Chapter 3: To Hell and back

“Welcome to Hell.”

Jun stood before the beast, speechless. Was this a dream?

It certainly felt real to him.

His eyes darted to his stomach. The wound was gone.

Could this be the afterlife?

Was he dead?

Jun’s mind was running wild again. He hated that feeling; as if the control over himself was slipping away.

“Well, this place didn’t really have a name at first. Humans started calling it ‘Hell’, so we just stuck with it.” It continued.

“Who...are you?” Jun stammered, quivering.

“I am Ox-Head, a Riftwalker tasked with guarding ‘Hell’. I have a partner, but he’s off-duty for now. You’ll meet him soon.”

Soon? Jun was itching to get out of here. Exchanging pleasantries with the residents of Hell was the last thing on his mind.

“How do I leave this place?”

“Hell consists of eighteen levels. Conquer one and you’ll earn its prowess before getting sent back. Ready?”

Jun was anything but ready. He had barely comprehended the sentence he just heard.

Four walls rose from the ground, encasing Jun. It was another elevator.

“Wait, wait! I still…”

The elevator plummeted into the ground.

Ding!

Once again, the door opened. Jun felt an increase in the ambient temperature.

Certainly not as hot as the flaming Hell Jun knew of.

He walked forward to analyse his surroundings. A vast expanse of nothingness. He could see, but there was no light source, no sun illuminating this level.

Jun felt a tugging sensation on his left ankle.

He glanced at his foot, to see a pinkish worm-like figure wrapping around it.

And then Jun realised.

The ridge down the middle, the slightly damp feeling and the pointed end. It was a human tongue, emerging from the ground. Jun tried pulling his foot away, to no avail. The tongue tightened its grip. At this point, another tongue appeared, curling itself around Jun’s right arm.

“Already stuck on the first level? Not good. The Hell of Liars is supposed to be the easiest.’

Jun, still immobilised, strained his head to see the source of the sass. It wasn’t Ox-Head.

“You’re kidding.” Jun wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

This time, the Riftwalker had a horse for its head. This must have been the partner Ox-Head was talking about.

“How apathetic of Ox. You’re prowess-less, can’t control rift energy, yet he still threw you in here.” The horse-headed Riftwalker muttered, rather condescendingly.

“Care to lend a hand? Kinda stuck here.” Jun retorted.

“Sure. This one’s on the horse.” It replied, chuckling at its own attempt at humour.

The Riftwalker snapped its fingers. The tongues decayed instantaneously, ceasing from existence within seconds.

Jun stretched his now-stiff body.

“Thanks. I don’t think we’ve met before, I assume you’re Horse-Head?”

“Horse-Face, actually. Did Ox already introduce me? Anyways, when you go back, I recommend using it to stop the bleeding.”

At that moment, Jun experienced an epiphany, but he couldn’t quite tell what the revelation was. It was as if an instinct had been planted inside him; like a dog claiming its territory, or an infant knowing how to latch.

The elevator appeared. By this point, Jun had become unfazed by it.

He stepped into the elevator.

“We await your return.” Horse-Face spoke.

Jun wished otherwise.

The elevator began to rise, much to his relief.

Ding!