《HELL SWEET HELL》


 Prologue: God and Devil Picnic Time

    Regnum Dei


    1,000 years after the rebellion


    ¡°Heh.¡± Lucifer scoffed. ¡°This place is majestic as always.¡±


    The castle in white, is indeed majestic. In fact, majestic didn''t even come close to describing the castle.


    As it should be. For this the castle of the king of kings, the First Existence, the Holy Allfather, the Creator. This white palace, is a place belonging to God.


    And now, a thousand years, the disobedient child returned.


    Lucifer was about to fly straight to the balcony, when he stood rooted in place. Somebody was already waiting for him. Someone he used to hate. Someone he missed dearly.


    ¡°Peace be upon you, my child.¡± Allfather greeted him. As always, a bright smile was on His face. Warm, friendly, and welcoming.


    Lucifer had been trying hard to keep calm. But having Allfather welcoming him with open arms, it was heart wrenching. The guilt stabbed his heart.


    ¡°Allfather! Your ungrateful child asks for Your forgiveness!¡± Lucifer summoned all his strength. He kneeled, and yelled his intention.


    There was quite a distance between them. A fully loaded sixteen wheeler could comfortably park there. Yet God only took a step towards Lucifer, and He is already standing in front of him.


    God helped Lucifer up. ¡°I have already forgiven you, my child.¡±


    ¡°But¡­Allfather¡­¡±


    God jokingly frowned at Lucifer. ¡°Oh? Is that another rebellion coming?¡±


    ¡°I¡­I wouldn''t dare, Allfather!¡±


    ¡°Good! Then all is forgiven. Come. It''s a great day today. Let''s have a wonderful picnic lunch.¡±


    Thus, the two flew towards the Garden of Eden.


    ###


    That afternoon, two biblically sworn enemies had a lovely picnic under the Forbidden Tree.


    ¡°You had a terrible sense of humor as always, Your Majesty.¡± The Devil sneered.


    ¡°Hahaha. Oh come on. You nearly destroyed Heaven. The least you could do is to give me the right to tease you.¡±


    ¡°Until when?¡±


    ¡°For eternity.¡± God said teasingly. And then He broke into laughter.


    Lucifer pouted. But then, he also broke down laughing. Lucifer had never felt more at peace than right now.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    After a while, and a sandwich and wine later, Lucifer thought of something. Something that had bugged him since a thousand years ago.


    ¡°I still can''t figure it out, Allfather.¡±


    God looked at Lucifer interestingly. ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°About this.¡± Lucifer said, pointing to the Forbidden Tree. ¡°What''s so bad about eating the Fruit?¡±


    Instead of answering, God lied down. For a while, it was silent. God is looking at the sky, and Lucifer is looking at Him. Waiting for an answer.


    ¡°Why do you rebel, my child?¡±


    ¡®This guy¡­never a straight answer, huh?¡¯ Lucifer grumbled in his mind. ¡°At the time¡­perhaps I was a bit¡­jealous. We angels, are intelligent and obedient to You to a fault. While these humans, they betrayed Your love with their emotions and choices. And still, You deemed their love superior to ours.¡±


    God said nothing, so Lucifer continued. ¡°After the rebellion, I was sent to Hell. To be responsible to cleanse their souls of the sins they made from disobeying You. And for a while, my position in Hell only strengthened my doubts about their existence.¡±


    ¡°As I sentenced them, judging them, their whole lives laid bare before me. After a while, I began to realize, these people just missed You a lot. Knowingly or unknowingly, they yearn for You. They may have strayed from Your path, but even that cannot betray their longing for You.¡±


    Lucifer wiped the stream of tears flowing down his cheeks. ¡°Thus, I cannot help but agree with You. Their love is greater. While we are born to obey, these creatures chose to love You. And almost all of them do so, however painful that may be.¡±


    His eyes then turned fierce. ¡°Which is why I cannot understand this-this-this abuse you put them through. You must know, as creatures of the heart, a human will succumb to temptation. So why¡­¡±


    God let Lucifer pour his heart out. He was always a good listener, plus hearing Lucifer''s honest thoughts was what He wanted in the first place.


