Chapter 629: Those Who Judge Souls.
Greek Underworld.
"You made a decision faster than expected..." A Goddess with long hair as black as the starry night, wearing an equally black dress, appeared in Persephone's room.
"There was no decision from the beginning, Nyx."
"..." The Primordial Goddess just smiled neutrally.
"And letting foreigners contaminate this place is something I don't want either. This is my home, and I will protect it."
"In that case..." A dark power emerged from Nyx's hand, and soon Hades' Helm appeared:
"Accept your place as the True Ruler of Greek Hell."
"... Before that." Persephone looked seriously at Nyx with her one healed eye.
"Why were you inconsistent when mentioning Erebus? Is he your husband or not?"
"Hmm?" Nyx's face slowly started to darken, "What makes you think I have a problem with him?"
"... When you visited me last time, I was paying attention to every detail, and one moment you called Erebus your husband, and the next moment, you called him Ex-husband with a lot of distaste."
"So, what is the truth?"
Nyx narrowed her eyes, "... Why are you so interested in my personal life, Persephone?"
"Because I am seriously doubting whether you are sane or not." She was frank.
"...." Nyx's eyes twitched a little at that comment.
The two Goddesses were silent, staring at each other for a few minutes until Nyx opened her Mouth:
"He is my husband and, simultaneously, my ex-husband. That's all you need to know."
"....." Persephone twitched her only visible eye.
"Don't tell me that the most loyal Greek betrayed you for another woman?"
Nyx's face showed no signs of changing, but her aura grew much heavier.
"Persephone, my personal business is none of your business." Nyx's tone was neutral but carried a visible hostility.
"Hmm... Interesting. You Primordial Gods like to meddle in other's lives, but you don't like it when others meddle in yours. How hypocritical." Persephone snorted.
Then she closed her eyes and said:
"… Well, I guess that's how the Gods are. I'm like that too, and how you refer to him doesn't matter to me."
To be honest, Persephone just wanted to make Nyx's mood worse. She didn't know why Erebus was a tense subject for the Night Goddess, and she didn't care.
All she wanted was to make the Goddess of The night's mood worse because it was obvious that Nyx was treating her like a pawn, and that wasn't a very nice feeling, but as the Primordial Goddess had said from the beginning, Persephone never had a choice in the matter...
Something that wasn't entirely true.
Persephone was no fool. She could flee The Underworld and leave all this trouble behind her, but where would she go?
From what she understood, the Human World was also in crisis, and she had no support outside Mount Olympus; her hands were tied.
And she couldn't just run away. This was her home, the home she'd fought and bled for, the home that reduced her to this deplorable state, and she would fight for this place. She was The Queen of The Underworld, and as Queen, she must fix her Kingdom... Even if she had to trample on her 'husband' Legacy.
Persephone spat in disgust at the word. She refused to call that man her husband because when his Kingdom needed him, he was not there. He even 'betrayed' his home.
She distrusted the information about Hades' possible betrayal because she heard this information from Nyx, and the Primordial Gods were not known to be trustworthy.
"Give me the Helm, and I'll drive those motherfuckers out of my Kingdom."
Nyx smiled neutrally and without hostility and said, "... That's what I'm talking about." Then, she tossed the Helm to Persephone.
The Queen of The Underworld took the Helm in her hand, asking, "How do I use this?"
"The Helm is embedded with the 'Authority' to Rule Greek Hell. The moment you put it on, that 'Authority' will test your impartiality over Souls. If you pass the test, you will connect with the system that manages all Souls, a boon exclusive to those who Rule Hell."
"...." Persephone nodded.
"Do you know what the function of Hell and Heaven is?" Nyx asked.
"Judging Souls?"
"An incomplete answer, but not entirely wrong," Nyx spoke and added:
"Hell and Heaven exist to recycle Souls. The only ones who can judge Souls are The Judges of The Abyss and, to a lesser extent, the Kings of Hell."
"Leaving aside the Heavenly Paradise that does not matter here."
"Each Hell has its own peculiarity and way of interacting with Souls, but their work remains the same. They receive the 'sinners' that these Beings judge. They are sent to Hell, receive their punishment, and have their Souls recycled. Soon after, that Soul will go to another Primordial Being responsible for Reincarnation and Life, and that Soul will gain a new beginning."
"Everything in this world has a Soul, even a mountain or plant, and these non-sentient Souls will go through Hell when they die and then return to the Cycle of Reincarnation and Life. That part will be done automatically, so you merely need to keep the system running, which is not happening right now due to Hades' absence."
"... I didn't know that... I mean, I didn't know that Hell was so important."
