Chapter Text
it’s cool today. cooler than normal, the lord of the underworld notes with a silent groan. the gentle swaying of the thick grass in elysium coupled with a strong breeze means demeter up on mount olympus has probably argued with her lover once again. a trivial spat, rather than a full-blown argument, she presumes. a different kind of coldness would be present if they had an actual fight.
glancing away from the window, she looks to her desk. while her paperwork tray is empty, her subjects would be eternally busy. maybe she could pop by for a quick game of poker as sort of a reprieve for them. a snap of her fingers sends her directly to tartarus, to the frequented location of her favourite fury.
the smell of blood and sin is a permanent stench in these fiery depths. the goddess struts to where the screams are emanating from, no doubt her best punisher of the damned is busy at work. her presence is noticed immediately, though the cries only seem to get louder.
"if you're going to come down here, you might as well do it yourself, seul-ah. " byulyi – or better known to the mortals as megaera, grumbles as she strikes down on an evildoer.
grimacing at the punishment happening before her, seulgi ignores the cries of the tormented while she makes herself comfy in the dungeon of the damned. byulyi is more than capable of handling the worst humans, besides, the goddess of the underworld doesn't particularly enjoy this whole flaying business either.
bound by duty doesn’t mean that she can’t delegate it.
flopping her hand lazily, she groans, “i finished my paperwork, are you up for poker?”
“why don’t you look for hermes or hypnos, i’m sure they’d love to skive off with you, my liege.” the punisher sighs as she lays down another lash of her whip on the sinner’s flesh.
the goddess whines, “come on, byul-ah, you have all of eternity to whip this poor guy.”
“first of all, this fellow right here has eight counts of sexual assaults, three counts of domestic abuse and a murder charge.” byulyi grunts, “definitely not a poor guy.”
seulgi purses her lips and attempts to think of something to convince byulyi that she could let this guy go for the day but her subject doesn’t even have to look up to read her mind.
“they were all kids.”
“oh.”
well, byulyi is in the zone, no point trying to convince her, or talk to her for the matter. her most trusted erinyes has a soft spot when it comes to children, it’s kind of an admirable aspect for a resident of the underworld. seulgi snaps her fingers to head up to the upper levels, maybe the others would be keener on skiving off with their dear ruler.
“charon!”
seulgi’s cheerful greeting is answered with a grunt from the ferryman. the river styx is as lively as always, the moanings of the dead always compensated for charon’s silence.
“how’s it going on this fine day?”
another grunt, charon isn’t in the mood to talk. maybe upgrading his rickety wooden boat to a bigger one isn't the best idea but with the recent plague, the underworld has been experiencing a queue at the gates.
“it sure is cool today, hope the souls aren’t keeping you too busy!”
charon, with eyes hollow but ablaze, waves her aboard the boat. no fee is needed for the lord, the least he could do to help aid her boredom is a ride up the river styx, back to the entrance of hell.
the styx is calming if you ignore the occasional arms reaching out to grab you. the underworld isn’t a place for everyone but it’s home for the goddess of the dead. as dull as it might get sometimes, having a modicum of peace and order is better than having demigod kids running amuck.
the olympians have been sending their demigod children into the underworld to undergo trials, weeding out the weak amongst them under the guise of completing some vitally important mission. for the gods of olympus to be this cruel doesn’t come as a surprise to the chthonic residents, put it simply, they were used to the antics of the pompous bastards above.
seulgi tries to let the kids off easily and even persuades her subjects to do the same, though many of them still enjoyed hunting those poor demigods for sport.
