I've been walking down these stairs to hell for quite a while now. I'm starting to sweat like crazy and it's only getting worse. My surroundings look less and less like what I'd seen up in heaven. Having come all the way down to Hell, I take my time to look around. People burning, screaming in excruciating pain, everywhere you look. The sight is horrifying, just as you might imagine hell to be. It did not take long for the heat and fire to hit me hard. I collapse immediately and now I can do nothing but lay there, sweating, as the pain grows worse and worse. I manage to let out a few excruciating screams and moans before finally giving in and passing out...
Some time passes. Hopefully not too much. When I slowly regained consciousness, the first thing I did was look at the watch I'm wearing. To my surprise, it has gone completely mad. I guess they don't measure time in hell. I manage to get up and collect my thoughts. It seems I'm used to the hellfires by now. Unlike some people, apparently. When I looked around again, I could still see people burning, screaming in endless pain. It really sends shivers down my spine. For now, though, I keep walking straight ahead. As I have no idea where to go, this goes on for a while. Me, wandering through hell, just walking straight ahead. Finally, I reach a cave. A big, black, round cave. Terrifying. But if this were a video game, I'd probably have to go in there. So I go in without hesitation. It's dark. And apparently, the caves of hell can be wet? The water splashes around as I walk and makes a lot of noise. Just to be on the safe side, I pull out the sword that God gave me. It's really terrifying, walking alone in this dark and unknown place. While I walk, I actually pull out a pen and book that god had seemed to have put into my backpack. I write:
„Thought I was dead, yet here I walk.
No clue of anything, not even on what Journeys I embark.
But one thing is sure tho: The Devil must die.
No matter if day or night, I'll keep walking
Once the Devil's dead I'll never stop talking
Talking about his sins, talking about the bad things he's done
And once he's done, Nothing stands in the way
Peace and harmony,
I truly think this can be done"
I close the book and fade back into reality. To be safe again, I put the book and pen back and instead take the sword back into my hands. I can already see the end of the cave. I've been walking for good 10 minutes or so now. But suddenly, right before the end of the tunnel, I hear something moving on the far left side of the exit! I quickly turn and lift my sword, right as a dark shadowy figure rushes at me, and attacks. I luckily deflect the first hit, but the figure is now gone! I quickly look around, but that's when it rushes towards me again. This time it's much closer, but again I manage to defend myself somewhat against its attack. As this unknown figure leans into the attack with all its weight, I can't help but notice that it is attacking me with its bare hands! It presses its bare fist against my sword, and I can't cut through it! As I tried to look up at its face to see what I was fighting, I realized that it wasn't even human! Its body is pitch black. It has white, big eyes. White eyes that are so clear that I can see myself in their reflection. As fear grips me, I take a huge leap back and scream: "What the hell are you?!" I stand there, shaking madly, my sword still in my hand. I've never seen anything like it. It stands in front of me, doing nothing, staring into space. Until, a few moments later, it decides to speak. "I am...Hubris." I stare into his eyes, the fear apparent in my own. "Wait, isn't that..." I try to speak, but Hubris interrupts. "Yes. That's what they call me in ancient Greek...I am the Sin of Pride. This is my weapon that you are pointing at me." I lower my sword. "Why are you down here?" I take a step back, hoping Hubris won't suddenly attack me out of nowhere. "I'm sick of the devil. He thinks he is the greatest. I despise him. My pride won't let me respect even my new Lord down in hell. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him." I'm visibly confused. One of the Seven Deadly Sins despises the Devil? "Wait, so... you don't like the devil? Isn't he, like, your boss?" Hubris, although he doesn't show any expression, seems to be angry with me: "Fuck no! I mean, he technically is... But not much longer! I hate that bastard!" Hubris mumbles to himself."I want to kill him...I want to kill him..." He continues to repeat his death threats a few more times. "But... that still doesn't answer why you hate the devil." I ask, finally interrupting Hubris' mutterings about killing the Devil. "Jealousy..." Hubris mumbles in response. I do not know what I expected. Of course the Sin of Pride would feel some sense of jealousy, not only of God but of the Devil himself. "Help me," I ask, silently but with confidence. "We both want the same thing, don't we? We both want to see the devil dead." Hubris stares me dead in the eye. "I will not join forces with a mortal." Hoping he'll change his mind and join me on my journey, I decide to point out all the advantages he'd have. "You wouldn't lose anything, think about it. We help each other towards a common goal. Win-win situation." Hubris stares into space, but obviously considering my offer. After a long wait, Hubris finally decides to share his thoughts. "I must say I am quite intrigued by this offer. And you were quite right when you mentioned that we have common goals. Alright... I will join you." I smile. At last, I'm not alone in this madness. The sin of pride is with me on my adventure! Suddenly, I realize something very Important. I have no idea where I'm going. I turn to Hubris, hoping he'll have an answer, since he has served directly under the devil before. "Hey, Hubris. This is a bit embarrassing, but do you know where we should go? I mean, you're one of the seven deadly sins. Surely you know where the Devil is... right?" Hubris thinks for a second. "Yes, I really do. But going straight to the Devil is impossible. We'd have to defeat all of the other deadly Sins first". I don't think much of that and give a naive answer. "Then we'll do just that.," If Hubris could laugh, he'd probably do so right now. Instead, he just stands there in silence, which is probably his way of laughing at someone. He then replies: "You are far too weak to take on even one of them. You couldn't even hurt me." I sigh, realizing how stupid my earlier answer was. Hubris was right. My current strength was nowhere near enough to defeat even a normal demon. After some time of awkward silence, Hubris decides to speak again. And this time, he tells me something that could change everything forever. "This sword of mine that you have is not yet at its full strength." I turn to him and continue to listen eagerly. "Only I can awaken its full potential. Which I have never done before. But now... And considering the situation..." I interrupt."What do I have to do?" "Nothing. Just point the sword at me and stand still." Hubris closes his glowing white eyes and holds his hands over my sword, not touching it directly. After waiting a while, he mumbles a few words. Black dust and ash begin to gather in the air near where his hands are. Hubris' muttering accelerates, and at this point, everything is happening far too quickly. Winds so strong that they almost knock me over are whipping at us, but Hubris remains unfazed. Now the real dark magic happens. Out of my sword comes a huge snake! I was hoping It's an illusion, but the cave we're in begins to crumble, piece by piece, from the sheer monstrosity of this thing. Everything rumbles, and then... suddenly it stops. No more rumbling, and the snake has also hidden itself back inside my Sword. "What the fuck..." I whisper, clearly unable to process what the hell just happened. Hubris does not wait long to speak. "Your full potential has now been awakened. Whenever you need to, you can summon the Serpent. It will aid you in battle." Still in awe of what just happened, I can only nod. I pick up my bag, ready to leave. Finally, I gather my thoughts and speak. "So you're coming with me, right?" Hubris does not hesitate to answer. "Yes. Where you go, I go." It's settled. The Sin of Pride is coming with me. We walk towards the end of the now more or less damaged tunnel, wondering what adventures await us next.