[Previously]
H-hey, who said I wanna go to the underworld?'
Icarus didn't say anything. He just gave Hecate a quivering smile that Icarus was sure he looked like he's about to cry any minute now.
With a flash, Icarus and Hecate disappeared from Mount Pelion.
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[X]
Icarus blinked his bleary eyes and looked at the new area he found himself in.
Icarus thought the Underworld would be gloomy and dark as it is hell but.. it seems he was wrong.
The Underworld is like the upper World but only more beautiful, a sense of peace and tranquility seem to penetrate the atmosphere. Icarus took a deep breath and sighed in awe.
"Welcome to the Underworld." Hecate said, next to him.
He turned around, taking all the scenery in. "Where are we? specifically." He questioned.
Hecate didn't answer. She just pointed the river before them and said. "That's River Styx."
Awe and wonder filled Icarus. So, this is the infamous River Styx? it looks rather... ordinary in appearance. Icarus thought it'll look dark and bubbly like some sort of a witch's potion or a dark miasma. But it look ordinary, like the Rivers in the upper World. It was crystal clear and didn't have any water lily in sight or any other pollutants in the river. On the sides of the river is green grass and tall green trees, so green that it look almost unnatural. And then there's also other great rivers that converge with the River before them. The River that is the result of all the merging of rivers was rather huge, like the mediterranean-sea huge! — he may be wrong but meh—
Aside from that, nothing was out of place.
It didn't stay like that for too long though.
The water rose like something was inflating the water on the surface.
The water rose and took a humanoid form, it solidified and gained the appearance of a youthful woman with blue hair and black eyes.
Before Icarus and Hecate stood Styx of River Styx. She is the only female river goddess in the Underworld. She is the daughter of Okeanos and Tethys, and with Pallas she's also the mother of Zelus, Nike, Kratos, and Bia—and sometimes Eos— During the Titanomachy she sent her children to help Zeus. To reward her for helping the Olympians, Zeus did not throw her in Tartarus, but He let her be the guardian of the river Styx. She is the wife of the Ferryman, Charon, and the guardian of the river Coctylus, Archeon.
Styx is the goddess of the underworld River Styx and the eldest of the Okeanides (Oceanids). She was also the spirit (daimon) personification of hatred (stygos) and Detestation.
She's a frightening woman and For a good reason too.
The peaceful and tranquil atmosphere was broken as soon as appeared. Now the atmosphere taste like ash, dark chocolate and oil. That is to say the atmosphere tasted bitter and dark.
"Styx." A single stern command from Hecate, made the bitter and dark atmosphere to disappear like it wasn't there to begin with.
"Hecate." Styx returned the greeting with a tilt of her head like she was a curious kitten.
Icarus just stood there as tension filled the area between the two women. 'Well, it seems like an old fashion cowboy stand off.' Icarus thought.
"You know of my student's—" Here, Hecate gestured to Icarus and continued "— quest?"
"I do."
"Then you know what we're here for."
Styx pondered a bit before shuffling towards them. "Of course, go ahead."
Hecate nodded towards her as a thanks before looking at Icarus. "Undress." She commanded.
'U-Undress?! Does Hecate want to do t-that with me?'
Icarus blushed before he shook his head. What the fuck? get your head outta the gutter, Icarus! besides I'm not a virgin...well, I am a virgin in this time.
Icarus undresses as he pondered. ' I mean technically, im not a virgin.' After he finshed, he dropped his chiton at the group before looking at Hecate for further instructions.
"Get in the River and be fully submerged."
Icarus walk towards the river and dipped his right leg inside the water and—
He shivered. The water was cold, bone chilling kind of cold. He turned towards Hecate and opened his mouth to protest but the stern, cold eyes that stared at him dared him to refuse. Icarus closed his mouth with a 'click' and turned towards the river again. 'Okay, so the water is cold. what should I do?'
Icarus pondered Before coming with an idea. Walking in the river may freeze him before he was fully submerged, so how about diving in and getting out as soon as possible?
'That is actually a good plan. okay here we go' Icarus thought before diving in the river head first.
