Light against the dark(Hellbound train III)

Author`s Note:

Friends: In case you haven`t read the previous chapters. Here you have quick links. I also included in this chapter a glossary at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The air whistle wailed successively, indicating the imminent departure of the train that in a matter of seconds vanished within the fog. Avernoville is a ghost town, covered in a thick red-smoggy fog and a repugnant sulphur stink.

Hell`s Gate was at about 300 ft from them. Burning in a perennial black and red fire and guarded by the fearsome Cerberus, the hellish three-headed dog. It was a horrendous sight. Apprehension was beginning to take the best of them. Perspiring and somewhat suffocated by the environment, they were in absolute silence.

Unexpectedly, a tall, slender man wearing a red tuxedo appeared in the scene. Their jitteriness was so obvious that terror was undeniable. “Gentlemen, welcome to Avernoville, Hell`s Gate. I am Balberith, your host. There are two ways of establishing the Grand Finale. The first is sitting all of you at the table with Mr. Soulreaper, in which case, the lowest score would send the fortunate one straight to Cerberus`s maws, and naturally I can spare you the details of its implication, Yes?” He said with a caustic smirk.

They exchanged unreadable looks and fidgeted about uncomfortably.“The second one involves a round between you three, in which case, the winner will represent the group, but the right to the Grand Prize or its exchange is just for one. The remaining two players` lives and souls would be spared. You have five minutes to decide. I`ll be back by then” And he vanished as he came.

For a whole minute they were in utter silence. Pokerking broke the stillness: “I think we stand a better chance sitting with Soulreaper the three of us” “Have you gone mad?” said Trapper. “You and your thirst for vengeance will destroy us all. Let the best one of us compete with Soulreaper. It is the most sensible thing to do!”

“ I agree with Trapper” interrupted Vishnu. “It is an opportunity to save us all” “And to tell you the truth, at this point the prize is irrelevant” continued Trapper “I`d give anything to be back on that train and not here!” “Bah! You are a big coward” spat out Pokerking “I didn`t come this far to lose!” “Losing? Winning? Does it matter now?” responded Vishnu. “How good would the Grand Prize be if we are all dead?”

Balberith reappeared “Gentlemen? Have you made a decision? The first? The second?” Trapper looked at Balberith intently “The second condition but with a variable, is it possible? “And what would that variable be, Mr. Trapper?” inquired Balberith.

“Selecting our representative without competing between us” answered Trapper. “If you all agree in a particular player, it is possible, otherwise you must compete between yourselves” warned Balberith. “Well, I propose Vishnu” said Trapper in a hurry. “Wait a minute” Pokerking jumped “I haven`t proposed Vishnu. Do not count on me!” “But I support him and he agrees with me” Trapper ranted.

Balberith looked at the three players and said: “I have a better idea. Since you are two against one, Mr. Pokerking must play for his life and soul with Mr. Vishnu. The winner shall sit with Mr. Soulreaper, the defeated…hahahaha!- He chuckled with malevolence- “The defeated will land in our pet`s maws. Agreed, Mr. Pokerking?” “Yes. I think it is the fairest decision! I don`t trust this Vishnu guy!” answered Pokerking. “How about you, Mr. Vishnu?” asked Balberith. “Yes. Agreed!” said Vishnu.

Looks were exchanged. Akward looks. Terror? Confusion? Resignation? It was not possible to determine what. Out of nowhere a table covered in shiny red velvet materialized in front of them. There were three chairs and Balberith was already sitting in one of them. “I will be the dealer and that is not negotiable” said Balberith with his typical caustic smirk “Very well, players. Only bet: Life and Soul. One round with discard.” pointed Balberith.

A shiny deck of cards materialized in his hands and the cards were dealt very quickly. Vishnu glanced at his cards and put them face down on the table. Pokerking looked at his and gulped down a knot in his throat. “One” he said throwing it on the table with disdain. “Three” said Vishnu as he discarded.

Pokerking chuckled waiting for his lonely card. Trapper looked at him with surprise and sadness at the same time. Vishnu, on the other hand, kept in silence waiting for his three. The cards were dealt and both players observed them intently and heavily perspiring cheeks down. “Well?” said Balberith. “The challenger shall expose his game. That means you, Mr. Pokerking” Laughing out loud, he placed the cards on the table: “Poker of Aces! Hahahahaha!”

“Royal Flush” answered Vishnu with an unreadable face “You could`ve trusted me. Now it is too late!” Pokerking`s eyes almost went out of his sockets, he was sweating profusely and his hands were trembling uncontrollably “Nooo! Nooooooooo!!! It is not possible! One in a thousand!”

