Ammit

It was a dark place. A catacomb, it seemed. The bricks that he could see were light brown in color, with hieroglyphs carved into them. What scarce light illuminated the surroundings did not seem to have a source. Just as he began looking around, he found fourteen other people with him, all sitting and writing on their papyrus papers with quills. The suddenness was surprising, as if they came to existence just as he looked in their direction, with now the noise of their writing being heard. They were dressed like stereotypical egyptians. With their look, and the hieroglyphs, there was no doubt this took place somewhere in Egypt, although it was unclear if it was real. He was nowhere near Egypt, the last thing he remembered. He had been in Germany, in fact.

There was a low chat among them, although it was less of a chat and more of statements. What little he heard and understood already gave away that they were documenting all that he had done in life. They knew his name, stating it clearly. Karl. It was eerie to hear, to have someone document things not even he remembered about himself, things that nobody would even know in the first place, yet they knew it all. However, what stuck with him were two statements. The first one, 'cardiac arrest', something he did not understand. The second, 'March 24, 1917'.

Once they all felt silent and their hands stopped writing, another person entered the room. A human in appearance, yet with characteristics of a jackal around her body. If he remembered Egyptian mythology well enough to be correct, it was Anubis. Anubis simply looked at him and gestured to follow with her hand, before turning around. He followed her, until they both reached another room. In it, there was a balance with a feather on one of the two plates. Another person was present, one with reddish hair and eyes. Her arms were those of a lion, ears of a crocodile, and legs of a hippopotamus. Her teeth were creepy to look at, stuck in a perpetual smile as there didn't seem to be lips to hide them, showing teeth with a row more than those of a normal human.

Anubis walked to the balance and, on the empty plate, placed a heart. The sight of the organ left Karl with a slight choking disgust, causing him to raise his hand and hold his chest. However, as he soon realized when he looked down, his chest had a hole. Through the clothes and skin, there was a hole where his heart was supposed to be. There was no blood, nor any semblance of physical limitation caused by the important organ obviously missing, making it all the more strange. The heart on the balance was his. The horror and fascination of the hole in his chest distracted him from the balance, having him miss on whether his heart was lighter or heavier than a feather. He did not care, though, as it all was unreal. A strange dream, it seemed. A dream so strange, that he could actually think that it was a dream, instead of shrugging off any strangeness.

"Judgement was carried through." Anubis stated, gaining Karl's attention by her voice. Looking forward, his heart, for some bizarre reason, seemed to weigh lighter than the feather. "Your eyes have looked heavy these days, Ammit."

"Has it shown that much?" The reddish-haired woman answered.

"Would you like to take a break? Apart from this one, there aren't any more for the time being. You can afford one. You could even guide Karl through the afterlife."

"I'd appreciate it."

Ammit took hold of the heart and walked up to Karl, holding the still-beating heart in her hands. Karl was speechless, silent, still not understanding what was happening.

"You have passed away in the world of the living." Ammit explained, already seeing the obvious confusion. "The fourteen judges these days don't even bother explaining it, as everyone who suddenly arrives does so without knowing. It was only a matter of time before the judges grew tired, as it was not their duty to explain, anyways."

"I'm... Dead?"

"Yes." She answered, before placing his heart into the hole in his chest. The wound, along with the pierced clothes, seemed to heal and return to their former state. However, as soon as she looked up to him, height difference being clearly present, Karl could not help but show clear fear in his expression, frightened by her teeth. Ammit snickered. "Fear is a healthy reaction."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the one who would've eaten your heart if it was sick and twisted."

The blunt statement, along with her teeth to show, made him give a step back.

"Rejoice, though." She continued. "You've been granted entry to heaven."

"The judges said something about a friend of his that he stopped seeing due to unfortunate events." Anubis remarked to Ammit. "Perhaps a good introduction would be visiting his current version of paradise."

"Who?" Karl asked, yet received no answer in return.

"Follow me." Ammit said, silently agreeing with Anubis' idea.

