(Greek Mythology) The Abyss
Chapter Twenty-One
"Brother, you should do something about Nyx!" The mighty Dark God, one of the five creator gods, sat dejectedly in the back garden of the Abyss Temple, complaining to Tartarus across a table about his wife's tyranny.
"What's wrong?" Tartarus asked, trying to suppress a slight twitch of his lips.
Seriously, Erebus, could you please not wear such a pitiful expression on your otherwise imposing and majestic exterior? Do you even realize how incongruous this looks?
"Sigh…" With a long sigh, Erebus began to recount his miserable experiences of the past few days with a bitter face.
First, he had to endure Knicks's completely unpredictable rage. Being scolded was bad enough, but if he tried to express concern and asked a few extra questions, she'd suspect ulterior motives. If he simply kept quiet, she'd accuse him of being cold and indifferent. It was simply unbearable!
Eribos felt utterly speechless; it seemed like whatever he did was wrong.
Second, he had to endure Knicks's "loved cooking." Yes, Knicks didn't blow up the kitchen anymore, but the food he made now was essentially an upgraded version of Hemera's culinary disasters. The ingredients had been carefully selected to withstand Knicks's brutal cooking, and since they had survived Knicks's hands, well… they probably wouldn't kill a first-generation god, right? (Hesitant)
As for the effort to genuinely praise the food afterward without showing any discomfort, that was another story. Heaven knows he wasn't exactly the type to smile easily!
Then there were other bizarre and miserable requests, like helping to test out Knicks' new inventions, or being asked to find a bunch of seven-colored flowers (what the hell were those seven-colored flowers? He'd never even heard of them!).
Erebus was practically begging his wife to kneel down in exasperation. How could she come up with all these ways to torment him? He was utterly baffled.
After hearing Erebus's tearful tale, even Tartarus couldn't help but want to light a candle for him—no, a whole row of candles. It was a truly heartbreaking story, so incredibly difficult for him to survive. Erebus, it's a miracle you're still alive.
"Did you do something to offend Knicks?"
"No, I just don't know why she's angry?" Erebus looked completely bewildered. He genuinely didn't know what he'd done to trigger Knicks's temper. They say a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, but he felt finding a needle in the ocean was easier than figuring out what Knicks was thinking.
"Is she pregnant?" It's said that pregnant women are emotionally unstable, and the goddess must be too. After thinking for a moment, Tartarus was uncertain. He hadn't seen either of his sisters when they were pregnant, and could only guess based on what he'd read in books. (So, Your Majesty, what books have you been reading?)
Uh… suddenly he felt like a terrible older brother, what to do?
"No," Erebus said weakly. If only she were just pregnant.
Based on Erebus's answer, Tartarus was sure he wasn't wrong, but he still didn't understand what was wrong with Nyx.
"Go ask Aether or Hemera," Tartarus suggested, having no other choice.
"Aether or Hemera?" Erebus was taken aback. He hadn't thought of that, but probably few would think of asking their own children, but considering it carefully, it wasn't a bad idea.
"I'll ask them when I get back. I really don't know what Nix…"
"What's wrong with me, darling? What are you talking about?" A soft voice sounded from behind Erebus.
Stiffly turning around, Erebus felt a chill run down his spine when faced with his wife's overly bright smile. "Uh… nothing, I didn't say anything to you."
Tartarus turned away, unable to bear looking at Erebus's silly expression any longer; it was simply unbearable.
What to do? He absolutely didn't want to admit that this idiot was his brother!
As the saying goes, daughters should be pampered while sons should be raised frugally (…something felt off), which means sisters need to be spoiled, while brothers don't. So Tartarus comfortably ignored Erebus's pleading eyes and let Nix drag (or rather, pull) Erebus away.
Erebus, may you have a safe journey. (Lights a candle for him)
But speaking of which, haven't there been a lot of relationship problems lately?
Thinking of Erebus and Nyx, and then of Aether and Hemera, Tartarus was certain. There had indeed been quite a few of these things lately.
Yes, his casual guess had come true. Aether had actually fallen for Hemera. But considering Aether's sister-complex, it wasn't surprising. The boundaries of affection are blurred, and gods don't have the same ethical and moral concepts as humans; sibling relationships are practically normal.
Aether hadn't deliberately hidden it, so it was an open secret. Everyone was shamelessly watching the drama unfold with great interest—they'd been bored for far too long.
Right now, probably only Hemera, one of the parties involved, was still unaware. Her emotional intelligence was astonishing, even to the gods. Nyx had once lamented to Tartarus about it, wondering how she could have given birth to such a clueless daughter, who, apart from her face, bore almost no resemblance to her.
Congratulations to Hemera for being labeled as having low emotional intelligence after her previous "clumsy and adorable" image. How delightful! (Not really!!)
While everyone agrees that Hemera's emotional intelligence is low, Tartarus sees it differently.
Rather than being slow-witted, it's more accurate to say she simply hasn't integrated into this world.
Thinking of Hemera's unconscious fear in his presence, and her continued descent into the abyss despite this, Tartarus's lips curled into a cold, emotionless smile. His eyes were indifferent, showing no emotion even towards things he usually enjoyed.
He has always been cold-blooded, both then and now. Otherwise, why would those inherently arrogant gods be so respectful before him? Simply out of respect? Don't be ridiculous. Respect might exist—after all, strength reigns supreme in this world—but ultimately, it's still fear.
He had never hidden his indifference, yet Hemera still liked to gravitate towards him. Wasn't what that meant obvious?
He was escaping reality, subconsciously ignoring and forgetting certain things. Truly, there's no cure for stupidity. If he continued with this mindset, it would be too late to regret it when he suffered a painful lesson.