Hell (also called Hades) is the major region of the Underworld (but the term "underworld" may also refer to Hell). It is a place of eternal judgment, death, and punishment. Sinners (or anything related to them), and those who lack of faith, all fell to this region and suffer eternally. The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, has the best explanation of what Hell is, that's why it's the reference used to depict Hell in The Saga. Hell is also the origin of the major villains in The Saga.
Hell in The Saga may have a near-to-exact depiction of Hell in Dante's Inferno. From the circles, the characters, and the journey. But UnownX decided to add more twists to the face of Hell to make some difference from the original Inferno, by mixing elements of the Greek underworld and new elements he made up. The elements of the Greek underworld are present in the Bottomless Pit, which stretches from the far above the Limbo to the circle of Greed.
The history of Hell is just left unknown. Hell, in the known history of Earth, is known as a place of eternal suffering or the Realm of Eternal Suffering. It is best described in the history of man when Dante Alighieri visited Hell with Virgil and wrote it in The Divine Comedy and next to it is the Greek mythology's underworld.
Geography and Environment
Phlegethon, found in the circle of Violence, is the river of burning blood.
Hell, known to its burning surface and infernal looks, the environment is only suitable for tormented souls. This makes most of Hell's climate to be extremely hot and boiling. But, even if most of Hell is a place of burning lakes and surface, there are still places with lower temperatures, it includes the circles of Limbo, Lust, and Gluttony. But opposite to all the places, the circle of Treachery is a freezing place, the place of ice in Hell. Storms are always present at the second and third circles, Lust and Gluttony. The City of Dis, found in the shores of Styx, is an infernal city, which means fire is still overwhelming the place.
Seismic activity in Hell is also often, because it's near the Earth's magnetic core, where The Kingdom of Gravitas stands, the places stricken by the earthquakes are the first five circles, Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, and Wrath.
The Regions of Hell (The Circles of Hell)
For an extended information about the regions of Hell: see Bottomless Pit
Gates of Hell
The Gates of Hell
The Gates of Hell is colossal gate, with a face of a demon, indicating that this is a place of eternal punishment. Sculptures of souls being tormented are also found here. The Gates of Hell, in The Saga, is found in a cemetery in Tokyo. It is also made up of human bones and is found by the side of the cliff. The laugh of demons and the cries of the souls can be heard from the gate. It only appears during midnight (12:00 AM) and disappears when the devil's hour ends (4:00 AM). By the door, there's also an inscription saying...
The Limbo is the first circle of Hell. The souls in the Limbo are here for temporary or permanent, depending on the sins they've made. The ones who lack of faith stays in the Limbo, together with the unbaptized babies and lost souls. The judge of the dead, King Minos, is also found here, he sniffs the soul to define the sins he has done when still living. In The Saga, the Limbo is where the Bottomless Pit ends. Charon, the ferryman, is the one who brings souls to the other side of the Acheron River (river of sorrow), to bring them to Minos. While others left on the other side of the river will be there, waiting until the time of Christ's return comes, for them to face the judgment they've been waiting for.
Lust is the second circle of Hell. The souls are thrown here for their great hunger and yearning for flesh and lust.
House of Lust
The men and women are separated from each other in this circle, and they are separated eternally and would never had a chance to meet up again. Cleopatra is the one who watches the whole circle above The Tower of Lust. She creates never-ending storms, like The Tempest of Lustful Shades, a storm she created to keep the lovers away from each other. The House of Lust is the home to the succubi and incubi who seduce humans during their sleeps, in this place, souls are punished by having a hardcore sexual intercourse with the succubi and/or incubi.
Gluttony is the third circle of Hell. The whole place is a living thing itself, made up by souls who live in excess during their lives. They are showered by their own wastes, yes, human wastes. Instead of having food, the worms in the place are the ones who feed with these souls, eating and chewing them repeatedly. Cerberus, the hound owned by Lucifer, is the one who rules the place. He even feeds on more souls, about thrice the mass of what worms do. Unlike in Dante's Inferno, there is no Hall of Gluttons in the area. The whole place is just simple a place for punishing gluttonous souls. Every direction in the place is called "up". Some souls are just washed away on a river, also made up of human wastes, they are also forced to drink their own wastes to see how many things they've wasted while living.
