“Hello, hey you—you’re stuck here too… can you help?” someone said in… Vietnamese.
I turned around to see a wandering chained soul, a weary Asian woman, dressed in rags, walking toward me. I could say she looked as if she’d been through Hell, but that’d be too soon.
The woman never made it to me. She somehow slipped. I couldn’t turn away as I watched a tentacle shoot out at her with impossible speed, wrap around the poor woman, and dragged her into an eternity of hellish torture and pain. Her fading scream of absolute agony made me flinch. I felt a little bad, but couldn’t spare much pity. You’d have to be an incredibly shitty person to get sent to the depths. Mass serial killers and genocide-coordinators are just the start.
I pulled myself together and starting walking. Fuck, did it seriously hurt! This is probably the trail of pain or something like that. This path seemed to exhaust its victims too. Great…I’d be more likely to slow down or collapse, accidentally falling off. The sneaky bastards.
Walking went on for hours. With each step, the pain threatened to make me stumble. There wasn’t any heat, just emptiness. Replacing the Hell’s famous temperature was a feeling of sorrow, sadness, regret, and failure. So much failure—all of it palpable.
With each step, I’d get just a tiny bit more exhausted. I had a feeling that if I collapsed, it’d be off to the side and experience the same fate as that woman. A few times, I tried to ascend but nothing happened. Of course, there’d be no easy escape from here.
Well, at least I wasn’t chained, which all pointed to a setup. Why? Who knows—maybe it could be some stupid ploy for power. Because of the plot, I’m rotting in the depths of Hell.
I let out a breath, fighting the intense exhausting, refusing to give in to this giant torture chamber. And a torture chamber it was with its infinitely bloody sky, pungent smell of sulfur and iron poisoning the air, if one could call it air—didn’t exactly breath properly in “soul” form. The eerie silence made it so much worse. The teeth below looked like a combination of human teeth, shark teeth, and some others I didn’t recognize. Maybe it’s a pit of mouths.
I slipped.
The fear of being lost forever fueled the determination inside. I grabbed the edge of the trail and pulled myself up. A hissing sound from somewhere grabbed my attention. A bloody tentacle snaked its way toward me. Oh fuck—it probably felt cheated out of its meal. What to do… I ran as fast as possible, surprised that the exhaustion within somehow reset. That or my fear got the better of me. Something as cold as ice wrapped itself around leg and pulled. I yelled, desperately trying to pull the disgusting thing off me. No use, it slowly dragged me backward. It even kept me on the path as if to tenderize me more with intense pain and climbing exhaustion. After everything that I went through, from hunters, misthangers, angels, demons, a Fallen, and the elite, was I really going to suffer an infinite end like this. This isn’t something one could be rescued from—it’s game over, for good.
Fuck that. I’d go out fighting and screaming before I’d let whatever that thing was make me its breakfast. This was a long shot, but I charged essence, aimed my hand at the tentacle and released force.
It worked.
Force actually manifested from my soul then smashed against the monster. It squealed, releasing me to retrieve back to whatever hole it emerged from. Thanks to the absence of a chain, I could still use some of my powers.
The designers of this shithole either saw no need to commit to the negating effect of the surface or simply forgot. On the contrary, there is a chance that I’d probably have to thank Selina for this. Maybe she did something before sending me to the plummet of doom.
After another few hours or perhaps days of running, I finally saw a scenery change ahead. A forest. Anything would be better than this painful path. It only worsened, infinitely. A truly sadistic design.
I thought I was out of the loop, but three tentacles burst out of the chasm and blocked the entrance to the forest.
Chapter eighteen
They lurched at me simultaneously and as one. That made it so much easier to dodge. There isn’t any intelligence in it, just hunger. One of the tentacles whipped at me with an uncanny speed. I fell to the edge of the path, engulfed in two entities of pain.
No, I couldn’t give them a chance to grab me. Pushing and standing to face an oncoming bloody monster, I heaved out three rounds of force. The demons squealed. Two of the tentacles retreated. The third, a persistence bastard, whipped forward, smacking me in at least five different places.
