Thalia stood beside the stone table, looking at the artifact that had fallen silent once again.
Her fingertips rested lightly against the edge of the table, but she made no attempt to touch it.
The little girl’s words still bothered her, but experience had taught her that the voices left behind in ancient objects could not be summoned whenever she wanted.
Now that the voice had disappeared, there was little point in standing there and waiting for it to return.
Rather than trying to make sense of a few disconnected words, she decided it would be better to first understand where she was.
With that thought, she returned the artifact to its place and turned toward Lysa, who was standing nearby.
“This really is the Obsidian Palace?”
Lysa inclined her head.
“Yes.”
“Then where exactly am I in the Underworld?”
Instead of answering immediately, Lysa glanced toward the heavy black curtains hanging along the other side of the chamber.
“You may see for yourself.”
Following her gaze, Thalia crossed the room and pulled one of the curtains aside.
Only then did she discover the enormous arched window hidden behind it.
There was no sunlight beyond the glass and none of the familiar blue sky she was used to seeing.
A vast black river flowed slowly beneath the palace, so wide that she could barely make out the opposite bank.
Its surface was perfectly still, without so much as a ripple.
A thin gray mist covered the distance, leaving only the dark outlines of mountains visible beyond it.
The palace itself seemed to stand in the middle of the river, surrounded on every side by endless darkness.
Thalia remained at the window for a long time.
Only now did it truly sink in that she was no longer in the mortal world.
Until last night, she had been working in the antiquities gallery, sorting through objects that had survived countless years.
Her biggest concern had been Ivan reminding her not to stay too late.
One night later, she had somehow ended up in the Underworld and discovered that she had been bound by a marriage covenant made nineteen years ago.
No matter how she looked at it, none of this felt real.
She lowered her gaze to the obsidian ring on her fourth finger.
It sat quietly on her hand, neither heating up nor showing any other sign of being unusual.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary black ring, yet almost everything that had happened the previous night seemed to be connected to it.
“Is that the River of the Dead?”
“Yes.”
Thalia watched the river for another moment before drawing the curtain closed again.
“Is it always this quiet here?”
“The Obsidian Palace has always been this way.”
“Doesn’t anyone living here ever get bored?”
Lysa appeared to consider the question seriously before answering in the same calm tone, “The dead do not usually experience such feelings.”
Thalia fell silent.
She had almost forgotten that this place had never been meant for the living.
“All right.
Forget I asked.”
She returned to the stone table and sat down.
Her attention soon shifted to the obsidian crown that still rested on the golden tray.
“What happens if I never put that on?”
“Whether you accept the covenant is entirely your decision.”
Thalia looked up at her in surprise.
“You won’t force me?”
“If His Majesty has given no such order, no one will force you.”
That answer eased some of Thalia’s uneasiness.
Since waking up, no one had actually forced her to do anything.
Being addressed as “Queen” by everyone she met was strange enough, but aside from that, they had left the decision to her.
Leaning back in her chair, Thalia began sorting through everything she had learned.
She didn’t completely believe Acheron, but neither was she prepared to believe every word spoken by an unknown dead girl trapped within an artifact.
One was the King of the Underworld whom she had only just met, while the other was a spirit whose identity she didn’t even know.
For now, both sides needed to be treated with caution.
What concerned her most was her mother.
If what had happened nineteen years ago was true, then her mother must have known about the covenant.
Yet in all these years, she had never once mentioned it.
The more Thalia thought about it, the more questions she had, but she also knew there was no point sitting here and guessing.
Once she returned to the mortal world, she could ask her family directly.
She looked at Lysa.
“When will Acheron be back?”
“His Majesty did not say.”
Thalia sighed softly and settled in to wait.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long.
Before long, footsteps sounded outside the chamber.
The heavy obsidian doors slowly opened, and Acheron entered.
He was still wearing the same black robes as before, and his expression was as calm as ever.
Lysa and the attendants immediately bowed.
Acheron merely lifted a hand, and they quietly withdrew from the chamber.
Once the stone doors had closed again, Thalia rose from her chair.
“You’re finally back.”
Acheron glanced at her.
“Growing impatient?”
