Chapter Text
Black.
Dark.
Desolate.
Warm air, cold ground. No-
Wet air, cold ground, small light.
#########
Challenge- a test. Up high, pulsing red, life itself.
#########
His eye twitched, he rubbed it. His hands twitched, he rubbed it too. His head ached, he did not rub it.
His body felt weak and cold- no. His body felt #####, that was more like it.
#####.
Like a part of him was lost.
Like a part of him was lost.
Like a part of him was lost.
Lïķę ą pærť øf ħįm wǎş łöst.
L̵̄i͕k̜e͌ a̜ p̵a͟r̷̘t̷̬̀ ȍ̸f͔̂ h̙ͫï̵m̴̢ w̴̆a̷s͖ l̻̏õ̶s̸tͫ
Ḽ̵̬̣̓̕ị̴̝̆͢k̩ͧ̾ē̛͍ͦ a̶̳͑́́ p̣̖͌͂̓à̧͍͎r̶̪̮̆̓ͮt̏̇ͥ҉̯̤͙ o̅͟f̳͋̉̚ ẖ́̏̇i̵͉̍̑m̢̨̓ ẅ̹͈̳ͯa̶͓͌̆̓ŝ̱̺͔ͧ̚ l̵͇͕͋̂͢ô̯s̶ͭ̚̚͜t̎҉͚̪̹
L̸̷̡̧̡̢̛̙͚̥͕͖͇̜͓͚͈̗̤̱̤̓̋͐ͥͬ̾ͤ̿ͣ̎̐̓͐̃͆̾̀ͧͧ̏̕ĩ̵ͩ̑̍͆̈́̐͛̏͊̌̆̕҉̢̢̢̡̲̻̲̦̥̻̘͉̲͓̜͉͔͚̗͖͢k̶͗͌͌̈́ͫ̄̏͑ͣͭ̀̏͑́̊̆̋͂̉̓҉̵҉̝̮̱̬̗̯̝̭͉͟ë̏͑̾̐ͭ̊ͬͧ̍̀͛ͧ͐͛̈͒ͮͣͧ̅̕̕̚҉҉̸̷̴̢͉̮͕͔̣̰̺̻̯̟̯͔̳͈̣̹͢͟͢ͅ å̷̷̶̓́ͭ̅͌̃̀̀̽̐҉̶͈̣̻̖̩̤̻͙͖̣͚̖̯̣͟ p̸̋̎̉ͣ͌ͦͩͩ̀ͪ̔̈́̏̾̾̈́̇҉̧̢̲͕̝̺̬̦̭͈a̸̸̷̸̶̴̡̧͖̥̜̣̞̹͖̬̲̣̙̭͐̓̊ͬ̍̓ͧ̂ͦ͐̚r̵̛ͣͮ͂͑ͨ̏̾̐̊̀͗҉҉̶̴̨̭̦̟̣̼̦͉̰͉͙͙̮͉̬̞̪̥̥̥͟͢ͅt̸̸̵̶̼̭̥̪̼̟̪͓͔̭̩͇͇̭͑̃̃̈́ͣ̐̓̊̉̔̅̒́̀ͭ̕͟ o̵̷̸̜̗̤̱̻̫̰̮͍̒̾͛͊ͫͨ̐ͬͤͫ̀̓̋ͦ̈́̽ͫ̀̇̿̈́̒̕͢fͯ̀͌͗ͨͭ͗̅͌ͬ̆ͣ̊̅͌̓͒̕̚҉҉̵̡̩͈̤̯͓͎̼̰̭̥̗̗̙̝͖̝̲͜ͅ h̵̴ͬ̈́̈́͒̅̀ͪͯ̊̈́ͫͭ҉̨̺̳͓͚͔̻̙͉̱͕̜̫͍̗̗͕̬̟̳̰̹ͅͅǐ̌̽ͯ̆̍͋ͤ̀ͫ̈́̍̃͗ͭ̚̕҉̸̨̼̠̩̖̱̤̱̬̳̹̗̬̦̰̬̤̜͜ͅm̵̸̶̶̵̯̮̯̞͈̱̩͎̟̬͖̥̫̟̂͆̐͒̋̒̀͊͊ͤ̽͊ͅͅ w͛̂ͧ̏̍̃̃ͪ̾͊ͬͨ̒͛͊͐̂̔҉̷҉̨̝̠̼̤̲͈̜͖̻͜a̛ͥ̄͑͆̍̿ͥ̈́ͩ̏̀ͣ̃̿̐̓̌ͭ̕҉̵̷̴̶̷̧͔͖̬̤͓̙̫͓̫̟͖̤̟̖͉͔͍̩̩͓͢ś̵̴̵̨̯̖͕̖̳̪̯̻̟̙̰̝̼̱̯̱̼̼̓ͬ͊̄̌̒̔̓ͤ͌ͯ̚͜ lͦ̿̌̏̌͂ͩ̾ͪ̇̈́̂͌ͨͩ̂̑͂ͣͤ̚̕҉̴̷̷̡̢̹̟̘̖̮̤͉̬̠̖̥̳̗͙̤̜͟o̸̶̷̵ͬ̅̅ͬ̄͛ͩ͊͋͌͒̊҉̨̡̝͉̖̻̖̼̠͎̪̬̤͢͜s̴̓͑ͯ͋̽̀ͣ́̈́̑͆̓ͥ͋҉҉҉̴̡̢̲͓̞͉̰̳̦̫̮̞̳̜ţ̶̷̧̢̢̨̧̛̙̙̟̗̰̱̗̳͉̬͎̭̥̭̾̀͐ͥ̀ͨ̆̐̇̍͗̔ͬ͛͗ͩ̂̂ͬͫͩ͜ͅ
