The fly home was very featureless. You didn't see any souls worth eating for dessert, and just wanted to relax for the night. After all, your new lifestyle required a more nocturnal sleep schedule, if you even needed sleep. You weren't going to take souls in the daytime. Now that it was the dead of night, you had nothing to do. When you got back to your mansion, you noticed nothing unusual. It was depressingly boring in the neighborhood. However, you felt like there was something you needed to do. Even though this was your first day as a demon, it felt like you've been a demon for eons. And, it felt like you almost had a schedule. After a night of soul gobbling and sentencing to hell, you had to check in. You were not sure exactly what you needed to do, you just knew you had to.
You walked into your living room, where you finally got to look at the luxurious lifestyle you made for yourself. The highest quality furniture, a huge flat screen TV, a bookshelf full of seemingly normal books, and a beautiful chandelier. You decided to walk over to your bookshelf and take one of the books out. You grabbed "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick, and strolled over to your reading chair. It was a large sofa chair that was even capable of supporting your large demonic form, which you were currently in. You sat down in the comfortable chair, adjusting your wings to cover you like a soft, feathery blanket, and started reading. It was a couple pages in that you noticed that the book was not in English, or any other earthly language. It was in a demonic language that only your demon brain could understand. It was then when you realized that your bookshelf contained many demonic books disguised as regular books. These books were magical, and acted as either logs, guides, or tips to aid you demonic quest. You sauntered over to the bookshelf, where you snapped your fingers, revealing the true nature of these books. You browsed the shelves, and eventually found "Souls 101. Everything a Purger Needs to Know About Souls" by Melan Ektar. For some reason, you knew this name. He was a very famous demon author from Falrenkar: The Realm of Demons. Not all demons live there, as you knew considering you lived in the mortal world, but most demons do. Melan Ektar was one of them. Anyway, you opened the book, and started reading on all of the different kinds of souls you'd be eating on your adventure.
After doing your Souls 101 homework, you finally came across the information you desired: The qualities of all of the kinds of souls you'd be eating. It was as follows:
White: Good souls: These souls should not be eaten or taken, as they belong to innocent, good people going to Heaven
Grey: Souls not tainted by a specific sin, but still have evil: Tastes bland: People with souls predominantly this color go to the 1st circle of Hell
Pink: Lustful souls: Tastes sweet. People with souls predominantly this color will go to the 2nd circle of Hell
Orange: Lying souls: Tastes savory. Not to be confused with treachery, these lies are not made with treacherous intent, but are still evil. Not very common, with the exception of politicians. People with souls predominantly this color will go to the 3rd circle of Hell
Green: Greedy souls: Tastes salty. People with souls predominantly this color will go to the 4th circle of Hell
Purple: Indifferent, Uncaring souls: Souls of people who chose to remain ignorant to their surroundings and refused help to those in need. Tastes savory. People with souls predominantly this color will go to the 5th circle of Hell
Blue: Envious souls: Tastes spicy. People with souls predominantly this color will go to the 6th circle of Hell
Red: Wrathful, Violent souls: Tastes sweet. People with souls predominantly this color will go to the 7th circle of Hell
Yellow: Hateful souls: Tastes salty. People with souls predominantly this color will go to the 8th circle of Hell
Black: Treacherous souls: The most evil of all souls. Tastes like whatever the demon wants. People with souls predominantly this color will go to the 9th and lowest circle of Hell
You laughed, knowing that Dante was close in his assessment of the 9 circles of hell. You congratulated him on his close, but sadly inaccurate depiction of Hell, and continued reading the demonic print. Eventually, you learned that souls taste like what you want them to, provided that they fit the description given. For example, a sweet soul can taste like anything that is mostly sweet, like chocolate or ice cream. However, a sweet soul cannot taste like potato chips. You also learned that eating more sinful souls, and souls that would go to lower circles of hell, fills you up faster, and that the more souls you eat, the stronger you will become. Plus, the more sinful soul rule applies here. Because you ate 2 red souls and a pink/green soul, you did well for yourself.
