The Last Circle-Chapter 13: One Chance

The battle between beasts continued, showing no signs of either side backing down. The two had been at it for at least half an hour since Nameless came to watch, and God knows how long before that.

The hellbound beast counterintuitively grabbed onto a pair of talons with two arms, essentially swapping the roles as it tried to pull it down, threatening to bite at them.

A shrill caw echoed in the land, and the hellbound beast quickly found its arms severed by the other pair of talons, followed by itself launched back into some pillars by a powerful gust.

This time, it was the avian beast's turn to press the attack, flying over and trying to take the hellbound beast into its grasp, but no matter how hard it tried, its prey always overpowered its talons, quickly breaking free of the cage.

But the avian beast was not done just yet. It started pecking once again, stabbing the hellbound beast's many eyes, being careful this time as it remembered not to get grabbed again.

And all while the tides shifted back and forth, Nameless found himself standing high above the fight, atop the pillar towers. He took a deep breath, enjoying the view this high up. It was cathartic, pleasant, and warming to his soul. For once, he felt free, watching streams of colours paint the sky in a fiery embrace.

Far off in the distance, he could once again see the black structure he assumed was the Spire of the Infinite Corridor, imposing its ominous darkness on the Ninth Circle of Hell. Looking back, he took notice of the charred, black stone cliffs: The land where his journey had begun, reflecting the darkness of his past life.

He crouched, watching as the fight ensued from a bird's-eye view, which he found ironic. Not once did he think he'd be finding himself playing the role as the creature in the sky, preying on hellish beasts.

He scoffed, his lips curling up at the thought. 'First, I was the one hiding below in the darkness. Now, I'm the one in the sky, looking down upon these monsters.'

He looked back, over his shoulder, right at the floating Shard of Sin. Its jagged, long, triangular pyramid-like shape enthralled him, as though it were whispering an enchanting phrase. Now that he could see it in the comparatively brighter area, he noticed that it bore a fingerprint pattern that sprawled all over its jagged and crooked edges, adding on to its arcane nature.

It made him feel cold. The more he stared at it, the more he thought about remembering his past life; the more he wondered about understanding himself. Ever since the angelic voice brought along with it God's decree, he never really paid much heed to remembering his past. The most he did was trying to convince himself he had a name, before he'd even set out on his journey.

For most of the time since, he never allowed the thought to return to his mind. He couldn't understand why he didn't want to know, however. Was he afraid? Afraid to learn about what kind of a monster he'd been? Would he spiral back into that way of life, if one could even call this existence in Hell life?

It truly gnawed at him, for he wanted to believe that he wasn't as the system described him in his [Eternal Witness] attribute. For one to commit every sin... that was... that was simply:

'Unforgiveable.'

Yes, that's what it was. He was afraid, and he knew why he was afraid. He feared that by discovering who he was, he'd never have the chance to see the light of Heaven. Just the mere thought of someone committing every sin there was to commit was something he couldn't understand, nor believe possible. He felt hollowed from the inside, deprived of his breath, suffocating on the concept. He simply couldn't believe he was what Satan tried to be: malice incarnate.

But a faint flicker of hope remained. If even he was given the chance to escape Hell, then perhaps there is a time where he'd be forgiven... something that he could not do for himself—or rather, his past self.

'Verily, He is the most forgiving,' he told himself, remembering to breathe, recalling the line from the Shard of Sin's item description.

The bell rung, and he opened the panel to see several notifications. Most of which were him being demeritted for his... words. The final one was a blessing to his fiery eyes as he read:

[For your act of praising God by understanding His words, your Sin has decreased by ten.]

Truly, there was none other to seek forgiveness from.

He sighed, letting his worries fade away, dragging his gaze down to the sight of the warring beasts, amusing himself in the seemingly endless match. He was starting to grow annoyed, however, for the fight had been going on for a long while even after he reached the top. All he needed was for either the chicken or the bigger cousin to end up in just the right spot for his plan to work out.

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He let out a heavy breath as he crossed his arms, his gritting teeth and knitted brows betraying his growing concern.

'I only have one chance at succeeding... If I fail,' he looked up at the frenzied sky, clasping a tight fist around some pebbles he took along the way, 'then I might just end up back in Hell for eternity.'

He looked back down, watching as the hellbound beast had grabbed the avian beast's tail, twirling around until it let go, sending the chicken crashing against into some pillars.

Again, the avian beast found itself stuck on its back, while the hellbound beast rushed over, trying to break and tear the talons, which it finally succeeded with. A shriek from the avian beast followed and a fountain of ichor flew up, casting a golden shower across the pit, covering everything around in itself.

Nameless's eyes flickered as he drew a quick and deep breath. It was now or never, his one chance presented itself. If he missed it now,

"Now!" he yelled, turning back and grabbing the Shard of Sin, before dragging it to a point above the flailing avian beast as he added:

"Unequip."

Immediately, the Shard of Sin's weight returned. Had he let go any later, he would've found himself plunging to his death, but of course, he already knew that. He watched as the shard quickly accelerated, falling down for several seconds, pointing its needle-thin edge right at the avian beast's chest. It whistled in its fall, as though it were heralding ultimate death and destruction, until it pierced straight through the beast's chest.

Ichor splattered splattered everywhere, the beast's dying caws echoed throughout the land, it suffered from violent and sudden spasms, laying in a pool of its own viscera. The Shard of Sin may have been small compared to its body, but the force of the impact was strong enough to completely obliterate the chest.

It continued flailing in pain, even knocking the hellbound beast all the way across the pit, who crashed into the pillars, creating a chain reaction of them falling like dominos. The world rumbled in its wake, heralding the death of a once mighty beast, undone by the mere cunning of man.

Nameless watched the panel open on its own as it said:

[You have slain a Heretic Weaver of the Sky!]

[Secret uncovered. You have acquired an artifact!]

[The Shard of Sin whispers...]