Ghouls
1929 Words
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“My real body senses something coming for us,” says Darius. “How can I get back, my lady?”
“You don't.”
“My lady?” he asks, slightly angry but confused.
“I'll be the one who's gonna go back and you have to find Cerberus.”
“But are you sure you can—”
“Yes, I am sure I can protect all of you. No one is more powerful than me in my realm. You're the one that needs to be careful, Darius. Don't be consumed by the souls. Got it?”
“I won't let them,” he says, punching his palm.
“I'll go now.”
They nod at each other. Mila gradually disappears like her body is made out of rippling water. Then a few seconds more, she's gone. That leaves Darius and the thousands of souls in this ghost town.
He inhales then lets out, “WHERE IS CERBERUS?!!!”
The entire town hears his voice echoing within this enclosed valley. All of the souls screech back at him. They turn into grey smoky apparitions to gather in the sky. They loom above him, casting a huge shadow from which he cannot escape. He just frowns at them.
“Come here and answer me one by one, you b*stards!”
As if the souls are following his command that they dive down, can't wait to consume him. Like a dragon's breath, except it is black smoke, the souls rain down on him, shaking the whole valley, and destroying the houses around him.
“ARGH!!!” he roars as he refuses to be dragged by them.
He stands his ground, planting his feet. The souls grab him everywhere. If this goes on, they could tear him to pieces. But Darius's will keeps himself whole. He refuses to be consumed by all of this chaos.
“I remember all of this,” he thinks to himself. “Back then, when that stupid spider's venom got into my body, I died. I remember walking in this meadow. No wonder everything seems to be familiar to me. I've been here before. But I refused to give in, I didn't drink in the river Lethe when the other souls tried to force me. I fought! And I can do it again!”
“WHERE IS CERBERUS?!!!” he screams.
“We don't know...,” hisses the souls.
“Then get the h*ll out of my sight!!!”
He bursts out, tearing the souls apart. They turn to smoke and he consumes them. For a moment, he grunts in pain. His head is aching so bad.
New souls come in to try to devour him but he asks the same question, “Where is Cerberus?!”
“We don't know...,” they hiss.
He consumes them and starts all over again. Meanwhile, Hera and Aurelia can see what is happening down there. Other souls of Asphodel Meadows have come from thousands of miles just to join the chaos. They dive into the water without a single splash.
“What is happening, my lady?” asks Hera, staying close to her.
Widening her eyes, Aurelia tries to get a better view. She can't see anything but a black swarm of malevolent souls underwater.
“I don't know,” she finally answers Hera's question.
In the real world, Mila just woke up in the middle of the forest. She jumps into action when six long arms stretch above them. They lunge down their razor-sharp fingernails to impale Mila and the others.
“Stand back!” Mila yells, hitting the hands with a single wave of her hand.
The owner of those hands retreats into the covers of the woods like a startled spider. That's when Mila realizes something.
“So, you betrayed me too, Acheron,” she growls. All she can do is frown because she could not go after him to make him pay.
She creates a barrier of smoke around her and her companions. She lies down and closes her eyes to get back to the Asphodel Meadows. What she has found is decimation. The ghost town is nothing but remnants of the walls and roofs of the houses. She senses a dark and disturbing aura. When she turns around, she's devastated by what she's seeing.
Darius is kneeling. His back is hunched as his lifeless eyes stare at the ground. His skin is grey and fragile thin. Aurelia and Hera are weeping beside him.
“Darius!” Mila cries. She holds his shoulders but she hesitates to move him or he might break into pieces like a dry leaf. “Darius!” she cries again.
Slowly, he raises his head to look at Mila. His eyes are round and could almost pop out of his eyes sockets. “My... lady...,” he says in an airy voice.
“It's gonna be okay, Darius. I'm here. I'll save you. I want you to lie down first.”
Instead of doing what she says, he raises his branch-like left arm to point somewhere. “Parthenon,” he says before giving up and falling unconscious.
She catches him and lets him lie down on the ground.
“Save him, Mila,” says Aurelia, sobbing.
“I can't do anything to help him,” she says with a straight voice.
“What do you mean? You're the ruler of the Underworld.”
“It's up to Darius to keep his soul alive. Don't worry, he'll survive. He's Darius.”
Aurelia sniffles and nods. She wipes her tears to calm down. Hera does the same.
Sighing, Mila stands up and looks in the direction where Darius pointed to. “I'll be back,” she says.
