(Greek Mythology) The Abyss of the Underworld
Chapter 56
Hades, having understood the cause and effect of Charon's strike, felt nothing, but Hypnos, quite unkindly, began to gloat.
Serves you right! You brought this on yourself, now look what happened.
Charon and Daenerys's interactions were reminiscent of a domineering CEO romance novel.
At their first meeting, Charon was a powerful second-generation god with the noble status of his first-generation god parents, while Daenerys was merely a flower spirit. She was ordered by Charon's mother, Nyx, the goddess of night, to keep an eye on him and prevent him from disrupting Aether and Hemera's wedding. The proud Charon naturally wouldn't obey a mere flower spirit. Even though Daenerys was subordinate to Tartarus and acting on her mother's orders, Charon wouldn't actually attack her, but his attitude was still extremely rude and arrogant.
Karon, the self-proclaimed daredevil, was indeed setting himself up for disaster so early on. I wonder if he regrets it now, hahaha, I'm absolutely not gloating!!
Later, although Hell is vast, it's still the same place, and they occasionally bump into each other. Karon's attitude towards this flower spirit who had always stopped him from doing this and that was naturally very…unfriendly. If Hemera and Daenerys weren't good friends, Daenerys, without Hemera's help, would have suffered a lot at Karon's hands due to the difference in their status.
I think Karon might need a dozen regret pills or a time capsule at this point. What do you think?
Later still, Daenerys was tricked by Tartarus, who forced a halo into her. Luckily, she didn't die; instead, she benefited from the misfortune and was prematurely deified, becoming the goddess of fortune and misfortune—a high-ranking goddess at that. (She survived all that; her luck is pretty good. So there's a reason why Denise can control her luck.)
Denise becomes a goddess. While the gap in status still exists, it's not as vast. The subsequent plot development follows the typical style of CEO romance novels: the domineering CEO, Rong, meets the self-reliant heroine after many years, and is immediately captivated by her newfound beauty. After several meetings, his initial attraction develops into deep affection. Of course, his constant self-destructive actions inevitably diminish his image in Denise's eyes.
If this were a novel, this would likely involve countless heart-wrenching and physically and emotionally draining moments before the male lead has a change of heart, transforming from a lone wolf into a loyal follower, constantly repenting through words and actions. Finally, the heroine softens, and they have a happy ending. The story might even get a sweet epilogue to torture single readers.
However, that wasn't the case. Denise wasn't a masochist; who would like a god who constantly causes trouble? She wasn't the kind of magnanimous, forgiving heroine from a romance novel. Denise was always calm, rational, and very realistic. Therefore, she firmly told Charon: No way, we're not going to meet.
I think even a time machine can't save Charon now. (Serious face)
So, regarding the idea that a new relationship equals a breakup, what are your thoughts, Prince Charon?
Charon: ...Can you please stop rubbing salt in the wound? Life is already hard enough; don't add insult to injury, understand?
The only saving grace was that Denise was Tartarus's subordinate, so Charon was somewhat restrained and didn't dare go too far. With Hemera protecting Denise, physical abuse wasn't much, and emotional abuse was even less likely. Therefore, Charon felt that there was still a chance to salvage the situation.
In this situation, Tartarus's opinion becomes crucial. Daenerys's own wishes are insignificant; if Tartarus agrees, Daenerys has to marry him regardless of her own desires. But if Tartarus disagrees, no one can help Charon.
Although the psychological trauma from his childhood still lingers, for the sake of his lifelong happiness, Charon decides to be brave; at least he has to try. (Just once, Charon, can you be any more cowardly?)
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While Hades and his entourage of gods were heading to the Abyss because of Charon's romantic problems, Tartarus was talking to his sister, Amy.
"He actually called you by your name! Brother, you actually agreed." Maintaining an elegant smile, Amy's cup was already cracked from the excessive force.
She had only been away for a while; how had these two gods progressed to calling each other by their first names? Amy thought to herself, her inner turmoil churning. Ayame had encountered two gods stronger than her, but Chaos was not only infuriatingly wicked but also incredibly unreliable, making it difficult to feel the respect and admiration one would expect from a father.
Tartarus, while also quite wicked, had one redeeming quality: he never targeted his own sister. Furthermore, when their father was absent (Chaos: ...), he often embodied the dual role of father and brother, easily winning the respect and affection of the then-loli Ayame for this cool yet gentle (?) older brother. This situation can be commonly known as a brother complex.
Now, Ayame has grown from a poker-faced loli into a young woman with the makings of a queen, yet her brother complex remains unchanged.
A sudden, inexplicable sense of crisis made Ayame, who always trusted her intuition, instantly on high alert.
Such accurate intuition, girl, are you a radar?
"What's wrong? Aren't names just for calling you?" It was just a form of address; Tartarus didn't quite understand why his sister was reacting so strongly.
"So you don't mind who calls you by your name?" Ai Miya finally grasped the point.
"Why would I mind?" Tartarus gave Ai Miya a strange look, selectively ignoring the fact that he was the one who had asked Hades to call him by his name.
"That's good." Hearing Tartarus's answer, Ai Miya breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, it was still quite annoying, so Hades, who had just entered the Abyss Temple, was met with a cold glare from Ai Miya.
Hades, bewildered by the glare: ?? Has something happened that I don't know about?
After Hades briefly recounted Charon's story, Charon eagerly spoke up, trying to appeal to emotions, "Uncle, you're my real uncle."
Hades and Hypnos: So what was the point of all that hard work putting on this show and dragging us into it?
Charon: Oh, just to bolster my courage.
Such an infuriating answer! Charon, do you really realize your boss, Hades, is involved? If you keep acting like this, you'll really ruin yourself sooner or later, you know? No wonder your love life is so unlucky.
"But I think Denise is more useful. She can help me handle things. What can you do?"
You can only cause trouble.
Tartarus didn't say the last part directly, but Charon understood immediately, and his face fell.
With a single sentence, Tartarus killed Charon. He showed no mercy just because Charon was his nephew. Aside from the unmarried Eros and Amyr, Tartarus's other three siblings, especially his sister, were incredibly prolific; his nephews, nieces, and great-nephews could fill several football teams for a league.
Charon, that brat… well, he can go cool off somewhere else. Goodbye.