THE UNDERWORLD INHABITANTS
Descending to the Underworld was starting to feel eternal. They kept going down the stairs, which seemed endless. Erianthe couldn't see much ahead either, as the god blocked her view. Besides, there was very little light. The stairs were lit only by a few torches burning with blue flames, like Hades himself.
Neither of them spoke while they descended deeper into the underworld. The god was simply content knowing he finally had the girl in his grasp, but occasionally, he glanced at her. In the dim, eerie torchlight, Erianthe looked beautiful—her ethereal beauty stood out in the gloomy glow. What he couldn't ignore, though, were the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
Deep down, very deep down, the god felt guilty. The truth was, he didn't like seeing her like this; it was as if the light she normally radiated had been snuffed out. He couldn't stop thinking about the times he'd seen her smile. "Damn it, this isn't good," Hades cursed to himself.
Erianthe was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the spiders crawling along the walls until one climbed her arm.
"Ah!" Eri screamed in fright. Hades was startled and noticed her flailing her arms.
"What's wrong?"
"A-a-a…"
"A what?"
"A spider!"
"Like the one in your hair?"
"Ah! Get it off! Get it off!" Eri screamed again, this time grabbing onto the Lord of the Dead's robe, who was about to burst out laughing at how ridiculous she looked.
In truth, there wasn't a spider in her hair, but there was one on her shoulder. Hades removed it and placed it on the wall. "Better this way, I don't want my subordinate to have a heart attack on her first day."
"There, you're fine now. No spiders," Hades assured her.
"Th-th-thanks… I'm terrified of spiders," she replied, her voice shaky from the scare.
"Well, get used to it because you'll find plenty of them down here." When he looked at the girl, she was as pale as a ghost. "Memo to myself: Erianthe doesn't like spiders."
"Don't make that face. It's normal to have bugs down here."
"Great," the girl muttered sarcastically. The thought of always having to watch out for those creepy crawlers did not sit well with her.
"I suppose it is best if you never meet Arachne," Hades added.
"Why?"
"You don't know who she is?"
"Honestly, no…" Erianthe admitted it frankly.
"What do they teach in schools nowadays? Arachne was a woman who was punished by Athena. The truth is, the girl had the guts to challenge her, but it didn't end well for her."
"What happened?"
"She was turned into a spider, cursed to weave for all eternity. So, it's best that you never cross paths with her. I don't think you'd enjoy seeing a giant spider." Hades smiled as he noticed Erianthe's expression of horror. "A giant spider? How awful," she thought to herself. She was so absorbed in thinking about Arachne's fate that she didn't watch her step.
"Whoa!" Eri screamed again, this time slipping. She almost tumbled down the stairs, but before she hit the ground, she felt a hand grab her arm, keeping her from falling.
"You're so clumsy. You should be more careful and watch where you step," Hades said, looking at her with disdain.
"But I can't see anything! It's barely visible with this light," Eri retorted, annoyed.
"Oh, sure, let me go build some windows now. Hellooo. We're underground! Come on, I don't have all day," he said, continuing down the stairs, but this time holding Eri's hand.
"What are you doing? I can walk on my own," she protested, though she still held on to the god's hand as they descended.
"I don't doubt it, but until you get used to the light down here, I'm holding your hand until we reach the river, capisce?" Erianthe stopped arguing, realizing it was useless to go against the god of the dead.
Silence fell between them again as they continued down the stairs, both lost in thought, unaware they were thinking the same thing:
"This is ridiculous. I'm not a child who needs to be led by the hand. Although… I have to admit, his hand is warm and large. Eri, focus! You were thinking the same thing yesterday when he healed you. His hands are warm because his power is fire, that's all. But, by all the gods, it is kind of nice," the girl thought, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment at her thoughts.
At the same time, the god himself couldn't get out of his head the fact that the girl was right next to him. He was holding her hand to keep her from falling down the stairs and breaking her neck. "This girl will be my downfall. She nearly hurt herself going down these stairs, and I'm going to end up as her nanny. Although… I don't mind holding her hand. I already noticed yesterday how soft her skin is, and her scent is so pleasant. Hades, focus! Stop thinking nonsense!" The god glanced at the girl, who was paying close attention to the steps, but he also noticed her cheeks were blushing. "Strange," he thought, remembering that her face had also turned red when he healed her yesterday.
