The Labyrinth, Part III

Joseph Krauss is now in the lower rungs of hell. He wants to escape but is guarded by a particularly vicious demon, Beleth. Beleth.has the strength of 4000 men. He is actually defying Beleth, uttering threats and curses. Beleth respond to him by ejecting venom in his eyes which temporarily blinded him.

Joseph clearly does not have a clue! Perhaps, he does but continues to be unrepentant. He is in a grave dilemma. He is in HELL. This is not a picnic nor a long anticipated vacation. He is here to assess the wrongs he did and to rectify his behavior. Now, because of his particularly egregious and unapologetic behavior, he is relegated to the lower rungs of hell where the worst , most evil, and unrepentant souls are confined. In spite of his extremely dire situation, he steadfastly contends that he is INNOCENT nonetheless!

Joseph is now more defiant than ever! He asserts that he should not be here at all! He is now laughing arrogantly. Beleth is now at his wit's ends. He went over to Joseph and slapped him hard. Joseph looked at Beleth, wanting to confront him which he did. As Joseph attempted to slap Beleth, a group of demons surrounded Beleth. Beleth summoned one of the demons, Lilya. He instructed Lilya to tie Joseph over a fire! Joseph uttered a particularly profane curse at Beleth, making him more incensed! Lilya grabbed Joseph, and hung him over the fire!

Joseph tried to disentangle himself but to no avail. The demons surrounded him laughing and singing in an strangely undetectable language. As there were singing, an ununsually large cobra like snake started to slither, hissing loudly! However, this was not a snake but the demon, Aku. The snake transformed itself into a more humanlike form. Aku went up to Joseph, grabbed his hair and began questioning him. Joseph was still defiant, cursing Aku. Aku asked Lilya to disentangle Joseph. Aku requested that Joseph enter into a contest with him. Joseph naturally obliged being a macho athletic.

The rest of the demons of course obscenely laughed at this. How stupid could Joseph be-he know that he is going to lose to the demon! A disembodied voice from even lower rungs of hell bade Joseph not to enter into the contest with Aku. The voice further stated that Aku was a particularly dangerous and venomous entity. The voice added that Aku was not a sore loser-he beieved in winning at all costs. Joseph replied to the voice that he was the exact same way. He told Aku that he was ready for the contest.

Joseph, Aku, Lilya, Beleth, and the other demons descended until they reached The Pits. The Pits were where all sorts of dangerous contests and events occurred. Aku was laughing maniacally. Joseph ignored the laughter. He was an athletic and could deliver some lethal punishments if need be. Lilya walked into the center of the pit, announcing the nature of the game. Aku and Joseph were prepared- they were to fight until one conceded defeat! The game has began.

Aku and Joseph were prepared to fight. However, Lilya announced that there would be weapons. A lesser demon appeared and presented both Aku and Joseph with nail studded whips. Yes, they were to whip each other unmercifully until one conceded. Now, a huge crowd of souls and demonic entities were presented. Lilya ammounced the game and the players. Aku and Joseph looked at each other; however, Joseph made the first move. He kicked, slapped, and stomped Aku. However, Aku was unaffected by Joseph's punches and kicks. Aku then proceeded to whip Joseph- he remained unhurt.

Aku realized that Joseph was indeed strong and inured to pain. Both parties gave as good they they received. Wiithin what seemed like seven hours, Lucifer stopped the game! Aku wanted to continue but Lucifer waved his hand and the games stopped. Lucifer ordered Aku to leave as he wanted to speak with Joseph.

Lucifer took Joseph aside, informing him that he must change and repent if he ever wanted to evolve as a being. Lucifer further related to him that he too is in a dire predictament because of his unrelenting arrogance. Lucifer exhorted to Joseph that the life he is leading is hurtful to himself and to others. However, Joseph remained unmoved by Lucifer's exhortations. Lucifer just sighed,stating that he will learn sooner or later-hoping that it is not TOO late!

Joseph just brushed Lucifer aside and moved on! As he was walking in the dark, dank area, he heard a shrill disembodied voice. The voice was beckoning him but to no avail. He just continued walking until he left the dank area. However, the soul materialized and it was a malevolently beautiful woman. She stopped Joseph, explaining that in life she was a guard in one of the labor camps in Poland during World War II. She stated that in life, she thought what she was doing was right. She maintained that throughout her life, even when she was imprisoned in a Russian prisoner of war camp after World War II.

She further explained that she eventually immigrated to America under an assumed name. She maintained that she lived a false life. By all appearances, she was the nice church lady who always gave charitably and assisted the less fortunate. People never knew that she was a Nazi guard in a labor camp. However, her past caught up with her. She related that one day she was shopping and a person who was her prisoner saw her. She did not recognize the person since the event occurred over five decades ago. The person walked to her, saying that one day she will receive her just recompense and walked away!

She further stated that she paid the woman no mind. She stated that as she got older, she began to feel some remorse for what she did! She started wailing uncontrollably, remarking that her children discovered who she actually was and disowned her. She added that her husband divorced her. She maintained that she was eventually ostracized from her community and eventually was destitute and homeless.

She further explained that she had nowhere to go but was afraid to go to shelter with its dangers. She contended that she was safer remaining on the streets. However, one night she was attacked and left for dead. She reported that a stranger saw her and took her to the nearest hospital. In spite of this, she did not get better but got worse. On the sixth day of her hospitalization, she went into coma. During her comatose state, she saw her life flash before her.

In the life sequence, she saw herself as a farm girl in eastern Germany then as a leader of the League for German Girls, and subsequently as a cruel guard in a labor camp. When she saw the events of her youth, she felt a deep remorse and knew that she was going to have to account for her evil actions. Everything had to be accounted for, good and bad. As she was dying, she saw some shadowy figures coming to get her! She was fearful but was unable to do anything...........

Joseph just looked at her, saying nothing. The soul explained that he must repeat if he wishes to leave this place. The soul maintained that she has been here for what seems like ages. She revealed that when she arrived in hell, she was immediately relegated to its lower realms based upon her actions as a camp guard. She warned Joseph that he must examine his behavior and change it! She stated that hell is not a permanent state but is whatever a person choses to do with the situation. Of course, she stated, that hell could be a permanent state if the person is staunchly unrepentant! Joseph just scoffed at her, calling her stupid and foolish!

The soul tried to reach Joseph but he just walked away! Lilya beckoned the soul and led her away to an area adjacent to The Pits. This is where the most incorrigible souls reside. These souls are kept in complete confinement with Lucifer overseeing their every move. These souls will be here for an extremely long period of time. They have massive karmic debt which they must resolve and rectify. Heaven is quite a long way off for these souls.