Dear Ms Lady Demigod: Twelve Days To Doom

4 9 This Time, I Abandon

City of the dead, Jevelene always wondered what it would look like. Would it be full of zombies or evil beings? Everything in her head created negative imagery for a city with such a name. She held Ariel's hand as they stood outside the gate of the ancient city, the oldest city in the world, surrounded by the Arctic ocean. Adelaida and Annelece walked down a flight of stairs, Nataniel walked behind them. 

"Why is it called City of the Dead?" Nataniel asked, "Because those who came here died?"
Adelaida and Annelece looked at him, "No," Annelece said, "It's full of graves of every God and Gatekeeper that ever existed. And the spirit energy of their corpses keeps the water away from the city,"
"Water?" 

As they walked down, it felt as if they were walking into a city sunk into a pit, inside the ocean. The ocean water had solidified into walls at their surface and they could see fishes through the dark water since the city was below sea level. Slowly, it grew darker and darker as they reached the last step of the staircase and finally, there they were in the City of the Dead.

Jevelene looked around, there were no graves, but a huge forest spreading as far as they could see, the ocean walls seemed to disappear in the far, dark fog.
"It's the first time I've seen black fog," Ariel looked around.
"This is called the Forest of Distant Lament," Annelece told them. Nataniel got on his knees and touched the snow under his feet, Adelaida looked at him, "Did you sense something?"
"Amaroks," Nataniel's blue eyes looked into hers.

"You sensed them from so far?" Annelece was impressed.
"I can feel their paws move on the snow, almost in every direction,"

"What the fuck is an Amarok?" Ariel looked at Jevelene.
"You don't pay attention in Mr Akagi's class, do you?"
"It's boring as fuck, just tell me now,"
"It's a huge wolf with three tails, they live in the dark Arctic regions and hunt alone."

"Wait, aren't they demon wolves?" Nataniel asked Adelaida, "Why do you have them?"
"We don't. This part of Alkinshime is a dark one, these demonic wolves invaded thousands of years ago when the war between gods and demons happened, and demons were banished to hell. We aren't strong enough to send those who are left here back to the demonic world,"

"Isn't that unsafe to be here then?" Jevelene asked Adelaida.
"Well, we'll try not to run into them," Annelece said, "This is the only way to the bronze gate,"
"We're gonna run into one, aren't we? I swear to god, I just know it," Nataniel said.
"Shut your bitch-ass mouth. All you spurt is negativity!" Ariel yelled.

"Is this really the place a goddess would live?"
"According to Alkinshimianian folklore, she lives by the realm gate, which is on the other side of this mountain forest," Adelaida said.

"Well, then, let's go," Ariel rubbed his hands as he walked in the cold. Annelece walked ahead of them, looking into his compass. Adelaida and Nataniel walked behind him. Nataniel was walking bare feet on the snow, with his boots in his hands. Jevelene walked ahead of Ariel, who stayed behind to guard them in case anything attacks them from behind.

"Why did you remove your boots?" Adelaida asked Nataniel.
"Because I need to feel the movement on the snow around us so that I can sense an approaching Amarok,"
"But aren't you cold?" She asked.
"I'm never cold. I was frozen for two hundred years,"

"Wait-What? How old are you?"
"Well, since I didn't age while I was frozen, I think I'm eighteen or nineteen, I don't remember," 
"Why were you frozen in the snow though?"
"My stepmother thought I'm too dangerous to be let out,"
"Why?"