"Noooo Waaaaayy..." I say seeing the white staircase behind ornate gilded gates.

I do my best to ignore the gate for several minutes, cautiously eying the golden gate while waiting for the magic circle to appear to take me to the next floor, but nothing appears. Figuring that there is no other way to progress other than the staircase beyond, I reluctantly approach the golden gates and they open with a chorus of vocals you would hear in a church. The cliche of the situation is rather annoying.

"Really..." I sigh.

"What, no Saint Peter?!" I say in a condescending tone as I stand before the gates.

I make my way through the gates and take a tentative step on the first step of the translucent, but opalescent staircase. Nothing seems to happen as i stand on the first step, so I slowly ascend the staircase. I can't see where it goes as the bright light from up above makes looking where you are going quite difficult.

I am basically forced to look down at my feet as I ascend the staircase. I climb and climb the seemingly endless staircase, the surroundings seemingly become brighter and brighter the higher I go. I take this time to consider the possibility that this might be the absolute end to this dungeon. Why else would there be a staircase instead of a magic circle to bring me to the next floor. Such a thing has never occurred before down here, so what other conclusion could it be.

Finally, after what seems like an hour of climbing, the final steps ascend through a cloud layer, and I emerge into a large clearing. The floor is an opalescent color, similar to the mother of pearl coloration in an abalone shell, the colors fluctuating in the golden light. The area is about the size of your average Major League baseball field. The edges are surrounded by pure white clouds. The sky is a golden color and seems to radiate light from everywhere and yet nowhere. At the far end of the platform is another opalescent staircase leading to what looks like a massive golden city, shining brightly in the distance. It is a sight that is truly breathtaking to behold. Nothing in this shitty dungeon has come even close to this.

Lesser Creshent Labyrinth Final Floor: Realm of the Gods

As I walk onto the platform toward the staircase at the opposite end, four bright points of light appear, two on either side of the staircase. The light sources grow larger as they approach me. When they are about 10 meters away from me, the light breaks and what I can only describe as 4 armor clad angels appear before me.

Each of these beings are easily 3 meters tall, maybe more. I can feel the sheer power being emitted by their forms. Beads of sweat begin to appear on my head and face as I realize that each of these beings are far more powerful than I am, even with all my tails and the ridiculous gear I just obtained from the Cerberus fight.

I inspect each of these, well I can't really classify them as monsters, so Angels I guess? I mean, what could they possibly be? I literally climbed a heavenly staircase from hell, and there is a massive golden city before me, so that must be Heaven, right?! What the hell kind of dungeon is this?! Beginning from my left:

[https://i.imgur.com/Do50Ucz.png]

This angel is clad in golden armor, with a blue sash flowing around his body. His wings are a fiery golden-red radiating waves of reddish energy. He holds an intimidating spear and has a large scroll attached to his waist. His eyes are a rust-colored red, and his hair is curled and sandy blonde.

[https://i.imgur.com/9nDPKNj.png]

Michael is clad in ivory white armor and a red sash flowing around his body. Wings are a pure white radiating waves of white energy. He holds a sword as white as anything I have ever seen. It's hilt and handle clad in gold and jewels. His eyes are a piercing blue and his hair is golden and flows in an unfelt breeze.

[https://i.imgur.com/EPVBdnH.png]

Raphael is clad in green armor and a lighter green and gold sash flowing around his body. Wings are a majestic green which fades to white toward the tips. The wings are radiating waves of bright green light. He holds a golden staff with golden wings on its end. His eyes are earthly green, and his flowing hair is a light brown in color,

[https://i.imgur.com/lpTy7XG.png]

Clad in blue armor with golden accents and a white sash flowing around his body. his wings are a sky-blue fading to white toward the tips. these wings are radiating waves of bright blue energy. He holds a golden book in his hands, and a flaming sword on his left hip. His eyes are blue and his hair is long and blond.

Archangels?! Not just any Archangels, but THE four highest rank angels in the Judeo-Christian religions. These guys are ridiculously strong. This is unlike anything I have faced up to this point. Even the strength gap between me and the Kitsune was nothing in comparison to the gap between me and each one of these creatures.

My mind is racing at the dilemma before me. This surely is the final fight of this Labyrinth, but if I even think of attacking any of these guys, I'm not sure I will even live to find out if my attack landed. To face these beings is one step down from facing God himself. If I ever expect to get any answers as to why I am here, I have to beat these guys.

Before I could even figure out what to do in this situation, one of the Angels speaks to me. His voice is the most pure and beautiful sound I have ever heard. My body automatically falls to my knees. Tears begin pouring from my eyes involuntary as he speaks.

