"But I've dedicated my entire life to worship the supreme one, god! Why must I be punished?!"
It was an unusual elevator ride, as it kept going down and down. The man in priest clothing was on his knees praying to a demon-like figure accompanying him.
"Heaven is reserved for those who passed on the way God intended, by old age." The demon replied, nonchalantly.
"But I have no control over what disease possesses my body! It isn't my fault!!" The priest begs with tears and snot dripping down his face.
"Hm… Too bad? I guess." The demon looked straight into the priest's eyes with not a sign of empathy.
In the fiery pits of hell, it's kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest, because once you've already experienced dead, all morals go out the window. There's death at every corner.
However, there are some who wish to keep their humanity and not give in to the evil in their heart…
Inside the Crimson Forest, a man was hunting for food when he heard the cries of a baby. A sound so innocent, something that was now foreign to him.
As he rushed to the noise, there he laid his eyes upon a newborn child alone inside a hellevator - hell elevator. He slowly went over and picked up the child. And as he began to reach for his knife, he noticed how thin the baby was, with barely any flesh.
Grinding his teeth, he tugged the baby inside his bag and then proceeded to tear down the hellevator for its metal. After arriving back in his small hideout, he took out the baby and laid him on his desk.
"I'm definitely an idiot ain't I?" he muttered.
He picked up his knife again, but then sliced his own hand, leaving a small tear for blood to flow out. He then proceeded to bring the tear over to the baby's mouth, allowing for the blood to flow down his throat. For a long time, the man will not understand what had got into him to have saved this child.
10 years later…
"Goddammit Faso, you're pathetic!!" The man yells at the young boy.
It has been ten years since the man, also known as Jarred Fisher, had taken in the child and raised him. He named him Faso, which was a slang he used for joints back during his living years.
In hell, after the age of 21, you would stop aging entirely. Overpopulation wasn't really a problem since people died so often. Jarred Fisher was 29 when he arrived in hell and has been for over 50 years.
Seeing a baby in hell is an extremely rare sight but not entirely impossible. Abortion deaths are quite common but the embryo usually dies again while in the hellevator going down.
The only possible way for it to survive is if the demon that guides the sinner down the hellevator takes pity and helps it in some form; like forcefully aging them so they wouldn't need to be inside a womb to survive, hence turning the embryo into a baby.
Though "pity" might not be the right choice of word. It's more so that the demon sees potential in the sinner. There have been cases where a sinner that received the help of a demon became an unbelievable force to be reckoned with in hell. We called those individuals "Messengers of Hell" or just "Apostles".
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"Fuck you! This is heavy as shit." Faso yells back at Jarred.
The two were carrying large bundles of bags, filled with food and other necessities. They were walking through the Crimson Forest, a place where sinners usually avoid.
"Do we really have to move old man? I'm gonna miss living there…" Faso asks Jarred, with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"We don't have a choice. If that man finds you, it's over." Jarred replies with a serious tone.
Currently, they were running away from a man known as Alberto, an Apostle. Rumors has it that he was a paralyzed man when he died, not being able to move a single inch of his body.
However inside the hellevator, a demon recovered his body parts to where he was normal again. And just like every sinner who a demon saw potential in, Alberto was no different. In less than a year, he already had 30% of hell under his control. Definitely one of the strongest Apostles.
Unfortunately, Apostles don't play nice with each other. So when rumors got picked up that there was a baby living in a small hut inside the Crimson Forest, sinners from all over hell rushed to kill the young Apostle before it can fully mature.
Faso and Jarred have moved homes six times already, and have hidden successfully for 3 years since their last relocation. Until recently when a group of scavengers found their hideout.
They had to pack their bags immediately after killing the scavengers, some managing to escape. Luckily for them, the Crimson Forest is one of the largest forests in hell with infinite places to hide.
"Let's set up camp here for now." Jarred stopped and looked around.
As instructed, Faso immediately took out several items from his bag and got started. After a while, their tents were ready and it was time to dig in some food.
Putting down a mat on the ground, Faso took out a chuck of flesh from his bag for himself and Jarred as they sat across each other ready to eat.
"Son of a bitch, you had thighs last time! It's my turn." Jarred angrily yells at Faso.
"Hey you're a fat fuck, I don't want you getting any bigger!" Faso shouts back at him.
They argued for a few minutes before Jarred finally admitted defeat and began eating the feet that Faso gave him.
"I fucking hate eating feet. Taste like dirty socks…" Jarred grumbled.
And so they feasted on the meat like wild animals with blood splattering everything. After Faso was done eating, he grabbed one of the human head and pulled out their tongue for dessert.
"Ah… I'm totally full now!" Faso laid down on the ground happily, with his hands behind his head.
Jarred was grumpy, but soon formed a sinister smile as he noticed how defenseless the boy was at that moment. Ropes started coming out of his palms and they flew towards Faso with haste.
Upon realizing what was about to happen, Faso tried to get up and move out the way but it was too late. The ropes caught up to him and began the deadly, tickles of hell.
"HAHAHAHA!! OKAY STOP ALREADY!" Faso could not resist laughing as the ropes tickled him nonstop.
And so, as the blue sun sets and the red moon rises, Faso and Jarred go into their own tents for a night's rest. However, Faso couldn't sleep. Mostly due to Jarred's loud snoring, but there was something else preventing him.
As an Apostle himself, he knew that his destiny was to become someone great. However, he didn't believe that at all. Because if it was true, he would be able to protect Jarred and not be the one being taken care of.
He has no recollection of being in the living world and was taught everything by Jarred. He was told that his death was by this thing called an abortion. But still, for some reason, he couldn't use any powers.
Every sinner in hell is granted a power that coincides with the way that person dies. Jarred for example died from hanging himself, hence his ability to create and manipulate ropes.
Another known Apostle called, Lydia, also died from an abortion and she has the power to suck the life force out of someone with just a touch.
Known as Lydia the Cursed, by just touching your skin long enough, she can shrivel up your body entirety until only bones and dried-up skin is left. You could say instead of "sucking out life force", she's actually getting rid of blood and nutrients from the body.
So if Faso died the same way as her, wouldn't he be able to do this as well? Nope. In fact, he isn't able to do anything and has continually questioned himself whether he even has a power.
But sooner or later, Faso will come to know his actual cause of death. Up above the skies of hell, a demon laughs hysterically knowing the tragic future that awaits Faso.
"Indeed… So much potential indeed." The demon couldn't hold in his excitement as he looked down on Faso. "Entertain me Faso! Hahahahah!! Indeed, entertain me!"