---

Trenches. Ammit had led Karl into trenches, those precisely like the ones in the Great War. The transition from those catacombs to this place was a blur, just like how in a dream one would not understand how he reached a place, only that he was already there. The trench had a hint of black, as if it was ash or charcoal, and the sky has an ominous red tint. It was darkened with clouds and the darkness of night, yet the surroundings were illuminated as if it was still day, although a day that the clouds still darkened. The word 'volcanic' seemed to fit the description of the scenery, despite no volcanos being in the vicinity. Only the red hue and black of ashes was present. Along the trench he and Ammit walked through, soldiers stared at them as they rested and organized themselves. It was as if an attack had ended. Curiously, they did not have a unified uniform. Some had french uniforms, others german, american, british, russian, and so on, yet weren't hostile to eachother at all. In fact, they were friendly, as if they were one single force.

"This... This is supposed to be heaven?" Karl asked in disbelief.

"A friend's."

"The Great War shouldn't be paradise to anyone. Shouldn't heaven be far more peaceful or something?"

"Everyone has his or her own little heaven." Ammit snickered.

Soon enough, they both reached a soldier in specific. One in german uniform, with a gasmask. It had a cracked right lens, with a bloodied bandage behind it covering his eye. He was sitting against the dirt wall of the trench, humming to himself and lost in his own thoughts. Yet, as soon as he noticed Ammit, he violently stood up.

"You again?!" He stated in absolute hostility.

"I'd like to present someone to you. His name is Karl." Ammit responded.

The soldier kept staring at Ammit, although unresponsive. The name 'Karl' had struck a chord within him. After a second, he shifted his stare at Karl.

"...Hello." Karl awkwardly greeted him.

"Karl..." The soldier muttered. "Karl... Fleischer?"

"Yes." He answered, unnerved by the soldier knowing his name.

"...It's me. Friedrich." The soldier presented himself, although with joy starting to show. "Remember me? I had to leave to join the army back in 1912."

"Friedrich... Oh you fucking asshole!" Karl realized, stepping forward and hugging him, slapping him in the back several times while Friedrich did the same. "You have no idea how much I ended up missing you-- Wait... If you're here... Then..."

"Yeah. Verdun. Bad stuff. Got shot in the eye there, though it seems it stuck to this place too instead of healing. Doesn't matter, man! We're here now. What happened with you?"

"I don't know. Last I remember was feeling weak, then I was here."

"I overheard the judges a bit." Ammit interrupted. "You fell unconscious due to a disease I don't remember the name of. After three days in a coma in a hospital, you had a cardiac arrest."

"...What a boring way to go out."

Friedrich broke out laughing at Karl's statement, holding his stomach and stumbling back until he hit the dirt wall of the trench.

"That's the Karl I remember!"

"Why were you so hostile at Ammit?" Karl asked him.

"Oh, this cunt." Friedrich answered, returning to his violent tone of voice. "Not only does she rip my heart out and weigh it with a feather, she also said I was allowed heaven and then throws me back into a fucking trench. What kind of paradise is this?! Ah, but the joke's on her, I'm already used to this. In fact, I'm almost starting to like it. At least people are fighting together instead of eachother in this place. Hell, I even became friends with a frenchie I shot in the gut back when he was alive."

"Ta guele connard!" Someone shouted from afar. A french accent, no doubt.

"Fick dich ins knie!" Friedrich yelled back.

"So... If every side is here in the trench, who are you fighting against?" Karl asked him.

"Daemons."

"...What."

"Big damn ugly things that look like orcs, but red, more teeth, horns, lack of showers, and they also have the same guns, artillery, and tactics as us. So, yeah, we're in Hell. Welcome and have a nice day, etcetera. Good thing that here wounds heal, no disease, no starvation, and no running out of ammo for some weird reason. Also, one hilarious thing that I ended up fiding out too... Hey, frenchie! I fucked your mother!"

Split second later, Friedrich was shot in the head. He fell lifeless as Karl stared horrified, yet his body turned to smoke and disappeared. A few seconds later, Friedrich jumped into the trench, landing next to Karl and Ammit.

"You reappear whenever you die?" Karl asked.

"Of course." Friedrich answered while turning at Ammit as his voice grew more hostile. "That means there's no fucking end to this ride, is there?!"

"Is this not the paradise you were asking for?" Ammit asked, laughing to herself.

"How the fuck is this paradise?!"

"What did you think heaven was?"

"More peaceful, you know. Like... I don't know, lush forests and lively fields, everyone being friendly instead of being stuck fighting against daemons, the usual. What I always heard heaven was supposed to be!"

