Victor and the Seven Circles of Darkness

Chapter 24 - The Power of Laughter

Victor woke up by the loud sound of the gong, and much more to his surprise, he found himself lying on the wooden bed. He checked his cuts and bruises and they were healed. He looked around and beside him were his three companions, astonished to see themselves lying on the wooden beds, too.

"Are you all right, my prince?" said Bogle.

"I'm fine. Who brought us here?"

"You're all buried in dirt and gravel when the path collapsed. For many hours, I waited for these people to help you. When the gong struck, they stopped fighting and rescued you and brought you here to recuperate."

Victor beamed. He thought wrath occupied the hearts of these people, but no, there's still some goodness left in them. True to what Master Tyrus had told him that every human was born good; it's their environment, the people around them, and the situation they were in that made them bad.  

"How's the rooster?" asked Master Tyrus. "Is it alive?"

"The rooster is fine, sir."

"Did it crow?"

"Yes, sir."

"That means we have twelve days left."

"We're going to punch each other, aren't we?" said Trobit as he watched the people leaving their beds and going inside the circle of wrath. "Should we follow them?"

Master Tyrus and Rower exchanged glances. They'd known the rules in the circles by now and with the intense look in their eyes, they're not exempted from the rule. Yes, they must go to the circle whether they like it or not.

"We have no choice, we need to comply. We have to go to the circle until our time is up to move on," said Master Tyrus. 

"For how long?" 

Master Tyrus shook his head. "I don't know, Victor. I have no idea.  It depends. It's tough to be in the circle, you need to understand that. Be strong. All we have to do is do our part and be patient."

Rower nodded gently, supporting Master Tyrus's statement. "At least we're all together in this circle."

"Oh my, shouting and wrestling the whole day without any reason?" blurted Trobit. "That's the most stupid thing we'll ever do in our entire life."

The companions remained quiet on Trobit's statement, when suddenly they burst into immense laughter, attracting the attention of other people in the dungeon.

"Let's promise one thing though," Trobit added. "Let's not fight each other ... let's find our own size to punch, not you Master Tyrus or you Rower punching me or Victor. We're not your equals, or, better yet, defend us when someone bigger than us attacks us. Agree?"

"Agree."

"How's your leg, Rower," asked Victor. "Can you walk?"

"I'm fine. I'm healed."

They stayed last to enter the circle, but on their way in, gatekeeper Rogziel appeared, translucent in the air and blocking the entrance. "Do not enter," he said with full authority, palm towards them. "You've passed the challenge in the circle of wrath. You're free to leave this dungeon. Follow the path to your right and you'll come up to a stairway."

They're speechless, greatly surprised by the sudden appearance and announcement of the gatekeeper, and very much relieved.

They bowed to him as a gesture of gratitude and reverence. "Thank you, lord Rogziel," they uttered. Words were not enough to describe how they feel on that moment.

Rogziel acknowledged them with a nod, he pointed the path to the right then vanished into the air.

"We were spared!" said Trobit. "Can you believe that? We were spared!"

"Yes, we heard it right, Trobit. C'mon, no time to waste. Let's go," said Master Tyrus and tracked the path to the direction Rogziel had told them.

Victor after a while felt some bulky things in his pockets—the two apples. He approached Rower and asked, "Any memory of yesterday?"

"Yeah, I remember, Victor. We're in a park, a very beautiful and colorful park. You gave me three apples and I ate them all. It felt so real to me. Surreal!"

"Well, I thought it's just a dream, too, but it's real." He brought out the apples and showed it to him. "Apples!"

Rower looked at him, eyes round and wide. "So it's real!"

"Yes, we've been in Paradise, Rower."

"Where did you get those apples? I will not say no to that," said Trobit and grabbed one.

With enthusiasm, Victor relayed the story about his experience in Paradise. Afterwards, he concluded, "I think you're right, Master Tyrus, good souls really go to heaven to have an eternal life with the Supreme God. Prayers are indeed very powerful to uplift their souls. If I'm not mistaken, the seven circles of darkness are meant to purify them, after which, they go to Paradise for further purification. Not bad at all, isn't it?"    

"I guess that's what Christine was trying to tell me that after our sins are cleansed, we'll go to a better place. Very promising for humans," said Master Tyrus. "They have a chance to live an eternal life."

"Maybe people are placed here in the Darkworld after they met the Boss, and they're being sorted out from here," said Rower. 

"I think you're right, Rower," said Victor. "In my former quest of finding an antidote to the curse, I met the Boss and sent me to strange places until I reached the Fallen Island. Unless the people are very very bad, then they go directly to hell." 

"Precisely, Victor," said Rower. "I think humans called this place Purgatory. Not all of course believe of its existence, but Christians do."

"Still, this place is scary, eh," said Trobit. "People suffer much. I don't like it. By the way, how come Master Tyrus and I didn't have any experience of Paradise last night? Dreamless as in nothing. Why it's just the two of you?"

"I guess because Victor was a human once and he'd been to the world of the dead," answered Rower. "And as for me, I work there."

"That made sense," said Master Tyrus and grabbed the other apple.

"And the good news was that Grandma Dorthe told me we'll manage to go back to our world."

"We're doing our best," said Master Tyrus, hope sparked in his heart. "May her words come true."

After a few minutes' walk, they saw a narrow and circular stairway.

Master Tyrus lit a candle and held it up to see how high the stairway was, at the end of it was impossible to see.

Trobit scratched his head. "Not again. I wish I get my wings back now. I would be severely dehydrated when I reach the top, huh!"

"Even if you have wings, you can't fly in there. It's too narrow. You can't spread your wings up," said Master Tyrus.

Trobit frowned. Master Tyrus was right.

Victor recalled his quest to Fallen Island. He wished the same, too, when he was in a morass full of rats. He gazed up. "Where would this stair lead us? The path collapsed, remember? We can't go back there."

"We'll see when we get there," said Master Tyrus and went on.

The rest followed with the same question of uncertainty in their minds. Nevertheless, they're grateful being spared from the circle of wrath considering the time left pursuing the remaining circles.

As usual, climbing a high stairway was exhausting for them. It's not fun at all as their bodies were fully worn out. They didn't care anymore even if the stairs were narrow. Even sitting on the steps were good enough. They closed their eyes and let sleep consume them.