For Persephone - Chapter 40 – A Trickster’s Words

Hades savored her faint flow of energy into the underworld. He was already waiting for her, depressed, as he got busy dealing with the unwelcomed goddess of the ominous night. The word ‘lovers’ still clank around the inside of his head. He habitually pondered on the embarrassing word.

Persephone went there by herself because she was worried that she might get cursed at again or go through dangerous obstacles on the Acheron River. It was even comical to Hades that she moved around so diligently.

At this rate, who would deny the ‘love’ that she talked about?

There were only a few dead men and Kharon on the foggy dock of the Acheron River.

“The king is taking a walk again?” Kharon looked at Hades, who frequently appeared on the Acheron River dock these days, and rolled his eyes. Hades, who was too annoyed to explain in detail, brought up the matter.

“Did that girl come through here?”

“She’s gone again? That ragdoll, what in the world is—”

“If she didn’t, that’s enough. Just take care of your work.”

“What is she doing?”

“Just…”

Hades laughed out the answer and dragged an old tree stump onto the ferry and sat down.

From the other side, he could see the dead men walking in twos and threes. His eyes wandering around the fate of the unfamiliar underworld were full of fear. He rubbed his chin, gave a slick look at them, and made a gesture to Kharon.

The dead men all boarded, and Kharon’s boat sailed off until it disappeared.

Hades was left to himself. But he didn’t feel that lonely rather he became very angsty, waiting for her arrival. There will be a reason because he didn’t know what kind of life she led outside the underworld, and she didn’t say she would come by on this day, so it was okay to let it go, but he didn’t feel like he could.

Hades told Kharon to let him know if she came without any coins; he left three coins with him just in case, and now it’s been three days since. Standing in the Styx River, Hades stared at Ceres who was submerged in the water.

Ceres was a goddess, and Persephone was just a lost nymph. He never thought that a nymph could do something like this to a goddess. There was no rhyme or reason for her behavior. Most of all, she took the goddess Styx as her witness and swore love, and as expected, Hades also believed her without question. But the question of how she could love him only made the hole in his heart grow bigger.

‘Why hasn’t she come?’

*

The fact that Hades was waiting for Hekate’s night, which disturbed the underworld, was absurd. It was only after a few days that he devoted himself to the ups and downs and worries of emotions.

One day, when Hades faced Sisyphos, who was waiting for Radamantis’ trial, something bizarre happened…

Trapped in a cage, Sisyphos was squatting like a hobo in the slums. It was hilarious to see his confident eyes as if he hadn’t yet escaped the glory of the moments when he was the king himself. Any self-conscious being had a little affection and expectation for themselves, and when they were frustrated, they inevitably felt despair, but the man seemed to know no frustration.

No different from the day he was dragged in.

There was no other reason why Hades became interested in Sisyphos again.

“I know something that you would like to hear, sir. It’s about that girl!” Sisyphos caught his attention.

Hades didn’t intend to listen to a man of many small tricks but couldn’t help but wonder since it was about ‘her’.

Soon there would be a trial for him. He didn’t forget that he was a human being who must have had his head filled with all kinds of schemes to survive, so it was a possibility that had to be filtered out in moderation.

“People have told me the truth from long ago. Even if it’s not the full truth, I looked into such information. Oh, Delphos eyes aren’t what you think. He had different goals in many ways to be indebted to Phoibos, so he was quite popular and had good eyesight. But despite that, I didn’t know I would become famous down here in the underworld. I feel like I’m being recognized as someone equivalent to that of a great person.”

“So what do you want to say?”

“Please listen. That girl coming to see you, who is she, sir?”

“Who?”

“Your so-called lover, sir.”

The mention of ‘that girl’ from Sisyphos’ lips made Hades lose his ability to speak. Instead, Sisyphos, who smiled thickly, laughed deftly and continued.

“You know who I mean, right? I leaned my ear closer and just listened to what they were saying, and they were talking about… Can’t I wait to see if the person on surveillance is going to slap me up and down with their hand? At least when I, the king of Corinth, am ready to serve…”

“….”

“That’s what my father did. The dignity of a species is determined by the glory of the master.”

Hades was highly suspicious of Sisyphos’ plan. He couldn’t figure out when the girl could have met Sisyphos; there was no reason. And even so, he couldn’t believe what was said from the mouth of a man who was talking out of his ass. However, his not responding was attributed to the fact that few people knew the relationship between him and the girl.

There was no reason to dismiss the dead men as ‘existing’ because they were souls left with no self-consciousness, so only a few people came to mind. But he didn’t think they would tell Sisyphos about him.

Then how exactly did this guy know Hades? How did he know the girl’s existence? How did he know Hades was involved with her? And how could he be so determined to choose such a negative word that caused delusion? Hades’ thoughts were blank, like a large hole carved in the middle of a thick book.

“… I don’t know what you’re talking about or what you’re planning to do, but one thing is for sure. You’re trying to trick me.”