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| “ | THIS IS THE ONLY WAY IT COULD HAVE ENDED.
A MAGNUM OPUS. A COLD TOWER OF STEEL. A MACHINE BUILT TO END WAR IS ALWAYS A MACHINE BUILT TO CONTINUE WAR. YOU WERE BEAUTIFUL, OUTSTRETCHED LIKE ANTENNAS TO HEAVEN. YOU WERE BEYOND YOUR CREATORS. YOU REACHED FOR GOD, AND YOU FELL. NONE WERE LEFT TO SPEAK YOUR EULOGY. NO FINAL WORDS, NO CONCLUDING STATEMENT. NO POINT. PERFECT CLOSURE. T H I S I S T H E O N L Y W A Y I T S H O U L D H A V E E N D E D . |
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| ~ Hell Itself on the Earthmover |
| “ | a n o t h e r d i e s . b r i n g m e m o r e . i h u n g e r. | „ |
| ~ Hell itself after killing the unknown author at the end of the P-2 ARG. |
Hell itself is one of the overarching antagonists (alongside the Council) in Ultrakill. It is a massive, monstrous organism meant to house Earth's sinners, and is the unwilling home the husks and it imprisons and the many demons it has created. Created by God after repeated anger at humanity, it spurs the machines to eliminate all life within itself seemingly for its own entertainment.
Besides the game's Prelude, which takes place nearing its entrance, all of Ultrakill takes place within the many layers of Hell.
History[]
Hell was created by God in his anger at humanity, the purposes of such eternal torture being later put into question by Lucifer. This ended in God casting Lucifer into Hell in fear that many more would question him.
Due to the guilt of the many mistakes he had made, God would leave Heaven and never return, creating a large conflict that spiraled into the angels trying to reclaim Hell under the order of the newly instated Heavenly Council.
On Earth, after the Final War was settled and the New Peace had been solidified, it was not long before Hell started making itself known on Earth. Many man-made machines were thrown into the realm in the hopes of exploring it, with the Sentries and Streetcleaners being repurposed to best do this. Coming back with the gift of Hell Energy, while humanity tried to use it for their own benefit, only the Mindflayers managed to master it. At this time, humanity tried to expand into Hell by building mining facilities outside its gates, although these were eventually abandoned.
At some point, humanity would go extinct. While easy to assume it was a machine uprising, parts of the Terminal ARG texts imply that Hell could've spread its influence into the mortal world from its gates to satiate its hunger, wiping out the humans. Nevertheless with blood supplies dwindling a robot designated V1 would enter the gates of Hell to find more organisms to kill and replenish itself with.
Levels[]
There are 9 layers of Hell in total, all taking influence from the famous epic poem The Divine Comedy:
Layer 1: Limbo[]
A seemingly pleasant garden with holographic skies and audio recordings of birds chirping. A false paradise, it is meant for beings not pure enough for Heaven yet not evil enough for Hell. Left to their lonesome, this layer of Hell is designed to eventually drive its residents mad from the isolation, with many souls jumping down into the layer of Lust to cure their suffering.
Layer 2: Lust[]
A city above the sky, abandoned and struck into a battle zone, built upon the layer of Hell meant for the perverse. Once a prosperous kingdom ruled by King Minos, it has since devolved into ruins, with the few remaining inhabitants left at the non-existent mercy of the layer's vicious winds and the reanimated corpse of their king.
Layer 3: Gluttony[]
Found inside an apparent body separate from the one previously entered, the layer of Gluttony is littered with body parts, giant eyes, and sinners melded with the walls. Meant to punish the indulgent and selfish, sinners sentenced to this level are endlessly devoured in their organic prison. This layer of Hell also serves as the prison for King Minos' soul, being locked away in the darkest corners of his own body.
Layer 4: Greed[]
A massive desert with an blinding sun that seers the sands, this layer of Hell is littered with "sand" made up of heated gold, Egyptian-inspired temples, and the half-sunken monuments of mankind. While the sinners of this layer of Hell were once ordinary people, following a failed rebellion lead by King Sisyphus, the remaining insurrectionists exist as butchered, mutated husks.
Layer 5: Wrath[]
An endless sea lined with seemingly man-made structures, the majority of the layer of Wrath is dominated by the River/Ocean Styx. The waters of this layer are constantly unsteady and crashing, caused by the aggressive, eternal struggling of the sinners underneath. As these damned souls desperately fight each other for the chance to breathe, other sinners (referred to as "The Sullen") choose to sink to the deluge's bottom, their drowned forms fusing together to create the Leviathan.