After finishing Souls 101, you felt somewhat relaxed. However, there was still one thing bothering you: This feeling that you needed to “check in” with someone. It drove you nuts! Eventually, you decided to try something that seemed right. Your right hand became sheathed in black energy, and you raised it in the air. Once it was all the way up, you moved your hand clockwise, making an arch in the air. The black energy stayed in the air, and formed a large semicircle of blackness. Once the semicircle was complete, you closed your hand, causing the black energy to rain down, making a wall of blackness in front of you. After a couple of seconds, the energy solidified into a black door with a brass knob. "It worked." You smiled, opening the door.
What awaited you on the other side was nothing like you's expect. An outsider would expect the realm of demons to be a twisted, nightmarish hellscape, but they'd be wrong. The scene you were presented to when you stepped through the door was very similar to an everyday city. There were skyscrapers that disappeared into a cloudy blue sky, roads full of cars and sidewalks full of demons not unlike yourself. All of them looked similar to humans, with one major difference. Some had horns, some had tails, etc. Some of the demons were walking hellhounds, and some of the demons were walking with their families. It felt too normal to you, and you had a hard time adjusting. However, you knew that you had a purpose for being here, and for some reason, you knew exactly what you needed to do. Still in the alley you entered into, you flew high into the sky, where you noticed some other demons. They were flying to work, home, or other places. It just felt too natural and normal. Eventually finding the exact location you needed to go, you flew off towards it at breakneck speeds. Along the way, you got a lot of looks from other flying demons. It seemed that even in this world, you were more powerful than most. That and you were dressed quite weirdly. You were still wearing your dark, black robes, while all of the other demons were in normal clothing. T-shirts, jeans, suits and more.
Eventually, you made it to a small island in the sea that had a much more hellish appearance. The center of the island was a castle made of a dark-red stone, and surrounding it was a ring of black fire. "Well, this looks like the place." You though to yourself as you descended into the island. You landed in what looked like a docking area, with places for boats, planes, helicopters and other things to land/dock. Towards the back of the docking area was a path, which you started taking. After about two minutes of walking this path, you came across a gate guarded by two tough, powerful looking demons.
"Who is before us?" One of the guards asked.
"I am Ral Gadnar. I require an audience with the King." You replied automatically. You didn't even know why you were here, who you were, or what this place was. But you did... It seemed as though this place was the castle of the king of something, and you were working as a "purger" for him.
"I'm truly sorry Lord Gadnar." The guards responded worriedly. "Forgive our rudeness, it's been a long time, and you've changed."
"I know I have, and I forgive for now." You said harshly, glaring at them with your red eyes. There's more to this story than you thought. "Now open the gates."
"Right away My Lord!" The guards shouted, opening the gates quickly. You walked in, curious about who you truly were. The gates closed behind you, leaving you with only one path. You walked into the castle, which was beautiful on the inside. The walls were lined with paintings, tapestries or ornate patterns. You also passed by many rooms. You saw a dining room, gym, billiards room, many bathrooms, a kitchen, a couple of guest bedrooms, and even a movie theater. Eventually, you found your way to the throne room, where a large, imposing and powerful looking demon sat. You walked up to him and knelt in front of him, showing utmost respect to your king.
"Ral. Get up. We both know you're not like this." The king smiled jokingly.
"Am I?" You asked, getting up from your kneel.
"Take a seat Ral." The king started, waving his hand. Behind you, a large, comfortable chair appeared. You sat down, and prepared for a long explanation. "Your name is Ral Gadnar. 20 years ago, you were the Lord of the Underworld. Appointed by me, you were in charge of watching over Hell, making sure that all of the damned souls were kept at bay. However, one day, someone in the mortal world attempted a ritual to summon you. Some overly-optimisitic Satanists wanted to meet the Lord of the Underworld, who you were. However, they thought that "Satan" was. This ruined the summoning process, and banished you to the mortal world for 20 years. Eventually, the place you were banished to was found by a young man accidentally. You coaxed the man into drinking your blood, effectively fusing yourself to him. However, in those 20 years, things changed. Instead of being the ruling figure you were, you became a demon full of power. Demonic powers, magical powers, and more currently undiscovered. You still are Ral Gadnar. You still are the Lord you once were. But you have a different purpose. Your mission that I am giving you is to bring evil souls to the same Hell you once ruled. Considering your strength, it shouldn't be difficult. It also seemed as though your dormancy has made you lose your memories. Don't worry though, you will slowly remember. After all, you are immortal. You do have infinite time on your hands."
