The wind whipped violently against his clothes as he fell backward through the empty air.
'Again... again... I've been abandoned again.'
Darkness clouded his mind, but instead of despair, a shadow of a smile crept across his lips. A dry, sarcastic laugh bubbled up in his throat. Mid-fall, he twisted his body, forcing himself to face the abyss.
As the seconds ticked by, the emerald canopy below rushed toward him. The scent of damp earth and ancient moss grew stiflingly thick. Jay curled into a ball, shielding his face with his arms and bracing for impact.
The sound of snapping branches echoed like gunfire. Thorns and twigs clawed at his skin, tearing through fabric and flesh alike. When the final branch gave way, Jay slammed into the forest floor with a bone-jarring thud.
His eyes flickered open, and for a moment, the breath was knocked out of him—not just by the fall, but by the view.
It was a paradise of vibrant greens. There was no blood, no stench of decay, only endless fields of lush grass stretching beneath colossal trees. It felt like a sanctuary rather than the hell he had been promised.
He tried to push himself up, but a searing agony flared in his wounded arm.
'I must have... broken it when I tore through those branches.'
Clutching his throbbing limb, Jay began to trek through the undergrowth. After a few minutes, his foot struck something hard. He peered through the tall grass and froze.
His pupils shivered. "A... a skull?"
It wasn't a human one. Rotting flesh still clung to the yellowed bone, and massive canine teeth—longer than a wolf's—protruded from a snout of an unknown beast.
Before he could retreat, the ground groaned.
Heavy, rhythmic thuds vibrated through the soles of his boots. Jay dived into the bushes, hiding like a rat fleeing a lion. A Giant emerged from the mist, its leather armor drenched in fresh, steaming blood.
Cold sweat beaded on Jay's forehead. He was weak, injured, and utterly alone. His only hope lay in the steel at his waist. Slowly, he drew his sword from its scabbard.
The Giant's head snapped toward his direction.
'Does he see me?!'
The behemoth lunged. A deafening crash echoed as the creature's foot pulverized the spot where Jay had stood a split second before. The Giant had empty, hollow eyes, yet they burned with a primal bloodlust. A macabre smile twisted its lips, blood dripping from its chin.
Jay gripped his sword as the colossus swung a massive bone-blade toward him.
CRACK!
Dust and debris filled the air. The Giant tilted its head, its oversized ears twitching at the sound of light footsteps within the dust cloud. Jay emerged, but his gaze had shifted. The fear was gone, replaced by the cold, predatory stare of a survivor.
Despite the pain, Jay moved in a blur, circling the Giant.
'Is this savage... playing with me?'
His lungs felt like lead, his breathing ragged. The bone-blade rose again.
'Now!'
Jay pivoted, but the Giant was faster than its size suggested. A massive hand swiped through the air, catching the boy before he could dodge. Jay was hoisted into the air, the Giant's grip tightening with a third of its strength.
Bones popped. Jay let out a strangled scream as the pressure threatened to liquefy his organs. The colossus opened its maw, a cavernous red throat smelling of iron and death.
'Is this where it ends?'
Flashes of his past life flickered—the bench, the laughter, the regrets.
'No... not yet!'
His eyes burned with a sudden, desperate thirst for blood. As the Giant prepared to swallow him, its eyes suddenly bulged. It shrieked and slammed Jay against the ground.
The verdant grass vanished beneath the impact, replaced by deep, spider-webbing cracks in the earth. Jay coughed up a spray of crimson, his lungs refusing to take in air.
The Giant stared at its own palm. It was coated in a layer of frost.
Willing his body to move, Jay stood up. He reached for his sword, but it felt lighter than it should. He looked down to see the blade shattered in half.
Jay swallowed hard, the sound of his own racing heart drowning out the world.
'Am I going to die again?'
He shook his head, refusing the thought. Suddenly, a strange tingling sensation numbed his hand.
'Wait... it's cold?'
