Hot air rushed around me. I felt as if I had been falling for hours now. After only a little longer, my descent slowed and the air became cool. I softly landed on black sand that looked almost like obsidian shards. In front of me was a long, dark blue river that led into the Underworld. At the bank sat a young man. I put on my helm to hide my face. I no longer needed to wear one of those cloaks as the Helm of Darkness hid my aura as well.
The man wore only a cloth spooled over his nether regions. He looked at me, his body dripped water from various cuts. He held a serrated dagger in his hands and was slitting his wrists.
"Who are you?" He asked while he winced at the pain of the knife plunging into his stomach."
"Erm, you can call me Hades. I wish to enter the Underworld." The man pulled out the blade slowly. Seeming to want to elongate the pain.
"Hm, I can let you in. But first you must take a drink from my river."
"Why? I don't think that's a good idea."
"If you don't, no entry. And don't try to swim. It will have the same effect. Just forever."
I looked around for a boat or something to get across. Themis clearly stated touching the waters of the Underworld were a bad idea. Looking off the platform, I could see the entirety of the Underworld.
There were four other rivers that swam around the black grass. In the center was a giant black palace facing us. The walls almost touched the spiky ceiling. It was surrounded by four different areas. There was an area of green grass with a beautiful pond and various animals on the left of the palace. It was the only non-gloomy place in the entirety of the Underworld. I'd be happy to live there. At the back was a place with red rock as the floor. The trees were on fire and I could feel the heat just by looking at it.
In front of the Palace were fields of black grass, I could see some souls roaming around. They looked like normal people but they had a slight glow to them. To the right of the palace were a series of mansions and small homes. At the very back was a blood red ominous cave that no doubt led to Tartarus. Thin black trees with red fruit dotted the landscape. One of the rivers led to a more comfortable looking cave. It made me sleepy just by looking at it. I shook my head and looked away.
There was nothing of use. Sighing I took off my helm and knelt down. Cupping the water in my hands, pain flared through my body. My hands trembled and I could barely get it to my lips.
Drinking the blue water, pain like never before flared through my body. My throat felt as if someone shoved a red hot pike through it. I could feel my eyes being gouged out with spoons, my tongue being cut off, my bones broken one by one, a knife stabbed me and cut me over and over again.
My teeth got pulled out, my testicles torn apart, my nose crushed, my body heated up before quickly freezing causing even more suffering.
I was chained to the ground and could see my family get murdered by my father, empowered now by the Ophiotaurus killing the Olympians permanently. Cronus caught the slippery Zeus and tore him in half at the waist. He used the Lightning Bolt and impaled Metis through the neck and crushed her head with his free hand. As Poseidon charged, his scythe flew to him and he cut my little brother in half right before me. Hera and Hestia did a joint charge with swords, their form still a little amateurish. Cronus smiled as he took his scythe and quickly beheaded Hera. Hestia stopped in her tracks as Hera's ichor painted her gold. The scythe stabbed into her chest and he lifted her up and threw her into the sun.
Cronus was wrapped in vines as Demeter's eyes glowed gold from power. Cronus laughed as he vanished and appeared behind Demeter. She turned and he picked her up by the neck. I wanted to scream, move but I could do nothing. He quickly crushed her neck.
Just as he was about to turn, Gida rammed into his leg and Amalthea smashed him in the head with her staff. Neither of them fazed him as he stabbed Gida in the top of her head with Demeter's sickle and put his foot on her shoulder and pulled her head off. This stopped Amalthea's onslaught for a moment and Cronus cut her in half with his scythe.
He grew into a 90 foot giant and caught the boulders thrown by the Hecatoncheires and threw them at the charging Cyclopes with hammers. The boulders obliterated my uncles and with a quick swipe of his Scythe, cut the Hecatoncheires in half.
He turned back into his nine foot self and Zeus grabbed the hem of his cloak. Zeus' innards spooled behind him. Cronus smiled at him and stepped on his head. My father shook his head and stomped down, crushing Zeus' skull.
Mother grabbed his shoulder and shouted something I couldn't hear. He looked at her and then down at the trident in her stomach. Poseidon's trident. He twisted it and let her drop to the floor in a pool of her own blood.
He turned to me. He was covered in golden ichor. He began to slowly walk towards me. I gathered all my will and broke free of the chains. I drew my swords and charged.
I awoke in front of another river. To my left was the other river I just drank from. Tears filled my eyes. I laid there crying for a minute and telling myself it wasn't real. I got on my hands and knees and threw up. I stayed like that shaking for a few minutes. Finally deciding that I'd kill Cronus before he laid his hands on Hestia, I found my resolve to keep going.
"U-um sir. Can you please drink of my river. It's the only way to pass."
