text: Fleeing the ruckus, we wandered further, and the clammy tunnels broadened and reordered. Human tissue now formed masterful halls that humbled the Notre Dame and Kölner Dom, challenging and easily surpassing man's tribute to God in their own debased imitation.
  
  Pairs of shining tibias and femurs were stacked on top of each other, interlocked and supported by dedicated fibulas to grow a grand framework out of which ribs poked out and formed themselves into dangling spires. A single, perpetual intestine slithered between the bones, always crossing over this side and ducking under that side, writhing across to envelop itself from all sides in a changing pattern that captivated the eye.
  
  Up high as if they formed the sky, I saw grand chandeliers, hanging by knitted lungs that still puffed and collapsed, eyes blazing to beg us for mercy, only creating long and moving shadows that burned the macabre cathedral into my memory. The gruesome sight upset our small group, and we proceeded to transverse the place safely retreated within havens of our own quiet contemplation.
  
  I once again brought my attention to the love that made my heart pump a few absurd beats. Her features had become clearer now as the flow of time brushed off the mist that had plagued me in my first moments. What I first viewed as distant I now recognized as cold. Her tone that was once so soft now resounded pained and afraid. I felt sickened to my very core at the sight of her cut apart and made part of this cathedral, sapping my very heart with fear.
  
  "Good shade, I beg of you to tell me more about the evil place we are in."
  
  My words burst out and dissipated in the grand space as if the walls themselves devoured any sound, like feral beasts encroaching upon any sign of life. My companion simply walked on, and for a moment, I worried she hadn't heard my words.
  
  "We are in hell, my friend, the damning place that warps and adapts to our every hope as if it is sentient itself," she laughed, showing a lifeless smile that concealed more than it showed, waving towards the bones. "Look around you, and speak quietly, for these walls have ears."
  
  "Then where are we heading?" I whispered conspiringly.
  
  "Further in."
  
  Her dismissive demeanor contrasted so much with the sweet words I heard only yesterday. It enraged me and wanted me to rip her apart like the skull whose splinters still poked through her tunic. I heard the sloppy sounds around me grow in intensity as if in anticipation of the murder to be done, urging me on in a dance of increasing fervency.
  
  "Halt your sour temper at once, woman, and speak openly! I came here in search of a lost soul, cold and miserable, I've survived until by my grit and courtesy of fortune, and I've been met with only death and despair. I shall not stand for this mockery."
  
  "How dare you speak so to the one who saved you, the one who led you through this maze," she hissed back. Her body coiled as if ready to either pounce or scurry away, both options surely leading to failure. But my heart cried still, and I couldn't allow myself to admit defeat.
  
  "I spoke true, and my words came from heart to heart, like equals. My destiny forces me towards the one love I seek and search for her I shall, until eventually I either succeed or the day comes that my bones grind into dust and my will abandons me."
  
  "Then you and I are alike," she spoke after a long pause, wherein she rapidly changed passions like a chameleon does colors. "Are you certain she is here?"
  
  "Absolutely," I affirmed.
  
  "Then listen carefully. We now stand in the grand halls of the seventh plane of hell that bears the weight of the six planes of ice above and the six planes of fire below. I came awake on the shores, swam across that vile river, and was delivered to a group of hellspawn. They beat me and dragged me until they saw in me the stone that had first condemned me to the fourth plane.
  
  'Amanirenas!' they cried, for they were obliged to hand over their prize. I spent an age there, infernal forces battering me to dull my ambition. Eventually, the agony smoothed the outer layer, and the stone no longer bound me. I slipped away, hid until I saw the chance to escape up, towards the plane of greed, wept for those that now possessed nothing, and finally came back to this place to exact my revenge.
  
  It gets worse the further from this place you go, whether the way is up, or down. You spoke of love and I wish you strength, for love and lust form the first plane's principle, as high up as to almost touch the heavens themselves; she'll be there and, with your blessing, I'll accompany you on the first stretch of the journey." She held her story a moment, waiting for me to respond, but I could not and she pressed on with the following words, taking silence for tacit approval.
  
  "We must first venture through the pits of sloth. I know of three entrances: one by pillar, unguarded and forgotten, one by stairs, thick with both souls and spawn, and one by water, pumped up and shot up towards our target. All will take us to peril, and some could even lead to our own doom.
  
  I fear, shade, that my time here has corrupted my judgment. Allow me to follow your lead in this."
  
  > say "We will sneak across the stairs,"
  The path we threaded was easy to follow. As we had left the grand cathedrals behind us, we moved onto roads readily traveled and known. The ground had changed and enticed us further to civilization with smooth chalk hewed in elaborate patterns of chevrons that all pointed us to the central rooms.
  
  And we edged closer, steady lighting replacing the grim darkness and long shadows. Heads were planted at small intervals, decapitated at the throat, and with both skull and vocal cords carved out, their brains served as the wax of a torturing candle, leaving only facial expressions full of agony telling their tale, a silent tribute to their severe sentence.
  
