Silence, broken by the sound of coins rustling in the small purse, as its tossed up and down. A lonely Canoe drifted amidst the calm crashing waves. The scent of iron and salt was carried by the faint red mist that haunted the river Styx.
The lonely canoe would continue to drift, the rustling of the coins were the only sound that kept the passenger's mind drifting asleep from river's gentle crashing melody. The lonely canoe has only space for two, a single passenger and the boat keeper. As the the canoe rocked back and forth, the passenger would feel a slumber slowly creep upon him. However, just before he could drift off, the rustle of the coins would stop him from slipping away.
The Canoe would keep swaying back and forth as they would travel down the river Styx, until a cold surge crippled the boy's heart, causing his vision to swell up with colour; the river Styx wasa red, it wasn't water, but a river of blood.
Leaping forward the boy stood up, causing the boatkeeper who was looking ahead to turn around. As soon as their eyes locked with one another, the boy began to tremble. The boatkeeper was inhuman, a skeletal figure, cloaked with robes of royal purple. The boatkeeper who was previously crouching then stood up, only to tower over the child, standing over 9 feet. The boy immediately fell back into his seat, out of the sheer terror of the boatkeeper's gaze. Slowly, the boatkeeper would sit right back down on his own seat, but now not turning away from the child. It was obvious that the boat keeper's gaze was locked onto the child. How the child was able to tell was somewhat of a mystery on its own, given that this being had empty eyesockets; could the boatkeeper even see? With all of his might, the child then asked the boatkeeper, "who are you?". The boatkeeper responded with silence, followed by a low baritone hum. The boatkeeper's voice echoed off the river styx, such that it was as if the hum was coming from the river itself.
With a croacked and dry rasp, he said, "I am Charon and you are the prince of this domain, Hades." The boy was intimidated, unable to make eye contact with the boatkeeper's void eyesockets.
"Hades, as in the king of the underworld? Uhm, I kinda feel like you got the wrong person."
"You are bound to this domain, destined to rule the underworld; the Fates can not be fought against, this is your true nature, you are Hades."
The canoe had finally left the river and reached a blood red sea that spread out into the horizon. The red skies stretched across the sky, just like the sea. All around was a shade of red, everything except both Charon and Hades. The canoe stopped moving and remained stationary amidst the red sea, before Chanon croaked, "we have arrived".
"Excuse me?", Hades squeaked.
"This is your stop, you may get off now.", Charron affirmed.
"Get off where? Uhm, there's nothing but this red sea and frankly I'm starting to feel that none of this is real. I just am, sorry no I think I'd like to stay on this boat please.
"You can not fight the fates Hades... this is your domain." Charon whispered with a calm growl. Charon's voice carried a sorrow, echoing from the red sea, a voice that sounded like it wasn't coming from the boatkeeper, but from everywhere.
Slowly the boat began to melt, like candle wax, with the boat losing its composure by the second. Charon remained callous, with a stoic aura, not reacting, not feeling, just remaining seated, as the boat began to melt. Hades meanwhile was frantic, eyes darting everywhere.
"What's going on?", he shrieked.
Charon remained still, with no response, no movement, completely stationary.
The sea slowly began to devour the boat, seeping into the canoe, drowning the canoe's flooring as the red water would try to pull Hades into the sea. Charon meanwhile remained indifferent to what was happening, somehow remaining afloat above the sea, remaining seated on the surface of the sea, unable to break the surface tension of the water, to be pulled into the Styx. Struggling to stay above the water, before slowly drowning. Everything went red and then there was no longer the rustling of coins to keep the child awake, there was nothing to keep him awake.
Slowly Hades fell asleep within the Styx, as he slowly returned to his world, as the prince of the underworld.
