There are laws in hell.

Gravity. Pain. Punishment. Control.

And despair.

For over a hundred years, I endured them.

I thought it was just the way things were.

> "This is what hell is meant to be," I told myself.

But when I saw the silent man, I finally realized—

> He wasn’t being hurt.

While other souls staggered from the pain, pierced by endless needles,

he walked calmly forward,

as if the spikes couldn’t touch him.

At first, I thought he must be different—

Maybe his soul was stronger than ours.

But that wasn’t it.

When I watched closely, I finally saw it—

a faint shimmering layer around him.

> A thin, glowing film—like a shield unseen by the eye.

It deflected pain, softened the blows.

It was protecting him.

---

It wasn’t magic.

It wasn’t a miracle.

It wasn’t a gift from someone else.

> “It’s… his heart.”

He never broke.

He didn’t flinch, didn’t run, didn’t cry, didn’t give up.

For over a century, he faced his sins—

and every time he fell, he stood again.

That strength of heart—

was protecting his soul.

---

I looked at my hands.

They were still trembling.

Still bleeding from the spikes.

> But… the pain felt lighter now.

Because I’d seen him.

Because I believed I could move forward, too.

And just like that,

my heart had grown a little stronger.

That’s when I felt it—

> “…Huh…?”

A faint sensation,

like the wind being brushed aside near my skin.

Just for a moment.

But it was real.

Something was forming around me.

A barrier.

A soul’s shield.

If I don’t break.

If I keep believing.

If I don’t give in—

Then even in hell…

I can resist.

> I’d finally touched that law.

---

> “…You knew, didn’t you…?”

Why didn’t he speak?

Why didn’t he teach anyone else?

Because perhaps—

this power only has meaning when you discover it for yourself.

Not something to be given.

But something that’s born from within.

---

I stood up.

My legs still hurt—but they felt lighter than before.

> My soul… had just awakened.

Hell’s rules wouldn’t change.

But I—

I could.