Prologue; Limbo, Purgatorio

You are lead out from the underground pit of hellacious suffering by someone named Mister Sir, garb in all velvet black with a flowing swanky trench coat and thick, sleek jet black shades. His hair is nicely kept and it seems his demeanor overall and all around is completely professional. When you emerge from wherever you had been, which now no longer is accessible to you, you appear at Ground Zero; the only solid foundation of understanding that you have any real comprehension of beyond the ambiguous land of darkness and suffering you were once trapped in with no method of escape at all. This space is a completely flat, 2 dimensional surface allowing you to stand grounded on something sturdy and solid. Everything else around you is desolate. However, you stand at a gateway into a realm unknown. It is the only thing before you, and it is apparently some sort of ascent into a higher level of existence, perhaps even to get a vantage point on if there is something else around you other than complete desolation. The gate is completely open.

I follow Mister Sir out from the pit of darkness, where I have just witnessed many of my friends, family, loved ones and strangers similar to me get completely destroyed in a fit of ambiguous chaos beyond my comprehension. Stunned, I look around at all those that are like me, who are also scared and confused, like me. Eventually, I speak up from the crowd, "Where are we going? What just happened?" After gaining a bit of confidence, I say more. "Where did we just come from? And what are we supposed to do?" I stay in the crowd of people, patiently awaiting an answer, but become nervous and distraught the longer I do not have it. I feel as though I could panic and become irrational soon.

No one else around You speaks to You. Everyone is like They are dead, even though They are full of life. You are the only one that seems to be consciously aware that You're going anywhere at all, and Everyone else seems to be moving along without a fuss, as though brainwashed. Mister Sir hears you, but doesn't respond immediately. Instead, he takes You all the way to the gate. "You should already know by now," was all he said, and Anyone who was coming with him would be taken with him immediately. Everything was explained before they got there, and it seemed like everyone else knew that. Anyone and Everyone who was left behind would remain as they were at the gate.

From there, on behalf of Mister Sir, the $yndicate made as a systematic architectural structure would move things along for Mister Sir, since You chose not to keep up with Him. Instead, You are now forced to work through the $yndicate, also and otherwise known as your Government System.

The first thing You need to do is find someone who will answer Your questions within the City or Society You are located in.

Many people had seen the supernatural events occur. It wasn't just that one woman whose mind was shattered and her body was taken away by another supernatural being that some heard was the Devil, himself. Many had probably seen him in one of his other incarnations over the course of their lives and didn't know it, but seeing him actually use a supernatural ability before their eyes struck fear into their feeble hearts and minds. The land trembled. None knew what to do, and were now far more stuck than ever.

With no one telling the People what to do and how to do it, They grew far more panicked. Others took advantage of the panicking of the others and would begin to do any of the following; kill, lie, cheat, destroy, steal and all else under the sun that came to mind first during the confusion. Many only sought to take advantage of everyone else, and with that, nothing was left sacred.

I simply watched as these things happened, and immediately realized that I was not safe here with these people. They would turn against me for any reason that serviced them at the time. Nothing meant anything to them, and so, I know that if I made Them upset, they would kill me, or lie to me, or cheat me, destroy me and my things, steal from me and anything else they could think of to express their disdain and gain an advantage for themselves. They were a savage and lawless people, and being near them made me feel completely unsafe and sick. Is this the world I live in? Why am I trapped here? Is there anything better, or am I stuck here with these wicked people that do not learn and do not want to do anything better for themselves, but only worse things for other people? I cannot take it. So, I start up the mountain. That seems to be the only escape from these heathens. That mountain...

"A runner..."

"Begin the Test. Release the Weapons of Mass Destruction."

"Sins, Test The Wicked."

"Lust, Go Forth."

A Voice spoke to the $yndicate.

*ksh* "The Herd is getting unruly. Remind them why they are where they are." *ksh

"Copy that," one of the men from the $yndicate said, relaying the message to all the Men in Black, "Open up your Books and brace yourselves. You know what to do." From there, all of the $yndicate that were securing the city of Sin would open up the Bible and begin to read what is supposed to be done about those who Sin and do not actually follow the Law of God.

A Rebellious Nation

Isaiah 1:2

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.

3 The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."

4 Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.

5 Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.

6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness -- only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil.

7 Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

The $yndicate looked around to see if this place matched the description as in the Holy Book; it was so. They would flip through the Book a lot, searching for the exact manner in which the sinners were to be dealt with. For many years, these men in black dealt with the sinful from a distance, never letting them know that they were both watching and doing the Lord's work in secret, but now these unholy people had gotten too unruly, and the chance to openly execute them was almost at hand. They would remain patient, waiting for the sinners to become even more unruly so that extreme measures could be taken against them. There was already blood in the streets and nothing was sacred. These men were already disliked for their servitude as it was, so one good bloodbath shouldn't have altered their image at all, making it any better or worse. They were just as tired of the sinners as anyone, and having to watch over them and regulate them like the animals that they were. All they needed was to be given the word to open fire, and then true hell would break loose around here.

They that Sinned would continue on, caring nothing for anyone or anything except themselves. Whomever wanted what they wanted would have what they wanted and destroy anyone or anything in their way. If someone wanted a home, it would be stolen. If someone wanted glory, they would beat someone else until they glorified them. If someone wanted happiness, they would snatch it from whomever else had happiness, caring nothing whether they were left sad or not. And those who were victorious smiled all the while, knowing they had gotten what they wanted by whatever means they wished; any means necessary. At the end of the day, all that matters is what They want as individuals, and no one else matters to Them.

