14 CHILD AT HEART 6 (2/2)
”You get everything of yours imbibed,” The old man said, blowing out a noisy breath. ”Your memories, your personality, your strength, everything that's unique regarding you will become part of those creatures, which also is considered as you ceasing to exist forever.”
Lirzod's breath turned heavier. ”So, those who were getting tortured chose the second option, rebirth after retribution? Why most chose that one? If they give up in the middle of it, weren't they absorbed entirely? The first option sounded a lot safer.”
The old man smiled. ”If your sins are of lightweight, then it may be the right choice. Otherwise, a repenting life can be the hardest life to lead. You might feel like the entire world is acting against you. No matter what you do, you cannot escape your fate in that life. You might not be able to kill yourself even if that's what you desire. To the unaware, repenting lives are labyrinthine.”
Lirzod's heart began to beat heavily, as he clenched his fist and stared fixedly at the old man. ”Then... If a good person dies at a young age, does that mean they have repented all their sins of the past life?”
”That may be the case, or that may not be as well. As far as I know, none can tell apart a life from a repenting one to one that's not.”
”Afterward, they would be reborn with a free life, right?” Lirzod's speech quickened a bit.
”Can't be sure of that either. It's decided at the Gates of Order whether a soul is eligible for a self-directing rebirth, or for an obscure reincarnation or for a superficial resurrection or for a trip to hell or heaven.”
”Where are those gates situated at?” Lirzod's head tilted back and gaze looked up at the old man as he asked in an eager tone, raising his clenched-fists to his chest.
The old man leaned forward a bit and said in a light tone, ”Nobody knows where the gates exist.”
Lirzod stayed silent, still clenching his fist.
The old man somewhat parted his lips. ”Something wrong?”
Lirzod shook his head and voiced denial, as he relaxed his hands.
The old man stroked his beard for a few moments while Lirzod stared away into the distance with teary eyes.
In time, Lirzod turned to the old man, ”What happened afterward?”
”The opening of the portal and the arrival of Yizzy alerted many souls. They all tried to escape out of the punishments they were obligated to experience. It was then Yizzy realized that he was in the Endless Plains... In the hell itself.”
Lirzod's shoulders tightened and his eyes appeared damped.
The old man continued, ”There was no end to the sight his eyes had witnessed. Every direction offered him a similar picture — devoid of kindness —the most grotesque of all he had ever seen. The heart-wrenching calls of people shook his body and his very soul. Even children were present among the ones being punished as if they were all being made an example in front of his eyes.
”Many souls tried to escape out of that place through the portal, but Yizzy stepped forward and distanced himself from the portal. His eyes kept searching for someone, without even blinking. Maybe he was subconsciously afraid that he'd miss her if he blinked. But the number of souls around him was just too high for him to catch the sight of his mother. So he kept himself close to the portal and watched every soul that tried to escape. Many souls tried to enter his body, but some strange energy that gathered around his body kept him out of harm.
”The beast guards tried to get things under control, but it wasn't easy for them to control the innumerable souls. After minutes of wait, when tens of thousands of souls had already poured themselves out of that place into the human world, Yizzy finally saw someone that resembled his mother.”
Arms raised high and spread out in the air, grabbed by the mouths of beast statues, a black-haired woman who seemed to be in her thirties sweated blood as a pointy whip cut through her dress and the skin under it and exposed the flesh on her back. She bit her lips so hard that it bled, but she didn't make a single noise with her mouth. The whippings grew in number and reached a hundred, exposing her bones, but she didn't make a sound.
The guard put the whip aside and the statues let go of her. She fell straight into the large bowl filled with bubbling blood-red liquid. The pepper-mixed liquid entered her wounds and, she who didn't make a sound until then howled in pain, and she tried to swim out of the bowl. She reached to the edge of it, but the guard pushed her away to the center of it using a wave of his arm. As the liquid in the bowl got vaporized, a fresh liquid was added by the guard. Even though there was a lot of ruckus going on around that guard, he only focused on his subject.
She writhed in pain, screamed as she rolled up and down like a dying fish would on the ground. ”Someone, save me! Someone help me! I can't bear this anymore.” Her howls were intense, but they were just one among the many that were experiencing a similar fate. After some time, she managed to swim out of the bowl and poured the buckets of cold wair specifically arranged for her.
Though the burning sensation had died down a bit, her skin began to itch like it never did. She scratched her skin — what's left of it — so hard, her skin got peeled off, but the itching didn't stop. She rolled on the dirty ground and rubbed her body to it, but nothing changed. More scratching and more rubbing, but nothing changed. Her hands got gripped again by the mouths of the beasts which pulled her up into the air. The guard got hold of the whip and resumed his treatment, all over again.
Nobody in hell showed love, not even a speck of it. Be it the guards or the creatures, everybody was downright cruel. Their mission was to deal with the damned in the damnedest ways possible. There was a saying that what's priceless in the whole of Hell was one act of kindness.
The old man resumed his speech, ”Seeing his mother being subjected to not only physical misery but mental misery as well, Yizzy's eyes were pleased.”