RISE

5 - Hell's Largest Shopping Mall

At first, Aaron was a little confused. The castle they were in seemed to be on top of a mountain, and all around them for miles was . . . nothing. A desert of flat stone and scattered dead plants. The horizon was framed by a mountain range that was tall and spiky, and didn't have any breaks or gaps. There were no other buildings, so it looked like they would have to travel far to go shopping.

The sky was overcast, and Aaron could see the bottom of the clouds rolling in the wind. There was a deep, low roar, like constant thunder. The entire scene was frightening. Elvorix, of course, was unbothered, and hurried down the steps in front of the door, his wings flared out to carry him. At the bottom, an enormous carriage waited for them, pulled by a team of four of the biggest horses Aaron had ever seen, and of course, a demon driver. It looked like something from a cheap Dracula movie, but with better special effects.

An attendant opened the carriage door for them, but Elvorix shooed him away with a wave of his hands, and helped Aaron step up into the carriage himself before climbing in after him. The windows on the carriage were covered by thick velvet curtains, and it was very dark inside except for a bit of that eerie glow that seemed to be everywhere with no discernible source.

They sat in silence while the carriage started moving, and Aaron wondered if he should start a conversation, but before he could even open his mouth, the carriage stopped and Elvorix climbed out.

"How did we . . . never mind."

Aaron followed Elvorix out of the carriage, taking the hand that was offered to him to step down. Despite the trip that lasted less than a minute, they were in a very different environment.

The first thing Aaron noticed was that this place was loud and bright. It was difficult to take in - it looked like a city from the future. There were colorful lights and neon signs all over the place, and shops that expanded as far as the eye could see, even into the sky. The stores were arranged in a way that defied the laws of physics, with staircases twisting and winding around them, and winged demons flying between them. The sounds of demons talking was overshadowed by loud music playing, though Aaron didn't recognize the song.

"Wow," Aaron breathed as he looked around, trying to make sense of the three-dimensional maze of stores.

"Yeah, this is the biggest shopping center in all of Hell. There's other ones that are more 'prestigious', but this place has the most variety. We can find anything you need here."

Elvorix grabbed Aaron's hand and pulled him into the fray. He was right about variety. The stores specialized in everything from clothing, décor, and jewelry, to poisons, skeletons, and a store that just said "combustibles". Weirder still, the demons around them had no sense of proper public behavior. As they walked through the streets and stairs, demons flew around them talking loudly and getting into fights. The store employees yelled advertisements aggressively, and there were definitely several demons being more intimate with each other than would have been acceptable on Earth.

The whole atmosphere was charged with excitement, it was overwhelming for Aaron. He stuck close to Elvorix, and found that focusing on him helped. It wasn't difficult to focus on Elvorix. Aaron had never met someone who talked as much as Elvorix did.

"Before we leave, we have to stop there and get a snack - everything is burnt, but I'm telling you it's delicious!"

"That's where my friend Beatrix works, she sells makeup, but we're fighting right now so I don't want to go in there, and there are better makeup stores anyway."

"You don't want to go into the jewelry store? You're not even wearing any jewelry! And if you think you're borrowing mine, you're wrong. Well, okay, but only if I'm not wearing it."