Dying Ichor

TWENTY-FOUR

   It was cold when he woke up.

But that doesn't sound right. Elias remembered being burned by the river, and it hurt so much he wanted to die. So why was it cold?

And then Elias remembered something as he struggled to get up from the ground.

Sometimes, when a person touches something extremely hot, it causes over-stimulation so both hot and cold receptors are activated... as well as pain receptors.

Well, no wonder it fucking hurt so much to try and move.

So, as Elias looked down to realize both of his legs were still being burned in the river, he grimaced when he felt the water being cold.

It took him a while with strenuous effort to crawl out of the river, but once he did, Elias collapsed with tears in his eyes.

Elias turned himself over and hissed when he sat right up. He looked down at both of his legs, shocked to see they weren't burnt to a crisp.

Actually, his whole body was perfectly fine... besides a few large bruises and some small gashes. Other than that, he didn't get burned at all.

Eris, it had to be her.

That woman said she prevented him from dying, but why? She clearly looked like she wanted to kill him. Maybe Eris wanted to prevent the fall of Greece, though she also indirectly admitted how she didn't care much for the other gods and only cared about herself. Does she actually want to kill him?

Obviously not, Elias was still alive. He was in so much pain he wanted to die, but he's still alive.

Elias gazed back over to the river, making a face when he remembered how he was shoved into it. Despite that, he craned his neck to follow where the river lead and wondered where he was at exactly. He couldn't possibly go back up to Hades' palace, he vaguely recalled falling deeper and deeper into the abyss of the underworld. With his condition, he doubted if he could run.

Was there a way out for him at all?

A sudden shrill in the air took Elias by surprise. His head fell back, eyes darting almost everywhere to find out where that sound came from when he spotted a few figures flying through the air and bumping into one another. More shrieks came out from them, and Elias could barely see them fly through the abyss until one got close enough.

Instantly, Elias held a hand up to his mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping. Desperately, he shuffled around despite the pain in his legs. He was finally about to hide behind some large rocks and hurriedly got down on the ground, cowering away as the shrieks and the figures grew louder and came nearer to him.

There were demons here, or what looked like demons anyways.

He didn't even need to explain just how horrifying their figures and appearances were. They were frightening enough that Elias refused to move from his spot, incessantly thinking of ways on how to leave Tartarus and return up to Hades' palace. Chances are, he didn't stand a chance and would actually die. Not from Eris, but from the monsters roaming around this place.

Briefly, the Moirai had discussed about some of the monsters that used to roam around in the underworld until Hades took over and casted them down into Tartarus. All of them are now residing in this abyss, and that thought made Elias even more petrified than he wanted to be. It's not like the male could try and fight his way out of here either.

For one, Elias knew of his limitations and being strong was one of them. He didn't know how to fight, let alone, kill one of those things. Another thing, Elias doubted they could actually stay dead. This was still the underworld after all! What kind of monster would actually perish and forever vanish in this type of place?