"You're so slow. Hurry up~ Move it already."
Hypnos flapped the tiny wings on her back, floating slightly off the ground.
Right now, she was hovering in front of Eros, wearing an impatient expression.
However, perhaps due to certain reasons, her tone sounded both arrogant and timid.
Eros strolled leisurely along the banks of the River Styx, his demeanor relaxed and unhurried.
"At your pace, when exactly are we supposed to reach the River of Oaths?"
Hypnos placed her hands on her hips and paced back and forth in front of Eros.
Back inside Eros's Wonder Workshop, at the last critical moment, Hypnos had a sudden epiphany and shouted "Big Brother!" several times at the speed of light.
Thanks to that lightning-fast surrender, she barely escaped the clutches of all those bizarre wonder tools.
Thus, the two reached an agreement. Hypnos, holding her nose in disdain, accepted Eros as her "big brother."
She also agreed to assist Eros with anything he needed in the Underworld, including but not limited to being his guide, fighting on his behalf, and even acting in his name.
In simple terms, whatever Eros wanted to do in the Underworld, she had to help with it—while also being ready to take the blame if anything went wrong.
Although the arrangement was terribly one-sided, Hypnos reasoned that, as the daughter of Nyx, who in the Underworld could she possibly not afford to offend?
Those she truly couldn't afford to offend were basically all her older sisters. And if Eros did run into any of them…
Hmph. Even if Mother was mysteriously tolerating this human, her sisters were definitely not the forgiving type.
Endure, Hypnos!
Of course, even if she was enduring, her nature was hard to suppress.
Hypnos couldn't help but reveal that bratty and arrogant gremlin energy in her daily speech and actions.
To this, Eros simply thought: Little gremlin succubus? I like it.
"Why are you in such a rush? I can't fly across the Underworld like you can. Of course I'll be slower."
Eros countered righteously.
Hypnos was a bonafide Underworld goddess. With Nyx as the creator of the Underworld, naturally she could ignore any flight restrictions over the River Styx.
But he was just an ordinary human. He didn't have the convenience of bypassing such rules.
Still, Hypnos didn't believe him for a second.
After all, hadn't Eros literally jumped out of the River Styx when they first met? How could someone like that claim they couldn't cross it?
She pouted, not really wanting to argue further, but then blurted out instinctively:
"Big Brother, you're so useless."
Crap! What if he gets mad and pulls out one of those freaky tools again?
But after watching Eros closely and seeing no signs of him punishing her, Hypnos finally let out a breath of relief.
Of course, this was all part of Eros's plan.
It was like training a horse. If all you did was whip and restrict it, it would gradually lose its ability to run.
Sometimes, you had to use the whip, but other times, you had to let it run free and express its true nature.
That was the only way.
Right now, Eros's strategy was to give Hypnos a bit of freedom.
Once she got too carried away, that would be the perfect moment for discipline.
Hmm… should he start with her mouth next time, or maybe her feet?
While both of them were scheming their own thoughts, the path ahead was blocked by a river of fire.
The River of Flames—one of the many rivers dividing different parts of the Underworld.
If the mortal world was like isolated islands surrounded by seas, then the Underworld was a jigsaw puzzle split apart by rivers of the dead.
The quietly flowing River of Oaths, the wailing River of Lamentation, the impassable River of Pain, the still River of Forgetfulness…
And finally, the River of Flames, drawn like a border by divine might, eternally burning across the Underworld.
"Looks like this is a dead end."
Eros glanced around. The fiery river stretched out before them, and its far end couldn't be seen.
"What's your deal? Are you even a real native Underworld goddess?"
Faced with Eros's skeptical gaze, Hypnos's cheeks turned red.
She usually flew straight from place to place. Who had time to memorize the layouts of all these rivers?
Damn it, she really wanted to push this guy into the river of fire and see if he'd burn to death.
Glancing around, Hypnos looked for a way to cross the flaming river.
If they had to take a detour again, it'd waste even more time.
Eros didn't mind the delay. He wasn't in any rush to return to the surface.
After all, the Underworld had plenty of beautiful goddesses. Hypnos, the sleep goddess, was already a little succubus.
Then what about Thanatos, the death goddess? Would she be a stoic little death girl? They were twins, after all.
And what about the three Furies? Charon? Not to mention the one Eros was actually looking for—Hecate—who was likely still somewhere in the Underworld.
Hypnos still thought that once she escorted Eros back to the Underworld entrance, she'd be free.
But that was just a lie. Even if they reached the entrance, Eros would still have countless reasons to stay.
Until he had his fill of fun, there was no way she'd get rid of him.
"Eh? Looks like a boat's coming."
While searching for a way to cross, Hypnos spotted something drifting toward them atop the fiery river.
But this wasn't the River of Pain, Acheron. Who would be sailing through the River of Flames?
A black boat parted the burning currents, its hull adorned with golden carvings and bone-like sculptures. Clearly, this wasn't one of the Underworld's regular ferrymen.
"Are you two trying to cross this river?"
A female voice called out from the boat.
Eros looked up, and his small cosmos instantly stirred.
Though she resembled Nyx with her dark veil, Nyx was always shrouded in deeper shadows—her only vivid features were her ever-shifting, luminous eyes.
But this goddess before him wore pure black fabric and a head covering that looked like funeral attire.
Combined with her explosively seductive figure and curves that nearly gave Eros a nosebleed, she had the perfect aura of a tragic widow.
Those gentle, sorrowful eyes… she was the ultimate match for a tragic heroine role.
This boat—he had to get on it. Not getting on would be betraying himself.
"Do you know this goddess?"
Eros glanced at Hypnos, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
He had heard that among Nyx's many children, there was also a goddess of kindness and affection—supposedly called the Silver Goddess.
With a figure like that, could this be her?
"Ah?"
Hypnos froze. She didn't know her at all!
But to save face, she decided to bluff.
"Of course I know her. You're that one… uh…"
She quickly flew up to the woman's side and whispered discreetly.
"My mother is the Goddess of Night, Nyx. If you want to survive in the Underworld, you better understand."
Before the woman could reply, Hypnos started winking furiously, signaling her to play along.
The veiled eyes paused briefly, then curved into a playful smile.
"My name is Edoneus(Aidoneus), dear Hypnos. We met at the Midnight Banquet, remember?"
Not only did she cooperate with Hypnos, but she also smoothly patched up her sloppy lie.
"Yes, yes! That's you!"
Looking at Hypnos and the mysterious man beside her who reeked of multiple divine auras…
The new Queen of the Underworld, Hades, gently curved her lips into a smirk.
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