Hell wasn't a sea of fire. That was his first surprise. It was cold. Not physically, but on a deeper, existential level. As if every memory of warmth, love, hope, meaning, and care had been carefully drawn out of him. Not roughly, but methodically, as if someone knew exactly what would hurt the most to lose. All that remained were memories. He tried to cling to one of the few good moments in his life, but it was almost immediately replaced by one of the countless bad ones. As if the place itself selected what he was allowed to feel. He stood in a semi-dark landscape that felt both endless and suffocating at the same time. Stone. Mist. Shadows that moved without a source and without a purpose.
"Welcome,"
A voice said beside him. The man who had suddenly appeared beside him looked too neat, too human. Human, yet not quite. He didn't need to ask; his entire being would probably scream like a scared little girl if he got an honest answer. The man was neatly dressed, well-groomed, and even looked at him kindly. His smile wasn't fake, but it wasn't at all reassuring either. He had known criminals who could adopt a personality that would make Santa Claus look like an old grump right before they shot someone's brains out.
"Where... am I?"
He asked, even though he knew the answer.
"You already know."
The man said.
"Why waste time on questions whose outcome is predetermined?"
He gestured with a slight bow.
"Come. I'll show you around. It's... complex here."
They walked past souls trapped in endless repetitions of their own mistakes. Anger that never died down. Greed without satisfaction. Lust without pleasure. Each in their own circle, each trapped in what they had sown.
"The nine circles,"
The guide said.
"Dante had surprisingly understood it well. No wonder, because he had received a little help from Lucifer himself. They felt it was about time you people started thinking more about the Ten Commandments and, more specifically, the seven deadly sins. Specifically, the consequences of ignoring them. The funny thing about the commandments is that if you truly repent, God is willing to forgive you for most of them. A few, such as 'Thou shalt not murder,' will, however, remain on the big no-no list. The seven deadly sins, on the other hand, well, you see the result here. It was intended to make the powerful of the Earth think. Not so much the farmers and the poor citizens. In Dante's time, people didn't have the time or money to indulge in the seven deadly sins. It was more intended for the clergy and nobility who indulged in one or more of the seven deadly sins as if their lives would never end and they wouldn't have to answer for their actions. The higher the nobility or the higher up the ladder of the clergy, the more arrogant they were. Some kings and popes even dared to act as if divine justice was not meant for men of their stature, as if they were above that. It's always a treat to see Lucifer put his boot on their necks as they are pushed in the soil, or even better, some not-so-well-perfumed waste. If you saw our guest list, you'd think they found Dante's book entertaining and ignored his warning. Even today, we still receive them in droves. But now that nobility and the clergy are being supplemented with the so-called money or political aristocracy or those draped in the tinsel of Hollywood. You humans never seem to want to learn while you're still alive. The line at the gates of hell is an endless queue of souls who are largely unaware of their sins and wonder why they have ended up here. And that line gets longer every day…"
The agent felt something he had never felt before: absolute despair. He saw his life clearly before him. The lies. The betrayal. The deaths he had caused, directly and indirectly. The trigger he had pulled more often than he could recount. The women he had used and left behind. It had been a job, he had always told himself. But deep down, he knew better. He had made choices he could never justify. He can't even justify them to himself, let alone try to justify himself to God. It had been a job. But when he chose to do it, shaking hands to seal the deal, he didn't yet know that he had also given up his own soul, just as he had voluntarily given up his former identity.
"I belong here..."
He whispered.
The guide looked at him, not without compassion.
"Maybe. But not today."
The fog dispersed. The landscape changed, barren and strange, as if they were standing on the surface of a dead moon.
"Your work on Earth is not yet finished."
the man said.
"My boss wants to speak with you."
"Your boss?"
The smile widened.
"Lucifer."