The River
Mìngyùn stood at the port of Alexandria waiting for the ship he commissioned to take him across the Mediterranean Sea to Cape Tainaron on the mainland of Greece. After leaving Jerusalem, the monk traveled to the great Library following Zhīshì's instructions.
"The details you seek for the door to the river cannot be found here. There is an ancient Library, long thought lost, in Alexandria. Go there and you will find the path to the second door," Zhīshì explained.
Standing on the dock, Mìngyùn pondered the journey ahead and the warnings he has received from the old man. He had no name, wore long robes, and looked as old as time. When Mìngyùn found him in the basement of the old temple, the man knew why he had come and explained to him the second portion of the prophecy. This time, his job would not be as simple.
As the sun moved across the early morning sky, a cool breeze caught Mìngyùn's black hair. It needed to be cut, he thought to himself as he took in the salty air, closed his eyes, and raised his face to meet the sunshine. Soon he was approached by the captain of the vessel he'd commissioned. Taking one last look at the city, Mìngyùn boarded the ship, steeling himself for a week on the open seas. On the sixth day, while standing on the bow of the ship, Mìngyùn glimpsed the shore of Cape Tainaron.
The ship pulled into a dock, the captain arranged affairs with the port as the monk gather his belongs and took his leave of the vessel. After debarking the ship and thanking the captain and crew for their hospitality, Mìngyùn headed inland about five miles to the caves in the old town of Taenarum. The city had been part of the Laconia in the days of Sparta and was renowned for its green marble and the Lacedaemonian Purple dye, the product of a local snail. At the mouth of the cave, Mìngyùn could feel the cold seeping through the rocks. Reaching in his bag he produced the Leukós, the Light of Apollo. According to the old man in the Library, the Leukós would allow him to pass those who guarded the entrance to underworld. Once in the cave he found an ancient torch hanging on the wall. When he removed it from its perch, fire blazed to life at the end, illuminating the grim journey ahead.
First he came upon Penthos, who filled his heart with unbearable grief. Then Curae brought unspeakable anxiety before Nosoi gave his a taste of horrifying diseases and Geras the ache of old age. Next he endured the fear of Phobos, the hunger of Limos, the need of Aporia, the chill of Thanatos' death, Algea's ripping agony, and the inviting sleep of Hypnos, before reaching the threshold and facing Gaudia and the temptation of guilty joys. The Light of Apollo protected Mìngyùn but he knew there was more challenges to come.
Once he crossed the threshold into the underworld he was immediately met by Polemos and the threat of war, the fury of the Erinyes, and the chaos of Eris before then facing a mass of beasts including a gorgon, hydra, chimera, and harpy. Once past those threats and tests, Mìngyùn stood before the Great Elm where Oneiroi, the bearer of false dreams, shrank back against the Leukós. From his back he pulled the coin and approached the ferryman at the riverbank.
Charon stood in chilled silence covered in black robes, face and head hidden behind a hood. Mìngyùn approached, the coin in one hand and the Leukós in the other.
"You know why I am here," he said to the specter. Charon, gripping his long staff with hands of bone, white as chalk, nodded. Removing one hand from the staff, he reached out to Mìngyùn, palm of bone facing up, cracking with each movement. Mìngyùn dropped the coin in the ferryman's hand. Charon turned to the river, lifted his staff, and called to him the ferry that carried souls across the river Styx. Mìngyùn climbed aboard the boat and felt all of the warmth drain from his soul. Charon slowly paddled the boat across the river.
Halfway to the opposite shore, Mìngyùn retrieved from his bag the flask and held high the Light of Apollo illuminating the cave. Charon let out a hiss of enraged pain and Mìngyùn plunged the flask into the black of the river Styx. Quickly stoppering the flask and returning it to his bag, Mìngyùn drew his sword as the hands of the dead grabbed at the boat from the river's depths. Charon drew his sword of sharpened bone but before the ferryman could attack the monk, Mìngyùn held forth the Leukós, closed his eyes, and shattered the Light of Apollo in his hand. The light engulfed his body and inflamed his soul as the shrieks of Charon and the other denizens of the underworld screamed in horror.
When he opened his eyes, Mìngyùn found himself back in the ruins of Taenarum, his sword in one hand and in the other the ashes that had once been the Leukós, quickly taken by the breeze and returned to the god of light.
Author's Note: In this story, the main character travels to the river Styx which is part of the underworld in Greek mythology. Cape Tainaron, know today as Cape Matapan, is said to be the location of the entrance to the underworld in a cave near the town of Taenarum. I decided to have Mìngyùn make a stop in Alexandria after I looked up the directions from Jerusalem to Cape Tainaron and noticed that the Egyptian city was kind of on the way. I also wanted Mìngyùn to visit the Library of Alexandria so this worked out well. At this point I don't know exactly when this story is set, other than it is not in modern times and it is not in antiquity so that's why these locations are basically ruins and why Mìngyùn visited a secret library in Alexandria, the idea being that not everything from the original was lost. I tried to find a name for the librarian but nothing worked so I decided to leave him nameless. Speaking of names, the list of names/trials Mìngyùn faces while entering the underworld are taken from the Wikipedia article on the Greek Underworld, specifically what is at the entrance. The Leukós, i.e. the Light of Apollo, is based on Phial of Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings. Also the word Leukós is ancient Greek for light. I knew that I needed some kind of deus ex machina to help get Mìngyùn into and out of the underworld. I based my depiction of Charon on how the character appeared in the 1981 classic film Clash of the Titans. In the previous story, Mìngyùn collected dirt from Hell, so I wanted him to collect water from the river Styx in this story. I'm honestly not sure what he's going to do with the stuff he collects once it's all said an done. Heck, I might just leave that up to the reader's imagination.