Archive of Our Own

One moment he was at the monastery, legs kicking against the air. Next, he emerged from a river of blood. The winds that faced the war-torn Garreg Mach monastery were exchanged for the red and black halls of a whole new mysterious place. A long line of different people of different shades stood before a large desk. The grim and imposing voice of a man denying requests echoed through it, with the faint sounds of eating and drinking off to the right.

Dimitri never followed the line, if anything he was just demanding to find out where he was. It didn’t take long for some goofy looking man who referred to himself as Hypnos to inform him he was in the underworld, meaning he had passed away.

From there Dimitri just sat by the steps of the river of blood. He watched some more souls emerge from it, some confused and some certain. 

But despite the seemingly liberating respite of death, there was none of that here. The voices followed him.

“Coward”

“Fool”

“Did you really think you could do it? Now Faerghus is without a king! Even if you were nothing but a poor excuse of one, you only think of yourself!”

The specters of his mother, father, and Glenn continued to hound him somehow. How they were not here in front of him he did not know. Perhaps they, as specters, were absorbed into his person. Or perhaps Felix was right, and that they were figments of his imagination. He was in the underworld, after all. The so-called final resting place of the deceased. There was no escape from this place, for this place was all there is.

He’ll admit, this was not the place he was expecting. As a boy he’d always been told that upon death his soul would return to the goddess’ keeping, well, if he were a good man that is.

“Bah, there is only hell for you”

He didn’t even know which voice was uttering it. It could have been his father, it could have been his mother. He was unsure which mother was even here to taunt him. Sometimes she looked like his biological mother, based on the paintings he knew of her, yet she carried his stepmother’s voice.

Perhaps this was indeed hell. His life was terrible enough as is up there, that sounded like the best template for his eternal torture here. He turned his back on the goddess’ teachings of forgiveness and righteousness, and now he was here. It was calmer than he was expecting, more civilized. Too civilized even. But dreadful nonetheless. He remained in this dark court, watching as the different souls were sorted and transferred over to the different levels of this underworld.

Dimitri sat in the cafeteria, which was a relatively livelier place. Although as the eternally dark realm awakened for another round of work, he found himself alone by the tables. He would watch a figure approach, sitting across from him. He gave him an upward nod as his fingers clicked on the table. He held coal-black hair and pale skin, his clothes were red and black, the same as that of the entire place. Three dog skulls adorned his shoulder while a fine crimson and amber wreath wrapped around his head. He couldn’t even say it rested on his ears like a crown would. It genuinely looked like it just clicked onto his head.

The man’s red and green eyes met his lone blue eye. “Greetings there, fine shade” he said, “I couldn’t help but see you around for the past… couple times. All of your other shade friends had come and gone, off to their respective parts, yet you’re still here. Are you requesting something from my father?”

“No,” said Dimitri. “I am… I am simply lost,” said the prince, “learning you’re dead isn’t exactly an experience one can be savvy to, let alone learning the afterlife was not as dualistically extreme as I expected.”

“It gets a lot more dualistic when you actually go out there, you’ve been here like Meg nicked your eye or something. There’s Tartarus, Asphodel, and Elysium. Although Asphodel’s been a lot more fiery these days, someone really ought to dam that river,” the lad commented. He then extended his hand, “The name’s Zagreus by the way.”

He took his hand, a strong grip followed by a shake. “Dimitri.”

“Dimitri? Your parents must be worshipers of Demeter then,” said Zagreus, “you do look like a winter person. So maybe Asphodel’s not for you right now. Then again, Elysium’s got a high yet also completely arbitrary bar of entry and Tartarus is Tartarus.”

“Is there a way out of here?” asked Dimitri. Zagreus raised his brows, and then smiled. “You really are new around here. Well, it just so happens that breaking out of this place is my specialty. The entire point of it is that no one leaves.”

“And yet you’re here”

“It’s my job,” Zagreus shrugged. “I break out so the defenses become stronger and stronger. The route to reaching the temple of styx and the outside world is a long series of trials, chamber after chamber of who knows what.”

“So there is one”

“Yeah mate, there’s one, multiple in one big system, really”

“Show me”

“I would, but that would go against my job… but then again I can’t help but sense there’s something special about you. Maybe the Fates are playing with us again, pushing me to do this, or maybe I just want to screw with father again” Zagreus chuckled, “I can drop you down to Tartarus, from there it’s fairly intuitive where to go. There are multiple doors but they all ultimately go to the same place, which is further and further up.”

“Until I break free?”

“If you’re strong enough, mate, sure”

Dimitri stood up, “show me.”

The professional escapist known as Zagreus had led Dimitri through a fine room, which had a mirror of darkness on one wall, a humble pot of water near the exit, and a large bed on the other side. It didn’t take long for them to reach the other side, where he was greeted by the sight of a mostly empty courtyard. And he does mean mostly, for there was… a skeleton? Yes, a skeleton. Bones with neither muscles nor skin, and yet it stood and waved at them as if it were alive.

“Soon enough you will be the same until you avenge us.”

Dimitri doesn’t even know which one of the voices said it, but he knew it to be true. Considering he was here, perhaps even in death, there was no peace for someone like him.

Dimitri looked to his left, and there he could see something green. He walked towards it, soon finding himself in some kind of small viewing deck where he could see nothing but the endless green agony and all the foul things that toiled endlessly within it. This was, simply put, hell.

“Right where you belong. Though it seems we’ve come here too early.” said his mother. “Fight your way out, and when you end my pesky little daughter’s game, then, then you can come back.”

“Enough viewing, focus on the mission,” spat Glenn, “I know you have one eye but I’m well aware you saw weapons in the courtyard. We are unarmed, get one.”

“It’s better up close, mate,” said Zagreus. Dimitri nodded and walked back to the courtyard proper, where there along the sides floated six demonic weapons, oozing with incredible power. They were much akin to the crested relics all of Fodlan used to hunger over, the great mighty heirlooms that have made and torn families, and been the prime movers that tailored much of the continent’s history.

Though the actual influence of crests seemed lost on these ones, or honestly even anything second-generational, like say that blasted woman’s ax. These ones were… sleeker. More refined in their destructive potential. He gazed upon them: A sword, a spear, a shield, a bow, a pair of gauntlets, and… something. A complex machine of some kind, styled in the image of a bird.

“Behold, the infernal arms. Don’t be shy. They have wills of their own but they’re always willing to cooperate,” Zagreus nudged him a bit with his elbow, causing a small thud as it hit the black armor that adorned him. If there was one thing Dimitri was at least thankful for, it was the fact that for some reason nobody smelled in the realm of the dead, despite the fact that he hadn’t really bathed in… however long a time has passed since he came here. Perhaps the sense of smell is just destroyed upon arrival, or mayhaps another kind of magic he could never hope to understand was at play.

Dimitri assessed each one with his eye. He felt as if he listened just a little harder, he could hear whispers coming from each of them. Well, assuming those weren’t just the whispers coming from the dead who trail his every move.

“I’m sure you know about the gods and the titans, well, this is what they used to win the war,” said Zagreus. “Yep. The same ones. They’re languishing down here, at least until I came around to use them in my neverending trial runs. Meg says they took to my spirit, trying to show father he couldn’t keep me down here forever like how the Olympians challenged the Titans in rebellion for the universe.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Dimitri, walking up to the rightmost weapon in the gallery to inspect it further.

“Pardon?”

“Olympians. Titans. The only word I understood from that was war, and how they were used to win it.”

The weapons all had a brief flash of darkness, as if to say they were amused by the statement.

“Oh come on mate, everyone knows that.”

“To me there is only one god. A goddess, her name is Sothis and she…” Dimitri recollects for a split second, the memory of himself playfully chasing a woman with long and beautiful green hair. The sound of their laughter mixed with that of the waves, “...is no longer here.”

“Huh… another god. Never heard of that one,” commented the hot-footed prince. “So, care to take a pick on who you’d like? There’s only six to peruse through but they’re all deadly. I would know, I’ve fed those things so much titan blood I wouldn’t be surprised if they were at full strength again.”

Dimitri inspected each weapon. First was the object that looked much like a bird. Upon closer inspection it was definitely a complex tool, like a crossbow but.. Different.

