Chapter 23 – Floor 0 – In Between Life and Death

After the last member of the party entered the dungeon, the two immense, black gates of Hell creaked slowly together on their own. The doors slammed together with a loud, clanging, thud. Each member tried to use magic, flashlights, and even torches to try and see, but the darkness was thick and clung to them unceasingly. Some panicked, but gradually, the group found each other one by one. Barely able to see their fellow explorers, some members embraced each other to keep the semblance of the party alive.

The booming voice of a woman sounded in the dark, long hall,

"Welcome to Hell. I am the Goddess of the Gates of Life and Death, Diana." Torches of blue flames aligned the hall lit up one at a time until a marble stage was seen with an imposing Goddess standing upon it. They could see again!

Blue waterfalls of souls created a moat around the grand hall. The concentration of spiritual energy in the souls was thick enough to resemble water. A scene like this was shocking to the weaker members of the group. Continually, souls of the deceased poured into the hall. This was the place where life and death kissed.

"You are about to enter a place of death. Everything and everyone within are dead. There will be Spirits, Shades, Demons, and monsters waiting for you. Welcome to Hell." Diana paced back and forth on the marble platform, her beautiful silver hair flowing through the tangible darkness.

"Any life born within the dungeon is an illusion: Born to die and cycle back within the Dungeon until the soul is finally put to rest." The pressure of her aura radiated onto the party, making them feel small in comparison. Her beautiful red eyes juxtaposed against her long silver hair, inviting yet cruel. The demonic aura she gave off was unlike anything most had ever seen; it was reminiscent of ex-King Job's demonic skill set he used in the finals.

"Only fools think they can conquer Hell, the final true death. For years I have waited for the next party, and know this, you shall not be the last party to walk through those gates in this era.

No one besides the Ruler of Hell, the First Deathless, has ever conquered this dungeon, and none of you are His equal. Your quest is futile. Turn back and live. I will give you one chance." Diana got straight to the point.

Ziphe unwaveringly responded,

"We are the Great Dungeon Party organized by the High Mage Council. Friends and enemies around the world have put aside their differences to create a party of the world's greatest minds and powers. We will not turn around. Please allow us to continue to the first floor without any impediment."

"These are the strongest of this era? How weak. Even if you bring another hundred, another thousand people like these, it will not be enough." The Goddess sneered in disgust. She continued her monologue.

"Luckily for you, this dungeon is unfair and inconsistent in difficulty. The Gods and Goddess who oversee this dungeon, The Administrators, will not directly engage you in combat if they don't choose to. If this were a pure battle of aura, I alone could wipe out your whole party." She flexed her aura. Falling to the ground, everyone understood. Diana was at least an A rank Deity. Unless everyone in the whole party went all-out, they wouldn't stand a chance.

Diana continued, "As you know, the souls of Ryko die and are sent, by chance, to one of the Three Great Dungeons to be granted their 'True Death'. Souls unlucky enough to be sent here are forced into a cycle of futility, torture, and suffering. Some Floor Administrators will propel you into endless insanity, while others will offer a merciful end. If you continue onwards, I for one, recommend taking a peaceful ending." The Goddess stood imposingly against the party as she spoke her next words.

"I will give you three options.

Option one: One half of you shall randomly die and be forced into the river of souls you see around you. Randomly, your soul will manifest onto a random floor or become a Shade as the river flows through Hell, the river Styx. Some, will lose their autonomy and consciousness in the journey of the soul and flow through the river endlessly, forever.

Option two: I will split your "Great Dungeon Party" into 4 groups of 25. I will send each group to the 1st, 10th, 20th, and 30th Floors respectively. It'll be harder to meet up and progress with a fractured group, but maybe you can get lucky.

Option three: I will personally challenge your party, and if you defeat me, I will let you pass. You already know how strong I am; the other two options will cause less death."

Whispering to one another, party members pondered the right choice.

"Your choices here in the dungeon are ultimately an illusion. If you choose to live with less people now or more people later for later, it ultimately won't matter. All in Hell perish." The Goddess finished speaking abruptly.

Augustus had heard the plan beforehand but was shocked at the accuracy of Ziphe and 21's outlines. He pondered if it was really worth splitting the party up. By the time the party reunited, would more people really survive? It was the obvious choice, and there had to be catch.

The benefits of being split up would be the growth of those on the lower floors. Surely, the ones who faced the dungeon to its full extent would be forced to grow to their fullest potential whereas, those who would be forced onto the 30st Floor would be more likely to die since they would be against tougher challenges without the experience of the lower floors.

Augustus then had a dark thought, "What if the plan really is to kill off the deadweight of the party non-discreetly?" As soon as Augustus had that thought, Ziphe spoke.

"We choose to be split into four as long as we can choose the groups."

The Goddess frowned and pondered Ziphe's compromise.

"I will grant your request on one condition. Firstly, I presume you're the leader of the party, correct?"

Ziphe nodded to her question.

"You must lead personally lead your party from the first floor. Even though splitting your group sounds better, it's greedy. Those on the 30th Floor will surely perish before you reach them. You will personally experience the regret and burden of watching each party slowly die as you meet them."

"I accept." Ziphe said solemnly.

"Delegate groups and say your farewells, for this will likely be the last time most of you see each other." The Goddess mocked dismissively.

Ziphe quickly arranged the predetermined sub-groups and arranged them in the order of which floor the parties would start on.

Starting on the 1st Floor would be Ziphe's sub-party. Starting on the 10th Floor would be Superior Councilman Naxa's party. Starting on the 20th Floor would be Ex-King of Phanec Augustus's party. Finally, Ex-King of Pyrite Skele's party would begin on the 30th Floor. The plan would be to meet on the Floors designated by Ziphe and 21.

