Kim Mingyu

We were crash landed after falling in about 2 hours in a speed of a jet plane. Yes it was so fast yet took so long until we were crashed on a muddy surface. We landed on the face first that all of us can’t help but groaned as the cold muds were touching our face.

“Where are we?” I groaned while rubbing the back of my head.

There was no answer as the rest were still regaining their consciousness. Believe me, falling for the whole two hours then landed on your face first could even crack your head open if you were just a normal human, luckily we are all demi-gods.

I took a glance to our surrounding, and suddenly my question was answered.

If you guys were curious how the underworld was look like, well, I let say it was a huge cave, the term of huge was not like a huge that the ceiling were so high but still could be seen. But it was huge like when you stare above, there was nothing there, it was pure dark and cold. The land of the death was so dark that even we couldn’t see beyond one meter in front of us.

From the distance we could hear screams, the spirits’ screams. It was so clear that we could feel the pain and sadness of the tortured spirits. Even by thinking of it making our body shuddered.

I glanced at Wonwoo who is now standing limply because his left leg was injured by the fall.

“Well, welcome to my dad’s realm, guys.” He tried to walk but it seems the pain was so great that it actually trembled him and making he lost his balance.

“Woah! Be careful, Hyung!” I ran toward him. “Here, I’ll carry you from here. My body’s bigger than everyone; I think I could handle it.”

I gave my back to Wonwoo. At first he seemed hesitate to hop to my back, but he suddenly realized that there was no other option. If he forced himself to walk it would be slowed us down, especially in this realm. So he jumped to my back and circling his arms on my neck. I lifted him.

“I don’t know if you are this heavy” I mumbled jokingly gained a muttered curse from him.

“So what are we going to do now?” I asked to Seungcheol.

He seemed to think before he answered. “Seems like going further was the only option since we can’t go back to above the ground through the way we get in.”

We’re all nodded and obeyed his instruction. We started walking on a muddy and slippery path in front of us. It was up and down small dark path. We tried to use the flashlights that we brought from the camp to light the path but the darkness seems so thick that the light can’t disperse it.

We just walked through the darkness until we could hear a sound of water streams. It was getting clearer and clearer as we descend a shining black staircase. We hopped the last stair and now we were walking on a flat terrain again.

We walked straight until Wonwoo shout; “Stop!”

We suddenly halted our steps and looking at the emo boy.

“You guys must be careful on your steps. Look!” He pointed to the front.

We pierced our stare into the darkness, until we found out the scene in front of us. It was a stream of black water river, the river of Styx. I’ve read it in the internet that it was the river that carries the death soul to the judgement place. It said that its water contains the washed memories and life of the soul, as I see the river carried many human belongings such like clothes even a car with the stream.

“Beware of the river, one physical touch with the water feels like a thousand litter of acids were poured on you.” Wonwoo informed.

We all step back in second right after Wonwoo informs that.

“The stream goes to the right. It means that the entrance would be on the right at the end of the river.” Wonwoo added.

“Wait, you said the entrance? What entrance?” Seokmin asked.

“To my father’s palace you moron!”

“Woah! Even though that I am his nephew doesn’t mean that he would warmly accept me to his house! You know that our fathers were fought a lot right?”

“There’s no other option, Seokmin!”

The taller guy can’t do anything but silence.

“All right, all right. There’s no need to argue right now, we should go.” Seungcheol finally said a word.

We continues our march following the stream, now on a narrower path. Seungcheol and Seokmin insisted to walk in front of us, remembering that attack would always come first from the front, knowing that me and Wonwoo wasn’t in a good shape to fight we happily accept them to lead the march.

Now we all walked in silence. Seokmin and Seungcheol were a couple feet in front of us, leaving me and Wonwoo on the back in awkwardness.

“So, how does it feel to meet your father?” I suddenly blurted a question, a bad one. The topic about our godly parents was not a favorite topic to the most of us.

He grunted lightly but answered anyway; “I’ve never met him before.”

Dang, a bad answer. Now the awkwardness would be thicker than before.

We continue our march in silence. Not knowing what to say to each other.

I tried to focus my energy and mind to the mission. But something in my back keeps distracting me-Wonwoo’s heartbeat. The emo boy’s chest was on his back. I don’t know if this was the Aphrodite’s child ability or not but strangely I could understand the feelings of people through their heartbeat.

His heartbeat was slow and steady, but can be faster in a few seconds. I could sense some insecurity inside him. The heartbeat changed its pattern, it was a little bit faster but still steady, I strangely know what does it says, it was mix of scare and challenge, maybe because of the quest and the burden of the prophecy. I feel bad that I couldn’t protect him until now, every time I tried to protect him ended with him protecting me instead.