“You’ll probably just break that thing, I recall when you bifurcated that arbalest when you were but ten,” spoke Lambert’s specter, “a beast such as yourself needn’t spend his time with more complex weapons.”

So Dimitri looked to the left, these were the gauntlets.

“For consideration” admitted Glenn, “you always were unable to stop yourself from breaking your weapons. Fisticuffs became a common part of your regimen as a result.”

Then, the bow.

“Heavens no” said all three in unison. Glenn then laughed at him, “It is easier for an ox to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for you to pull a bowstring without snapping it.”

Dimitri turned to face the next infernal weapon, a shield.

“You couldn’t even defend your right hand man,” Lambert growled, “you can’t protect anyone. Bah. A king that can’t defend his people. That’s why you only kill. So just go grab a more appropriate weapon!”

Dimitri growled, his eye remained glued to the shield, wondering about if he’d ever really saved anyone in his time alive. In his time of endlessly roaming his snowy kingdom, trapped in an endless tide of war as Edelgard’s wretched advance persisted. They made legends of him now, fabulists sowing the seeds of folk tales regarding the great Faerghian cyclops. Said to be a lost son of the goddess who went north long ago, now waking from his ancient slumber to fight for the people.

They strung up some offerings, those believers. Fish and venison, ripe for the taking by any wild animal or starving man, especially those that had to resort to brigandry of their own due to the starvations caused by the bloody conflict. Though at least he was able to eat off of them from time to time.

Dimitri then turned to face a spear. A humble bident. He’d always practiced his lancemanship since he was a boy, surely this infernal spear would draw most benefit from his honed lancefaire.

“For consideration,” said Glenn, “then again, mayhaps not.”

“Not to mention that that spear is a bident, meaning it is meant to be thrusted. All that tutoring of how to use a spear or lance, and even when it’s not a halberd you still use it like a club! If that were the case we’d have taught you how to use axes!” Lambert growled, “though for some reason you kept breaking those a lot more than you did the more slender weapons.”

Dimitri grumbled something under his breath before looking at the last one. A sword. This one actually oozed with a bit of darkness, as if hungering for more.

“Don’t mind the dark glow, it just collects more darkness. Speaking of which, there’s a mirror you might be privy to use, if you like. Channel some darkness to grant you powers.”

“I have all the power I need,” said Dimitri, turning back to face the spear. The sword was a fine weapon and he had proficiency there as well, but he was always a better spearman than a swordsman, even if his use of it was more akin to a staff than an actual piercing weapon.

“Fool. We might need more magic to escape this place!” yelled his stepmother.

“It’s no use. Dimitri has always been impaired when it comes to learning any kind of sorcery. It’s that wolf’s blood within him. All feral and unrefined,” commented Glenn.

Dimitri grabbed the spear, which sent vibrations through his arm as it emanated raw infernal power, as if to test the strength of his muscle. The blonde could feel that there was certainly a different quality to this than there was to any other weapon he’d ever felt, including Areadbhar.

“Ah. Varatha. That one’s my father’s weapon. Well, was. He traded it out in favor of Gigaros, which is a bigger, redder bident. Though we showed him!” Zagreus laughed, recalling facing his own father with Varatha while it beheld Hades’ own aspect. “You can spin it like a halberd to smash into enemies on top of the usual thrusts, though the best perk is by far the ability to throw it and have it come back to you.”

“Yeah slick, show m’ what you got,” said the skeleton. Dimitri looked at him, raising a brow. Up close, it was true that the skeleton was in fact real and alive. It also seemed to possess big red eyes and perhaps some hair in the back? Though it hardly mattered, the skeleton was beckoning him, asking to be struck. “You got some muscle underneath all that armor, especially if y’ got ol’ Varatha to not just repel you away like that one shade that snuck in here that one time. Poor sod. Vaporized and got sent flying right past the barricade,” Skelly pointed towards the outside, where statues stood beside a doorway, alongside some sort of contract hanging above it. “But anyways, come on! Show me what you’ve got!”

“Don’t worry, he’ll come back, he always does. Test it out,” Zagreus chortled.

Dimitri spun the spear around a bit, his instincts and experience kicking in instantly. He hadn’t lost his edge at all. But now it was for the moment of truth. His eye focused on his target.

“Come on!” Skelly yelled, beckoning him. “I’ve taken all sorts of hits and killshots from mama’s boy over there! I can surely take on you!”

“Imagine she’s that vile woman.”

“Or that other vile woman.”

“Now that they mention it was a good idea Byle-”

Dimitri growled, Varatha burst with a dark energy and Zagreus could only watch as it transformed in Dimitri’s very hands. The Faerghian prince did not even seem to notice the transformation at all, his lone eye focused instead on the target before him. The bident would transform into a halberd, not unlike the frost fair blade when Varatha adopts the hidden aspect of Guan Yu, though in this case Varatha had adopted a far bonier form, all grayish and white.

Dimitri threw his spear, the infernal weapon cleaving through the air at an incredible speed.

“Woah!” was the only thing Skelly was able to say before he would be scattered into pieces by a singular blow. After reaching a far enough distance, the spear would stop and float in the air, and Dimitri would raise his hand, recalling Zagreus’ earlier information regarding the spear’s recall abilities.

Varatha did in fact return to him. One would think that it was hard to do, after all, spears aren’t supposed to come flying back into your hand. That just sounded like something that would injure the user. But it was actually far easier than first thought as Dimitri caught it with ease, and without any sort of danger of cutting or impaling himself by accident.

“Varath’s aspect changed,” said Zagreus. “You must’ve awakened something new in it.”

“Aspect?”

“The infernal arms embody new forms depending on whatever aspect it aligns itself with. From there it gains new powers in exchange for the powers it had prior to the transformation. It’s just fate playing along, I guess” Zagreus explained, “it seems you’ve managed to unlock a new part of it all together. One that can-”

“Whew!” said Skelly, rematerializing, much to Dimitri’s curiosity. “You pack quite the punch. You’re definitely not going to have any trouble facing the underworld’s typical thugs. Its main threats though? We’ll just have to see.”

Dimitri sighed before walking off towards the next exit of the courtyard, only to be led by what was essentially a pit. The cyclops stared at the contract above, pointing the spear at it. “And that is?”

“Just a little contract of pain, don’t worry, you won’t need that if you’re just trying to escape,” Zagreus laughed. He was literally doing the antithesis of his job in a way, but then again, who was to say the regular defenses of the underworld were at their optimum potential to begin with when Zagreus was their only frame of reference? “Just jump from there and you’ll land in Tartarus. It doesn’t matter how far you fall, you won’t break your legs…. I think.”

“He’s trying to dispose of you. Kill him now and scour the palace” growled Lambert.

“Kill him now and take the other arms for yourself” suggested Glenn.

Dimitri cleared his throat. “I will be leaving now,” was all he said before jumping straight down. Beginning his big escape.

True enough, Dimitri landed straight into some kind of quiet hall in the depths of Tartarus. Mysterious murky waters flowed deep in the ground. Dimitri looked around, and saw that he really was alone in this whole new place.

At least until something would come his way. 

It was a flash of red, and the sound of war cries and clashing swords came and went within a few seconds. He saw an interesting red emblem within the bloody glow of the orb that stood just a few meters away from him. Dimitri approached it, feeling himself pulled towards the radiant power that emanated from the orb.

“Do you hear it? I do. That’s the sound of battle. Do you recall the little rebellion you crushed when you were… what? 15? My little brother had that look of disgust on him after all that, one he decided to carry to this day. Though it’s probably waned now, given that you’re dead and he’s not. Mayhaps he’s decided to live his new life as a clown for The Empire.”

“Where there is a Blaiddyd there is a Fraldarius, the rift between you and Felix is a testament to your weakness as king and his weakness in general.”

“Enough!” Dimitri snorted. He grabbed hold of the crimson orb, causing it to unravel and cast forth the image of a man. The man had grayish skin with a white mark along his red eyes. Half his head shaved and the other with long grayish-white locks. Armor of a white center and golden sides adorned his body, while a fearsome energy exuded from the sharp end of the blade in his hand. The same reddish hue and energy could be said for the strips he called a cape.