"So you believe heaven is a location, not a concept?"

"What."

"I can show you both what heaven truly means, although in essence, I'd also have to show you what hell is. Both as concepts, not locations. What do you say?"

In wonder, Karl and Friedrich looked at each other momentarily, before turning to Ammit once more.

"Agreed." They both answered together.

---

Now, they were in a field. In the middle of a wheat field, with it growing just up to their shoulders. Ammit, unfortunately, was condemned to sink into the ocean of wheat as her height was lower than both Karl and Friedrich. The weather contrasted with the trenches. Sunny with barely any clouds, air so fresh that breathing was blissful, a slight breeze, and a temperature so precise that one could not feel hot nor cold, at points even forgetting what those two concepts were. Hostility and violence were nonexistent here, and the peaceful atmosphere was felt.

"Now this is what I thought heaven would be." Friedrich remarked.

"Shhh." Ammit silenced him. "Get down. We must not be seen by the one who inhabits these lands. Follow me."

Without question, Karl and Friedrich crouched until their body was completely covered by the wheat. No one would be able to see them like that, unless they were directly on their faces. They followed Ammit, who could just casually walk while the two had to crouch, until they reached the edge of the wheat field. Through the stems of the wheat, still hidden from whatever may look their way, the three looked. In the distance, there was a house in the open field with a road connecting to it. A man was walking about, without clear purpose.

"How is this Hell?" Friedrich asked. "What am I missing? How's this worse than seeing everyone get shot over and over again? This is heaven."

"Do you know the phrase, 'eating your favorite dish every day'?"

"I heard it." Karl answered. "What's so bad about it?"

"Have you ever eaten something you liked a lot, down to the point you end up hating it and would rather eat something disgusting, if only those two options were present?"

"Damn..." Karl and Friedrich realized.

"Usually, I eat twisted hearts, but when one arrives that is so mad and decadent that the balance it's weighed in gives in, a second death is a reward in comparison to what they deserve. A punishment is given instead of the heart being eaten. This is one of those men, one of those hearts."

"Is this the worst you can do?" Karl questioned. Sadism wasn't in his mind at all, just the wonder that this seemed tame in comparison to what godly beings could do. "I mean, it's bad, but this isn't that bad of a place I think. Worse punishments can be done."

"The current year in the world of the living is 1917, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"At the time this man was given this punishment, the Romans were still a global superpower."

"...This guy has been stuck here for nearly two thousand years?!" Friedrich asked, coming to the horrible realization.

"Indeed. The punishment we give is long-term centered, not short-term. The punishments you two think about are short term, even the ones that spread to all of a person's life. Here, however, long term means eternity, and we've become exceedingly efficient in knowing what is worst. Negative thoughts and experiences like torture or other punishments, one can endure, and being unable to get used to them is a benefit, not a curse, in this topic. Neutral ideas, things mundane, things you don't really complain about, one will only grow tired of. This place is that neutrality of things, where nothing changes, nothing 'entertaining' happens, it's all in absolute stasis. First, the punished grows annoyed at the lack of change and variety. Then, after the first years start the bad experiences, wanting to get out, wanting to see something else. It only gets worse as one starts believing this is fake, unreal, a prison, that there is nothing over the horizon. Not literally nothing, but instead just fields of wheat, nothing to look for. Insanity follows, and only gets worse as centuries pass. The inability to die here is also what makes this a hellish place, along with the stasis. Not to mention the absolute isolation."

"My God..." Friedrich muttered, horrified.

"It's horrible... But... Aren't you able to imprison people in literal nothingness, a void?" Karl asked.

"It's a better fate." Ammit bluntly answered.

"H-How?!"

"Because you'd spend your time yearning for where you used to live in. Here, it's already the same as the real world, so the punisher would start to hate it instead of longing for it, to cling to hope or something similar. Once that's gone, nothing remains."

Karl and Friedrich were already slightly shaking. Not only because of how calmly Ammit explained it, not only because of the actual possibility of such hellish punishment existing, but also because they were next to one of those who could carry out that punishment. At least, that's what they thought. Ammit, on the other hand, had a small unnoticeable smirk, as if enjoying the fear she had caused to them.

