Chapter 4 - A Dead Man’s World (2)

Chapter 4 – A Dead Man’s World (2)

According to the tales, the Acheron River was the edge of the land beyond the graves, and it was so vast that the end couldn’t be seen, the water seemed like it was boundless. Persephone wondered how vast the land really was, wanting to see it with her own eyes— the land where everyone returned to. There was also a golden palace located in the underworld, and there was nothing quite like it on the surface of the earth.

The lord in charge of the land beyond the grave was also the ruler of the dead— a god that was served and followed by all the affluent people. The myth that said his palace is greater than the temple of the Olympus gods holds true.

Persephone wanted to see how everything looked like— gold and silver gleaming brightly as it was stacked up like a hill, fields that are overflowing with coins, and the existence of the finest jewelry man has ever known that seemed limitless.

However, she was much more interested in something simpler than those riches— the ‘invisible helmet’, which makes the one wearing it invisible to the naked eye. Quinair was the treasure of the underworld that even Argos, who had hundreds of eyes, couldn’t see through.

But Kharon won’t let her through, his stance unrelenting as he sneered.

“Get the hell out of here if you can’t pay.”

“You vile woman. Don’t you understand what I just said?”

“This bitch.”

He was frustratingly resolute, carrying out his duties with an unwavering will. No coin meant no entry, it was simple as that. And it was sadly unfortunate for Persephone, who never even had one in her entire life.

She was envious of everyone who boarded the ship without delay. Seething on her spot, she felt a shift in the air, the mist strangely moving to the other side.

‘He’ got on the boat just when it was about to depart. He need no coin for He was the King, the Lord of the underworld— a powerful entity, and symbolism of the dead.

Dead people snickered among themselves at Persephone’s unmoving form.

“What is she doing here? She doesn’t look like she belong here.”

“She’s just here strolling around, she should leave!”

“Look at that wench over there, with yellow eyes like rice straws. Get rid of her!” Kharon exclaimed hoarsely.

The man turned his head and followed where Kharon was pointing to. He stared at the woman, and when the woman turned to face him, everything changed from then on.

“How foolish is this woman? She didn’t even express her respects to Acheron! Throw her overboard!”

Listening to the voices around her, Persephone craned her neck upwards the boat, and saw a man staring at her intently. Darkness seemed to be swimming behind the man’s gray orbs, and it was alluringly hypnotizing just like the moon in the night sky. Persephone felt like she was being sucked in as she stared back, nothing but the sound of his name echoing loudly in her head.

‘We meet again?’ Hades said so in his head.

Hades. The ruler of the underworld, and the death of the unseen world.

“How did you come all the way here with her shadow following her? Are you lost, little girl?” Persephone heard his voice in her mind amidst the ruckus. She replied in haste,

“Have you forgotten who I am?”

No response came, the boat left the docks, and with it was Hades.

Persephone had her own perception about ‘him’ after hearing a lot of tales that speak of him, the god of the underworld. She knew that she had to keep her distance, but his piercing yet gentle voice, and eyes that appeared depthless made her cross boundaries, closing in on the gap that separated the earth, and the underworld.

From that moment on, all the judgment she initially had for him vanished in a blink of an eye, bearing her vulnerability out in the open.

Death was something foreign to her, having spent the entirety of her life in the island, where everything was laid out for her alone. She saw the warmth behind his penetrating eyes, seeing through his domineering form.

“That person over there.” Persephone whispered to herself, saying it like a prayer.

Would this be the first time a firm believer of Delphos faced the light? It felt like her chest was bursting. She stepped back, her feet dashing the other away as her heart muttered his name repeatedly.

She wanted to talk to the Lord of the underworld. Who knows, he might be the key to her freedom.