Chapter 31

Sun looks in awe as he stands in front of the ethereal-looking Gate Of Shades. Beyond it, he can see a man standing inside a boat, and at the right is the flaming Phlegethon river.

The Psychopomp, who is Sun’s guide, passes the gate and walks straight to another figure - a medium-built man standing by the banks of Acheron. He has black wings that is made of neither feather nor cloth. His left hand is holding a crude staff of shiny ebony, and at the end of which is a sickle that is big enough to hold five heads in its inside curve. The right one holds a parchment, which Sun can discern has some scribbled shapes that he knows not what. When the Psychopomp reaches the man, he bows to the spirit as if to say farewell or “good job”. The spirit, then, vanishes, making Sun blink several times because of disbelief. Afterwards, the man throws his parchment in the air, which floats to his side instead of hitting the ground. Then, he waves his hand to him, inviting him inside.

After Sun enters, the man disappears from the bank of the river and reappears in front of him. Despite being in shock, Sun can now fully see the commanding looks of the winged man. He is wearing a black tight-fitting exterior garment. On both his shoulders are shiny pads shaped like a mace. The excess of his upper clothes lay loose, almost touching the ground and will surely billow if he walks. His lower body is lined with clothing that is protected by a set of grayish armor. His face emanates a grim look - cold and stony without any emotion at all.

The presence of the man in front of him lessens Sun’s state of bewilderment: he now has the comforting feeling that he can finally talk to someone and ask all his questions. The floating parchment moves and stops in front of the man, who catches it with one hand.

“Welcome to The Underworld,” greeted the man.

“Errrr. Underworld? Like Hell?”

“Some call it that. But, yes, Underworld and Hell are just the same.”

“I’m dead?”

“Obviously,” replied the man with a little chuckle.

“But…but…I’m in a hospital bed earlier. I touched your friend in a hood and we walked in a cave. We passed through a hallway with a burning gate and ended up here,” said Sun, who sounds like he is trying to explain his side of the story to someone of his own age.

“Okay. Let’s begin with the introductions. I am…”

“Oh. Apologies. I should’ve done that first. My name is Dauwan - Dauwan Pitchitara. You can call me by my nickname – Sun,” said Sun who ended his introduction with a Wai.

The man is touching the name written on his parchment as Sun talks. He looks at Sun inquisitively to see if what the other says would match with what he is expecting to hear. He lets out a little grin when he hears the honest reply.

“Nice to meet you Dauwan. I am Thanatos – The God Of Death.”

“You are the God Of The Dead?”

“No. Hahaha. People often mistake Hades and me for being the same. What do you call that salutation you just did?”

“It is called a Wai – that is how we greet people in our country. What do you mean, P’, when you said people took you and Hades as the same?”

“P’? Wai? Hmmmm. Are you from Thailand? The country of friendly people?”

“Yes, I am Mister Thanatos.”

“You can call me Lord Thanatos. To answer your question, let us put it this way. Treat The Underworld as a country, okay. Hades – my boss and The God Of The Dead – is like the president. He overseas everything. I, on the other hand, am one of his cabinet that runs a specific branch of the government. Clear?”

“A bit. So, what exactly do you run here in The Underworld, Lord Thanatos?”

“As the God Of Death, I ensure that all the souls of the dead end up here. Otherwise, they should be found, wherever they are, and be brought here.”

“But how did I end up here?”

“You died, of course.”

“I am still alive. I am in a hospital – in a coma.”

“Well, to explain that, your coma could’ve triggered you to enter astral projection.”

“Astral projection?”

“Astral projection is when your soul separates from your body even if you are not really dead. It usually happens when someone is in a coma or in any phenomenon when the body is idle.”

“Why did it happen?”

“Why, indeed, is the right question. Maybe because of something you want done so urgently? Is there anything you wanted to do before your accident?”

“How do you know I was in an accident?”

“Was that really a question, Sun?” said the God Of Death, looking at Sun as if to tell him if he meant what he just asked. “Anyway, the fact that you ended up here in the Gate Of Shades means that your soul separated from your body, period.”

