-Michael-

Michael trekked through the intense blizzard, folding his arms close to his body to maintain warmth. As he stepped through inches of snow, he could see it melting around his footsteps due to the heat resonating off of his new body. While walking, he found himself passing up the corpses of those who decided to also make the journey toward the abstract tower, and he wondered if he too would share their fate. He noticed that these people still looked human, lacking the demonic form that he took. Despite the fact that he was clearly special, he still was doubtful about the journey ahead of him.

“I don’t know if we’re gonna make it, dude.” Michael's voice shuddered as he spoke. He'd never experienced temperatures this low before as a Californian; it made him wonder how he would fare if he hadn't taken this more demonic form, which practically came with a built-in heater.

Stop being a crybaby. We’ll make it.

Mike had already grown sick of Michael's constant bitching and moaning; really, he was already tired of hearing within the first five minutes of their new life together. If the inside of their shared consciousness had a mute button, he would have pressed it long ago.

“But it’s so cold– and I feel like my legs are about to give any second now.” Michael looked down at his charred legs, watching as they quivered in the cold despite melting the snow around them.

Then hand over the body.

“I’ve been trying for the last five minutes! I would love to play spectator mode while you do all the walking.” The two of them still weren't sure how to switch bodies on command. They deduced it was due to stress since prying oneself off of a cross was quite a stressful situation, yet even the stress of the sheer cold surrounding them wasn't enough to compel the body switch to occur. Of course, Mike didn't mind sitting inside of their consciousnesses while Michael did all the work; however, if taking control of the body and piloting it through the storm meant he didn't have to hear Michael crying every five seconds, he would be more than happy to do so.

Michael continued onward, complaining the whole way. After some time, the tower was getting closer, becoming more than just a silhouette. Still abstract in nature, the building seemed separated into blocks, each one being of a different material. The first block, which looked to be dozens upon dozens of stories tall, was reminiscent of a castle made of ice. The rest of the tower was so high up, that the two of them couldn't tell what they were made out of, but they were clearly different than the first, icy block. The closer the two got to the tower, the more corpses were seen littering the path.

So many souls, so close yet so far.

“Hey, Mike.”

What is it now?

“You see all these corpses, right? What do you think happened to their souls? Shouldn’t they be immortal if this is Hell? Isn't that the whole point of this place?"

I don’t know. Maybe their souls are sent somewhere else in Hell. You're the religious one, shouldn't you know?

"Well... I wouldn't really call myself that religious. I mean, I've been to church a few times but I've never actually read the Bible. This is all new lore to me."

Stop! Do you see that!?

Michael halted in his tracks. In the distance, near the base of the mysterious structure, Michael could spot the silhouette of either a child or a very small person on a bicycle. There was something attached to it, perhaps a bag of sorts, and they were making their way directly toward Michael. "What the hell is that!? Is he gonna kill us!?"

It looks like he's just some kid. If he tries something, we'll just knock his little ass out!

"Dude... I don't hit CHILDREN!"

Not even creepy little demon children riding bicycles? I say we deck the little shit before he even gets a chance to try something, take his bike, and run!

"I'm not going to rob a CHILD for his bicycle."

A demon child.

"I don't care!"

If he's in Hell then he must have done something to deserve it. That's all I'm saying.

"I'm in Hell and I don't deserve it. I think."

Oh, you deserve far worse.

As the two of them bickered, the child on the bicycle approached them with a soft smile on his face and curious eyes. “Hello, there!" said the demon child. His skin was red and covered in scales, similar to how one would assume a real-life dragon would look. He had glowing, orange eyes, and sharp teeth that matched Michael's. Attached to his bike was a sack of sorts, one similar to something Santa Claus would be seen with as he delivered gifts on Christmas Eve. "You’re new here aren’t you?” The boy spoke like a whimsical jester, swaying side to side on the seat of his bike. His voice was soft, almost like a whisper with a strange and subtle sinister undertone.

“Yeah… We just got here.”

“We?” The strange child looked around and under Michael for this mysterious other person, yet found no one. “I only see one of you.”

“Just...forget I said anything. What’s in the tower?”