L̸̷̷̵̨̟̻̘̲̭̬̘̹͎͉̝̬̳͙̪͍̈̍̈́̑ͮ̄́͌̍̃̔ͦ̌̇͊̈̕ͅȋ̔͂͐̋́ͦͣ̑̉́̔̏̎̅̆͊҉̶҉̸̷̸̨̧̢̨̯̜̲̹̦̘͓̠̲̰͟͜͜͜ͅͅk̀͌̇͑͛ͫͬ̅ͨͯ̃ͬ̎̒҉̴̷̷̵̶̻̟̘̜͈̮̝̘͓̪̼̤̞̗̻͜͜͟ȩ̶̸̵̵̴̴̵̨̨̡̦͓͓͕̖̞̮͍̲̼͎̙͉̖̺͍̠̟̹͙̪͙ͣ̋̆ͮ͑͗ͣͮͧͤ̓̆̏̈ͦͧͣ͌̔̽̐̆̍̕̕͟ a̵̸̵̛ͤ͆͗͗ͦͨ̌ͪͧ̀ͦ̇̒̆̓ͣ̈́͒͌̚̕҉̶̷̧̡̧̢̣͚̙̜͙͎͈͔̟͖̫͜ p̴ͪͦ̀̊͐ͥ͗ͮͭ̊̌͂͑́̆̌̆ͪ̋͊̐̉͗͛̾҉̷̷̧̗̥̙̮̼̫̣̠̩̹̫̙̱̬͚͙͎͉̹͚̱̖̭͍̻̞̖͜a̴̸̸̸̴̓̅̅͌̀ͥͩͦ͊͋ͦͩ̑̿̾̂̓ͥ҉̵̨̧̠̱̯͍̱̪̝̙̗̗͖̮̠̩͓̟̯̜̝̰͜͟͢͟r̷̶̷̵̴̴̢̧̨̢͈͖͔̙̱̝͍͉͙̟̤͔͖͚̤͓̺͙̰̞̼ͭ̊͊ͮ̄̂͆̃̀ͥͫ̋ͥ̊̉̓́̑͟ͅt̷̴͒͆̽ͤ̽͒̔ͩ̈́ͦ͌̑͗ͣ͐̒͆̃ͣͬ̏̋͂҉̷̶̵̶̲̤͇̮̭͓͖̥̺̩͎̫̜̙̭̤͖͇͉̩̯͎̣̜̳͔̭͖͟ ơ̸̴̵̴̶̵̶̡̢̨̢̧̨̤̞̤͍̤͓̮͈͇̻̻̦͔̞̪̹ͣ̂̾ͨ̀̅ͣ̀̔̅̿͋̕̕͟f̷̈̒̃ͯ̈̀ͪ͌̎̒̊̂̕̕҉̵̵̵͓̯̞̬͍̳̙̼͙͕͖̮͉̪̹͟ h̴̸́͌̅̑̑̌ͮ͋ͯ͐̾ͥ̔́͋ͪͬ̏̊̄̓͑͒̍͒́҉̢̥̰͚̤͔̻͔̞͓̺̮̻̟iͥ̀̀̒̀̐̔̓ͧ̑̈́̄͑͂͊̊ͪ͋́͂̏̿̈҉̵҉̶̴҉̵̨͖̯̲͍̦̻̬͖̳̻̤̼̯̦͇͕̬͢m͛ͨ͊ͬͭͯͣ̑͗ͧ̓͗ͧͪ҉̴̸̷̷̺͎͈̲͉̭̠͉̰̯͎̖͢͢ͅͅ w̵̵̷̵̷̧̡̛͈͕͎͚̟̜̖̞̠̭͔̯͕͙̹̝͚͖͕̲̝̘̼̺̟̃̉ͬ͋̎ͨͫ͋ͦ̅͑̄ͧ͐ͪ̓͢ͅa̵̷̴̴̛ͪ̓ͭ̃̋͗̍ͩ̂̆͐ͤ̚҉̵̼̪͔͇̩̩̼̣͉̮̥̦̲̪͔͜͢͟ͅs̴̵̶̢̢̰͚̪̳͈͔̣͙͉͍̥̠̳̺̬̘̳̺̲͎̯̤͉̯͌ͯ̈́͐̂̎͐͐̏̑͗̈ͮ̄ͪ̆ͫ̀͋̂̓̀͛̓̈̓́̂̓͜͜͜ l̓̃̔̇ͪ̿́͗̈́̎̾͒ͣ̃ͦ͂̎̂́ͭͭͬ́̓̂̾̍̓̕҉̴҉҉̥̗̺͕̙̪̬̤̗͚̥̗̖͉͓̞̬̹͕̭̞͢͟ͅó̸̵̵̴̷̢̢̜͙̱̝̜̜̬̹̙̲̟̹͉͎͖̣͔̪̳̻̜̯̝̼̼̯ͫ̂̒͗ͫͭ̿ͧ̒̊̃ͦ́͛͑̃̕͟ͅš̵̎̇̿̍ͧ̀̃͗ͨ͆͛̀́͒ͪ̄ͨ͊̇̀̕̕҉̷҉҉̧̡̢̧̫̗̭͍͕̮̬̝͜ͅt̶̴̷̢̢̨̛̳̞̱̭͙̹̻̩̝̯̻̖̹̹̯̰͈̤͉̺̜̒̆ͮ̽̀ͥ̀͐̑̄͐̐ͫ̍̊̈́̇̂̄̚͜ͅ
L̸̶̽̈ͧͨͮ̉̀̑͂͛͑ͨͪ̿̽͛̊̍̄ͮ̓̋̀ͭ̍̀̐̔̚҉̶̴҉̨͓͈̺̘͕̣̟̺̙̝̹̦͔̫̻̻̰̰͢i̸̵̵̶̢̠̗͙̜̘̝͓̝̜̹̰̜̪̖̩̩̙̲̪͍̠͋̓͋̇̀͋̀̀̑̒̍ͫ͌̀̉ͨ̈͑̀ͤ͜͟ͅͅͅḱ̷̶̷̸̶̴̸̨̗̹͎͚͇̜̤̬̣̟̪̞͚̪̩̣̻̠̱̞͚̬͙ͥ̆̉̽̈͒̄̍́̂ͧ́̈̄ͧͥ̓ͦ̿͜e̶̛̛̛̒ͩ̏̐̑̾͊̾́̋͌͗̊̔ͮ͋͐̄̃ͧ̽̑̑̈́ͯ͊̚҉̶̳̲̘͓̯̱̖̳̪͉̰̜̝͓͟͟ â̷̵̴̴̴̡̡̢̛͙̘̯̪̟͚̙̩̺͔̼̤̬̹͓̳̩̦̰͋̿͒̅̀͑͊͋̊͂̈̌͑̒́̌ͨ̽̾͜͢ p̶̸̶ͩ̓̏̄͊̆̿ͨ͋ͩ̐ͤ̎̈́́̿̆̓̾̊̌ͭ̎̾ͪ̏̉͛̕҉̶̨̟̰͖̞̦͚͙̭͙̩̲̦̞̘͉̝̝̜̼̪̰͜͟ͅá̸̸̶̸̧̛̛̖͇̪̜̺͙̦̞̦͓̻̠̣̖̟ͪͮ͒ͣ͑̈́̏́̈ͫ͑̒̿̑͋̑͌͑ͨ̐̚̚͜͜͜ṛ̵̴̸̷̵̸̸̡̡̛͈͈̘̻̮̱̮̟̪̲̼͇͚̾̀̒͗͒̂̑ͬ̃ͫ͌́̄ͩ̌͆ͤ́ͤ͜t̵̸̴́̓̏̒͐͛ͭ̈́͐͌ͥͤ͌̓͒̄̎̍́ͬͦ̾̈́̅̈̚҉̸̡̡̡̱̘̠̹̮̦̙̪͓͕͙͚̪̙͖̺͖͚͍̲͙̼͜͟͟ ò̏̔͌ͨ̓͑͐̂̑̇ͯ̀̑͒̔ͨ̃ͯ͛̀ͧ͐ͤ̋́҉̸̶̸̣̤̱̪̤̣͖̗̺͜͢͟ͅf̷̵ͫ̋͋͐̑̈͂͊̿ͩ̂̅̎̋ͩ͋ͥͮͨ̄͂ͦͨ̇̔ͧ̕҉̵̴̷̡̫̹̝̮͔͓̦̩̟̱̩̖͚̭̼̠̱̥ him was lost.
But what was it..?
-~-~-~/ , ,,
He groaned in pain, clutching his stomach as he tried to get up from the ground. The ceiling dripped above him, he could feel it against his skin. It felt like it was raining, droplets kept falling on his body. And yet, when he opened his eyes, there was nothing on him. All he could hear was static, buzzing around his head. His mouth felt dry, yet fuzzy. His eyes were burning, yet they were wet. It was unexplainable, his whole body felt hollow in a way.
After a small struggle within him, he finally managed to get on his feet. The room he was in was nearly pitch black, the only exception being a flying platform above him. He could see its white outlines, and a pure white door at the top. He squinted his eyes as he stared at the glow.
Well, they could have put a big fat ‘EXIT’ sign on top of it but whatever, he thought. He could see the faint glow of red coming from underneath the door. It seemed like if he wanted to get to it, he had to get on the platform first. It was obvious that this place wasn’t normal, an escape room he had to leave. He’s been through worse.
