Days bled into nights, and nights into days. Time lost all meaning for Kanasei. Breaks were nonexistent—not for him nor for the others working alongside him. Every day was a relentless cycle of toil. He carried and pushed boulders, carved grotesque torture devices, created metallic machinery of torment, and was forced to inflict pain on the sinners trapped in this place.
Each task left scars deeper than the last. Trauma clung to him like a second skin. He had no idea when—or if—his own sins would ever be washed clean. He prayed silently, again and again, desperate for a return to the earth he had left behind.
Kanasei's legs trembled under the weight of a massive boulder balanced on his shoulders. Sweat poured down his back, his face, and soaked into his clothes, giving the illusion of a heavy rainfall. He climbed the slope steadily, each step a fight against exhaustion. His task: push the boulder to the hilltop, where it would roll down to crush a sinner waiting below.
The path of the boulder was a perpetual loop. Beyond the pit lay another hill, and the stone would roll back up and down endlessly, each cycle bringing agony to its target. Sinners didn't die. They regenerated. Every pain repeated, fresh and excruciating, ad infinitum.
At last, Kanasei reached the summit. He paused, chest heaving, and looked down at the pit. A sinner sat in the center, oblivious to the approaching doom. Kanasei's hands shook. He exhaled sharply, bending forward to nudge the boulder. Gravity took hold, and it began its descent.
The sinner turned just in time to see the massive stone hurtling toward them. Panic etched their face. They scrambled to escape, feet slipping against the dirt and rock, but it was futile. The boulder struck with a deafening crash. A scream tore through the air, echoing across the pit, before giving way to an unnatural silence.
Kanasei's stomach churned as he watched. The boulder flattened the sinner mercilessly, blood splattering against the stone walls. He brought his hands to his face, rubbing at his eyes as if trying to scrub away the scene.
Is this really how sins are erased?
But there was no answer.
The boulder rolled back up the opposite hill, ready to repeat the cycle. The sinner pushed themselves upright, body regenerating instantly, only to be crushed again as the stone descended. Kanasei turned his back, refusing to witness the brutality a second time, and trudged down the hill, his every step heavy with dread.
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Kanasei was hauling enormous black chains across the obsidian plain.
Each link was as thick as a tree trunk, cold to the touch, etched with symbols he didn't recognize. Chains like these were never used on sinners. Even torture machines didn't require this much restraint. He didn't know what they were for, only that he was told to move them now.
This wasn't ordinary labor. Tasks like this were rare. Too rare.
As he dragged the final length across the ground, a distant commotion echoed through the vast expanse. Voices, low and uneasy murmurs, carried through the air. He paused, lifting his head. Something was wrong.
He turned around.
In the distance, demon workers were gathering. Not just workers, the demon leaders were there too, standing in formation. They weren't shouting or arguing. They were just waiting.
Kanasei straightened.
This has never happened the whole time i've been here.
He released the chain and started walking toward the crowd.
When he finally reached them, he blended in more than he expected. The demons stood shoulder to shoulder, their forms uniform and still. The only thing that truly set Kanasei apart was his size, he towered over most of them.
Confusion gnawed at him. No one spoke. The air itself felt tense, as if it were holding its breath. Kanasei hesitated. Asking questions here felt… dangerous.
Still, curiosity won.
He gently nudged the demon beside him. The demon turned around. Kanasei froze for a moment, words refusing to come.
"Uh…" He swallowed. "I wanted to ask… what's going on here?"
The demon studied him for a second before chuckling softly. "Ah. You must be new here?"
Kanasei laughed awkwardly. "Ahah… yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck.
Is my newness really that obvious…?
"Well," the demon said, turning forward again, "the Gates of Hell are opening."
He pointed ahead.
Kanasei's breath caught.
Two brobdingnagian golden gates stood before them, ancient and impossibly tall. They were already open, yet nothing lay beyond them.
"They never open," the demon continued, "unless the Lord enters…or unless all five demon leaders do."
Kanasei glanced at the leaders. All of them were present.
"The leaders are here," the demon said quietly. "And the Lord hasn't returned for a very long time."
Kanasei stared at the gates, awe tightening his chest. But then another thought surfaced.
"Wait…" He hesitated. "Who's the 'Lord'?"
The demon's eyes widened.
"I'm surprised you don't know," he sighed. "By 'the Lord,' I mean The Lord Crow. The ruler and controller of Hell."
Kanasei's mind reeled.
