Trials of Heaven - Hope in Hell

[natrolite 1,059]

You wake up, and your entire body feels sore from sleeping on bedrock. You can hear distant screaming, the cave you woke up in is dark and unruly, except for a small opening in the ceiling that allows some scarlet light to seep in. Steamy crimson walls brimming with heat. Fire runs through these walls as if it was blood running through a man's body. Everything is putting you at unease. A dark figure approaches you from your side and speaks out: "I hope you enjoyed your sleep. You won't be getting any for quite some time, Nathan". You look over to your right to find a humanoid silhouette getting nearer and nearer. As the red, blood-soaked moon unveils the darkness of the silhouette through the hole in the ceiling; a man appears with eyes yellow as if they were embers, his hair as dark as the night sky, his skin was pale as if no blood rushed through his veins, and his clothes were matte black, rid of joy. His face bared the expressions of a man beaten by destiny and imprisoned by fate.

"Have you slept?" He says, slightly grinning.  

You're too uneased to respond, you turn away from him while keeping your guard up. You look to your left, to your right and behind you... The only way out is the cave opening behind the man. And so you look over to the man and confront him "Who are you? Where am I!?" With panic seeded within your voice. 

"Oh, well. You failed your entrance exams, I'm afraid. Fifth gate, was it?" He says.

"Entrance exams? Fifth gate? Could he be referring to the... erm, what's it called...?" You think to yourself. Your memory is all over the place. You remember a pretty damsel, a sphere, a lion among other beings you've journeyed with. But you clearly remember red-hot chains dragging you somewhere, a place you didn't want to go to. This memory is the only one you remember vividly. How hot the chains were, how heavy the air got the further down you went, the feeling of despair as you glanced at the surface light one last time before your consciousness faded.

"..and, where am I now?" You say, but you already vaguely knew the answer. 

"My name is Ramiel, an arch-demon. You're in the underworld, my son. And I will be the one to guide you through." 

Panic surged through you as you took a few steps back in fear, only to be burned by the fiery walls. You look up to him in shock. You try to talk but the words won't come out. He raises his hands to calm you down and speaks:

"Easy there, son. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm only here to guide you through. Now, unless you want to stay holed up in here, come along." 

You realize there's only one way out the cave. Whether you liked it or not, this demon is your only ticket out. 

"Where are we going?" You ask. 

"Don't you want to know what will become of your fate?" He replies. 

You try to conceptualize what's happening and what could happen, and after a few moments you hesitantly nod and agree to follow, yet every step you take is calculated because naturally, you don't trust this demon.

As you begrudgingly walk out of the cave, you see the scorched earth, the thorny trees above it under a sky of fire and blood. A full red moon haunts from the red heavens - if you can even call it that - as if it was the eye of Satan himself watching over his kingdom. Ramiel knew this place all too well, apparent by his dreadful face and joyless apparel. He has walked this road countless times before, yet he still frights these horrid scenes. And you can understand why, since you feel the same way as you glance over the red skies and the leafless trees, all wreaking with death. You have a daunting feeling of being watched, perhaps by the wicked moon, or perhaps by something else entirely. 

After walking some distance, the two of you approach a cliff, you look over to find a monolithic place of horror, despair, and unrighteousness. You could mark the circular shape that hosts nine unmistakable circles, with each circle going deeper than the one before it. Words cannot describe the look of horror on your face as you utter "Is this.." 

"Hell." He completes. "It is the terminus for all those who abandoned their humanity for the sake of pride, wealth and power. The deeper your go, the guiltier the sinner." 

"And what lurks within that darkness at its center?" You say with a troubled voice.

As you finish speaking, you caught the look of terror on his face, his bright yellow eyes wide open, his heart almost leaped into his throat as fear nearly unmanned him when he said "The guiltiest sinner of them all, he who refused to kneel before God. The one who brought divine wrath upon all creatures as he towered over the garden with vanity and fated mankind to an eternity of anguish. He who casts darkness upon darkness itself. The ruler of this wretched kingdom; Lucifer."

Terror thundered you down. You almost turned as pale as the demon next to you as you took a moment to grasp your situation. It's not every day when you chat with a demon as you ponder upon the Dark Prince himself.

After a brief moment of silence, Ramiel speaks out "Hell is hell, whether you're a demon, human, jin or anything. We spend every day here walking in a haze of fear wondering what would happen should the chains holding the devil break loose, or the frightful blood moon should its dreary light cease to lighten this sickening world. We would rather live in fear than live in Lucifer's darkness." He turns over to you, grabs your shoulders and speaks "Listen, son. You have a choice to make, and I pray thee be wise enough to make the right choice." 

"Choice? What choice? I failed my trials and booked a one-way ticket to perdition. That's what I remember being told right before I was dragged down here." You said with helplessness seeping into your speech, as the scent of your imminent demise crawling up your spine. You look down at the scene of torment before your eyes; people swimming in rivers of blood, men getting chased down by hellhounds and warmongerers being forced into merciless wars where they fight, die and get reborn in the battlefield in an endless, vile cycle of madness. 

