Satan Is Knocking On My Door

I've been having a good couple of months.

After I escaped from the labyrinthine hallways of Satan's palace with my worthless prize, I could hardly believe it. I was heavily wounded by the demons within. My skin was shredded, my soul was in tatters. I feared I might never recover.

But the human body is resilient, and the human soul even more so. The worst of it has become scars, and the scars from the lesser wounds are beginning to fade away.

I still think about it sometimes, and not always intentionally. Every so often (when I'm admiring a particularly grand building, for example), I am suddenly transported to Satan's ballroom again, its high gothic arches gleaming impossibly high over my head, floors sticky with blood and wine.

But today, Satan is knocking on my door.\n\n<<timedinsert 1s>>Tap. <<endtimedinsert>><<timedinsert 2s>>Tap. <<endtimedinsert>><<timedinsert 3s>>Tap. <<endtimedinsert>><<timedinsert 4s>>Tap. <<endtimedinsert>><<timedinsert 5s>>Tap. <<endtimedinsert>><<timedinsert 6s>>Tap. <<endtimedinsert>><<timedinsert 7s>>Tap. <<endtimedinsert>>\n\n[[Peek through the corner of a window.|peek][$cautious += 1]]\n[[Look through the peephole.|peep][$cautious += 1]]\n[[Hide—somewhere. Anywhere.|hide][$fearful += 1]]\n[[Open the door.|open][$brave += 1]]

I take a deep breath. Hold it. Exhale. Then again. Exhale. I am still alive. I am in my home. I press my hands onto my wounds. It stings, but stems the flow of blood. Breathe. I can handle this. No harm will come to me here.\n\nI let the cabinet door swing open, light flooding into the tiny space. I can't hide forever. I have to face him one of these days.\n\n[[Open the door.|open][$brave += 1]]

This isn't what happened. But I like to think it did.\n\nI can't reach her. I'll never be able to get her back down, and she knows that. She knows that. She also knows how long the cold and the enchantments in the metal will keep her alive. A sitting duck for any passing demon eager for fresh meat.\n\nI raise my gun and fire. She goes limp. This is what passes for mercy in this place. Would she have done the same for me? Doubtful, but it doesn't matter anymore. It's over.\n\nThe last bullet I save for myself. Just in case.\n\n[[STOP REMEMBERING|open][$past += 1]]

My friend, the thing that is in the shape of my friend, lies dead on the floor. It's only after the mourning candle goes out, plunging me into darkness, that I realize that she was bleeding red.\n\n[[STOP REMEMBERING|peep untimed][$past += 1]]

I've been having a good couple of months. \n\nAfter I escaped from the labyrinthine hallways of Satan's palace with my worthless prize, I could hardly believe it. I was heavily wounded by the demons within. My skin was shredded, my soul was in tatters. I feared I might never recover.\n\nBut the human body is resilient, and the human soul even more so. The worst of it has become scars, and the scars from the lesser wounds are beginning to fade away.\n\nI still think about it sometimes, and not always intentionally. Every so often (when I'm admiring a particularly grand building, for example), I am suddenly transported to Satan's ballroom again, its high gothic arches gleaming impossibly high over my head, floors sticky with [[blood and wine.]]<<set $past to 0>>

As my vision starts to darken around the edges, I can't hold it anymore. I draw up a gasping breath and sprint away, throwing the talisman over my shoulder. Praying that it still works. Praying that the Void has found someone else to torment.\n\nI hear the skittering of its claws somewhere behind me. Someone screams as it pounces. Thanking God it's not me. The disturbing slurping noises of it sucking out a person's soul—\n\n[[STOP REMEMBERING|peek][$past += 1]]

