The Reviver’s Passage: Chapter XX
By: Prappies
They have reached the end of Despair’s realm. This, as Hestia was now a master at being able to tell, was told by the sight of the river swaying meters below their feet. Its waters were as brash as it had been every other time they had descended upon it. Hestia tried all she could to not panic at its sight, vivid images of its water spraying against her robes, praying for a miracle that it did not land on her.
Despair this time, guided her across, holding her wrist as one would a child, and dragged her across. The bridge creaked under her weight, with each new step. The ropes sagged under her weight, but this time, it did not yield. The bridge stayed in one piece while they were on it, and long after they reached dry land.
The final palace was just mere meters from the river. The moment she took her second step, she was standing on rock too polished and too neat to be nothing but handcrafted. They walked past arches and lanterns until they came to an entrance.
For the final time. They stood outside the gates of a large palace. But this palace was far more magnificent than any of the other castles they saw.
It was gothic in architecture. Every inch of the castle was a marvel to be seen.
Despair stood besides Hestia. Hand on her shoulder as he looked at the palace for the first time in nearly 5 years.
He smiled at her when she looked over at him.
He pushed the doors open and they opened to a long winding hallway.
They walked forward.
“So,” said Hestia. “This is it.”
“The final stretch of our journey. We are so close. Allow us to remain victorious.”
Hestia laughed at Despair’s exuberance.
“Yes. And Wally will be coming home with me. Honestly, I’m surprised your father agreed to those terms so readily. Allowing a man to return to the land of the living.”
“Yes.” Said Despair softly. “As long as the soul himself wants to go up to the overworld. There will be no dissent from him.”
“Still, I am surprised.”
“Well, don’t worry about that so much.”
After a few minutes of walking, they find themselves in a large room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the carpets were a vibrant red with intricate geometric designs she had never before seen.
And in the middle of the giant room, sat a giant man on a giant throne.
Despair walked over the man first, taking the lead. He walked briskly, his robes swaying after him in his wake. When he was close enough, he kneeled to the man, his face pointed to the ground.
“Father,” he said.
The large man just hummed in answer.
“I have completed my trial, my task. I have brought you a human that fit the requirements.”
“Not yet you haven’t,” said the large man Despair referred to as father. “You still have to defeat Sin.”
“We have come this far, father, we will not fail in our final task.”
“I would hope so.” Said the father. He turned his attention to Hestia. Who was standing awkwardly at the back.
She gave a lighthearted wave that made Despair visibly cringe.
“You are Hestia Ambrosia?” Asked the father in a booming voice.
“Yes I am,” Hestia curtsied slightly.
“I see,” said the man. Two words that explained absolutely nothing. His eyes were as unwelcoming as before. But she did feel Despair flinch from in front of her “The two of you must be exhausted. Take the guest rooms I have and rest for today. Tomorrow you will meet Sin. Let your bodies rest for now.”
Hestia looked stunned at the hospitality shown to her. But Despair got up from his kneel, gave a bow, and walked back to her.
“We are not fighting right now?” She asked as she felt his hand gently push her from a standing position into walking.
“No, we will rest.” He said. Upon seeing the unsure look on his face, he added “count your blessings when they are given. You have come from a very long walk, and nearly died when you fell from the river. Take a rest.”
He pushed her up the stairs and into a bedroom. It was lavish as she expected. One bed in the corner of it.
She took it all in slowly.
“My room is next door,” Said Despair. “If for whatever reason you want me, I will be there.”
“Why don’t we talk,” Hestia blurted out before she could rationally think.
Despair’s hand was on the door knob. He turned to look at her in surprise.
“Alright,” he said. And then he took a seat on her bed. Patting the empty space next him inviting her to sit with him. “What is it you want to talk about?”
Hestia hesitated for a second. Before she voiced her worries. “Is it weird if I’m unsettled?”
“Why are you unsettled?”
“I don’t know,” she confessed. “Last day jitters? Last trial worries?”
Despair blinked. “You are worried?”
“Yes, I’m worried if something doesn’t go as expected. Animus and Avaricious were rough, but after your tale I am kind of believing they may have held back or been lenient.”
Despair smiled. “I can assure you they were not. They went full force out on you. You managed to defeat two gods who held not even an ounce back. Do not think less of yourself.”
“We,” hastily corrected Hestia.
“We,” conceded Despair. “But there was still a lot of ‘you’ in the we.”