That should be relatively easy.
He climbed onto the floating platform with ease, stretching his back as he looked around. Was that…
A triple neo???
He couldn’t help but snort out loud, he didn’t know that there was parkour in… limbo? Or at least that what he assumed this place was. His head still hurt, it was hard for him to remember what had happened. All he could picture in his mind, was death.
He had clearly died, that wasn’t the issue here.
He walked across the platform, holding the edge of the triple neo with his hand. He wasn’t a parkour guy, but maybe luck would be on his side today. But before he tried the jump, he wanted to see if there was a void down or not. That would’ve be bad, dying in limbo would surely be the worst thing ever.
He gripped the edge, looking down. It was pitch black, just like where he had awoken. He couldn’t tell if there was a ground or not.
Well, what was he supposed to do? Just wait for something to happen? He decided that he’d just take the risk.
He took a step back, recomposing himself before he took the plunge. Of course, he failed to land safely. He froze when he was met with the cold ground, it seemed like this wasn’t a void after all. He held his head, he could see a few fuzzy memories slowly coming back. But not quite there yet. He groaned as he picked himself up, climbing up the platform again.
After a few tries, he finally made it through to the other side. He squinted his eyes as he stared at the bright white door. In front of it laid a red glowing object that resembled a heart. He knelt down to pick it up. But the second his fingertips brushed against it, the heart started bloating. After a few seconds, it stopped.
“Ew.” He immediately pulled his hand back, watching as the heart faded away. For some reason, he felt more… alive..? He rolled his eyes, he couldn’t bother to wonder about what that was, he had more important stuff to do. Like going through that door.
After walking through the bright door, his head started hurting again. He could remember stuff now, great.
That guy… he had literally stabbed him in the back, he was gonna obliterate that dude. Wemmbu had worked so hard to help him, what the hell was his problem?
~~•
“Wemmbu, do you like your life?”
~~•
He did, he obviously did. He couldn’t blame the demon for liking it too, even though it was clear that he did not know all the struggles he had managed to overcome.
~~•
‘An ally that wouldn’t betray me.’
~~•
“Oh my god..” Wemmbu rubbed his temples, he had left the guy alone at home. Where Egg would come in a few hours… he could only hope that he would be okay. He had to go back, as soon as possible. He couldn’t even bear to imagine what that.. demon would do to him.
He looked up, expecting an exit of sorts. But he was met with another parkour. Seriously? Was there no other theme for afterlife? At least this one was easier, just a few basic jumps here and there. Shouldn’t be an issue for someone like him. After a few minutes of struggle, he made it up to the door again. There laid yet another heart, but he was reluctant to touch this one too.
Wemmbu ignored the heart on the ground, attempting to cross the door as it was. But, he face planted to an invisible force that stopped him. It seemed like he had to touch the heart to pass. He reluctantly touched the heart with the tip of his finger, flinching away when it started moving again.
This time, the heart started to rupture after bloating. It was disgusting to watch, Wemmbu turned his eyes away. Waiting for it to disappear as well. And so, it did. He could finally pass the stupid door again.
Whilst looking around yet another room of parkour, Wemmbu couldn’t help but worry about what might be happening back home. He was sure that Eggchan wouldn’t be ready for a surprise attack, he wouldn’t even believe that he wasn’t there to protect him! He had to get back as soon as possible before something bad happened, he had to exit this stupid place.
~~~•
“Dude, do you not realize how annoying this is!?” The angel frowned as he seemingly gazed into the distance.
“What do you mean, I don’t see anything off here.” The demon replied, staring at the empty grass.
The angel sighed, pointing at the ground. “Don’t you see all these wild weeds colonizing our yard!? Bro they’re gonna spread so much!”
“Why don’t you just get rid of them? If they’re such a problem maybe I can nuke this place-“
“Bro don’t joke about that! I spent so much time perfecting this.” The angel scolded the demon.
“Okay okay fine, just pull the weeds then.”
“But I can’t.”
“Why?” ## #####.
“It messes with the whole ecosystem dude! The ecological life of all these plants, it’s the way of life bro.”
“Oh my god dude you cannot be serious!”
~~~•
This rooms air felt a lot drier, and yet strangely there were dripping sounds all around him. He could see some strange liquid dripping down the walls. But he absolutely did not want to check whatever was up with those. He turned his attention back to what laid in front of him.
After stopping in place for a second, Wemmbu shook in rage. There was yet another parkour standing before him. Was this infinite..? He couldn’t help but get pissed at the idea of that. He stomped his foot against the wet floor. All of this had to be a sick joke, that must be it! A sick joke! He couldn’t do all this stupid parkour forever. Nope, he had to get out of here.
Instead of immediately jumping on the platform again, Wemmbu went down to the black concrete floor once more. Staying a few centimeters away from the wall to not get that liquid in him. He felt his way around, trying to see if there was another way out or some sort of secret room. Maybe something like those escape rooms he’d found himself in before. A secret switch or maybe a code! To his dismay, he doesn’t feel anything unordinary. He groaned in disappointment, checking the walls once again to no avail. To be honest, he was surprised that there even were walls in the beginning.