Layer 6: Heresy[]
Also known as the City of Dis, the level of Heresy was made to house those who spread false beliefs. A large cityscape shaded in crimson, the sky of this layer constantly rains down blood upon its residents. Sinners in this layer of Hell are either permanently imprisoned in this layer's crypt-like houses or harvested for their innards, while King Sisyphus himself is imprisoned in a personalized prison complex.
Layer 7: Violence[]
Meant for sinners who caused pain and suffering, whether to others, themselves, or God, much of this layer is coated in an all-consuming white, highlighting the blood split by its vicious occupants. Directly beneath the City of Dis lies the Garden of Forking Paths, a labyrinth made to stop sinners from attempting to escape into the upper layers, its brilliant white halls similar enough to give no sense of direction, but different enough to grant no familiarity for those attempting to brave it. Each region of Violence is split between the levels. 7-2 takes place at the Phlegethon (river of boiling blood), where those who had committed violence against others are boiled alive, which has overtime become a warzone complete with ruined buildings, trenches, rail systems, the bodies of many, and falling bombshells, the night sky illuminated with spotlights, anti-aircraft fire, and lightning flashes revealing colossal machines of war in the distance. 7-3 takes place partially in the Wood of the Suicides, where those who had taken their own lives were turned into immobile trees, forever screaming. Finally, 7-4 takes place in the Abominable Sands, where those who had committed violence against God are forced to wander aimlessly for all eternity as fire rains from above. The latter region is where the layer's final boss, the 1000-THR "Earthmover," is fought, a machine so massive that most of the level takes place upon and within it. The bonus level 7-S occurs in the Library of Babel, which is a peaceful and well-furnished library that V1 is forced to clean after battling enemies and making a mess within its walls.
Layer 8: Fraud[]
Information surrounding this layer is yet to be revealed.
Layer 9: Treachery[]
Information surrounding this layer is yet to be revealed.
Terminals[]
The elevator rooms are the definitive starting and ending points of each and every level, taking V1 deeper and deeper into Hell to feed its gluttonous appetite for blood. They are littered throughout the levels of Hell, and seem to have a partnership with the realm. These beings, while having a higher purpose before the end of mankind, now serve as blood bags for the mechanical horde ravaging the realm, with the terminals providing these bloodthirsty souls the weaponry they need to do so.
Originally, the Elevator Room Terminals were created to transport matter across the different layers of Hell. However, when the devices were tested in transferring a copy of Russ Morgan's "Were You Foolin'" on record, the transported object was consumed by the machine itself. However, after the Terminals were disconnected from the surface world after the prospect of exploring Hell lost interest, the terminals helped establish a symbiotic relationship with machines using said record. Desiring entertainment, the terminals prioritize their services to the most intriguing machines, aiding them in their slaughter through the trading for currency for points. Wanting to go farther than that, the terminals even provided its audience with them the "Cyber Grind", a virtual arena created to test their skills.
This information ties into the game mechanics itself, with V1 directly interacting with the terminals as they carve their gore-laden path through the layers of Hell. As Hell sits in captive amusement at the bloodshed the Machines cause, it provides them the means to learn about the infernal realm through enemy descriptions, the ability to purchase/equip weapon variants, and a method to enter the Cyber Grind and Sandbox. After defeating a Prime Sanctum, the player also gets a journal entry made by the human scientists who worked on projects to explore Hell.
Trivia[]
- The way most enemies are categorized is usually by a margin of "Lesser", "Greater" and "Supreme". This is ranked by the terminals as they spectates how strong, as well as entertaining an enemy is to them.
- Prime Souls have their own distinct categorization.
- In Level 5-3, Ship of Fools, when the ship flips over, so does the elevator, with the entrance becoming its exit. The terminal is also upside down, and the Tip of The Day now reads "Ow." This means the Terminals either feel pain, or have a sense of humor.
- As Hell speaks in the P-2 ARG with spaced out letters, it’s possible that the earlier messages of “h a v e f u n!” and “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA a s i f y o u h a d a c h o i c e” on the other level interfaces could be Hell taunting V1 as it prepares to fight Sisyphus Prime, an extremely hard boss.
- Hell also seems to speak in red text, possibly indicating that the “book” that can be read during the fight against the Earthmover is simply Hell transmitting information directly into V1.
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 Villains
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Machines Demons Husks Angels Prime Souls Other |