Pain.
A sharp, burning kind of pain. The kind that makes you question whether you're still alive or if you've become part of the Underworld's collection of souls.
That's the first thing I felt when my eyes slowly opened.
The second thing?
Voices.
"You think he's dead?" Felix said, his voice distant.
"Don't be stupid. He's breathing," Lyra answered.
"Well, he's been unconscious for a while," Felix muttered.
"Not that long."
"A full day is long."
My eyes fluttered open, and the world came into focus in a haze of pain. My whole body felt like it had been run over by a chariot pulled by gods themselves. Every single inch of me ached—my ribs, my chest, my shoulder, everything.
I groaned, barely able to move. "A kiss would totally wake me up," I mumbled.
The conversation stopped.
"Yeah, he's up," Lyra said, sounding less surprised than I expected.
Then—
"OH GOOD. YOU'RE ALIVE." Felix's voice was louder than I wanted it to be.
I winced. "Ugh. What happened?"
Lyra crossed her arms, her usual unimpressed expression in full force. "You passed out after dramatically screaming about being a king."
I blinked. "Oh. Yeah. That sounds about right. Did I look cool?"
Felix snorted. "Nah. You had everyone panicking. The whole stadium saw you go full 'King of the Underworld' mode and then pass out like a damsel in distress."
"Wow," I muttered. "Thanks for that."
"You're welcome," Felix said, with a grin.
Lyra rolled her eyes. "You should be resting."
I shifted, testing my limbs. Every movement sent fresh waves of soreness through me, but I was in one piece. Barely. "I am rested."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why do you look like you got hit by Zeus's personal lightning bolt?"
"That's just my natural charm," I said, trying to grin through the pain.
Lyra smacked me lightly on the arm.
"OW."
Felix smirked. "Still fragile, huh?"
I groaned. "Okay, okay. I get it. I should take it easy."
Lyra nodded, satisfied. "Good."
But as I sat up, something gnawed at the back of my mind. A sense of wrongness. A deep, uneasy feeling that I couldn't shake.
A Chimera shouldn't have been able to appear on the surface. Not without my permission. Someone had to have summoned it. The masked man—he had acted like this was just the beginning of something far worse.
I frowned, the realization sinking in. "I need to go."
Felix and Lyra both turned to me, startled.
Lyra scowled. "Absolutely not."
Felix folded his arms. "Yeah, no. You're barely functional."
"I have to," I said, slowly getting to my feet. "Something's wrong."
Lyra narrowed her eyes. "You think I don't know that? We all saw that thing crawl out of the pit! But what exactly do you plan to do?"
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "Find out why it happened."
Felix scoffed. "What, you're going to ask the Chimera? It's a bit late for that."
I clenched my fists. "I don't know how but that masked man was able to summon it without mine or my father's permission. It shouldn't have been able to cross into the mortal realm without my say-so. That thing didn't just escape—it was brought here. And I need to know who did it."
Silence fell.
Felix and Lyra exchanged a glance.
"…And you're saying someone did it?" Felix asked cautiously.
I nodded. "I don't know how but that masked man was able to call out something from the Underworld without my or my father's permission."
Lyra frowned. "And what exactly is your plan?"
I took another slow breath. "I need to go home."
Felix blinked. "You mean—"
"The Underworld," I said, firmly.
That got a reaction.
Felix looked skeptical, and Lyra's lips pressed into a tight line.
"I need to ask my mother what's going on," I continued. "And I need to find my father."
That made them freeze.
Hades hadn't been seen in ages.
No one knew where he was.
But I had a terrible, gut-wrenching feeling that I knew exactly where he went.
Tartarus.
And if that was true…
Then things were about to get much worse.
Felix exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I suppose there's no talking you out of this?"
"Nope."
Lyra's expression tightened. "You can barely stand."
I forced a grin. "Yeah, but I look really cool doing it."
She wasn't amused.
"Kael."
"Lyra."
She scowled. "This is reckless."
I stepped toward the window. "It's necessary."
Felix crossed his arms. "At least let us come with you."
I hesitated.
I wanted to say yes. I didn't want to go alone.
But—
"No," I said quietly. "Not this time."
Lyra opened her mouth to argue.
I gave her a look. "Please. I need to do this."
She hated it.
I could see it on her face, but after a long moment, she sighed. "…Fine."
Felix threw his hands up. "Unbelievable."
I turned toward the shadows.
"Cyrus."
The moment I spoke, the room darkened, and the air hummed with energy.
A swirling vortex of black mist erupted before me.
Felix whistled. "Hate that."
Lyra just exhaled sharply.
I turned to face them one last time. "I'll be back."
And before they could stop me—
I stepped through.
The Underworld Calls
The shadows swallowed me whole.
Cold air rushed past my skin.
And then—
I was home.
The Underworld stretched out before me like a living nightmare. Rivers of silver and black snaked through the terrain, glowing eerily in the dim light. The Phlegethon's ominous orange glow flickered in the distance, and the massive obsidian palace of my mother stood like a dark sentinel in the midst of it all.
I touched down on the stone steps of the palace.
The massive gates groaned open as if they had been waiting for me.
I didn't hesitate.
I walked straight through the grand halls, which were unnervingly silent.
There was no bustle of shades, no echo of lost souls.
Just a heavy, suffocating silence.
I reached the throne room.
And there she was.
Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, sat on her throne, her eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. Her aura was as powerful as always, but there was something different about her now—something guarded, something unspoken.
She met my gaze.
For the first time since I could remember, her face wasn't warm.
It was serious. Almost cold.
"…Kael."
I stopped at the foot of her throne, a cold knot forming in my stomach.
"You knew I was coming," I said quietly.
She nodded. "Of course."
I hesitated. "…Why did a Chimera enter the mortal realm?"
Persephone's fingers tightened around the armrest of her throne.
"…Because something is changing."
The air in the room seemed to shift with her words.
"…What do you mean?" I asked, trying to understand.
She met my gaze, her eyes dark and full of something I couldn't place.
And then, softly—
"Your father went to Tartarus."
Time stopped.
I stared at her, my mind going blank.
"…He what?"
Persephone let out a sigh. "He left to contain something. Someone."
I clenched my fists. "Who?"
She didn't answer immediately.
And that silence?
Told me everything.
My blood turned to ice. "No."
Persephone looked away, her expression heavy.
I took a step back, heart hammering.
"No."
My mind was reeling. The implications of her words were too much to process.
There was only one reason my father would have gone to Tartarus.
One reason that could explain everything.
The Chimera.
The masked man.
The strange disturbances.
It all led to one name.
The name that could unravel everything.
"…Kronos," I whispered.
Persephone closed her eyes.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
A storm was brewing, and it was about to destroy everything.
I turned toward the balcony, my resolve hardening.
I couldn't just stand here. I couldn't wait for someone to fix it.
I had to take action.
I called out to the shadows.
"Cyrus."
The familiar weight of my shadow cat landed on my shoulder.
I looked out into the vast, unending darkness of the Underworld.
Then, I took a deep breath.
And I jumped.
Straight toward the gate Tartarus.
Straight toward the truth.
Straight toward my father.