I recently did this story for a project for English class. Please R & R!!

Here was a chapter of the Odyssey that was recently unearthed by archaeologists in an ancient cave near Athens, Greece. It has the seal of Homer etched upon it and seems to occur between Odysseus leaving King Alcinous’ court and his return home to Ithaca. Why it was there in the first place is a mystery.

The chapter depicts Odysseus on the Phoenician ship. It is a foggy night and the crisp sea air whips Odysseus in the face. He sees a light, to the east...

THE LIGHT IN THE DISTANCE

Odysseus could not make out the source of the light. Curious, he turned the steering wheel of the ship toward the light. Was it a ship in distress? He had to find out.

As the light became larger, Odysseus heard Zeus roar throughout the land with his mighty thunder bolts. Rain followed thereafter, causing the waves to stir up violently.

Odysseus was almost there. The white light was now thrice as large from when he first saw it. The storm was now in full force, waves of enormous strength pounding on the Phoenician ship. Odysseus tied himself to the sturdy mast and held on for his dear life.

The light...Odysseus could still see it but the downpour of rain caused by the thunder clouded his vision.

“Dear gods of heaven!” begged Odysseus, “give me but one more chance to see my wife!”

A flash of white light surged and blinded Odysseus. It was brighter than the Sun. For a minute everything was silent; the waves subsided and the thunder banished. Then, darkness...

THE GOD OF SIN

Odysseus regained consciousness on the shores of an island he was unknowledgeable of. His ship was nowhere to be seen. His weapons, however, were still buckled onto his belt. “Thank you, Athena.”

Unsheathing his sword, Odysseus entered a forest. Although it was sunny outside none of the rays penetrated the thick layer of branches and leaves overhead. It was as black as night in here...and the only source of illumination came from the fireflies resting in trees. Odysseus felt like he was being watched by someone...or something...

Odysseus heard an ear-piercing scream coming from the north. Grasping his sword, he started running toward the source and cut down trees that blocked his path. He came across a glade devoid of trees save one. The one tree was in the center of the glade and its branches branched at least sixty feet in every direction, also blocking out the sun. This great tree seemed to be the center of the dark forest. Odysseus smelled fire, but it wasn’t ordinary fire. It was fire that had been used to burn human flesh for hundreds of years.

Looking to the right Odysseus gazed upon a bloody soldier with a raised hand, begging for his life. The sharp tip of a bloody blade was pressed against the soldier’s neck.

“Please, spare me! I have a wife and four children! Four young and beautiful children! Please, have you no conscience?” the soldier shouted as tears cascaded down his face.

The man with the blade simply laughed and beheaded the soldier.

“Deja ‘vu?” asked the murderer. Odysseus fell backwards onto the floor when he heard the voice. The murderer turned around and it was Odysseus.

“Who are you?” asked Odysseus. “I am the embodiment of your sins,” replied the murderer. “You have sinned a lot, haven’t you?”

Odysseus stood up and inspected his replica. They were both garbed in Ithaca’s finest battle armor, both wielding the same blade, and even spoke the same. “What foul manner of black magic is this? Is Eris behind this?”

“Face me,” came a voice from behind Odysseus.

Quickly he turned around and saw a knight dressed in black battle torn armor. A monstrous sized sword, four feet long Odysseus estimated, was in his right hand. The sword, also black, had red runes inscribed on the lower portion of the blade. The runes were not in any language Odysseus was familiar with.

Eris is the goddess of mischief and strife. Odysseus thinks Eris is playing a trick on him.

“You have killed a total of five hundred twenty nine men.”

Odysseus also noticed that the man had a crimson bandanna which was tied over his eyes. A blind man, perhaps? And a small, brown pouch hung from the knight’s belt. What was inside the pouch?

“You have killed innocent children in their sleep and raped their mothers. You have dishonored the code of Xenos. You have permanently blinded a young cyclops by the name of Polyphemus. For these sins you must come with me. You are too dangerous for your own good.”

“Who are you?”

“I am the son of Hades. They call me the God of Sin. I harness the souls of sinners and give them to my father, where they are punished accordingly. You, however, are the worst sinner I’ve ever come across. You seem to enjoy taking lives away.”