“Zagreus. I- Oh. You’re not Zagreus…” said the mysterious man, looking down at Dimitri. Though he did not scoff when he saw the beastly cyclops before him. Far from it. “But you’re definitely a good alternative. I can feel the rage flowing from you, the blood. You kill for a living, don’t you?”

“Not for a living. I live to kill. Every last one.”

“Oh now I definitely like you,” the man laughed, extending his ethereal hand. “I take it, you know who you’re standing before?”

“I do not. What do you want from me?”

The man laughed again. “Well, you’re lucky I’m mostly apathetic to lack of reverence, or maybe I’m just charmed by first impressions. I am Ares, the god of war. I take it you and I are going to get along just fine. If you can make it to the surface.”

“How do you know I’m trying to make it to the surface?”

“I’m glad the idea of standing before a killer war god doesn’t perturb you,” Ares laughed. “Zagreus takes this route, always. Before the ever-changing chambers of the underworld shuffle Tartarus around once more, this place is always a constant. Attached to the rest of the chthonic administerial house.”

“You’re a war god.”

“Oh now you notice?” Ares said amused. “The barbaric side, yes. The strategy part is my sister’s side.”

“He’s right up your alley.”

Dimitri paid the ghosts no mind, instead simply thinking of Edelgard and Claude upon the mention of a more strategic war god. Then his mind falls on Byleth. He recalls her giving him his paladin exam after a day of learning how to better deal with guerilla tactics, especially those pesky archers within the forests and swamps.

He always listened to her, but seeing all he’d done since then, it was fair to say they ultimately fell on deaf ears. All he ever seemed to do was stalk the night like a tireless lion roaming its territory to ward off rival males and ambitious wolf packs. Platoons, battalions, and sometimes even centuries. Soon enough he’ll have to face the legions and brigades of Adrestia’s full military might. He’s seen that look in their eyes before, their fear. It’s as if he can see their entire life leading up to this moment like a book in the split second it takes to stab them in the chest.

There could be no prisoners in Faerghus. He can take no prisoner. He must cut off all heads and impale them on spikes. That is all he has been reduced to knowing in a world without-

“So there are others,” said Dimitri. “What does the god of war want with me?”

“You already know,” Ares grinned. “I can feel the aura of bloodshed around you. Killing’s in your very soul. Head-on-the-spike type deal. I’ll grant you a boon to help you kill better on your way up here, and you… well, perhaps find me one day in the living world.”

“It’s never that easy. There’s a catch to this.”

“To my family, yes. My father and especially my sister. But not me. You want to kill, I want you to kill. Go ahead, knock ‘em dead, more dead than they already are.”

“I don’t need a god. I am the only man I need. The goddess was all I had, and she had abandoned me.”

“Then I’ll be your new god, my boons will prove my dedication in exchange for your faith.”

“You won’t get any prayers from me.”

“The blood you spill are prayers enough.”

Ares laughed and then disappeared, leaving behind the glowing red orb with a mystical power within. Dimitri touched it for a moment and his mind was opened to three unique possibilities. They seemed to be like boons, and they all emanated with a rich power that spoke to his soul. It offered him curse of agony, curse of pain and slicing shot, which based from an instinctual intuition, imbued his attacks with Ares’ menacing power.

Dimitri would reach out for the curse of agony, and he felt the taste of blood on his tongue. The power of a god now dwelt in each of his actions moving forward. His battle towards the surface was about to begin. There were already a few spirits up ahead. Dimitri dashed towards them and crushed them with absolute ease, not even getting a chance to see what the red magic that was imbued in them upon contact would do.

“Do not fail us like you have failed every other moment of your miserable life” his father’s ghost howled.

“You have a literal god, if he is to be believed, on your side. Do not allow your overall impotence to waste this chance” his stepmother joined in.

“The exit-”

Glenn didn’t get to finish his sentence and Dimitri yelled “ENOUGH!!!”

“You dare?!” Dimitri did not know which one said it, but he did not care.

“We are in the underworld,” Dimitri snarled right back at them. “From my understanding, limited as you might see it, we are in the realm of the dead. The afterlife. Where people go after they die. That makes sense because I’m dead. You know who else is dead? All three of you!!!”

“That’s why you must avenge-”

“Why the hell aren’t any of you here?!”

The voices went silent.

Just like that, the voices went silent, and Dimitri was entirely alone. His mind narrowed as the void left by where their neverending torment should be was filled immediately by the maddening power Ares had bestowed upon him. Dimitri marched forward, ready to decimate what was to come.

The lowest levels of The Underworld was home to the vilest of criminals, in this regard, Dimitri felt right at home. Tartarus was its name. Dimitri ransacked the place with great ease. He was too fast and his Blaiddyd strength was beyond what any of them could handle. This spear which took Areadbhar’s form, Varatha, was a lot more durable than the real thing. It seemed to sing with each smash and slice he performed. Any creature that somehow survived his vicious strikes would be subject to the effect Ares offered, which was apparently called “doom.” It was a simple means of finishing off pesky foes. These thugs, louts, and piles of skulls were more annoying than anywhere near difficult. There was even this particularly large-ish explosive fellow, or maybe two of them. He already struggled to recall, it all went by so fast.

Each chamber of Tartarus led to some place else. Some held these things called darkness, and others held these gemstones. Dimitri had no use for them whatsoever. Things he did find useful however were more interactions with Ares’ boons and also one instance of this object called a Daedalus Hammer. For his time and admittedly minimal effort he acquired blade dash, urge to kill, and for his spear, massive spin. 

Then, he found a brief reprieve with some man and his boulder. He used to be a king too, apparently named Sisyphus. 

“That’s quite the journey you’ve got ahead of you, my friend,” said Sisyphus. “I heard you were a king?”

“Was. My kingdom’s likely gone now, lost to her.”

“Her?”

“A tyrant, she’d come. She took my parents from me and now she’s come to crush my people. She uses the guise of abolishing crests and granting them power as a means to trample over their right to worship and right to be free from her reign, as they’d always been.”

Dimitri didn’t really believe half of what he was saying, and he did not really care, especially now that he was dead. All he knew was that he hated Edelgard and all those who fought with her. This rage was all he had left, especially as the voices remained too stunned to speak. The quiet was getting to him, and the description seemed to have gotten Sisyphus.

“Oh, uh, yes, haha, well we all have our lapses do we not?” he laughed. Dimitri looked at him, and Sisyphus flinched.

“You’re like her in a way, aren’t you? A tyrant.”

“I mean… I suppose you can say all kings are tyr-” Sisyphus did not get to finish his sentence as Dimitri grabbed his face.

“What acts did you do to fulfill yourself? What people did you trample to further your own desires?”

“I changed! I promise there was a lot-” Sisyphus again was not granted a chance to explain himself before the cyclopean barbarian as Dimitri proceeded to smash his face right into Bouldy. Sisyphus was certainly alive and was going to survive, but it hardly mattered. Dimitri broke his face, yet another stain of the sins he thought he’d been able to leave behind. He supposed that lifting a boulder forever was not going to be able to bury them in the end, because after all, the boulder always rolled down.

Dimitri felt no real pleasure in Sisyphus’ pain, he struggled to feel any real pleasure in anything. He mostly just squeezed out some sensation of meaning and insisted it was a kind of self-fulfillment from each and every single one of his kills, and justified them inside as a piece of his mission and part of a retaliatory effort against Edelgard’s radical war machine.

Edelgard. Even in death the thought of her haunted him. Life was already so cruel and painful, even the afterlife was the same. He might never be free. He wondered for a moment if even her death would ever actually give her peace.

Normally these thoughts would be what beckon the three spirits that haunted his mind, but they remained muzzled, unable to manifest due to the objective reality that faced him. In all of his madness, even that could not be reconciled. Dimitri tried to pay no mind to their seeming unreality all these years and the ramifications it had on every decision he’d done since they were there, instead he chose to simply march forward until he reached the peak of Tartarus until he could hopefully find the next level of The Underworld.

