#she would have killed Erinyes if she ever left the underworld

[pomegranates-and-blood]

ἀλήθεια (Chapter 3, Vοσταλγία AU)

ἀλήθεια Masterlist

Pairing: Freydis/Reader, Ivar/Reader (past)

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: The usual. My endless swooning over Freydis.

A/N: So, writing the next chapter of Nostalgia is proving harder than I intended it to, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to post it this weekend. I’ll try my best, but I’m slowly getting back to writing, I’m not at my usual speed yet, so I’m still struggling. I’m also working on a few 500 Celebration thingies, so I hope to post those soon too. In the meantime, hope you like this!

Freydis is pondering on the why you insist on speaking Norse with Galla when she is around, asking herself whether it is because you don’t want her to feel like an outsider, or because you want to remind your lifelong friend of the outsider amongst you.

She sits by the fire, working on stitching together a torn cloak, as you pace around the room, arguing with Galla.

“I’m not letting you do this.”

“Letting me?” Your laugh is mocking, arrogance lacing your words when you taunt, “You’ve forgotten a lot, my friend, if you think you have any say in what I do.”

“That is not what I-…” A sigh, and Freydis hears Galla bite back her anger. “I speak their tongue. I can do the talking, and you stay safe.”

“Why does that sound like an excuse to-…”

“I’m not trying to chain you, you know that.”

Freydis knows how much you hate being interrupted when you’re talking, so she is sure the other woman does. She cannot help but wonder if she does it on purpose.

You scoff, “I’ve heard that before.”

“I am not some Varangian that tr-...”

“Tis better you don’t speak of what you don’t know. I never meant my husband,” You interrupt, eyes blazing. Galla’s eyes give away the recognition, and full lips form around a word that once was a name. Freydis remembers the way you spoke of the man you led to his death with promises of love, she remembers that you being able -being willing- to do something like that was the first moment she felt she could completely trust in you. You take a deep breath, “We need to get to that city, it is safer if I go.”

“Safer? What happens if you are found?”

“What happens if you are?”

“I get killed, you do not.” Galla states, an uncomfortable stillness falling over the room at her words.

A sigh, and then, “Kattegat had a funeral for me, Galla. They don’t know I’m alive, no one has any reason to think I’m…h-his wife.”

You haven’t said his name ever since you left Kattegat, and with each passing day the jarring manner in which you go out of your way not to say Ivar’s name becomes more and more apparent to Freydis.

“Yes, of course. A Greek trading and trying to buy passage to the Mediterranean, who would think it has anything to do with Kattegat’s queen?” The other woman teases, but there is a concern in her honeyed voice that Freydis cannot help but feel all the way through her body.

“I can do it,” Freydis interrupts, stepping forward and letting her gaze jump between you and Galla. “They will think nothing of me, just another…Varangian.”

“Hm,” Galla states before you can say anything, dark eyes surveying Freydis slowly before full lips pull into a smile, “You’re a brave one, Freydis.”

She tells herself she shouldn’t feel so emboldened by the slight praise, but it makes her feel stronger, it makes her feel like she is reclaiming a part of herself, by letting herself do this, be this.

____

“If they so much as whisper my name, you get out. Promise me, Freydis.”

She frowns, but acquiesces with a smile, “I promise.”

You swallow, hesitate for a moment before your hand reaches for hers. It is warm, it reminds her of that particular kind of fear of that first night she was a free woman, and yet it reminds her of that particular kind of warmth of the first time she had something to call her own. The touch is soft and light, but it tethers her more than she would like to admit.

“Don’t leave me alone.” You ask her quietly, big eyes boring into hers. She nods her head, but doesn’t say anything else.

Galla puts a hand on your arm and brings you to her side, murmuring something in your own tongue that makes you smile, even if it is still tinged by anxiety and more than a tad of fear.

Freydis finds herself wanting to know what she said to you, just as she usually finds herself wanting to know what the Greeks say that makes you grow a little colder, wanting to know what the soft songs they sing at night mean to you, what the tongue of your Gods and your people speaks of.

And as Freydis makes her way through the port, she starts thinking of what it would be like to speak your tongue, share something more with you, find something other than you speaking her language that makes her belong at your side.

