#11640 Prologue The story of the man who braved the pits of Hell has been told many

times. He has bourn many names throughout the ages. Few people understand that the stories they read contain grains of truth. The great poets, Dante and Virgil were right about many things. The battles between Heaven and Hell, the order of the gods, and the vast realms that they inhabit exist. Most humans have never seen them, but that does not mean they are not there. I, Matthew Smith, am one of the few humans to know the truth. I have taken it upon myself to prove that none are above redemption. That everyone can overcome his or her burdens with help. My chronicler has written thus so far. For my story has not yet ended. The Chronicles of Matthew Book II Matthew had sorted through the jumbled mess of Samuels thoughts. Samuel was one of Matthews friends who had died in a terrible storm at sea. Samuel had lived in a poor village on the coast of Sicily. Matthew had found him on one of his many expeditions across the world, looking for signs that the realms of Heaven and Hell existed. Samuel had decided to help by volunteering himself as a guide throughout the area. Matthew and Samuel had bonded closely over the years. On his voyage back home, his ship had been caught in a terrible storm. Matthew still missed Samuel. Matthew had washed up on the King of Sicilys shores. The princess had nursed him back to health. As Matthew was preparing to leave, he though he heard a voice ask him why he just let the souls of his friends go and live with the king. Matthew had responded that he needed to free the souls because he felt that once he did that, he could be at peace with himself. He remembered thinking of Samuel and how he wished he could be with him. Then the world had faded before his eyes and he had traveled to Heaven. He had connected with Samuels soul and helped him sort through what his demons were, the roots of his sorrow. He helped Samuel come to grips with why he felt despair. It was not easy though. When one sorts through someones thoughts, the sensations and emotions with each memory invade your senses. It takes fortitude to linger on bad memories. Now he had to find the others and see how he could help them redeem themselves. Matthew, how did you get here? No mortal man has ever been able to do it, Samuel asked. I imagined my spirit flying free of my body. I though of all the times we had spent together. And then I found myself here, Matthew explained. Im glad to see you. I have been feeling lonely and out of sorts, Samuel said with a frown. Matthew was puzzled. This wasnt supposed to be. Heaven promises happiness.

#11640 Samuel shook his head. Heaven is what you bring to it. Good people come here, but it doesnt always mean we are happy. I miss my family and friends. Matthew nodded. I understand that but wont they eventually join you? The wait isnt that long given you have eternity now. But Julius, Nestor, and Peter were judged unfit for Heaven. They are lost to me forever. How can that be? Everyone can change. Once they have paid their price for what happened on earth, they will be here. No, my friend, it doesnt work like that. If you cannot separate yourself from the bad then you never enter Heaven. My friends are in Fields of Torture, deep in the bowels of Hell. And I am sad for them. Matthew realized that Samuel would forever be sad unless something was done. Maybe we can save them, he said. I cannot leave here. I am a spirit and limited in my ability to travel to other dimensions. What about me? Matthew asked. You are human and can go anywhere, because your fate is undecided. That is why you are able to visit me here. Matthew tried to speak, but Samuel began to fade away and Matthew found himself back on earth in Sicily near the royal household of the King. Making his way back to his lodgings, Matthew began to formulate a plan. If Samuel were correct, then he could visit Hell as easily as Heaven. Packing what he might need for this journey, he set out to find a power point on the earth where the energies of the Cosmos were strongest and would enable his spirit to slip into Hell. Matthew found an old church a few miles west of the Kings household. The church was rumored to be a place were the vast powers of the universe intersected. As Matthew entered the old building, he felt the hum of energy coursing through his body. Matthew focused on the stained glass window. The window portrayed a never- ending spiral. Matthew imagined his friend, Julius, leading him through the spiral and into Hell. The smell of burning meats, and stale bread hit his nose. Matthew felt his vision narrow on the spiral. He felt himself being swept away on a tide of energy. He saw the vast worlds around him. They glowed with an eerie light. Then he saw a red world covered in a shell of black fire. Razor sharp pain blasted through his nerves, and his body felt like it was being flayed as he hit the wall. He willed the flames to stop. The barrier continued to fight him. Warn him. He realized his friends were trying to keep him out using whatever power they could. Matthew began to speak to them. Nestor, Peter, Julius, let me through, Matthew commanded. Matthew, turn back. It is dangerous. Many have tried. None have ever come out the same, they warned. But in the end, they lacked the power to stop him. Matthew overcame the barrier and landed in the first field of torture. The first Field of Torture was full of gluttons and the wrathful. The second was full of thieves, liars, and murderers. The third was where the worst humans of all time were punished without mercy. The first field was an open plain. The soil was burning sand, the grasses spiked blades, the rivers burning tar. Sinners were forced to wander through this place endlessly