"What choice do I have?" You reiterate while barely holding back your tears. The veins in your eyes contract as if they don't want any blood to reach your eyes so you don't see what will become of your fate. Drawing breath doesn't come naturally as it did before. 

"Us demons have no means of escape, jin must live out their immortal lives in lonesome agony. Humans, however, humans are granted the chance to escape. Humans are granted hope, by divine decree. The bright flame that burns inside every human soul must not be extinguished, for if it does they will become demons. Thus, hope will always be the light at the end of the tunnel, while we demons must keep marching a lonely, dark road of misery that ends and begins in the shadows. Hope is given to humans not just to keep their soul alive, but it also serves as another means of torment for us demons. For we must guide humans to something we can never obtain." And as he said that, you begin to truly get a glimpse of what misery he lives in. The cruel fate that's forced upon him to pave the way for others to reach something he can never reach himself. Retribution is no longer in his mind, as it has faded long ago along with all hope of grace in his wicked existence. 

Then, you snap back to reality "There's a way to leave this place? How? What must I do?!" You said with glimmery eyes. This is the first time you took an easy breath since you woke up, as your lungs have been wanting to give up and stop breathing the minute you realized where you're at. 

He smiles gently, but you could spot agony in his dead yellow eyes as he saw your glimmering gaze, divine in his sight. He must've seen these hopeful eyes a thousand times by now, yet he never stopped aching every time he sees them. He takes a long breath to come to himself, then he says, "Nathan, you have two choices. The first one is an offer. The second one is a chance. You can either take part in tormenting humans that descend here, but you won't get tormented yourself. You will not experience physical pain but will inflict it upon others. However, the catch is that in the long term, after years and years of torture, gore and hatred, you will lose your humanity. Your very soul will cease to exist as you see the helplessness on the faces of your victims. You will cease to be horrified by your actions. And then, it will feel good for a while, as you will think they deserve what they're getting. But one day, after a decade, a century or even a millennium, sooner or later you will wake up one day, look in the mirror and realize what thing you've become. And that's where your torment will truly begin. You can never escape what you will become. People can change whatever fate awaits them by making different choices, there's only one being that knows what will truly become your fate and trust me, Nathan, God isn't big on sharing spoilers. Becoming a demon, however, is the only sealed fate in existence. Once you become one, your wretched journey will begin. It's a painless journey, but wretched nonetheless. And it will never end." 

Your stomach clenches, your mouth gets dry and terror stabs your heart as if you were knifed in the chest by the grim reaper himself. "What about the second option?" You ask, but you have a vague feeling of what it is.

He turns around, takes a few steps and gazes over the cliff, looks down to his feet to find a burned rose, it was a rose that burned many seasons ago in a fiery rain that arrives every few years to scorch whatever pleasantry that might be growing on the land. He kneels to pick it up only for it to turn into ash in his hands before he could grip it. A reminder of the grey distant wish he keeps reaching for but never quite grasps. Sorrowful, he says "It's been 983 years since I made the choice. And it's been 875 years since I realized I made the wrong one". 

He stands up, dusts the ash from his hand while still looking at the circles of hell, he says "The second option, Nathan, is what all those damned souls in that pit have chosen. It is for you to attempt to climb a mountain in the far north called Mount. Purgatory and reach the House of Wisdom at its summit. There, you will meet a man who knows more than any, or so it's said. He shall journey with you through the House of Wisdom and after the journey is over, should he attest before St. Peter of your wisdom, you shall be granted access unto Heaven. However, don't rejoice just yet. The road up the mountain is weary and full of terrors. Most of the souls fail to reach its summit. And those that manage to reach the Wiseman aren't guaranteed to convince him that they have attained wisdom, and so they get sent back to where they started." 

"That's it? What's the catch? What would happen if I fail?" You ask.

"What do you think the souls in those circles are there for?" He quickly responds. "If you fail to climb Mount. Purgatory, or fail to convince the Wiseman, you will be sent to one of the circles of hell to retribute. They will not be permitted to attempt climbing the mountain again until they have lived through a thousand nights of torment." He follows. 

He walks away from the cliff and towards you, looks deep into your eyes as you notice the wrinkles below and above his dimmed yellow eyes, he softly asks, "What will it be, Nathan?" 

You turn your head towards the pit and see the masses in anguish, and you say "So, I either have to succumb to years of torment for a slim chance of repentance, or I'd have to give up my very soul?"

He looks down at the grey parched soil and speaks with a defeated tone "I'm certain you've noticed the emptiness when you look into my eyes. I don't have a soul, Nathan. I cannot feel or comprehend joy. All I feel is a lack of hope and a gaping, howling void inside me where a soul used to burn. Do not go down the same path I chose simply because it's pain-free." 

"If I pass from the first try, I will evade all the torment and everything tho, right?" You say with a foolish, optimistic tone.

"Huh?" He wonders, confused, baffled, almost as if he didn't believe what he just heard.

"Right?" You echo.

"W-Well, yeah. I guess. You have to know that foolish optimism and wishful thinking will not get you anywhere. The path ahead is difficult. You must be ready for it." He replies.