Prior to his entry into the final chamber of Tartarus, he was met with a shop held by a ferryman known as Charon. He had a few items here and there, namely another boon of Ares’. He acquired the curse of pain this time. During his journey to this place, he’d obtained some of the currency down here in the world of the dead, obols, and they only appeared to serve this purpose. It did make Dimitri wonder. Why was there currency in the world of the dead? What purpose did that serve? There was no food here for nobody needed to eat, the gems he might understand, they looked pretty enough, but money? It seemed preposterous. 

As a child, he was always thinking about how worthless material things ultimately became when one passed away. The rich do not bring their wealth into the afterlife and thus none are wealthy on the other side, and even if they did, they would hold no value for they were now with the goddess. But the goddess was not here, and so these obols now held value. Was there a ruling class that amassed wealth here as well? 

He eventually moved towards what he presumed was the final door. There he was met with a shadowy arena and a lone woman with a whip and sharp teeth on the other side. Muscular, draped in red and with a singular green wing.

“Oh…” Alecto grinned. “You’re new. Fresh meat. You’re not the princeling but you’re certainly not one of the louts either, come to try your hand at escaping The Underworld?”

“I have.”

Alecto would grin wider if she could. She stretched her whip taut. “Well, we can’t have you doing that.”

Dimitri held up Varatha. “You won’t stop me. I’ll kill whoever stands in my way.”

Alecto licked her lips. “Oh I’m going to love this.”

Dimiri lunged forward, and Alecto matched him with her own, though she was a bit more reserved in her advance. It was more of a short burst really, just enough to make sure Dimitri was in whipping distance. Dimitri however deflected her scourge with his Varatha and closed the gap, only for Alecto to flap her wings and dodge his slash as she sent saw blades upon him. Dimitri snarled as the saws actually cut him. His armor was practically useless here. It got one by his left pec and another on his right flank. 

“There it is…” Alecto purred at the sight of Dimitri’s blood dripping onto the floor. “I take it that’s the first hit you’ve gotten this attempt?” She pulled her whip taut yet again. “There’s a lot more where that came from.”

He cast aside his blue coat, it always weighed him down, like a physical reminder of his sins and failures. He still felt the weight of those, but the lack of physical weight was nice as it allowed him to move a little quicker now. Blade rifts formed to clash with the saw blades as Dimitri and Alecto continued their clash. Dimitri was quick to throw his spear, only for Alecto to evade it as she lashed him diagonally across the chest, but in the process left herself open for the spear’s return. 

While she was staggered, Dimitri spun Varatha. He was always dexterous with his spears, more of a fancy parlor trick to exercise his finesse then, but he’d been doing it a lot more often in actual combat ever since his escape from Faerghus. Alecto hissed as she felt the glaive hit her right across the midsection, followed by the sting of doom.

“Lord Ares is your patron, and he’s followed you here,” Alecto giggled as she slid her fingers along the gash and licked the blood, letting out a pleasured purr. “Are the Olympians getting cheekier with their interference now? First the princeling and now you.”

Dimitri’s only response to her was yet another rush. Alecto matched it with her own lunge, though she clearly underestimated his strength as he managed to pin her onto the floor. He instantly went for her throat, ready to strangle her, though it appeared that he also underestimated her. She was a lot sturdier than he expected. Alecto spat out some blood as she smiled and winked at Dimitri as he was then struck by a red bolt of lighting from above. Dimitri instantly got off of her and proceeded to run as more bolts gave chase. 

Alecto flew up and spun around a bit. The bolts struck in their pursuit, followed by her unleashed a volley of red orbs in all directions. Dimitri slipped in the spaces between the orbs as he deflected another saw blade only for Alecto’s whip to strike his leg and wrap around his shin. She would fly upwards and drag him with her as she then threw him straight towards some spikes. 

Dimitri drove Varatha into the metallic platform of the spike trap right before he’d fallen in and used it as a means to leap off and onto the ground. He recalled his spear just in time for two more saw blades which tried to drive into him, followed by yet another volley of red orbs. Dimitri growled as he smashed one saw blade and redirected the other one into the pillar beside the spike trap. He drove his spear into said saw blade and then lobbed it back at Alecto as she lunged at him, causing a big cut on her left shoulder which opened her up for Dimitri to skewer her right through the heart.

That did not mean Alecto was out however. She boiled with rage as she wrapped her whip around Dimitri’s neck. She headbutted him which caused him to let her go. She ripped the spear right out of her body as she then recalled her whip, causing a laceration along Dimitri’s neck. He snarled as he felt the burning sting of her scourge cut up his throat. All the while raw demonic power surged from Alecto as she unleashed all sorts of saw blades and lightning. She spun around like a madwoman and all Dimitri could do was recall his spear and reposition himself.

The blade rifts clashed with the blades and attempted to cut into Alecto, though she seemed invulnerable for the moment. Once the energy waned, Dimitri did not hesitate to throw his spear, landing a direct blow to Alecto’s head, killing her and causing her to be taken by molten hands into a pool of blood. Whispers came as she was taken. Dimitri exhaled and vomited some blood of his own. He recalled his spear to use as a stand as he sat there. He wondered if he could just bleed out here. What happened to the dead who die in The Underworld? He presumed they reemerged from the river of blood by the House of Hades, that place he was in for a long time before being approached by Zagreus to attempt an escape.

Asphodel was a lot more like the hellhole he was taught growing up. After a brief refresher at a pool and assessing some other locked things as well as helping himself to some cyclops jerky, Dimitri explored what was supposed to be the middle-ground of The Underworld. From his limited understanding based on conversations and intuited details, The Underworld was a structured afterlife where the depths held a wide assortment of criminals while its peaks held noble hearts and legendary heroes. Asphodel was where he was now and it was clearly for pretty much everyone else.

If this was where the layman was to go after death, then truly everything was some sick twisted joke. Can’t even have a peaceful afterlife anymore, it’s all gone. Apparently the River Phlegethon, a river of fire, overflowed, and it scorched the meadows into what they were now. Since then travel had to be done through these bony rafts. His opponents here were a little more annoying, those bombers appeared, weaker in constitution but in greater number and in quite some variety.

Then he entered the witches’ room.

He never had a positive relationship with magic. Just not enough reason for it, or much tolerance either. Some said that that was the true effect of The Crest of Blaiddyd. In exchange for sheer might, the crestbearer was always left to struggle greatly in any magical endeavor. It did not help that there were countless of them and just streams of lava as well. Dimitri found himself dashing from island to island as he was bombarded, hoping his blade rifts would deal with them, or that doom was enough.

Dimitri was met with yet another boon of Ares’ after it had all concluded. It was there when the god reappeared to him again, clearly amused with his performance thus far.

“Not a fan of covens, I see. They were never really my sort either,” Ares chuckled. “Though I’ll give credit where it is due. Sorceresses can get quite barbaric.”

“Just… give me the next boon.”

“I’ll offer you another one. I don’t smell any of my kin on you, so clearly it’s just you and me, that’s good. The last thing I need is Athena throwing a wrench in my endeavors,” Ares revealed a singular boon for Dimitri rather than the usual three. “This is a call. You can call upon me if you’ve attained enough chthonic energy, you can use it to devastate peskier foes like the coven over here.”

Dimitri spat some blood into the nearby lava before he then grabbed the call of Ares.

The rest of Asphodel was not as eventful as the clash in the nest of the witch. He’d heard the sound of singing but never found the raft needed to take him there, what he did find however was a large barque which took him across The River Phlegothon proper as opposed to just a series of channels and whatnot like he’d been this entire time. Dimitri discarded a damaged gauntlet as he wiped the sweat off his face. Sweat and blood fell on the floor of the barque as it reached the other side. He thought he would at least have some time to himself on the barque, but alas, nothing was that simple.

Instead, for his trouble, the hell barque was an ambush full of even more enemies, not to mention explosives. It was already bad enough that he was in dire straits due to the witches from earlier, he really couldn’t handle anymore, and he wasn’t exactly fond of getting thrown overboard. 

Though eventually he did arrive once again by Charon’s shop. The skeletal man’s raft was just sitting there by the flaming river, somehow not catching ablaze, and the man stood guard over his wares. There were no customers at this time, only him. En route to here, he’d achieved the curse of vengeance as yet another boon.

