The wind howled around them as they trudged deeper into the forest, a cold bite in the air that seemed to sink into their bones. Aiden pulled his cloak tighter, glancing at the others. Lila, Elias, and Selene moved silently beside him, their expressions unreadable, but the weight of what they were about to face hung heavy in the air. The path ahead was perilous, and every step closer to the Underworld felt like walking toward the edge of a precipice.
Selene led the way, her silver hair catching the faint light of the moon as it flickered through the dense canopy above. The forest seemed to grow darker, more twisted with each passing mile, as if even nature itself was warning them not to proceed.
Aiden’s mind raced with questions, but none of them made their way to his lips. The last thing they needed right now was doubt or hesitation. They had to reach the entrance to the Underworld before the Harbingers found them again. But despite his determination, the cold gnawing at his spine wasn’t from the weather—it was the lingering dread of what lay beneath.
“Are we close?” Elias asked, his voice breaking the silence.
Selene didn’t turn around, but her voice was low and steady. “Not far now. We should reach the gate by dawn.”
“The gate to the Underworld,” Lila muttered under her breath, shaking her head. “I still can’t believe we’re doing this.”
Aiden glanced at her. “We don’t have a choice. It’s either this or face the Harbingers with nothing.”
“I know,” Lila replied softly. “It just feels... wrong.”
He couldn’t disagree. Everything about this journey felt wrong, but they were trapped between two forces far beyond their control. The gods and the Harbingers had their sights set on him, and he wasn’t about to go down without a fight.
They continued through the forest in silence, the trees looming like silent sentinels. After what felt like hours, the path opened into a small clearing, and Aiden’s breath caught in his throat. In the center of the clearing stood an ancient stone archway, half-buried in the earth, covered in vines and moss. The arch radiated a faint, eerie glow—a door to the Underworld.
Selene stopped just before the arch, her eyes narrowing as she studied it. “This is it,” she said quietly. “The gate.”
Lila stepped forward cautiously. “It doesn’t look like much.”
“Trust me,” Selene replied. “It’s more dangerous than it seems.”
Aiden approached the gate, feeling a strange pull in his chest. It wasn’t like the pull he felt with the storms—this was colder, darker. The air around the arch seemed to hum with power, a power that felt ancient and unforgiving.
Elias knelt by the arch, running his fingers over the intricate carvings etched into the stone. “These are old. Very old. I’ve only ever seen something like this in texts about the gods.”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“What do we do now?” Aiden asked, glancing between them.
Selene stepped forward, her face grim. “We cross over.”
Before anyone could respond, she placed her hand against the stone, and the archway shuddered, the glow intensifying. The space inside the arch seemed to ripple, and in a heartbeat, it transformed into a swirling black void.
Lila took a step back, her hand instinctively going to the hilt of her dagger. “That... doesn’t look inviting.”
“It’s not supposed to be,” Selene said. She turned to Aiden. “Once we step through, there’s no turning back. The Underworld is treacherous, and the rules of the living don’t always apply there. Stay close to me, and whatever you do, don’t stray from the path.”
Aiden’s heart pounded in his chest. This was it. The moment they had been dreading. But there was no room for hesitation now. He took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders.
“I’m ready.”
Selene nodded, and without another word, she stepped through the portal and disappeared into the darkness. Elias followed, his face set with determination.
Aiden turned to Lila, offering her a small, reassuring smile. “We’ve been through worse, right?”
She scoffed lightly, though there was no humor in her eyes. “I’m not sure this compares.”
Together, they stepped into the void.
----------------------------------------
The world shifted around Aiden the moment they crossed the threshold. The air grew thick and oppressive, pressing down on his chest like a weight. The darkness wasn’t just a lack of light—it was alive, writhing and pulsing like it was watching them. The ground beneath his feet felt strange, as though it was barely there, yet solid enough to support him.
He glanced around. The others were close, but the light of the world above was gone, leaving only a faint, ghostly glow that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.
“This place...” Lila whispered, her voice barely audible. “It’s... wrong.”
Selene pressed forward, her expression unreadable. “We need to keep moving. The Underworld is vast, and we’re not the only ones here.”
Aiden’s skin prickled. He had known the Underworld would be dangerous, but this was something else. The shadows felt like they were watching, and every sound, every whisper of movement, seemed magnified.
They walked in silence for what felt like hours, the path winding through the black void. There was no sky, no landmarks, just the endless, shifting shadows. It was disorienting, and more than once Aiden felt like they were walking in circles, though Selene never wavered.
“Where exactly are we going?” Elias asked, breaking the tense quiet.
“There’s a temple,” Selene replied. “It’s hidden deep in the Underworld, built by the gods themselves. It’s the only place we’ll find the answers we need.”
“The gods,” Aiden muttered. “I still don’t understand. If my father was one of them, why didn’t they help him? Why didn’t they stop the Harbingers?”
Selene’s expression darkened, but she didn’t answer immediately. When she did, her voice was colder than before. “The gods don’t care about mortals, even their own descendants. They care about power, and they care about control. Your father was a threat to that balance.”
Aiden clenched his fists. “Then why would they build a temple here? Why leave anything behind that could help us?”
Selene stopped, turning to face him, her eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness. “Because the gods are arrogant. They believe no one can challenge them, not even their own kind. This temple was a place of their greatest secrets, and it’s the one thing they couldn’t destroy. If we’re going to survive, we need what’s hidden there.”
Aiden’s heart pounded. This journey was far more than he had ever anticipated. The gods, the Harbingers, the Underworld—it all felt impossibly large. But there was no turning back now.
Ahead, the shadows began to shift again, and a massive structure loomed in the distance—dark, foreboding, and ancient. The temple.
Whatever secrets it held, they were about to uncover them. And Aiden couldn’t shake the feeling that they were walking into something far more dangerous than they realized.