One hundred fifty meters east of River Phlegethon
*
He is sure that there's definitely a disturbance nearby, but such will never ever divert his attention from his task at hand. The lonely soul of Sisyphus only has one goal right now: today, he will finally roll this giant boulder at the top of this hill, so he can finally take a rest from this punishment from Zeus and Hades.
'Just a little bit more…..' Sisyphus thought.
He always hated the topography of this place. It was bumpy, and really hot. 'Why is this damned boulder even here? Can't it be located near Elysium? Why here near the mouth of Tartarus?' Those gods Zeus and Hades were definitely too hard on him for giving him this taxing and spirit-breaking comeuppance.
He only died for the second time recently, but the gods were unforgiving, even in this second death. When he was alive, he was the King of the prosperous city-state of Corinth. He had a loving wife, and a clear purpose as the leader of his people. But fate and the Fates really had to mess him up.
One day, the river god Asopus came looking for his daughter, Aegina, and asked for King Sisyphus' help in finding her. Previously on the day before that, Sisyphus actually saw Aegina being carried off to somewhere by a giant, beautiful eagle. He's wise enough to realize that the eagle was no ordinary bird – it was a god in disguise, most probably Zeus. He told Asopus about it, and the river-god hated Zeus from that day forward.
The Thunderer heard of this outrageousness, and came to the land to confront Sisyphus, thoroughly in denial of everything about the rumors he spread. Little did he know, Sisyphus was able to get a hold of a wandering Spirit of Death that was killing random people of his Kingdom, and imprisoned it, so that no humans will ever pass away again. Being ever so cautious of that, Sisyphus told his wife not to offer any of the traditional burial rites if ever he dies. But not later than that, Sisyphus did die after being mysteriously hit by lightning from his balcony. 'Snip!'
When he arrived the first time in the Underworld, he complained to Hades that his wife had not observed proper burial rites, so the Lord of the Dead granted him permission to return to the surface to chastise her. Once granted the second lease of life, Sisyphus refused to go back to the Realm of the Dead, and lived a ripe old age, before he succumbed to sickness and returned to the Underworld not long ago. 'Snip!' Those Fates have cut his second string of life.
As a penalty for cheating death, the brothers Zeus and Hades punished him immediately after his arrival. His penalty is to roll over a great boulder at the top of a hill, only to have it roll back down to the bottom every time he almost reaches the top. This incessant rolling became a puzzle to which Sisyphus can never comprehend. But the gods were wise to perceive that an eternity of futile labor is a hideous castigation.
'I'm close enough to the finishing…' Sisyphus thought. Yet when it only took another push for the boulder to reach the hilltop, it began to roll backwards, straight towards his starting point. 'Dammit…' The former King of Corinth rolled along with it, and he became more filthy as he hit the ground along with the boulder which crushed his lower body too. He looked now at his undead form, which he's sure will recover later on. After that happens, he will roll the boulder once more, knowing that he's getting himself trapped in an endless circle.
'Argh fuck this shit.' He groaned. But he can't do anything about it. He can't stop himself from doing just that, and that's when he realized how cruel the gods were in giving him this kind of mentally and physically exhausting punishment.
--
They heard a rumbling from the distance, but the thick haze of the river was preventing them to see what the fuss was about, so they just dismissed it as random Underworld-ly noises. Also, it seems that there was a silent truce between the two parties who were separated by the fires of Phlegethon – like they had a non-verbatim communication of a ceasefire, to which both of them agreed.
Isaac is now chewing on his penultimate piece of grape-flavored mentos, and he concluded that this wasn't enough to restore his lost energy from overusing his magic. Opening the shadow portal alone was enough to drain most of it, then he later on had to control numerous shadows in order to capture these people from his era, and that proved to be such a waste since he's currently at a loss on how to resume that task.
Even his Fury was cowering in the corner, crying over the loss of her youthful left leg, sending out sonic waves in an attempt to call over her sistahs to help her in her current dilemma.
"Yeeekekek! I wish I wore my jeans, not these shorts – yekek!" She continued to bawl out.
He ordered her to shut up because she might attract her – other – sistahs, to which she perfectly understood. In the silence, he started to think.
Julius knows this stalemate is only temporary. Sooner or later, one of them will make a move. But he also knows that both of them are taking their time in resting, in an attempt to recover their lost energy from that recent game of tag. His thirst has returned. How long has it been since they last replenished themselves?
"Gods, I need a drink." He muttered softly, putting his right hand on his forehead. Upon realizing his actions, he quickly removed his hand away from his face, afraid that what happened before will happen again. 'What if I turn myself into an old man if my hand moves on its own again?'
