Leon POV

"How can I even live 1000 years?"

"You're basically cursed, so you can." he answered

"So let's just say, hypothetically, I escaped from prison, is there a way to return back home?" I asked curiously as I do not want to spend a thousand years or the next few hundred years doing hard labor.

"Of course, the gods would grant you that wish as they would have to admire your courage for making it that far." John replied, "The problem lies on whether you'll even make it that far, as the further you go, the more gods you anger."

"How many gods are we talking about here."

"It ain't just Greeks anymore, every god you've heard of and more, some were former mortals who became a minor deity yesterday...gods can be killed, but it's gonna cost ya."

"Why are you sounding more Italian by the minute? The American kind, not the European one."

"I'm from New Jersey."

"There's...Centaurs...in New Jersey."

"Oh, we're from different worlds."

"So how does magic work down here, do-"

"Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep here!" someone shouted, "The gold aren't gonna mine itself."

"Don't mind him." John said, "Anyway, you can start using magic and other things once a god likes you and implements the ability to do so inside you, you gotta get close to one."

"Like romantically?"

"Sure, that's an option."

"So how does escaping and the gods allowing you things work? Do I go to Hades and succeed in what Orpheus failed to do?"

"Nah, you gotta journey through the underworld, fight a couple of guys, journey to Tarturus, fight a couple more guys, journey back to the underworld, and present proof that you defeated them to any death god, and the gods should approve of your determination, which god or where they are, I don't know, apparently, you gotta do some task, but step 1 is busting out of here...and trust me, without magic, you're as good as dead."

"Why?"

"They had Hercules test out the defenses, and well...he doesn't succeed, security improves every year, and Hercules himself will help chase ya down."

"Cool. So I got no chance."

"Yep."

"So...how did you know that there was a way to escape?"

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"One person did it before," he shrugged, "A hero, he was tasked as a part of this suicide squad against some fallen god and he rejected it, and he was then sent here, he reached the end, and the gods liked his determination and perseverance, so they let him get back home, it took him 200 years, and...well...not really a happy ending."

"Why?"

"He...took his own life after realizing that his family already passed by the time he got back, time always goes on after all, you can't take it back, he thought about reuniting with them down here in paradise, but...his family chose to reincarnate before he could meet em, his daughter resented him too, thought that he left them to fend for themselves."

"Why are the gods doing this then?"

"Simple, gods can be killed. They can heal from almost anything, but they can die. You see, the gods, they’re more scared of death than anything. Sure, they can heal from almost any wound, they can’t age unless they want to, but when it comes to true death, the kind that ends them permanently, they’re terrified. Unless they die a mortal, their deaths are permanent, and gods usually don't become mortals willingly, they’ve got enemies out there, some of em are regular mortals like I said before, but they’ve got weapons or powers that can actually kill a god. And that’s something the gods can’t stomach. So, instead of facing those risks themselves, they send people like us to do their dirty work.

"Think about it. Why would a being who’s supposed to be immortal and all-powerful want to risk getting killed? They’ve got everything to lose, and nothing to gain by stepping into danger themselves. So they manipulate mortals into fighting their battles, offering them rewards, or in some cases, just outright forcing them. That’s why they’re so quick to punish anyone who refuses, they can’t have people like you setting an example, showing others that they can say no or chicken out when it matters. It’s easier to send you down here and make an example out of you, hoping the next guy in line doesn’t even think about refusing."

"Death? Seriously? That's it?"

"Death...if you think mortals like us are scared of em...you haven't seen the end of it, they're more scared of it than you or I could ever be. Because for them, it’s not just the end of their existence, it’s the end of their power, their influence, and everything they’ve built. And they’ll do anything to avoid it."

"Is there one of those guys who can smuggle anything into prison?"

"You can be that guy, bribery doesn't work around here, so there are no guys like that anymore, one tried to be 5 years ago, and he...well, hard labor is what she wished she'd be doing. You can just buy stuff from the shop though, it's properly sanctioned and you can get almost anything, they don't really fear attempts of escaping, so you can get a rock hammer if you want to. It should cost you a few coins."

"So there's a chance...that's good, I have to get home...it'll take a couple of years...but there's a chance..."

"Chance? Hahahahaha." John laughed, "I've seen many like you, and like them, I'm gonna want ya...save it. You can just wait for a few more decades and you'll be given a chance to reunite with them, I had one, and you should be able to do it too, any attempts will get you sent to the field of punishments, and death will also get you sent there."

"So the idea of going back is possible."

"Oh yeah, how you'll get there is the problem."

There was no way I was going to waste my life rotting away in this prison, doing hard labor for years on end. I wasn’t going to be another story of someone who gave up hope, waiting for a chance that might never come. I'm not going to wait around for decades, hoping for a slim chance to reunite with my family after all this time has passed. I had to get home. It might take a few years, but there was a chance. And I was going to take it, no matter what.

The journey there...the first guy escaped and probably didn't even know that escaping was possible, he would have hoped there was a way, and there was, but it took 200 years...I know it's possible, I just don't know how to reach this so-called end...but it exists...that should knock a few years out.

John seems to be here for a long time, but there should be others who are more knowledgeable than him about the subject...and there's no way that I'm the only one who wants to escape. It seems that I'm going to need to spend a bit of time here for information and prepare for this journey as best I can.