"Guess they weren't lying when they said Tartarus was hell," Reyna muttered to herself. She blinked a few times and tried to make out her surroundings. How did it manage to get darker? Or, was her vision getting worse? Reyna closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Reyna had been walking for hours now. Maybe even days. There was no way to tell time here, and the watch she had on was useless. The hour and minute hands spun so fast it made a sound that she could barely make out over the beating of her heart. Her legs burned from her hike, but she had to keep moving.

She had no clue where she was going. It was more than enough to just keep one foot in front of another. Reyna kept a slow pace, focused on putting one foot in front of the other. If she moved too fast, she would trip on a rock or some kind of hole in the ground. Not to mention the larger objects, maybe boulders or trees, that she kept slamming her shins into.

Her shins were bruised, and it felt like a bit of blood was trickling from her knee. Reyna knew she wasn't on flat land, which was a small comfort. It meant she would have a place to hide if monsters were to find her. Reyna had yet to run into any of them.

Were there even monsters here? There had to be. This was Tartarus after all. Monsters reformed here. Reyna closed her eyes tighter. There wasn't much noise here. Or much light. There wasn't much here. A hand moved to her chest, and her heart felt like it was picking up in pace.

"Just keep moving," Reyna whispered. She forced her eyes open and took a step forward. "Just keep moving."

Reyna had to talk to herself. She knew most people would find her crazy for it, but who was down here to judge her? The only comfort she had was her voice, and she needed it to keep what little bit of sanity she had left. Hearing her own voice told her that she was still alive. Understanding what she said confirmed she wasn't too far gone.

And if any voices started talking back, that would almost provide some kind of comfort.

A bitter chuckle left Reyna. This was where she was with her life. Reyna couldn't imagine being anywhere near this a year ago. She missed how simple her life had been then. The most she had to worry about was some camper doing something stupid. Not trying to save the gods. Or debate destroying them.

Reyna was going to get out of this hell. Nothing was going to stop her from that. She repeated those thoughts in her head as she kept making her way forward. Reyna had been very careful to not get turned around if she tripped or fell. Her theory was that if she kept moving forward, she would eventually find the edge of Tartarus.

In weeks.

Or months.

Maybe even years.

What if it was endless?

"Keep moving forward," Reyna whispered again. She stuck both hands into her pockets and chewed the inside of her lip. Her knee ached, and her back was starting to burn. It was almost comforting. The pain meant that she was still sane. After all, what insane person would want to feel pain?

Reyna tripped on something and almost let out a curse. Instead, she steadied herself and continued her trek forward. Reyna did not have any kind of weapon on her person. No daggers and no sword. Her red blade was long gone.

Was Arcadia safe? What had the Olympians done to her? Reyna knew that her second in command wouldn't take whatever came lying down, and they wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. Arcadia may be a goddess, but goddesses could bleed. They could get hurt, and even killed.

"Fuck," Reyna hissed. Her earlier fear and anxiety had turned into anger. Sweet anger. Reyna needed to keep it together, though. Her emotions could not get to her. Anger could easily flip and turn into despair. That was not an emotion she could afford.

Reyna glanced back at her hand. The one thing that she did have was magic, but it would only be used as a last resort. She couldn't afford to waste that much energy on magic. Reyna looked at her feet and tried to make out her current surroundings.

When she couldn't see anything, she sighed. The air still burned her throat and nose. She had tried to cover her mouth using her shirt, but it didn't do much to help. So, Reyna just kept moving forward. That was all she could do.

Her walk continued in silence. It was broken every few minutes by her whispering something to herself. It was usually the thoughts running through her head. How long had she been here? Was Hylla safe? Did Hylla know?

Hylla would tear apart heaven and hell to find Reyna. The gods wouldn't be able to stop her. Reyna would do the same for her sister. The difference lay in the fact that her sister was not a champion of Atropos. If Hylla died, she was dead. There was no getting out of it.

