Down With The Gods

This time, the portals open close to the ground. There are no gates, no demons. The level is painted in lighter shades of purple at the bottom, gradually darkening towards the top. White and gray clouds drift individually through the air. The white floor moves automatically in the desired direction. This is the quietest level they have been on.

“Seems like everywhere is the same,” Wyn says.

“Let’s visit Maya first,” Yu suggests, as a way to prolong their time together.

Maya is a single large floating eyeball with eyelids and eyelashes. Across her spherical body, red veins are reminiscent of those in a human eyeball. At the back, she’s covered by a thin layer of skin that also forms her eyelids. There’s something soothing and motherly about her appearance. Armored demon guards surround her on the ground.

“I guess this is it,” Wyn says.

“This is goodbye then?”

“I guess so. Thank you for the fun times. I wouldn’t have done this with anyone else.”

“Likewise. Don’t forget about me!”

Yu gives Wyn a hug. Tears well up in their eyes as they both struggle to hold them back. Wyn waves goodbye as Yu walks away to find his own cloud. Wyn proceeds to find a white cloud to stand directly under. With a jump, a golden light that shines on him is activated and beams him up into the cloud. Once inside, the cloud turns gray. As he tries to readjust, wires with suction cups – initially hidden within the cloud – attach themselves to his head and body. Wyn blanks out for a few seconds before his eyes open to complete darkness.

“Now what?”

Putting his imagination to work, characters and places begin to appear. He starts with a world where he’s valued. In this imagined world, everyone looks up to him, and everything he does turns out perfect. Yet, he still isn’t happy. He quickly feels empty – emptier than when he was with Yu.

“What’s the point when it’s all fake?” he mutters to his imaginary subordinates.

What he felt when he was floating right after his death is what he truly craves for. He attempts to reimagine himself floating in the darkness, under the effect of the sense-numbing dust. However, this only paralyzes him while his consciousness remains intact. Then he recalls what CATOTO said about “sleep and dream.” He tries closing his eyes but immediately finds himself unable to sleep. It’s the same ordeal he faced every night when he was alive. No matter the posture he tries, sleep eludes him. Memories of his past inundate his mind, and the feeling of emptiness creeps back in.

“Well…this is disappointing. Fuck it! I’m leaving.”

The wires retract in response to Wyn’s desire to wake up. The bottom of the cloud lights up, and a golden beam sends him back down. The cloud turns white again. As he descends, he notices a familiar figure sitting face down directly beneath his cloud.

“Yu?” Wyn calls out. “MOVE OUT!”

Yu looks up, only to be greeted by Wyn’s feet in his face. After the warm welcome, the two start chatting.

“What??? Why are you here?” Wyn asks.

“Why aren’t you up there anymore?” Yu counters.

“It’s not what I thought it was. Plus, the ‘sleep and dream’ thing didn’t work at all. What about you?”

“I lack imagination. I can only sing for so long without an audience, you know? I tried sleeping, but I ended up having more nightmares than good dreams.”

“What’s it like to dream in the cloud?”

“Literally the same as dreaming back then. You can wake up in the middle of a dream and all.”

“What were your bad dreams about?”

“Most of them were about the accident. In one, I survived, but everyone else died. In another, I survived but was in a coma. I could see myself and everything around me, but I had no control whatsoever.”

“That’s rough. So...now what?”

They stare at each other in silence, neither having any idea. The fourth and fifth levels are out of the question. While they could return to the previous levels, the mystery of the seventh level intrigues them.

“Hear me out. What about that level?” Yu suggests.

“Are we sure about this?” Wyn asks. “If we can exist for eternity, isn’t it just the same as this level?”

“True. But there could be other gimmicks, like all the levels here. And remember what CATOTO said about despising police?”

“Assuming what he said is valid, it sounds like there could be a mission for us down there…or it could turn out to be a ‘curiosity killed the cat’ situation,” Wyn ponders, resting his chin on his fist.

