24 24 – Underworld

It didn't take long for the person Hades sent to arrive at Olympus. It was a Demigoddess.

The woman saw Poseidon and Athena and bowed her head, '' Hello, King of the Gods... and Queen of the Gods. My master has given me the task of taking you to his domain.''

Poseidon and Athena nodded, '' And what would your name be?''

The Demigoddess hesitated for a moment, '' You may call me ... Alecto.''

Athena was confused, '' But Alecto was one of the Furies, and she was killed by Kratos...''

Alecto sighed, '' My master is trying to keep the legacy of ancient Greece intact, hence my name.''

''So there's more of the old Greece stuff in the Underworld?''

Alecto nodded. Athena and Poseidon exchanged eye contact.

'That's going to be a problem.' That's what Athena and Poseidon were thinking. ' Hades might not like us for 'destroying' Greece.'

''Very well! You can take us to him.'' Poseidon took the initiative to go find Hades.

The Demigoddess nodded, ''Follow me!''

The couple followed the Demigoddess, as she descended from Olympus.

The Demigoddess started talking along the way, '' I noticed the lack of monsters in the new Greece... did you decide that, or it is an accident?''

Poseidon took the liberty of answering, '' We didn't think of that when we recreated Greece. We decided to leave it to chance, but we monitored it in case any monster strong enough to destroy what we created appeared.''

''What if one showed up?'' Alecto was surprised at what the world of the Living was like.

''We would annihilate or send a mortal strong enough to do the job, but since most mortals aren't even 15 years old or too old, we're doing it for them.''

'''And have any monsters appeared strong enough for you to take serious action?''

''No. The strongest monster the gods noticed were some minotaurs that were killed quickly.''

''What about the Kraken? Scilla? Did any of those monsters show up?'' Alecto was excitedly talking about monsters.

'She must like monsters. I'm not even surprised, since she lives in the Underworld.'

Athena replied, ''None of these have appeared yet, but the Gods could create them anytime. But we changed our ways after the fall of Zeus, so no monster was created.''

Alecto looked dejected, '' A shame.''

Poseidon took after her, '' ... Do you want a mini Kraken for yourself?''

Alecto face instantly lit up, but then a moment later, she made a sad face.

'' What happened?'' Poseidon was curious.

''I live in the Underworld. I don't know if the Kraken would survive there.''

Poseidon patted his chest, '' Who do you think I am!? I'm the King of the Gods, I can get a Kraken to survive the Underworld.''

Alecto smiled again, thanked him, and continued leading the way.

Poseidon then quickly turned to Athena and whispered, '' Can I create a Kraken that survives the Underworld?''

Athena rolled her eyes at Poseidon, '' It should be possible, but first, we need to see the Underworld water and then analyze it. Then you can use your powers to create the Kraken...but please, make it weak.''

''Don't worry, I'll make him weak!'' Poseidon said this but was thinking of something else, 'My first Kraken... I'll make him special!''

The couple continued following Alecto to the edge of the Greek realm, then stopped, '' From now on, do what I say! One wrong step, and you'll be in a different realm!''

Poseidon listened to what Alecto said, but he was more interested in what was in front of him, 'It looks like a barrier, but it's transparent...'

Poseidon wanted to see if he could get through, but he decided to focus on Alecto, 'I'll see how it works later.'

Alecto made some gestures and then suddenly stuck the knife in her hand. With her blood, she made other seals, and a door began to form.

''The entrances to the Underworld were destroyed, and this was the one late Queen Persephone used for her escapades, so it was very well hidden. It managed to stay intact, and now it's the only one that works. Hades has plans to make more entrances, but not for now.'' Alecto explained and opened the door, '' Follow me.''

Poseidon and Athena followed Alecto. When the couple passed through the door, they noticed that the atmosphere had changed. While the air of the new Greece was pure, the one from the Underworld was infested with the smell of death. Their powers were also being restricted somehow, nothing too serious, but it was something new for them.

