Summary: Ethan is a soul doomed to spend eternity as a slave in Hell for reasons he can't remember. After centuries of torment he finally snaps and goes on the run from those who enslaved him. Can he escape and become more than a regular soul, or is he doomed to spend an eternity in The Underworld? 

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The story so far: Long ago Ethan sold his soul and doomed himself to spend eternity in Hell. Casually resold as an object and treated as a slave, he eventually ends up in a merciless textiles factory along with his friend Anya. The factory is owned by humans, but run by a cruel soul named Foreman. Unable to accept Foreman's rules, Ethan stands up to him and is shoved into a pit as punishment. He is later helped by a girl named Skanky Legs who gives him advice on how to survive the pit.


Things returned to normal once they finally let me out of the pit. Well, as normal as things could be in that Godforsaken place. I would occasionally see shadows out of the corner of my eye like the darkness of the hole had somehow followed me out, but my tormentors soon found other people to play with and lost interest in me.

For the very first time, Malcolm purchased a soul who was new to Hell, and Foreman readily took it upon himself to personally crush the poor guy's spirit.

"As part of your welcome to Hell party," said Foreman as he circled a young man who looked not much older than myself. "We've prepared a very special surprise just for you Freshy."

"Really? For me?" Said Freshy with the most optimism I'd seen out of anyone in that place. I wonder if he was always like that, or if they erased what pessimism he had along with his memory. "Oh, I do love surprises!" He cried in glee and clapped his hands.

"Tomboy! The tray!" Ordered Foreman, and Tomboy waltzed into the room gracefully balancing an expensive silver platter on her right hand. There was a white cloth draped over the top to hide whatever exciting surprise that was waiting underneath.

"Happy day in Hell to you Newbie," Tomboy sang in a terrible high pitched voice as she slowly walked closer. "Happy Hell day to you pal, Happy Hell day dear Freshy, Happy Hell day to you!"
She brought it right before Freshy's eyes and cried "Tada!" Before ripping off the cloth to unveil a large furry caterpillar squirming around on the tray.

"Oh," said Freshy nervously like he didn't know how to react. "It's lovely, I think."

"Isn't it," said Foreman with a sick grin. "Now eat it."

"I beg your pardon?" Said Freshy like he hadn't yet worked out what sort of fucked up place he'd just arrived in.

"I said eat it."

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

"I said eat it," Foreman snapped. "Or is that too difficult for a dumbass like you to understand?"

I remember Freshy's eyes widening in shock as he slowly began to comprehend his situation. Even though it's impossible for souls to process food (and it would harmlessly pass through his body in seconds) Freshy shook his head and nervously backed away like he thought he was still alive.


"That Foreman must be going soft," hissed someone from behind me as I watched on from my loom. "I thought it would have at least been a cockroach."

"Freshy that lucky bastard," muttered Horseface. "Why can't the rest of us have it that easy?"

Everyone sat there and silently watched as Foreman gleefully shoved the caterpillar down Freshy's throat. Freshy screamed for help, but I had learnt that no matter how much someone was suffering, it was best not to interfere. I had no desire to be Foreman's next target.

As I said before, everything went back to normal for a while.

Until I had to go and fuck everything up so badly that there was no going back.

I guess my downward spiral began with thanking Skanky Legs. Without her advice, I may have become another ranting lunatic like the crazy souls around me who frequently chatted to themselves. Her workspace was on the other side of the room, so I had no chance to speak with her until I coincidentally found her standing next to me as we packed sheets of cloth into large containers for shipment.






"Hey," I whispered as I slowly inched towards her while trying not to look obvious. "Legs?"
She jumped in surprise like I caught her off guard, and she quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching.

"Girly Boy," she hissed. "Maybe it's not a good time to talk."

"I'll be quick," I hastily replied. "I just wanted to thank you for the advice you gave me before. Without you I don't know what I would have done down there."

