Book 1 Chapter 34: A walk amongst the gaze of purgatory, part 1

Chapter 34: A walk amongst the gaze of purgatory, part 1

Jaeger took a deep breathe before turning around, as if the last bit of fresh air he would get would be his last. He didn't light his smoke up either, but fidgeted with it for a while before pocketing it.

*whirr*

Jaeger cranked the portable electrical generator, that appeared from Frog, without discharging it. The reason for this was because one, he already had the bracelet, and two when you didn't discharge the energy it would fill up the crystal at the end and emit blue light. Not a whole lot, but enough to see by.

A torch was the second option, but for some reason Jaeger felt that it wouldn't be the right choice currently. When he had seen the fire energy of the lantern affect a spirit, the idea that maybe too the energy of the generator affecting something was equally possible came to be.

'Heavenly Lightning' was the bane of spirits right? Or so some books said'

Its soft blue glow was definitely offsetting in the pitch darkness. Unlike white light or the light of a flame, this blue light illustrated shadows and shapes a whole hell of a lot differently. It was like being underwater, where everything regardless of the color had the main hue of blue.

The 'hole' that had been created was certainly gouged from the earth, but the underbelly of the earth containing the flat earth at the base was certainly well proportioned and manmade.

The reasoning for this was the architecture that filled the spaces he walked by. Tall arches peaked out of the shadows, peaking into a roof-like structure of cobbled stone and metal. Time to time there were unlit braziers, having long extinguished their contents.

Jaeger wiped his finger along the cold iron rim of the brazier by him only to find he had dented it an inch, that isn't to say the iron itself, but the inch layer of sediment and ash that covered it.

'Strange…' He looked down the dark corridor, into the pitch darkness, shining his blue glowing electrical generator in the direction he was moving towards.

His eyes followed traces of steps on the ground until he met a forked path. What the strangest was, there were two sets of foot prints now. One going left, and one going right. It was as if the moment Tom chose to move in a direction, a mirror copy of him had branched off.

The steps were so identical, to Jaeger it looked as if a mirror had cut the corridor in half and made a copy of the other side down to every detail.

"No…it isn't a copy…it's the others toms choice!" Jaeger took out his smoke and lit it up without a care this time.

Somehow, Tom had died here but still managed to leave this place and attempt to protect his friends or rather the school in the afterlife. The curse of the school compound didn't seem to have affected him the same way, as he didn't die within its 'field of vision and touch', which also thankfully meant the curse couldn't breach the walls of the church.

However, after finding the monks dead it meant something else existed here. As the system had said this was also a door to purgatory, Jaeger wondered how in what regard Tom had escaped its clutches or rather escaped the church to arrive back at the compound.

If one set of the tracks was the previous choice, then the latter of course would be the current Tom he was following. What had changed? The giving of the lantern, the protection of Tom from the spirits, as well as the fact Jaeger simply existed where he hadn't before.

'Light…' Jaeger shown the light down either path, one seemed further down the way a bit more refined and well-made whereas the latter, or the left direction, didn't seem to be so. If Tom had the light, he would've chosen the better looking path but in the same regard the confidence that the lantern gave him might have spurred him to go down the less trekked path.

Left path then.

Jaeger went left and followed the tracks, his intuition was telling him several things as well. The path to the right had an ominous and dark feeling, whereas the path on the left seemed to have been made and then forgotten because of some specific reason. If a person built such a meticulous corridor and then continued in a different direction then a naturally made path, it would seem they had intentions to find something.

Or rather, they thought merely this natural path had nothing to offer.

A small beam of reddish white light shown far down the corridor, with this as a cue Jaeger was glad he had chosen the left Path. It would seem Tom was indeed down this path, as that was the light of the lantern he had given him.

The dust gave silent steps, and the blue glow was faint from far away in the darkness. Thus, Jaeger slowly approached the white reddish light, and then discharged the hand held generator into his hand before storing it away.