#11640 while demons beat them without mercy. Gluttons were forced to drink burning tar and eat bars of lead. The wrathful had to flog others and be flogged. Matthew picked out Julius drinking burning tar. His friends eyes were bulging from its sockets, his skin turning black as the tar ran under it. He stopped drinking and eyed Matthew with shock. Matthew ran through the blades to meet him. Because he was innocent, the blades did not harm him. Julius, I thought you were reformed. Why are you here? Matthew asked, his face etched with concern for his friend. Oh Matthew, I once ate so much that I went through all the food stores. I told my men to go and bring me more food. They took from many innocent towns people. Many people died of starvation because of me. While God sees I am reformed, he feels my gluttony has murdered innocents and so I live here in hell, Julius spoke. The path to redemption is close, Julius. Everyone deserves a chance to be better. To atone for their crimes. If I can find the corrupted parts of your soul, then we can remove them and cleanses them. I wish that were true. Living with what I have done is constant torture. For a moment of fullness, that I never seemed to be able to achieve, I ruined my soul. Nothing could fix it for me. I know, but you have seen the error of your ways and repented. It is enough, Julius. Matthew began the long ritual that he seemed to know how to perform even though he had never done it before. It was there inside of him, suddenly bubbling to the surface. First, he cleared away all the blades. Then he drew a small circle in the center of the clearing. From his hand he removed a big bronze jar. In his other was several meathooks. Matthew told Julius to stand in the center. Matthew began the long incantation. At first nothing happened, but then all of hell trembled. Julius began to glow and scream as his soul was being dissected into several pieces by the hooks. Matthew found Juliuss gluttony. It was an evil pulsing thing the stretched out all around. Matthew then opened the jar. The gluttony began to float out of Julius and into the jar. Julius writhed and fought against his bonds but he was immobilized. When Matthew capped the jar, Julius crumpled to the ground. His bronze skin was blistered and cracked, his breathing was ragged, his heartbeat racing. Matthew, thank you for what you have done. You have helped me to free myself of my burden. I can now join Samuel up above! Julius sobbed, tears of joy streaming down his face. White light poured forth from Matthew as his friends soul was released. Julius began to float up and up until he could no longer be seen. For a moment, the skies of hell turned blue, the tar to water, and the blades to flowers. But the vile magic quickly overwhelmed it and turned it back into the foul wasteland. Matthew then descended lower. He willed the ground apart. The ground began to groan and crack under the force of his will. Sinners ran like scared sheep chased by wolves. The entire first field began to cave in. Matthew dove deeper and then closed the rift above. The earth from the first field slammed back together. Some of the sinners had fallen through but they were dragged up as