Finally, he noticed a small bump under the floating platform. Underneath it was a small piece of paper taped onto it. Wemmbu smiled in relief, he was about to lose his mind if he had found nothing. It was crazy how he hadn’t noticed a literal sheet of paper taped onto the platform.
He pulled out the paper, opening it to read whatever was written inside.
…
Hopefully.
…
!
And thank heavens there was writing inside, Wemmbu would genuinely crash out otherwise. It took a second for Wemmbu to translate all the hoops and curves this ‘delicate’ handwriting had, but reading Eggs old books might’ve helped him a lot.
Congrats on entering the third circle, you are one step closer to the end! If you are reading this, it means that you had a will strong enough to pass the first two circles, which take the most lives. Remember, even though these trials exist to avenge the wrongfully fallen, they are not meant to be easy. Only the ones who carry the most will shall pass. After this trial the notes will keep getting shorter, and thy will will be tested till its best. Nine circles that cover the remains.
This isn’t a trial of physical strength, this is the trial of will. The will to live and the urge to go back up.
Proceed.
Wemmbu let out a painful sigh, it seems like he missed two other notes. He had been so focused on the parkour that it hadn’t even crossed his mind to look around. Now that he began to think of it, this place seemed even weirder. The faint smell of something rotting was really starting to piss him off.
He tucked the paper into his pocket as he climbed back onto the platform to try and go back to the other rooms. He pushed the white door, which felt more like a wall at the moment, to no avail.
“Fuuuuckkkkk..” Wemmbu groaned as he kicked the door. It seemed like he had missed every other note before this one. There could’ve been valuable information in them! He couldn’t help but curse himself out. He kicked and punched the door a few more times to let out his anger before he turned back to the platform, his body felt kind of heavy. He hoped that he hadn’t wasted all his energy on that stupid door.
So, he turned back to give the door one last kick before finally deciding that it was enough.
He climbed back onto the platform, jumping to the other ones as he focused on his feet. It was the most boring thing he’d done in a while, even sitting on the grass and waiting for fish to take the bait was more enjoyable than whatever this was. After a few more easy jumps, he performed another triple Neo. It felt like whoever designed these rooms was really into triple neos.
“Get more creative man!” He mumbled under his breath as he kicked dust off of his shoe, looking back at the glowing platform behind him. He turned back to look down at yet another heart. Really original, he thought. What was lowk up with all these hearts lying around.
He bent down to poke the heart again, stepping back immediately after touching it. He watched as a strange fluid started to ooze out of the heart. Was that… blood..? Wemmbu couldn’t help but cover his mouth as he watched the heart bloat slightly. It was somehow interesting to see…
.
The heart finally faded away after it looked completely drained up.
Wemmbu sighed in relief as he walked up to the light again. Three down, six to go. Hopefully that is.
The second he entered the next room, Wemmbu couldn’t help but notice a terrible stench that covered the entire place. A strong odor seemed to have swallowed the entire room, making Wemmbu clog his nose in distain. When he looked down to the black concrete floor, he could see something placed below where he was standing. He immediately jumped down to take a closer look.
He inched away from the flesh of raw meat on the ground, his face showed a hint of disgust. It was rotten flesh, not even close to raw! He couldn’t help but laugh at the possibility of him confusing rotten flesh as raw…
~~~~•
“Yo dude, when are you going to learn to cook?”
“Wha- why should I?” The demon munched on the golden apples in his hands, talking with his mouth full.
“You need a healthier diet bro, healthier diet.”
The demon stopped chewing, he waved the apples in his hand. “What’s so wrong with Gaps huh? Why can’t I use the benefits of such divine artifact?”
“It’s gonna corrupt your whole body bro, turn you into gold or something.”
“You’re just spouting nonsense again. Is it like gonna cause a mutation or something, like that one king? What was his name wait. Hades..?” The demon pondered for a moment, trying to recall the name of a certain person.
“King Midas, the king with the hand that turns anything he touches to gold.” The angel finished his thoughts.
“Wait so does he just die when he tries to scratch his back?”
“Bro shut up!”
~~~~•
Wemmbu touched his forehead as he groaned, he would KILL for a Gapple at the moment. The terrible stench was messing with his mind in a way, he wanted to puke.
He searched around below the platforms once again, covering his nose this time. After a minute of struggle, he finally found yet another note. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt up to be able to keep his nose covered as he used his free hand to open the note.
Putrefaction. As you may feel the changes around your body, your intent shall start fogging your mind. The persons deepest struggles shall began resurfacing after this stage and forwards if they are not worthy.
And yet, you are reading this. Maybe to believe that you’re worthy enough, or maybe to search for an answer. The only answer is that your death was untimely, and that’s the only thing that makes you special. Four remain.
Proceed.
Wemmbu frowned in dissatisfaction, these noted were useless besides the numbers they contained. Putrefaction only sounded like a fancy word Egg would use. He wished he could ask him the meaning right now.
