Appearing beneath a veil of darkness, the first thing that met her eyes was the gray sky overhead, as the veil dispersed.

This must be the first layer of hell. She thinks.

She looks around at her surroundings, the entire area is filled with derelict buildings as though there was some sort of battle. A mix of humans and human-like demons looking gaunt, weak, and lying wherever there was shelter from the elements. The light of hope all but extinguished from their eyes.

"I’ve got no time to stand around. I’ve got to find Coma as soon as possible." She says.

He seems like the only really capable person here besides myself. She thinks.

She takes a look down the streets and notices his figure from a distance as she chases after him, running past Seiren in the process. Seiren watches as she continues down the cobbled road, littered with puddles. 

So this is it. The first layer. From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like humans and demons alike are suffering here. Even though I want to help them, there’s nothing I could really do for them. Plus, I’m at a big disadvantage without a partner, should I continue looking for one or should I just keep going? Seiren thinks.

“Excuse me.” A boy with red skin says.

Catching Seiren off guard, he falls back into a puddle.

"I'm sorry for surprising you!" He says as he extends a hand to Seiren.

Seiren although hesitant at first, grabs the boy’s hand and dusts off his clothes after rising to his feet. He takes a moment to look at him once more.

"You’re a human taking the devil’s challenge right?" He says.

Seiren nods. 

"I can tell you some things to help you along." He says.

Seiren looks at him with confusion.

“You’re probably questioning why I’d help you if I’m a demon.” He guesses. “To be frank most of us here hate the devil. Come with me.”

He could have something interesting to tell me. Or he could be trying to trick me, but I have no idea what I’m doing anyway, I should just keep my eyes open for anything suspicious. Seiren thinks.

Seiren follows the demon boy through many narrow alleyways and after a short walk, he and Seiren reach a giant wall.

“This wall is the edge of the layer.” He explains. “They exist on every layer, though not always as a wall.”

The boy walks over to the wall and removes a rope hiding among vines on the wall.
“Just up here is where you’ll see it.” He says.

See what? Seiren thinks.

He looks over at Seiren with a perplexed look.

“You don’t talk much do you?” He says.

Seiren shrugs. 

“It’s fine, you remind me a bit of my father. ” He says. “You see we used to live in a balanced and fair society, since we have an abundance of food, water, etc. to go around, no one ever really suffered. But everything changed when the devil grew bored with the state of hell. He flipped everything over on its head, turning hell into a strength-based hierarchy, and now being a demon is synonymous with strength. So much so in fact, that it determines your status, where and how you live.”

The boy begins to climb the ladder and Seiren follows after. Despite the height of the wall, after a short climb, they reach the top. Seiren’s eyes widen in surprise. All of hell stretched out before him. Six other disk-shaped areas continued onward into the depths of hell. At the final structure a large castle, overtaking most of the last layer could be made out in the distance.

“Those are the other layers. All the way at the end is the layer of pride, where the devil resides. My family was never really made up of strong fighters, but scholars and because of that, we became the dregs of society and so we were banished here. While I was out foraging for food, My baby sister and mother got blindsided by lesser demons and they died.” He explains.

So this is what hell is like? In a way, it’s like home. Those on the top get richer and richer, while the poor get poorer. It was a struggle surviving on just my mom’s income, back then, if we didn’t move to Aundi, we might’ve been in a similar situation. Seiren thinks. 

“Why me?” Seiren asks.

“Because you were the second person to actually listen to me. I’ve been trying to provide information to every human that passes through, but they either ignore me or attack me. The person I met a while back, was probably the strongest person I’d ever seen. I wonder what happened to her… Anyway, without knowledge of what you’ll be dealing with that will make your whole journey a lot harder. At the very least I can tell you about the types of demons you’ll encounter.” He says.

“Please, do,” Seiren mutters.

“There are 4 types of demons. Lesser demons, which are demons with low intelligence and will attack anything and anyone. Next are Demons, Which is what I am. We’re similar to humans in most regards, but we’re physically stronger. Greater Demons, Which are powerful demons, that have one special physical trait about them, which often greatly influences their fighting style. Then finally, there are the advocates, which I’m sure you’ve heard of the devil’s chosen and incredibly powerful, you never want to pick a fight with them. They all have abilities related to their sin so it helps to know under which they operate.”

