Surviving Hell

Xiandre and the other five found themselves in pure darkness.

"It's so dark I can't see anything," Ink said.

"Is everyone okay?" Reden asked.

"We're good," Enman replied.

"Yeah," Heart assured.

"I can barely see anything. The only thing I can do right now is rely on my instincts," Xiandre thought to himself.

"Wait, I have an idea," Ink said.

Ink pulled out and turned on his flashlight, but in less than a second, Amelia kicked it out of his hand.

"DON'T!" she yelled.

As Ink's phone flew through the air, a swift rock was thrown directly at it.

Heart was about to scream, but Enman managed to cover her mouth before she could.

"We're not alone," Amelia whispered.

Xiandre, who could barely see anything, ducked down to grab any kind of item he could use but didn't find anything.

He sighed as he took out the bullpen he always kept in his back pocket and threw it far away.

"What are you doing?" Amelia whispered.

A loud noise was heard in the distance as the bullpen hit the ground, and then silence.

Without hesitation, Xiandre backed up several meters from the others and stomped on the ground, making a loud noise.

"What the fuck, are you crazy, bro!?" Enman whispered.

After Xiandre's stomp, there was silence again. Then Xiandre spoke.

"I think this entity that is here with us is deaf."

Amelia remained silent, as did the others, but then finally spoke up.

"What the heck, bro, that was so risky," Enman exclaimed.

"Kian, are you out of your mind?!" Heart added.

"Someone had to do it anyway," Xiandre responded.

Amelia sighed. "Alright everyone, I think the only way we can traverse our way out of here is by instinct and senses."

"But how!? Why even try? We're already dead here," Ink exclaimed.

"Don't lose hope, bro. I know what they did back there was truly crucial and crazy, but there's nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is survive," Reden remarked.

"He's right," Enman confirmed.

"Alright, everyone hold hands. Let me lead and help us traverse our way out of here," Amelia instructed.

Xiandre held Amelia's right hand, Heart held Xiandre's right hand, Enman held Heart's right hand, Reden held Enman's, and Ink held Reden's. Together, they began to traverse their way through the darkness.

Their surroundings were eerily silent, and Xiandre and Amelia could barely see anything, just like the others.

"So this is hell, huh?" Enman inquired as the six moved forward.

"Yeah, it's nothing like you'd expect," Xiandre replied.

"It's such a dark place. I thought it would be scorching hot," Reden remarked.

"So how are we exactly gonna survive?" Ink asked.

"With hope," Enman said.

"What do you mean hope? Do you think this is some kind of TV show or something? This is real—we'll die here either way!" Ink blurted out.

"THEN LEAVE! Stay on the ground and do nothing if you've fully lost hope! We're trying to survive here, and you're the one talking down every idea!" Heart yelled.

"In a situation like this, we shouldn't be fighting—it'll only cause more trouble," Xiandre thought to himself.

"She's right. If you keep talking down every way we might survive, we'll lose the spirit to escape, and I just can't let that happen," Amelia said.

"And why is that?" Ink retorted.

"Because someone here, with his stupid-ass, thought confidently saying we'd get revenge on those fools out loud would be a great idea," Amelia exclaimed.

"Hey, are you talking about me?!" Xiandre replied.

"Yes, and now I can't let that embarrassment go to waste. I have to make it happen," Amelia said.

"Dang... So you really want revenge on those people, just like me, huh?" Xiandre remarked.

"Yes, and that's why I'm not giving up on escaping this place—even if it kills me," Amelia said.

"And besides, what you said earlier reminded me of something someone I looked up to once told me," she admitted.

"I guess she already realized it," Xiandre thought to himself.

Amelia held Xiandre's hand tightly. Xiandre smiled as they continued walking.

"You're right. Sorry for being such a burden. I guess they were all right about me... Those people earlier," Ink apologized.

"You're not a burden, bro. It's normal to act like that in our current situation, right guys?" Reden assured.

"Yeah," everyone responded.