His body was thrown towards Cerberus with an incredible force and his three heads fought among them for the morsel, ripping it apart and eating one piece each “ I think we are now ready for the Grand finale” said Balberith laughing in a monstrous manner. “Mr. Soulreaper shall be with Mr. Vishnu in a few moments” And then he vanished...

Trapper scrutinized Vishnu`s attitude. “You look quite calm, Vishnu. Everything all right?” “Yes, Trapper. I never doubted that I `d play Soulreaper. I can`t explain it. I always had that sensation. Everything has been so fast. So many lives and souls lost for selfish reasons. It saddens me. That`s all” “I know!” said Trapper “Human beings can be so insensitive sometimes”

Vishnu turned his face toward Trapper and looked him in the eyes “And you, Trapper? Why did you place your trust in me? You hardly know me. Besides, what makes you think that if I win I won`t cash the prize for my benefit only? What`s in it for you?” Trapper smiled. “When you win, I`ll tell you. If you win, we both win. For now just concentrate in the coming round” Vishnu was going to protest but Balberith reappeared and he couldn`t say anything else....

To be continued...

An Interview with God

Copyright ©Mystique®2010(Translated from the original in Spanish by Mystique)

Copyright ©Mystique®2007

Copyright ©Alberto J. Alvarez G.® 2006

• Shakti

Shakti (Devanagari) from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that move through the entire universe.^[1] Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes referred to as 'The Great Divine Mother' in Hinduism. On the earthly plane, Shakti most actively manifests through female embodiment and fertility, though it is also present in males in its potential, unmanifest form.

• Vishnu

Vishnu (IAST: viṣṇu, Devanagari:) is the Supreme God in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God.^[1] He is exalted as the highest God in Śruti like the Taittiriya Shakha and the Bhagavad Gita. The Trimurti (English: ‘three forms’; Sanskrit: trimūrti) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva the destroyer or transformer."^[8][9] These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad"^[10] or the "Great Trinity".^[11] Of the three members of the Trimurti, the Bhagavata Purana, which espouses the Vaishnavite viewpoint, explains that the greatest benefit can be had from Vishnu

• Brahman

In the Hindu religion, Brahman (bráhman) is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe.^[1] The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different philosophical schools. In the Rig Veda, Brahman gives rise to the primordial being Hiranyagarbha that is equated with the creator God Brahmā. The trimurti can thus be considered a personification of Hiranyagarbha as the active principle behind the phenomena of the universe.The word "Brahman" is derived from the verb ((brh)) (Sanskrit: to grow), and connotes greatness. The Mundaka Upanishad says: Om- That supreme Brahman is infinite, and this conditioned Brahman is infinite. The infinite proceeds from infinite. Then through knowledge, realizing the infinitude of the infinite, it remains as infinite alone.

• Samael or Satan

Satan (Hebrew: הַשָׂטָן ha-Satan ("the accuser"); Persian "sheytân"; Arabic: الشيطان al-Shaitan ("the adversary") - both from the Semitic root: Ś-Ṭ-N) is an embodiment of antagonism that originates from the Abrahamic religions, being traditionally considered an angel in Judeo-Christian belief, and a Jinn in Islamic belief. Originally, the term was used as a title for various entities that challenged the religious faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible. Since then, the Abrahamic religions have used "Satan" as a name for the Devil.As the embodiment of evil, and plays a major role in Christian theology and literature, as well as in many other religions. He is the tempter and spiritual enemy of mankind. He is the adversary of God although subordinate to him and able to act only by his sufferance and is represented frequently as the leader or prince of all apostate angels and as ruler of hell.

• Balberith

Baalberith was the chief secretary of Hell, head of its public archives, and the demon who tempted men to blasphemy and murder, also considered the middle man for pacts between man and the Devil. When seated among the princes of Hell, he was usually seen as a pontiff.

• Azazel

This is confirmed by the Book of Enoch, which brings Azazel into connection with the Biblical story of the fall of the angels, located, obviously in accordance with ancient folk-lore, on Mount Hermon as a sort of an old Semitic Blocksberg, a gathering-place of demons of old .Azazel is represented in the Book of Enoch as the leader of the rebellious Watchers in the time preceding the flood; he taught men the art of warfare, of making swords, knives, shields, and coats of mail, and women the art of deception by ornamenting the body, dyeing the hair, and painting the face and the eyebrows, and also revealed to the people the secrets of witchcraft and corrupted their manners, leading them into wickedness and impurity. Azazel was not ranked with God, but regarded simply as the personification of wickedness in contrast with the righteous government of God.