Riding across the river through the darkness as what looked to be corpses tried desperately to reach the surface from under the water. The eeriness was unsettling to the point that I could feel my stomach getting upset. I couldn’t help but imagine myself in their place. Unable to die as water filled their lungs and the pressure of the cold water held itself over them while different underwater plants held you below. It sounded like hell.

“Excuse me, driver. What caused all of these people to be stuck down here?” I asked the boat driver.

“The name’s Kharon. As for why they’re down there, well they were either impatient or unable to pay the fee and became desperate. Those that still serve us appear at the riverside after death. However, if they try to cross the river before I arrive to take them over then they will be stuck down there. Either that or they tried to board the ferry without paying the toll and I have to kick them off. Once they’re down there they can’t be helped by anyone until the world ends and they’re all freed.” Kharon replied with a solemn tone that made it seem like he felt sorry for them.

“Oh…” I said. Nothing else was said by anyone for the rest of the ride across the river.

Once we arrived at the dock, Kharon pointed us towards a set of stairs that lead to Hades' office of sorts. Going up the stairs I felt this strange sense of dread. As if I was personally walking to my death. Though, I guess that could be taken literally in this sense. Upon reaching a large door, I gave it a loud knock. From behind it, I heard someone say to come in so I did.

“Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?” Hades asked from behind a large desk at the end of the room. He looked to be a man in his late twenties with dark circles around his eyes and bleach white hair. His skin was pale as snow which contrasted against the bright yellow brimstone room illuminated by several hundred candles. Despite looking like he did He was muscular and didn’t seem to want to wear a shirt and I assumed he was wearing pants though I couldn’t see it behind the desk.

Around him were thousands of stone tablets stacked throughout and in his hand was a large quill. Suddenly, a tablet on his desk which he seemed to have been writing on with the quill floated away and another tablet from one of the stacks floated onto his desk where he began writing on it with the quill as well. Each wave of the quill stamped letters into the stone tablet as if the tablet turned to clay upon reaching the desk.

“My name is Micheal. I wish to speak with Kronos. Could you allow me to speak with him?” I asked upfront. At the mention of Kronos, Hades stopped writing. As if the name triggered something inside him he stood up to reveal that he was in fact wearing pants. I couldn’t tell based on his facial expression whether he was tired or mad. Either way, it didn’t seem good to me.

“For what reason do you wish to see that monster?” Hades asked calmly as he stepped around his desk and approached me.

“I wanted to ask him about the ritual for summoning an Elder One. It seems that Merlin, a child of Hellen, wishes to use it to bring back his dead wife. I want to stop him but I don’t know what the spell requires.” I said. Hades gave me a bewildered look before letting out an amused laugh.

“Do you really think I would let you see him, especially for something like that? I am the last of the three great Elder Ones of the Hellenes. I should be the last person to ever let someone learn of such things.” Hades said with a laugh before patting me on my shoulder. Upon placing his hand on my shoulder though, he froze up and a sense of dread washed over him. Taking several steps back he gave me a look of fear.

“What are you?” he asked cautiously.

“I am a Time Lord.” I responded. His face shifted a bit before walking over to his desk and grabbing a small ring.

“I will take you to Kronos. Though you must promise me something.” he said.

“What is it?” I replied.

“I need you to promise me that you will never return to this place ever again. That girl doesn’t deserve to be brought into whatever hell surrounds you.” Hades said sternly.

“I can promise that.” I replied. Hades let out a sigh of relief before walking over to a door on the side of his office.

“Come with me.” he said as he opened the door. Following him through the door I was shocked to see that I was walking down a hallway that didn’t adhere to any of the laws of physics or what could be considered reality. The floors, walls, stairs, and even the lights were distorted and moved on a whim.

“What is this place?” I asked as I stumbled through the hall.

“We are inside Tartarus. Unlike what most believe but Tartarus isn’t just a place. It’s a living being as old as the world itself. There are beings like this all over but most are hidden to even the Elder Ones. We just happened to find it during the great war. This ring happens to be a special item that allows us to pass through it without our reality being too distorted.” Hades said as he walked from the floor to the wall, and then to the ceiling before continuing down the path.

I did the same with little difficulty but found my center of balance to be completely warped. As we walked through the comically distorted world that reminded me of something someone on acid would imagine, or perhaps from a children's book, I couldn’t help but feel sick to my stomach. The distortions were just too much for my body and mind to handle. That is until Hades led me to a dead-end which opened up like the wall itself was spread open by a pair of invisible hands. Beyond it was a vast garden that was lit by what looked like the sun itself.