Repentance

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Chapter 107

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Everything hurts here.

After his death, Mathias's condemned soul was sent into one of the most horrific places in hell, as dozens were forced to crawl towards the unknown as the sand kept absorbing them whole while making it more difficult for anyone to progress forward.

Men and women alike are seen crawling on the rough sands that burned and sizzled against their flesh, faces full of terror and desperation. Each person's flesh became nothing more than decaying muscle and bone as their screams echoed within the barren desert.

Worst of all, this region is extremely hot and humid, as if the heat alone can cook anyone alive if they stay still for too long while struggling to survive. With no other choice, they continued moving forward in hopes of reaching the end that has no guarantee of existing in this seemingly infinite expanse.

Their suffering is worse than anything imaginable. The burning winds whipped them without mercy while they were forced to travel in complete brightness due to their sheer intensity as nefarious laughter surrounded the helpless souls of the damned.

Moans filled with anguish and wails of despair permeated through this landscape, for many would lose their minds, but their tormentors refused to have any of it. No matter how much they want to become insane in hopes of losing themselves to stop the pain, the minds of sinners wouldn't allow it, keeping them mentally aware of every second of this torture.

Above them is a complete replica of a sun, but its appearance is abnormal. Its yellow surface was spewing flames that occasionally shot outward and ignited these unfortunate individuals. Their skin melted like candle wax under extreme heat, while the bones beneath were cracked open, revealing cooked organs that popped like zits.

Fiery fragments from its core are flung towards the pitiful souls, searing the flesh of anyone in range with enough force to send them flying into the air. Most are vaporized instantly upon contact, while the unlucky ones suffer agonizing deaths.

However, every dammed soul knew death wasn't a permanent thing in this horrid place. Those who died were automatically resurrected just a few seconds after being killed, only to endure more punishment when they returned. This process repeats itself, resulting in an endless cycle of suffering.

To describe this level of pain and suffering is fundamentally different from how a person experiences such feelings in the physical world. It was not their bodies that felt pain, but rather the metaphysical aspect, which makes it all the more unpleasant than actual physical injury.

And Mathias was no exception to this horror; it is the worst type of agony imaginable, the type that cannot be experienced or described properly through mere words alone. There are no words capable of describing such a terrible sensation; even the most gifted poet and artist could not put it into writing or painting.

When it comes to experiencing it, the flesh is only a metaphorical concept; therefore, the same rules of logic don't apply when it comes down to the feelings of the heart, mind, and soul. It is the type of pain that cannot be described by words alone.

But it is painful nonetheless as many continue their journey in the scorching sands, screaming relentlessly while attempting to crawl or walk through this land with little hope of salvation. In all honesty, the concept of time did not exist in this nauseating world.

The realm itself has no limits or true geography; it is beyond the boundaries of physical space as it is unrestricted by concepts themselves. Infinity in scope without structure in all forms and incomprehensible for man to understand, hell is composed of the possible and the impossible with no limitations holding it.

As Mathias pushed and struggled with the other desperate souls, deep down, he knew nothing would come out of this without even trying. There is no relief or end, just eternal misery for all who ended up being cast down into this nightmarish world.

Such hopelessness became infectious among many who realized this fact, only to forget it later. Like a plague spreading across the masses, they too succumbed to its effects. In spite of it all, they continued their struggles regardless of what they must endure in the hopes that something or someone would help them.

However, their minds were somewhere else; their hearts were beating fast as the thought of escaping filled their thoughts along with the possibility of finding freedom. And yet, they do not know that it was just another form of torture to be presented.

Not just for them but also for him, who saw himself trapped by his own regrets. Regrets that haunted his very mind in not believing the man he followed and betrayed wouldn't forgive him for his crimes. Nothing can redeem his actions or free his tormented conscience.

He is forever stuck within these blistering sands, just like the others who also committed sins that condemned them. At some point, he wondered himself why he was even fighting for a nonexistent future, for he'd only be rejected at the end, no matter what he did.

His is no longer part of God's creation when he took his own life, that is what he believes, and because of that, Mathias the betrayer had his own despair bring him down on this punishment of place, a fitting end for a villain like himself.

