With their transportation issue now solved, the two left the shop and walked along the streets of Asphopolis and the passing souls all waved at them, their deeds now recognized throughout the city.

Unbeknownst to Alex, at every step of his journey through the Underworld, a fleeting figure was observing his every move and giving him a hand when he had a hard time.

He honestly thought he didn’t do much.

The city of Asphopolis just lacked the foundation to back up its swift progress, and with the Assembly now in place and carefully overseeing the Commonwealth, the city’s long-term stability would be insured.

As they entered the inn where they were now granted free stay and settled, Alex, got a bit curious.

“Achilles, could I see the raft?” He asked him.

Achilles nodded and passed him the clear glass bottle, beyond which he could see the miniature boat.

It has been a while since he’s tried this but he was curious if it still worked.

Channeling his concentration onto the bottle, words soon streamed into his retina.

___________________________________________________________

(Replica of Charon’s raft in a bottle)

Quality: Excellent.

State: Well-kept

Additional information: A raft that can withstand the waters of the Phlegethon, Archeron, Lethe, Cocytus, and Styx Rivers of the Underworld.

_____________________________________________________________

‘It looks like it’s still functional.’ As Alex observed the bottle earlier, he remembered he still had the Owl Necklace that Athena had given him, and he didn’t get an opportunity to use it while in the Underworld, so this would be a good chance.

Putting that aside, he and Achilles began to pack up their belongings, which consisted of two bags containing a modest amount of food and water.

The bags where his writing tools were stored were still in the possession of Crista down in the House Of Hades.

Seeing as this came up to him, he really hoped Crista would be able to come to see the eclipse as she told him, and even Persephone insisted that they would be able to come.

Looking back, the way they bid their farewell perhaps wasn’t perfect.

He replayed every single word he said and got embarrassed as his face blushed and Achilles asked him if he was doing alright.

‘At least we didn’t stay on bad terms…’ Alex reflected.

He was now partially convinced his feelings for Crista stretched beyond simple friendship, but he still couldn’t pronounce ‘the’ word.

As he was still entranced by the harmony of his brain, Achilles, who had already finished and was leaving the room, said, “Are you coming?’

Alex awoke and nodded nervously.

Thinking upon it, Achilles should also be feeling peculiar sentiments right now.

He was going to reunite with his lover in Elysium for the first time since their deaths, and it seemed they had a lot to say to each other.

Alex could see Achilles was getting fidgety as they left the inn, and he didn’t speak as many words as before.

To avoid being seen, they navigated through the narrow alleys of the city northwards.

It was successful at first, but just as they were about to leave the metropolis and enter the verdant fields, a voice behind them asked, “Heroes, where do you think you’re going?”

Turning around, the two felt their jaws open wide as there wasn’t just one soul, but hundreds of residents from the city all patiently waiting for them.

Alex shrugged and said “Whatever…”

For a long while, they would greet every single one of those souls that came to bid their goodbyes and each and everyone had a gift for them.

Their bags were now heavy with food, souvenirs, and other miscellaneous items.

Someone even gave them pomegranates, and Alex hammered into his mind not to ever eat any pomegranates, as they bind you to the Underworld.

“Umm, thank you….” Alex rubbed his head as gifting him this was both funny….and scary.

After they were done with this, the new leader of the Assembly, who was recently elected, came to their sides and started giving out a speech about how their heroic deeds will be forever remembered in Asphopolis and Asphodel, and at a certain point, it started sounding borderline obsessive.

As their attention drifted away, the leader finally concluded his speech and bid his goodbyes.

Now, they would really depart from here.

Alex could see a big crowd of souls coming this way, presumably also to thank them and say goodbye, but there was no way they were staying here any longer, as the two bolted out and ran through the fields and hills until they were far enough and the silhouette of the city could be covered with a single hand.

Beyond the cities, mines, and farms of Asphodel, the rest of the scenery was quite monotonous, mainly consisting of fields of White Asphodel flowers and the dark ceiling of the realm.

There would, however, be a radical change in this scenery after they traversed the fields for a while.

The fields of flowers turned into dark and rough rocks, and the ambient temperature kept getting warmer and warmer until it was at an uncomfortable level.

Soon enough, streams of lava would be visible and those streams eventually ended up connecting to a single, extremely wide flaming river.

The main tributary to the Phlegethon River was now in front of them.

The temperature of the ‘waters’ looked extreme at first glance, and the two didn’t even need further clues to come to that conclusion.

Normally, they would have been stuck here and would have had to find another way to Elysium or wait until the bridge through this river was completed, and both options were troublesome or too lengthy.

Fortunately, they were now in possession of the replica of Charon’s raft, that would allow them passage through the river.

Achilles, with the bottle in his hand, asked “We just need to break this glass bottle, right?”

“I suppose.” Alex replied unhelpfully.

Achilles shrugged and threw the glass bottle onto the ground, breaking it into countless pieces.

However, the miniature raft inside was still intact and abruptly, started getting bigger and bigger until it turned into a normal-sized raft that could comfortably fit both of them.

There were also two paddles on either side of the raft.

Alex grabbed the raft and put it on the surface of the river.

As it was composed of lava, it was much much thicker than water, and the raft easily floated.

It looked to be composed of ordinary wood that would ordinarily burn if thrown in the middle of a lava pool, but a perk of this strange world was that unexpected entities and items were a norm, and the raft was still a deep-brown wooden color, unaffected by its surroundings.