Suddenly, a small blue light appeared in the distance. Then more appeared, lighting up their entire surroundings. The source of the light was blue crystals around them.

They all realized they were standing directly in front of a massive door.

Suddenly, two golems with black horns slowly approached from behind, holding large rocks.

"What is this!?" Enman exclaimed.

Xiandre and Amelia rushed to the door and saw a text on it.

"I think it's written in an unknown language, but it uses the English alphabet," Xiandre said.

The stone golems began throwing rocks, narrowly missing Enman and Heart.

"GUYS, HURRY UP!!" Enman yelled.

"Sa batong 'di natinag, sa tatak na 'di nabiyak, patahimikin ang tinig, gisingin ang halakhak ng lakas," Xiandre read aloud.

The golems continued walking, showing no sign of stopping. They kept throwing rocks.

Suddenly one rock was directly about to hit Amelia and Xiandre because of this, Amelia jumped in thin air kicking the large rock that was being thrown by the golems, breaking it to small pieces.

"What the fuck!?" Enman and the others blurted out shocked by what Amelia just did.

Amelia did her best to protect everyone by kicking all the rocks that are being directly thrown at them.

"O tarangkang pangwalang-hanggan, kandadong lihim ng alamat," Xiandre continued.

"If these golems get close enough, we're dead!" Amelia exclaimed.

The golems were now just several meters away. They kept throwing rocks as Amelia fought to defend the others.

"Sa ngalang 'di binigkas—buksan ang pintuang sagrado't masukal!" Xiandre finished.

The large door in front of them magically opened after Xiandre's chant.

"EVERYONE, GET IN!!" Xiandre shouted.

Everyone sprinted toward the door, but within five seconds of opening, it began to close slowly.

They all did their best and managed to get through to the other side. But as Xiandre checked to make sure everyone made it, he realized someone was missing.

He looked back and saw that Amelia was still on the other side, her right leg bleeding and swollen from all the kicking she'd done to protect everyone.

She was clearly struggling to get through, and without a second thought, Xiandre rushed back outside the door.

He ran with all his speed, but a rock was thrown directly at him by one of the golems, slowing him down slightly. He dodged it and continued toward his goal: saving Amelia.

Several rocks were thrown, but Xiandre dodged them with ease. Then, one rock was aimed directly at Amelia—but Xiandre managed to pick her up in his arms just in time, dodging the attack.

He looked back at the door and saw it almost closed.

"KIAN!! AMELIA, COME BACK QUICK! THE DOOR IS CLOSING!!!" the others yelled.

Xiandre sprinted back, trying his best.

More rocks were thrown by the golems, slowing them down further. Xiandre tried his hardest, but there was simply no time.

"YOU GUYS CONTINUE! WE'LL MANEUVER OUR WAY OUT OF HERE, BECAUSE OF THESE GOLEMS!!!" Xiandre yelled one last time as the door shut tight.

Xiandre looked back and saw the golems right behind him.

One of the golems swung at him, but Xiandre dodged—still holding Amelia tightly.

"Xiandre, behind you!" Amelia warned.

He dodged again as the other golem launched a punch.

"Am I slowing you down, Xiandre?" Amelia asked.

"Not really... you're just like a fea—" Xiandre stuttered, cut off as the golems rushed at them with all their speed.

Xiandre jumped up high, dodging the rushing golem with ease and replied, "I guess you already know who I truly am, right?"

"Yes, I figured it out when you said 'We're better off dead' earlier," Amelia exclaimed.

"Really? I guess you remembered what I said in the past," Xiandre replied.

As Xiandre landed on the ground, the second golem launched a huge rock directly at them. Without a second thought, Xiandre chanted, "Configuration Procedure... SYSTEM."

His window system appeared just in front of him, blocking the rock that was thrown directly at them.

Xiandre grinned as he glared at both golems and said, "I guess this window system isn't that bad after all."

"It's solid!?" Amelia commented.

"I guess it is," Xiandre replied.

"Can you stand?" Xiandre glanced at Amelia's eyes.

