I Hate Them

I hate them.

"King Vinel, this one has a strange look to him… Wait a minute, are those not horns on his head?!"

I hate them.

"You're right, look! You can feel them. This one is literally made for hell."

I hate them.

"I feel bad for the others who are entering with him. He'll probably just be left behind to fend for himself. I know I wouldn't be sticking beside him if I were a Diver."

And they hate me.

I leaned over the abyss, a crack in the earth that led to hell. It was not only me though, the cathedral built around the crack was large and there were many other unfortunate souls with me.

If I looked around, I would see 49 others kneeling by the edge of the abyss, waiting to face it's depths.

Not only that, but I would see King Vinel and his men standing around us. The first people that I would kill after escaping from hell.

And hell was hot; I could feel the temperature radiating onto my face from the darkness of the abyss. But I could not see much else.

We all wore the thin, ragged white robes of the Divers, but I wished I was naked against such heat.

"Now then, Divers," King Vinel said, overlooking the process. He was a large darkskinned man, with white wings on his back, which suited his white hair and beard. A powerful man, one of the Ten Pillars of Vorth, and known to be one of the strongest, alongside his wife, Queen Ruestel.

"I would first like to thank the volunteers. Those of you brave enough to willingly face the depths of hell in order to find the source of demons, and stop them from invading our lands. You will all be exalted once you have returned, given riches and glory that could rival even the pillars!"

he hesitated for a moment, looking over all those in the cathedral who surrounded the abyss.

"However, this year, we were only able to fill 40 of the spots. Ten of you had to be forced. And for that, I will not be apologising. It is a disgrace that not enough people in our region of the world were brave enough to step up, and take on the job that must be done. To save the lives of the countries people."

"Regardless, it does not matter. We are here now, and you all know what you must do."

The king said no more words, leaving the hall in silence. All that could be heard were strange, eery noises coming from the crack before us.

I happened to be one of those who were forced along this path. My parents tried to fight against it, but were ultimately killed by the king's guard.

I truly do hate them.

"Here goes nothing." A man beside me rose from his knees and jumped into the crack.

I expected to hear screams, and cries as he was burnt by the depths below, but instead I heard nothing.

They do say that the drop into hell is survivable, somehow.

Then, others began to rise and jump. Some were more hesitant than others, but some had a strange enthusiasm to their actions.

I couldn't understand it. The desire to be a pawn for the monarchy. It sickened me.

After a while, there were only a few of us left.

Four to be exact.

I looked around at those who were as stubborn as I. Two women, and one man.

Their faces were solemn, as was mine, and we remained there for a few moments. One of the women were looking down into the depths, so I could not see her face.

"Kick them in." The King suddenly said, uncaringly, and I felt a foot hit me hard in my back as I fell into the abyss.

---

As I fell, I expected myself to hit against the sides of the wall, and tumble into the depths as a battered mess.

But instead, it felt as though I was being guided down into a darkness that I could not see.

It was an ethereal feeling, like I was in a lucid dream, and stayed there for eternity. But after eternity had ended, I emerged into a new world. One with a red sky.

I slowly fell from the sky, as though I had descended from heaven.

Instead, I descended from earth, and into hell.

The clouds were black, and full. And below me, land stretched as far as my eyes could see.

But I did not pay attention to the scenery; instead, I watched the other Divers, engaging in conversation beneath me, having landed a few minutes earlier.

Finally, my ascent took me to the ground, and I landed like a feather onto the red grass beneath my feet. We were in a large field, which seemed rather peaceful. There were no demons here, just us, and chatter.

I spotted the others, all speaking amongst each other. There was nobody alone, everybody had someone to speak to, except for me. They seemed to be avoiding me.

My horns…

Suddenly, a young lady landed beside me.

Her hair was black like mine, and so long that I thought it would get in the way of whatever she did.

When she landed, she looked at me as though she was examining me.

She was roughly the same height as me, and would be considered very pretty on Vorth.

Then, she spoke to me.

"Demonborn," she said, the words instantly filling me with anger. "What's your name?"

I walked away ignoring her; I had no desire to speak to someone like her. But she spoke again.

"Sorry, sorry. That's just what I've heard them call you. I didn't mean to be offensive. People like us should stick together, anyway."

I turned around, my anger subsiding, and looked at her again.

"People like us?" I said, confused at what she meant.

She shrugged her shoulders as though it was obvious.

"Yeah, people like us. The ones that were forced to come here. The Taken."

I hesitated for a moment, realising that she was one of those who had come after me. The women who's face I couldn't see.

The thought removed some of the hatred that I instinctively had for her, but it had not been removed completely, just redirected elsewhere.

"Were you kicked in, like me?" I asked, and the woman let out a chuckle.

"I was." She said as she walked over me to me, extending her hand for me to take. "I'm Faye, What is your name?"

After hesitating for a moment, I took her hand in mine.

"Rade."