    Once Lucifer had calmed down, he asked again. ¡°Why did you rebel?¡±


    ¡®Eish, this old man. Haven''t I answered already?¡± Lucifer grumbled in his mind. ¡°...because I thought that humans are bad news.¡±


    ¡°So you thought wrong.¡± God persisted.


    ¡°...Yes.¡±


    ¡°Hence, you chose wrong.¡±


    Lucifer was a bit annoyed. ¡°...yes, Allfather. I chose wrong. It seems that I am not smart after all.¡±


    God smiled knowingly. ¡°That''s where you''re wrong, my sweet boy.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    God gently grabbed Lucifer''s shoulders. ¡°My child, you are the most intelligent creation of mine. You are the best of them all. And yet, even you, made the wrong choice.¡±


    Lucifer couldn''t help but scratch his head. ¡°I don''t understand, Allfather.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, it''s quite simple really. Everyone thinks that they made the right choice. And I am the one who screwed them over. And yet, I haven''t done anything to you all. I just create.¡±


    Lucifer nodded. God continued. ¡°Although your choices are good in their intentions, each option has its own consequences. Cause and effect. I am just the creator. I merely created the path and the obstacles laying in wait should you choose that particular path. You''re the one that walks it.¡±


    ¡°Hence, it is imperative that all of you learn about it. About the existence of karma.¡±


    Lucifer was unconvinced. ¡°But why is there a need for bad choices at all, Allfather. Why not make every choice a good one? Or at least, make the good choice free of consequences?¡±


    ¡°Heh. The irony. I can''t believe you''re the one saying that.¡±


    Lucifer''s eyes opened wide. ¡°Huh? What do You mean?¡±


    ¡°Remember, when Adam was first created. All you had to do was bow in respect. Not to him, but to my design. My creation. You just had to nod slightly, and you would still be here. And yet, not only you rebel against me, you even corrupted my creations. Even conspire against the demon species to fight against heaven.¡±


    Lucifer was too shocked to even acknowledge it. Had he been this stupid? He thought he grasped the core of the incident a thousand years ago. Turns out, he had only just seen the surface of it.


    That''s right. A choice cannot be a hundred positive good and a hundred percent bad. Because at the end of the day, a choice is made by emotions. Self judgement made by a combination of facts and personal emotions. The best choice, might not be the one selected at all.


    ¡°My child, whatever your intention is, if you jumped into the water, you have to be wary of the sharks. I cannot, nor would I want to, force you to a path. Rather I gave total control of your life to you. Hence why I cannot totally separate the choices into simply good or bad.¡±


    ¡°The only thing I can do, is to control the degree of it. Some choices are more good than bad, and vice versa. But at the end of the day, it is still up to you.¡±


    Lucifer could only nod as he hung his head in shame.


    God let go of Lucifer''s shoulders.


    After a while, God spoke. ¡°Right now, you have two choices.¡±


    Lucifer stared right into God''s eyes. Affection and obedience in his gaze. He said nothing. Waiting on God''s beck and call.


    ¡°As I ordained, you can only enter Heaven once Judgement Day arrives and all humans have been cleansed of their sins.¡±


    ¡°Yet, to see humans being tortured broke my heart. Still, you have been just and fair. Dishing out punishments in proportion to their wrongdoings.¡±


    ¡°Hence, I offer you two choices. You could keep Hell the way it is, a torture chamber. Or you could give the humans a second chance of life. As I did when I cast them to Earth.¡±


    It doesn''t take long for Lucifer to stumble upon an answer. If God wanted him to be merciful, of course he would do it.


    Yet, before he could answer, God spoke first. ¡°I have to warn you though, if you change Hell into a second Earth, it will take you considerably longer to enter Heaven. Plus those demons, and your brothers and sisters who have been enjoying their promotion with you gone will probably retaliated as well.¡±


    Lucifer smiled. This time, God outline the consequences of each choice perfectly. Now, Lucifer can''t complain even if he made the wrong choices.


    Still, who cares. He would happily throw his life away for his beloved Allfather. ¡°I will follow your wish, Allfather.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, great. Iam glad. Thank you, my child.¡±


    And so, the two spend the rest of the day in Eden. Joyfully making up to the thousand years they lost.

 Act 1.1: Welcome to Hell

    ¡°Next!¡±


    The person in front of the line approached the counter. There''s a thumbprint scanner in front of him, possibly for ID. The lady at the counter slashed his thumb. With his right thumb now bloody, it was pressed onto the scanner.


