Chapter 33 The Pursuit of Light

Pacos, through his efforts to soothe the restless souls, inadvertently received commendation from the Underworld, resulting in the formation of a Comforting Divine Spark. 'The souls on the earth have been mostly guided; the remaining ones can be handled by Ruby and Tasna." Danasus stretched lazily, finally having passed the most chaotic phase, and now he could leave the rest to the sub-deities beneath him. He turned to look at Pacos beside him. 'You have great talent; would you consider becoming my sub-deity?" As a noble son of the primordial god and the original master deity, Danasus naturally had the confidence to recruit a first-rate deity as his subordinate. 'Of course, this will have to wait until you meet His Majesty the King of the Underworld. I wonder what position he will assign you." While Danasus spoke, he was internally quite certain that Pacos would definitely follow him. After all, Frost Death and Plague should logically partner with him, the original god of death. He greatly appreciated Pacos; with first-rate divine power, he stood out among the many deities of the Underworld, and he was a smart god who grasped things quickly. With his help during this time, Danasus had noticeably lightened his burden. Danasus even secretly thought that if His Majesty the King of the Underworld did not agree to assign Pacos as his sub-deity, he would go to Mother Nyx to complain and make things difficult for him! '… Everything is at the behest of His Majesty the King of the Underworld," Pacos said with a gentle smile on his lips. His dark golden eyes flashed with brilliance. Being a sub-deity of a master god was not the same path as his main body had envisioned; their ambitions were much grander. Therefore, Pacos would never become Danasus's sub-deity. There was no rush; he only needed a small opportunity to catch the King of the Underworld's attention, and even attain the same status as Danasus. That opportunity would come soon. The souls who had crossed the River Acheron under Charon's guidance were slowly progressing forward, illuminated by the light of the torches held by the deities of the Underworld. However, the number of souls was simply too large, and only the gods could ignore the dark, oppressive environment of the Underworld. As a result, only the souls at the front of the line, close to the deities, could move forward normally, while the souls at the back were nearly stumbling in the dark. One misstep led to a cascade of fallen souls, creating a chaotic scene filled with wails and cries. '…" Danasus listened to the cries, and several large '＃" symbols appeared uncontrollably on his forehead. 'Your Highness, why are these souls walking so unsteadily?" Pacos asked, feigning curiosity. In his eyes, the sight of the souls sprawled on the ground, crying and writhing in disarray, was quite comical. 'Don't pay them any mind; this phenomenon has been occurring frequently lately. We still have a distance to go before reaching the Underworld City, and the Underworld is shrouded in darkness. Only the gods can move fearlessly in the dark. These ordinary human souls, without the guidance of torches, are naturally engulfed in darkness." Danasus felt quite helpless. The torches used to guide souls were also divine artifacts, and there were only a few of them in the entire Underworld. Normally, guiding three or four souls at a time was no problem, but with the influx of so many souls due to the recent celestial fire incident, there simply weren't enough torches to go around. 'Is there really no light source in the Underworld?" 'Light source?" Danasus seemed to have heard the biggest joke. 'The eternal sources of light in the world are nothing but the sun and the moon. Not to mention that their brilliance could never reach the Underworld; even if it could, their light would be lethal to souls." 'No, Your Highness, I think this might be the reason for my existence," Pacos said softly, a gentle smile on his lips. 'Hmm? Pacos, what do you mean…" Danasus found Pacos's words strange and turned to look at him, only to be shocked by the sight before him. Light. Danasus's silver-gray eyes reflected the scene in front of him. The handsome god with black hair and crow-golden wings emitted a faint glow. In his hands, a dark red orb of light quietly hovered. It looked so similar to the sun of the human world, except for its unusual color and the absence of any heat. Enveloped in its radiance, Danasus even felt the primal energy within him boiling, an indescribable sense of comfort and familiarity. 'What is this…" Danasus was surprised yet enlightened. He wasn't foolish; he had always known that the divine sparks of Frost Death and Plague were not enough to nurture a first-rate deity. He had been aware that Pacos possessed some hidden, powerful divine spark, but he never expected that when it truly manifested, it would still astonish him. 