He found himself standing in front of a dusty shelf that was sparsely populated, with only about a dozen books on the entire thing. Half of them were worthless, with only speculative entries about what lay further down in the Hells, but one of them seemed promising to Jonathan, and he picked it up.
The Path of the Hellbreaker: A story of Divine Might
Jonathan quickly gathered that book under his arm, and tried to find some sort of reference book. He quickly found a book that professed to be a repository for information about the Ash Heaps, but there was nothing about the rest of the Infinite Hells. He took the two books to a nearby table, and got to work reading. Starting with the reference book, he got to work.
The Ash Heaps, also known as the Wastes of Desolation, is the first circle of the Infinite Hells. It is the weakest, but the one with the most inhabitants, seeing as most lack the strength to merit punishment in the lower hells. Ruled by Granath the Despoiler, it is a land of endless ruins and ash punctuated by the occasional city, populated by the souls of the damned. Those who succumb to the horrors of the descent are consumed body and soul by Granath, and repurposed as the various horrors that walk the ash.
The book was written in a strange way, one that seemed purpose built for those with high intelligence. Somehow, it had been enchanted to convey a wealth of information through a smaller amount of text than Jonathan would have expected. For example, just from reading that one passage, a detailed image of the Ash Heaps had somehow formed in his mind, accentuating the words on the page. It was a strange sort of magic, but one that he found quite useful. With that in mind, he flipped through the book, looking for relevant sections. The first such section that he saw was about the various monsters of the region.
Within the Ash Heaps, strength is stratified by proximity, or extremity, to the center of the circle. The actual region itself extends out past where anyone has dared to venture, but there is a strip of land, about ten thousand miles across, where the monsters are comparatively weak. As one grows closer to the center or the far reaches of the land however, the monsters begin to become more powerful. The strongest being in the world is Granath, the ruler of this circle of the Infinite Hells. However, creatures lurk in the far reaches of the world that are almost at his level of strength. The Sleeping Titans, a range of living mountains, are one of the first things that one sees upon entering the Ash Heaps. This is believed to be for the purpose of instilling fear and hopelessness in new arrivals, as the actual monsters in question are so far beyond the edges of the habitable zone that they are nearly unreachable. The monsters may be an imposing sight, but they are rumored to be almost harmless, seeing as they are unable to move. However, there is a possibility that this is just a rumor. Caution is advised to anyone seeking them out. On the lower levels of the monster population, there are creatures such as Ash Prowlers, and Fetid Oozes, which prey on the weak.
Now that Jonathan had read the passage, an image of the mountain range that he had seen upon arrival was burned into his mind. The image was at a far closer range that his own sight had been able to discern, and he was able to see that the mountains were actually curled up humanoids, covered in rocky flesh. Their heads ended in saw-like protuberances, each of which was hundreds of feet in length. Jonathan shook his head, banishing the image, and continued reading.
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As one grows in power, they will quickly find that to progress, they will have to make their way towards more dangerous sections of the world. This serves Granath well, as it inevitably sends them off into the far reaches, where they will quickly die, or towards him, where he can twist them to his dark desires.
Jonathan had been suffering from the essence drought that was the lower leveled monsters, and he knew exactly what this passage was talking about. He would have to make a decision soon, whether to head for the interior, or towards the perimeter of the Ash Heaps. Both were fraught with danger, but he was slightly more inclined towards the perimeter of the world, seeing as it was his only shot at reaching the necessary level of power to defeat Granath. He was sure that there were no creatures approaching the demon’s strength anywhere within the interior. He would have to find them somewhere else. As it happened, the next section of the book was about Granath himself, and Jonathan quickly flipped the yellowed pages towards a section about his history.
Like the other circle rulers, Granath was created eons ago by the dark Lord of Hell, Angranor, and has been in a constant struggle against his brethren for dominance. In a complicated game called the Infernal Court, circle rulers vie for power against one another, seeking to defeat their neighbors, and progress further down the circles, toward their master. Granath has been the weakest of their number from the very start, but he is still monstrously strong. No force within the Ash Heaps can hope to defeat him. His form is that of a gargantuan worm, with a vaguely humanoid head. His body is truly immense, reaching hundreds of feet in length. He also possesses strong magical abilities, not least of which is his ability to devour the souls of the damned.
Jonathan was about to turn the page, but he heard a faint rustling from behind him, and he spun around to see Janessa hovering over him.
“Are you finally realizing that your quest is hopeless?” The woman asked, her raspy voice cutting through the silence.
“Huh? What quest?” Jonathan asked, feigning ignorance.
“Don’t play dumb with me. You are following the path of the Hellbreaker, are you not? It was written all over your auric signature. I don’t know why someone of your meager level is chasing that myth, but I implore you to stop. You will die, just like the rest of them…” A tear glistened in the woman’s yellow eye, and she blinked it away. “Never mind that. Dervan wouldn’t want me moping over him anyway.”
“How did you know all that?” Jonathan asked, shocked.
“Like I said, your aura is like an open book. You have impressive power for one so recently sent to the Hells. Here, analyze me, why don't you?” The woman replied. Jonathan obliged, and was struck dumb by what he found.
Janessa
Demonic Hybrid
Level 77
He sputtered wordlessly at what he saw written before him.
“A high level, is it not? My partner and I were following that path many decades ago, but when we reached the Ashen Citadel, we found ourselves woefully unprepared for the power of its defenders. I could have eviscerated you before you even realized I had moved, but Granath is far beyond even that. My husband was killed by one of his lowliest guards, and I barely escaped with my life, and with the majority of my power gone. All that is left of me is the meaningless number on my stat sheet. In reality I am weaker than a babe. That is why I implore you not to throw away your life on this meaningless quest. Progress, of course, but do not reach for things beyond your station. Now-” the dome began to rumble, and books fell off their shelves, clattering to the floor. Jonathan stood, alarmed. Janessa bit her lip, and sighed.
“You came at the most inopportune time. The monster horde is coming. You will have to help defend the city.”
‘What about you? Will you be alright?” Jonathan asked.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be safe here. Besides, I still have some of my old tricks left. Now go!” The woman shouted at him. A strange force seized him and propelled him towards the doors, sending him sprawling out onto the street.