In a few words, she manages to sell the few trinkets Galla had stolen, and with the coin heavy in the pouch hanging by her belt, Freydis sets of to speak with one of the boatbuilders.

The conversation is short and to the point, and the man doesn’t hesitate to tell her all she wants to know, judging by the purposely meek posture and adverted eyes that she is a thrall doing as she is told. It is remarkably easy, to pretend, to lie and make them do as she wants them too.

Freydis dares think she understands a bit better why you chose to chain yourself to that Greek. She also -much to her chagrin- understands why you refused to do the same to Ivar.

As she takes her leave she sees some unrecognizable faces carrying recognizable shields. A part of her almost wants -though she knows it is impossible, though she knows even if it weren’t it would end badly for her- to see Ivar with them, to have him see her.

For all the times he took you from her side without meaning to, for all the cruel smiles he granted her as you held his hand and left her barren, for all the ways he took things from her -and for all the things he could have taken, had the tale been other-; Freydis wants to face him one last time. To prove to him that a king, a famous man, a monster, wasn’t enough to keep you with him, but her, a liar, a former slave, a woman, was enough.

Before she can ask herself whether it was the years that made her cruel or she was always this way, she recalls every time she was left starving while others feasted, and finds she does not care.

____

It is only a fortnight later that she manages to return to the camp and announce there has been set up safe passage for you and most of the Greeks back to the Mediterranean -Crete, you tell her with a blinding smile, as if she is supposed to know what that is. She still smiles back-, alongside Arab merchant vessels.

Freydis does know how to lie and play pretend around her countrymen, and she still holds on to the warm and encompassing feeling of pride that being responsible for arranging for the ships with the builders at the docks brought; but she finds herself uncertain as to how to interact with these Arabs, with their strange garbs and their stranger customs.

You, though, you breeze through conversation with them, you laugh and smile as if you can forget what brought you here and that all that surrounds you still is death and cold. And Freydis doesn’t bother looking away.

They speak their own tongue, that you share in short bursts, but they also speak Greek with you, even if theirs is choppier than yours of course. They meet you somewhere in between worlds, and the women of painted skin and covered hair make your eyes shine with warmth; and you make their laughs delighted and fascinated; as if you share more than just words, as your language and theirs mix and match.

When the night starts to set and the people -Greeks, Arabs, Vikings- set of to sleep in every nook and cranny of the wooden ship they can find, you find your way back to Freydis’ side, sitting next to her and sharing the warmth of your cloak as you set it over both your legs as if you don’t even have to think twice about it.

“Did you ever think you’d one day part from this land, Freydis?”

“No,” She offers sincerely, looking at the distant and dark sea. “Being a slave didn’t leave much time to hope for traveling.”

“And after that?”

“Kattegat was safe, familiar,” Freydis takes a breath, closes her eyes for a moment. “It was just another set of chains, maybe.”

“Those are familiar too,” You state, saying the words she cannot. All the answer she offers is a nod. You sigh, and give away a confession of your own, “Neither did I.”

“All you wanted once was to leave these lands.”

“Yet I never believed I would leave alive, not truly,” A chuckle leaves your lips, but it is biter, “I am still not convinced I am not dead, but I always thought death would feel more like…home.”

“Your…Underworld?” She asks, and you nod your head mutely.

You once told her of the creatures and Gods that inhabited that realm that you Greeks go to once you die. You told her of a king with a crown that makes him invisible, you told her of a queen that trusted and thus was condemned.

You told her of those creatures half-monster and half-woman, that punish those deserving, that drive men insane, that topple kingdoms with a word, that end battles with their presence alone.

Erinyes, you’d told her they were. They had names, but you keep those secret too, just like you kept your own once.

When she turns to look at you, her gaze lingers on the faint shine of the moon that makes your eyes glimmer, and in all the anger and the grief they harbor, there’s warmth. Too alike the warmth of fickle embers, waiting for the right breeze to burn it all again, but it is warm, and it is familiar to Freydis.

She wonders if there was more than stubbornness keeping you from giving away your name then, she wonders if the otherworldliness of you is not because of who your people are. Because Freydis looks at you, and there’s that seed of awe and fear that tugs at her heart, there’s the faint quickening of her breaths and the urge to never look away and learn each and every quirk of your mouth and shade of color in your eyes; and she wonders if you are something more than human.

