After Immortality

Elysium

"I have fought in too many wars. I have seen too many people die. I have walked from one end of the Earth to the other... This belongs to you now."

I tilt the staff in Lyla's direction, as she reaches out and grabs it I speak again, urgency in my voice.

"When you are done, destroy it. Destroy them all."

She nodded lightly as I stared into her eyes, scanning for any trace of dishonesty. Sensing that she was telling the truth I nod back and let go of the staff. As I turn around I begin to feel my body rapidly age, going through the different stages in time that the staff had prevented me from going through while it was in my possession.

As I begin to feel myself growing weaker I collapse, as Layla darts forward to catch me I begin to see short flashes of my life, both when I lived in Ancient Greece and during my visit to the different parts of the Underworld.

'Finally being able to see mater again after years of living on Kephallonia with Markos and Phoibe, wondering where my family was and why I wasn't with them'

'Finding my biological father, after learning that Nikolaos was not my real father, and learning about the staff of Hermes Trismegistus, Atlantis, and the four artifacts I needed to find to close the gates.'

'Taking the staff from my real father, Pythagoras, meeting Alethia and going through three trials to learn to control its fun power. Entering Elysium and meeting Hermes, Adonis, Hekate, and Persephone. Getting thrown into Hades' realm and killing Cerberus, helping Phoibe find her regain her memories and get back into Elysium so that she could find her parents, and helping Brasidas accept the wrongdoings that he had done while he was still alive.'

'Being taken to Atlantis by Poseidon as Hades steps into a Tartaros rift and is sent to Tartaros. Becoming Dikastes so that I may judge Atlantis one final time, ending the unethical human experiments that were being conducted by Juno and Aita.'

'Going back to Elysium to meet Phoibe's parents and apologize to Persephone for betraying her trust. Slowly realizing that my feelings for the tall goddess were more than friendly before being forced to go back to Earth to start my search for different Isu Artifacts.'

"Gea, Mater pandos, chiare..."

I take in a final, deep breath before I feel myself lose consciousness. The first thing I notice as I begin to wake up is the warmth engulfing my body, almost like a blanket.

I open my eyes and immediately have to cover my face with my hand at how bright everything around me felt, cringing slightly I sit up and remove my hand from over my eyes. Looking around I find myself in a field of grass and flowers, confusion clouds my mind as I try and figure out how I got from the dark cave at the Gate to Atlantis to a sunny field full of flowers and how I was even able to wake up at all.

"KASSANDRA!"

My thought process is brought to an immediate halt at the familiar voice yelling from behind me. I turn around, looking for the source of the voice, and see a young girl running in my direction, upon closer inspection I realize that the young girl was Phoibe and I quickly stand up and run towards her.

"PHOIBE!"

I catch her in a tight hug and smile widely as I bury my face in her shoulder.

"Oh, Phoibe... I missed you so much. How are you and your family?"

I pull away and look at her, wide teary smiles on both of our faces.

"I'm great, I've been meeting new family members that I never knew about and telling my mater and pater stories about our adventures on Kephallonia."

She pulled me into a second, quicker hug before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards a tall rock formation covered in buildings. As we got closer to the formation she continued to update me on different things in her afterlife and how her parents were until we reached a Wing of Hermes. Phoibe gives me a final hug before waving goodbye and disappearing into the portal. I stand there for a few more seconds before beginning my trek to Persephone's Akropolis.

Standing in front of the large metal double doors I smile, remembering the first time I met with Persephone (after she sent 30 of her guards to get rid of me, but we're past that)

'Persephone had apologized for how we first met and requested my help in finding one of Hades' horses, which had mysteriously made its way into her realm.

After finding the horse and bringing it to Persephone's stable boy I made my way back to her Akropolis to inform Persephone of my success in finding and helping to return the horse to its rightful owner. In response to the positive news, she had taken her thumb and index finger and hooked them under my chin and left a lingering kiss on my cheek before thanking me, a subtle look of adoration in her stunning lavender eyes.'

A light blush dusts my cheeks at the memory as I feel myself grow thankful for the fact that she had forgiven me for betraying her and helping the rebellion that had almost gotten her power over Elysium taken.

After I had finished mastering the staff's power I had come back to Elysium in an attempt to apologize to Persephone, hoping to become friends (or possibly more) with the Goddess. After she had forgiven me I would come down to Elysium every few years to visit her, sadly I had to stop visiting around 60 or so years ago to prepare for Layla's arrival. Finally being able to see the tall woman again after such a long time felt nice.

I slowly push open one of the heavy doors and step inside the large temple, glancing around at the familiar marble pillars and shallow pools of water covered in beautiful water lilies before switching my gaze over to the throne.

Persephone sat sideways in the intricately designed chair, legs draped over one of the armrests as she stared at the ceiling.

"Persephone...? Been a while, hasn't it..."

I chuckle lightly as I talk, watching as Persephone darts her gaze from the ceiling to me and stares. After staring at me for a few seconds she stands up and dissipates into a cloud of golden dust, reappearing in front of me a few seconds later.

"Kassandra! You're back!"

The glowing marks along her arms and bare face begin to glow brighter, radiating her excitement as she wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. As she pulls away I smile softly at her.

"Yeah, and I'm here to stay this time."

She stared down at me for a moment before wrapping me in another, longer hug.

"I'm sorry..."

She breathes the apology out lightly as she rests her chin on top of my head, rubbing small circles on my back comfortingly.

"It's fine, I've been alive for so long that I'm kind of glad..."

I pull away from her embrace as I say this and look up at her, gaze getting caught in the bright lavender coloring of Persephone's eyes.

"It's nice to be back though."

"I missed you..."

The words were whispered so lightly I almost couldn't hear them. Persephone looked away, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

"I missed you too, but now you and I can see each other more."

I reach forward and brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear before resting my hand on her cheek, forcing her to look at me.

Suddenly, she surges forward and connects her lips with my own in a searing kiss. I freeze for a moment, surprised by the sudden action, before placing my hands on her hips and kissing her back. I pull her closer and smile into the kiss as she reaches up and cups my cheeks with her hands.

Pulling away from the kiss, my smile grows wider at the dark blush on Persephone's face.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that..."

I look up into her eyes, watching as her smile grows before wrapping me in another hug.

"Me too, Kass..."