Coldcoldcoldcoldcoldcoldcoldcoldcoldcoldhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatreddisgustdisgustdigustdigustdisgustdisgutsdisgustdisgust
Icarus broke through the water and gasped loudly. He swam to the edge of the where the two goddesses are and flopped on the ground. He coughed and gasped. Icarus felt like he's dying. He clawed his throat as veins bulged across his neck and entire face. His eyes were red, full of red veins.
'damndamndamn' Fuuck! Icarus breathed with great difficulty as he felt like his throat is closing itself up —A/N: have you ever tried drinking Vinegar when you got tonsils? yeah, it feels like your throat is closing up—
"Get up. We aren't finished tempering you yet."
That voice, full of finality, felt like a death sentence to Icarus. If tempering his body felt this soul—wrenching then what about tempering his Soul? Icarus wanted nothing more than to say 'Suprise! I was just joking. I don't want this.' but he felt like Hecate will legit curse him. A life worse than being dead, yhea Icarus doesn't want that kind of life, sorry.
'Is it too late to back out now?'
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[X]
Icarus and Hecate stand before Phlegethon. The Flaming River Of Phlegethon. Yhea, the river is legitimately flaming — Icarus swear that it's actually Molten lava—
This time, Hecate brought another Goddess for the ride. Persephone, The goddess of Life. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Underworld after her abduction by force and married her uncle, Hades the king of the underworld
She's the Queen of the underworld.
Goddess of spring, grain, and nature— Life
"Now, Icarus. There's no time to contemplate the matters of life."
Hecate's voice broke Icarus out of his reverie as he stared the river of Fire with dread.
"Yes, Master." Icarus replied, feeling his heart sinking in his stomach.
"Now, do so with haste."
'You know the rules, and so do I.'
Icarus undressed — hey, he doesn't want his chiton to burn— and walked towards the river, dreading to burn to ashes as soon as he get inside it. Icarus was pleasantly suprised when he didn't burn, he opened his previously closed eyes and looked at his perfectly fine foot. The river was warm but aside from that nothing was wrong.
It's like he's taking a hot shower now that he thought about it. He didn't think further than that as he sunk deep in the river. He closed his eyes and was submerged underneath the river.
The river was almost pleasant for a river that is made out of literal Fire.
That thought didn't last long before deep gutting pain pierce him. Icarus gasped and the fire made it's way in his throat to his stomach. Deep spine tingling pain erupted inside him, so painful that Icarus was paralyzed for a good five minutes.
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[X]
Hecate gazed upon the child that was submerged in the River of Phlegethon. If she was a mortal, she wouldn't be able to see the child clearly as she does now.
"Thank you for helping me, Persephone." Hecate tore her eyes away from the child — Icarus, she reminded herself— and looked at her friend at her side.
"Hey, it's no worries plus I got to see your new toy." Persephone said excited.
Hecate didn't answer.
"Why are you so invested in this mortal?"
"It isn't like you to take a new student that isn't a female. And you only take a new students after centuries, what brought this on, Hecate? and be truthful with me."
Hecate withered her friend rapid questions and answered in return. "You can say I want to satisfy a hunch of mine. You see, according to my research, only females can learn Witchcraft and/or Sorcery. But there was no male recorded [1] that learned Sorcery or Witchcraft in the past or present."
"Even then, the only females that learned Witchcraft came from a Divine ancestery. Circe and Medea have Divine blood—Ichor— in their veins. I want to see if a pure mortal can learn Sorcery."
Persephone looked at her excited friend and chuckled. "You do you, Hecate."
Hecate was about to speak but was Interrupted when the child— Icarus came out of Phlegethon and gasped for breath.
She sighed. "Dress up. It's time to meet with my other students and begin to study Sorcery and Mysteries." She addressed Icarus before turning to Persephone.
"Thank you again." Hecate said, sincerely.
Persephone waved her hand and said. " Yhea, Yhea. Now get out of here. I can see you want nothing more than to teleport to your cave and return to your students."
Hecate huffed.
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A/N: This chapter took me an entire day to write, I had to to research about the characters and their Powers and their Myths. And I had to edit this chapter to my best of ability and write it!
Damn. It's like I'm getting paid the way I keep doing this— I'm not getting paid, I'm dead broke. the least you can do is gift me power stones and comment! 🥺🤘