Blinded by Eternity

Chapter Twenty-One - Hell and Back

Chapter Twenty-One

"So we just... go in?" I looked at the swirling portal of reds, blues and purples.
"Yep. You first." I frowned
"Coward." I braced myself and jumped. It was an out of body experience, yet I felt every nerve alight with flames. We were going to Hell, so it made sense. I saw Saerath falling next to me, our presence the only in the void. It was strange. A pure innocent being such as Tania shouldn't be in Hell, but Heaven. Saerath explain that she was and equal to God, and therefore punished as such, as Satan was when he fell from Grace. An intriguing story, but we were about to meet the guy, so that'd be something I'd never thought I'd see. Hell was nothing like I thought it would be. I expected flames and torture, but it was cold, dark and eerily calm. There was a giant stone structure, resembling a castle on top of a floating island of rocks and stalagmites. I finally felt wind rush me as we exited the portal and came hurtling to the ground. Saerath landed on his feet, while I almost broke my back on the ground. I got up, dusting myself off, scowling at the white haired man. Saerath pointed towards the castle.
"Tania is pure of heart, so she went straight to the King himself. And where do Kings live?" I looked at the daunting structure. For being underground, or in another dimension, the castle was ginormous. We began our trek, which I figured would take a while, seeing as the more steps we took, the farther the castle seemed. Saerath led the way, his steps so trained he missed every little pebble on the path. Meanwhile I tripped over everything in my way. These cowboy boots were not made for walking.
"So, Saerath-" I corrected myself, not wanting to be so formal. "Sae. Is it true that all Demons are children of the Devil?" His pace slowed to match mine, which was a considerable speed slower.
"That depends. Demons are not Devils. There is the Devil of the North, Devil of the South, East, West, and other such things. There are Devils in charge of the materials we claim. Diamonds, emeralds, all the riches they control. In total, there are about 300 different types of Devils. Yes, some Demons are the sons and daughters of these creatures, but you must never confuse a Devil with the All-Father. Satan is father to us all in a way. Without him, we would not exist. Now, because there is Satan does not mean there is a God. There is no religion. There are Christians, Satanists, Buddhists, the like. But if you look at our lives like a family tree, you see Satan is the many roots. Begotten from him, The Devils, from them, Demons. Of course, some are special cases. Zero is only a lowly Wolf, derived from a bite. We are brothers in pack. But Father's reach extends to all, including Wolves, disguised as mortals. And that is where I am started." That was a lot of information in a short amount of time. Too much. But one part I understood.
"So Satan is not only the Father, but your dad." He nodded. Half pride, half embarrassment. "'S nothin' to be ashamed of. Hell, I'd kill to know my parents!" Sae slapped me.
"Do not use the realm in vain. It is the same as taking that bearded man's name with scorn." I arched a brow.
"Who, Jesus Christ?" Sae hissed, not at all reminding me of the Cats Tania and I had looked at during her school year.
"Yes! Him. Do I have to tape your mouth shut?" He was ticked, understandably. Those words would be like a silver bullet tearing through the flesh. We walked, and kept on our journey, the castle finally taking up all of my vision. "Okay. It's as simple as knocking." Sae ushered towards the door.
"For being a Demon, you suck." I knocked on the door, earning an eye roll from Sae and the door opening. We both walked in, the grand hall beautifully adorned and graced with bright flames off sconces. It was a sight to see, a medieval feel to the dead feeling place. The windows were stained glass with depictions of how Satan seduced humanity. It gave me chills. I felt the walls whisper to me, voices of people of my past. The voice of my brother, father and mother. My war buddies, and friends from after. They whispered silky dulcet tones in my ears, trying to keep my in Hell, some words more fantasising than others. Sae kept a hand on my shoulder, clearly not phased by anything he heard of his own past frivolousness. "Why're they all in Hell? They didn't do anything..." The whispers stopped and Sae spoke.
"Hell is a place where all go. Pure or no, they all end up here, some more lucky than others. You heard ghosts from your past. Those you outlived." There were winding hallways in front of us, Sae walking through them as if it were memory.
"What about you? You hear voices?" Sae looked longing of something. Possibly something out of our time, how far his gaze went.
"Only one. My love. Iris. There is no happiness in this tale, and it is much like Simon's. Yes he resides with us. An... eclectic man, we shall say with no harm. Speaking of, how are you? You look pale." It wasn't a lie. With Tania gone, I was feeling weak. My imprinting was killing me now that she'd passed.
"I'm feeling it. I'm hurtin'." I wiped my brow. Sae put a hand on my shoulder.
"We're here, and I can feel her life force. When we get out of this, I'm slaughtering that fool." I nodded. Sae pushed open the door, and I finally saw him.
"Geia sas, Saerath." Sae bowed.
"Father." It was Satan himself.