Ground Zero

My triumphant smile begins to fade as the surrounding area begins to turn counter clockwise at a rapid pace, leaving me returning to a normal standing position with a blank expression. The throne room is swallowed whole by a mix of darkness and light and emanates a silverish luminescence, with a small pillar holding up a glowing book at the center of the vast open area. The area remains similar to that which I had encountered with Shinji’s separate dimension that trapped plenty of Tori and humans alike; but is much more expansive, and holds no beings prisoner. Instead, lined along the infinite walls are strange inscriptions of all sorts of languages that appear and fade constantly; along with hollow hands of mist that appear every so often to write each of them out, only to appear and fade in the same constant motion.

After tossing Shinji’s head a few meters away, I walk towards the glowing book with papyrus pages, and take note of a list of names written inside it. Some are familiar, while plenty are not. Finally, as I continuously flip and turn the pages of the glowing book, I finally notice Shinji’s name at the end of the book, with it being crossed out rather than glowing brightly like the rest. I look over towards Shinji’s head, before laughing softly and returning my attention to the book.

Finally, after closing the book, I see an insignia on the front of the book’s covers.

RA

As I lift up the book, it is then that I notice another insignia written on top of the capital that the body and base of the pillar holds up.

DO

Hold on. I remember seeing another insignia when walking towards this thing…

I bend down to the body of the pillar and see in large letters the final insignia.

PAN

I slowly move myself back up, while still holding the book carefully in my hands, “Pan…do…ra.”

“Yes?” three obscure voices call out behind me.

Slowly turning to face the voices I hear, I am met with the gazes of three large distinct beings that are all familiar to me, yet also very different from each other.

The first of the three remains unable to properly envision due to the incredibly blinding light it emanates, but also appears to have the form of a large skeleton through the light, wearing what appears to be a transparent veil. By its feet remains an eternal hollow-like white flame, along with what appears to be an endless row of skulls behind it.

The second of the three emanates a bright light similar to the one Shinji had possessed, toned down from the first, but still a bit blinding in itself. Her appearance seems to be that of a faceless woman with bright white hair and pale skin, wearing a black veil and a black wedding dress. In her hands are a bouquet of golden roses, and by her feet is an eternal dark flame; with rows of roses with all sorts of different colors than gold behind her.

The third of the three remains the most familiar, adopting the exact same appearance as that of the guardians, being an elongated Tori resembling that of a crane, with a black veil covering its entire upper body. A black flame within a mirror remains where the head is supposed to be, and by its feet is the same matte black book with glowing names written inside. Behind the third is a long infinite line of Tori blood, flowing outwardly from her towards wherever the line may lead.

I continue to stare forward towards the three distinct beings, before lifting my index finger up slowly. I point towards the first, “...Pan, most definitely,” I then point towards the second, and pause, “I have a feeling you are…Ra,” Finally, I move to the third, “And you, would be Do.”

“Correct.” They all respond simultaneously.

“How did you come to that conclusion?” The second asks with a dainty female voice.

“Considering the insignia placed here across the insignia, stool, and book, I figured that Pan has to be the one holding everything together, which makes Pan the creator. When I spoke with the creator by way of the floor guardian on the fifty second floor, I was quite literally blinded with a light even more intense than whatever the false god had going for him. And that’s also the same light this one is giving off.” I finish while pointing towards Pan.

I then point towards Do, “Considering I’ve met you plenty of times before, I understood you best for sure. The trick was figuring out if you were the capital or the book; but considering the book pages you hold are matte black, and the pages on this book are not, I took it that you are the one that governs what the book entails, not the book itself.”

I finally point towards Ra, “And then, there’s Ra. Simple enough, the only encounter I can remember with you is when you had saved me in the fight against the false god, flying towards me in order to save me. I take it that you are the book itself, meaning you are also power itself. The marks, the kinks, and the infirmities…that’s all you.”

“Correct.” They all respond simultaneously again.

“I am the creator. Otherwise known as Pan.” the first asserts.

“I am the governor. Otherwise known as the floor guardian, or Do.” the third asserts.

“And I am the life. Otherwise known as Ra.” the second asserts.