Fortunately, they finally reached the bottom of the stairs. They both looked at their hands and let go immediately, as if the touch had burned them. Erianthe noticed they were standing in front of a dock. She could hear water and remembered Hades had mentioned a river, but she couldn't see anything. It was very dark, and it seemed as though a thick fog enveloped the entire area, preventing her from seeing beyond where they stood.
"Charon!" Hades called out into the nothingness. A few seconds passed, and out of the mist emerged a boat with a skeletal boatman. Erianthe was startled, as she hadn't expected the ferryman to be a skeleton.
"Welcome, my lord; I will take you to your palace," the skeleton said. He stopped the boat by the dock and bowed to Hades.
Hades immediately boarded the boat, while Erianthe stood frozen at the dock, unsure of what to do. She needed to follow Hades, but was there some kind of protocol? To board the boat, she needed to pay a coin—where was her money?
"My lord, this mortal is still alive," Charon pointed out, noticing the girl rummaging through her bag, seemingly searching for something.
"She's with me. From now on, she's part of the team," Hades replied, eyeing the girl curiously. "What the hell is she doing?"
"Oh! What a surprise! Welcome to the Underworld. I'm Charon, the ferryman of the dead," the skeleton said, bowing slightly.
"Forgive my manners. Erianthe! I'm Erianthe, from Thebes. Nice to meet you, Lord Charon. Here, take a coin for your service." Charon stared at her in disbelief. "What a polite girl," he thought.
"Thank you, but that's only for the dead. You don't need to pay me," Charon tried to refuse as the girl insisted.
"I insist. My grandma told me that to cross the River Styx, you need to give a coin to Charon, or else you might end up on its shores forever." Finally, Charon accepted, and Eri boarded the boat. She sat down, and they set off into the fog.
Hades found the girl more and more curious. She hadn't flinched when a skeleton spoke to her, and she had insisted on paying him like all the mortals. There was something about her that seemed different from everyone else.
"So, you're from Thebes. It's been centuries since I've heard anything about the chariot races. How are they doing?"
"Well, they're kind of dead now. Ever since the war started, they haven't organized many races, and most of the athletes have moved to Athens. Things are less tense there."
"Really? What a shame. To be honest, many people from Thebes end up down here."
Erianthe found the ferryman rather friendly, but hearing that most of the dead were from Thebes saddened her. It confirmed that the worst of Greece was happening in her city.
As the fog began to lift, Eri could see how vast the place was—it looked like an immense cavern. What surprised her was that the place no longer seemed as dark. "Could it be that I'm getting used to it?" she wondered. She noticed an eerie, ghostly light coming from the water, so she leaned over slightly, and she couldn't believe it.Souls!
The River Styx was real—it was full of souls. Erianthe felt a shiver of fear. She had never seen a soul before, and here there weren't just one or two—thousands of them were swimming in the river's waters. What impressed her most were their expressions—they seemed to be suffering. Suddenly, a few souls tried to climb onto the boat, reaching for Eri.
"Young lady, save us."
"Get me out of here, beautiful."
The souls began to call out to poor Eri, who quickly stood up in fear, seeing how they tried to grab her. Hades swiftly stepped in and hurled a burst of flames at the souls trying to climb aboard.
"Are you okay?" Hades asked, concerned.
Eri snapped out of her shock.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I just didn't expect that."
"Never look at the river while you're in the boat, alright? Otherwise, they'll try to persuade you to join them in the river."
"But they were asking for help. Why did you throw fire at them? Won't that make them suffer?"
"Do you really care about those souls?" Hades felt a headache coming on; this girl was giving him a lot to think about. But seeing the look of concern on her face, he answered, "No, they can't suffer from the fire anymore, and they all ask for help. But remember, not all souls are good."