“Hnnnggrrrghhh…” was the sound that left Charon. Dimitri had no idea what that meant, but he always took the obols he offered anyways. In this case, yet another Ares boon. The war god was right, it appeared the gods of this world were either ignorant of, or simply did not care for, his current run through The Underworld. It was just him and Ares. He got a newer one this time around, quite unique. Engulfing Vortex was its name. His blade rifts have been handy enough, he supposed they could work.

Dimitri then looked at the Daedalus Hammer which was also in stock. He grabbed hold of the handle and extended the rest of his obols.

“Hnnggrrhh,” Charon nodded as he, seemingly enthusiastically, accepted the obols.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for another one of these,” said Dimitri. Three upgrades presented itself to him. There was triple jab, exploding launcher, and quick spin. Given that he’d already settled on massive spin, quick spin was the only option he could see. Triple jab was slightly tempting given his raw strength, while exploding launcher was a little too sorceryesque for his taste. In hindsight, he probably should have taken flurry jab. He had a feeling that taking massive spin made his spear incompatible with other would-be upgrades the hammer offered.

Dimitri hammered Varatha. The eternal spear glowed, it even let out a purr. He could feel an invisible hand reach out to his heart, like Areadbhar was actually here with him. Though he shook his head as the hammer crumbled now that its power had been used. He took a deep breath as he approached the next chamber.

“What in the?”

A large serpentine skull emerged from the lava and it hissed at him. It was clear that this was his next trial. Without missing a beat, Dimitri threw the eternal spear right through the beast’s skull-head and ran towards it as he jumped up, recalled it, and nailed the beast’s head to the ground with a brutal stab. He ripped Varatha out as he backflipped off the head. He would evade as the beast slammed its head on the ground and he would unleash a quick yet large spin of his glaive, causing a large rip from the beast’s right eye to part of their elongated neck.

The skeletal serpent held its head up high as it hissed. Energies poured forth from the surrounding river. It seemed that this was perhaps a spring of The River Phelogothon, and thus was the focus of a deep magical energy which had clearly overflowed and scorched the once neutral realm. This beast, clearly a guardian of the boundary between this hellscape and Elysium, the enviable paradise of heroes and noble souls, clearly channeled it to raise up a barrier.

The barrier formed around its head, but at the same time the barrier unleashed prismatic energies which extended to several other heads which emerged on different parts of the fiery islet that was their battleground.

“Oh… you’re a hydra,” Dimitri sighed. He’d heard about this beast before, it was only a myth in the stories that he’d learned, but here it was, real and ready to kill him. Well, assuming all of what had been happening was real. It certainly felt real. Still, he struggled with the thought. He hadn’t seen even the slightest thing to a familiar face while he was here. Had he really migrated to a completely different afterlife?

Dimitri did not have much time to contemplate the truths of the matter further as all of the hydra’s heads focused on him. A variety of attacks were unleashed in hopes of overwhelming him. The other heads were much weaker than the main one, popping in one to two hits. It was evident that if he were to destroy the main head, the rest of the creature would die as well, which tracked with the tale he’d learned growing up. 

Hydras were a myth often used to symbolize overwhelming enemies and also the violent and complex nature of succession. Having been the crown prince of a nation which was under the brutal invasion of the Adrestian empire, the hydra was a symbol that had etched itself into his mind far more than he’d like. A branding, even. 

For every battalion or platoon of Edelgard’s that he’d decimated, another could take its place for Edelgard’s army simply dwarfed his own, and he wasn’t even with the Faerghian army most of the time, and that was not even mentioning the technology. If he had not died and ended up here, he would have likely faced Edelgard’s troops one day without having slept, and soon her rear guard would manage to encircle him and inevitably shoot him to death. Or perhaps Claude and the Leicesterite army would fall upon him in the fog, and in his ever-crafty ways sneak an arrow while unnoticed. It seemed nasty to think of something of someone, but Claude was always an opportunist. She was the wolf and he was the fox. The former simply bore her fangs while the other twisted them just enough to make it appear like a smile to let his guard down.

Hah. Wolves and foxes. His surname meant Wolf Lord, yet he was certainly more like a lion now. In a sense, the world always treated him like one. He wanted to be a wolf, the alpha wolf or the male father wolf, or whatever the proper term actually was for a pack. Looking after his own. But no matter where he went or what he did, the title Prince or Highness always came there first, and thus he found himself a lion instead, surrounded by lionesses sans the time when a lion comes to challenge him for right over the pride.

Dedue. Oh Dedue. He was a friend. One of his most loyal. If only Dedue thought the same. No, instead he too played lioness. Now he is gone. A lioness to the end.

His uncle betrayed him, he couldn’t prove it but he betrayed him. He was certain of it. It was how that woman was able to end the dynasty and take Fhirdiad from him. Along with his eye. The hydra’s heads were everywhere, and he was out of fighting spirit before it was ever out of heads. The hydra was a beast that swallowed everything he’d ever known and loved. His professor, his friends, his kingdom…

Dimitri smashed the last of the hydra heads as he immediately turned to the main head once more, whose barrier had dissipated. He threw the eternal spear and it cut through the air and slid right through the beast’s head, having penetrated one eye and exited another. The hydra roared as it slammed around wildly and attempted to sink back into the river, likely to use its spring’s magic to heal. Instead Dimitri grabbed hold of its large head and began to drag it. 

The two played tug of war for a bit before Dimitri slammed the hydra’s head on the ground and recalled the spear to hit them on the joint right where the head met the neck before staking the neck bone. Dimitri dug his hands right in and tore the beast’s head right off. The neck slid right back into the river, but the head remained, now completely motionless. 

Dimitri touched the severed hydra’s head. He climbed on top of it and sat there for a moment, resting. 

A hydra was a virtually unstoppable creature. It was a monster that swallowed people, places, all. There was no life it could not consume and no weapon it could not survive. Yet in the end, it was not invincible. In the end, somehow, someway, it would die. Be it by destroying the main head or pouring molten metal over its stumps, the hydra can in fact die. He thought of Edelgard and how she could ally with Claude, she thought of Cornelia and whatever her motives were. They were two heads of the same hydra to him, that was for sure.

Though considering he was now effectively halfway through his escape, perhaps this time, he was the hydra.

“How are you taking Elysium?”

“It’s not as calm as I’d expected, but I suppose it was foolish of me to expect peace up here. After all, I’m trying to escape.”

Dimitri found himself snacking with two warriors, a couple known as Achilles and Patroclus. Elysium was filled with warriors, energy arrows, and absurdly annoying kitten-chariot things. The warriors here were also quite capable. If he had an army of them back in Faerghus, he might have been able to form a warpath straight to Enbarr, and that was after he took back Fhirdiad.

He also ended up clashing with these pink butterfly orb things. He hated them with a passion. They were similar to the witch coven, only more condensed and less eager to die. One of them was even stronger than normal, because that was totally what he needed in his life. For his troubles however, Dimitri gained a few more boons from Ares. Battle Rage and Black Metal were welcome additions to his arsenal of boons.

Dimitri then came upon the couple who were sparring with each other when he arrived. He was ready to face them too, though unlike the others, they approached him first as a friend. They were both clearly Elysian, shades that belonged to this place. 

“He reminds me of you when we were alive, on the battlefield, I mean,” Patroclus joked. “You should’ve seen him. The Bane of Men they called him.”

“Oh that’s all in the past now,” Achilles gave a shy smile as he sat beside his lover. “So, Zagreus put you up to this, did he?”

“He did.”

“An examination, well clearly he’s not done well on his job as escape supervisor,” Achilles shook his head. “I can train the boy to become a capable fighter but I suppose I can’t teach him to actually siege. Analysis of structures was never his forte, too much strategy and logistics involved.”

“Have you come upon the god of death in your time here?”

“The one with the scythe?” Dimitri asked. He reminded him a bit of the death knight, though only a little bit.

“The very same.”

“I did. He was shocked to see it was me and not Zagreus.”

“Well those two tend to get quite along,” Achilles grinned. “Did he still challenge you to the same competition he did the prince?”

“He did.”

“And who stood triumphant?”

“Me.”

