Darkness around us stayed for quite some time, but Hade's biceps that were crushed under my grip proved that I was still conscious. I couldn't feel the ground under my feet nor the wind around us. I closed my eyes as I felt my stomach going places and clenched my teeth to make sure nothing is leaving my mouth.

And then my feet hit the ground.

'We are here' I heard Hades whisper in my ear like a demon who speaks at the back of you head.

'Why are you speakiEEEHHHHH!!!' I let out weird surprise sound when I opened my eyes and saw our surroundings.

'Welcome to the Underworld' Hades welcomed me, amused by my reaction. The place was out from the horror fantasy movie or something.

The Underworld itself was like a different dimention or form of Earth. We stood on the platform made high in the mountain that had a path going down towards huge castle. The castle was pushed into a masive volcano that clearly was active, was made out of black bricks and had windows that made the castle look alive and watching us. Towers rose up, almost reaching crimson red sky, their tops sharp as a needle. It looked evil, with black aura surrounding it and harpies flying around the caps of the towers and the volcano only added to the looks.

It was surrounded by high wall made of the same black bricks and had six gates open, guarded by chimeras. Through five of them five rivers ran and disappeared inside the castle grounds.

The castle and the volcano were surrounded by a forest of dead trees. I had a feeling it was more for the protection that spookiness.

But what cought my interest were borders of this world. As much as I tried to look further into the Underworld, all I could see was a black mist.

'Those mists are hiding other sections of the Underworld where souls are sent according to their lives so stop straining your eyes' Hades said and pulled me down the road that lead to the forest.

'Now listen to me, Era. If you value your life, you either go everywhere only with me by your side or stay at the castle' Hades began as we descended the mountain. The God in front of me was walking just like the king should walk while I had to almost run after him, but kept silent about it.

'And why is that?' I asked feeling the temperature dropping with every step we took.

'Everything that lives here will think you are an intruder since you are not part of this world... yet' He explained just as we reached the forest. I saw one of the badass horses waiting for us and Hades jumped on it like a pro. Before I could say anything, I was pulled up and sat in front of Hades, his hands holding reins before me. We began trotting down the path as temperature dropped even more. I began breathing out small clouds of warm air and began feeling a bit chilly.

'Then what about these tattoos?' I asked confused.

Suddenly, I felt Hades' cold fingers trailing up my thigh and I froze. His cold breath fanned my ear as his second hand snaked around my torso, pulling me closer to him.

'Those markings show that you belong to me and give you the ability to wield these deadly weapons' He whispered and pulled one out of the holder. I watched as he trailed it down my thigh and felt actual fear of being injured by it.

'One simple stab to any God and they suffer from immense pain. Use them carefully' He pushed the kunai back in it's holder and pushed himself away from me just as we rode out of the forest and reached the wall with main gates before us.

Two chimers turned their heads to us and their eyes glared at me, both ready to jump on us. I shrinked a bit, but they stayed in their places as we rode pass them and into the inner castle grounds.

To my surprise, I saw actual peopls running around and doing their chores. Some ladies ran with pots and clothes, men walked with books and so on. But I knew that they were long dead as I could see through all of them.

The inner part was gloomy as the outside with few dead trees and sharp rocks scatered across the space. I saw a few more chimeras walking around the castle and shudered when one of them stopped and began watching me.

We stopped by a huge set of doors and with the help of Hades, climbed off the horse. I had to look all the way up to see full lenght of the entrance.

And just like that, they began opening.

'Let's go' Hades pushed me forward and I began climbing up the stairs with him by my side.

The moment we walked inside, the main entrance closed off with a lound bang causing me to look back with uneasiness. This place was really depressing.

I turned back and looked around the main hall of the castle. The whole interior was dark with candles strategically placed around the place, their illumination giving even bigger creepy vibes to this place.

At the very back were grand stairs, leading up to the second floor. Two statues of some kind of monsters were by the first steps and I had a feeling that they could wake up. To my both sides I couls see halls with small windows and set of black metal doors at the end of them. The floor was made out of marble, but was dyed in black and grey, forming a strange pattern with it's corners ending by the pillars that supported the ceiling. The grandiose chandelier made out of dark glass was the main source of light in the hall and looked like a crown with spikes on top of it.

My eyes ran across the hall once more and stopped by the main entrance.

I finally understood that I was stuck in this place until Hades himself will claim my soul.