Roxas' Inferno 2

Here we go Roxas!

Roxas’ Inferno
Chapter 2: Welcome to the Underworld

Roxas awoke in an enormous pit of fire and brimstone with the smell of sour sulfur and metallic blood filling his nose. Stalagmites and stalactites made the entire place seem like the mouth of some great demon. The only light in the Pit were the bodies of damned souls falling from the mist-concealed ceiling.

“So this is what Hell truly looks like, huh?” Axel appeared next to him, as if right out of the shadows.

“How’d you get down here so fast?”

“I’m just a shade here, Roxas. The most I can do is give you a little fire power. But besides that, I’m powerless down here. Little more than a guide.”

“So, where to now, O Guide?” Roxas asked sarcastically. Axel cracked a grin.

“First we must get to Charon’s Boat of the Damned. From there we will continue to the first circle of Hell. Limbo.”

“Then lead on, Axel.”


The cries of remorseful souls and damned spirits in agonizing fear echoed throughout the dark landscape. A massive boat made of black ash and bone sat on a river of boiling blood with the red light of Hell glowing in between the pieces of the ship. As Axel and Roxas made their way to board the ship, Roxas could see the sins of those he passed by. A woman who had committed suicide, a man who had been burned as a heretic, an old drunk who had killed his family in cold blood. Roxas felt like he was going insane, but Axel’s hand gripped his shoulder and brought him out of the trance.

“Axel, why could I see these souls’ sins?” Axel motioned toward the white insignia on my chest.

“That Seal of Sin on your chest allows you to see the sins of others and your own that you have committed.” Roxas looked down at the Nobody insignia on his chest and the strips of white cloth that hung from his wrists and shoulders. He didn’t know if Axel could see, but Roxas was able to see the sins of his life play out in the white cloth. As he began to lose himself in the scenes of sin, a voice boomed from the top deck.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Through me the way to everlasting torment. Through me the way to everlasting woe. Erebus awaits all you who are damned.” Roxas looked up to see a tall man in a black cloak standing at the head of the boat and he had the longest pole to push this enormous boat. Axel and Roxas jumped aboard as it passed by. The number of souls with truly terrible acts of sin was astonishing.

“Unfortunately, there are many more damned in Hell than liberated in Heaven. It’s actually quite sad.” As they continued to ascend to the top deck, that statement rang in Roxas’ ears.

“So you’ve seen most of the new arrivals in Heaven?” The emotion in his voice tipped Axel off to what Roxas had really wanted to ask.

“I did see a few of our friends and allies in Paradise, yes.”

“A few?” Axel’s expression darkened.

“We were not the only ones with sins.” They entered onto a long and wide deck that cracked like splintering firewood with each step. The hooded figure turned to face them. A white jaw bone could be seen jutting from under the shadow of the hood.

“Ah, two new souls for the Inferno…” He paused and sniffed the air and recoiled. “BLAH! One of you has already been claimed by God as an angel and the other is neither dead nor dying. Leave my ship, mortal.”

“I cannot, Charon. My beloved has been taken by Lucifer and I must continue forward to rescue her.”

“I am sorry for your conflict, mortal, but I may only ferry the damned. You and your shade shall find no quarter aboard me.” Roxas looked down to see what he was talking about. It was true. Charon’s cloak was like a tree growing out of the ground. Roxas summoned Oblivion and pointed it at him.

“I couldn’t care less about your opinions on my cause. Now you’re going to take me to Limbo or I will take out the anger of my soul on you.” Charon just continued to face forward and guide the boat with the long pole in his hands.

“You’re half right, mortal. I will feel your soul’s anguish. It belongs to us already, fool.” As he said that, demons began to rain down from above. Roxas dodged to the side and sliced up, cleaving one demon in half diagonally. Two more lunged from behind, but Roxas back flipped over them. As he was directly over them, he spun hard to the left and stuck out Oblivion. The demons fell apart like ground meat. The last one, a good 30 ft. tall one with large horns, took two scythe blades and swung them down towards his head like nightsticks. Roxas dodged the first one, jumped onto it and then the other, like a spring board. Roxas was above his head and spun Oblivion around in his hand a few times before he grasped it so that the blade was pointing down. He dropped with all his weight and momentum behind the blade and sunk it deep into the demon’s forehead. As the demon crumpled, Roxas threw Oblivion at Charon. The sword cut clean through his body and the pole. Both demon and ship appeared to die at the same time.

“No, I was right, wretch. You would feel every last bit of anger and fury my soul had to offer.”

“Not bad, Roxas. You still know how to fight pretty well, huh? Got all the moves memorized?”

“Really? God could make you an angel, but He couldn’t fix that whole ‘memorized’ thing?” They shared a short laugh as they descended the boat while the other souls cowered, awaiting a new torment to come and punish them for their sins. Limbo, Roxas thought, here we come.