“I understand… But I think they wanted you to succeed… so they…”
“No,” Despair repeated with much force. “They may have been leaning towards my side more than my brother’s. But they would have the go full out on us even if they had not wanted to. ”
Hestia gave a slight laugh. “And why is that?”
“Because Sin would not be convinced. He would argue that they gave us a upper hand and favored us over him and my father… which they did. But that’s besides the point.
Hestia fell silent at his words. Any argument she had had before seemed insignificant. His words made sense after all. The fight had not been easy in any way, both gods gave it more than she had thought they were going to.
They were fighting for their honor, and their role as a god of the underworld. No matter what they thought, they could not go easy on Despair or her.
“I suppose you are right. But would Sin be harder than them?”
“Well I would guess so,” conceded Despair hesitantly. “Animus and Avaricious had little to encourage them to fight us. In fact they had more favor for us. Sin has all this loathing to use against us. He will fight with more force than either you or I could imagine. He will play dirtier than Animus and Avaricious combined. So we will have to be wary of that.”
“I guessed as much,” sighed Hestia. “The finish line is within our vision Despair. I think, we may be able to cross it. One last god, one last brother.”
Hestia steeled herself with her own words. One last god. One last brother. Once that was done, there awaited a hazel-green eyed man.
She began to wonder how he would react to seeing her. Would he be stunned that a girl still living had entered the land of the dead just for him? Or had he already been informed of this situation and was patiently waiting for her wherever he was?
Would he receive her with open arms and kind words…?
Yes, yes he would, Hestia thought without a second thought. Never before had he seen her and loathed her presence. Or felt any sort of discomfort or sadness.
He cared for her as deeply as she cared for him, perhaps more. He was a man like that.
Would he be ok? Was he in agony? Was the realm he inhabited as vicious as the realms of Animus, Avaricious, or Despair? Was he tortured like the souls in the realms of evil? Or was he in a realm with kindness and respect that a man like him would deserve?
She was broken from her thoughts when a large pair of cold hands slammed onto her shoulders.
She turned around to see Despair’s concerned face, his brow raised in question. He squeezed her shoulder in what seemed to be reassurance.
She decided to accept his reassurance. There was no use worrying about it now anyhow.
Whatever suffering or anguish he was subjected to would end by the end of the day tomorrow after all.
“Hey, Despair,” she piped up suddenly. A sudden question had come to her.
“Yes?”
“Why were Animus and Avaricious in support of you anyway? If they are the epitome of hate and greed respectively, shouldn’t they have jumped at this opportunity? Even more so than you or Sin?”
Despair took a second to gather his thoughts.
“Because they are better than me. They understood what a devastation my plan would be morally.”
“And how is that?”
“Well,” the god broke off. “To be the epitome of a certain feeling, you need to understand the opposite of your feeling. In hate’s case it would be love. And in greed’s case it would be selflessness.”
Hestia stared at him with her mouth agape.
“You didn’t understand what I meant, did you?” Despair said after barely giving her a side eye.
“Well… I understood some of it.”
“Ok,” said Despair, trying again. “Let’s say there is an issue, ok? Any kind of issue. Government wants to build a bridge, you want to pay for an item but are unsure if it is a good idea. Anything.”
“Ok,” said Hestia.
“There are two sides to your decisions. The pros and the cons. Two very opposites. To become a master in this issue, you need to understand both sides of the argument. To become a master at the pro’s you need to understand the con’s. To become a master at the cons you need to understand the pros. Only then can you understand the topic at hand.”
“So… ok. They need to understand both. Why?”
“Because there is a need for balance my dear Hestia.” Enunciated Despair. “Something they knew which I did not. Their knowledge of the balance allowed them to realize my plan was bogus.”
“Ok, so exactly how did they come to the idea that your idea was bad? Wouldn’t they want to spread hate or greed?”
“Not exactly. They know hate and greed more than me and Sin. When they looked at humanity, they did not see what we saw. They could see past what we saw and saw the good. That was why they were against it.”
“Ok,” said Hestia. “I think I understand now. Just because they are Animus and Avaricious, does not mean they are pure Animus and Avaricious”.
“Correct.” Despair said with a smile. “I think I should leave you to rest now dear Hestia. Tomorrow is a big day. Take sleep, take rest. If you need me I will be in the room next door.”
“I guess you are right,” said Hestia, suddenly being fully aware of the exhaustion in her arms, and the sleepiness in her eyes. “I think I’ll sleep.”
