Months passed by and he was contacted by the social nudist he had befriended in his darkest times. She informed him that she was pregnant with his child, and was soon to bring the child to life. Finally his life seemed to bring forth something worth living for, if true. He embraced the idea of becoming a provider for their child and eagerly prepared for life as a father. His natural interest in the welfare of others and selfless demeanor would ensure him to be a great benefactor.

   The day began like any other on his day to work as he passed all the familiar sights. The monotony of the day was broken when he received a call from the hospital sooner than he had anticipated. Delilah had gone into labor before her due date. Child birth proved to be more than her frail body could withstand. Withered by the strain of the amazing task, she succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep before he could arrive.

   Her eyes were closed when the nurse showed him to her incubator. Nemo thought nothing of it. Premature babies are often allowed to fully develop in the ICU. He stuck his hands through the black rubber gloves and proceeded to caress her. It seemed that for a moment the world stopped spinning and everything made sense. Every worry was forgotten and all sorrows were redeemed. Negative thoughts seemed irrelevant in his new-found appreciation of life. Time slowed to an anemic pace, and it was like she filled a void that made his life seem empty by comparison. Her mere existence seemed to validate his own. The comforting haven he had lost hope for since childhood seemed to have finally arrived, but he was wrong. His beautiful baby girl was born with a lower respiratory infection. Hope once again blinded him and the doctor's words brought him back to only reality he ever knew. Sadness reigns supreme.

   Days passed as he waited with Delilah for news from the hospital. He could not eat or sleep as uncertainty plagued his mind. Delilah watched and wondered worriedly at his silence. She had never seen him so down before, but didn't know what to do. Nemo always kept it all to himself and suffered in silence. Nothing she did could free his mind from imprisonment until on day he looked at her and begged, “Change your ways and take good care of my little girl. Let her know that I love her more than anything in this world and always will.” Delilah had no idea what was going on and became even more perplexed at his behavior. He had made a wager with the devil.

   He had offered the dark prince a soul on which he could try his most horrendous punishments. The idea was that nothing could bring more pain to him than for his daughter not to be able to live a great life. For a hundred lifetimes he would have to endure Satan's most perverse ideas, and in return, his daughter would live just as many great ones without ever knowing the love of her father. If he were to withstand it all, he would one day be reunited with his beloved little girl, but if he failed, he would never see her again. The terms were accepted and Samael took the man instead of the girl. She went forth from that day never knowing the man that paid such a price for her well being, but something deep inside her understood and never felt any resentment toward her absent parent.

   Ninety-nine unrelenting lifetimes of torture went by in vain as Nemo braved the unfathomable ideas the most perverse mind could conjure. Each had progressed in severity from the simple beginning of his damnation. Even though it seemed the greatest evil could not weaken his resolve, every problem has a solution and nothing lasts forever. Satan was down to one last lifetime to accomplish his goal and had devised a plan so simple, yet incredibly evil from the very beginning. He knew that the one thing capable of hindering his progress was the confidence that was granted to Nemo by assuring his daughter's happiness. It enabled him to withstand any amount of torture since it ensured a favorable outcome. So, he battled confidence with doubt.

   Satan “informed” Nemo that his precious daughter had been troubled by her father's absence and resented him for it. She would see how other girls' dad would spend time with them while she had no one to accompany her. She would often lay in bed crying at the injustice she faced. She'd feel so alone without a dad to console her when her day was going bad. She felt so out-of-place on career day and her heart would break when a movie depicted a man showing his daughter how much he loved her. “Your forked tongue will not deceive me, demon.” Nemo replied. “A lie is an excellent tool of evil, but the truth can be just as devastating” Satan continued. “Have a look at how your princess deals with your decision, if you dare.” He pointed to a false image on the wall where a beautiful child wept inconsolably. For the first time since his penitence began, he laid eyes on her. His eyes could not deny it, but his heart was absolutely positive it was her. His compassion overpowered his mind and allowed himself to be deceived. Satan's plan had prevailed.

   All the torture he'd endured now culminated in an impressive display of smoke and mirrors. Mere moments seemed to separate him from deliverance when he lost everything. All the sadness from passed lives when he longed to be reunited with her all came to him at once. Satan stood by and laughed as Nemo wept in anguish. He thought of how his longing was subdued by the idea of one day joining her, but that would no longer be possible. As all hope left his heart he uttered the words, “I have failed you. I'm sorry.” So great was his suffering then that his knees hit the ground and his sorrow exploded so violently as to shake the walls as it travelled to every last corner of the nine circles. Every tormented soul along the way was numbed by his sorrow and fell to its knees as he did, feeling nothing but sadness and despair. No physical torture could compare as they felt the wrath of one hundred lifetimes of distress.

   Standing a few feet away from the source of it all, Satan took the shock wave at full force. This unprecedented force took him by surprise and caused an infinitesimal fracture in his dark, diamond-like heart. It seemed to awaken something suppressed inside him that lay dormant since the time before he aspired to ascend to heaven and raise his throne above the stars of God. The devil himself felt fear! This was something he had not experienced since he served in his creator's army. He replaced his taunting laughter for a serious facade in an attempt to conceal the truth. He ordered his minions to take the distraught remains of his perpetual guest to the darkest dungeon in the first circle and said to Nemo, “I have won. Your soul is mine.” His image dissolved as he retreated to his throne in the ninth.