"You… I'm going to kill you." Ryker snarled, though his heavy breathing somewhat detracted from the ferocity of the words. Hecate had proven to be quite the elusive opponent, in every sense of the word. Sometimes she would simply dodge out of the way of his fists, and others she would simply vanish on the spot only to reappear a few feet away. Every time she avoided him she would laugh and taunt him. This had been going on for the better part of an hour and Ryker was no closer to catching the elusive goddess than he had been when he had first begun this fight.
"Tell me, do you truly believe that?" Hecate inquired with genuine curiosity. "After all this time? If so, I am not sure whether you are simply stupid or you are just that stubborn."
Ryker growled in anger but the noise only made Hecate laugh again. In every sense of the term, Ryker had been backed into a corner. The River Acheron flowed only a few feet behind him and the goddess Hecate would pull him back to the riverside every time that he tried to run away. If only I had a weapon… Ryker thought desperately, glancing behind him to take yet another look at his former prison. He could almost feel the River calling to him. Almost like the water was aware that it had escaped and it wanted him back within its depths. The thought of returning to that was enough to send a shiver of fear running through the demigod.
After acknowledging that fear, Ryker waited a full minute before slowly staring down at his hands. The wild instincts that had always taken over when he felt fear were gone, or rather, they weren't there. He was still in full control of his actions and the familiar sensation of being underwater was completely absent. Hecate seemed to read the expression of surprise and then doubt that flitted across his face and let out a small laugh again. "Let me guess, that little trick that lets you fight like a beast not working?" She asked, smirking. "Allow me to illuminate you to something: you are dead. The abilities of being a demigod only come with being alive. You may have a body for now, but once I put you back in the River you will return to being nothing but a damned spirit. And this time you won't escape."
"You seem sure of that." Ryker countered, returning his full attention to the goddess and crouching into a ready position.
"Oh, I am very sure." Hecate smiled coldly at him. "You know, there are many ways that the gods monitor the power of demigods such as yourself. In life we keep you focused on how we are the ones who gave you your power, and in death we take that power back. In the Underworld no fallen demigod has any power. That, coupled with the luxury of Elysium, ensures that there will be no uprising from the demigods. But you just had to begin causing waves, didn't you? Your blatant disrespect for the gods and everything that we had accomplished led to many…. Unwelcome questions by the other demigods. But you don't even know that, do you?"
"I don't care about how you control the demigods, or any of that." Ryker answered back through gritted teeth. "But I will be damned if anyone can keep me caged."
"Brave words." Hecate sneered at him. "But you have seen just how well you fare when you have no powers."
Ryker opened his mouth to speak when another voice laughed out from somewhere in the darkness. "Oh, I wouldn't say he is powerless anymore."
Hecate whirled around, her lanterns blazing out so brightly that they were nearly blinding. The darkness retreated several dozen yards until a man, garbed in the same dark clothing that Ryker was. A large scythe as dark as the night itself was strapped to the man's back, though he appeared to not be at all concerned with its weight. Ryker did not recognize the man, but Hecate clearly did. She looked at the man with a combination of fear, disbelief, and uncertainty. "You." She said slowly, "What do you want?"
"Well, that is actually a very long list." The man chuckled softly. "But, for now, I think that assisting this young man with his fight against you would be a good start. I've never been a fan of unfair fights. Let's make this a bit more even, shall we?"
Hecate's eyes widened at the same time that Ryker's did when the man's shadow that Hecate's lanterns had cast suddenly rushed forward and enveloped Ryker, smothering him in darkness. For a moment Ryker could not breathe and he thought for certain that he was going to die. Again. While already dead. But before Ryker could consider the irony of this, or mount an escape attempt, the darkness rescinded back to the man's shadow and Ryker was left standing.
"You know, it's an odd thing that most people choose to ignore." The man told them in a tone similar to that of a lecturer. "Shadows that is. Everyone is born with one, though they don't always really pay attention to it. Like at night for instance. They assume it is gone, but that's not true. A shadow is a part of them as much as their lungs. They only get one shadow after all."
"What did you do, Erebus?" Hecate demanded, glaring suspiciously at Ryker. Ryker glared back and clenched his fists- Ryker's jaw dropped open and he slowly lowered his gaze to where the stump of his hand should have been. But in lieu of a stump was… his hand. His true hand. Ryker slowly raised the hand before his eyes and flexed every one of his fingers. They responded perfectly, just as they had before it hand been severed. He rolled his wrist and a slow smile began to creep over his face.