Greed, the fourth circle of Hell with the Wheel of Fortune.
Greed is the fourth circle of Hell. The whole place is a factory where souls who drowned with wealth and avarice work eternally and endlessly. They carry huge amounts of gold, especially bags of gold which are bigger than them, but won't get any rewards. The place is also filled with wasters who wasted money and wealth for earthly things. They give the other soul workers fake gold to make them envy of their ranking in the circle. The place is guarded by Plutus, the Greek God of Wealth, his statue praises Satan and all of his powers. The rivers of gold are also like the sky, looks near but are unreachable. Lady Fortuna guards The Wheel of Fortune, a huge torture device which crashes the mass beneath it, especially souls who look for a good fortune. The Bottomless Pit also ends in this circle, to the magma-fall going to the circle of Wrath (or Tartarus).
Starting from Greed, the great heat of Hell can be felt, with the steam of the factory, and the heat of molten gold. Other souls who really wanted to reach the Rivers of Gold fall to it and are burned endlessly, eternally, mixing their soul with the gold as it enters the processes needed to be manufactured. Gold in this area stays in the area where the statue of Plutus stands. The gold, when placed there, turns to dust or charcoal, making the process of manufacturing gold endless.
Wrath, the fifth circle of Hell with it's new features in The Saga
Wrath (also Anger) is the fifth circle of Hell. The place is all-new if compared from the original circle of Anger in Dante's Inferno. The whole circle is divided into three subregions:
Styx River - a toxic river (known as "river of hate") where the wrathful stays at the surface, fighting violently while the sullen and slothful are left underwater gurgling, seeking for air. The river in The Saga, is guarded by Phlegyas, a former demigod.
Mt. Vulcan and The Desert - Mt. Vulcan is a gigantic volcano which is responsible for the burning rain for the circles of Anger and Violence. It also trembles The Desert and can never be climbed by any soul, unless they're going to be punished by feeding them to the volcano. The explosion of the volcano is twice the power of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.
The new City of Dis
Mount Vulcan
City of Dis - the second safest place in Hell, after Limbo, and the capital of the area. It is a city where Christ might have visited during The Harrowing of Hell, and left a pylon of light where souls that are worthy to be forgotten are redeemed and absolved and will be led to Paradise. The light of the Harrowing will stand until Christ returns again to judge the dead. The City of Dis is also the place which hides the greatest secrets of Hell. Most of Dis is included in the sixth circle, Heresy, including the graveyard and the walls.
A never-ending war is also present in Wrath, the war is the battle of the souls against the demons punishing them, and this war is still part of their punishment, where the demons are invulnerable.
Heresy is the sixth circle of Hell. The place covers most of the City of Dis, its graveyard, and The Walls. It is also the only church found in Hell, but is used to worship the Fallen Ones, not the Heavenly Ones. The City of Dis, the infernal capital, is the only city found in Hell, with the River Styx and River Phlegethon meeting at the bottom of the city. The church, with the graveyard on the outside is not a part of Dis anymore, but is the main area of the punishment in this circle. The dark priests, necromancers, and conjurers are the only one who are free to worship to the "Fallen Ones". Heretics are buried in their flaming tombs, forever and eternally keeping the false news to themselves. A Statue of Abraham is also found here, where the other souls still await for The One's arrival and be saved from the clutches of Hell.
The House of Baphomet
Even though the City of Dis is the place where The Harrowing of Hell happened, there is a possibility that the statue of Abraham may do the same as the pylon in the city.
The House of Baphomet, the center of Satanism, is also found in Heresy. Baphomet awaits in the place as he waits for worshipers. He will also lead the souls to worshiping Satan, instead of waiting for "The One".
Heresy is the third safest place in Hell, after the City of Dis. It is also the only place where it is free to worship, but as long as they worship the "Fallen Ones".
Beyond the City and Heresy, is The Walls of Dis which is guarded by minotaurs. The walls lead to the last three circles of Hell, which are passive sins.
Violence is the seventh circle of Hell. The whole circle is divided into three rings:
Phlegethon River - a river (also known as "river of fire") of boiling, or at worst, burning blood. It is being guarded by centaurs, being led by Chiron. Those who are boiled here are those who were violent to people and property, and the ons who try to escape are fired by flaming arrows.