Maybe it's not Satan. Maybe it's my treacherous mind again, summoning up demons that <<if visited("no longer exist")>>no longer exist<<else>>[[no longer exist][$past += 1]]<<endif>>. I have to check again. I have to make sure.\n\nQuietly, cautiously, I make my eye level to the peephole. \n\n...No....\n\nIt's definitely Satan.\n\nI'd recognize that <<if visited("face")>>face<<else>>[[face][$past += 1]]<<endif>> anywhere.\n\n[[Open the door.|open]]\n<<if visited("peek")>><<else>>[[Peek through the corner of a window.|peek][$cautious += 1]] <<endif>>[[Hide—somewhere. Anywhere.|hide][$fearful += 1]]

My ally is here somewhere. It's hard to tell the difference between the gaunt faces of the laborers, their hollow eyes a chilling reminder of what I could be.\n\nI hear him call out my name. I spin around, looking for the source. There, near the bloodvines! Two pale laborers hold down a third as a probing vine searches for his jugular. My friend.\n\n[[Save him.]]\n[[I wish I had left him.|Leave him.][$regret += 1]]\n<<if visited("cs")>>[[Stop remembering.|cs]]<<else>>[[Stop remembering.|"No."]]<<endif>>

He taps the side of my mug. While I don't see anything fall into it, the color of the coffee lightens to a paler shade of brown. I take a sip. It's good coffee.\n\n"Good, isn't it? The warmth goes right into your bones. Grown on Her Lady Myrtle's own <<if visited("plantation")>>plantation<<else>>[[plantation][$past += 1]]<<endif>>."\n\nNow he takes out a mirror from the folds of his red cloak, and passes it to me.\n\n<<timedreplace 5s>>"Look," he intones.<<becomes>>"[[Look]]," he commands.<<endtimedreplace>>

My blood-stained fingers leave red streaks on its immaculate surface. It's useless. I won't be able to sell it, and it holds no value even if I give it away. All it is is proof that I have survived this place.\n\nI think of myself, four years ago. Young, naive, and eager to prove myself. I can't help but laugh at how //excited// I was to brave Hell. My laughter turns to sobs. I can't stop shaking.\n\nIt's over. It's finally over.\n\n[[STOP REMEMBERING|yes][$past +=1]]

I might be making a terrible mistake.\n\n"Splendid," he intones, tapping the snow from his cloven hooves before entering.\n\nHe notices the <<if visited("prize")>>prize<<else>>[[prize][$past += 1]]<<endif>> I took from his palace. I had forgotten about it, just lying in the corner like that.\n\n"Oh, don't worry about that. I have plenty of those," he reassures me with a noncommittal wave of his hand. Of course he does. I knew that going in.\n\n[["What are you doing here?"|coffee]]\n[["Make one wrong move and I'll be force-feeding you holy water."|coffee][$temper = 1]]

I steel myself for what may come. A painful death? A <<if visited("cold")>>cold<<else>>[[cold][$past += 1]]<<endif>> death? A slow death?\n\nWith the last of my resolve, I open the door.\n\nHe seems surprised to see me. No—he's surprised I opened the door. He knew he was going to see me, one way or another.\n\nHe looks <<hoverreplace>>at me<<becomes>>through me<<endhoverreplace>> with his smoldering yellow eyes, smiles a devil's smile, and bows.\n\n"May I come in?" he asks.\n\n[["Yes."|yes]]\n[["No."|no]]

I am in the freezers of Hell. Huge slabs of meat hang from hooks, swaying gently from the ceiling. My breath crystallizes in the frigid air. I have a revolver in my hand, and two bullets left. But I won't need them now.\n\nDangling legs flail above me. My nemesis. She is caught in the trap that she had prepared for me. Her piercing screams echo through the darkness, hands scrabbling for the hook in her back just out of her reach.\n\nShe suddenly looks down at me, eyes pleading.\n\n"Please...." is all she manages to whisper.\n\n[[Help her.][$regret += 1]]\n[[Leave her.]]\n[[Stop remembering.|previous()]]

