HIS GOD COMPLEX | under construction!

10 | δέκα

10 | δέκα

▃▃▃▃♛▃▃▃▃

I WAS SHIVERING pretty hard as we made our way up the frozen wasteland that was known to be Hades' Domain here in the Underworld. The flames I had grown accustomed to had now died down, leaving nothing but ashy, dead land in their wake. Everything seemed to be burned out somehow, and the sky had gone from a starless night to a wintry morning, misty grey.

"The Dark Palace is near here, we're almost there." Came Apollo's voice. He was carrying Eris over his shoulder almost effortlessly not even breaking a single sweat while Ares treaded ahead of us, determined to reach the Palace.

True to Apollo's words, not much longer into our journey, just when I was about to scream the words 'I give up!', jumping about like a child, the palace appeared in the distance, so dark yet so enchanting.

True to its name, the palace was dark and it's walls were painted the darkest shades of black. The only thing making it stand out from the wasteland it resided in was the garden out front by the gate.

It was littered with all different types of buttercups, and a large marble statue out front of a woman with long, puffy hair and a smile upon her face. She was beautiful and I couldn't help assuming that the person the sculpture was of had to be the bride of Hades and the Queen of the Underworld, Persephone.

Before I could even blink, we were right in front of the gate, Apollo seeming hesitant to enter but opening it anyway.

"What do you see?" Ares asked me, his hands crossed over his chest, I suspect to keep him warm.

Baffled by his question, I chose to answer anyway. "I see a castle, with a sculpture and a buttercup garden." I answered bluntly, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as a sad smile made its way onto his lips, pained almost. "What do you see?" I asked, just to make sure we were on the same page.

He laughed, but it wasn't sweet or comforting, eyebrows furrowed deeply in pain. "I see the castle, I see the sculpture... but I don't see the flowers. They're all withered away. There's nothing but ash, just like the rest of this place." He said.

I was now even more deeply confused than I had been when he first brought up the topic. I could see the wasteland, but in the garden I was so sure that there were flowers surrounding the sculpture. "You're really quite strange, Ariel. You know that?" He said, his golden eyes staring so deeply into my own that I was sure he was penetrating my soul.

Before I could question him further, Apollo had opened the gate, a strong chill rushing out all at once, leaving goosebumps on my skin.

My teeth were clattering as I hugged myself to stay warm.

"Who dares enter my Domain?" A deep voice reverberated through the air, making me even more nervous. "Oh, cut the shit uncle, we've come to speak to you." Ares' voice was the only thing keeping me calm, his relaxed tone made me feel like he was in control of the situation and that I needed not worry.

I was literally about to meet the devil.

The Palace doors flew open, and behind them stood one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen with my own two eyes. His raven hair seemed wet and was falling over his forehead onto his pale skin as his striking grey eyes raked all three of our appearances.