(Art Credit: e)

Azydos (Also known as City Azydos) is the nineteenth layer of the Afterlife in between the Nine Heavens above and the Nine Hells below. Additionally, the city has a large pit in the center said to directly fall down into the Abyss. The plane itself is subterranean, with various rivers carving their way through the the caves to flow directly into this pit. There is a near constant dripping of rain from the stalactites above the city, and there is a pervasive grayness to the realm not dissimilar from the Shadowfell.

When a mortal dies, their soul passes through the Fugue Plane and is led by the god Ashus to City Azydos. Here, the goddess Theratis judges the soul's life and actions, deciding on which heaven or hell they shall pass on to, whether they should be reborn, or if they deserve the afterlife at all. From there, they pass onto one of the many afterlife planes via the Tree of Souls, passing into the care of Aethys.

This system of death has many loopholes and bureaucratic issues within it, and many souls get stuck within the system for longer than they ought to. These souls, along with neutral fiends, celestials, and mortals alike make the 'city' their home. City Azydos is home to tons of different types of people, from lost souls to angels. It houses architecture from all over the cosmos and from different time periods all mashed together.

The 8000 Steps

The Steps are a demiplane within Azydos that serve as a purgatorial challenge. When a soul challenges Theratis' judgement of their destination, be it the hells or a heaven that they disagree with, Theratis occasionally challenges them back to climb the 8000 steps. This demiplane consists of a gray, stone staircase of eight thousand steps that one must climb to reach the heaven they desire. Unfortunately, the steps are enchanted with jakunic magic and the literal physical weight of all their sins are attached to each soul as they climb.

A pure soul could climb the steps within hours, but a truly evil soul might not be able to take even a single step without immense strength and willpower. This test of willpower or redemption makes most who try it give up, and many stuck forever climbing the steps unable to move. The steps have kept evildoers out of heaven for the most part, but there have been occasional exceptions. The Angel-Eater Zikaré was destined for Tartarus, but famously spent nearly two thousand years slowly ascending the steps to earn their space in Svarga.