"A cave, and a feast?" Helios asked sincerely. The request is far too strange since his friend has a whole bunch of keepsakes, extending from palaces, mountains, forests, artifacts, rare items, and women. Wealth is never a problem to deities.
What could those two contradicting words mean? Take a guess.
A cave and a fine environment within it and a large feast. "Has Eric already managed to succeed in the last trial?"
"My master is one superior being, wisdom and intellect is his major specialty." Elijah complimented his master in the guise of confirming Helios' thought.
"When is he planning to ascend? I need a deadline for my mind to function."
He raised three of his fingers. Helios looked at him in confusion, clearly not in the mood for jest.
"Three weeks after this engagement."
Helios contemplated for a moment then went to recollect some information from his millennia-old memories. In a few minutes, he opened his eyes which were glowing. He raised his hands and three floating images of three mounts appeared.
"Μελισσάνης, Ιδαίο Άντρο, Σπήλαιο Διρού."
The glow that his eyes were emitting disappeared. Elijah then closely studied the geography of the caves and tried to fit their features to Eric's standards.
— AT THE UNDERWORLD
The palace of the Devil, the House of Abaddon, is made of glittering obsidian with a black marble portico and a polished bronze floor in the entry hall.
It is maintained quite well with the care of undead servants. However, there seem to be a few cracks in the walls and visible cobwebs at the corner of the ceiling.
And instead of the screeches of evil souls, inside the throne room, the cry of an infant is heard. The child was wrapped in white cloth as it cried at the top of its lungs.
The demons who are standing before the man sitting on a throne made of human bones are annoyed by the whining. If the child were to be ordinary with humans as its parents, they would've silenced it the moment it cried.
Their faces are darkened and have veins all over their foreheads. The man was drinking wine from a silver chalice before one of his generals decided to question him.
"Abaddon, did you lose your sanity?"
"I did not." He grinned, "Perhaps, were you hoping that I became a madman?"
"How dare I have the audacity to assume," he spoke in a dry tone.
Abaddon chuckled. Before he became who he is, he was at his lowest. The hunger and thirst made him weak and despair began to overwhelm him.
What is wrong with a man who tried to take back what belongs to him? He felt betrayed when his brother took not only his lover but also his position as a superior god.
He vowed to return everything tenfold. From his pride that he had thrown away when he crawled to Callista as tears streamed down at the same time and when Helios took her away even if he knew that she is his brother's dearest.
He gulped his pride as a god, as a man, and as a being, to beg for forgiveness when all he did is to let the goddess return to his arms.
"One question," one of the generals raised their hand, "Who is the mother of this child?"
Abaddon looked at them in confusion then scoffed, "Why call that thing a child? It's the result of my experiment with Corrupt Essence."
"Ehhh.." Kassandra raised her brows as she stares at the little creature.
"Can't you explain it more clearly, Abaddon?" someone said in an impatient tone.
"I mixed her corrupt essence, my blood, a branch of the world tree, and a dark elf's mana then voilá!" he explained it seriously, very seriously.
Everyone glanced at each other before forming a circle. Kassandra did not want her benefits to be taken so she doesn't involve herself but she got dragged.
"Should we call a healer or a witch or somebody who can help him?" someone whispers.
"I recommend kidnap— asking a witch to cast all spells on him."
"I agree."
"I fucking hate all of you.."
"We love you too, Kassie."
Despite conversing in a low tone, Abaddon could hear it. A vein appeared on his forehead, "The right or the left?"
"None please." They said in unison.
An awkward silence surfaced. The generals were sweating profusely, they wanted to lighten up the mood by joking around not get their arms dislocated.
They were already on their knees, except Kassandra, waiting for Abaddon to cause them agony.
"Audience dismissed."
"Huh?" All of them expressed confusion, then got teary-eyed. Is their commander going to abandon them for jest? Who would even want to get fired because of a stupid reason?
"What?"
"Are you gonna fire us? We won't do it again, we vow with our names."
"Do you want me to change my mind or escape your punishment?" Still seeing his generals not moving a single inch, "Iron maiden, guillotine, crucifixion, live burial, burned alive, quartering, pear..."
As he opened his eyes, none of his generals were to be seen. However, Kassandra remained standing while folding her arms, deep in thought.
Seeing how occupied she is, he also went on a trip in memory lane. He recalled those events that felt fresh like it was from yesterday.
Memories of his suffering, agony, and feeling powerless made him nauseous. It was disgusting and inhumane. If it weren't for the Devil seeking for a body to possess, he probably will be the god who lost everything and was punished for his foolishness.