I was lying on my back, and my body ached. I opened my eyes, and found it strange to see colors, and light. It wasn’t bright, but it was very dim and enough to make my eyes hurt. All those years in pure darkness sure messes up your eyesight.
Strangely, I was able to see clear in the dark, back in Inferno. I guess it was a special ability you earned once you cross to the other side.
In this world however, I had to cover my eyes until they got adjusted to the light again. I turned to my side and rolled on my stomach, but my body felt very heavy and weak. I never ate while I was in Inferno, so I couldn’t have been overweight.
Maybe it was the gravity.
I laid my head on the floor to recover my strength, and felt sand on my cheeks.
Was it sand? It can’t be.
I forced myself to get on my knees, and when I did, I looked around. It was nothing but a red sky and a deserted world. The sand was red too, like blood.
“Hello?” I cried.
There was a hellish silence. I didn’t see any spirits in this part of the world either.
What is this place?
I got on my feet, and I did my best to focus. I wasn’t sure if hell had a North, South, East or West, but I had to choose which direction to go. I decided to walk straight ahead; maybe I’d find someone, maybe the same one-eyed demon that almost killed me back in Inferno. Besides, I wanted to get some retribution.
And so I started on a new journey in the red world.
Chapter 9
Hours Later
There wasn’t a single soul on this side of hell. The good part about the underworld was that I never got thirsty, hungry or sleepy. I did get tired a lot, since physically and emotionally you still felt pain.
I’ve been walking on Mars for quite some time now, but I keep stopping and resting during my excursion, which got me nowhere. I got freaked out when a thought came to my mind, the thought of being stuck in here for all eternity, alone and walking in circles forever. I got on my knees, and just stared ahead at nothing. I would’ve rather been in Inferno, punching demons, than on Clifford the big red planet. I was beginning to mope from frustration. I tried to think of home, but few memories came. The little flashes that came up in my head were short and blurry. They were memories of my parents.
Were they still alive? How many years has it been since I last seen them?
I put those memories away, since they weren’t helping me at all. I couldn’t linger in the past anymore, I had to move on. It was the only way of surviving in this reality. From the corner of my eye, I saw a creature on four legs moving towards me very slowly. It had black and brown fur, and glowing red eyes like fire. I stood up quickly, ready for an attack, but the thing just kept its distance, trying to read me or something.
It was studying me while it walked around in a circle. Then it stopped and sat.
What was it doing?
I saw how his tail between his legs waved back and forth like cats’ do.
My body froze.
I couldn’t believe my eyes! I’ve seen this animal before! It was the same German Shepherd that we brought to Detarru Island.
How is this possible? Can it really be? It had to be! That’s the only dog I’ve ever seen with glowing red eyes. How could he have gone through The Gates of Hell? I thought I was the only one with that ability. Yet, there he was, right in front of me.
I took baby steps towards him, then extended my hand to pet him. I wanted to let him know I meant no harm. He just stared.
“Milo?” I called.
He cocked his head.
“You remember me!” the thing spoke.
I thought I was hallucinating. I think the big red planet had me going coocoo for coco puffs, and now, I was seeing and hearing things. If I were to guess, it looked like the dog had a smile on his face too.
“You’re joking!” I said.
“What is there to joke about?” he asked with this British accent, which sounded like that one butler from Batman.
“You’re not real. Get out of my head, demon!” I shouted, backing away from him.
“Demon? I’m no demon, child,” he answered.
“Then tell me this, if you’re so real, then how did you get here? Huh?” I asked, not convinced at all.
“Well, through The Gates of Hell, of course,” he said flatly.
He was right though. There is no other simple way of putting it.
“Then, explain this awkward conversation we are having right now”
“That’s because you’re a weirdo,” he mocked. “I think you’ve spent too much time here in Purgatory, and now you’ve lost your mind.”
“This is Purgatory?” I asked in awe.
“That’s right!”
“How did I get here?”
“I tried to get you in Inferno, but you ran off like a maniac, and ended up here, when you fell into a portal,” was his answer.
“That was you? I thought you were another demon chasing after me. How did you know where to find me?”
“I’m a dog, remember? I can smell your stench from miles away.”
Should I kick him now, or later?
“So, what you’re saying is, you went to some networking events, connected with a bunch of demons, and now you’ve got VIP access to travel from one dimension to the other? How does a dog get to do that?”
"I don’t follow ” he replied in confusion.
“Never mind, fur ball. So what now? Are you here to rescue me? Or you’re stuck in here too?”
“I came here to help you find your way back.”
“Well, getting out is not going to be easy,” I said. “There’s demons everywhere trying to eat my guts out.”
His smile disappeared and he came closer to me. This time he started sniffing my clothes.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I would’ve kicked him dead on the nose too, but thought he might bite back, so I didn’t do it.
