After Ares successfully misled a group of Atlanteans, Hecate quickly used her authority as the great Moon Goddess of the Underworld to smooth things over. Charon, the ferryman, immediately let the Atlanteans cut the line, carrying them across the River Acheron of woe to the Fields of Truth on the other side.
However, during this process, the Atlantean civilian controlled by Ares "accidentally" fell off the boat due to the waves on the River Styx, screaming as he plunged into the river and was devoured by the numerous water ghosts within.
Although the Atlanteans wanted to save this clever and interesting civilian, they abandoned their plan after Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx, warned them.
Charon quickly ferried them across the River Styx, and upon disembarking, this group of Atlanteans arrived at a vast, boundless gray plain. This was the Fields of Truth, located within the Underworld, used for judging departed souls.
Upon the Atlanteans' arrival, divine messengers from the Underworld quickly came to lead them. Several Nymphss of the Underworld, theoretically Lamphades under Hecate's supervision, guided this group of Atlanteans along a path. At the end of the path, they saw one of the twin gods of the Underworld, Hypnos, the God of Sleep, as well as the ruler of the Underworld, Hades, a taciturn old man holding a bident and dressed in black robes.
Upon seeing the true forms of the Heavenly Gods, the Atlanteans were so intimidated by their divine might that they dared not move, standing silently in place, awaiting the King of the Underworld's judgment.
As expected, after the King of the Underworld used his divine power to review the Atlanteans' entire lives, he quickly rendered a verdict. Many of the royal family and nobles among the Atlanteans were sentenced by the King of the Underworld to suffer punishment in Tartarus, including the Third King of Atlantis who commanded the Atlantean expeditionary force.
Just as Hypnos, the God of Sleep and the King of the Underworld's right-hand man, calmly announced the King of the Underworld's judgment to them, the face of his beloved princess appeared in the mind of this Atlantean king and commander. At this moment, he finally broke free from Hades's divine suppression, then immediately rushed to the King of the Underworld, knelt before him, and pleaded:
"Great Hades, please give me a chance to reform. I am willing to exchange a piece of information that is very valuable to you for the right to go to Elysium."
"How dare you!"
Hypnos stepped forward, his aura pressing down on the mortal ghost:
"How dare you make demands of the King of the Underworld?"
"Hypnos."
Hades stopped the God of Sleep, who was about to punish this mortal, and then spoke to the Atlantean ghost in a gentle voice:
"Atlantean, once my judgment is made, it cannot be changed. Therefore, I am sorry, whether or not you tell me this information, I cannot allow you to go from Tartarus to Elysium. Your lifetime of atrocities is too numerous; you must go to Tartarus to receive punishment."
"However, if you are willing to tell me this information, then when your relatives and friends die, I can have Charon bring them to me in advance to receive my judgment, so they do not have to linger in the Underworld Garden. How does that condition sound to you?"
"Thank you, great Hades! I have a daughter. Although she may not have passed away yet, she is a gentle, kind, and lovely beautiful girl. I believe she will certainly be eligible to go to Elysium. At that time, please take good care of her."
The Atlantean commander pleaded as he spoke.
"Very well." Hades nodded and then said, "Tell me the information you spoke of."
"Yes." The Atlantean commander lowered his head and said, "Actually, we heard that your two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, along with the Gods on Olympus, want to plot against you. They fear your power and authority, so they want to find a mistress for the Underworld to restrain you. They want to force you to go out and forcibly take a Goddess to be your wife, and this Goddess will become the Queen of the Underworld."
"What?"
Hypnos exclaimed in surprise:
"A free wife? Isn't that a good thing?"
"Alright, shut up."
Hades glared at his subordinate. Although the brothers Hypnos and Thanatos were second-generation Gods born from the primordial Gods Nyx and Erebus, and theoretically should be considered nature deities born from the mist and night of the Underworld, on par with Titans like Cronus, these two brothers were thousands upon thousands of years old virgins... old Ares, the brothers had no experience in love, and Thanatos, the God of Death, had no interest in love either.
The brothers' knowledge and theories on matters of emotion were roughly equivalent to idiocy. However, although Hypnos had never been in love, he recently seemed to have developed a great interest in "getting a wife" for some inexplicable reason, and firmly believed that having a wife was a good thing, completely failing to understand the intricacies involved.
As a third-generation God, Hades really did not want to patiently explain to Hypnos, who was theoretically his uncle, why marrying a wife was not necessarily a good thing. So, after reprimanding Hypnos, he ignored the God of Sleep and instead asked the Atlantean commander:
"Where exactly did you hear this information?"
"The Atlantean tavern, of course."
The Atlantean commander said without hesitation:
"Going there feels just like coming home. Sleeping in the tavern feels much better than sleeping at home. All the old guys in there are brilliant; they even know what nonsense the God of the Sea babbles when he's drunk. I absolutely love it there."
"I understand."
Hades nodded, then instructed:
"Menoetes, take them to where they need to go."
Behind Hades, his herdsman respectfully nodded, then led this group of Atlanteans to the fork in the great road leading to their respective destinies within the Fields of Truth, guiding this group of Atlanteans to their appropriate destinations.
After watching the Atlanteans disappear at the end of the road, Hypnos continued to ask:
"Hades, if this isn't a good thing for you, how will you avoid it? Should we go to Olympus and demand an explanation from Zeus?"
"Sigh, no need. You two continue your work. The balance of life and Death cannot be broken by such childish power struggles."
Hades let out a long, helpless sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and said very wearily:
"Where is the Moon Goddess these days? I want to go find her."