Yuno:

Each player regularly receives a newsletter about upcoming event-lives. I already more than a hundred unread messages, I mark almost all of them as "spam". But I still, I look at some of the invitations, especially if it's a private event-live where only those involved can enter. Sometimes hosts do mass mailing to increase the rating of the event and get bonus physical minutes. At such rare moments, anyone can get into a private room. Today I got an invitation to an event live called Raving in Hell. It's one of the most famous private locations in Elysium, it constantly stays in the top.

Host of this room once said: "People have been afraid of hell for centuries, but still, deep down they want to experience it at least once in their lifetime."

Well, I can't disagree. This location is always crowded. The most terrible and most perverted things happen in hell. It's dark and hot inside. The dance floor is packed to capacity, the sounds of dark ambient, techno and psy-trance louder than people's voices. In combination with music, my brain dissolves in rhythmic patterns and melodic lines, all of the other users forget who they are and why they came here.

The location itself consists of nine levels. On the first floor there is an empty dark room where you feel weightlessness and hear nothing. At the exit from it, there is a small bar, and next to it hangs a copy of the painting "Rites of Disappearance" by Peter Nathan. On the steel red-hot staircase, illuminated by ominous red lights, you can get to other levels.

The second level is a space for orgies. Pornographic frescoes depict Trojan warriors engaged in a sadomasochistic battle, and a huge devil surrounded by naked angels is depicted on the wall. The floor is strewn with huge velvet pillows, hot wax drips from the ceiling.

The dance floor occupies as many as five levels, they differ in temperature and volume of music. The higher - the hotter. At the eighth level, various instruments of torture are installed, on which users torture each other at will.

There is also a hidden level, the cost of which is equal to a month of unlimited physical stay in the game. This level was created by a group of hackers who managed to expand the standard physics of the metaverse.

Unlike the main entertainment content, this level could irreversibly affect the mental state of the users, ready to experience unbearable pain in hell or send their minds on a great journey - this was once imitated by shamans and monks, and people of the past wanted to repeat it.

To gain access to this level, you need to pay the guide, turn on physical access and go to the fire to "burn alive." At this point, there is an imitation of the effects of a substance such as DMT, which is ejected by the spinal cord at the time of death. Seconds turn into an eternity, and all the limitations of consciousness flash so brightly that the player ceases to see any differences between themselves and the explosion of a supernova. There were rumors that in the real world, shamans found a similar substance in cacti in South America, after which a secret rite was performed, but even this didn't give such a plausible effect of feeling the real death.After the final level, the players sit at the bar and share impressions of their experience. Everyone has their own associations. They never repeat. There are those who come for this feeling again and again, hoping to experience something new, and soon they get bored of it and go to other rooms.The entire location of Hell is a mixture of the interiors of the once famous real world clubs "Berghain", "Paradise Garage", "Salvation".

I usually stay on the first level where the bar is. I see the girl sitting behind the bar, the nickname "Kali" is shining above her avatar. She is the curator of this room. A couple of months ago, we were in relationship, but quickly both of us lost interest in them, deciding to remain friends. Kali is short, with a cute baby face that is slightly pale and mysteriously repulsive, as well as demonic horns that stick out from under the dark gray strands of her long hair. Pierced lip, dark blue eyes with neon hearts instead of pupils, dimples on the cheeks and a long snake tongue.

"What's up, Yuno? Are you enjoying the party?" she asks, looking at me.

"Well, don't want to be rude, but I still don't understand why you sent an invitation, you have so many people here," I answer.

"Don't you know, no matter what the event is, you always need to remind other users about it. And I really want to gain as many physical minutes as possible," she smiles.

"Yeah, I got you. And what about your personal heaven?" I ask.

Kali, concurrently, oversees the event live, which is completely opposite to Hell which is called Paradise Chill.

"There are only few people in paradise. I made it icy cold inside. It's still torture, but as you can see, users are more attracted to burn than to freeze. One friend who tried both said that Paradise Chill is harder to stand. Users usually go there to "cool off" after the ninth level of Hell. And it's more fun here, although I personally prefer Paradise. I love peace, silence, and cold," she replies, and then with a snap of her finger, she changes the appearance of the avatar. In place of chains, black leather dress, and black horns with decorations, come frank snow-white linen, lace, and white horns with chains of silver and diamonds. The angelic version of Kali still looks like a demon. A white demon with empty eyes.

"Your angel looks even creepier," I point out.

"Well, that's the point. My angel outfit matches with the Paradise in Elysium" she grins.

"Obviously. I appreciate your creativity. You're really talented designer."

"Thanks for the compliment. It's great to hear that from one of the best location creators in Elysium," she replies.

At this moment, one of the users approaches us. Kali climbs down from the high bar chair to hug him.

"I heard the hosts of competing events are outraged that you oversee both Hell and Heaven at the same time," the stranger says, lighting up a cigarette.

Kali laughs hoarsely.

"Who prevented them from occupying this niche? Ideas are in the air, and prejudice is a thing of the past. Ancient scriptures say that there must be a balance between Heaven and Hell, and I believe that balance is impossible if these two locations would be controlled by different hosts. There are no perfect people. There is good and bad in each of us, and I am the perfect example of this," she replies.

"Well, guys, you have kinda freaky conversations..." I grin.

"We're just kidding, Yuno. I'm touched by those users who take this scenery seriously. It's just a masquerade, a party," Kali brushes off.

"By the way, some users are really serious about event-lives. Go to the Krishna Games room. If you break the rules there, they immediately put you in the black list," says the stranger.

"I'm actually not a big fan of event-lives at all," I answer.

"Oh, don't know Yuno? He's one of the coolest chatroom designers in the world, he's actually in the top three," Kali tells him.

"Kali, stop it..." a grin appears on my face again.

"I didn't know that, but it's really cool," the guy replies.

"Yeah, Yuno is a little bit shy about being a geniuos, so I won't bother you," she turns around and then adds, "I'm going to see how things are on the eighth level." Kali takes the guy by the hand, and they both go up the red-hot stairs to the top.

I sit on the first level for a while, deciding if I want to go further, but in the end I just log out of the server. Event-lives are not my kind of thing.