You have to be, she reasons. Something more than her, more than him, more than any other. The curve of your smile isn’t like any other’s, the sound of your voice is familiar and fascinating at the same time, the way you dance easily between cruelty and gentleness is both terrifying and fascinating; you cannot be just a mortal like her, like them.

“Lord Hades saw her in that field, and fell in love,” You tell her, eyes absently travelling over the crowded room. Your smile is nostalgic when you continue, “Love made out of a God nothing but a man.”

“Careful, witch. That means love can make out of a man a God.” Valdís says, hiding a smile behind the horn from which she takes a sip, keeping clear eyes on you and giving you both a warning and something else.

“I want you to teach me your tongue.” Freydis tells you quietly, heart thumping a little out of rhythm when you turn to her with barely-masked enthusiasm, and a spark that she feared you had lost.

“Very well.” You muse, a serene smile on your lips.

You start pointing at the sky, and teaching her how to repeat the words you say. A part of her knows this isn’t how one is supposed to start learning a new language, but she loses herself in the low cadence of your voice and the lull of the ship, and finds not wanting anything to be any different, even if this doesn’t help her understand Greek any better.

It is a start, and that is all she wants. To find a way to meet you halfway between the two worlds that want you even if you don’t belong fully to neither. Freydis can learn to live in between realms, that is how she has lived most of her life: a woman when they wanted and lusted after her body, but not a woman when they refused her the chance to tell them no; someone loved when you smiled at her, but not the one you loved when your eyes met his.

But you have learned to live there too, she knows. His wife and their ‘daughter’, Kattegat’s Queen and Attica’s Anassa, yourself and what they want you to be.

Maybe, she dares think, you can both live there, in between worlds, in between places to belong to. Because even if you both belong to nowhere, you belong together.

____ ____ ____

Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it!

Taglist: @youbloodymadgenius @heavenly1927 @toe-vind-ek-jou @xbellaxcarolinax @pieces-by-me​ @angelofthorr @samsationalwilson @peachyboneless @1950schick @punkrocknpearls @ietss   @itsmysticalmystery @revolution-starter @chibisgotovalhalla @the-a-word-2214 @fae-sedai @crazybunnyladysworld   @funmadnessandbadassvikings @stupiddarkkside @aprilivar @msrawog  

[ineedbackgroundmusicinmylife]

Hey guys! Here is another short story based on one of the prompts by @writing-prompt-s (thanks a lot!). I hope you enjoy reading it! Feel free to give me your suggestions

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Prompt :

You can taste lies. One day, you're comforting your best friend after a tough breakup and almost vomit at the foul taste the words "After all, you're only human" bring

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Story :

I know you are lying.

The number of times I have used this sentence tends to infinity. Many people are surprised everytime I catch their lie. How did you do it? You are really good at body language reading! How do you know that? No one else has ever caught my lies! I hear these quite a lot.

But I'm not good at body language detection or reading people. The truth is, I can taste lies. Not figuratively. Literally. I hear a lie and a foul taste develops in my mouth. Bigger the lie fouler the taste.

Due to this reason I never made many friends. You must be wondering how being able to taste lies is linked with me not making friends.....

The thing is, people lie quite easily and quite a lot these days. Any party I attend or any event I go to brings a foul taste to my mouth. A constant gagging feeling. So I never went out much. I have a couple of good friends though. And I am happy in my small group.

No one know about this ability of mine. Well, no one except my best friend. But she doesn't believe me. She thinks I'm joking.

Fast forward to today, when she comes to my apartment looking like she has been crying for eternity. I had no clue about what had happened. I take her inside and sit down on the couch with her.

"What's wrong? Why have you been crying?"

No reply.

I get a glass of water for her and start rubbing her back. Waiting for her to speak. We just sit there in silence. She finally speaks up.

"We broke up."

I close my eyes. I knew this was gonna happen one day. The guy she was dating always lied about where he had been and what he had been doing. I even tried to tell her. But she never belived me. She was too happy in her own world.

I pull her into a hug as she starts sobbing uncontrollably.