/Soon enough, your powers shall awake – time and space, use wisely, once obtained/
That line from the prophecy bugged his mind now. Time and space. Really, this power is dangerous, but at the same time, absolute and very OP if utilized properly, in his opinion. Julius wondered what else he could do with all these awakened powers. If he learns to use it properly…..he might be able to control everything.
"Ah, I just remembered you had this inside. Apparently our manager filled it with water. Here, take a sip, but make sure to leave us some, okay?" Rexis rummaged through Julius' sportsbag and took out a water bottle, then, offered it to him.
Rexis had trouble running around with that thing still strapped on his shoulders. He wanted to throw away the bag numerous times during his struggle with emoboy, but he can't since it contains the very important book portal, and of course, some other modern things they might find useful, like this water bottle.
Julius gratefully took it, and chugged down half of its contents. He honestly wanted to drink all of it, but his conscience told him to leave some for the others, who might be thirsty as well. Then, an idea crossed his mind. "Hey Rexis, can you gimme that bag?"
"Uh, sure – here." Rexis said as he sent the bag over to him.
He opened it and checked on his things. Some can really prove to be useful. This is only a theory, yet he wanted to try this out. Similar to a Mind Palace, but on a more miniscule scale – for their convenience in keeping their things. He imagined a locker – no – a closet, big enough to store things which he wanted to keep but could not carry easily all the time. He envisioned this in the space before him, and suddenly, he felt like this could work. After concentrating for a few seconds, a tear appeared in the fabric of space he was envisioning, and the 'closet' appeared. Julius grinned, while Corinna and Rexis looked impressed.
Julius then placed the bag in the 'closet'. But the word doesn't seem right. He thought of a better term, and came up with 'inventory' from the system and RPG games he sometimes plays. He tried to close it, and the inventory disappeared. To check if it really worked, he opened it again, and there, the bag is still resting.
"I created a personal space for us where we can store our inventory. If you want, you can put some of your things here that seems to be inconvenient for you when we travel. Though it seems that only I can access it."
Rexis: "Bro, that's cool. At least that will lighten our burdens. That bag was kinda heavy."
Corinna: "That is indeed useful. But I am fine with carrying my own weapons and things since they're light."
For half an hour now, nothing eventful has happened, except for them sorting out the items from the bag and organizing it in their inventory. Just a few minutes ago, the same rumbling was heard, but its probably normal since this is, after all, Hell. The man on the other side of the river appeared to be sleeping. Rexis brought out the volleyball from the inventory display and bounced it off the nearest rock.
The inventory closed. "Stop practicing receives here." Julius told him, but Rexis only smirked in reply.
However, Corinna remained vigilant. She stood up from her place after picking up again the familiar sound of flapping wings in the distance. "I think the other Erinyes are coming." She whispered to the boys.
Rexis dropped the ball to the ground. This quickly got their attention. Even Isaac's ears twitched from that. Then, Julius heard a cold, ancient voice that sent shivers down his spine…..
~ Come, my Son ~
"Did you hear that?" He asked the others.
"If you mean the wings, yeah. Other than that, no." Corinna responded.
"No, I mean. I think someone's calling."
Corinna and Rexis both frowned at that. "None of that sort, dude." His friend replied.
~ Come, my Son. Do your duty and take me back to Your Future ~
"There…There it goes again." He said in barely a whisper.
The other two had the same expression, so now Julius deduced that he must be the only one who can hear this very ominous voice….
~ Come, my Son. You're almost there ~
Now he's sure he's the one being called upon here. The voice seems to be coming from the east. He looked at that direction, and in the thick, reddish haze, he spotted a very small, faint silhouette of someone who seem to be pushing something which he could not fathom.
As if caught in a trance, he started to walk towards the direction of the voice.
~ Yes, come here, my Son ~
"JULIUS!" Rexis yelled as he threw a fireball over his head. A Fury almost got to attach its talons on his shoulders.
Thankfully, that got him out of his daze. When he looked up, all three Erinyes got back in action, even the one with the aged leg.
"Reeeekekek! Attack, my sistahs! We shall take revenge upon ourselves – rekek!" One of the bat-women started their battlecry.
Across them, darkness was gathering. The shadows closely compressed together, forming a solid-looking bridge connecting their side and the other side of the river. Isaac's hands were stretched in front of him, trying to complete it, drenched in sweat from his total concentration, but looking murderous all the same.
"Uh – oh."