“That sounds smart.”
“Will you be sleeping as well?”
Despair laughed. “I am a god. I do not need sleep. It would do me no good or bad.”
Hestia couldn’t help the smile forming on her own face.
“Goodnight Despair.”
“Goodnight dear Hestia.” Despair got up, and left without another word.
Hestia fell down onto the bed and curled in on herself. Wrapping the blanket given to her around herself. Her mind slowly ceased all thoughts as her body fell into its unconscious state.
She fell asleep to silence. She fell asleep hoping that the next day would bring success rather than upset.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Despair seemed nervous. His lips were pursed into a thin line, and he seemed to be refusing to meet her eyes. Realizing this, she sensed something was amiss.
She rolled her eyes up, hoping to get a look at the God of the Underworld without him noticing, and simply saw his normal taciturn expression. If he thought something felt wrong, he did not know. Or he was just good at hiding his emotions.
The God of the Underworld was not looking at her however, his eyes pierced straight passed her, and were instead focused on the door behind the both of them. Seeing this as an opportunity given, she prodded her elbow into Despair’s ribs.
Despair groaned under his breath, pulling his lips into his mouth while sending fluttering glares to Hestia, and then to his father. Who still had not taken interest in the two of them.
Despair raised his eyebrows, while gripping the arm that had elbowed him.
“Why are you so tense?” hissed Hestia.
“I-” stuttered Despair. His peculiar behavior increased the anxiety in Hestia’s heart.
“I… what?” slowly reiterated Hestia.
“It is the first time in a while I am seeing my brother Sin, Hestia.” spoke Despair with a bit more conviction. “Is it not fair that I am a bit nervous? He is the one vehemently against us after all.”
Hestia’s heart dropped. So he was worried as well? That her worries yesterday were indeed not unfounded? The god of Despair and Hopelessness himself was worried.
It was as if Despair could read her mind. He quickly spoke up.
“That is nothing for you to worry about Hestia. I will take care of it.”
Yet, still, she knew something was wrong.
What exactly are you worried about? She had wanted to ask. Sin may be Despair’s brother. But what does the brother have exactly that could get on his nerves like this?
Looking over to Despair’s body, she noticed something else. His nervousness was not the product of fear, but a different kind of anxiety than that of her own. His hands clung together, gripping tightly much in the same way hers was. But while her gaze was shifting back and forth between the large door they had entered through and the feet of his father.
His gaze was shifting between the door and her.
From the corner of her eye, she could see his eyes shift ever so slightly towards her. He looked at her without turning his body, just a simple flick of his eyes.
He may have thought that she did not see it, but she had.
Her anxiety took on the form of fear: fear of fighting Sin, fear that even after everything, she would be unable to take Wally back home, fear of failure. Fear and anxiety were the feelings she had inside her.
But there was no fear in his eyes. There was anxiety, yes, but his hands cradled each other because of something else. Something else had him worried, and she did not know what it was.
She did not see the doors open, but she heard them.
She heard the door slam open, banging against the walls that held them up. Her head whipped around expecting to see a figure foreign to her, and instead saw a familiar face.
“Do not turn your head when the door opens,” hissed Despair. “It’s rude.”
“I see you two are settled,” said the monotonous voice of Avaricious. Despair gave a small chuckle in reply, Hestia smiled back. Avaricious nodded towards her in acknowledgment.
“Where is Animus?” asked Despair, turning his head upwards to look at Avaricious, who was standing as straight as a stick.
“Coming late, he chose to dawdle around for reasons I do not know.” huffed Avaricious, running his hands over his face.
“Well either way I’m glad you’re here. What do you think will happen when Sin gets here?” she asked.
Avaricious bit his lip, an action that did not go unnoticed by Hestia. “You and D…. my brother will fight him of course. And hopefully you will get him to surrender, a feat that will be harder than getting me and Animus to surrender combined. Even though you succeeded in that, do not let your guard down with Sin.”
“I told her much of the same,” said Despair. “Also, I have told her my name, so you don’t need to keep hiding it.”
Avaricious looked surprised, he looked as if he was going to ask something,but immediately deflated under Despair’s stare. He gave an imperceptible nod, before turning to walk away. Hestia watched his robes sway behind him, he stood at the edge of the room, looking towards the door.
“There is something else going on here isn’t there?” Asked Hestia.
