As we entered the vast cavern, around me I felt a chill
in the air. It was the feeling of death, stagnant and unchanging, like a still
pool, devoid of life. I stared at my surroundings, and darkness filled

every corner of my vision, until Hector, my guide, drew
a glass orb from the folds of his cloak, and it produced an eerie
glow, engulfing us in a small sphere of light. Shadows grew

from where before there was nothing, and as the light spread,
I could see where we were standing. Below our feet was the rocky
shore of a great frozen lake, and beneath the ice, scores of the dead

souls of sinners swam in the frigid water. The pathetic wraiths had
looks of terror and panic etched on their faces, like words cut in a tomb,
and their hands clawed at the ice above their heads. In my heart, I felt sad

for these pathetic souls, but Hector told me, “Do not pity the damned, you
must remember that they are here for a reason. In life they sinned, so in death
they must be punished. While these beings walked upon the earth, they, like you,

had fallen in love. However, they chose not to act on those feelings,
and so indolence was their sin. So now they are trapped for eternity
in limbo, and they are called the Smitten. But now we must be hurrying

on for time is short. Come, let us go across the ice.” As we walked
over the enormous frozen lake , the souls beneath us clawed their frozen fingers
along the underside of the ice. I forced myself not to gaze at the faces caked

with crystals that were just a few inches below my feet. I could almost
hear their silent screams as they were denied the breaths that I took in so greedily.
However, my willpower failed, and I found my eyes peering through the frost.

I tightly gripped the arm of my guide in fright at the sight that I saw.
There were dozens of wraiths under my soles, naked and emaciated,
most of them were just floating in the water, seeming just to gnaw

at the ice, not even having the strength or will to move their arms.
And those that did were terrifying, inhuman monsters with claws for hands
that despised me just for the fact that I was alive. Fearing that harm

would come to me if I continued to linger, I quickly stepped forward
and hurried on my way. The pack of bodies beneath me followed my
path along the ice, until I came to the opposite bank, looking towards

my next destination, when they twisted away and escaped back
into the murky depths of the gelid lake. I could see them for a few
moments, like long skeletal fish, they swam down to the black

chasm under the lake, until they disappeared from my sight as they
were lost in the shadows, hiding from their sins that had led them astray.

Hector called to me, and I realized that he had kept walking while
I had stopped. Quickly I ran to his side, and before us I saw a truly
horrific sight. The entirety of Hell was placed before my eyes. Miles

of tortured souls were stretched in front of me, with the deepest
reaches being obscured by the foul pollution in the air. Turning my
head to my guide, I looked to him put to words what even the best

wordsmith alive, could not describe. “This is Hell,” he spoke to
me. “The final resting place of all souls who have wasted away their
short lives by doing wrong to those who gave them their hearts. You

see before you the three great divisions of this wretched abyss.
Each ring contains a different category of sinners that are punished
according to their respective sin. You have already seen an example of this

when we crossed the icy lake behind us, and you will experience it
again in the circles to come. Both of the first two rings are separated into
two smaller divisions, with the third circle having three in order to fit

all of the deceivers. Deceit is the worst category of sin, so it is the sin
that is placed deepest in Hell. The circle before deceit is abuse, and then
exploitation is the one that looms in front of us. Are you ready to begin

this descent into Hell? Do not think that these tortured souls are the only
ones being tested. You are on a journey of discovery, and there will be
many trials for you to face before the end. However, there is hope. Lonely

you may be now, but if fate allows, you will see your beloved again.
Come now, let us hurry. Too long we have dawdled here.” And so on
we went. We clambered down a small hill, and suddenly there was a rain

of gold falling on our shoulders. “What is this madness?” I cried out.
“Money falling from the sky, surely this cannot be Hell!” Coins of all
sorts littered the terrain, paving it with the fortunes of kings. Throughout

the glittering sea of riches, great boulders were strewn, with sticks
poking out from underneath, looking comically like giant beetles.
I could also see sticks jutting from between the coins, like erratic

branches being blown by turbulent winds, they violently twitched
in the air. However, there were no winds under the earth to sway
these sticks. And what was that uproar I perceived, which mixed

with the clink and clatter of falling gold? A look of terror befell
my face as the true nature of this circle became clear. The skeletal arms,
that rose and shook from the piles of coins, marked the brutal cells

for the damned souls they belonged to. It was from these trapped
bodies that the screams echoed, blending with the cacophony of the
storming money. As I stared, dumbfounded, at the scene, a hand grabbed

my ankle. Frantically, I kicked it away and cowered behind my guide.
“These depraved souls are the first division of Exploiters. In life, they
cared only for money, and used others to obtain it, so when they died,

their souls become forever trapped in this circle. While they were among
the living, they were a burden on their loved ones, so now in Hell
a burden of that which they so coveted is placed upon them. Be strong

now, and let us continue forth before they try to take you for a second
time.” We headed in the direction of the next division, past the insect-like
boulders, and the bony arms, which were now gently waving, as if to beckon

me to ensnare my legs and drag me down to join in their ghastly torment.
I needed to tread carefully so as not to trample the faces of these already
tortured souls. It was in this way that my guide and I went

on to the next division, and it was there I faced
things, which from my mind I cannot erase.