Erianthe nodded. The lord of the dead returned to his position at the front of the boat, looking ahead. Soon, the gates that led to the palace would open. Suddenly, he felt someone grab his robe. He was about to incinerate, once again, the audacity of those souls who kept trying to escape, but then he realized it wasn't a soul—it was Erianthe, standing beside him, still looking somewhat scared from earlier. Without saying a word, Hades allowed the girl to hold on to his robe.
Suddenly, some gates opened, revealing the river continuing through the cavern, though it opened up much wider now. At the far end, the palace of Hades came into view—an imposing and threatening structure, just like its owner. Erianthe was amazed, as the entire structure was carved into the stone in the shape of a skull. The stone was polished to give it a spectral and eerie shine. Whoever built it was a genius.
"Wow, it's incredible." Eri muttered, captivated by the sight of the palace. It truly was a work of art, majestic in its own way, fit for a king.
Hades overheard the girl. He looked at her in disbelief—no one had ever referred to that part of the Underworld as "incredible." "This girl is really strange," he thought, though he appreciated that she admired this kind of architecture.
On one side of the river stood Cerberus, growling and barking non-stop. Erianthe jumped, not expecting Cerberus to be so huge. She knew he had three heads but hadn't imagined him being so fierce. Unbothered, Hades threw him a piece of meat, and the three heads lunged for it, fighting eagerly to devour it. As the boat drifted away, the heads continued bickering over who would get the meat.
"You're lucky. You have a dog," Eri said suddenly.
"Lucky? Do you know what it's like to take him for a walk? It's pure torture," Hades replied.
"I wouldn't know. I've never had a pet. My mom doesn't let me keep animals at home."
"Pets are a lot of responsibility, kid. Cerberus is here to be a guardian, but taking care of him is like having a pain in the butt."
"You exaggerate; I'm sure it's not that bad."
"You'll see. Dare you take him for a walk?" Hades asked with a mischievous smile. Eri glared at him. To be honest, she didn't feel capable of handling a giant dog—it would likely tear her apart. "See, even you wouldn't do it," the god added, satisfied with the girl's reaction.
They continued sailing in silence until they reached the palace dock. Hades was the first to step off the boat and offered a hand to the mortal to help her disembark, not wanting any more incidents. The girl hesitated, but soon accepted his help.
"Thank you," she said. "And thank you too, Charon," Eri added, smiling at the ferryman.
"You're welcome, Erianthe," Charon replied. If the skeleton could smile, he would have. It had been eons since anyone had thanked him. Having completed his task, the ferryman returned to the other shore of the river to await the newly arrived souls.
"Did you see that, Pain? She's here; she's arrived."
"Yes, now it's our turn."
Erianthe overheard a pair of voices in the distance.
"Pain!" Hades called out.
"Coming, Your Gloominess," Eri said, seeing a small purple demon hurrying down the stairs. He tripped and ended up impaled by his rear on one of the torch spikes.
"Panic!" the god continued.
"Oh, sorry! I'll fix it!" said another small green demon, rushing down the stairs. He collided with the first one, who had just freed himself, sending both tumbling down. Pain ended up face down, and Panic impaled himself on Pain's rear.
"Ow!" The god of the dead didn't know where to look—his minions were a joke, and Eri was barely holding back her laughter.
"Pain."
"And Panic," they presented themselves. "Reporting for duty!"
Erianthe couldn't hold it in anymore. When she saw that the green demon had ended up "stuck" on the other demon's backside, she burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA, you two are hilarious!" she exclaimed. The demons grinned. "She thinks we're funny!"
Hades was irritated and decided to get to the point.
"Alright, Eri, welcome to the palace of the underworld. Now it's time to introduce you to the 'torture' you'll endure for all eternity."
Erianthe stopped laughing. She had completely forgotten that from now on, this place would be her prison and that she was at the mercy of the god, who now smiled at her with malicious grin.
Hi!
Sorry for the delay. I hope to finish uploading the translated chapters up to chapter 15 in the coming days. I'll do my best, but please be patient, as I had surgery a few days ago, but I'm doing well!
Thank you for keeping reading. And remember, if you like the story, leave a review to let me know your thoughts.