He compares the seventh level to the life of a dog in an Asianian household, where the dog is kept outside and the house is off-limits. Despite knowing the boundaries, the dog seizes any opportunity to explore. He remembers how his parents’ dogs would peek inside every time the door opened.

“Mira! We should extract some info from her!”

“Oh no, dear pus! Not the third level again!”

The two swiftly make their way to the third level. The orgy pile is much smaller this time around. Wyn, hands on his crotch as always, calls out loudly for Mira.

“Mira! Are you still in the pile?”

“Can you shut the fuck up? We’re busy here,” a random female soul complains.

They switch to whispering her name as they walk around. After completing a full circle, they don’t see Mira anywhere. Just as they’re about to give up, they notice something trying to crawl out from the bottom of the pile.

“Hi guys!” Mira greets them with a bright smile.

“You’ve been here? After all this time?” Wyn asks.

“Always!” Mira replies.

Yu helps pull Mira out of the pile, causing it to collapse. Screams erupt from the participants. Panicked, the three make a quick escape to the exit.

“I’m so happy you’re back! Does that mean you wanna go there now?” Mira asks.

“We need more info. That’s why we’re here,” Wyn replies.

Based on what Mira has gathered from the nerds, the seventh level is dangerous, though they never elaborated on what they meant by that. It features a unique system where souls can form parties and spend resources to obtain leisure goods. They recommended this level to souls seeking a “purpose” in Hell.

“So I can get a guitar?” Yu asks.

“How would I know?” Mira shrugs.

“‘Purpose’, huh?” Wyn ponders.

“Why would the nerds tell you this? They weren’t nice to us when we met them,” Yu says.

“I paid them,” Mira answers.

On the second level, souls can transfer credits by stacking their hands on top of each other. The payer’s hand must be on top, and there can be as many recipients as long as their hands are underneath. The payer states the amount they want to transfer and taps the last hand at the bottom to complete the transaction. The amount is on a per-recipient basis.

“I first paid a nerd in the gambling zone to tell me the best place to meet them. Guess where?”

“The gaming zone?” Wyn takes a guess.

“Yes! That zone is too dark, I didn’t see them at first.”

“How many credits did you spend on all this?”

“For my sister’s whereabouts, fifty thousand. For everything, including the seventh floor, at least two hundred thousand.”

Mira wasn’t particularly good at gaming. However, she found success in other zones by using her charm to secure questionable wins or begging for free credits in the gambling zone. Her fate changed when she challenged Greed and won by a fluke.

“I’d do anything for my little sister.”

Wyn’s respect for Mira grows. She appears to be strong-willed and resourceful – the type of teammate one can rely on. Piecing together information from CATOTO and Mira, Wyn reaches a decision.

“Let’s discuss our reasons for visiting the seventh level. I know you want to find your sister. What about you, Yu?”

“Me? I actually don’t mind the second level, but the seventh level intrigues me somehow,” he says, then whispers, “And the guitar.”

“Really? That’s it? For me, I threw my life away once because I had no purpose. I couldn’t see my own future. If survival is the sole purpose, then that’s not enough for me to keep on going. I need something to feel accomplished. If the level offers that, I’m in.” Wyn’s enthusiasm is palpable.

“Wow.” Yu claps his hands. “I wanna change my reason to those words you just said.”

“Oppa! What happened to you? Who hurt you?” Mira asks.

“And aside from your boobs, we know nothing about you, Mira,” Wyn remarks.

“You lost your chance! But you’ll get to know me in due time. If you go with me, that is.”

“Fair enough.”

Wyn appears visibly nervous, as do the other two. Yu wraps his left arm around Wyn’s neck, while Mira holds Wyn’s left wrist firmly.

“What if this turns out to be a shitshow?” Wyn asks.

“Then at least you won’t have to suffer alone,” Mira replies, smiling.

“Yes! We’ll shit together!” Yu adds.

And with that, the three take a deep breath and walk toward the portals. They are now permanent residents of the seventh level.