He slipped a glove on to cover up the now glowing backside of his hand, and then crept along the wall while keeping a good distance.

Tom was looking around the naturally made cavern in front of him, the lantern being able to give much more sight in the dark he found several clues that confused him.

One, no person had been in this cavern in a long time.

Two, this cavern didn't have the eerie feeling he had picked up from the right path.

The sound of soft patters and trickles rang out in the darkness, as Tom shined the lantern in the direction of the sound, both he and Jaeger caught the sight of a water fall hugging a wall. Its clear stream and water bank below distorted the light and cascaded beams across the walls in chaotic patterns. Tom slowly approached the water falls edge and looked into the water only to find a very deep well in its place. With seemingly no end, he couldn't see the bottom as the lantern couldn't reach that deep.

Jaeger, shrouded in his cape, approached the adjacent side of the water fall like a phantom and peered down into its contents. He saw the same, and became confused a bit before Tom shook his head to himself and walked off down further into the cavern.

Tom slowed his steps as his lantern shown its light upon two pairs of legs in front of him. Each leg the width of a barrel, he was spooked for a second until he realized it was carved from stone. As he slowly tilted the lantern, the rest of the body of this stone statue before him was shown.

It was a valiant figure, one who's essence and aura was carved deeply into the earth it was made from.

Tom took several steps back as he gazed upon the figure with armored shoulders and a sword at his waist. He didn't know who he was, but the sight of it gave the impression of the grave of a king.

"Spirit of the afterlife, that in which protects this land, tell me your wishes" Tom slowly spoke out a verse he knew from one of his classes.

Jaeger tilted his head, 'Just what kind of fucking school…ya know what…fuck it…' He shirked the confusion to curriculum, and focused his gaze on the statue.

The statue didn't move, but the trickling sound of the waterfall from afar soon turned into the sound of a lapping lake as if the water was being stirred by something. Jaeger had turned his head to the sound, but soon whipped his head back as Tom fell on his ass holding the lantern in his arms.

The figure from the statue had materialized before him in the same posture and form. The spirit tilted its head down to Tom and wandered its gaze over him, "Young child…you have been given many burdens, not much unlike my own…"

Tom slowly stood up and looked at the figure who was a head taller than him and far more muscular then Brent, "What is your burden valiant spirit?"

The spirit chuckled, his deep gaze wandered into the darkness beyond Tom and looked directly at Jaeger but he didn't say anything of the sight and turned his gaze back to Tom, "Valiant…thank you for the compliment. I am tasked with guarding the door to purgatory; one of many…this door was a natural occurrence in the nature of man. Whereas…the curse latched onto you… stemmed from the many sacrifices made at another door of purgatory…"

"Door of…the well…" Tom felt a chill up his spine.

"Yes…this 'well'…that is one such name." The spirit wandered its gaze beyond Tom again, its eyes meeting with Jaeger's as if to tell him to listen attentively, "This well cannot be closed on this side…one must venture into the depths of purgatory, and close it from the other side. It is a sacrifice that must be self-made…self-sacrifice of good will, rather than ill intent and maliciousness. It would be the equivalent to adding tea to oil, you dilute the will of the curse, and thus make the door unstable."

Tom nodded as his gaze changed, "I see…then I shall sacrifice myself for my wrong doings"

The spirit gazed at Tom for a long while, "Why is it that you choose to do so?"

"Because…I made a promise to protect my friends, and if I don't do this…well I'll probably die anyway, and won't have half the chance to do the same in the afterlife"

"These…are the words of an old man" The spirit turned to his statue, a bit satisfied with the reply with Tom.

Jaeger nodded solemnly as well, 'I'm a bit in the same situation as well…I understand how you feel.' Jaeger's life so far has been a roller coaster of tasks and quests to fulfill, without regard to his own feelings. Each time he moved his feet it was not in the direction of self-preservation, but that of the direction of protection for those he cared for.

Of course doing his best to survive was also a part of it, if he wasn't alive then how could he help them?