"Alright, I pick the salvation route." You say, again with the same naive tone, as if you're going for a trip. He stares at you for a brief moment. As if he never encountered a damned soul in the Inferno of Hell that was optimistic for what the future may hold. He grins and he chuckles and he says "Follow me."

And you venture on, away from the cliff, away from the screams, away from the darkness. The earth is still burned, the bloody moon still haunting you, the skies still fiery. You're still in the netherworld. And you go on, past the thorny gardens, past the burned lifeless forests, past the lake the demons created for fun from the tears of their victims. Ramiel never said anything during the journey, as he could barely hold himself together every time he makes it. 

After some time, while walking a lifeless empty desert, you begin to notice an immense stretch of land that dominates the landscape from the east to the west, reaching from the earth and breaching through the heavens. You can't even see its summit, as it is hidden by the clouds surrounding the mountain. These clouds weren't bloody. They weren't from hell. They where white clouds that only existed around the summit of the mountain. They were the first hint of grace you've spotted since your unholy descent. 

As the two of you approach the base of the mountain, you are interrupted by a vast river. The river was made of a dark liquid, not thicker than blood, but denser than water as if it was thickened by the sins of all the people who drowned in it. "This is the river Styx," Ramiel says. "It is the boundary that separates the end of Earth and the beginning of Hell. This is as far as I can take you, as I cannot leave this kingdom." He follows. 

"And where will you go now?" You ask. 

"I will continue guiding the sinners that arrive here." He said with melancholy in his eyes.

"Oh, alright. And how will I cross the river?" You ask. 

As soon as you finished saying that, he pulls out a silver coin from the inner pocket of his matte black coat. He hands you the coin and says "Throw this coin in the river."

"That's it?" You ask. He nods.

You throw in the silver coin, and after a few seconds, the water begins to tremble as a small boat emerges from the thick water. Riding the boat was an old wrinkly man wearing a coat that covered his face, his coat was black as if it held death within it. His back was hunched over due to old age. After reaching the shore, the old man speaks "I am Charon, the ferryman of the river Styx. Board my vessel should thee desire to cross the river." 

You board the boat without thinking twice about it. You turn back, look Ramiel in his bleak yellow eyes and say "Thank you, Ramiel. For helping me get here. Hopefully, if things go right, we will never meet again."

He doesn't reply, because if he does he might succumb to his weaker emotions and weep. Instead, he puts on his gentle, fake smile and waves you off. You take one last look at his broken expression, then you turn around and face the mountain with a resolute look in your eyes. The ferryman turns over to catch a glimpse of your face and utters "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." And then he turns back to the front to navigate the river. 

You put on a confident smile after hearing that, as you look up to the graceful clouds and envisage what lies beyond them. 

The ferryman docks his vessel, you step off as he begins to submerge back into the river. You can't see Ramiel anymore on the opposite bank. You look down, and the ground doesn't seem to be scorched anymore, yet it's still wretched somehow, rid of grace. 

You look over to your right and find a rose by the trunk of a nearby tree. It is the only thing blooming in the vicinity. You kneel to pick up but hesitate to grab it at first, fearing it might turn to ash as Ramiel's rose did. But this rose wasn't burned. This rose symbolized what the other side of the river lacked, hope. Ramiel could never pick it up, but you can. And so you grab it, place it in your pocket and take one last look at the fallen kingdom, one last look at the nefarious moon and the grievous skies surrounding it as you turn around to venture up the mountain. 

[natrolite 1,059]

Hello! Thank you for reading this piece. For those of you that don't know, this is the third edition of a mini-series I've been writing lately. If you'd want to check out the first two editions you can find them here: 

1. Regret in heaven
2. Sorrow in Heaven

I'm still new to writing, so please if you have any suggestions or any criticism I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. 

Hope you enjoyed 

[Person_Random 4,991]

Approved.

I'm really into this series and really can't wait for another chapter! Every word makes me want to continue reading more maybe it might also help that my English teacher's voice is annoying and I need a good solution to distract myself from her lectures. It's great overall, though you might want to include more description over dialogue. While dialogue does do a great job with the describing and scene setting from a more subjective point of view (showing more intentions and emotions), the word descriptions are better at objectvely describing the setting to the reader, and I feel like even though you have incorporated more of that, you probably would like to balance dialogue and description more in future. Overall, it's a great piece with tons of potential for future plot development, keep it up!

Edits: Just two small ones - a quick comma adding and a line break.

[natrolite 1,059]

3 hours ago, Person_Random said:

 

As much as I tried to do that - they were in hell 

I can only describe their environment to such depth without crossing over to other, more explicit genres :3 but regardless, thank you and I'll certainly keep that in mind when writing the final fourth chapter. 

Edited March 9, 2020 by classic-style-hiphop

[Benefactor 6,888]

If you're going through hell - keep going!

[Sacrifice 2,278]

Amazing series man! Seriously enjoying it. The place where you explained the demon, its usually how my mirror sees me in the morning, soo... :x

Btw, a heading and a banner or a picture would be nice, if possible.

[Sacrifice 2,278]

Topic name changed on request.

Phewww.. that was a lot of work :X