After keeping all the Asphodel essences safe, I realize that I may need to take Rem, my winged-horse Pegasus, with me on this next errand.
My line of sight shifts over to Melaina—I want to make sure she's alright. She's sitting by one of the many garden patio tables with retro wrought iron chairs. They're all painted in a soft cream color.
A beautiful nymph with jet black silky hair stands out among the vibrant flowers that're planted behind her. They frame her as if those were the flowers' entire life's purpose.
Contrary to the picture-perfect setup, the girl's inner self seems to be in complete disarray.
Last time I checked, Melaina was fidgeting quite a bit out of discomfiture. It's no longer as bad, but I suppose she's not used to how bright and lively it is here at the Elysian Plains.
I walk towards the direction where her table's located, and I pull out one of the chairs to sit down with her.
Many people walk by us. They were all present during that piktionary event. However, none of them seem to express any recognition or sense of familiarity when they look at me.
Instead, as soon as they look my way and don't acknowledge me, I let out a sigh. I should be used to it, but it's still a bit grating whenever it happens. A small pang does a vice grip across my chest — squeezing me for all I'm worth.
I'm still naively hoping they'd remember me.
... That even if they're humans, it's only been a few days or so since I've been gone.
Out of nowhere, Melaina pipes up and catches me by surprise, "Does that often happen to you? Do they not know who you are?"
"... What makes you say that?" I ask, with a slightly awkward tone in my voice.
"Every time certain people walk by, your face lights up—or at least, until they start looking the other way again. Your hopeful expression doesn't last very long before it vanishes—it's a bit sad to watch, in my opinion." Melaina grows silent and peers at me with her vibrant-colored eyes before speaking once more, "It's been happening over and over until you begin defaulting on a rather livid expression as more people walk past."
I bring a hand to my arm, rubbing my skin slowly out of habit. It's usually when I discuss something I'm not entirely used to talking about. "Mm... I guess. Only full-fledged Gods or Goddesses can remember me, I suppose."
The raven-haired nymph gazes off to the distance and thinks solemnly before responding to me, "Hmm... that is most curious, indeed."
A shadow starts to loom over our table, so I look up at the source.
It's Byrka.
"Khirelle, my goddess, I just wanted to let you know that the bottles you brought over to me for safekeeping have been stored now." He beams at me, clearly happy to see me again when only a few days have passed.
I return his smile with one of my own.
Byrka's a wonderful friend who deserves the world. Also, despite plenty of my short-comings, he still treasures me all this time. I should try to find a way to show him some gratitude properly when I can. "Thank you so much, Byrka. I owe you one."
"Alright. Let's plan some things out before we head over to Tartarus," Taking that as a cue, my dearest friend takes it as his time to leave. We both bid our goodbyes before I bring my attention back to Melaina.
Without wanting to waste any more time, I immediately go into planning mode.
Without giving any introduction whatsoever to Melaina on what I've decided to do from here on out, I immediately spit out, "Sooo listen: I'm giving you two options since I need to go fetch Rem, my Pegasus."
"The first option is that you stay here while I go get him, or the second one is that you go on ahead and wait for me by the cliffs where the Meadows of Asphodel ends. There's a little cave-like entrance there that'll lead you towards the other end of the mountain. That's where I'll be meeting you with Rem," I say nonchalantly.
Melaina leans forward as she gives it a thought for a second or two. Her forehead and nose had some crinkles, which eased up as soon as she's come to a decision.
Some of her jet-black hair that's been tucked behind her ears spill forth; each strand gleams as streams of light hits it at a certain angle. She answers, "Mm. I think I'll wait for you by those ravines, then. I can't stand to stay a minute longer. It's— deeply messing with my emotions."
Her eyes flutter open as she realizes something. "Oh." Melaina looks up at me with her bewitchingly hazel eyes and points out, "Also... it looks like that demi-god has no problem remembering you."
I shrug.
I'm not quite sure of that myself, to be honest. Is it really because we've seen each other a lot? We've fought quite a lot of battles together. There's that as well. Either way, I'm just glad that he can since he's one of my dearest friends.
Somehow, I'm not shocked to hear her say she's going to the cliff's edge right before we make our descent Tartarus, as the Plains of Elysian is not what she's used to at all.
Melaina's already used to the opposite of 'lively' and 'positive'. I bet she'd like it to stay that way if possible.
So we head off in different directions, each with a goal that we needed to fulfill.
[...]
As soon as I have Rem with me, we immediately set off for the entrance to Tartarus.