"seen any more of those pesky demigod kids lately?" seulgi inquiries while they cruise along the styx.
the ferryman grunts with a subtle shake of his head, the epitome of a being with few words indeed. with charon’s response, it seems that none have been spotted recently. the lord of the underworld has an inkling that this peace wouldn’t last — with the plague in the mortal realm starting to come under control, her fellow gods would be itching to send another disaster to those poor souls.
exhaling softly, seulgi tries to relax and take in the wonders of the underworld while charon rows them upstream.
seulgi hops off charon’s boat with a two-fingered salute to the ferryman and a beaming smile to the fresh new souls. they keep their heads bowed; the goddess doesn’t think much of it, they probably haven’t processed the fact that they’re really dead.
judging by the sheer amount of souls waiting to board the ferry, she can safely assume that no one has time for her today. maybe cerberus would keep her company like she usually does.
whistling one of orpheus' tunes, she strolls to the entrance to seek companionship from her ferocious hound.
an unfamiliar sight greets her as she finds cerberus away from her usual spot, sniffing a person. not just any person, a girl with the power of the gods imbued in her. a raven-haired girl dressed in a plain white chiton stands before cerberus, stroking one of her heads with a big gummy grin.
demigods again, seulgi makes a mental note to bring it up to the other gods during their next meeting as she struts over to her hound with increased urgency. if she could stop them from getting past cerberus, that would mean lesser trouble in the underworld.
"you're not supposed to be here." the goddess of the dead calls out as she approaches them.
cerberus turns with big smiles and seulgi offers a small pat to the lovable hound. the demigod girl stands before her with a piece of honey cake in her hand.
no wonder cerberus was sniffing her. while her hound does a great job at keeping the dead from escaping, cerberus is terrible at preventing the living from entering. a bribe or two and it's welcome to the underworld!
the demigod pays her no heed while she continues to pat cerberus’ snout, "are you gonna stop me?"
"cerberus here," seulgi glares the bratty girl stroking her hound, "isn't letting you through the gates."
"really now?"
the girl offers up the honey cake to one of cerberus' heads and her hound has the audacity to whimper before devouring it in one bite. seulgi's jaw drops at the blatant betrayal, and also the fact that her trusted dog chose a piece of honey cake over her.
with a resigned sigh, the goddess mutters, "you know you don't have to do the trials. your parent, whoever they might be, sent you here to test your strength."
"what?"
"tell me what you need and i can save you a whole trip down to tartarus."
"i don't need anything," the girl responds with a raised brow, "olympus is getting boring."
olympus? boring? is this girl in her right mind? a flicker of uneasiness appears in her gaze when she inquiries, "who are your parents?"
"the mortals call them zeus and demeter."
oh. oh fuck. this girl is no demigod. this is the daughter of zeus and demeter, the goddess of verdure — kore. while seulgi hasn't seen most of the olympians since she took up residence in the underworld, zeus and poseidon keep her updated when they meet up for game nights.
she never expected to see any olympian but hermes traverse the realm of the dead, demeter’s daughter at that too. she may rule over the underworld but the goddess of the harvest instils a chilling fear within her.
"go home, kore. this is no place for a goddess like you." seulgi urges with a tense smile.
the goddess of verdure lets out a laugh, "so you know who i am?"
"yes and the underworld isn't your playground, kore."
"ugh, drop the whole kore name," the goddess groans, "i prefer going by sooyoung."
seulgi narrows her eyes and sighs, "fine, sooyoung, leave my realm."
"like i said, are you gonna stop me?"
"i will if i have to." seulgi grits her teeth. drawing her spear wouldn't do any good, if she hurts sooyoung, demeter would curse the underworld with more than a biting chill.
she has to get this brat away from this realm lest she incurs demeter's rage, but unlike her mother, this child is insolent and doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of being turned away.
sooyoung crosses her arms as she steps past cerberus, coming face to face with the goddess of the dead.
"you're adorable for someone who rules the underworld.” the goddess leans in with a husky whisper, “thought you would be more terrifying."
turning flushed at her comment is the last thing seulgi needs but she can’t stop the heat from creeping up her cheeks. stammering, also didn’t help, but the daughter of demeter standing in such close proximity makes it almost impossible to not be flustered.
“c-cerberus!”
to her relief, the large hound senses her owner’s discomfort and comes between the two goddesses. cerberus gently nudges sooyoung towards the entrance where she came from, though the girl refuses to budge.
“what’s wrong?” sooyoung challenges with a click of her teeth, “scared of a little goddess?”
seulgi bites the inside of her cheek as she hides behind one of cerberus’ heads, shifting her weight from one leg to another, she huffs. “lady demeter is the one i fear, leave before she decides it’s better to freeze the underworld than argue with your sire.”