    Beyond that, it was the usual boring and mundane line. One would assume they are queuing at the bank or something.


    Rocco was standing about ten people before the counter. And it was moving so slow. A reality check as to where he is right now.


    ¡®Damn! This is Hell. Such a fucking torture.¡¯ He complained in his head.


    He wanted to yell abuse at the counter lady, telling her to work quicker. But he chose not to. Somebody else did it a while ago, and he was beaten to death.


    Luckily, or unluckily, this is Hell. The guy that was complaining revived like a fucking video game character. The worst part is, he was made to stand at the back of the line.


    It was cruel, yet it was effective. It would be a while before someone else was impatient and forgetful enough to complain again.


    An eternity later, it was now Rocco''s turn.


    ¡°Hello, hehe¡­¡± As usual, the awkward Rocco greeted the lady at the counter with an awkward chuckle.


    Yet she was having none of it. ¡°Right thumb please.¡± She said with a stone cold expression.


    ¡°Oh. Urmm¡­okay¡­¡± Rocco stuck out his thumb to her face.


    The nail on her index finger elongated, and turned into the tip of a stilleto blade. She slashed Rocco''s thumb, squeeze it to let more blood out, and pressed his thumb onto the scanner.


    ¡°Huuu, that''s quite painful huh.¡± Rocco said. Trying his best to chase the awkwardness away.


    The lady just didn''t care. ¡°Human. Sin of sloth. Report to door six please. NEXT!¡± She read the information on the computer screen, pointed to the door he should go to, and move on to the next person.


    Rocco hesitated. He wanted to say thank you. But the lady is not human. She was an imp. He didn''t know what proper mannerism is used here. And he felt uncomfortable not saying thank you to her.


    In the end, he just turned and walked to where he was supposed to go. Even though he wanted to say thank you, he was uncertain whether it would be well received or not.


    ***


    ¡°Hello, human named Rocco. Welcome to Hell.¡±


    Rocco was stunned. As soon as he stepped into the door with a large number 6 on them, he was covered in darkness. Not for long though. A few blinks, and he found himself sitting down inside a cubicle. Like a widower claiming insurance from the insurance agent.


    On, and said insurance agent was a demon lady. The lady at the counter earlier looked like human. This one a full fledged demon. With horns coiled up at the side of her head like a ram, and red skin covered in cracks. She looked like she was made from Mars instead of flesh and blood.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Huh, this is interesting.¡± The lady said.


    ¡°...What is it?¡±


    ¡°Humans usually freak out when meeting a demon for the first time. Have we met before? Or, have you met a demon before?¡±


    Rocco scratched his head. ¡°Oh, hehe. I''m-I¡¯m just stunned, as all.¡±


    The lady nodded understandingly. ¡°Ah. That must be it.¡±


    Rocco lied. He wasn''t too stunned to respond. And he''s not that cool headed either, to just accept everything calmly.


    Rocco is an overthinker. A spineless overthinker. Hence, when faced with instances that overload his senses and mind, he just turned his brain off. Going with the flow. A perfect embodiment of the sin of Sloth.


    ¡°May I ask you something?¡±


    Here it is, the lady thought. The begging, the ¡®I don''t deserve to be here¡¯ cliche. Still, being a professional, the demon lady maintained her warm smile. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°What is the sin of Sloth anyway? Is it just the laziness?¡±


    The demon lady was taken aback. She had been doing this for god knows how many years. Dealing with multiple species across the Mortal Realm. And never once did anyone actually ask her about the sins they are charged with.


    Not even the holy figures!


    ¡°Oh. Ermm, not exactly. Laziness is just the product. The outcome. It''s the¡­intent actually.¡±


    ¡°Intent?¡±


    ¡°Uh huh. How do I put it?¡± The demon lady was about to ramble on to some theological rabbit hole, but she stopped herself. Humans are not equipped for that. She struggled to find a simpler way to explain.