She walks there, not needing to rush because she doesn't doubt that Darius is right. Doubting his sacrifice is the last thing she wants to think about. It took a mile of treading on the decimated land before she reached the place.
“Parthenon,” she mutters.
The ancient temple crumbled into pieces. The columns are broken but some of them are still standing.
Her every step is getting heavier when she gets closer to the ruins. Bl**d is flowing from the rubble and flows down the stairs she's climbing. She knows whose bl**d is this.
Then when she got to the top, she is not surprised. She just sighs shaking her head. “How could they do this to you?” she mutters.
Cerberus is full of scars and deep wounds. He's already dead even before the structure fell on him. His three heads have been severed and scattered throughout the temple. The mightiest guardian of the Underworld is gone. She kneels crying.
After a minute or so, she removes the rubble off of him, and there on his skin, the next riddle is written.
It reads, “You can pour how much you want but you can never fill me.”
“The Greedy Cup of Rhadamanthus,” she answers.
“Correct. The clue for the next riddle: Where the sky has bounds.”
Mila sits on the ground and tucks her knees closer to hide her face. She sobs, embracing her legs. “I'll make him pay...,” she growls. “You're free now, Cerberus. You have been serving for thousands of years. You don't have to serve me anymore. So, rest in the oblivion.”
She stands up and returns to her companions. Darius is unconscious. Aurelia put his head on her lap. None of them makes any sound. There is no breeze to occupy their ears so this whole silence is unbearable. Each of them is afraid to make any sound because it seems it would be too sudden and too loud.
“Okay, we gotta go,” says Mila, breaking the silence.
“Tell me the truth,” says Aurelia. Her tone is pale and barren. “is he gonna be okay?”
After swallowing, Mila says, “I don't know.”
“Why don't you know?”
“I've never seen someone do this before. He consumed so much soul even though he's not the God of Death. It's even a miracle that he survived.”
“But he said he has done this before, right?” asks Hera.
“Yes,” Mila nods at her. “but what he did was escape from the souls, not consuming them. Besides, we cannot do anything to help him. This is his soul we're talking about. Even I as the Goddess of Death cannot tamper a soul bound with the body. It's up to his will. I have a feeling that he'll make it through. He's one of the few that has a will strong enough to use Dimensional Touch. All we can do is hope that he will survive. So, let's go.”
With her powers, she brings them back to the real world. The black clouds are still surrounding them. She dissipates them as they stand up except Darius. He's unconscious but breathing. All of a sudden, the sound of clattering armor and clicking bones is getting louder from deep within the forest.
“What's that?” asks Aurelia but Mila is calm.
Ghouls in armor, shield, spears, and swords come out of the thickets to show themselves. Aurelia is about to send an attack but her sister stops her. The ghouls kneel before her and the biggest among them steps forward. He speaks something to Mila in a throaty voice.
“I know,” she says. “he came to attack me earlier. What about his kind?” The ghoul answers her. “I knew it. They never liked to serve me. I'll handle everything. And while I do, keep them safe.” She's referring to Darius and Hera.
“What?” asks Aurelia, confused.
“We cannot go on with Hera and Darius,” Mila reasons. “The road ahead is going to be dangerous from now on. We cannot fight while protecting them.”
“But I can help, my lady!” Hera insists. “I'll tell the future for you.”
“Yes, you can help, Hera. You can help us by taking care of Darius. Tell the ghouls if something is coming for you and they'll deal with it.”
“But can we trust them?” asks Aurelia.
Mila looks at her sister and says, “Yes, we can. They might not be the strongest but like Cerberus, they're loyal to me.” Then she faces the ghouls. “Protect them and once everything is over, I will free all of you.” They roar and make noise with their shields, spears, and shields. “We will be back for both of you.”
“Be careful, my ladies,” says Hera, bowing. “I see a future that both of you are gonna come back.”
The sisters set off running. Mila leads the way as usual. Aurelia has no clue where they are headed.
“Where are we going?” she asks as they cross the river Lethe.
“To Elysium.”
“There?!” she exclaims in excitement. “That means we're gonna meet Rhadamanthus again! We could ask him for help!”
“Yeah, but I don't know if he's with us or not.”
They are already inside the cave.
“What do you mean?” asks Aurelia. “He's the nicest guy that watches your realm.”
“Well, we're about to find out. Stay close.”
“Okay.”
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- Writer
