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Trinity

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I was glad that the boys were attached to me with magic, otherwise I would have lost them during the fall through the next door. We were being buffeted now more than ever before. I was trying to pull them back to my sides because they were terrified and screaming so loud that it was breaking my soul.

"M..M..M..MMMMOOOMMMMMYYYY!" They were all three screaming that same thing over and over again. They were reaching for me and I wasn't able to pull them in toward me again.

I also knew that we were going to crash just like we had the last couple of times. I didn't want to hurt them at all. I didn't want to risk something damaging them in the land of the living or here. I needed to protect them in two worlds at the same time. That was harder said than done.

I could still feel the magic surging inside of me. I could feel the power that I would need to save us right now. It actually felt that with every floor that I progressed through my magic was getting stronger. Even just being here, falling through the air of this next level of hell, I could feel the power surge inside of me.

With the magic returning to me more and more, I was going to make sure that I used it. I was going to protect my boys and I was going to get us out of here. I was going to destroy Hekate and then I was going to go home to my family.

I reached out for the boys again, this time with invisible hands made out of magic. I used those hands to pull the boys closer to me and hold them to my chest while I started to use my wind magic as well. I slowed our descent just in time for me to land on my feet in the darkened realm.

"We made it." I sighed in relief as I set the boys on their feet, still attached to me with magic and holding onto them with the invisible hands.

"M..m..mommy s..sa..saved us." Zayden was shaking when he spoke, still scared.

"M..mommy was m..moving s..so f..f..fast." Zachary didn't look as scared but he looked stunned for some reason.

"What? I was not moving fast." I was confused by his words. "Are you talking about when everyone was moving slowly?"

'They were not moving slow, Trinity. You were moving so fast that they could not see you. The triplet only saw you because they were attached to you. You simply tapped into the speed that you have been building up for years.'

"Wait! Really?" That was a shock. I didn't expect that at all.

'Yes. Now, be on your guard. This is the first official lever of hell. You have reached the lands of purgatory, and I imagine that here, you will need to search much longer for a way out of here. These souls are usually stuck here at all times, so it is not common to find a door.'

"Not common, but possible, right? I mean, we are not stuck here forever, are we?"

'There will be a door. I just do not know how far you will need to roam before you finally find it. It is not going to be close like the last few doors.'

"OK, and what can I expect here in Purgatory?" I was looking all around me as things started to come into focus. I still wasn't able to see anything clearly.

'Purgatory is where those with minor sins go. They get their souls cleansed so that they may join the ranks of the blessed. After they have atoned for their sins, they are either sent to be reborn or to receive the eternal bliss that is heaven. That fate is up to the specific soul and is therefore not set into stone.'

"OK, so I am going to see a bunch of people atoning for their sins so that they can get out of here. Alright. So, there are doors out of here. How often do souls make it out of purgatory?"

'The timing and frequency cannot be predicted. It will happen at random times.' OK, that wasn't exactly comforting, but it was the best that I could hope for.

"M..mommy?" Zayden tightened his grip on my hand as the images around us cleared up for us to see. I could see nothing but dead hills and barren mountains stretching out before me. There were fires that rose high enough to lick the sky. And there were waters deep and dark enough to hide monsters of unknown origins and design.

Stretching out before me, there seemed to be different trials and tribulations going on. I saw people being purified in many different ways that I had never even thought about before. Some of them were expected, like the cleaning by fire, the stoning of others attached to rocks, and a few others that seemed like they were from classic literature.

Others, however, just didn't seem like the old ways at all instead, these other people, newer looking people, seemed to be getting tortured in many modern ways. I could see a group of people who clearly committed their sins with their smartphones. They were laid out, naked, in a pit of gravel as they tried to crawl straight up the side of a slick mountain face, literally trying to crawl vertically. At the top of that mountain was their phone, ringing and pinging with notifications for the entire duration of their punishments. That was a creative punishment, I guess. I had to give props to the people who created that one, it would literally be torture to some of the people in the world.

There seemed to be more people here than there were in the Hall of Regrets but, thankfully, this place was not as crowded. I was able to move around here comfortably, and that was the major plus for me. Also, there was no weird chattering, chirruping, or whatever you wanted to call it.

This place wasn't silent. Actually, it was far from it. This place was filled with the sounds of screaming and the wails of woe. I could already hear what they were saying without me needing to focus at all. That was both a blessing and a curse.

I heard their sorrow and their repentance, which I don't think that I was meant to hear, but it was better than that incomprehensible chattering.

"I think that we should get a move on." I told the kids as they clung to me. "I don't want to be here any longer than we absolutely need to. I think we should move out and hurry toward the door. Can you three sense it like you did before?"

"N..no." Zayden shook his head.

"N..no, mommy." Zander looked down at the ground.

"W..we can't s..s..see it." Zachary sounded so heartbroken.

"That is fine, we will find it soon enough. Just tell me if you start to sense it." I smiled at them to let them know it was OK.. I could tell that they were upset about this, about not being able to help.

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