The God of Underworld Chapter 187 - 31

Underworld. Hades’ Office.

The God of Underworld was quietly signing the last page of a report when the air in his office suddenly warped.

Dark mist curled across the floor like living shadows, swallowing the light, before blooming into a tall, elegant figure.

Nyx.

She looked radiant, her hair shimring like the night sky, her lips curved in a knowing smile.

"Hello, Hades," she said, her voice a low lody as she glided to the couch and sat with effortless grace.

Hades set his pen down, leaning back slightly in his chair.

"Nyx," he said evenly. "You’re early. I thought nightfall wasn’t for another hour. Why are you here."

Nyx tilted her head, feigning hurt.

"What, I can’t visit the Lord of the Underworld in his office? Or..." she smiled wickedly, "do you not want here?"

Hades gave her a flat look. "If I didn’t, you wouldn’t have made it through the door."

"True. That ans you want here." She crossed one leg over the other, watching him with lazy amusent. "Relax, I’m not here to cause trouble. I ca because there’s sothing amusing going on in your realm."

Hades sighed. "If this is about the betting pool—"

"It is." Nyx grinned. "Do you know how entertaining it is to watch your spirits argue over which goddess you’ll choose? I’ve been dropping by taverns just to listen. It’s better than any play the Muses could compose."

Hades gave her a deadpan stare. "I think you’re enjoying this far too much."

"Of course I am," she said brightly. "Though, I must say, I’m a little insulted."

Hades raised a brow. "Insulted?"

"Yes." Nyx’s smile thinned, though her tone stayed playful. "I started the betting pool, and yet, so few voted for . Can you believe it?"

Hades blinked. "...You started it?"

"Obviously," she said, shrugging. "I would sotis disguise myself to relax. I like to gossip about your love life, but the conversation got so out of control I decided to start a betting pool. But really, you’d think being the first woman to have you would earn a few more bets."

Hades pinched the bridge of his nose. "And you sound so proud of that?"

"Of course," Nyx said, almost purring now. "You were mine before anyone else. Before Aphrodite started blushing around you. Before Hera started sneaking glances. Even before little Hecate followed you around like a shadow."

Hades gave her a cool look, but there was a faint trace of amusent in his eyes. "You’re talking like we were lovers."

Nyx smirked, leaning forward slightly. "Weren’t we? Or do you want to remind you how many nights we shared?"

Hades’ pen stilled in his hand. "...You just ca here to tease ."

Nyx chuckled. "Partly. But mostly to remind you that, if there was a competition, I won it before it even started."

Hades smirked faintly. "If that helps you sleep."

"Oh, I sleep just fine," Nyx said, her grin returning. "But it does irritate that I’m not the favorite. Aphrodite is winning by a landslide, Hera isn’t far behind, and Hecate is gaining votes every day. Even Gaia has more votes than ! And she’s not even in Underworld!"

Hades humd. "Sounds about right."

Nyx narrowed her eyes playfully. "You could at least say I still have a chance."

"You don’t need my reassurance," Hades replied calmly. "You know exactly where we stand."

Nyx laughed softly, lounging back on the couch. "True. But don’t be surprised if I start campaigning for myself. I’d hate for the others to forget who claid you first."

Hades shook his head and picked up his pen again, muttering under his breath, "I should put a ban on gambling in the capital."

Nyx smirked. "You won’t. You like the attention."

"Like is a strong word," Hades said, but his lips twitched as if he was fighting a smile.

Nyx noticed, grinning wider. "See? I knew it."

There was silence in the room for a few monts.

Then, Hades’ smirk faded, the air in the room heavy. He set his pen down and leaned back in his chair, golden eyes narrowing.

"Nyx," he said quietly. "What do you really want?"

Nyx’s teasing smile vanished. She straightened, her presence filling the room with a cold, vast weight.

"I’ve been traveling," she said, her tone asured. "Universe to universe. Realm to realm. Seeking out the gods who remain, and planning on inviting them into our alliance."

Hades stayed silent, waiting.

"The situation is worse than we imagined," Nyx continued. "Pantheons I visited eons ago are gone. Entire universes, swallowed whole by the Outer Entities. No afterlife, no fragnts, nothing left to reincarnate. Just... void."

Hades’ brows furrowed. "Which ones?"

"The Nā Akua. Gone. The Canaanites are erased, not even traces of Baal or El remain. The Javanese have also disappeared, leaving not even fragnts of their existence."

Hades’ fingers tapped against the table, his gaze distant.