I looked up at a young boy. He was only five feet tall and he wore a blue chiton. He looked at me with sad eyes. I nodded. This was the worst. I don't know who made this bullshit but I hated it. I walked over to the grey water and drank.
Immediately the sounds of crying and wailing filled my head. Arms reached out of the river and grabbed me, asking for my help. I could even hear the Olympians. I couldn't move my body as I was pulled closer. Wait. I don't give a fuck about these souls and the Olympians were well and alive. I pulled with all my strength and my sight went dark.
I woke up and the wailing subsided. My face was now buried in black grass.
I slowly stood up and put back on my helm. I was at another bank of the river. I could see the platform miles away and in the air. I turned and groaned. In front of me was another river with the clearest waters I've ever seen. It circled around the Underworld for what looked like nine times. I could also see the two other rivers snaking their way around the place.
At the bank of the river, a woman sat on a rock. She frowned at me as I walked over.
"And you are?" She asked with a dismissive tone.
"I am called Hades. Do I need to drink from your river as well."
"Glad that you caught on quickly. I am Styx, River of Oaths and Hate. You must take a drink only once to pass through my nine layers. Then I will explain the next part."
I nodded and knelt down for a drink after dismissing my helm, I didn't need to put it on and take it off so many times. It tasted bitter. When I drank Only one thing flashed into my vision. Cronus, Titan of Time and Harvest, King of the Universe. There was also stubbing my toe but that wasn't important.
All of a sudden I felt like screwing everything and running straight to Cronus' throne and plunging my hand down his throat and pulling out his black heart. I got up and began to walk to the exit that had appeared in front of me. Before I got to the door, visions of everyone dying appeared in my head again. I stopped and Styx sighed.
"All Cronus will have to do is say a few words and you'll collapse." She chuckled as I fell to my hands and knees to resist my urges. "You may have strength but your mind is impossibly fragile. My advice for you is to sit out in the fight with Cronus. Your weakness is easy to exploit and will get everyone else killed. You survived the River Acheron, and now Styx. Now you must face my love. The River Phlegethon. But before you go, you must make a vow on my river. An important one."
I thought for a moment before narrowing my eyes. "I swear on the River Styx, I will be the one to kill Cronus."
She raised her eyebrow at me before sighing. "Idiot." She waved her hand and I appeared on the other side of the river. In front of me was a tall man, around nine feet smiling down at me.
"Welcome Olympian. All you must do is drink from these flames to prepare you for the torture you're going to endure."
I gulped and cupped the fire in my hands. It acted like liquid and dripped between my fingers. I quickly drank the flames. It went down my throat slowly and burned me like that pepper I ate. It burned every corner of my mouth and throat and I closed my eyes as they began to tear up.
When I opened my eyes, I was in front of the last river. I quickly patted out the flames that had burned my chiton. Now all I had was the skirt. Red scars raced across my body and they wouldn't heal. A woman stood in front of me. She was tall and wore a whit chiton like all the others. "What are you?" She asked while staring at me with wide pale eyes.
"Uh, I'm just someone trying to cross. I need to drink from your river, right?"
"Mn. Yeah that's right. Have fun!"
I sighed and drank the pale white water. I immediately began to forget everything I knew. Zeus, Rhea, Hera, Poseidon. All gone. I tried frantically to grab a memory but they slipped out of my grasp.
I was able to close my arms around one and my vision shifted to a new scene. It smelled horrible. I was in my 13 year old body again. My body looked at Hestia again.
"Hey Hestia? Do you want to try that thing moth- I mean Rhea was talking about?"
"What thing? All she does is talk after all."
My body rolled it's eyes. "The kissing. She told me it was something you did with someone you really liked. She said it made things official."
Hestia shrugged. "I've never seen it. Do you know how to do it?"
My younger self nodded as I got close enough for our bodies to touch each other. I tried to imitate how Cronus had done it. The one thing he seemed to do right other than be the worst thing on the planet. I laced her fingers on her right hand through my left hand. I put her free hand on my shoulder and I wrapped my right arm around her waist before I leaned down and put my lips on hers. We stayed like that for a few seconds Before we parted. I gave her a thumbs up.
"Now it's official. We really like each other! Nothing can separate us now."
"Meh, seemed a little off. I think we did it wrong."
"Huh. No I'm pretty sure that's how it's done."
"Let's do it again. Until we get it perfect."
"Sure. I think kissing is fun! Rhea said she enjoyed it and I do too!"
I awoke in front of the large palace. I could remember everything again. I blushed. Hestia and I would kiss multiple times. Until of course Demeter came down. Rhea had mentioned you should only kiss in private. Otherwise it was rude. THAT was the reason we broke our habit. I had never forgotten it but I never brought it up and neither did Hestia. Now we knew what it really meant.
I put on my helm and vanished. The Underworld became freezing as I walked around the palace to the mansion with the green light coming out of it.