'I am a deity born from the sun's remorse and the prayer for redemption, representing the sun's atonement for all things, the God of the Underworld Sun, Pacos, who scatters light for the souls." Pacos's dark golden eyes shimmered with brilliance as he uttered divine words, causing the laws hidden within the Underworld to tremble. The arrival of the Underworld Sun was undoubtedly a form of perfection and elevation for him, affirming Pacos's words. The orb of light in Pacos's hands grew larger and gradually slipped from his control, flying up into the Underworld's sky, transforming into a radiant sun glowing with a purplish-red light, hanging high above the Underworld and illuminating it. The world of death that the souls saw was no longer dark and void; they could clearly see the path ahead, their own hands, and the faces of their loved ones, causing them to shed tears of excitement and sincerely praise the Underworld Sun that granted them light. Even though they had perished under the celestial fire of the sun, the instinct of all beings was still to seek the light. A vast amount of merit was infused into Pacos as he floated in midair, his crow-golden wings shimmering with divine light. The divine spark of the Underworld Sun was acknowledged, radiating a magnificent and profound divine glow. Pacos's divine power surged upward—first-rate divine power at the lower tier, then the middle tier, peaking at the upper tier, and finally reaching the master deity level! The overwhelming divine might erupted forth, and the pressure from the master deity caused the souls to tremble and kneel, while the deities responsible for guiding the souls also felt immense pressure, struggling to suppress the urge to bow down. Danasus's silver hair flew as he gazed at the handsome deity in the air. Ah, it seems Pacos can no longer be my sub-deity; what a pity~ 'The sun and the moon are two sides of the same light; where there is the Underworld Sun, there must also be the Underworld Moon!" After the appearance of Pacos's Underworld Sun, a clear female voice resonated throughout the Underworld. With her words, a peculiar moon shining with a black-blue glow emerged in the sky of the Underworld. With the sun and moon shining together, the primal energy of the Underworld stirred, and it seemed that the Underworld was on the verge of an ascension. Pacos looked up, and as the controller of the Underworld Sun, his line of sight was almost unobstructed within the Underworld. Before him stood a stunning goddess clad in a black robe, her jet-black hair resembling the night. Her brilliant eyes, inherited from her mother, the Starry Goddess Asteria, gazed back at Pacos. Floating beside her were a sword, ropes, torches, and books. She was the other supreme goddess of the Underworld, the mistress of ghosts, magic, and uncertain opportunities, and now also the bearer of the Underworld Moon—Hecate. It seemed that he had quite the connection with Apollo's family, having previously formed a bond with Apollo and Artemis on the divine mountain. Now, he found himself entangled with Hecate, the daughter of the Starry Goddess Asteria, who was the sister of Leto. This was indeed a strange and troublesome fate. He could only hope that this Goddess of the Underworld Moon would be somewhat kind to him; after all, he had brought her opportunities, hadn't he… One could say that she truly lived up to her title as the mistress of uncertain opportunities. Even fleeting chances were grasped by her, making her a goddess of a completely different caliber compared to Artemis. Pacos decided to try to befriend her, hoping not to create a formidable rival due to a bit of 'ambition." 'You've been hiding quite well," Danasus remarked, looking at the current master of the Underworld Sun, his tone somewhat sarcastic, as if he had been the only one enthusiastic while the other had no interest in it at all. 'I owe much to your care during this time, Your Highness," Pacos smiled. After spending time together, he understood that Danasus occasionally had a bit of a childish temperament but was not a petty god who held grudges. 'Hmph, let's go. His Majesty the King of the Underworld wishes to see you." Danasus wasn't truly angry, although he felt a bit regretful that such a capable secretary had suddenly flown away. Pacos followed Danasus as they crossed a vast gray plain, and a fork in the road appeared before them. 'This is the Field of Truth. To the left is the path to His Majesty's city, the Underworld City. As for the right path…" Danasus pointed to the right, where gray stones paved the entire road, resembling a long snake winding toward the deepest part of the Underworld. The distance was great, seemingly endless, and even a deity's eyes could only see a chilling depth ahead. 'That road leads to the Land of Suffering, Tartarus." 'I was born near Tartarus, but I don't recall seeing this road," Pacos reminisced about his journey with Hypnos to the River Acheron when he first emerged into existence; it seemed he had not seen this pathway.