Lucian moved back up the path of souls as he contemplated how things would go on Charon’s end. Charon had very helpful to him in surviving this predicament.
He gave him the escape to the contract which was the main reason he could find a way to escape. In addition to the upgrade he got to his body and soul, he could admit that he was grateful for his help.
However, as far as he could tell, gods will always be gods. No matter who he was, it would never be enough for a god to betray his allegiance. They will still believe themselves and their duties superior to a mortal’s life no matter what.
With that much pride instilled in them, he will never put his life in any of their hands, and Charon's behavior simply reaffirmed his beliefs. Luckily for him, he saw Charon as he altered the spell. He did gain the benefits of the spell, but he most likely had a curse put on him; One completely controlled by Charon.
Normally he would never let this happen, but now he can only hope that the countermeasure he put in place will work in his favor. Or else he might as well die here.
At this point, Lucian felt an instinctual feeling of fullness as he moved past the souls on the path, confirming that he has reached his limit in soul absorption. This means he had fully excavated the opportunity here. The next step forward was to move past here. To experience the multiverse. Finally, he will be able to experience the real world.
Thinking to this point, Lucian stopped as he spoke out loud. “I am ready, Thanatos.”
A moment of Silence ensued before the sky warped as the winged god finally showed his face once again. He looked much more relaxed than he had before as he floated down from the air, landing on the path of souls beneath him.
He seemed dressed for the occasion, wearing a black toga with golden stripes at the edges of the cloth as well as many golden accessories adorning his angles, arms, ears, and neck. He stood with his hands behind his back while his halo glowed brightly.
With a calm smile on his face, he gestured toward Lucian’s soul, forcefully pulling it as it floated up into Thanatos’s hand. Grabbing his soul, Thanatos grinned.
"Good work, mortal. You are just strong enough to complete the task," Thanatos spoke as he flew into the air and turned towards the path downward.
The winged god rushed down the path at unbelievable speeds making all the souls they passed by look like blurs. Reaching the River of Styx in a matter of seconds, Thanatos paused his flight, as he looked around throughout the river, in search of something. However, he could find nothing there.
After a couple of seconds of search, he began flying at blinding speeds once again, down to the River’s end, an eager look on his face.
Charon
Phasing through the realm, Charon couldn’t be more excited than he was at the moment. Everything was going according to plan. The mortal believed himself safe. He didn't suspect a single thing. On top of that, he volunteered vital information that would greatly help with his plan. With the curse in place, that mortal was on his death bed and he didn't even know it!
"Thanatos should be going towards the Mirror anytime soon. Once I inform Hades, with his temper, Thanatos will be gone for good! Then I can take on his Duty as a god! I wonder how Hades will react to his favorite god's betrayal " He smiled as the surrounding energies grew unsteady. They were brothers but he had always been jealous of Thanatos standing with Hades. There was not a single moment where the other gods weren't reminded of the preferential treatment he had compared to everyone else especially the power and responsibilities given to him. With Hades' permission, he was able to control death, enter the mortal world without permission, and even go so far as to kill other gods without repercussions! It was truly maddening.
However, the other gods could do nothing about it so they simply accepted it while keeping a grudge in their hearts. Now, however, times have changed. That hate that had been suppressed for eons now could be released.
“Haha! I can't believe it is going to be so easy! Blame your luck dear brother! You plotted against me first!” Charon thought to himself as a ruthless smile adorned his lips.
“The only thing he had to watch out for here is since Thanatos knows I am helping the mortal, he would be prepared to face me. He might even find the crack I opened in his Contract with the mortal, but who cares? With how close he believes himself to be, he wouldn't stop simply because of this small problem. No, he should probably believe he is only facing me. He has spent way too much time with Hades to suspect otherwise, and I believe he wouldn’t drag any other god into his plan lest he complicates things further.” Charon thought to himself.
He smiled as he exit the cave. “Now all I have to do is let Hades know he is being betrayed by Thanatos and the rest should work itself out. All I have to do is watch.”
Flying higher into the clouds, he reached some clouds that were exceptionally Dark with a large throne on top. On its seat was a gaunt man, with a hand to his face.
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“Your Godliness!” immediately prostrating himself Charon greeted the man in front of him.
Hades looked even worse for wear but his eyes still glowed a bright light that was exceptionally severe as he stared at Charon.
Hades said nothing, eyeing him with indifference.
Seeing he was in a bad mood, he continued “I must inform you of an urgent matter. It relates to the Realm’s safety!”
“...”
Taking the silence as an invitation to continue he said “Thanatos has been plotting against you your Godliness!”
“He has forced a mortal soul to control the mirror or samsara! He plans on destroying the mirror to destroy my Duty, which will weaken the realm, in turn weakening you even further in power. I, as your humble servant, tell you this in hopes you can protect my Duty from destruction as I cannot compete with his power. “
“...”
Hearing no response, Charon waited in silence. Anxiety slowly began to grab his heart. This news should’ve angered him to no end. Why does he seem so calm?
“I know this already Charon.”
