Cruscifix, the psychologist of life, sends each men of afterlife to a world, where they have to face their past flaws. A rapist criminal named Marduk finds himself at Holy Lands, and meets the man who stole the sun. From the moment he set footsteps on the desolate ground, he knew what he had to do. He discovers the secret of the fake God, and swears to subvert everything what crosses his path. He descends to Mortal Lands many times, in order to prepare for an upcoming war. By Executing the right steps and winning the battle, Marduk shall be set free.

‘Slowly we rot.’ Said a dead being with a bit ironic voice, while lying on the ground, holding his bald head, below dark, grey sky.

‘We cannot find peace even if we drop dead. Such a pity…’ Added the other one.

‘As if someone is piercing my liver with a knife.

Although I was a fucking alcoholic and I have destroyed my own body, although I am dead.’ Continued the first one.

‘I wonder why are we here.’ Said the second.

‘A legacy of the past…perhaps. Probably we all have left something in the well.

Maybe we are destined to meet here, for a certain purpose.’

 Spoke up the most quiet one.

‘Someone is approaching us.’

‘Look at that hair!’Yelled the noisy, and pointed his finger at the forthcoming stranger skeleton, who was wearing a checked shirt and leather jeans. He was carrying a big sack on his nag back. ‘A punk!’ He added.

He meant the skeleton’s long, red hair that stood strong, upwards the sky.

‘Punk is not dead! Ahhahaha!

As the seconds were passing by, the newcomer reached the party.

‘Yo.’ His voice was quite throaty.

‘Yo?! Ahhahahaah!’ Entertained himself the lively dead.

 God knows what did he find so funny. Albeit no one cared…

‘Actually it has been quite some years now wandering in this…eh, well…Dimension. Desolation. Nevermind. My name is Dep. You are the first ones I have ever met here.’

‘Same here.’ Replied the second.

Without questioning, the last one dropped his sack and sat down to the others.

‘I suggest we should introduce ourselves to each other. Maybe we will figure something out.’

The quiet voice spoke up from under the roll bandages which covered his entire body.

Only his empty, white eyes could be seen.

‘ Than we should begin.’

After seconds of staring at each other and waiting for someone to begin, one of them decided to break the silence.

‘I shall begin.’ Said the man with a fiendish smile on his slight-purple face, and began picking his witch nose.

‘I am Marduk. I was a rapist. A convict. A robber. Crime committer. An outcast.’ That is all!

Having said that, a strong demonic laugh followed.

‘My emptiness descends hearing that shit.’ Dep’s countenance reflected some resentment…hardly.

‘Do you know how many times I have tried to rip off my own head, eyes, or heart from this soulless embodiment ? Million times already.’ Marduk tilted his head low.

‘You cannot die here. Especially when you are dead.’

‘My name is Mumu.’ Said the mummy, whose name fit perfectly his appearance.’

‘Huh?’ Marduk manifested a sign of interest.

‘I was an outcast of society, by my personal will. I was willing to change the world, but the virus of life had reached me. I became a political victim of an assassination.

My underground plans were to overthrow the evil. To better understand why are the evil ones organized way more precisely than the good ones. When I finally came to an answer, it was too late. Only if I were a bit more controversial. I could not kill the dead. The dead killed me.’

‘In battles we mustn’t  fight to win. We shall ascend upon the enemy. However alone you will ascend upon yourself only. If we had been sitting by the same table, maybe we could have made a change.’ Said the tallest man of all, whose eyes could not be seen, because of his long, damaged, black hair.

‘ I am Tolk. I took pride in the nationality, the homeland I served, more than I took in myself. Only when I saw the heinous, inhuman behoviour and devastation that produced nothing else than flowing blood out of dead bodies, our loss of present consciousness, I realized there was no nationality or homeland. There was a government. And there was greed.’

‘A soldier, huh?’

‘ A victim.’ Responded Dep.

‘ Better to be a victim of a self than to be a victim of society.

Well, being an individual might bring regrets but at least they are real. Such as you.’

