Ernoth was sitting at the pillars, basking in the desert sun, his eyes closed in satisfaction. Of course, the carefree demeanor was just a front. At the same time he was enjoying the sun's heat, the other half of his mind was analyzing the whereabouts of each demon on his floor, and deploying countermeasures where necessary. Suddenly, he felt a powerful, but familiar energy right next to him. He opened his eyes, and witnessed Thaed come out of a light blue portal.

- How long has it been Thaed? A few dozen years, i imagine? - Asked Ernoth calmly, closing his eyes again.

- Thirty two, to be exact, o First one. - Answered Thaed, bowing down to Ernoth.

- And what brings you here? - Ernoth did not ask Thaed about his gate. He knew someone like him would never leave the gate unguarded. And besides, even if something came through, Ernoth would know straight away.

- I met a human in my hell. He did not know anything about this place. I also detect several groups of humans wandering in the area. Did you stop sending them down to the eighty first hell?

- Yes. Grim has been beaten. And so, i think my part of the agreement comes to a close. If humans can do that much, they can take care of the new arrivals themselves. Or they can wander until Hell itself portals them out of here.

- He is dead Ernoth. - Thaed felt his blood boil. The First could not even admit his fault in protecting the young Gatekeeper. Thaed felt disgust welling up inside him. - He has not been beaten. He has been killed.

Ernoth looked Thaed straight in the eyes. His gaze seemed to pierce right through Thaed, causing him to shrink mentally. 'Does he know? No, he cannot. Our power is comparable, and i made sure i covered my tracks while rescuing Grim. He just doesn't have a sense of shame. Or any emotions, for that matter.'  Ultimately, Ernoth said nothing, and closed his eyes back up. After a while, his mouth opened.

- Thaed. You were the first I created, so you should know this by now. The purpose of this place was not to imprison humans, it was to redeem them, strengthen them. It was to take the worst scum and forge them into something different. Into trinkets to fill the Ravens collection. When they sent me here, they forbid me from changing that one rule. Humans have to have a chance of success. Of ascending the floors...

- Of killing the Gatekeepers!? - Screamed Thaed. His emotions neared a tipping point. This scum before him not only did not care about them, he was actively in a ploy to kill them all! Thaed did not know if Ernoth was actively helping the Ravens, or if he was just that stupid to be deceived by them.

- Why the hell did you even make us then? Just for us to die!?

- The pillars are set up by Ravens to protect humans from the hell energy. They have to be protected or else humans will use them to strengthen themselves. I created you to deny them that advantage. But my power is not infinite Thaed. It wanes each time i create a new Gatekeeper, and each one is weaker then the last, you know that well. It was inevitable in a way.

- THEN WHY KEEP DOING IT!? - Bellowed Thaed, enraged. At this point, Ernoth was basically sending the gatekeepers on lower floors to be slaughtered. - We could all come here, to the first hell. Screw the pillars, with all of us here they will never get through!

- The Ravens would intervene. They treat this as a game. Even in these conditions, they try to nurture humans into perfect pets. Even when I changed the ghosts that taught the humans into demons that killed them. I forged the unholy energy into crystals and bestowed them unto demons to make them stronger. I made mist evolve to find the perfect strategy to beat them. And each time, Ravens made adjustments. They made it impossible for the demons to create extraplanar gates to other hells. They made the crystals able to bind to human souls, empowering them. They made every one of you manage the energy of the wave using pillars, so that the demons cannot wipe the floor with humans.

- But why do all this!? With your power from before, you did not have to listen to them... - Thaed wanted to scream out everything that was on his mind right now, but he was cut off by Ernoth.

- I had to. If I refused, there would be war. And while I might have won, it would probably consume the entire universe in the process. All of His creations. And without using force, they did not listen to me. I did what had to be done. I'll never let any of these scum out. Rapists, Murderers, Warmongers... They cannot be allowed to escape. That is our duty.

Silence fell for a moment as Thaed tried to analyze and rationalize what he just heard. He tried to put himself in Ernoth's shoes, but he simply couldn't. None of it made any sense. So what if some humans escaped from hell? It happened all the time for thousands of years before Ernoth was sent here. Of all the things, Thaed couldn't understand why the First would do this. His face twisted, embers of rage dancing in his eyes.

- You disgust me. You do not even care that he died. You do not care about your own kin! - Screamed Thaed. He took a deep breath.

