00:00The moment my best friend learned the truth about my immortality and my enormous fortune,
00:04she hired a practitioner of dark sorcery and set a trap to have me killed and sent straight to the
00:09underworld.
00:10All so she could take my life essence for herself.
00:13On the rooftop of a Manhattan skyscraper, I sobbed so hard I could barely breathe.
00:18Please don't kill me! I'll give you everything!
00:22The trust fund! All of it! Every dollar!
00:27I was terrified of dying.
00:29Truly, utterly terrified.
00:32Because my ex-husband, the one who ruled the underworld, had sworn the day I left him that if he
00:37ever saw me again,
00:38he would throw me into the lake of fire, peel my skin, tear me apart piece by piece.
00:44Vanessa! We've known each other for ten years! I've always been good to you!
00:49Please, just let me go!
00:55I'll transfer everything to you! Please!
00:57I dropped to my knees on the rough concrete of the rooftop.
01:01My dignity shattered, nearly smashing my forehead against the ground as I begged.
01:06Vanessa let out a cold laugh.
01:08The pointed tip of her designer heel tilted my chin up.
01:12I don't just want your money, she said.
01:15I want your endless life.
01:18Aren't we best friends?
01:19What's yours is mine.
01:21If you really care about me, then give it all to me.
01:25She shot a look at the black-robed sorcerer beside her.
01:30He understood immediately.
01:32Grabbing a fistful of my hair, he dragged me toward the edge.
01:37Thirty-three stories below.
01:39A demonic-packed circle had already been drawn in blood.
01:42If I fell and died, everything would go exactly as they planned.
01:46I would not even have the chance at reincarnation.
01:50Vanessa had made sure of that.
01:52No revenge.
01:54No lingering spirit.
01:56She intended.
01:57To erase me completely.
01:59The freezing New York wind slammed into my face as I struggled, clawing backward.
02:04But her greed had already spiraled out of control the moment she learned my secret.
02:09She rushed forward and, together with the sorcerer, kicked me over the edge.
02:15As I fell, the rushing air drowned out everything.
02:18My senses blurred into nothing.
02:21Then came the impact.
02:22A deafening crash exploded in my ears as my body hit the ground, reduced to a mangled ruin of flesh
02:29and blood.
02:29When I regained awareness, I was no longer alive.
02:33I was in spirit form, standing in the underworld.
02:37Two infernal guards stood beside me, each gripping a thumb-thick soul shackle.
02:42The other end was locked tightly around my neck.
02:45A heavy fog surrounded us, but the distant wails and screams were painfully clear.
02:51I had been here before.
02:53This was the entrance to the gates of hell, and I had my damned ex-husband to thank for that.
03:00Back when I tried to leave him, he had dragged me here himself, eyes burning red, just to scare me.
03:07He never actually threw me in.
03:09But now, I was about to be erased for good.
03:13I was murdered!
03:14I cried, struggling not to be dragged forward.
03:18I didn't do anything wrong!
03:20One of the guards, a man with a thin mustache, pulled a barbed whip from his belt and lashed me
03:25without hesitation.
03:26The pain tore straight through my soul.
03:29I collapsed instantly, unable even to scream.
03:32Listen.
03:33He said coldly.
03:34I don't care where you're from.
03:36Once you're in our hands, you're done.
03:39If it was a choice between immediate damnation and taking a gamble, I would take the gamble.
03:44What if Lucian still remembered me?
03:47What if there was even the slightest chance?
03:50He'd show mercy?
03:52Anything was better than soul obliteration.
03:54My voice trembled as I forced the words out.
03:57I know you're Lord of the Undergailed.
04:00I know Lucian.
04:01I want to see him.
04:03The two guards exchanged a glance.
04:06Then the whip came down again.
04:09This time, I felt something inside me crack.
04:12A fracture ran through my very soul, and I couldn't speak another word.
04:17The mustached guard spat at me.
04:21You think you get to say His Majesty the Underlord's name just like that?
04:25I don't care how you learned it.
04:27Keep your head down unless you want more pain.
04:30Powerless, I was dragged forward like a dead animal.
04:35The other guard, who had been watching quietly, looked uneasy.
04:39What if she's telling the truth?
04:41What if something goes wrong?
04:43The mustached guard scoffed.
04:46What's there to be afraid of?
04:48That sorcerer said she's no saint.
04:49There's no record of her in the Ledger of Souls.
04:52Picked up a few tricks of dark sorcery, that's all.
04:54Of course she'd know His Majesty's name.
04:56You're too soft.
04:57If the higher-ups can't find her, then it's not our problem.
05:01We're getting paid.
05:02Let's move.
05:03No point dragging this out.
05:05At that point, I understood everything.
05:08They had been bought off by Vanessa and that sorcerer.
05:12Guards of Hell, taking bribes to do something like this.
05:15When I saw the towering gates of Hell ahead, carved with grotesque demonic figures, a deep, uncontrollable terror shook my
05:23soul.
05:24The guards cast a spell, and the massive gates began to open slowly.
05:28My heart sank into despair.
05:31Then suddenly, a voice rang out from behind us, drawing closer.
05:36New arrival?
05:38Has she gone through the judgment process yet?
05:41My heart lurched.
05:42I recognized that voice.
05:44Cole, a high-ranking reaper.
05:47And he knew who I was.
