Chapter Text
The chamber before him was so utterly out of place that Zagreus had to pinch himself to prove it was real; He knew, of course, that Asphodel wasn’t meant to be overflowing with lava but seeing a vibrant green field of knee high grass was the last thing he expected when he chosen the path forward marked with Artemis’ symbol in the last room.
“Hail and well-met,” yet another shock came as an oddly familiar looking young man stepped out of hiding, “I take it you’re the prince everyone says is trying to escape from here?”
“Uhh, yeah, I am. Zagreus, though my friends call me Zag,” he held out a hand for the shade to shake, only a little taken back by the friendly reception.
“I’m Hippolytus,” the shade eyed his hand for a moment before taking it and shaking it, “I don’t have much I can offer you personally but Artemis said she was helping you last time she managed to send me something so I don’t think she’d mind if I gave you this,” the traditional green orb was not produced instead he simply suddenly had a boon from the goddess, no message from her or anything just the sudden presence of one of her divine blessings.
“Thanks, I guess,” he replied as the shade let go of his hand. For a moment he considered prying into this man’s relationship with his cousin but he decided that it was perhaps too soon for that, “I’ll see you again.”
“Goodbye, Prince,” Hippolytus bowed his head slightly as Zagreus left.
The next time he went into a room marked with Artemis’ symbol it was not the same peaceful glade, though he was certain he'd never encountered any friendly face but Charon and the Bull twice in the same run anyways so it was a little foolish to hope for it to happen again so soon. Still when he finished the fight and approached the boon the message was not the typical one so it wasn't that much of a disappointment.
“I see you’ve run into Hippolytus, that’s good, he’s a good friend. I don’t send him messages often since he’s dead and all but maybe I'll lend him a boon every now and then so he can give them to you. I mean Hades lets his father ask for our aid,” and that only left him with more questions that made him wish once more that these boons allowed for more communication from his end. Still he was likely enough to learn more after a few more runs.
"I ran into someone who isn't in your codex," Zagreus mentioned as he approached his mentor in the hall.
"It was bound to happen someday lad, I hardly know everyone who has passed away throughout the years," Achilles replied, raising an eyebrow in a way that clearly implied he was curious about it even if he had refrained from asking.
"His name is Hippolytus, he was out in a field in Asphodel that hadn't been flooded yet," he explained, "and apparently he was close with Artemis when he was alive. Which is a bit odd since she's not really known for making friends especially with men. At least according to what other people ay about her."
"Ah, well perhaps you should fill out a page for him then. He certainly sounds interesting."
"I think I will," Zagreus was grinning now, more excited for his upcoming runs than he had been for awhile.
'A friendly face in a peaceful respite amidst the lava-ridden Asphodel. Hippolytus truly is a refreshing surprise. It is strange, though, that a mortal Artemis speaks so kindly of is not in the paradise of Elysium...'