"Yes," I said to the orb. "I killed her."
Tears slipped from my eyes for the woman I had hated. Even if I hated her, I felt pain for that feeling I had felt when I was younger, the feeling I thought was love.
The orbs vanished and then I stumbled and fell to the ground. I didn't want to get up for a second, but slowly stood, knowing I would have to.
"So this is my eternity?" I said to no one.
"Yes," came the electronic voice from somewhere above me. "Welcome to She'ol."
"Is this... " I struggled to find the word. I then realized I was talking in a different language. I couldn't find a word to exactly describe what I wanted to say for a second.
"Is this hell?" I said finally, finding the correct word for it in this odd language.
"Yes," said the voice. "This is the hell of Yahweh. You do not seem to have belief in a deity, which means you should not be in Yahweh's hell."
"I don't... believe in gods," I mumbled.
"It is unimportant," said the voice. "Upon entering the city of Satanoni, you immediately receive a house and food. However, after a week, you will be required to have a job and make payments to keep your home and food."
"Aren't I dead?" I asked.
Dead.
The word sent shivers up my spine.
"You can still suffer," said the voice. I gulped.
"Am I stuck here for eternity?" I asked softly.
"Yes," said the voice. Its utter lack of emotion made me nervous. "You are now considered a demon, a denizen of hell. You will receive a week's worth of clothes designed to provide maximum comfort from the closet. Clothing is not necessary, but recommended for protection against harsh conditions."
"What..." I began, but then saw the small door that had opened in the wall. I slowly walked toward it and into the dark opening.
Inside clothes hung on the walls, and I picked them off.
I put the clothes on. A simple collared shirt and long pants, relatively comfortable. The shirt had no back; rather, the collar had a button to undo so I could put the shirt on and let my wings through at the same time.
Light shone in front of me, widening. A door.
"You may now leave the Genesis Compound," said the smooth voice. "You will immediately know where your home is."
"How?" I began to ask, but then the knowledge was in my head. I knew how to get to the house.
"Magic," replied the voice. No inflection. Just calm.
I swallowed. I didn't want to go out into the city. Being in the same space as a hundred people made me nervous. Thousands?
What if my mother was one of them?
I gulped and stepped out into the dim sunlight. The sky above was a dim, bloody red, the sun a bright circle with two beams of light shooting out from either side and seemingly forming a sort of "ring" in the sky.
And under the sky was a city.
A huge metropolis.
A futuristic metropolis.
Buildings rose into the dark sky and glowing streams of light floated between them, filled with small specks zipping along them. Flying cars?
Beyond my small sidewalk was one of those glowing streams. Yes, the specks were cars. Sleek, floating, futuristic cars, propelled by jets of purple fire.
The people hurrying around me were dressed in all manner of clothing and... not only that, they had all manner of form. Some were humanoid, but with horns, maybe, like me, or wings, or large reptilian arms. Some were alien. Insectoid monstrosities, naked catlike people with no apparent genitals, ethereal butterflies with centipedal bodies. There was a lot of white clothing. Not everyone wore white, but many did.
Everyone's eyes (and tongues) were pitch black, like mine. It was unsettling.
I began walking in the direction my mind was telling me to go, my breath shortening as I felt the panic of being in a public place set into me. I kept my head down and tried to control my breathing.
I finally made it to the huge skyscraper that was apparently going to be my home.
I walked through the huge doorway, passing through a bubble-like film as I went, perhaps some sort of barrier to keep out unwanted elements like diseases and radiation.
The interior of the room appeared to be a lobby, like a hotel. There were couches in one corner, some of them with odd shapes, perhaps to accommodate alien bodies.
The receptionist was a young, green-skinned woman with four pitch black eyes. She was sitting in front of a large floating glowing blue sphere surrounded by small curved panels. Like a futuristic computer or something.
"Name?" she asked as I hesitantly approached her. Crap. Talking made me nervous.
"Um..." I said. I knew my name! But I struggled to get it out. I felt like everyone was looking at me.
My sins were written in my very soul. Because I was a demon now, in hell for my sins. For killing my mother and myself.
"Amaro Boselli?" asked the receptionist boredly.
"Y-yes," I said. "H-how did you know?" I blurted.
"Everyone's registered," she said. "Your name's here, obviously. The magical soul recognition program identified you."
That was a little creepy. People could easily know who I was with this "magical soul recognition program."
"Take the elevator to Room 32 on Floor 5," said the lady. I looked down and realized her name was Selkeda Ja-Ko-Salmetar Madrondi Lana. Long, so I decided to think of her as just Selkeda. It was written in a strange symbol language--'strange' because I could understand it.
I walked to the large doors of what seemed to be an elevator and stepped inside.
"Please state your destination floor number," came a calm voice from somewhere around me, similar to the one those orbs had spoken in.
"Floor 5," I said.
I heard a hiss and then the doors opened. I hadn't even felt motion, but there was a different room in front of me--a sitting room with a couch surrounded by many doors apparently leading to rooms.
I walked to the door labeled 32... and realized I had no key or any way to open it.
I didn't need to worry, however, because the door opened as I touched it.
Inside was a small bedroom, not unlike that of a hotel back in the mortal world.
Back home.
The world I had left, and might never see again.
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