- Welcome To Hell (Part 2)

Ring One: 

As she landed, Hyunji noticed the steepness of the ravine she was on, which seemed to flow in a large circle void around a river of blood. 

Steam and screams echoed out from the river bank.

Hyunji stepped carefully between the rocks, heading downward towards the waterfront. Large centaurs and other creatures of all shapes and sizes surrounded the area. The river of blood was alight with fire and oil as screams emanated from the murky waters. 

A crack between the rocks formed beneath Hyunji's feet, and she tumbled towards the river, splashing into the current.

Hyunji passed out for a brief moment, before coming to wake. The realization of what had just taken place shook her, and the adrenaline began to wear off as she took notice of her flesh burning. Kicking with all her might, she reached for the surface, her lungs aching for breath. 

The screams of the damned and the large creatures which laughed and attacked the souls in the river had now gone silent. She wiped at her eyes with her hand, briefly uncovering her vision as the creatures stood above her, looking down with blank faces. 

She crawled her way up to her feet, looking up at them, as one of them began to speak. 

"Hmmmm, you don't seem to be a dead human woman. What are you doing down here?" The largest centaur asked. A bow and a satchel of arrows were slung across his chest, and he looked down at her with skepticism. 

Hyunji wiped at her face once again before answering. "My name is Hyunji, and I was sent down here by a warden. I'm just trying to get out," Hyunji said. 

"Aha! Well you are certainly not the first to mention Gahana," The centaur laughed. The group of centaurs listened in to their conversation, looking at her with interest. 

"I'm Chiron, the leader of this circle you find yourself in. An enemy of Gahana? I suppose I wouldn't mind helping you a bit. Hop on." Chiron kneeled his horse legs to the ground, and she leapt onto his back. 

The second ring was a glowing orb, swirling through a dark matter, like a portal to another dimension. 

"Is this it?" Hyunji asked. 

"The only way out is down," Chiron neighed. "When you reach the bottom, run for your life. That's my only advice."

"What's down there?"

"Death, most likely. That's why we stay here, shooting arrows at the souls in that river. It's where we're comfortable. Where we belong. But you want to go back to the real world, right?"

"That's what I want."

Chiron kneeled, and she slid off his back. "Then go forth, young one. The universe awaits you."

Ring Two: 

Hyunji fell through the foliage, branches catching at her clothes and ripping across her skin. She hit the solid dirt ground on her back, knocking the air out of her lungs.

She coughed and rolled over as pain shot through her back. Now what?

She gazed into the shadows. Towering, twisted trees loomed over her, breaking through a sky painted in shades of crimson. They swayed and moaned in light gusts of wind, and whispers cascaded down like rainfall.

"I shouldn't have done it."

"Why did I pull the trigger?"

"I never should have jumped."

"Why did I hate myself?"

"Suicide…was the easiest option."

The trees wailed in pain as a large gust of wind pushed against them.

"Who is this…?" Said another voice, much closer to Hyunji. She spun around to find a tree towering over her. "Another lost soul?"

"I'm not lost," she said with a forced confidence. Am I really talking to a tree right now? "I'm headed downwards. Which way to the next level?"

"Youuuu…are not meannnt to go lower. Only painnn will await you," the tree whispered in a hushed tone. 

"I need to, it's a gut feeling. So which way do I go Mr…Tree Man?"

"I am not a tree. I am a trapped soul! I ended my life after my wife left me for my brother! She took my money, left me with crippling debt. I had nothing! With my home gone, I found myself living on the streets, begging for food. Then, one day, on a cold winter's night, I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped from the highest bridge in the city and ended it all."

"Damn."

"What?"

"That sucks, Mr. Tree Man. But how do I get to the next level? Surely this conversation wasn't for nothing?"

"You…," the tree shuddered, its brown leaves shaking violently on its branches. "What in God's name is wrong with you? Surely you deserve a place much worse than this."

"I'm sure I do. That's why I need to get out, go back to the real world."

The tree's branches quieted, and it spoke to her in an even softer whisper. "Reach the edge of the forest. That is the only way out for lost souls such as yourself.""

Without another word to him, Hyunji turned and ran.

"No, not that way, idiot." The tree called out.

She spun 180 degrees and took off in the other direction. 

The gnarled trees quickly began to thin out, and Hyunji reached a cliff that dropped off into darkness. A familiar river of blood flowed off into the pit only a few hundred feet away. 

It was natural at this point, jumping into pits so deep that they looked to be never ending. 

On to the next one.

Ring Three: 

Hyunji rolled down a scorching hill of sand, coming to a stop face down. She scrambled to her feet, gasping for breath. Spinning in a circle, she took in her surroundings. Vast, rolling hills stretched around her, and fire cascaded from maroon clouds.

Immediately, she began to sweat from the extreme heat. The flames attacked and singed her clothes, and she could smell her hair burning. The sand was even hotter. Already, the soles of her boots were melting away like butter in a hot pan. 

"Gah!" she grunted in pain as she stumbled across this new terrain. 

A hand erupted from the sand, snatching her ankle with its bony hand. 

She ripped her leg away, and the arm pulled away with it, separating from the main body. 

Groans of misery began to surround her, a wailing made her shiver to the bone, even in the unbearable temperatures. 

Hyunji watched as hundreds of arms exploded from the sand, and the dead rose.

A voice spoke then, deep and ruthless, echoing as if it were coming from every direction at once. "So you are the forbidden soul. They told me of your arrival not long ago. This plan of yours to reach the bottom level...is in vain. Forbidden souls must die. And I will be the one to do it."