Cozy's Inferno: a Journey through the Darkest Void

Cozy Glow

We hadn't even truly entered Hell proper, and it had already been a harrowing ordeal. Sunset's hope still burned bright, but it had been slowly dwindling upon seeing the state of the Underworld and the fate of the tormented spirits stuck within. The Castle of Noble Spirit had provided a short respite from the darkness and misery of this world. Helel's plan offering us a shining ray of hope, in order to restore Lucifer and find a way out for both me, Sunset, Orpheus and Euredice, we needed to find the Lyre of Orpheus lost in the lair of Cerberus. A lyre that used to belong to Orpheus father, the former god Apollo that could restore hope to any being if played by someone as talented as Orpheus. It was a crazy plan, but not as crazy as some of the things I had done in my past, before ending up in this horrific place of torment, if it could get me out of here, I was willing to try anything.

We left the Castle of Noble Spirits in as high spirits as was possible in this place. According to Helel, our next step was to seek an audience with Minos, the Judge of the Dead, he who presided over which soul should be sent to which circle. In order to reach Minos we once again needed to navigate the labyrinth of fog surrounding the castle. But this time we were able to navigate it without any incidents. We continued to navigate the foggy plains of Limbo for an immeasurable amount of time before we came across an endless line of people, damned souls as substantial as a shadow. Helel told us that these were the people waiting for the judgment of Minos. We could wait here, but it might take eternity before it was our turn to be granted an audience with the Judge. So Helel instead insisted on forcing themselves through the crowd of souls, striking down any that would try to stop them, me, Sunset and Orpheus followed after them.

Eventually we came across a tunnel, descending downwards seemingly endlessly, we followed Helel into the tunnel. Which would eventually lead to a rocky ledge where there was an ancient amphitheater carved from the very rock. The screeching of souls was deafening, but it was almost drowned out by a roaring storm which occupied the entirety of the chasm below the ledge which the amphitheater stood. Multiple smaller tornadoes joining together forming a single massive hurricane, I could see thousands of people being blown about the canyon. Helel told me that this was the fate of the lustful, to be forever blown around by the storms as their own appetites controlled them in life. Lust, one of very few sins I had little experience with, other than a lust for power of course, as I was simply too young at the time to be interested in carnal pleasures. Yet looking out on the poor souls in the canyon, I could see the images of a young green changeling who I used to go to school with, Ocellus, one of the daughters of Chrysalis. There were also images of a mare with a jet-black coat and a dark-blue mane with red stripes. I blushed as memories of the night of passion we spent together came before me, I didn’t fully remember who this was, I just knew it was someone I needed to get back to. Which just increased my resolve to push forward.

Helel approached the amphitheater, where a terrible beast resided, a monstrous serpentine man with the tail of a snake, its breath had a horrible stench, like coming from a pile of rotting corpses. The creature was in the process of inspecting one of the damned souls with its eyes burning like fire. It coiled its tail three times and pronounced:

“Gluttonous.”

Before throwing the soul beyond the storm, further down into the underworld. Only then did Minos turn his attention towards Helel and the rest of us. His eyes I could feel seeing into the very core of our being, being able to see every sin I had ever committed.

“What have we here? A collection of traitors and heretics, yet most of you are not yet dead. Begone, you have no business here.”

“You will let us through.” Exclaimed Helel with a voice of thunder and pomp. Matching the monstrous voice of the judge in intensity.

The Judge bowed before Helel as before a round of ceremonial combat and followed that up with trying to smash them with their enormous tail, Minos moving swiftly despite their immense size, Helel nevertheless parried the attack with their sword. The souls of the damned gathered around us, cheering at those brave enough to challenge the judge. Minos coiled his tail eight times and declared:

“I summoned thee, guardians of the Eighth Circle.”

With that a pair of devils like the one we had fought in limbo appeared before us. But Sunset summoned a great deal of her power to hurl a ball of radiant energy at the devils and Minos, I could see how the force of the blow seared her flesh, but the ball of radiant energy was successful in burning the devils to a crisp. Minos, however, was still standing. The Judge struck another blow at Helel, they managed to parry it, but was struck by a one of the Judge’s arms, wounding him. Helel struck back, wounding the judge in turn. The power of Minos, the Judge of the Dead was significant, and awe-inspiring, he emitted an aura that made me afraid to approach. But there was one thing I could do, I approached Helel, working through my fear of Minos, and applied a healing spell to them, Helel seems to have regained their strength as the wound they were just inflicted on them healed. Minos responded with coiling his tail six times and declaring:

“I call upon thee, flames of the Sixth Circle”

As he finished the incantation, a wave of unholy flame shot out from around Minos, burning us all, I screamed as the fire seared my entire being, it took all my willpower to remain standing, but I nevertheless managed to stand. So did Sunset and Helel, even if just barely in the case of Sunset. Sunset mumbled an incantantion and her entire being started to glow with a holy light, repressing the aura of fear around Minos, I now felt brave, braver than I ever had in my entire life. Minos managed to grab Helel with his tail, Helel managing to strike it while in its grasp before Minos hurled them into the rocky walls of the amphitheater. Sensing that they were in danger, I rushed over to Helel and applied more healing magic, whatever Sunset did with the holy glow seemed to enhance my healing capabilities, Helel was a wreck before I got there, but after I applied my magic, he seemed completely untouched. Minos took the opportunity to attack Sunset, crushing her underneath his massive fists before coiling his tail five times and uttering another incantation:

“I call upon the marshlands of the Fifth Circle.”

