Author's Note 10/22/2022: Sorry I have been gone so long. I've been hard at work drafting up the battle against Freeza and his elite soldiers. Everything but the last chapter has been written which is great. However, I still have to edit and revise all those chapters, so I won't be able to start publishing them this year. I hope to have them ready for reading early next year. In the mean time, I have a short arc to tide you over with for the remainder of this year. I know it's not much but I wanted to have something for my readers before the holiday season as a thank you for all the support. All the new follows, favorites, comments, and view over the past several months have been inspiring. Thank you all so much. I hope you enjoy the next few chapters. And as always, take care and I'll see you in the next one.
Five little spirit clouds hover beside a body that just fell from the golden veil of clouds above. A thicket of fossilized trees barren of leaves spike up around them.
"He's alive," says one of the spirits. "I can't believe it."
"He can't be alive," says a second. "No living beings come to Hell."
"I don't see a halo on the guy," says the biggest cloud. "He must be alive."
"And so what if he is," says the second. "What good does that do us?"
The two smallest spirits who twirl over and under each other endlessly speak.
"We know a way. As a living being, he can pass the barrier separating Heaven and Hell. He could remove our names from the Book of the Dead. Then we could all come back to life."
"Yeah right," says the second. "No one has ever been able to get at that book."
"Hey, he's waking up!" says the first.
"Welcome to Hell," says the big spirit.
The man with spiky hair and black and blue armor pushes himself up from his belly and takes a sitting position.
"Did you say Hell?" he says.
"I sure did. My name is Amondo. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Daizu," says the first spirit.
"And we're Rezun and Rakasei," say the twirling spirits.
"Call me Kakao," says the second. "So who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"My name's Kakar…"
He trails off. The spirits move closer to him. His mind searches for a name.
"Call me Turles. How long have I been unconscious?"
"Probably about a day," says Amondo.
"A day, huh. So I guess I'm stuck here now."
"Not necessarily," says Rezun and Rakasei together. "We know a way out."
"I have a hard time believing that," says Turles. "Why would you still be here if you could leave?"
"As spirits, we cannot cross the barrier out of Hell, but you can."
"And what's in it for you if I accept your help?"
"We'd all like to be restored to life."
"Do I look like a wizard to you? How am I supposed to do that?"
"Rumor has it King Yemma keeps two books. The Book of the Living, and the Book of the Dead. Anyone who passes before him has their name recorded in the latter. Erase our names, and we'll come back to life. Simple."
"Don't be absurd," says Kakao. "Even if he could get past Yemma, they'd just write our names back in it."
"Not even Yemma is allowed to do that," say the twin spirits. "He has to respect the natural law and wait for us to die again."
"Hang on," says Turles, "How do you know erasing your names from the Book of the Dead won't remove you from existence?"
"As we understand it," says Rezun, "a soul's recorded status determines their fate."
"Should that record be altered," says Rakasei,"the soul will default to the opposite status and appear in the appropriate book."
"Uh, are you sure about that?" says Amondo. "I definitely don't want to cease to exist."
"Would you rather spend the rest of eternity being tortured?" says Daizu. "I'd rather risk oblivion if it meant there was a chance of being alive again."
"Hmm, I was always a gambling man," says Amondo. "Alright, I'm in."
"I think you're all mad," says Turles. "But then again … I've got nothing better to do. And those books could answer a few questions for me. Show me the exit!"
"Excellent," says the twins. "The journey will be a long one. Just follow us."
"Okay, but first I have to attend to some personal business."
Turles walks several yards away and gets behind the biggest tree he can find.
"See I told you guys he was alive," says Daizu.
Amondo and the twin spirits chuckle. A couple minutes pass.
"Hey, you okay over there?" says Amondo. "You need some help with that?"
The whole group snickers this time.
"Oh shut up!" says Turles. "You're all just jealous I still have a body to do this with."
The group laughs harder.
"I don't think any of us miss that particular aspect of being alive," says Daizu.
Turles comes out from behind the tree. A frown sits on his face as he rejoins them.
"Lead the way," he says.
"Of course," says Kakao. "But try not to let your 'personal business' slow us down again."