The heartbeat changed its pattern once again. Now it is a relative slower beat with a short tap on certain points, my back feels warmer because of the beat. It was love. The presence of love should be a source of power of Aphrodite’s children. We could sense love around us, somehow it could make us so powerful. Well Wonwoo’s in love, or falling in love, I really certain of it.

“Hyung.” I said.

He hummed on my back.

“I’m really sorry.” I continued.

“Sorry for?” He asked me.

“I’m really sorry for dragging you to all of this.” I said. “I know that you feel so scared and insecure with this quest, I’m really sorry.”

He buried his face on my nape; I could feel the warm of his breath. “It’s no need to feel sorry, Mingyu. It was my destiny, the Fates were gave it to me since I was born.”

I sighed. This was our destiny after all; either bad or good. “Then, let’s face it together Hyung.”

He chuckled. This is the first time I saw a smile on the Son of Hades’ face, well not literally saw the smile, but I could really feel the warmness, instead of the cold emotion that Wonwoo’d always gave.

*******

I almost get tumbled as the obsidian pathway changed into a rocky and slippery surface again. Seungcheol and Seokmin were now stopped their march, we followed their action after we reach their place.

The sight in front of us was deathly terrifying, like literally deathly. In front of us now lies a vast lake, the water of the Styx were now subdued into a dark eerie lake. The lake was shrouded with gray mist that the other side of the lake was impossible to be seen.

Not far from us there was a pier near a huge gate. There should be the Charon’s Ferry final destination, and according of some Greek Mythology book that I’ve read before tell us that the gigantic gate should be the entrance to the underworld, the real underworld.

We were sneaking behind the stone debris that had been scattered throughout the beach, avoiding any suspicion. We kept sneaking until the distance between us and the gate was just around twenty feet.

From here we could see a queue of people with variation of style from era to era, some were dressed in old Korean hanbok, some were dressed in modern style, and even some were dressed like army from various countries, looking by the on their uniform. The one that I know from them was just that they’re dead peoples, because I recognize some of them were influential people who were reported to be deceased on the TV.

They were queueing to get in to the land of the death. At the front stood some skeleton warriors with an iPad, yes an iPad even the underworld has reached the technologies from mortal world. They were checking the identity and the death information of every soul and then arrange them to separate themselves according their after world judgement.

Let me rephrase you one time, in the Underworld, after you death you can be categorized into one of the three after death judgement.

The first one is the one that mortal said as hell, in this Underworld, the hell was called as the Field of Punishment. The wicked souls usually hang out in there for centuries even eons, to receive the punishment. The punishment ranged from a ridiculous punishment such as getting tickled until you death then revived and then tickled to death again, to a not pleasant to see one like getting drowned in a pool with venomous snakes in it.

The second one is the Field of Asphodel, the place to mortals who are the good deeds and the bad deeds were balanced. Well there is nothing to do in there, literally nothing to do, as in the Asphodel the only thing you could do was just sitting in the middle of a vast death plain without getting hunger or thirst or any mortal needs, just sit there by yourself.

The last one is the paradise, Elysium, the place where the heroes (the good one) and the mortals who were doing so much good deeds in their life hanging out, party everywhere, beautiful garden and houses, it was just literally blessed. Unlike for heroes like us we were getting another option to be reborn and doing the good deeds again until you died thrice with Elysium each time we died, we could reach the Isles of the Blest, which mean more parties and eternal happiness.

We focused on the death souls in front of us; the queue was getting longer and longer like the queue to Seoul Land’s attraction as the Charon’s Ferry come every five minutes. Okay the ferry was not a ferry; it was like huge haunted cruise ship with a speed of bullet train. It was redesigned as the demand of death souls transportation was raised, according to Wonwoo.

“Okay, so here’s the plan.” Wonwoo whispered.

We’re all now focused to Wonwoo.

“The ferry would come every five minutes.” He glanced at the ship. “Our goal is to move as fast as we can and sneak into the ferry, fortunately there were just two destination point of the ferry, this pier which is connected to the gate of underworld, and the other one which is located on the line between mortal world and the river Styx, luckily.”

“O-kay?” I said. “But, how do you know that this plan would actually worked?”

“Trust me, Mingyu. I’ve been in this situation before.” He replied coolly.

Before I asked more question, Seokmin blurted out first.

“Okay, I hate to ruin your perfect plan, cousin, but I think we got another problem.” Seokmin pointed his finger at the gate.

Apparently there was some ruckus as one of the death souls was refused to go to his judgement and tried to escape to another line. Well it didn’t work as he planned because even before he crossed the Elysium Line, his steps was stopped because a terrifying sight in front of him.

Something stepped out from inside the gate, a gigantic furry mammal, a dog, which would be pretty normal if the size was not as big as the world largest trucks were stacked and having three heads. It was Cerberus, the gatekeeper of the Underworld.