"That is normal. This is something only the King of Hell can know. I'm telling you because I'm sure you'll pass the test."
"I'm curious, what is the purpose of Heaven?" Persephone asked.
Nyx looked at Persephone for a few seconds and decided to explain. It was a valid question, after all:
"... It's the same as Hell, recycling Souls. The 'good' part of a Being's Soul goes to Heaven, and when that Soul is 'satisfied' with its personal Heaven, that Soul will return to the Cycle of Reincarnation."
"Of course, this varies from Heaven to Heaven as well as with Hells."
"For example, in the skies of The Nordic Pantheon, Beings who died with 'honor' would go to Valhalla, and when they die again, they will go straight to the Cycle of Reincarnation."
"Those who died in a normal way, no matter if they were good or not, will go to Norse Mythology Hell and will undergo recycling."
"Although they are called Beings who 'judge' Souls, their job is better described as separating the good and bad parts of a Being and to throw those respective parts in their proper places."
"Only in cases where the Being has a lot of power is that Being truly judged. So, for example, if a Lesser God died by Thanatos' Scythe, that God would be judged by these Entities, and depending on their judgment, that God may stop existing, or his Soul would return to the Cycle of Reincarnation, and he would gain a fresh start."
"I presume the same is true of strong Mortals, for example, some Vampires and Werewolves?" Persephone asked.
"Correct, but in the case of Mortals, they will still go to Heaven or Hell depending on their actions, something that does not happen to a God because they are essentially a Higher Existence than Mortals; therefore, their judgment is more decisive."
"… If anything is different from Mortals without power, those Supernatural Beings who have strong Powers will go straight to hell or heaven, and their Souls will not be divided."
"Why does that happen?" Persephone asked.
"Who knows? I don't even know why these Entities treat Beings of equal power the same as ordinary Mortals... But I have formed theories over centuries of observing this system."
Nyx looked at Persephone for a few seconds and spoke, "The Soul is the answer. Stronger Beings have a strong will, and despite the incredible power of these Beings, they cannot 'divide' the good and the bad from the Soul of these Beings without causing serious damage to the Soul itself. And if the Soul is damaged, it will not return to the Reincarnation Cycle. Thus, they are judged and thrown directly into Hell or Paradise... At least that's a theory I have developed."
"... That's possible, but I hardly think these Beings would have a hard time splitting a Soul. After all, they are experts in this matter."
"..." Nyx just nodded, having had the same thought.
"Anyway, you shouldn't worry about it; put the Helm on your head."
"Got any advice?"
"Don't be swallowed up by the presence of The Three."
"... Okay." Using her only hand, Persephone put on Hades' Helm, and in the next second, she was elsewhere.
She was on a stone platform, and the entire landscape around her was made up of countless galaxies.
"A new Ruler will be decided."
Three booming voices echoed throughout the domain, and Persephone quickly looked up, and she would probably never forget what she saw.
She saw the 'face' of that Being, specifically just some parts of it.
She saw an open mouth containing an entire galaxy within it.
Giant golden eyes and several hands with the same golden color.
The Being was massive, and Persephone felt small in front of these Beings.
Her body was shaking, panic visible on her face, and she felt like she would be 'swallowed' whole until she remembered Nyx's words.
And that made her open her eyes wide and clench the fists of both her hands...? Wait.
She looked down and saw that she was no longer injured.
Suddenly, something started coming out of the floor.
"Souls are a fundamental part of the workings of The Universe. As an Overlord, it will take wit to differentiate between right and wrong on some occasions." The Mouth began to speak.
Two Beings began to form, and a woman and a man were in front of her.
"As a Ruler, eyes that can see what is needed are important to the job." The voice came from the direction of The Hands.
"This man killed his mistress; she was cheating on him with another man." The Mouth spoke.
"The woman defended herself against a robbery and ended up being shot and killed." The Hands added.
"Now, choose. Who will go to Hell, and who will go to Heaven?" The voice came from the direction of The Eyes.
"...." Persephone fell silent, and only now did she realize why Nyx had spoken to her so much before she came to this place. All that talk was a 'hint' for this occasion.
Persephone looked at the man and the woman. They were both normal, and she couldn't feel any 'power' coming from them.
"Both of them will go to Hell and Heaven," Persephone replied.
"Wrong." The Three said at the same time.
Persephone shivered again.
"You're not us, so you can't judge them like us. Sagacity is important for the job." The Mouth spoke.
With that warning, Persephone realized what she was doing wrong.
The two Beings disappeared as if they had never existed, and soon a woman and a child appeared in front of her.
