The demon is aflame, it’s wings iridescent against the soulless pits of hell. It grumbles, pointing further down the dimly lit corridor.

I follow its direction, looking once more at the creature that would sooner tear into my flesh than make acquaintance. There is a certain silence that suffocates hell, one that scares me more than the cries of despair and sorrow.

I walk with soft feet that make no sound along the corridor drenched in blood, heavy with the stench of burnt flesh.

I would gag, were I not dead.

I have reached a dead end- the elevator whines impatiently as its shadowed doors open wide. I cannot see what lies ahead, so like a sacrificial lamb, I blindly follow.

The elevator is cold, damp. I want to cry, yet the tears have been drained from this fruitless corpse of mine.

I stand for what seems an eternity in this cage, before it drops. My stomach enters my throat as I drop down... never ending and constant. For a time my soul leaves my dead corpse and travels through the timeline of life- all the glory,all the pain, condensed to a thin thread.

I see a cloak of night, a slender white hand reaching out towards the moonlit thread.

A knife.

Long and jagged, it cuts the thread. My thread. My life.

I am spiralling down... back to the terror of Hell.

My body is weightless, until the elevator stops and this fragile shell cracks at the pressure.

Wheezing and broken, I stand.

I see blood on these broken hands and scream.

My screams are silent.

Hell is silent.

The door opens and I stumble, falling on the pit of bones that welcome me.

I want to die, yet I am already dead.

This suffering can not condemn my soul to an eternity of heaven and light.

This is not a test of might nor perseverance, but a punishment.

I scream, loud and anew.

Yet silence still.

A figure emerges, green eyes pure, malevolent.

“Welcome my friend. Your stay is most... appreciated.” His voice is a deep bass, rich and smooth.

The only sound known to Hell.

He is Hades, god of the Underworld.

“No need of fear my friend,” he laughs mockingly, “Your stay will be permanent.”