Following that, Achilles cautiously stepped into the raft and was surprised that it was very stable.

Alex followed and sat down on it.

“We need to paddle at the same time.” Alex stated.

Achilles nodded and they each grabbed one paddle and started paddling in synchronization.

It was difficult, as the thickness and viscosity of the river made it so that you had to exert a lot of force to paddle successfully, but they nonetheless steadily advanced.

After a long, long while, they were finally at the bank on the other side of the river and got out of the raft.

They bumped fists, feeling proud of themselves.

“Should we take the raft with us?” Achilles demanded.

Alex felt like the size of it would pose a logistical problem, hence they decided to leave it here in case anyone wanted to traverse.

They then resumed walking and the scenery stayed the very same until they found themselves at their destination.

The towering walls they could now see indicated they were at the extreme pole of Asphodel, and the flaming gate showed them that they successfully reached it.

As usual, the flames of the two doors were only illusionary to them and extinguished when they touched it, revealing two average-looking doors.

As they got ready to open the doors, Alex perceived that Achilles was gulping nervously and his hand that was on the door was shaking.

“Achilles, you’ve waited so long for this, come on!” He comforted him.

The latter nodded and they finally pushed the door.

Beyond the door was a dimly lit staircase.

They slowly stepped through each stair and found a trapdoor at the top.

Alex pushed the trapdoor open and took the lead, observing this renowned realm.

He was…enthralled as he observed his surroundings.

‘This is…heavenly…’ He thought to himself.

Everywhere he looked, he could see either endless fields of verdant greenery, or sprawling forests and temples.

The grass on his feet was slightly moist from a kind of morning dew, except there was no sunlight and the entire realm was just mystically lit by endless hordes of fireflies, giving Elysium a magical green flair.

This is Elysium, the place where only the noblest of people inhabit after their deaths.

His aestheticism, which was dormant for quite a while, suddenly reignited at the sight of this beautiful landscape.

This was….different from the mortal realm and lacked sunlight or a visible sky for that matter, but it was still extremely breath-taking and ‘heavenly’.

Achilles had also climbed up and though he seemed less taken aback by the scenery, he still took a long second to appreciate it.

Taking a whiff of the place, Alex’s nose was assaulted by a light floral smell that encompassed him and inspired comfort and relaxation.

When he got used to it, he turned back to Achilles and saw him clenching his fists.

Alex went by his side and gave him a strong push on his back.

Achilles flashed a bright smile at him and exclaimed “It’s time…!”

He continued, “Elysium is quite small compared to Asphodel. As far as I know, there are only 10 temples for the residents. I’ll go to each one…”

“Good luck.” Alex told him.

“Thank you very much!” Achilles thanked him and then he suddenly started running towards the direction of one of the temples, that was visible from the sloping hill they were on.

‘I forgot to ask him where we’ll reunite….whatever.’

Alex threw himself down on the grass and took a long breath as he felt the sharp and healthy grass on his back.

This place was ethereal and unlike any other place he’s been in.

As the smell of roses and sweet honey dew coated his senses, Alex decided to take a nap.

___________________________________________________________

A very long nap later….

*Achou!*

A few fireflies landed on his face and made him sneeze and wake up.

His face was a bit itchy, but his body was relieved of any tension he may have accumulated from this trip, and he felt so light.

This place almost made one feel drunk…

As he took his belongings and got ready to explore the place, he suddenly jumped from fright.

Right behind him, there were three young-looking girls.

They looked very ordinary and infantine.

One of them was holding a staff that spun fiber. The second one passed the fiber through a rod and the third one spun the fiber into a furball.

They were staring at him and he felt uncomfortable.

“Hello…?” Alex greeted them.

“Hello. We. Are. The. Three. Fates.” Their manner of speech was eerie, as each one spoke one word and the one next to him would speak the next word, forming a sentence.

‘The Three Fates? Aren’t those the daughters of Nyx? What are they doing here?’ Alex was very confused at the arrival of these elusive goddesses.

“You. Must. Be. Wondering. Why. We. Are. Here.” They continued.

Alex nodded.

“We. Noticed. When. You. Came. Into. This. World. That. We. Can’t. Read. Your. Fate.”

Alex wasn’t surprised by this, as Nyx told him that her daughters were the ones who informed her about his arrival, but he was still perplexed as to the reasons why they sought him.

“Can. You. Lend. Us. Your. Hands?” They asked him as the third one, who spun fiber into balls, lent out her hand.

‘There is nothing to lose…If they’re with Nyx, they probably won’t cause me harm..’ Alex nodded and gave her his hand.

Immediately, a weird feeling arose in him.

It was like he was naked and was being watched by eyes that could see everything.

He felt extremely uncomfortable and took back his hand.

The girl stared at him before she got back to spinning her fiber and the three spoke again.

“We. Were. Finally. Able. To. See. Your. Fate. In. The. Near. Future.”

‘The near future? From what I know, they can usually divine an entire person’s life, even if they were gods.’

The Three Fates were responsible for some of the most important predictions in the history of Olympus.

“We. Were. Able. To. Find. That. An. Extraordinary. Link. Will. Happen. If. You. Go. To. The. Easternmost. Temple. Of. Elysium.”

This time, after they finished speaking, they abruptly dissipated.

Alex was very disoriented from all of this.

‘The easternmost temple? I’ll….check it out?’ A prediction from the mistresses of fate was bound to be serendipitous.

He wore his bag and made his way to the nearest temple, to get insights on the directions in Elysium.