The larger of the two stepped forward and crossed his arms, eyeing me suspiciously. "What brings you to the gates of the second level?" She asked gruffly.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I was about to say. "We are here to see the Black King," I replied confidently.
The two guards exchanged glances before the smaller one stepped forward, the blades of his sword gleaming menacingly in the dim light. "It is not easy to gain an audience with the Black King," she warned sternly.
I nodded solemnly. "I think that he will, but that is none of your concern. We will not give up until we have seen him, and I am sure you are tired of the uneasy feeling that you are getting from him being irritated, right?"
The two guards glanced at each other again before nodding. "You may enter," they said in unison.
We stepped through the gates, and I let out a sigh and then drew in the lovely fresh air of the Layer of Eternal Slumber. The place was nothing like any of the other rings and a personal favorite of mine when I was here before. The only problem with the place is that you couldn't stay too long or you would start to get sleepy. Then you would sit down, but you wouldn't go to sleep; you would just watch and feel the forest slowly consume you.
"I have never really understood why this place is so beautiful?" Lexi said as we started to walk over the lush landscape that was ever so inviting.
"I suppose that you don't actually know much about the layers, do you? You might know about the people, but the Layers themselves have nothing to do with the Demons; they were built to be places of eternal torture for the Demons," I explained, and then gestured around us. "This place is The Second Layer of Eternal Slumber. The one before is The First Layer Of Hellfire Sea, and it is more like a resort for the Demons. They all go up and hangout on the beaches with the heat from the lava cools and hardens their sink so they can piss off their dominator and make them work harder."
"... Really? They like that?" Lexi asked incredulously, and I smirked at her.
"Don't compare Demons to the creatures from our Mortal Realm. They are a completely different species, and they thrive on emotions, and some of the strongest are pain, but happiness is good as well. Mix them together, and that is a cocktail that any Demon would devour readily," I explained, and Lexi thumbed her chin as she slithered beside me, but I could see what looked like a village up ahead.
"I had been curious about that. It seemed like it was just a twisted and broken populace that got off only on torturing others, but that information does give them a new dimension," Lexi said, and I pointed ahead.
"Have you been to this village?" I asked since it had not been here the last time I was.
"I have not, no. What do you know about it?" she asked curiously as we approached the gate of the village.
"Well, for starters, how is it here? This layer is designed to make you fall into a waking slumber, so having a village here just doesn't make any sense," I said as I saw Demons of all shapes and sizes inside the village, but there were no guards at the gates that we walked through.
"I don't know much about this village, but it seems like a sanctuary for all kinds of Demons. It's a place where they can escape the harshness of the other layers and live in peace, at least while they are here," Lexi explained as we began to wander around the village.
The Demons seemed content with their lives, at least from what I could see. Some were playing games or taking leisurely strolls, and others were tending gardens or fishing in the river. They were kind and generous to one another and seemed to be living a good life overall.
"It's amazing how different things are here," I said, filled with admiration and awe.
Lexi smiled and nodded. "Yes, this place is like a completely different world from any we've seen before. I'm glad that these poor creatures have somewhere peaceful to stay."
Then one of the Demons finally came over to us, approaching me first. Then it swung an enormous clawed hand at my face with a smirk, but I put up a single finger to stop it, narrowing my eyes on the Demon. It clearly knew that it had just fucked up.
I raised my hand and was about to turn the scared Demon to ash, but Lexi pulled my hand down. "Let's try words first. They are wonderful things, are they not?" She asked me, and I looked at her, letting my hand fall, but with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh? It seems like this one had just that in mind; I was just returning the favor," I said plainly, but Lexi shot her head.
"If it wanted to kill you, don't you think the others would have helped?" Lexi asked me, and I shrugged as I looked around. No one was even paying attention to us, but that didn't mean anything.
If Demons were one thing, it was that they were all crafty as fuck.
"Fine," I said and then turned to the Demon, who had regained his composure. "So, Mrs.... who?"
"Dragees, and sorry about that. You clearly are not from this layer, but you looked pretty peaceful. Our greetings are to slap each other on each cheek, and it is how we can all stay up here. There are strange psychedelic drugs here that make you go into nightmarish trances, but they keep you moving. I just came out of one of those and saw you two, but now that I see you both more clearly, it seems I might have angered you," she explained, and I sighed.
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