05:50I stared at the tall figure emerging from the mist, my heart pounding as I forced out his name.
05:55Cole?
05:56The moment I spoke, a hand clamped over my mouth.
06:00One of the guards dragged me behind a massive rock, silencing me before I could say another word.
06:06Through the haze, I watched as Cole was stopped by the mustache guard.
06:10Panic surged through me.
06:12I struggled wildly, only to be struck hard in the lower back.
06:17The blow knocking the air out of me.
06:19The mustache guard quickly pulled out a pack of Marlboros, his face breaking into a psychophantic grin.
06:25Lord Cole, what brings you here today?
06:28Got something good from the human world.
06:29Strong stuff.
06:30Want to try one?
06:31Cole brushed dust off his black coat.
06:34Clearly irritated.
06:36Cut it out.
06:37I asked you a question.
06:39Has that wandering spirit gone through the judgment process?
06:42The guard swallowed, his confidence faltering.
06:46Yeah, of course.
06:47We wouldn't dare skip procedure.
06:49You and Selina have been swapped lately, right?
06:52Go ahead, take a break.
06:54Cole accepted the cigarette and lit it, saying nothing more.
06:58The fog was too thick for him to see me clearly.
07:01Thankfully, desperation took over.
07:04I bit down hard on the hand covering my mouth.
07:07The guard yelped and let go.
07:09I bolted toward Cole, but before I could take more than a step, a heavy kick see me crashing
07:15to the ground.
07:16A boot slammed onto my face, grinding me into the volcanic ash.
07:20It filled my mouth and throat.
07:23I couldn't spit it out.
07:25I couldn't make a sound.
07:26Thankfully, the commotion caught Cole's attention.
07:31He stepped closer.
07:32What's going on over there?
07:34The guard I had bitten pressed his foot down harder in retaliation, as if trying to crush
07:40my skull.
07:45Nothing serious, just a restless spirit.
07:48Still struggling even after getting this far.
07:50You know the type.
07:52None of them are innocent.
07:54No need to dirty your hands.
07:57Cole paused, then stopped approaching.
08:01Be careful.
08:03Every one of them was a criminal in life.
08:05No mistakes.
08:07Send her in.
08:08With that, he turned and disappeared back into the mist.
08:12And just like that, whatever hope I had left died with him.
08:16The mustached guard bowed and scraped until Cole was gone.
08:19The moment he turned back, his expression twisted with anger.
08:23He rushed over and kicked me several times.
08:26Then raised his whip and lashed out again and again, haunting his fury.
08:31It didn't take long before my soul was covered in wounds, barely holding together, unrecognizable.
08:37Finally, he grabbed my chin and forced my face up.
08:51I was thrown into the first circle of prowl like a piece of trash.
08:55This level was reserved for the thousand-spike torment.
08:59Everywhere I looked, there were iron maidens and racks of torment.
09:03Souls were.
09:04Bound to them, each body pierced by thousands of steel needles, like grotesque.
09:09Human pin cushions.
09:10Here, souls were not allowed the mercy of destruction.
09:14Which meant the screaming never stopped.
09:16A chill ran through me as I forced out the last of my strength, my voice shaking.
09:22I really do know.
09:24Lucian, if you treat me like this, and he finds out, he won't you get away with it?
09:30It was mostly a bluff.
09:32Lucian would not care whether I lived or died.
09:35If anything, he probably never wanted to see me again.
09:39Otherwise, he would not have given me ageless immortality, leaving me alone in the human
09:45world, unable to age, unable to die.
09:51He was making sure I would never come back here and bother him.
09:54Once I crossed this threshold, the guards no longer saw me as a threat.
09:59The mustached guard patted my face mockingly.
10:02His grin cruel.
10:03What's wrong with you?
10:05Watch too many Hollywood dramas?
10:07You think someone like you gets to even think about His Majesty, the Underlord?
10:11My head was knocked to the side.
10:14A wave of nausea hit me, and I coughed up a mouthful of black mist.
10:19My soul felt thinner, more transparent.
10:22They strapped me onto a rack of torment.
10:25The mustached guard grinned as he picked up a soul-piercing spike, each one as long as
10:30my forearm.
10:31Hang in there.
10:32There are seventeen more levels waiting for you.
10:35We've got plenty of time.
10:37He raised one of the spikes and drove it straight toward my thigh.
10:40No matter how tough you think you are, everyone breaks down here.
10:44The tip pierced half an inch into me.
10:47The pain tore through my soul like it was being ripped apart.
10:50My entire body shook uncontrollably.
10:53Stop!
10:56A voice cut through the air.
10:59The spike was yanked back out.
11:02I gasped, forcing my eyes open to see who had arrived.
11:06It was Harris, the Warden of the Pit for this level.
11:10I remembered him.
11:12Back when Lucian had dragged me to the gates of hell to scare me, Harris had been there,
11:17trying to calm him down.
11:18Your Majesty, the Underlord, the Concert Queen is just being impulsive.
11:22There's no need to be so angry.
11:24You might hurt her.
11:25Hope flared inside me again.
11:27After all these years, maybe he's still remembered.
11:31Harris?
11:32Warden Harris?
11:33It's me?
11:36Please, help me?
11:37Shezzy?
11:38I seriously want to do that now.
11:41Bye.
11:41Bye.
11:41Bye.
11:42Bye.
11:43C'est parti !
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