I'm glad I decided to bring him with me this time around. It'll make traveling a whole lot easier as Melaina may need some assistance to get to places.
We arrive at the meeting place in no time flat. Thanks to Rem, the travel time has been halved, at the very least.
For some time now, there's been barely any plant life. My view consisted mostly of rocks, and... more rocks. The colossal mountain before us is as barren as it can get.
I finally locate the entrance to the cave. From far away, I can make out Melaina's silhouette as she continues to wait for us. Reasonably easy to spot considering how flashy she's dressed in comparison to her surroundings. She's unquestionably sticking out like a sore thumb, indeed.
...
Right before Rem's hooves touch the ground, I swing my leg wide and hop off his back. I stretch out my wings all of a sudden. Since I was about to fall, the action creates a somewhat vacuous 'fwoom' sound. That is until I start to flap them.
While I start hovering mid-air, I shout out to Melaina, "Alright! I'm finally back. Thank you very much for waiting, Melaina!"
She shouts back somewhat unintelligible, but I wave back to her without asking her to repeat what she said. Instead, I scream back, "Tell me later, if it's nothing immediate."
Anyway, Melaina can use Rem for now as she does not have the power of flight, or at least, for a very long distance. 'Better safe than never', is a phrase I take very seriously. It's going to be one heck of a trip. I've heard that if you throw a bronze anvil from the underworld, it will take nine days of continuous falling for it to reach Tartarus.
A slight pause, and I point at the majestic flying horse that's now kneeling beside her. "Take Rem. There's no way I can take someone as heavy as a person to Tartarus."
As soon as I make sure she's safely mounted on Rem's back, I fly past the ledge, and I see absolutely nothing but pitch black down the depths below.
I don't overthink it, then motion for Rem and Melaina to follow my lead.
[...]
We've been flying for some time. I'm starting to feel paranoid if we're even going in the right direction. It's been about over an hour already, and it's been the same scenery the entire time. There has been no indication whatsoever on the walls to make you know that you haven't passed the same thing twice.
Even when I use my powers to illuminate the area, it doesn't do anything because everything looks the same. I don't sense any other magic at work, so it might just be my brain starting to play tricks on me.
It's tough to tell when everything's so dark in front of me... and behind me. I twist my neck to look back, but I try to avoid doing this as I'll get more and more disoriented if I do that.
The longer it takes to go down, the more confused you'll feel.
It's a naturally occurring phenomenon where you're no longer sure which way's the right direction. I decide to keep going though, and not fall prey to these feelings of uncertainty. Who knows how long it'll take if I start to waver now and head back the opposite way.
Melaina has been quiet for some time, which someone sent me in a bit of a panic.
Only for me to find out that it's because... she FELL ASLEEP! She's snoring softly as she holds onto Rem's mane. I let out a breath of relief.
Taking a quick look at her face, I turn my head away after making sure she's alright. Her beautiful face would have enchanted many. It's too bad that she's too obsessed with whatever it is about me— unfortunately, there is no chance that I can ever return those feelings.
...
With my patience rewarded after some more time of keeping it up—I finally see a faint light at the end of the tunnel.
Feeling some impatience being stirred within me, I fly even faster.
We go through it, only to find that the area looks even darker than the last places I've visited. So what the heck was that light?!
I twist my body to see the opening to the tunnel again. There's some light at the edge of it, but only enough to indicate the end of the passage.
Placing my hand on my forehead, I sigh deeply out of frustration.
... Maybe I should try to set something up here that won't draw too much attention. I don't know what it's like, and I doubt anyone could just come here, anyway. It should be relatively safe to stay by the entrance in case anything happens.
With Melaina still sleeping on Rem's back, I softly touch Rem's forehead with the palm of my hand as I begin to cast a spell on him.
I whisper, "Rem, no matter what happens, the safety of Melaina comes first. If you have to leave me, do so without hesitation. Take her back to where her home is. Await for me, your Master, there and assist them with anything they'll possibly need until I can fetch you."
Alright, with that out of the way...
We need some sources of light here. I end up producing orbs of luminescence with the feathers of the Eternal Phoenix.
It's been a while since I've been to Tartarus. I remember that there were some lanterns near the prison. I guess I'm still a ways away, somehow? As I don't see anything here, yet.
As I start to pace around to have enough bearing of what it's like here, I hear something incredibly eerie from around the corner.
A tiny object starts to roll towards me—merely stopping short of my armored boots.
Uhh... It's... just a pebble. What the hell? Okay, that's... quite random.