"Sin is judged differently by us. Rulers don't have the common sense of a Mortal. To a Mortal, what might be considered a Sin, to us might be an act of kindness." The voice came from The Eyes.
"The woman in front of you killed her lover because he constantly abused her." The Mouth spoke.
"The child in front of you killed his younger brother because he was jealous of the attention he received." The Hands spoke.
"Answer me, who will go to Hell, and who will go to Heaven?" The Three spoke at the same time.
"...." Persephone was silent for a few seconds before she answered.
"Both will go to Hell."
"Wrong." The Three spoke at the same time.
"Huh? The two killed, aren't the two guilty?"
"Leave prejudice aside." The Mouth began to speak.
"The act of taking away the Fate and Life of an innocent Soul is crueler and more worthy of punishment than the act of protecting oneself from an aggressor." The voice came from The Eyes.
"The correct answer is, the child goes to Hell, and the woman goes to Paradise." The voice came from The Hands.
"...." That answer left Persephone in deep thought.
'Am I not judging Sin? Am I judging the damage done to Souls? Huh?' Persephone was completely confused.
"Again." The Three spoke at the same time.
Soon three Souls appeared in front of Persephone.
A small child again, a grown woman, and a teenage boy around 16.
"The boy fell into sexual depravity with the instructor from which he learned and died of exhaustion because he could not stand the excessive effort of the act." The Mouth spoke.
"The woman committed suicide because she couldn't stand the pressure of society." The Eyes spoke.
"The child fell victim to starvation, and to survive, he practiced cannibalism among his peers." The Hands spoke.
Persephone winced at the last one.
"Now, who will go to Hell and to Heaven?" The three asked.
"...." Persephone took a few minutes to answer before she opened her mouth.
"The teenager will go to Paradise."
"The woman and child will go to Hell."
"Why?" The Three asked.
"The teenager's act itself is not a Sin. He exercised his free will, and he died exercising his will."
"The woman committed suicide, and, regardless of the reason, she took her own Life and Destiny in a cowardly act."
"The child committed the greatest Sin by committing cannibalism."
"Wrong," The Hand said.
"Correct." The Eyes and Mouth spoke.
"... Huh?"
"Wanting to survive is not a Sin. On the contrary, this is a privilege for all living Beings. The boy was caught in an uncontrollable situation, and he exerted his will to survive." The hand said:
"Look at him, is his Soul defiled?"
Persephone looked at the boy, who had at some point transformed into a translucent form, and she saw that he was completely 'clean' of impurities.
"... But he-."
"Leave your prejudices aside; impartiality is necessary."
"The teenager and the woman are correct." The Eyes and the Mouth spoke.
"Every Soul is born with free will. The option of suicide is only ignored by us when the Soul really has no choice but suicide to alleviate its suffering." The Eyes spoke and continued:
"In that situation, context is important in deciding your judgment."
"… What choices did she have?" Persephone asked.
"The woman came from a wealthy family. She suffered from pressure from society and her parents since she was a child, but she had many resources available."
"... She could have run away from it all, decided to live her life elsewhere, or used the money to try to improve her situation."
"Correct. She had several options out of this situation, but due to poor willpower and weak mind, she chose the easiest option."
"Suffering is not bad. The Soul endures suffering as it is tempered and grows stronger, so it is when the Soul is nearing its end that it demonstrates its true potential."
"Excessive happiness leads to sloppiness; the Soul becomes weak and without temper."
"Balance is necessary."
"... I assume that if the woman didn't kill herself, she would've somehow acquired the 'happiness' she wanted so much?"
"Correct."
"The correct judgment in this situation is the child will go to Paradise, and the teenager too. In the woman's case, you should have asked for a context for her story. Accepting what we said without questioning the veracity of the words is not a sign of intelligence." The Three spoke.
"...." Persephone wasn't offended; she just listened to everything as a lesson to her.
"Wit is important; the morality created by Mortals does not matter, but the acts committed by the individual's Soul do." The Mouth repeated and gave advice.
"As Ruler, you judge a Soul's actions when the Soul was about to meet its end, not the morals behind it." The mother spoke.
"Again." The three spoke at the same time.
'Ugh, this is going to take a while.'
This time a grown man, a teenage woman, and a grown woman appeared.
"The man is a war hero and killed his fellow men for his country." The Mouth spoke.
"The teen is a murderer who aimed to kill rapists." The Eyes spoke.
"The adult woman is a psychopath who took pleasure in killing men." The Mouth spoke.
"Now, choose. Who will go to Hell, and who will go to Heaven?" The Three spoke at the same time.
"..."
.....
