Pandora's Box

Chapter 34

"Ready?"

"Ready."

The world disappeared into a black mist.

—

Coughing, Taehyun stood up. The fog was beginning to dissipate, and shiny golden gates came into view.

When he stepped forward to the gates, Taehyun noticed that he was floating on a cloud.

"Shit!" he yelled, and stumbled forward gracelessly. He didn't understand the physics of standing on what was supposed to be an aerosol of water droplets, but there were more important issues to worry about.

He squinted through the last of the fog and found a small white mailbox labeled Olympus. A scoff emitted from beside him.

"They have a mailbox? For what, wine and condom shipments?"

Taehyun laughed at Kai's comment. "Yeah, as if they use condoms." Trying to stay focused, they both looked around for some kind of doorbell. Another scoff, as Kai pointed to a lightning bolt-shaped button on the gate. Both boys rolled their eyes as Taehyun pressed it.

A blurry shape, moving as quickly as lighting appeared in front of them. Taehyun startled, but Kai simply folded his arms and stared forward.

"Hi dad."

Hermes shook off the flight, and readjusted his helmet as he looked at his son. He glanced apologetically toward Taehyun. "Forgive me, I've never been graceful with entrances. What can I do for you?"

Taehyun was about to answer, but Kai spoke first. "You already know, genius. I've sent you like twelve desperate messages through our channel." Hermes broke out into a grin, and for a moment Taehyun expected him to say something sarcastic or cruel.

"Right. Just testing you! Proud of you for using those."

His heart stung slightly at the words. Jesus. Do other people's dads say shit like that? He shook it off quickly. Beomgyu. He only had time for one crisis, and focused on the more important one. "So, do you think you could show us where he is?"

Hermes frowned. "Which one?"

Now it was Kai's turn to frown, the facial expression comically mirroring his dads, in Taehyun's opinion. "What do you mean which one? There's only one god that can help us, and it's his son, anyway."

It then occurred to Taehyun, and he spoke in a whisper. "Is... is he here?"

He still couldn't bring himself to say the name. Hermes smiled sympathetically and nodded, while Kai turned to his friend for an explanation.

"When...when it happened... I couldn't leave. I just sat there, forever. I didn't want to leave him there." He glanced at the pair, somewhat embarrassed. "But then, the problem solved itself. His body started to...to fade. And then he just...disappeared? And I was holding nothing."

Nodding, Hermes explained. "Every time a child of an Olympian God dies, they're presented to that god. The body appears in the Room of Reconciliation, and the god parent has a chance to see them before...well, you get it."

"It's offered to every God. Even the shitty ones who don't acknowledge their kids," he stated bitterly, and Taehyun felt a certain appreciation for the messenger god.

"Apollo hasn't appeared yet. But I can take you to the Room of Reconciliation, and you'd probably catch him there eventually."

Taehyun nodded, though not exactly prepared for what this was implying. "Yeah, okay. Thanks. That would be great."