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Immortal Season 2 - Chapter 16 - Greed and Anger

Deep inside the cavern the group tried to find their way out. Happy to be out of Gluttony they moved through between the stalagmites and stalactites. It was nearly silent between the circles. "Can you guys see anything?" Katashi spoke leading them. "Not a thing," Maia spoke out behind them. Sora lead them through the darkness. He looked for the smallest glimmer of light to follow.

"Hey Sora don't you have a light Yoso? Just make like a lantern already," Sayomi nudged him. Sora scoffed at him. "You know my Yoso doesn't have that kind of powers," He grunted and they soon saw a glimmer of light. It was an exit out of the caverns leading out into the fourth circle. Stepping into the light they saw the next horrific place out before them. The entire circle was made on the underside of the ledge of gluttony above. Thousands of bridges connected to the stalagmites hanging down from the ledges underbelly. Molten gold poured from their pipes into the vast pools below them. Chains hung from the ceiling over these pools.

Here the damned clawed their ways up the chains weighted down by sacks of money. The money they squandered and hoarded through out their life pulling them down the chains. The damned cried out and tried to climb up to the ceiling and safety only to slide back. The chains covered in barbs so with each fall they tore open their hands and legs making it harder for the next climb. They had to carry their own burden as they tried to save themselves.

The small dragon rested on the bridge before them to one of the stalagmites. "Oh its you, thought we lost you," Maia reached out and it fluttered to her hand. Stepping out onto the bridge they moved cautiously. The stone seemed weak and crumbled slowly under their steps. Coming to the side of the stalactite they entered into the hollowed out inside. Inside was a great powerful workshop of demons tossing damned into the massive crucibles. It hot as they damned screamed reaching out of the metal. "Such a terrible fate," Sora gulped. They moved slowly around the edge of the workshop as to not be noticed.

For hours they moved between the massive hanging workshops. Soon they saw something they did not expect. A large Cathedral carved into the side of the mountain. "Wow what is that?" Katashi gasped staring up at the structure. Sitting down for a second Sayomi pulled out the book. "It says were in the obvious realm of the greedy," he read aloud. The Cathedral ahead of them was built to homage a great device; The Wheel of Fortune. A great wheel that decided out of all the living beings that got the most and least of everything.

"Does it say who rules this circle?" Sora looked over his shoulder. He turned the page and gulped looking at the picture. "It says it's ruled by two people," he looked over the text. This circle was ruled over by The Brothers of Avarice. Each of them were the greediest souls in existence. The first was ignorance, a thin ghastly looking naga. In life he never understood why the poor were poor. He would scoff at them instead of aid them holding tightly to his money. The second was Want, He was a fat bloated lion. Unlike his brother he would waste his money one everything. Buying anything and everything if he needed it or not. Lover by the rich who became richer because of him.

These two figures ruled the circle of Greed together somehow. "Hm Well it looks like there is only one way inside," Katashi motioned to a large door at the carved out cathedral. "But how do we get down there?" Maia asked looking over the side. Far off there was a rope ladder hanging down to the ground. "That looks like a safe bet," Sayomi smirked. Moving across to it Sora stepped ahead first. "I'll go down first to make sure it's ok," He stepped down onto it.

He began to descend slowly down the ladder. Each step the bridge would sway a little bit more. It was extremely uncomfortable. Sora gripped the ladder and heard a soft snap. Gulping he look up see a strand a few steps above him starting to break. He quickly began to move down. Rushing as fast as he could it snapped more and he was almost half way there. Suddenly a loud snap and the ladder ropes broke. "Sora!" Everyone yelled above him as Sora fell.

Hours seemed to pass before Sora woke with the small dragon staring down at him. Letting out a yell he shoved the creature out of his face. "Hey! What the big deal!" He sat up and held his head. Looking up he couldn't see anyone. "Did they leave me?" He looked at the dragon. It blinked and chirped softly looking at the Cathedral made out of the wall. "Are they in there?" He looked at him. The dragon flapped and flew towards it and he followed. He knew he had to catch up with his friends. Coming to the large doors he pushed them open seeing it was a maze of corridors and stairs. Following the dragon he moved to a corridor and began walking inside. The halls were full of gold coins and gems. Bags of paper money sitting on every corner. Skeletal remains of other travelers through hell laying about the halls. Moving swiftly he trusted the small animal.