  "Do not pity them, for they are the parents that failed their children, especially reviled. The death of their offspring has revoked their call to join the others, and they'll be as alone in their suffering as they were once in life. Come, my friend, our destination is close."
  
  And so we arrived at the chamber of hands, outstretched palms covering both roof, ground, and wall. It was here that the arachnid demons judged the shades which were led across in a hundred disciplined lines. As they crossed, they all, one by one, fell through the ground, only echoed cries warning the others of the great height.
  
  "Come," Amanirenas ushered. "The only way to reach our goal is to join them. The room only judges those who are condemned to this plane. Our stones will lighten our weight."
  
  We scaled down the slope and joined the mob that reeked of trepidation, unnoticed by both condemned and guard. Up close, they seemed remarkably human. Familiar eyes and forms greeted me, taking me back to a memory of a marketplace long past, where shrewd vendors sold their slaves to the highest bidder.
  
  "Why are we forced through?" a large shade asked, his impressive frame already tarnished by massive pieces of flesh gone missing, leaving grotesque holes behind that were hastily covered with thick scars and small fragments of improvised gauze.
  
  "Because we are the fortunate," another answered. "This room will embrace those that are worthy of lesser torment." The response sounded hopeful but simultaneously stung of hope born from misery, merely a deception to deny the truth knocking at the door.
  
  "Then it must be a lonely room because it embraces us all."
  
  "Don't you hear the truth? The length you travel before you fall represents your worth. Don't you hear the screams of the first to fall are cut short? Run, you hear me? Run as far as you can!"
  
  Lashes frenzied our group forward. I saw their jaws set and their shoulders tighten. Like gladiators anticipating mortal combat, they grew silent and ready to face their fate. I lost my balance momentarily as moving hands that gave way under my weight replaced the more sure-footed ground.
  
  Then a shade beside me sank into the depths. The empty hole he had left behind quickly reformed with wriggling fingers pulling each other closer, but his toe-curling outcry spurred panic into our group. We all bolted towards the opposite side, the chaos allowing me to reach the end without alerting any guards.
  
  The next room was purely made out of teeth. Enamel cracked under our feet, emitting a chilling sound that reverberated throughout the complex. Immediately six groups of guards sprang forth, too late, as we sped toward the opposite doorway, which extended as far as I could see, countless recesses signifying the scale of this maze, vomiting a thousand spiders.
  
  Amanirenas grabbed my hand and pulled me sharp left, towards a gap that led up. We climbed for our lives and barely made it as the wave below us crashed. I panted and grabbed the momentary respite with both hands, looking to the place that offered it.
  
  It was large, seemingly spanning upwards to the sky, and the chandeliers were like stars, only visible by their light. There was a single large staircase in the center, just as my guide had foretold, as white as marble and as ghoulish as the rest of these halls.
  
  My moment's rest was interrupted as we heard harsh yipping surround us. The demon horde crashed in behind us, reinforcing the groups that now skittled throughout this hall, leaving us no option but to run. So we sped towards the staircase and scaled it. Step by slippery step we climbed it as leathery lashes licked our heels.
  
  "Old meat!" our pursuers gnashed. "Sturdy bones and thick skin.
  
  All are welcome here. All will find their use.
  
  But you will be our most prized possessions.
  
  We know all. We know both of you very well.
  
  Come to us!"
  
  > Amanirenas only spit back as you crossed the steps that separated the planes.
  Upon breaching the blinding lights, thick air wrapped itself around us. It wasn't humid and deceased as before, but rather rank of the stench of the living. Dry shit, piss, and sweat attacked our nostrils like invisible flies, eager to turn away the unwelcome guests on their doorstep.
  
  We had arrived in a ruin. Broken pillars lay about like discarded toys, now serving as a network of walkways above dark sand. They were engraved, although not as detailed and delicate as the walls we had seen before. Crude etches drew the story of this plane's rise and fall, from their golden days to the current empty waste strewn before us.
  
  My guide looked back through the glassy opening we had come through, seeing a thousand spiders hissing in frustration, prying but not entering our current plane. The mass still rolled upwards as the last ones hadn't yet realized the situation, pushing their comrades through the border.
  
  Then, like a stick past its breaking point, splinters started to come through. Amanirenas jumped at least seven paces back as the foul demons entered this sphere. They all cried in agony, and their skin turned a deep red hue. Of their eight legs, six simply withered off, no longer powered by the forces below, leaving behind misplaced bone and terrible holes that leaked a blue liquor.
  
  All but one died within moments, their odor joining the countless that died before, their dismembered legs spasming in a last attempt to retreat to safety.
  
  "If you find any mercy in your heart you must help me back now!" the demon, now pale, bellowed meekly, trying in vain to appear intimidating.
  
  "My mercy perished the moment I set foot on your realm, demon. Why haven't you joined the damned like the rest of your ilk?"
  
