Dirge of Hell | Greek Mythology

3 Primordial

The Underworld yawned widely, impatiently, and at the same time gleefully, to accept its new sovereign. Hades descended down to the depths of the earth for the first time. He walked through the cold, damp darkness, passed some wandering shades along the way, to the edge of the large river Styx. The river was very wide and deep and a boat – no, a ship – waded through its dark waters. The ship was big enough to carry an army of Spartans, built for bulk transport. But of course it would be highly inefficient to have a small two man boat to carry a lot of souls since humans die every day.

Besides the ship approaching, another figure sprinted towards him. It was the silhouette of a woman clothed in a star-studded black mist, larger than any titan he had ever seen yet strangely the closer she got, the smaller she appeared. When she reached him, she was just a little larger than him.

“Aidoneus!” she said in what Hades recognized as Nyx’s voice as she tackled him to the floor and proceeded to smother him in a tight embrace. “Oh child how I longed to hold you like this for the longest time!”

Nyx wasn’t content with just hugging Hades with her arms. She had to wrap her large, black star-studded wings around the god. At first Hades was petrified, his reflexes warning him to attack the woman yet at the same time his heart repulsed such an idea. It’s the after effects of a prolonged warlike state of mind, Hades concluded. There was absolutely no danger in being suffocated by this goddess.

Just as his face was beginning to turn blue, Nyx let him go and pulled him to his feet. “Come, Erebus!” she called. “Come and greet our son who has at last come home.”

“Son?” Hades repeated. 

“Why of course, child, what else would you be? Erebus and I had been watching over you and teaching you while you were imprisoned in your father so it is only natural that we look at you as our child.” Nyx resumed holding Hades in a more relaxed embrace, an embrace which reminded him of the days when he was young and all alone in the comfortable darkness. Well more importantly, at least he could breathe this time. “We’ve watched you grow up to become a responsible and dedicated young man. Not to mention, very strong and very handsome.”

“Your mother wouldn’t stop cheering for you as you fought those titans,” Erebus, a dark skinned, dark haired, dark eyed, dark clothed… dark everything (as fitting of the god of darkness), appeared beside Nyx. “If I didn’t stop her, she would have fought right beside you,” then he mumbled quietly to himself, “not that her participation would help.”  

“I’m sorry,” Hades bowed his head apologetically when he at last placed a face on the two disembodied voices that accompanied his childhood. “I did not recognize you at first.”

“Oh that is quite alright,” Nyx said finally letting him go but still held him at arm’s length. “I have never shown myself to you because you were stuck in such a cramped space that the most I can do was send you my voice. I am the goddess of night after all. I couldn’t fit inside my nephew Cronus; same with Erebus. We could only send our presence from afar, child.”

“My love why don’t we show our son to his new kingdom?” Erebus interrupted.

“Oh that is just glorious,” Nyx clapped. “Aren’t you excited? I made sure my daughters assigned you as the king of the Underworld. I shiver at the thought of either Zeus or Poseidon getting their hands on the largest and most powerful of the three realms. Come, we must show you to your new home.” Nyx rambled as she towed Hades around the Underworld.

“Where we are right now is called Erebus, the upper layer of the Underworld,” Nyx looked lovingly at her husband. Even after all this time, the first married couple of Creation was still deeply in love with each other. When they became married, Night and Darkness became one and inseparable. “This is my husband’s layer in the Underworld. Here you will find that most of the souls just sit back and enjoy the afterlife wandering aimlessly. And below him is our brother Tartarus, where you and your siblings imprisoned the titans. I must say, those Hecatoncheires are doing a wonderful job as prison guards dear. Tartarus had a glad day handing them his favorite whips and chains.”