"I found you lying on the ground while I was looking for you in the sky. So, it's our fate to walk this path together!"
After what Chubby Toraman told me, I couldn't help but talk as I lightly hit his back with my hand.
"Brother, I'm telling you, some thinner addicts robbed me in the park on Judgment Night. I'm here because I beat one of them up. What are you saying?"
Yeah, that was his story. He remembered that on his way home from Istanbul, where he had come to visit, some thinner addicts appeared in front of him. While they tried to steal his wallet and phone, Toraman ran away after punching one of them.
Growing up in the village, Toraman threw such a punch that the thinner guy died right there. Because of that, Toraman—who ate and slept all his life—got a one-way ticket to the First Floor of Hell.
"Look, you fell here because of your last sin. These Fallen can't affect you now. So let's pick one and kill it immediately. Get rid of the torment!"
The big guy looked at me with one eyebrow raised, and I could tell he didn't really understand what I said.
"No way, am I a sucker?"
Of course, my words backfired because I spoke too fast without paying attention to his character. How could I call someone lazy when they already fell into Hell, and expect them to kill a Fallen outside the shield?
"Okay, do whatever you want!"
After giving Toraman a side glance, I decided to leave him in the Hardware District and go to the girl I had met before.
Since she could run in the Social Media Zone, she was also immune to one type of Fallen. Instead of dealing with a lazy pig, maybe I could convince her to kill the Fallen.
What did the formless light say?
"Go back and keep fighting, do well and reach the day of your salvation!"
So, we have to cut down these Fallen and keep moving forward; this village could not be the border of the whole First Floor of Hell.
When I returned, the young girl was still on the ground, but now she was watching what was happening outside the shield with her eyes open. I quietly sat down next to her.
"Hello, are you over your fear?"
There was no sound.
"Are you feeling better now?"
Still no sound. I was about to ask again when the girl, her long hair covering her face, muttered,
"I'm afraid. I'm so afraid!"
She was right next to me, poor girl. As soon as she said that, she started crying on my shoulder, tears falling from her eyes. I'm not an emotional person, and I didn't know what to do, so I quietly waited for her to stop crying.
She sobbed for about ten minutes. When I saw she was calming down, I decided to say a few words.
"I can't tell you not to be afraid. I'm scared too. But it's normal to feel this way."
When she wiped her red eyes with her fingers and took off her thin glasses, her crying stopped. Her face was swollen from all the tears, but she still had a beautiful face. The glasses gave her a bit of a bookworm look, but even that didn't hide the kindness in her.
"If you're feeling a little better, can you tell me what happened last night?"
Her story was important. She was immune to the Social Media Fallen, but I needed to know how.
"As usual, I was studying for university exams and stayed up late that night. After answering some questions, it was almost morning, when a voice inside me said, 'Look at that YouTube video my friends always talk about at school.'
I had been working all day, so I thought, 'Nothing will happen if I watch it for a few minutes before bed.' So I opened the video called How to Make Prom Makeup. I wanted to get up and go to bed, but I fainted before I could even move. They said if I hadn't followed that video, I would have gone to Heaven!"
The flood of tears I thought was over returned, with sighs like thunder. I had wild questions in my mind for another ten minutes, my shoulder acting as her pillow.
I was the Untouchable of the Alcohol Zone. This girl and Toraman were the chosen ones of the Social Media and Hardware Districts.
I had to keep moving. Let's say I cleaned my area alone—then what? To avoid torment forever here, should I kill the Fallen? No, I have to do what I can and take others with me. First, I had to give this girl a chance to kill a Fallen; otherwise, she wouldn't heal if she was caught in torment for eight hours.
"Look, I'm going to tell you something. I'm just like you. I fell here because of a glass of raki I drank last night. If you listen to me, we have a chance to get out of here. If you are aware, the attacks from these types won't affect you. You need to destroy one of them as soon as possible!"
When I said she had to destroy one, the girl's eyes widened. At the same time, she moved about a meter away from me.
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you. If you don't kill one, you'll suffer Hell's torment for eight hours."
She had to overcome her fear, but it was clear I couldn't do it with hope or encouragement. A stronger fear might help her face what she was feeling now.
"I don't believe you. You're lying!"
"Believe it or not, see that big stone over there? Go and read what's written on it!"
I jumped up, pretending to be angry. Maybe the duo who didn't believe me should suffer the torment once. There had to be one more person in the village—maybe the chosen one from the Bagcilar region would believe me.
When I got there, the crowd was still exploding with noise. They were having fun grinding people who couldn't keep up, like gears in a meat grinder. It was clear from everything that their minds worked differently.
Since they were just outside the starting village, I could see all the Fallen at once, even though they took up some space. And there he was—standing alone, motionless in all this chaos.
It had to be him.
In the middle of all the craziness, I shouted at the calm person:
"Hey, hey, come here quickly!"
I wasn't going to succeed at first. Even though there was no loud music, some Fallen were beatboxing.
"Don't be deaf! I'm calling you, come here!"
Am I the only normal one here? This guy had some issues. After I shouted at least ten times, he finally turned around gracefully and came back.
"What is it? What do you want from me?"
He raised his eyebrows and looked at me angrily.
"You're standing so nicely. How did you learn that difficult move? I was going to learn it!"
Enough! I can't deal with anyone's problems because I need their help. I'm maybe the only one who's killed mobs in the starting village. Instead of advice, they want an account.
"Are you kidding me?"
In front of me was a man in his late thirties with white hair. His belly stuck out, but he seemed athletic.
"Brother, I've been yelling at you for an hour. Why didn't you come?"
"Only I will know that. What's your business with me?"
He was getting more aggressive. It was clear the conversation wouldn't end well, so I cut to the main point.
"What did you do last night that got you here?"