Purgatorio, part IV.

Fidelio, Ingrid, and Catherynne are walking around the fog.

some street performers wearing mask that represent figures in a chess board come out of the fog and start to surround them. the performers bathed in mystery walk around the three of them letting the intrigue to be part of the act.

the performers start to reenact the worse of their memories as a mockery. the distorted masks add malice to the actions taken. there is no exit for either three of them. the only choice given to them is to stand there and get the show done.

Ingrid is forced to face the times in which her abusive mother used to assault her at any given turn until she was a bloody mess. and an inept father who was no help. a father who only ever was there to drink liquor from morning till night.

Catherynne is reminded of the days in which she had to stay with her mentally ill mother in a house in the middle of nowhere. how it was hell. how hard it was for her to keep her sanity in such a vile moment of her life. how out of desperation she left for a night of fun once. and in that night her mother died. a night full of guilt.

Fidelio is witness of the past he wishes to erase. a past in which he was mistreated by those around him for being different. how his parents ignored him. his siblings always mocking him and looking down on him. the violence that his classmates enforced on him. 

Fidelio shakes in denial. he wants to deny his truth. he covers his face with his hands. he shakes violently as he howls. the memories of a past in which he was nothing are haunting. Fidelio with teary eyes looks down on the ground. Fidelio feels sick. Fidelio tries to deny the identity that was given to him. he cries.

"I am not Fidelio. I am the Craftsman." Fidelio whispers to himself.

all of them are in a battle with their own demons. Catherynne finally gives up. the performers remove their masks showing that they aren't human. they are wooden faceless dolls with strings attached to their joints. 

one of the performers puts a mask on Catherynne's face. she starts to turn into a wooden figure as she falls on the ground. the performers take Catherynne and then banish into the mist as if they had never been there before.

Fidelio and Ingrid are unsure if they are safe. had I overcome my sins? is this my salvation? are the first questions to come to mind. as Fidelio and Ingrid keep advancing. they find Beth's soulless body on the ground with green smoke coming out of her eyes and mouth.

he keeps walking without looking back. Ingrid walks behind him. she is holding to his shirt without realizing the kind of terrifying man in front of her. Ingrid feels nervous. at some times Ingrid will just close her eyes. her hands are sweating.

Fidelio smirks as he feels in power. Fidelio is walking with his hands on his pockets casually caressing a pocketknife with his left hand. the serial killer has contemplated the possibility of ending her raw life between his fingers as the fountain of life paints his fingers with a warm vivid red as it is supposed to be. and then he ends that idea.

soon it becomes clear that Ingrid and Fidelio are of the few people left on town. everyone else has either given up and let themselves be swallow by the town. or had crossed the door leading to the next level. then a familiar figure presents itself in the middle of the road.

a green gate presents itself behind Ingrid. she doesn't think twice before taking it. she leaves without looking back. the gate closes its doors and banishes in the fog.

Fidelio with a sinical laughter approaches Mayor Fisherman. the two stare at each other's eyes directly without blinking. they stand like that for a couple of seconds.

"Tell me, why us? some of them are not guilty of evil deserving of hell. some of us are worse than hell itself that we are too overqualified for a test such as this one." comments Fidelio as he looks around admiring the picturesque scene.

"Every group is chosen based on a simple truth. your group was chosen because some of them were drowning on guilt, tormenting themselves in a living limbo even if they are free of sin. and others walk free of guilt as they are to blame for the horrors of men kind. we are a neutral group. your guilt or lack of blame are enough to be judged." said August.

"So even if I am too evil, I can achieve salvation? I like how that sounds." 

"Politics had never been simple, everything is complicated. the ones who didn't make it in the first phase are condemn to purgatory. some may wake up in the real world with a week or month left of life, but the purgatory will be their home. those who overcame their guilt. those who accepted their sin. those who understood the blame. those are the ones who will move on to phase two. and then there you are. the enigma. the monster that belongs to hell. and somehow for a corporate mistake you are here seeking salvation without attempting redemption. I do wonder how far you will make it. good luck, maybe." said Mayor August Fisherman feeling disgusted.

"That sounds quite beautiful." said Fidelio mocking the mayor as he fakes repentance over his past transgressions. a jade gate appears behind Fidelio. he turns around. pushes the jade gates open as he walks inside. in a blink Fidelio finds himself in the middle of a bridge leading towards some sort of maze. there are familiar faces around him.

Richard Walker, Petter Barry, Astrid Clinton, Norman Blackwood, Francesco Miller, Ingrid Berg, Caroline Potts, Massimo Bianchi, and Fidelio Di Garza are the only survivors so far. 

all nine of them get ready for the next phase. a loud voice coming from the darkness explains the rules for phase two. it is simple. just get out of the maze on time.