𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ᵉ*ᵗᵐ

18 ┃ 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐬' 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠

━ ⭑─⭒━

━ ⭒─⭑━

The world twisted and folded around you, a disorienting rush of cold air and weightlessness pulling at your senses. Falling and floating all at once, your body felt unmoored, your thoughts scrambled and scattered.

You shut your eyes tightly, clutching the lyre like a lifeline as the sensation overwhelmed you.

When the ground finally met your feet, it wasn't with a thud but a soft, disjointed sway, as if the space itself were still settling. You stumbled, legs weak and unsteady, as your surroundings began to sharpen into focus.

The air was heavy, dense with the faint metallic tang of iron and the distant echo of something shifting—stone, water, or maybe both. As you blinked to clear your vision, jagged stone arches emerged from the darkness above, their surfaces shimmering faintly as if carved from obsidian.

A chill crept up your spine, and you instinctively hugged the lyre closer, its warmth grounding you.

Behind you, the faint glow of the mortal world shimmered through a small tunnel of golden light. The sight made your chest tighten. It was both comforting and distant, a fragile reminder of what you had left behind—and what you might not return to if things went wrong.

"Okay, ____," you murmured, your voice trembling as you tried to steady your nerves. "You're here. That's the first step."

The words sounded hollow in the vastness around you, but saying them aloud gave you something to hold onto. Taking a shaky breath, you forced your legs to move, each step unsteady as you followed the narrow path ahead.

The ground beneath your feet was uneven, cold. Polished stone patches gave way to jagged edges that forced your steps to be cautious. Silence pressed against your ears, broken only by the occasional whisper of air or the faint hum of resonance that emanated from the lyre.

You focused on your movements—the sensation of your steps, the weight of the lyre—anything to keep your thoughts steady.

The path curved downward, opening gradually to reveal the river. The familiar, sluggish expanse of dark water shimmered faintly under ethereal light. Mist curled along its surface, twisting and rising like ghostly fingers, adding to the unsettling stillness of the scene.

You stopped, breath catching as the memory of Hermes' words resurfaced. "Regrets. Broken promises. Forgotten dreams. Everything people left unresolved in life."

The slow-moving shadows beneath the river's surface rippled, as though sensing your presence. One slithered closer before vanishing again, and you instinctively stepped back, your pulse quickening.