Chapter 58 Darkness
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Thanatos exited the restaurant and was about to open the back door of the car when Yanluo had already pulled open the front passenger door, gesturing for him to sit there instead.
“……”
Thanatos wasn’t good at refusing. Even though the proximity of the front seats made him feel suffocated, he still got in.
Being too close to others unsettled him. Back in the restaurant, he had deliberately chosen the seat farthest from Yanluo.
Now, sitting in the passenger seat, Thanatos felt as if he were on pins and needles.
“Next time, sit here,” Yanluo said as he started the car. “You’re the only one who can get in my car, anyway.”
After sharing a meal, Yanluo found himself feeling a bit of affection for this withdrawn kid. His subordinates were all loud and unruly, a handful to manage. Even Bai Wuchang, the only quiet one, was strong enough to take on responsibilities independently. It was the first time Yanluo had encountered someone like Thanatos.
As the God of Death, Thanatos was undoubtedly powerful. Yet in everyday life, he really needed someone to worry about him. He was quiet, reserved, and easily flustered. It reminded Yanluo of an older brother used to dealing with rowdy troublemakers, suddenly encountering a well-behaved younger brother next door, lonely and helpless. Yanluo couldn’t help but want to take care of him a bit.
For the past month, Thanatos hadn’t stepped out of the front door or his bedroom. If no one took the initiative to invite him out, he would probably stay holed up in his room forever. But the world outside was vast and beautiful, how could he just shut himself away? Yanluo decided he would take him out more often, show him around, and be a proper host.
Thanatos blankly thought: Next time?
Today was already more than enough for him.
Thanatos wanted to refuse, but then he reconsidered. Maybe Yanluo was just being polite. If he seriously rejected the offer, wouldn’t that make him seem overly self-important?
So, he kept his mouth shut.
Turning his head, he looked out the window at the scenery rushing past. Golden sunlight spilled over him, but his black robe blocked it all.
“Was it delicious?” Yanluo suddenly asked.
Thanatos turned back, thought for a moment, and nodded. “Delicious.”
Yanluo smiled. “Then, do you want to go out again and try even more delicious food?”
Thanatos turned his head away again. This time, his voice was much softer. “No.”
He wanted to eat more delicious food, but he didn’t want to go out.
His voice had grown quieter, which only made it more obvious that he did want to. Yanluo smiled to himself.
No god could resist the allure of Chinese cuisine. Take the family living in Room 202, for example. Their decision to stay had a lot to do with how good the food was.
Teasingly, Yanluo said, “Come on, little demon, don’t be shy. Your big brother owns a restaurant. Whatever you want to eat, I’ve got it.”
Thanatos held it in for a long time but eventually felt the need to correct him. In a low voice, he said, “Not little demon.”
“Then should I call you ‘little reaper’ instead?” Yanluo adapted easily. “I happened to notice that your hands are a whole size smaller than mine.”
Thanatos turned away. “They’re not.”
“Want to compare?” Yanluo reached out his hand as he spoke.
Yanluo’s fingers were slender, with a jade-white complexion, and the distinct joints of an adult, resembling a beautiful piece of artwork. Thanatos knew at a glance that he was bound to lose.
Even as a second-generation god with a high rank, Thanatos had remained forever in his teen form. In height, build, and even the length of his fingers, he was no match for Yanluo’s youthful form. Compared to him, Thanatos looked more like a delicate figure. If Yanluo wanted, he could completely envelop Thanatos’ hand within his own palm.
But Thanatos didn’t even lift his hand from his robe, making it clear that he refused to play along.
He was also resistant to physical contact with others.
“If you won’t compare, that means you admit defeat,” Yanluo said with a grin. “Little Reaper.”
Thanatos kept his gaze fixed on the window, pretending not to hear.
From that day on, Yanluo gained a new hobby, which was feeding the little reaper.
It would be too much of a shame to let so much good food go untasted. And since he had already decided to take care of this reclusive younger brother, a life filled with gourmet meals was, of course, non-negotiable.
Every day, Yanluo ordered a ridiculous amount of takeout and had it delivered to the apartment. He laid the food out in the living room and invited Thanatos to share the meal with him. Thanatos was too embarrassed to accept, so Yanluo simply pulled out his old tricks. Fanning himself lazily, he teased, “Making money isn’t easy, you know. Just chatting isn’t enough, you have to accompany me to eat and play too. If I tell you to eat, you eat. No refusing, or I’ll dock your pay.”
The way he said it sounded anything but proper, just short of saying “accompany me to sleep.”
