1 SIN: I

~Author Notice: PLEASE read prologue before continuing the story. The prologue is important.~

"You, broken immortal soul, freed from your mortal husk… for the sins thou hath committed, the blood left by every step you took, you shall be condemned to hell, to scorch thine feet upon the path of flames."

I listened in the cold of the void of death. Everything was so dark and cold, and I could not see nor smell or hear anything, other than this voice resounding in my ears, calling me a sinner.

And then, I felt air filling my lungs. It was the first sense I'd had in such a very long time, but, this air, it tasted… like rot. And iron, like blood.

I realized I could feel, I could feel the cold ground beneath my back, and I could also hear, though, I wasn't really sure what I was hearing. Was it… the crackling of flames?

My eyes slowly fluttered open. I stared up at the ceiling of what seemed to be a dimly lit cavern.

"Well, well, you are awake." Came a voice that sent chills down my spine. "About time."

I sat upright, looking around me. The cavern was spacious, torches hanging from the walls. All around were scattered bones and, in the ground, were strange, grotesque, pulsating heaps of flesh.

The appalling images made me want to vomit.

"Welcome, sinner, to your first trial." The voice came again.

I looked up and my eyes went wide as I stared in horror at what I saw.

"What the fuck..?" Was all I could say.

There, sitting upon a large rock, was some kind of egregious, abhorrent demon. It had gray, rotten flesh and barbed wire was wrapped about its entire body. It's head was broken at it's neck, twisted to where the creature stared at me with it's head hanging upside down, the horns curling from it's head down and piercing through it's chest before protruding from it's back as large spikes. It had large, black, hollow eyes and it's mouth was contorted into a mad grin, the corners stretching all the way past the eyes, as it exposed rows of sharp, pointed teeth.

The demon's left arm seemed as though it had been snapped, as it bent at an unnatural angle. The other arm hung limp between it's legs.

"Welcome to Hell, sinner. My name is Covenel, Demon of the Scales. And this, is your first trial."

"What… are you..?" was all I could ask.

The grin on the creature widened, the corners of it's mouth stretching up- or rather- down, further past the eyes. "I already told you, I am a demon. Look around you. You're in hell."

"Hell..?" I asked, looking around. The bones scattered all over the cavern, the bulbous heaps of flesh, it did seem like how one would depict hell… but..

"If you think this place is horrible, just wait till you go further in." The demon hissed. It raised it's gnarled finger, which ended in a sharp, pointed nail, "Now listen carefully, sinner. You may not remember, but, in life, you committed many unforgivable sins, enough to land you here in my presence. The only way for you to go about your afterlife and not suffer for all eternity in this place, is for you to ascend to heaven, and redeem yourself of your sins."

"Re…deem myself..? But, what did I even do? I… can't remember.. what did I do that was so bad?" I asked.

The demon shrugged, then it's eyes narrowed and it's grin tightened, "I don't know. But you can find those answers as you descend the tower of Hell… but.. the choice is yours."

"Choice..?"

"Yes. You are, in the end, left with three options. Either, one, descend into the depths of hell to find the truth of your sins… or, two, ascend the tower of hell and be met with many challenges, until you reach the gates of heaven. Or, of course, you could simply stay here and suffer for all eternity. On the bright side, I could at least keep you company."

"I'm… not sure if I'd want a demon as my company…" I said.

"Why not? We could have so much fun! I'd dissect your body over and over again and cut you up in so many different ways, and you'd never die!" The demon's lips curled, "you would feel every single little cut and tear.."

I shuddered. I couldn't meet the demon's eyes, I couldn't bring myself to look at it. I didn't want to see that thing's sickening grin.

"What's wrong? Are you scared of me, Sinner?" Covenel asked.

I, still, did not meet the demon's eyes. In response it began to chuckle.

"Oh well… it cannot be helped. I do understand why you'd fear me. Either way, the choice of what you do is your own, just know… no matter which choice you make, you will suffer."

And then a horrible sound came to greet my ears, the sound of snapping bones and tearing flesh.

"Now, look here, and pay attention. This is important, sinner."

Reluctantly, I looked up and saw that the demon had torn off it's own arm. And now, on one end, was the hand, whilst on the other, a metal bowl protruded from the severed limb. Covenel moved his other hand forward as he balanced his own severed arm upon his gnarled finger.

"In this tower, you will be judged based upon your sins and your virtues. For every time you sin…"

Suddenly, black liquid filled the bowl upon the severed end of the arm, and it began to tip.

"The more your nature tips to the dark. If you tip the scale all the way.. well… you will become one of the many abhorred residents of hell. Now, on the other hand.. haha, get it? For every good deed you achieve," white liquid filled the hand, and the makeshift scale began to tip the opposite way. "The closer you go to light. The day that you reach Heaven's gates, the keepers will judge you based upon your scales. If you lean more to the dark, you will be condemned to suffer for all eternity. But, if you lean more to the light, then you shall be forgiven for thine sins, and you shall be accepted into the heavens."

"So… I just have to do good deeds?" I asked, though, I found that hard to believe. Good deeds? In hell? How would one do that?

"Yes, but don't think it will be so simple. There will be demons that block your way, all of them intending to consume your soul. Not just that, but other sinners may find it in themselves that they wish for your death, as they can gain virtue for ending your life. Meaning all your sins and your good deeds will be stolen."

"What? But, isn't it a sin to murder?"

"In hell? Not necessarily. If you are the one that kills the sinners, you are simply the executioner, the hand of god's judgement. Am I wrong? No one here is innocent. A sinner killing a sinner is neither a sin nor a good deed."

The demon grinned, tilting his head as his horns tore through it's flesh, black blood dribbling down it's chest.

"Oh, and one more thing. If you die, you will come back here, but, you will lose a part of yourself every time. Also… you don't simply start off with an even scale. Your old sins are taken into account here. So, now… allow me.. to judge you, sinner."