Black chains draw Sisyphus from the fractured road. Hades leads him toward Tartarus, while Thanatos follows to seal the judgment and guard the passage.
Sisyphus
You cannot bury a king in darkness. Corinth still belongs to me.
Hades
Corinth belongs to the living. Your reign ends where your victims' suffering began.
Merope remains beneath the fading stars, watching until Sisyphus disappears into the Underworld's black descent. She offers no farewell, only a final witness to his sentence.
At the quiet shelf, Valintal's ashes cool around his broken sword. His name is carried safely into Hades' keeping, remembered as steadfast rather than sick.
Thanatos
His sacrifice bought more than victory. It preserved the kingdom that sheltered you, Ares, and the order he hoped to serve.
Ares returns with Hades and Thanatos through the sealed boundary toward the Underworld. Behind them, Corinth endures, and ahead lie its gates, its people, and the family awaiting protection.
“Does Sisyphus have any heirs who can take the throne now that he is gone?”
NO, AND WORSE (Even, rolled 97)
At the Underworld gates, a messenger from Corinth arrives beneath a veil of dust. He kneels before Hades, carrying no royal seal and no heir's claim.
Hades
There is no child, sibling, or chosen successor to inherit Sisyphus's throne. Corinth stands leaderless.
Before relief can settle, the messenger lowers his head further. Sisyphus left no orderly council behind. His captains are already dividing the city, each claiming the crown.
Thanatos
Worse than an empty throne. Corinth may fracture before the living can choose who follows him.
Merope
Then his final legacy is another struggle among the people he ruled. I will return and keep his captains from turning the streets into a battlefield.
Hades looks toward Ares, the gates behind them and Corinth beyond the mortal boundary. The judgment is complete, but the kingdom Sisyphus corrupted now needs protection from its inheritance.
Hades
Your vengeance is finished, Ares. What comes next is not his throne to claim, but a city waiting to learn whether justice can outlive its king.
“I wait until Merope has left, then my voice lowers as I confide in Hades and Thanatos. "You've given me more than I can ever repay, Uncle. Having you and Thanatos back, safe and sound... no vengeance I take can compare to that."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -3)
Merope watches the last ash drift from Valintal’s pyre, then turns toward the mortal boundary. Her constellations fade as she leaves the Underworld gates in silence.
When she is gone, the gates settle into stillness. Ares lowers his voice, speaking privately with Hades and Thanatos beneath the cold lamps of the Underworld.
Ares
You've given me more than I can ever repay, Uncle. Having you and Thanatos back, safe and sound... no vengeance I take can compare to that.
The confession leaves Ares hoarse, and the strain reopens the cut at his ankle beneath its rough binding. A single dark thread marks the stone.
Hades
You owe us nothing, Ares. You came when we were taken, and you carried more than vengeance through that darkness. You carried us home.
Thanatos
And you gave Valintal an ending worthy of his courage. That is repayment enough, though I know you will still try to offer more.
Hades
Come inside, nephew. Let the kingdom rest, and let yourself rest with it. Family is not a debt to be settled.
Hades
Your vengeance is complete, Ares. Corinth now needs protection, but you need rest.
Thanatos
Valintal's sacrifice endured. His ashes rest, and so may you.
Ares
Thank you. Both of you. For bringing us home.
The words reopened the wound in Ares's ankle, but Hades steadied him and Thanatos stood close beside them.
Hades
Family is not a debt.
Together, they passed beneath the Underworld gates, leaving the mortal boundary quiet behind them.
Above, Corinth waited beneath a fragile peace, its captains facing the work of becoming a kingdom again. Below, Ares returned to his restored family, carrying grief, gratitude, and the knowledge that Valintal's sacrifice had not been in vain. The gates closed softly, and the long night finally became rest.