Yanluo was willing to sacrifice his dignified image just to get Thanatos to eat a proper meal. It was a painstaking effort, but what choice did he have? This quiet younger brother of his was so well-behaved that it made him feel protective.
Although Thanatos had a high IQ, he was not deeply experienced in the ways of the world and was easily convinced. He took on the role of a dining companion as a job, which significantly reduced his psychological burden.
In truth, he was grateful. Yanluo had given him a job that allowed him to try so many delicious foods that he had never even tried before. But once he had, he couldn’t ignore the temptation of the human world anymore. At the very least, he had developed an appetite.
Because the food was truly good.
By the end of the week, Yanluo had introduced Thanatos to a wide variety of cuisines and, in doing so, had basically figured out his tastes. The slow-witted little reaper hadn’t noticed yet, but at some point, every meal had started aligning perfectly with his preferences. What was supposed to be him accompanying Yanluo to eat had turned more into Yanluo accompanying him.
Eating someone’s food shortens your tongue, and taking someone’s gifts softens your hands. When you share meals with someone every day, it’s hard not to grow familiar with them, no matter how reserved you are. After days of freeloading off Yanluo’s food, Thanatos was finally willing to obediently answer Yanluo’s questions and could even speak in longer sentences.
He still never initiated conversations, but it was a huge improvement from the first month when he would immediately try to avoid Yanluo on sight.
“Here in China, our soul reapers are the Black and White Impermanence. But in Greece, are you the only one?” Yanluo would chat idly with Thanatos whenever he had time.
“Mm.” If it was purely about reaping souls, then there was indeed only one God of Death.
“But if you only take souls, what happens to the body?” Yanluo was genuinely curious about the answer.
In Daoist beliefs, a person had three souls and seven spirits. Losing only the soul but not the spirits could leave someone witless, while losing only the spirits but not the soul could render them comatose. If only the soul was taken, then the body would still be alive, which didn’t count as a complete death.
“My brother is the God of Sleep. He puts humans into eternal slumber,” Thanatos replied.
In the West, there was no concept of three souls and seven spirits, only a soul. Thanatos reaped souls, but that alone wouldn’t cause death. That was why his twin brother, Hypnos, had to step in to make sure the body never woke again.
It was actually quite similar to how the Black and White Impermanence operated where one captured the soul and the other seized the spirits.
Having cleared up the differences in soul reapers, Yanluo moved on. “In the Chinese underworld, we have four major judges: Wei Zheng of the Reward Department, Zhong Kui of the Punishment Department, Lu Zhidao of the Investigation Department, and Cui Jue of the Law Department. Does the Greek underworld have something similar?”
Thanatos nodded. “The underworld has Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus. They judge thoughts, words, and actions, respectively.”
However, these three judges weren’t Hades’ trusted subordinates. They were all sons of Zeus, sent by Zeus himself.
Hades never truly trusted them.
“Does the Greek underworld have anything like Granny Meng’s Soup?”
Thanatos froze for a moment. He had no idea what that was.
“It’s a soup that makes the souls of the dead forget their past lives,” Yanluo explained, noticing Thanatos’ confusion. “Once they drink it, they can reincarnate and be reborn in the human world.” After answering, he casually resolved his own question as well. “There probably isn’t, though. I forgot that the West doesn’t have the concept of reincarnation. In China, we follow the cycle of karmic rebirth. Evil spirits are condemned to the Eighteen Levels of Hell for punishment, while the rest can be reborn into the human world and start a new life.”
Thanatos had never heard of souls returning to the human world before. In a quiet voice, he said, “Once a soul enters the underworld, it can never return. After judgment, the wicked are sent to Tartarus to suffer, while the good are sent to Elysium to find peace.”
Yanluo suddenly looked at him and smiled.
Thanatos had no idea why. He didn’t understand what was so amusing, but being smiled at like that made him inexplicably flustered.
If not for his black robe hiding it, Yanluo would have seen the faint red creeping up his cheeks and ears.
“Little Reaper,” Yanluo said, still grinning. “You sure are talking a lot more now.”
Thanatos: “……”
Perhaps he was won over by money and delicious food.
Besides…… the Eastern King of Hell was surprisingly friendly. Being around him wasn’t terrifying at all. If anything, it was comfortable. Without realizing it, he had started speaking more.
But Thanatos’ social anxiety was ingrained in his very being, so he still couldn’t bring himself to act completely at ease.
Yanluo wasn’t in a rush. Every day, he shared meals with the little reaper, chatted with him, and slowly built up their rapport. Living together as flatmates wasn’t a bad arrangement. He could feel Thanatos lowering his guard bit by bit, but not completely. The proof was that Thanatos still refused to take off his black robe.
