(Greek Mythology) The Abyss of the Underworld
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Hands were raised, and the puppets moved in sync with their movements. In the darkness, glimmers of light occasionally flashed—the faint glow reflected from the threads connecting the puppets, condensed from divine power.
Eris's reputation as a beauty fanatic was well-deserved; her love of beauty was also reflected in her puppets. The numerous puppets in the temple were all exquisitely crafted, lifelike, and each possessed an extremely beautiful face.
However, no matter how beautiful the puppets were, if placed in a place resembling a murder scene, all that remained was horror. Hemera, upon entering the temple and seeing the scattered limbs, remarked in this way.
Twitching her lips, Hemera, her head covered in black threads, carefully avoided the obstacles on the ground and approached Eris. Although she knew they were all fake, Eris's craftsmanship was simply too good.
"Lifelike" is a good word, but it's not so pleasant in this situation. Eris, couldn't you at least tidy yourself up a bit before admiring your art?
"Want to see my new puppet?" Hermella approached, and Eris finally looked away from the puppet.
"Didn't you say you were going to give it to His Majesty, so you wouldn't let me see it?"
"That's already been given," Eris replied calmly.
Hermella (⊙o⊙) So I've already missed it without even realizing it?
"Seriously, what kind of puppet did you give His Majesty?"
"Since it's a puppet for His Majesty, of course it's made in His Majesty's likeness."
"His Majesty's likeness? What kind of puppet can be made in His Majesty's likeness? The materials alone aren't up to par," Hermella muttered under her breath.
Some win with their looks, others with their charisma, and Tartarus was undoubtedly top-tier in both. Puppets are lifeless, so they can't really possess any charisma, but even in terms of looks alone, Tartarus's level was beyond what any puppet could achieve.
Therefore, the puppet Eris made… actually only bore a three- or four-tenths resemblance to Tartarus.
This was a sad story about how puppets could never be made perfectly, and thus, Eris's face darkened instantly, her expression turning extremely grim.
Hermes (ノ°ο°)ノ Oh no, I accidentally said the wrong thing and shattered my sister's fragile heart, what should I do? I need help urgently.
"Eris, don't be sad. You know His Majesty's face; even a slight resemblance is already quite good. It's not a problem with your craftsmanship. You have to believe me, so please don't think too much about it," Hermes tried to comfort her erratic sister.
"How could a mere puppet compare to His Majesty? I won't let this bother me. Next time, I'll definitely make a better puppet for His Majesty." Eris's expression was earnest, and her tone was firm.
"Alright, good luck. I support you." Hermera offered her support, albeit somewhat stiffly.
She wasn't sure if her words of comfort were effective, but the smile that returned to Eris's face, combined with the still-pervasive black resentment around her, created an eerie scene.
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Casually placing the puppet aside, for a god who could create even real living beings with ease, a lifeless puppet, no matter how exquisitely crafted, wouldn't attract Tartarus's interest.
"Big brother~~~" Eris drawled, trying to get Tartarus's attention.
"What is it?" Tartarus's tone was indifferent.
"Brother, I always feel like you don't really welcome me," Eros said, his voice full of grievance.
"I certainly don't welcome you," Tartarus replied firmly.
Σ( ° △°|||)︴ Eros, who had only intended to make a casual excuse to complain, was suddenly dumbfounded.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Eros asked, "Why?" Brother, is this something a brother should say?
"I just suddenly realized how dangerous you are."
Although Tartarus had once been ambushed by his two younger brothers with their golden arrows of love, the experience wasn't particularly profound because it failed. Eros, while mischievous, still had basic morals and wouldn't randomly use his golden arrows on anyone. Therefore, no one was fully aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of the arrows.
But now, with the addition of the mischievous Cupid, things were different. That troublesome kid's favorite thing to do was blindfold himself and shoot arrows randomly, and many gods in the divine realm had suffered as a result.
