Charon was a skilled boatman, and the boat showed no sign of bumps.

He stirred the dead bamboo on the bow of the boat from time to time, and the boat moved between the main road and the tributaries.

The river was covered with heavy fog, and the undead working on both sides could only vaguely see the shadow of the boat. Even so, they stopped working and paid attention to the two of them.

Charon knew how to observe people's emotions. He noticed that Hephaestus had been observing the undead cultivating on the shore, so he rowed the boat very slowly so that Hephaestus could enjoy the scenery along the way with enough interest.

But Hephaestus suddenly asked him an unclear question.

"Will the undead at the bottom of the river never be freed?"

Charon was stunned.

He couldn't tell whether he liked it more or disliked it more. Hephaestus' face was expressionless, and he couldn't tell why.

But he still answered honestly: "No."

"Human obsession has its limits. As long as the undead souls crossing the river are willing to give me the gold coins turned into their obsessions, I will carry them across the river."

"The undead at the bottom of the river are unwilling to let go of their obsessions."

"But as time goes by, they will eventually let go, and at that time, I will fish them out."

Hephaestus asked: "Is there anyone you don't want to let go of?"

Charon shook his head: "Not yet."

"At most a hundred years, they will give up their persistence."

"Most of the undead who sink to the bottom will not be able to bear it for a decade or twenty."

Charon then asked: "Your Majesty, are you looking for special materials?"

"Do you need me to keep an eye on it for you?"

Hephaestus stood at the stern of the boat, as if in a daze, and after half a minute he replied: "Oh, it's okay."

"I'm just asking casually."

There was no talking all the way, and the boat continued to move forward.

Hephaestus noticed that they entered a special tributary.

In front, the branches of the four rivers of the underworld meet here. On the left is the red river of fire, on the right is the turbid tears of mankind. In front is the river of oaths that can bind the gods, Styx.

And what they were in was a river of resentment flowing with the souls of the dead.

When the ship entered the confluence of four rivers, Charon, like a dutiful steward, stopped as promised.

Hephaestus leaned down to observe the river of forgetfulness, which can make people forget the past.

The water in the river is very clear. Although it is at the intersection of four rivers, there are no waves on the river.

He took a handful of river water and could feel the forgotten rules flowing in the water.

Very weak, but very special.

This special power comes from Styx, the River of Oaths, which allows the forgotten rules in the water to weakly affect the gods.

Putting down the water in his hands, Hephaestus felt regretful.

The same goes for success, and the same goes for failure.

When four rivers meet, the rules of forgetfulness can be born in the water here. It is also the intersection of four rivers that will dilute the power of Styx, the river of oaths, to restrain the gods.

Having lost the power to restrain the gods, for the powerful gods, forgetting the rules is like worthless food, tasteless, and a pity to abandon.

He said to Charon: "Go on."

Charon's obedient sliding boat.

On the shore of the River of Oaths, Hephaestus disembarked.

He said to Charon who was waiting respectfully: "Go back, I have to walk the rest of the way by myself."

Charon asked: "Your Majesty, when should I pick you up for your return trip?"

Hephaestus waved his hand: "You don't need to come, I can just go back by myself."

Charon was still respectful, and asked again: "When should I report the news of your coming to the underworld to His Majesty Pluto?"

Hephaestus: "Just repay me normally. Don't worry, I have no other purpose in coming to the underworld and I won't embarrass you."

Charon didn't feel any embarrassment at all when his thoughts were read. He thanked him and left in the boat.

Hephaestus watched him until the boat was no longer visible.

Then he raised his hand to cut through the space and took out a lantern from his temple.

The style of the lamp is like an ancient palace lantern, with an easy-to-grasp handle. It uses Hera's treasure, the branches on the golden apple tree, as the skeleton, and the gauze woven with the thread of destiny as the lampshade.

The lampshade is filled with paintings of mountains, rivers, birds, animals, fish and insects, people and interesting stories, full of a sense of history.

Staring at this lamp, it seems as if the past history is emerging one by one before my eyes.

However, this lamp lacks the most critical part, the light.

Hephaestus did not deceive Charon. The purpose of his coming to the underworld was simply to get water from the Styx.

He wants to perfect this artifact that is consistent with historical authority, the 'Streaming Light'.

In order to help him change Linkos' fate, his friend Clotho could no longer bear the backlash of fate.

Hephaestus prepared for the worst. If Clotho was accidentally involved in fate, the streamer would be the capital to rescue her.

As for the thing that can compete with the power of fate, Styx, who can bind the oaths of the gods, is definitely one of them.

Its river water is the perfect light for a streamer.

Under the will of Hephaestus, the river Styx rose up without wind, forming a waterspout in the sky, and then got into the streamer, and three flames also appeared on Hephaestus' shoulders and head.

.

"go."

Following Hephaestus's command, the three flames left their positions and merged into one in the air. It penetrated into the streamer and released its infinite heat towards the river water that condensed into a point.

The river water that Hephaestus needs seems to be endless. Not only does the waterspout in the sky not dissipate, it actually grows in size.

In the streamer lamp, water and fire are intertwined. It is not simply the fire that boils the water or the water that extinguishes the fire, but the power of the flame to regenerate the water of the Styx and give it a new meaning.

In just a short moment, Hephaestus's flames and the water of Styx fought and merged countless times.

Finally, as if it had reached its ultimate sublimation, the river water condensed into water droplets burned. It was a faint blue flame, and the gentle blue light illuminated the gloomy old trees on the bank.

The three flames completed their mission, they flew out of the lamp and disappeared above the head and shoulders of Hephaestus.

Holding the full power of the lantern, Hephaestus breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, he can handle even the worst situation with ease.

…

Like all the gods who had seen the power of the River of Oaths, Hephaestus was suddenly curious about where the source of this river was.

So he carried a streamer and swam upstream to trace the source of the river.

He moved forward for a while and saw a steady stream of water flowing from the void into the river.

At this point, most gods would have no choice but to give up, but this would not be a problem for a powerful god.

Following the veins of space, Hephaestus stepped into the void and continued to trace.

In the void, the more he walked, the more surprised he became. Stepping out of the void, there was actually a world outside, in chaos.

A borderless darkness lies here, and the river of Styx flows through the darkness from afar.

Hephaestus knew this darkness, which was the true form of Erebus, the god of darkness, one of the original five gods.

The god made very few appearances on earth and was said to have fallen into a deep sleep.

As long as the gods abide by the rules he set and do not emit any light in the darkness, they can walk in his body, otherwise they will be expelled.

Hephaestus put away the streamer and had no intention of giving up tracing.

But when he was about to step into the darkness, he found that the darkness was like a wall with substance and he could not walk at all.

Hephaestus stared at the boundless darkness and swallowed.

It seems...the rumors are false!

This great god is always awake.

And... he was refused entry.
Chapter completed!