Naxa was to wait for Ziphe's party on Floor 15 whereas Augustus was to wait for Naxa and Ziphe on Floor 29. Skele on the other hand would wait for all three parties on Floor 39. If the sub-party leaders followed the detailed instructions laid out by 21, they would be able to arrive on the designated floor with theoretically zero casualties.

The Goddess was secretly shocked. The organization and reactivity to the problem she had posed to the party was handled instantly. Never before had a party reacted so methodically to her provocative trials. She watched carefully as the sub-parties formed without a hitch, and the preparations were made with five minutes. Aggrieved by the bizarre nature of the dungeon break and the man, Lavalin, the Goddess desperately posed a new and impulsive stipulation to the trial.

"Since that was so easy for you all, I will also show you four doors."

The first door showed a vast ocean, swirling in a sunrise. It was endless, haunting, yet, beautiful.

The second door shown a desert, swarming with dust and emptiness. A brown river flowed through the sands, yet no life was in the river.

The third transparent door had a forest glowing with life. Multiple heavily armored guards aligned around a road, as if they were ushering in a king.

The final door depicted a mountain taller than the tallest mountain on planet Ryko apart from Heaven itself. Unable to tell how tall it went; it was safe to say that its awe-inspiring silhouette was a wonder of the Dungeon.

"I will not let you know which door leads to which floor besides the one Ziphe chooses, which will be Floor 1 and the first door, the Ocean of Souls. Every other party must guess and enter the other floors randomly." Her aura glowed brightly orange as the four transparent doorways moved next to the party from behind her.

Ziphe approached the doors with 21 and smiled at the Goddess.

"This is my wonderful prophet, 21. Even though you randomly added these doors to our trial, it is no issue for us. Along with the various historical records collected, we can easily deduce which floor is which. Of course, the Ocean of Souls is floor one as you described. My party will be going there, happily.

Next the third door, the forest, is the 10th Floor. Superior Councilman Naxa's party will go through there and into the Rapacity Kingdom.

The fourth door is the 20th floor. The mountain shall be climbed first by King Augustus's party. I believe you call it, the Lazy Mountain.

Lastly, the second door is the 30th floor. Ex-King Skele and his party will transverse the Sin Zin Desert." Ziphe arrogantly smiled at the Goddess.

"If that is your decision and deductions, you may now exit the brink of life and enter death. I will not stop you but know that the dungeon and its Administrators will be watching. You will be judged for your decision today. Whether your door choices are correct or not will determine the life and death of dozens." The Goddess's tone became quite serious.

"We understand." Replied Ziphe dismissively. "Skele, your party will go in first." Ziphe signaled for them to enter the second door. Skele had hoped he would go to the lush forest but shrugged, nonetheless accepting his task. They proceeded into the desert landscape without any qualms.

"Next, Augustus, you and your party will climb the mountain." Augustus rallied his party immediately and headed into the fourth door.

"Naxa, we will see you shortly. Go into the third door now." Naxa trusted Ziphe with his life. He hurried into the third door with his group.

All that remained were Ziphe and his party. He looked at his equipment manager, Tyermsy, and said,

"Prepare the boat!"

For a majority of those who knew Ziphe, he did something they never saw him do before. He laughed. Laughing like kid, he did a trust fall into the ocean sky. 21 also laughed through his mask and took it off; when he saw Ziphe's enthusiasm, he cannon-balled after him excitedly. Tyermsy looked shocked at the two but walked through the translucent door anyways with her hands on her temples.

"What a headache," She thought.

Their party mates looked at each other in surprise and hurried after the trio. One by one, each member jumped, fell, ran, or walked through the first door. The Goddess silently watched the last remaining members walk through the door.

Only two people were left in on Floor 0, The Goddess, and a young man.

"Why are you still here?" Asked the Goddess dismissively.

"Did you meet Lavalin?" Asked the young man.

"Hmm, you're here for him? You must be the one Lavalin was waiting for. He said to meet him on Floor 19." She used her aura to throw the young man into the ocean with the rest of the party without giving him a chance to respond.

The Goddess clicked her teeth, frustrated at the humiliation and oddities she had experienced since the dungeon break.

"What an eccentric party. They match that Lavalin all too well. I wonder which Authority prearranged all this?" The Goddess mumbled to herself.

And just as the doors opened on the day of the Dungeon, they closed once again with the Great Dungeon Party behind it. The Goddess witnessed the doors open and shut hundreds of thousands of times against parties of Kings, Gods, arrogant thieves, maniacs, and countries vying for power. All of them had all failed, but she couldn't help but think that an Authority was involved this time around. The preparation of this group was unnatural. Was Lavalin, the one who opened the doors from the outside, behind this too?

Floor 0 would be boring until the next party arrived. Diana decided to go to Floor 42 to kill time. Soon, more parties would come to challenge the dungeon, just like the last time the dungeon opened. She sighed but then remembered something.

"You. I know you're there. Come out."

From the shadows, a girl emerged.

"That's a nifty skill you have for hiding. I almost forgot you were there. Impressive indeed. You want to go with them right?"

"Yes." The girl replied.

"Fine. I'll put you in with the first group. Good luck, you little stowaway." The Goddess Diana laughed lightly and sent the girl through the first door as well. Truly, an intriguing party.

Unless a miracle occurs, Hell's Gates will open and close repeatedly forever, and the Souls that come in will never return to the world from thus they came.

"Maybe this time, it will be different." She thought.