My head hurt.
They are Rage.
My whole body ached.
Brutal.
I felt a great sense of numbness throughout my body. My eyelids felt too heavy, and I couldn't open my eyes to see what was happening.
Without mercy....
Still, I could feel that I was being held by something, or someone—I had no idea—my arms trapped in a very strong grip I couldn't break free from in this state of numbness.
But You..... You will be worse.
I heard strange screeches, the sound of footsteps dragging something heavy and throwing it near wherever I was now.
Rip and Tear...
I remained there, in a state of semi-consciousness, until suddenly I felt a powerful burst deep within my subconscious, causing a wave of strength and vitality to shake my entire body, abruptly waking me from my lethargy.
UNTIL IT'S DONE!!!
I opened my eyes for the first time since who knows how long, the clarity of light hitting my retinas, leaving me blinking over and over until I completely regained the clarity of my sight.
The first thing I saw was that I was in some kind of huge, medieval-looking chamber, some kind of dungeon, with torches and such, a very gloomy place, with human corpses piled everywhere.
The place was enormous, easily the size of a multi-story building, with light filtering down from a huge, round hole where a roof was supposed to be.
The atmosphere felt heavy, charged with a great, supernatural weight so unsettling it chilled my bones.
And my soul.
In that moment of new lucidity, I realized something.
Somehow, I was breathing again, and I was more than sure that I had indeed been dead until a moment ago.
I didn't panic immediately either; I'd been through too many weird things lately to even be surprised by it.
That, and I had even stood before GOD, literally and in person.
Not his limitedly described counterpart from biblical texts, nor his messianic and benevolent son.
More than that.
IT WAS THE REAL DEAL.
The omnipresent and omnipotent creator who could have erased me from existence if He had so wished.
How fucked up does my luck have to be for all this to happen to me?
One moment I was in the deepest shit pit I could have gotten myself into.
And the next moment, literal God comes and saves my ass from being lunch for eons for some Lovecraftian entity.
So I wasn't even fazed by the strange sight before me.
If there was anything I could complain about in all this, it was the smell of this place.
The smell was horribly unbearable, and only by pure willpower wasn't I vomiting as soon as I had woken up right in the middle of this kind of mass grave full of corpses in an obvious state of decomposition.
The sound of clumsy footsteps and a loud screech approaching quickly caught my attention, and when I turned my gaze, I saw it.
It was something I could recognize as something that was once human, though it was more of an emaciated corpse than a human at this point, judging by the horrible state it was in, its flesh exposed and deformed beyond recognition, walking slowly with a voracious hunger.
It looked more like a zombie of some kind, and judging by the gaze of those yellowish eyes glowing with hunger and its horrible screeches coming from its disgusting mouth, it clearly intended to make me its next dinner.
Quickly, my body reacted swiftly by reflex, freeing my right arm with a strength I didn't have before, and I grabbed the creature by the neck before it could get close to biting my face.
Another sharp movement and I freed my other arm too, proceeding to deliver a powerful punch to the creature's face, sending it to the ground, leaving it momentarily stunned as I approached to crush its skull under the weight of my boot, with the loud sound of blood and brains scattering across the floor, finishing it off and freeing it from its miserable existence.
[Initializing... One moment... Please wait.]
Oh, I had forgotten about this thing. Well, as long as it's useful, better.
Then I turned my gaze back to the corpse, instinctively extending a hand towards it, and out of nowhere, a torrent of energy was sucked from the corpse until nothing remained.
[Synchronization #########: #### ###### 1%]
Immediately, a wave of vital warmth and euphoria invaded every fiber of my body and soul, revitalizing me, strengthening my body and soul, endowing them with power.
I clenched and unclenched my fist several times, feeling a new strength settling into my body, quickly getting used to my new power.
It was a strange but relaxing sensation.
I wouldn't know how to describe it more accurately, but I had a feeling it had to do with what happened during my recent encounter with GOD.
Putting that new experience aside, I also quickly realized something: I was wearing practically the same military uniform and tactical gear I had on before I died.
And it's worth emphasizing that it was in the same deteriorated and bloodstained state.
As if I'd been hit by a fuckingrocket.
I could see a hole the size of my open palm in the area of my abdomen, through which I could even see my entrails.
Curiously, I wasn't feeling any pain. It was weird.
Something was terribly wrong.
I looked carefully at the deathly pale skin of my hands and arms, having no idea what was happening at the moment.
I had a strange feeling that this place had something to do with my current state.
I also felt a sense of urgency, as if I had to go somewhere, in a specific direction.
As if something was guiding me towards an exit from this place.
[Evaluating vital signs....]
The screen returned with a beep as I checked the pockets of my pants, finding I still possessed my old, reliable Beretta M9A2 9mm and a Bowie combat knife.
