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I am a ferryman of the Styx.
墨書 Inktalez
I am a Ferryman of the River of the Dead, responsible for guiding the souls across the river.
When souls arrive at the River of the Dead and wish to board the ferry, they must surrender a gold coin as a fare. This is an unwritten rule.
Life swayed back and forth in the dark, silent river of the underworld was undeniably dull. After all, day after day, I was engaged in the same repetitive tasks, with no variation whatsoever.
Although I had encountered all sorts of spirits during this time, having seen so many meant that I could now handle almost any situation with ease.
However, if we were to talk about an impressive special case, it would make me unable to resist thinking of a recent encounter with someone—
That day, I docked the ferry by the riverbank as usual, waiting for the souls in need of crossing to arrive.
Before long, a bewildered soul approached, glancing around in confusion as they walked slowly toward the riverbank.
When the other person saw me, they first paused for a moment, then pointed at me with a puzzled expression and said:
"Are you... Charon? The one from Greek mythology? Why are you here? This shouldn't be the Western underworld, right?"
"This is the River of the Underworld, merely a transit point without any defined boundaries. I am the Ferryman of the River, without a specific name. If you wish to call me that, it matters not," I replied as a matter of course.
It is common for the deceased to pose such questions; I suppose it stems from differing beliefs across regions.
It is said that in some places we are referred to as "Charon," but we are merely the Ferryman of the Underworld, nothing more.
Upon hearing my response, the deceased person inevitably revealed an awkward smile.
"I'm sorry, but in my understanding of traditional customs, I don't recall anything like this, so it feels a bit confusing. I was wondering if I might have come to the wrong place..."
"Don't worry about it; after all, it's your first time crossing the river, so it's only natural that you wouldn't know," I replied casually, extending my hand to him in a formal manner. "The fare for the ferry is one gold coin."
"Eh?" The deceased was truly taken aback and quickly reached into his pockets. However, despite searching his entire body, he still found nothing.
"Um... I'm sorry, it seems I don't have any money on me..." He maintained an awkward smile, looking somewhat at a loss as he scratched his head.
"It's alright. When your relatives come to guide you, you'll have what you need," I said softly, retracting my hand to comfort him. "Perhaps you arrived a bit too early, as your footsteps were too quick. After all, there is a certain delay in the transition of offerings from your family. For now, just wait here."
Some souls choose not to linger in the world after death but instead head directly to the River of Oblivion. This kind of situation is not unusual, so I wasn't surprised.
"I see..." For some reason, a vague expression appeared on the face of the deceased, but it quickly transformed into a smile. "Well then, I'll take a rest for a while."
With that, he chose a pile of rocks by the riverbank, leaned against them, and sat down to rest.
Before long, another soul arrived to board the ship, and I set sail with them first.
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