Hades mobilized all his perceptions—not merely sight, but the induction of surrounding laws through his divine spark.
He 'saw' it.
Beneath his feet was not solid ground, but a path paved with shadow and condensed silence, descending downwards into an unfathomable abyss.
On either side of the path stretched boundless grey fields, filled with a faint, peaceful, yet eternal mist of weariness. This was the natural outflow of Hypnos's power.
Sometimes, within the mist, one could see blurred, transparent figures with faint halos. They were the dead—souls who had recently arrived, not yet fully adapted to this afterlife, simply following their instincts and wandering towards the call of the deeper Underworld.
They were unaware of Hades's presence.
Hades followed the path of shadows. He felt that the path itself was 'guiding' him towards a specific destination. This was the embodiment of Nyx's will.
He moved forward for an unknown amount of time—perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity. A light flickered in the darkness ahead.
The light was not warm, but cold and deep, like ice crystals condensed on a winter's night, and like eyes capable of seeing all of fate. As he approached, the light expanded, revealing its source—a silent, ancient temple, seemingly woven from night itself.
The temple had no majestic pillars or exquisite carvings; it was more like a frozen night sky. The porch was a flowing nebula, and the walls were inlaid with flickering lights, like the spinning threads of fate.
There were no guards before the temple, only boundless silence and an awe-inspiring majesty.
Hades knew he had arrived. The dwelling place of Nyx, the goddess of night.
He composed his thoughts and entered the temple.
The space inside the temple was far larger than it appeared from outside, as if one were standing beneath an infinite cosmic starry sky.
Beneath his feet was black earth, smooth as a mirror. And in the deepest part of the temple, within the deepest mass of darkness—as if it could absorb all light—sat a goddess.
She had no fixed form. Sometimes she was a majestic woman shrouded in a heavy night robe, her face indistinct, only her eyes seeming to hold the trajectory of all the stars of life and death, a suffocating depth (this was Adrasteia, goddess of natural law);
Sometimes she transformed into an ancient goddess with a spindle and the thread of fate, her eyes indifferent, seeing through past and future (this was Ananke, goddess of inevitability and constancy);
Sometimes a third form appeared—a mysterious and fantastical veiled goddess (this was Heimarmene, goddess of cause and effect).
Three aspects in one. This was the primordial ancient god Nyx, the embodiment of night.
Hades stopped before her, feeling the coercion of boundlessness and unsurpassed divine power. He restrained his breath, like the humblest pilgrim, and bowed deeply:
"Great Nyx, heeding your summons, Hades has come before you."
He did not use the camouflage of 'Orphos'. Before this ancient being capable of seeing through the threads of fate, any disguise was meaningless.
Silence reigned in the temple, only the invisible threads of fate seeming to sway silently.
After a long time, a voice emanated from the darkness of the core mass. The voice did not travel through the air, but sounded directly in the depths of Hades's soul, with multiple echoes, as if countless voices spoke simultaneously and in harmony:
"Seed that escaped from the jaws of greedy Cronus..."
"Root that sprouted under the cover of the Earth Mother Goddess..."
"Will tempered in the fire of lava and wisdom..."
"Here you are, Hades."
Each short sentence seemed to summarize an important experience in Hades's life, with the detachment of one who sees all.
"The spindle of fate has spun a different note for you," Nyx's voice continued to echo. "You were meant to be nourishment, silent in the darkness, but you became a variable, tearing through the established trajectory."
Hades maintained his bowing posture and replied cautiously: "I dare not call myself a variable; I merely followed the instinct for survival and power, and managed to break free from the cage."
"Luck?" A faint, indescribable fluctuation seemed to pass across Nyx's triple face—a hint of mockery, a touch of approval.
"Fate is never accidental. Your escape is an inevitability woven from countless causes and effects, and it is... an 'opportunity' long since woven into the warp and weft of time."
Her words were enigmatic and unfathomable, yet held an undeniable authority.
