The Ascension of Zandralla's vessel.

7.PRISONER

Confusion. A curious emotion that seemed to have invaded my mind ever since laying foot into Amorian territory. I was supposed to be on my way to this oh-so-terrible "fifth ring" that had grown men shivering. We were in a massive kitchen. Yes. Kitchen. It was a hubbub of activity, women running hither and thither completing their chores; cooking, cleaning, taking stock and shuffling the required ingredients around. Weirder was that there was not even one guard in sight. From what I had gathered, this wasn't a place that was supposed to be fun and dandy. A section of the floor abruptly lit up creating a vibrant green path on the cold stone floor. I immediately recalled the instructions and the very specific outcome of ignoring them. I looked around. Women, women, women and more women. Unless the women were the so called 'Guardian', I didn't see any potential threat.

"Hahaha! So they were exaggerating," the man laughed.

The man started trodding down the path. Some women just stared at us and shook their heads. As we were making our way through the area is when I started noting the quantities of food being made. It was akin to that of an army. Not only that but the quality seemed to vary quite drastically. From the best pieces of meat, leafy greens, salads and heavenly stew to rotten produce, raw unprocessed intestines and absolutely detestable porridge. That porridge was particularly disturbing. They would just throw stuff in a huge pot and just leave it on the fire. Even beast cores were thrown in. If devoured they'd drive a man to insanity and they'd transform to become an Amazimu, a plagued cannibal. I shuddered. I could only guess that favortism ran rampant in that place.

The path ended on a circular stone slab with symbols ingrained into it. This time it didn't directly co-relate to the Demon King's symbol but that weird circle that healed me before I got my three treasures. Of course the symbols were vastly different but there was a superficial similarity to the two. The man stepped onto it and immediately the stone slab shot down into the earth eager to take us deeper into its bowels. I was nearly blown off the man as I tightly held onto him the air crashing against us and then it abruptly came to a stop. The man collapsed onto his knees dropping to the ground. We were both panting. Honestly, at this point, I should've somewhat expected it.

Abruptly, my ears perked up, heart started racing and my eyes widened. The mood had taken a sharp turn. We were in an absurdly huge hallway that had a distant white star illuminating it casting sharp shadows and reducing the visibility to what was just in front us. However, the concerning part was what I could assume to be cells as I could see some few people poking their heads out of them to stare at us. Their cells were completely open and seemingly dug into the walls that had depictions of, from what I could see, an eternal fire. Nothing to bar them from just getting onto the hallway and running off yet most seemed overly concerned on not even getting near the hallway. There were distant howls, screams and screeches. As silent as a whisper yet distinct and clear. The air being especially chilly combined with the reduced visibility and visible terror of most inmates made me unwillingly convulse and dart my eyes all over the place.

(I can feel it. Somet-)

"Welcome." a deep gutteral voice boomed from all around us as if from the dungeon itself.

"The new prisoner's cell has been prepared and vacated follow me," this voice came from right in front of us. A figure was hidden within the darkness yet close enough for us to sense them but not make out any of their details. Not even their shape. The voice sounded human enough and I had no recollection of a beast that could mimic human voices.

"We don't have much time, follow me," the figure stated as it disappeared into the darkness.

The man grabbed me and followed the figure, always just out of sight. As we walked on, I caught glimpses of the prisoners. Few were titanic battle hardened men and they seemed the most confident in approaching the hallway but just at the edge. As we passed by, some smirked which utterly befuggled me. The other group were girls. Young girls. They were absolutely horrified and had shriveled up deep inside a corner of their cells being barely visible. Some of them were even crying. I gripped onto the man tighter. Soon, there was a junction before us. The path took a hard left yet our guide took a right.