For everyone’s surprise, Marduk was expounding his own truth.

‘I don’t know why, but this sounds kind of strange for a rapist to say.’ Looked at him Dep.

‘Come on… It was just once, I swear!’

In the meantime Tolk put his hand before his mouth in an attempt to light up his invisible cigar with his invisible lighter. ‘Oh, I forgot again… Ehh, there is no regret in a path of determination, just experience to feed knowledge, with what you shall walk wisely.’

‘There is a slight difference between being astray, fulfilling an obligation set before you by the others, and in fulfilling the hunger of a clear aberration.’

Provocated Mumu the broken soldier.

‘Aren’t we all astray then ? Since the people who know something are wise enough to  know that they still don’t know anything and the stupid accompanied by condifence claim they know everything, but chicken shit. But the depths of diversion matter.

I admit the putridity of my past. Mumu.’

‘You are next.’ Marduk interrupted the eye contact between the politician and the soldier.

‘I was just a punk. A punk in love, sacrificed. I was trying to protect myself from the outside world, but mainly, my dearest. Unsuccessfully. The rest of the world I used to watch decompose imprisoned my spirit in the end. After I had lost my everything. I simply wasn’t the one to apply, but just to see beyond sewn curtains. My ambitions did not reach out so far.

You extinguish fire or piss on the flames. A passive contribution will backfire.’

‘Aberration is the greatest tool isn’t it ? Deviation, defiance as traits of the ascended.’

Spoke up Mumu.

‘We are quite the elite, aren’t we…’

‘If we were not, we would be a rotting, material body by now. I suppose no ordinary men can set footsteps on this great field of emptiness, Marduk.’

The moment these lines ended, a slight wave of madness vibrated the emptiness dwelling in the spiritually decapitated living dead. Someone or something was standing in the distance.

A purely black figure without a face, muscles, without any remarkable feature inside the outlines. The body was ejecting a black waves, reek, or whatever it was. It was just staring.

How long, no one knows. Maybe the notion missed the demons’ attention.’

‘Who is that…?’ Dep’s words came silent, as everyone had already noticed the unknown phenomenon.

It took him a half of a minute until it began to move. Everyone was sitting still, however with  depressing stimuli affecting them. As it came closer, memories of past events flashed in minds. For some it was the loss of love, for some the loss of a self, a loss of battle or blood.

It could be about ten or eleven metres when it faded, then emerged from the ground covered in black fume right in front of the subjects of curiosity. A difference between demonic existence was sensed.

‘And who the fuck are ya?’ Even Marduk’s attitude changed to a rather serious one.

No answer. This kind of silence was a noisy one. A minute has passed. Still no response.

It raised his leg, as if he was about to kick the imperturbable Tolk, who sat right in front of him.

‘That won’t work.’ said Dep.

The leg quickly slashed the air with a fast movement, and kicked Tolk right in the ribs.

‘Aaaaaaaargh !’ Shouted in painful agony the soldier, flying over the ground.

Eyes opened wide, they immediately reacted to the threat defensively, by changing stances.

‘What the fuck is happening?!’ Desperate cry from madness.

‘It shouldn’t hurt at all!... ’ Marduk replied.

‘What should we…?’

Mumu did not hesitate, and launched a dangerous onslaught, with an effort to rip off its throat, but his forceful assault resulted in vain, as his hand went through its body, as if it were some kind of gas matter. In the moment of surprise, Mumu’s small, fragile body fell out of balance, which gave an opportunity for the invader. In a blink of an eye the two of them were on the edge of unbearable pain of the living, and beyond. Fortunately, Mumu could pull himself together, despite the fact Tolk couldn’t. He was trying, but he failed, obviously.

Seeing the inexplicable events, Dep and Marduk followed their comrade onto combat one after another. When even their efforts seemed worthless because of the unsolid, shapeless body, they realized that the absurdity they saw was not a mere hallucination.