"Oh, I simply evened the playing field for you two." Erebus laughed softly. He looked away from Hecate and nodded at Ryker. "Worry not, that is your hand. Try not to lose it again, that trick won't work a second time."
"I am indebted to you." Ryker did something that he had only done once before, he lowered his head quickly in deference before snapping his gaze back to Hecate. He felt good. Alive. It was as though someone had shot his body full of the essence of life itself, which may very well have been the case. The River Acheron no longer called to him. He no longer felt weak, and more than that he could feel the familiar feeling of the wild instinct howling beneath the surface of his skin. His hands suddenly felt strange and when he looked down he saw a shadowy claw overtop of them. He glanced questioningly to Erebus and the man merely smiled.
"I thought that, considering your rather poor history regarding your claws, that you would agree that these would be better. They are completely yours to summon and dismiss as you see fit."
A reckless laugh was ripped from Ryker as he shifted into a ready crouch and fixed Hecate in his sight. "Oh, you are mine." Ryker promised as he crossed the ground between them in a single bound.
The goddess's face paled in fear and she vanished into a cloud of Mist, just as Ryker cut through where she had been standing. He skidded to a stop and searched for the goddess, but she did not reappear. "Coward!" Ryker roared, whirling in a small circle. "Show yourself!"
"She's gone, Ryker." Erebus chuckled, striding up to him out of the darkness. It took several second for Ryker to pick him out of the gloom, his clothes merging with the darkness around him. "Gone to report your escape to Hades, or perhaps even Thanatos."
"Why did you help me?" Ryker asked bluntly, unconcerned with Hecate's intentions. "What do you want?"
"Oh, I merely want to see how this all plays out." Erebus laughed softly. "You might not believe this, but I happen to enjoy watching the struggles that the gods, demigods, and monsters constantly go through."
"I believe it." Ryker said sourly. He curled his hands into a fist and the claws dissolved into nothingness. "But that doesn't explain why you helped me."
"Do you know who I am, Ryker?" Erebus inquired. The blank look that Ryker sent him was all the answer he needed. "I suppose not. As Hecate called me, I am Erebus. The God of Darkness. The consort to Nyx. I am, by my own reckoning at least, one of the oldest beings on this planet. Older than the Gods, older than Kronos. I am older than Tartarus."
"That doesn't explain why you chose to help me." Ryker countered, glaring at him slightly.
"Well, if I am being honest with you I have grown bored." Erebus admitted. "The constant power struggles between mortals is… no longer amusing to me. When Caesar was around however, now that was enjoyable to watch. Lately though, conflict is just boring. But you however, you promise to stir up something interesting. I've been keeping a very close eye on you ever since your existence was discovered. I know what you have planned, and I am most eager to see how it plays out."
"If you know what I am here for, you should assist me." Ryker told him.
"More so than I already have?" Erebus laughed and shook his head vigorously. "I don't think so. I wouldn't have interfered with Hecate, but I doubt that you would have been able to escape the Acheron twice. At least, not in this century. And for an immortal, I lack patience."
"So you won't help me?" Ryker glared at him in full now, crossing his arms.
"Where's the fun in that?" Erebus spread his arms wide and the gloom of the Underworld grew just a bit darker. "If I were to help you too much that just wouldn't be very fun. Both sides have to have a sporting chance after all. But I am not entirely going to let you wander off blindly. Your right hand, check the back of it."
Ryker followed his instruction and glanced down at his hand. On his flesh was the tattoo of a dark arrow. As Ryker moved his hand the arrow continued pointing in a single direction, no matter how he twisted or turned. "It's a compass." He stated.
"Correct." Erebus gleamed. "But that one does not point north. That one points to your destination… at least the one I want you to go to. But, hey, I have to throw my two cents in at some point, right?"
"Where are you sending me?" Ryker demanded.
"Oh, worry not, I'm sure that you will survive. Probably." Erebus began to fade into the gloom before pausing and glancing back towards Ryker. "Remember what I said. Your shadow brought you back to life and restored your hand. It won't be able to do so again… at least not for a couple centuries."