“Oh, this old thing?" The child giggled, covering his mouth with his hand before flourishing an arm toward the tower. "This is what we call Tartarus! It’s an endless tower of demise where demons and beasts lurk, waiting for any poor souls to wander inside so they can EAT them to grow more powerful. Haha.”

Uh... You saw that sinister, creepy laugh, right? And the way he emphasized the word 'eat'. Knock the little fucker out.

Michael, despite agreeing that the child's way of speaking was quite disturbing, to say the least, ignored Mike. “So… I shouldn’t go in there?” Michael asked the child.

“Well, it is a lot warmer in there. And, supposedly, if you reach the top, you’ll escape from Hell... Or so they say.”

Yeah... I don't like him. Knock him out.

Michael folded his arms standoffishly. “I thought you said it was endless.”

“That was a hyperbole, my friend! I’m not sure how high up this tower goes, but there is an end to it..." Again, the boy chuckled as he spoke and Michael looked at him with what looked to be repulsion. "...Probably.” the child whispered.

“Probably?” Michael repeated.

“Anywho," The boy clapped his hands together. "If you’re gonna climb, you’re gonna need weapons and armor! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Harut. I’m a scavenger of the tower. Basically, I gather any weapons or gear I find inside of Tartarus and sell it to anyone wanting to make the journey to the top! Have a look!” The boy stepped off of his bike and started untying the sack that was attached to it.

“B- but I don’t have any money…” The second Michael said this, Harut closed his bag at light speed.

"Oh. Never mind, then." Harut started scanning his surroundings, looking at the corpses that littered the ground around them. “Well, in that case, how about a free trial?” As those words left Harut's mouth, the three of them could hear a man's screams coming from above them; his screams growing more pronounced before his body slammed into the ground beside Harut. This person was holding a wooden sword and shield with a bow and arrow on their back. He died the instant he hit the ground, therefore, these items were no longer of use to him.

“Ah! Perfect!” Harut knelt down and began looting the body for all it was worth. “Let’s see, here. A wooden sword. A wooden shield. A bow and arrow. That’s it? Tch, trash.”

Harut looked at Michael before offering his findings to him. “These are worthle– I mean, these are uh… State-of-the-art weaponry, but I will allow you to use them for free! Uhm… If you find any cash in Tartarus, then you can maybe buy some of my goods if you ever come across me again. Sound like a deal?”

“I guess…?” Michael looked down at the weapons in his hand. He’d never used any of these things outside of a video game and the one time he shot a bow and arrow for his physical education class ten years prior.

Are you seriously making a DEAL with a demon child!?

Harut smiled warmly at Michael before climbing onto his bike and waving goodbye to his new potential customer. “Well, I’ll be on my way. Toodooloo!” Harut rode off disappearing through the fog toward Tartarus. Michael stood in place, unmoving as he watched the child fade into nothingness.

Creep! Let’s get moving, c’mon.

“Uh, hello? Did you not just see what happened to the last guy who used these weapons? I don’t really do the whole falling out of a mysterious tower to my death thing.”

Oh? Really? Poor thing. You don’t have to if you don’t want to then.

“Really?”

No, not really you dimwitt! Unless you want to share the same body forever, I suggest you move your ass and get to climbing that tower.

Michael's shoulders and head lowered. “Fine.” he mumbled before shuffling toward Tartarus once more. Before long, he'd made it to the entrance of Tartarus, which was surrounded by even more bodies of past warriors, all of whom had their belongings looted by none other than Harut. The bottom of Tartarus looked like the entrance to a castle, having a large archway that had a thick wall of fog blocking it, rather than a door.

Hey, Princess. Are we just gonna stare at the entrance all day or are we going to go inside?

"Can you get off my nuts, dude? DAMN!"

Then do your fucking job and pilot the body.

"Then do your fucking job and pilot the body." Michael mimicked, flapping his hand as if it were Mike's mouth.

I swear to GOD if we ever find ourselves in separate bodies again, I'm going to kick your ass.

"Womp. Womp." Michael uttered as he approached the door of fog. He first placed a single hand through it, feeling the fog's warmth enveloping him. "Freaky..." he whispered before stepping through the fog with his entire body.