After Life Sentence

Realm of Dead

Just like its name, a place where the dead gather, a place where souls can be seen everywhere, a place that a living being can't enter.

You can see floating souls everywhere, the different colors just what Lou did not expect.

It's a black and white world, a gloomy place where Shinigami, Soul Harvester, Hallow, and many other hell-like creatures gather around.

A place that no one ever wants to go.

Here, it's a sin if you have life, you can easily get attracted or even killed because of your own life force or life energy.

But Lou, he is a creature that can easily pass this world. Well, after all, he is undead, even though he has a life force inside, it's not easy to notice because of his own unique race.

A place where escape is impossible but leaving is nearly possible.

Based on what Lou heard you can only leave from here after you finish the 18 levels of hell.

First is the Judgment.

The first sight that deceased souls are greeted by are two mythological creatures known as Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the guardians of the underworld.

As the name might suggest, they both have the bodies of men topped with the heads of an ox and a horse, respectively. Apart from just guarding the gates, the pair are also charged with the duty of capturing human souls that have reached the end of their earthly existence and bringing them before the courts of hell to be judged.

If a soul passes the stage of judgment and is deemed good enough to not be punished for their earthly deeds, they can head straight to being reincarnated again into the earthly cycle, or in some rare cases achieve enlightenment and not have to go through human life cycles again.

The majority of souls will have something to repent for, and so are sent down to the 18 levels of hell, where they might go to each stage to pay for all 18 types of sins, or only have to spend their punishment in one level before being able to move on.

A breakdown of the levels is as follows.

Hell of Tongue-ripping

-where those who gossip and spread trouble with their words will repeatedly have their tongues ripped out.

Hell of Scissors

-where those who destroy someone else's marriage will have their fingers repeatedly cut off.

Hell of Trees of Knives

-where those who sow discord amongst family members will be repeatedly hung from trees made of sharp knives.

Hell of Mirrors of Retribution

-where those who have managed to escape punishment for their crimes while alive will be repeatedly shown their true horrific selves.

Hell of Steamers

-where hypocrites and troublemakers will repeatedly be steamed "alive."

Hell of Copper Pillars

-where arsonists will be repeatedly chained to red-hot pillars of copper.

Hell of the Mountain of Knives

-where those who have killed for pleasure or without good reason will repeatedly be made to climb a mountain made of sharp blades sticking out of it.

Hell of the Mountain of Ice

-where adulterers, deceivers of elders, and schemers will be repeatedly left out on a barren mountain of ice to freeze.

Hell of the Cauldrons of Oil

-where rapists, thieves, abusers, and false accusers will be repeatedly fried in vats of boiling oil.

Hell of the Cattle Pit

-where those who have abused animals will repeatedly be hurt by animals in turn.

Hell of the Crushing Boulder

-where those who have abandoned or killed children will repeatedly be made to hold up heavy boulders, eventually being crushed by its weight.

Hell of Mortars and Pestles

-where those who voluntarily waste food will repeatedly be force-fed hell fire by demons.

Hell of the Blood Pool

-where those who disrespect others will be thrown in and submerged into a pool of blood.

Hell of the Wrongful Dead

-where those who have committed suicide considered deliberately going against the karmic course of the universe will be force to repeatedly wander the realm without a way out, while being pelted constantly by the Winds of Sorrow and the Rains of Pain.

Hell of Dismemberment

-where tomb raiders will have their bodies repeatedly be torn into pieces.

Hell of the Mountain of Fire

-where thieves, robbers, and the corrupt will be repeatedly thrown into the fiery pits of an active volcano.

Hell of Mills

-where those who have misused their power to oppress the weak will repeatedly be crushed in a stone mill.

Hell of Saws

-where those who have engaged in unethical or unfair business practices, or exploited loopholes in the legal system, will be repeatedly sawn in half by demons with saws.

No one can escape from this judgment, of course, there's an exception.

For those who break the rank, strong enough to fight fate, those who are strong will have the other choice if they want.

There are also people who are born to be Demi-gods or people who are being kept by God or a higher being.

Holy Woman, Holy Son, Holy Daughter, and so on.

Those races are exceptional, the barrier to defying fate is far but for Lou, everything here is not his care.

Right now, he is standing in front of the Research Institute.

Rizevim's Institute

A research institute on the outskirts of a valley made of ice in Cocytus.

It's a well-made infrastructure with thigh security and guard by strange formations and barriers.

"Let's enter first," Lou said and started to cast a magic spell.