“Figured,” Achilles nodded. “Lord Hades would be most displeased if you do actually find your way to the surface. The Underworld is meant to be inescapable. Zagreus could do it for sure, but he’s not entirely human. Not like you.”

“I would not say he is entirely human, I sense something in him, in his blood,” said Patroclus. “His strength’s akin to Heracles. Perhaps he is a demigod too, or something similar.”

“I bear a crest.”

“Don’t all warriors?”

“No like as in a literal crest,” Dimitri held out his ungloved hand. The back of his hand shone the Crest of Blaiddyd. “It’s something my family was born with, and it gifts us with extraordinary strength.”

“Well there you have it,” said Patroclus. “This at least explains how you’ve been able to get this far with neither mirror of night nor death defiance. All on your first go, no less.”

“Varatha’s revealed strange gods and warriors to me in our brief time together,” said Achilles as he eyed Varatha in their new form. “Clearly yours is much the same. Fate has brought you together for this. We wish you well on your journey. Dimitri.”

Dimitri nodded. He took the eternal spear and went on his way. Only for Patroclus to call out.

“Dimitri, wait.”

Dimitri turned, and he saw Patroclus toss him over some cyclops jerky select. 

“On the off-chance that you’re fond of cannibalism,” the man joked. Dimitri devoured the premium jerky as he made his way to the next few chambers. Soon enough he would find himself in Charon’s Shop once more. For his trouble, there was some health-restoring food and another Daedalus Hammer. This time, he helped himself to flaring spin. 

The next chamber was an outright arena, and this was a door headed straight for it. It was clear that whatever he was facing next, it was going to be ugly. There was that winged woman for Tartarus, and the hydra for Asphodel. Elysium was the uppermost portion of The Underworld. The guardian of its boundary was sure to be one of the most formidable of its already outstanding warriors.

He was certainly met with one, and also some chattering buffoon beside him.

“Ohohoho! What blackguard’s come our way this time, Asterius?” said the buffoon. “You’re not the princeling, so what are you? One of his lackeys? Does he find himself too good for us now?”

“Just a dead man trying to claw his way back to the surface,” Dimitri put Varatha on his shoulder. 

“Nobody is allowed to leave the realm of the dead, nobody can,” said Asterius, who was a cross between a man and a bull, and somehow the most surreal thing he’d seen so far. “As champions of Elysium, we are tasked to serve as the guards of the boundary between Elysium and The Temple of Styx. If you wish to make it there, you must pass through us in trial by combat.”

“I accept.”

“Good,” Asterius nodded. “I’m sure you are already aware that nobody truly dies here then. Do not hesitate to-”

“Back from whence you came, blackguard!!” said the buffoon as he threw his spear, only for Dimitri to deflect it and charge right at him. Asterius however intercepted the rush, forcibly pushing Dimitri away as Asterius’ ally repositioned. 

“Theseus! I will pin him, keep a moderate distance.”

Asterius’ partner, apparently named Theseus, did as told. He was right behind Asterius as he started to throw his spear in hopes of skewering Dimitri. Instead, Dimitri uppercut Asterius in the gut, grabbed him by the horns, and swung him at Theseus. The man was nimble enough to duck under this thrown bull-friend, only for Dimitri to close the gap quickly and plant a foot on him, putting him down on the ground.

The blade rift was already bad enough, especially as they cut Asterius in his attempts to rebound. It was made worse by Dimitri who raised his spear up high, ready to finish Theseus off with a single swift blow. It was there where Theseus called upon his patron. Er… matron?

“Goddess Athena! Lend me your strength!”

Golden light showered down and nearly struck Dimitri. He would manage to evade in time but as he got off of Theseus, the man quickly got up. Theseus didn’t even bother to block his swing as shields emerged to deflect his strike. 

“Behold, my Athenian invulnerability!” Theseus smashed his shield into Dimitri. Energy rained down on him as Asterius ran right into him full speed, which knocked him right into the arena wall. The crowd gasped and roared. Dimitri took a second to try and catch his breath but all that served was for the goddess Athena’s magic to fall upon him some more. Blood fell from Dimitri’s mouth as the goddess’ wrath overwhelmed him. 

“Theseus! Let us end this!” Asterius called for him.

“Yes! Asterius! Let us!” Theseus leapt onto him and Asterius held him high in his hand. “Bull horn!”

Asterius then threw Theseus up high, and the former king looked down at Dimitri with a smug smile as he swooped down towards him with a mighty slam.

“Ares! Destroy My Enemies!” Dimitri yelled. He still had his god call. He never saw a use for it until now. It was perfect for the witches, but he didn’t have it until then. Just like that, Ares’ dark energies came and turned Dimitri into a vortex of destruction. An all-consuming invincible blade rift which welcomed Theseus in much the same way a shredder would paper. Both Theseus within and Asterius without were subject to the blade as Athena’s call eventually waned.

In the bloody haze, Dimitri emerged with a massive spin which struck both champions. Theseus steeled himself as he threw his spear, but Dimitri would catch it, put it on his shoulders, and snap it with his neck as he backhanded Theseus’ shield away and knocked him down with a single punch.

“THESEUS!” Asterius roared as he ran full speed against Dimitri. Dimitri would slow his charge by throwing Varatha right through his left leg, followed by a savage punch right into his skull. Asterius stopped dead in his tracks there, far more hurt than Dimitri was. As Theseus got up, he watched in horror as Dimitri wrapped his arms around Asterius and snapped his neck with ease before lifting him high up…

“N-n-n-n-n-no wait!”

…and slamming him horns-first onto Theseus, impaling him on both the head and chest.

The horns of victory were sounded over a stunned silent crowd as Dimitri stood victorious over the two champions, who were now taken by the river of blood to be regenerated. As for him, he recalled Varatha and made his exit. The Temple of Styx was next. A part of The Underworld but also not a part of it proper. It was the boundary between the realm of the dead and the living. The place which defined what was life and what was after it.

Dimitri wondered about The Temple of Styx. This was where the land of the dead met the land of the living, but to whom did it belong? He presumed the former, given his earlier description of it, though he would not be too surprised if it belonged to the latter. He was certain of one thing though. This place stunk. Even Tartarus was easier on the nose than this place. It was a filthy area, full of gated caverns, and interestingly enough, Charon as well.

That big dog from the House of Hades was also there. The one with the three heads. He believed Cerberus was its name, having inferred it from who Dimitri presumed was the queen of this place, or at least someone important in the administration. The dog seemed jovial for now, though he could tell from his posture and the way his paws dug into the floor that he was also ready to strike with all three jaws.

Dimitri waltzed into Charon’s shop, it was likely one last go at a shopping spree, which seemed pointless given they’d just met about one battle ago. For what it was worth however, he had just enough obols for a few final purchases.

Some restorative food to replenish him fully and of course, one last Ares boon.

“The Temple of Styx,” said Ares. “To see your success is like taking a sip of ambrosia. The sooner you are here in the surface world, the sooner you and I can spread carnage together. Thrace will gain rivers of blood as the song of war is played at the highest possible volume.”

“I have no intention of going on a mindless warpath with you. When I reach the surface, I will find her, and I will kill her. I will kill anyone who stands in my way. Every. Last. One. Of. Them.”

“Then perhaps we can direct your warpath to where you’re going first, hmm? I can afford detours with my long lifespan,” Ares offered. “These here are the final boons I can grant you, my champion. You haven’t paired with a single one of my fellow gods throughout your entire ascent. Not even Hermes, he usually weasels his way in somehow, but no.”

Ares then revealed the three final boons. Dire Misfortune, Impending Doom, and Engulfing Vortex. They were all incredibly tempting, but if Dimitri had to choose, he supposed that Engulfing Vortex would suit him best. This was to be his final go, after all.

“Lord Hades knew full well Zagreus could not bring himself to harm Cerberus, so he often plunders the satyr-filled caves over there,” Ares nodded to the left side of the temple, “but I have a feeling that’s of no interest to you, hmm?”

“Every last one of them,” Dimitri clutched his spear.

Charon actually emoted a bit, appalled at what Dimitri was about to do. The ferryman however hesitated in the decision to drag Dimitri into his domain, the type of domain he typically dragged fools that dared touch his obol sack. 