“I didn’t mean to question your power, Lord Thanatos. What does it mean if a soul ends up here in the Gate Of Shadow?”

“Gate Of Shades,” corrected Thanatos. “A soul that ends up here means that it has died suddenly and left something unaccomplished. The Psychopomp must have determined that when you touched him, so it brought you here.”

“I see. How many gates are there, Lord Thanatos?”

“Four.”

“What about the burning gate before I got here, what is that called?”

“Well, it’s just a gate, and we don’t call it anything. It is there to deter souls that lost their way inside the cave.”

“Lord Thanatos, do you know why my soul left my body while I was in a coma?”

“Primarily because of a strong impulse to do something – something very important, which leads me to my previous question: what is it exactly that you want to do before you had the accident and went into a coma?”

“Well, my boyfriend died on the day I was supposed to meet him.”

“That sounds romantic,” said Thanatos. He thumps the floor with his staff, and a glass of wine appears in the air afterwards.

Sun stops. He feels a bit embarrassed by the fact of sharing his love story to a deity that is associated with death.

“Oh. Sorry Sun. Proceed please,” said Thanatos, drinking from the glass he just created without even holding to it.

“He died suddenly, and there are a lot of questions surrounding his death that I need answers to. At his funeral rites, I promised to solve his death to find out who caused it and why.”

“Then, that was your impulse – to solve your boyfriend’s death. That is fitting enough to throw your soul into astral projection.”

“When the Psychopomp came and led me here. It told me that I will be branded as a Wayward Soul. What does that mean, Lord Thanatos?”

“When a soul of the dead refuses to go with its Psychopomp, it will be treated as a Wayward Soul, and it will be chased by the Hukoms.”

“What is that? Hu…”

“A Hukom is a spirit that hunts down Wayward Souls that roam the Human World. They are aggressive and vicious in nature, and they will not show mercy to both their objective and those that stand in their way.”

“That is scary.”

“Actually, they are, and they report directly to Nemesis, a good friend of mine. She is The Goddess Of Vengeance And Retribution.”

“I went with my Psychopomp because I don’t want to be chased for eternity by those Hukoms. But actually…”

“If it wasn’t for that accident, you would have pursued on your goal to solve your boyfriend’s case? Am I right?” said Thanatos, continuing and finishing Sun’s statement. He empties his wine glass after and makes it disappear.

“Yes sir. I mean, Lord Thanatos.”

“I like your honesty, Sun. However, when you pass through the Gate Of Shades, you know there is no coming back, right?”

“I do, and it is such a shame that I am not going to fulfill my promise to him,” replied Sun, low in spirit.

“Tell me, Sun. Why did you make that promise to him in the beginning?”

“That is the least I can do for my boyfriend – solve his death. I think that he will do the same for me if he is in my shoes. Besides, my lord, just because they are gone, it doesn’t mean that we can’t do anything for them anymore.”

“Do you believe that your boyfriend loves you the way you love him.”

“Yes, Lord Thanatos. He may not say it always, but love is not about saying: it’s more on doing.”

The God Of Death feels the sincerity in Sun’s determination. Thanatos may be from The Underworld, but it doesn’t mean that he is void of the feeling of love.

“If ever you will return to the Human World, Sun, would you really do what you just said?”

“In a heartbeat, Lord Thanatos.”

It did not take long for Thanatos to make a decision. “Sun, would you come with me into the boat?” invited the god with a hand stretched to Sun.

“What happens then, my lord?”

“Technically, you are already part of The Underworld since you already went past the gate,” replied Thanatos, showing Sun the gray aura that he has. “From here, we ride that boat to take you to where you will be judged. Let us have a little chat while on the ride to talk about an option. This doubles as a tour – from me to you,” continued Thanatos, pointing to Charon’s boat.

“Option? What do you mean, Lord Thanatos?”

“A pact. A pact that will give you a second chance. You want to solve your boyfriend’s case, do you not?”