Dirge of Hell | Greek Mythology

4 Responsibility

Hades felt a gentle hand caressing his hair and heard a gentle hum of his favorite lullaby while he floated on a soft cloud of comfort. He slowly cracked his eyes open and a star-filled night sky filled his vision.

"Aidon?" Nyx's soft voice whispered. "Are you alright now?" Belatedly, he realized he was staring at Nyx's dress and the cloud of comfort he thought he was lying in was just a very, very soft and large bed in the middle of a massive chamber. He slowly sat up and looked around. The last thing he could remember was Tartarus' maniacal face as he proudly showcased all the torture methods he came up with.

His eyes wandered around and took in every detail of his room –from the alabaster pillars to the gold inlaid white marble floor –all tinted purple by a rather large, beautifully cut, Narcissus shaped amethyst ceiling. A golden chandelier coming from the middle of the flower softly illuminated the whole room. All the furniture was wrought from gold and silver and decorated with gems. Everything was to his liking…just a thousand times more opulent than he imagined.

He turned to Nyx and nodded. "Yes I'm alright." At least I think I am, he thought as he remembered the last part of the tour. Hopefully Nyx didn't send Erebus to Tartarus…

"Are you sure? Are you really sure my idiotic brothers did not do anything to you?"

He nodded again. "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Oh you poor dear. I'm so sorry I did not recognize your exhaustion at all. How inconsiderate of me. Well, let me make it up to you," she gently pulled Hades back down, setting his head on her lap, and continued caressing his hair. "Sleep, love, and let my song melt your weariness away."

He awkwardly succumbed to Nyx's ministrations until she sang the first word.

Come don't say a word now,

Come don't make a sound now.

Take my hand and close your eyes,

Let your spirit soar. 

The familiarity of the song brought forth nostalgic memories of childhood. He instantly relaxed and became more serene. The song was so sweet and comforting, his eyelids started to droop.

I will send Hypnos

To bring you deep slumber

I will send Morpheus

To give you good dreams. 

So come closer child,

Fall into my embrace.

Forget about the weary days

And let your spirit soar.

With the help of Hypnos, he slept for three days straight – the most sleep he had gotten for a long time.

888

"Lord Hades," Thanatos said as he piled down mountains of densely rolled papyrus on top of Hades' study desk, on the floor, on all the furniture…basically every square inch of free space of his newly acquired private study room. It even overflowed into the hallways and into the next rooms.

"These are the lists of all the souls I collected that have been neglected since the time of creation until now. They are currently divided into two. One pile contains all the souls Tartarus selected and the rest are Erebus'. Somehow when a new soul arrives, it became tradition to see if Tartarus would pick the soul. There is no formal standard of choosing. He simply chooses souls with the characteristics of an 'M'."