The three of them continued fighting the invincible, who chose to play with its prey,  like a sadistic evil. Marduk and Mumu were on the verge of momentary powerlessness, while Dep was being suffocated by the scum. It pulled back its left arm and was intending to land the last blow. As he concentrated power, he slowly pushed on Dep’s chest, and emitted a shock wave which pierced through him. A little thing flew out of his back. The possession landed right in front of Marduk, who picked it up with a lack of comprehension.

‘You cheeky bastard…’ He said shocked.

Dep, who miraculously did not die, turned his head to Marduk and noticed his most fearfully treasured artificial memory.

‘Give it back to me!’ He yelled while coughing blood from his unexisting organs.

He rose up through the pain, swang his arm, that actually hit the black embodiment, which tried to kill him. No one knew how, but its head cracked up. After seconds of disorientation, it faded again. This time he decided to take on the weakest. It stepped out from a dark, dimensional hole, grabbed Tolk’s face, lifted him up and sucked out his life in a matter of seconds.

‘Run…Run…’ were his last words, before he turned into dust.

Despite these were his last worlds, the selfish did not listen.  It began to run against the three, who planned on attacking separately. However, it passed through them, just like before.

It continued on running.

‘Give it back!’ Dep begged the criminal about giving him back his golden treasure.

‘How did you get this?’ Marduk answered to the request with a question.

‘I swear I don’t know. We will talk about it later.’

Marduk selflessly gave it back in an instance.

‘What now?’ Mumu’s voice after a long time.

‘Do what Tolk ordered us to do. Run.’ Dep made up his mind and began the chase.

The figure was nearly out of sight by the time.

‘That son of a bitch.’ Comrades followed him.

‘How did you manage to hit thim?’ Asked Mumu while on the run.

‘If I knew… I would tell you.’

‘It happened when I found your treasure. How did you came to such thing? We, demons are not carrying anything from our previous life, our badges of existence are confiscated when we die.’ Marduk said.

‘I have no the foggiest idea of why, maybe it will lead us to an explainable reason of everything.’

‘But it fell out of your back. What the fuck, dude?’

‘Oh, after a time I swallowed it. I was too afraid of losing it.’

‘Geez man.’

‘I did not say skeletons don’t have a belly.’

‘Look, it’s approaching something.’ Mumu noticed.

‘Huh?’ Both of the distracted interrupted the conversation and looked into the distance.

The mysterious being came to a well, and jumped into it.

‘A well…’ Dep whispered for himself.

‘Most probably it’s connected to the human world.’ Mumu came to a conclusion.

‘What are you waiting for then? Get the hell in!’ Marduk revolved, and encouraged his companions with a friendly kick in the ass. He was the last one to jump in it.

The teleportation didn’t last too long, after a while they found themselves under a red sky.

A mixture of red and orange, to be more specific. It seemed as a desert, but the ground was solid. One black, leafless tree decorated the landscape.

‘Guys… I think we are standing in a puddle of…’

‘Blood.’ Interrupted Marduk, who squatted down, dipped his finger in it, and tasted it.

‘You shouldn’t be able to taste flavours.’ Mumu said.

‘But I do.’

Just to be sure, Mumu did the same as Marduk.

‘That’s strange, I don’t taste anything.’

‘That’s even more stranger… look there.’ Dep pointed at three gates westwards.

‘Were they there a moment ago? I doubt it.’ Mumu added.

‘Let’s head to the gates then.’ Marduk decided in the name of his comrades.

The three of them stepped out from the puddle, but what they didn’t notice was, that Marduk’s footprints left blood on the ground, while their didn’t. Having approached the destination, everyone chose a gate for himself. Dep the left, Marduk the middle, Mumu the right one. Without any more unnecessary words, they entered through the gates of mysterious darkness.

‘Such a dark place.’ Dep told himself.

As he was walking in the dark, a ray of light appeared not so far ahead.

In front of him, the black figure stood next to the golden throne, in which Tolk was sitting still, lifelessly. He manifested no sign of consciousness. An open, wooden chest filled with gold was placed further, closer to the exit gate. The sinful stroked Tolk’s face gently, adjusted his damaged hair, and then looked at the punk, although it had no eyes to see with.