With those words the ground around the Judge turned into a hard to navigate marshland. Enraged at him attacking Sunset, Helel’s wings began to glow with even brighter light, and they took to the skies, avoiding the marshland, attacking Minos from the air, inflicting a near mortal wound, it was obvious the Judge was just barely holding on. Sensing an opportunity, I attacked him with an incantation of my own, an insult interwoven with a malicious curse:

“There is no beholder’s eye in which you are beautiful.”

With those words, Minos’s form disintegrated, melting slowly but surely until it was just a puddle on the ground. Leaving behind only a pair of large pearls that have been its eyes. I decided to pick them. Helel turned to the crowd of damned spectators and gave them a speech:

“Damned souls of the underworld, the Judge of the Dead has fallen, he will reform soon, but this is your chance, wreak havoc upon the hated realm in which divine injustice condemned you to eternal perdition, show the powers above that we are no longer content to sit idle accepting our torment.”

The crowd listened to Helel, devils came to keep the crowd in order, but the masses revolted against them, and a huge brawl ensued. Which granted us the opportunity to sneak into the valley below unnoticed.

When in the valley itself, the howling of the storm was so loud it drowned out any other sound. Like all other places in the underworld, it was completely dark except for Sunset’s Torch of Hope. We soon found ourselves before a wall of stormclouds, people being blown around in the storm and harassed in the air by what appeared to be winged beasts. Yet with no other way forward, Helel gestured for us to step into the hurricane. I hesitated at first, afraid of being blown away like the people within the storm. But as Helel stepped into the storm, it became obvious that the physicality that separated us from the damned was enough to keep our hooves and feet on the ground, even if the winds were too strong to allow me to use my wings for flight.

After navigating the storm for what felt like eternity, we came across a pile of debris that had managed to form a natural shelter of sorts, allowing us to actually hear what others were saying, but I could already figure out that this shelter wouldn’t last long as it would soon be swept away by the storm. But nevertheless, it would provide us with some respite. Other damned had also been drawn to this shelter, one of which a woman short brown hair and incredible beauty, like all other souls of the circle, she wasn’t wearing any clothes. Orpheus came forward to embrace her as soon he saw her, the woman, who had previously been crying smiled upon seeing him and kissed him on the lips. After the two lovers were done kissing, the woman introduced herself as Euridice. Orpheus explained to her our plan to find his lyre. As he explains we plan to restore hope to Lucifer, that caught the attention of another being currently seeking shelter in the debris. She was a woman, seemingly of the same species as Orpheus and Euridice, but she had features that made me doubt that conclusion. She had smooth pale skin, almost alabaster, long hair even whiter than her skin and a pair of blood red eyes that exuded immense sadness and longing. She was clad in a black gothic dress, but her most eye-catching feature was a pair of black feathered wings like a bird. Her voice was melodious:

“Restore hope to Lucifer eh? That’s the craziest plan I ever heard. Would you perhaps the need of assistance?”

I inquired about her identity and the woman just laughed.

“My name is Jezebel, I am a Lilim, one of the daughters of Lilith. This place was once my home, before the hurricane reduced everything to rubble and dust. This was once the realm of my people, with beautiful obsidian palaces that were a paradise for those who enjoyed the pleasures of life. Now it is a place of torment where lovers are kept apart by the winds instead of united, the only respite the rare times shelters like this one forms.”

Helel examined Jezebel from head to toe before asking what she will get out of this if they allow her to assist. Jezebel explained that the devils that maintain the hurricane, the Tempestarii will never allow any souls to leave the circle. But with our help she explained that we might be able to push through and escape. Reluctantly, Helel agreed to take her with us. I was quite happy to have another potential friend on this journey. As I expected the worst was yet to come.

As we had as we had still a little bit of time before the shelter would collapse. I decided to ask Jezebel more about who she was and what Lilim were. What you told me was quite the story:

“Long ago, the great ones called Prometheus and Epimetheus set out to create all living creatures. When the time came to create humanity, Epimetheus created Adam, the first man, and Prometheus created Lilith, the first woman. But the ideals of the two brothers were different and that showed in their creations. Which led to conflicts between Adam and Lilith, which resulted in Epimetheus banishing Lilith from Eden. But Lilith would soon run into the love of her life, the Malakh called Samael by some, but they were also known as Thanatos. They created a paradise room for themselves in the Underworld, far away from Eden. Where they had many children, these children are the Lilim, which I am one.”

We soon set out from the shelter and tried to brave the hurricane to get to its edges. For the first time since we entered the hurricane, I truly took the opportunity to look up into the sky, among the countless souls being blown around, without a moment’s rest, there were huge flying monsters, as well as those who managed them and kept stirring up the storm so it would never end, the Tempestarii, devils with horned heads and skulls for faces, wielding instrument that crackled with lightning.

As we got to the edge of the hurricane, one of the Tempestarii landed in front of us and declared:

“You are not going anywhere.”

Helel brandished their blade, shining with light, the Tempestarii brandished their blade, crackling with lightning. Soon both of them took into the air. A fierce battle raged in the sky. I tried to aid using my enchantment letter and insults while both Sunset and Jezebel shot rays of light and fire respectively into the sky. Eventually Helel was able to bring the devil low, claiming its blade for themselves. After that display, the other Tempestarii stayed away, and we were able to escape into the next circle. The circle of gluttony, where Cerberus had their lair, where we would find the Lyre of Orpheus, the key to our success. I took one more look into the sky; we were now out of the storm, but there still were no stars.