“If you woke up somewhere completely unfamiliar and were told you couldn’t leave for the time being, I doubt you’d be very patient either.”
Acheron didn’t argue.
“You can return now.”
Thalia had been preparing to ask him several questions, but those words stopped her.
“To the mortal world?”
“Yes.”
Once she was sure she hadn’t misunderstood him, she immediately turned to collect her things.
After taking two steps, she remembered the cloak still draped around her shoulders and quickly took it off.
“Here.
This is yours.”
“You can leave it there.”
Thalia didn’t think much of it.
She placed the cloak beside the bed, then returned to the stone table and gathered her belongings.
By the time she was ready, Acheron was already waiting near the door.
She walked over, only to remember the ring as she passed him.
Raising her left hand, she asked, “What about this?
I still won’t be able to take it off after I go back?”
“Not for now.”
“It’s not going to suddenly drag me back here one day, is it?”
“No.”
That answer was reassuring.
At least she wouldn’t have to worry about falling asleep one night and waking up in the same enormous black bed again.
Acheron left the chamber, and Thalia followed him.
For the first time since arriving, she was able to see the interior of the Obsidian Palace properly.
A long stone corridor stretched beyond the bedchamber.
Tall black pillars stood on either side, their surfaces covered in intricate ancient carvings.
Pale blue flames floated silently overhead, casting a cold glow across the polished obsidian floor.
The palace was enormous, yet there were almost no voices to be heard.
Every now and then, someone passed in the distance.
They would stop and bow as soon as they saw Acheron, but when they raised their heads again, their eyes invariably wandered toward Thalia.
Once or twice, she could ignore it.
After it happened several more times, she moved a little closer to Acheron and lowered her voice.
“Why does everyone keep looking at me?”
“Because you’re alive.”
Thalia blinked.
Acheron continued walking.
“Living humans rarely enter the Obsidian Palace.”
That made sense.
Thalia nodded and followed him without asking anything else.
After they had walked some distance, a massive black stone gate finally appeared ahead of them.
Complex ancient patterns covered its surface, while a single pomegranate flower had been carved into its center.
Acheron stopped before the gate and placed his hand against the stone.
Almost immediately, the obsidian ring on Thalia’s finger grew slightly warm.
The heavy doors began to open.
A damp breeze drifted through the widening gap.
Thalia recognized the scent almost at once.
Sea air.
The sea air of the mortal world.
She instinctively took a couple of steps forward, but just before crossing the threshold, she stopped and looked back at Acheron.
“What happens to the covenant after I go home?”
His gaze fell to the ring on her hand.
“As long as the ring remains, so does the covenant.”
Thalia looked down at it.
She had already expected that answer, but hearing him say it still left her with mixed feelings.
Until yesterday, she had been an ordinary apprentice learning to restore ancient artifacts.
Now, after a single night, she somehow had a marriage covenant with the King of the Underworld.
Anyone would need time to accept something like that.
She looked up again.
“Will I see you again?”
Acheron met her eyes and remained silent for a moment before answering.
“Yes.”
Thalia almost asked when, but after a moment’s thought, she decided against it.
As long as the ring remained on her hand, whatever existed between them clearly wasn’t going to end here.
She turned toward the open gate, but before she could step through, Acheron’s voice came from behind her.
“Thalia.”
She looked back.
“What is it?”
Acheron watched her for a moment before speaking.
“When you return, go see your family first.”
The words struck her as a little strange, but she didn’t give them much thought.
“Of course.”
She had been missing for an entire night.
Knowing Ivan, he was probably already searching everywhere for her.
Thalia didn’t linger any longer.
She stepped through the gate.
Cold sea air swept over her, and the pale blue light of the Obsidian Palace gradually faded behind her.
At the same time, the familiar sound of waves returned to her ears.
She instinctively closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the black palace was gone.
The damp sea breeze stirred the loose strands of hair around her shoulders.
Morning light had already begun to brighten the distant sky, while waves rolled steadily toward the shore and broke against the rocks.
Thalia stood there for a moment, looking at the familiar coastline.
For the first time since the previous night, the tension that had been sitting in her chest slowly began to ease.
She was really back.