  Her retort was like an arrow piercing his last vestiges of willpower. The demon turned into a man, now horribly disfigured from raised knee and hunched shoulder to averted cheek.
  
  "My new life had yet to see a full day completed. A fact that had once been my torment now serves as my shame."
  
  "Then go back if you so desire." She gestured towards the portal, where now only a detachment remained of the mass. The multiple eyes narrowed at our captive in murderous intent.
  
  Fearing a repeat of Nicias, I stepped between the two, my hands raised. "We are on the move towards the circle of lust. Either make this new form your second chance at redemption, and help us in any capacity you possess, or disregard the lessons this place taught you and fall back to your base nature."
  
  "I look forward to seeing you be crushed by it," my guide added.
  
  The man wailed in return, hitting the ground with his broken knuckles as the internal struggle devoured his heart and lungs. I grimly observed how the physical pain didn't even quiet the despair he felt.
  
  > Meanwhile you searched for a way forwards beyond these ruins. Only a black desert met your eyes.
  "Only doom waits beyond our shelter. Avert your gaze."
  
  The demon had found his tongue again. Still hunched, he stared at me with eyes as lifeless as the hills I just studied.
  
  "This place has been left to rot; only these ruins remain of those that once resided over this place."
  
  "And the souls sentenced here?" Amanirenas asked, seemingly forgetting the open hostility long moments before.
  
  "Never to be seen again. Buried under the black sand. Only these sparse ruins will allow us to proceed further," the foul man remarked with one last look at his murderous compatriots. "It would be madness to thread beyond these walls and search for another."
  
  I shuddered with one last look. A glimpse of sadistic eyes stared back, incorporeal and embedded in the fog. They were gone when I focussed closer.
  
  "Do you see the shiver in the air over there? That will be our gate forward."
  
  "We are being watched," my guide noted. "I feel their eyes upon my back, and yet when I turn around, I see nothing but air and dust."
  
  "Aye, our entrance has been noted. We will have to wait until they grow bored of us. Keep to these walls."
  
  True to his words, a storm rose to our right, darkening the sky and turning day into night. The sand whirled and battered the shambled wall, leaking into the courtyard we were in. We all retreated to a corner each, huddled within in our arms. Meanwhile, the wind rhythmically sang of vengeance, of hurt and pleasure. We only had to close our eyes, and it was so easy to be lulled into sleep.
  
  The man, exhausted from his transformation, was the first to go. I was on the brink of letting go when his skull crashed against the wall. His eyes were closed, and his face was serene. The shade battered the wall until only spatters of blood and brain remained.
  
  I rushed forwards. Amanirenas followed my lead. The sight had become gruesome. The shade had lost everything above his hanging jaw, now grinded his two rows of exposed teeth against the sandstone until they popped one by one. The wall still held strong, now painted in shades of white and red.
  
  We each held one of his arms, tried to push the animated corpse back. Yet with two sharp cracks, he renewed his battery, now filing his spine against the increasingly convex wall. The sound was sickening.
  
  Amanirenas pulled me back, pointed towards the portal that had opened, and shouted above the storm, "They accepted the offering! If we don't move now, we will be next!"
  
  > And you plunged ourselves through the dark shadows it formed.
  It was dark and cold on the other side, the only illumination being the moon that graced us with a paltry light from afar, gloomy and weakened for all the suffering happening under her watch. We stood in the middle of an endless field, stunned by the spectacle happening in front of us.
  
  There were giant shades, thousands upon thousands of them, running for their lives. They were preyed upon by monsters, so strong that they could easily overpower even the largest of men, with eyes that shone red, bellies yellow of ichor and round from all that had been already eaten. Their maws gnawed to the marrow. Their paws quartered the shades; some had talons that finally slashed and hacked the spirits to parts.
  
  They in turn wailed and screeched at their fate dealt on this damned field. Some tried to sprint for their lives; others ducked below those that slumped, hoping to hide from retribution, only to be plucked out and eaten whole. And so we ran.
  
  Some monsters poked out their head, stopping their feast to see which new treats had arrived, baring their long and feathery necks that were caked with the red of slaughter. They jumped towards us, and so we ran faster still, fleeing towards only more carnage and more beasts.
  
  It was only a matter of time before a talon buried itself into my back, its elongated nails ripping through muscle and tendon, burying itself deep in my gut. Then a second talon punctured my lungs, leaving me helpless and squirming. I could only wish for the pain to stop.
  
  I looked to the side and saw Amanirenas, fast becoming my trusted friend, falling as well, several steps ahead of me. They were upon her within seconds, ravaging as starved vultures feast upon a long-dead carcass, uncaring about her futile attempt of defense.
  
  Then I felt the heavy impact on my own back. A second beast crushed all ribs in his impact, mercifully feasting upon my neck.
  
  The following morning I awoke with the rest of the lambs. With consciousness returned the pain, flaring, blinding, scorching. I found the familiar feel of grain between my fingers, focussing on that one sensation above the others. Around me, shades started to stand, seemingly wholly healed from the ordeal.