"So there is no heaven?" Friedrich asked, already unnerved and close to the breaking point. "To spend eternity in any single place will end up like this, then!"

"I'd rather have that question be answered on its own. We're leaving this place, let's go."

Ammit turned around and began walking away through the wheat fields. Karl and Friedrich could only look at eachother in confusion and horror, before following her again. They had to hurry, lest they'd lose track of her in this jungle, only made worse by her small size.

---

The three entered a gigantic hall as the gates opened for them. Long tables were present at both sides of a great carpet through the middle of the hall. The hall was crowded, although with a chair available to anyone without shortage. Everyone was eating, drinking, and laughing as they talked with eachother, others even singing. Weapons from all ages were scattered about, placed in racks. Axes and swords, arquebuses and muskets, even rifles and machineguns from the Great War.

A loud ruckus, yet a cheerful one broke out as the ones inside recognized Ammit. They all cheered aloud at her presence, greeting her like a good friend of everyone. Karl and Friedrich, walking behind Ammit, stared in awe at the hall, at every corner of it.

"Welcome to Valhalla." Ammit remarked to them both. "Or at least, what it's viewed as."

"Valhalla?" Karl asked. "I remember hearing about it. It's from the norse myths. Does that mean the norse afterlife was true?"

"Yes and no. Come on, let's have a seat."

Ammit guided them both to three open spots by one of the tables. The three sat down, with piles of food and mugs in front of them, as it was all along the table. Food and drink never ran out in this place.

"Don't be afraid to be impolite. Just grab and eat." Ammit reassured them.

"...You have no idea how tired I was of water soup." Friedrich said with joy, taking off his gasmask with haste and beginning to eat.

"Water soup?" Both Ammit and Karl asked.

"Back in the living world, in the trenches, we had to eat bread with water most of the time. People started calling it water soup, so the name stuck."

"That's depressing." Ammit remarked.

"That? You haven't even heard of Verdun." Friedrich joked, his mouth already stuffed with whatever was at hand on the table. However, Karl was understandably shaken, as for Ammit, a being who'd have lived for who knows how long, to say that Friedrich's situation was depressing, was already something unbelievable.

"I'd eat if I wasn't... You know, trying to let everything sink in." Karl stated, looking at the food and drinks, but unable to do anything.

"It's understandable." Ammit answered. "It happens to everyone who arrives here first. Just look at how Friedrich can eat to his heart's content years after being in paradise."

"Hey fuck you, that place was Hell. Literally." He ranted, his voice muffled by his mouth being full. Ammit laughed at his response.

"Is the norse afterlife the one true afterlife here, or are there others?" Karl asked, curious. "I saw the egyptian afterlife when I arrived. Or at least, the judging part of it."

"It's the power of belief. Several afterlifes exist, all of which cater to certain groups. A heaven consists of what a person would want, not consciously, but what would make him cherish it without getting tired of it, as unfortunately is the case with everything. There is the norse afterlife, roman afterlife, greek afterlife, egyptian afterlife... Afterlife for any single religion and culture that exists, and even some completely original like Friedrich's, because they're afterlifes people would want, and so exist. Afterlifes are created as people with such wishes appear, so there's never someone left out of this simply because such afterlife doesn't exist. ...I was never a person to write speeches, I can't explain it better even if I tried."

"So if there's a person that wants something, that afterlife will exist for him?"

"Yes. The afterlife as a whole is one big world, and a room exists for every group. Valhalla, Elysium, Friedrich's trenches, they're all just rooms in this whole concept."

"I never asked to be in a fucking trench again." Friedrich ranted.

"I know. But, just maybe, the trenches ended up as the means to achieve what you wanted instead of being the ultimate goal."

"How?"

"Tell me, aren't you with everyone now? Even the people you were enemies with back then in life, now fighting with eachother against daemons? Those daemons are not even humans, nor anything but mindless beasts. The guilt of killing them doesn't even exist there, does it?"

"So the whole point of that place is to fight them? How is 'fight forever' a paradise for me? I died in a stupid war, fighting another is what I want to avoid."

"What did you fight for?"

"A clusterfuck of alliances because of some guy getting shot."

"And what are you fighting for now?"

"Stopping the daemons from advancing."

