We stood on the opposite side of the glass looking around for a while. I wasn't really sure what to think. An uneasy feeling washed over me, and it was just so uncomfortable.
The Fields of Punishment unfurled before us like an expanse of twisted nightmares. It was an infernal landscape, shrouded in perpetual twilight, where the air was heavy with despair and the ground seethed with malevolence. As far as the eye could see, jagged rocks and brimstone stretched out in every direction, creating an otherworldly, desolate expanse.
The ground itself seemed to writhe, as if it were alive with the agony of the condemned souls that tread upon it. The soil was an eerie, ashen gray, cracked and parched, devoid of any life or sustenance. It exhaled sulfurous fumes that stung the nostrils and burned the eyes, a constant reminder of the relentless suffering that pervaded this accursed realm.
The air was thick with eerie, mournful wails that hung in the air like a symphony of anguish. These were the cries of the souls who were condemned to the Fields of Punishment. They drifted through the air, echoing off the jagged cliffs and ominous boulders, a chorus of torment that never ceased.
Beneath the ominous, blood-red sky, towering monoliths of black obsidian rose like twisted sentinels, casting long, foreboding shadows that seemed to dance with malevolent glee. These sinister formations jutted out of the ground at odd angles, forming cruel and jagged pathways that led deeper into this cursed realm.
The most disturbing aspect of the Fields was the punishments themselves. Souls could be seen toiling in ceaseless agony. Some were forced to push enormous boulders up steep, unforgiving inclines, only to watch them tumble back down, perpetuating their endless labor. Others were bound to wheels of fire, eternally rotating, their screams lost in the cacophony of torment.
The air was heavy with a sense of hopelessness, as the condemned knew that their suffering would never end. The landscape seemed to conspire against them, with every aspect designed to inflict maximum anguish.
In the distance, a river of molten lava snaked through the Fields, its banks lined with charred, petrified trees, their gnarled branches reaching out in agonized despair. Those unfortunate souls who dared approach the scalding flow were immediately consumed by the relentless heat, only to re-emerge, screaming, from the fiery depths.
As the we ventured deeper into this desolate domain, they couldn't help but feel a profound sense of dread and foreboding. The Fields of Punishment were a place where the most profound sins were met with the cruelest of retributions, a place where hope had long since withered and all that remained was the unending symphony of suffering and despair.
"I feel like shit," I mumbled as we continued along.
"Yes. I'm not surprised," Ed said.
"Why is it like this here?"
The landscape of desolation and despair seemed to never end. It felt as though we had been walking for hours. The eerie, ashen ground crunched beneath my feet, and I could taste the acrid bitterness in the air. Each step seemed to take me deeper into a realm of perpetual suffering.
As I ventured further, I saw a figure ahead, half-shrouded in the sulfurous haze. It was a woman, or at least, it had the form of one. Her tattered, ethereal gown clung to her spectral frame, and her eyes, pools of despair, met mine. She was trapped beneath the crushing weight of an enormous boulder, her frail body struggling to hold it aloft.
"Help me," she croaked, her voice a hollow echo of longing.
I rushed toward her, feeling the oppressive heat and the eerie cries of tormented souls surrounding me.
Edwin reached out and grabbed my hand. "Maddison. No."
With every step, I could feel the weight of this place pressing down on me, but I couldn't ignore her plea. She was a soul trapped in an endless cycle of suffering, and I couldn't leave her behind.
"We have to help," I said, tasting the awful air with each word I said.
"She's here for a reason."
"What kind of reason could there be to force someone to be here?"
"These are the fields of punishment. The only ones who are sent here are those who have committed great evils or have otherwise seriously pissed off the Gods."
"A great evil?" I asked.
I looked at the sad form of the struggling woman. He gown clung to her skeleton of a form as she wept bitterly.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"Here?" she asked back.
I nodded my head.
She looked away from me and continued with her punishment.
"Answer me."
She turned her sunken eyes back to me, an evil smile playing on her lips. "They wouldn't be quiet."
"What?"
"They must be quiet. If not, I will make them."
"Oh, yeah. Nevermind. Good luck with your punishment."
I ran to catch up to Edwin. We continued on our grim journey through the Fields of Punishment, the scene of torment and anguish stretching out endlessly before us. The cries of the condemned souls continued to haunt our every step, a constant reminder of the unending suffering that permeated this dreadful realm.
As we pressed forward, the weight of this place pressed down on me. The harsh landscape, the twisted monoliths, and the eerie river of molten lava all served as constant reminders of the merciless justice of the gods.
Edwin, my stalwart companion in this nightmarish journey, kept a watchful eye on me, perhaps sensing my growing discomfort. "Maddison, it's crucial that we stay focused and not be swayed by the suffering we see here," he said with a sense of urgency.
I nodded, trying to shake off the disturbing encounter with the tormented woman we had just passed. "You're right, Ed. We can't let this place break us. But it's so hard to witness such endless agony."
Edwin's eyes reflected a mixture of compassion and determination. "I know, but we have a mission. We need to find the way out of Tartarus and return to the world above. We can't let the despair of this place consume us. You can't save everyone. Not everyone is meant to be saved."
"How do you do it?" I asked.
"Do what?"
"Just turn it off? Turn off your wanting to help everyone?"
"It's hard. When I first became a reaper I wanted to save every soul I had to reap but you start to see some of the evil things that humanity does and you realize that not all of them are meant to be saved. Or worthy of it."
"What about me?" I asked quietly.
He smiled at me. "You're just about the only exception to absolutely everything that I've ever met. "
I playfully punched his arm as a door appeared in front of us.
"Well, what the hell is that?" I asked.
"I guess we've been deemed good after all. We're allowed to pass to the next level."
"What's the next level?"
"The Prison of the Damned."
"Awesome," I mumbled as I opened the door to step through.
YOU ARE READING
The Day Death Died
ParanormalMaddison Sinclair had the perfect life. She was student body president, about to be homecoming queen, and dated the hottest guy in school. She had the perfect life. Until she almost died, killed death, and got stuck with his job. Now she has to lea...