It was a normal place, the only difference was the atmosphere and the fact that souls were flying around.

' So this is the Underworld... I expected it to be more evil or something.'

The couple noticed that they were on some platform and that Alecto was piloting it over a red river, '' We are without a soul navigator for the moment, since Charon's death, so this is the best we have at the moment.''

Poseidon finally asked, ''Can you tell us why we can no longer get pregnant?''

Alecto hesitated but replied, "My master will explain further.''

The demigoddess became quiet after that. Poseidon noticed that she didn't want to talk and just stared at the 'landscape'.

Poseidon didn't fail to notice that the Underworld seemed 'crowded'. Everywhere he looked, a soul was occupying the place. He looked at the red river curiously, 'Can I control it?'

Not wanting to get doubts in his head, Poseidon used his powers to try to stir it, and to his surprise, he found a certain kind of resistance, 'Fascinating!'

Poseidon continued to try and control it, but it was difficult.

This caught his interest, and he kept trying to move the water. After a few tries, he managed to control some parts of it.

He decided to give some extra speed to the platform they were on, and it worked.

Alecto noticed this and looked at Poseidon with a shocked face, '' ... How are you doing this!?''

Poseidon said smugly, '' I am the God of the Seas!''

Alecto still got a surprised face, ''Doesn't he know that this river has practically no water? How is he doing this?'

Alecto still looked surprised, 'Doesn't he know that this river has practically no water? How is he doing this!?''

Alecto was about to continue asking, but she noticed Athena nodding at her. Alecto then accepted her answer and continued sailing down this river.

It wasn't long before the trio reached a location where there was a kind of castle. The platform stopped near the ground, and the trio climbed down.

Poseidon looked at the red river again and asked, '' What is the name of this river?''

Alecto sighed, '' It's called ... Styx.''

'...'

'Hades doesn't have any creativity when it comes to naming things. The real Styx River had been destroyed when Zeus died.''

Alecto noticed Poseidon's expression and explained, '' The Styx River was destroyed a year ago, but my master managed to save a part of it and decided to keep the name, as a way to maintain the legacy.''

Poseidon said nothing more on the subject. Alecto started to make her way toward the castle, while Athena and Poseidon followed her.

Athena asked the Demigoddess, '' Can you give us some insight into Hades' situation?''

Alecto hesitated for a moment before talking, '' I can't say much because I arrived here literally one year ago, but he is getting weird. He doesn't let the souls enter the cycle of reincarnation, and he suddenly started to recreate old Greece, changing our names and building places identical to the old ones. It's almost like he wants to make the Underworld the old Greece.''

Poseidon also thought it was weird, ' Somethings wrong with Hades... Maybe Evil really changed his mind, just like with Zeus.'

The Gods thought they had eliminated all Evil in Greece, but now it seems the threat is still here, just more hidden. It was also their fault for forgetting about Hades.

The trio arrived at the entrance of the castle soon after. Alecto said, ''Wait here.'' and entered.

It took a few moments until she appeared again, '' Hades is ready to meet you. Follow me.''

Athena and Poseidon entered the castle following Alecto. The place was old, but the couple paid more attention to the fact that there were statues of Zeus and some other Gods around the place. There were also some Titans in the middle.

Poseidon knew trouble was ahead, so he checked the Flame of Olympus that Hephaestus gave him. ' Hephaestus really managed to make something to hold the Flame! ... Everything is good with it.'

After confirming everything was okay, Poseidon noted that they finally arrived at Hades' throne room.

Alecto made a signal for Athena and Poseidon to stop, then she knocked on the door, '' Your guest arrived, your majesty!''

A deep voice sounded, '' Let them enter!''

Alecto nodded and motioned to the couple to enter. Poseidon noticed that she was not going with them, '' Arent you going to enter?''

Alecto shook her head, '' My master doesn't let anyone enter his room without his permission.''

Poseidon nodded and took a deep breath, ' Time to meet my other 'brother'.'