Death Contract

t rest in Eldr

ries cling to the ruins of forgotten temples, and t

d where they belonged. Now, he stood at the ed

t pulsed through the black stone, slow and rhythmic-like a heartbeat. Beyond them, the underworld called to hi

had seeped too deep into the ground to ever be washed away. Caius inhaled sharply, feeling the weight of the place sett

feeling alive the d

s, as she cursed the gods with her final breath. The way the flames had devoured

hip and took a slow drink, the burn of cheap whiskey grounding him, if only for a moment. His fin

that seemed to come from the core of the earth itself. T

r, mo

ed open without

, the under

De

n act of surrender, bu

ed through him, like ice spreading through his veins. The

ws slithered beneath the surface like creatures lurking. The moment his boot touched the obs

ow him was no

gates. They did not have bodies, not truly-only shadows, stretching too far, mouths wher

ir hunger pressed

pt wa

ep. An

not sway. It simply was, unboth

tep, thick like oil, settling ov

hrough the silence, cold

of grief

s st

ad not been

it

eb

not breathe. He simply existed, as

t did not shift with the wind, as if even the air knew not to touch him. His skin was pale

e void, endless and wron

They did not look at Caius so much as through him, stripping him d

nct buried deep in his blood that knew-th

r grew

e shado

Erebus, b

e, stretching toward Caius as if tasting the air around him. His skin burned where they passed,

f. His very presence was a chorus of voices-not one, but many, layer

the overwhelming sensation that something inside

rate. The shadows pulsed with each shift of his f

low, know

are you willing t

d as if something unseen was pressing

when it came,

your p

ile wi

an down h