That is; I or Die.

"IT IS I," cried Sin, itself "NOW DIE." He slammed his burning hand down from above and struck the nations with Wrath, causing everything and everyone under him to burn with hatred for each other and senselessly kill each other whilst Sin was allowed to watch and drink their blood. "HOW DO YOU LIKE MY POWER? DOES IT TASTE GOOD, INSECTS?!" And, when he raised his hand, a new generation of Sinners would rise up. It may have taken several decades, but Sin was patient. And so, when his hand was lifted and prosperity was thriving... He struck them with Wrath again, and they would slaughter their children. "HAHAHAHA."

It took some time, but eventually, the People realized that they had seriously fucked up and their land was cursed, somehow. They watched as some sacrificed their children for their own personal gain. Women wanted luxury and enough money to look attractive and rope a fine man, so they threw their children in the fire and sacrificed them in order to have enough money for themselves. Then they carried on with their lives as though nothing happened, adorning themselves with fine jewelry and looking at themselves in the mirror.

Men that were trying to afford a Prostitute, of which some of the women that had thrown their children into the fire had become, would also cast their babies into the flames in order to acquire pleasure for themselves. The mentality here is 'I Or Die,' and it was clear that not even children were safe from it.

Eventually, another person became self-aware in the Crowd about the wrongness of these actions, and they would flee into the Mountain, wanting nothing more to do with this Sin.

"Huh. No Escape." Sin followed the people wherever they went. As long as they sinned, Sin would be there to dictate what happened during each and every last Sin that occurred. And so, Sin, chained to each and every one of its Slaves, would break off a small piece of itself and send it up the mountain to do an annual 'Street Cleaning.' Anything and everything that was on the mountain that Sin passed over would face Sin to the utter, bitter death. If Sin was not dead inside of them, Sin would kill them for thinking they were strong enough to run away. "BACK TO WORK. I NEED MORE SOULS." And so, Sin would press its hand over the land casually, afflicting the City of Sin with its very existence within them. "THEY'RE SO FUCKING STUPID. AHAHAHAA!"

The City became worse day after day. Many people ran into the streets, seeking the Men in Black for help. "PLEASE!!!!" someone cried out, tripping over themselves, tears and blood running down their faces. "HELP ME, PLEASE!!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!" He fell to the ground, looking as though he could barely walk, or even stand, but urgently and desperately needed to escape from whatever situation he'd been in. He reached his hands out to the men, asking by the grace of God for their mercy.

The Man in Black, of which was called 'Sir' by Default Standard, would open his Bible and take a step back from the sinner who had brought this curse upon themselves, not wanting to become Unclean and thus be Cursed the same way. As it was written, touching those that were unclean was a sin. "Ew, get away," he would say, almost wanting to kick the man away, but instead would not be so hostile. No, he was already suffering enough from that nasty Sin afflicting him, and the Sir would have nothing of it, except to purify that Sin.

"Alright, here... Let me read you this scripture. The wisdom should help you."

Leviticus 4:13 If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realize their guilt

14 and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the tent of meeting.

The Sir closes his book and looks at the poor man, saying to him, "Now, a 'Young Bull' can be many things. It can be an actual bull. It can be a picture of a bull. It can be a sculpture of a bull. It could even be an arrogant and buck-wild youth in the community that acts like a 'Young Bull' and it will still be accepted. So, what you need to do if you want to remove this Sin from you is find a 'Young Bull' to offer to the Sin itself so that it is persuaded to leave you alone. If you don't offer it something to leave you alone after you have Summoned it by Sinning, then the Sin will remain with you and torment you forever." The Sir smiled. "Off you go, now."

A Voice would radio the Sir on his earpiece.

*ksh* "Some of the Sinners are Clean. Treat them differently from the Unclean ones. Make sure you know the Book so you can tell the difference between the Clean and the Unclean. Don't touch the Unclean under any circumstances, but get all of the Clean out of the City." *ksh*

A Dark Hand Carrying A Mountain In Its Grip Would Drop 'Burning Bodies' Onto The Mountain That Already Existed, Increasing The Amount Of Labor For The Flames To Burn Away And For The People Scaling To Climb.

"The Suicides And All Who Gamble Away And Waste The Good And Substance Of Their Lives And Weep In That Sweet Time When They Should Be Gay." -- Dante's 'The Inferno' Canto XI, Circle 6: The Heretics.

The Valparaiso Denizens that had just recently been deceased and willingly gave up fighting the inevitable death that surely would overcome them due to how they lived their lives would appear now at and as the mountain that was dropped all at once into another pile, where they saw many faces; some known, many unknown, and a great deal of historical figures spoken of in ancient times and legend and folklore and even their most recent history. All of them now made up this mountain of waste and destruction that was slowly, but surely, being burned away as it was being cleaned up.

"Well, guess we went to hell." They looked around and found that this could be no other place. It looked like everything around them literally was hell, and people were dying like crazy. The ones that were willing to live on in a life of sin and/or lawlessness would rise up, but those that were lost or afraid or had given up would remain on the mountain, wasting away and burning up without getting up at all. "It's a place to live, ain't it?" At least there was a town here, even if it was worse than the one they lived in before. They should be right at home here.