The stone cold marble room was quiet as the night sky,
Gods all over erupt into disagreements, picking sides, and hollering. The two human boys at the front stand nervously holding hands as they’re parents and relatives verbally attack each other, they look towards each other in question.
I don’t know Jaehyun. I don’t think we, mostly me, have the right to speak…
“HEEEEEEY DOWN HERE” Jaehyun hollered in the loudest booming voice he could. Silence reigned once again, all eyes on Jaehyun as he stood panting and grasping his lover’s hand for dear life.
“Dear Gods,” Jaehyun begins despite Doyoung’s scared and shocked stares, “I admit what Doyoung has done was truly heinous. If I were you, I too, would be beyond angry.”
Jaehyun looked around the room. The giant gods on their thrones, his mother sitting with a
what the Hera are you doing?
look, Doyoung’s own mother squinting in suspicion, and finally to Doyoung. The other quivering in fear, now more so for him than himself, but nonetheless Jaehyun gives him his beautiful and loving smile. No matter what, no matter what no matter how scared he was, he’d always know that he loved Doyoung. He was Jaehyun’s only certainty and that’s all that mattered.
Jaehyun takes a deep breath, walks forward and stands confident, “But, he can not bear the consequence, for it is not his to bear but mine.”
The gods are a silent mess as the young Aphrodite child continues, “Because he did not act on his own will. I-I” Jaehyun realizes this is harder to actually say, but he had to.
Shouts holler in question, and arguments. Doyoung at this point has stopped caring, only rushing forward to Jaehyun to ask Why? Why? You can’t lie to them. I can’t let you die and be punished for me. But he knew, he knew it was because Jaehyun loved him. Thus he embraces Jaehyun in what are probably their last moments of contact.
Jaehyun and Doyoung look forward as the latter’s mother, Athena, attempts to calm and subdue the gods along with the others.
For only Hera’s stern and low voice to speak, silencing all with a single hand motion, “The child of Aphrodite shall have his fate determined by Hades and the underworld council through trial. As for the Athenian child we shall let him go, no? It was not his fault, he was a mere pond.”
Hera’s harsh words only stung to the boys, but everyone had already accepted their fates.
Doyoung had felt unbelievably horrid, this had been worse than if he himself was thrown to the pits. He felt useless and terrible and heartbroken and messy-
He turns only to find his mother in the close distance.
“Mother…”, Doyoung carefully speaks.
Athena’s eyes look gentle if you’re paying attention, tired if you’re not. A beat of silence passes, “If you want him back it won’t be easy, child.”
“I wouldn’t let him suffer for my mistakes…”
The stormy eye’d goddess hands her son a slip of paper. On it is an address, the young man has so many questions but by the time he looks up his mother is gone.
It was months before Doyoung finally convinced himself to do something more productive than crying, or sleeping. Doyoung rolled over in his bed, looking over at his nightstand. On top was a single slip of paper.
🌾
The address lead to a dusty shadowed alley, it winds down to a small shack that looks more out of place than Doyoung. He considers for a second if this was a trick, but then again his mother is no hermes.
Doyoung knocks on the aged door, which swings open at the speed of light, the door replaced with a elderly women. She stood about 5 feet tall, hunched over from the years, a purple shawl drapes her old shoulders, and of course the most obvious was her missing right eye ball. Doyoung cautiously follows the women in, unsure if the action is wise.
The shack is small and dusty, like the woman, it has a small round table in the middle thats set up like a cheesy carnival fortune teller (an absolute mockery of the practice according to some). Next to it were several bookshelfs, stuffed with tombs Doyoung couldn’t help brushing his fingers over lightly. The woman quickly walks over and pulls Doyoung to the short table, and softly begins….. chanting? Frankly, Doyoung has just about had it with these silly gods and there shenangins and for his mother to do this?
Doyoung is pulled back to reality as wrinkled leathery hands gently grab his, he attempts to pull away to run off and find Jaehyun through other means, but the woman’s boney hands grip harder. She begins to chant louder causing light to pour out from her body and eye, Doyuong can barely translate it she’s talking so fast, but she’s talking about the underworld? Something about his soul and his body?
Doyoung’s body stiffens with panic and shock, and he struggles harder with little to no avail. And then…
His soul quite literally leaves his body, slowly his hands lift out of his body then his arms and so on. He stands and takes a moment to fully comprehend what in the Hera is going on . Eventually he looks forward at the woman, she’s in the same state he is minus the suprise and confusion, quite the opposite really. She stands tall, strong and sure of her self much like a warrior who’s been to the underworld and back. Unexpectedly, she’s become quite young, perhaps around her mid 20s to 30s. Her hair flowing in long brown locks, all too alluring like secrets hid in the darkness.
