Elysian was empty, save for the sigh of a soft breeze through empty arches and wide streets of untouched stone. A city waiting to be filled. Apart from the first group of Dryads that came and helped with the city's greenery, no one else has come. But that would soon change. Word was being spread about the city being complete and the goal of the city. Lucas was confident that by the end of this year, the city would be filled with life.
The twins said nothing about the emptiness. Bianca's eyes swept the streets with quiet calculation. Nico followed her footsteps, clutching his Mythomagic cards in one hand, the other wrapped around the strap of Bianca's jacket.
With a quick city tour, he brought them back to the city entrance and led them to the Campgrounds. There, the twins' gaze flickered to a particular cabin. A black-stone cabin, with thick columns shaped like skeletal trees, a wooden door carved with the image of Cerebus.
The Hades cabin.
Lucas led them inside, opening the door and walking down the steps into the main room.
The room was left undecorated, allowing the cabin owners to personalize the Cabin to their own style. However, there were still some essentials to maintain a basic quality of life. He showed them to two bedrooms nestled beside each other, the different rooms offering privacy but the closeness allowing Bianca to check up on Nico.
Lucas explained that this was where they would be staying, so they could settle in for the first night and start decorating later. Should they require help or advice, he mentioned they could talk to Tekto, the cyclops who helped build all this.
After giving them some time to explore the Hades Cabin, claiming their rooms and dropping off what little they carried to be sorted later, he brought them outside to the camp hearth where Hestia was waiting for them, tending to the flames as she made a meal to welcome the twins.
Lucas turned to Bianca. "She'll take care of you. Stay here and don't leave this place without me."
Bianca met his eyes and nodded, curious who this woman was for Lucas to entrust them to.
Nico gave a sleepy wave as Hestia welcomed them to a warm meal, her eyes filled with both kindness and sadness as she looked upon Nico's frail figure.
Lucas didn't linger around. He turned and walked back toward the road.
He had one last thing to do.
Collecting his reward.
...
The underworld was just as unsettling as ever. He heard the manhole cover closing above him with a thud as Lucas continued through the stone tunnel, making his way back to where he first met Charon, ignoring the ever-present cold.
He seemed to be expected, for Charon was there, hand outstretched and waiting for payment. Lucas handed over the golden drachma, and Charon took the coin, offering no words of thanks, only a nod. Pushing off the banks with the oar, Charon ferried the boat through the waters of the Styx. Lucas felt the gaze return, and this time it was more intense.
They crossed in silence.
When he reached the shore, he followed the familiar black-stone path toward the palace. Cerberus was nowhere to be seen, likely asleep or distracted deeper in the fields. The gates were already open.
The palace hadn't changed. It never would. The obsidian spires pierced the sky, the torches burned with cold flame, and Lucas's footsteps echoed through empty halls until he reached the throne room. It did surprise Lucas that there were no skeletons or guards around, like last time, but he didn't think too much about it, apart from a joking thought that they were originally there to showcase the majesty of Hades.
Hades sat alone atop his throne, Persephone still nowhere to be seen. His chin rested atop his hand, resting in thought as he waited for Lucas.
"Your reward," the god said. Flicking his fingers in a come-hither gesture.
A silent skeleton emerged from the side chamber, carrying a sealed black box and a velvet-wrapped object.
"The siren feathers," Hades explained. "Willingly given. My wife acquired them herself. You needn't worry about that strange requirement."
Here, the skeleton opened the box, presenting the three feathers to Lucas. They looked like ordinary feathers, ones dropped from any bird in the wild; the only difference was the faint hum of magic that was emitted.
"And an instrument that once belonged to a tragic artist." Hades continued seeing Lucas place the feathers back in the box.
The skeleton stepped forward again and handed Lucas the wrapped object. He unrolled the velvet.
A lyre.
The instrument was old. Ancient. The wood had darkened with time; a few of its strings had snapped, and the frame was slightly warped. But the air around it felt heavy with sorrow.
"It belonged to Euripides," Hades said. "A mortal playwright who once thought to expose the evil of the gods through his work. But the gods he wrote about did not always appreciate his honesty. Euripides was torn limb from limb in the forests of Macedonia, some say by wild hounds, others by a messenger sent from Olympus."
Lucas nodded slowly. "Thank you, Lord Hades."
He began to turn, then paused.
"Do you have any words you want me to give them?"
Hades didn't respond at first. It seemed he was hesitating. Eventually, Hades shook his head.
"Not yet."
Lucas didn't press. He gave a respectful nod, turned, and began the walk back to the ferry, not noticing the guilt that grew in Hades' eyes now that he was alone.
When he returned to Elysian, the sky was shifting to twilight. At the hearth, three figures waited: Thalia, Luke, and Elizabeth. Each of them carried boxes that Lucas believed were what he needed.
They greeted him with weary smiles and quiet relief at the reunion.
But one person was missing.
"Where's Annabeth?"