Anyone who foolishly made a deal with him met a tragic end—no exceptions, not even the gods. This really happened. I'm not making it up.
There are other infamous deeds of Sisyphus that most of you probably already know. Do you remember the time when Corinth faced a devastating drought? Sisyphus struck a bargain with the river god Asopus: he would reveal the whereabouts of Asopus's missing daughter in exchange for the creation of a new water source for Corinth. Asopus, having no choice, conjured up a spring for the city. Once Sisyphus got what he wanted, he pointed Asopus in the direction of his daughter's kidnapper. Blinded by concern for his daughter, Asopus rushed to retrieve her without caution.
But Sisyphus had omitted one small detail: the kidnapper was none other than Zeus himself.
When Zeus struck Asopus with a lightning bolt, reducing him to a charred stump—boom, instant mythological charcoal—it was already too late. Asopus had challenged a god far beyond his league.
"Sisyphus's fate curses everyone around him... Knowing this, do you still want to take the risk?" I asked Crab, hoping he'd reconsider.
Crab nodded. My words hadn't changed his mind.
"Don't worry so much," he said. "You already know that Sisyphus was sentenced to push a boulder up a mountain for eternity. He can't do any more harm now. What you're afraid of… I don't think it can happen."
His words made me waver. Maybe he was right. As long as Sisyphus remained under his eternal curse, he probably couldn't cause trouble anymore. Maybe it was worth taking the chance, asking him how to escape this place. I could only hope Sisyphus would help us without any hidden agendas.
Alright... Let's take the risk.
"So where is Sisyphus now?" I asked Crab.
Crab beamed. "You're really going to see him? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, yeah, stop asking questions and just tell me where he is."
Crab grinned and pointed toward the Acheron Lake. "He's on the other side of Acheron."
"Wait… what did you just say?" I asked, hoping I'd misheard.
"I said, he's across the Acheron," Crab repeated.
I buried my face in my hand. "Are you crazy? How are we supposed to cross the lake? We don't even have any obolus with us."
Crab grinned wide. "We do. We've got Thanatos's obolus."
"Wait a second. Are you saying you want us to steal it from one of those insane spirits? Are you out of your mind? If we try that, we'll be torn to pieces!"
Crab laughed. "Haha! I didn't say we'd steal it from them."
"Don't tell me... you're planning to turn me in to Thanatos to trade for an obolus?" I asked, suspicious.
"That thought never even crossed my mind! I would never betray my friend."
"Then where are you planning to get the obolus from?" I asked, baffled.
Crab smiled at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. He reached into the small pouch tucked into his waistband and pulled something out. He held it up in front of me. "Do you know what this is? Do you?"
What he held in his hand made my jaw drop.
I rubbed my eyes over and over to make sure I wasn't seeing things.
Because what I saw was—
An obolus.