The world and characters of city of woe

 In the heart of California lies New Florence, the only Italian-settled city on the West Coast, boasting a rich heritage and exotic wines. Its skyline blends old Italian architecture with a modern touch—skyscrapers adorned with glass panes and intricate stonework overlook the harbor, where a majestic Florentine Bridge connects bustling ships. Nathanael, a struggling journalist, navigates this glorious city until an otherworldly shift transforms it into a nightmarish Ante-Hell, herding damned souls toward the Inferno's gates. Amidst the haunting desolation, he embarks on a perilous journey, discovering that the city's grandeur now mirrors the infernal torment that lies ahead, shrouded within the enigmatic Alighieri Tunnel.

 The River Acheron exudes a haunting and desolate aura, with shores covered in small orange rocks and dead tree roots winding through them. The water is murky and black, concealing the ancient beast, Charybdis. Charon, the Ferryman of the Acheron, appears as a towering demon in an old oceanliner captain's uniform with smoldering wings and sharp fangs. He commands the grim and eerie H.I.M.S. Lusitania, a damaged ship with rust and barnacles, and of course the gaping hole from a torpedo strike.  The Realm is full of sorrow and confusion and all those who enter find themselves surrounded by haunting cries of shades. 

 The Realm of Limbo, known as the Realm of the Unswayed, is an expansive archive of knowledge within the Inferno. The walls lining the stairs leading to Limbo emit a slight gloss and a scorching heat, dissuading escape attempts by shades. Inside, concrete pillars adorned with bookshelves stretch endlessly into the dark, fog-filled space. The fog itself comprises the shades, taking the form of tiny thunderstorms, endlessly discussing events from the Living World. The Archfiend Mephistopheles rules over this tranquil yet cryptic realm, where faithless shades, including atheists and agnostics, engage in ceaseless theorizing. The peaceful environment offers respite as Nathanael converses with Mephistopheles and prepares to descend further into the Inferno's real punishments, beginning with King Minos' court. 

 Minos' Court is a grand and foreboding courtroom, with polished brass and dark oak decor throughout. The room is flooded with bright light from overhead fluorescents, creating an uncharacteristic brightness. At the center stands the elevated judge's bench, where the inhumanly tall and slender demon Bailiff, with powder blue skin and eerie white glowing eyes, presides. On the right of the bench, a heavy-looking door with an iron handle leads to unknown realms, while on the left, a smaller door with a brass knob awaits. The ornate rail, also made of dark oak with polished brass paneling, separates the bench from the seating area, which is currently devoid of chairs, but soon fills with countless distorted shades awaiting judgment. King Minos, a handsome and Greek-looking figure, dons a pearl-colored tuxedo with a gold crown adorned with various jewels, representing different sins. As the souls are presented, Minos' soft and condescending voice uncovers their sins, condemning them to various torments in the infernal realms. 

 The Realm of Lust is a putrid and nightmarish Infernal domain ruled by Archfiends Lilith, the temptress of every sexual urge, and Asmodeus, the brutal predator. The sunken palace exudes a foul smell, with flaming iron dishes and explicit engravings adorning its halls. Time slows within its confines. Lilith's seductive throne room is filled with Sirens, enticing victims into depravity, while Asmodeus revels in violent sexual predation. This infernal domain sees relentless torment and suffering, with Asmodeus using brute force and incapacitation to prey upon shades through acts of rape and date rape. The atmosphere is both revolting and alluring, drawing in the curious and horrified alike to witness the horrifying depths of human depravity in this vile and despicable realm. 

 The Realm of Gluttons exudes a repugnant odor of rotting food, overpowering the senses as one approaches its entrance. As you open the heavy portal, and an even stronger stench wafts out, accompanied by a swarm of flies billowing in the air. Inside, a long corridor greets you, flanked by mounds of putrefying food on either side, infested with caterpillar-sized maggots squirming around. The concrete floor has a gray lacquer finish, while the walls are a grotesque sight, covered in white ceramic tiles stained with streaks of feces, vomit, and stomach acid that drips down from the stainless steel paneling above. The dim, flickering light from single-bulb luminaires on the ceiling casts eerie shadows, adding to the grotesque ambiance of the place. This is where the shades of the Gluttonous and the Famished are punished. The Famished, who refuse nourishment for vanity, are tormented by the Gorgers, who are insatiable shades relentlessly consuming anything resembling flesh, unable to gain sustenance or weight. In the center of the vast room, a horrifying sight awaits – the monstrous Archfiend known as Gullet, clad in the skin of a Sweller, feasting on shades with a meat hook and a twisted, ghastly appearance, with bloodshot eyes and a mouth sliced open from the bones of his prey. 