“My God! I was right!” he exclaimed. "It’s only been a day and you've turned into a complete looney!”
I ignored that remark. The dog was a hell of a character. He sure was amusing.
“What do you mean a day? I’ve been trapped in here for months.”
“Ah! Yes. For us, on Earth, it’s only been a day. Time doesn’t exist here in the underworld.”
“Who are you?” I asked. I wanted to know how he was even involved in all of this. How can this dog possibly know about the underworld?
He looked straight into my eyes. I noticed his ‘I mean business’ expression. I stood there silently, waiting for him to speak, while he stared back with those red glowing eyes.
“My real name is Matheus Lazores. I was given the task to watch over you and protect you.”
“So, if your job is to watch over me, then that means you’ve watched me butt naked when I showered? Even when I took a dump?”
Even through his furry face, I saw he was annoyed. He gave me a stern look.
“I see the clown in you never changes.”
“Which side are you on?” I asked again, still not trusting him.
“Neither,” was his answer.
“So, why are you here? Are you here to help me? Or not?”
“I have something to show you,” was his reply.
"You came all the way out here, just to show me something?”
“Correct!” he said, with a warm smile.
I almost giggled. This was the first time I’ve seen a dog smile.
“Come with me and I’ll show you.”
“Where are we going?”
“I can’t tell you unless you see for yourself,” he responded. He turned and started strolling ahead. I wasn’t following. He turned to me again: “Well?” he said, “Are you coming?”
I didn’t trust the dog, but if he had answers to
all of this craziness, then I guess it was worth the try. Therefore, I joined him.
Together we strolled for another hour. So far, there was nothing to see but a red, sandy, and uncharted world.
Matheus stopped.
I stopped too, almost tripping over him.
Stupid Dog.
He stared ahead. I did too, but I couldn’t figure out what we were staring at exactly.
“Wow! Look at that! I see a lot of nothing!”
He ignored my sarcasm.
“This is what you’ve been looking for,” he said with a serious voice. I stared blankly at him. I was definitely not understanding.
I looked up, and didn’t see anything. I started walking straight ahead. My adrenaline was rushing and I was nervous. Very, very nervous. One step at a time, I counted my steps. 1, 2, 3... I was going up a cliff, 46, 47, 48. As soon as I got to the edge of the small cliff, I saw it. There was a humongous crater in the middle of the desert. To me, it was shaped like an upside down pyramid. It wasn’t deep, but it led downwards to something. I focused on an obstacle in the very bottom of the crater. Right in the middle, there was a square metal steel cage. It was about 10 feet tall and 36 inches wide.
I had to get closer.
I started going down to the bottom of the crater and it was very steep. Take a wrong step, and you’d be falling downhill, and crack your head open. Matheus was right behind me. He wasn’t having a hard time like I was. When I finally got to the cage, I tried to peek inside, but there weren’t any holes or small windows. It was all steel. I didn’t even see a lock, or chains to keep it shut. I studied the structure for a few seconds, both sides, back and front. I noticed it had a Detarrunian marking in the middle, the same skull-looking face that I saw on that skeleton key, which was used to unlock The Book of Mythos. I looked back at Matheus, who was also staring at the cage.
“In case you’re wondering, this is an ancient burial chamber. This chamber was sealed with magic many centuries ago. This is where Satu was incarcerated, by you.”
I had a flashback moment. The dream I had before coming to Detarru Island and the scratching sounds on a steel wall. Could this be connected?
The moment when you forget to breathe, and the whole world stops in front of you.
“Satu is inside that thing?” I stammered. I backed away slowly. I didn’t want to be anywhere near that monster. “Can he hear us? Is he alive?”
Matheus stared at me, entertained. He walked to the cage, and opened the door with his right paw.
“The chamber is empty,” he announced.
“What?” I shouted. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “Let’s get the hell out of here, hurry!” I was about to run from fright.
“Get a grip. He’s not in the underworld,” he guaranteed. He looked like he was ready to smack me in the back of the head with his paw.
“Where is he?” I asked still a little shaky.
“This is what I wanted to show you,” he kept on. “I wanted you to see for yourself, that before you and your crew came to the island, the Satunians prepared a surprise attack on the Detarrunians. They have slaughtered a huge percentage of them. Some of them were lucky to escape, but many were not as fortunate. Now that Satu is on the loose, he has already prepared his army to destroy mankind,” he concluded.
“That explains a lot. That’s why the island wasn’t guarded as it should’ve been. Are they all dead?” I asked, worried.
“Most of them left the island.”
“What about my parents? Are they…?”
“The Satunians have been preparing for their next attack. They are not aware that your parents are on the island yet.”
“So the Satunians are really preparing for war?”
“Yes, and Satu might be considering going global this time.”