…
Yeah that wasn’t happening anytime soon.
He climbed back up onto the platform, trying to ignore the terrible stench that covered the entire room as he did the parkour as usual. His body felt somewhat heavier, like the gravity of the room was turned on just a bit more. But he managed through once again without much worry.
He stopped in front of the heart lying down at the floor again. He tilted his head slightly before gently kicking it with the corner of his feet. Nothing. He sighed as he bent down to touch it again, the heart smelled like a rotting corpse. It was disgusting.
After a few seconds without movement, the hearts color began to slightly change. It was hard for the naked eye to notice, but what Wemmbu could not ignore was the strong odor it had started to emit. He took a step back to cover his nose, he was getting tired of what was up with this hearts.
Finally, the heart disappeared once more. Wemmbu shivered in place, he was getting really tired of whatever this was. Really tired.
He walked up to the door and kicked it open, walking into the next room without a worry. When he entered, he couldn’t help but feel that the air was unbelievably dry. And the walls weren’t pure black anymore. There were patches of green and blue batches that were dried up. Wemmbu jumped down from the platform to check the wall. When he pressed his hand against the spot, he heard a slight crack. It was a weak spot! He couldn’t hold back his excitement, he immediately got ready to punch the wall off.
~~~~~•
“Bro I do NOT need to learn how to fight.” The angel threw the sword to the ground, pouting as he turned his head away.
The demon sighed, bending down to pick up the fallen sword. “Dude come on, you know that you do. I’m tired of saving your ass all the time!”
“That’s just not my thing, I’m the strategist and you’re the soldier!”
“So what if your soldier isn’t here huh. Are you just gonna die?” The demon stared at the angel, looking quite annoyed.
“I’ll use my linguistic skills to debate my opponents on why they should let me live and maybe go die!”
“…” They both stared at each other in silence for a moment.
“Fine, I’ll figure out their weak spots and assassinate them when they least expect it!” The demon sighed after hearing the angels reply, throwing the sword to his feet.
“Dude just grab that damn sword and get here.”
~~~~~•
Wemmbu groaned in pain as he held his fist, he hadn’t expected that spot to still be concrete. Because that was definitely NOT concrete. It was peeling off, it had to be the weak spot. So why had he felt like his knuckles were crushed by the sheer pressure he used to punch it..?
He used his fingers to rip off the peeling spots, trying to open a small hole in the wall. He stopped breathing when he saw that at the back of the green spot, it turned into black concrete again. How thick were these fucking walls!?
He sighed, kicking the wall in anger as he turned back to search for the next note. He found this one relatively easier than the others, it was right beneath the platform at the entrance.
He opened the paper.
“…”
₍ᐢᐢ₎
There was no writing on the paper, just a small doodle of a bunny. Wemmbu sighed as he crumbled up the piece, throwing it at the blue patched part of the wall. He climbed back onto the platform, his head began to spin a little. Had he jumped a lot..? It was getting kind of blurry.
He brushed the feeling off, focusing on the platform itself. For some reason, it felt like the parkour was getting easier and easier each room. He was quite sure that it was supposed to be the opposite according to the notes. But he couldn’t way the same about himself. His head was really starting to hurt a lot.
He steadied himself by holding the door in front of him. Using it as a support beam to kneel down to the heart on the ground. It felt like he was number before, like the feeling of pain was just starting to return. He bit the inside of his mouth and touched the heart. It began to change its color from red to black with patches of green and blue, just like the walls, before starting to dry out. Wemmbu couldn’t even watch it happen, he was too focused on pushing the door. He finally managed to enter the next room, his whole body ached.
He found himself face planted on the ground, he didn’t move. He just wanted to stay like this for a bit to gain his strength back. That would really help him. The air of this room felt more… alive. It felt nice. The nice hum of the wind against his skin made him feel very blissful of the moment.
Wait, wind..?
He slowly raised his head to look around. His eyes were still squished close. Before he could properly open them, he felt something touching his leg. He immediately jumped back onto his feet from sheer adrenaline. Forgetting all the tiredness he had felt earlier.
“Holy shit…”
Was that a… rabbit..?
“Yo..?” He mumbled, kneeling down to examine the rabbit closer. He looked around the walls, he was still inside yet another room. So why was a rabbit here..? He knelt down to pick up the rabbit, its fur was pure white like snow. Its little nose twitched as it stared at Wemmbu.
When he raised his head, that was when he began to notice that there wasn’t only a rabbit here. There was also a bird standing on the platform right next to the door. Not to mention a-
Wemmbu slowly climbed onto the higher platform as he looked down, holding the rabbit with both hands. There was a sleeping wolf underneath the platform, why the hell was there a wolf underneath the platform? The most surprising thing was the fact that it wasn’t awake, since Wemmbu was sure that he made a lot of noise when he kicked down the door.
~~~~~~•
The angel raised one finger. “So now, Parrot is obviously a Parrot. And I guess Flame has that lion aura there.”
