Having come all this way, Heracles' understanding of Zeus, the King of Gods who was very likely his biological father, was no longer so limited.
And as for what kind of god he truly was, the Great Hero was even more certain.
If a mistake was already irreversible, he might indeed abandon accountability for tangible benefits—of course, this didn't mean he wouldn't dare face Hellhound Cerberus.
There was no fear in Heracles' eyes; he would simply switch from direct confrontation to outsmarting.
However, since a mysterious person had now sought him out, and without determining their true identity, the Great Hero didn't mind first seeing what the other party had in mind.
"So, god who claims to be from the spirit world."
"Where are you now, and what do you need me to do for you?"
Heracles asked directly, speaking calmly.
"It's simple, both you and I are currently blocked from the Underworld by Hellhound Cerberus."
"I want to go in, and you want to go in, so even from a practical standpoint, we now share the same goal."
The voice carried a smile, and the Great Hero could almost imagine the figure of a smiling youth.
"And my location… that's what I need you to do."
"Come, come to me, this is the Land of Eternal Night, the domain of the Great One above the stars, the eternal Ruler of Night."
"I have something to lend you; it can help you solve the problem of Hellhound Cerberus."
Land of Eternal Night?
Heracles' expression shifted slightly as he asked in his mind:
"Lord Ender, did you hear that voice just now?"
"Hmm?"
"What voice?"
First, he was startled, then learned the whole story from the Great Hero.
As if remembering something, the puppet stopped moving, as if it were a mere inanimate object.
"I didn't detect any trace of the other party; his Divinity should be above mine, and he must have mastered some powerful Authority related to souls, which is why he could bypass us and communicate with you."
"However, he probably didn't discover my presence either, not because I'm good at hiding my tracks, but because of the vessel of my consciousness."
"This puppet?"
Heracles asked in his mind, and Ender gave an affirmative reply.
"Yes, this is related to why I need to travel and adventure with you."
"As long as I don't deliberately leak my aura, the other party won't be able to detect my existence."
"As for the Land of Eternal Night… don't worry, do you remember what I once said?"
"You mean… Nyx Path?"
After a brief recollection, the Great Hero remembered where he had heard that name.
When he first met Amon, Ender had been suspicious of this mysterious fellow (see 3-297).
At that time, the other party had mentioned a divine artifact called hypnos's brush and, along with it, the Land of Eternal Night.
That was a forbidden zone for living beings, the boundary of a great ruler.
Any existence that trespassed into the Land of Eternal Night was equivalent to facing Death directly; even gods would only find eternal silence.
However, Nyx Path was different; it was a 'correct path' and the only way to travel to and from this forbidden land.
Thinking of this, Heracles roughly understood the other party's meaning.
"You mean, this mysterious person is on Nyx Path?"
"Yes, that's the only explanation."
Ender said slowly, his tone filled with solemnity.
"Other than that, even gods who were once born under the eternal night may not be able to move around safely inside."
"Although for thousands of years, apart from God of Sleep, who only exists in legends, I have never heard of any other god's traces."
Nodding, now that he knew the reason, the Great Hero put down his worries.
After explaining a bit to the bewildered Dionysus beside him, he walked directly towards the Land of Eternal Night.
Apart from Mother of Night herself, no one in Chaos could mobilize the power of the Land of Eternal Night.
So unless the Primordial God themselves were playing tricks on him, the speaking entity was merely a 'guest'.
He walked forward, reaching the boundary where the Nether Moon's light met the night.
Heracles gripped the bronze rod, feeling the connection between that trace of the sky-supporting symbol and the material world, and he stepped into it without hesitation.
...
Perhaps because he was invited, or perhaps he had never rejected mortals.
After a dizzying turn, when his vision cleared again, the Great Hero was already under the night sky.
Stars twinkled, and scattered slumber flowers bloomed beside him.
Under the silent night, an inexplicable terror quietly bred.
Turning around, Heracles could no longer see the path he had come from.
Although he had only taken one step inward, without proper guidance, he would be lost here forever.
Fortunately, the sky-supporting imagery's connection to the material world still existed... His gaze swept across this quiet world, and the Great Hero's mouth opened slightly.
"I'm here, where are you... Hmm? My voice?"
No sound was made, because in the tranquil night, no sound of any kind was allowed, at least not for Heracles.
Fortunately, the next moment, before he could try other methods to find the mysterious person who had spoken, the other party appeared before him.
"Don't waste your effort; this is the Authority of Silence, belonging to the Eternal Night."
"Making sounds disappear is just its most basic ability, and its true power… you wouldn't want to experience it."
Gentle and polite, with a handsome appearance.
The grey-haired youth appeared silently and conveyed his voice in a way that ordinary people could not comprehend.
"No need to speak, please listen to me."
"Hellhound Cerberus has three heads: one rests, one eats or thinks, and one monitors all directions."
"Having mastered part of the Authority to guard the gates of the Underworld, almost no movement can escape its perception, and it's the same for both you and me."
"So to pass its guard, we must deal with it—but we cannot truly kill it, because that would directly trigger the killing move left by the King of Gods."
"Fortunately, I have a way to deal with it, which is to give the Hellhound an unforgettable long sleep…"
"In the depths of the Land of Eternal Night, such power exists."
"And by utilizing this power, you can achieve your goal and solve the problem Hellhound Cerberus poses to us."
There were no superfluous words, nothing like Zephyrus at all.
Hypnos simply explained the situation and took out a ball of Divinity.