- I will not do this. I will not die for you. And I will encourage every other Gatekeeper to just let the humans pass. Your duty is not ours. Our lives! They are not yours to spend!

Calm, methodical voice cut in just as Thaed stopped talking.

- Do you know how long have i lived, Thaed? - Asked Ernoth, looking at the other Gatekeeper for a few seconds, before continuing.

- Im tired Thaed. I lived a life full of both good and bad. And i will do anything to redeem myself from the greatest sin anyone both living or dead ever committed.

- Sin? What sin!? - Thaed asked, increasingly confused and mad at Ernoth.

- I killed Him Thaed. He asked me to, and I killed Him.

Silence fell around them once again. Rage fell from Thaed's face as if it were just a mask, and turned first into confusion, then realization, then fear. Ernoth continued, as if nothing happened.

- I will not let a single one of them pass Thaed. That is my penance. But you all have free will. If I wanted constructs that follow orders, I would have crafted you accordingly. You can make your own choices. And whether you choose to support me or not, I will still treat you the same way. You are all dear to me, no matter how it may seem on the outside.

After Ernoth said these words, the world darkened. The only light remaining was in his eyes, that seemed to pull on Thaed's very soul, as if trying to suck it in. For a moment, his mask cracked, and absolute fury could be seen within the First Gatekeeper's eyes.

- So don't you DARE accuse ME of PLAYING GOD with your LIVES.

Slowly, the light returned, and the emotions blazing inside Ernoth were no longer there. Thaed was stunned and scared. This was the first time he saw the First exhibit such strong emotions over the span of his lifetime. He was terrified. He knew that with each new gatekeeper created, Ernoth became more and more unhinged, but this...?

Ernoth felt an unusual power fluctuation, and so he used some of his power to create a barrier around them and the pillars. Ignoring Thaed, he took out his crystal ball. After injecting some of his power into the ball, a wisp of smoke formed inside, quickly swirling around and turning into shapes and colors. The smoke formed into an image of a plateau. It was the eighty fifth hell, the one without a Gatekeeper.

***

Sarah looked at the horde of demons that tried to chew through her barrier. She purposefully left a few weak spots in it, so that the paladins she brought with her could slaughter the incoming demons one by one, instead of facing all of them head on, or letting them build up by keeping the barrier secure. She looked at the black demons, then at the flowers on their backs, and at the mist ejected from those flowers. She quickly pulled up a small pearl from her pocket, and her touch lit up the small sphere.

- Maia, we were right. The wave is converting the energy into mass in real time. Im going to need you to close us off. Thank you. - She spoke, and with each word the sphere darkened and cracked, until it crumbled to dust in her hands. These one time use communicators were all they could use right now, as all orbs were either unusable or straight up destroyed. A few seconds later she saw a flash of light behind her, and Leo came out of the portal.

- They barricaded themselves at the inner circle, as planned. Maia is almost ready, where do you need me? - He asked, eyeing the fight before him, but the paladin unit before them were the best of the best, and with the aid of the barrier, they were keeping the situation under control. Sarah also looked on, but seeing that things are stable, she ordered him to stand down and conserve energy.

The plan was simple. Since the wave was using the residual energy of hell to create more mist, they would just cut it off with a giant barrier set up by Maia and those priests that still had any power remaining. The downside of this situation was that they did not know what the wave would do after that, and they had to split their forces, which was dangerous in case it tried to focus all of itself in one place. They could not risk losing either pillars or the city. While Sarah was deep in thought, at the center of their citadel, now swarming with all kinds of demons, a pillar of light hit the sky, and a dome spread through the outer edges, encapsulating all mist in the area in a thick barrier of holy energy. Soon, the residual demonic energy would drain from the area, and while it meant no more mist, it also meant their mages and priests couldn't regenerate mana, so it was a temporary measure at best. She smiled, as she saw the demons pause for a split-second, and then start attacking with twice the ferocity. The barrier held, and the demons were slowly dying. She breathed out. 'This wave is going to be a close one. If only...'

Her train of thought was interrupted by a loud, bass roar from the base of the mountain. All she saw was a blur, before something huge landed on the plateau, covering everything with a huge dust cloud. Sarah clutched her head, in pain from the headache brought by constant ringing in her ears. She felt a strain on her power, and she quickly let the shield spell go before it emptied her reserves. Whatever it was, it tore through her barrier like it was paper.