"I summoned you not to evaluate your 'luck'," Nyx's eyes fixed on Hades. "The Underworld, this land of the dead, this realm of shadows bordering Tartarus, needs order."
"Order?" Hades's heart stirred, vaguely sensing something.
"Souls are lost, wandering and helpless. Powerful ancient beings stand aloof, ignoring the chaos of the realm. The erosion of Tartarus constantly attempts to seep in and distort the laws here." Nyx's voice held an ancient weariness and a hint of undeniable resolve.
"It is time to create a 'center' for this eternal darkness, a 'core' that can shepherd souls, define territory, and resist erosion."
Hades's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the triple-aspect goddess: "You mean...?"
"You possess the power of the 'subterranean', and have a natural connection to the Underworld. You have 'secrecy' to avoid unwanted gazes. You have mastered 'purification' and can combat the contamination of the abyss. You have even begun to touch 'knowledge' and 'summary'—the wisdom necessary for establishing order." Nyx spoke slowly, as if stating an already predetermined fact.
"You, Hades, are the most suitable being, the one the threads of fate point to, for establishing order in the Underworld."
This was clear! Nyx was hinting, or even directly indicating, that he, Hades, would become the lord of the Underworld!
The immense impact left Hades speechless for a time. He had expected that Nyx's summons might be related to the Underworld, perhaps to his future destiny, but he had not expected such a direct and weighty 'appointment'.
"Why me?" Hades suppressed the waves in his heart and asked the key question. "As far as I know, you, the god Erebus, and even Tartarus himself possess the power to control the Underworld."
"Us?" A flicker of indifference passed across Nyx's triple face. "We are the embodiment of rules, the origin of these concepts. Night, darkness, abyss... We ourselves 'are'. Managing the dead, defining territory, and establishing a divine court... That is the work of a 'ruler', not the responsibility of a 'source'. We have no need for it, nor do we deign to do it."
Her tone was level, but carried the absolute arrogance of belonging to the primordial ancient gods. They were the foundation of the world, the phenomena themselves, not gods who governed them.
"As for Tartarus," Nyx's voice became slightly colder, "his essence is disorder and madness, imprisonment and torment. Allowing him to 'rule' the Underworld? That would be a catastrophe for all souls and the entire world. We need a ruler capable of establishing 'order', not a tyrant who sows 'chaos'."
The explanation was clear and cold. The primordial gods were transcendent, and Tartarus, the only one 'interested' in and capable of interfering with the essence of the Underworld, was inclined to be absolutely dangerous.
Therefore, she had chosen him. A new generation of mighty divine power with potential, a relatively 'pure' origin, and a natural connection to the Underworld.
"This is an opportunity, Hades," Nyx's voice held a note of incantation, and it was also a pure declaration. "It is also a challenge. You will face not only chaotic ghosts and barren lands, but also ancient beings long accustomed to the chaos of this place, as well as the endless whispers and erosion of the abyss."
"If you agree, I will first illuminate the path ahead for you and grant you a 'name' to establish order here. But the rest requires you to use your power and wisdom to seize and build."
Hades was silent, rapidly weighing options in his mind.
Becoming the Lord of the Underworld meant he would obtain a divine realm entirely his own, independent of Olympus and the earth! This meant unparalleled authority and power.
But then again, it also meant great responsibility and endless danger. He would have to deal with the inherent chaos of the Underworld, contend with powerful local undead or gods that might exist, and always be vigilant against erosion from Tartarus. This was no easy task.
But did he have a choice? Refuse Nyx? The ancient goddess might not directly punish him, but without her support, his path in the Underworld would be difficult, and it might even incur her displeasure, the consequences of which were unpredictable.
Moreover, this was precisely the power and domain he deeply craved.
Opportunity and risk coexisted. And Hades had never been a god who feared challenges.
He straightened up and met the triple-aspect goddess's gaze with firm eyes:
"I accept, great goddess Nyx. I, Hades, shall become the lord of the Underworld's order."
The moment his words were spoken, the entire temple seemed to tremble slightly.