The boat's bow is steadily pulling water apart as it drifts down the river while the ferryman guides it with a long rudder. A robed figure with thin ghastly hands and a face that is cover under the darkness of the hood, preventing me from seeing it. The ferrymen don't speak much nor try to communicate with me. The fog is still thick as before, the scenery is giving me the creepy vibe, and the silence doesn't help either.
"You know...You could pizzazz this boat a little bit, like hanging some fresh flowers or get a new fresh of paint. How about light green. The color of warmth and freshness. Sounds good, right?"
"I mean look at this place," I gesture to the edge of the river. "It's depressing."
"We can decorate it with bobbleheads. Oh, I know! We could get a carpet for the seat and pillows with a knitted cover. Oh! Oh! Ideas keep popping in my mind. We could do like one of those Venice boats. We can put a lantern up or an umbrella at the front."
The ferryman stays silent as he guides the boat, I stare at him for a response, but nothing, not a single sigh or grunt from him. Rolling my eyes to the side, I could see twenty or more dark humanoid figures that are standing at the edge of the river. For some unknown reason, there's an aching pain in my heart like someone is clenching it until the point of bursting.
"Who are they?" I ask, but like before, there's no answer.
"Have I been here before?" I keep staring at those blacken figures. There's something about them that I can't remember.
Frustration fills my heart as I stand up and shout, "Who are you?!!!!"
I wanted an answer, but I could only hear the echo of my voice. Searing pain suddenly flares up around my arms as both my hands are burning from inside out. I raise both forearms in front of me so I could see them, and boils start to appear rapidly. The sweats that appear immediately turn into mist as my skin turn red. I fall onto both my knees and start screaming in pain.
I couldn't bear it, as tears slide down my cheek. Inside the boat, I lie down and my body starts to curl up into a fetal position, as I try to endure the immense burning pain.
Closing both my eyes, the searing pain abruptly disappear, and when I open up my eyelids, I wasn't on the boat anymore. Instead, a field of tall flowers surrounds me. However, there is still a light fog above me, not as thick as before, but enough to disrupt my sight. I thought it was a nightmare, but no, it's something else, there is a slew of tears running down my cheek, and that pain, it's real.
I continue to lie down, trying to gather myself and it works. My head starts to become clear, and I remember what my purpose is for coming here. I lift myself off the ground and stand straight.
Shocked, I stumble back and almost fall on my butt as I see a fleshy white humanoid right near me with no characteristic whatsoever, standing still like a mannequin.
No face, and no clear sign of whether it's a female or a male.
"What in the name?!"
When I look around me, the white humanoids are litter across the field of flowers. I reach for my hatchet, and ready myself, but the humanoid shows no sign of movements or even realize that I'm here. I look at the white flower, and surprisingly, I know what the flowers are, it's Asphodelus Albus.
In the distance on top of a hill, I could see the shadow of a beautiful 18th-century castle. That must be Hades's home, and I should avoid going there at any cost. I don't want him to know that I'm here. If he found out, I don't know what will happen to me.
"You shouldn't be here..." A voice belongs to a boy who spooks me from behind.
I turn my body around and see a short boy with turquoise short hair and bangs that cover his eyes. He has an innocent-looking face, but with a clear worried small frown on it. The white sweater vest that he's wearing fit his good boy look and the light green, button-up shirt underneath it matches the style.
"Haha, you scare me...Who are you?" The moment I blink my eyes, his gone, disappear into thin air without any trace. I jerk my head around trying to find him and fail to do so when all I see are flowers, creepy humanoids, and fog. Then, I take another step back while the hair behind my neck stands up and a chill runs down my spine.
"That's not foreboding at all," I say aloud as I start walking away.
I don't know where the Blessed fields are, but I can try and find the river then follow it. There's a 30% chance that the river can lead me to where I want to go, but trying to find the river itself is almost impossible in this fog. This situation that I'm in is baffling to me because I didn't remember getting off the boat or walking to this place.
Shaking my thoughts away, I pick a direction and stick to it. Keeping myself silent, and try to listen to the sound of running water is more difficult than it seems.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Times fly away in a blink of an eye, I'm still not anywhere near the river, and this meadow seems endless, so do the white humanoids. However, something else bothers me, a whisper coming out of nowhere, occupy my ears and preventing me from listening to the sound of water.
"It's always been your choice..." I don't know who's that voice belongs to, but what I do know that it's a feminine voice. Of course, I can't remember anything about it.
Nevertheless, I do know that the voice that keeps on whispering in my ears is valuable in some way, not to me, but for the past me. I'm worried about my barren mind, how much did I lose? Is it my entire past life? I shouldn't think about it too much and try to focus on the task at hand.
I stop on my track as I witness a dark smoke forming into an average-looking man, he looks familiar, but that smile on his face. That crazy, insane, and evil-looking smile, it's not supposed to be there. I know that the man standing in front of me is a kind man, but deep down, I doubt my belief.