 The Realm of Greed is an expansive infernal cavern, illuminated by the eerie glow of molten lava. It houses a steampunk city, where the ceaseless pursuit of wealth and possessions fuels the machinery. Vats of molten metal hold tormented shades, punished for their insatiable greed, while faceless and voiceless souls endlessly crave attention from each other. Hoarders transformed into living embodiments of gemstones battle for possessions, adding to their gleaming forms in eternal torment. At the heart of the realm stands Mammon, the Archfiend of Greed, a colossal marble statue chained and wearing robes of liquid gold and silver. His demeanor veers from whimsical to serious as he oversees the realm, serving as the Treasurer of the Inferno, embodying the very root of the love of money and its malevolent consequences. 

 The Realm of the Wrathful is a wretched and desolate place, centered around the River Styx, a tarry bayou filled with muck made from the remnants of slowly simmered, rotten bodies, symbolizing the intense hatred harbored by its inhabitants. At the heart of the river stands Baal, the Archfiend of Wrath, crucified and flayed open above a giant beacon, his chest spewing hot tar. Phlegyas, a demonic ferryman, lurks beneath the surface, tasked with transporting shades across the Styx when necessary. The Wrathful are individuals consumed by bigotry, judgment, and ill will towards others, cursed to dwell in this infernal swamp, perpetually tormented by their own malicious emotions. 

 The Realm of the Willfully Ignorant is a nightmarish machine shop, filled with relentless and infernal contraptions perpetually screeching and grinding away. Within this dreadful realm, minds of the Willfully Ignorant are trapped in shade bodies, devoid of control. These tormented souls are led through giant meat grinders and other torturous machinations, shredded alive and conscious repeatedly, only to be given new bodies and subjected to the horrific process once more. Overseeing this infernal domain is Leviathan, the Archfiend, a monstrous and grotesque creature resembling a giant bony seahorse with arms and legs, its body adorned with blood-stained ivory and rusty metal rings. Its malevolent presence instills fear and dread, as it watches over the agonizing suffering of those condemned to dwell in this nightmarish realm, including cultists, stubborn parents, and certain ill-remembered world leaders, who chose to embrace preferred beliefs over undeniable truths, regardless of the dire consequences. 

 The Realm of the Violent against Others is a nightmarish battleground, shrouded in dense fog and filled with perpetual warfare. Trenches, barbed wire fences, and mortar craters scar the landscape as shades engage in relentless combat, seeking dominance and power. The air resounds with the thunderous sounds of gunfire and clashing medieval weaponry, while shades from different eras and backgrounds clash in an eternal struggle. Among the violent shades are infamous historical figures like Adolf Hitler, Jack the Ripper, and John Wayne Gacy, along with other murderers and perpetrators of violence from different periods of history. The punishment for their Iniquitas is eternal war, each shade inflicting violence upon others, only to experience the consequences of their own actions repeatedly. The central point of the realm is a craggy mountain, the Phlegethon, a river of blood fed by the torment of another realm, where shades fight fiercely to reach and gain power from a glowing emerald sword wielded by Berith, the Archfiend of Violence, atop a sickly, emaciated horse. 

 The Realm of Suicide is a haunting forest filled with black cypress trees adorned with flame-colored leaves. The ground is covered in soft peat moss, and cypress knees protrude from the earth. The sky above is a twilight purple, streaked with contrails of smoke and fire. The Wood of Suicides, a dark and sorrowful glade within the forest, is inhabited by shades that took their own lives in the Living World. These shades appear as intertwining, elongated, wailing faces on weeping trees. The air is filled with cries of self-pity and lamentation, as the shades suffer eternally for their decision to end their own lives. The woodsmen who once tormented the suicidal shades, represented by Harpies, have been hunted to near extinction by the Archfiend Verrine. The forest leads to a mill where the Archfiend Verrine, a frail figure in green seventeenth-century clothes, resides. The realm also houses another Archfiend, Belphegor. 

 The Realm of the Slothful is a rooftop-like path atop an unseen wing of the building. At the end of the path stands a large banyan tree with a black trunk and orange leaves. Its roots form a sphere, radiating a pulsing yellow light, which imprisons the Archfiend Belphegor. Hell Wasps pour forth from the sphere, swarming around the cage and the rooftop pathway. The Wasps are about the size of house cats, with black and green bodies and unique swirling patterns. They have large round eyes, spiny-haired legs, sharp claws, and needle-like stingers at the end of their abdomens. The air is filled with their harmonic buzzing and the scratching of their movements. Belphegor, a rotund demon, is trapped within the roots of the tree, covered in feces and sores, with some roots pinning him down. He exudes misery and agony, his mouth a torrent of Hell Wasps. Surrounding him are glowing amber egg sacs, tended by a larger Queen Wasp with multiple stingers. The realm is a place of torment for those who succumbed to the sin of sloth, and the scene is one of suffering and despair. 