Her voice echos a bit as she speaks, “So you want to see the Underworld?”
Doyoung freezes not knowing what to say, but she explains, “Your mother told me about how you felt after the ruling of the Olympians, cashed in a favor, and asked me to help you. It’ll cost you but I can get you to Hades throne.”
“What will it cost?”, Doyoung’s eyes darken, he feared for himself. He knew he would give anything to set Jaehyun free, he would gove everything just to see him one last time.
“You’ll have to owe me a favor, and I can’t gurantee Hades will be willing to strike a deal, but I can gurantee safe passage back.” She spoke casually, as if it was brunch with her girlfriends.
The Underworld is unlike anything Jaehyun has ever seen nor imagined. It held a special kind of darkness, a special kind of power, no one singular being should hold. And yet, Tartorus did and the mere thought had Jaehyun’s feet shaking in his sandles.
The other souls didn’t pay him much attention, all to busy wailing and crying in pain or self pity, Jaehyun sat in the wooden boat silent and slightly shaking. Charon stood solemn at the forefront rowing with ease as he’d done for eon after eon.
The boat halts, and soul drift to the land while their cries drift with them. A few of them somewhat notice the large pantheon of black marble before them, as they are herded in to a single file line in front of the door. Cerbos lays near by, looking relaxed yet vigilant. How odd. Like everything else in the underworld, the massive three headed dog was nothing like he’d expected.
The line felt like it took forever before Jaehyun finally stood before the man, no, the god. He sat tall on his marble throne, his wife now beside him after 6 months apart. Hades was skinny yet strong, he looked like an aged solider that could still fight but could also retire, the exghaustion in his eyes. Persephone was in a similar state, but she still retained her timeless beauty and hints of youth.
As Jaehyun approached he debated on wether or not to look the gods in the eye, he decided not to (he’d made enough enemies as it was) but still looked up in a sign of acceptance. There’s a slight shine of pity in Hades eyes as the god recognizes him.
“Ah I see you’ve finally arrived”, hades voice was soft yet course, deep and heavy like wet beach sand.
Jaehyun gives a mere nod, prompting the god to continue, “Due to your... special circumstances, I will cut you a deal.”
Hades continues, ”I will let you live out your afterlife in peace, but you must do so alone or you may rest with no memories. Either option you will go to Elysium.”
Jaehyun feels compelled to look up, he knows the defeat is evident in his eyes.
🌾
Hecate stops in front of a large marble building, a pantheon technically, but Doyoung knows it’s the gates to the Underworld. Cerberus is hard to miss.
“This is as far as I can guide you, Dongyoung.” Hecate says.
He stills, this is it, the big moment. The whole thing seemed surreal, ever since Doyoung and Jaehyun had received the summon.
Doyoung carefully rests his hand on the towering front doors before he pushes them open.
Inside is a bit less daunting than the outside, the dark interior is alit by a large crystal chandelier wrapped in vines and flowers. Below his feet is a large black velvet carpet that leads to two massive dark marble thrones, in front stands Hades reaching out for Persephone’s hand.
The two gods stare at Doyoung, and all of a sudden he feels so small and insignificant in his dirty, tattered clothes.
”Step forward, child.” Persephone’s voice drips honey sweet yet powerful.
The human boy walks down the long carpet and kneels before the two gods who now stand before him.
”We didn’t expect you to come so late.” Hades voice spoke deep, rattling Doyoung’s metaphysical body.
Doyoung looks up hesitatingly, the couples face portrays nothing that helps ease him.
Hades speaks again, “He’s in Elysium, you may visit him but only briefly.”
🥀
Jaehyun strolled through wheat fields, hands rested in folds of clothing. It was a particularly nice moment, Jaehyun enjoyed the silence and solitude.
Something odd had appeared in his peripheral, a glowing body of light. Jaehyun looked up to see the person frantically run towards him.
The man halts right in front of him panting, he looks up with his eyes pouring out every emotion possible but most of all they poured out... love.
The glowing body stands and embraces Jaehyun like he’s the last thing on earth. Jaehyun slowly pulls away, the man keeping his arms on his shoulders. He gives the other a moment to collect himself before the man rushes forward and kisses him with such- such emotion.
Doyoung.