"Hey hey hey. Listen to me. It's okay. You deserve someone better than him."

She pulls away from the hug and stares at me as if I had said something offensive.

"It's okay? Are you serious? How will it ever be okay? He just cheated on me and dumped me for that other girl. You really think I deserve anything? No. There is obviously something wrong with me, whuch is why he had to find someone else."

I shake my head.

"No. That is not how that works. It was his fault. He shouldn't have cheated. If he had an issue with you, he should have talked about it."

I hold her hands and look at her.

"No-one is perfect Rose. After all, you are only human."

The moment these words leave my mouth, I gag on the bitter and foul taste that fills my mouth. It makes me want to vomit. I stand up and step away from her. I don't know why I did that. She looks up at me, surprised and slightly hurt.

"So even you don't wanna be with me now. Great."

She gets up and starts walking towards the door. I am too shocked to react.

"What are you?"

It comes out as a whisper. I wasn't expecting her to hear it, but she stops in her tracks and turns around. We stand there in silence. She slowly lets out a breath.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know damn well what I mean by that."

She raises her hands up in frustration

"No I don't!"

Another lie.

"You are lying. You know I can catch lies. There's no use hiding whatever your secret is. I know you are not- I know your something else."

She closes her eyes and lets out a sigh.

"So you can really taste lies huh."

I stay silent. She stays silent. 5 minutes pass. 10. 15.

She finally takes a deep breath and sits down on the couch, gesturing me to do the same.

I don't move.

"Please. Give me a chance to explain. And if you think I'm lying... Well there is no point in me lying is there?"

I give it a moment's thought. If she wanted to harm me, she would have. We've been friends for a long time.

I slowly take a step towards the couch and take a seat, maintaining some distance between us.

She closes her eyes and starts speaking.

"Ok so. First of all, you were right, I'm not human."

I scoot away from her a little. She notices the move and I can see the hurt in her eyes. I shouldn't have done it. But I couldn't stop myself. She continues.

"Have you ever heard of The Erinyes?"

I shake my head. I hear her let out a sigh.

She mumbles something under her breath.

"The Erinyes? The Furies? I'm sure you've heard of them."

The Furies. That name rings a bell. Some mythological character. Was it Roman? No, Greek? Hades?

"Aren't they like the punishment enforcers for Hades or something?"

"Yeah sure. Why not."

She sounded very annoyed.

"Well, I am one of the three Furies."

It takes me a moment to comprehend that statement. I'm not throwing up which means that she is speaking the truth.

But how could this be possible? One of the Furies? My best friend? What was going on?

She lets the silence hang over us. No explanation, no reasoning. Just a plain simple fact.

I look at her and manage to get a single word out.

"Why?"

She blinks in disbelief and bursts out laughing.

I am just left staring at her in disbelief. She tells me she is one of the most feared creature of the Underworld and then she laughs? Seriously?

"I was not expecting that question."

"Well I expect an answer."

I want to smack myself. Why am I even takimg to a Fury like that? If she wants she could yeet me to the Underworld right now. Ughh.

"Ok. I'll give you an answer. Come on."

She gets up and offers her hand to me. I obviously stay glued to the couch.

"Where are we going?"

"To see Lord Hades. Where else?"

I lost it at thus point. I get up from the couch and bolt for the door. I was not going to let this crazy lady-creature kill me.

But obviously I don't go far before she pulls me back.

"Oh come on! I'm not going to kill you! Just come with me. This wasn't supposed to come out but now that it has, I have to take you to Lord Hades. He is the only one who can explain this mess."

After she realises that I am not going to move from my place, she lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls her eyes.

"Look. I said I won't kill you, means I won't kill you. The underworld is a big place. It has more than one door. And please, don't delay this. I'm already annoyed thinking of the conversation he is gonna have with me."

She groans.

"I should never have come to you after the break up."

Dang. Both of us completely forgot about the break up thing huh?

"But if you are a Fury, how come you were dating him? Was that a setup?"

She looks at me and winks.

"A lady is allowed to have her fun. As long as I am stuck in the human form, why not have the full experience, right?"

"Now if you are done with your questions, we have a long journey ahead. So please. Let's go."

I think about for a moment.