“you know of their fights?” the girl blinks, a trace of surprise coats her tone.
seulgi nods and steps out of cerberus’ hulking figure, “their fights are none of my concern but the temperatures make it easy to gauge the severity of their arguments.”
sooyoung exhales, her impertinence faltering momentarily with a droop of her shoulders. the lord doesn’t know what to make of it, is she disappointed? the daughter of demeter’s motives are unclear and perhaps, it’s better left as a mystery.
“even the underworld isn’t safe from their silly arguments.” sooyoung mutters under her breath, “seems like there’s no escaping.”
the realisation dawns upon seulgi as she makes sense of sooyoung’s unsolicited visit to this realm. as much as she sympathises with the other goddess, the only place safe from demeter’s icy touch is tartarus and to invite the goddess of verdure down to a place meant for the damned isn't the wisest idea.
but the words roll off her tongue before she can even stop herself.
"nothing beats the fiery heat of tartarus."
the moment sooyoung's eyes light up, seulgi knows she's fucked up.
"say,” the goddess requests with a cheeky smile, her initial zeal is reignited, “can i get a tour of the underworld?"
"no!" a firm rejection escapes the lord's lips as she turns away, "lady demeter is not one i'd like to trifle with."
"i'll deal with my mother if she descends, how about that?"
"absolutely not!"
"okay, i don't need a tour," sooyoung shrugs, "i'll gladly explore these depths by myself."
the goddess of verdure races past seulgi into the realm of the dead, leaving the lord and her hound dumbfounded. if she was a hero on a valiant quest, maybe seulgi would let her go. but this is the daughter of demeter, the olympian she fears the most, letting sooyoung perish is not an option.
"we need to have a talk about letting people in, buddy," the goddess mutters to her dog, "and if anyone asks, kore was never here."
cerberus responds with a whine and resumes her position at the entrance while her owner chases after the insolent goddess. lasting peace is never an option when the gods above are always bent on wreaking havoc.
the ruler catches up eventually to find sooyoung sitting comfortably amongst the deceased aboard charon's boat.
"charon! stop!" seulgi commands.
all eyes turn towards her, until the souls realise that they're staring upon the one and only goddess of the dead. sooyoung is unfazed and perhaps even a little annoyed.
"get off the boat, sooyoung."
"make me."
grinding her teeth, seulgi looks towards her subject, "charon?"
the ferryman presents a coin in his palm; she paid the fee, no refunds. a ride down the styx is exactly what she's going to get.
to feel powerless in the domain she rules over is a foreign feeling. granted, her subjects aren't the most obedient but to be defied so openly leaves her stumped. to make things worse, charon lets out a gurgle, pointing out that the boat is full.
"come on, charon!" seulgi groans, "you can't be serious!"
the ferryman grunts and begins rowing away — she needs more rules in these depths, first cerberus, now charon, the fates are making a mockery of her. the goddess of verdure gloats from her spot, sticking her tongue out as she waves enthusiastically to the distant ruler.
curse the fates, while she could meet them at the end, seulgi worries about the brat's safety. charon certainly wouldn't give a damn if his passengers got grabbed by the arms of the styx, it's not his problem if they can't stay on.
grinding her teeth, it seems that she only has one option. with charon's boat sailing away, seulgi grimaces as she weighs the decision in her head. maybe a dip in the styx wouldn’t be so bad, but the thought of being drenched in mortal damnation makes her scrunch her face in disgust.
it’s been less than thirty seconds since charon’s departure and a scream emanates from the boat. whipping her head in the direction of the cry, seulgi spots the goddess of verdure being grabbed by multiple hands of the styx.
no time to think, seulgi dives into the icy river, surrounding herself with the blaze of a morning star to prevent the souls from latching onto her. with big strokes, the goddess catches up to the boat easily, chasing away the souls threatening to pull sooyoung down with them.
