Greece: Zeus made me the queen of heaven?

Chapter 912 The Self-Cultivation of a Watchdog
Charon's small boat glided slowly across the River Styx, where countless souls floated and sank, their pale, translucent faces drifting across the water.

Some of the dilapidated boats creaked and groaned, and you could even feel something rustling and scratching at the bottom of the boats.

The terrifying and gloomy underworld would make an ordinary person tremble with fear and be extremely wary if they were sitting on a boat that could capsize at any moment and fall into the River Styx to be devoured by countless souls.

The road ahead is an unknown land of the dead, a forbidden zone for the living, a deep and dark place from which no one can return.

Under these circumstances, Orpheus looked at the shadows deep in the underworld with hope on his face, and even played the strings of his lyre with joy.

To him, this journey toward death was perhaps just a long journey to be with his beloved.

Charon silently steered the boat, while Eros had vanished after making a brief appearance.

Even now, Orpheus still believes that it was his sincere love for his beloved that moved Cupid in the heavens, causing him to appear before him.

Sure enough, doing so would bring Eurydice back to his side. With love, even the underworld can be faced with equanimity.

Orpheus played his lyre, expressing his longing for his lover while filling himself with hope for the future.

Charon quickly transported him across the River Styx to the true gates of the underworld, guarded by the terrifying three-headed dog Cerberus.

The terrifying beast guarding the gates of the underworld was as large as a small mountain. Its three greedy and vicious heads dripped with poisonous saliva and sulfurous fire, and it wore a tungsten steel collar around its neck.

With mane like steel needles and a long tail made of venomous snakes, what kind of hero could possibly put a collar on such a terrifying monster, such a ferocious watchdog?

Before even getting close to the guard dog, Orpheus could already feel the intense heat emanating from the beast's blood aura, as well as the pungent stench and sulfurous smell.

Its heartbeat can even be felt through the vibrations of the ground, and the foul wind it exhales when it breathes almost blows away the souls that pass by.

The three-headed dog guards the gates of Hell; no soul can escape from it, nor can anyone sneak into the gates of Hell behind it.

Of course, gods don't count, otherwise how did Demeter get in?
Even a watchdog knows who it can bark at and who it should pretend to be asleep.

After delivering Orpheus to the gray plains, Charon and her small boat quickly disappeared into the mists of the River Styx.

Today's luck is bad, I'd better get out of here quickly.

Only Orpheus remained, standing alone on this gloomy underworld, facing a monster he could not possibly defeat.

His thin arms were too weak to even draw the bowstring; he could only play the strings of the instrument.

From a distance, gazing at the ferocious giant dog lying prone, Orpheus suppressed his fear and slowly approached.

Every step could be accompanied by the risk of startling the three-headed dog and being swallowed whole.

Fortunately, it seemed that they were still some distance from the gates of hell, and Orpheus's actions went unnoticed; Cerberus remained lying there, feigning sleep.

Orpheus's mind gradually calmed down, and after getting a certain distance away, he stopped and sat down on the ground.

He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to gamble his life on the fact that the three-headed dog was actually asleep, without noticing his own extraordinary good fortune.

After he sat down and paused for a moment, he began to pluck the strings, and soothing, gentle notes flowed from his music. But this time, it was not a lament of longing and sorrow, but a soft lullaby.

For the gods who can be moved, what needs to be played is a lament, to beg for their mercy.

Faced with a beast devoid of empathy, Orpheus's prized music could only attempt to soothe it into a deep sleep.

This is how he, whose skills have reached a divine level, dealt with this predicament.

As the lullaby began to play, Cerberus's ears twitched twice, but he did not open his eyes to look. Instead, he slowly relaxed to the soothing music.

Everything was proceeding according to Orpheus's plan, and Eros was watching all of his actions.

"The strategy guide is so complete; it seems someone really wants him to go deep into the underworld."

Eros, who was not visible, observed from the sidelines in an invisible manner. After seeing that Orpheus did not pray anxiously or helplessly, but instead quickly began to take action, he came to this conclusion.

No living person has ever been to the underworld, and only a few fragmentary stories have been passed down about the land of the dead.

Therefore, the one who could guide Orpheus to the underworld and tell him about the difficulties he would encounter along the way was certainly not a mortal.

Perhaps it was Apollo's special mercy in taking pity on his followers, but Apollo is currently busy with matters of having children and probably doesn't have the time for that.

Moreover, if it were Apollo, there would be no need for such trouble. Hope and the protection of light would allow Orpheus to walk calmly, playing his lyre and singing, all the way to Hades.

All obstacles and difficulties will be easily resolved, and things will proceed smoothly as smoothly as could be.

But the fact that such a great deal of effort could only mean that those who helped Orpheus had reasons for not revealing themselves.

"Ha, what a boring conclusion. The Titans, who reject humanity, want to use humanity to achieve their own goals. How ironic."

Without a doubt, the only one with designs on the Underworld, or on the abyss beneath it, is Hyperion.

A celestial god who attempted to liberate the former Titans and once again plunge the world into chaos.

Although Eros could easily thwart the plot by simply stopping Orpheus from advancing, he had no such intention.

Let Him be free, after all, if His hope is not completely crushed again, there will always be those who want to use the Titans in Tartarus to create calamities and overturn Mount Olympus.

Since there are no external matters to deal with right now, let's take this opportunity to resolve the Titan problem once and for all.

Liberate them, then defeat them again, and finally pardon them as a benevolent and wise king.

With that thought in mind, Eros stopped paying attention to Orpheus's journey into the depths of the underworld and instead took flight to inform some relevant people of his decision in advance.

For example, Nyx, the goddess of night closest to the abyss and the creator of the underworld.

(End of this chapter)