He moved up and down stairs, through corridors following weaving through the maze. Stopping he stood upside down on a stairwell. "This place is insane," He kept going till he was right side up again and stood before a door. An near endless walk led him to the exit from the massive maze. The dragon scratched at the door and he pushed it open.

The inside of the room was massive church. Piles of gold lying about amongst the elegant décor. Where the alter would be sat an immense gold wheel. Stretching high up into the alter it spun slowly with billions of names on the tiny panels. The panels turning over and clicking back as people die and are born. "Well who has wandered into our domain?" A hiss let out from the rafters. "Yes a foolish man no less," A loud gruff grumble came from across the room. The long snake named Ignorance slithered down a pillar him thin and scraggly. From behind the great wheel a fat bloated lion stepped out. With each step his belly clacked and clanged with the coins inside.

Both of them laughed at Sora as he stood before them. The massive glass windows behind him showing his friends still trapped on the bridge. "We've been watching you boy," The lion spoke the stitches on his belly struggling to keep his stomach shut. "Why is that?" Sora narrowed his eyes. The serpent moved behind him wrapping his tail around the boy. "Yesssss we've watched how you haven't helped your friends this entire time," he hisses his claws resting on his shoulders.

Sora looked down and clenched his fist. They taunted him telling him how he was worthless. How he should have simply stayed on Halo where he belonged. Their words stung like acid on his mind. The entire time they had been in Hell he didn't help with anything. He wanted to give his friends a hand but they didn't seem to need him. As he sat trapped in his thoughts his friends stood on the bridge watching him. "SORA!" Katashi yelled to the windows far across the void. "I don't think he can hear you kid," Sayomi leaned against the rail. "We have to help him, I mean can he even fight?" Maia looked at Sayomi.

Sayomi smirked and winked at her. Sora stood in his spot taking the insults as in he heard a voice in his mind. A tall well trimmed hawk stared at him looking down at him. "Well are you giving up?" He spoke softly. "No master Horus, Commander Ligeron would never forgive me if I did," He sighed looking at his master. "So why do you allow them to insult you?" He opened his wings. "Because you taught me, you taught me that words mean nothing, its actions that define us," Sora kneeled.

Horus explained that he hadn't been useless this entire time. It was Sora who requested that Commander Terra and Cerce work remake Maia's crossbow. When Charon threatened to drop them, Sora managed to hold everyone up while they weighted him down. He was also the person who blocked Maia and Katashi from the storm taking the full blast of the elements. Sora had helped far more than he thought he did. "Child you've protected this group and now you must defend yourself," He touched his shoulder. "Thank you master Horus," He bowed softly and stood.

"Soar Tsubasa," He held out his hand two perfect silver hand sickles appearing. Swinging them he sliced off Ignorance's hand. The serpent hissed and pulled his arm back blood pouring from his stump. They both roared and rushed at him; claws and teeth bearing down. With one swift motion he lunged forward slicing off them both across the stomach. Want letting out a loud growl and vomited out gold coins. More pouring from his stomach. His brother growled and whipped around his tail swiping at Sora who quickly sliced it in half. "Soar!" Sora demanded and his sickles glowed. Slashing it down he cut across the serpent.

The wound deeply knocking him back barely alive. Want turned and growled the cavity the was filled with gold now empty. His insides hanging out as he growled. Sora raised his sickles to finish them both. "Wait!" Want growled. "We can pay you, we can give you anything, the Wheel of Fortune...It can make you richer than any living soul, please...we are defeated," He begged keeping one hand on his wealth. "The Wheel of Fortune?" he looked back at the massive wheel.

"Yes it decides who gains and losses fortune on earth, it is what we worship," He serpent pushed himself up his hand crawling back to him. "You worship this thing?" He scoffed. "Your pathetic...any creature who worships a golden machine deserves to die, but not by my hand, Tsubasa only slays enemies of Halo, You pathetic creatures are no threat," The sickles faded into feathers. The two behind him growled wanting to say something. But they didn't want to get hurt anymore. "Mino's was wrong...Your no liar...you hide your power, he thought you lied by telling people you were strong, he couldn't see all the strength you have," Want growled trying to shove his riches back inside himself.