The dog was now approaching the wicked man soul, I don’t know if soul can trembling but I swear I could the man’s ghostly body shakes hard, I bet if this was mortal world he would be peed himself. The dog snickered at the man, baring its sharp teeth, like saying mess with me and you’ll be another chopped soul.

The man tried to run as far as he can, but Cerberus was faster, in second it catches the poor soul and munch it between its teeth, the end of the man’s soul,

The problem is, the dog is now sitting right in front of us, wiggling its tail like a happy puppy after being feed.

I glanced at Wonwoo one more time, he shot his eyes on us, telling us silently Run to the ship when I give you signal!

Before I asked once again, Wonwoo is now limply walking to the front of the creature.

One thing’s in our mind right now, He must be crazy enough that he’s now challenging the Cerberus right in front of its nose.

“Hey Big Guy, do you miss me?” Wonwoo said softly.

The Cerberus snickered at Wonwoo, he seemed hesitating, either to munch Wonwoo right here and now or to listen to him. The rest of us who currently waiting on the creature’s back were more terrified to see our friend were about to be eaten.

Wonwoo glanced at us and lifted his left hand a little bit, signaling us to wait some more.

He looked again at Cerberus’ eyes. “Hey big guy, don’t you remember me? It’s me Wonwoo.”

The mention of the Son of Hades’ name actually making the dog whimpered, once again I could not depicted that it was either it could makes the dog softer or wilder. For a second the dog seems like it’s going to bite Wonwoo’s head. But Wonwoo was raising his hand faster.

“Stop it you bad dog!” He punched the watery nose of the dog lightly.

Cerberus is now whimpered sadly, like a puppy getting scolded by its owner.

Wonwoo glanced at us, three finger raised. It means in a count of three we should run for our life to the ferry.

I silently counted in my mind

1

2

3

Right at the count of three, I, Seungcheol, and Seokmin were scrambled to the ferry. We were running like bunch of mental illness patient escaped from the hospital. The death souls were so shocked seeing us.

The Cerberus seems like shocked too as he see living demi-gods ran in his territory. It bare its fangs at us, clearly angry at us because letting someone escaped this realm seems like not on his to-do list.

We were running without turning to see our behind until I realized that there were only three of us who were running. I glanced our back, Wonwoo’s still there trying to catch the Cerberus’ attention.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I shouted at him.

“Run first!” He said while swinging a bone that he picked from the ground in front of the dog. “I’ll catch up later, I am the Son of the Death, my scent won’t affect him, you guys were its’ target, your smell was just too demi-gods!”

I actually going to obey his words and run straight forward to the ferry. But the Cerberus suddenly raised its front paw and kicking Wonwoo away.

 I’ve got no choice. I ran back to Wonwoo’s place, unseated my blade and charging to Cerberus. Luckily I was pretty good at maneuvering through the gigantic dog’s legs. I slashed my blade to his left back leg, it actually works and make the dog trampled.

The bad news is, the three headed dog is now locked his target on me, let away Seungcheol and Seokmin to got to the ferry first. I couldn’t care less, I kept running toward Wonwoo and lifted his body when I reached his place.

“What are you doing? I said you guys go first!” He looked at me looking dumbfounded.

I carried him on my back and started running to the ferry, which is looks like it will sailed in second. “I’m not going without you, Hyung!”

At the deck Seungcheol and Seokmin screamed to us to run faster. I didn’t to look back, not only because it was hard to look back with someone’s being carried on your back, but also because I already know that the Cerberus was now chasing behind us, I could smell its breath, trust me it was the nastiest thing I’ve ever smelled.

We were now only few meters to the ferry’s gate, I slowly running out of stamina. I don’t think that we could made it this time. My pace was getting slower, the sound of the dog steps were now closing to our back, I silently prayed to the gods to spare our life.

At the point of the exhaustion, Wonwoo moved on my back, seems like he’s reaching something inside his front pocket. He muttered something either in Ancient Greek or Chinese I can’t really comprehend it inside my mind because of the exhaustion.

I tried to take a slight glance to our behind, surprisingly, the Cerberus was now far behind us, fighting an army of undead skeletons and zombie. I glanced at Wonwoo, he hold a kind of black specter that radiating a purple light, pointed it at the army of the undead, they were called by Wonwoo.

“We almost get there, Run! I can’t control them any longer in this state.” He sneered.

I gathered the last piece of my strength and continue running at the same times as Wonwoo put down his scepter and the undead army was back to the ground. Now the Cerberus was chasing at us again.

But it was a lucky day for us, we reached the Ferry’s entrance door as it was about to be closed. The door was closed behind us, making a clear boundaries between us and the three headed dog. We nearly escaped the death, literally.

*********