Before the angel could talk more, the demon cut him off. “Woah woah woah, I have more aura than Flame. Don’t even try to deny it.” He used both hands to point at himself.
“Dude you are NOT a lion. Are you kidding me bro?” Even though the angel hated to admit it, maybe he really was.
“What can I be if I’m not a lion?” The demon raised an eyebrow, expecting an answer.
“I don’t know bro, maybe like the big and wolf that eats peoples grandmas or something.”
“Okay what.”
“Just think about it, just think.”
“Well, so what would you be huh? I’m sure you’ll give yourself the coolest one like a dragon or something!”
“To be honest, nah. I’d probably be a rabbit or something. At least I’d taste good.” The angel cackled.
~~~~~~•
Wemmbu gently held the rabbit with both of his hands, staring at the heart that was pulsing across the room. If he fell, he’d surely awaken the wolf. And he was not in the condition to fistfight with a wolf. Possibly a very hungry one as well. That meant no note, which couldn’t be that bad considering that those did not help at all.
It was hard to jump whilst holding the rabbit, but he simply felt too bad for it to let it go. Leaving a rabbit alone in a room with a wolf felt simply too inhumane. Even for someone like him. And plus, he was trying to ignore the judgemental stares of the bird across him. He noticed something that had crawled up into the corner, it looked dead. It was a dead snake…
Why the fuck was this room a zoo? A giraffe would’ve been way nicer, he had never seen a giraffe before. That’s something way cooler than a dead snake. Wemmbu gently held the rabbit in his hands, its soft fur made him relax. It was the nicest he’d felt here, he felt bad for the rabbit.
After a few surprisingly easy jumps, he made it to the heart once again. He slowly put down the rabbit near where the bird was resting, giving it a small pat on the head as he turned to the heart. Was he going to leave these animals behind? Maybe. What was he supposed to do, carry them all to the end? That would be stupid and a complete waste of time!
Before Wemmbu could touch the heart, he was interrupted by the sound of a thud. He turned his head back to notice that the rabbit wasn’t on the platform anymore, it had fallen off.
“OH NO.” He slimmed towards the edge of the platform to look down, only to see that the wolf had awakened. It was skimming towards the rabbit, whom seemed to be blissfully unaware of the danger walking towards it.
Wemmbu gulped. It was just a rabbit, these were just animals. Why was he feeling this attached towards a mere rabbit..? But he couldn’t help but hold his breath as the wolf got closer and closer to the rabbit. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore. Wemmbu jumped down the platform right as the wolf lunged at the rabbit.
The wolf bit hard on the rabbits leg as it geared a chunk of its meat, but Wemmbu managed to kick it away before it could pull back. He held the bleeding rabbit and pushed it back onto the platform. Before he could climb back as well, the wolf lunged at him. Wemmbu couldn’t dodge it, he fell on his back as the wolf stayed on top of him. It was trying to bite his face. He punched it off of him, panting as he tried to get back up. The wolf was bigger up close…
As he ran back to the platform, the snarling wolf lunged for his leg. Wemmbu’s vision went white for a second. In pure adrenaline, he started kicking the wolfs head as much as he could. It seemed startled as it failed to protect itself. He got on top of the wolf as he started throwing punches on the wild left and right. Trying to ignore how much his leg hurt.
He kicked its body as it finally stopped moving. Wemmbu did not care if it was still alive or dead, he had taken out his frustration from it. He held his leg as he pulled back his pant a bit. There was a big red bite mark on his leg, it was slightly bleeding. He sighed as he ripped off that part of his pant as he tied up the wound. This was a very unnecessary fight he had taken. He could’ve just let the wolf eat the rabbit, it was the way of life wasn’t it?
Who was he to interfere?
And yet, there he was. A wounded man struggling to climb back onto a platform he had previously jumped on with ease. He sighed as he barely leapt onto the other platforms.
Out of breath, he rested near the end. Staring at the empty shell of a heart remaining at the door. The bird was staring at him, not moving an inch. It was sitting on top of the heart, seemingly waiting for Wemmbu to arrive. He looked around the heart to see the rabbit lying on the ground. A puddle of blood around it.
It had died.
And yet strangely, the bird hadn’t touched the rabbit. Wemmbu couldn’t tell what type of bird this one was, but all he knew was that it was one of those birds that fed on animal corpses lying around roadsides. Maybe it was full, or maybe it could really think. Maybe it was really judging Wemmbu at the moment.
Wemmbu sighed as he made his way to the heart, kneeling down near the rabbit. He stared at it for a few seconds, not uttering a single word.
“…”
He sighed.
“Why did you do that..?”
No answer came.
Wemmbu rolled his eyes, touching the heart as he waited for something to happen. Suddenly, the bird sitting on top of the heart started moving. It looked down at the heart before looking back up at him. Then it looked down again and started devouring the heart. It peeled off its skin as it ate every single part of it.
Wemmbu watched in pure silence, just waiting for it to be over. After finishing its meal, the bird simply flew away. He didn’t look at where it flew. Instead, Wemmbu picked up the rabbit and put its body to where the heart had once been. He patted the rabbits head once before going through the door, stumbling as he walked.
