Thoren opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, with cold rock beneath him. The only thing he could see were dark red clouds above him. His mind, still not sure what happened, had trapped him in this position. How could a human brain rationalize dying, and yet still being alive? The answer is simple - it couldn't. It was not equipped to do that in the first place. And so Thoren was stuck in a loop, his mind almost shut down, gazing at the red sky above.

This peace didn't last long though, as a few seconds later he heard a high pitched scream in the distance, and the memories hit his mind like a truck, throwing it out of the loop. He threw his body up in panic, and looked around. All around him were black trees... No, these weren't trees. These were tall spikes made from stone. They occupied the space around him. They were so densely packed, so much that he could not see anything beyond five steps from where he was standing. He ducked behind a rock he was hiding on, and waited for a minute. Then two, then three. The fact that he saw nothing move calmed him a little. He breathed deeply, and was just about to just pick a direction and start walking forward.

- I wouldn't do that if i were you. - Said a deep, bass voice behind him.

Young man stopped instantly and turned around, his eyes darting from place to place in fright. Finally they rested on the source of the voice. The dark robed figure that said those words remained perfectly still, as if trying not to startle the youth. Thoren took a shallow breath, then another, deeper one. Soon his heart returned to the normal rhythm. He tried to discern any features apart from "black robes" from the person before him, but aside from the fact that they were leaning on one of two black pillars, there really wasn't much to talk about. Suddenly, the the boot of the bald guy that made him miss the portal flashed in his mind. He cannot trust anyone.

- Who are you? - Asked the young man, looking around for anything that might help him in case the robed man tried anything. A weapon, a knife, heck, even a rock would be better than nothing.

- That is a good question. One that not many of your kind ask. - Thoren heard a chuckle. It was dry, emotionless. As if someone used a voice synthesizer to put the individual sounds together.

- I was named Thaed. I guard this place. And since the entire second hell is overrun with demons, if you leave this clearing, you will die. Again.

- Again? - Thoren's heart sank. His mind once again fell into disarray. -So that thing before... The... the... the portal, the creatures, it was all real?

- Yes. That was the first hell.

The two looked at each other, and the green eyes met the white spots under the hood. They stood like this for a long moment, while Thoren tried to put his mind together. Soon, the young man spoke again.

- Where am i? You said something about... Hell?

Thaed furrowed his brows. Did this man not know about hell? All newcomers came through the veil, which was right next to Ernoth. There was no other entrance to hell. And Ernoth was universally the one doing introductions, so why... 'Nevermind.' He thought. 'I'll ask him later.' There were much more important things to do now.

- Again, a good question. This... - Thaed gestured around himself with his hands. - is the second hell. One of eighty-nine, if i remember correctly. Once one of you dies at the lowest floor, another one opens, so you can never be sure with these things... - The robed figure twirled his hand in a circle, creating whisps of black smoke, that quickly got together to form a black book. Thaed opened it and quickly turned the pages, humming to himself, as if he was completely immersed in the pages. Soon, he found what he was looking for, and closed the book, which dissapeared as quickly as it appeared.

- Yes, i am correct. In short, you died. You did some bad things, and you ended up here. Each time you die, you go one floor lower, until... well, nevermind that. You are not the only human here, most of your kind made themselves comfortable at one of the lowest floors. The prospect of dying eighty more times until you see them must be pretty daunting, am i right?

Thoren stared at Thaed, trying to get what he was saying. Soon, something in his head clicked, and thoughts started to flow like water from a broken dam. It was not a dream. He was dead, but... he did not even remember how he died. Searching his mind, he did not find any memories of his life, either. Thoren grew more and more panicked, as his mind connected more and more dots. He died in the first hell. He is now in the second. The humans are eighty deaths below. Once the realization hit him, he tumbled, like he was physically hit, and the place where he were struck by the creature earlier sounded with a dull pain. The hooded figure watched him with something resembling curiosity in it's eyes. After all, this was the first visitor Thaed had in a long time, and it almost made him feel obligated to help the boy. Almost. He watched as Thoren stood up and started mumbling something with desperation in his voice and fear in his eyes.

- No, no... nonononono. You're wrong! You're wrong! You. Are. Wrong!

- I am afraid I am not. Please calm down. It would be very inconvenient for me if you were to lose your mind here.

- You're joking right? There has to be another way! There has to! You have to help me! I can't do this again! Please!

Thaed stayed silent. He thought of his kin, slain by the humans to get access to the pillars. If only the Ravens allowed them to use the pillars for self-defense, this would never have happened. Then he looked back at the human, and analyzed his spirit patterns. After a few seconds, his eyes widened. This youth... He had an extremely good compatibility with soul crystals. His soul was extremely pliable, and able to shelter and make use of numerous demon crystals. Maybe it could intake even a crystal of one of the Gatekeepers...

