Hitting the land shook me awake from my half-consciousness. Telemachus had taken the wax out of his ears and moved down the deck, putting his owl mask back on and looking off in the distance.
"There he is, right past the grove and deep in the cave." Telemachus said pointing towards a large set of mountains with a large cave in the center.
A grove of willows and black poplars grew out near the cave, a woman tended to the garden singing beautifully as plants grew in her wake. Major gods weren't allowed in these bounds, but I wondered if she truly wasn't considered a major goddess. I dropped down onto pitch black sand, running in full sprint towards the woman.
"Lady Persephone!" I shouted, finally happy to see a goddess that could help.
Persephone looked up, smiling as a field of flowers steadily grew around her. "Hello, Sara, welcome to my personal garden."
I looked around at the fields and fields of flowers that grew around the trees, and the ones the steadily streamed out from under her dress which had flowers inlaid into the fabric.
"What are you doing here? Isn't Elysium your home?" I finally managed to ask, looking at her as her smile faultered.
"Usually, it is, but my father insisted on putting mortals in my home so here I am. Tending the gardens give me peace, but this one in particular is away from most mortals and interfering gods. Only my husband knows this particular garden exists in this capacity anymore, and I'd like to keep it that way. Not like they could come here anymore anyways," Persephone sighed out looking towards the cave entrance.
"Why is that? You can come here, Amphitrite can come here, Circe is stuck here, but Olympians can't," I looked towards the cave as well, feeling the full presence of the dead.
"A treaty Olympus doesn't like to talk about, my husband barely told me about it. Looked as if The Owl Goddess would manifest and kill him right there. A stalemate in the war, Minerva's too surprisingly powerful and they didn't want to waste resources so they made it Telemachus' problem. Now, enjoy your time in the Acheron Marsh. And give Tiresias my best," Persephone walked back through the trees, seemingly vanishing behind one.
I looked behind me and saw my companions catching up, when they finally did I walked in silence towards the cave. We've been through too much to stop now, I couldn't wait any longer. All of the answers were right there, but there was no closure from them. The itch the sirens put in my head was back, burning my body with pain as I entered the cave.
The scent of death filled my nostrils as I walked through the darkness, I heard the shuffling of footsteps as we continued against the stony ground. The echoes of souls that drifted in the air got louder and louder until we felt sand on our feet, at least I literally did, and looked ahead. To my far right was a large never ending staircase that went up through the cave ceiling with souls waiting for Charon who wasn't visible at this moment. I heard some older souls were still waiting because their trials were still being arranged for their deeds, while others just didn't want to move on yet. I continued walking forward towards a massive lake, there were trees hanging low over a marsh where the rivers of The Underworld met. Every river but the Lethe met in a singular point into a damp marsh with more willows surrounding a central point.
"I can't even see the gates…" Leo called out.
"They're not here anymore, Charon ferry's souls down the river instead of across it now. The Old Underworld still lies here with the old palace of Hades at the center, the newer underworld is much nicer," Andromeda answered, stopping at the bounds of the lake with me.
"He's here, further into the marsh. He still roams where Persephone can find him," I said stepping into the marsh.
The water bit at my ankles, burning my flesh, but as I stopped on a small island to check my skin was fine. The water was grabbing and burning at my soul here, I had to anchor myself to something human just in case. I breathed in deep as I reached the water again, going through my memories as I looked towards the center point where marble pillars sat. I found a comforting memory, a memory from my childhood, I went back to when I first met Christina all of those years ago. She wasn't much older than me, but I always looked up to her as the prime example of what I should be when I grew up.
I stepped into the water and took slow steady steps, wading through the water carefully. "Hold your breath, my son," a woman's voice called out.
"HECTOR!" A man's voice shouted, shaking my soul.
"Orpheus!" Another woman's voice shouted and then faded away.
"You didn't even notice that I had died, Odysseus!" Another voice, another story.
I continued forward, focusing on my memory as more voices flooded my ears. Stories of The Styx, years of tales starting and ending here. I had to stay focused on Christina, focused on when this life had started for me. I reached the shore of the island in the middle of the marsh and there stood a man in loose robes with the hood pulled over his eyes.
"Sara…Pearl…" The man rasped, pulling his staff close.
"Tiresias," I nodded, walking towards him.
There were pillars surrounding him, infront of his resting place was a small trench with a red liquid that smelled sickeningly sweet. Tiresias knelt down in front and I could see his face, he was a young man with a blindfold covering his eyes. A drawing of a snake slithered back and forth along the blindfold, I watched as his smile grew and he looked up.
"An offering has yet to be added, Sara," He stood, leaning on his staff.
"You need blood, right? Blood so the dead can speak?" I asked, taking my dagger out.
"Correct, bleed so the dead may drink your life and speak answers onto you," he answered, as plainly as I had known the answer.
I ran my dagger over my palm, the pain was quick but dull, blood seeped from my veins onto my palm making it slick with crimson. I closed my fist and held it over the trench, watching as drop by drop turned the liquid white like fresh snow. The area around us was lighter as the liquid's influence spread throughout the marsh, trees were vibrant and filled with life again and the water seemed clearer.
"You have bleed your life into The Underworld, now let The Underworld seep its life back into you," Tiresias spoke as he stepped aside.
Standing there in ruined clothes and hair matted down with the overwhelming scent of seawater was my Mater, her eyes never changed from how I remembered them. Kind yet strict, a soft smile moved her face as she looked at me. She went to speak but no words came out, Tiresias used his staff to point at the mixture in the trench and motioned for her to drink from it.
My mom knelt down and cupped her hand bring the liquid to her mouth, life moved through her skin as she breathed in. "Sara," she moved forward. "Sara, I'm sorry."
I waited my whole life to hear those words, my chest grew heavy as my eyes stung. "It doesn't make the suffering worth it….Mater. I still know I ran away with good reason, I met people with my problems and parents like mine. I found acceptance in strangers that I couldn't find in my own blood. Still, I miss you. I didn't even know you had died, I hardly remember your face some nights. It feels wrong to say that when I think of a mom, my mom, I turn to the moon before I turn to my memories."
"I— I understand, I knew you were suffering and did nothing. I was angry at your father for leaving and I took it out on you when I shouldn't have, I fell in love with a moving current," she smiled and moved forward, her arms open.
"The dead can't touch, only speak," Tiresias held his staff out.
"Right…Sara, should you ever find yourself in Asphodel, visit me," My Mater said, sinking into the ground.
"Poseidon drowned her, didn't he?" I asked, looking at Tiresias.
"She was warned to not touch his realm again, she didn't heed the warning and got on a ferry. The wind blew her into the ocean and the depths held her as she drowned, Poseidon embraced her in his anger and killed her intimately," He knelt down and removed his blindfold showing dead, clouded, eyes. Tiresias drank the liquid and his eyes glowed pure white, the ash on the pillars shook off as he looked at me, "You have heard the words of all the dead who seek audience with you! Now ask your answer, and receive questions from the dead and damned! Know this Sara Pearl of Atlantis, your trial only starts here! Once you enter, you will never leave!"
"What happened in Atlantis the day it sank? What was Khaos' plan there?" I asked, stepping forward.
"Open your eyes, and see all there is for you," Tiresias said, holding his hand out.
I took his hand and was immediately sent back to Atlantis' throne room. Zeno sat on the throne infront of Poseidon, I was back where I had left off.
"—The Primordials." Khaos' smile widened impossibly large on flesh, standing infront of Poseidon now.