Chapter 9: Bathing In The River Styx... It's Really Painful, Don't Try This At Home Kids

So, we are back again, and this time, we have a new member to the group.

Let's first introduce our adventurers.

He is known as one of the most important people in the world right now, his death could leave earth on the brink of collapse, he is the chosen one, the sacrifice... Doron Micheals!.

She is the wendigo in the forest that was later revealled to be a very beautiful loli and a Hostiam Custodis, who are in charge of keeping the sacrifices to the world tree safe, she is the loli that suddenly turned into a beautiful woman, she is... Iris!

It is the abomination that the supernatural world created, it is known as the creature that ussually guraded certain places in the under world, it was later tamed by the beautiful Iris, it is... the Hell Hound!.

And the last person is Hermes, the messenger of gods, we all know him so no introductions needed I guess...

Now that is out of the way.

Iris who was now the leader of this rag tag team, was currently passing by the men and women who were going to the ferryman that would carry them to the gates of hades where they would be judged and seperated to the layers they belong.

Doron looked at these people who just marched forward like mindless zombies without purpose, he also saw that some of these poeple were just wandering about and not in the line like the rest.

"Scary is it not"

"Huh?" Doron looked to his right and saw Hermes walking beside him, with the golden scepter in his hands.

"The thought of death, seeing yourself linning like these people to get judged by some god and then be sent to either paradise or hell, scary is it not" Heremes said as his blue snake like eyes gazed at Doron. "I did not quite get your name, I know the lovely Iris over there but not you" Iris just snorted when hearing this but did not say anything.

"... Uh, Doron Micheals, sir" Doron responded nervous out of his wits. This is a god! a true god, what would happen if he mistankenly offended him? Besides, this is a greek god to boot, not the very godly gods you would want to associate youself with.

"I am really hurt you think of us greeks like this" Hermes said as he looked at Doron playfully. "Not all of us are that unreasonable you know."

"!!!"

Doron's hairs stood on end. 'He read my thoughts!'

"Calm down, he did not actually read your thought but stole it, as the god of thieves anything that someone values could be stolen by him, in your case, it's your thought." Iris said coldly, as she kept looking forward.

"She is right, and I must say, you are really bold of thinking to sleep with your custodian." Hermes said playfully as his eyes looked to be smilling but his face was a bit cold.

Iris who looked like she was not listening to their conversation, felt her lips twitch when she heard what Hermes said. 'I should not have brought him, but I needed a negotiator, and was the best negotiator than the god of theives'.

"Anyways, Doron right?, strange name." Hermes as always had that same smile on his face like an approachable person.

"It was my late parents that gave me the name actually" Doron said.

"Late?, my condolensces, you have not answred my previous question." Hermes smiled as he looked at Doron.

"What?"

"Is death scary to you?" Hermes inquired.

Doron did not know why, but he felt that Hermes and Iris were going to do something to him that he would not like at all.

"Yes" Doron answered, just like everyone, he also feared death, even though his death sounded glorious, it was still death. 'Am gonna live the way I want to from now on' Doron thought.

"I like liers" Hermes responded.

His statement made Iris and Doron look at him with a questioning look.

"He knows what am talking about." Hermes said as he walked infront of the group.

'I lied?' Doron now was even more confused, he knew he was afraid of death, why would Hermes say that he lied, did he know something he did not?.

Iris on the other hand looked at Doron and frwoned. Hermes did like liers, since his divinity also revovled around deceit, so he could clearly tell when someone is lying to him.

The group continued in silence as Doron observed the greek underworld with interest.

There was not really anything to take not off in the underworld, it was just a barren place with no vegetation, animals, or even lakes, looking up, it felt like they were in a giant cave since from left to right, the there were what looked like mountains curved inward like curved ramp with no way of seeing the top.

As they walked, the line people became more active as this part of the line moved faster, and there were more wandering people around.

"How do they get judged?" Doron could not help asking, as he even saw children in the line, he thought that these children would still be judged like the aults.

