Lennon staggered back at once, stumbling over the chains, heart racing.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
There, in the middle of hell itself, blue letters etched themselves into the air before him, blazing like eternal fire:
[Cosmic Event Completed: After your death, the world still venerates you, and some call you the God of Pop.
Your popularity and recognition have not gone unnoticed by the rifts of the cosmos.]
He reached out, as if it were a mirage. But the light didn't vanish. Instead, it shone brighter, making his skin crawl.
[Path Unlocked: You may transcend the human race.]
Silence.
It was as if hell itself had frozen to witness the revelation.
Lennon's body trembled, and not only from fear.
He was no longer just another "Forgotten."
Not here. Not now.
And Lennon, caught between shock and despair, could only whisper to himself, voice breaking:
" What… am I really?"
He stared at the floating window, his eyes burning with disbelief. The promise of transcendence sounded like mockery against all the torment he endured. He drew a deep breath, trying to convince himself that nothing here could frighten him anymore. But deep inside, every word carved into that invisible screen tore through his mind like a whisper he could not escape.
The window quivered, and new lines appeared before him:
[You cannot yet open your status windows or use other tools.
Knowledge insufficient.
To transcend, you must grow stronger.]
" What… does that mean…? " – he muttered, his voice faltering. – "Stronger how? Against who? Where…?"
No answer.
The silence stretched on, as if the system itself ignored him. Lennon clenched his fists, his heart pounding with rage and confusion.
"Why show me this if I can't use any of it…?" – he whispered, his eyes trembling.
"What do you want from me?"
The window seemed to tremble before vanishing. Lennon was on the verge of giving up when another line unfurled before his eyes, as though whispered by the cosmos itself:
[Your pact with the demon was not fair.
The cosmos grants a rising human an extra boon:
Restrictions on the pact have been broken.]
The air left his lungs. His heart thundered as if it might burst. Lennon stared wide-eyed at the words, unable to believe.
"What… restrictions…?" – he stammered, barely a voice.
"What the hell… does this mean…?"
The window shattered into fragments of light, leaving him alone again – still chained, yet now with a troubling ember burning in the back of his mind.
He was still dazed, his thoughts spinning in spirals of confusion. The cosmic words echoed like hammers inside his skull, and yet amid the fear and disbelief… something new stirred.
Hope.
Knowing that, somehow, the human world still heard him, still remembered him, ignited a spark of strength inside. He wasn't just a number branded as "Forgotten." Someone, somewhere, was still searching.
But the question gnawed at him: where had it come from?
He inhaled deeply, shaking his head. He couldn't dwell too much on it now. Better to ignore it and focus on what he could control. With sheer force of will, he summoned back the Prisoner's Guide. The pages opened before his eyes, as if waiting for him.
If there was any way to survive, to understand this hell, it would be here.
The demand for knowledge and strength unsettled him even more.
That was what he wanted now: to understand as much as possible.
Before Lennon, the weight of the book pressed down, suffocating, as though it carried every curse of this place. The pages spun fast – hundreds, maybe thousands – but all he saw was dust and faded white. Until, finally, dark letters surfaced in a single section:
Eternal Rules of the Forgotten Prisoner
a) Obey faithfully.
b) Obey faithfully.
c) Obey faithfully.
d) After a collection, never present only one item to the warden.
e) Speaking to a warden without permission is forbidden.
f) Do everything with dedication.
g) Never wander without authorization.
h) Prisoners shall not enjoy their own harvest.
i) Never aid another prisoner without direct order.
j) Do not meet the eyes of your watcher.
k) Never question why.
And at the end, in letters even more grotesque, as though bleeding from the page:
No matter which rule is broken, the punishment is death.
Lennon leafed through the rest, frantic, but nothing else was written. A massive book, hundreds of blank pages… and only those rules, repeated as if mocking him.
The silence afterward was heavier, more suffocating than the words themselves.
He was still trying to decipher the emptiness of the pages when he heard the heavy sound of footsteps approaching. The shadows of the bars stretched long, and before him appeared his demonic warden.
Instinctively, Lennon lowered his head, staring at the cold floor, unable to hold the gaze – fear outweighed curiosity.
The silence lingered. But something was off. The demon said nothing at first, only watched him. His eyes burned like coals, but they reflected more than hatred – they reflected doubt.
Inside the creature, a thought grew restless:
"What is happening!? The chains… they're not appearing!"
The warden raised his hand, forcing the summoning. The air trembled, and only then did the chains emerge, wrapped in sparks, binding Lennon again.
With a sharp gesture, he yanked him forward, offering no explanation, dragging him out of the cell. No words. No destination. Only the metallic weight of chains and the suffocating sense that something far beyond his understanding was unfolding.
As soon as he left the cell, Lennon felt the stifling, oppressive air of the narrow corridor. But it wasn't only him. The iron doors of the other cells swung open too, and an endless line of prisoners began to form, all chained, all pulled by their wardens like animals to the slaughter.
Screams, cries, and murmurs mingled in the air, every step echoing like a collective lament. Some prisoners shuffled with their heads low, eyes already lifeless; others struggled in desperation, begging for mercy – silenced instantly by brutal blows.
Lennon walked in the midst of that macabre procession, the iron chains scraping his wrists, his feet dragging on the cold ground. In the misty horizon, through broken columns and dark haze, the silhouette of a colossal structure emerged.
It looked like a fortress or a profane temple built in layers, with spiked towers and arches that touched the sky. The place pulsed with a dark energy that crushed the chest and made every prisoner shiver.
There was only one path: all marched toward that unknown destination, and with every step, the certainty grew – something far worse awaited them.