The Valley of the Shadow of Death
The visions from Mìngyùn's meditation sent him on a long arduous journey for the three mysterious doors. The one in the desert opened to the pit of molten fire and pain. The one in the temple led the dark and foreboding underground river. Lastly, the one in the side of the mountain granted access to the maze. He drew them as best he could before seeking out the monastery's abbot Zhīshì.
Mìngyùn explained the visions to Zhīshì, showing him the drawings as the elder listened.
"There is an ancient prophecy of the one who finds the hidden doors," Zhīshì began. "It appears...you are that one." Zhīshì moved to one of the many shelves of ancient scrolls, books, and tomes that covered the walls of his office chamber. Pulling out an exceptionally old scroll, he laid it out on the table and began to read silently. After a time, he explained to Mìngyùn that the monk would have to travel to locate and open these doors, that it would be a difficult journey, and that he might never return home. The two pored over every account of the prophecy in the temple's library. Finally Mìngyùn understood the visions and prepared to take his leave of his home.
He decided to first search out the door in the desert. According to one of Zhīshì's ancient tomes, the door was hidden in the Valley of Gehenna where ancient kings had sacrificed children to the fire, mimicking the fate they believed was bestowed to the wicked and to appease the great and terrible Moloch.
It was nearly two years before Mìngyùn arrived in the city of Jerusalem. After taking a few days to get to know the city and ingratiate himself with the locals, he set out for the valley. The prophecy explained that the chosen one would feel and see what others could not, and within moments of entering the valley Mìngyùn knew he was close.
The door stood concealed behind a tree that Mìngyùn guessed was far older than anything in this valley should be, with its foreboding regal stature. The tree stood tall and thick yet gnarled with age, like an ancient gatekeeper holding all who might desire to trespass at bay. Past the tree stood the nondescript rock wall. What most saw as simply a rocky side of the valley, Mìngyùn knew was the entrance to the beyond. He placed his right hand on the stone. It was warm. Words them shimmered and appeared in the rock -- "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." He recognized the passage from his studies, and like much from this culture, found them odd, at least in those stolen moments when he allowed his mind to wander and such thoughts to creep into his spirit. Channeling his inner energy, he pushed with his chi into the rock and with a loud crack and hiss, it slid back. Taking a long, slow, calming breath, Mìngyùn crossed the threshold, the screams and scalding heat taking his breath away.
Before him was a great chasm filled with pits of molten, living fire, winged flying demons, and the deafening screams of suffering. All around he could see the horrors of torture. The entire place was teeming with hate and a thirst for pain. Quickly he crouched down, gathering a handful of the earth from this damned place. He dropped it in a bag before taking in one last look, turning, and running back to the light.
Author's Note: In this story, the main character enters the Judeo-Christian Hell. One of the words for Hell in the New Testament is Gehenna, which happens to also be the name of an actual valley in Jerusalem. Moloch was the Biblical name for a Canaanite god associated with child sacrifice. The name Zhīshì is the Chinese word for knowledge. The name of this story and the quote that magically appears on the door is from Psalm 23:4. Psalm 23 is probably most well known for the line "The Lord is my shepherd" but it is the line "I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" that I remember. Admittedly I cannot remember where I first heard this line, it might have been in a song or movie, but I always liked the eerie and poetic nature of those words. When thinking about this story and doing my research, I was reminded of the line after learning about Gehenna and wanted to include it as part of the narrative. Finally, the idea of the prophecy is one that I re-purposed from a story I was going to write years ago about a person who was going to kill the devil. Nothing ever came of that story so I thought I'd use it here. For the purposes of this project, the prophecy is a more of a narrative device than anything else.