“Yeah, I think I’ll just refer to you as Pan, Do, and Ra. Easier on me that way.” I sheepishly respond.

“You may do as you wish,” Do, carrying the same extremely mellow and seemingly empty voice, responds.

“I believe that isn’t everything you have solved,” Pan, carrying the same soft voice, questions.

“No, I think there’s quite a few things I have figured out on my own. Although still plenty I need your help to understand.”

“Why don’t we start off with what you believe to understand,” Pan says.

I scratch my head and begin, “The first has to do with Ra. Shinji’s power was not his own. You grant every human an ability in order to fight or survive against the monsters, but also grant the monsters the ability to fight or survive against humans. Aka, kinks and infirmities. I can have a guess as to what each kink is. Its based on the sins of man, such as gluttony, wrath, lust, etc. And I’m guessing that since each infirmity is based on such kinks, they are there as holes to thwart the user if they manage to gain too much strength. An example would be Chen, who had the sin of wrath to propel her, but also struggled greatly to keep her head whenever I touched her. Considering how even someone as skilled as her initially struggled to escape from Bruno’s grasp, and including her use of ranged weapons like chains, she sure isn’t someone akin to warmth from others…only the warmth of the fire in her heart.

“Bruno himself was a lustful individual, only flaunting his strength in order to keep his own flow of satisfaction going through his party. But whenever he felt rejected, he lost his head, making him much more vulnerable than usual. Even something as simple as ignoring him would be enough. He even put it in his head that everyone that came back for revenge against him only came back to have fun with him again. That’s how far he was willing to go to protect his kink, and keep himself strong.”

“Christoph was an envious person. Bo was apathetic. Everyone seems to have had an egregious sin that became their lifeline. So it makes sense that Shinji would have one as well. Pride. Pride was Shinji’s lifeline, and became his greatest strength that kept him alive in here, even when he was all alone. Eventually, he merged with you, Ra, and became like a god in this world. He became the ruler of life, considering how you yourself are, life.”

Ra bows diligently, “Correct.”

“The individual Tori, or bird monsters, that roamed the halls, were, if anything, former companions of Shinji. Whether he turned them from human to Tori for punishment or because they simply wished for it, I don’t really know….hmmm. What of the groups of Tori that remained? I’m guessing they were the original Tori?”

“They were all formerly human in the previous world as well, from remote civilizations in earlier times.” Pan interjects, “We had them turned into such creatures in order to give the world more substance, and they played a vital role in the inflictions upon your adversary. Of course, even after many of the humans were changed into similar creatures by him, the originals still saw them as human. This may have resulted in acts of what appeared to be infighting or cannibalism, and prove as to why they did not respond in the same way as the others.”

…I see.

“I take it that Shinji also created the marks for specific individuals he deemed to be worthy of him, and kept them close.” I continue, “It’s the only way to make sense of how and why he showed up immediately after I killed Bruno, and not anytime before or after. Bruno and him were working together, and Bruno was given the power of a mark. He made the other marks for all of his other companions to not only make them loyal, but also a step above the rest while still keeping himself at the top, The only thing I don’t understand is how the mark of the beast ended up so far from him, while the mark of the witch ended up with Chen.”

“Allow me to explain,” Ra says, “The holder of the mark of the beast was a barbaric man that led a dynasty era in the past world, only looking to pillage through as much as possible. In that sense, he led a quite similar life here to that of Bruno Perreira; but after losing out to a conflict that spurred between larger parties at the time, he begged Shinji Nakai to turn him into a bird monster for the sake of revenge. He was then turned into a human-faced monster of a bird that would routinely hunt down as many humans as possible. That is…until you came and stole his power, and then took his life.”

“…ah. That’s ancient history at this point.”

“The holder of the mark of the witch was Chen Xi, who Shinji Nakai wished to be an ally. However, Chen Xi refused, even after being granted the power. Shinji Nakai then locked the power of the witch with a pact, making sure that she remained unable to fend for herself until she lost herself to the wrath she held within her heart. Shinji Nakai had a group of hunters capture Chen Xi and bring her to Bruno, making sure not to let the power remain out of his hands completely. Eventually, after going through everything she did with Bruno Perreira, that pact was met, as her wrath became her fuel once more. That is…until she met you, and you eventually stole that power for yourself.”