In this world the afterlife was no different than that of the living. To protect future generations even after you died was something many kept by. Or rather, some viewed it as good karma.

Tom reflected on himself for a long while, "What is it that I must do…"

The spirit turned its eyes from the statue of its depiction, "You…hmm…the door near here is unstable, the death of the monks seemed to have made it ajar. You have the choice of closing this door, or the one at that school. However, your choice will impact this place likes ripples in a lake…"

Jaeger had a very strange feeling well up in his stomach hearing these words from the spirit out loud, so very much close to the quest he had been given by the boon of mystery.

"Choice huh…" Tom rubbed the top of the lantern in his hands in thought, "Do I just leap into the well?"

"Certainly not…" The spirit didn't hesitate to speak in this regard, "You must first die."

"So it is my spirit that can enter through the door, but I must be a spirit before I can do so?"

"Correct" The spirit nodded, "This was how I came to protect this side of the door. This door wasn't originally ajar as it is now, so when I was near my time of passing I choose to die hear…and use my spirit as a means to guard the door from ever being opened…I failed at that."

"Hmm…do you know what would happen if I chose the other path?" Tom asked a question that had been on Jaegers mind.

"You would've died…I believe…your will would've brought you to your other friends…but left the door ajar he to be opened by the spirit of the head monk of the church…it would seem that he had ill intentions, after sacrificing the other monks he will use the spirits that lie dormant under the church to open the door and feed it. Making a large region under his dominion."

"What?" Tom asked, while Jaeger had to stop himself from blurting out the same word.

"The church…is built upon the land of many great battles, death and carnage filled this land long ago. The spirits of the army under me were buried under this place while after their death a church was built over the graves to give them good will into their eternal rest…because of the great amount of blood shed, a natural door was opened to the afterlife. This…happens, but rarely. After the battle when I found this cave in the earth, I felt the touch of this door and chose to leave my last breathe here to keep the door shut and my men safe in the afterlife…that is my responsibility as their king.

However…someone had provoked the door, and killed the safe keepers of their grave…if he opens the door, he will feed the spirits of my men to it…and undead shall rise from this church…the law of the universe will not allow this place to be open to the after life and as such…this land will upheave itself into a state of existence between life and death. It will become a purgatory, and that person will control it as its lord."

Jaeger nodded, "So that's how it came to be…if Tom doesn't close this door, then the demiplane will come to be…but if he doesn't close the other door…his friends will die, and the curse will spread upon the land…this is two sides of the same coin…"

The spirit smiled, "However…"

Tom and Jaeger lifted their heads a bit to listen with hopeful gazes.

"if you had chosen the right path…you would never have met me, because you chose this path…I will be the spirit to close this door. However…"

Jaeger and Tom's gaze defocused a bit in anticipation.

"As I said…you and I share the same burden…you must be the one to close the other door…I am sorry young one"

Toms mouth twitched as his heart pounded hard in his chest, "I…thank you…valiant spirit, we shall die together then and meet on the other side of purgatory, ill protect your men by giving my life in their stead." Tom slowly backed up and turned his feet only to find the spirit had called to him again, "Young one…the reason I failed, was because I didn't have someone to call me forth from my slumber, the monks that would be tasked with this were all killed…if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have the chance to atone for my sins either."

Tom nodded as the spirit drew its sword from its waist and smiled a ferocious grin, "i…am going to make that monk pay dearly…nobody…harms my soldiers" He vanished in a wisp of golden light.

Jaeger's mouth hung half open, even as Tom trudged by his hidden figure in the darkness.

'Holy fuck…'

Tom had almost left the large cavern by the time Jaeger shook his senses straight and followed after him. The clangs of swords rang out as the once still bones buried in the earth crawled from their graves. The two continued on their path until they met the fork in the road, with Jaeger at a distance of course.

Skeleton soldiers passed by him in droves, platoons and regiments flooded the right path like a tsunami as a golden figure led the way. Tom closed his eyes as the sound of a spirit in agony rang out. The skeleton soldiers soon came back out and crawled back into the depths they came from as that same golden figure emerged from the right path.

