Acheron was an old acquaintance of Alex. They used to drink together, hunt together, and frequent the pleasure houses in the cosmic realm back then. They were real buddies from time before. However, Acheron's place on the ranking system had been way too low for him to secure work in the cosmic realm or in the realm of man.
So, he had been dispatched to serve in the underworld.
But even the oppressive and draining atmosphere of hell could not keep him from the happiness he was now feeling. He was genuinely delighted to have run into Alex after several millenia.
"Acheron you scum! You're not looking bad at all! The past couple thousand years have treated you really well!"
Acheron, obviously delighted at the compliment, received it warmly;
"Don't patronize me. You know very well you've been living the dream. Even down here, I still hear tales of the sex god's dalliances! The big guy upstairs finally kicked you out huh?"
Alex smiled reflectively, "Yeah, yeah. I admit I was a bit of a menace in my youth. Don't think I don't remember your wild days as well!"
"Don't get me started on the old days!" Acheron chuckled mischevously. "But hey, at least I wasn't stripped off my godhood and sent away to earth!"
"True. True."
Acheron took a more serious note. "But it seems you've awakened a part of your god power in advance. And you seem to be well on your way to awakening it full time. But don't worry, your secret it safe with me."
"I appreciate your discretion my friend. I know I can always count on you."
"I will always have your back brother."
They shook hands firmly, as if re-establishing their bond. Alex remembered one major issue he wanted to talk about and brought it up;
"Acheron, as you know, I've been on earth for quite some time now, and I discovered something disturbing. Every single temple and worship center up there is completely devoid of any divine presence at all!"
Acheron frowned. "Surely EVERY single one? Did you check all?"
"Trust me, I've been to quite a number. I even conducted a divine search on a global level, but there was nothing. I was hoping you would know why there are no divine dopplegangers present in the religious buildings above..."
Acheron was not one to jump to conclusions. Especially when he was not sure of the facts. So, he stated bluntly;
"Friend, I'm sorry but I can't really say for sure what the problem is. You know my estate is confined to the underworld One thing though, even down here, I've been picking up weird vibes from the upper world."
"Really, what kind?"
"It's hard to say. I kind of attributed it to the fact that the top management in hell has been kind of messy lately."
"Messy?"
"Yeah. All the top custodians and demons suddenly feel too big for Hell. Some of them have temporarily relocated to the world of men to become servient or vengeful spirits there."
Alex remembered the evil spirit in the Cursed Blade and wondered if it had also escaped hell as well. Acheron caught the brief look on Alex's face and asked mischevously;
"Surely you don't think the Cosmic Emperor withdrew all dopplegangers from earth because of you? What taboo did you commit this time?!"
Alex laughed, and the two of them continued to exchange pleasantries for a while as was common with old friends.
Feeling smaller and smaller by the second, Eliana could only sit still and hope that Alex's buddy would not take notice of her- and her sister. It was simply insane that these two friends appeared to be totally oblivious of the fact that they were in hell! Of course they were not regular mortal souls, they were age old entites. But even that did not completely absolve them of the fact that they were in a territory that was not welcoming to outsiders no matter what rank or level they were.
Acheron had to remind his friend of this very fact before they got carried away. It was the least he could do.
"Bud, as much as I'd love to kick back and reminisce on the old days, you know you can't stay here much longer."
"What's the matter Achi?" Alex jested jovially, "You scared I might steal your shine here? You criminal! I know you must have filled the heads of some of these low level demons with tales of your grandeur!"
"Don't be silly. These guys wouldn't know a good time if it hit them in the face! Telling them about my stories would be like talking to a blank wall! Zero imagination I tell you! Zero!"
Alex chuckled; "That bad huh?"
"You know it..." He took a more serious tone now, "But for real bro, you need to get on out of here. The big boss lady is coming."
Alex's face paled. Not in a fearful way, but in the kind of way that suggested he would very much like to avoid the situation as much as possible.
"Lilith?" The name came out of his mouth like he was trying to get rid of it. "She's coming?"
Acheron nodded as he watched Alex's reaction through his careful eyes that missed nothing. It was no secret that Alex and Lilith had a very volatile history. Their story together was anything but boring. Really, their dalliance had been fraught with a lot of issues, experiences, and lasting memories. A part of Acheron secretly wished Lilith would catch up with Alex, just so he could watch the drama first hand.
But Alex was his friend, and no matter how starved he was of entertainment, he simply could not dredge up the past just to rattle him.
Alex himself was not so eager to have Lilith meet him here. It was not that he was afraid of her, she was not typically a bad person. But with Lilith in the picture, things always got complicated. No matter how bad a situation was, once she got involved, things were always sure to get worse. Funny enough, it was not like she actually liked to do so on purpose. She simpy could not help herself. And that had been the bane of their relationship.
With a flustered look on his face, Alex did not bother with a goodbye. He simply took hold of Scarlett and left immediately. Forcing Eliana to try to keep up with this sudden burst of energy.
Acheron could not help himself, he called out to Alex tauntingly;
"Best of luck brother! Cos' heaven knows you're going to need it!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"
Acheron meant well. But his words had been tailored to sting. His taunt was a double edged sword. In Hell, it was considered cruel for anyone to talk about Heaven while still here. The other thing was his direct taunt at his luck. In the past, Alex had always complained that his luck always ran bad whenever Lilith got involved. Acheron remembered. And he made sure Alex knew he remembered.
But the sex god was not in the mood to jest. The entirety of his mental energy was now focused on getting the hell out of Hell!
As he fled, his own old memories began to violently assault his mind. As an ancient bieng, his mind was like an entire city filled with endless rows of vast chronicles. And Lilith took up a decent portion there. Even though it had been thousands of years ago, he remembered that period clearly like it was yesterday.
For a chilling period of three hundred years, Lilith dominated a good part of his existence. That was just her personality. At the time, Alex was pretty sure she was the reason why the term 'pygmalion complex' had been coined. The phrase was a term in psychology that described the pathological need to remake and remold a person. That was just Lilith.
Looking back, Alex wondered how he had managed to hold out for the better part of three centuries. Lilith was an extremely fun person to be with. Her personality could light up any room she walked into. She was an extrovert who knew how to work a crowd, and Alex had many fond memories of the good times they had spent.
But she was crazier than thirteen dogs with rabies!
When Alex decided to call it off, she went full nuclear on him. She did not try to fight him of course, but she tracked him down, stalked him across the universe, attacked every woman or goddess he got involved with, and made life generally unpleasant for him. Whenever they met, she hen-picked him and teased the hell out of him. He wondered how he got away from her.