Woods of Suicide - the forest where the ones who committed suicide (violence against self) end up into gnarled thorny bushes and trees. They are being fed to harpies, which is being led by the Furies. The corpses of the souls here hang in the branches of the tree into which they became. The other residents of the area are the spendthrift souls, who are being chased by dogs on a thorny surface.
The Tree of Nightmares
The Tree of Nightmares is a region in the ring, probably the largest tree in the woods, where Phobetor stays and other souls which committed a really violent suicide are being imprisoned.
Desert of Burning Sands - unlike the desert in the circle of Wrath, this desert is a place where the ones who were violent against God and nature. Fiery flakes fall from the sky, and the burning desert burns the souls who are within it. The blasphemers lie on the sand (being burned while lying), the usurers sit, and the sodomites wander around the desert. The flaming flakes is the similar disaster that they believed destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which has the similar sin as the sodomites, including homosexuality.
Fraud is the eighth circle of Hell. It is separated, together with the circle of Treachery, to the other circles by a great cliff and the Geryon is the only way to cross it.
The circle of Fraud is more known as the Malebolge, which is divided into ten bolgias (rock ditches) where the following are punished, in order:
Panderers and Seducers - they are forced to march in circle while being whipped by demons.
Flatterers - they are being steeped and waded in human wastes and excrement.
Simonists - placed head-first into baptismal fonts with their feet being burned. When one is threatened to be replaced, he'll disappear into oblivion, in The Saga, into Chaos' Void .
Diviners - astrologers, sorcerers, false prophets, and fortune tellers march with their heads twisted backwards.
Barrators and Grafters - they are immersed in boiling pits of tar. When one tries to escape, they'll be tore apart by the Malebranche, being led by Malacoda.
Hypocrites - they are forced to wear very heavy garments while marching in circles. Some are staked on the ground, being walked over by the weighted hypocrites.
Thieves - they are bitten by reptiles endlessly and some transform painfully into reptiles too.
Evil Counselors - they are constantly ablaze and speak tongues of flame.
Sowers of Discord - a demon divides their bodies, some hold their severed heads like lanterns. They are also forced to march in circles.
Falsifiers - alchemists, impostors, counterfieters, and liars all suffer here based on different consumptive diseases.
The bolgias are arranged in a circular manner with the entrance to the final circle at the middle of them all. Ice starts to grow from this circle. The fiery surface of Hell ends at the circle of Violence and the icy temperature starts when Geryon passes through the cliff.
Treachery (also Betrayal) is the ninth and final circle of Hell. It is the coldest place in Hell where the betrayers live eternally. The entrance of the circle is being guarded by giants which are chained due to their sins.
The circle of Treachery is divided into several rounds naming:
Caina - the zone where the traitors to the kindred are immersed in ice from head to toe.
Antenora - the zone where the traitors to political entities and country stay exeriencing the very cold temperature.
Plotomaea - the zone where the traitors to guests lie supine in ice, covering them except for the faces.
Judecca - the zone where the traitors to their lords and benefactors are being encapsulated by ice.
Lake Cocytus - (also known as "river of wailing") the place where the traitors against God are being punished by Satan himself. The zone is guarded by Lucifer to ensure no one will escape, but since Satan is enough for the ones here, Lucifer was busy for his quest to get Daisuke.
By the Lake Cocytus, Satan can be seen forcing to free from His icy prison. Judas Iscariot is found here with his head being eaten by Satan and his back forever skinned by Satan's claws. The assassins that killed Caesar are also found here, Caesar is found in the Limbo, wherein he experiences his assassination repeatedly.
By the center of the lake, there's an immediate change of gravity, which leads to the Purgatory. Instead of Daisuke, Kuroi is the one who was able to see the Purgatory and Miaka is the one for Heaven. An entrance to The Kingdom of Gravitas is found in the Limbo.
Did You Know?!
Dante Alighieri travelled to Inferno during Holy Week, by the morn of Good Friday and entered Purgatory in Black Saturday.
We're not sure of what might Hell actually look like but since Dante convinced all of us he was able to travel there, the Divine Comedy became a reference for the Hell in The Saga.