What…?
The demon smirked, shaking his head slightly. "Don't worry."
He looked back at the gates.
"You'll see him soon."
Kanasei was surprised by the demon's casual tone.
He had expected hostility, but instead, the demon had spoken as if this were normal.
Then…silence fell again.
No one spoke.
They waited.
And waited.
Nothing came through the Gates. They didn't move an inch. The vast golden frames stood open, revealing only a hollow, lightless void beyond them. Kanasei swallowed.
How long are we going to wait…?
He glanced around. The demons stood frozen. Even the leaders were motionless. It felt as though time itself had stopped breathing.
Then—
Creeeeak.
The Gates widened slightly.
Every sound in Hell died. Kanasei felt his chest tighten. Even the demon leaders stiffened.
Nothing happened.
Another creak echoed, louder this time. The Gates spread wider. Then, with a deep, resonant groan, they fully opened.
Still…nothing stepped through.
Kanasei's confusion turned to dread.
And then—
A gigantic black beak pierced through the emptiness beyond the Gates.
It pushed forward, followed by a massive head. Eyes the color of dried blood opened slowly, glowing red beneath a crown of jagged, backward-swept feathers that refused to fall, frozen as if the air itself bent around them.
The beak stretched open. Rows of razor-sharp teeth gleamed inside, far too many to belong to any natural creature.
A skeletal black hand emerged next, unfolding from beneath one of its wings, and slammed into the ground. The impact cracked the obsidian surface. Another hand reached out, gripping the upper frame of the Gates themselves.
With a single, effortless pull, the being dragged itself through.
Its full body revealed itself at last.
Along its spine, from the base of its neck down to its tailbone, ran sharp, triangular dorsal plates, feathered yet rigid, like the fusion of bone and plumage. Enormous black wings folded partially behind it, each one capable of blotting out the sky. Beneath it stood two massive, taloned legs, pressing into the ground with such weight that the land groaned in protest.
The Lord Crow.
Kanasei shivered violently. His body reacted before his mind could.
Then the ground behind the crowd shifted.
The enormous black chains Kanasei had been hauling earlier began to move on their own. Links thicker than towers rose from the ground, rattling like distant thunder. They slithered forward, alive, coiling toward The Lord Crow.
One by one, the chains wrapped around him. Across his wings, around his torso, along his arms and legs.
And yet…
They did not restrain him.
The chains settled into place like ceremonial regalia, glowing faintly as they locked themselves willingly around his body.
The Lord Crow straightened.
The entire realm of Hell trembled.
Kanasei's knees nearly gave out.
Every demon, worker and leader alike, dropped to one knee as if pulled down by an invisible force.
Everyone bowed.
Everyone—
Except Kanasei.
He stood there, frozen.
It wasn't defiance nor arrogance. He simply…hadn't known.
He looked around, confusion flickering across his face as he noticed the sea of kneeling figures. His breath caught.
Oh. I'm supposed to—
But his body refused.
His legs wouldn't bend. His knees locked in place, muscles rigid, as though something far deeper than fear was holding him upright. His chest tightened. He tried again, forced his weight forward—
Nothing.
Then—
A shadow swallowed him whole.
Kanasei slowly lifted his head.
The Lord Crow's face loomed inches from him.
Red eyes, vast and ancient, locked onto Kanasei's own. They didn't look at him so much as pierce through him, straight into his soul. Every thought, every memory, every sin laid open in an instant.
Fear carved itself onto his expression.
His body finally gave in.
Kanasei collapsed onto one knee, palms slamming into the ground. His breathing turned ragged, chest heaving violently for reasons he couldn't explain. His heart felt like it was going to tear itself apart.
The Lord Crow slightly tilted his head.
Then, slowly, his beak opened.
The sound alone made the ground vibrate.
Without warning the beak shot forward.
It struck the earth with catastrophic force, piercing straight through stone. The ground shattered outward in a violent explosion of debris.
Kanasei was gone.
In the same motion, The Lord Crow pulled back, and Kanasei was inside his mouth.
Before anyone could react, before a single scream could escape—
The Lord Crow swallowed.
Silence.
The demons remained frozen, terror etched into every face. Workers stared in disbelief. Leaders stood rigid, shock cutting through their authority.
No one spoke or moved.
The Lord Crow straightened, towering over them all once more, chains clinking softly against his colossal form.
Kanasei had vanished.
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Mythical Challenge: Complete.