EPILOGUE
We can close our eyes, but we're always vulnerable to what we can't see.
I refuse to see its poisonous nature, but it still enters my body through other means. If only we could close our nose and our ears.
As I fall through the mist towards Hell, I cough and splutter more violently than I've ever done before. Not even the worst illnesses I've had made me do this.
I feel litres of blood leave my mouth and nose as the poison decimates me.
Humans cannot die down here. Even death won't relieve me of this agony.
After an hour of falling, I finally leave the black cloud and an immense heat strikes my body.
I dare to slowly open my eyes, and I'm met with scarlet flames. I have no idea where I am. It's just the flames and I. The element supposed to help me survive will now torch me to no end.
The fire consumes me, and I scream as they sear my flesh. They don't burn my skin to a crisp. It's just pain they're inflicting. A raw, unrelenting pain.
After an hour, I finally leave the scarlet flames, and I continue my fall through the darkness.
As yet another hour goes by, I begin to think that this will be my plight. I will wait for what feels like forever for the next punishment to come my way.
But then, I notice something below me. At first, it seems like a circular stone slab, lit by a river of lava beneath it.
But as I close in on it, and I get a sense of perspective between the lava and the stone, I realise it's an extremely tall cone, with its apex dug into the lava river, and its wider flat top is ready to greet me.
I'm never going to slow down, so I close my eyes and cover my face with my forearms in fear.
BOOM!
I slam hard into the stone surface, causing dust to fly everywhere.
I'm unable to shift. I believe most of my bones have been broken.
But somehow, I'm able to slightly lift my head to spot something form ahead of me.
Suddenly, two diamond-shaped eyes made out of fire appear in the darkness before me. I feel their hostility as they stare into my soul.
Then, a deep, deafening voice appears from all around me. "Trespasser!" it booms. The sound echoes for miles and miles around me. "You dared to enter without judgement? You thought you could simply walk in here? You are univited, and your poor judgement will be punished!"
"I just… want to… speak with her…" I mutter.
Dammit… it stings to speak with broken ribs.
"All of these wasted efforts… for a mere conversation?" it asks condescendingly.
"I wanna see her… I will see her!"
The eyes move closer to me, and I feel their burning heat on my face.
"You believe that your own will takes priority here? A foolish thought… for a foolish human!"
Suddenly, I burst into seering, hot flames.
My yell of anguish is loud, but there's no-one around who cares about me.
"May your insolence be burned away, child, so that you fully realise your mistake!" it cries.
After a while, I feel like giving up for the first time in my life.
Down here, I have absolutely no power. Any effort excerted will only be ignored. I always thought that persistence would yield rewards.
'No patience, no future', as they say.
Was the finishing line of this journey… truly laced with poison and thorns?
Through my screaming, I hear something strange.
Huh? Thunder strikes? Down here?
I force my eyes open, and see black clouds form above me. The eyes that judge me look up, too.
Rain begins to fall on me, and douse my engulfing flames.
"What?" the voice cries. "Impossible!"
The drops also douse the fiery eyes, reducing them to nothing but harmless vapor.
After a while of this strange weather, I find myself drenched. Rain continues to fall on this forsaken place I've found myself in.
I slowly look up from the stone to its perimeter, and notice a figure pull themselves up onto the surface.
My eyes widen as I hope for that person to be who I want it to be.
Dressed in a long, white cloak, she slowly walks up to me, then crouches by my side.
"Akemi, dear," she begins. "I didn't raise you to cause trouble."
