The boat had now left the shore. Charon rowed with visible reluctance. Onboard, it was just the two of us—Charon and me. Just the two of us. I swear on the River Styx. Yet I couldn't stop wondering where Crab had gone. He'd said he would join me on this journey to find Sisyphus. He had even claimed he'd find a way to cheat Charon out of the fare.
Could it be… he really did it?
But how? He hadn't boarded the boat with me. Could he be clinging to the side? That didn't seem likely—the currents of the Acheron were far too strong. He'd be swept away before making it halfway across. Besides, Charon would surely have noticed if anyone tried to stow away.
Eventually, I gave up trying to figure out the mystery of Crab's disappearance. It was just giving me a headache.
I leaned back against the edge of the boat. I have to say, traveling by Charon's ferry was anything but pleasant. The boat was old and falling apart, covered in grime and dampness. Black, viscous water had seeped through the bottom, pooling around my feet. It was ice-cold and sent a chill up my spine. The hull was completely encrusted with barnacles, making the boat look more like a floating boulder than an actual vessel.
I sometimes wanted to ask Charon why, with all the money he must have, he never bothered buying a new boat. Why keep using this ragged wreck for centuries—no, more likely over a thousand years? I could only hope it wouldn't sink halfway across.
Charon really lived up to his reputation for being a cheapskate.
He kept glaring at me suspiciously, clearly still trying to sniff out whether I had cheated him somehow. His deeply wrinkled face twisted in barely contained rage, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.
That behavior made it clear to me—Crab really had pulled off some trick to hitch a ride on the boat. Charon's duty-bound nature would never allow anyone onboard without an obolus. He must have sensed that someone had boarded without paying, which explained why he'd been on edge the whole time, taking it out on me.
Luckily, he couldn't figure out what Crab had done. Otherwise... I didn't even want to imagine what might've happened to me.
At last, the miserable trip with the grumpy old man was nearing its end. I could see torchlight ahead—it meant we were approaching the far bank.
Charon slowed the boat, eventually bringing it to a stop just short of the shore. Then he barked, "Get off. This is as far as I go. Move it!"
I blinked. He wanted me to jump off here? But we hadn't even reached dry land.
"Now!!" he yelled, slamming his oar down hard.
"A-Alright!" I stammered, startled into jumping out of the boat into the Acheron.
I expected to sink immediately into its dark depths. But to my surprise, I landed on my feet. The water only came up to my waist. My feet touched something thick and slimy beneath me—mud, it seemed.
Ah… no wonder Charon dropped me off here.
Charon pointed his oar ahead and spoke rapidly, "I'll only say this once. Get through the Stygian mire, follow the torches, and you'll reach the inner gates of Erebus. Got it? Answer me!!"
"Y-Yes, I got it!" I shouted, still startled.
"Then get lost already! Stop standing there like an idiot—go!!" Charon snarled, all personal anger behind every word.
I didn't need to be told twice. I wanted to get away from him as badly as he wanted me gone. I started trudging forward. But I didn't get far.
The mud in the lake was thick, and it clung to my legs like chains. Each step was a struggle. It felt like the swamp was trying to suck me under.
Charon wasted no time rowing away. He seemed eager to pick up the next soul from the other shore. Even as his decrepit boat pulled away, he kept glancing back at me, clearly still suspicious he'd been cheated. But, as before, he found nothing.
"Tch..." Charon grumbled and rowed off into the darkness, oars slapping loudly against the water—a clear sign of his frustration.
Now I was alone, struggling to pull my feet free from the muck. I looked around. There was no one in sight. No sign of Crab.
Maybe he hadn't made it onto the boat after all. Maybe he chickened out.
"We did it!!!" a voice suddenly cheered.
"AHH!" I yelped, startled as the shout rang out across the Stygian marsh.
I recognized that voice. Of course—it was him.
Crab. He appeared out of nowhere, no warning at all.
Wait a minute… where did he even come from?
"You scared me! Where the hell did you go?" I snapped at him.
Crab just grinned from ear to ear. "I didn't go anywhere. I've been right next to you the whole time."