 The Realm of the Panderers is a large cavern resembling an emptied salt mine, with water dripping from the walls and ceiling, forming mineral stalactites and stalagmites. Muffled screams and moans echo throughout the cavern as thousands of shades are bound to stakes, crucified, or suspended from the ground, enduring torment inflicted by Hellspawn overseers. The Hellspawn wear blue crystal gloves and force hot metal into the shades' mouths, causing excruciating pain. The demons seem weary and desperate, their eyes reflecting a longing for freedom from their grim duties. Amidst this suffering, a grand Creole-style crypt stands, the throne room of the Archfiend Jezebeth. The interior of the crypt appears cluttered and adorned with offerings and trinkets. Jezebeth herself is a dark-skinned woman with dreadlocks adorned with seashells, wearing a burlap bustier and tailcoat. She holds a massive python, and her face is painted with black and white skull makeup, accentuated by black lipstick and white eyes.

 The Realm of Corruption is a vast, dark cavern illuminated by glowing blue sand covering the ground. Gigantic giants wander within a deep pit, crushing and tearing apart millions of shades trapped in a morass of slimy goo. The giants are shackled and controlled by the Archfiend Vetis, a massive, slimy, ochre-skinned slug-like beast with a snarling, tooth-filled face and jointed tendrils for arms. Vetis is adorned with weapons pierced through its body, and tattered banners from the Living World hang from them. The realm represents the punishment for the Iniquitas of Corruption, Theft, and Barratry, with shades subjected to relentless suffering and chaos inflicted by the monstrous giants, overseen by Vetis. 

 The Realm of Discord and Schism is a grand and opulent cathedral presided over by the Archfiend Uriel, a Fallen Angel with fuchsia skin, marked with darker pink patterns, and radiant pearly eyes. The cathedral is adorned with golden accents, stained glass windows depicting the fall of Angels, and sandstone pillars. A pristine red carpet runs down the aisle, where rows of polished wooden pews are filled with tormented shades who sowed discord and caused schism in society and relationships. Three Hellspawn clad in platinum silver armor torment the shades with an array of brutal weapons and instruments of torture, inflicting gruesome wounds. Uriel sits on a golden throne, holding a burning sword with a crystal blade and exudes an enigmatic and mysterious aura. The realm represents the punishment for those who instigated unrest, rebellion, and hypocrisy, and the shades appear to be slowly healing as they approach the altar, where Uriel reigns as the Archfiend. 

 The Realm of Liars and Falsifiers is a dark and mysterious place, with a small, enclosed chamber surrounded by metal walls and bars like a prison cell. The ground is covered with moist, packed sand, and rain falls from a clouded ceiling above. In the center, three large walls of bars form a triangular structure, each housing a complex maze of ladders and platforms resembling run-down fire escapes. The compartment to the left contains spherical hyperbaric pods, while the one to the right holds filthy water. Suspended overhead is a round observation post, enclosed in glass or some transparent material, allowing a view of the entire realm. The realm is occupied by the Archfiend who oversees the Liars and Falsifiers, Legion, an enigmatic figure with a silhouette absorbing light, rendering him featureless. In the realm, voices echo, but the source remains unseen. This place is a representation of the punishment for those who deceived and spread falsehoods, and its elusive and deceptive nature aligns with the sins of those condemned to this infernal realm. 

 The Realm of the Traitorous, ruled by the Archfiend Belial, is a vast and labyrinthine domain with a huge central room filled with small enclosures resembling prison cells. The floor is covered in large terra cotta tiles, and the air is cool and dry, carrying the scent of old books. Each enclosure represents the lives of the condemned shades, where they are tormented by shapeless demons taking the form of those they betrayed in the Living World. The demons reenact the worst nightmares and fears of the shades within the confines of each cage, perpetuating their anguish and suffering. The shades here are those who committed grave betrayals against their closest allies, loved ones, and friends, causing immense harm and treachery. The Archfiend Belial, a towering, monstrous being with three grotesque faces, presides over this realm, perpetuating the punishment and torment of the traitorous souls. 

 Lucifer's Villa is a grand and opulent estate, featuring tall black marbled pillars with gold bevels, supporting a roof covered in rounded gray clay roof tiles. The entrance corridor is adorned with statues of Angels made of precious gemstones and flanked by deep green plants. A long amber carpet runs the length of the hall, leading to an intersection where a bronze effigy of a fallen man kneels in the center. Inside the villa, a skylight along the apex of the ceiling filters honey-hued light through a thin, white linen runner. The villa's interior is filled with luxurious and tasteful decor, including gold and onyx statues of Angels and white marble fountains spraying pure, clear water. The main room holds a deep bronze statue of Lucifer, dressed in modern, fashionable attire, with silver lines on his face and reflective symbols adorning his arms.