Chapter 46: As soon as I stepped foot into this world unbeknownst to my past self, I immediately felt my heart sink down, unsettled by the thought of where I was. My darkest fears, once hidden deep below my subconsciousness, began to rise up into the front of my mind, ready to play with my fragile emotions unlike ever before. My whole body felt uneasy, a shiver crawled up my spine with the force of a millipede army. I wasn’t sure if it was all a nightmare or if something was inching its way into my skin. I heard creepy laughter echoing through my brain, taunting me and my resolve. Desperately, I turned to Phoenix. She had to have advice. Phoenix looked at me and grimaced. “Sorry, I should have warned you. It does that with your mind and emotions at first, it wears off a bit after it realizes it can’t handle it.” “Who is it?” “The Nightmare,” she replied. “It’s a creature that feeds on fear. It guards the cave to Hell, tests the resolve of everyone who enters it.” “How do I stop it?” “You can’t,” she said. “The only way to defeat the Nightmare is to ignore it.” “Oh great. Wonderful.” “Hey, Hell was never meant to be easy.” “Shouldn’t we start tracking my mom?” I asked, trying to ignore the Nightmare. “Yes. Fang is already searching for the trail.” “Ok. How long does this take?” “Depends on how stale the track is.” Fang immediately curled his lip. “I have not found Agatha’s trail yet. But I have found someone else’s. Get ready to meet Thanatos himself.” Author's Note: yeah the Nightmare. Amazing. Always wanted to have my emotions played with. -Jenna
Chapter 47: “Thanatos?” I asked aloud. “Thanatos, the representation of Death.” “Yeah, any way to avoid him?” Phoenix asked, looking around. “Nope,” a richly melodic voice said. We twisted around, and saw a tall, muscular man with stunning purple and black wings and dark brown skin, black hair down to his shoulders with gold streaks in it, and a sword sheathed at his belt. He was both oddly regal and handsome but also repulsive and terrifying. It scared me. “You are not dead yet.” he mused. “No, and we would prefer to stay alive longer please,” Phoenix responded. “Don’t you all?” Thanatos laughed. “May we cross?” Phoenix asked jittery. “Hmm,” Thanatos mused. “Normally no one passes without being dead or without the permission of my master.” “We will be meeting your master,” I jumped in, an idea forming in my head. Phoenix started sharply, looking at me as if I was crazy. “You cannot lie to Thanatos,” Fang murmured. “And I don’t plan to,” I responded. Thanatos, meanwhile, narrowed his honey gold eyes and looked me over. “You are a Froster. How can you say that so freely while being surrounded by every proof of the power of the Pyrokinetics and of Hades himself?” “Because I know why I am here,” I responded. “Ahh, so you do. Do you know that someone else came before you saying something similar?” “Agatha.” Thanatos laughed. “Ah no, not her. She is playing a daring game that will result in her having a long-term rendezvous with the part of hell she does not wish to be in. No, it’s someone else. I’ll let you discover him on your own. And I will let you pass. But know this, you have explicitly told me that you will pay a visit to my master. I will inform him. And it's better you come, because neither my master nor I take kindly to being lied to,” his voice faded away, laughing in his odd way. Author's Note: Yeah even I wouldn't be so reckless -Jenna
