For Persephone - Chapter 49 – The Cave by the Cliff (2)

‘This cave has been here all this time?’

The moonlight didn’t reach the bottom of the cliff, and the embers of the lantern she brought were long lost to the sea breeze. She didn’t believe there was anything scary on this island but didn’t want to get lost in an unknown cave.

‘Should I come back on a sunny day…?’

As she just found the cave by chance, she didn’t even know if it had anything to do with Persephone’s night activities. The thought never even crossed her mind. Despite that, a hidden cave on an island she lived on for years was worth checking out.

Neigh!

From somewhere, something sounded like a horse. As she looked around, she spotted a random carriage on a sharp boulder out toward the sea; a creepy black carriage led by six black horses. They had fiery manes that burned black, and the carriage looked so creepy she didn’t want to go near it.

Cyane was frozen by an attack from a cold chill.

Since when on earth, why here—it was so bizarre like an uncontrollable dream! Cyane came to her senses and rushed to the house in the forest to let the other nymphs know about it. But then, see she saw something that stopped her from her tracks…

A short moan rang out.

“H-h-hand, ah! Your hand… Loosen it up, Hades! Please loosen it. Take off… oh yes… the blindfold! Hades!

“You were the one who said that it felt better when you can’t see anything. You feel it now? Oh, how much…

-Oh, yes!

“I’m going crazy…

The name ‘Hades’ hooked onto Cyane’s ears, and her whole mind felt confused.

Persephone was being ‘raped’ with her wrists tied. No, well at least that’s what she was thinking. At first.

-W-w-while I was go-g-gone, did you this to an-an-another girl? Did y-you?

-….

-If you did… -I’m gonna find her, ahhh, and kill her….

Cyane covered her mouth and held her breath. And at a sudden moment like a lightning strike, the ‘master of death’ had discovered the nymph.

-Close your eyes.

Cyane closed her eyes as a suffocating fear swept her entire body.

And the endless sounds of moaning and flesh flapping tore her ears. As she was crawling backward on her butt and hands, she screamed a terrible scream and bolted away.

And a few hours later, just before Phoibos’ power shone upon the world, the black carriage disappeared over the horizon.

Dawn was rising. Cyane sat there, her face as pale as a corpse. ‘It’s all a dream,‘ she said over and over.

“Where is Kore?”

“Cyane, it was your turn last night. Did Kore leave again?”

“What the hell is wrong with her? Kore! Where is she?”

The nymphs were fussing at the top of the morning. Persephone was nowhere in her room.

“What’s going on, Cyane? I said tell me!”

When Niasis could no longer stand it and hit Cyane on the shoulder, only then did she become conscious of her two fellow nymphs. But then fell into a spell once again. She saw the twinkling of dawn beyond the other nymphs’ shoulders. The darkness faded, and the warmth, not the cold, began to permeate their skin.

Cyane started to cry.

“What happened to you?”

“I asked where’s Kore? Did she sneak off last night again?”

Cyane, who had been blankly staring at them for some time, pushed them out the way like she was possessed by something.

The cave was narrow and deep, and there was evidence of activity here and there. Cyane had followed the path like an ant in a tunnel and wandered around for a long time but reached a dead end. The space inside was high enough for her to stretch.

There had been traces left behind like a lamp wick left. Stuff that looked recently placed. She had slowly looked over the floor with a small lantern that was too small to push away the darkness.

Then, she had turned her head to a sharp pain in her elbow that made her eyes grow big.

I’m a good girl. Come here. Take me, You’re mine. Gonna kill you. I’m gonna kill that other bitch when I see her, You’re mine, Make it hurt, I’m waiting for you, You’re mine, Come here, Come.

The wall was crammed with scribble scrabble which made no sense. And bits of fingernails were splayed out on the stone floor.

Her lantern fell and shattered.

And a death-like darkness filled the inner cave.