‘What is this supposed to mean…’ Dep whispered uneasily, as the situation completely confused him.

As the black embodiment finished caring of his little toy, it walked away, and faded.

Faster than Dep would be able to react. Blood began to flow out from Tolk’s mouth.

The gold twinkled even more impressively than before. Dep realized there is no time to hesitate. He stepped up to the fallen soldier, and carried him out on his shoulder.

His body wasn’t even heavy, it was like a doll. They reached the exit gate, and left the path.

Marduk and Mumu came out both at the same time, just as Dep. Marduk possessed a chest,

Mumu carried out both. Both the coffer and the soulless comrade.

No one understood what was going on, Marduk spoke up.

‘Isn’t this the previous entry?’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Dep questioned Marduk.

‘He means this is the place where we entered the gates.’ Explained Mumu.

‘Indeed it is.’ Sighed a bald, cloaked man, who had a black cross on each eye, and a red scythe in his hand. ‘I am Cruscifix, the psychologist of life…’ He continued.

‘Thou shall drink blood to restore one’s life. As in life, you consume dirt to purify the soul, adjust the shape. Without damage, the damaged ones would lead our low lifes.

But the dirt you produced will be restored in your body now. The suffering shall be yours.’ Cruscifix pointed at Marduk.

‘Got it.’ Marduk did not resist. He headed to the puddle with the treasured chest of gold in his hands, without fear.

‘He chose gold…’ Dep started a conversation with the mummy.

‘Maybe.’

‘Maybe?’

‘In this game of absurdity, we cannot tell for sure that the chest was not the only thing within the gate.’

‘You are quite the thinker.’

Marduk dropped his coffer, knelt down in blood, but before would begin to fulfill his obligation, he looked up to the sky, closed his eyes, and slushed blood on his face. Finishing his evilish ritual, he let the first portion of blood down his throat. He stopped. His breathing fastened, an abrupt torment compelled him to welter in agony. It seemed as if a savage beast wanted to get out of his muscular body. Huge scars and blows emerged to the skin from his rotten past. However, he had to continue on consuming. As the blood was drunk from the hollow, the two effigies of Tolk’s body disappeared and turned to dust once more again.

‘Hey!...’ Dep’s reacted mournfully.

‘Don’t expect someone to come back from death twice. Don’t expect anything in this nonsensical world.’ Mumu replied calmly.

 Meanwhile, Marduk discovered a smaller gate which was recondite under the red.

He opened it roughly, without telling anyone. Red roses were the only thing he found in it.

‘I have found something...’

The moment he dropped his guard, a black hand grabbed his shoulder, and dragged him into the unknown.

Mumu dropped his own coffer and immediately rushed after Marduk, but before he would jump in, he stole some of Marduk’s gold and hid it under his bandages. Dep followed. The world turned upside down as they passed through. In a blink of an eye they found themselves surrounded by water. Sea water. Dep and Marduk were trying to reach the surface by swimming diligently, but the surface was just too far away. It appeared Mumu could not swim, as he was sinking carelessly.

‘He cannot…’ Marduk noticed his unskilful comrade, but had to close his mouth because he nearly ran out of breath.

The depths shook, something was coming up from the dark with high velocity. A whale.

It saved Mumu from sinking, and the two others took advantage of it. It was not difficult for them to hold on to the whale, as its purpose was to save them. It took aim at the light.

The giant whale flew out of water and turned into a flying whale instead, when opening its enormous wings. The course changed, Dep, Mumu and Marduk were flying towards an island covered in concrete.

‘I thought I have seen nearly everything possible while alive, but this obviously proves me wrong.’ Dep said in amazement.

‘It is rapturous what can a man find in afterlife.’ Mumu added.

‘Sentimentals.’ Grumbled Marduk who was sitting front.

When the whale reached the island, they jumped off, and it flew back to the sky. Its wings disappeared, and it plunged back into the sea.