“Why don’t you come with me?” Seiren asks.

“I’d only slow you down.” He says. “Almost all demons have no capacity to grow stronger than the moment we're born. Which is why the devil grew such an interest in humans because humans are creatures with no limits.”

“Thanks for the info,” Seiren says.

Seiren extends his hand out to the boy and they shake hands.

“What’s your name?” Seiren asks as he begins to climb back down.

“Its Xylem.” He says.

“I’m Seiren.” He introduces.

“Let’s meet again someday, under better circumstances!” He shouts.

Seiren nods.

Meanwhile... 

The girl from earlier comes across Coma. A tall man with short purple hair and a tired look on his face, wearing a lab coat.

“Who were you again?” He asks.

“I’m Mera. We were the only two who could discern the truth about the test.” She says.

“I see. I assume you want to partner up with me because we’re ‘birds of a feather so to speak?” He says. “What can you offer me?”

“What can I offer?” She questions, placing a hand on her hip.

“Have you learned how to use your ability?” He questions, pointing his finger at her. 

“I haven’t but who has in such a short time?” She retorts.

Coma extends his index finger toward Mera once more and a dark liquid begins to appear as if out of thin air.

“I have. Once you understand the mechanics, its easy. It’s like flexing a muscle.” He says. “I’m not so sure we’re birds of a feather, it’s like comparing eagles to seagulls.”

“Fine then. I’ll find someone else, you’re the one who’s gonna be sorry they didn’t accept me.” She says as she walks away.

“That tactic only works if you have something to offer the other party,” Coma says before muttering to himself. “Still… She would’ve been useful as a test subject, good for her that she left so soon.” 

Now that that plan has failed. I need to come up with some other way to survive. By this point most other people have already found partners, I actually lost time because of him. Damn it.  She thinks as she punts a crate out of frustration.

She releases a sigh of deep frustration.

I have to come up with another plan, figure out this ability, and work on finding my way to the next layer. I have to get out of here as soon as possible. She thinks.

Mera notices that there isn’t anyone around her, realizing she walked into a dark back alley in her frustration. Bones were littered about the area and oddly made splashes of red liquid traveled along some of the walls. 

I came here without realizing it, but this place is pretty creepy. It's like some kind of feeding ground... And I think that’s my queue to get out of here.  She thinks. 

Mera turns around to see a hound-like creature standing behind her. Standing in the light from the exit of the alleyway, Mera could barely make out its features.

Are there dogs here in hell? Even if there are, they’re probably nothing like the ones we have. Mera questions.

She begins to back away, trying to move at a hurried, yet careful pace. The hound begins to drool as its mouth opens, its drool hitting the ground and causing a burning sound. It steps forward with its front paw as flashes of red and orange begin to grow within its body. Through those flashes, Mera can see its innards, exposed by the rotting flesh on its abdomen. With a single roar, the flashes stop and its entire body is illuminated as if by the heat of the flame, giving its dark skin an orange glow. Mera’s pace triples as she takes off running through the back alleys, the demon hot on her trail.

Meanwhile, Seiren found himself wandering around the layer of sloth. He carefully looked around at his surroundings as he continued onward, found himself a nice secluded alleyway, and walked down the narrow passageway before reaching an empty clearing with nothing but garbage surrounding him.

Not the best, but at least I’m alone here. I can focus all my attention on figuring my ability out. He thinks.

Seiren puts to fingers to his forehead and closes his eyes. After a few seconds of standing there, he sighs.

I didn’t teleport or anything, so that's a fail.

Seiren stiffens up his body, bending his knees. He raises his hands in front of him as if he were holding a sword. With a solemn thrust into the air, Seiren shouts:

“Excalibur!”

After yet another awkward silence, he lets out a sigh. 

The only thing I’ve succeeded in is giving myself a headache. It has to be something simple, if the process was too hard, no one would make any progress. And that isn’t what the devil wants. Although this reminds me of myself as a child, what if I tried focusing on an object to see if I can use whatever power I have to bring it to me? Seiren thinks.