His leg hurt. It hurt a lot. He wasn’t sure if he could parkour like this. He was barely managing to walk, let alone jump.
This room was quieter than the last, that was for sure. But it was an uncomfortable quiet, the last room had sounds of other living beings breathing. This rooms walls were falling apart, Wemmbu could see a white void stretching out. Underneath the platforms were piles and piles of bones, he did not want to think about where those came from.
Wemmbu grunted as he bit the side of his cheeks Trying to block out the pain, he climbed into the platform. These were more… unstable. They kept moving slightly as he tried to control his balance. It was like they were scattering apart, moving away from each other slowly.
After ten minutes of struggle, Wemmbu finally made it through. He was tired, way too tired. It felt like he was about to die again, and it was weird. He had taken worse blows, this wasn’t anything new. And yet, just a small wound on his leg was killing him here. It was absurd!
~~~~~~~•
“What if…”
~~~~~~~•
Wemmbu grunted as his hand moved to his forehead. It was getting fuzzier and fuzzier, his view was spiraling. He couldn’t think straight. He slowly crawled towards the heart.
~~~~~~~•
“What!? Dude that’s stupid. ######### doesn’t exist.”
“Just think about it bro, where do you ##### all the passing souls ## to?”
~~~~~~•
The tips of his fingers brushed against the cold skin of the heart, he let out a short breath as he watched the heart scatter apart. His body felt just a little bit better. He could stand up again.
He did not even stop to think before entering the next room. He was so close, he could feel it. Entering the next room, he was greeted by the sight of white light shining through the cracks in the walls. It was so bright that Wemmbu had to squint his eyes. The walls were falling apart, and yet there was nothing outside.
Inside, the platforms were disintegrating as well. Only their frames remained. He sighed, getting up the platform once more to get through. The weird thing was that this was easy. Way too easy…
~~~~~~~~•
“.”
~~~~~~~~•
He hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but there were no more triple neos or corner jumps. These were just normal parkour, nothing too crazy. It felt weird, too weird…
As Wemmbu reached the heart, he noticed a crumbled up paper right beside it. He knelt down to lick it up before continuing.
At this point, one must’ve realized why they’re here. And there is a way out. For you shall pass through a series of trials in order to achieve back your mortal form, with a consequence that is. And you will find that out.
Continue onwards with amongst these circles, show what you’ve bested yourself into. For your death can be reversed. And remember, you fool, for you have already lost your way back.
There is only forwards.
Bones…
“Yeesh.” Wemmbu crumbled up the paper again, there was nothing new written inside. He had already figured what this whole thing was, hadn’t the previous notes explained enough? This was stupid, he thought.
He tossed the paper aside, touching the heart as he watched it losing its skin entirely. Only the bones remained. Wemmbu felt quite better.
He passed through the door once more, getting really bored of all this. This room had no walls, only the endless white void remained. This was really starting to hurt his eyes. In front of him stood a pitch black door, with the heart just standing in front of it. As he took a step forwards, he noticed that the ground was covered in white dust. It was like sugar, or maybe salt. He did not want to taste it, not at all! He wasn’t that hungry and desperate yet.
Not with the door in front of him.
He turned around to face where he had came from, there were weird writings on the wall, seemingly written in blood. That was obviously not true, since there was no lingering smell.
He sighed, ignoring everything else as he walked to the heart. He had to get out as soon as possible, so he could go back home. He knelt down to touch the heart, noticing that this one was different from the rest. It looked sick, its color being more green than red.
~~~~~~~~~•
“Wemmbu,” He averted his eyes away from Wemmbu for a moment before staring right at his face. “Do you like your life?”
Wemmbu was quiet for a moment, where the hell was he..? He was just in front of the door, about to leave that god awful place once and for all!
“What are you doing here? Is this- is this all your doing!?“
“I do too.” The demon stated, like it was a fact.
“What the hell are you talking about.?” Wemmbu took a small step back, this was all too familiar.
He stared at Wemmbu like he was an idiot. “No, I mean I like your life too.” He leaned forwards. “It’s basic, it’s calm. Oh I’d kill to be in your place!”
“Wait, no no-“ Wemmbu slapped himself in the face. This wasn’t real, he was still in that room.
~~~~~~~~~/•
He was back in the room, he ignored everything else. He did not know what had happened, if it was an illusion or maybe the sighting of his last moments alive. But what he absolutely knew was that he needed to pass through the door.
He pushed the door before realizing that he hadn’t touched the heart yet. He swiftly picked it up, tapping his feet on the ground as he waited for it to do something. The heart simply turned to dust in his hand, scattering its remains to the floor.
With a grunting noise, the black door finally opened. Wemmbu couldn’t wait, he immediately pushed himself through.
•~~~~~~~~~•
•••••••••
Wemmbu grunted in pain, his leg had started hurting again. He couldn’t open his eyes, all he could understand at the moment was the feeling of grass on his face. He was touching grass, sweet good old grass. He shook in place, trying to ouch himself up.
“…”
Where was he..?