HellScape

Chapter Two

Anakin awoke the next morning, the camp stirring around him. His return had been met with a mixture of relief and curiosity, and now, as the sun cast its first light over the smoldering ruins, his companions were eager for details. Joshua, Belle, Dexter, and Will gathered around the fire, their faces reflecting the hope and trepidation that Anakin’s return had sparked.

"How was the journey?" Joshua asked, his voice filled with concern and curiosity.

Anakin took a deep breath, trying to steady his thoughts. "It was challenging, but I found what I was looking for." He reached for the Holy Blade, laying it across his lap for all to see. The weapon glowed faintly, its intricate carvings shimmering in the morning light.

Belle’s eyes widened with awe as she examined the blade. "It’s beautiful. What does it mean?"

"This sword is more than just a weapon," Anakin explained, his voice steady but tinged with the weight of his recent vision. "It’s a key part of a larger mission. I had a vision during the night, a message about our next steps."

Dexter raised an eyebrow. "A vision? What did it say?"

Anakin nodded, looking at each of them in turn. "We have to defeat the Seven Deadly Sins. Each one rules over a part of the world, corrupting it in their own way. Our fight will be against these powerful entities, and we must destroy their strongholds to prepare for the ultimate battle."

The group exchanged worried glances, the gravity of Anakin’s words sinking in.

Joshua placed a reassuring hand on Anakin’s shoulder. "It sounds like a monumental task, but if this is what we need to do, then we’ll do it. We’re with you."

Belle stepped forward, her determination clear. "We’ll face this together. Whatever it takes."

Dexter, though skeptical, nodded. "Fine. But we’ll need a plan. We can’t just charge in without knowing what we’re up against."

Anakin agreed. "We need to approach this strategically. The first step is to locate the strongholds of each Sin and gather as much information as we can. We’ll need to be smart about this."

As the sun climbed higher, the group began to prepare for the next phase of their journey. Anakin felt a renewed sense of purpose and resolve. The road ahead was fraught with peril, but with his friends by his side, he was ready to face the challenges that awaited.
Anakin took a deep breath, his eyes reflecting the weight of what he had seen. "Last night, I had a vision that showed me more about the path ahead. I want to share it with you, especially since it concerns the next step in our journey."

The group listened intently as Anakin began to recount the vision.

"I found myself in a desolate landscape, a vast plain scorched and cracked, with a sky filled with crimson lightning. The ground was scarred as if burned by hellfire. And in the midst of this chaos, a monstrous dragon erupted from the earth—its scales glowing like molten lava, its eyes blazing with malevolent fire."

Belle’s eyes widened in concern. "A dragon? That sounds terrifying."

Anakin nodded, his expression grim. "The vision then shifted to show me seven massive gates, each marked with a name: Pride, Wrath, Envy, Sloth, Greed, Lust, and Gluttony. Each gate led to a domain corrupted by one of these Seven Deadly Sins. I saw that each Sin holds dominion over a part of the world, and they are the ones we must confront."

He paused, looking at each of them. "The gate of Gluttony was particularly unsettling. I saw a massive, festering pit, where the remains of the fallen were consumed in endless hunger. It was a grotesque place, filled with the unrelenting sound of devouring and the stench of decay. Gluttony’s domain is a place of insatiable hunger and consumption—a pit where the world’s sorrow and despair are fed into an ever-growing abyss."