Dark Path to Heaven [Demon Romance]

Chapter 16

Chapter Music: "Ghosts of Twilight" by Brandon & Derek Fiechter

"Okay," I nodded. I was certainly more curious than I was afraid.

"We could hardly see where we were walking inside the third level so we took out some torches," he went on, more determined than before "Food was delivered twice a day and the cells were empty holes made of rock. The prisoners were screaming, cursing and swearing, most of them had gone insane. As for those who hadn't, I'm sure it was only a matter of time. They all seemed enraged to see a bunch of students observing them as if they were lab rats. In such clothes, almost torn off their stinking bodies, they were definitely resentful about the condition we were in. A condition they seemed to have forgotten long ago and which they knew they would never return to."

"Does every prisoner in the dungeons really stay there forever?" Because that would be a strong deterrent against crime.

"Yes. Once someone enters, there's no turning back. The government claims that the world can't afford to release people who might not have regretted their crimes."

Considerations of 'humanity' aside, they did have a point. I doubted that people changed so easily and the freedom of some former criminals wasn't worth everybody else's peace. Besides, there was also the chance that spending some time under these miserable conditions would negatively impact the inmates' conduct -something that would render them dangerous if they were to be set free someday.

"And these decisions are made by angels?"

Regardless of whether I was religious or not (I wasn't too sure myself), I had always imagined angels as innocent creatures with a vast and unconditional kindness and forgiveness. I didn't particularly like such infinite cordiality because it was unjust  so I could understand why the governors would have to compromise their innate compassion to achieve peace on a large scale.

At that exact moment I had an epiphany: If angels weren't beings of boundless love, didn't that mean that demons weren't necessarily dipped into sin? Which were the exact elements which defined the two species? None of the textbooks I had read had provided me with a satisfying answer.

"This is the cost of peace," Vincent's expression indicated that his mind was somewhere else. "There has never been a war on this planet since the Grey War."

I had read about that. The Grey War broke out a couple of thousands of years ago between angels and demons, the two strongest races in the world. Hundreds of them died back then and because they couldn't reproduce as wizards and humans could, they were only being created by a divine force once every few years. That was why there were now very few of them. 

Generally, demons were more powerful than their enemies and wouldn't allow anyone to restrain them. Neither other demons, nor somebody else. Thus for ages, since the beginning of life in the world as we knew it, there was only chaos. Brutality and horror had no limit back then.

"I've depressed you," Vincent said at some point after seeing me pondering. "I'm sorry. Let's talk about something else," he forced a smile.

"It doesn't bother me at all," I smiled back at him genuinely. "I'm actually more curious about the prisoners now." How hard could their lives be and how had they ended up there?

"You really are weird," he grinned and, almost instantly, his eyes widened as if he'd remembered something important. "You should know that Mr. Astar himself is the only one who has ever sent and freed a few people from prison! I remember him telling us a couple of months before you arrived. He'd said he had created a file on the residents of some village and searched for evidence to prove them guilty or innocent. However, the angels rarely listen to anyone's suggestions as they are very reluctant to trust any outsiders and that seemed to have enraged him. I'm still wondering how he ever managed to have that much influence if you ask me! If it was up to me I'd like to free all of them!"