Suddenly, a thought came to mind. Thaed put his hand into his robe, and retrieved a small white crystal, with a crack through the center. Truthfully, The First did not forbid them from saving each other, so the soul of the recently defeated one was not gone, as it would have been. He saved it in the last second. It was heavily damaged, but still together. Mostly. He looked at it for a second, and then looked back at the human.

- There might be a way. - The human's eyes gleamed with hope, and he was about to say something, but Thaed cut him off. - But it will require for you to do something for me. And i want it to be clear, it will not be neither quick nor easy.

-Anything. I'll do anything, just get me out of here!

Thaed paused, debating whether to tell the youth that he never said anything about getting anyone out of anywhere. Ultimately, he decided not to. After all, the youth might decline after hearing this, and what he was about to do, would be also for the human's own good. He would fare way better down below, with his kind.

- You humans have a sort of... unique ability. - He started, his tone resembling that of an old professor, that tries to not tell too much to the student at a time. Slow and full of pauses. - Your souls are incredibly flexible. They can expand and contract at will, which some of you noticed and started to use to their advantage. I'm proposing a deal. This here - he showed Thoren the crystal - is the soul of my friend. It is damaged, and as long as it stays that way, i cannot bring him back. But! There is a way to fix him. You see, at the eighty fifth hell, there is a set of obsidian pillars, just like these ones. - Thaed patted one of the pillars. - If his soul can be brought there, it will fix him right up. This is where you come in. A soul so weak as his cannot travel unprotected through hells. If i put his soul next to yours, your soul will expand and protect it. I will then send you both as far as my power lets me, and then you just go find the pillars. If you tell the gatekeeper at the pillars that I sent you, they will let you go lower without a hassle. As for my friend... You won't even notice he's there. Deal?

Thoren gulped. Honestly, the perspective of having another soul inside him was an abstract one, but when he imagined his route otherwise, he shuddered. He would never be the same. He would go crazy.

- Will it hurt? - He asked, already having made up his mind.

- Briefly. I am a specialist, you know.

Thoren gulped again. - Deal. - 'Honestly...' he thought to himself. 'What choice do I have?'

- Excellent. Let us begin then! - Thaed walked up to the young man, and used his thin white hand to put aside the black hairs from his guests head. He then placed the crystal in the center of his forehead.

- One more thing... - He said, looking Thoren deep in the eyes, the faint white glow from the crystal finally shining some light on his face. Thaed was old. White hair old. His face covered in wrinkles looked like an armor after battle, laced with dents and scratches. Yet his eyes were still. Strong. They pierced Thoren and seemed to look directly at his essence, at his true self. - If you try to betray me, I will find you. And then death will be the least of your problems.

The crystal shined a bright light, and started to dissolve into dust, which melted into the young man's forehead. His screams were brief, as Thaed promised. Mainly from the fact that he fainted shortly after the procedure started, but still. Brief.

'I have to visit Ernoth afterwards.' He thought, wondering if the first Gatekeeper finally got bored of telling the newcomers about how screwed they were. Or maybe this was just a fluke, and the guy died before Ernoth had the chance to explain anything. Either way, a visit was in order. Both to talk about the youth, and about Grim. Thaed wanted answers. He wanted to know why didn't Ernoth make a move when one of his own creations was about to be destroyed. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

***

Xeo was tired. But not with the tiredness one would expect after a workout or a full days work. He was tired through and through, both in body and soul. His muscles screamed in protest as every move felt as if he was moving in dense syrup. His soul ached more and more with each second he was forced to use his powers. His mind was being torn apart, trying to coordinate what it was never made to cope with in the first place. Each time he created another clone, he felt a tug on his sanity, and each time he lost one, he had to fight off his panicking instincts telling him to run, before he really dies. What was funny was that even after dying as much as they did, the fear of death still remained. An old uncle, not really welcome, but no one had the guts to tell him to get out.

Nevertheless, he moved still, decimating creature after creature with deadly precision, not caring if it was the black ones, imps, undead or eyeballs, the demons were laid to rest one by one, but for each one killed, two more seemed to jump in it's place.

Then, a white light illuminated the area, and a flood of magic hit the demons. A barrier, pushing the threat back. Xeo retracted his clones, feeling his mind become whole again. He breathed out with difficulty, and then fell on his knees, feeling his consciousness retreat. - Good work Xeo, we'll take it from here. - These last words he heard were like a sweet lullaby to him, and he allowed himself to close his eyes. moments after, he fall asleep from fatigue.

Sarah felt a soft smile on her face, as she looked at the rouge, sleeping soundly, as if the world around them wasn't just coming to an end. - Heal him as quickly as you can. - She ordered one of the priests. - We'll need him up as fast as possible.