The smoke man glares at me and charges toward me. I take out my hatchet and try to strike him down, but the blade went through him like air. The smoke man dissipates into thin air, just like he appears before me. This place is making me crazy.
Hallucinations, voices, and disorientation.
I can even hear dogs barking in the distance. A flash of information, pass through my mind like lightning. My eyes widen in fear, and I quickly ready my hatchet on the side.
"That's not a hallucination. It's real. It's Hecate Hellhounds."
In the fog, a dozen of red glowing red eyes along with the echo of barks and growls. All of them start circling me while examining every inch of my body, one of them step out of the fog. The hound's body is thin to the bone but full of unkempt black fur and black smoke drip down from their body. I can see it in their eyes, the mindless rage, and brutality.
One of the hellhound rush toward me from behind, I quickly duck down and miss the sharp bite. Two of them charge toward me at the same time, I roll back and avoid the one on my left, but the one on the right got to my arm. I can feel its teeth slowly breaking into my skin, but before it happens, I bring down the hatchet on the hound head. It let go of my arm and turn into a cloud of smoke, my blade passes through it like nothing.
I see a trickle of blood from where the bite was, that's when the dreaded realization hit me, I can't fight them or hurt them, but they can harm me. Lost in my thought, two of the hell hound manage to bite into both my forearms, I swing my right arm and forcing the hound to let go. Raising the hatchet, I bring it down to the other hound, and yet again, it let go before I could hurt it.
I take out my boomer and fire a shot close to them, it explodes and blasts away the fog momentarily. Using that as a distraction, I take my chance to run away after holstering my gun and hatchet. The hellhounds bark and growl as they start chasing after me from behind, and at the corner of my eyes, I could see their murderous red eyes in the fog.
The sound of galloping hellhounds haunts me as I run. Glancing beside me, I can see them catching up to me, no matter how fast I run. Suddenly one of them climbs onto my back, diggings its claws into my chainmail and causing me to fall onto my chest. My breasts and left arm drag against the ground as I slide forward because of the momentum.
I grit my teeth together as they start to bite on my legs, right arm, and behind my neck. I try to reach for my hatchet, but three of them gnaw on my arm and pull it away. A few of those sharp teeth manage to break through my skin, and I let out a short scream while moving my left arm to my boomer.
Pulling it out from my holster, I bring it in front of my chest and push the lever to load another shot. I look around me for a target, but none is a safe choice to execute. I can't stretch my left arm out, or the hellhounds will snatch my gun away. I did the stupidest thing I ever did after raising my chest a bit, I aim the muzzle at the ground in front of my chest and squeeze the trigger.
I feel the force of the explosion, push me away, then pull me back, and then shove me away again. The fire from that explosion melts the chainmail onto my skin while burning some of my shirt and pants. I crash into something hard, shattering it and creating a crater around me.
The immense force of the explosion pushes out the air that was in my lungs. I begin to cough out a quiet amount of blood while I holster my damaged boomer. Everything in my body is in absolute pain, but I can still move my arms and legs. Good news? I don't know whether it's good news or not, because my sight is blurry, the headache is throbbing, and there's a loud ringing in my ears. I pull the melted chainmail off my chest before it sticks more into my skin.
At least, I got the hellhounds off me.
Barks and growls begin to close into my position. In front of me, I see those red eyes in the fog, I lift my torso forward and drag myself up to the slope behind me. However, the hellhounds glare at me, and not taking a step forward onto the stone stairs? I look behind me, and I let out a dismayed sigh as I see the 18th-century castle up close.
"No wonder...the hellhounds stop."
Suddenly, my body starts floating up in the air, then fly up to the stair in high velocity, through the open luxurious large wooden double doors, through the twisting hallway of collections, and stop in a large room with long red carpet and beautiful drapes. I stop hovering and fall onto my back.
"You dare step into my domain without my permission?" A deep voice greets me.
I rotate my body, raise myself onto my knees, then when I look up. My eyes widen in astonishment at the beauty of this man hold. Long, blue, silky hair reaches his waist, an attractive face with prominent red eyes, and light skin with a smoothness that rival a baby bottom. A crown of thorn rests around his head while he wears a loose garb that shows a bit of skin that causes me to swallow my bloody saliva in desire.
The god that is sitting on the throne is none other than the King of the Underworld, Hades.
I'm was going to answer his question, but the unstoppable cough is making it hard. Plus, the pain throughout my body doesn't help me either, I hunch forward while pressing my forehead against the carpet, I start coughing out more blood while hugging myself, trying to endure the immense pain.
Dazzling light envelops and hugs every corner of my body. The pain slowly disappears while the wounds and injuries begin to close up, leaving scars behind as a reminder. The radiance that blankets my body leaves, and I can finally breathe easy again.
"Before you answer me, child, heed my words, do not lie to me. Now, why are you here?" Hades gaze at me with a burning fire in his eyes.