#11640 well. Matthew slumped over on the ground. His mind was exhausted. When he looked up he saw Nestor was being trapped in an iron coffin. . Matthew looked with horror as it was shoved into the ground. He found his friend and tore him out of the coffin. Nestor was positively livid. Matthew, what have you done? You just sent a soul out of hell. You have broken one of the many sacred laws that keep our universe in order. Satan will declare open war on the humans for what you have just done, Nestor raged. Nestor, I am aware of my actions. I want to show that people arent inherently evil. But to do that, I must prove that none are above redemption. I spoke with Samuel in Heaven. He revealed to me that to relive him of his suffering, I must help free you and Peter. To do that, I need to preform a ritual I used on Julius on you. Can you withstand tremendous pain? Matthew questioned. Nestor grimaced. Yes, I can, if it is Gods will. Heaven help us from Satans wrath. Proceed with your ritual. Matthew told Nestor to go into the coffin. Matthew then began to call upon his memories of the good Nestor. A single spark of light flared into existence on the coffin. Then came two, then three, then four. Light was slamming into the coffin with brute force. He heard Nestor cry with joy and agony as the coffin exploded in a shower of sparks. He saw Nestor smile for a brief second before he dissipated into nothing. He saw tiny water droplets rise up from the ground and into the sky. Nestor had been released. Nestors guilt floated out and a purer Nestor was released from the bounds of Hell. Goodbye Matthew. I am going to see Samuel now. Before I leave, there is something you should know. Once you have freed us, your battle will begin. Satan will not let this rest, my friend. I can only pray the price we all must pay for the possibility of redemption is worth it. Peter lies trapped in the third Field of Torture. Be prepared. The third Field of Torture lay below. Peter had murdered innocents while serving under the army. The general had ordered him to take food and supplies from a village. When the civilians resisted, Peter had killed them all. The General said, Kill them! and Peter did. Orders were orders. Matthew focused long and hard. The ground beneath the second field did not give out as easily. It groaned and quaked, but it did not break. Finally, Matthew imagined himself slipping through a small hole in the second field. He felt the ground give way beneath his feet and then he was falling. He landed with a loud thump. Here, each person saw what his heart dreaded most. For Matthew, it was a void of nothingness. The entire world had been decimated. Black charred husks of once proud cities lay in the dust. The elements raged across all corners of the earth. The sea crashed down on the empty continent, the earth tore apart and reformed. Matthew felt himself sinking into despair. He fought to focus. He reminded himself that he was merely a visitor and that the pain he felt was Peters. Then he saw Peter standing on the shore of ruin. Peter, do you remember me? Im your friend, Matthew, he said.

#11640 But Peter could not listen. His souls punishment was to be able to sense everything, but not react to anything. He was alone in the world. Isolated from everything and everyone. A victim of the world. Going to Peter, Matthew gently laid his friend down on the black sand. Using some of his strength, Matthew created a pyre for his friend using the force of his mind. Boughs of oak, pine, pear, and cypress lay in ornate patterns. Flowers lined the edges. Matthew gently lay Peter on it and closed his eyes. Then he lit it on fire. When the pyre lit, he saw Peters body begin to burn. As the fire burned away Peters shell, it forced Peter to confront his inner demons. If he failed, they would consume him entirely because the good in his soul would have been completely corrupted. Should he succeed, although he could not go to the realms of light, he would be free of his punishment. Matthew saw the flames rise higher and higher. Peters body had completely disappeared. No bone bits and no ashes were left. In its place was a multicolored globe of light. The orb flashed red and then white. The orb became mostly red. Then he watched as the flames began to eat away the red. Matthew tried extinguishing the flames for fear of destroying his friends essence, but he could not. A ritual, he learned, once started cannot be stopped. As the flames ate away the red, the orb turned white. The white orb began to take the shape of his friend. Peter had reappeared. He gently smiled at Matthew. Have no fear, friend. All is well. I am going to a better place. Matthew told his friend goodbye. A part of Peters soul had been consumed. He was not complete like Julius or Nestor. He could never join Samuel in Heaven but he could visit him briefly. Drained of all energy, Matthew then felt himself slipping away from Hell. He saw the stained glass spiral whirl back into existence before his eyes. He heard the sounds of war. Battle cries and grunts of pain could be heard outside of the church. Matthew ran outside. The outer world was plunged into total chaos. Demons, angels, and humans were all fighting a bloody war. A war, which Matthew knew was his fault. He watched with horror as a demon brutally impaled a human soldier on a flaming pole arm. Matthew knew it was not right. Cease this violence! he cried out. Everyone stopped to stare at him. The demons all pointed at him and snarled. Minions of hell, I am the one you wanted. It was I who released Julius Grith, Nestor Pilath, and Peter Vern. The blame is all mine! he shouted. The demons parted, and out stepped a creature so horrible it hurt to look at it. Its skin was constantly opening to reveal screaming bodies writhing in pain. Its eyes burned with malice and darkness too terrible to comprehend. Its huge body dwarfed everything. Matthew felt a great shadow fall across the battlefield. Satan, the embodiment of pure evil, had come to take his vengeance. Matthew Smith, you have defied the rules of the God pact. You purposefully stole three souls out of hell. Now the human race must suffer for what you have done. The voice was deep, loud, and grated everyones ears. It sounded like dying children, massacre, and all the evils in the world. Some of the humans dropped dead