At this Odysseus grew angry. “ ‘Enjoy’? Enjoy!! You think I wanted to abandon my wife and child to go to some land hundreds of miles from home and kill young, promising men? I was forced to go to that damned battleground! If I had the choice of staying home with my beloved family, I would have never gone to Troy.” He put his head down. “I could have run away and not have killed a soul. But then what becomes of me? I would be labeled a deserter, would be shunned by my countrymen and be forced into exile. I did what I had to do to see my family again.”

The God of Sin shook his head and pointed a finger. You must atone for your sins. My father-”

“Your father would kill me. I have endured so many obstacles; out of nearly a hundred of my men only I have survived this far. The gods have kept me alive for a reason.”

Odysseus raised his head and asked, “What happened to me? I remember being on my ship during a great storm...and then this piercing white light blinded me is all that I can recall.”

The God of Sin chuckled maniacally. “The ‘white light’ was actually a portal to another world. See, we’re not exactly on Earth any more...”

Odysseus’s eyes widened in shock. “Not on Earth? Where are we!?”

“We are in the Nexus. In simpler terms it is the portal that connects your world to our world.”

“Your world...you don’t mean...”

The God of Sin nodded much to Odysseus’s dismay. “Yes. My father’s realm: the Underworld.”

“How do I go back to my world?”

The God of Sin raised his rune blade and spoke ever so calmly, “That is something I cannot tell you; it seems you will not come with me willingly. If this be the case then I will take you by force.”

Odysseus shook his head in disagreement. “I will not cross blades with a blind man.”

The god sneered at the remark. “What do you take me for, fool!? I am no ‘man’; I am a god! Being unable to see does not hinder my swordsmanship, human. Now, draw!”

Odysseus unsheathed his silver long sword and pointed it at the god. “I am the strongest of humans, god. You may think me weak but you’d be wise not to underestimate me.”

“Remember, if you lose, your soul is at the bidding of the Great Lord Hades.”

The God of Sin jumped into the air and thrust his sword upon Odysseus. The human barely managed to block in time; this god meant business and was not lying about his skills. His sword, which was at least twice the size of Odysseus’, was just as fast, if not faster, than Odysseus’ sword. The strength that flourished from the god was astonishing. What he lacked in eyesight, he made up for in fighting.

The God of Sin landed a flurry of blows upon Odysseus’s blade, which was held in a horizontal fashion near his face. Odysseus rolled to the side and slashed at his attacker; but all the attack did was scrape his armor.

Odysseus barely escaped death once more when the god swung his giant sword in a circular motion. He fell on his back and snatched the opportunity.

Tear sized blood stained the grass, displeasing Ceres.

Ceres is the goddess of nature. Blood staining the grass displeases Ceres.

The God of Sin coughed up blood. He dropped his sword in disbelief and fell on his back. Odysseus, while on his back, stabbed the God of Sin in his stomach. Blood of a god coated Odysseus’s sword. What had he done?

Odysseus fell to his knees and started praying to the gods for guidance on how to escape this realm and regain his ship.

More blood fell like a waterfall onto the grass. But it was not the God of Sin’s blood.

The black sword was embedded deep in Odysseus’s chest area. He fell on his hands and gasped for air, which now seemed oh so precious. Odysseus was dying; he only had a little time left.

The God of Sin, as if waking from the dead, rose to his feet and laughed. “Gods have more stamina than mortals do. We also have more powers than you. You see, I can move things with my mind.”

Odysseus tried to keep consciousness and not give in to death. But all of his energy was depleted and sleeping seemed so peaceful. Just for a second, Odysseus thought, I will close my eyes. Just for...a...second...

And so Odysseus, the mighty and cunning hero, fell. He may have just met his match.

The God of Sin took out an orb which he used to collect the souls of sinners in. The orb was composed of dark magic and was forged by Hades himself. The god recited a series of chants, which caused the dark magic of the orb to flare up. Purple flames engulfed the orb, a black omen appearing amidst the flame.

A spark of white light emerged, blocking the dark magic of the orb from reaching Odysseus. Athena emerged from the portal, sword forged by Hephaestus in hand and ready for battle. Her emerald green armor shined even in the dark forest and her face was full of worry and anger.

She kneeled down and felt Odysseus’s neck. His pulse was faint, but he was still alive. She cast a spell to give Odysseus more time. “Let me handle this,” she whispered ever so softly into his ear.

The orb’s magic died down and the God of Sin’s face bewildered. “Woman, you dare meddle in the affairs of other gods? Zeus will hear of this, take my word for it!”

