This time, the portals open close to the ground. There are no gates, no demons. The level scales lighter shades of purple at the bottom to darker shades toward the top. White and gray clouds float individually in the air. The white floor moves automatically into the desired direction. This is the quietest of levels they have been on.

“Seems like everywhere is the same,” says Wyn.

“Let’s visit Maya first,” Yu suggests, as it is a way to prolong their time together.

Maya is a single large floating eyeball with eyelids and eyelashes. Across the eyeball, or her body in this case, are red veins similar to those of a human eyeball. At the back, she is covered by a thin layer of skin that also wraps around to form both eyelids. There’s something feminine with the way she looks – soothing and motherly. Surrounded her on the ground are the armored demon guards.

“I guess this is it,” Wyn speaks.

“This is goodbye then?”

“I guess so. Thank you so much for the fun times. I wouldn’t have done this with another person but you.”

“Likewise. Don’t you forget about me!”

Yu proceeds to give Wyn a hug. Tears are gathering in their eyes. The two try their hardest to hold them back. Wyn waves goodbye to Yu as Yu walks away to find his own cloud. Wyn currently is standing directly under a white cloud. A jump motion activates a golden light that shines on him and beams him up into the cloud. The cloud then turns gray once he’s inside. While trying to readjust himself, wires with suction cups, initially hidden within the cloud, attach themselves to his head and body parts. Wyn blanks out for a few seconds before opening his eyes to complete darkness.

“Now what?”

Putting his imagination to work, characters begin popping up, places appear. He starts with a world where he’s valued. In this imaginary world, everyone looks up to him. Everything he does turns out perfect. But then, he’s still not happy. He quickly feels empty – emptier than when he was out there with Yu.

“What’s the point when it’s all fake?” He talks to his imaginary subordinates.

What he felt when he was floating in a portal right after his death is what he craves for. He tries to reimagine himself floating in the darkness under the effect of the sense-numbing dust. The attempt in turn, just paralyzes him, while his consciousness is still intact. Then he remembers what CATOTO said about ‘sleep and dream’. He tries closing his eyes, but immediately finds himself unable to sleep. This is the same ordeal he had to go through every night when he was alive. Whatever posture he attempts, he just can’t sleep. The memories of his past inundate his mind. The feeling of emptiness creeps right back again.

“Well…this is disappointing. Fuck it! I’m leaving.”

The wires retract in reaction to Wyn’s desire to wake up. The bottom of the cloud lights up. A golden beam sends him down and the cloud turns back white. As he’s descending, he notices a familiar figure sitting face down right under his cloud.

“Yu?” Wyn asks. “MOVE OUT!”

Yu looks up. He’s greeted by Wyn’s feet to his face. After the warm greeting, the two chat.

“What??? Why are you here?” Wyn asks.

“Why aren’t you up there anymore?” Yu asks back.

“It’s not what I thought it was. Plus, the ‘sweet and dream’ thing didn’t work, like, at all. What about you?”

“I lack imagination. I can only sing for so long without an audience, you know? I also tried sleeping, but ended up having more nightmares than good dreams.”

“What is it like to dream in the cloud?”

“Literally the same as dreaming then. You can wake up in the middle of the dreams and all.”

“What were you dreaming about? I mean the bad dreams?”

“Most of them were about the accident. In one of them, I survived, but everyone else died. In the other, I survived, but was in a coma. I could see myself and everything around me, but no control whatsoever.”

“That’s rough. So,...now what?”

Staring at each other in silence, none of them has an idea. The fourth and fifth levels are out of the question. And while they could return to the levels they had previously visited, the mystery of the seventh level intrigues them.

“Hear me out. What about that level?” Yu says.

“Are we sure about this?” Wyn asks. “If we can exist for eternity, isn't it just the same as this level?”

“True. But there could be other gimmicks, like all the levels here. And remember what CATOTO said about despising police?”

“Assuming what he said is valid, it sounds like there could be a mission for us down there…or it could turn out to be a ‘curiosity killed the cat’ sort of situation.” Wyn is thinking, chin on a fist.

