Deep within the Darkness

"A demon!"

However, it was only an imp, a weak kind of demon that looked like a child. In the books that he'd read, demons were explained as shapeshifters that use human language and appearance to deceive those that are foolish. Once they let their guard down, the demons would then devour them. 

An imp barely knew how to deceive humans, it only acted on instinct yet their ability to shapeshift was still confusing. 

"The seven layers of Hell.." 

One of his greatest fears when he was a child was the existence of Hell itself. One of the stories published by esteemed scholars and explorers were the seven layers of Hell. 

It was described as the place for the damned and condemned, it was where the evil of humanity had resided.

The seven layers consisted of:

The First Layer, which was described as the purgatory filled with flames. This was called the Eternal Flame.

The Second Layer, the sea of the drowned, a place that stretched water all over the horizon. This was called the Eternal Seas.

The Third Layer, a place beyond frost, it was said that once you step in this place, you would instantly get frozen. This was called the Eternal Cold.

Finally, the last known layer that humanity has explored was the Fourth Layer called as Eternal Darkness. Any light would get absorbed by the darkness, and creatures lurked at every corner of this layer. This was the most unsettling. 

As stated from the books, There were 7 layers in hell, this was stated in the ancient scriptures that they have managed to encode. Although nothing is known beyond the Fourth Layer, only those with high enough Soul Ranks could survive in Hell. 

It was also said that once a Soul has been sent to Hell, the only way to escape is through a large spire that reached for the heavens. In it, you would face a couple of trials and prove yourself worthy of returning to the surface. 

Furthermore, there have been reports over the past decades of the arrival of demons from hell. Thus, explaining the existence of an imp in the surface world. 

However..

"Am I still on the surface?"

Veritas was unsure, his encounter with the imp could be explained by the recent sightings of the demons from hell yet a thought lingered in his mind. Could it be that he was inside hell? It didn't seem likely.. But there was a possibility.. 

The mysteries, the ancient Golden City, and the Flooding. Many questions were yet to be answered and without concrete evidence, Veritas couldn't come to a conclusion. 

"I have to be vigilant."

He could explore deeper the lower levels of the Golden Tower, yet Veritas also considered the dangers. What if it were not an imp that ambushed him? Would he still survive?

He could consider the risk of using the wind to slowly get down the Golden Tower but failure of doing so would instantly cause death. 

In any case, Veritas still wanted to dive deeper and search for the answers to the mysteries. By investigating the remnants of an ancient civilization, he would come across the truth somehow. 

The foreboding feeling of being watched still existed in his mind, as he got closer to the heart of the city, he could feel the watcher's gaze becoming heavier. 

With that, Veritas rested for a while and prepared himself to dive deeper onto the lower levels of the tower. 

Feeling confident with his senses expanded by the winds, he gripped his Wind Blade and slowly made his way under the stairwell. 

*

Veritas felt nothing yet.. His winds scouted every corner of the room, and everything felt quiet. 

This floor was similar to the floor above, with luxurious ornaments, rooms for nobles, and etc.. Veritas almost wondered if these large towers served as an inn or a place for nobles to stay in. 

"It can't be right-"

A tower of this scale had to serve a big purpose, it can't be a measly living quarters for royalty to live in. It had to be something more!

Or maybe it was just a living quarters for the royalty..

"No way.. No way.. No way.."

Veritas shook that thought, feeling that all of his efforts were all for naught. As a lover of history and everything mystical, his thirst and curiosity for the truth were insatiable. There was always a driving force that gave him the gall to know the deeper meaning to everything.

"Having a curious soul feels so nice."

And dangerous..

One could not pry directly to the divine after all..

After determining that the floor was clear and clean, Veritas decided to descend once more. The reflection from the Sun was gone now, so it had turned even darker. However, with the winds increasing his senses, it was no hurdle for him. 

Descending into another floor, Veritas saw the same view. His hope of learning the truth dwindled down a bit. Although he was still wary of potential enemies, his face was dejected due to the lack of information.

"I guess it is like this sometimes.."

Veritas remembered back to when he was hunting the Gargoyle Knight of the South. He once came across a ruined castle, all mossy and destroyed. After searching and venturing every corner of the place, he found nothing that could satiate his curious mind. 

In the end, all he could do was sulk in a corner of the castle. .

"T-There are still more floors to explore!"

Veritas clung onto the embers of hope deep within him. He used the winds to sense danger from the floor and found nothing. It was quiet once again..

"This class is quite useful after all!"

He did not expect the utility of a Whisperer to be very helpful in such a situation. Furthermore, although the wind whispered to him in every direction, he did not even think of using the wind as an extension to his senses! 

The encounter with the imp was truly marvelous, it made him learn and grow even more. 

With those thoughts in mind, he decided to descend once more..

*

It was pitch-black.

Even with Veritas' clear eyes, it could not adjust to the darkness at all. Using the wind as an extension of his senses, Veritas scouted the room. He could not determine the specific objects that the wind felt yet this floor seemed different from the previous ones. 

Standing before him was a golden door. It was different from the room doors that the royalty had but this door was one made to withstand and attack. 

It took a lot of strength to even get the door to move. So, Veritas spent a lot of time pushing the heavy door. There seemed to be something blocking it on the other side. However, once he'd succeeded, he used his hands to see. 

The door seemed to be thick, 3x the thickness of the door from the previous floors. As for the objects blocking it.. they were not objects at all.

They were..

"Humans!"

Statue-like humans stood by the door, some were reaching for it and some looked like they were forcing their way through. However, the door had no dent whatsoever. Whoever manufactured the golden door did a great job.

The concerning thing was the amount of humans aiming for the golden door. There were at least a dozen of them here, and none of them felt alive anymore. 

Veritas paid his respects to the fallen once more..

"May your Souls rest in peace.."

It was alarming seeing this many golden statues that were once humans gathering up all on one spot. Furthermore, they were heavy!

Veritas moved them with care, placing each one of them side by side and never letting one get scratched or damaged, creating a safe and spacious hallway. After a couple of minutes of hard work, he had finished. 

Using the wind to sense his surroundings, Veritas felt something was off. He readied his Wind Blade and stayed wary of the circumstance. If there really was something on this floor, he had to either face it or flee from it. Naturally, clearing a safe path for escape was ideal. 

The wind turned cold all of a sudden, this sent a chill down his spine. 

He decided to slowly walk towards the hallway and face whatever was residing inside the floor. He could not see anything in the darkness and had to rely on the winds for coverage. 

With careful and calculated steps, Veritas arrived at the end of a hallway only to be met by another thick golden door. Only this time, it was open widely..

Entering the door, he was met with stillness and silence. It had been silent to the prior floors from before but this time.. the silence was unnerving. It was as if something in the darkness was lurking. 

The surroundings were much different from the previous floors, it felt destroyed and ruined. It felt like something had come to devastate whatever was in this floor. 

With every step he took, he noticed that the floor was crooked, it was not as level as the ones from before. It seemed broken and shattered. 

Veritas felt dread, time felt like eternity, and every step was heavy. Something.. was lurking inside this floor. As he continued forward with wary, he felt something blink at his side. 

Startled, Veritas quickly gazed at the direction of this action! He turned his head and saw a gigantic glowing red eye staring at him deep within the darkness. 

It stared deeply inside his Soul as if aiming to devour it. He felt it salivating its tongue and preparing to take a bite.

Yet... the attack never came. 

The eye stood in place, it couldn't move at all!

Its body was turned into gold!