"Down?" Capaneus asked as he watched Hyunji rest her hand on the burning sand. ""You think the solution is to dig deeper into this place? There's nothing but more suffering below. I've been here too long to not know that."
The sand seared into her skin as she pressed her hand further into the surface. But Hyunji ignored the pain. It didn't matter.
If there was a way out, if there was even the slightest possibility of escaping this cursed realm, she was going to take it. And she wasn't going to let the doubts of a centuries-old prisoner stop her.
"Down," she said, this time with more confidence. "You've been wandering endlessly, and nothing changes, right? Maybe it's because you've only been going in circles, following the same paths. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but there's always another direction to try."
"That sand is hundreds of meters thick. I've tried digging before. I've tried everything, girl."
"It's not just sand. It's an element of this realm. I only need to understand it."
She closed her eyes and concentrated. There were vibrations beneath, barely detectable.
"This spot is different," she said. "It's more…hollow."
"Hollow?"
"Help me dig. Hurry."
"Hyunji."
"What?" She shouted.
"We're being surrounded again." Capaneus said, his voice quiet. "I don't have any form of control over them anymore. You've doomed me."
"Get down on your fucking knees and dig!" She screamed, clawing desperately at the hot sand.
Capaneus dropped to his knees and began scooping at the sand.
The vibrations grew faster, and tendrils burst from the sand beneath her feet.
One latched around her calf, and the other wrapped around Capaneus' wrist.
Her face was met with the burning sand as it dragged her downward, but she didn't fight it.
For a few brief moments, she couldn't breath. It felt as if every molecule in her body was being scorched by the face of the sun.
Then, the sand finally opened up, and the tendrils dropped them into the open air.
Circle 8:
Ring One:
A large funnel-like hole shaped their surroundings and stretched down further than they could see. There were holes coming out of each side of the funnel, flooding damned souls that screeched in pain. Hyunji couldn't make out any of their faces, except one, which mimicked her own, smiling as she fell.
"Quick, grab hold!". Hyunji screamed towards Capaneus, who's free fall was less than unpleasant. He reached out for the scythe, his fingers just barely brushing the handle.
Something tackled her, and she slammed into the wall of the chasm, knocking the air out of her lungs. She lost grip on her scythe, and it dematerialized.
Rocks and debris rained down around her, and she fell backward. For a moment, she was falling again, but a cliff edge caught her.
She slammed against the rough stone lip, her arms flailing out instinctively to catch something solid. Her fingers scraped against the jagged rock, until she came to a stop, hanging off the edge of the cliff.
She turned her head, frantic, her body aching as she tried to push herself up. That's when she saw it—something large and shadowy loomed above her, and it was circling.
Eyes glowed faintly in the darkness-cold, calculating, and filled with hunger. As it landed on the edge of the cliff, she saw it had massive bird-like wings, made of stringy flesh, nearly 10 meters long each. Long sharp teeth creeped from its mouth, dripping with saliva.
"Get away from me, demon!"
It screeched and stepped forward, its long claws threatening to tear her to shreds.
Without a second thought, Hyunji let go of the cliff with her left hand and summoned the scythe again. She swung it upward just as the demon lunged at her, and the blade took the creature directly in the face.
The stone cracked beneath her right hand and crumbled to bits. She and the demon fell down again, landing on yet another cliff edge.
Hyunji gained stable footing on the rock and kicked at the demon's lifeless body, knocking it down into the chasm.
She looked around, but there was only darkness. More demons swooped up above, but none seemed to have noticed her yet.
"Capaneus! CAPANEUS! Where are you?" She screamed. I made him a promise. I have to get him out of this. Her eyes searched desperately for a sign of him. Was he still falling?
"Hyunji!" A garbled scream called out from below. "I can't swim! Help!"
Their loud voices brought the attention of one of the flying demons, who swooped down toward Hyunji.
Smiling, she leapt off the cliff and grabbed onto the demon's wing. They plunged into a downward spiral, the demon shrieking.
A river opened up beneath them, and Hyunji filled her lungs with air before plunging beneath the murky surface.
Ring Two:
Hyunji pushed to the surface, gasping for breath.
"Capaneus?" She called out uncertainly.
The water splashed a few meters away. "Over here! Help!"
She swam over, trying not to gag at the acrid stench of the water. It wasn't just unpleasant—it felt aggressive, like it was searing its way into her sinuses. "Where are you?"
"They're grabbing me! Help!"
She kicked forward just in time to see a group of women pulling Capaneus to the shore. They were naked, all three of them, from head to toe.
"Ooh, he's a big man, Calita!" Said one of the women.
"Just for a little coin, we'll give you the time of your life," another woman said. She knelt in front of Capaneus, thrusting her chest in his face.
The large man looked sick. "You whores smell like shit! What in God's unwashed asshole is this place? I don't have any damned money either."
"Oh?" Said the first woman, glancing at Hyunji as she crawled up onto the shore. "Does your pretty friend?"
"I'm flattered," Hyunji said, kneeling next to Capaneus. "But I don't. We have better things to do. Also, don't sell yourself to any random person you come upon. Your bodies are worth more than a couple coins."
"Hey, that's not very nice," one of the women pouted.
"We need to keep moving," Hyunji said. "How do we get to the next level?"
"There's a bridge by the cliffside," one of them said, pointing with their head. "You sure you don't want to stay, just for a bit?"
"Maybe if you ladies took a shower every once in a while. Why is there a river of excrement anyways?"
"I learned to stop questioning this place a while ago," Hyunji sighed, her eyes locking on the bridge. "Thanks for the directions, ladies. Capaneus, let's go."