Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri is the titular protagonist of Dante's Inferno who traversed the nine circles of Hell to rescue his lost love, Beatrice.

==History ==

Pre-Crusades
Dante was born in 1156, and he had a difficult childhood. His father, Alighiero, was a licentious man that berated him and physically abused his mother Bella. He stole from the poor, and used their money to entertain his friends at lavish parties. Dante also had a mentor while he was growing up by the name of Brunetto Latini.

Dante was betrothed to his true love, Beatrice. However, before the two could wed, Dante was called upon to march in the Crusades. Before he left, Beatrice agreed to give herself to Dante out of wedlock, only if he swore upon her cross to be faithful. Dante agreed, and the two shared one last night together. Before he left the next day, Beatrice gave Dante her Cross as a parting gift.

The Crusades
Whilst Dante and Francesco, Beatrice's younger brother, were in the Crusades, a fraudulent bishop gave them and their fellow Crusaders a preemptive absolution for any sins they may commit. With the bishop's blessing, Dante proceeded to commit unforgiveable acts in the name of God.

Dante and Francesco were present at the capturing of Acre, but Dante was shocked when he learned they had to "babysit heretics," while King Richard negotiated for the True Cross. During this time, a Slave Girl offered "comfort" to Dante in exchange for her and her "brother's," freedom - Dante reluctantly accepted the offer, betraying his promise to Beatrice.

Against Francesco's objection, Dante, in a fit, slaughtered all the prisoners, believing it was their mission to kill the "heretics," and "there is no shame," since "their souls are already lost." When King Richard discovered this, he demanded the one responsible step forward. Francesco takes the fall for his "brother," and is sent to be hanged, leaving Dante to flee.

Dante's Inferno
During a raid on Acre by Saladin's forces, several of the prisoners escaped, but Dante was able to quickly kill them and continued to a courtyard. An assassin came up to Dante and stabbed him in the back, which lead to the appearance of Death who stated Dante's punishment for his sins. Dante was confused and shocked by this, believing he was still alive and the bishop assured the Crusaders they were absolved of their sins for fighting in the Crusades.

Death said Dante would spend "everlasting damnation," in Hell with the souls he had ruined; this motivated him to pull the knife from his back and challenge the Grim Reaper. Dante and Death battled; this fight ended as Dante stole Death's scythe and killed him.

The revelation of these events led to Dante to return home, during which he sewed a cross-shaped tapestry to his chest (as a form of mortification of the flesh), depicting his life to act as a reminder of both his sinful past and his hope for redemption.

Dante finally returned to Florence with Death's scythe hoping to redeem himself somehow. When he arrived at his home, Dante found his Father and Beatrice murdered. As Dante knelt beside her, Beatrice appeared as a spirit along with Lucifer, who appears as a black human-like creature; after a short talk, the creature took Beatrice to Hell.

Dante gave chase, fought undead minions from Hell, and arrived at a church. Inside, he found Beatrice being tortured on a pedestal. She asked Dante why he broke his promise. After she disappeared, Dante was blessed with Beatrice's holy cross.

Suddenly, he found the entire church was falling apart, becoming a portal to Hell. After fighting more of Hell's minions, Dante arrived at The Gates of Hell and encountered Virgil. Dante was told that Beatrice called for Virgil to help him. After the initial meeting, Dante was given his first spell. Dante then fought and tamed an Asterian Beast; he used it to open the gates and began his journey into Hell.

The Nine Circles
Once Dante opens the Gates of Hell, he is confronted by Lucifer with a hypnotized Beatrice. After he taunts Dante, Lucifer flees with Beatrice. Dante runs toward a demon/ship hybrid named Charon. When Dante enters Charon, he fights more minions of Hell, hijacks another Asterian Beast, and uses it to tear off Charon's head. He throws the head off into the distance and escapes the crashing ship.

He then arrives in Limbo where King Minos, Judge of the Dead resides. King Minos and Dante fight in an epic battle which ends with Dante sticking Minos' tongue on his torture wheel, spinning it and making his face split in half. His dead body falls into the depths of Hell, just like Charon.

Dante descends into Lust. Soon after arriving in a seemingly barren circle, a large phallic tower erupts from the ground. A gargantuan Cleopatra climbs the tower, summoning a violent storm which surrounds the tower and blows all the souls trapped in the circle forever apart from one another. As Dante ascends the tower, Cleopatra attacks with massive fists and monsters spawning from the nipples of her breasts.

When Dante reaches the top of the tower, he and Beatrice see each other once more, but she is soon to be married to Lucifer. She is dressed up in a hellish gown with make up all over her face. The two disappear and Dante does battle with Marc Antony, who is regurgitated by Cleopatra. Dante defeats Marc Antony in battle, despite the aid of Cleopatra in the background.

Cleopatra shrinks to human size to grieve the loss of her lover, then attacks Dante. This attempt is foiled shortly after by Dante with a scythe blow to her heart. The platform Dante took to the top of the tower suddenly begins to drop and rapidly breaks apart, but Dante manages to use his scythe to swing to safety and begin his descent into the third circle of hell, Gluttony.

The walls Dante clings to during his descent change from a familiar rock surface to an organic fleshy one, signaling his arrival in Gluttony. Upon arriving, Dante is confronted by Cerberus, the three headed, worm-like hellhound. Dante is able to defeat Cerberus by slicing off both the left and right heads then blowing up the middle. He then travels through the circle, under a storm of wastes and dangers hidden under the surface with many teeth.