#11640 at the sound of it. Matthew glared defiantly at the creature, pure fury burning in his eyes. You accuse me of treason, of thievery. I proved to this world that even the souls sent to hell could be redeemed, Matthew snarled. This in no way violates the God pact. While God Pact may dictate the flow of the universe, it also allows for redemption. You, Satan, are wrong. What you have done is breaking the God pact. You are here on earth waging open war. The God pact stands. Why do you think the Angels are here? Satan eyes grew red with fury. The air around him grew supercharged with energy. Matthew felt the force of his anger wash over him like a great tidal wave. It took all of Matthews might to stand brave in the face of his awesome power. Not true! Satan roared. We demons did not fall from heaven like men say. When wickedness first came to this world we were the first line of defense. We stood against the great evils that plagued the land. When we brought down Malkar, the embodiment of evil, his corruption had found its way into our souls. It twisted our bodies and powers, making us the dark side of our angelic brothers. Our brethren in heaven were horrified at what we became. They gave my men and me a choice: face slaughter, or find a new home at the edge of the cosmos. So we went and established a new kingdom. Our powers made a barren landscape. When the souls of foul men were thrown to this place, we knew what we had to do. Our brethren would not allow them into their high halls, so they sent them to us. The place you saw there used to be our kingdom. Our souls were not so evil then. We punished the wicked. We did not want to, but it had to be done. Since they did not answer for their crimes entirely in the land of the living, they answered in the afterlife. And now you must answer as they do! The pact has been broken! Satan drew himself up to his full height and drew his terrible blade. He glared down at Matthew. He brought the blade down with a sickening crunch. But it was not Matthew who was cleaved. Instead, Matthew watched as the blade hit a pile of dead bodies. He had been hurled out of the way by human soldiers. Shock was plastered on Satans face as the ground split. Hundreds of redeemed souls poured out of the fissure. Satan began to shrink. Without the misery of the condemned fueling his dark powers, Satan was weakened to the point where he could be banished back to Hell. The God pact had not been broken by Matthew, but by Satan waging war on earth. The imbalance was Satans to pay. The redeemed souls all surrounded Satan. He began to twist and fight as more and more souls entered the battle. Satan fell to the ground as the souls proceeded to bind him. He shouted in fury as the ground around him began to glow with the power of the combined wills. The angels looked on with awe and pride as the souls created a vast wormhole in the ground that led straight to Hell. Satan buried his sword in the ground but it was no use. The pull of the wormhole overwhelmed him and he fell into the tunnel. The tide of the battle had been turned. The demons had lost much of their strength. Many of them were killed before they reached the wormhole. Those who surrendered were allowed to go back to the portal in peace. Matthew saw Samuel, Julius, Nestor, and Peter floating above the wormhole once the last of the demons had gone through.

#11640 How did you get here? Matthew asked. Old friend, we used our will to travel to you much like you used yours to reach us. We figured out how to purify souls. Peter had the souls of hell under go the ritual you preformed on him. Although many survived, some lost themselves to the flame. The energy of our combined wills pushed through the boundaries of time and space to aid you, they answered in unison. Thank you. Your help was invaluable in my quest. Matthew said, tears of joy running down his face. Our time is short. We must go. There is much work to be done. Goodbye. They all disappeared in a flash of light. The air surged with energy as the souls all retreated to Heaven. The angels misted away and floated down the wormhole to see that the demons and their foul master were contained. Tired, Matthew led the survivors back to the Kings halls, eager for a warm meal and hot bath. Now was a time of rest.

The End