[Vital signs absent...]
I started putting two and two together quickly.
My current state. The unnatural pale tone of my skin. And the bloodied clothes I was still wearing. I couldn't feel my heart beating,and the feeling of coldness I felt in my bones.
I was now a fucking zombie.
I was still dead, in a sense, but unlike the creature I had killed a moment ago, I had total freedom of movement.
Fortunately, I still possessed all my mental faculties, analytical skills, and my thoughts weren't filled with tearing the flesh of the living and a desire to eat brains.
Yet.
If I had to explain it somehow, it would be that while I was in this place, this kind of plane or dimension, I existed as a kind of undead or vengeful spirit.
I had no idea how, but something very deep inside me told me this place had a lot to do with it.
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long before a screen appeared before my eyes.
[Current Location: Hell: First Layer - Soul Harbor.
Description: Located in the first layer of Hell,the Soul Harbor transports the damned to their eternal torment. While some lost souls wander the halls of despair, the rest are led to the river barge to be delivered to their destiny in Hell, awaiting their next judgment at the hands of the dark lords.]
Oh no.
That was clearly not a good sign.
What I first expected upon waking up was to be in some place alive with a new body, like certain isekai genre tropes that are well-known in those entertainment stories.
[New Emergency Mission:
Objective: Escape from hell.
Estimated Time:Indefinite.
Rewards:
- Resurrection.
- Synchronization - #########: #### ###### +70%
Failure:
- Current vessel destroyed.
- Banishment to the next layer of hell.
- Eternal damnation.
...]
But it certainly seems I didn't get such treatment.
It seemed that whoever gave me this new power wasn't going to make things so easy for me and only did it halfway.
If I wanted to earn the chance to walk among the living again, I would evidently have to fight for it.
My intuition told me this was some kind of test, and I would have no choice but to complete it even if I had no other option.
The alternative certainly wasn't the best.
Between this and potentially rotting in hell, anyone would prefer the former.
I could feel a very weak pull on my soul, as if this place wanted to bury me deep within.
And judging by what this screen said, nothing good awaited me on that side.
The weight of my actions in life guaranteed me a VIP pass to the worst tortures and punishments I could ever imagine.
Under no circumstances could I fail, or I would suffer the consequences of my actions.
Fortunately, these new powers I had obtained had allowed me to incarnate some kind of physical form while I remained in this plane, granting me one single, unique opportunity.
Even so, that didn't make me completely immune to the danger of the horrors and inhabitants of this dimension.
And I don't think things like that zombie from before are the only things inhabiting this place.
No, it's hell, and as such, there will be demons waiting to tear me to shreds and devour my soul.
So I would have to fight my way through hordes of demons and their spawn the only way I knew how:
With brutally excessive and bloody violence.
I still had to find some way out of this place and escape to the world of the living.
And I was more than sure that hell wasn't going to make it easy for me.
I moved again, searching with my gaze for a possible exit from this place.
Down here, the only hallways were heavily blocked by strong steel bars, and judging by the faint light, it was possibly the path deeper into the dungeon or possibly a passage to a worse place.
Instead, above, I could see a spiral staircase on the walls leading to the ceiling, the only possible path.
Taking the only existing route, I walked to the lower end to climb up, kicking aside any corpse blocking my path, causing them to fall with a dull thud against the dungeon's stone floor or impact other corpses.
Just as I reached the top, with the light practically hitting my face, a new system notice appeared.
[Signal detected...
A light emanates from the mortal plane...
Triangulating coordinates...]
The message faded as quickly as it appeared, and a kind of intangible line appeared at the edge of my vision, guiding a path to what, hopefully, would be a possible exit from this place.
....
The light from outside hit my eyes hard, forcing me to squint as I finished climbing over the wall after the staircase path ended, leaving me no choice but to perform a last-minute improvised climb, holding onto the gaps in the wall until I reached the roof.
Once on top, I contemplated the new view of this place.
It was a sterile, gray wasteland, lifeless, with withered trees, a large network of caves and islands, and a strange, unsettling supernatural blue river.
Every now and then, I saw another ghostly silhouette moving forward, curiously, along the same path I was supposed to take.
I could also see more zombies like the one I had eliminated earlier, wandering around.
That, and what could be another variant of these, who still possessed some human garments and/or even wielded crude tools, swords, or knives, clumsily, as they possessed the same level of intelligence as their weaker counterparts.
But the most concerning were the last ones, as they even possessed steel armor, tactical equipment like bulletproof vests, police or military uniforms, of all kinds.
This last variant was evidently better armed, even wielding firearms.
I quickly categorized them:
Type A: Common, ordinary zombie.
Type B:Armed with melee weapons or blunt objects, more dangerous.
