Chapter 26: Origins: The Underworld
'Am I dead again?' Julius was having a feeling of a de ja vu, like he already experienced this before but he really can't pinpoint when and where exactly. The thought of him dying first came into his mind as he went spiraling into this limbo.
The last thing he can recall was the feeling of being pulled towards the pits of a foreign entity, by a mysterious man, driving a wicked pitch-black chariot…. As his thoughts began to clear, he vaguely remembered everything else, and it dawned into him that….'Crap, I'm probably illegally admitted now in the Underworld.'
The next thing he felt was a kick near his leg. 'Who the hell will kick me here?'
Then came another kick, and it jolted him awake. Apparently, he was unconscious the entire time. A wave of nausea hit him as he struggled to get up. 'Such a pungent smell!' The strong aroma he's smelling now is very similar to that of sulfur from volcanic vents. The sense of dread rose along his chest, and when he finally opened his eyes, the last person he expected to see met him with looks of pure disgust.
"You! You followed us here?!" He pointed at her, but she only scoffed at his reactions.
Julius tried to take in more of his surroundings. He's sure, this is the Underworld, but he always imagined it to be more like the artistic depiction of Hell from Dante Aleghieri's Inferno. He thought of a hot, desolate environment, where many punished souls who left the Mortal Realm are experiencing all forms of torture, in repentance for their sins. He thought there were Rings of Hell, somewhat like a caste system for the sinners. But if this is really the Underworld, it was very far from his imagination.
He can dare say it – this Realm has its own beauty and uniqueness with its dark aesthetic. It is a kingdom swallowed by an eternal night, and the passageways are very organized from his current vantage point. He can clearly see the paths leading to different directions of hell, and there were even some notable souls who seem to be patrolling the whole vicinity. The tints of red and purple that glow in various places give the entire landscape sort of a highlight. The place is so huge, that he can even see mountains from the distance.
"I never would've thought that Hell has this incredible dark aesthetic." He finally commented. Then he noticed his hands….they were holding on to some bars….then he realized, "We're imprisoned?!"
Corinna only rolled her eyes at Julius. 'Honestly, how can he realize it too late?' She stood up from her seat and faced him seriously, then asked the question she's been dying to ask since she woke up from this dark cell, "Am I correct to assume that this place is the Underworld and the man who abducted the one called Persephone is actually the Ruler of the Dead?"
There was a short moment of silence, before Julius replied. "Yes…and it seems like we're currently held captive by Hades himself."
Corinna took a few breaths to process the confirmation she just received, then finally said, "When I woke before you, I saw three bat-looking women who were trying to tear us limb by limb. From their looks alone, I think they are the Erinyes, or the fifth race of monsters born from Gaia. They looked at us like we are a feast prepared for them. But a three-headed dog swatted them away and told them to piss off or else his master will throw them away and not give them bonuses for winter. So they just took us here, and told me to just wait for the Lord of the Underworld's judgment on how we shall be taken care of."
From that quite long speech, Julius asked something stupid, like, "Are you positive that those are the Furies? And you can talk to dogs? You understand Cerberus?"
She replied calmly now. "Yes, I'm sure. And yes, I understand the language of the wild animals. I can even talk to them. Before, I thought that only the dead can enter here. I see now that that's not a fact."
Julius stood up from his position and put his hand on his head, fidgeting with his hair and pulling it out from their roots – a mannerism of him when he's stressed. He paced around their cell and muttered something like, "Persephone….we need to get out of here and save her….I'm sure she'll gladly return to her mother when given the opportunity….and we should try to talk to Hades about letting her go this time….He held us captive so he can take advantage of Persephone…he's probably brainwashing her now….gods…"
"Well I was hoping that you'll just do what you did earlier to get us out of here." Corinna interrupted his out loud thinking.
"Do what?" Julius retorted back.
"The same one you did when you transported yourself in the chariot…you disappeared and reappeared."
Now Julius also tried to recall that happening….and he remembered tearing through space and suddenly finding himself in the chariot with Persephone. He now paced around near the bars that were blocking their exit from this cell, and tightened his grip around them. If he will just concentrate to do the same thing again…
"Yeeekekek! Look at the healthy options we have right now, sistah – yekek." Suddenly, two of the Furies got themselves near their chamber.
"Weeekekek! They look really delicious and rare….I wonder if Lord Hades will let us have them when he's done punishing them for trying to stop him what his task when he went above-ground – wekek."
"Yeeekekek! They're off-limits now, sistah. By task, do you mean that woman whom Lord Hades brought inside his chamber? Will she be taking charge here in our Kingdom if she accepts our Lord – yekek?"
"Weeekekek! I wonder about that too, sistah. Though I don't find her really pretty, though – wekek."
Julius got tired of eavesdropping with them and ignored his fear of their horrible looks when he asked them the question burning inside his mind. "Excuse me, lovely ladies." He started, and the two Erinyes turned to his direction. "May I know where the Lord of the Underworld currently is?" He flashed them his confident smile which often sends his fangirls at school swooning after he makes a flashy spike play in volleyball.
He might have imagined it, but one of the Furies blushed, while the other stuttered in reply. "Yeeekek-ek! L-Lord Hades is – is inside his room right now – probably sipping on his d-daily dose of n-nectar, yek-ek." And she bashfully tucked a loose strand of her dreadful hair behind her ear. It took all of Julius' willpower to not crack and laugh from her very un-enemy-like reaction. She could be cute, only if she's his type.
"Weeekek-ek! Sis, don't just reveal anything so easily to him. He's our prisoner, after all – wekek." The other one who blushed before softly said, stealing glances at his leaning figure in the bars of his cell.
Corinna is so disgusted at what she's currently witnessing. 'Can't he do this in a more non-cringey way?'
"Yeeekekek! No – please! Don't tell anyone I told you about it! Lord Hades may not give me a portion of you when we eat you later if you do that – yekek!" She had a worried look on her face, which was made even weirder because she let out her tongue and licked it around her lips.
Julius can barely hold his gag at that display. He can't let himself be eaten by these monsters. 'As if I'll ever let them have a piece of me?! Incredulous! Like I'll ever do you any favors!'
He let the better of his thoughts speak freely to them though. "Don't worry, lovely ladies. We are good prisoners here. We will not try to escape, and make sure to send our regards to Hades."
"Yeeekekek! Did you hear that, sistah? He's a nice man! That makes him extra sweet in the heart part – yekek!"
When the two Furies were finally out of earshot, Julius told the sour-faced Corinna about his plan to enter Hades' Room and get Persephone out of this place.
"I'm fine with that all. But you've got to think of a solution first to the bigger problem – How do we get out of here? In this cell? And in the Underworld, most importantly?"
Julius was hesitant to reveal anything to Corinna, so he just said, "I can create something like a portal. Maybe that will work here. I gotta try. But first, let me try doing this to get us outta this cell. Come on, grab onto me. Try to cooperate with me too, for once." He offered his hand to her, which she reluctantly took.
He touched the iron-black bars that were preventing their escape. Then he closed his eyes, and focused on the open space outside these bars he's holding. He envisioned them on that side of the way. Suddenly, both of them felt a tightening around their guts, and in the next second, they were already beyond the bars.
"Hehe." Julius smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Let's go. Time to hunt for Persephone and get outta here."
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