CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE

Death and Rebirth, Part 2

Even in this death-like state, Sam could dream, and his dreams in this abyss, ironically enough, were filled only with good things.

He dreamed of past adventures and recent successes. He dreamed of a sleek black school bus and the people inside it; the feather-clad hero who’d gifted it to them, the spunky teenage seer who teased him at every opportunity, the foreigner who willingly jumped into the rabbit hole along with him, and even the strong man who’d arrived to aid them in Sam’s final mission. They were all there, chilling by the comfy seats of the living space, waiting for him. But mostly, he dreamed of her. The strands of golden hair that clung to her cheeks after a tough workout session, the electricity dancing within the blue of her irises whenever she laughed, the kind smile she showed only to him—these were the dreams he clung to even as his consciousness unraveled within this abyss he was trapped in.

The shadowy voice would often return to taunt him, and although Sam would fight back with banter of his own, the shadow’s promise that his friends would soon join him never failed to bring the hero pain. But the shadow had also miscalculated. Because Sam, hearing of the fate promised to his friends, would do whatever it took to ensure such a nightmare would never come to pass. Every time it reminded Sam of them, his resolve would just get stronger.

He would dream of them, and these dreams would give him strength. They were the very things that drew him back into himself, reminding him of who he was. Until finally, Sam managed what he could not do before. He moved his finger—just his finger. It was a start.

It took time to move his whole hand though, and it would feel like a month had passed by the time he reached for his belt. Sam felt for it in the darkness, the item he imagined was his one shot out of this abyss.

My hammer’s still here... thank the gods, he thought as his fingers grasped Onus’ hilt, although it wasn’t what he was specifically looking for.

Gram wasn’t in its sheath, however, but that was to be expected as the dragon-slaying sword had been whisked away by the same void that had taken Sam. He only hoped it wouldn’t be lost forever as it was a pretty useful tool.

Come on... where are you? Sam wondered.

Eventually, his hand grasped the cool surface of the item he needed. The ivory horn weighed next to nothing in Sam’s hands, although it still took a herculean effort to unclip it from his belt and raise it up to his chest. Bringing it to his lips, however, took at least another hour of void time.

What’s this? Does the little hero seek to struggle against his prison? The shadow’s mocking voice was back. Foolish mortal... You wield no weapon that could pierce the darkness... Only an immortal could—

There was a pause.

What is that you have in your hand? it asked, sounding almost curious.

Something I’ve been dying to try out, Sam replied.

Is that... The shadowy voice sounded suddenly wary. ...That’s a summoning tool.

Sam recalled the details of the item in his hand. Specifically, how to activate it.

ITEM: The Blessed Horn of the Sacred Beast CLASS: Legendary TYPE: Summoning Tool DESCRIPTION: The horn that summons the Ceryneian Hind to a hero’s side is a gift given only to those who’ve earned great favor with the Goddess of the Hunt. Artemis’ boon can be used once per long rest to summon a sacred beast to fight alongside the hero for a number of seconds equivalent to a hero’s level: [60 Seconds per 10 levels] BOON(S): The Ceryneian Hind wields the power to instantaneously travel between planes, bringing along anyone it allows to ride on its back to a destination within the scope of Olympian influence. ALERT! To summon this sacred beast, one must focus on a specific target that will draw the hind to join in on the hunt.

A specific target... Sam remembered.

Once more he thought of her, the woman of his dreams.

Um... Sam frowned. What’s her name again...?

Sam didn’t know why he couldn’t remember her name when her face enveloped his thoughts. Was it this place, he wondered. Was this abyss finally getting to him, eating away at his mind and the things that mattered to him?

No, I won’t be beaten like this... not when I’ve literally got hope in my hands, Sam growled. I know her name!

It had been on the tip of his tongue and just barely out of reach for what felt like forever, but once Sam remembered who she was, he began to remember other things too.

My friends...

Their faces drifted toward him once more; the crow, the hare, the seer, the hearth, even the fool who’d nearly killed Sam months ago.

Wait... Cease your prattling about! the shadowy voice commanded, and there was a hint of desperation in its tone now.

Sam wasn’t listening. He had his target. He remembered her name. Thunder!

Remembering Thunder allowed Sam’s consciousness to fully awaken so that all of who he had been came together like puzzle pieces fitting together with the help of an invisible hand. This remembrance gave him power, and with that power came the strength to break from the shackles that bound him.

ALERT! Rejuvenation was successful. Your life force has stabilized. Health Points (HP): [1] Welcome back, Herculean!

Seeing these familiar blue notification windows was the final piece to force breath into his lungs. With that breath, Sam blew on his ivory horn while the memory of Thunder rang clear in his mind.

The seconds ticked by with nothing happening, and this made the shadowy voice quite smug. It taunted Sam, encouraging him to give up his hopeless struggle. But Sam hadn’t lost hope. He believed in the divine, and that belief paid off pretty quickly.