It takes all of my courage, but I stand firm.\n\n"I've come this far. I survived Hell, I can survive through anything, no matter what may come. What's done is done. I don't need to be afraid of the future."\n\nHis expression does not change. He scans my face for any sign of weakness. I look him directly in his burning yellow eyes. I will not be afraid.\n\n"Very well," he says as he hides the mirror back in his red cloak. "But I want you to remember: the door is always open to you." He gets up as if to leave, but then pauses, tilting his head at me.\n\nHe says, "You might not know it, but I'm very proud of you. You've come a long way." And with that, he vanishes. Off to berate disloyal demon barons or to make deals with desperate mortals. Whatever infernal deeds he does in his spare time.\n\nSatan has left my house, but I know he is never truly gone. He will be back in the future to tempt me with something else. The piece of my soul he owns now means he still holds some power over me. I must always be ready.\n\nThis is how I will live my life. Few will understand. But [[I am not dead|end]].

I am lost in a particularly cold corner of the maze. Two paths lay ahead of me, each guarded by a fiend in the shape of a young child. One of them tells only truths. The other only lies. I get one question.\n\nAn old riddle. I know the answer to this.\n\nThe all-black eyes of the two fiends watch me closely.\n\n[[Ask.][$past += 1 ]]\n<<if visited("coffee")>>[[Stop remembering.|coffee]]<<else>>[[Stop remembering.|trust]]<<endif>>

It is easy to accept. Everything he says is true. I look down at my hands, calloused and streaked with white scars. A stitched wound slowly unravels, exposing the pink meat beneath my skin.\n\nHe licks his lips and takes back the mirror. Burning yellow eyes command me to shut mine.\n\nWhen I open them again, I am in Hell.\n\nHe has given me a torch and a machete.<<if visited("coffee")>> I am still warm from the coffee, but the freezing winds of Hell will whisk it away soon enough.<<endif>> I head forth, led by my instincts, looking for my self in the maze.\n\nIt is a terrible place, but I know it better than anywhere else.\n\nI will be happy to [[die here|end]].

I scramble into a cabinet under the sink. My hands are clasped over my mouth, tears are streaming down my face. Why is he here?\n\nI can still hear him knocking on my door. "I know you're here," he says in a sing-song voice. "I can smell your blood."\n\nMy blood. I look over myself. In my rush, I've torn open old wounds again. Red flowers bloom across my shirt. A stream of blood pools inside my shoe.\n\n[[Stay here forever.]]\n[[Pull myself together.]]

I close my bag, admitting defeat. It's definitely not in here. It must have fallen out at some point. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could I be so careless? I clench my teeth, and brace myself.\n\nThe sphinx's mouth opens impossibly wide, her bladed tongue flashing out like a whip. She neatly fillets a section of meat from my hip, gobbling it up with glee. I can't stop myself from crying out.\n\nShe laughs. The double doors slowly swing open, smearing my blood across the immaculate golden floors. I quickly try to bandage my wound with the supplies I have left.\n\nWhen I reach into my pocket for the last drops in my vial of numbing agent, my fingers brush across something else. The pebble. In my pocket. This whole time.\n\n//Why am I so stupid?//\n\n[[STOP REMEMBERING|peek][$past += 1]]

He can only enter if he is invited, and I don't intend on doing that anytime soon. I try to keep my hands from shaking. If I can just maintain control of this situation...\n\n"Still don't trust me? I'm hurt!" he says, placing his hand over his heart theatrically.\n\n[["It's not that..."|trust]]\n[["Of course not."][$cautious +=1; $temper +=1]]\n[[Shut the door.]]