That robe was like a barrier, keeping the God of Death separated from the world. Even though he was physically in the human world, he remained shrouded in darkness, as if still trapped in the sunless depths of the underworld.
Yanluo didn’t think Thanatos was resisting him specifically…… No, to put it in dramatic terms, the little reaper was rejecting the entire world.
He didn’t want to interact with it. He didn’t want to step into the crowd.
For humans, social anxiety often stemmed from physiological factors. But Thanatos was a god. Gods weren’t supposed to suffer from mortal afflictions like aging or illness. His fear of social interaction had to be purely psychological.
But how?
Yanluo wanted to find out. And once he did, he would fix it. The little reaper was too cute to spend his days locked away, hidden under layers of black fabric. He should be out there, having fun.
Extroversion and introversion are both normal personality traits, but Thanatos was clearly not just an ordinary introvert. There must be some knot in his heart.
So Yanluo tentatively invited Thanatos to go out with him.
Their relationship had progressed well over the past few days. They could share food. They could have normal conversations. At this point, they could even be considered friends.
In the eyes of mortals, the God of Death was a terrifying figure. But after spending time with him, Yanluo knew the truth. Thanatos wasn’t scary at all. If anything, he was the definition of cuteness.
But despite his usual gentle and quiet nature, and his tendency to struggle with refusal, Thanatos showed clear and overwhelming resistance to the idea of going out.
No matter how much Yanluo talked about the brilliant sunshine, how perfect the weather was for a walk, how the flowers downstairs were in full bloom, or how beautiful the nearby park was, Thanatos refused to leave. He even wrapped himself tighter in his robe, retreated to his bedroom, and curled up into a small bundle on the bed, not even willing to see Yanluo.
Left with no choice, Yanluo abandoned the plan.
It seemed that the day Thanatos had ventured out to look for a job, he had truly been desperate. If he couldn’t pay rent and ended up homeless, he would have no choice but to be around people 24/7, and for Thanatos, that was the real horror.
Now that there was no such threat, he naturally had no intention of ever stepping outside again.
Since Thanatos was unwilling, Yanluo couldn’t force him.
If he wanted to understand the cause of Thanatos’ social anxiety, he would have to ask the family in Room 202. They were Greek gods too, so they must knew more than he did.
Inside the bedroom, Thanatos heard the faint sounds of Yanluo leaving and knew that he had successfully avoided today’s invitation to go out.
He breathed a sigh of relief, and also felt a little lost.
Getting up, Thanatos walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain. Warm sunlight spilled into the room. The sky was a brilliant blue, the clouds soft and white, and the flowers blooming downstairs were a vibrant red.
The world was full of color.
Thanatos lifted a pale hand from beneath his robe, holding it up to his face, watching as the golden light filtered through the gaps between his fingers.
He stared for a long time.
The human world was so beautiful. His friend was so kind. How could he not be tempted?
But he simply didn’t have the courage to step outside.
Thanatos pulled the curtain shut, plunging the room back into dimness. He returned to bed, wrapping his black robe even tighter around himself, as if sinking into endless darkness.
The underworld was eternally dark, silent, and lonely. Nothing grew there except the pomegranate trees of the dead. It was barren, desolate, devoid of joy. The oppressive atmosphere could suffocate a soul. He supposed he never truly liked it.
But he was used to it.
However, in some strange way, he did like the underworld.
In his heart, there was a longing for sunshine, for flowers, for the human world, but deep down, there was also resistance.
The longing was not strong enough to overcome the deep-rooted fear and aversion.
Maybe he hated the world. Or maybe he just hated himself.
Thanatos was no stranger to the human world. From the moment of his birth, he had traveled back and forth between the land of the living and the underworld each day, guiding departed souls to their final rest. To humans, his arrival was always an omen.
Humans never welcomed him.
Other gods could use their divine powers to bless mankind. They prayed to Venus for love and beauty, to Poseidon for safe voyages and bountiful catches, to his brother, Hypnos, for peaceful dreams.
Humans prayed to the God of Death not to take them away.
But taking them was his duty.
The joy and splendor of the human world had nothing to do with him. Wherever he went, silence and stillness followed. Humans feared death, despised death, and longed to keep it at bay.
And so, the God of Death feared the world in return. He loathed it, wished to stay far, far away.
His arrival brought only partings, misfortune, and unhappiness. He left behind despair, grief, and bitter weeping. He had listened, over and over again, as people cursed death, raged against it, swore at it in hatred.
Thanatos had never wanted to walk the human world, no matter how bright its sunshine or beautiful its cities.
He preferred the endless darkness of the underworld.
Because as long as he remained there, it meant no one had died.
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