After traveling through a mirror-like doorway, Lucifer confronts Dante about his sins, and shows him how his loved ones were murdered by the slave girl's brother, who reveals he wasn't her brother, but her husband. After fighting off a glutton demon and working through a reality-bending puzzle, Dante finds himself descending into the fourth circle of Hell, Greed.

In Greed, Dante travels through several obstacles such as wall climbing, swinging on vines, and fighting hordes of minions of all kinds. Using Plutus's powers of making giant gold objects pass by him, Dante hijacks an Arterian Beast, uses Plutus's powers again to pass by him, and destroys the Wheel of Fortune.

Eventually, Dante finally sees his father once more. After death, Dante's father was condemned to Greed. Lucifer warped Alighiero into a obese monster similar to a glutton in size, skin color, and appearence. Lucifer then promised Alighieri 1000 years free of torment and a horde of gold if he does one thing - murder his own son. Confronting his son near the entrance of the Fifth Circle, Alighiero is defeated by Dante. He then proceeds to absolve his father, freeing him from the Inferno.

Dante descends into Anger, goes through a few obstacles, fights a few hordes, and finally travels the River of Styx. Unknown to Dante, the boat he uses is actually Phlegyas' head. When Dante finds out, he almost falls off but uses his Scythe in time to land on higher ground.

Phlegyas becomes angry because of this and attacks, but unlike in the other circles, Dante does not fight the boss; instead, Dante fights a horde of his minions. During Dante and Phlegyas' fight, Dante sees Beatrice and Lucifer once more and Dante's promise with Beatrice is revealed. Beatrice, like Persephone in the Underworld, eats three pomegranate seeds and is transformed into a demonic creature.

She grows several hundred feet and, after passionately kissing Lucifer, disappears. Soon after, Dante takes control of Phlegyas and uses him to open the gates of the lower parts of Hell and enters Heresy. While inside the giant city of Dis, Phlegyas' massive weight causes the floor to collapse and sends him hurdling down into the abyss.

The Lower Circles
Heresy is part of the City of Dis. The entire city is filled with fire where heretics burn for eternity in fiery tombs. Dante makes his way through with no real obstacles other than climbing on walls and few several groups of minions. However, the city starts to collapse due to the Harrowing of Hell, forcing Dante to leave the circle.

Dante descends into the seventh circle, Violence. The Seventh Circle is divided into three parts. Dante crosses the river Phlegethon, the river of boiling blood, where those who acted with violence against others reside. After that, he enters the Wood of the Suicides; it is here where Dante sees his mother for the first time since he was a child.

His mother has been transformed into a part of the woods. She is withered, brittle and more plant-like than human. Virgil tells Dante what happens to those who commit suicide in Hell. Dante is appalled that she is in Hell when she supposedly died of fever. Dante remembers crying over her grave and being informed by his father that she had died of a fever.

Bella tells Dante that she actually killed herself in order to be free of her husband's abuse and way of life; she then asks her son to forgive her for not protecting him from his father. He takes his cross and gives her the peace she deserves, and she tells him that there is still time for him to save Beatrice, for she does not belong in Hell.

Dante eventually exits the woods and enters The Abominable Sands, a place for those who acted against Elohim. It is a scorching desert filled with stone ruins. Dante finally sees his old friend Francesco. Francesco has now mutated in several ways, such as having half a head made out of a plant, and torn skin showing muscles and veins. Francesco is angry with Dante, blaming him for what has happened to him. Dante tries to talk to him and listen but to no avail; he is forced to kill his old friend. As he lays dying, the two briefly talk about the lies they listened to during their time at the crusades. When Francesco dies, Dante absolves him.

Dante soon descends to Fraud, where he meets Beatrice. Beatrice, enraged at Dante, makes him go through the ten rings of the Malebolge, all varying in many ways. After the trials, Beatrice yells at Dante even more for trying to save her and for also getting her brother killed as well. Dante then says, "I give up on this journey. I belong here... in Hell". He asks for her forgiveness once more and presents Beatrice her cross. Beatrice, surprised by this, is then absolved by it. Soon after, Gabriel the Angel appears. Gabriel tells Dante he has almost redeemed himself and he will see Beatrice again soon, then disappears.

Dante descends into the final circle, Treachery. Dante fights and defeats Lucifer, only to have him split open his stomach to reveal his true form, a wingless demon. Lucifer then reveals that Beatrice had nothing to do with his plan, he only needed to marry someone who was destined for Heaven so that he can "reclaim his rightful place in Paradise." Dante fights Lucifer once more in an explosive battle, ending with Lucifer being smashed into the ground.

This creates an explosion and ends with Lucifer's defeat, but just before Dante ensures the killing blow, Lucifer tells him to look at something. Dante is shown being stabbed in the back by the same person who killed Beatrice and Alighiero, back in Acre and dying. Dante retaliates to this revelation, saying that he has absolved many souls on his journey throughout Hell and that now they possess the power to redeem himself. Dante calls out to the souls inside of him. The souls that Dante had saved appear and reseal Lucifer in his prison, and finally absolve Dante.

Purgatory
Dante reappears naked in front of Beatrice in an area that is stark white, except for a mist covering Beatrice. The cross tapestry on his chest appears to have been burnt. He takes her hand and in a flash of light, Dante walks out of a cave and stops standing in front of the realm of "Purgatorio." He states, "I did not die and I did not live", referring to how he was fatally wounded making Death appear; however, he slew Death.

Dante rips the cross off his chest and throws it on the ground, where it turns to dust and transforms into a tiny snake. As the serpent quietly slithers away, Lucifer's laughter is heard.