Despair gave a sad smile. “I feel like you have been doubting me for a while now Hestia.”
He turned to her, and looked straight into her eyes. Perhaps he had hoped he could sway her suspicions away from him, or perhaps he had just given up trying to convince her otherwise. His smile turned even more somber as he took in her questioning expression.
He turned away to look at his father’s feet.
His hands began to shake, and his eyes continued to peer over at the door.
Hestia did not question him further. She had an odd suspicion that all the questions would be answered soon enough.
Yet she did not think it would be answered with the second swinging of the door.
Despair’s words of not turning around replayed itself in her head, so all she did was drop her head to the ground, choosing to bow to the king instead.
She felt Despair’s hand land on the curve of her back, in a placating sort of gesture as footsteps boomed loudly as the person made their way into the hall.
The moment this person had stepped in, she knew that standing before her was not Animus, but Sin. Animus did not make the world around him go as cold as it did when this new person arrived, this was not Animus. Hestia figured he was still dilly-dallying his way elsewhere like Avaricious had formally said.
The air turned cold as footsteps reverberated through it. She pulled the clothes around her a little tighter, burrowing her own uncovered hands within the sheets.
This did not bother her, when evil comes around the air is always filled with all things cruel and bad. The coldness was simply a byproduct of the sin she was sent to cleanse to get her friend back from the dead.
The cold did not bother her, Sin entering did not bother her, Despair’s clench on her clothes did not bother her. All she felt was a sense of anxiety for the final step of her journey.
Nothing was bothering her, she was just fearful for the future. Fear and anxiety were the only two emotions she was feeling, the only two.
That is, until Sin chose to speak.
“I am surprised you have come this far, Despair. The human you must have picked must be something special.”
Hestia’s mind went blank. She didn’t dare raise her head up to look Sin in the eyes. Her mind juggled with excuses, or possible explanations for the voice she was hearing, none of them satiating her own despair.
She realized that perhaps coming on this mission had been a mistake. Coming to the underworld, fighting, falling, fighting, falling, fighting, crying, falling, but getting back up after all of that without fail was a journey doomed from the start. Despair knew this, the King knew this, and Avaricious and Animus knew it. Yet they made her press on with her delusional ideas that refused to let go.
Even though she had defeated Animus and Avaricious, gaining the favor and the respect of 3 gods including Despair, no matter how her battle with Sin were to end, she would not win.
Because even if she won against Sin, Wally would never go home with her.
Despair’s hand now curled on her clothes, taking a fist full of cloth in his hands as he realized her realization. As she realized the secret he had tried to hold from her as long as he possibly could. She refused to look her betrayer in the eyes, despite Despair’s hand slowly beginning to rub her back in sorrow.
“I wonder who taught her all this brother,” scorned Sin. “He must’ve been a real someone.”
Had there been any doubt before, there was none now. She only needed a second listen of his voice to accept the facts that were given to her. She would know every lilt of voice in every lifetime, the voice that came out whenever he was teasing and mocking her in a playful way. Yet then, there had been no malice in his voice like there was now. If she had chosen not to look closely enough, she could have ignored the churning of her heart, saying that it was lying to itself.
But when it came to her dear friend, she knew every twist of his hands, and flicks of his wrist better than she knew herself. And she never did anything regarding him half-heartedly.
“Yes brother,” said Despair, knowing far more than both of them combined. Reveling in his brother’s naivety, and perhaps in her own. “The man who taught her must’ve been really special.”
It was with Despair’s words that forced Hestia to look up. Not because he inspired her or anything like that, his words didn’t even allude to her. Yet it simply reminded her.
It reminded her that they were standing at the foot of the King of the Dead then and there. She stood between a room of traitors who chose to play her like a fiddle and took her to be a fool.
And they were correct.
But she had a fight to have, a lifetime friend and traitor to face, and a world to save.
So she pushed herself up, and turned to look at Sin.
And as if the coffin had not already been closed, fate chose to hammer the final nail in the coffin as soon as their eyes met.
Instead of seeing the dark green eyes of Avaricious, or the deep red eyes of Despair, she was met with the hazel-green eyes that she had looked into everyday for 10 years.
Because the man in front of her was not a new man she had never before met, a man whose figure she could have never guessed. Because in front of her, draped in the evil that was Sin, was Wally himself.
<–The Reviver’s Passage: Chapter XIX The Reviver’s Passage: Chapter XXI–>
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