I continue to look down and away from his light. I hold my left hand out for my prize. My right hand closes around the silver dagger hidden in my boot.\n\nHe grips my wrist with such force I can hear my bones crack. My skin feels like it's on fire. A trap? I panic. The blade flies out of its hiding place, and I slam it into the infernal grasp on my arm in one fluid motion.\n\nExcept his hand is not there, and I have run my own wrist through with the knife. I'm screaming. I hear Satan laughing at me, and the wild whooping of his demonic court.\n\n[[Be blinded.]]\n<<if visited("coffee")>>[[Stop remembering.|coffee]]<<else>>[[Stop remembering.|"Of course not."]]<<endif>>

Mindlessly, I place one foot in front of the other. I can't think through all this noise. All I know is that if I stop moving, something bad will happen.\n\nThe darkness is not just an absence of light. It's a substance in and of itself, with a weight and a texture and a //taste//. I must be in a trance. The dry groaning begins to sound like a voice.\n\n"Sacrifice...ahhh...breath....stars....rrrrgh....end... fortune...."\n\n[[STOP REMEMBERING|"No."][$past += 1]]

I'm hyperventilating. I'm not ready for this. I'm not doing very well at all. I was wrong.\n\nI hug my legs to my chest. My nails are digging into my flesh and all I can hear is his infernal KNOCKING, so loud it's echoing in my bones TAP TAP TAP—the screams of the Damned fill the tiny cabinet but if they're real or just in my head I don't know—I can't see anything—\n\nmy nails scrape my temples and I can feel bone—my hands are so wet—my skull is so thin—[[I just want this to end|end]]—

His eyes are cold as I close the door in his face. He makes no move to stop me. He will remember this.\n\nThe tapping on my door starts up again. A voice in my head tells me, "You are making a terrible mistake."\n\nThen it says, "Everything you have ever done in your entire life was a mistake."\n\nI cover my ears with my hands. Shutting out the sounds of his knocking and hopelessly trying to shut up my own thoughts. Eventually, he leaves.\n\nI let my hands drop and breathe a sigh of relief. Something runs down the side of my face. I raise my hand up to my temple. Sweat? No—it's blood. One of my wounds has reopened.\n\nI know he will return. If this happens every time, [[will I ever heal|end]]?

I am in the fields where Her Lady Myrtle roams, one of the safer areas of Satan's palace. The witch herself never directly harms anyone in her land. She is a noble, and does not dirty her hands with brute force.\n\nHer workers are all human volunteers (supposedly). The cold, desperate soulless, made to work forever in her gardens.\n\nAt the end of the day, she places a single pomegranate seed into their outstretched hands. When bitten, the seed bursts into flames. The only source of warmth with enough magic for even the soulless to feel.\n\n[[Find him.]]\n[[Stop remembering.|previous()]]

I'm in the left wing of Satan's palace, poisoned tusk clasped firmly in my right hand. In my left is a talisman that will soon be out of power. I am holding my breath as I find my way out.\n\nI am being pursued by the Void. This particular demon tracks down its prey by following the trail of carbon dioxide left by our traitorous lungs. I can't hold my breath forever.\n\n[[Breathe.]]\n[[Stop remembering.|previous()]]

Satan Is Knocking On My Door

Very gently, I move the curtain just a sliver to let me see outside. I'm <<if visited("holding my breath")>>holding my breath<<else>>[[holding my breath][$past += 1]]<<endif>>, trying to be as quiet as possible. My heart thrums impossibly loud in my head.\n\nI see his cloven hooves, smoking gently on my welcome mat. Of course—the sage torch ran out yesterday. I was <<if visited("careless")>>careless<<else>>[[careless][$past += 1]]<<endif>>.\n\nHe's unarmed. What does he want here? He is not the Lord of this realm. He has no claim over my soul here.\n\nA clawed hand reaches up and gently raps upon the door again.\n\n<<if visited("peep")>><<else>>[[Look through the peephole.|peep][$cautious += 1]] <<endif>>[[Hide—somewhere. Anywhere.|hide][$fearful += 1]]\n[[Open the door.|open]]