Dimitri popped some bones in his neck. He didn’t even really know that was possible, he thought he was supposed to be like a ghost. Oh well. Cerberus entered an angry sance now, Dimitri had made clear his intentions.

It was then when the would-be clash was halted by the arrival of a loud voice.

“STOP!” it went. From the nearby river of blood emerged Zagreus, armed with an assortment of weapons. “Alright, you’ve proven your point, mate. Don’t go around hurting my dog.”

“I am getting out of this place.”

“Yeah I can see that, and believe me as much as I want to stick it to my ol’ man I don’t think it’s a good look if he finds out I allowed someone to escape while he and mum are up in Olympus for a small bit,” said Zagreus. “I allowed you to go through because I wanted a raw test of The Underworld’s escape prevention system. I don’t think an extreme measures setting being the default was exactly the right call, but if you succeed, that might be the case.”

“Your problem, not mine.”

“It’ll be everyone’s problem, for their entire afterlife.”

“Not my everyone. Not my afterlife.”

“You’re really going to be difficult with this, are you?” Zagreus sighed. “I’ve cut right through this place too, same as you, many times over.”

“Based on what I’ve been told, this one try right here is all I need.”

“So this is what it feels like, to be Father,” Zagreus shook his head. He then held out his hand. Dimitri felt Varatha shake for a moment, but he merely tapped its sauroter on the ground and it stilled. 

“You’re going to have to try harder than that.”

“Plan B it is,” Zagreus shook his head.

Dimitri was sent flying straight out the Temple of Styx. The doors between the snowy buffer of the living and the dead, this field of limbo, was met with Dimitri’s blood as he slid across it and found himself trying to get up.

Zagreus walked on over with the Twin Fists of Malphon. They then disappeared in favor of Aegis, which took the form of the Blitz Disc for it was imbued with the power of Zeus. The disc served as a razor which hounded Dimitri and forced him to block. This left him open for Zagreus to unleash Coronacht and load it with all of his bloodstones and aim right for his side. Dimitri yelled as he felt it puncture a lung, maybe both. The bloodstones festered within him and was only made worse as Zagreus bombarded him with the fiery bullets of Exagryph, the adamant rail, who was of course manually reloaded to gain the fiery empowerment which came when it was imbued with the aspect of its original Olympian bearer, Hestia. 

Dimitri was forced to his knees as Zagreus held the Poseidon-imbued Stygius with the Demeter-imbued Twin Fists of Malphon. He leapt into the air and flattened Dimitri with a nova smash, which triggered several shockwaves rather than one since Demeter’s aspect allowed for attacks to repeat once energy had been amassed (it usually took about 12 hits), and Poseidon’s aspect allowed nova smash to dislodge the various bloodstones and have them be reabsorbed by Zagreus.

Though the savage boar was not so easily flattened as first thought. He’d managed to block the strike by grabbing Aegis and using it as, well, a shield. He blocked the next couple punches from Zagreus and dashed away with a blade rift. He kept his distance with Zagreus as the prince of the underworld began to load Coronacht yet again with his bloodstones. Dimitri held the shield tight as he countered the shot with a bull rush which pinned Zagreus against a rocky pillar. He smashed Zagreus into it, cracking the structure only for Zagreus to dig his hot feet into him and kick him off. From the top of the broken pillar, Zagreus leapt up for another nova smash, only for Dimitri to snipe him off the air with the blitz disc. Once Zagreus got up after hitting the ground, he was hit right across the chest with a deep slash from a quick, massive, flaring spin of Dimitri’s spear.

Varatha found it quite odd to be fighting against their own siblings like this. The Fates worked in mysterious ways, truly. One thing was for certain though, it was absolutely exhilarating.

Zagreus would try to attack again only to feel the potent sting of doom. What happened? How many pomegranates did Dimitri eat enroute to the surface? It felt like he got hit by a heroic Ares boon. He was made aware that Lord Ares had effectively sponsored Dimitri’s escape, but to think he’d put this much stock into it. Then again, Ares was likely the only god that contacted Dimitri this entire time. Ares’ godly power aided Dimitri in this fight, and the peace of the living world was now at stake if he let Dimitri through.

Dimitri recalled the blitz disc to block Zagreus’ suppressive fire. He threw his spear at Zagreus only for him to dodge and counter with a fully charged giga cutter. Now disarmed, Dimitri found himself pinned by Zagreus who got ready to pummel him in much the same way Demeter did her father Hyperion. Rather than simply accept that, Dimitri simply lifted Zagreus off of him. As Zagreus got up. Dimitri grabbed both gauntlets and kicked Zagreus into the trees nearby. He then threw both gauntlets into a nearby pond as he recalled both the spear and the blitz disc. 

Zagreus found himself on the receiving end of the blitz disc which worsened when he found himself bombarded with blade rifts, which also came with stings of doom. He used the flat end of Stygius to block before he managed to leverage himself and grasp Aegis again, once more returning it to his control. He bull rushed Dimitri and then dashed a good distance away. 

“Alright, time for some reinforcements,” Zagreus huffed. He pulled out a little companion keepsake. “Megaera!”

“Right here,” said a woman as she appeared out of thin air. She flew up high and then swooped down with a barrage of fireballs. Dimitri would roll out of the way and skewer her heart with a singular fast spear throw, sending her back to the House of Hades.

“MEG!!” Zagreus yelled as he loaded his bloodstones into Coronacht and shot Dimitri as he attempted to recall Varatha. He knocked him back with a bull rush and once more threw the blitz disc before attempting another nova smash. Dimitri rolled out of the way again as Varatha returned to his hand and he would lob off Zagreus’ head with another fearsome spin.

Rather than die like the rest however, the river of blood reattached Zagreus’ head back onto his neck. The prince exhaled as his fiery feet flared to life and melted the nearby snow. Dimitri couldn’t hear what he assumed to be thrashing and gnashing music in the distance. 

Dimitri again went on the offensive, only for Zagreus to dodge and then counter with a barrage of arrows. Dimitri was quick to evade as well, leaving blade rifts which spun as the two played their dance. Zagreus kept his distance, it was clear that Dimitri was going to win any encounter they had up close. From here onward he was only going to get close if he saw nothing short of the perfect opening. Dimitri however had different plans. He lifted up one of the large rocky platforms. He tore it from the Earth as if uprooting a plant and he kicked it in Zagreus’ direction. 

Zagreus quickly evaded the hulking boulder but as he did he found himself struck by Varatha yet again. This time right through the chest. Pinned to a tree, Dimitri recalled the spear and Zagreus held on, causing him to be dragged along with it. The prince was intent on using this momentum to smash into Dimitri’s face with the Zeus-empowered Aegis, only for Dimitri to duck right under the strike, take the shield from him, knock him down, and cause the blitz disc to spin wildly like a saw as he then yanked the spear with Zagreus with it towards the the disc, bisecting Zagreus crosswise from his solar plexus as a result.

Again, however, the river of blood reattached Zagreus’ two halves together. The prince looked far more annoyed and furious than fearful.

“You don’t fear death at all, I’m two over you and you’re not going back to that place until you’ve gotten me,” said Dimitri. “But I’m sure there’s a limit. There’s always a limit. I don’t envy your power one bit. Life is hard enough as it is.”

“It’s endless. I can’t die until I succeed. I’m The Prince of The Underworld, after all.”

“Yeah… your teacher told me there was a limit to your death defiances.”

“Blood and darkness, mate, seriously?” Zagreus shook his head. He evaded another spinning strike from Dimitri as he once more unleashed Exagryph and opened fire. That boulder trick wasn’t going to work on him again. Dimitri moved quicker this time, he unleashed all sorts of blade rifts as he managed to force Zagreus into a position where his back was to the “wall” and no matter where he dashed, Dimitri was going to be able to snag him. Zagreus however still had another trick up his sleeve. “Than! I need backup!”

Thanatos then emerged and he swung his scythe. Dimitri found himself forced to block with Aegis, which was fortunately strong enough to take on the weapon of death himself. Zagreus took this time to empower his next shot from Exagryph and blast Dimitri away, only for Dimitri to dash away just in time with another blade rift which sucked both Zagreus and Thanatos into the vortex. 