The envisioning of everything Chen had to go through, along with the lives that many of the others mentioned had lived, floods through my mind instantly. My eyes feel hollow as I am forced to see all the suffering that people have had to go through in here, with perhaps a million sorts of atrocious circumstances being played out.

“It seems you’ve granted me the power after all. The power of life.” I say while still going through all the images in my mind.

Ra bows diligently once more, “Correct.”

I return my vision back to the three beings situated in front of me, “Two questions.”

“First…if this place was created for that false god in the first place, most certainly as a world of eternal suffering, why grant him the ability to rule?”

“Just as the essence of life is only something that can grow, one’s power can grow all the same.” Ra responds, “I am only able to give, and unable to take. And due to the imminent growth of his pride, I was forced to give over everything I had in my power. Eventually, he even began to receive from the creator and the governor as well. His pride would have continued to overflow, and we would have been forced to give over everything we had towards him. That is…until you put a stop to him.”

“For that…we are grateful, Nehman Ho.” Do says while bowing diligently as well.

“...second…why did you give over your power to me?”

Ra pauses, before continuing on, “I was not given away. I was taken by force.”

“...huh?”

“In the moment before your passing, your essence’s growth had far surpassed Shinji Nakai’s, ripping me out from him and forcing me towards you. In other words…”

The three of them speak out simultaneously, “Your greed far surpassed his pride.”

Memories of my last conversation with Christoph come to mind,

“...the symbol of man’s greatest sin…evolved into its greatest form…” I say aloud.

“Correct.” They respond simultaneously, “Unlike the others, you were not brought here as a nestling by Shinji Nakai. You were brought here to fulfill the prophecy set forth by us.”

A prophecy. Set forth by them.

And heard of by him.

Which led to others hearing of it as well.

…the dragon’s head.

I pause for a brief moment, remembering the constant growth in strength that I had felt since arriving in this place. Laughter then ensues, as I become amused by my own story.

I turn towards Pan, and my vision of the being becomes more clear as my eyes adjust to the blinding light more and more, “So you were the one who created this hell of a world. And the false god then used your power to bring in others to this world…” I turn towards Do, and my body still doesn’t feel any loss of body heat even after staring at the black flame in the mirror that makes up for her face, “And you are the one who manages everything. But the false god then used your power to facilitate his own rules. Come to think of it, Christoph mentioned no one in the last however many years being unable to make it past the thirty second floor; the one with the massive labyrinth and black hair strands.”

“Yes. He made sure that no one not associated with him personally could reach past that specific floor by having one of his comrades posted at the exit. That being the viking priest named Nora Thorson.”

“So it was Nora. Makes sense. I, myself, couldn't even find a proper way to kill her.”

“However, she has now been engulfed by her mark, which was left with her by Shinji Nakai. Once your essence had swallowed her as well, she wished to escape from your own dimension of greed that tore into her psyche, and the mark of the devil ended up swallowing her in order to achieve her wish.”

“I’m loving this,” I say with a confident smile, “Finally able to solve every question that I had in here.”

“Are there any more you may have?” Do asks.

“Yes. Two more. Very important ones.”

“Number one…what is the condition for those that enter into this place.”

“Death.” all three respond simultaneously.

“...so I was killed after all?” I ask as my face winces.

“Yes.” all three respond simultaneously.

“...how? Why? I don’t understand?”

“You really shouldn't be so confused as to why, Nehman Ho,” Pan says.

“Shinji Nakai mentioned the two of you being similar…and I am afraid he was correct,” Ra speaks up, “Shinji Nakai was formerly a religious cult leader before any of the major periods in Japan, and led like an emperor for what started as a small village. He was worshipped as a god, solely due to his divine presence and sharp mind. However, he abused his followers in all kinds of ways, and always made sure to gaslight them into believing what he is doing is law. Rape. Forced Adultery. Murder. Pillaging other villages. Child trafficking. Slavery. Everything…flowed according to his law.”

“What? Then how are we similar? I never did all that!”

“You didn’t?” Pan asks, clearly unconvinced.

