Chapter 50 Thunder Spark

"Great Goddess of Night, I salute you." Faced with a primordial deity, even though Pacus had already ascended to the status of a major god, he still felt immense pressure. He tried his best to maintain a calm expression, not letting the goddess see through his feelings. "The Master of the Underworld..." Nyx's gray eyes turned toward Pacus, a fleeting light glimmering in them. She smiled, "I remember you; your arrival has brought the Underworld the blessing of light. Your contributions to the world are well recognized." "Thank you for your praise, Goddess. Making the world more complete is the duty and mission of every deity." "Hehe... If only every god had this awareness." Nyx smiled, noncommittal. She then turned her attention back to Hades, "Your Majesty Hades, this matter involves many gods. Please summon them to the Hall of Hades to discuss this together." Hades nodded and once again invoked his authority as the king of the Underworld, summoning the relevant gods to the Hall of Hades. The gods of the Underworld sat on thrones burning with ghostly blue flames, surrounding a massive stone table, quietly waiting for the instructions of the primordial goddess Nyx. "Gods who dwell in the Underworld, the reason for summoning you all here is that the Underworld is about to undergo a significant transformation, concerning its advancement and the completeness of the world. To achieve this, we need the cooperation of each of you. If this matter is handled well, it will also benefit you all. I hope everyone will set aside personal interests and assist wholeheartedly." Nyx's gray eyes scanned the gathered deities, and the overwhelming pressure of the primordial goddess made the gods involuntarily straighten their backs, not daring to show any signs of negligence. Nyx nodded in satisfaction and signaled to Pacus, who was seated at the lower end, that he could begin. After all, this concept was proposed by him, and it was better for him to introduce it. "Ahem... Gods, inspired by the omnipresent laws of the world, I have noticed that the number of souls in the Underworld is increasing, and the affairs of the Underworld are becoming more complicated..." Pacus's words caused the gathered gods to nod in agreement. They were busy every day, and while they had come to this meeting, they harbored some resentment in their hearts, wondering how many tasks would accumulate due to this delay. In contrast to the gods on Mount Olympus, who spent their days drinking and reveling, the gods of the Underworld felt even more aggrieved. "To reduce the number of souls in the Underworld, to alleviate the burdens of the Underworld gods, and more importantly, to conserve the primal energy of the world, I propose a plan for the repurposing of souls: Reincarnation!" As the god with ebony wings spoke, the golden fleece scroll in his hand glowed, projecting a concept of reincarnation onto the hall, displaying it from the perspective of a soul, showcasing it to the Underworld gods. "The deceased souls will enter the Underworld through the entrance at Mount Acheron. As the first checkpoint of the Underworld, it will be guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus, to prevent any unlawful individuals from infiltrating or escaping the Underworld." The souls, under the inspection and permission of the three-headed dog, entered the Underworld. "In order to officially step into the Underworld, one must cross the Acheron River. However, there is only one ferryman, Charon, which makes the process incredibly inefficient. Therefore, I propose to use the Underworld stones as a foundation to build a bridge over the river, transforming Charon's role from ferryman to guardian of the bridge. Any soul wishing to cross the bridge will need to pay him a toll." As the souls approached the river, the ferryman was no longer present; instead, there stood a grand bridge spanning the Acheron. At the entrance of the bridge stood a guardian deity. The souls paid the toll and successfully crossed the bridge, stepping into the Underworld. In the hall, Charon, with his blue skin, appeared excited and looked gratefully at Pacus. As the ferryman of the Underworld, his duty had been to endlessly shuttle back and forth across the river, ferrying souls. Heaven knows how monotonous that job was! If a bridge could be built, he could shed the identity of a ferryman and, even better, gain a degree of freedom! Charon fully supported this project! Anyone who opposed him would face his wrath! "Pacus, my good brother, once this meeting is over, let's go out and become sworn brothers!" Charon's intense gaze made Pacus feel somewhat uncomfortable. "Ahem..." He cleared his throat and continued, "After stepping into the Underworld, the light of the Underworld Sun and Moon will guide the souls along their path, leading them through the next stages of their journey." Hecate nodded, acknowledging her role as the guide of souls. "The first stop will be the Hall of Hades, where souls will register their identities and names. Everything from their past lives will be recorded, and for this, we will need the assistance of Mnemosyne." Hades agreed, noting that these records would also serve as an important source of information. "Well