Through this endless crawling, there is something inside of Mathias that tells him he needs to keep going, whether that be due to divine intervention or simply an inner drive that's pushing him to keep trying regardless of how futile it is. Regardless, he doesn't know why but feels like he's being summoned from an unknown source.

Continuing onward, time here is warped to the point that it may not even exist. But for him, it felt like a millennial crawling to God knows where. He can't fathom such concepts anymore because there is no sense of time in this bizarre, limitless dimension.

One's perception of reality and logic is distorted and broken apart, as the normal rules of physics are meaningless within this reality. Each person here has a different idea of what they see and where these people are. While Mathias, in his own perception, sees this place as a hellish desert, someone else is currently in a different place within their own personal world, manifested by their own sins, despite physically seeing them with them in this place.

He thought it futile to even try to pray for God to come down and save him; Mathias had never believed that the Lord wouldn't do so since this is hell itself where they are stuck. That is, until something changed that caught everyone's attention.

In the far distance, standing on top of a cliff, is grieving Seth, who watched everyone struggle while tears rolling down his cheeks. Seth was also accompanied by many absolved souls he rescued, having them reformed back into their human selves as they stood close and behind the holy man.

"Seth...?"

Mathias could whisper the holy man's name in disbelief, but that wasn't his main attention. It was the fact that this man came down in this terrible place just to rescue them from whatever torment they were suffering from, and seeing this, he wasted no time in moving forward faster than ever.

Many of the souls saw him, their faces full of delight and happiness: "Lord! Lord, save us!" They all cried out, crawling faster towards the Son of God. Their hands then reached the wall of the hill before they began climbing, faces full of joyous expressions.

Each one who believed was pulled with the help of Seth and the saved souls he rescued, bringing them up with them as the moment they stood onto the cliff, their scorched forms rapidly transformed back to where they were once human and alive.

Hundreds, if not countless, continued to climb up, relief and happiness painted on their faces as the Son of God assisted them while his own tears flowed down uncontrollably from seeing such souls being punished in this desolate world.

But Mathias stopped near the end, looking up to his left, where Seth is helping as much as he can to bring the righteous and unrighteous who desired to be saved while also believing in him. Still, the former priest can't fathom that Seth would forgive him.

He couldn't imagine how anyone would be this merciful and loving. Mathias believes his own actions are irredeemable, incapable of being forgiven by any other beings that exist across all of existence. Yet, here is this man who is offering him a chance to be redeemed once more.

And he feels like this isn't right at all. He shouldn't receive any such compassion because he's a traitor who deserves to be left alone in this damnation to suffer for the rest of eternity, for Mathias believes he deserves to be in hell rather than with God.

With tears streaming down his burnt eyes, his fingers begin to claw the rocky surface of the cliff. "Seth, I can't come to you," he whispered as he could only watch from afar. "I am not worthy to be in your kingdom," he said, crying quietly under his breath.

Before long, he felt his left arm losing its grip, being forced to allow that specific to fall while the other one was still holding desperately as his own mind was conflicted between two choices. Whether to keep climbing up with others or let go to rot away in this land.

Then he made the choice, closing his eyes; he willed himself to drop down as time slowed down like in slow motion. "I don't believe," were his final words, but before he could completely fall, his hand immediately grabbed him, causing his eyes to snap back open.

"Lord?"

Mathias couldn't believe it. Staring above is Seth, whose eyes show concern and understanding as well as disappointment. "You of little faith," the Son of God said, "why did you doubt?" His voice brought both sorrow and regret to his former disciple.

Averting his gaze, Mathias lowered his head down in shame: "I didn't believe that I deserve to be saved," admitting honestly while feeling ashamed, "there is no forgiveness for betraying such a great man like yourself," looking up Seth's face with remorse.

Shaking his head, he gave out a compassionate smile and said, "All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive," giving out reassuring words of wisdom, "you must believe, for those things you ask, things shall be done for you by my father." Boundless mercy and love were then displayed from his words alone.

Overwhelming emotions welled up within him: "Truly, you are the Son of God." Smiling back tearfully, he then felt himself being lifted upwards onto the cliff with a simple pull as he and the others were slowly but surely going to be sent into paradise.

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.043 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 16:06, Dec 20 2024