"By their deeds when they were alive, there are no good or evil people, it's just how you mortals see it." Hermes said. "A man could still from a rich man who has excess and feed the poor, some people would call him a thief, but others would call him a hero, some would call the rich man a stingy man, others would call him the victim, so tell me, who is evil in this case?" Hermes aksed smilling at Doron.

"Let's pick a diferent scenerio, a terrorist would kill innocents and the world would condemn him, but do you know that a simple prayer would wash away his sins? So who is evil here, the god that answered the prayer and forgave the terrorist of his henious crimes, or the mortals who condemned him to death?."

Doron could not accept what Hermes said and retorted. "But you guys are gods, to you guys somethings are just the plays of us ,mortals, and you guys won't get judged for anything that you do, even if you kill an entire country of humans."

"True, we won't get judged, we would be dead by then before we get judged." Hermes still said smilling. "gods are ment to protect and not abuse, you humans give us the gods those backstories to make look bad because your ancestors could not stand being judged by beings that are not even human, I would also be upset if I was judged by some guy that came to me and said I sinned, the reason why I said you are a lier before is because all humans don't fear death, but how and where and when they would die, you aren't afraid of death, but how, when and where it would take you, and that is followed by the fear and anger of being judged and sent to a place you don't want to be becasue you did something others considered a sin.Think about it"

"..."

Doron looked to the front and looked at Hermes as pondered on what Hermes said... Nah, too stressful, he did not even know why he bothered asking, if that was what his ancetors did then f*ck them, that was in the past. Besides, those stories about the gods were always interesting to read, so why should he believe a greek god who also had shit on his reputation, talking about good and bad like some righteous saint.

"We are here" Iris who was listening to Hermes's speech felt like spitting on him. The god of thieves talking about good and bad, *Ptui*, look at your reputation before talking.

Doron looked at where Iris was looking and had a bad feeling, why?. If from what he read in those greek mythos, the black sea he was looking at right now should be the river styx, and the giant humanoid being he... wait.

Doron adjusted his his position a bit and saw what looked like pirate ship with no mast, the ship was almost as big as a cruise ship, and he had seen a cruise ship before, it was humongus, and on that huge behemoth was a humanoid being that seemed to be drapped in tattered robes, as he wore a comical hat and had what looked like a smoking pipe in his mouth, the being was as huge as the ship/boat he was seeing and beside it was what looked like a scythe.

The being looked in their direction and spoke.

"You sure took your time lady Iris, your payment has doubled for delaying me in doing my job."

His voice was so lound and mighty that the hell hound had already collapsed in the ground, with poor Doron still on it's back.

"Argh!" Doron screamed in pain as soon as his body touched the barren earth of the underworld, as Iris quickly freed him from his bondage and placed him on the collapsed hell hound.

"I am sorry, but can we do the bath, before the negotiations?" Iris asked as she still tied Doron's arms and legs. Doron who was able to finally recover from the pain thought the pain had caused him to go deaf and hard of hearing. Did she say bath, like Achillies bathing in the styx kind of bath?... Am out.

Doron jumped down from the hell hound even with his bondaged body. As soon as his legs touched the ground again, he was assulted by that same pain form earlier, but this time, it was like the ground wanted to suck him in, he felt his body being hoisted up and was placed back on the hell hound.

"This is why I left you tied up! if you stand too long on the ground of the underworld you would become a wandering soul for a hundred years till you have to join the ferry and be taken to were you would be judged"

Doron felt cold sweat form on his back, was he that close to dying?.

"Okay now jump into the river"

"... what?"

"Jump into the river"

"I think you are too blunt, how can he jump in himself?" Hermes said as he carried Doron like a sack of potatoes, walked to the edge of the river and tossed him in.

The ferryman looked at this happening with a look of intrigue as he took a puff of his pipe.

'The kid sure is pitiful... anyways the payment?'

"Let's talk" Hermes said after receiving a look from Iris.

"Hmm" The ferryman said as he looked at the bubbles rising to the top of the river.