“what the hell are those?” sooyoung cries out as she recoils as far as she can from the edge.
seulgi, with an arm clinging on to the side of the boat, kicks another soul away before grunting. “mortal souls that have no place in the underworld just yet, what did you think they were?”
charon grunts to inform her that she’s got it wrong and is met with a harsh glare from the lord — he’s getting another boat upgrade whether he likes it or not.
“decorations …” sooyoung mumbles with a cautionary glance at the river, "shouldn't you be dead then? or dying?"
swimming through the styx would be fatal for anyone, but being the goddess of the dead, this is one of the few perks that came with the job.
seulgi looks up at the frightened goddess, replying with a smirk, "wouldn't be good for anyone if i die in the realm i'm supposed to rule over."
the young goddess mumbles a soft oh and continues taking in the oddities of this realm. in her silence, seulgi ponders if diving into the styx was really necessary. getting her robes wet over kore possibly dying sounds like a fair sacrifice. her entire presence in the underworld spells nothing but trouble, seulgi will need to figure a way to contact zeus, maybe the sire would do something other than messing with mortal women.
“you know,” sooyoung starts, “you don’t seem like a ruler.”
frowning, seulgi huffs, "what is that supposed to mean?"
"my other mother, the goddess of the sky and all that," the girl hums, "would never let her subjects disrespect her like that.
disrespect is a strong word; the bonds she's forged with her chthonic subjects offers room for tomfoolery and banter. this is but a regular day for the residents of the underworld, except for the whole diving into the styx, no sane being takes a dip in any of the rivers.
seulgi lets out a scoff, "olympus must be a miserable place, huh?"
"i'm sure the underworld is really different." the goddess muses with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
the ruler sighs, "you're not getting past the judges, sooyoung."
"are you going to stop me, hades?"
hearing her mortal-given name roll off sooyoung’s tongue feels … odd. the only ones who addressed her as such are usually the mortals themselves, or demigods, if she ever crossed paths with those poor kids. with the moniker hades, comes the obligation to take her job a little more seriously. but considering how her subjects have defied her in front of sooyoung, there’s no need to put up a false front.
seulgi deadpans, "only the dead can get in and you’re very much alive."
"that's what they said about cerberus too." sooyoung snorts.
"her job is to keep the souls in and she does a good job!" seulgi grumbles defensively.
"relax, i think she's adorable," the goddess chuckles, "she could really use a nickname though, cerberus sounds too … vicious …”
seulgi purses her lips, no one has to know that she secretly calls her hound cerbie when no one is around, certainly not sooyoung.
“you’re not nicknaming my dog.”
“come on, you seem way more relaxed compared to my mothers, let me just have some fun here.” sooyoung pleads with a pout.
the lord contemplates letting the souls drag her into the waters, just to let her have a taste of fun but demeter would probably decapitate her. with the dock coming into sight, their little ride is coming to an end. there’s no way she can wrestle sooyoung back to the entrance, instead, she offers up a peaceful ultimatum that should work in her favour.
“if the judges let you in, i will personally accompany you for a day.”
“only a day?”
“it’s more than enough time to tour the realm,” seulgi eyes the girl, “if they don’t let you in, you have to return to olympus and never come back.”
“so if they do let me in, i’m free to roam around forever?”
“no!” seulgi cries, “one day in the underworld and then back to the surface, deal?”
sooyoung hums with a cocky smirk, a nod indicates she accepts the terms. “just so you know, the fates have been on my side lately.”
seulgi bites back a retort as charon docks the boat, leaving the souls to depart as he extends a bony hand to his ruler, hoisting her out of the waters with ease. winking, sooyoung gets in line with the other souls awaiting judgement. in the meantime, her ire is turned towards charon.
“you’re getting a new boat with a special seat for me.” she grunts.
the ferryman accepts his fate wordlessly, continuing his endless toil as he rows away.
considering how she caused the latest plague, there’s no way the fates would be on her side. they’ve been messing with her since the start of time, this is just another one of those hey let’s mess with hades for the shits and giggles moments. she’ll just have to wait and see, perhaps throw in a prayer or two, anything but the goddess of verdure spending a day in her realm.
but seulgi should know that the fates are never kind, not to her at least.