Ignorance slithered away with his appendage back into the rafters. Want crawled away using his hands to hold his coins inside his open stomach. Suddenly the wheel moved forward slowly and the window shattered behind him. The stone and glass forming a bridge for his friends to pass over. Sora waved to his friends as they ran across the bridge. "Sora!" Maia hugged him making him blush. "Hey did you beat em?" Katashi looked at him. "Yeah the exit is behind the wheel over there," He motioned over to the disk.

"What is it?" Sayomi moved up to it. "Nothing you need to mess with," Sora grabbed his ear pulling him around it. Sayomi growled and followed so it wouldn't hurt. The group entered an elevator hidden behind the wheel and the gate closed as they began to lower. It was a welcome rest to not have to walk down to the next circle. Soon the elevator stopped and the gate opened letting them out. They stepped out looking up at the cliff behind them. Greed far above them and now they stood on the shore of a great swamp. Thousands of trees around them with great grey towers stretching up from the soggy earth. Fire burning brightly atop them.

In the water they could see damned souls grabbing each other. They were in an eternal fight, attacking one another and arguing. Here the damned must suffer dealing with people just like themselves. People who would rather argue than listen to reason. People who always thought they were right and felt that things were solved with their fists. The swamp was actually the second great river of hell. The River Styx which ran through the fifth rings of hell.

"Well how do we get out of here? There isn't a path," Maia stood at the waters edge. "I've been here before...I think I know how to get across," Sayomi stepped forward. "Oh yes this is where..." Sora spoke and raised Sayomi put his finger to his lips. Katashi raised an eyebrow and looked out at the misty fight filled swamp. "He who was born of Fire, Who's banishment was unjust please come forth, aid us!" Sayomi yelled into the swamp. It went silent suddenly as the men and women who fought rushed to hiding. The ground shuddered as a hill out in the swamp shuttered. It suddenly lifted up from the muck showing a great auburn horse. Standing on its hind hooves his mane was cast in flame.

"What the hell is that!" Katashi raised his sword. "That is Pheygulus, He's salamanders son, he was the sun immortal but was banished here after he attacked a temple in the human world," Sora smiled as the horse stepped over a grove of trees. His massive hooves digging deep into the earth. Small black birds circling his high body as he moved forward. The beast looked down at them and kneeled suddenly making the ground shake. "Care to give us a hand big guy?" Sora smiled and the horse stared down. His entirely red eyes shined as he moved his hand down and set it next to them.

Sayomi grabbed Maia and jumped up onto his palm. Katashi and Sora followed stepping jumping onto his hand. He stood moving them high into the air. From here they could see far off into the sea of trees and water. This level was truly massive since Anger is one of the most abundant sins of the mortal world. Pheygulus turned and stepped out walking out into the swamp. The group looked out over the realm as they let the massive horse do the walking. "What lies ahead of us?" Katashi looked at his friends. "Well this is the fifth circle and there are nine circles," Maia spoke. "Yeah we've been through Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, and Anger," Sora counted out on his hand.

"We still have Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery ahead of us," Sayomi looked at the others. "Andreas will be waiting on the final level," Katashi looked at his sword.

None of them had shown their true power as of yet. It was only a matter of time before it would come to that. Hell was testing them and they were becoming better because of it. Sayomi had remembered that he had a father. Maia found she was able to hold up herself even in the toughest situations. Sora remembered that he was an important member of the group. Katashi was the only one to not discover something. All hell did was remind him that it was he who killed his father. Katashi sighed and leaned against the beasts fingers looking at the cloudy sky.

Meanwhile on Halo the Commanders sat in their meeting room. Still watching the group's advancement they knew nothing good lay ahead. The tests ahead may very easily be the ones that break the group. They could not help Katashi in any way but they could help his friends. "Well we must come to a decision," Ligeron looked up at his brothers and sisters.

"I motion that we help them," Artemis spoke. "I second," Terra smiled. "Do we have a third?" Ligeron looked at the others. "I third..." Cerce hissed out surprisingly. The others looked at him wanting to know what he was up to. "Then the motion is carried," Salamander smiled. "Some of us will go to help Katashi and his friends," Titan stood. "Yes, and we can pray Katashi manages to survive his encounter with Head Commander Andreas," Neptune stood as well. With the motion carried they left and prepared for their plan. Ligeron smiled his hand resting on his flat belly. He looked down into the pit around the platform and sighed. A small corridor far down in the pit just above the entrance to oblivion. "Some of us must stay to defend it..." He nodded.

To be continued -