Hektor continued along a dark path for what felt like forever, seeing no noticeable landmarks.

     How long have I been wandering?, he began to question himself. And where am I even supposed to go? Charon didn't exactly tell me what I was supposed to do after I got off the boat.

     Hektor groaned to himself. Fine. I'll figure it all out myself.

     After several more moments of silence from him (as well as the world around him), Hektor's eyelids began to droop, becoming more and more heavy with each passing moment.

    Am I tired?, he questioned. How? How would that even be possible? I'm dead! For fuck's sake!

     Hektor tried to force his eyelids to remain open, but soon that was too much for him—-they came crashing down.

    ─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

     When Hektor awoke, he was in a dark room. I really need to stop passing out, he thought to himself, trying to make light of the current situation he was in. Otherwise, I'll just keep ending up in random places—-each of them darker than the last.

    Hektor yawned before rubbing his eyes—-still finding it rather odd that a dead man would ever be tired.

     If this is what it's like to be dead, I'll never get used to it, he mentally grumbled to himself.

     Hektor then began to look around, taking in his surroundings (which was hard due to how dark it was).

     There was a few small torches mounted on the wall, but their lights weren't enough to make much of a difference in the dark prison.

      Hektor's gaze came to rest on a young man, who had a very small frame.

      The young man was probably no more than 5’4” in height. His short, dark hair had small curls and waves. A small, little scar had carved its way into his cheek. The young man's eyes were a bright red, which had slightly startled Hektor, especially when the man looked his way.

      “Hi,” the young man said in a soft tone, as if he was aware that his eyes might have made Hektor uneasy.

      Hektor hesitated before responding, “H-Hello…” He seemed unsure of his decision of responding to the strange, young man. He was silent for quite some time before deciding to ask his own question, “This is the Underworld, right?” He was already sure of the answer—-on account of his run in with Charon—-but, he still decided to ask that anyway, curious of how the other man would respond.

     The man was silent for a few moments before saying, “Yes. It is. I suppose you've already been on the ferry with Charon.”

     Hektor nodded. “I was.” He fell silent before sucking in a breath and saying, “I died.” That was a bit stupid, his mind chastised himself. You're in the Underworld. Why do you feel the need to even say that?

     The young man chuckled a little bit at that addition. “As have we all.” He shifted a little bit in his seat, inching forward, seemingly interested in whatever thing Hektor had to say next.

     “Sorry…” Hektor looked a little embarrassed by his previous comment. “That was a bit stupid.”

      The man chuckled again. “You're okay… It takes some time getting used to this whole ‘being dead’ thing.” He sighed. “Hades knows I'm still getting used to it.”

     Hektor wasn't sure what to say next, but he felt a little bad for the man. He could see the pain in his eyes when he said that. Hektor inhaled before introducing himself, “I'm Hektor of Troy.” He tried to smile at the other man, wanting to comfort and ease him.

     The young man returned the smile. “Elias Lykaios,” he replied.

      “It's nice to meet you, Elias,” Hektor responded.

       Elias nodded. “The same to you, Hektor.” He paused before asking, “If I may, how is it exactly that you passed?”

     Hektor sighed, looking down and pinching the bridge of his nose for a brief moment before letting go and looking at the other man once more. “I was in a battle with another warrior… He bested me… Beat me to the edge of my life before throwing me to the dogs at the dock, where I finally succumbed to the darkness.” He paused before asking, “What about you?”

     Now it was Elias's turn to sigh. “Well… I got stabbed in the heart by my own sister.”

      Hektor looked a bit alarmed by that response. “Your sister? Why?”

      Elias exhaled deeply. “I was different than other people… Different in a way she didn't like. So, my sister did something about it.”

      “Different how?” Hektor pressed further.

       Elias started to fidget with his hands, anxiously as if this conversation was starting to stir up bad memories. “It was about… my gender.” He gestured to his small frame and Hektor seemed to immediately understand.

      “You weren't always a man,” Hektor murmured.

      Elias nodded. “And when I finally pushed to become more of myself, she didn't like that.”

     “I'm sorry,” Hektor replied in a soft tone to Elias. “That was truly terrible of her.”

      Silence fell upon them for a few moments before Elias asked, “What was their name? The warrior you battled?”

     Hektor exhaled. “Achilles… His name was Achilles.”

     Elias's scarlet eyes grew wide upon hearing the name. “Achilles? He was in league with Athena, right?”

     Hektor was a little surprised that Elias would know such a detail, but he just brushed it off. “Yeah… He was.”

     “That's cheating,” Elias commented. “It was one-on-one… and he brought in a goddess.”

      Hektor sighed. “He only did what he thought was necessary… I guess.”

     “Still… There's no honor in it…” Elias said. “Hell, there's no honor in this whole war. A lot of innocent people are dying all because of an affair.”

     Hektor groaned, thinking about the events that had led up to the war. “Tell me about it.”

      Silence trickled into the room as Elias looked off, bouncing his leg, almost in a nervous way.

      Hektor cleared his throat before asking his next question, “What are we waiting for anyway?”

     “Judgement,” Elias replied, looking over at Hektor once more. “...Who's gifted Elysium and who's condemned to Tartarus.”