Down With The Gods

"Why do we get these privileges?" Wyn asks the feline.

"MOEWWWWWWwwwww," CATOTO lets out the loudest, longest meow.

"What the heck?" Wyn covers his ears.

Every soul is staring at CATOTO in confusion. The cat doesn’t look back at them; he just stares at his paws, not giving a single care. No one knows what's going through his thick head.

A few minutes later, a buzzing sound fills the air. It sounds like a swarm of large insects is heading toward the group. The buzz is terrifying as it grows closer.

"A flying...bread?" mumbles a female soul.

"Do not fret. These will take us to the gate," CATOTO says, turning around.

Large, strange figures approach, flying in a swarm. The creatures resemble humongous dragonflies, but with a peculiar twist. They have two large eyes at the front, and their bodies resemble thick, elongated breadsticks. Eight large wings spread along their bodies. Upon closer inspection, their bodies are segmented, with each pair of wings aligned with a section line, and each pair of legs aligned with a section. The insect-like creatures are colorful – each one is a single, solid hue except for the section lines, which are always black.

"THESE CAN'T BE DRAGONFLIES, RIGHT?" Wyn shouts over the deafening buzz.

"They are no dragons. They are called stick flies," CATOTO nonchalantly replies, though his deep voice is only heard by those close to him, including Wyn.

"DID YOU TAKE ONE OF THESE WHEN YOU CAME TO US? I DON'T REMEMBER HEARING ANY BUZZ," a nearby female soul shouts.

"No. I sprint from my crib far from your human sight. But usually, one of them drops me off at my crib after I visit the gate."

"GATE? WE'RE TAKING THEM TO THE GATE, RIGHT? AND HOW DO WE GET ON THEIR BACKS? THEY'RE STILL FLYING," another female soul yells.

"On their backs? No. You souls are funny. LINE UP. EIGHT PER STICK FLY," CATOTO commands.

After making lines of eight, the stick flies hover above, picking up the souls – one per pair of legs. Their legs are long and elastic, wrapping firmly around each soul's chest. Wyn is picked up by a navy-colored fly, along with seven others.

"WHAT ABOUT FAT PEOPLE? AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF SOULS?" Wyn asks.

CATOTO walks over to Wyn and answers, "We have thousands of these stick flies, and we can always make more than one trip if needed. For larger souls, they just take up more space. These legs are stronger than you think."

He then leaps onto the back of the stick fly Wyn is on. CATOTO lets out a loud meow, though not as deafening as before. The swarm begins to ascend, turning one by one to avoid colliding.

"HOLD YOUR BREATH. THIS IS GOING TO HURT," CATOTO warns.

"HOW LONG DO WE…," Wyn's question is cut short by the abrupt and jarring takeoff.

The stick flies move at incredible speed with no need for acceleration to reach maximum speed. As a result, their passengers are subjected to a relentless barrage of wind as they move. Many souls are in distress, their bodies aching and growing numb from the harsh gusts. The sensation of their faces being pulled taut is almost unbearable. Visibility is nil, and the duration of the flight feels interminable. After what seems like an eternity of this torment, the souls finally arrive at the gate.

As Wyn struggles to regain his senses, he hears a male voice exclaim, "No way!"

When he opens his eyes, the blurry shape of a colossal figure comes into focus. The stick flies, now out of sight, must have retreated to their nests somewhere above. Wyn blinks rapidly, trying to clear his vision, and soon realizes he’s staring at a creature he recognizes from movies and games: Cerberus. The massive three-headed dog stands sentinel before an even more enormous gate. Despite his love for dogs, Wyn feels a peculiar disillusionment – there's something less majestic about this Cerberus.

"This is our best gate guardian, Cerberus," CATOTO announces, gesturing towards the creature.

CATOTO then introduces each head from left to right. "We have the chihuahua, Hell's trembling prince. The husky, Hell's drama queen. The pug, Hell's slobbering king."

The chihuahua trembles and barks nervously at the new arrivals. The husky lets out a melodramatic howl in response to being called a husky. The pug does little more than slobber excessively and snort loudly.

"Hmmm...why these three dogs?" asks a familiar voice.

Wyn turns and sees the young man who was scratched by CATOTO earlier, this time more clearly. The man bears some resemblance to Budd, particularly in his facial features. He is lean, with paler skin compared to Wyn and Budd. His dark hair and hazel eyes stand out, and his height is close to Budd's, though he seems a few centimeters taller. It's hard to estimate his age, but he's definitely years younger than Budd. He’s dressed in an oversized beige shirt, black joggers, and white sneakers. Notably, his facial wounds are healing rapidly.

"At the dawn of time, Hell created cats not only as demons but also as agents to observe humans in the living realm," CATOTO explains. "In contrast, Heaven created dogs for the same purpose."

"Over time, souls in Hell began to demand the presence of dogs here. So, we created these three original breeds before Heaven discovered our efforts and forced us to cease production."

"...Production?" Wyn asks.

"Sadly, both the original cats and dogs that were sent to the living realm got domesticated and became dumb. Not to mention how lazy they have become," CATOTO laments, glossing over Wyn's question. "At least they return to us after death, where they become demons."

"But if you ever wonder why cats and dogs sometimes stare intensely into something invisible, it is likely an escaped or an unclaimed soul."

