More than just a second chance (Limbus Company X OC)

The second of many chances to come

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... One, two, three...

How many years has it been? I have lost the count some time ago. I try to remember the events that brought me down here to begin with, everything is a Little foggy but i still recall the man i was out there... maybe it hasn't even been that long, but this place sure makes it feel like ages.

My head tiredly looks up; gazing at the ocean of what only can be described as corpses around me. Their bodies still move, but it's clear that their minds died a long time ago... some lucky bastards they are, unlike them, i am still conscious, i can still feel and understand my surroundings.

I wish it could stop, even if for a second, i wish i could make it stop... my body screams in constant pain, but I've lost the will to fight it a long time ago, I just close my eyes and endure it. As much as I hate, I can't really do anything about it

The burning sensation of the boiling river of blood on my skin, the cacophony of screams around me, the dry air that fills my lungs every second, the sharp pain the keeps me awake, that makes sure I don't get a moment of rest.

This is hell... or at least it's the only way I found to describe it.

... Four, five, six...

I use all my strength to look up, up to the upper six circles... even from here I can see the exit from far away... the entrance and only exit of this cursed place... that is easily the biggest torture down here, being able to see hope, to see the end of all this suffering and yet not being able to do anything about it.

I hear the pull of a string as my gaze goes back down. I can see a few of those creatures pointing their bows and arrows at me... the upper body of a man, and the rest? Just a horse... they remind me of the abnormalities I had to deal with back when I was part of Lobotomy Corporation. In a way their presence is relaxing, they distract my mind, makes me go back to the old days when I wasn't in this cursed place...

I can remember my friends, I can remember my superiors and I can remember the man I was, hell, I can even remember my enemies.

It's funny really, down here even the memory of those I hated up there makes me want to find them and hug them, make amends with them, cause nothing they've done to me compares to everything I was forced to endure down here.

... Seven, eight, nine...

My train of thoughts is suddenly stopped by an arrow that hits me straight on the shoulder, a warning from those creatures to make sure I don't try anything... I would scream, but my muscles are so numb I can barely feel the arrow that pierced through my skin.

...That woman, she warned me of this, in a way. She told me that if I kept going down this path, only misery would follow, but I was too stubborn to listen. After all, once they gave me the tittle of Color Fixer, I believed that I didn't have to heed the warning of those beneath me, or even those in the same position as me, not even the warnings of that red hair monster were enough to get through my thick skull.

My head slowly looks down, staring into the two lower circles. No matter where you looked, the scenario was the same for everyone, pain, regret, desperation... and as much as I would like to say I don't deserve to be here, among this people, the truth is clear even to me. I belong here; my bad deeds always overshadowed my righteous goals and beliefs.

But even after I had come to accept these facts, there was always something that filled me with anger and doubt... every person or abnormalities I've killed... none of them were here, it didn't matter where I looked, it didn't matter how much I searched for, I couldn't find even one of them... it makes me wonder why. They didn't deserve to suffer even after the atrocities they've committed, the life they ruined, the friends they took? Or was I the one who was in the wrong from the start? Where my actions frowned upon this much by whoever decided to put me here after my death?

... I used to stand to protect those who couldn't, to be the shield and sword of the weak, and to exterminate those who seek to harm for the sake of it. So why, why am I here and they aren't?...

... Ten...

Ten... it's been ten seconds. I don't even remember when I started with this habit; I just let my mind wonder as I count the seconds down. As for why I do it, well, it's easier to remain sane if you distract your mind, even something as simple as counting the seconds down can help.

I close my eyes again, as I get ready to repeat the process yet again. But right before I start to count down the next 10 seconds, I heard something opening, violently, was it the entrance?... no, there's no way.

I used what little strength I have left and look up... chains?... yes and not just one. 12 crimson chains descend down the nine circles, all of them coming through the entrance. Confusion fills my senses as I look around, wondering what this is all about, I had so many questions... questions that grew distant as soon as I saw one of the chains rapidly grabbing one of the corpses and quickly pulling them out the gates.

For the first time in years, my eyes go wide, and my mouth hangs open, not able to process what is happening, I start walking forward, with strength I didn't knew I had left in me, I start moving my arms around, as If trying to call the attention of those chains, but to no avail.

I start growing desperate as my legs start obeying me once more after so long, moving faster... 10 of the chains have left by now, only two remaining.

My eyes move around, finding the two remaining chains in this circle. My hands began to move the corpses aside, to push and run, quickly grabbing onto the last chain as the other one has already left... it burns. It burns so badly that it almost makes me want to let go of the chain, but I can't, I won't give up the only chance I have to escape for something like this.

The creatures take notice of my attempt and quickly began to shoot their arrows at me, one by one finding their place all over my body... my lower body has already given up, but my will to escape is far stronger, as my hands remain tight around the burning chain... soon enough, I'm so far up that the arrows can't reach me anymore.

My head looks up, seeing the entrance each time closer... tears began to slip through my eyes, as the relief began to wash away all those years of pain and agony.

Immense light blinds my eyes as I cross the gates that kept me locked in this hell.

Seconds pass, minutes even, and I do not dare to open my eyes just yet... I feel... the rough ground beneath my body... the cold air of the night hitting my face as the truth becomes clear to me... I'm out.

???: What is that wretch miserably writhing on the ground? Are they to be the newest addition to the team?

For a second I thought someone was speaking to me, but upon opening my eyes, I noticed a group of people, near a... man with a clock head?

???: Uh... You might wanna watch your words... I heard that's our soon-to-be boss...

I slowly get up, seeing a man with a bug arm warning a woman... but their discussion stopped as soon as they notice my presence

???: ... and who the hell is he supposed to be?

Said the man with a bat on his right arm

???: Faust... isn't sure

Some in the group see me with weariness, others with confusion... and one small blonde girl that in particular looked at me as if she recognized me, shaking out of excitement, almost as if foam was about to form in her mouth

???: h-he i-is, he is the!-

I just stare back at the group... didn't expected my first day out of hell to be this awkward.

Ellios: hi... I am the Red Penance, but you can call me Ellios I suppose...

At this point the blonde girl looked like she was about to die on the spot as she started hyperventilating... just who are these people?

Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α Ω-Α