A labyrinth made of high concrete walls awaited the dimension tourists.

‘Ahh there you are.’ A voice spoke up from behind.

It was Cruscifix, who was sailing to the shore in his little, wooden boat.

‘Now that we are all here, I should explain the rules of this little game shouldn’t I… this island is called Death Clocks. Your time here is limited. Here you go.’ Cruscifix stabbed his scythe into the ground, and opened his palms. He revealed three little pocket watches which he tossed to them slightly. ‘Each one is showing different time left. The time equals the value of your previous life, which means someone might live longer, someone shorter… However,  there are three more pocket watches hidden on this island. If you seek them out before your time expires, you are safe. All three have a certain meaning and usage. You have to survive an entire day. Deceptions are forbidden, I shall cut the off the head of those who deceit. Your time starts… now.’ Cruscifix flicked, and the clock hands started running.

‘Run.’

Half an hour later

‘Wait ! Without me, you will not be able to assemble the clock!’ Panted in fear of death the hopeless mortal.

‘I am running out of time, old man, but let me explain this. Criminal minds are the most subversive ones! Criminal minds are still but shapeless, creatively random but accurate as the most accurate clocks in the world.’ Having said that Marduk violated the only law set by Cruscifix, as he gashed the old man’s throat with his long, black nails.

A second later, a black crow cawed loudly in the sky, and the sound echoed in the whole labyrinth, as the walls sent it forwards. The crow drew even Dep’s and Mumu’s attention away for a second or two, but Marduk was the only one to face punishment, for the crow evidently saw the violent act.

‘That bastard…’

Ignoring the possible death sentence, Marduk had taken the parts of the clock, and walked away from the crime scene calmly.

‘How dare you…’ Cruscifix, who was sitting on the top of the wall, grunted with great anger.

‘Oppose my will!’ He continued, and swang his scythe, creating a cold windstorm, and a gravitational pressure that dragged the depraved, violent demon to the ground.

Marduk barely managed to save his possible source of time. As the pressure came to an end, he stood up guardedly, and his words ran as follows.

‘No law will save one from a bloody knife, and no bloody knife will save the law.’ Marduk said with a complacent smile, as someone who was fully aware of his loftiness of soul.

No fear, however, uppish pride could be discerned from his intonation.

Cruscifix’s seriousness disappeared. Instead, he wore a subdued smile for a moment, and he seemed as someone, who appeared to had predicted this cruel event.

‘I knew this scenario was an option.’ He said.

‘You will not kill me off, I suppose.’ Marduk, as always, was sure of his feral instincts.

‘Of course not.’ Cruscifix supported his theory.

‘What are your intentions then?’ Marduk asked with an indifferent tone.

‘I have nothing to hide… nor to reveal.’

Suddenly, an avid munching could be heard from behind Marduk. He turned, and saw that the killed man’s flesh was being eaten by the black embodiment, who he has not met for the first time. It found no enjoyment in eating the gory flesh, as it was acting in haste.

‘This scum…’

‘Don’t you think about it, you probably could not even touch him. I ban your desire.’

Marduk’s satisfaction was fed in the moment he violated the law, he knew he had to stop, as he was aware of the invincibility of his set enemy. Rethinking the situation, he let it be.

‘I wasted your time a little bit, it seems.’

Marduk looked at his pocket watch promptly. He had no much time left.

‘What are you going to do, Marduk?’ Cruscifix provocated, as he asked in a sarcastic tone.

‘The strong ones know time cannot be sought or received. Time will be constructed by one.

They will assemble the clock, then after a while they will consume it in order to create a greater one. That is exactly what successful men do.’ He answered without being afraid of the potential inability to assemble the clock, and began to do what he had to.

‘Well done.’

‘Just between us’  -  Cruscifix whispered to Marduk’s ear – ‘ Only one of you may remain and be sent off to your homeland.’ After he travelled through space abruptly again, crows flew out from his robe. Then, he left no traces of himself behind, disappearing into air once more.