“Of course not. Why would I need to do all of that?” I respond earnestly.

The three of them glance towards each other, before returning their attention to me.

Pan speaks first, “Nehman Ho. A man who aggressively pushed his way from the bottom to the top by attaining whatever he saw could fit into his life in order to make it easier.”

Do speaks next, “Theft. Aggravated assault. Planning out assassinations with wealthy men in order to be rid of other wealthy men…only to eventually betray those same men you planned with.”

Ra speaks, “After becoming a slumlord in your hometown at the age of sixteen, you abused your power in order for others to continue to give you more than what you ever could have needed, and what they could never afford; driving hundreds of people to suicide, in which after you would incur the debt penalty on the children they left behind.”

Do speaks again, “For the widows left behind that you deemed worthy, you would require sexual favors in order to lessen the damage already done; only to be rid of them if pregnancy became an issue.”

Pan speaks again, “You eventually set your sights on taking over the lands in other cities, in order to increase your capital wealth to extreme measures. After taking over the lands of the families of government officials, you began to have a hand in government affairs, and were already looking to start a war for the sake of acquiring even more land.”

My eyes shake in worry, realizing that I may have gotten a bit carried away by the sense of nature buried within my heart.

Do speaks again, “By the age of twenty, you eventually fathered a son with your favorite widow, and adopted them as your own personal family. As your son grew, you became more lenient towards your primary desires, focusing your attention towards your son as much as you could afford to.”

Ra speaks last, “In doing so, you spoiled your son to an extreme, and your son began to adopt the same creed of law that governs your essence.”

“Greed.” they all say simultaneously.

Ra continues, “And after being spurred on by your newly acquired wife…”

My face flushes instantly.

“Your six year old son killed you in your sleep, in order to become the acting heir to the empire you had created.”

Immediately, I fall to my knees and clutch my head tightly. I begin to scratch my head aggressively to the point I feel a few hairs flying out from it, while screaming at the top of my lungs.

I try to shout out insults, but only manage to cry in an ugly manner. My heart feels as heavy as it could possibly feel, unsure of whether it is full of guilt or pain. Eventually, I come to the understanding that it can only be both.

The three beings remain in place, and allow me to air out my grief. I slam my fist into the glass floor, but fail to break it, or even put a dent in it.

“Stand, Nehman Ho.” Pan says.

“You still have much to accomplish in this world,” Ra says.

“And you still have one more question you wish to ask,” Do says.

My ears perk up, as my flushed face looks up towards the three beings, unsure of what they are talking about.

“Right…my final question…”

I stand up slowly, and attempt to face the three of them properly, but my psyche has now waned immensely from the understanding of the life I had lived.

…I see…so this is what Christoph attested to about recalling everything in your past…

This feeling…I am so dejected…from all my sorrows…

Slowly, I mouth out the words of my final question to Pan, Do, and Ra.

“...what happens now?”

Pan takes one step forward, “That is up to you,”

“...what?”

“The ruler of the first floor has been defeated,” Do says as she takes one step forward.

“Leaving you to make a choice.” Ra says as she also takes one step forward, aligning the three of them equally yet again.

“...choice? Between what?”

“Between the three of us.” they all respond simultaneously.

My expression turns from dejection to concern, “...what…what about my heaven?”

The three of them look towards each other, before returning their gazes to me.

“What are you speaking of?”

“My heaven,” I respond enthusiastically, finding a ray of hope in remembering what Christoph mentioned back on the sixty sixth floor, “In meeting Pandora, or Pan Do Ra, I am supposed to get my personal heaven, right? For all my hard work to climb these stupidly difficult floors? Haven’t all the others who managed to meet you here gotten the same thing?!”

The three of them look towards each other, before returning their gazes to me. My eyes become hollow with despair, as through the power of Ra that grants me insight to every life’s memories, I am immediately able to understand the answer.

The three of them simultaneously deliver the horrendous news, “Sorry…but no one here has ever met the three of us altogether…and no one is ever allowed to leave this world once they have entered.”

Do cups her hands, “I meet everyone once they reach the floor’s landmark. No one has ever asked my name before, so I thought it unnecessary. No one has guessed correctly that there are three of us, and that we are connected.”