Before Dimitri could spin and strike both of them however, Zagreus was prepared as he shot Dimitri right in the heart with a fully loaded Coronact. The savage boar prince felt his strength leave him as he froze up. He collapsed right on the snowy earth, his back felt its cold and unfeeling touch. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as he felt a pool of blood begin to open up. The heat of many spectral hands and the stench of iron as it made its way into his ears.

Zagreus and Thanatos looked over Dimitri as the river of blood finally consumed him whole. Zagreus grabbed hold of Varatha and it transformed back into the Aspect of Zagreus.

For a brief moment, there was peace again.

Dimitri laid there in the endless space. He couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t feel anything. It was him, only him, and nothing else. Nobody followed him where he was going, wherever it was he was going. He could stay here forever and never return to the violent noise of the world, never be forced by life itself to exist and do the actions they’d fated him to do.

Then, there was kicking.

He found himself kicking again. Flailing. Panicking.

He was dying again.

An arm burst from the ground which forced Zagreus and Thanatos to look in shock as Dimitri ripped himself up from the portal he’d just been sucked into. The spectral hands tried to drag him in but he was far too strong and far too angry to just give up here. 

“I don’t want to die again,” said Dimitri as he dug his claws into the earth. Zagreus tried to knock him back by blasting him with Exagryph, only for Dimitri to roll out of the way. Thanatos went back to slashing with his scythe as Dimitri ran on all fours like a savage boar, evading all of their strikes. He was unarmed now. Zagreus had just reclaimed both Aegis and Varatha from him. There was however still one weapon up for grabs.

Dimitri rolled past some bombs as he leapt into the pool, and when he emerged, the Twin Fists of Malphon were with him. Zagreus and Thanatos watched as the fists warped yet again to fit Dimitri’s more bestial style, and what better way than with The Aspect of Gilgamesh? The Twin Fists of Malphon became The Claws of Enkidu, bestial paws that maimed the opponent. Dimitri moved on all fours as he gained bestial speed, moving in mad dashes which formed several blade rifts that kept Thanatos at bay as he closed the gap between himself and Zagreus.

Zagreus raised up Aegis only for Dimitri to swat the shield away. This left him subject to a series of maiming slashes as Dimitri unleashed a rabid combo right on him, causing several gashes all along his chest. Zagreus hissed as Dimitri slashed his face with The Claws of Enkidu, and as he dashed away Dimitri gave chase. Thanatos would swoop in to force some distance between them as Zagreus made one more call.

“Cerberus! Now’s a good time!”

His father sometimes called upon Cerberus during their little duels, but it was his turn this time.

Cerberus emerged from The Temple of Styx and dashed towards the battlefield. A rock slide hit the battlefield as they just rained all over. Seeing no place to dodge, Dimitri knew what this meant. He still had his own call, after all. He conjured a fearsome blade rift as he called once more upon Ares’ power. The all-engulfing vortex sucked in Zagreus, Thanatos, and Cerberus and struck them all over with slashes as the rain of rocks eventually dissipated. 

Zagreus felt the river of blood reach him. Dimitri had popped his final death defiance. One more and he was the one who was going to be sent back to The House of Hades. Zagreus spat some blood on the snow as the blade rift faded. Cerberus and Thanatos too were gone, taken by the river of blood. Zagreus looked around and saw the infernal arms had been scattered in the madness.

Dimitri stood upright once more as he tore off The Claws of Enkidu and threw them to The Temple of Styx. Dimitri grasped Coronacht and Exagryph and threw them past the temple entrance as well, where Charon was there to catch them. Aegis was next. This shield had swapped users all throughout this battle. Perhaps it was best it was also done for, so Dimitri cast it aside. Dimitri then eyed Varatha once more. It was in its bident form, the humble Aspect of Zagreus. 

As he reached out for it, the spear was instead pulled into Zagreus’ hand. It was in his aspect, after all. The prince used the eternal spear to stand up. He let out a breath as he locked eyes with Dimitri.

“How the hell did you defy death without a death defiance?”

“There’s a lot of questions I don’t know the answer to,” Dimitri responded. “One thing is for certain, however. I do not wish to die again. I am leaving this place and reclaiming my place in the world of the living. No matter what it takes.”

Zagreus breathed in. “Varatha. I beseech you. Grant me the aspect of My Father!”

Varatha burned as it then transformed from the aspect of the son to that of his father, Hades. The old spear that Hades wielded during the war against the foul titans. Zagreus had utilized the aspects of the other Olympians throughout this battle, but in all honesty that was quite foolish. If he was to enforce The Chthonic Law, only the head of the Chthonic gods could possibly succeed in such an endeavor.

Zagreus spun the Hades-imbued Varatha in a punishing sweep. Dimitri rolled out of the way and reached out for the other weapon still on the field. Stygius. He ripped the sword from the ground and it warped yet again, only in a much odder way this time. Both princes watched as the sky itself seemed to warp for a moment and… tentacles? Tendrils of light wrapped softly around the blade as it then enlarged into a thick slab of sharpened steel, far too cumbersome to be called a sword anymore. 

Any normal person would struggle to lift this blade in much the same way all struggle to face the inevitability of death.

Dimitri however was far stronger than any normal person. He raised the hulking blade Stygius had turned into and pointed it at Zagreus. 

The two then clashed. Zagreus was still faster and he managed to avoid Dimitri’s murderous slash and counter with a punishing sweep, which marked Dimitri and left him open for a series of jabs which he then blocked with the sword’s expansive broadside. Zagreus kept his distance and tried to snipe at Dimitri with some spear throws, only for Dimitri to deflect them and close in. Zagreus again would manage to avoid. He slid right under a horizontal slash as he recalled the spear and hit him with another punishing sweep. Dimitri blocked a thrust headed right for his head as he practically bull rushed Zagreus into the last of the rock pillars.

Zagreus dashed out of the way as the slash hammered at the rock and he struck Dimitri’s side with several more jabs. Only for Dimitri to rip the sword out and send rocks at him. Zagreus spun Varatha to deflect these rocks as Dimitri maintained his steady pursuit. The two dashed some more, but Dimitri’s blade rifts caused Zagreus to get cornered again, and this time he would get hit in the side with a slash from the blade. He yelled as blood left him and he dodged through a blade rift, receiving more cuts in the process as he got back to the center of the battlefield. 

Dimitri leapt high up in the air for a nova smash, only for Zagreus to snipe him out of the air by throwing the spear, hitting DImitri in the gut. Once Dimitri crashed onto the earth, Zagreus hit him with a punishing sweep which disarmed him of Stygius.

“Nobody escapes The Underworld mate,” said Zagreus as he rushed Dimitri to drive the spear into his heart.

Only for doom to then strike. The wound from earlier worsened severely as Zagreus froze. Dimitri took this window of opportunity to stand up, grab Stygius, and unleash a big swing which cut him clean in half. Zagreus withered as the river of blood finally returned, this time to take him completely. Dimitri watched as Varatha was taken as well. He let out a breath as he drove Stygius into the pool too. The infernal arms were a set and it would be cruel to bring it along with him now.

As the river disappeared, Dimitri was now completely alone in the cold battlefield, ruined by blood, slashes, and rocks alike. Dimitri felt the winds move only one way, towards the doors of The Styx, which meant that the route back to the realm of the living was the opposite way. He limped as his blood continued to come from him. He spat blood as his organs were beginning to realize that they were all really dying. Dimitri could feel the hands and blood of the river reach out for his feet already as he limped towards the exit.

Soon he was there. The entrance to the entrance was a lot humbler than he was expecting, rather narrow too. Oh well. He could feel life on the other side. The surface was right there. Dimitri took one final look back at The Underworld, all so buried deep below. Then he looked back out. Once he took this step, assuming he’d even survive his wounds, he was out to roam the world as a savage boar yet again. He’d have to reclaim Fhirdiad, he’d have to make sure Edelgard’s head hung off the gates of Enbarr, and despite their silence after his simple question, the voices were sure to return as well.

Dimitri could only sigh. So be it. He took one step right into the other side, where he was met by the warm light of the living world, and soon enough Lord Hades shall learn of a soul that had managed to escape his realm.