An unclaimed soul is one that neither Heaven nor Hell claims, often unintentionally. As for an escaped soul, back before the nerds improved Hell’s security, some souls managed to slip away.

"If you want to learn more about Heaven and Hell, the seventh level holds many of the answers," CATOTO adds, taking the opportunity to promote the last level.

Wyn feels disappointed to learn that Cerberus is the only dog in Hell. While he’s not a fan of the chihuahua and pug, he would have preferred at least some company in the form of dogs.

"Now, cough them up, my good boys and girl," CATOTO commands.

Obeying, Cerberus regurgitates the wristbands, each head spitting them out several times until the stomach is empty. The expelled wristbands land in green gooey blobs on the ground.

"Go grab one. Any is fine. Quickly," CATOTO orders.

"Are you serious?" several souls protest.

Reluctantly, the souls begin to pick up the wristbands, clean them with their clothes, and strap them onto their wrists without further instruction from CATOTO. The leftover wristbands are collected back by Cerberus.

"Can Cerberus make these?" a male soul asks.

"No. Cerberus is just a storage. Our multi-purpose good dog," CATOTO explains, patting the pug’s head affectionately.

"Now, tap and hold the button for three seconds to activate a projection."

The wristband has no screen, just a circular button in the middle. Pressing it produces tactile feedback and a sound. A four-by-three virtual screen appears above the button. The screen is somewhat opaque with a black background, different from what Wyn is used to from movies. A spinning loading icon displays for a few seconds, then a familiar logo appears – a colored image of a man holding a wristband. Wyn recognizes the man but can’t place him right now. After a few more seconds, the logo fades, and a menu appears.

"You can interact with the screen physically. Use two fingers to resize it."

"Choose the level you want to visit, then select the section or zone. Tap ‘confirm’ to finalize your choice. To go back, swipe left."

"Repeat these steps if you want to change levels while inside Hell. Stand facing a wall to open a portal."

As everyone focuses on making their choices, Wyn glances at the man next to him. He’s unsure if he should form a squad with him. Wyn is an introvert but prefers company when venturing out. He’d rather stay home than go somewhere alone. However, trust issues have always made it difficult for him to make new friends. As usual, he decides to take the easier route. He turns back to his screen, determined to avoid any potential pitfalls caused by someone else’s mistakes.

"Hey! Have you selected a level yet?" asks the voice of the young man next to Wyn.

"Oh. Well, the sixth level sounds nice, but I can't decide if I want to explore other levels first," Wyn replies, turning to face him.

"Ohhh. Same here!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! You want to explore together?"

"Erm..."

"It'd be fun. I'll be honest, I'm super nervous. I need someone I can rely on. You look very reliable."

"Errr..."

"Look! Others are forming groups. I don't like doing things with too many people."

"Sure? But don’t mess things up, okay? We don’t want to end up in someone’s ass."

"Haha, okay! I'm Yu, by the way. You can call me ‘Triple U’."

"Triple what?"

"It’s from Yu Watanabe. Get it?"

"I...get it? I think. But shouldn’t that be ‘Quadruple U’?"

"Now I don’t get it. How?"

"You have a ‘u’ in your first name and two more in the ‘w’. But your name is also Yu, which is another ‘u’. And no, I won’t call you that. Ever. I’m Wyn, by the way."

Yu looks blank. He doesn’t quite understand what Wyn is saying. To Wyn, this conversation with Yu feels reminiscent of his interactions with Budd, with the same sense of friendly banter. They share a similar energy, though Budd is more mature. The two continue to chat for a bit before returning to the level selection menu.

"Let’s start with the first level for now. We’ll decide on other levels later. There are some levels I’m not comfortable with," Wyn suggests.

"Okay. Cool. I feel the same. I wouldn’t touch the fourth and maybe the fifth levels."

"Same, but we’ll talk about it when the time comes."

Just like that, both of them select the first level. The region they choose is the Asianian region, where both of them come from. Their ultimate goal is to try all the foods they’ve never had before from different regions. The thought of visiting the seventh level still lingers in Wyn’s mind. If he gets a chance to get even with flush, he might take it.

"Those who have confirmed their decision may proceed through the gate," CATOTO announces, pointing at the gate.

Cerberus moves away from the gate, and the golden arch-shaped gate begins to slide open from the middle.

"A warning: Do not attempt to murder other souls in Hell. There will be consequences," CATOTO adds.

"Oh, and one more thing – the wristbands do not display your remaining time in Hell. This is Hell after all. Good luck, and for some of you, have fun."

Wyn and Yu are excited, though nervous. While Wyn isn’t naturally a risk-taker, he sees this as a privilege he should seize. For the first time in years, he feels special. As a plus, whatever lies ahead, good or bad, he doesn’t have to face it alone. The two start walking toward the gate when Yu stops to chat with CATOTO.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you," Yu apologizes.

"You do not have to apologize. You already paid for it with your face," CATOTO responds, unapologetically.

Yu proceeds to give CATOTO a cuddle. Although this catches CATOTO off guard, he embraces it. After all, he’s a cat. He purrs as Yu scratches his chin.

"I'm ‘soul’ ready," Yu blurts out as he and Wyn enter the gate.

And with that, both disappear from sight. They are now officially in Hell.