<<if $temper>>"Tsk, tsk, what a <<if visited("temper")>>temper<<else>>[[temper][$past += 1]]<<endif>>! Just like I remember. <<else>>"<<endif>>Don't worry, my dear, I'm not here to take anything from you. I'm here to return something to you," he says. "Take a seat." He gestures to my table as if I were the guest in his home.\n\nI do as he asks. <<if visited("trust")>>No point in avoiding it now.<<else>>Though he is capable of many cruel and evil acts, the one thing devils cannot do is <<if visited("lie")>>lie<<else>>[[lie][$past += 1]]<<endif>>.<<endif>>\n\nHe conjures a pot of coffee with a snap of his fingers. And then mugs, one for each of us.\n\n"Cream and sugar?" he asks.\n\n[["Both."|cs]]\n[["Just cream."|cs]]\n[["Just sugar."|cs]]\n[["No."][$cautious += 1]]

I see myself. Paler, more translucent. Looking closer, I realize that the mirror does not reflect the inside of my home, but of his.\n\n"Do you see?" he whispers, "That is where you belong."\n\nI watch myself turn away from me and return to skinning a boar I had caught in his forests. My encampment is well-stocked. My satchel is covered in blood. I look... calm.\n\n"The outside world—you've realized it has no place for you, haven't you? Other humans are afraid of you, of who you are and where you've been. And this house just isn't the same anymore after you've slept in Hell. You've left behind a part of yourself. Come with me, and you can have it back."\n\n[[Come home.]]\n[[Stay home.]]

I am in Satan's wine cellar. My mourning candle is slowly running out. I am trying to kill something with my bare hands.\n\nThis spirit was crafty and took the shape of one of my friends. But I had already seen her torn in two by the Abyssal, and besides, she was left handed.\n\nThoroughly bloodied, the thing wearing my friend's face grins at me. Maybe. Tears leak from its false eyes. I crush its windpipe with all my strength.\n\n[[It is done.]]\n[[Stop remembering.|peep untimed]]

This isn't what happened. But I like to think it did.\n\nAs I move to save him from his fate, I suddenly freeze up. A primal instinct has seized control of my body. I haven't yet realized it—but I can see the greed and desperation in his eyes.\n\nHe's already lost his soul. And I know him well enough to know that he would steal mine in a heartbeat.\n\nI am suddenly aware of the many pairs of cold, hollow eyes tracking me and my satchel. My hand closes around my kukri. Coming here was a mistake. I am in far, far more danger than I had thought.\n\nHe calls out to me again, but is cut short when he begins to choke on his own blood. I run. I run away as fast as I can. I have never betrayed someone like this before.\n\n"Better him than me," I hear in my mind, "Better him than me."\n\n<<if visited("cs")>>[[STOP REMEMBERING|cs][$past += 1]]<<else>>[[STOP REMEMBERING|"No."][$past += 1]]<<endif>>

<<if $past >= 10>>I can't stop watching myself. But I must look away from the mirror. Even if this world is also harsh, I will never go back to that place.\n\n"That part of me is dead," I say, "You can keep it."\n\nHe blinks. Then he smiles wide.\n\n"That's a lie, and you know it," he says quietly. His gaze is unwavering. "I know you still think of us. Every. Single. Day. You whisper our names in your sleep. You see our faces in every reflection. Even now, I can see you reliving the past. You've haven't truly left."\n\nAnd there it is, the truth I had been so desperately trying to ignore. My pitiful half-existence laid bare before me. I'm not fooling anyone: I am nothing without my traumas.\n\n"<<if $regret is 1>>Aren't there some things you regret? Don't you wish you could do it all over again? You still can, you know. <<endif>><<if $temper is 1>>And with your strong will... you could find more than just your self. There is tremendous power and glory to be won in the maze. <<endif>>Come home," he pleads.\n\n[["...I will."|Come home.]]<<else if $past < 10 and $past >= 5>>I force myself to look away from the mirror. Even if this world is also harsh, I will never go back to that place.\n\n"That part of me is dead," I say, "You can keep it."\n\nHe blinks. Then he smiles wide.\n\n"Are you sure?" he asks quietly. His gaze is unwavering. "I know you still think of us now and again. <<if $regret is 1>>Aren't there some things you regret? Don't you wish you could do it all over again? You still can, you know. <<endif>><<if $temper is 1>>And with your strong will... you could find more than just your self. There is tremendous power and glory to be won in the maze. <<endif>>Come home," he pleads.\n\n[["...I will."|Come home.]]<<if $cautious is 3>> [["I can't."|caution]]<<endif>><<if $brave >= 1>> [["I won't."|brave]]<<endif>>\n\n<<else if $past < 5>>I look away from the mirror. Even if this world is also harsh, I will never go back to that place.\n\n"That part of me is dead," I say, "You can keep it."\n\nHe blinks. Then he smiles wide.\n\n"With pleasure," he says as he hides the mirror back in his red cloak. "I'll take good care of it." He moves as if to leave, but then pauses, tilting his head at me.\n\nHe says, "You might not know it, but I'm very proud of you. You've come a long way. I want you to remember: the door is always open to you." And with that, he vanishes. Off to berate disloyal demon barons or to make deals with desperate mortals. Whatever infernal deeds he does in his spare time.\n\nSatan has left my house, but I know he is never truly gone. He will be back in the future to tempt me with something else. The piece of my soul he owns now means he still holds some power over me. I must always be ready.\n\nThis is how I will live my life. Few will understand. But [[I am not dead|end]].<<endif>>

