Hell's doors were black, not because that’s how they were originally made, but because of the soot that was caked on them. Alex looked up at the doors and saw that it seemed to continue forever. They opened with a loud, creaking noise. The sound was reading and left the group holding their ears. The only one to not do it was their guide, Virgil. Once the doors opened slightly, a dead forest lay in front of them. The resemblance to the garden of Eden was truly uncanny. The garden of Limbo was what lay in the first circle. The group entered the dead, welted forest. Virgil paused for the slightest moment, but immediately gained control and walked in. Alex noticed the slight change but didn’t say a thing. He looked at the metal and touched the black metal. The moment his skin met the metal, its small microscopic barbs tore their way into his newly formed body. The instant it entered the skin, the metal branched into vain-like structures and began to intensify in temperature. He jerked free with his right hand; the whole bottom side of his palm was ripped from bone, muscle veins, and ligaments. The pain shot through his arm, making him fall to his knees.

“I’m sorry, I forgot to mention that metal is deadly to the immortal”. He said arrogantly, "Oh, by the way.” He continued with his smug tone, “These doors are made of a metal yet to be discovered in your solar system.” Virgil commented, “This way, please; as a former tenant, we should see King Midas.”

Alex looked like he was going to kill the poet, he thought to himself. What did Dante see in this guy? He looked at his hand, and the pain began to subside. The tissue began to regrow cell by cell, and the blood had stopped and was actually flowing in an invisible vein. He saw that the floating blood began to form an outer layer, and then muscle formed around them until fat and skin appeared. A large scar formed where the once-open surface had been. He looked up, and the century of angels formed in line behind their centurion. Arella was with Alex, and they walked behind Virgil at a safe distance, with the century behind them.

“So tell me, Virgil, how does hell work”. Alex said bitterly, “What should we be on guard for, and what should I know about each ring? I got the typical answer from his poem, but what did he leave out that is important”. He looked at Virgil in the various dead centers of his head.

“The longer you look at the back of my head, the better I will be able to see you when you come from behind”. He said, “I am not the person you are angry with; the most important thing to know when traveling through hell is knowing yourself. Tell me "God, are you prepared to know yourself better than you know yourself”? He turned to Alex and, with his guid staff, swung the weapon in the direction of Alex, who seemed to be aiming for the top of his head. A loud cracking sound exploded in his ear, and he saw a bat-like creature biting into his scull. The bay-like creature flew away in shrieking pain.

“That’s what I was talking about. The creatures here have a tendency to be attracted to flesh and blood creatures, like you”. He looked at the angels. “Unlike them, they have a natural ability to ward off all hellish minions; unfortunately, it only helps them.” He, Alex, and Arella started to walk in tandem with the century behind them.

As they ventured through a dead and creepy forest, An eerie baby cry was echoing through the woods. "So, Virgil, what other dangers lay here”? He asked while nervously looking around.

"Well, besides the bat, there are the never-adopted babies who constantly look for mothers who can take care of them. Of course, they never learned to walk, so they dragged themselves across the dead, dirty"sand and continued to walk through the path that lay in front of them. “There are a few twelve-foot harpies that should be avoided, but the most important thing to stay away from is King Midus; you heard of the ancient legend”.

“So tell me about Dante; what was he like”? Alex asked if he’s guid.

"Yes, I did indeed help Dante Alighieri.” He looked at one tree that had fallen over; the memories came flooding into Vigil’s mind, but the poet stayed upright and didn’t give off a hint of pain.

Alex walked to the tree and examined it. He noticed that the bark was hard and woody, the sap was very sticky, and it almost gave off a very fowl odor. Among the cracks in the bark, he saw that it was almost slithering or crawling. As he looked closer, he noticed that maggots had indeed managed to make their home in it. That’s when he realized it was not a tree but a person. He looked up and noticed that each tree was also different; they too were once people.

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Two men were walking through the dead woods, one of whom was dressed in a crimson tunic with olive branches adorning his head. The second man was wearing a dirty, ragged robe, and in his right hand was a staff. Curl on top, both men ventured forward. The pair of them talked and laughed about politics and Rome, and the most important thing to the man in red was his beloved.

…..

“This is the first ring, the Ring of Limbo, for those who did not accept God or were never baptized. That’s why you hear the sound of babies.” He replied that it almost seemed like an echo as he walked and guided Alex, Arella, and the centurion.

As they came across a body of water, the translucent liquid they knew was something else entirely: flowing red, frothy, blood, and molten rock seemed to flow together. The bridge arched above the river and was about the length of two elephants. They simply crossed the bridge and rested just down the road in front of a cave.