Of course, that's not the key point. The key point is that Cupid's prank recently even affected the underworld. The unfortunate god struck by the golden arrow was Hypnos, the god of sleep, and the first god he saw was his twin brother, Thanatos, the god of death.
What happened next, I think everyone knows. In short, Hypnos is now too ashamed to face his brother and has hidden himself on Mount Meru. How awful!
So, sometimes, mischievous children are truly a family curse. First it was Eros, then Charon, and now Eros has changed, and Charon is actively taking his medicine and trying his best to cooperate with treatment, but then Cupid appears—it's simply incurable.
This tragic event happened right before our eyes, and suddenly the gods of the underworld were in a state of panic. Unlike the gods in the divine realm who treat infidelity as commonplace as eating and drinking, the gods of the underworld still have some principles. They can watch this kind of thing happen and think it's bad enough, but if it happened to them, they'd want to die.
Therefore, Tartarus not only disliked Eros, he practically wanted to throw the entire family out.
Both the golden arrow of love from Eros and Cupid, and Aphrodite's golden belt, were deadly weapons capable of easily changing hearts and manipulating emotions. More importantly, they were incurable.
Tartarus had researched them for a long time, only finding ways to weaken them, and the effects weren't very good. So, currently, there was only one way to deal with the golden arrow of love: immediately close your eyes after being hit and then go find your partner.
As for those without partners… well, sorry.
As the only one among the first generation of gods, besides the youngest, Amy, without a partner, Tartarus absolutely did not want to live with his eyes closed in the future. Although divine sense meant he wouldn't have to worry about bumping into things because he couldn't see, divine sense was ultimately no match for real sight.
The golden belt was manageable, as its effects were gradual, but the arrow of love could work even with a mere scratch. Tartarus wasn't worried about Aphrodite and Cupid, but Eros was a different story.
Eros, however impatient he was with training, was still a primordial god. Even with Tartarus's confidence, he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't get hurt, and he certainly didn't want to be caught off guard.
So, should he throw Eros out, throw him out, or throw him out? Throwing him out seemed the best option.
"Actually, you could stab him again with a lead arrow," Eros offered, as if offering a treasure.
"Love and hate at the same time? If you want to be split-minded, go ahead. I don't have that kind of hobby," Tartarus retorted, indicating that this method was even less reliable than closing his eyes.
After rambling on about trivial matters for a while, seeing that Tartarus still wasn't going to ask any questions, Eros could only grit his teeth and say, "Fine, actually, I came here today to apologize."
Eros, the former "brat," finally understood the exasperation of having a troublesome child at home, and he felt utterly exhausted.
In fact, Cupid had done similar things many times before, but no matter how mischievous Cupid was, Eros hadn't taken it to heart. After all, no matter how approachable he appeared, he was still a first-generation god, and his innate pride meant he didn't care what those gods were really up to.
But the twin gods were different. They were Nyx's sons, and nominally grew up under Tartarus's care, so this was a serious matter.
"You should say that to Hypnos and Thanatos, or even Erebus and Nyx. Why are you bothering me?" Tartarus indicated that he wasn't the god involved, nor their parent, so coming to him was pointless.
"But weren't you always in charge of Hypnos and Thanatos?"
Many years ago, the twin gods, along with Eris, were sent by Nyx to his bored older brother to pass the time. Nyx hadn't cared for his two sons since.
"I don't remember ever taking care of them." Tartarus's indifference to everything wasn't just talk. He brought the gods back for fun, not to cause trouble. If Tartarus treated the young twin gods this way, imagine how much more so now that they were adults and had moved from the Abyss to serve in the Underworld.
"But I dare not see Hypnos and Thanatos." Eros said with a mournful face. His son had caused them so much trouble; Eros felt a little uneasy facing the victimized gods.
"That's your business, none of my concern." Tartarus's tone was indifferent, a typical "it's none of my business" attitude.
Eros /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ Okay, he should have realized sooner that his older brother almost never paid attention to anything unless it was something he was interested in. He must have been out of his mind to come looking for his older brother.
Chapter 69