Turles grumbles while everyone else laughs. The twirling spirits leave first with Turles right behind them.
Kakao whispers to Daizu and Amondo behind his back.
"We can't trust this guy. We don't even know him."
"We aren't really in a position to bargain," says Daizu.
"Yeah, how often does a living person fall from the sky," says Amondo. "Lighten up and enjoy the ride."
###
Turles had no reason to think Rezun and Rakasei were lying about the journey being long. However, he was not prepared for what they really meant. Months pass as they travel the dreary fossilized forest of Hell. To his surprise, his body never once hungers for food or thirsts for water. The fruit of the gods he ate must be keeping his stomach full and body nourished. Despite feeling sated, a strange craving for more of the fruit tantalizes his tongue.
After leaving one wasteland, they enter another. A mountain range made of needles extends before them. Turles attempts to fly across it, but he eventually tires. Forced to hike the thicket of spikes between rests, he gets pricked and stabbed countless times. The spirits on the other hand have no problem navigating the precarious, painful path. Many less fortunate beings are impaled upon the sharp, prodding pins. Halos float above all of their heads.
"I thought no one had bodies in Hell," says Turles.
"When it's your time for a session of torture," says Daizu, "the ogres give you a temporary body to suffer the punishment."
"Wouldn't that give them a chance to fight back?" says Turles.
"The body they give you is a weak vessel, not your original," says Kakao. "It is designed only to suffer and nothing more."
"We need to avoid them at all costs," says Amondo. "They won't appreciate seeing someone with a body who has not been approved for one."
"I'll keep that in mind," says Turles.
As they descend from the mountains, the temperature drops to frigid lows. Snow decorates the landscape. Turles shakes and shivers to keep warm. He blows into his hands as they ache from the cold. He steps free of the thicket of needles and onto a frozen tundra. Howling winds sweep over him. His skin dries and cracks from the relentless chill.
"We're not going to cross this are we?"
"There's no other way," says Kakao.
Turles grimaces at the frozen statues of bodies littering the ground.
"This sucks."
"This is Hell," says Rezun and Rakasei.
Turles tromps through the snow. Every nerve in his body screams with pain from how cold he is. His skin splits and bleeds as the frost bites it. His numb legs fight for balance against the forceful gales that double the freezing temperature. Every breath stabs his lungs with an icicle. As the snow swirls around him, he loses all sense of direction and time. The only thing he can focus on are the stories his new acquaintances tell him about their past lives as he tries to warm his body with his own energy.
Turless stops and drops to his butt.
"I can't take this anymore! This is apeshit. I'm too cold and tired to go any further."
Daizu floats over to him. Turles glares at his indistinguishable form against the white snow.
"Rest then," says Daizu. He moves into Turles' lap. "I don't know if this will help much, but hopefully it brings a little warmth."
"We've all been through this shit," says Amondo. He presses his girthy spirit against Turles' back. It dampens the wind. "I definitely don't enjoy seeing you suffer from it."
Rezun and Rakasei press against Turles' upper arms.
"You're all pathetic," says Kakao. "If he can't stand a little cold, then what good is he?"
"Oh don't be a blowhard," says Daizu. "You remember how terrible it is."
"Yeah," says Amondo. "Now get over here and join the group."
Kakao whips his wispy tail a couple times before floating to them. He nestles upon Turles' shoulder.
"See, you like it," says Rezun and Rakasei.
"Shut up!" says Kakao.
"Everyone," says Turles, "thank you."
He manages a nap feeling a little warmer than before. They set off as soon as he wakes.
After traveling a torturous distance that seems to equal the miles he has already trekked in the tundra, the hysteria returns. He knows he will lose his mind from the pain and suffering again. This time there will be no coming back.
A warm glow appears on the horizon. A heated air current breathes life into his chapped body and spurs him towards it. The orange light calls to him.
"Finally," says Turles. "Are we almost there?"
"Not even close," says Kakao.
"Then what's that over there?"
"More Hell," says Daizu.
The disheartening words do not boost his morale, but they are better than false hope.
As Turles travels, the snow gives way to slush as the temperature rises. For a moment, he feels great with the numbing pain leaving under a warm cure. But the feeling incinerates upon the sight of what is to come.