"Ok then. Let's go."

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Taglist :

@awesomeuvinthings @sitorrothekitsune @grace-k-sterling @scarletteflamerald

[hanistarxx]

Against Elysium - Chapter 1

A Modern Greek Mythology AU with Fem!Hades & Fem!Persephone

Summary: All Omisha ever knew was death. She has never felt the warmth of the sun or the breeze of a stormy wind. She has never seen beauty in her kingdom of desolation, or heard the soothing music of assurance. Seraphina wanted to change that. All in the name of love. And Gods forbid anyone who dared to separate them. For if anyone did,a war is what would become of it.

Pairings: Zoe Kravitz x Adria Arjona (Fem!Hades x Fem!Persephone) 

Warnings: None, Mention of Pedophilia, Mention of Molestation and Attempted Rape 

Word Count: 1.5K

Against Elysium - Masterlist

“YOU’RE getting old, Willy,” 

Thana taunted, her focus on the opponent ahead, her hands clenched tightly on the carved hilt of her sai. Her feet steady on the ground, as she circled William, ready to strike again. 

Leaning against the stone walls that encircled the fighting arena, stood her sisters Saskia and Kiara. Both of them eyed viciously at the fighters, curious to see who would come out of the battle victorious. 

As Thana lifted her hands to land yet another blow on her competitor, William stuck his left leg out, tripping her as she advanced onto him. She fell front face to the ground with a cry, while her sisters merely winced. 

“Old, yes. Out of tricks? Never,” he said, with a smug smile plastered on his face. Thana turned, violently pushing her hair out of her face, displeased with the fact that she had lost a fight because she lost her balance. 

“Yeah, keep glaring at me like that. Maybe my head will explode, who knows?” he sarcastically continued. 

For a middle aged man, William Chavez sure did not look like it. Neither did he act like it. Alongside Naya, he was the royal advisor to the Queen. 

If Omisha was ever in doubt, she would turn to her most trusted compatriots. And while Naya advised through words, William was in charge of vodka shots and a whole lot of crying. 

At all times, William and Omisha would be the ones most drunk after their advisory meetings, resulting in a disgruntled Naya carrying them both off to bed. 

As for the Erinyes’, days in the Underworld passed by routinely. If they were not sent to the mortal realm, punishing criminals, they would waste their time hanging around Omisha.

Though this was strongly disliked by the latter, for their presence could sometimes be exasperating. 

On other days, when they were doing neither of those things, they could be found training and fighting in the Arena. 

“You’re a Fury and you lost another fight to the God of Non-Violent Death,” Saskia stated, “Non-Violent Death, Thana, could you be more humiliating?” 

“Shut up,” Thana replied seethingly as she pushed herself up from the dirt, her sai aimed towards her sister. 

“停下来,” Kiara intervened, stepping between them. “You two are acting like fools. It’s just a practise fight, calm down.” 

“Easy for you to say. You always win your fights,” Saskia mumbled. 

Kiara laughed, grabbing her katana and taking her stance, challenging William to another mock battle. 

Just as they were about to begin, they found themselves mysteriously shackled to the ground, They were bound and frozen by something unseen. 

Naya walked calmly towards the group. A sardonic smile on her face, clearly proving herself as the source of the mischievous magic. 

“Omisha needs us. The number of souls you’ve collected were too many. She needs a few more pairs of hands to sort them out,” Naya said to William.

“You three,” she continued, pointing to the Lins’ this time. “Someone on Earth is being a sick bastard. Go show him what happens to a pedophile, would you?” 

The sisters smirked, eyes turned menacing. It was time for them to have some real fun. 

They grabbed their weapons, headed to their garage and sped off on their matching black motorbikes. All ready to maim and torture. 

"Men. Dead or alive, they're bothering us," Will said, dragging himself back to work. Naya sighed, agreeing with her friend. 

Another day, another thousand souls.

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“BUT Mama, it’s not that far away,” 

Seraphina persisted. She was worn out after a long and tiring day. She had accompanied her mother in the paddy fields. Then after, the two went back to their greenhouse to continue gardening.

All she wanted to do for the rest of the evening was to enjoy a little summer breeze by the lake situated a few minutes away from her home. She wished for some time alone, a breather. A break from her mother. 

