Dressed in Feathers | K.TH FF

10: River Styx

SPLASH!

Water burst like a firework and we grunted on impact as the gravitational force and momentum smashed us down against the boat's benches. And this lucky oar was still here. Looking over at my guide who by now I was convinced was crazy, thrill was doused on Taehyung's face.

"You... are a crazy bastard..." I huffed, recovering from losing my soul for a second in that big drop over the waterfall behind us; figuratively.

There was a light giggle from him.

"You have to go through that every time....?!"

"This time was bumpier than most trips. Normally the craft does not buck me off. It is still just as thrilling as it was the first time."

"You're a crazy reaper...!"

Taehyung lifted into a standing position, slipping the oar from the bottom of the boat and dipping it into the dark water to push us forward.

(From here, I would recommend you play the MDP orchestral cover of "Black Swan (Haunting Vibe Mix)" provided at the top for scenic vibes.)

"Jung Gyeowool, allow me to welcome you to the river, Styx." He said slowly.

I stared at the cave-y darkness ahead of me. "This... is River Styx?"

Surrounded by carved, grey cave barriers, teeth-like dripping stalactites, and the occasional blue-flamed torches mounted to the walls of the stone mouth was a long and wide stream of abyssal water that appeared to have no end in sight. Even though there was no illumination aside from the spread apart torches, it was bearable to see through the darkness without too much concentration. The water itself had a black color to it, but studying closer, deep blues could be seen. Although.... I could have sworn there was movement within its steepness. A gentle, ash white fog danced and wisped atop the rippling surface. The energy here was unsettlingly solemn.

"I would advise you keep yourself within the vessel. Not all enlightened spirits are inherently good, so they go here, taunted by the gates to the underworld but never permitted to enter as they roam trapped in these very waters."

I heeded his warning, staying as close to the center as possible. I didn't want to get snatched by a mean spirit. "The souls of the damned."

"That's a harsh way to put it, but in all technicalities, that is what they are popularly known as. It is a controversial title because they are spirits rather than souls."

"If this is where they go, then what about the ones haunting Earth."

"That is for the sinners and the evils. They never see this spirit realm and earn the sense of 'moving on.' These spirits have already achieved enlightenment, but they are still not allowed inside because of their bad characters. These spirits are but common thieves, cowards, simple traitors, liars, swindlers, immoral politicians, mutineers, and so forth. Anubis and Osiris both have determined that these spirits are unworthy of the underworld. Back on Earth, those spirits are doomed to repeat time. No matter how the land shifted, they remain upon the land they died on at that time, walking through the ground rather than on it. Here, Styx is like tar, trapping the spirits in its currents and not allowing them to leave. They are doomed to watch helplessly as the ferries row by and refuse their pleas for help. At times, they will try to climb or tip, even capsize the boat to take us as their victims to drag down like sirens. These... are the natural punishments."

"It's like hell on its own. Either you're stuck in your own time, doomed to repeat it forever, or you're stuck here, doomed to never leave the river and always be rejected. That really is torture."

"I do not make the rules. These are the terms of Hades—what happens to the unworthy."

You know... He's proving the stereotype of how people depict the Grim Reaper even more. He's dressed in all black, he wears a black skeleton hand bracelet and a "skull" mask, and he's ferrying me across the Styx river to the underworld.