The teeth in the chasm seemed to chomp and clatter harder, as if expecting me to fall in. I tried to manifest a gun, but nothing happened. Could a bullet even damage a creature like that in this place? Well, won’t be finding that out. The tentacle pulled back for what was going to be a lash that could guarantee my end.
Yeah, fuck that.
“Just piss off already,” I snarled as I unleashed six rounds of bashing-force. The tentacle squealed, not used to pain, and after a few seconds of dramatic pause, pulled back into its abyss.
I wasted no time, dashing into the forest. A bright light covered my vision briefly then…I found myself in Paradise Realm, sitting at a table in front of a restaurant, my brother, Hialucus opposite of me.
I tried to remember what just happened, but drew a blank…What was I doing before this?
“You’ve looked like you’ve seen a ghost, little brother,” Hialucus said. “Finish eating.”
I looked at my half-eaten plate of unrecognizable food, but didn’t have much of an appetite.
“I’m good. Not feeling it right now. What’s…going on?”
“You really are sick or something,” Hialucus said. “Or are you nervous about your wedding tomorrow. Who would’ve thought that the Valkyrie princess had her eyes on you in secret for a long time. I mean, they don’t get paired up with someone at birth, but to pitch for the next universal ruler, bold woman.”
I blinked.
“What!?”
Hialucus laughed.
“You were born with no destined one. We were worried for a while—can’t have you trying to woo the angels or sneaking to earth for a go at human girls.”
“What are you talking about, I’m paired with Amelia,” I said.
Hialucus’s expression darkened. The blue sky filled with dark clouds at that moment. I felt tension and almost flinched from the look of distaste he gave me.
“You dare mention that slut,” he barked, uncharacteristically. “She slept with Yulese’s son—no. No. No. You’re still blind. Blinded in love with that slut. I’ll fix this. I’ll fix you before father sees this disgrace.”
His eyes went frantic. Suddenly, he pulled a jagged knife from nowhere—as if the air had pockets.
“You’re not Hialucus,” I said, unable to explain why I knew this, but couldn’t recall anything else. He swiped the knife at me but I just managed to dodge back, only to feel an intense pain plunge into my back.
I slowly turned around, to see hundreds of gods, angels, and misthangers, all with the same frantic look in their eyes. Some of their faces were half-shadowed with needle-tooth smiles.
Before I could run, force smashed and pinned me to the ground. A frantic-eyed Amelia lookalike was the first to jump on top, starting the stabbing game.
Then all of them.
I felt everything from the repeat stabbing to the oozing and spraying of blood. Even my eyes were gauged over and over and over. I…felt some much pain and it wouldn’t go away. My body wouldn’t die.
When they pulverized me to goo, I managed to let out one last gurgle of a yell before finding myself in a forest.
My memories returned. I was panting, scared as fuck, and truly, TRULY just wanted to go home.
I considered praying desperately when someone screamed. My head jerked to the left to see a man, a wandering soul, dressed in brown rags, snap out of his dream presumably. He looked at me, the guy dressed in the clothing I died it.
“Hey,
you, can you please help me,” he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. He was about twenty or so yards away. Moonlight casted down on him, though for the most part, the forest was dark. Very dark. And silent. I didn’t want to imagine what lied within it. “Please, man, help. Is there any way I could get out of this? I need redemption…what happened…I.” He slowly moved toward me. I stepped back, unsure if this was another trap.
Just then, a giant spiked fist, the size of Mount Everest plunged from above and obliterated the soul. I realized that he’d respawn in the forest in order to have the same thing happen to him again. Maybe until his mind broke.
Well, I didn’t just stand there. The fist scared the ever-living shit out of me. I’ve faced many things from standard demons to even falling, but in here, fear felt palpable. One slip could mean getting lost. I stopped when moonlight casted three more visible spots.
Two men and a woman dressed in rags, were shivering. I paused, not wanting them to notice me. One of them seemed to be calming or reassuring the woman.
