Business in Hell

What they were looking at could truly be described as a hellscape. A very orderly one though.

It was a city like you would see in heaven or even on earth, but at the same time very different. The sky, or whatever was above them right now was tinted in a glowing orange that would make every volcano blush and all the houses around were a deep black color that made them look like they had been on fire at one stage. Most likely they actually had been. The smell of sulfur and ash hung in the air and as you would expect the temperature was hellish indeed. Definitely not a place you wanted to spend eternity in.

“You get used to it.” Ose said to no one in particular. Apparently his mind reading was on point.

Both Aida and Michio sat down on the floor after they basically fell out of the elevator and that floor was made up of something that could be best described as scales and so the two of them hurried to get up.

“We should get going.” Ose continued, this time clearly addressing his two traveling companions.

They had no objections and so they started walking to whatever was their destination. Michio noticed that compared to heaven walking here was much tougher. Maybe it was just the immense heat, but he also felt like something was holding onto him and dragging him down. Whilst in heaven it always felt like something was pushing you forward. Michio noticed that Aida kept close to him whilst they were walking and he still wished the circumstances were different. Michio also took notice of the pedestrians around and they were also very different from what you saw in heaven. There it was a mixture of angels and normal people that happened to be dead, but here you could see all sorts of creatures. There were some that, like Ose, looked like angels but all wore the same kind of black suit he did. You could also see beings that could only be described as monsters, sporting long horns, black skin and a grim visage that reminded Michio of Aida when he first came to the house. He didn't tell her that though. Others looked like ghosts, swirling masses of dust, debris and whatever else that emitted a strange light and an even stranger sound. Ose advised them not to touch any of the apparitions and Michio and Aida were more then happy to oblige. Some things were just beyond description.

“We will be right there.” Ose suddenly said and he pointed at one of the buildings somewhere in the distance that look remarkably like any of the other buildings. Dodging all the strange creatures that came their way that didn't really seem to take any notice of them, they arrived at the door and Ose just opened it without a key. “Welcome to hell I suppose.” He said these words as he bowed very slightly and held the door open to let Michio and Aida in. Then he closed the door and the three of them went up the stairs. Like all the other buildings around it had five stories and they had to walk all the way to the top. Michio had to stop himself from making another joke about it truly being hell around here. Inside the building was even more hot than the outside and when they arrived at the top Michio and Aida were sweating buckets. More so. They arrived at another door and Ose opened it the same way he did before and let the two of them in. Then he walked them into another room and there was just an empty desk and two chairs in there.

“Are we wating for someone here, Ose?” asked Michio. He did think about what kind of person or creature would await them here, but seeing a relatively plain looking office was a bit of a letdown. Especially since it was empty on top of everything.

“Not really.” answered Ose and Michio and Aida looked at him confused. Then Ose just walked around the desk and sat down in the chair, holding up his arms in a welcoming gesture.

“Welcome to my office you two. I'm Ose and I want to help you.” Ose said with his typical smile. Michio and Aida just looked at him baffled. That wasn't what they expected.

“So, it was all a ruse?” Michio finally said.

“Well, kinda. I pretended that someone else was waiting here as a little gag, but it is true that I can make happen what I promised.” Ose answered, in a serious tone this time. “The truth is, I heard that two true soulmates came to heaven. And even there, that is a rarity. Lots of people might have thought they found their soulmate, but they didn't really. But you two are the real deal, I could feel it when I met you.” Michio and Aida looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

“Anyway,” continued Ose “I don't want to beat around the bush. The soul of two soulmates already would be a very worthy price for what I'm offering, but there is something else that would be far more valuable.” He continued in his serious tone and both Michio and Aida had to swallow hard. He was after some souls after all. “And what would that be?” asked Michio. He was scared of the actual answer, but they needed to know after all.

“Straight to the point, I like it.” was Oses answer. “Well, it's a bit of a delicate subject, but the child born of a couple of soulmates uniting has a soul that is more sacred and serene than pretty much any other kind of soul, even most saints. And that's what I'm after.”

“But to what end?” Michio didn't really grasp the situation fully, but he at least wanted to know what such a soul would be worth to someone like Ose.

“You see, here in hell most souls are corrupted. Not surprising of course, that's why they end up here. But souls are what makes everything in heaven and hell tick. They provide the energy for everything that's happening. And the more serene the soul is, the more power it can provide.”

“But why do you need more power? Is there anything that hell needs to achieve? Or that you need to achieve?” Michio was still note sure what all this was about.

“To be honest, there is. There are some really bad subjects down here. And I'm tasked with keeping them where they are. But all the souls we have are in bad shape and provide little energy, so I'm working under difficult conditions. And of course heaven doesn't want to send anyone down here to make my job any easier. So I have to do what I can to do my job. And getting a soul like that would make my work so much easier.”

“And how would that help?” asked Michio. At least they knew what was on the line now. But was it worth sending their child's soul to hell for all eternity? Michio tried to look at Aida to gauge her reaction, but after she was silent the whole time she seemed to be in deep thought and just looked at the wall behind her. Then he had another thought. “And what if we both go back and never have a child together?”

Ose looked at him and smiled his angelic smile again. “Well, of course I have to take some precautions against that. If you decide to go through with it, you have to sign a contract. And that says that if you don't have by the age of 30 you will immediately die and be sent to hell this time.”

“That sounds harsh,” answered Michio, “But I guess it's understandable.” He looked at Aida again and she still didn't have any real reaction.

“You know what.” Ose suddenly said. “I'm feeling generous. To show you that I can do what I tell you I will fulfill one wish of yours.”

“Anything we want?” asked Aida.

“Well, I have something particular in mind.” was Oses response. “Like everyone in heaven you have forgotten about how you died, correct? But you want to remember, also correct?”

Aida and Michio looked at each other before Michio answered. “Yes, that's right. Something happened between us when we died and we like to know what it was.”

Ose snapped his finger. “That was just for show, but in a little while you will remember what happened. I hope it's everything you dream of.”

Michio and Aida looked at each other again. Hopefully this wasn't a mistake.

“How can you do this?” asked Aida. “I mean, everything?”

“I was once an angel as you probably guessed by my appearance. Hence I'm still somewhat connected to the heavens and therefore God. And he can do things like that easily. Does that suffice?”

Michio was wondering what to say when they suddenly heard a loud noise from outside. “Seems like I can show you first hand.” was Oses reaction and both Michio and Aida now looked at him wondering what he was about. “We have to hurry.” Ose continued and he ran out of the office, Aida and Michio following him.