Frost began to creep over his fingernails. His hollow eyes started to glow with an ethereal light. He took a deep breath, and as he exhaled, ice erupted from his arm like a parasitic fungus, spreading across the broken hilt of his sword until it formed a jagged, translucent blue blade.
The pain in his body receded, numbed by the supernatural cold, though the ice continued its silent climb up his shoulder.
With one last breath, Jay lunged.
The Giant, distracted by its frozen hand, swung its bone-weapon in a frantic arc. Jay moved with a newfound weightlessness. He dodged the blow, feeling the rush of air as the bone-blade struck the earth, kicking up dust that looked like falling snow.
The Giant tried to pull its weapon back, but it was stuck. It tugged again, and then again—nothing. Its gaze darted around until it found the boy.
Jay was crouched, his entire right arm encased in ice, clutching the glowing azure blade. The fear had shifted. Now, it was the colossus that felt the touch of death.
Jay vanished. In a single vertical flash, he cleaved through the air.
The sound of rending flesh echoed through the clearing. The Giant was split perfectly in two.
The azure blade clattered to the ground as Jay released it, his breathing heavy, sweat pouring down his pale face. He let gravity take him, collapsing into a sitting position as a waterfall of blood drenched the grass.
He looked at his hands. Despite the callouses and the grime, the skin was intact. A manic laugh of relief escaped him.
"I'm... I'm alive. I'm actually alive!"
He stood up, his stomach growling as he looked at the fallen colossus. He rubbed his hands together, only to realize his entire right arm was still frozen solid up to the shoulder.
Jay clicked his tongue. 'One good thing happens, and something bad follows immediately. Why?'
"That's life, Jay."
An agonizingly familiar voice echoed in his mind. The devil had come to haunt him again.
'One good thing and two bad ones, you mean.'
"Hey!" Roh shouted, sounding offended. "Who would want to be called a 'bad thing'?"
'...'
Jay ignored the spirit's rambling. His gaze was fixed on the Giant's carcass. He began to salivate.
A short while later, Jay was sitting by a small fire, gnawing on a roasted piece of Giant meat attached to a bone. The taste wasn't terrible—certainly better than it smelled.
'Could use a bit more salt.'
As he ate in peace, the bushes nearby rustled. Jay instinctively reached for his hilt, the ice blade manifesting instantly.
A massive black wolf emerged, its fur as dark as the void and its eyes glowing like embers. Its claws looked sharp enough to slice through stone. Jay realized he didn't need to fight this time. He had more meat than he could ever finish.
He tossed a large chunk of the Giant toward the beast. The wolf tore into it hungrily.
'I've had enough. I can't carry this, and I don't have a bag... but this ice power... it's like a tool I can call when needed. For now, I'll put out the fire and keep moving.'
He knew going back up the wall was a death sentence—his master was likely watching, and he was too exhausted. His only path was forward.
As he walked, the frozen sensation in his arm faded, and the pain vanished. The ground became damp, but not muddy. The birdsong was replaced by the distant ring of clashing steel and the roar of monsters.
Hell was beautiful, indeed.
A thick grey mist rolled in, making the air feel heavy. Every breath was a struggle for his battered lungs. Out of the fog, a feminine figure appeared. She wore an elegant black dress, surrounded by a faint purple aura. Her silver hair shimmered even in the gloom.
With delicate fingers, she lifted Jay's chin. He looked into her eyes and felt a wave of relief wash over him.
"It has been a while, my Contractor. How have you been?" she asked with a warm, knowing smile.
Jay smiled back. "Contractor? Since when do you call me that, Lillith? Have you been spending all your time reading fantasy novels?"
Lillith tilted her head, clasping her hands together. "Yes! Especially the ones you recommended."
The two continued down the path, conversing about stories and legends as if they weren't in the heart of a nightmare.
When night fell, Jay set up a small, efficient camp. He had no blankets, only the fire to keep the biting cold at bay. Inside the wall, the temperature was far more brutal than the world outside.
He lay on a bed of fallen leaves, shivering beside the embers, unable to find sleep.
"Jay," Lillith whispered, her voice turning sharp. "Something is coming."