Victor and the Seven Circles of Darkness

Chapter 10 - The Circle of Superbia

Lit torches lined up the stone walls which was beyond their expectation of being dark and chaotic. They secured their lamps in their backpacks and followed the long tunnel. The whining of people like being tortured or punished pierced their ears loud and clear; their eyes met and mirrored each other's fright of the unknown.

"What do you think is in there, Master Tyrus?" asked Victor.

"I have no idea, Victor. Just be ready with your sword, and if you see a shadow coming—you know what to do. Bogle, go and check first before we proceed."

"Yes, sir," replied Bogle. He really felt useful in this quest.

"This place gives me goosebumps," said Trobit, his brown eyes grew rounder than ever. "I thought this is the world of the dead. How come there are people whimpering down there?"

"Exactly my thoughts," said Victor.

Bogle came back. "The place is safe. You may keep your swords away. Just come down and see for yourselves."

Trusting Bogle, Master Tyrus led the companions to a narrow stairway that brought them to a vast circle. Down below was filled with people of various ages, hundreds and thousands of them in agony and pain.

A narrow path built around the circle to give access to whoever had the responsibility to look over the circle, and as such had given the space to roam around and get a full view of it. This path was secured with wattle and daub fence at a waist-length level to prevent anyone from falling therein.   

Victor noticed the absence of guards in position. He sensed, however, that there's a presence of invisible power watching over them. He could feel the strong energy in the air. He watched the commotions below. These people, young and old, men and women, walked on their knees over a mass carpet of broken glasses. 

"Is this some kind of a punishment?" he asked. His forehead creased as if his knees ached, too.

"I think so, Victor," answered Master Tyrus. "It's a kind of punishment to those who are extremely proud and arrogant."

"How did you know they're proud and arrogant?"

"Base from the name of the circle itself—superbia."

"People are punished just because of pride and arrogance? That's absurd!" Trobit freaked out. "And why do they have to walk on their knees? To walk on their feet is painful enough, isn't it?"

"To teach them about humility, I guess. See, we get down on our knees when we pray to the goddess Sol. Why? Because we ask a certain favor, we plea for help, we beg for mercy and forgiveness. It's the same situation with the humans. Maybe these people forgot the value of humility or modesty or meekness in their lifetime that they lost respect to people and mistreat them. This kind of punishment will serve as a reminder for them that everyone else were created equal, with the same dignity and self-worth despite differences in life status. Above all, there's also a higher power other than themselves or anything else in the world."

"Oh, is that so, Master Tyrus?" Trobit lost words to fire out another comment. 

Victor sighed. He remembered what Master Tyrus had told him once about humans having souls. If this is the place where human souls go after death, then it's horrible. He would rather remain a sun fairy, live a long life then die, and that's the end of him. No suffering equivalent to this.

He studied the surrounding and noticed that these people had no chance of escaping. The circle was deep and the walls were sealed and solid. Pity hammered his heart. "What have they done to deserve such a cruel punishment?" he voiced out his thoughts. "This is pure madness. Are they not even allowed to stand up and take a few minutes rest?"

"Yeah! There are no guards anyway," said Trobit.  

"There might be no guards around, but something natural is taking charge. Take a look at that one out there," said Master Tyrus. He pointed his finger at a young woman standing in the crowd, then handed his binocular to Victor to show what he meant.

The woman was hysterical while cupping her hands on her knees. Victor got curious why she's behaving that way. He focused the binocular down to her legs and saw blood bursting out from her knees. As seconds passed, the woman's condition got even worse as her skin began peeling off. Two other women reached for her arms, shouting and forcing her to kneel down. The woman came down to her knees and from that moment, she stopped bleeding and rather appeared more relieved, but still in deep shock.

Victor shook his head while handing the binocular back to Master Tyrus. "This is horrible. I can't take it. It's good there are no children down there. Let's find Rower and get out of this place as soon as possible."

"But how could we possibly find Rower with all these people? This is impossible," said Trobit. By merely looking at the hugeness of the place and the many people roaming around like ants made him tired. "Besides, how sure are we that Rower is in this circle? There are six other circles to search out there, and perhaps, as huge as this, too. I'm afraid we don't have enough time."

"Chamuel said we will only have to know his fault to know which circle to search," Victor recalled. "He violated a rule. He made his own decision without consulting the Boss, that's insubordination. Disobedience. Does that mean he's too proud of himself?"

"You have the point, Victor. He might be in this circle," said Master Tyrus. "Let's put extra time and effort in this circle."

"What about the remaining six circles? What kind of punishment do they execute there?" said Trobit.

"No one knows, Trobit," answered Victor. "But I have a strong feeling that Rower is here. I don't know why, but I believe he's here."

"What does he look like again?" asked Master Tyrus.

"He's dark, with curly hair, well-built body, taller than you and in his early thirties. He's wearing a white, long sleeves tee-shirt, his brown pants folded up to his knees, and barefooted."

"So, we concentrate looking for people wearing white," concluded Trobit. 

"Here, Victor, use the binocular. You know him better than we do. It's easier for you to recognize him."   

"This is like searching a needle lost in the sand. We need to search double time or else twenty-three days will be gone. Do you think all circles are the same, Master Tyrus? Like this one? Punishing people?"

"Most probably ... I hope not."

"I'm hungry! Can't we stop for a while and take a little bite of the bread?" said Trobit.

"We just ate breakfast, fat boy," answered Bogle.

"Yeah, but that was centuries ago. I'm tired and their whinnies made my stomach grumble even more."

"My eyes are tired, and my legs. Let's take a few minutes rest, Master Tyrus." Victor sat on the floor and stretched his legs.

"Take a rest if you need to."

"The two boys unpacked their backpacks and began eating. Master Tyrus remained standing while chewing his bread. His eyes still fixed on the people down the circle.

Victor noticed Master Tyrus's sharp eyes the very first time he met him at the Function Chamber. As a gallant, he knew that he's trained to be observant and alert at all times. He hoped this skill would serve him well now. 

Master Tyrus blinked several times. It's an indication that his eyes were tired, too. He sat down beside them and closed his eyes for a while. After a few minutes, he rose again and ordered the three to continue searching.

Victor was becoming desperate since he couldn't even find a Rower look-alike. What if he changed clothes? There's a large number of dark people down there, and with their haggard and sweaty looks, and drooping heads and shoulders, it's even more difficult to recognize him. No matter, they should keep on searching until they find him.