    And then, she remembered something. ¡°Hey, you play video games, right?¡±


    Rocco frowned. Is that a dig at him? ¡°Urmm, yeah?¡±


    ¡°When you play an adventure game, have you ever let your character just stand there without moving?¡±


    Rocco took a moment to think. ¡°Yeah? Usually when I go to the toilet or something.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I see. And have you ever been stuck fighting a boss level or something?¡±


    Rocco frowned even harder. Now she''s mocking my gaming ability? ¡°I do. What''s that got to do with Sloth? Do I get sent to Hell because I suck at playing video games or something?¡±


    The lady can''t help but chuckle. Even with the two fangs on her, she still looked cute. It seems a smile was the best make up after all.


    ¡°Hahaha, of course not. I just want you to see the difference. Both those things, staying still and stuck on a level, imply that you are not moving from point A to point B. But while the latter showed your effort, the former would be just a waste. Like, why would you turn on the game and not even move the character around?¡±


    Rocco nodded. He could kinda understand. And then, for some reason, he burst out laughing. Something he never did in public.


    The demon lady was frowning now. ¡°Something funny?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, just laughing at the irony. Me, wasting my life away rotting, will now rot in hell for rotting my life away. Forever! I mean, that''s funny irony isn''t it?¡± He smiled bitterly.


    ¡°You''re quite calm, human.¡± The lady admired honestly.


    Rocco just shrugged. ¡°No use fighting what can''t be changed, right?¡± Thinking of something, he naughtily added. ¡°After all, I am a sinner of Sloth. Might as well be lazy till the end.¡±


    The demon lady now had a brighter expression. For now is the chance to blow the mind of this seemingly casual human. ¡°Ehh? Even if there''s a chance to go to Heaven?¡±


    Rocco was startled. ¡°I can¡­I can go to Heaven?¡±


    ¡°Sure. If you work hard enough.¡±


    ¡°...How?¡±


    The lady beamed as she pulled out a clear crystal. She snapped her finger, and a black flame appeared on her index finger like a candle. She injected the flame into the crystal, and the crystal immediately projected the map of a firmament.


    The firmament was not round. It was shaped like a six pointed star. A hexagon at the centre of the star, and a circle in the middle of the hexagon. And there seems to be a pillar of light connecting the firmament to the sky.


    ¡°Wh-what is this?¡± Rocco asked.


    This is Hell. The entire Hell.¡±


    So it''s not pyramid shaped or anything, Rocco thought.


    The lady continued. ¡°The hexagon is made up of three domains. Fire, Sea, and Earth. Each domain guarded two types of sins. Fire domain guarded Wrath and Lust. Sea domain guarded Greed and Envy. Earth domain, guarded Gluttony and Sloth.¡±


    Rocco nodded, so the lady continued. ¡°Right now, you will be in Sloth. In the Earth domain. Your job is to be a miner.¡±


    Hearing that, relief washer over his face. ¡°Oh? Well, that''s good news at least.¡±


    ¡°Ehh? Hehe, why do you think so?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­a miner is those that went digging and picking up minerals, right?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I''m not looking down on them. It must be hard work, but at least I''m not tortured. Not like the one mentioned in the Bibl¡­why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    The demon lady now sported a cunning smile and a sly look. Causing discomfort. Uncertainty is always unwelcomed in Rocco''s life.


    Instead of explaining, the demon lady injected another flame into the crystal.


    The map was gone. Replaced by pictures of a barren land. And countless humans fighting against snakes. Loads and loads of snakes.


    ¡°Wh-what is this?¡±


    ¡°Your job, of course.¡±


    Rocco was perplexed. ¡°I thought I am a miner?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And this is what you''ll be mining. The Toxic Diamond of a Rock Python.¡± As she said that, she turned the projection into an image of the snake.


    A python is tough enough to kill. Imagine killing one made of rocks. Who knows how many hit it would take to even leave a mark on its body.


    ¡°... I''m going to die.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don''t worry. This is Hell. Once you die, you''ll simply respawn inside your hut. You won''t even lose your equipment. Isn''t that great?¡± The demon lady exclaimed triumphantly.


    ¡°...yeay.¡± Rocco rolled his eyes.


    After a few moments of silence, the lady had already stored the crystal. ¡°Anything else you want to ask?


    Rocco was too dejected to speak. He could only shake his head.


    ¡°Great. That will be all then. You will be teleported to your hut. I hope you will strive to work hard and clear your soul from your sins. Remember, always reflect on your past life.¡±


    Rocco rolled his eyes again.


    Easy for you to say!


    He yelled in his heart.