World building.

To celebrate making it to my 25th chapter, I am making a chapter that will explain the powers and lore of the world.

[Paths]

This is one of the most fundamental piece's of the story so I will try my best to summarise it clearly.

The characters in Hell need to become immortal in order to avoid getting their souls burned in karmic flames. (This only applies to those with karmic flames which is Solomon, Hyde and the Captain so far.) The rest just don't want to die and reincarnate.

To become immortal, they need to follow a path to immortality, which is what the [Paths] are. The reason for this is that, fundamentally, a living being cannot become immortal, (by themselves anyway).

In order to get around this, a living being needs to attach themselves to something that is immortal/eternal. This is where the [Paths] come in.

By embodying a concept like Gluttony (Hyde) They are able to become immortal. This is similar to how in mythology there might be, gods of (Something), Like war for example. As long as war exists, the God of war would exist. The same thing applies to Hyde, as long as gluttony exists, He will be immortal.

The same rings true for the other characters in the series,

To walk the path towards immortality, they will have to become close to their concept and understand it fully. To do this, Hyde might have to eat exceedingly rare foods. Or, Fike might have to catch progressively monstrous fish.

The [Paths] come with abilities attached. For example, Hyde has the ability to take the abilities or skills of whatever he eats. Fike becomes better at fishing and can catch rarer and more unique animals, consequentially, he will grow stronger.

Solomon is slightly more complicated, As he walks the path of the [Free], I plan to have him be immune to restrictions (Eventually). He will be able to escape any prison or trap with ease.

[Penance]

In order to progress down into the next level of hell, you must complete a Penance. Each Penance has its respective administrators and will be unique to each person (To an extent).

The names of the Penances are as follows

First circle - [Self Seeker] Characters must choose a path and prove their worthiness to walk it. Regain the first portion of their memories

Second circle - [The horde] Characters join a demonic horde and wage war against a race/organisation that has earned divine retribution.

Third circle - [Elysium] Challenge a cursed hero or villain from mythology, if they win they gain that hero's ability.

Fouth circle - [The path] Compile all they have learned and continue to challenge the path. Regain the middle portion of their memories.

Fifth circle - [Journey] Fulfil a role in the underworld e.g. The captain is acting as a ferryman on the upper levels

Sixth circle - [Hall of kings] Challenge a cursed king from history and confront their failing (e.g. Midas for greed), If they win they get that kings trademark ability.

Seventh circle - [Summit] Reach the end of their path and prepare to complete it. Along with gaining all their memories back

Eighth circle - [Original Sin] Confront their biggest failing.

Ninth circle - [Pantheon] Challenge a god to prove their worthiness and complete their path.

[Ways to get stronger]

Fundamentally it can be broken down into this.

1. Complete a Penance and eat a fruit of the underworld (Only possible on the first, fourth and seventh circle)

2. Specific racial ways. Absorb the abilities of those from the same race as you.

3. Complete a task relevant to your path.

4. Absorb the souls of the damned (I will elaborate further down)

[Karma]

Fairly straightforward and self-explanatory.

effects - The worse your Karma, the harder it is to complete the Third, Sixth and Ninth Penances.

If you accumulate enough bad Karma, It manifests as Karmic flames which will incinerate your soul after your body dies.

Sidenote. Karmic flames are the colour of your elemental affinity.

[Immortal cores]

Absorbing the souls of the damned and bad karma to a certain point will form an immortal core. This is necessary to become immortal as you need both an immortal soul and body.

This is broken up into 3 stages: Elementary (Formed at the second circle), Intermediate (Formed in the fifth circle) and Advanced (Formed at the eighth circle)

An immortal core forms inside the heart of a demon and allows them to use and manipulate elemental energy.

If there is anything else that is unclear or needs to be explained, please leave a comment, thanks.