Episode 27 : The Valley of Deceit

Skeleton General Skull Kaiser
(In Hell)

Skull Kaiser, formerly one of Samhain's greatest generals, stages a rebellion against impossible odds. The fate of countless worlds rests upon his ability to protect the Loss Queen and beat back her assailants. Along the way he is forced to fight old friends and make new allies...

Episode 27 : The Valley of Deceit

This episode opens with Samhain conferring in private with Gear Binder. He tells the Machine General that, under the circumstances, he is the only one he really trusts. Samhain tells Gear Binder to take a division of machine troops and call in three reserve agents who've been granted what amounts to retirement. As they're talking, Samhain is gesturing to a 3D figure which represents all the worlds he's conquered. Each one is connected by what looks like a tether (it's the Undead Vine!). Gear Binder accepts the request for Luft Schloss and i (that's right, the character's name is just "i"!) easily enough, but when Samhain tells him to bring back Pythagoras, Gear Binder nearly chokes and asks if Samhain feels that matters have gotten that serious. Samhain merely gives him an enigmatic look. Gear Binder bows, swallows his fear, and accepts his assignment. He is told to leave immediately because he'll need to cover quite a distance and time may be running short.

We cut to Skull Kaiser who's found himself in the 6th Hell. He gets a chill because the place appears devoid of life entirely. He's walking down a wide valley which is paved with flat stones. Dead grass sprouts up between them and old, dead moss clings to each. As he walks, he asks the Kaiser Bones to talk if only to keep him company. They explain that this is Lord Rustubo's domain, where the deceitful are punished. Skull Kaiser asks where the deceitful are and as he continues, asking what sorts of punishments they receive, the landscape warps. The paving stones grow very large—or Skull Kaiser grows very small—and the ground seems to fall away.

Skull Kaiser falls for a long time and is bombarded with imagery of the most horrible results of deceit: lovers committing suicide, civilizations falling for one man's lie, etc. The imagery is raw and realistic and Skull Kaiser more than once attempts to shield himself from the events that surround him. Finally, Skull Kaiser lands on a large, round surface, which is the only thing visible in the dark now. A similar surface lights up before him and reveals Rutsubo, who looks like an anthropomorphic boiler. Attached to each shoulder is a large, sealed, steaming vat of some unknown substance. His entire body is encased in blackened copper. He introduces himself to Skull Kaiser and welcomes him to his realm. He tells Skull Kaiser that his trial here will be somewhat different than the previous two. Rutsubo begins to explain how his Hell works and fire leaps up and fills all the black space, so that it now looks very close to the Western idea of Hell. Skull Kaiser shifts his footing to keep alert and safe from the increasing flames. The surface Skull Kaiser is standing on suddenly shows a seam down the middle and just as he looks down, the two halves open inward into a pool of boiling oil, and he falls into it screaming.

Rutsubo provides a voice over as we see what usually happens to those being punished in this Hell. They have the deceit boiled out of them until all that's left is the truth. This has differing effects on the damned, depending on the kind of life they've led—sometimes there's nothing left! He explains that, while Skull Kaiser may have been misdirected both before and after becoming Skull Kaiser, he is not really guilty of gross deceit. Skull Kaiser has told his share of partial truths, but no more than any other essentially good human being, and because of this, his trial won't be particularly painful or long.

Skull Kaiser's screams subside and the oil starts to drain away, leaving him essentially unscathed, standing at the bottom of the vat. Rutsubo confesses that this trial is ineffective against only one form of deceit and that is self-deceit. He assures Skull Kaiser that his memory loss is self-inflicted, not something done to him by Samhain. Skull Kaiser bows sheepishly at this and Rutsubo asks wryly if he was hoping for the opposite. He continues, telling Skull Kaiser that there will be a reckoning soon and that he must be prepared for it or it will destroy his mind utterly. He echoes Lord Enma's words back from episode 23: "Learn from your experiences, but don't be ruled by the past." Skull Kaiser immediately recognizes the phrase as Lord Enma's and while he's trying to fathom the significance, Rutsubo simply nods his grate-faced, copper head.

Once again, Skull Kaiser is standing in the paved valley, but now the stones show their true form, as the lids to countless boiling vats similar to the one he just fell into. He looks solemnly around amazed at the number of people suffering in this Hell and walks off toward the gate of the next Hell.

To Be Continued...