Finding Meaning

Epilogue

>>Hadasaphorus has joined the chat<<

>>Satan has joined the chat<<

Hadasaphorus was now in Hell. He stood there confused. Where am I? Am I really in Hell?

It only took a second for it to become apparent that Hadasaphorus was, in fact, in Hell. He felt the burning coal against his bare feet char them. As he inhaled to speak, the burning sulfur in the air entered his lungs. He coughed rather vigorously. Waste deep in a pool of lava, Hadasaphorus wondered how he was still alive. That is, until he realized the point of Hell was to live forever in pain. In order to ease the pain on his feet, he jumped up and down, hopping from foot to foot. Third degree burns sliced through both feet within a few seconds. Furthermore, jumping up and down ultimately did nothing but trigger something to raise the lava up higher. He ended up swimming to The Gates of Hell where he was finally free from the pool of lava.

Hadasaphorus dragged his now crisp body to the tar pool that lied between the lava pool and The Gates of Hell.

"Hadasaphorus!" A deep, dark voice flew through the air, startling Hadasaphorus.

"Uh, um. Yeah?" Hadasaphorus looked around. "Reveal yourself!"

"Wait a second." The deep voice suddenly made a 180. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Then get me out!" Hadasaphorus demanded.

Another person – or demon, who even knows – handed a clipboard to the deep dark voice's body, wherever that was. "Oh, right. Direct order from God himself."

"What?" Hadasaphorus asked.

"God specifically wanted you here. That has never happened. I'm sorry for the confusion. You may pass."

Shit.

As The Gates of Hell opened, Hadasaphorus observed it. The gate extended upwards. In fact, it seemed to go on forever upwards as Hadasaphorus strained his neck to see the top. Defending the gate was a rabid dog – Satan's dog – foaming from the mouth, displaying its teeth prominently as if it were ready to attack. As the gate slowly spread itself open, Hadasaphorus beheld Hell.

There was a dark energy that seeped through the gates. A blackness invoked terror in Hadasaphorus's eyes, which grew red and dilated, almost popping from his eye sockets.

"Well, well. We meet again." Satan said as his figure emerged from the darkness. Satan's burns and broken horn were now fully regenerated. "The cool thing about being the only human in Hell means you get the most time for torture." Satan smiled. "That's good. I've been getting bored here."

"Hate to get technical with you, but I'm not human."

"Whatever." Satan said. "The point is you're the only one here I can torture." There was a brief pause. "Would you like a brief orientation?"

"Fuck you."

"Don't blame me. God was the one who sent you here. And believe me, if I could undo everything, I would. I would have never tried to create a Universe. I would have never tried to kill God. But there's something wrong with me."

Suddenly, despite the great pain he was in, and despite what awaited him, Hadasaphorus knew Satan was right. Sure, Hadasaphorus made a mistake, and, yes, he was about to be tortured forever by Satan, but whatever lie through those doors, he'd be ready to face.