The ride was long and boring. I got some more answers from Alina.
"Your soul bears a stigma from your past life. A curse which was inflicted upon you by a witch. That witch is no more. Not even her soul remains but that's exactly why your curse lingers even in your new life.
The afterlife or the hell is a system which purifies the soul. Your soul should be cleansed after being punished in hell. That's how it goes.
The witch held a grudge so deeply against you that she went this far. She used her own soul as payment for your curse. It's abnormally potent.
When I saw you in my visions, I started searching for you. That's when I saw your soul bearing the curse. As things stood, your soul was vanishing too. I had to step in and make sure your soul lived.
That's why your original personality got masked under the protection I put on your soul. Now your original personality is speaking." (Alina)
"True that the previous me does not feel like myself at all. It was as if my body was possessed. I guess my past life had some problems as well."
That information is crucial. Because I feel like I am having a mental breakdown. Two different personalities in one body, sounds like dissociative identity disorder. Am I mentally ill?
"No, you aren't. I am saying that your curse still lingers. I did try to remove it when I kissed you but that witch is more tenacious than I had anticipated." (Alina)
"Why was I cursed in the first place? Did I do something to incur the wrath of the witch?"
My past life, I can't say what I was like. If my soul stays the same with just different memories, I can say I was not a likable person.
"You were quirky. Let's just leave it at that. As for the reason for your curse, I believe the witch felt insulted. You dismissed her work as a witch and berated her in front of everyone.
Her husband died at your hands and her daughter eloped with you. She fell in love with you and eloped. The witch tried to best you at her strongest subject but you trumped her.
Your nonchalant, defiant and snarky remarks made the witch hate you. So much so that she started to look for ways to permanently curse you. Not for one life but as long as your soul remains, you will be cursed.
In the end, the witch ended up killing her daughter who was pregnant with your child and you killed her in revenge. That was the trigger condition and that's how you were cursed." (Alina)
Digesting that information was not easy. But what kind of a monster was I? I killed her husband, berated her and dismissed her efforts, stole her daughter from her and humiliated her so much that she wanted to make me suffer at her cost.
Somehow I am the villain of that story.
"By the way, your wife from your past life is the girl you loved in your current life. Fate really is a weird thing." (Alina)
She sounded a bit unhappy but I guess you wouldn't be thrilled when your partner has another person they love.
"Still, what does the curse do?"
"It's a pretty straightforward yet difficult to remove curse. It just gives you bad luck. A luck so bad that you would go insane from it and die.
If it lingered as it was supposed to, your soul would have been crushed by the pain." (Alina)
It's not surprising considering what I did to her. I am the real villain.
"Enough about that. We are here. Get ready, it's about to get rowdy." (Alina)
Her face lit up. Aren't we going to be on a covert mission? She seems pretty much ready for a siege.
"Why would it get rowdy?"
"Why else! We are going to knock every last one of them. If we want to get to Lucifer, we need to beat every single guard and fast. Before they alert my father, we need to beat every last one of them." (Alina)
Her logic is sound but why is she acting so worked up? Anyway, I keep following her until we reach a cliff.
I gaze down and see Niflheim. It's a big ice pond. From up here, it seems nothing more than an ice pond.
"Technically it is a lake but your understanding is pretty funny." (Alina)
She retorted and I could only give a smile.
"Lucifer is at the very center, the deepest layer of Niflheim. You were there too, remember?" (Alina)
I don't remember where I was since I never paid much attention to my surroundings the first time. The later times, I was kept at the very edge, far from Lucifer.
"The plan is pretty straightforward. We jump them, incapacitate them and pull Lucifer out. The security is pretty relaxed since this is one of the harshest of hells.
Father did assign guards but they are probably slacking off somewhere father can't see." (Alina)
"Wait, God has blind spots?"
That was the most shocking I have had heard.
"Isn't he omniscient?"
"No, he is not. If he was, I couldn't have slipped away from home."
So, everything we know about God is exaggerated.
"Father is omniscient only in his own creation. Those that exist independently of his rule are not counted. He knows everything about his creation, more or less. Limbo is not his creation and neither is this system.
Father does not everything that happens here. He has placed guards to make up for his weakness but the guards have gotten lazy." (Alina)
Her tone is exasperated. She is probably tired of her father's antics.
"So we are free to cut loose?"
"Yeah. Get down there and beat everyone up. Do it quick otherwise they will send word to father." (Alina)
That was what I wanted to hear. I jumped down and landed right before a guard. The shock probably overwhelmed them. I chopped its neck and the head flew right off.
The body dispersed into particles of light. I quickly survey the situation and start my move.
I feel nostalgic, feeling the cold on my skin and the bitterness of air made me remember my first few days here.
Alina has jumped down too and is moving swiftly towards the inner circle of the river. My job is to distract the guards. I am a diversion.
I start making weird noises to draw the most attention. Guards started coming my way in droves. It's a circle so I have to escape from the circle.
It didn't take much time. I was being beaten black and blue but it didn't hurt that much. My body has changed way too much in the time I spent in limbo.
I don't have any cool flashy power moves but my fists are more than enough. I blow every guard away. They were piled up on me trying to bury me but I blew them way.
I see Alina coming my way.
"Are you done?"
"No, the ice isn't melting. We need a blunt attack. Father made the ice resistant to any divine authority. Blunt physical attacks may break through it." (Alina)
So I had to go and break the ice around Lucifer. My hands broke in the process. The ice was really hard. After digging Lucifer out, I realized something.
Lucifer is super tall. He is probably 12 feet tall.
"Man, you are huge."
"It's been ages since I felt my legs. Still, you are pulling a different stunt. By the way, should you be here…" (Lucifer)
"Call me Alina. I have a new name. My beloved gave me a new name. Call me by that name, uncle Lucifer." (Alina)
He gave Alina a smirk. Our primary objective is complete.
"Alina, we should escape from here."
"True." (Alina)
She opened a breach to the limbo. Lucifer jumped in first. Well, I can ask him later. First, we have to get away from here. This is turning into a big mess.