My voice trails off into a mumble. Of course I trust him. That's the tricky part about devils—you can't help but trust them because they can't <<if visited("lie")>>lie<<else>>[[lie][$past += 1]]<<endif>>.\n\nI am afraid he will speak truths I don't want to hear.\n\nHe smiles wide. It's almost genuine. He has too many teeth, each one ending in a wicked point. \n\n"So you'll let me in, then?"\n\n[["Of course not."][$temper += 1]]\n[["Yes."|yes]]

The End.

Maybe it's not Satan. Maybe it's my treacherous mind again, summoning up demons that <<if visited("no longer exist")>>no longer exist<<else>>[[no longer exist][$past += 1]]<<endif>>. I have to check again. I have to make sure.\n\nQuietly, cautiously, I make my eye level to the peephole. \n\n<<timedinsert 2s>>...No....<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 4s>>It's definitely Satan.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 6s>>I'd recognize that <<if visited("face")>>face<<else>>[[face][$past += 1]]<<endif>> anywhere.\n\n[[Open the door.|open]]\n<<if visited("peek")>><<else>>[[Peek through the corner of a window.|peek][$cautious += 1]] <<endif>>[[Hide—somewhere. Anywhere.|hide][$fearful += 1]]<<endtimedinsert>>

"Which one would the other tell me to go down?" I ask the child on the left. If this is the one that tells only truths, it will point to the wrong path. If it is the one that tells only lies, it will point to the wrong path. Simple.\n\nBut instead of pointing at one of the two paths, it points at me.\n\n"Turn back. Go home, human."\n\nI feel sulfurous breath on the back of my neck, and the point of a knife between my shoulder blades.\n\n<<if visited("coffee")>>[[STOP REMEMBERING|coffee]]<<else>>[[STOP REMEMBERING|trust]]<<endif>>

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He is rowing a boat. I am nailed to the bottom of it. My body is covered in honey and milk.\n\n"This seems far enough, hm? Oh, don't look at me like that. Don't you miss the sun? You should be thanking me," he grins, stepping out of the boat and possibly into someone else's dream.\n\nI am left out on the stagnant swamp under the burning rays of the sun for days. Maybe weeks. Insects are drawn by the sweet scent of honey, and later, by the stench of rotting milk and flesh. \n\nMaggots burrow within my bones. I feel moths crawling in my guts. The boat begins to fill with my feces. I cannot move. My left eye is the first to go, pecked out by an opportunistic raven. My right eye is taken by a fairy as a gruesome trophy of some sort. I should be dead, but I cannot die. I should be dead, but I cannot die I should be dead, but I cannot die I should be dead, but I cannot die—\n\nAnd then I am awake, whole and unharmed. Two hours have passed.\n\n[[STOP REMEMBERING|peep untimed][$past += 1]]