"We have been expecting you, Christopher. The answers you seek lie with The Father in The Kingdom beyond. Unfortunately, you are not permitted to enter The Kingdom as you are. Just know that you were not intended to be in this world, nor were you intended to possess the power that you do."

This is NOT acceptable! I'm screaming inside my head while listening to the angelic voice. The power of the divinity before me keeps me from shouting out my frustrations at the divine beings. I am powerless in my current state, pathetically kneeling penitently, forced to accept what answers they have.

All four Archangels suddenly raise their weapons toward me. Waves of divine energy slam into me, my very soul trembles in their presence.

"That being said, do not come back here. Do not attempt to use your skills to enter The Kingdom. Failure to heed this warning will result in not only your demise, but the destruction of your very soul."

If you have ever felt the fear of your own mortality ending, imagine how it feels to be told your immortal soul is not so immortal at all, and can be snuffed out of existence. This is an existential crisis of biblical proportions. The panic I feel radiating through me is unlike anything I believed possible.

Suddenly all 4 Archangels raise their weapons toward the golden sky. Their weapons radiating divine energy, they all speak in unison.

"אתה מגורש בזאת מממלכת השמים." (You are hereby banished from the Kingdom of Heaven.)

A golden magic circle appears below me and my whole field of vision burns white, a whiteness I never thought possible.

I suddenly thud to the ground, my eyes still closed tightly. I can feel grass under me. I can feel a cool breeze blowing through my hair. I can hear birds chirping. I slowly open my eyes and find myself kneeling on the forest floor. I fall back on my ass with my arms propping me up behind me. My mind still racing at what just occurred.

It takes quite some time to come back to my senses. As I do, I take stock of my surroundings and notice there is a cave with a large boulder blocking the entrance. There are several signs expressing grave warnings of certain death to any that enter. I assume this is the entrance to the Labyrinth. The angels not only kicked me out of the final floor, but the whole damn Labyrinth.

I use my teleportation skill to bring myself back to my home in the Grotto Arena. Once there I just sit and wait, part of me expecting the Archangels to come get me for daring to enter the Labyrinth again. Nothing happens, and I assume I'm only banished from that floor, and the rest of the Labyrinth is still available to me, which is good as this is my home and I still intend to stay here. It's quite literally the most secure home in the world. Good luck to any would be robbers wanting to fight their way here.

I strip off my armor and teleport myself out to the granite outcrop at the pond's surface. I have myself a brief swim to clean off and then I head back to the Grotto for some sleep.

I am not sure how much sleep I'm actually going to get though. I don't know how to explain it, but facing those Archangels in that place was much more of a nightmare than anything I have experienced to date. It's odd thinking of Heaven as a nightmare, but that's what it felt like. Funny enough, I have never felt so much in danger as I did facing those four. Even during the half decade I spent being tortured and beaten in that bandit camp, I didn't feel anywhere near as much in danger as I did facing those four. It's odd thinking of Heaven as being a terrifying place, but there is no other way I could say it.

Interestingly, when I went for a swim earlier, I still had the ability to breathe and swim like I did with the Sea King's Amulet equipped. I checked my skills list, and it is still there. Even my skills for the Kitsune armor and the Masamune are listed even though I don't currently have them equipped. It seems I keep any skills I encounter, even if they are exclusive to a piece of gear. This could prove to be pretty handy in the future should I come across any items or gear that has a unique skill.

I spend most of the night in thought of what the future holds. If I want to get to the bottom of why I'm here and if I could even get back home, I am going to have to get even stronger somehow. I am going to have to fight those Archangels and challenge God himself, if that's who is actually there. The text said it was the Realm of the Gods, meaning there are more than one God, but the Archangels also referred to The Father, so is that THE God and all other Gods were created by him?

I could single-handedly destroy all modern religions with what I have seen thus far. It seems all of them are wrong, all while being correct at the same time. If nothing is wrong and nothing is correct, then what IS the truth?!

I shake my head trying to expel the philosophical dilemma from my mind. There is not enough weed on earth to deal with this kind of existential bullshit. I turn my thoughts toward what I should do now, aside from beating those Angels. There is nothing more for me to do in the Labyrinth as nothing is of a high enough level for me to farm more levels, and I can't progress any further.

A smile creeps along my face as I know what comes next. I grab my Muramasa and hold it to my naked body in a loving embrace. It's time. It's time for me to pay my old friends a visit. I fall asleep knowing tomorrow is the day I get to pay them all back for the suffering they caused me. Tomorrow is the day I make a certain someone pay for my mother's death. Tomorrow... tomorrow... tomorr...