Shock filled his face, his emotions going haywire. He didn’t know what to say to Hades.
Taking a breath, he suppressed his shock and regained his determination.“Th-that is Great Your Godliness. Now we must stop them before they do harm to yo-”
“At the Graveyard of old, I sensed the presence of the mortal soul when I searched the area.”
Another shock rumbled through Charon’s body. He sensed his soul energy. Then that means-
“And that energy, The exact same energy, I can sense on you, Charon. Why is this?” He said as he stood from his throne, his presence causing fluctuations in the area.
Immediately searching himself, he found a faint mote of energy, hidden on his robes. One so small, a god such as he, did not even feel its presence on his body.
“NO” Charon yelled out loud. He had been tricked! He had to explain his point!
On edge, Charon searched himself as he squashed all forms of the presence from himself.
“Your Godliness. You’ve got it all wrong. I did not-”
“You, the ferryman of dead souls! You, the one person most in contact with the mirror! And you, the person in contact with that soul dare to tell me my trusted right hand is guilty of betrayal?” he said as he laughed. His smile tinged with the wrath that was about to come.
“YOU MUST THINK ME A FOOL. OR AT LEAST TOO WEAK TO FIND OUT”
streams of black chains appeared all around the area, enclosing both of them in a sphere 50 meters in size. Each chain had numerous blades surrounding it with a giant Dagger at its end. They revolved around like snakes ready to pounce on the unfortunate god facing them. darkness encompassed everything around as some of the chains from the outer edges split apart from the sphere, ready to attack.
Hades' pale skin had turned midnight black as a Nightmarish crown stood atop his head. A bident, flaring with Dark power appeared in his hands. He pointed his weapon toward Charon.
“I have known you lot were unconvinced of Thanatos's position but I did not think you would go so low as to besmirch his name. No matter. You will die for your naivety. Let this be an example of the consequences of betrayal." Hades said quietly, however, the voice rumbled through the world like a growl from hell, pounding Charon's ears like explosions echoing out.
Immediately standing up, Charon summoned his paddle as multicolored light reflected throughout the space. Hades was not listening to reason, he had to defend himself!
“WAIT! I DID NOT BETR-” A chain moving at blinding speeds soared through space aiming at his head. He raised his paddle to defend.
Unfortunately, the chains had a mind of their own. Twisting in the air, the dagger at its end changed trajectory, sliding right past his defense.
Unable to properly defend, Charon shifted to the left as the chains’ dagger slashed his cheekbone and cut his ear in half.
Frozen in shock, Charon put his hand on his face, touching the golden blood as it fell from his face. The chains seemed to have a poison that slowly turned the blood black. His body was decaying by the second!
He would be able to attempt healing it but he didn't have the River Styx with him or its water at the moment. He was virtually working on half his power!
He grew terrified. He knew he couldn’t defeat hades even if he tried. He could only escape. If he can somehow get back to the river, he could defend a bit more.
So, that's what he did. Rushing towards one end of the sphere of chains he braced himself for the chains' assault as he channeled his divine energy into his weapon.
As the chains rushed him, he slashed his weapon vertically through the chains in hopes of creating an opening. Surprisingly, his slash was effective, creating a 5-meter tear in the sphere.
Seeing the outside once again, Charon felt a rush of hope. He just might be able to escape this terrible predicament after all.
"Haha! You've truly become much weaker than before!" Charon Laughed out loud as adrenaline coursed through his body. He might just make it after all!
However, behind him, an uncountable amount of chains flew toward his body before he could even turn, impaling him all over his body. Golden blood splashed everywhere as his body was rendered apart. His body was pierced through with the many chains as the chains moved him back into the sphere.
The chains turned him towards hades and he took one last look at Hades as his life left him. A tear fell down his left eye as he watched the god he worked under kill him all because of a single mortal.
“From a human...” were his last words as his eyes dimmed for the last time. Charon was dead.
Hades watched in silence as his chains returned to him and Charon's body fell through the sky onto the ground. He did not enjoy killing his ferryman but he deserved his death.
He should have known better than to besmirch someone else's name. Thinking to himself, he did find the situation a bit weird. Why did he come to him for help? He had practically come to get himself killed. Even if he thought he could trick him, there are much safer ways to do the same thing...
And that message from the mortal soul. Did it plan on using his hand to kill Charon in the first place? No, at the end of the day, he knew of an abnormality and decided to hide it from me. He deserved his punishment.
With his cold rationale, he slowly flew back to his throne; his face an even mask of indifference.
“Now all that’s left is taking care of that mortal soul. Thanatos should be able to handle it.” He thought to himself. With the discussion they had had about it, Hades would punish Charon while Thanatos destroys that soul for good. Such an abnormality was never good for the multiverse.
As he sat suddenly an incredibly loud scream of pain, and anguish ripped through the air, startling Hades. He stood up as he looked toward a particular mountain in alarm. Something was wrong.
“That sounds like...Thanatos?!” Panic began to set in Hades’ features as he rushed towards the mountain in hopes of finding out what was going on
He couldn’t have been wrong, could he?