We came upon deep pit in the ground, which was filled almost to the brim
with writhing flames. Like snakes, they twisted through the empty space,
spitting their venomous fires on the tortured beings within. I skimmed

the crater in search of the souls I knew must reside down there. Hector
grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me away from the inferno saying,
“Do not get too close unless you wish to fall to your death and become a specter

like the rest of the damned.” As I was retreating, a monstrous wraith burst
from the flames, its charred skin hanging like crisped paper from its
blackened bones, and it let out a deafening shriek, which even the worst

creatures on Earth could not have produced. My heart leapt from my chest,
and one of the claws of the beast, ( for surely it could not be human), passed
just inches from the tip of my nose. The powers above surely had blessed

my journey for me to survive such an encounter. “Contrary to your belief,”
my guide said to me, “that indeed was one of the sinners in this second
division of the sin of Exploitation. It was one of the souls who in life

would pass on from woman to woman, or man to man, without a care
for any emotion other than physical pleasure. The heat of their passion
drove them to their sin, so in death they are punished in Hell by flares

that burn and destroy their bodies. Now I implore you, do not
pause again, unless you wish this be the place where you rot.

As per Hector’s wishes, I did not stop again. We went on to pass into
the second circle of Hell, the ring of abusers. The anterior division did
not frighten me as the others had, however, it had a very eerie quality. Too

short I time I believe we spent there, in order for me to grasp a full understanding,
but I will describe my thoughts, as well as those ideas given by my guide.
This was the ring where the verbal abusers were punished. Wandering

the barren white landscape as ghostly shadows, they had no physical form.
Along the edges of the cliff entering the circle, there were forty-two
demons placed at even intervals. Their faces were great horns, and from

these instruments, an almost visible wave of sound reverberated
constantly through the division. As my guide, Hector, informed me,
these souls in life destroyed the essence of their partners by berating

them with harsh words. They essentially destroyed the soul of their
close ones, so in death they are as empty and shapeless as they caused
others to be. And just as they verbally abused while living, so they are

abused in kind in death. During our passage through, my guide gave
to me cotton and wax with which to plug my ears, so I was not afflicted
by the dissonance. I wandered alongside some of the shadows, and having

no hearing, it was an eerie experience, this black and white world,
with living shadows flickering like the flame of a candle, as if any moment
it would be snuffed from existence. To me it seemed bliss, and I twirled

like an elegant dancer, in a trance, with no sound to distort my thoughts,
staring at the hypnotizing souls around me. I was irreverently pulled from
my daze by a sudden earsplitting blast of sound, and I realized I ought

to have remembered I was still in Hell, and on my own personal journey,
my mission to recover my beloved. Hector scolded me for my slight deviation
from the path, but quickly forgave me, for it was not to bad a mistake. We

hurried on to the second division after that, which I do not like to remember
because it was a terrible sight. Pits were spotted along the entirety of the circle,
and from these emanated a great many screams of pain. The tortured members

of the pits held a steady stream of curses and yells that I heard, while I passed
through the circle. Hector allowed me to stop at the edge of one of the pits, and I wished
he had urged me forward, for the sight, frightened me to tears. Claws rasped

the stone base inside; claws of great, indescribable beasts. I could see now why
the prisoners screamed so violently. The monsters chased the souls around and around
the bottom of the basin, as if for sport, like a dog chases a rabbit. The echoing cries

of the sinners were created when one of them was hooked by a claw of a beast.
I saw one creature throw a poor soul twenty feet above its head, toying with its
prey, and when the soul fell back down, he was impaled by two talons, and wrested

apart in a gory mess, his organs flopping to the ground with a squelch, and
blood splattering the walls, the beast, and even other sinners, adding to their screams.
As if to personally disgust me even more, the beast glanced at my with its great eye, and

began to maliciously devour the twice-dead corpse. I had to turn my eyes from the sight
and promptly vomited by the side of the pit. Hector briskly led me on, saying to me,
“As gruesome as it may be, their punishment is well deserved, for they used their might

to physically harm those that held them dear. So in death, their torment is to be harmed
themselves, by monsters which represent their own monstrous personalities. You
still must keep in mind that these are damned souls that reside here, so do not be alarmed

at the harshness with which they are treated. Come, let us continue.”
So on we walked, my insides churning, as we went to the next venue.

