Ghost King Meets Batman

Head First Into The Abyss

[Artwork is by bluepencil101 please tell them what you think! I also want to mention how grateful I am for everyone who has submitted art to me! It inspires me so much to know that people like my story enough to create art based on it. Y'all are so talented! Thank you all so much!]

[Edited July 26, 2022]

[June 23rd]

The next morning Nico woke up long before the sun came up and before anyone would be stirring. He hadn't been able to sleep very well and he kept waking up every hour or so. Eventually, he just decided to get up. The son of Hades stealthily made his way through the house and to the clock that hid the Batcave door. He put in the code and opened the face which opened to a dark catwalk with little safety lights that only illuminated the path enough to keep someone from falling off the edge. Nico took a deep breath and plunged into the darkness of the cave.

He didn't bother looking around-- he didn't have time. The demigod needed to get this done and get a move on before anyone could come and try to stop him. though they might not have the full picture, it would have been obvious to even a child that he was preparing for a trip and he didn't want to have to come up with an elaborate lie about why he was prepared for a 2-week journey. This was too big to let anything jeopardize it. Even himself.

Nico set up the video camera and made sure that it was on when it was, he took a deep breath and hit the record button. The son of Hades didn't know what he wanted to say, but he knew that the Wayne's deserved an explanation. He at least owed them that much. He also knew that the best way to do this was to wing it and tell them exactly what he was thinking. They didn't deserve some scripted garbage. He owed them an honest explanation-- a sincere goodbye.

"Hey guys," the demigod cringed at how that sounded, "I am leaving this behind to explain why I'm doing what I am doing-- what I am about to do." He rubbed his hands through his hair, looping his fingers together at the base of his neck. He was dreading them seeing this message. A pit formed in his stomach as he imagined what they would think when they played it on the computer. The very thought of it made him want to shut down the recorder but he took another measured breath and continued.

"I have to close the doors of death. The Greeks and Romans don't stand a chance if I don't. I'm the only one who even has half a chance. I'm the only one that the world can spare, at the very least." Nico sighed and took a moment to collect his thoughts. Maybe he was selling himself short, but he knew that the world would get by without him. He was never a prophecy child-- at least not the center of one. He was a supporting character at best, a concept that Jason had explained to him when he asked for help on one of his English essays. He was relevant to the plot but only as much as he helped the main characters accomplish their goals. In this case, closing the doors of death.

"What I need to say is that this isn't about you guys. I know this won't make sense and that you might even blame yourselves, but this isn't because of anything you did or didn't do. This is about the prophecy. 'Foes bare arms to the doors of death'," he recited the line, "I know what it means. I saw it in my dreams."

In case they had forgotten, he explained it again, "Titans guard the doors, and hold them open while Gaea decides which monsters to let through. If this continues, death itself will cease. It will be a war without end or worse, a war that is impossible to win." He explained as simply as he could. His voice got caught in his throat and he swallowed hard and took a shaky breath before he trusted himself to continue.

"The reason I'm leaving this recording is..." he found himself unable to speak. He knew it to be true, now he just had to find it in himself to say it out loud. Saying it would make it real.