"Y-yeah," Amelia responded.

Xiandre helped Amelia stand back on her feet as the golems began approaching again.

"You think you can handle one of them?" Xiandre asked.

"I'll try," Amelia responded.

With that, the two took one last deep breath as they closed their eyes. As the golems of this supposed hell continued to approach, the two launched themselves directly at the demons.

Xiandre rushed at the first golem. The golem swung a left hook, but Xiandre—once the most wanted criminal—dodged it with ease by jumping.

The golem was caught off guard by his speed, and Xiandre launched a swift kick at its head. But the kick did nothing—not even a scratch.

Xiandre backed up as the golem attempted to grab him. He ran circles around it, forcing it to grab several rocks from the ground and throw them at him.

The golem struggled to hit Xiandre due to his speed, though Xiandre also struggled to do any damage because of the golem's defense.

Xiandre jumped and kicked one of the approaching rocks, sending it flying back at the golem—but it shattered on the golem's head, still doing no damage.

Xiandre stopped circling the golem. Sensing an opportunity, the golem rushed at him with a heavy punch. Xiandre chanted again, "Configuration Procedure... SYSTEM!"

Xiandre's window system opened, but the system shattered under the force of the golem's fist, barely missing Xiandre as he swiftly got out of the way.

Meanwhile, Amelia charged at the second golem. As it began throwing rocks, Amelia dodged with ease and used one of the thrown rocks to launch herself directly at the golem.

Amelia wrapped her legs around the golem's head and pulled out a sharp, long pin from her necktie, attempting to pierce its eye.

But the pin bent, unable to penetrate. Amelia dodged back just in time as the golem slammed its head into the ground in an attempt to crush her.

Its head got stuck in the ground, and Amelia took the opportunity to pull out her cellphone, quickly removing a SIM card. She threw it into the crack where the golem's head was wedged. Moments later, the SIM card exploded.

Amelia sighed as her system updated. She gazed at the now-fallen golem and chanted, "Configuration procedure... System."

[SYSTEM UPDATE]

User: Amelia Voidstar

Element: Earth

Tier Level: 1

Stats:

Strength: 1 + 12300 (Max) 10

Speed: 1 + 10020 (Max) 10

Defense: 1 + 11456 (Max) 10

"Huh. I guess if you're a tier 1, your max level is 10, even if you fight something strong enough to give you over 10,000 XP," Amelia commented.

Xiandre backed up several meters as the golem he was fighting launched at him with full speed. With no other option to inflict damage, Xiandre sighed, raised his hand, and pointed it directly at the golem.

"Devil Bin! Kneel before me!" he yelled.

The entire surrounding turned blue. The atmosphere went cold. Everyone, including Amelia and the second golem that has fallen, froze in place. Time seemed to stop. Xiandre could hear his heartbeat racing, faster than his breath.

After that moment, everything returned to normal. The golem stopped in its tracks.

[SYSTEM]

(Choose your first order on this golem. This Demonic Golem is now under your control and will do everything you ask.)

"That this ability works on such a strong demon is..." Xiandre thought to himself as he glanced at the now-unmoving demonic golem.

"Die," Xiandre ordered.

The golem shattered into small pieces.

[SYSTEM UPDATE]

User: Xiandre

Element: Controller

Tier Level: 1

Stats:

Strength: 1 (Max)

Speed: 1 (Max)

Defense: 1 (Max)

(Level cannot be exceeded since your level is already Max)

"Something is definitely wrong with this system," Xiandre muttered.

"Xiandre, are you good?" Amelia called out as she approached him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you?" Xiandre responded.

"I'm good," Amelia replied, though her right leg trembled and continued to bleed. She slowly began to collapse.

"Amelia, your leg!" Xiandre caught her in time.

"I know you're really good with speed and strength, but I also know your endurance and durability aren't that great either," Xiandre said.

"Hehe... yeah," Amelia replied weakly.

"Anyway, let's go and regroup with the others."

Xiandre smiled as he carried Amelia and began walking back toward the massive door.