“Take a deep breath, it’d be okay,” he said softly. “If we can find the refugee camp, we’ll be able to get through this. It may take a million prayers, begging for forgiveness, but we can regain hope.”
The woman with tears falling from her eyes, whined, “I don’t think I’ll be saved, Jack. I…took their lives. All of those poor children. I…took the word of the duke over those pleading kids. In order to save face,” she sniffed. “I listened to the words of my greedy advisors, the cruel duke, and the nobility. I ordered the executions.” She let out another cry.
“That happened a long time ago, right?” the same man said. “Living in the camp is much better than being out here, away from everyone. I’ve heard it was an underground city, hidden away from the monsters.”
“This place…” the woman started. “I still remember everything as if it happened a minute ago. It continues to replay, twistedly.”
“I’ve had false recollections,” said the other man who was silent at first. He had a thick Texas accent. “Spent about fifty years, living life. Ate, drank, got laid too. Then one day, everything just started melting. People and all, horrific expressions. Even my wife…who wasn’t actually real. That’s when I realized, time is nothing to these sons of a bitches. They’ll let you live in comfort for as long as they want, forget about you, then come back and crush you into pieces.”
I flinched. There’s only one type of demon that would be so nonchalant like that.
The night terror appeared in front of me as if on cue. It grinned, then put a finger on its lips, indicating I shouldn’t say a word.
“You speak, you’ll regret where I’ll send ya,” it said then melted into a lump of darkness. The distortion moved toward those humans.
I picked a different direction and bolted. The horrific screams of those souls almost made me drop a tear. I know that seemed cruel to leave them, but the night terror was right. He could place me in a world of his choosing, of his imagination, and let me suffer. I needed to get the fuck out of this forest—even if it meant using the lost as a distraction. This wasn’t a time to play the hero.
Too bad I heard the laughter of the night terror and rustling of leaves and snapping of branches, behind me. Of course, it’d chase.
Chapter Nineteen
The super night terror gave me a long chase. The forest didn’t seem to have an end—on and on it went, and I ran.
I started to get tired, but the monster behind only laughed harder. I didn’t dare turn around to look—that’s what it waited for. The saying, never look back when you’re on the run from something holds so much truth. If you look back, that gives the demon the ability to instantly teleport to you and boom, it’s over. Too bad I didn’t get the luxury to keep running, to see if the myth of being safe from never looking at it was true.
A bright light covered my vision. This fucker was about to send me into another delusion. I tried to change direction of my run but it was too late.
Memories still intact, I found myself somewhere…I observed the area. Giant carrots, potato slices, and other things floated in a brownish liquid. I stood on a long carrot, realization coming to me. The smell of beef broth, the steam and rising heat, and the bubbling gave me the unfortunate clues. I was in a huge pot of stew.
As if to confirm my comprehension, an enormous spoon crashed from above into the pot. A giant blue woman with gleeful purple eyes and shark-like teeth grinned down at me, then stirred. There was nothing I could do—the heavy stir took me by surprise. I hit my head against solid steel.
As I lied, stunned and helpless, the demon scooped me up, opened its mouth wide, and slowly brought me to it.
I succumbed to a brief moment of suffocation as the throat swallowed me into fleshy pink, before a bright light covered my vision. Apparently, that’s just too boring for the demon.
When the light cleared, I froze, intaking the white void I stood upon. Conus, stood in front of me, eyes full of hatred. In fact, I was surprised that I’ve never seen this look from him before—he always gave me the disappointed father gaze. Expected, right?
This wasn’t…him.
Even if we were polar opposites, never seeing eye to eye, I somehow knew he’d never give me this look. The fake’s eye color changed to red, an ugly contrast to the blue he, Hialucus, and I shared.
“You were always a disgrace, boy,” Conus said, his voice booming like thunder. “Look where that arrogance has gotten you. You never heeded my warnings, deliberately disobedient, a shame upon our great family name. I am glad to be rid of you. I am glad that poor girl no longer has to babysit you.” He took one step toward me. “It is time I teach you what happens to the bad eggs who dare disrespect me.”