A cinder and brimstone field expands before him. Smoke blots the sky while fire surges from cracks in the arid earth. A molten glow and wavy lines of heat rise, distorting everything.
The hot, dry air suffocates him as it burns his lungs with every inhale. He chokes on the poisonous smoke infusing the air. Random bursts of flame burn his arms and legs, leaving them bright pink and tender. The terrain bakes him. His body tries to cool by sweating, but it evaporates too fast to do anything. His mouth and throat cry for moisture, but there is none to soothe them.
He stops and drops to his knees. They sizzle on the earth.
"Come on man," says Amondo. "You can't quit now. You're almost there."
"I know it's the worst experience imaginable," says Daizu, "but I've never seen anyone handle it better than you."
"We know you have the strength to make this journey," say Rezun and Rakasei.
"I had my doubts at first," says Kakao, "but you've made a believer out of me. So get up and let's get you out of here."
The words spur something inside Turles. The genuine care in their voice washes away the worry that they just want to use him. In addition to wanting to escape this suffering, a new goal blooms in his mind. The desire to help these people the way they are trying to help him takes root.
He wills himself back to his feet. The spirits swirl around him to create a little breeze. It does not accomplish much, but their cloud-like bodies cool him just a little. He soldiers onward.
Days, weeks, months. They mean nothing to his sense of time anymore. Distance counted as steps is the only thing that matters.
Eventually the heat begins to fade. The cracks in the earth thin. Turles reaches a grassy field and collapses. The spirits dance above him and celebrate his victory. He offers a smile and drops to sleep.
Nightmares of the torment replay while he dreams. He relives the pain and suffering again and again. He jolts awake and rises to a sitting position.
"Hey, Turles," says Daizu. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just some bad dreams."
"Yeah, the same thing happens to us. That's how they get you twice down here. Honestly, I can't tell the nightmares from reality anymore."
"You guys really get tortured like this all the time? Why?"
"I don't know. It's supposed to make us better in the next life or something. But honestly, it just makes me hate the Kais who run Other World."
"I get that. Hopefully you won't have to endure it much longer."
"You feeling ready to continue?"
"Yep, what Hell do I have to walk through next?"
"Oh nothing much. You just have to swim through this ocean full of blood."
"Ocean of blood!"
Turles spins around to find an enormous expanse of crimson liquid he sits at the shore of.
Daizu laughs.
"I'm just kidding. But you should have seen the look on your face."
Turles glares at him for a moment. The look softens, and he laughs alongside him.
"So where to then?"
"Way, way over there," says Daizu, motioning down the shore of the ocean, "is a set of cliffs reaching up to the clouds. King Yemma's palace sits on top of those. There's a secret passage through them that will get you up there."
"Really. And it's not guarded or anything?"
"Nope. They must have forgotten about it or something. We spirits can't cross the veil anyway, so it's not like it really matters to them."
"Alright then. Let's finish this."
"Right on! Come on everybody, we're moving out."
The group travels for what seems like a month. All the while, a cliffside grows on the horizon. Though it is not as painful as the freezing cold or boiling heat, his body suffers from thirst and hunger as the effects of the fruit weaken. With only grasses to eat and blood to drink, he manages to survive on the meagerest of portions.
A craving for another bite of that bitter fruit grows within him. The desire fights for the attention of his other thoughts as it festers beneath them. Sweat dots his forehead as his stomach cramps. Despite the nauseous feeling, he marches ahead.
They finally reach the rockface. A cave entrance at their base holds a humongous set of stairs within.
"Remember," says Rezun, "find the Book of the Dead and remove our names from it. Then we'll be brought back to life and will be able to join you."
"Once you do that," says Rakasei, "our names should reappear in the Book of the Living. It would be a good idea to cut those out, just in case Yemma or the Kais can use those entries against us."
"Got it," says Turles. "Wish me luck."
"After the shit you've been through," says Daizu, "you don't need luck."
"Yeah, my friend," says Amondo. "You got this."
"See you on the other side," says Kakao.
"You bet."
Turles nods to them and runs up the flight of stairs.