Heaven's Colosseum

The colosseum looked like it was made out of bread. The way the ripples in the white stone pillars and walls clashed, along with the strange black gemstones studded occasionally made for a prettily textured surface. Of course, Leo had to run his hand along every wall they came near.

The outside looked no bigger than a classical roman colosseum, but it had multitudes of large floating stones that rotated about it, and its shape was more that of a volcano than a building. Light refracted from Heaven through its surface, suggesting the material was more translucent than it looked. There were occasional bolts of shadow bursting from the air, which didn't exactly make sense.

'Aren't we still in Heaven?' Leo asked. 'Shouldn't darkness not exist?'

Raphael walked with a slow grace, like he was reluctant to get close to this place. It was probably true. His eyes trained along the ground until they reach up to meet Leo's. Raphael shook his head, looking surprised.

'Did you hear me?' Leo drew close and lowered his voice. 'Are you alright, Raphael?'

'Yes.' Raphael pressed his temple with the heel of his hand. 'Just a little tired after all this. What did you say?'

'The dark streaks, why are they in Heaven?' Leo did a little circular motion with his fingertip, copying the pattern of some of it. Another streak of black burst from the colosseum as if to help him point it out.

'Right.' Raphael still looked dreary, like he'd just awoken. Leo wondered if there was coffee in Heaven. 'We're not technically in Heaven anymore.'

'Uh.' Leo made a gesture at the brilliant white sky and to the nearby pavement made of emeralds and rubies.

'It is more of a special part of Heaven, I guess. Lesser angels found it not long after the Rapture, and soon it was discovered demons could come here too. We call it Sanctum, or Sanoth, if you're into that new name that's been going around.'

'Is it like an incomplete area?' Leo noticed the first signs of life here–angels were standing just beyond the large spiralling front door, along with several humans. It wouldn't be long before he and Raphael would have to deal with the publicity of a human and archangel hanging out.

'I believe it's a place purposely created for us to do as we please–a little chaos in the order.' Raphael opened his hand, and a white baseball cap flashed into existence. He pulled it over his head, and the striking wings on his back suddenly retracted. He shrunk a few feet, and his clothes shrunk to match. Now he simply looked as he might if he were human, though his hair still radiated occasional sparks like static electricity.

'Like He made you a play pen for kids?' Leo understood that Raphael was disguising himself, and so made no mention of it, just in case those angels had good hearing.

'Sure.' Raphael seemed to deflate. 'A play pen for all the children to get along. Unfortunately it's now used for war and survival games in a battle arena.' He shrugged, then threw his hands into his pockets. Somehow, the casual look really suited him, despite the long trail of golden hair flowing from beneath that cap.

Arriving at the doorway, the path opened up to an enormous and illustrious foyer of sorts. Humans and angels sat, talking like they were all old friends. Others waited in line for a desk with strange brassy metal figures waiting behind them like bank tellers.

'Wait here.' Raphael made for one of the tellers and pushed past the line of people without any hesitation. A few of them began to yell at him for pushing, but he swivelled to face them with eyes sparking bolts of electricity. He continued to the nearest teller, had a short conversation with them and then received a scroll and a small white stone. The automaton-like figure bowed stiffly and called out for the next in line.

'What?' Leo threw his hands at Raphael upon his return. 'What was that? Did you just skip a line by abusing your status or something?'

A coy smile ran across Raphael's face. He placed the white stone into Leo's hand and patted it. 'Oh no, I just bluffed the whole thing. Aether Automata are relatively responsive and can't turn anyone down.'

'Wow.' Leo needed a moment to take in this new side to Raphael. Was it always there, or did their time in Hell change the way he acted? He decided it was he former and turned the pretty quartz-like stone in his hand.

'You'll need that for your room. It's a key, of sorts.'

'Big key.' Leo wondered if the hand-sized orb could even fit in his pockets.

'Give it just a moment.'

'Hm? Oh!' The orb lifted from Leo's palm and took flight. It hovered around his head a few times before settling in the air by him. 'So it's a floating key card?'

'It does a few more things than that. Hold your palm out to it.'

Leo obeyed, and the sphere returned to him. Suddenly, his mind filled with details about himself like he was looking at a stats screen in a video game. He could see that he was in perfect health, and that there was a section stating, 'sponsors,' glowing. He wanted to touch it, but it flashed with only his desire to do so. A list came up with only one name on it so far, Raphael.

'You're sponsoring me? Like a sports star?'

'Basically.' Raphael shook the scroll like a conductor's baton then turned on his heel, gesturing for Leo to follow. 'Except instead of getting free merchandise or patches with my logo on it, you get to copy my powers.' He led Leo through coiling halls and up stairwells until they reached a balcony leading back out to a view of Heaven. The grounds around the colosseum were riddled with streets and small white stone houses, people walking amongst them like in a normal suburbia. Light glittered between the large floating stones near the top of the colosseum, and darkness occasionally wove between them like serpents.

'Wait, you never explained what the dark streaks are.' Leo leapt back as one band of shadow came scathingly close to the balcony.

'They're simply a sign that demons are here. Not as many as in Hell, but enough to affect the area. Think of them like an aurora on Earth.' Raphael stepped out to touch the balcony's rail. 'Now, I did in fact abuse a little of my status before, but only for one thing.'

One of the enormous stones floated to the balcony's edge, revealing a pair of doors on it. Bars of light formed into stairs to the front door, and Raphael immediately climbed them.

'This, dear Leo, is your new room while you compete. Kind of a penthouse suite here in Heaven's Colosseum.' Raphael pushed the doors open to reveal the beautifully laid out interior, complete with a large bed and wardrobe that looked like it extended a hundred feet. 'It's also the best place to equip you for your first bout. Are you ready to compete?'