in Ancient Greek; one theory suggests it means "spotted," while another suggests "demon of the pit."

In mythology, the three heads of Cerberus often fought over food. For instance, the final task Psyche had to complete to see her husband, Cupid, as assigned by the goddess Aphrodite, was to use a honey cake to distract Cerberus.

In Ancient Greek culture, people were accustomed to placing a honey cake in the coffin of the deceased to appease Cerberus, hoping the dead could offer the cake to the vicious hound and thus find peace in the afterlife.

This is the reason Thaumas brought so many honey cakes.

He opened his bag, poured out the abundance of honey cakes inside, spread them all out before Cerberus, and divided them evenly into three portions.

"Let's be friends, Cerberus! These are for you to enjoy," Thaumas said with a smile.

Those familiar with him knew he was about to start his swindling.

"Awooo~ smacking lips~ don't think that just because you have so many honey cakes I'll let you pass!" the left head said while eating.

"That's right! I'm kind-hearted, so I'll let you go back, hurry up and leave!" the right head echoed.

"Since you're so sensible, even I won't report you to the King of the Underworld! Usually, people only bring us one, and we have to fight over it, so we never get a chance to taste them. We've never experienced honey cake freedom like this before!" the middle head nodded in affirmation, clearly satisfied with Thaumas.

"Oh? Then would you like to eat this many honey cakes every time?" Thaumas tempted them step by step.

All three heads stopped and looked at Thaumas in unison, their gazes burning.

"Yes!"

"Of course!"

"Whichever head dares to say no, I'll bite it off!"

Is this dog really that ruthless? Biting itself—truly worthy of being a dog.

"Look here, do you know why people bring you honey cakes in the first place?" Thaumas asked.

"Isn't it because they were conquered by my kingly aura?"

"Of course it's out of reverence for us!"

"It must be because they envy and worship my handsome and dashing figure!"

"Then why do they only give one, unlike me?" Thaumas asked again.

"This—!"

"Hmm~"

"Ah—?"

"See, even you aren't sure yourselves. That proves it's not because of those reasons at all!"

Thaumas delivered his first conclusion!

"Think about it, why do people bring you honey cakes? It's because they know you like them, and they want to bribe you with them. But why only bring one? Because a legend spread that you would fight over a mere honey cake and forget your duties, so everyone took that as the correct guide to passing through! That is the direct reason!" Thaumas said.

"Reasonable!"

"Evidence!"

"Proof!"

"Right, right! So how do we solve this problem? Naturally, by using their own methods against them! You must let the world know how united and loving you are! That you won't squabble over a single honey cake!" Thaumas said again.

"What's the point of that?"

"Who wants to be loving with these two idiots!"

"You'd better just hurry up and leave!"

"Don't be so impatient! If humans know of your unity and love, it means one honey cake is no longer enough to solve the problem, because they can't let you start fighting. In that case, to achieve their goals, wouldn't humans change their strategy and bring one for each of you?" Thaumas tempted them.

"Really?"

"That sounds great!"

"Our wages are tripling?!!!"

"And do you want to know how to do it? Want to know how to spread this legend?" Thaumas asked again.

"Yes!" the three heads nodded in unison, as if sharing a single mind.

"Then you must listen to me. Let me in first, and let me out later. That way, I can spread the legend of your brotherly love, get the world to raise your wages—wouldn't you agree?" Thaumas asked as a final point.

"Big brother, please, come in!"

"The little one will Open the door for you."

"I'll help you keep it a secret from the Pluto!"

And so, under the admiring gaze of Hermes, Thaumas was respectfully invited into the Gates of Hell.

"Hahahaha~!"

"Thaumas, why don't you take over as the God of Lies? You are truly perfect for it!"

Hermes sighed with genuine emotion. Is this what wisdom is? No wonder he used to get beaten up whenever he tried to trick people; it turns out he was lacking this kind of wisdom!

Heh, Hermes still didn't have a deep understanding of humans. He didn't know how many strange yet highly effective ideas they possessed. Just like certain silly netizens who always come out with astonishing comments—when the base number is large enough, there will always be a couple of astonishing fools.

Besides, Thaumas had once worked in pyramid schemes! This title of Grand Orator was his for the taking!

ps:

Finally finished writing.

Goodnight, I hope I get a raise tomorrow too.