The Prey of Truth

Hell Tour

They stepped out of the apartment, the scorching air filling Atticus' lungs and thet-shirt already sticking slightly uncomfortably to his back. Dianthus closed the door behind him with a soft click. Atticus had chosen to wear a plain navy t-shirt, with chocolate brown cargo shorts, while Dianthus chose a white polo shirt with black chino shorts for today's outing.

"Stay close to me, so you don't get lost," Dianthus instructed Atticus.

Atticus nodded, and with that, they set off on the tour.

~

The Underworld was a lot bigger than Atticus expected. Thus far, they had seen the Fields of Asphodel, Fields of Punishment, and then Emporiko. The only place Atticus didn't recognise from the myths and Dianthus' brief explanation yesterday was Emporiko. They didn't explore the entire building, as it was a 10-storey complex; however, Dianthus explained that the soaring black marble building that was Emporiko housed a banquet hall, entertainment needs, such as a cinema, concert hall, ice skating rink, restaurants, and a bookstore to name a few, and lastly, an observation deck. 

The next destination was the crops. When Dianthus mentioned seeing crops, Atticus imagined a kaleidoscope of fruit and vegetables, organised into neat rows. His expectations were nearly fulfilled, apart from the kaleidoscope of colours. Instead, there was one fruit being grown by the numerous skeleton-like gardeners. Pomegranates. Atticus decided not to question the logic of planting just a single fruit and determined that there must be more crops elsewhere.

Following the crops, Dianthus led Atticus to a dark diorite wall that towered over the two figures who were now standing just in front of it, making Atticus feel insignificant in comparison. Atticus looked down both sides of the wall, squinting to see the end of the structure, to no avail. It seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see in each direction. Dianthus noticed him doing this, and said:

"The wall is continuous. Trust me, I've walked for hours at a time, but still couldn't find a start or an end."

Atticus decided to trust Dianthus' finding and turned his attention back to the front of the wall, where he had spotted an entrance to the unknown that the wall guarded against. Seemingly, there was no one guarding the entrance, and it was just an open archway. However, as they got closer to the opening, Atticus noticed something materialising from a cloud of black, fusing further into a perceivable being with every footstep they took. It was then that Atticus could finally see what had finished emerging in front of them; a large Molossus hound. Though, this was different to any dog that Atticus had seen in the human world. This dog had three heads, each mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth and a sloppy pink tongue, black soulless eyes observing the two below with no sense of warmth or compassion. Atticus' eyes widened upon taking in the being looming over them, stopping in his tracks completely. However, Dianthus approached the creature as if it was a normal puppy enjoying its day at the park.

"Hey, Cerberus," Dianthus asked, smiling thoughtfully. "How are you doing today?"

"Hello, Dianthus. Well, thank you. What can I do for you today?" The middle head answered, with a resonant, all-encompassing voice.

"Can we get access to the River Styx, please? Atticus here would just like to see it, and then we'll be on our way." Dianthus said, simply.

Cerberus glanced briefly at Atticus and then turned his attention back to Dianthus. "No can do. Hades hasn't advised me to let him pass. You will have to talk to him first." Cerberus responded.

Dianthus sighed. "Thought so. I'll ask him another day. Thank you, Cerberus."

Cerberus nodded a goodbye before disappearing in a cloud of black.

Meanwhile, Atticus was still staring vacantly at the now empty space, amazed at the interaction that had just unfolded before him. Dianthus started to walk back in the direction they had originally came from. 

"Come on, we'll head back to Emporiko and get some lunch."

"R-Right." Atticus stuttered, snapping out of his gaze, and following Dianthus, staying as close as possible to Dianthus to ensure he didn't get lost in this hellscape.