Abyss

t h i r t y t h r e e

Chae's POV

"Guys lets get out of this hell hole."

We found ourselves packing up to head out on an adventure to get out of this nightmare.

We make our way to the second circle of hell, lust.

"To this torment are condemned the carnal damned. Those for whom desire conquered reason."

The first circle was undoubtedly a punishment but whose who reside there still had freedom. The second circle onward is where the real punishment began, there to greet souls was Minos, a giant serpentine.

I watched as he judged the souls. He would examine the crimes of the people brought before him and gave them a sentence that he felt was fitting. He wrapped his tail around himself a certain number of times, which would determine the circle they were sentenced to.

The second circle of hell was intended for those who had succumbed to lust.

From the corner of my eyes, I spotted some strange movement. I turned my head to see a little girl trying to escape from an older man's grip, protesting with kicks, hits and screams but none of it worked.

I run to the girls recue as I try to pull the girl away from him, as Beatrice pulls him into the other direction and sharply punches his jaw. I hand the girl over to Jinyoung.

As see his face one more time, it reminds me of San, he was looking at the girl with the same look as San was looking at woo young, anger boiled over as I kick him in the gut.

Scarlet comes over and drags the man by the collar. She "accidentally" pushed the man in a nearby stinking water body. And shouts, ""you pervert, leave that poor girl alone! Also, for your kind info, you look like you think with your dick." This girl...she has been having too many "accidents" nowadays.

With the help of Beatrice, we are allowed past Minos and enter the third circle of hell, Gluttony.

"For the ruinous fault of Gluttony, so are these sad souls broken by the rain and the mud."

Here there is an icy rain that never stops as a punishment for their insatiable appetites. The gluttonous are left to wallow and squirm around in the vile putrid mud like worms, unable to sit, stand or even crawl.

Guarding them is the three-headed hound, Cerberus. Who patrols up and down this filthy mire flaying and mauling the gluttonous with his claws, tearing their spirits as they helplessly scream.

Luckily Beatrice managed to calm this monster and we were able to safely pass through.

We came across a few spirits who have suffered in this circle for some time, these souls unfortunately no longer have bodies and resemble not much more that foul-smelling liquid.

In the fourth circle of hell, we encounter Pluto a deity of wealth. GREED!

"For the crime of Greed do these souls suffer. Those clerks asquint of mind made no measured spending in life. And by contrast, in these Popes and Cardinals, greed practiced it's excess."

Greed, where those who cared too much for material goods would be punished. They are divided into two separate groups, the first consisted of those who would hoard their possessions and money. The second consisted of those who spent their money freely, neglected the value of their possessions and squandered everything they had.

These two groups were cursed to push enormous weights up a hill only to meet each other in the middle, where they would hoard. One group would ask 'why do you hoard?' while the other would respond 'why do you waste?'

They clashed in the middle, they would knock each other and the weights down to the bottom only to repeat the process again and again. The hoarders and wasters are housed together as a punishment, forever arguing and screaming; never listening or tying to understand the other's perspective.

As we descend deeper, we reach the river Styx and the fifth circle of hell, Wrath.

"See the souls over whom anger prevailed/ In the warm bath of the sun they were hateful, down here in the black sludge of the river Styx do they wish they had never been born into a black sulkiness which can find no joy in God or man or the universe."

The river is more of a swampy mire where the wrathful fight and battle.

The boatman arrived and after a short disagreement with Beatrice, he agrees to ferry us when we told him we were following the Queen's orders.

In the far I notice the fiery towers and burning walls, Beatrice explains to the rest that were approaching the city of dis, where the heretics are housed.

"Here you will find the heretics and followers of every cult and pagan sect, all buried together, burning in eternal fire."

We were denied entry by the fallen angels who guard the gates. They grant Beatrice passage with only one condition, that she may never return to her circle.

Beatrice agrees without a second thought and open the gates from the inside for the others but she was unsuccessful as she returns with the angel slamming the gate shut behind her.

A thunder takes my attention to the sky as white bright light seemed to sip in from the sky. A hallowed figure with eyes like a starry sky was gently gliding down. As I stare at the figure a sere energy takes a hold of me.

It carried a weapon made up of pure light, it was also surrounding by a pulsing energy, likely a protective barrier.

The beam of white had increased slowly, now almost blinding me, I closed my eyes. Doubt and negative thought clouding my mind again, we came this far just to go back. I couldn't hold back tears anymore...