'Ughh…Bre...Breathe!'
A gasp reverberates through the stillness, eyes snapping open in a hurry, and air no longer restricts their lungs.
"Ah—!" His hands flew to his throat. "I...I'm alive?"
He huffs, eyes scanning the vast expanse of nothingness, reaching for a threat that's no longer there, only the void.
'Where…'
He pivots around again, wishing to see something other than darkness, but it remains the same, cold and bone-chillingly still.
'Where am I?'
The void had no answer, only silence. Still, this was a different type of silence, no ringing in his ears or the slow, steady beat of his heart… just the pure silence of the encapsulating nothingness.
"Did..." He pauses for a second, gathering his courage before his head falls.
'It can't be right?'
His mind retreated to a distant memory of a rope tied into a circle.
'No.'
The realization settles with a soft, ghostly breath. His vision doesn't meet the usual glint of his pale skin, he doesn't see a single limb sprouting out from him, and now that he thinks about it, he isn't sure if his finger ever felt the embrace of a neck when he first awakened.
'Am… Am I a ghost?'
The instant awareness sends a shock through his consciousness as if the dots began to connect, and at once, distorted memories appear in short flashes.
Ouch! Ugh!
Pain ignites in his head.
'That's impossible… how can a ghost feel pain?'
That isn't the only question that remains, but also—
'Why...'
His mind races with questions, but only one manages to come out.
"Why can't I remember anything?"
Surfing through his memories, the only thing that appears about his personal life is his name; the rest stays as blurs or picture frames with black holes marring all the important or unimportant things about him.
'Carnage… My name is Carnage.'
He heaves a sigh.
'But what else!'
The throbbing pain explodes once again just from the desire of wanting to remember his past.
'I can't—I can't do it...'
He shakes his head, the pain gradually subsiding.
'Nothing...nothing's coming back to me, not even a clear picture of how I...How I.'
The words caught.
'I'm dead.'
He solemnly admits it to himself.
'I don't know how I died. I only see a rope; neither can I recall why I died.'
He didn't want to admit it, but he had a feeling it wasn't because of an accident but because of a reason, perhaps something he did, or maybe his intuitions were wrong?
'Answers, I need answers—'
Ding!!
'Hmm?'
The sound vibrates through space, and he turns, his sight landing on the red-outlined glow of a holographic panel, its glimmer becoming the only source of light illuminating the space.
「Death's waiting room #666」
'So this place is a waiting room? Not my final resting place.'
Awareness creeps in, dragging dread behind it.
'Without any recollection of my previous life, how do I know if I'm going to hell or heaven?'
「Participant's name: Carnage.」
「You have committed the greatest sin!」
"Greatest...Sin?" His eyes widen, the words on the panel sending chills of confusion through him.
'Impossible...or is it true?'
The light of the panel seems to become brighter.
'How can I be certain that what it's saying is true? I'm being judged for something I can't remember. not only that, it's also saying that I've committed the greatest sin?'
He shakes his head in disbelief.
"There's no way." He says out loud. "What's the greatest sin? And how did I commit it?"
He scrambles through his blurry memories, suppressing the pain to find any form of answers. Still, he finds nothing.
「Do you see our judgment as an injustice?」
"Huh? You're asking me?"
「Affirmative.」
'It's a test; it has to be! But how does it expect me to answer such a question? Maybe I did commit 'the greatest sin,' but now I can't recall it; if so, I would be wrong if I said yes, and that might bring upon an unwanted punishment.'
He tries to calm his mind, but it doesn't work.
'However, there's also a small chance I didn't commit the greatest sin and they're accusing me, testing to see if I might challenge their judgment or accept it.'
Taking in a breath, preparing himself.
"Do you not see your judgment as correct?" He questions back.
'It's a risk. I don't know the personality of the thing behind this panel, so their reaction to my re-questioning would be completely unpredictable.'
'Nevertheless, doing it this way, I'm not going against their rule or judgement but rather questioning them while also receiving an answer.'
「Your response amused the judges.」
「Answer: My rule is always correct. I see no error in my judgment.」
'I got my answer.'
Dread weaves into his soul.
'Not the answer I was hoping for, because it means I have committed the greatest sin, or maybe the judges themselves don't know?'
'I just can't shack the feeling that something is wrong...'
「However, I'm asking you for your opinion—」
"Excuse me." He interrupts. "Can I ask you a question before answering yours?"
「...」
「The judges chuckle. 」
「A sinner cutting off a judge. How peculiar.]
Carnage holds his breath waiting for the answer.
[We'll accept only one question, so proceed.]
"Can't I be forgiven for my sin?" He inquires.
'Everyone sins, I'm sure. So why can't I be forgiven for the sin I have committed, even if it is the greatest one?'
「It seems like we should have explained more.」
"Huh?"
「The greatest sin is otherwise known as an unforgivable sin.」
Carnage stumbles away.
「Now that clarity has been reached, the punishment shall be delivered.」
'P...punishment…?'
「Participant #666. Carnage Aramot, you have been sentenced to the nine circles of hell.」
'H…Hell!'
Each syllable sliced deeper than the last, carving out whatever was left of his composure.
"Unbelievable!" He yells. "One sin can't send you straight to hell, can it?"
'If only I had read the tomes or paid attention to the roadside preachers, then I wouldn't be in this predicament.'
The words of his past life replay in his mind, about the blazing inferno that is hell, the endless torture a sinner cannot escape from, where demons and monsters roam freely.
A place where he is set to go.
「As a sinner…」
The panel pierces through his thoughts, and he goes quiet, anticipation rising.
「You have been given the opportunity to join the conquest of redemption. In this conquest, you'll join many sinners, all after one goal: redemption. Within every circle, you must complete a quest to advance to the next. At the end, should your spirit be judged as transformed, you will earn the right to enter the True Oasis.」
「Heaven.」
He blinks rapidly, unable to process what the judge is saying.
"Conquest of redemption."
"You're lying… there isn't such a thing said in the tomes or by anyone!"
'How would I know? My mind and memories are untrustworthy.'
「A dead man tells no tales.」
The panel doesn't explain further, but Carnage understands it all.
「The decision lies with you. Either you accept the conquest or suffer the full consequences of your sin.」
'This shouldn't be a decision. Anyone with a functioning mind or desperate to enter heaven would choose to accept, and I'm in a position where it's either I accept or be tortured for eternity.'
"I choose the conquest." He says.
「Wonderful—」
"However, if during this conquest my memories come back and I'm innocent, I promise you, I'll bring down this hell and your heaven."
「Is that a threat?」
"Yes."
「Noted」
「Welcome, player #666.」
______________________________
Hell's little secret: Bibles in this story are otherwise known as The Tomes of Creation; there are nine tomes created in history.
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