WTGC 16: Level 3 (TW)

It's burning hot. Hotter than the Zone of Lethargy. The scent of burning meat, smoke and rusty iron is all I could smell. The radiance of heat makes me parch but I only have my saliva to quench my thirst. The only rivers available are full of flowing lava and blood.

It doesn't look like the heat bothers Damon but he is still sweating. His hair is also wet and you can see his sweat dripping from it. His sweat drops to his eyebrows flowing down to his temple and tracing his jaw line.

His neck is also wet and there are droplets racing down to his chest and to his muscular abdomen.

The thirst I'm feeling is slowly getting unbearable. I'm gasping every swallow. My saliva alone isn't enough that it made me think that drinking sweat would be a great idea.

My eyes is starting to sting with every blink I make. As I wipe my tears, the ash that clunged to my hands only made the pain worse. My vision is occasionally getting a little blurry that it is making the surrounding look like its painted in red. Living up to its name, Crimson Field.

The red flames and the blood bath surrounding us are getting worse as we go deeper. Souls are fighting violently which explains the wet floor full of blood. Some souls are quenching their thirst by drinking what's on the floor but some are directly drinking it from the decapitated head as if they are prizes.

There are never ending violence because the longer the blood get's exposed, they get dry. It's evaporating due to the intense heat so souls make sure there are fresh ones. I avoid eye contact as much as possible so I won't be the receiving end of their fury. I did feel numerous souls trying to target me but once they've realized the man standing beside me is Damon, they back down.

The longer we stay at this level, the heat intensifies. The flames doesn't have to touch me as the air could already burn me. The proof that it's possible are the bodies that look like they got cooked. Some souls are taking advantage of the other souls' mishap. They are gnawing at the cooked bodies to satisfy their hunger.

I've realized that the lower the level we get, the worse the environment and the souls are behaving. The Crimson Field has more souls or residents that act on their wrath and those who doesn't fight back became they're victim. The angels of death are present but they don't interfere.

I remembered Damon's expression became different as soon we entered the gate. His eyebrows became permanently furrowed. And every look he makes are glaring as if he'll kill you. He is asserting his dominance as the head of the Angels of Death.

I just wish that nothing bad will happen that will make Damon become violent as the others.

"How are you feeling?" Damon's voice became raspy maybe because of the lack of fluid intake. It's hard for me to talk so I just nodded in response to say that I am okay. He doesn't look convinced so he pulled me for a detour.

We approached the river of lava. There are no presence of souls as if he doesn't want anyone to see us. Damon signaled me to stop following him. He went to the edge of the river. He started digging. You can hear the sizzle and smoke while his hands dig deeper. You can see the pain through Damon's face. He pulled out a spherical rock like object.

The object is gradient black and dark red with cracks that emit an ember glow. Damon carried it with his burnt hands. He cracked it into half. The inside is a viscous translucent orange fluid that can be compared similar to the lava. After making sure that the object is safe to hold. He gave me the other half.

Damon poured the inside of the object in his mouth. He drank it. He looked at me while licking his lips.

"This is a very rare fruit in the Crimson Fields, the Embernut." His voice is back to normal. He signaled me to drink it too. "Not everyone can get the Embernut. As you can see, you need to endure the heat to be able to get the fruit. Others had their hands melt. It's the price for them to quench their thirst."

The liquid is very refreshing. It's sweet and similar to syrup but enough to quench my thirst. As if the dryness on my throat earlier didn't happen. As I finished drinking, the dirt of the outer shell marked my lips. Damon noticed it.

He wiped my lips using his fingers. His hands are still burned from digging the fruit earlier. He saw me staring at his hands and reassured me.

"I can heal quickly. Once we've reached the gate to the next level, my hands will be completely healed. So don't worry."

We went back to the main track. As per Damon, we are nearing the gate. He told me to cover my ears for the rest of the walk.

Although I've already covered them, I can still hear the endless shouting and roaring. It feels like we've entered a thunderstom. Even the sound of the strong wind resembles the wrath of the souls. And it feels like they'revsjouting directly at my ears.

The clouds in the sky became more darker and thicker. Then it started pouring. Instead of water, it rained blood. There are souls who opened their mouths wide open and there are some who enjoyed their bathe.

Our bodies are already sticky due to the sweat and the blood added to it. Good thing we still have our cloaks. It looks like the rain is not stopping any time. I'm still covering my ears but I think i also need to cover my nose. The smell stings. The Blood rain intensified the smell of sulfur, ash and blood.

I now understand why Level 3 is called the Crimson Fields. It was not only because of the fire and lava. It was because by the end of the day, everything will be covered in crimson red including the souls and angels trapped in the level.