I am in the antechamber of Satan's palace, clutching my prize. Nothing follows me. The doors are open.\n\nYears. I've been here for years and only now am I finally allowed to leave. The things I carried into this place are long gone. All I have left is my ragged body, my tattered soul, and this //thing//.\n\n[[Look at my prize.]]\n[[Stop remembering.|previous()]]

"Suit yourself. I take my coffee <<if visited("black")>>black<<else>>[[black][$past += 1]]<<endif>> as well."\n\nI take a sip. It's good coffee.\n\n"Good, isn't it? The warmth goes right into your bones. Grown on Her Lady Myrtle's own <<if visited("plantation")>>plantation<<else>>[[plantation][$past += 1]]<<endif>>."\n\nNow he takes out a mirror from the folds of his red cloak, and passes it to me.\n\n<<timedreplace 5s>>"Look," he intones.<<becomes>>"[[Look]]," he commands.<<endtimedreplace>>

"You can say what you need to right where you are." I stand firm. He will not manipulate me this time.\n\nHis eyes narrow, but his sly smile never leaves his face. What does he have planned?\n\n<<if $temper>>"Tsk, tsk, what a <<if visited("temper")>>temper<<else>>[[temper][$past += 1]]<<endif>>! Just like I remember. <<else>>"<<endif>>Don't worry, my dear, I'm not here to take anything from you. I'm here to //return// something to you," he croons.\n\nHe reaches into the folds of his red cloak and pulls out something that glints. A hand mirror.\n\n<<timedreplace 8s>>"Won't you at least take a look?" he asks.<<becomes>>"[[Look]]," he commands.<<endtimedreplace>>

"What? Of course you can. I'm offering this to you right now!" He seems genuinely confused.\n\nI can't help but smirk. I'm sure he wasn't expecting this.\n\n"Look closer," I tell him. He furrows his brow, scanning my person for anomalies. Then, he finally notices.\n\n"The rest of your soul. Where is it?" He smiles, and something like respect creeps into his voice.\n\n"Somewhere where neither of us can do anything to it," I respond. "I knew I couldn't trust myself to keep me safe from temptation, so I made sure that I wouldn't have to."\n\nThis elicits a low chuckle from him. "Very well," he says, hiding the mirror back in his red cloak. "But I want you to remember: the door is always open to you. There are things other than souls that can be sacrificed. I'll be back when you have a little more... substance."\n\nAnd with that, he vanishes. Off to berate disloyal demon barons or to make deals with desperate mortals. Whatever infernal deeds he does in his spare time.\n\nSatan has left my house, but I know he is never truly gone. He will be back in the future to tempt me with something else. The piece of my soul he owns now means he still holds some power over me. I must always be ready.\n\nThis is how I will live my life. Few will understand. But [[I am not dead|end]].

Memories bloom like drops of blood landing in water. I'm overcome with all the wrong turns I made, with how I could have made it out sooner, with all the people I could have <<hoverreplace>>saved.<<becomes>>killed.<<endhoverreplace>>\n\nEnough time has passed that pulling myself out of these visions has become a reflex. But my soul still aches where the imps were clawing at it, and the old knife wounds on my back throb when I hear the names of the devils that gave me them.\n\nI have been doing so, so [[well]] lately.

Did you know that Hell is actually quite cold? Keeps the souls from spoiling in the heat, you see.\n\nPerhaps it is just a fiendish superstition, because I have been washing my soul and laying it out to dry in the sun at least twice a month and it smells no more rotten than it was before.\n\nMy dreams are sweet and I am rarely plagued by nightmares. The ruddiness has returned to my cheeks, and my back has finally unfurled after being weighed down for so long.\n\nI go outside more often now, confident that I can overcome any monster that may cross my path. The snow hides the ring of magical traps I have prepared for any spirit that might try to enter my home. And a few mechanical traps for the corporeal.\n\nThis place is my [[sanctuary]].