"And from both those purposes, which one would you choose?"

Her question struck him silent. Only at that point did Friedrich realize what she was aiming for.

"It's obvious that it's not all sunshine and rainbows in that trench," Ammit continued, "there are still bad things in there, but that's to not allow you to get used to the paradise that remains. To be able to enjoy it forevermore, as things change and what good things are balanced and contrasted by the bad ones. It is no coincidence that there is no permanent death, no injuries, no starvation, nor disease in that place. Plus, after a while you'd be able to change 'rooms' once you learn how, so even if you get tired you can visit other places."

"Then... If that is my paradise, are the others in there... Fake? So many people... To have the same view of paradise..."

"They are real, in fact. They shared your view on what they truly wanted, an honest purpose to fight for, and more will join that trench as they die in life. All joining together instead of against eachother."

"Then what about the egyptian paradise I saw?" Karl asked. "Probably everyone saw it. How come it's egyptian, yet not something that would amount to an actual paradise? It was more like a gate, an entrance."

Ammit laughed at his question. "It's as if no other religion really wanted to deal with the paperwork on who dies and who is granted paradise, so the egyptian one stuck with that. Someone has to take note of all that happens. Isn't that fun?" She answered, before standing up from her chair. "You two should return to the trenches, now. My time with you is limited, and I'd rather not leave you stranded in some random place."

"Wait, both of us to the trenches? You mean, my paradise is with Freidrich too?" He asked. Friedrich was as dumbstruck as he was, as now they'd both get to spend paradise with eachother if the assumption was true.

"Yes. Seems that you too, after the Great War broke out, wanted to fight for an actual purpose, with friends, with other people who had the same desire. After all, in all wars, all sides are people who wish to protect what is theirs, isn't it?"

"Hypothetically speaking..." Friedrich began asking. "If someone were to suddenly hug you--"

"I'd appreciate it." Ammit interrupted, answering the question before it even finished.

Just then, Friedrich quickly stood up and embraced her while repeatedly thanking her out loud, realizing that the 'Hell' he was in was in fact something far better than he thought. Apologies of treating her with so much hostility were among his words. Due to her small size and weight, Freidrich had lifted her and began spinning her around, leaving her dizzy once he put her back down.

---

Karl and Friedrich were back in the trenches, walking along to where Friedrich had been before this whole ordeal happened. Karl now had a german uniform of the Great War, just like Friedrich's yet without the gasmask, holding a rifle in his hands.

"So, fighting for a purpose." Karl remarked, staring at all his surroundings. All the soldiers he had seen were present along the trench, staring at them with smiles, seeing how Friedrich had returned and a new person had joined them in this place.

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, this place is... Strangely beautiful. We held those daemons off, too. Their numbers are endless, but... I guess it's better that way. I've been in a trench for so long, I really can't think of what I'd do outside of one. It's... Life here."

"Finally you're back." The french soldier greeted Friedrich, walking up to him. A friendly handshake was exchanged, one with added hostility yet one that good friends jokingly showed. "Who's that guy?"

"Jean, meet Karl. Karl, meet Jean. He's the frenchie from before."

"Hello." Jean greeted Karl. "I'm the guy this asshole shot in the gut in the opening days of Verdun."

Before a proper introduction could be given, yelling was heard all around them, sparking their attention.

"Incoming artillery!" Was one of the shouts that could be heard.

Jean pressured the two with a gesture, rushing with them along with everyone in the trench to the front edge, crouched down while readying their guns. Daemonic artillery began falling, exactly the same as human artillery, raining dust into the trench as it fell on the ground around them.

"Is this how it always happens?!" Karl asked past the drowning sound of the shells. Dirt fell over his helmet almost perpetually after every explosion.

"You'll get used to it!" Friedrich reassured him, seeing him shaking, not surprising as he was for all intents and purposes a simple conscript. "Don't you worry!"

After a few volleys, the artillery barrage ended.

"Daemons! They're crossing no man's land!"

"It's time." Jean remarked with a chuckle, standing up and taking aim over the trench, along with Karl and Friedrich. Just then, machine-gun fire began deafening them, along with rifle fire all around them. In the distance through the smoke, the silhouette of the daemons rushing at them could be seen.

"Show them human ferocity!" Friedrich cried out.