The Blank Ticket

Characters involved: Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, Dimos.

## Overview

Elysphorus created his ticked system and all was well in the Underworld, as the souls would arrive to Cerberus a ticket would be given specifying the region where Charon would drop them. Easy enough, that until, a newly arrived soul would throw a wrench in the whole system...

## The Blank Tickets

The three overseers of the Underworld

Everyone dies, sooner or later. Dimos didn’t expect as he’d be caught off guard by the presence of Thanatos. He had just enough to save his passage to Charon who happily took his coin.

Being taken on a boat around the Underworld would be nice if it wasn’t the dreadful circumstances, Dimos thought he’d be scotch free now that he passed by Cerberus and was on Charon boat.

He had a slip like ticket. He heard Charon mumbling about ‘sorting into the region’

“What is your region of stay?” Charon's voice boomed and Dimos looked at his slip. It said nothing.

“Huh, nothing” He answered and Charon had to double check the slip.

Odd, those papers were magically made, upon touching, it would assign the soul a region of the Underworld.

Nonetheless, Charon took Dimos to the first region: Elysium.

“HELLO MY DEAR, ARE YOU LOOKING WONDERFUL THIS FINE DAY. Can I have your ticket??” Elysium cheerfully echoed in the long halls as Dimos stretched out his ticket.

The bodyguard had slim-like athletic, very feminine features and wore a turquoise-like fabric with salmon pink lining, Dimos would fall in love if the absence of pupils didn't spooked him.

“Huh, it seems like you were not assigned a region, please check in with Asphodel, maybe in your trip lower down there, something will appear.” Elysium cheerfully remarked before handling the slip back. “Wish you the best of luck”

Dimos huffed as he walked back to the boat. Charon was sending off all the souls that would be dropped off there.

“Seems like….we’re going to Asphodel?” Dimos asked and Charon nodded as Dimos sat back on the boat.

Trip to Asphodel was uneventful but the sudden shift from verdant green fields of Elysium to the ashy half-dead meadows of Asphodel sent a shiver down Dimos spine.

Dimos was growing eery and he approached the man standing at the gate welcoming the new souls, he had an overly active look, tan skin and black iridescent fabric with black hair with flaming tips.

“Ah, the talk of the Underworld.” He said “I am Asphodel. Brother told me about your issue.”

“Oh.” Dimos replied, looking at the slip that remained blank. “Well, it’s still blank” Dimos handed the ticket to the god who examined.

Dimos now noticed that the two ‘lines’ on each cheek that he first took as a marking, were eyes, the black one on Asphodel's right cheek seemed to stare at him even if there was no pupil.

Asphodel looked up, almost talking to himself, before Dimos could blink. a flash of white appeared and a tall dark skin man with long flowy gray hair in darker blue robes walked out that flash of light.

“For the love of Hades’ what is the issue? I’ve been hearing you and Elysium bickering.”

Asphodel pointed at Dimos. “He has no region. Should we check for a hearing with Lord Hades?”

“Look Asphodel, if he has no region, maybe he didn’t die and we had breaches in our regions before.”

“He looks pretty dead to me. Besides, we have all the protocol, Thanatos picks them up, brought by Cerberus and Charon gets to drop them off. If something was wrong, Cerberus would have picked out” Asphodel said in an almost whiny tone as he passed the ticket. The tall man looked at it and flipped it around and even raised above the light of the torch. Still nothing.

Meanwhile Dimos was roaming the hall and looking over the river, condemned souls wailed in agony. He stopped at a small balcony like a fence as Charon stood by his side.

“Do you think I am going to join them?”

Charon shook his head.

“Hey human?” The tall dark skinned man called and Dimos looked up. “Come with me, I shall take you to a hearing with Hades.” He proceeded to wave his hand and a new flash-like portal opened.

Dimos approached “It’s Dimos. and your name? I like to know who I am getting into a portal with-”

"It 's Tartarus. Now get in. You’re making the lines get longer” the god replied annoyed as Dimos walked in.

Asphodel and Elysium would learn of that curious human soul later that day. It was truly the talk of the place.

“A pure soul? As pure as a baby?” Elysium said with a cute gasp. “My my, meaning he can go from each region as he pleases?”

Asphodel sighed “yes, seems like so. Lord Hades know what he do after all”

Tartarus was silent as he ate his food.

“What’s your opinion on this Tart-” Elysium asked.

“That our system of tickets honestly sucks” Tartarus mumbled annoyed.