Athena shook her head. “Zeus has sent me into this dark place to bring Odysseus back to the Earth realm. He will not fall yet...not yet. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Zeus has no charge whatsoever of what goes down in the Underworld and in the Nexus.” Telekinetically he regained his sword from the dying Odysseus and drew it.

“I will not let you take Odysseus to the Underworld where his soul will forever torment. His wife and son need him.”

“Have you lost your mind? This man is a threat to everyone around him! He is an evil person who must atone-”

Athena turned her head and gazed upon Odysseus. “No, you’re wrong.” She faced the God of Sin. “He is a good man. A loyal soldier and a devoted husband to his wife Penelope. ”

“ ‘Devoted husband’? He hasn’t seen the bloody woman in twenty years!”

“Only because of Helen and her husband was Odysseus forced unto battle. Enough talk.” Athena readied her sword and aegis. “You’ll have to get through me first before you ever kill him! Now, vial creature of the Underworld, prepare yourself!”

She ran at the God of Sin, crying, “for Odysseus!” Her sword met his and the battle begun. Sparks and the clinking of metal clashing against metal resonated throughout the dark forest. The God of Sin swung his sword and unleashed an attack so powerful that it cracked Athena’s aegis in half. She discarded the shield and unsheathed a twin blade from her belt.

“Why is this mortal so important to you?” the God of Sin asked in the pause of the battle.

“We share the same qualities, him and I. I consider him to be my alter ego.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes...”

“I think there’s more to the story.”

“What are you implying?”

The God of Sin smiled a queer smile, and muttered, “Poor thing. You have a crush for a mortal.”

Athena, in response to the comment, jumped at the God of Sin with all her might and pummeled him with her twin blades. The God of Sin blocked all her attacks and, under his breath, muttered a series of chants. The runes on his sword glowed blood red with dark magic.

A shower of flaming meteors plummeted down from the heavens. Athena cast a protective aura around her and Odysseus. She slammed one of the meteors with the dull side of her blade, causing the flaming rock to ricochet towards the God of Sin. The meteor met the God of Sin and knocked him onto his back.

“Haven’t you had enough?” Athena asked mockingly.

The God of Sin threw his blade at Athena. She jumped and avoided it by just a hair’s inch away. She ran at the God of Sin, almost forgetting that the son of Hades had the power of telepathy. The black sword whizzed around like a boomerang and came back to it’s master. The daughter of Zeus ducked in time, blocking a sword blow from the God of Sin. She did a backward flip and noticed the black sword, on its way back, sliced open her shoulder. She put aside the pain and stood up.

“His time is running short,” barked the God of Sin. Athena needed to end this now. She unleashed a flurry of blows with such strength and elegance that it split the God of Sin’s sword in two. The son of Hades lay there defenseless as Athena’s blades were against his throat.

The God of Sin knew he had lost. “I see it...I see it. You were right all along. Odysseus is a good man. He deserves to see his wife and child again. I’ll have to take a beating from father when I tell him that I refused to capture the soul of the mighty hero Odysseus. It won’t be the first time...”

Athena sheathed her swords. “Thank you, son of Hades. Everybody needs a second chance.”

“Tell him his ship is just due north of here, oh, and give him this. He needs you, daughter of Zeus. Farewell.” And then he was gone.

Athena ripped open Odysseus’s shirt. The sword had cut two of the arteries leading to the heart. This was major. Athena gathered a large quantity of magic and unleashed it upon Odysseus. His severed arteries were connected once more to the heart. She then patched up the skin with the last ounce of magic.

Drained of most of her energy, Athena fell onto the floor. Odysseus awoke, looking in all directions. He was still in the glade of the Nexus.

“Athena!” Odysseus exclaimed, his eyes full of relief. “ By the gods you have rescued me! How grateful I am. Where be the son of Hades?”

“I fought him off. You are safe now, Odysseus. Penelope needs you. And Telemachus as well.”

“I understand.”

They found the ship. Athena took out the item the God of Sin gave her. It was a white triangular object. The object fluttered and gave off a bright white light. Odysseus once again felt that same sensation: silence all around, and then, darkness...

“Goodbye Odysseus. Hurry home to Ithaca, Odysseus. Your family needs you now more than ever.”

Odysseus awakened on his ship. He could see the shores of Ithaca on the horizon...