done, Pacus!" "Once their identities are recorded, the souls will arrive at the temple of Themis, the Goddess of Justice, where her scales will assess the good and evil of the souls' past lives." The goddess, crowned in gold and dressed in white robes, with her eyes veiled, expressed no objections. "We will develop a new small hell in Tartarus, where the guilty will be cast to serve their punishments and atone for their sins. Only after they have cleared their sins will they be able to proceed to the next step." As Pacus said this, he looked at Nyx, "As for the punishments in hell, I will leave that to Your Majesty Nyx's children, right?" Nyx smiled. She had many children who presided over domains of misfortune, pain, and torment. This hell was practically tailor-made for them, and she was quite pleased. "Once the sins are atoned for, and the innocent souls can reach the temple of Mnemosyne, they will have their memories washed away by the divine power of the Lethe River, returning to purity, and then they can reincarnate into the world with new lives." With that, the proposal for reincarnation was presented to the gods of the Underworld. "I agree!" Charon, with his blue skin, was the first to stand up in support. "I have no objections." Both Themis, the Goddess of Justice, and Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory, spoke in unison. The benefits of this proposal were undoubtedly significant for them, and they had no reason to oppose it. "I also agree, but there is one question..." The Moon Goddess Hecate spoke up, raising a concern. "For the souls entering the Underworld, their spirits have already been tainted by death, losing their vitality and energy. How can we help them regain their life force?" "Hecate, my half-sister!" Pacus smiled broadly, his expression full of righteous determination. "To establish reincarnation, we cannot bypass the gods on Mount Olympus. As far as I know, there is a goddess up there who holds the power of life and has the role of welcoming new births. I believe she can resolve the issue of revitalizing the souls." "…The Goddess of Life, Hebe?" The figures of the legendary goddess appeared in the minds of the Underworld gods, leading them into contemplation. Goddess Nyx sat at the head of the table, her brow slightly raising in interest, a smile curving her red lips, and a glimmer of light flashing in her eyes. While the gods of the Underworld were fervently discussing the details of establishing reincarnation, another significant event occurred on Mount Olympus, forever shrouded in divine light. Prometheus, just as Zeus had anticipated, secretly infiltrated the mountain to steal the spark of fire, and what he stole was none other than the spark of Zeus's thunder. This ancient god of wisdom somehow managed to capture a small portion of the starless and moonless night governed by the Night Goddess Leto, using its concealed, obscure, and forgotten divine power to sneak into Zeus's temple. He took a flicker of flame from the blinding and domineering artifact of thunder belonging to the king of the gods and placed it into an empty fennel stalk before turning to leave, intending to bring it back to humanity on Earth. However, Zeus had long been on guard against him, setting up an ambush and waiting to trap him. Even with the divine power of the night sky concealing him, Prometheus was still caught during his escape by Apollo and Athena, who had been arranged by Zeus to guard the spark of fire. These two deities were genuinely surprised that Prometheus would take such an unwise action. Especially Athena, the goddess of wisdom, sighed inwardly. Prometheus's actions would undoubtedly intensify Zeus's anger, and after punishing this rebellious god who defied his will, his wrath would inevitably sweep over humanity on Earth. This generation of humanity was about to be doomed, and the right to create life that he had so hard fought for seemed to be rendered useless. After all the effort, he had gained nothing but a deeper understanding of the laws of the soul. Even Athena, no matter how rational she was, couldn't help but feel a bit irritated. "Iapetus's son, cunning seer, put down the spark of fire you have stolen, or the wrath of the king of the gods will be waiting for you and humanity on Earth!" If she could intervene now and persuade him to back down, there might still be a chance to ease the situation. The hope was slim, but Athena decided to give it a try. However, Prometheus ignored her pleas, focused on driving his divine chariot, and continued to flee toward the human settlements. Athena and Apollo exchanged glances. With the king of the gods' decree in place and Prometheus being so stubborn, they felt helpless. Tightening their reins, they urged their war chariot to pursue him. Athena's bronze war chariot and Apollo's solar chariot—one for battle and the other for celestial patrol—were certainly faster than Prometheus's divine chariot. The two deities quickly closed the distance to the fire thief. Prometheus glanced back at the approaching deities, gritting his teeth. He waved his hand, casting off the dark night sky, and the power of the starless and moonless night instantly blinded the two gods, forcing them to temporarily halt their chariots.