Entering the boundary of the third and final ring of Hell, I instantly noticed something
strange. I could see no signs of torture, or even of any sinners. In the first division,
all I could see was a field of what appeared to be mirrors, cracked and tilting.

It was entirely silent. Not a sound was to be heard, save for my own ragged breaths.
I had an ominous feeling about this place and I asked, “Surely this is not the final circle?
Do we not have two more divisions to cross before the end?” This part seemed to be death

in itself, the mirrors like tombstones in a deserted graveyard. “You are correct in
that there are two divisions left in Hell, but they are past where you need to be. This is
the end of your journey. Three tests you encountered along your path, and within

this circle you will discover your fate.” Like a shining beacon radiating throughout
the entirety of the world, a bright angel descended from above and gently took my hand.
She, for only a woman could posses this divine beauty, led me, and as we were about

to strike the first mirror, she gracefully lifted me and we glided through the air and
landed before a mirror with three distinct cracks running through the surface. The angel
gestured for me to proceed closer, and I slowly walked forward. Tentatively, with my hand

outstretched as if to touch the surface, I stepped once, twice, to position myself perfectly
in front of the mirror so I could see what was reflected within. To my surprise, it was
blank. Hector spoke from behind me, “The mirrors in this, the circle of oath-breakers, only

reflect those who have passed away. If you examine the other mirrors around you, you
will find the souls of the sinners trapped within. This here, is your mirror, Harlin. In life,
you did wrong to your beloved by deceiving her and for that sin, so should you too

be imprisoned here, with the other souls. You would be a distorted reflection in Hell,
your three oaths broken, shown here by the three cracks running down your mirror.
However, you alone of all the souls in Hell and on Earth, were given a chance to redeem yourself,

to absolve your soul from all sin, so when it you day to pass, you may ascend into Heaven.
That chance was represented by three tests here in Hell, one for each of your sins. The first
was the act of entering Hell, which you have obviously passed.” After he said this, seven

rays of light shone from the hand of the angel, landing on the mirror, and healing the first
crack. “Your second test was in the circle of Exploitation. When the damned grabbed you in the
piles of gold, and in the flames, there was a divine power protecting you. And so you passed

the second test.” Again, the rays shone and sealed the second crack. “And finally, the third
test. In the second circle, the division of verbal abuse, you were able to be taken out of the trance
that was placed upon you by the shadows. The three tests completed, you are absolved.” At his word,

the angel suddenly rushed forward, shattering the mirror into thousands of glittering crystals,
and came to a halt where the glass had stood. I could now see the features of this divine creature
and awe flooded into my face as I saw before me the face of my beloved. “Even though I left, still

I followed your journey through this place,” she said. “I was the force that kept for from harm
and help you to complete your tests. Because your heart stayed true, so I was able to help you,
and now we are reunited.” She surged forward, fusing with my being, with my soul, warm

tendrils of light traveled along my body, and we had become one. My task complete,
my beloved returned to me, there was no longer a reason to remain in this dismal place.
The veins of light lifted off our new body, forming great, golden wings. Our two feet

left the ground, the wings spread and we took flight to find a way out. We passed over
the second division of deceit, we saw the caged souls with their morphing red, blue, and green
bodies, writhing in pain. And we entered the final ring of hell, the scene of ever

lasting torment for those who had been unfaithful to the ones they loved. Limbs were strewn
across the plain, demons running to and fro beneath us, hacking with their great swords
at the already mangled and bloody bodies. In the center of the circle, the very center of hell, lay drawn

a giant of a man. From each arm and leg, a demon pulled and stretched him taut. His screams
of pain were like none I had yet heard, but my beloved kept me calm and we remained
one and the same. The mans limbs were torn from his body, and from the wounds poured streams

of scarlet blood, and his howls intensified. We aimed our self at the center of his torso,
for it was through him that the path out led. Our shining wings shifted and formed a new
tool for our use. We were shaped like an arrow, golden as the sun, and we were shot through

the air, pierced the man dead center and traveled straight and true. On the other side, we
stood, brushing the blood and gore from our shoulders. We were done. The journey was
finally complete. We could rest. A rock was a few steps away, but we collapsed on one knee

before we could reach it. We were tired. The light died from our body, and we separated
into our individual selves. However, we still had one mind. With our combined conscience,
we were heightened to new awareness. We could now see clearly what before was muddled

by misunderstanding of each other. From above,
a light shone, illuminating us. This was love.