Wyn compares the seventh level to the life of a dog in an Asianian household, where the dog is kept outside and the house is off-limits. Despite knowing the boundaries, the dog would seize any opportunity to explore the house. He remembers how his parents’ dogs would peek inside every time they opened the door.

“Mira! We should extract some info from her!”

“Oh no dear pus! Not the third level again!”

The two swiftly make their way to the third level. The orgy pile is a lot smaller this time around. Wyn, with his hands on his crotch, calls out loudly for Mira.

“Mira! Are you still in the pile?”

“Can you shut the fuck up? We’re busy here,” a random female soul complains.

They switch up to walking around, whispering her name instead. After completing a full circle, Mira is nowhere to be found. As they’re about to give up, they notice something’s trying to crawl out of the bottom of the pile.

“Hi guys!” Mira greets the two men with a bright smile.

“You’ve been here? After all this time?” Wyn asks.

“Always!” Mira replies.

Yu helps pull Mira out of the pile, causing it to collapse. Participants are screaming. The three take this time to get out as quickly as possible.

“I’m so happy you’re back! So does that mean you wanna go there now?” Mira asks.

“We need more info. That’s why we’re here.” Wyn replies.

Based on what Mira has gathered from the nerds, the seventh level is dangerous. They never elaborated on what they meant by that. However, the level has a unique system where souls can form parties and spend resources to obtain leisure goods. They recommended this level to souls who want a ‘purpose’ in Hell.

“So I can get a guitar?” Yu asks.

“How would I know?” Mira shrugs.

“‘Purpose, ha?” Wyn ponders.

“Why would the nerds tell you all this? They weren’t nice to us when we met them,” Yu says.

“I paid them,” Mira answers.

On the second level, souls can transfer credits by stacking their hands on top of each other. The payer’s hand must be on top. There can be as many recipients as long as their hands are underneath. The payer says the amount they want to transfer and tap the last hand at the bottom to transact. The amount is on a per recipient basis.

“I first paid a nerd in the gambling zone to tell me the best place to meet the nerds. Guess where?”

“The gaming zone?”

“Yes! It’s just that the zone’s too dark, I didn’t see them at first.”

“How much credits did you spend for all of this?”

“For my sister’s whereabouts, fifty thousand. For the whole thing, including the seventh floor, at least two hundred thousand.”

Mira wasn’t good at gaming. However, she did find some success in the other zones. She exercised her charms in the combat zone to secure some questionable wins or begged someone for free credits in the gambling zone. Her fate changed when she challenged Greed and won by a fluke.

“I’d do anything for my little sister.”

The respect Wyn has for Mira has increased considerably. She appears to be a strong-willed resourceful type – the type a team can rely on. Piecing the information from CATOTO and Mira together, Wyn has reached a decision.

“Let’s talk about our reasons to visit the seventh level. I know you want to find your sister. What about you, Yu?”

“Me? I actually don’t mind the second level. But I do find the seventh level intriguing, despite there’s no way back,” he says, before whispering, “And also the guitar.”

“Really? That’s it? Well for me, I threw my life away once because I had no purpose. I didn’t have a future. I couldn’t see my own future. If the sole purpose is to survive, then that is not enough for me to keep on going. I need a purpose to be able to feel accomplished for once in my life. If the level gives something to hope for, like the possibility of taking my revenge on neck, then I’m down for it.” Wyn looks pumped after the speech.

“Wow.” Yu claps his hands. “Me, same reason you just said.”

“Oppa! What happened to you? Who hurt you?” Mira says.

“And, aside from your boobs, we know nothing about you Mira,” Wyn remarks.

“You lost your chance! But you’ll get to know me in due time. If you go with me.”

“Fair enough.”

Wyn is visibly nervous – as nervous as the other two. Yu wraps his left arm around Wyn’s neck, while Mira holds Wyn’s left wrist firmly.

“What if this turns out to be a shit show?” Wyn asks.

“Then at least you won’t have to suffer alone,” Mira answers, with a smile.

“Yes! We’ll shit together!” Yu replies.

And with that, the three take a deep breath before walking toward the portals. They are now permanent residents of the seventh level.