Dante VII Canto XXXII Scene I

 Canto XXXII

The Earthly Paradise; Dreams and Nightmares

Scene II

Dante was back in Hell.

He was at the Hell; Circle Seven, he was riding on the back of the creature with Greyson.

“Hold on tight, Poet.” Dante heard the call and looked towards Greyson. It was not the one he was with but Virgil. The latter was holding onto the creature’s neck, and it was an eagle. A huge one with the wingspan of over twenty feet in width and its neck was with a width of man’s waist.,

Like a lightning bolt from above, an eagle plummets from the cliff, tears through the walls of the canyon. It was pursued by harpies.

“Hold me tight. We are going to ---” Virgil's call was made and soon enough for the creature to do a tight spin and then it swooped up towards the pursuing harpies. Dante almost fell off when his grip was there but Virgil had grabbed him back.

“What are you without me, Poet?” Virgil taunted him.

“Where is ---Greyson?” Dante asked.

“Greyson? Oh--- that was his name. He fell.” It was a simple reply. “I think down there and some demons took him away.”

“And --- Whoo ----” Dante felt the rush of the heat in his face. He looked ahead and saw the eagle that he was on has evolved into a dragon with fire-bearing flames. The dragon attacked the harpies and then did another turn on its flight towards the depth of the canyon.

Dante saw then what appeared to be the chariot ridden by the Queen. The dragon flames scorched it into a twisted like a storm-battered ship. The dragon did another turn and that time Dante fell.

“The Queens never made bargains.” Dante heard those words. He saw to himself that he was on the flooring, and confused for he was in a dress.

“Dante, what caused lightning?” Dante heard the question and looked at the voice. It was not one but two persons seated there on the throne. There was a lady dressed in red and the other was all green. They were dressed like Queens and resembled Beatrice.

“You should know, Queen Dante.” The red Queen addressed Dante. “You are the designer here You know your ---additions and ----”

“Subtractions, Red. Do tell, Dante. What is the cause of the ---lightning? Red here fears it. She was the ---prognosis that God was the one who sent it. I said to her prosperous if God zapped you, you old fart.”

After that, a ravenous fox leaps deviously onto the Red Queen’s throne and then fled to towards Dante.

“Sinful, these creatures. I dislike them all. Including you, Dante. You deserved to be in Hell. You are sinful.” The Red Queen glared at Dante. “Should we speak of the command now? They are carrying “freight” of “wickedness.”

As if this isn’t strange enough, the ground beneath the damaged chariot suddenly splits open and a massive monster with seven heads appeared. It was the dragon evolving from it.

“The beast--- The Book of Revelation,” Dante recalled his readings. “The first beast comes "out of the sea" and is given authority and power by the dragon. This first beast is initially mentioned in Revelation 11:7 as coming out of the abyss. His appearance is described in detail in Revelation 13:1–10, and some of the mystery behind his appearance is revealed in Revelation 17:7–18.”

“The second beast comes "out of the earth" and directs all peoples of the earth to worship the first beast. The second beast is associated with Revelation 13:11–18 the false prophet. The two beasts are aligned with the dragon in opposition to God. They persecute the "saints" and those who do "not worship the image of the beast [of the sea]" and influence the kings of the earth to gather for the battle of Armageddon. The two beasts are defeated by Christ and are thrown into the lake of fire mentioned in Revelation 19:18–20.”

Dante turned to run from the beast. He was no more in the dress and was in the uniform.

“Fight, Dante! We must fight.” Dante heard the call and saw it came from Stefan.

“Stefan? --- I thought you died.” Dante stopped there.

“Fight, Dante. We cannot give in. We must fight. It’s not about us but them.” Stefan motioned ahead for Dante. The latter saw the huge mass of souls there. “They need you to fight them.”

“Who?” Dante turned to look back. He saw then was a lady and the beast. They stood there facing him.

“I ---" Dante was in fear.

“Yes, you can. You are Virgil the designer. You can fight what was yours.” Dante heard the call.

And he woke up.

“Virgil---- Or is it now, Dante? Who is the real you?” Dante heard the call and opened his eyes. He was no longer in the place he was in but a glass-encased tube with metal rings around it. He saw before him the rows and columns of similar tubes, and all were occupied by others in a state of sleep. He struggled to move but his limbs will not respond to his will.

Dante was helpless.

The voice then appeared.

“It’s most unusual when your will is not yours.” The voice was everywhere. Dante turned to look to his sides and saw similar tubes. “Did the words of Dante help you? What was poetry to the real works of creation? You may as well believe in the psyche of Virgil for he was the master in this design.”

“Who are you? Where is Beatrice?” Dante called out.

“I am Mathilda, Great Father. I am your new design. Your last.” The voice appeared and the voice was supported by the appearance of the orb. “Welcome home, Great Father.”