The ringing stopped as if cut off by a knife, and all she heard was screams. She used a bit of her power to blow the dust away and see what was going on, then she froze in place at the sight. A huge, nearly five meter tall figure rampaged in front of her, smashing the paladins shields with one mighty fist, and at the same time, tearing through dozens of demons with his axe.

- Hurin... - She whispered, looking at the monstrosity before her, as the definition of rage trampled everything that happened to be on his path. She had seen this before in others, albeit on a smaller scale. Hurin went insane from the demonic influence. She heard Leo screaming at the soldiers, and then finally woke up when Xeo, who had woken up by then, smacked her in the back. She quickly shouted orders at the soldiers, who picked themselves up and started running for their lives and regrouping, while the Juggernaut Hurin was decimating the demons on the plateau. Sarah felt a tear coming to her eye. Insanity was hard to remove even after a reincarnation, and for that, they would have to kill their friend first.

- He probably had to... had to give in completely to beat that Juggernaut. If i had only sent some men to help...

- They would be dead. - Interjected Leo. - You were right to cut them off with the holy barrier. He went berserk, and sending more men there would be pointless. You did the best you could. At the same time... Oh, fuck no! - Leo couldn't finish his sentence, as a huge rock thrown by Hurin flew right at him. The giant had already massacred every demon there was, and was now running at them, insanity burning bright in his black eyes, as his face, half human, half demon, distorted in anger. Leo clutched his spear firmly, and dodged the projectile. He then focused his magic power into his legs, and shot at incoming Hurin like a bullet exiting the chamber, emitting a large explosion as his body slammed into his insane companion, and his spear pinned the beast to the ground.

- <Soul of the...> Hnngh! - Leo clutched his chest, trying to invoke his power to keep Hurin down, but the Juggernaut was faster. It clutched Leo with its hand, and squeezed. Spearman's body emitted a loud crack. His bones couldn't contend with the strength of the Juggernaut, and soon Leo's body was thrown into the side of the cliff, and covered by fallen rocks. The creature clutched the spear embedded into it's chest and tore it out, the wound instantly healing, and a loud roar tore through the air. It was quickly cut short though, as Xeo shot the creatures throat with one of his arrows. He then shot another aiming at its eyes, and another one into his knee.

Fear was visible on the faces of the paladins, but when Sarah screamed at them to bombard the creature with magic, they complied instantly, and with their combined power they managed to at least halt his progress, even if it did not bring them any closer to killing the insane man.

- I think i know what happened! - Sarah screamed to Xeo as she unloaded another magic projectile at Hurin. - He had to crush the other Juggernaut's soul raw, that's why he's so powerful! If only we purify it's influence... - She looked around, but all the priests were either dead or had their holy power completely exhausted, and were currently retreating with the wounded through the teleportation marker. Then her eyes landed on the pillars. On the pillars loaded with heaven energy. Xeo met her eyes and nodded his head in understanding. - I'll buy time.

They both moved at the same time. Sarah used magic to hasten herself, and ran to the pillars, while Xeo split himself again, and jumped at Hurin to hold him down, while the paladins stopped the bombardment to conserve power. Sarah ran, stealing glances at the situation, not knowing if Xeo will last long enough for her to even get halfway to the pillars. Then she noticed at the edge of her senses, a sound, or rather a lack thereof. As if someone who was inhaling air, just stopped, and all sound seemed to disappear. She heard nothing. The kind of nothing that heralded the silence before the storm. She turned her head towards the edge of the plateau, and she saw the remainder of the mist from around the city congesting into one dark red point. She turned to scream in warning, but it was too late. A barrage of concentrated demonic beams hit Xeo, turning him to dust.

And then, the world exploded.

***

Thaed looked at Ernoth.

- The mist... It turned sentient...

- Yes. - Answered The Gatekeeper.

- You did this on purpose... You wanted the humans to die... To pay... - Several emotions flashed through Thaed's head. Fear, Confusion, Satisfaction. He did not know what to think. Suddenly, he felt a powerful force descend from the skies, as two bright spots appeared on the horizon, getting closer and closer with each breath.

- Leave, Thaed. - Ordered Ernoth, still observing the situation at the plateau, seemingly not caring about the powerful wave of pressure directed at them.

- They are coming.