What the Tartarus am I?

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{Tartarus, Unknown Time}

Odysseus POV

"Now it's my turn, gimme your ticket or get off my train." 

I just stared at her, first of all she was a goddess who somehow got souls and is driving a train through Tartarus. I started recalling every single myth I could, but no matter what I thought greek or even the slight roman I knew, Melinoe didn't fit anyone whom I knew. 

I needed to figure out who she was, and somehow bluff my way into a ticket. But no matter what I thought no one person fit her exactly.

"Your ticket," Melinoe said one of her hands stretching towards me.

I couldn't think of anything, so I decided to do this the hard way. Tendrils of darkness shot out from the shadows made by the walls of the train. Mere inches from grabbing her, her grin turned into a toothy smile, the tendrils wavered for a second before disappearing.

Melinoe swung her finger like a metronome, "Nuh uh, uh. My train my rules."

The same tendrils shot out of the train, half of them inky black and the other half bone white. I twirled my spear around cutting the first tendril that came at me. Six more were mere inches away, I continued cutting each but I didn't see how one of them wrapped under my foot, lifting me upwards. I swung my spear above me cutting the tendril, I spun in the air falling on my feet.

I landed with a heavy thud, the steel tip of my spear scratching against the floor of the train. The tendrils continued to lash out at me from every direction, a chaotic storm of black and white. They moved with unnatural speed, writhing like serpents, eager to ensnare me. Each one I severed was replaced by another, and the train car felt like it was shrinking, pressing in on me from all sides.

While fighting off the tendrils, I thought about Melinoe's word. 'My train, my rules. So I can't use shadows from the train,' I concluded, starting to form tendrils from only my shadow.

The first of my shadow tendrils met hers in a clash of force. They coiled around each other, pushing and pulling, each trying to overpower the other. I directed another of my tendrils to form a shield, blocking a pair of white tendrils that shot towards my chest. The impact sent vibrations up my arm, but the shield held firm.

Melinoe's grin widened as she watched me, her eyes gleaming with a sinister light. "Either give me your ticket or become my fuel," she purred.

'Where the hell would there be tickets in Tartarus," I couldn't help but think, as I continued fighting off everything that I could.

She flicked her wrist, and a new wave of tendrils surged forward, faster and more aggressive than before. I slashed with my spear, parried with my shadow blades, and blocked with my shields, but the assault was relentless. The tendrils seemed to multiply, overwhelming my defenses. I could only do so much with my own shadow alone.

I was pushed back, step by step, my feet sliding across the floor of the train. My breath came in ragged gasps, sweat dripping down my face. I couldn't let up now, I needed to find a way to get out and quickly.

As another tendril came hurtling towards me, I split one of my tendrils into multiple smaller tendrils. They shot out in all directions, seeking out and intercepting Melinoe's attacks. For a moment, it worked—the tendrils collided mid-air, creating a tangled mess of black and white, like a twisted net.

But then I felt it—a sharp, searing pain in my right shoulder. One of her tendrils had slipped through my defenses, spearing me clean through, even through my Ladon scale made armor. I gasped, the pain radiating down my arm, my grip on my spear faltering. Before I could react, another tendril struck, this time piercing my left leg. My leg buckled, and I fell to one knee, the shadows around me flickering as I struggled to maintain control.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Melinoe's voice was a whisper in my ear, dripping with malevolence.

The tendrils coiled around my limbs, tightening like snakes, and with a violent yank, I was lifted off the ground and slammed into the wall of the train. The impact knocked the wind out of me, my head began to spin. I tried to summon the shadows again, but the pain was making it difficult to focus.

Melinoe stepped closer, her form blurring as she moved with a predatory grace. The tendrils transformed into seatbelts that held me fast against the wall, pinning my arms, legs and head in place. I struggled, but it was like fighting against iron chains. She stopped just inches from me, her inky black hand reaching out.

"Time for me to get your ticket," she said, her voice soft, almost tender. "Don't worry it won't hurt.. well me it won't hurt me, it's gonna hurt you a ton though."

Her hand pressed against my chest, it was cold, way too cold. I felt it then—a strange sensation, as if her hand was sinking into my flesh, passing through my ribs and reaching for something deeper. Panic surged through me as I realized what she was doing.

"No," I gasped, struggling with renewed desperation. "No!"

But it was too late. Her hand closed around my heart, and I could feel the icy grip of her fingers squeezing, pulling. The pain was excruciating, like nothing I had ever felt before,, more than Ladon's poison, more than the deaths in my Misery Dreams, more than when my fingers were disintegrated out of existence, it was unbearable.

My vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges as I fought to stay conscious. I could feel something being pulled from me, something essential, as if she was tearing away a part of my very soul, maybe she was.

I had to act, had to do something before it was too late. I began to chant the incantation, even if I had to sacrifice another part of my body it was better than dying in here, the words forming on my lips even as my voice trembled with the effort.

I could see as Melinoe started to retract her hand a purple shadowy sphere began leaving my chest. My eyes widened, as I stared at her, a mischievous smile on her face, "Hmm. This is going to be a good ticket."

But then before I could even let a word out, something unexpected happened. From the sphere that Melinoe had been pulling out, shadowy purple shackles burst forth. They moved quickly taking even Melinoe by surprise.

The shackles snaked their way up her arm, wrapping around her wrist and digging into her flesh. She let out a shriek, a sound of pure pain and fear, as the shackles tightened, crawling up her arm and into her chest. The grip on my heart loosened as she stumbled back, desperately clawing at the shackles with her free hand.

"Nonononono!" she screamed, her voice a high-pitched wail of denial.

I collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath as the pain in my chest and the purple sphere began to recede. Melinoe continued to struggle, her form flickering as the shackles tightened around her.

The purple shackles pulsed dug deeper into Melinoe's flesh, writhing around her body, her chest almost bursting forth .

Melinoe's screams echoed through the train car, her form convulsing as she tried to tear off the shackles. Her fingers, scratched at the ethereal chains with a frantic desperation. The sight was both terrifying and mesmerizing.

Melinoe staggered back, the shackles now fully entwined around her body, constricting her movements. Her eyes, once filled with malice and triumph, now glowed with a flicker of fear. She glanced down at the sphere, realization dawning on her face.

"What the hell" she muttered, her voice trembling. "What in Hades are you?"

She made one last attempt to tear the shackles from her body, but it was no use. With a final, agonized scream, she tumbled forward, the black and white belts that held me stuck to the wall disappeared making me fall on my head with a low thud.

"Ow,ow,ow,ow," I muttered bringing my hands to my head. I stood up still scratching my head, I looked at Melinoe's unconscious body her last words ringing in my ears.

What in Hades are you?