Nyx continued, her tone grim. "I’ve tried expanding my search, to see if there are still other universes close to us that we can invite to our alliance, but... It’s no good, I can’t find any."

Hades nodded slowly. "So our mbers remains as is."

"For now," Nyx admitted.

Hades humd.

"Also, I’ve been thinking..." Nyx suddenly said, "This alliance of ours is very flawed. I an, if one of our mbers is attacked, we rally our troops and travel to their universe to assist. Quite troubleso. Any second of delay against those beings could an annihilation."

Hades’ gaze shifted back to her. "Then what do you propose?"

Nyx stood and walked to the window, looking out at the sprawling city of Nox.

"I had an idea when I visited the Norse," she said. "Their realms were interconnected. Nine Realms bound together by Yggdrasil. Each distinct, but united under one cosmology."

She turned back to face Hades, her dark eyes glinting.

"Why don’t we do the sa? Not just an alliance. A complete union. rge our universes into one hyperverse. Bring every pantheon willing to survive into one shared reality. One system, one defense. A single fortress against the void."

Hades was silent for a long ti, then chuckled dryly. "You make it sound simple."

"It is not simple," Nyx said bluntly. "It will take power, negotiation, and sacrifice. But it can be done. And if we do it, we will stop being isolated pieces on a board. We will beco sothing the Outer Entities cannot devour one at a ti."

Hades shook his head. "And you think they’ll agree to that? The Egyptians, the Norse, the Hindus? They can barely sit in the sa room without threatening each other. And don’t forget, you are completely enemies with almost every mber of our alliance. Especially the Celtics."

Nyx smirked faintly, though her eyes stayed cold. "Then we make them agree. Convince them, bargain with them, force them if we must. Survival is not a debate."

Hades looked at her for a long mont, then exhaled through his nose. "You’re asking for the biggest unification in all of existence."

"Yes," Nyx said, her tone steady. "Because anything less is just waiting to die."

Hades leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, expression sharp. "Even if it’s possible, Nyx... how do we do it? rging entire clusters of universes into one hyperverse isn’t just magic. It’s rewriting existence."

His tone was flat but heavy, a reminder that this was not a casual debate. "Even I could clash two universes together if I wanted. But that would destroy them, not fuse them."

Nyx nodded slowly, acknowledging the weight of his words. "That’s why I said I need ti. If I can convince Odin to cooperate, we can study their Yggdrasil. That old cyclops has already rged several independent realms into a single cosmology. If we can replicate and improve that process, we can make it work on a multiversal scale."

Hades frowned. "Only if Odin agrees. And that is a very big ’if.’ You think he’ll just hand over his secrets?"

A small smirk curved Nyx’s lips. "Odin is paranoid, but he’s not a fool. He knows the dangers of the outer ones and knew they won’t be able to fend them off. If I offer him a way to protect what’s left of his people, he’ll listen."

Hades drumd his fingers on the desk. "Even if he does, no other leader of a pantheon will easily agree to this. You know that. These are gods who rule entire universe. Why would they give up sovereignty and share a throne with others? Why would they risk becoming just one voice in a council?"

"And if they agree," Hades continued, his tone sharpening, "they will expect soone to lead the union, and each of them wanted to be that leader. But as the only transcendent being among them, that soone will inevitably be ."

He gave her a pointed look. "You expect Lugh, Ra, Shiva, and the others to submit to ? Do you know how arrogant those god-kings are? They will fight before they kneel."

Nyx’s smirk faded. She sighed softly, lowering herself into the couch. "You’re right. They would never accept it right now."

The room was quiet for a mont, the soft scratching of Hades’ pen from earlier long since forgotten.

Nyx finally spoke again, voice calm. "Then we wait. Let them see more pantheons fall. Let them feel the threat breathing down their necks. When they finally realize their thrones an nothing in an empty void, they will co to us willingly."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "You want to let them suffer first?"

Nyx gave a small, cold smile. "Oh dear, that’s a rather harsh word. I call it, ’teaching them to prioritise survival over their pride’."

Hades stared at her for a mont, then chuckled under his breath. "You really are terrifying sotis."

Nyx tilted her head, her faint smirk returning. "You wouldn’t like otherwise."

Hades let out a slow sigh and finally reached for his pen again. "Fine. We’ll wait. But the mont you have Odin’s answer, you tell . If this plan is going to work, we need to prepare before the void swallows another ally."

Nyx nodded, satisfied. "Of course. You’ll be the first to know."