Wrath arrived in the barren, endless desert beyond the eastern edge of the city.
No demons lived here. Even by Hell's standards, the heat was unbearable.
Lucifer's prison stood in the middle of the desert.
Massive stone walls surrounded it, their tops guarded by winged demons clad head to toe in armor, to ensure no one was foolish enough to approach.
Between the towering stone walls, the only entrance was a colossal gate, before which stood a dark-gray giant resembling a statue.
The massive demonic being was at least ten meters tall, with three enormous, sharp horns crowning its head.
Its eyes were black, its body covered in dark scars like cracks, further enhancing its statue-like appearance.
Wrath walked up to him and greeted him.
— Haven't seen you in a long time, brother.
— Wr…ath… Greet…ings… — the statue-like giant spoke slowly, laboriously.
— Tell me, Sloth—has Envy visited our brother recently?
The giant seemed to ponder the question, though even this he did very slowly.
— Don't… re… mem…ber…
— No problem, pal. I'll ask him myself. — With that, Wrath walked between Sloth's massive hooves.
Inside, a long, dark corridor greeted him.
Demons usually navigated darkness well—they could see clearly in it, were accustomed to it—but this darkness was different.
In Lucifer's prison, it was known as madness-black darkness. No matter how well one could see in the dark, this could not be seen through. It blinded, sometimes caused horrific visions, deafness, even the loss of all senses. It was unpredictable.
Wrath was given a torch by one of the guards, lit with blue flame. Protected by this torch, he could see through the madness-black darkness.
He walked forward between the thick bars, the sharp stench of feces and other filth closing in on him, prompting him to light up a cigarette instead.
The imprisoned demons were drawn to the blue light of the torch, reaching out after him, thin arms protruding between the bars.
From one cell, no hand reached out. Wrath knew exactly who lived there.
He walked up to it and cast the torchlight onto his brother, who sat leaning against the bars.
Pride was not in good condition. His pale gray body was emaciated, bones visible.
Both horns on his forehead were broken off, and countless black scars marked his naked back.
Pride glanced over his shoulder, then turned his head back.
— What do you want here? — he asked with cold indifference.
Wrath slid a cigarette between the bars. Pride accepted it and began to smoke.
— You're damn stubborn. You know it'd only take one word from you and I could get you out of here.
— Don't take me anywhere, traitor. I'm fine here.
— Your essence is barely flickering. In a few thousand years, it will fade out, and you'll die.
— Then I'll die. Like you'd care.
— I do care… But I didn't come to chat about your stubbornness and its consequences. I want to know when you last spoke to Envy.
— Envy? A long time ago. Why does it matter? Did something happen to him?
— Yes. He's dead.
Pride's head snapped up. He stood and faced Wrath.
From the front, he looked even worse—his chest bore even more black scars. Dirt clung to his tangled blond-brown hair, and a yellow light flickered in his eyes.
— Impossible! You killed him, didn't you? — he slammed the bars in rage. — You bastard!
They locked eyes. Sparks flew from Pride's gaze as Wrath held it, a hint of sorrow appearing on his face.
— I didn't kill him. But I want to find out who did. So don't lie to me about not seeing him recently—I know he visited you every week for the past thousand years.
— And that's a crime? That he cared about his family? He didn't become some Angel's filthy little pet.
— Don't provoke me, Pride. Just tell me what he wanted with the chaos—why he wanted to mine it.
— How would I know? He never mentioned anything like that to me.
— I don't have the patience for this. I don't know why you want to keep Envy's secrets, but he's dead, and I need every piece of information to find his killer. If our brother meant so much to you, you have to tell me what you know.
— All I know is that in Hell, besides us, there's only one being strong enough to deal with us—and that's your master, you cursed mongrel.
Wrath reached through the bars, grabbed Pride by the throat, and squeezed hard.
He released his grip when he saw his brother crying blood. Pride collapsed to the floor, coughing violently.
Clutching his throat, Pride sat on the filthy ground.
— I see you won't spare me either, brother. Did you do the same to Envy? Or did your master do it while you watched? Wouldn't be the first time.
— I'll come back once I've calmed down. Then you'll tell me everything.
— Is that a threat? I doubt you can surpass madness-black darkness.
— I'm not threatening you, you savage…
With that, Wrath stormed off before his uncontrollable fury could flood his mind—because then, no one around him would have survived.
***
Wrath entered one of the city's fast-food joints to recharge a bit.
At the counter, he ate his hamburger and drank his coffee alone. The moment he appeared, everyone else left.
The owner—a mustached, fat, red-headed demon—didn't seem bothered by the sudden disappearance of his customers and kept wiping his glasses.
— Sorry again, Flench. I had to cool off a bit. Couldn't have done it without your food.
— No need to apologize, Wrath. It's not your fault my customers are such cowards. Just let me know if you need anything else.
Tilith appeared in the restaurant as well and immediately sat down beside Wrath.
Flench looked at her.
— Will the lady have something?
— Same as him. — she pointed at Wrath's burger.
— Coming right up.
Wrath took a large sip of his coffee and turned to Tilith.
— So? Did you find anything?
— The miners don't really deal with chaos. That junk is only worth something in insane quantities, and even then it's too costly to process. However, one of them heard about someone organizing workers at Blood Mountain, where chaos can also be found. Skortch went there to look around, and I checked whether anyone had been using large quantities of chaos lately.
— And?
— I know a guy. According to him, only one person could be dealing with this. I don't dare go to him alone—I'm not eager to die—so I figured you'd come with me. You and me, and the underworld's underworld boss. Sounds like a nice little date, doesn't it?
— Wouldn't miss it.
— And you? Any luck?
— Pride's silent for now, but I'll convince him later. He pissed me off—I had to leave.
Flench brought Tilith her burger and placed the plate in front of her.
— Enjoy your meal, miss.
Tilith thanked him, then sank her sharp teeth into the fresh bun and the bloody, juicy meat.
— This is really good. — she glanced at Wrath's plate. — Though yours is bigger and somehow looks tastier.
— Flench makes mine a little differently.
— But I ordered the same. Don't get me wrong—this is damn good too.
— Want to trade? I've already had two.
— Nah. — she said, though she kept staring at Wrath's burger quite intensely.