"I'm going to drag him to hell along side me" The valiant figure said with a monk hanging from his left hand. The monks spirit looked as if it was a piece of paper that had been sliced into pieces, and bit in several places. He wailed in protest, "Fuck you! Fuck the church! I will control the darkness!"

The same lines of some failed villain.

The valiant figure smiled to Tom, patted his shoulder and vanished.

"I hope it's that easy for me…" Tom whispered as he moved towards the hole in the earth only to find a chain dangling from up above.

"Did he leave this for me to climb with?" Tom grasped the chain and hauled himself up. Jaeger on the other hand rolled his eyes as a *ding* sound rang out.

'Boon of mystery: Successfully bring Tom to the church completed, closing the door of purgatory layed beneath it. Reward will multiply later if not chosen now.

Y/N'

'No…I'm not done yet anyway.' Jaeger sighed as he waited a minute or two and then gripped the dangling hand of the chain and whipped up to the ground level floor.

*ding*

'Boon of mystery: Follow Tom back to the school, and help close the door to purgatory. End the curse, and save the students.'

'Why is this one so much simpler this time…'

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The two took about a day to get back, with a rest in-between they arrived at the school compounds entrance at dusk. Tom held the handle of the schools main door with a solemn look on his face.

He could leave right now, escape the vicinity of the school and just get the hell out of here. He was human, of course he didn't want to die.

He wasn't the type to not keep a promise though, although by going to the church he hadn't recruited help he had certainly done something that was needed to be done and found the information to stop what was happening at the school.

What kind of feeling was it to stand before your grave?

That was the feelings in Toms guts right now.

Jaeger watched from afar as the teen in turmoil. He felt horrible in side, he had heard the words of the spirit too and knew why Tom was so conflicted. He was destined to die.

As Tom was hesitating a girl came out from the forest to the entrance and let out a surprised gasp.

"Tom?"

"C… cadence?" He asked as his hand slipped from the gate.

She smiled and ran up and hugged Tom, "It's been a long time, I heard you had left, and that some students were still here and so I had come to see how you all were with everything going on…my uncle is the head of the village closest to here, and so when I heard the news I planned on doing him a favor and coming to check it all out"

"You never told him?" Tom rebuked, "You know how he is…" Tom only knew the village leader because of the fact he was a village leader, he had never spoken to him but knew about how meticulous he was.

Cadence, just so happened to be that head leader's niece. She hadn't chosen to go into the same profession of her uncle, and thus went to become a warrior under his friend Isaiahh's tutelage.

'My god…no fucking way…'

Jaeger muttered incoherently to himself, 'If Tom had died…then he would never have come to greet her at this door, and thus she would've gone back most likely. However…since he had lived…'

Tom looked at Cadence with a solemn look, "I need to tell someone about how I feel and also…what's been going on…"

Jaeger shook his head, 'No…' but the words didn't escape his mouth.

Tom told cadence everything, although he didn't allude to everything he still told her what had gone on so far. Tom knew her because she had went to this school with him before choosing to become a warrior later on. They were good friends, and she had a large heart.

"I see…" Cadence rubbed her chin in thought.

"You mind if I come in with you? If this is all true…maybe I can help?" She smiled at him warmly, and Tom opened his mouth only to shut it again before nodding.

She had chosen to take his place. She had chosen to become the martyr.

'That was how I met her…no…she wouldn't have gone back home, she would've went to the church where Tom had died…she may have found out how to close the door there and would've sacrificed herself…she would've become the ghost girl…with her death at the church which strangely looks like the fort I came from…the mirror image of it in purgatory…my gods…'

Tom's choice of going to the church, and Jaeger's interaction with him had saved both Tom's life as well as Cadence's. However, now that the two were here because of different results of course, one of the two would die.

'I feel like I've grasped what happened…but I also can't predict what will occur'

Who will die to save the others?