“It’s getting dark, miha,” Isabela said, “What did I tell you about going out after dark?” 

The mother daughter duo started walking back to their small house. It wasn’t much, but to Isabela it was home. A single story brick cottage, it’s exterior’s beige paint chipping off at some areas. Small little trails of vines, creeping around the edges of the windows. 

Their home nestled within numbers of tall trees in an indistinct forest. Cloaked and unseen by mortals, it was the perfect safe haven for her. Away from the bustling metropolitan city, where danger lurked in every dirty alley. 

Seraphina sighed, rolling her eyes discreetly behind her mother’s back. She knew her mother was going to deny her the freedom to go out, but she couldn’t help but to at least try.  

As they approached their house, a familiar figure stood, leaning against the archway pillar of their porch. Illyana Vince. 

With a gleeful smile, Seraphina skipped past her mother, to greet her friend. Illyana took her hands out of her signature denim jacket to welcome her with a hug. 

Seraphina would always be visited by her huntress friend, almost every day. Her social circle was extravagantly small, all thanks to her mother, but she liked it. She wasn’t, however, entirely content about it. She knew she could make more friends. 

If only she was allowed to go further past the picket fence that surrounded her realm. 

“Where were you?” she asked gingerly, their hands still intertwined.  

“I had a meeting with Moerani. I thought I’d drop by and spend some time with you.” Illyana winked. Seraphina turned to her mother and pleaded for permission with her eyes. 

“Fine, you can go. But, be back home by eight and Illyana has to be with you at all times,” her mother retorted. With that, Seraphina tugged her friend and they went off their way. 

Upon reaching the lake, the girls sat on the big rocks by the bank. They took their shoes off and dipped their feet into the cool water below. The sun had already started to descend making the sky looked as if it was on fire. 

“What was the meeting with Mr. Moerani about?” she asked, tearing her gaze away from the sunset and towards the girl beside her.

“I had to debrief him about what happened this morning. Some scum excuse of a man attacked a girl in a school. I heard her prayers, she sounded so terrified.” 

“What did he do to her?” she asked, slightly angered.

With a heavy disappointed sigh, Illyana said, “He molested her. He didn’t get that far. As soon as I got there, the Erinyes had him already. Pinned down on the floor. All bruised and bloodied.

I found the little girl hiding under a table. Brought her home and informed her parents. Poor girl, she was only seven. Men are really disgusting.” 

There was no secret that Illyana had a strong dislike for men. They had dicks for brains, as she would say so. The only three men she didn’t mind associating with were her brother, Jacob and William. 

Illyana talked about how she returned back to the school to finish the Erinyes’ work. If it was one thing the blonde loved doing, it was protecting the young, especially if it gave her the chance to beat up some second grade douche.  

Seraphina felt anger boil in her veins. How could anyone even think of committing such heinous crimes? She had heard countless stories from her friends about the world outside. Mortals were either killing each other or forcing themselves on others. 

That made her understood why her mother is keeping her within the cloaked abode of her realm. But she would not render herself weak or afraid. If she were to encounter such cruelty, whether it be upon her or someone else, she would raise Hell itself. 

“Raise Hell huh? I don’t think Omisha would like that. That lady took a thousand years to organize the chaos down there, ” Illyana spoke, smugly. 

Seraphina smiled sheepishly, realizing she had just spoke her mind, yet again. Curiosity sparked the goddess at the mention of the Underworld. Of course, she was curious about a lot things, but the Underworld called upon her the most.

In her mother’s eyes, it was a dark, gloomy and misty place. It was a place she was determined to keep Seraphina away from. But the stories told by her friends made her depict it in another way. 

Jacob mentioned the castle that housed the Underworld Gods and Goddesses, as ancient, yet sleek and stylish. Ilyana and Israel referred to it as the perfect hub to get wasted. Even Xander would often go there for sparring practice with the Lin sisters. Not a single one of them acted as if the place was a spook land. Just another world to hang out in.

She longed to experience everything outside of her mother’s boundaries. And visiting the Underworld was at the top of her list. 

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tag list: @futureauthor-mabye @artwriteanimationinspo

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Chapter 2 (COMING SOON)