Out stepped a chipper man in white slacks, black loafers, a blue coat with gold trim and buttons, an impressive white hat, and humdrum brown eyes that had the slightest twinkle of peculiarity. He extended a white-gloved hand to the remotely transparent figure nearest the front of the boat, and helped it float to the ground.

�Thank ye, Cap�n,� said the spirit as he drifted off into the distance.

�Always welcome aboard, Orpheus�you�re my best customer, mate!�

The spirit sighed and melted into the nondescript mists of the horizon.

The beach could not be described as �sunny�, but in that same aspect, it certainly wasn�t dark. It was as if, when painting the place, Gaea had run out of most her colors, so she had opted to make the sky a commonplace gray that melted down into a thick fog on the monotonous tan of the land. There was legitimately nowhere to hide on this side of the shore.

�Charon,� said a calm voice behind the Captain.

Gods, the Ferryman sighed. They couldn�t ever just walk up to a chap when they want to speak�they always have to pop up out of nowhere, and they always have to have an entrance. Or, in Hades� case, a lack of an entrance.

Charon turned and abruptly saluted the Underworld Lord, �Happy to report, sah!�

�At ease.�

�Thank you, sah!�

�At ease.�

�Ermm�at ease, sah!�

�Stop that,� Hades sighed. �And if you say �sah�, one more time, I�ll have you doing Laundry Duty for the next three eternities,� he added before Charon could respond.

�Yes, s � alright.�

�Good. Now, then, I require your vote regarding fate the of the soul of Trimena.�

�The triple-headed siren?�

�The same. Persephone is for Elysia, I am for Tartars. You are the deciding factor.�

�I thought she was a good enough lass, to be honest, mate,� defended Charon.

�Despite the use of her three separate voices to lure thrice the normal amount of sailors to their innocent deaths?� Hades pointed out.

�The girl had mouths to feed.�

�Yes, but she consumed as much as the one-headed sirens.�

�Maybe she did it because she likes singing.�

�Or malicious, unnecessary slaughter.�

�Well, she was quite the conversationalist,� supported Charon.

�Existing with three different heads for a few centuries, you become skilled at that sort of thing,� retorted Hades.

�It�s not like she went easily, you know. Perhaps that was punishment enough?�

�One of the heads got greedy, ate a diseased sailor, and shared the sickness with the immune system of the entire body. I don�t see that as a redeeming factor at all.�

�You know, you�re not a very positive guy,� reprimanded the Ferryman.

�I only have to be realistic.�

�Why?�

�Because I control everything, inevitably.�

Charon raised a golden blonde eyebrow, �Oh?�

�Think about it. In the beginning, there was Uranus and Gaea, my grandparents. Where is Uranus now?�

�Dead.�

�Then came my dear father, Chronus, along with his age of boorish titans. What happened to them?�

�Killed.�

�Anything that has ever held life inevitably loses it. Life is the search for contentment; death is finally finding it. Understand?�

�Yessa � ermm� mate.�

�All I need do is remain realistic, organized, and eventually, Poseidon will realize his hatred for Ares only exists because he sees himself inside of his nephew, Hephasteus shall turn aggressive and jealously hunt those who would interest Aphrodite, Zeus will find the nymph that breaks Hera�s back. I stay out of the way, and let everyone and everything consume themselves. I remain unconsidered, await their arrival, and upon entry into the Underworld, there is no law but my own.�

�Is this why you didn�t fret when Zeus claimed the Kingship of Gods and Men?�

�Charon, I�ve planned this since day one. That�s the difference between myself and all others � I�m realize the majestic potential of this job. This is guaranteed power; with every mortal Zeus decides to sizzle, I become one stronger in population. His arrogance is his downfall: he permits them free will, where I decide it for them. Thusly, I have no reason to fear rebellion or heresy as he does. I�ve no need to devise a punishment system. There is no next step after my kingdom. I am the only Inescapable.�

�Apart from taxes, I�ve heard,� smirked Charon.

Emotionless eyes, so black they make the night sky look disturbingly bright, stared unblinkingly at the Ferryman.

�Nevermind,� Charon melted.

�Remember, my friend, seeing the World as black and white is the only way to judge fairly. There must be boundaries and guidelines if we are to be effective in our duty. We cannot afford optimism or pessimism. Whether the glass is half empty or half full, what matters most is the quality of the liquid inside, and the circumstances by which it came to the status of its quantity.�

�And you don�t find that as being cold?�

�Of course I do. Logic is cold.�

�And as for you?�

�I�m Death. I�m the only logic there is.�

�And the rest of us?�

�Accept that reality and try to model yourself with the knowledge that I will one day come for you, too. Until that time, maintain your job, keep it well, and live for as long as you�re granted the privilege.�

Charon reflected.

�It�s perhaps a little disconcerting, thinking that you�re the Ultimate,� he ventured.

�Not necessarily the Ultimate,� Hades corrected, �Just Reality.