“This is getting way out of hand, Matheus. All this time, I thought that beast was still locked up in here. I didn’t know he was out there getting ready to do damage on Earth. We need to do something, what should we do?”
“Unfortunately, you are not strong enough, neither do you have the power required to complete the task.”
“What task? What are you talking about?” I countered.
“You must understand; you aren’t the Ethasus that you once were before. You are weaker, and definitely not knowledgeable of the things from the past. Therefore, you won’t be able to change this future.”
“Look, there has to be something we can do here. Take me back to Earth, I’ll tell my parents about Satu. Mom knows a lot about this guy, and she knows his weaknesses. I’m sure my parents will be able to figure this out.”
“You’re the only one who can figure this out. There is a way you’d be able to fulfill your destiny, and destroy Satu for good.”
I eyeballed him up and down, waiting for an answer with anticipation. He was killing me with all the suspense.
“Come with me to Paradise,” he said.
“Are you serious? You expect me to just walk up to Heaven, have a cup of tea with you and Zeus? I really don’t have time for that right now,” I said pointing up at the sky.
“Someone is expecting you. You won’t stand a chance against Satu if you’re not trained properly.”
Here we go again.
“Just take me back to my parents. Together, we can figure something out. I know for sure my mother knows a way.”
“I can’t.”
“Why the heck not?”
“Ethasus, listen to me. We need to go to Paradise.”
“There’s no reason to go there, the way out is back to Earth, so take me there,” I demanded, infuriated. I really wanted to get out of this place, and he wasn’t helping at all.
I think I ticked him off.
His glowing red eyes glared at me.
“And there it is again, the reason why you’ll never be that courageous Ethasus you once were before. This is why Satu will reign once more, and you will not succeed. The world will crumble down in ruins, because their hero is a failure, hard headed, undisciplined, immature, doubtful and refuses to listen to simple instructions!” he shouted.
I couldn’t believe he just said that.
My blood was boiling inside of me, and so far, I wasn’t doing a good job with anger management in this place. I sure didn’t appreciate this dog telling me what I can or cannot do. Especially calling me a failure, when all I’ve been trying to do is survive. Who does he think he is? Isn’t it courage when you’re pushed into hell, and tortured for days? Not to mention, when you have to erase all memories of the people you love. A sacrifice you have to be willing to make, in order to carry on with this destiny. One that I never chose. If that isn’t courage, then what is?
“You think that by spying on me, you got me all figured out?” I shouted back. “Well you’re wrong, you don’t even know me. You have no idea who I am, or what I’ve been through. Yes, I might be irresponsible, hardheaded, undisciplined, immature and doubtful, but it’s only fair, because I’m only human. How dare you judge me? How dare you call me a failure, when all I’ve been trying to do is not be a disappointment to all of you? At least I’m trying to help, and sort this mess out. So stop assuming that you know everything about me, because you most definitely do not!”
I looked straight into his eyes. He backed away slowly, with his tail between his legs, and ran off. I guess this was his way of defusing the situation.
I was still heated, pacing back and forth, mumbling angry words, trying to cool off.
2 minutes later, Matheus retuned and sat in front of me.
“What is it now?” I said.
“I was wrong, my apologies, Ethasus. I never thought such words would affect you in such a way. My intentions were only to make you see reason, but in the process, I did not choose my words carefully and upset you instead. You are absolutely right! I don’t kno
w you. I don’t know what you’ve been through, and surely, I am no one to judge. The only thing I know is that you are the savior of the world, and I am your counselor. It is my duty to guide you on the right path, and to make sure you succeed, because if you fail, then I’ll fail too. We all will.”
I looked at him sideways and stood there quietly. He spoke with the honest truth. He was only trying to help me. I calmed down, thought about what he said, and had a flashback moment again. I remembered a time my mother told me that her duty was to protect me no matter what. I didn’t understand back then what she meant, but now I did. I was chosen to destroy Satu, so I’m not as useless as I thought I was. If that’s the case, whoever Bruce Almighty is up in heaven definitely won’t turn his back on me.
“Which way is Paradise?” I asked.
Chapter 10
The ground started shaking. It had to be an earthquake, or a Purgatory quake.
Whatever.
“What is that?” I asked, trying to hold on.
The sand was moving, and there was sand falling down from the top of the crater. We were standing in the worst place for this quake. If we didn’t move fast, we were going to end up buried under tons of sand.
Matheus’ ears were upright. His posture was even different, and he wasn’t relaxed any more. He was worried. There was something wrong.
“We must hurry! We can’t stay here any longer, follow me!” he shouted. He ran off ahead.
He was running up the steep hill and I was right behind him. It was difficult to hold on, especially when you’re running up a hill and the ground is moving under your feet. Even worse, the sand was falling in my eyes and mouth and it was hard to breathe or see.
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