The entity may have not been the real Conus, but he mimicked his power all the same. The fist came so fast, I didn’t know until it connected with my nose, breaking it. My vision swam as the force of the blow spiraled me to what felt like a mile away from Conus. No…it really was a mile—I just knew it.
I pulled myself together, only to look up to a hand of glowing red energy. I tried to quick-ascend behind him, but my tank didn’t oblige. The fiery pain made me yell. “This is your fault, boy! You’ve done this to yourself. An eternity of torture. No escape.”
He laughed, a dark and un-Conus laugh then grinned shark-like teeth. For the first time, anger surged through me, eradicating the fear and sorrow that poisoned the air.
My wrath triggered a barrier of heavenly-light around me. I no longer cared if this was a fake, I’d give this prick a piece of my mind. I stood up, pushing his hand aside, teeth bared.
“Shame upon the family you say,” I snarled then laughed. “Some family I’ve got. I’ve enjoyed life with Amelia and away from all of you. Despite your so-called lessons in elegance and your iron-fist, old-style rules, at least one of my brothers were jealous over the throne. Remember when Tack came after me? How many others besides Hialucus want the throne that I don’t want? I bet even your wife would love to have it. No one put out a hand to help. Just forgotten me in that place. That’s why I decided on my five C’s…an internal self-defense mechanism, so way to bottle up my anger and hatred. Then…Amelia showed me what it’s like to not wither away like a dying rose. She’s no softy or damsel in distress. Not the nice girl and pretty damn straightforward about everything. Naïve at times, but pulled me out of a hole and brought me to myself. So, let me be a shame to Helios. But I won’t be a bigger shame than all of you.”
Conus’s mouth was agape by the time I finished my rant. His eyes were wide, incomprehension in them.
A bright light flickered and I found myself back in the forest. I looked to the side just in time to see a soul, thirty yards away get crushed by a giant fist of spikes that were as large as swords and as jagged as a cave of stalagmites.
Another, a woman, was attacked by…some pitch-black thing with large claws. Her screams lit up the forest as it tore her apart. The smell iron became palpable. Th
e sounds of ripping and tearing, followed by loud chewing and crunching pierced the air.
It threatened to reinstall the fear from earlier back into me. Four more souls nearby started running. The night terror laughed and chased after them, ignoring me. It was as if it forgot I existed. That or somehow felt bad for me. Nah. With that many souls to tear apart, why would it waste time on me, who gave it no entertainment value.
I didn’t waste any more time and ran for it. Nothing chased me. The forest’s dark lit up slightly. Soon, I made it out, only to see a new obstacle of uncertainty.
Chapter Twenty
With an exception of a few paths, fire was everywhere, burning at least several miles high.
Yep, so I’ve reached the fire and brimstone part of the depths. The heat didn’t differ from the surface. You burn in Hell the same way. I guess the only plus I had was the lack of wind.
The downside: I felt large presences—only a few—of powerful demons lurking. Well, most were probably miles away. There was no telling how far this plane of fire stretched, but at least the paths I noticed were stony, fireless. Not that the walls of fire would allow a traveler any comfort. I assumed some demons probably made them out of frustration. How, will remain a mystery.
I chose the path in front of me, not wanting to waste any time, and moved at a brisk pace. There was no exhaustion like the trail of pain. No tentacles either which is a plus in my book. I did hear the screams of souls that were burning far away. Some were probably miles and miles deep, forced to feel it again and again. Respawning in this place would pretty much mean an eternity in fire. I was pretty sure not all wandering souls had rags—those were the luckier ones.
I shoved the thought out of my head, speeding up until I came across a large clearing without fire.
Further ahead were five fireless paths. I noticed a giant blood-red demon with pointy ears and two small white horns on its head, lying on its side at the center of the clearing. It wore a large brown loincloth, that must’ve been fireproof. I thought I’d either be turning around or sneaking past it, but the demon opened one eye, that turned into a glare at me.
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