Ten Steps Of Purgatory

Why do you claim that there are nine steps
When in fact it's ten?

A gateway before menothing more than a simple door
I walk towards it, shivering
As I reach the threshold I hesitate
Aware of the pitch black darkness
Ready to take hold of my soul once I'm inside

One step forward and my life is irrevocably lost
Thought this is no time for second thoughts,
It is impossible not to be affected
By the dismal and uncanny presence of doom;
The hands of hell call out for me
The abyss is already glaring in my eyes

Now, in this very moment
My left leg has crossed the line
The first step and my mind is absorbed
Disembodied from the spirit and soul
I do not know this place I'm at,
Though it feels familiar
Suddenly it all becomes very clear and silent
And the silence is piercing
Whatever's left of mean oxymoron in limbo?
How peculiar... I cannot stay here for too long

As it's the only place I'm meant to be
My fate is to finish the ten steps of purgatory
Someone is drawing an invisible circle and
Forces me to count it, nine times
Is this hell?
I ask, but no answer
Am I being judged by actions I couldn't control
Suffering sins and crimes I did not commit
Just because I got drawn towards the darkness
Why do you claim that there are nines steps,
When in fact it's ten