Dying Ichor

TWENTY-THREE

   Despite being angered, Hades eventually let Sisyphus go, but not because of Elias' request. Instead, he was reminded the queen wanted Sisyphus for herself, so he couldn't actually give the man an actual punishment... at least not just yet.

Now, Hades tenderly held onto the small pot which contained the seedling before glancing up at the dinner table. Irritated, he kept his gaze on Elias as the male slowly played around with the fruits in front of him.

"Don't eat those. Those belong in these realms. I'll get something else for you," Hades lowly said.

Elias flinched. "Sorry... about Sisyphus-"

"It's not like I could kill him anyways. If Her Majesty wants him so bad, then she can have him. The sooner he leaves, the better, I suppose." He didn't sound exactly thrilled to Elias. If anything, his complexion became worse when he mentioned Sisyphus leaving.

Hades hated the thought of Sisyphus leaving this place in one piece, but he couldn't do anything about it and only sighed in exhaustion. If he gets the chance to take the king of Corinth back once Hera's done playing with him, Hades will snatch him without hesitation and let Thanatos perform whatever punishment he thought best would suit Sisyphus.

Now, the king of Corinth had been placed in a separate place far away from the palace. He was basically being detained there until Hades decides what to do with him. Elias was still a little nervous about what would happen to the king, but the man ignored how worried the boy was.

Hades would've liked to stay and accompany Elias a little more, but he had been consumed with work and left him alone so suddenly. Not without giving Elias the potted flower though, and Elias had been stupefied when he saw that there was a shining blue ribbon tied around the pot. It looked like Hades treasured this object like no other.

Taking up on the Moirai's offer to stay in the underworld, Elias wandered inside of the palace, wondering if there was anything for him to do. He was at ease now that the statues guarding Hades' home weren't so menacing, they even reverted back to their original forms and didn't give off an air of hostility.

When Elias found Hypnos, he realized the god was still sleeping. He was rather curious about waking him up and did try to shake Hypnos' shoulder, but he was taking a such a heavy nap Elias doubt he could actually wake him up. He left the god alone afterwards and figured it'd be best to talk with him sometime later.

So, with nothing to do, Elias ventured outside of the palace with the small plant in his hands. Hades had given him permission to explore his domain before the king left in a hurry. The only condition was not to go too far out since Hades worried about the mortal stepping into dangerous territory.

Elias noted his advice and ever strayed too far away from Elysian Fields and Asphodel Meadows. He was only there to relieve his boredom, but Elias was taken aback by the swarming spirits who kept muttering questions about him. They kept going near him, never really touching, but got close enough to where Elias could feel cold shivers going up his spine.

Even though they were extremely creepy and the thought of talking to dead people weirded Elias out, he actually found himself growing intrigued with a few of the spirits. They often told him stories of their past lives and how they lived through Ancient Greece. Some of the stories were rather compelling, telling Elias of how they got murdered instant of passing away peacefully.

While his visit to these fields were pretty fun, Elias found himself in an awkward situation when he arrived in the Fields of Mourning. There were many women surrounding him... crying shamelessly while peering over his shoulder to take a peek at the potted plant.

"Oh my... a flower?" One woman couldn't help but weep. "I haven't... I-I haven't seen a living flower in such a long time... w-will we be able to see it bloom?"