When I was in his realm, he would appear in my dreams. He looks different to everyone. Someone in the maze once told me that he looked like their lover. Another said he shared the face of his father.\n\nTo me, he just looks like a devil. A handsome face. A crown of feathers. An arrogant smile under the unwavering gaze of burning yellow eyes. He is always one step ahead of you, and he knows it.\n\nIn tonight's dream, I am being tortured.\n\n[[Dream.]]\n[[Stop remembering.|peep untimed]]

I can't reach her. I'll never be able to get her back down, and she knows that. She knows that. She also knows how long the cold and the enchantments in the metal will keep her alive. A sitting duck for any passing demon eager for fresh blood.\n\nI turn my back on her. She howls like a wild animal.\n\n"You still have bullets left, goddamn you! You can't just fucking leave me here! I'm human! I'm human!"\n\nAfter some time, her rage and curses become small sobs. Would she have done the same to me? I push that out of my mind for now, and walk away.\n\nTwo bullets left. One for the next creature that tries to kill me. And one for myself. Just in case.\n\n[[STOP REMEMBERING|open][$past += 1]]

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I am at the entrance to Satan's throne room. The sphinx guarding the doors eyes me hungrily as I rummage through my pack for the key: a magic pebble.\n\nI know it's in here somewhere. I know I haven't lost it, haven't I? I remember having it in my hand! I always put it back when I'm done using it. Think, when was the last time I saw it? Why isn't it here? Where could it be?\n\n"You know the rules," the sphinx rumbles.\n\n[[Give her what she is owed.]]\n[[Stop remembering.|previous()]]

I unsheathe my kukri, moving quietly towards the trio. Slice one's throat, then the other. They fall like stones, blood seeping into the thirsty ground. I extend my hand to my friend.\n\n"I-I'm so glad to see you," he manages to stammer out, pulling himself up. He looks relieved, but—was that a flash of fear in his eyes?\n\nSuddenly, he pushes me onto the bloodvines. As they bind my limbs and begin to puncture my flesh I can only watch as he quickly grabs my weapon and satchel and sprints away.\n\nMy soul!—I struggle to escape—I have to catch up—I have to kill—I—\n\n<<if visited("cs")>>[[STOP REMEMBERING|cs][$past += 1]]<<else>>[[STOP REMEMBERING|"No."][$past += 1]]<<endif>>

Anne Do

I make the mistake of looking up. My eyes ignite when I gaze upon his infernal light. The raucous laughter grows to an insane pitch that shatters my eardrums. Pain no longer registers to my broken mind; I am filled only with rage and hatred, for myself, for this place, for him, for the world. I'm screaming, I'm burning, I've failed, here is where I die...\n\nEverything fades away. When I open my eyes again, the court is gone. Only Satan remains. There is no blade, there is no light. An illusion? The prize is in my hand.\n\n"Amazing," he whispers. "You still have the will to live, even after all this time."\n\n<<if visited("coffee")>>[[STOP REMEMBERING|coffee][$past += 1]]<<else>>[[STOP REMEMBERING|"Of course not."][$past += 1]]<<endif>>

I am kneeling in front of Satan's throne. He is in full regalia, shining like an angel before me. Lucifer, the Morningstar, the Bringer of Light.\n\nHe speaks with a voice like velvet: "Congratulations. You must be very cunning and strong to have survived for so long. A bright future lies ahead of you. Take this, as a symbol of my blessings and good will."\n\n[[Take it.][$past += 1]]\n[[Stop remembering.|previous()]]

I am in an endless expanse of darkness. My last torch went out hours ago, and I have been wandering blind ever since. I can't even see my own body. Without a point of reference, I feel like I'm floating. I can't even be sure that I'm still moving forward.\n\nThe darkness groans around me. The air is a death rattle. Am I going to die here?\n\nAm I already dead?\n\n[[Walk forward.]]\n[[Stop remembering.|previous()]]