Chapter 8 - Her Desire To Be Invisible

Chapter 8 – Her Desire to Be Invisible

The two reached the upper stretches of the Acheron River. Straight ahead of the river was the frontier of Hades’ territory. In the first basin across the river, an active volcano surrounded by a blazing stream of thick molten lava unfolded its picturesque majesty. This attributed to the air on this side of the coast to be relatively warmer. The girl felt the heat and tugged at the knot of her cloak, slightly pulling it loose.

Although they talked comfortably, Hades still hadn’t let his guard down. He was waiting for her to slip up at some point, still fully convinced that she had some purpose in mind. She didn’t seem like a human, and it wasn’t exactly clear to him what her existence was.

Persephone scooted closer to him and completely careless of any of his suspicions said, “There’s something wrong, right? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I left that day. You can’t possibly imagine how fearful I was that you had forgotten about me.”

“You have no idea what it is that I’m thinking right now.” Hades cleared his throat.

Persephone was quick to guess, “I know you think I’m strange.”

With this, Hades just quietly raised an eyebrow at her.

“But even if you say so, I couldn’t help it, I wanted to see you and the underworld. Please don’t doubt that.”

What seemed like eons ago, when the decade-long war between the Titanomachy and the Divine ended, there was no one to rule the land of the dead; a far-reaching world under which Hecatoncheires and other monsters like Titan and Typhon were trapped. But someone had to tend to the duty, so Hades became the one. The quiet, calm, mature brother was unobtrusively cast away by the rest of his brothers. He left feeling betrayed by his own brothers for whom he had fought on his life as he was forced to devote himself to an eternity in the land of the dead, to lose his position in Olympus, and to become ‘invisible’. He wouldn’t wish this unfulfilling life even on a dead man.

For all living beings on earth, death was the greatest fear, but the impression was long overwritten by Hades himself by his chosen moniker of death. Therefore, it wasn’t the least bit strange for him to feel an appreciation for the girl.

“You’ve received all kinds of love, haven’t you?” His indifferent tone hid all the envy he felt in that moment. He imagined a pretty girl, all her emotions evident on her face, how she must have been quite loved on earth.

Persephone’s teeth lowered on her lips as she stared at the man in front of her. He seemed so far away even though he was physically right there.

“Is it okay if I interlock my arm with yours? Holding hands would be fine too.”

Hades couldn’t believe how intimate she appeared with him as if she had known him for a long time. But he wasn’t soft-hearted enough to respond to such a request without context, so he looked at her hand for a moment but turned around to step over the jagged rocks without taking it. She gazed up at his back with a slightly disappointed look and followed him to climb up.

“Since the fog is thick…” Hades extended his hand and turned back around, only to see her climbing up on her own. He quickly dropped his hand before she saw, but it was too late as she had finished climbing and had lifted her head up.

Hades gave her a nervous smile and turned around again trying to walk leisurely over the carved rocks as his ears burned with unfamiliar heat. She followed him silently and grabbed his arm and internally rejoiced when he didn’t push her off.

Persephone stood on the edge of the rock and peered down. Her hand tightened on Hades’ arm as she realized the height they were standing at. Her vision swam and she couldn’t think of any words to describe the world of fog hanging down below. The endless white sea fluttered beneath the cliff. The Acheron River stretched out a vast stream of water under the hazy mist.

Hades held Persephone by her shoulder, and pulled her back from the edge.

“Careful.”

As color rose to her cheeks, Hades released her and stepped away. Looking at him regretfully, Persephone soon turned her eyes to a place a little further away. On close observation, there was something special in the fog across the sparsely laid shore.

“Is that a flower? It’s my first time seeing that kind.”

“It’s the land of decomposition. Those who have come to pay a small price for an unforgivable sin are growing flowers from the fire in the underworld of Asphodelos. The entrance isn’t here in this place, but you can think of it as Tartarus beneath the pinnacle of Asphodelos.”

“Tartarus…” Hades gestured with his chin at the blue smoke coming from the other side of the mountain.

“Do you see the blue smoke at the top of that mountain?” He continued when she nodded, “It rises from the molten water boiled by the blacksmiths trapped deep in Tartarus.”

“Blacksmiths? Are they human or are they part of Hephaestus’s family?”

“They’re not human, nor are they gods who ruled on earth. They’re Titans.”

She sighed with a sympathetic look.

“Many other creatures besides them are trapped in Tartarus and howl every night. Monsters like Typhon.”

The blue smoke was the sobbing of the fierce rain that gave him and his brothers a symbolic weapon. They wouldn’t have doubted that they were forgiven when the power from his Cap of Invisibility, Zeus’ lightning, and Poseidon’s trident stumped them.

“Who’s Titan the blacksmith?”

“Cyclops.”

“Cyclops?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of the three one-eyed Cyclops brothers?”

“Not really… I’m not even sure if I’ll remember if you tell me.”

“Brontes, Arges, and Steropes. They made lightning that could split and burn anything, and hard spears and caps that could part the sea.”

“Oh! I’ve heard of that. The story about you, and how you fought bravely in the Tempe Gorge with a cap that made you invisible. Is it true that you become invisible if you wear that? How does it feel when you become invisible?”

Hades tilted his head at the excited girl. He realized how strange it was that while she knew about the Cap of Invisibility and the Tempe Gorge, she knew nothing about Cyclops. The story of the three one-eyed brothers was much more renowned than his performance in the Tempe Gorge.

“Can I get a look at them? I’m curious about how they look.”

“You can when we go down to Tartarus.”