Hence, Alex and Achilles, spent a few days in Asphodel, overseeing the revolution that the former had caused.
They couldn't go to Elysium yet anyways, as through inquiring with the locals, they found out the only bridge that allowed passage of the Phlegethon river to the gates of Elysium was torn down by the lava and it would take a while to rebuild.
Nonetheless, they would keep on spectating and helping the residents of Asphopolis overthrow Aplisto and end his monopoly on the mining sector, which was the lifeblood of most of the ordinary residents of the city.
_______________________________________________________________________
In the center of Asphopolis, one could find a large palace.
It stood out due to its unusual architecture that mimicked the abodes of kings, and queens of the mortal world.
Additionally, it used rare materials that contrasted with the concrete blocks that the rest of the residents were left to build with.
It hosted a symmetrical and well-cared-for garden that practically screamed wealth and the palace in itself was extremely opulent, as the wide halls in its interior decorated with enormous wall paintings, all depicting the very same person.
It looked like the owner of the palace really liked themself.
Outside of this palace, a large crowd of souls was marching.
There were very clear opposing sides, one of which was the group of souls as aforementioned, and they were unarmed.
On the other side, there was a smaller pack of souls that were, however, fully armed with cold weapons.
The sight of the ghostly figures of Asphodel wielding heavy armor and swords was rather comedic.
The crowd of souls was marching around the palace and screaming in unison "Vanquish Aplisto!", albeit as the heavily armed pack cautiously followed their every move.
Meanwhile, in the insides of the palace, a different scene was taking place.
In one of the numerous halls of the palace, a soul was collapsed on the ground, clutching thin air.
On the side of its 'head', there was a beautiful crown.
It shined a golden color and the gems embedded in it were reflecting the lights cast by the chandelier overhead and served as a testament to its worth.
This crown was made of gold, diamonds, obsidian, and rubies, the rarest metals and crystals that they could find in the mines of Asphodel.
And the soul collapsed weakly on the ground, was also the very same person that monopolized these mines and the target of the city's ongoing revolts.
The self-proclaimed 'Lord Aplisto', casino tycoon and tyrant.
Standing a distance away from 'Lord Aplisto', a person who seemed to be an attendant was calmly listing out recent financial reports.
"Lord, as compared to the previous bi-monthly financial earnings, the profit gained from the casinos has gone down from 12564 Eternities to a modest figure of 542 Eternities, and guards from the mines have resigned due to not receiving their proper wages and regulating the mines will be impossible."
Aplisto, however, wasn't calm at all.
"I KNOW, I KNOW. HOW ABOUT, INSTEAD OF TORMENTING ME, YOU QUIT TOO!?"
"Understood." The attendant seemed to be waiting for this and took off its hat, and proceeded to leave the hall.
Aplisto, who was now left alone and looked extremely neurotic, stood up and approached the corner of this hall, where a large painting of him was hung.
After staring at it for a dozen seconds or so, grabbed the painting and carefully took it out of the wall, and put it down on the ground.
Surprisingly, there was a dent on the wall that hid a single chest.
The chest seemed to be heavy as he had difficulty taking it out of there, but he somehow did and opened it.
As the chest opened, a blinding light flashed in the room and as it dimmed, it revealed the contents of the chest.
There were hordes and hordes of gold coins all engraved with the horse, a prominent symbol of the Underworld and proof of their legitimacy as Eternities, the currency of Asphodel.
Aplisto took out a handful of these coins that filled up the entire chest and hugged it.
He then kept repeating this single sentence, "I may have lost everything but I still have you..."
He was now fully mad and stayed in that state, groaning as he rubbed the coins against his own body.
Unbeknownst to him, the crowd of souls outside suddenly barged in the hall and witnessed the madness and obsession that he had with money, also noting down the large amounts of Eternities that he was hoarding in his house.
"Disgusting!"
"Maddening!"
"Tyranny!"
They were all shouting curses at 'Lord Aplisto'.
If these souls had eyes, then Aplisto would have bloodshot ones as he gave up and collapsed to the ground once again.
Somewhat unexpected, the former heavily armed souls that were supposed to be opposing the revolts joined them too, as they all complained about not receiving their proper wages.
Aplisto's empire was entirely built upon money, and now that he was in a lack of it, it all came crumbling down.
Like a criminal, he was apprehended by the others and thrown out of his castle.
There was a square in the center of Asphopolis, and Aplisto was forcefully dragged there by the angry residents.
As a crowd formed around him, a soul came up and started speaking and giving a speech about all of his wrongdoings.
"Aplisto was once a smart business soul, and thanks to his casinos, entertainment for the residents was now readily available."
The crowd nodded.
"However."
"He wished to bite off more than he could chew, and tried using the mind-bending fortune he made to control even more of our lives, and monopolize our mines, that bring food on the table for most of us!"
The crowd, going along with the soul's crescendo tone, started stirring up and moving erratically.
"We have calculated his entire net worth, and it came out to an astounding 7 million Eternities! To illustrate, the average resident of Asphopolis makes about 394 Eternities a year!"
