Queen Of Hell & Paradise (Immortal gods: Book 1)

Chapter 37- Moonies

Guys! I am so sorry I haven't updated! I've been lacking inspiration to write even though everything is already supposed to be planned out. Go figure... lol. But the good news is, I'm back with this chapter and there are more to come!

So expect more updates!

-this grateful writer <3

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Samantha

It's always dusk in the Underworld.

Thanatos had said this to me the first time I awoke here, it was a fact. And yet, right now, all I come face to face with is pure, abyssal darkness. The only guiding source amongst the thick shadows is the familiar resonance of Cerberus' howl.

Stepping across the portal tentatively, I feel Thanatos' heated stare beckon me forward. He extends a hand in my direction, silently asking me to follow him. Behind me, Athena, Apollo and Hecate cross the moving vessel with wary progress, thoroughly cognizant of the dense obscurity.

It seems only Thanatos knows how to navigate the grounds amidst the palpable darkness, and everyone else is merely following him and mirroring his movements. It isn't really surprising, seeing as how his eyes have been his most powerful tool thus far. But for some reason, I still find it fascinating.

I squeeze his hand, gaining his attention.

"How can you see in the darkness?" I ask casually, lifting up my gaze and straining my eyes to look around. Thanatos chuckles, a sound so rich and deep- it made me want to drown in it.

"Same reason I can see you with my eyes closed," he responds, amused. I nod thoughtfully, suddenly clutching onto his hand tighter as we approach the river Acheron. Cerberus' howls and barks send shivers down my spine, at the same time awful screech-like noises erupt from somewhere to our left. They sound like hundreds of hisses crying out in sorrow and lamentation.

I squeeze his hand again, trying to distract myself from the hair-raising sounds.

"Why's it so dark?" I ask quietly. Peering up into the sky, I manage to find nothing but black. It is always dark in the Underworld, but the sky is normally decorated with violets, rose and crisp, golden paints. Now, the invisible source of dim fluorescence was gone.

Why was it so gloomy? Why did it look more melancholic than usual?

Beside me, Thanatos grows quiet. It's in his nature to be silent and foreboding, but something tells me he's withholding something from me. He mulls over my question for several seconds before finally turning to respond.

"Lord Hades illuminates the realm with his presence. The Underworld is not lifeless, it may not grow much vegetation- but it responds to his essence."

I feel my brows jump up. Hades had said something like this before. The realm senses things. It responded to me when Hecate tried killing me, it responded when I tried trespassing its Elysian borders, and it responds now that its master is not here.

But if Hades is gone and the light from the realm is gone, do other things in the domains -like plant life- sense his absence as well? I take a look around, trying to find the thick ring of trees surrounding the Elysian Fields. If plant life reacts to his sudden departure, the border of the Elysian Fields will weaken, meaning the rest of the realm will be vulnerable to intruders.

What if we never find Hades? What if something's happened to him? I'll never forgive myself for the way I spoke to him the last time I saw him. He had been right, as much as I hate to admit it- maybe my relationship with my father isn't irreparable. He could be out there thinking I don't want a future with him. God, what if he thinks I don't want to see him again?