Soft dragging sounds on gravel echoed through the woods. The group immediately ceased any sound from their mouths and began to jump in anticipation of a big creature coming to their location. As they all caught a glimpse out of each of their eyes, they all saw a group of small, newly born babies that had almost their entire lower body mass completely shredded to bloodied, curled-up skin. Most babies were missing either both or one eye; their lower jaws had been completely fallen, as had their hinged skull.

“This is what I hoped to avoid; we may need to fight our way out.” Virgil turned to the female angel holding the apples and said, "Miss, if I may, I think we should stand in the center to stay out of fray”.

In the moment it took Alex to ensheath his Katana, the blade cut through their tiny, rotten corpses, leaving them on the ground. The katana began to vibrate in his hand, and the souls were drawn to the blade of the weapon. The seals on the hilt glowed and vanished. Twenty infant souls had been added to the sword's core. Alex looked at the blade and was stunned. He saw that the blade was now decorated on the bottom of the blade with the gates of hell opening up to the Garden of Limbo, and then the artwork faded to the black steel.

The rest of the angels joined in, and the fight was brought to a close fast. The babies lay there in bloody messes. Unfortunately, they did not disappear like they did for Alex. These just began to smell, and more insects began to make their home.

After two hours of walking, they managed to approach the edge of the Styx River. Mist was coming off the surface of the water. Inside the dark, murky depths lay souls who drowned; they appeared to stand still, eyes closed. No one dared to reach in.

“Come everyone, the ferry is docking.” Virgil shouted. He turned to the ferry, and it began to dock on its own. The ferry plank was fifty feet by fifty feet, made of wood, and was now changing shape to resemble more of a small ship.

“So where is this procession going to?” Asked Charon in a deep scratching voice, the seven-foot-tall skeleton was draped in what looked to be the most uncomfortable set of robes he had seen. Seeing Charon’s skull sent chills down Alex’s spine. “It’s not every time angels and a god come down to the underworld.”

“This procession is proceeding to King Midus.” Virgil answered him while handing him a sack of pure gold, “And nothing more should be said.” Turning to Alex, he said in a deep, low voice, “From here, it will take us some time to venture. So I will tell you in depth about hell."

As the pair and Arella sat with each other, the other angels all seemed to set on the opposite side and meditate.

"So, Alex, from here, all souls go through the gates of hell. Any soul who was not baptized or accepted God Would be endlessly lost in the forest. Now if they did manage to find their way to Charon, they must pay him two gold coins. The souls that don’t pay him end up in the River Styx. There is a way to pay Charon other than gold, which many souls regret doing."Virgil looked at Alex and said, "Tell me, Alex, do you feel the boat sway or do you see Charon using a paddle to move the boat forward”.

Alex looked around and felt that the boat wasn’t rocking, but more that it felt like they were being carried. Looking over the boat, he noticed that the boat wasn’t touching the water; it was being lifted by the souls under the water.

“You see, no matter what, you still suffer a horrible punishment. Now the second circle, known as the circle of lust, wickedness, and ferocious winds, rips across the desert landscape. Hunting the desert is a flock of deadly harpies. This is where you will find the first demon that will challenge your authority. The third and fourth circles, along with the City of Destruction, are all integrated with each other. The city of destruction is where the worst of all greedy gluttons and the most lusftful demons and human souls both reside. Only the souls are left to live on the streets like common hobos. The fifth circle is the circle filled with anger and malice. The most powerful of all demons resides there; beyond that is beyond my understanding. I only ever made it to this circle. My crimes were never as severe as the souls that wreck havoc on the rest of human society”. His head fell to his lap and was past out.

Alex tried to wake him, but the poet was unconscious due to the memories that had continued to flood his mind. He saw wondering souls and babies attacking and devouring them. Every time a baby ate a soul, they would begin to transform their legs, or what looked like legs shot out of them, their upper bodies ripped apart, grotesque-looking insects clicked, and wings began to flap. They flew up and over the ship but were not concerned about them. They all flew in the same direction. It appears that the demon armies have been preparing to raise their hellish armies.

Alex looked at Virgil, now lying on the deck. He placed a hand on his forehead. He seemed to tremble and shake. He’s eyes opened wide and big, and the look on his huge, bulbous eyes was terrifying.

He sat up and said, “I’m sorry, but it would seem that memories from my previous time here have begun to violently emerge. Memories I wish to keep buried; I guess I was not completely fourth coming,” he said, “the last time I guided anyone, I was sent to deceive them.”

Alex backed up in horror, “The last time you said you guided Dante”. He questioned him, “What happened to Dante”?

“You see, it wasn’t Dante that I decided it was his love, Beatrice”. The ferry continued on its way, and everyone was left stunned by this revelation.