The agitated crowd nodded fervently and someone spoke up "I only make about 210 Eternities a year! All because he chose to be in charge of mining! Speak about that!"
The soul giving out the speech was overwhelmed and resumed its speech.
"Hmm, y-yes. I was going to get to that."
"Of his own will, Aplisto regulated the mining industry, reducing the standard wage from 30 Eternities a month to 20 Eternities and pocketing the difference! When residents spoke up, the guards he hired with his fortune threw souls into the Phlegethon!"
"Preposterous!"
"Throw Aplisto into the Phlegethon River!" Someone from the crowd said, and it resonated with the audience, who repeated their words.
Aplisto, in the center of this all, had his head dumped into the ground.
At this moment, the crowd seemed to be getting a little bit too agitated, and the soul who gave out the speech was backing down as violence erupted in the square.
At this moment, two people charged into the center of the square.
They stood out from the rest of the souls, as they had human traits.
They were, of course, Alex and Achilles.
Alex proclaimed, "No one is going to throw anyone into the Phlegethon!"
The crowd fell into silence for a moment and someone asked, "Why? He deserves it."
Achilles took the lead this time and replied, "He may be a terrible soul. But no one deserves to be erased for all eternity under the flames and lava of the river of purification."
The crowd didn't seem to agree but they were intimidated by the two and they instead kept asking, "Then, how will he be punished for his crimes?"
Alex was the one who answered them this time.
"Build a prison to incarcerate him and similar criminals with his fortune, there should be enough Eternities in there."
"Also, I have an idea."
The crowd, hearing his words, fell back into a fickle silence.
"How about forming an assembly that regulates business in Asphopolis, but instead of being overseen by a single person, it's instead hosted by a few people that are voted in by the residents of the city and that can be removed and replaced by other people?"
Alex thought that this city had the perfect conditions for a functioning democracy, and it would be paramount to ensuring any future developments would be for the benefit of everyone.
'And, breaking a bad system isn't enough. You need another system, a better one, to replace it.' He concluded to himself.
The mob was whispering among themselves.
Alex and Achilles were waiting to see the response of the crowd.
Fortunately, they calmed down and they started praising him.
Alex waved his hands and bumped fists with Achilles, who told him, "Good job, Alex."
As they were getting ready to start working on rebuilding the place, Aplisto, who was collapsed on the ground, suddenly stood up and while he was apprehended by guards, he started screaming at Alex.
"YOU F**CKER, SON OF A B**CH, I HOPE THEY SEND YOU TO TARTARUS, TO BE TORTURED FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!!!"
"Tell that to Hades, will you?" Alex responded indifferently.
Aplisto looked dumbfounded and stayed silent as he was dragged by the guards to god-knows-where.
__________________________________________________________
~A few days later~
The residents ended up doing most of the work in restructuring the city.
They formed the assembly and voted in their first leader, who was the soul that gave out the speech earlier.
They built a prison where Aplisto and some of his accomplices were now held.
After withdrawing the funds for this from the latter's personal fortune, a lot of money was still left, and they redistributed it equally to the residents, who now had a lot more money they were able to spend on the city's many sectors, further providing a boost to the economy.
The city was renamed 'The Commonwealth of Asphopolis' and Alex and Achilles would henceforth be considered the honorary leaders of the city, and be given preferential treatment wherever they went.
There was just one problem, however.
"How will we get to Elysium?" Achilles asked him.
Alex rubbed his head and shook his head.
The construction on the bridge hasn't started yet and they would have to wait a while, which was unfavorable considering Alex wanted to see the eclipse a few days from now.
Fortunately, they would find a solution.
One 'afternoon', as they ate food in a gourmet restaurant downtown, an unfamiliar soul came up to them and introduced itself.
"Greetings, heroes. I am Assos, the expert herbalist of the town. Could I get some of your time?"
They weren't in a rush to do anything, so they nodded and followed Assos.
It took them to a shop with a sign that said "Herbal Haven" and they entered.
They were sat at a table in the back of the shop and Assos finally told them why he sought them out.
"I heard you two are Elysians looking to get back to Elysium, is that right?" It asked them.
The two nodded and it clapped its hand in response.
"Well, I have the most perfect thing for you." Assos stood up and left the room before coming back with an object in its hand.
It was a glass bottle, and inside of it was a miniature model of a raft.
"Charon, the underworld riverman, occasionally trades with us and this was one of his gifts."
Achilles took the bottle and examined it carefully as Assos gave them more information.
"This raft is the only one that can withstand the flames of Phlegethon, and will take you along the river so you can reach the gates of Elysium."
Alex was surprised and asked in response, "You're giving this to us? For free?"
Assos replied "Of course it's not for free. But fret not, thanks to you ending Aplisto's monopoly, my previously small businesses have boomed and I have never been so rich, so this will be my gift in exchange!"
This was a pleasant surprise.
Alex accepted the gift, and the two thanked Assos before leaving the shop to prepare for their departure.