Chapter 238: The Goddess Of Oaths
They finally could see the shore of the other side. A passageway had been lit from the shore towards the land. The crimson fireballs glowed and hung in the air, lighting the space and indicating the direction.
"We are here. Follow the fire; it will take you towards your destination," the ferryman’s voice grated against their ears. The boat silently halted near the damp shore with small rocks edging out.
"We appreciate your help," Cassandra offered again and the ferryman only grunted in response.
They disembarked and safely landed on the wet ashen ground. The fire was so contradictory to how soggy the ground was.
The ferryman silently sailed away without making any sound. It finally faded away into the mist and shadows of the river.
"Watch your step, my shoes are ruined," Lotus called out, seeing her shoes covered in black mud as if she had jumped into soot. She had never been this dirty her entire life.
"I will buy you new ones," Razial calmly said seeing the agitation prominent on her face. He knew how much she loved being clean and prim; this was not an easy journey for her.
"That will be perfect. I will take baby pink and light blue ones," she added, taking his arm and he smiled down at her. She was dying for a bath but they were stuck in the Underworld for now.
The temperature had significantly risen as they stepped close to the fireballs and Faris keenly inspected them.
"Don’t touch them," Siroos warned, knowing the inquisitive nature of his brother.
"I won’t but these things are hot. Look how they are making us sweat."
His whole body was covered in a thin layer of salty water which oozed out of his pores and got his shirt stuck to his flesh.
Others were sweating too.
"We should keep moving and get out of this place as quickly as possible," Lotus comnted, wiping so of the beads of sweat from her forehead. Razial tried to use his powers to keep her cool but they didn’t work. None of their powers were functional, not even Cassandra’s.
They began to move
"I will speak to her. I have kept my oath until now," Siroos revealed his plan regarding Sahli.
Cassandra nodded and answered. "I will back you."
The heat was becoming unbearable with every step they took. It was like walking inside an inferno.
Lotus extracted waterskins and handed one to everyone so they could keep hydrated and not drop down from exhaustion.
Thankfully they reached outside a dark monolith in this forsaken realm. Six of them stood in front of the massive structure and admired the unique architecture—a blend of nace and grandeur. Forged from jet-black obsidian and veined with pulsating streaks of blood-red light, it seed alive, as though it breathed the very essence of broken vows and solemn promises the people didn’t keep and the souls she trapped inside.
"Impressive and fitting for the goddess of oaths," Faris snorted.
The door was smooth yet uneven, made from otherworldly material, reflecting distorted images of those who approached as if mocking their intentions. Crimson light seeped from fissures in the obsidian, creating the illusion of a living, bleeding structure.
A voice bood.
"Who dares approach? An oathkeeper or oathbreaker?"
"It’s , Alpha Siroos Dusartine, an oath keeper. I am here with my mate and companions and we need to et Sahli."
The door humd in response, as if expecting them. It then parted from the middle and made a passageway for them to pass.
"She is expecting you."
"So much for asking who dares approach," Lotus muttered under her breath making Razial smile and squeeze her hand.
A vast staircase of black stone with red glowing streaks was revealed. It led them to the main entrance, flanked by colossal statues of faceless figures, each clutching a shattered blade and a scroll—a testant to vows made and betrayed.
"Omnious." Aiko shuddered in Faris’s hold.
The doors themselves were imnse slabs of dark iron—engraved with oaths in countless ancient languages, so glowing faintly red, others faded into the obscurity of dull blackness, maybe lost over ti like the people.
The sa fireballs hung in the corridors. They passed through the entrance and arrived at the open great hall at the end of which lay a great throne. They felt this commanding presence of the goddess of oath they had co to et, gracefully draped on it.
The goddess’s face was obscured by a shimring veil of translucent black, faintly embroidered with glowing red sigils that seed to shift and writhe, making it impossible to discern her true visage. The veil glowed faintly, as it covered half of her face. Her glowing amber eyes pierced through lies and half-truths.
Cassandra observed how her robes flowed around her in endless waves of black and crimson, shimring like liquid obsidian and blood. The hem was adorned with intricate designs that shimred and glowed with a light of their own. The fabric seed to move with a life of its own, trailing whispers of forgotten promises in its wake.
Her head was adorned with a delicate yet ominous crown ford of interwoven chains, so whole and others fractured. Each link glowed dimly with the light of a vow, a reminder of the oaths sworn and shattered under her dominion.
"Wow!" Aiko was srised by the dark beauty of this goddess.
Her hands which elegantly rested on the side of her throne were almost luminous, with long, elegant fingers. In one hand, she held a fractured chain, its edges glimred with ethereal red light.
In the other, she wore different rings containing red and black gemstones.
Her three Erinyeses stood behind her, hovering in the air and fanning her with large hand fans. They snickered and constantly whispered in her ear.
She finally spoke in a sweet raspy voice, her lips curling into a smile seeing the six people that had arrived.
"Alpha Siroos, we finally et. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Siroos answered. "I am here to ask to be relieved of my oath and be given a passage to pass these lands."
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