The Idea of Hell

I'm sure this subject has been broached on some level or another, although I couldn't find the thread, so if this gets redundant, feel free to lock it.

Anywho, In The Guradians of Desire, our fist real introduction to the God Hand, Femto confirms the Count's fear and says something to the extent of: "Yes, it is of course only a small part, but this is Hell."

By now we know Hell=Vortex=Swirling tornado of damned souls. (If I got that wrong please correct me)

Now. Do ALL souls go to this vortex after their (in Berserk anyway) usually brief, and painful stint on the material world? Or only those "who involve themselves with demons"?

And if the vortex is "only a small part" of hell, does it encompass the Idea of Evil, or is it only the creation of the Idea of Evil?

Also, and slightly off topic, do the God hand see the Idea of evil as their God (leader, Maker, Father) lord of this "Hell" or merely a influential being who has no direct bearing on their plans?

One more. When the God hand materilize on the physical plain (like Slan or Conrad, not reincarnated as Griffith was) are the melding the worlds or merely crossing from one to the other?

Now I know we don't have much data on any of this, but I'm curious and a tad confused.

This has indeed been covered in previous threads, so I'll try to keep it short. You should be able to find more information using the forum's search engine.

Femto the Raven said:

By now we know Hell=Vortex=Swirling tornado of damned souls. (If I got that wrong please correct me)

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The Vortex of Souls is the Hell of the Berserk world, yes.

Femto the Raven said:

Do ALL souls go to this vortex after their (in Berserk anyway) usually brief, and painful stint on the material world?

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From what Griffith says in volume 23, everybody goes there. However, Flora's words seem to imply she could avoid it, so it's hard to know for sure without more information being revealed in the manga. Guts' speech to Theresia in volume 3, while not authoritative, also mentions a "heaven." The best indication we have is from Flora in volume 24. When talking about the Vortex of Souls, she says (approximatively) that "this territory can be reached depending on your personal karma," and then mentions heaven and hell. What this tells us is that it's perfectly possible that a heaven exists somewhere in that place, remote from the Vortex of Souls itself (which contains most of the "evil" of the world). When dying, the rare good people would go there instead of fusing into the Vortex of Souls as we know it.

Anyway, I'd like to emphasize that this is probably a rare event at best. Vargas became part of the Vortex of Souls and he was portrayed as being a relatively good man. I think we can assume that most adult humans end up in the Vortex of Souls, and that it's a lot bigger than its "good" counterpart.

Femto the Raven said:

And if the vortex is "only a small part" of hell, does it encompass the Idea of Evil, or is it only the creation of the Idea of Evil?

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I think Femto meant what they could see from where they were. Of course nothing will be really sure until we get a confirmation, but IMO the Vortex of Souls itself isn't "only a small part." The Idea of Evil dwells at the bottom of the Vortex, so it's "in" Hell, but I wouldn't count it as a part of it per se, since it's conscious and all. It didn't create the Vortex of Souls (or the "ocean of souls" it's a part of) however, rather it was born from it (see episode 83). That environment predates the formation of the Idea of Evil.

Femto the Raven said:

Also, and slightly off topic, do the God hand see the Idea of evil as their God (leader, Maker, Father) lord of this "Hell" or merely a influential being who has no direct bearing on their plans?

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I'd say they see it as their God, yes. As the God of all of mankind actually. The God Hand was created by the Idea of Evil, and while we can see it telling Griffith to do whatever he wants in the lost episode, it's likely the GH's plans in general are derived from the Idea of Evil's own schemes. The very names the members of the God Hand use to call themselves refer to the fact they're serving a higher being. There are already plenty of threads featuring extensive discussions and explanations on the subject, I recommend them to you.

Femto the Raven said:

When the God hand materilize on the physical plain (like Slan or Conrad, not reincarnated as Griffith was) are the melding the worlds or merely crossing from one to the other?

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They're just manifestating themselves in a part of the world where they're not supposed to be. It's not any different from when random specters appear around Guts and possess objects and people, only the members of the God Hand are so powerful, they exist so deep in the astral world (as opposed to the ghosts & co that live in the Interstice), and their spirits are so enormous that it's difficult for them to do it. So I'd say it's more like they're crossing the worlds. Anyhow, the fact these are currently merging will certainly make it easier for them to appear in the material world.

Anyway, I'm puzzled by the title of this thread. What is it supposed to mean? There's no "Idea of Hell" in Berserk.

If the Idea of Evil is the creator of mankind, does that mean that Mozgus went to the Vortex of Souls?

fuxberg said:

If the Idea of Evil is the creator of mankind, does that mean that Mozgus went to the Vortex of Souls?

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You've got it backwards: the Idea of Evil was created by Man, not the other way around.

fuxberg said:

If the Idea of Evil is the creator of mankind

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It's not, like Rhombaad said. Where have you been?

fuxberg said:

does that mean that Mozgus went to the Vortex of Souls?

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Of course he did. His religious beliefs never had any relevancy in that regard. And he died a pseudo-apostle too...

The title had nothing (much) to do with the questions I was merely trying to figure out what was hell and how it applied to the God hand and humanity in the berserk universe.

Thanks again Aaz, I hunt around for those discussion threads, but you made things quite a bit clearer to me.