The stairway opens into a vast hall of black stone, lit by cold lamps that burn without flame. Hades waits at the far end beneath the weight of his throne, and the air itself feels judged. Ares hauls Sisyphus forward between him and Thanatos.
Thanatos
You have him at last. Keep him there.
Sisyphus
Great lord, hear me. I am a king, I am useful, I can still be spared.
Hades
You cheated death, stole my servant, and broke the balance of the world. Speak less of usefulness.
Sisyphus strains against his bonds, eyes darting for mercy that does not come. Thanatos steps beside Ares, calm but pale with strain, while Hades rises from the throne with a slow, terrible stillness.
Thanatos
The lie is smaller than the crime. He knows it now.
Hades
Ares, you brought him here. The final choice is mine, but the proof is yours to present. Will you place him before judgment?
Ares stands at the threshold of the verdict, Sisyphus bound before Hades, Thanatos at his side, and the hall waiting for the word that ends this chase.
“Sisyphus claims that his wife Merope has dumped his corpse in the public square without a proper burial. This is a direct violation of Hades' laws concerning proper respect for the dead. Sisyphus requests a temporary return to the mortal realm to haunt Merope and arrange a proper burial as required by Hades' own laws. Does Hades grant the request?”
NO, AND WORSE (VeryUnlikely, rolled 83)
Hades
Your wife has not abandoned your rites, Sisyphus. She has sold your body to the carrion birds to ensure you never return to the light of day.
Sisyphus
No... she would not. She loves me.
Hades
She loves the peace of a world without your schemes more than she loves you. There will be no return, and no burial.
“I testify truthfully and defer to Hades' judgment regarding Sisyphus' fate.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +2)
Ares
I testify plainly, Hades. Sisyphus has cheated death, bound your servant, and brought this ruin upon Corinth. I leave his fate to your judgment.
The hall falls still around Ares's words. The cold lamps tremble in their own darkness, and the violet seam of the old trap seems to answer with a faint pulse from far below.
Thanatos
That is just. No ornament, no excuse. You speak as one who understands what was stolen.
Hades
You have learned restraint, nephew. I hear the truth in you, and I value it.
Hades straightens on the throne, his verdict settling over the chamber like iron laid upon stone. Sisyphus does not look up.
Hades
Sisyphus will not return to the light. Let the Underworld keep what his own hands have claimed.
Thanatos exhales, weary relief softening his shoulders. The hall remains dark, but the judgment is complete, and no one speaks against it.
The judgment hall fell quiet as Hades' voice faded into stone.
Thanatos
It is done. At last, death is whole again.
Ares
Then let the living remember the cost of breaking it.
Hades
Go. Set the mortal realm to rights.
Ares left the Underworld with Thanatos's weary blessing and Hades' cold decree behind him. Above, the breach had been sealed, but its scars still marked the mortal world. Death had returned to its rightful place, and at last the balance held.