"You're welcome," she said with a pleasant smile, and I wondered why I had never discovered such a friendly and helpful person until then. "If you need help with anything you can always ask. Us souls really need to look out for each other in a place like this."

"I did want to ask you one more thing," I leaned in closer so that no one else could possibly hear. "Is it true what you said about standing up to Foreman and his friends?"

I could have sworn that I saw her face light up for one moment, and her mouth curved into a smile, but she quickly hid any hint of joy that she accidently displayed.

"What about it?"

"It's just that I," I wasn't sure how to voice my feelings without sounding mad. "Sort of..also..think the same way."

Skanky Legs bit her lip and stared at me like she was trying to see right through to my thoughts. "Listen, if you ever want to know more about that, come meet me in the back storage room an hour after lights out. And come alone."

She pulled away to continue her work, but I quickly grabbed hold of her elbow to stop her from leaving.

"Wait, would it be alright if I brought one more person?"

"Who?"

"My friend Anya."

"Who's Anya?"

"The girl with the long curly hair."

"The crazy one with the invisible friends?"

"No, the other one with the high cheek bones."

"The other one? You can't possibly be talking about that suck-up over there."

She pointed to something over my shoulder and I turned to see Anya chatting away with someone on the other side of the crates. I wondered how she could get away with talking while the rest of us were working to death, but she moved slightly to the left and I got a clear view of Spots standing opposite her. I was too far away to hear what they were saying, but she was merrily chatting away with a smile on her face, and then she laughed so genuinely that there was no way it was fake.

"I'd stop being friends with that one if I were you," whispered Skanky Legs into my ear. I've seen plenty of people like that before, and you couldn't trust any of them."

"No, she's not like that. Anya is different."

"Really, how so?"

"We've been close friends since a long time ago."

"And you think that matters?"

"Of course it does, she's always had my back."

Skanky Legs let out a growl of frustration. "Wake up Girly Boy," she hissed. "We're in Hell now, and people like that girl are willing to manipulate and use anyone in order to get out on top."

"No, you're wrong."

"Am I? Take a good look at her over there. Can you really trust someone who's so friendly with the people who bully and abuse us?"

She stood there waiting for an answer as Anya and Spots laughed together like they'd been friends for centuries. Watching them like that was mortifying, and it reminded me of the days when Anya would fool around with Felix while I stood back and watched. Anya had yet again naturally gravitated towards someone who was stronger and smarter than I.

"I...I...I," I stuttered while trying to think of someway to defend her behaviour, but my mind went blank.

"We can talk more later," Skanky Legs patted me on the shoulder. "Until then take care of yourself Girly Boy. It would be a shame if you got into trouble before the real trouble began."

Next Chapter: A secret meeting with those who think like him… or do they?

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Author's Note: Sorry for the slow chapter update. I've been pretty busy with work, work, work, driving school, and family, that I didn't have much time for writing last month. FFXV also came out, and I became distracted by the pretty graphics and endless supply of quests.

I also spent some time doing some modifications to another story of mine called "How I Was Murdered by a Monster King." I added some extra pictures and wrote a page introducing the characters. You can check them out just by looking at the free preview on Amazon.

I'm often struck with ideas on how to improve previous stories that I published in the past. I'd like to write some more chapters for that story once I finish Diary of a Soulin the Underworld.

Feel free to comment or correct any mistakes that you find in this story. I often miss things so it would be a great help to me. I already have the next chapter written out by hand, so hopefully I can post it soon. :)





Obake are spirits and monsters that take the form of animals to blend in with the natural world. A secret organization exists to protect mankind and eliminate all Obake. Its agents are commonly referred to as “exorcists.” My name is Daisuke Matsumoto and this is my story.

Tales From A Land Of Gods

They say life flashes before you in that moment before death. I could see it all reflected in the blade. I was standing under the cherry blossoms at my school entrance ceremony, eating cake at my sister's wedding, standing outside praying the monster wouldn't come tonight. I might not be dead yet but I can see what's coming, this is the story of how I was murdered by a fox monster!