Everything begins…

Sarah looked out into the darkness, taking in the bright light on the far shore of the raging river. It was nearly totally dark, but she could see others swimming across the dark waters because she didn’t need light to see. She didn’t need anything anymore.

Everything ends…

Her spirit knew that, to reach the other side, she would have to give everything up. To let the things that made her who she was be washed downstream and away.

And from an ending, a new beginning.

Steeling her resolve, she waded into the waters. The stream lapped at her as she entered, and the rapids pulled at her as she swam. They tugged at her form, and pried at her soul.

Everything begins…

She was a little girl again. Sitting under a tree with bright red fruit listening to her mother tell stories of a boy who spread joy far and wide with just seeds.

“Like this,” Momma said, plucking a fruit from on high and bringing it down.

She had been delighted at the apple, at its sweetness, at how a simple act could bring so much happiness. And right then and there, she decided to spend the rest of her life trying to do the same thing as that boy — though perhaps not with seeds, those were inedible.

Everything ends…

Money. Money. Money. How had it ended up like this? Her husband was away in the army, and it was taking everything she could to keep herself afloat. Sarah wrung her hands as she worried about how to keep her bakery open. About how to get the ingredients. About how to feed her family.

Life had given her a tree of apples, and then plucked each of them away one by one until there was only one left. Her family.

The call came as she was kneading the dough, pounding out her fears and frustrations. It was from the military, awarding her family a paltry sum and the posthumous award for meritorious service.

And from an ending, a new beginning.

The memories floated away from the spirit. Bobbing on the waters like so many bright red apples as they drifted away from the entity now nearing the other shore. The nameless soul began to move towards the light, to a new life, leaving the past behind.

But that didn’t mean the past was gone.

The apples began to flow downstream, on the currents of the river as it eventually united with its other brethren. The rivers Lethe, Styx, Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegethon; Forgetfulness, Hatred, Misery, Lamentation, and Flame, met at the bottom of the depths.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Below Tartarus itself, the rivers converged, bringing with them the things they carried to form a golden stream of near-primordial chaos. And from that chaos, that deluge of fire, woe and fury, oblivion and pain, sprung new creation as the cycle dictated.

And thus was the sixth river, last, and unknown domain of Hades. A world below the depths.

—

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Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.

Eric was totally thinking about it. Trying his best to hide behind a tree that was also downwind of his target, he stared at the brown haired hare plodding his way. His stomach felt so pinched but thankfully did not rumble. Mouth salivating, he tried to think about how food would satisfy the hunger rather than the rabbit that he was trying to turn into that food.

The hare eventually came into arms reach, and he averted his eyes from looking at the seemingly hazy, furry thing. As hard and fast as he could, thrust his makeshift spear of sharpened wood at where he knew the creature would be. He heard a squeal and felt something give.

Yes!

He turned to recover his prize, his stomach now audibly growling, but watched in disbelief as the corpse disappeared into a hazy smoke the moment he turned his full attention to it.

You’re kidding! Even when it’s dead?

The hazy hare, as Eric termed it, was one of the many strange creatures he had encountered after falling into this godforsaken place. The things vanished when scrutinized, though he had been hoping to somehow subvert their abilities and eat them to finally get some real… real-ish food.

With a sigh, he picked up his weapon, something more stick than spear, and began to make his way to the “river,” in hopes of finding something edible there.

Three days had passed, by his estimation, though there was no true sunlight down here. The sky was but a far off roof of stone, and the sun some mysterious light that always seemed to illuminate everything from a faraway distance, dimly allowing him to see his surroundings.

This place makes no sense! He complained as he carefully neared the glowing river that flowed up the slightly sloping terrain, the only landmark in this God-forsaken place.

Within the stream flowed random bits of broken junk and flotsam that seemed to never wash up on the pebbly shore. Furniture, dolls, jars, glass, bottles, apples, clothes, metal—

Wait, apples?

Eric dashed to catch up to the floating spheres of food, gently bobbing in the waters; they were a sharp crimson contrast to the golden liquid. Walking to keep pace with the apples, he took off his shirt and began tying the bottom to make a makeshift bag. But, when he moved to wade into the water, he hesitated as his toes neared the abnormal stream.

Internally, he struggled at touching the strange liquid again. He didn’t want to, because it did things to him, but without the apples he might not live long enough to even be able to deal with those problems.

The roaring sound of the waterfall reached his ears as he debated, still moving in parallel with the apples. The river would reach its end soon, becoming a rapid and dangerous torrent falling into chaotic oblivion, and taking the apples with them.

Fine. Fine!

Eric dove in.