Strictly speaking, this was no longer pure Divinity, but a product of the power he had left behind at birth combined with the aura of the Land of Eternal Night, which ultimately transformed into an unpredictable musical instrument in his hand.
Taking it, the Great Hero watched it transform into a harp.
..."It seems you've been preparing for a long time."
There was still no sound, but Heracles believed the other party could understand his meaning.
And sure enough, the grey-haired youth merely smiled.
"Anyone who is virtually imprisoned would be like this; I constantly wish to return to my home."
"As long as you can help me leave, this harp will be my gift to you."
"From now on, you will also be able to travel freely within the Underworld."
"I hope what you say is true."
Heracles looked deeply at the youth before him; even without Ender's reminder, he didn't trust him much.
But it didn't matter; at least regarding Hellhound Cerberus, the two could reach an agreement.
As for later...
If the other party was deceiving him, he was already prepared.
...
At the entrance to the Underworld, before the Gates of Hades.
Lying on the ground, Hellhound Cerberus simultaneously enjoyed beautiful dreams, beautiful things, and beautiful scenery—if the Underworld counted as beautiful scenery.
The sound of the Acheron, the River of Pain, was like a lullaby, making it often feel drowsy.
Fortunately, as a Hellhound, Hellhound Cerberus could let its three heads take turns sleeping, thereby alleviating this boredom and drowsiness.
Until this day, as it was leisurely as usual, a melodious tune drifted from afar, flowing directly into its ears.
It failed to become alert immediately, so subsequent alertness became meaningless.
Immersed in the beauty of the music, Hellhound Cerberus's drowsiness surged even more...
"Heracles, are you sure what you're playing is called music?"
Expressionless, his face twitching.
Logically, Dionysus was usually more polite.
But at this moment, his robes vibrated with the sound waves, and sharp, piercing sounds rang out continuously.
He tried to plug his ears, but the sound imbued with Divinity possessed incredibly strong penetrative power.
It could even make your bone marrow vibrate along with it, and in this tingling sensation, induce sleep—of course, Dionysus was certain that with music of this intensity, he had no desire to fall asleep.
"I think… this is music, right?"
His face also looked quite bad, and the Great Hero struggled to wield the harp.
If this were a mortal instrument, even without any prior experience in using it, Heracles could use his powerful skill and control to smooth out the differences and play music that at least sounded like something.
However, it was regrettable that this harp, which fused the power of God of Sleep with the breath of Silence, was itself no ordinary object; to use it smoothly, one either needed extremely powerful Divinity or superb musical skill.
Clearly, the Great Hero possessed neither of these.
So what he played was less a 'lullaby' and more a 'funeral dance'.
Only...
"Only, why is Hellhound Cerberus fine?"
Somewhat puzzled, Dionysus believed that no one could let down their guard and peacefully indulge in music under such jarring sounds.
But before the gates of Hades, the Hellhound seemed not to be so.
Its massive head gently swayed, as if dancing to the melody.
Although no matter how hard he tried, Dionysus couldn't discern any melody.
..."Perhaps the music I play isn't that bad; it just needs a specific listener?"
Also not quite understanding, Heracles simply found a random reason.
"Anyway, no matter what, the Hellhound is indeed asleep."
"Once I remove the threat from it, we can leave here."
While continuously strumming the harp, Heracles slowly approached Hellhound Cerberus.
He carefully observed its body and finally saw a lightning-shaped mark on the largest of its three heads.
If nothing unexpected, that would be the power left by the King of Gods...
"Hmm?"
For some reason, the movements of his arms gradually slowed, and his thoughts began to dull.
His originally surging vital energy gradually stabilized, and his firm will became pliable.
From the corner of his eye, Heracles seemed to see some scattered grey feathers.
A warning sign rose in his heart, but it was all a little too late.
Under the incomparably powerful Divinity, even though he had been constantly tense, he still couldn't resist absolute Authority and absolute power.
Beside him, Hypnos's figure slowly condensed.
With a slight curl of his lips, the inherently evil god slowly scrutinized the Great Hero.
What a powerful body; this was the first time he had seen such a powerful human.
And such a human, he thought, would also be very suitable to become his subordinate, to become one of the devils of hell.
Nodding with satisfaction, Hypnos was never a good person, and there was no fair trade in his dictionary.
From the first moment he saw Heracles, God of Sleep had already planned to use the other party to deal with the Hellhound, and then abduct the other party along with him.
Oh, right, there was also a god without Divinity.
If he could take him to hell too, that wouldn't be a bad thing either...
Slap—
"What are you thinking?"
His hand moved slightly, and Hypnos's expression remained unchanged.
"Oh, you're awake?"
"This truly surprises me; with your strength, it shouldn't be possible to resist my Authority."
Slowly turning around, he scrutinized the Great Hero before him.
God of Sleep looked for a long time but couldn't find the reason.
Should he continue?
Should he exert his power once more?
Without much thought, silently, he took the mark from Hellhound Cerberus, and what remained there had become a clone.
Hypnos would never actively put himself in danger, unless he had no choice, like the last time at sea, or if the benefit was too great.
But capturing a powerful human clearly offered neither immense benefit nor was he asked to do so.
"What is your name? A human like you is worthy of being remembered by me."
Speaking slowly, God of Sleep's clone calmly watched the bronze rod coming straight at him.
"As you can see."
"My name is Heracles."
Bang—
With a single swing, like bursting a bubble, the Great Hero felt no resistance whatsoever.
He didn't gloat; he knew that gods wouldn't be so fragile.
What the other party left behind was just a clone; as for where the true body was, only heaven knew.
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