"I have several questions." You interrupted. "First, if I'm eating the evil souls, are they going to Hell?"
"Yes." The king replied. "Each person has two copies of their soul inside of them. One of them stays inside of their body, while the other is in a place similar to Purgatory. This other soul, which we call the Waiting Soul, waits for the other copy to be destroyed in some way, usually death or, in your case, being eaten. Once the first soul, which we call the Active Soul, is destroyed, the Waiting Soul either goes to Heaven or Hell. Anything else?"
"Yes." You responded immediately. "You were addressing me quite informally. Why is that?"
"Well, back before your banishment, you and I were very close friends. You being ruler of the Underworld and me being King of Demons. We worked very closely quite often." He explained. "By the way, just call me Tharin. You don't need to go through all of the formal nonsense with me."
"Thank you Tharin." You smiled. "You said that I've become very powerful. I take it not all demons have the kind of power I have."
"Correct. It is rare for a demon to even have the kinds of demonic powers associated with demons. On top of that, it seemed as though you were also imbued with many other kinds of powers. You, Ral, might be the most powerful to ever exist." Tharin explained. "Anyway, there's something I need to tell you."
"What?" You asked curiously.
"Due to your power and profession of Purger, you will not be able to live here in Falrenkar. You will have to live in the mortal world. However, that does not mean you cannot come here. You can come here at anytime, for as long as you want. But, unless you want to slowly lose your power and immortality, then you have to be consuming enough evil souls." A concerned look grew on your face. "Don't worry Ral. There are other ways to keep your power in check, including visiting Hell. In Hell, you can help make sure all of the damned souls do not do anything they are not supposed to. In fact, there are actually 10 circles in Hell."
"What?" You yelled, shocked.
"Yes. In fact, you discovered it. It was from there that you ruled Hell, and where pure power was concentrated. The reason why you are so powerful now is because you spent so much time there. Power was absorbed by you, but you couldn't use it. When you reawakened in this young man's body, all of that power became the power that you have been enjoying right now. You told me never to tell anyone how to get there, and I've kept that promise. The only two being in existence that even know it exists are in this room, and I'm about to take you back to your discovery." Tharin smiled as he got up from his throne, and proceeded to exit the room. "Follow me Ral." You got up and followed your new friend and ruler.
After a lot of flying, you made it to a deserted island too far away from civilization to be discovered by anything. On top of that, it looked like a floating, uninteresting rock in a vast sea of nothingness. "We're here." Tharin said. "Ral, repeat after me. Ob Tren Urul Anacanth Onika Rul."
"Ob Tren Urul Anacanth Onika Rul." You repeated. Immediately after you said it, the rock shifted, making something that looked like a portal.
"Only you are powerful enough to get here now." Tharin explained. "Go Ral."
"Okay Tharin." You said uneasily, walking into the portal. When you reached the other side, you were met with the hellscape you thought Falrenkar was going to be. There was nothing but black fire. No ground, rock, or anything. Just fire. However, two things about this felt strange. First was that you still felt very comfortable, and second was that you could see despite there being no light anywhere. You also felt what Tharin meant. You could feel power flooding into your system, making you feel amazing. However, you knew that you shouldn't be here for long. After a minute, you left, returning to Tharin. "I see what you mean."
"Through our research, we learned that staying in there can get you back up to full power, but once you're there, you have 5 minutes before you go into an overloaded state. If you end up in this state, you might die, even though you are immortal." Tharin explained.
"That would be bad." You said uneasily.
"Anyway, you are currently the only demon powerful enough to enter that place and survive. I can't even go down there." Tharin started. "Only go there for emergencies. Just say those words, and the portal will open."
"Thanks friend." You smiled. "Anyway, I'm feeling hungry."
"Well Ral, go find your next meal." Tharin smiled.
"Will do." You laughed as your hand was enveloped in black energy. You did the same thing you did before when you created the door to Falrenkar. This time though, you waved your hand counterclockwise. The door appeared, and you went through, returning to your mansion. Before you closed the door, you waved goodbye to your friend. After he waved back, you closed the door, making it disappear.