Reyna would not let anything happen to her sister. She tried to force those negative thoughts out of her head and breathed in deeply. Her nose twitched from the smell of smoke.

Wait.

Reyna stopped walking and slowly looked around. She still couldn't make out her surroundings, but she did smell smoke. Reyna slowly followed the scent. Her hand achingly reached out, and she touched something solid. It felt like a large boulder or maybe part of a cave.

Could this be a cave? Reyna kept her hand against the solid object and slowly started to trudge alongside it. It started to curve, and the smell grew thicker. Reyna felt the wall completely curve, and she found herself outside of a cave. Her eyes widened as she saw a low fire burning.

Someone had been here. Recently too. Reyna slowly made her way towards the fire. Her eyes shot around the cave. There was no one around. Were they gone? Where would they even go? She came to a stop in front of the fire.

Reyna slowly knelt down and held her hand out to the flames. It looked ready to die. Who did this cave belong to?

Her eyes shot around. No belongings rested in the cave. The cave walls didn't have moss or anything growing out of them. Reyna slowly stood. Maybe, she could find a branch or something to ignite and make a torch to see where the hell she was going.

Reyna turned around and froze. A figure stood at the entrance of the cave. They looked too human to be a monster, but Reyna knew better. This was hell after all. She clenched her fist and wished that she had a weapon. Would the fire help?

A laugh left the figure. It sounded cold, evil, feminine, and familiar. Reyna relaxed her muscles and watched the figure walk toward her. As the fire fell upon her face, Reyna studied her beady eyes. It felt like years since she had last seen the goddess.

"Why don't you have a seat?" Enyo questioned. The goddess had been destroyed by Metis and sent down here. It didn't look like she was currently hurt. In fact, she almost looked like a normal human. The only difference was that her eyes were pure white. There was no pupil or iris, just the white of her beady eyes. "We are stuck in this hell after all."

Reyna nodded slightly. She slowly took a seat in front of the fire and kept her eyes on Enyo. There was no love lost between the two of them. Enyo was the one who revealed Reyna's sin of patricide to her so-called friends. The goddess had threatened her home and family. And, she tried to kill Reyna more than once.

"So, what brings you to this lovely place?" Enyo asked sarcastically. Reyna glanced up at her. A grin twisted the goddess' face. It was like she already knew, but she wanted to hear the answer. To rub it in.

Reyna wondered why she had managed to find Enyo here. Was this her punishment? It almost felt fitting. Reyna looked down at herself. With light from the fire, she could see that she was muddied in dirt and grime. There was dried blood as well. When didn't blood cover her hands? Whether it was her own or someone else's.

"The gods," Reyna finally muttered. Enyo barked out a cruel laugh.

"Isn't it always them?" Enyo asked. Reyna glanced up at her. For the first time, she realized that the goddess was completely naked. Dirt and soot covered her, along with a thick layer of mud. Enyo reached towards the embers and slowly picked up what looked like a makeshift canteen. "Well, welcome to hell. Water?"

"Water?" Reyna repeated. Enyo held out the canteen. Reyna slowly took it. "What is this?"

"It's water," Enyo answered. Her face made it seem like she thought of Reyna like a child. "It tastes terrible, but it will keep you alive."

"Why do you need water?" Reyna asked. She slowly took a sip and cringed. It tasted bitter and like rusted iron. It could have been poison that Reyna just willingly drank, but what did it matter? Things couldn't get worse down here.

"I didn't come here on vacation," Enyo replied. Her eyes flickered up. "If you're here, where is Arcadia?"

"I don't know," Reyna muttered. She closed her eyes. "The Olympians, Zeus, attacked her. I don't know what he did with her."

Enyo scoffed at that, "The only reason that gods come down here is because they have been destroyed. Until they gather full strength, or enough to leave, they are as weak as mortals. This water helps. Food too. If we can find it down here."

"Guess we are on even ground then," Reyna said. She looked up and focused on Enyo's eyes. "Now, how the fuck do we get out of here?"