He heard the neighing from far away—and it was music to Sam’s ears.

Then, with a brilliant flash of golden light piercing through the darkness above, Sam found himself staring up at the sun. Well, the sun god, really.

Apollo rode atop the Ceryneian Hind with a face that showed off a mixture of relief and annoyance at seeing Sam again.

“It took you long enough to pick up the phone, Sammy,” the sun god whined. “Seriously, I was beginning to think you were dead!”

“Seriously,” Sam found that Apollo’s light also brought back his voice. “What took you so long? Did you stop for drive-through or something?”

One of Apollo’s golden eyebrows arched up. “Jokes...now? Really?”

He didn’t expect Apollo. It was accepted truth that the gods were far too busy to intervene directly with heroes, preferring instead to trust in their champion’s ability to get the job done without needing to have their hands held. Or at least that was the excuse the priestesses often gave for a god’s laziness. It was a pretty hot topic in the forums; the gods, helpful or negligent?

Yet Sam’s patron had arrived at the head of the rescue party. Sam couldn’t help but grin.

A bronze hand coated in the warm glow of sunlight reached out for him.

No~~o! the shadow screamed from far below.

It unleashed a wave of terrifying energy that was so cold Sam’s whole body began to shiver.

Holy Zeus, he thought. This guy’s freaking overpowered!

In response to this dark energy, golden light flared from above, warming Sam up instantly.

Yes! Sam cheered.

He took this chance to raise his arm and reach out for Apollo’s glowing hand.

Apollo lifted Sam from the abyss, his light burning the strands of darkness that attempted to cling to Sam’s body. After he dropped Sam onto the Ceryneian Hind’s back, the sun god turned a fiery gaze down at the darkness below.

“Wow, you got outsmarted by a mortal...again,” Apollo chuckled. “Honestly, I’m super embarrassed for you, oh, eldest of giants.”

Apollo! the voice spat. You will be the first to fall when I escape this prison! I will awaken Ephialtes and send him to the heavens to break your chariot apart!

“Good luck with that,” Apollo laughed some more. “Hadn’t you heard, humans think my golden orb is at the center of the solar system... that’s pretty far away!”

Our rise will blot out the sun! And my brethren shall feast on your lifeless—

“Whoa, now! No need to be offensive,” Apollo chided. “Seriously, guy, you’ve been losing for millennia... You might need a better plan...or an agent! Yeah, I think you need new representation!”

Sam wasn’t the only one whose brow furrowed at hearing Apollo’s weird banter. He was pretty sure the shadow below them had also raised an eyebrow or two or dozen.

Apollo was clapping his hands like he’d just gotten a brilliant idea. “I really think you need to rebrand... I doubt you’ll ever win when your name basically translates to ‘Mighty Ass’... LOLs.”

Another roar resounded across the abyss, but the tendrils of darkness that reached up toward them were burned away at a wave of Apollo’s hand.

“Better luck next time, oh, mightiest of asses,” Apollo taunted.

Sam sighed at how childish his patron could be. And here he was beginning to think Apollo might be pretty reliable.

Then Apollo told Sam to close his eyes for he was, in his words, “About to go nuclear on this lame-ass giant!”

Even with his eyes shut, Sam was blinded by the brilliant golden glow that shone through his eyelids. Once more he was reminded of another well-known fact; never ever look at a god when they show their true selves. That path leads to madness and death.

“Go now, Sammy,” Apollo urged.

With eyes still closed, Sam felt the hind shift underneath him. A second later and he felt his mount move forward at a speed that would make Jackboot jealous. His arms tightened on the hind’s neck for the length of their journey, which ended pretty quickly. About as long as it took for Sam’s hands to lock together. When Sam opened his eyes again, he discovered that his mount had taken them into a sea of tall pines stretching out in every direction.

“Um, where are we?” he asked.

“About time you got here, kid,” said a voice Sam was intimately familiar with. After all, it had been one he heard in his brain all the time.

Sam turned his head to the side and found himself face to face with an olive-skinned, red-haired man wearing a Portland Trail Blazers jersey. Nope, only his top half was that of a man’s. From the waist down, he was a russet-haired stallion.

“Ch-Chiron?” Sam asked uncertainly.

“Hey, kid,” Chiron waved. “What took you so long? Did you stop to grab a bite to eat or something?”

Leaving aside the fact that Chiron had just said a joke similar to the one Sam had just given Apollo, the sight of his master IRL coupled with the weirdness of all he’d just experienced, and maybe even the fatigue of traveling from an abyssal plane back into the mortal plane finally forced Sam’s limbs to go numb as his mind began to shut down.

As darkness took him, the last thing Sam saw was Chiron rushing to catch him.