The Burdens of The Lost: Volume 1

Chapter 20: Trials

As they all return to the village, Daesig gets approached by a random pimp. This pimp is weird, it's like they fixated him on capturing Daesig. He would ignore anyone who would get in his way. As soon as the first pimp was defeated, a swarm of pimps surrounded the Burdens and Daesig. Arino looks at Katria and Katria nods. Her eyes turn gold and the pimps disintegrate. Daesig looks at the rig that she was in and sees there is a devil essence living in the building. When they arrive at the building, they see a portal. For Arino and the others, the portal doesn't seem familiar at all, but when Daesig sees the portal, she stands shocked and terrified. As the 7 of them stand at the portal, The Most High appears and stands before them.

The Most High: "So you have finally found the clue to your next assignment."

This portal is the portal to Hell itself. Arino and the others look in astonishment and awe. The Most High chuckles and doesn't tell them that this task is team-related. The Most High opens another portal, and this portal shines bright gold. Katria and Savona look at the other portal and are shocked. The portal to both Heaven and Hell is right in front of them. The Most High clears his voice to speak.

The Most High: "So, all of you have to go in there to bargain with the higher powers to help you. This is training for you."

Arino: "So this is for training?"

The Most High: "You all are nowhere near strong enough to face Sins in a fight 1-on-1. You guys haven't even fought your inner demons. So I have made you into fine soldiers. You are the last hope in making the Anomaly stable again."

The Most High assigns the Burdens their roles. Arino, Arisa, and Musabori are to go into Hell to seek their true strength while Katria and Savona go into the prisons of fallen angels and endure a trial of those at Exile's Curse. Exile's Curse is the main prison trial of angels who disobeyed The Most High. They subjected the angels there to being beaten, tortured, and overworked to near-death all for little reward. Since Angels can regenerate their previous injuries as an intrinsic ability, this is truly a trial of mental fortitude.

The Most High: "You guys aren't going now. You will go in a week. One week is enough time to come up with a strategy to survive the trial. Trust me, you are going to need it. Daesig."

Daesig: "Yes? What am I destined to do?"

The Most High: "Your children are also key to this. I'll grant you the strength to make your own domain destined for them to get stronger. This trial will be called the 4 Year Trial."

Daesig: "Yes, Master. Anything for the good of the world."

The Most High smiles and disappears back into his realm. As the Burdens look at the two portals, they get confused. Out of pure awe and desire, they wanted to enter the portal right now, but he said to wait a week. Arino and Arisa are talking about a game plan while Musabori looks up at the ceiling thinking about how he's going to survive this. These guys really think that they'll be together in this. Musabori says in his head, knowing all too well that they'll most likely separate them. But as he overhears Arino and Arisa talking, it shocked him to know that they'll be alone facing the challenges of Hell. As Arino and Arisa prepare for the worst, Musabori already knows too well what he is going to face. Face your inner demons, yeah, right? The demons I have to face will kick my ass if I don't know how to handle them. Arino says in his head. His inner demons have been trying to leak out like a withered ceiling. Arisa fears what she has to go through because she has always cast her demons aside in order to move forward in her life. After seeing what happens to those who can't control their demons, realizing that she has to face them head on scares her very much. As Arino and Arisa continue their talk, Katria and Savona come back from a walk.

While Arino, Arisa and Musabori stayed home, Katria and Savona took a walk outside to discuss how they were going to survive the Exile's Curse. The Exile's Curse is more painful than death to Angels. Katria actually survived the Exile's Curse before, but this was when she was really young. When Katria first died, she was sent to Heaven and was ridiculed by Micheal himself. It disappointed the Archangel that his own grandchild would die so prematurely. In a fit of anger, he exiled Katria to the Exile's Curse, where she would be the victim of rape, torture, and overall brutal forms of anger by any angel that would come across her. Katria survived by simply having greater willpower. She would suffer this way for 5 years before she would fight back against Heaven's soldiers. The Angels know her to Heaven as the Exile's Fear. The only angel to survive the Exile's Curse.

With the fear instilled in the residents of Heaven, she finally showed those Angels what it was like to be the one who fears another. Heaven is full of false promises in Katria's eyes.

With Katria's exile complete, they banished her to Purgatory, where she would meet Arino. Arino was a complete emotionless being because of the brutal past he grew up in. She saw him and saw the male version of herself in him. The demon who was denied by everyone else, the true tortured soul. When Arino looked at Katria for the first time, it was as if two siblings recognize each other after being apart for so long. She waved at Arino, but Arino just stared as he tried to raise his hand to wave back.

As Katria explores Purgatory further, she sees a new light in it. The Angels spit foul language towards Purgatory, but it is just like your average city. Regular souls doing regular people's things. They work, go home and do whatever they want for all of eternity. Purgatory is the place that everyone goes to, but it never gets populated. It's another Earth that doesn't get affected by menial things like climate change and AI development. Katria is now in the place where she was in, the place where a normal child like her can do whatever she pleases. She doesn't have to be a princess anymore. She can be a normal soul. The Princess of the Tenshi court is now called Katria Tenshi.

As she explores Purgatory, she befriends Arino. Arino was timid and shy at first, but when realized he can be his true self around her, he was more outgoing around her. Katria and Arino found the one person who saw each other as only a mortal soul, not a princess, not a demon. Two normal kids just playing and living an actual childhood. They find playgrounds, skyscrapers, and parks. The two kids would climb up and have fun. Something that doesn't happen in either Heaven nor Hell.

As Katria looks at Arino, she reminisces of the old times where Arino was a cheery, playful kid. She smiles, knowing that whatever obstacle came to injure that child, he will always be the cheery kid that was comfortable to be his true self. Arino looks at Katria and smiles, knowing that through it all she will conquer anything that faces her way. Even if it meant losing her sanity and sense of humanity over it.