𝔸ℕ𝔻ℝ𝕆𝕄𝔼𝔻𝔸 ℕ𝕀ℂ𝕋𝕆𝕄𝕐ℕ has always felt out of place. Her past wasn't the same as others' pasts, her name wasn't the same as others' names. But the most striking difference was that Andromeda was half god. She never asked to be a demigod, she...
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"kronos"
THE FIELDS OF ASPHODEL WERE ABOUT THE MOST DEPRESSING THING ANDROMEDA HAD EVER SEEN. Spirits milled about in matching robes. It was dark and musty, and stalactites threatened to fall down and kill her.
Andromeda could one describe it one way: imagine a field of tall unharvested wheat, about a thousand times bigger than a football field, with people packed as closely together as they could be. That was basically what the Fields of Asphodel looked like.
They shoved past each other and grumbled to themselves angrily. There was no particular destination set for those spirits milling about, but they kept walking, convincing themselves they had somewhere to be. Andromeda felt sorry for the spirits in the field, but she knew she couldn't dwell on the feeling for long.
Andromeda looked around for people she might have known while they were alive. Perhaps her Nana or Papa. She couldn't look at the spirits for too long, though, because their faces were too shimmery and their looks were too menacing.
Spirits would come up to Andromeda, getting into her face and whispering indistinct chatter that she couldn't understand. Percy pulled her away as fast as he could when that happened, seeing the uncomfortable and terrified look on her face. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and gave her the best smile he could muster up, hoping it would help.
The four kids crept along the line of spirits as they made their way to a black-tented pavilion that looked almost threatening. A banner was hung up that read:
JUDGEMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION Welcome, Newly Deceased!
Two much smaller lines made their way out of the back of the tent.
The line going left was making its way down a rocky path. The spirits were kept in line by security guards. Their destination was the most horrible thing Andromeda had ever seen. Spirits there were chased by hellhounds, forced to swim in lava, and doing tasked that could never be finished. Her face dropped at the sight of all the depressed spirits making their way to the worst section of the Underworld, with the exception of Tartarus.
The other line, the one going right, had a much better ending location. It was a small valley, closed off by walls. It seemed to be the only part of the Underworld. The grass danced in the wind that seemed to only blow there, rainbow color rippling across the short blades. Houses were built in all different fashions, from modern suburban houses, to old houses from the 1800s with beautiful white columns and flower beds outside the windows, to old Roman villas. There was laughter and the smell of wonderful food: home cooked burgers, barbecued ribs, and chicken alfredo.