Type C:Better equipped and armed, possibly retaining some of their intelligence, potentially more dangerous.
I got a better look when one of the latter was walking randomly too close to the hole I had come out of.
He was dressed like one of those SS Nazis from the last century, with a somewhat deteriorated backpack with coils of electricity sparking every now and then.
A Nazi zombie.
I quickly drew my combat knife, and while it hadn't noticed my presence, I got close enough and then stabbed it several times.
The first, straight into the zombie's neck as it let out a screech of pain.
I struggled with the creature, my other free hand trying to prevent it from using its weapon and opening fire, which would attract the attention of all the creatures around.
I quickly withdrew the knife, only to stab it again in the back of its skull.
As I did so, its body lost all traces of life and fell to the ground like a puppet.
And as had happened before, its vital essence was absorbed by my body, strengthening me again.
I quickly checked the weapon, inspecting its mechanisms and detaching the magazine while checking the amount of ammunition.
[Weapon acquired: Assault Rifle
Name: Sturmgewehr-1946 (Stg-46-T).
Caliber:7.92x37mm Kurz.
Magazine capacity:32 rounds.]
I reinserted the magazine, pulled the charging handle of the weapon slightly, checking and verifying that the bullet was correctly loaded into the chamber, then released it, and the handle quickly returned to its correct position.
I then looted the corpse, finding some full magazines of ammunition, ready to kill.
I advanced several meters until I reached a large open space, sighting more undead prowling the area.
I rested the rifle's stock on my elbow, in a firing position, quickly getting used to the weapon's weight as I aimed towards one of the nearest zombies, my finger on the trigger ready to fire.
BOOM!
(Recommended play list: DOOM 2016 - Harbinger)
A loud roar was heard. The first zombie's head exploded in a rain of blood as a shell casing bounced on the ground.
Quickly, like a chain reaction, one by one the creatures began to growl loudly and started moving rapidly.
I opened fire again, now prioritizing those zombies that were armed or were close enough to harm me, killing several in the process.
Immediately, in retaliation, the zombies lunged, running erratically in my direction.
While those who had weapons began to shoot, with some of the latter occasionally trying to flank towards some cover or seeking to find some terrain advantage with their limited intelligence, possibly some remnant of behavior they were accustomed to in life.
Some shots came too close to hitting me; others ended up riddling their own comrades as they fired erratically and uncontrollably.
Evidently, due to the way they handled their weapons so clumsily, their aim left much to be desired.
Quickly, the clearing filled with the sound of unrestrained growls, blood splattering the ground, gunfire, and bullet casings falling to the ground.
I ran, dodging some shots, and returned fire, shooting every creature within my reach, killing them and absorbing their vital essence, strengthening me and quickly healing any wounds these creatures had inflicted.
A zombie that was nearby lunged in an attempt to tear my flesh with its claws.
I shot it several rounds in the chest, stopping it in its tracks, then in a quick movement I grabbed it by the neck with my left hand and used it as a meat shield, blocking any blows, scratches, or stray shots while firing the assault rifle with my other hand at another 4 creatures rapidly approaching.
With each death, I felt my strength, stamina, speed, and perception increase in proportion to the number of enemies I eliminated.
Several bodies fell quickly, their vital essence being absorbed.
I advanced, closing the distance to the armed zombies as the meat shield was riddled by its former comrades, until I released it the moment its body began to crumble to pieces.
I fired with reckless abandon, emptying the weapon's magazine, killing 2 of the last 3 nearby zombies.
Just as my weapon ran out of ammunition, I threw it at the body of the last remaining zombie, stunning it momentarily—long enough.
I moved at an incredibly faster speed than I thought possible, and delivered a powerful kick to its chest, throwing it several meters.
Then I approached the creature and before it could get up, I crushed its skull with my boot, mashing its brains with a loud crunch that even left a small crater with blood splattered on the ground where its head had been.
I quickly recovered my weapon from the ground, removed the empty magazine, and quickly replaced it with a new one, pulling the charging handle back and then releasing it, finishing with the satisfying sound of the ammunition being loaded by the chamber mechanism.
[Synchronization Rate T##9L@#E: #### ###### 15.45%....]
I observed the massacre with a low whistle, feeling the wave of strength and power growing inside me.
Whatever this template thing was, it was clearly allowing me to strengthen myself to an unnatural degree.
Enough to allow me to survive in hell.
But I wasn't going to complain.
These things were barely the beginning of it all.
I walked, following the ghostly trail until I found a clear path next to a cliff, watching the souls move towards a stone path below, a path in the middle of the glowing supernatural ocean, heading towards some kind of ship docked at the end.
And that ship, I had a feeling, would be the key to my exit from this place.
Whatever was waiting for me ahead would be much more dangerous.
....