He starts looking around and fixes on a can lying amongst the garbage. He takes a deep breath. Extends his hand forward. Focusing himself entirely on the can before him. It wasn’t long before he felt a strangeness in his chest. His heartbeat elevated. His temperature rose. Sweat formed on his forehead and the shadows around him began to stir. A shadowy hand erupted through the pile of trash, grabbing the can. Taken aback by it, at first he flinched.

I can feel it. It’s like an extension of my body made from the shadows. So I can control them? Seiren thinks.

He turns his hand around and aims for the trash can in the corner beside another building. At his command, the hand tosses the can into the garbage.

If I want to survive I’m going to need a way to attack, a way to defend, and a way to escape. These are the basic of basics at least how it happens in video games. Then there are other things to think about, do I wanna be an infighter or an out fighter. Well, I was never good at throwing or aiming things, plus my eyesight is a bit below average, so being up close and personal might be better. A bit scary, but I have to move beyond my fears. This whole situation is outside my comfort zone. Next, do I use a weapon or barehanded fighting? This is probably the hardest question. I’ve never actually been in a fight before though. Barehanded fighting might be too unforgiving, if I miss a punch, I’m gonna get hit for it. With a weapon at least I’d have some breathing room, especially against an opponent with a weapon as well.  So a weapon that’d give me some distance, and flexibility would be a…  He thinks but is interrupted suddenly by a scream. 

A girl comes crashing through the pile of garbage, tripping and landing face-first through the trash. Despite the impact, she comes crawling out as fast as possible to see Seiren standing there.

“If you don’t wanna be dog food, you should run!” Mera shouts after attempting to rise to her feet, finding herself paralyzed with fear.

The hound came around the corner, charging straight for them. Seiren’s hands trembled as he stood there almost lifeless, as the hound pounced toward him. Time began moving to a crawl, as Seiren’s life flashed before him. All of the memories of him and his mother, quickly flew by and disappeared just as quickly as a camera flash, and with it, resolve.

So a weapon that’d give me some distance, and flexibility would be a… He recalled the words he thought just moments earlier, as his shadow on the wall behind him began to glow a faint dark blue color. A thin, yet sturdy pole stretched out from his glowing shadow, and into his hands. Stretching onward, ahead of him and painting a sharp blade at the tip, he thrust it forward with every fiber of his being. Piercing through the hound's disgusting flesh-torn body and sent it flying back with the length of spear extending to push it into the wall with a heavy slam. There was a brief silence between him and Mera as they both could not even process what had just occurred.

“Holy…” Mera let out, her shaking body beginning to calm itself as she took deep breaths.

It all happened so fast. Seiren thought as his spear began to shorten again, leaving the hound to fall onto the ground amongst the garbage. Seiren looked up at the spear, noticing the blood that rolled down the shaft and slowly coated his fingers. He felt a great sense of relief but also disgust and confusion. Seiren began to breathe heavily. 

I’ve never killed before, am I supposed to feel so relieved afterward? The warmness of its blood makes me want to vomit. The stench of iron coming from my hands, I really have to do this, even more, just to keep going? I don’t want to get used to this feeling, but the thing I’m afraid of the most is coming to enjoy the killing. I was thinking about this so easily earlier, but it's not that simple at all. How can I continue like this, knowing that after I’ve reached the end there’ll be a mountain of bodies left behind? He thinks. 

 While Seiren is stuck in his thoughts, Mera gets up from the ground and goes over to the demon’s body.

“It’s dead,” she mutters in a low tone.
She looks over at Seiren who’s a shaking mess and sighs. She walks over to him and places her hands on his cheeks, leaving the two of them face to face.

“Since you actually saved my life, I’ll give you some advice.  I don’t know if you’re afraid of becoming a killer or if you fear what you’ll have to do to survive, but here all bets are off. From here on out, everything will be trying to kill you. Are you willing to let that happen for whoever’s sake it is that you're trying to escape for? No one’s going to judge you because you had to kill in self-defense here! I want you to take a good long look at where we are. We’re in the pits of hell!” Mera exclaims. “Life is all about doing whatever it takes to survive.”

If a single kill is all it takes to make you question everything, then who knows how long he'll last. She thinks.