Ra holds out her bouquet, “Shinji Nakai is the only one to have met me, but only on the first floor. Somewhat similar to how you met me as well; but I manifested inside of him, rather than how we are now.”

Pan holds out a laughing bone, “And you are the first to meet me in the flesh. The only reason people found my name is because Do started to refer to the creator of the world as Pandora whenever people asked.”

“And no one has, or ever will, be able to leave us.” They all speak simultaneously.

I remain frozen in place, unable to fathom my current circumstance.

So everything was a lie…

And now…I’m faced with having to remain in this world…in order to play the role of false god.

After losing a bit of my balance, I catch myself from falling by grabbing onto the capital of the pillar behind me, which begins to glow brightly as soon as I make contact with it.

One of the three beings begins to glow brighter as well, while Pan and Ra take a step back.

“The choice has been made.” Pan and Ra say simultaneously.

“...huh?!”

Do steps forward towards me, “In fulfilling the prophecy and meeting the three of us, you have been granted access to the creator’s power, the governor’s power, and the life’s power. In choosing to advocate for the governor, myself, you will also be granted full control over the governance of the sixty six floors, and may change and design the floors as you see fit.”

“...I just want to go home,” I say as a tear falls from my eye.

“You will now return to the first floor, where you will reign as king over all. I hope my service to you will be favorable, and we look forward to this long standing partnership.”

I shake my head to reject my offer, while tears fall slowly from my eyes. Although, it remains to no avail, as the entire area begins to swirl clockwise in motion. I look towards the three beings one last time, before my vision fades out entirely.

I just wanted…to go home.

***

Opening my eyes, ever so slightly…

It’s too dark. I can’t see.

Is all it took to realize…

…wait…

That I am not where I am supposed to be.

…where am I?

The sound of water drops falling onto hardened material catches my attention, as I look around to envision my surrounding vicinity. Layers of human bones are stacked in a massive dungeon hall, with the human bones covering the entire floor below me. A blue flame, akin to the ones seen after applying Tori blood to the spawn rags, are lit up with torches all around me, allowing me to see everything in clearer vision.

Thousands of bones. Hundreds of rotten flesh. Tattered clothes.

Clearly, a monster is responsible.

And a very dangerous one at that.

The drops of water continue to drop onto my skin, making me feel irritated. I attempt to stand up, only to find myself losing my balance on the large bed of bones.

What the?

As I look down, I realize that the bones appear a lot smaller in size to me than usual. In fact, they seemed extremely tiny in comparison to the bones I have seen before.

I reach out my hand to pick up one of the tiny skulls, only to be left shocked as I glance over slowly towards my arm.

A large decayed wing bedazzled with hardened gemstones is attached to where my arm should be.

I look to my right arm; another large decayed wing with gemstones. I look down; a black diamond encrusted chest plate to cover my elongated chest. I look down even further; the body of a serpent.

“Master…what troubles you?”

I look towards the voice that calls out, and see a strange elongated woman with a mirror where her head should be.

“...Do?”

“...yes, master. Is something troubling you?” she asks.

“...master?”

As I look closely towards the mirror, I am taken aback greatly by the image of a dragon where my head should be.

Oh…I see.

The dangerous monster…

…is me.

I look around the dungeon hall, and begin to ponder the situation to a greater detail. I then glance towards my wings, and the rest of my bedazzled body, before looking over to the mirrors situated above me showing images of hunters fighting for their lives against Tori in the labyrinth of hell I had been accustomed to.

“Do…what floor are we on?”

“Well I am everywhere, master…but we are also currently on the first floor.” She responds diligently.

As I continue to stare at the images above, I notice a very familiar face being chased after by a group of the ravenous creatures. More familiar faces pop up one by one, and I begin to laugh in amusement of their folly.

“How long have I been out for?”

“You haven’t been out of anything, master. This is the world revisioned how you wished for it to be, created through your will and your will alone.”

“And my will has granted me all of this…because of the powers of Pan, Do and Ra…”

Do bows, “Correct…master.”

Slowly but surely, an extremely sinister grin escapes me.

…magnificent!

THE END