Lyra found herself in a dark dream. It was eerie and bizarre. At first, she wasn’t sure if it was in fact a dream, but as she looked around, she knew that it was a nightmare. But it was weird that she was able to think about that in the middle of her dream. Knowing that she was dreaming inside of her own nightmare had never happened to her before. But maybe her mind just took that jump when she realized that she was back in her old apartment, the same place she had left behind years ago. Her room looked exactly the same. She even had the same hard pillow that had been there every night to catch all her tears. The scent around her was the same: musty, with a hint of cheap floral cologne that was coming from Wendy’s room. It was as awful as she remembered. A true hell that she wants to escape. Suddenly, she heard a strange whisper that seemed to come from nowhere. "Lyra," the whisper said, "Aren’t you glad that you're back where it all started?" Lyra turned to see a dark smoke slowly
Zin and Dame sat on the beach, watching Rhian and Raine swim in the ocean from afar. The sound of waves crashing against the shore filled the air, and the smell of sizzling meat from the nearby grill wafted towards them. They were out on a weekend-long vacation, basically thrown into it by Lyra even if they weren't actually willing to go. Yes, they both find it worth while hanging out with Rhian and Raine, having the time for themselves to relax and live as normal human beings, but they still can't just sit around and have fun. They are both thinking about the same thing, worried about their master, the devil, Derrick, who recently received a message from Lucifer summoning him back to hell. As they watched the waves, Zin took a break from his worrying and got up to flip the meat on the grill. He expertly turned the skewers, making sure the meat was cooked to perfection. Dame watched him with admiration, grateful for his friend's skill in grilling. "It smells delicious," Dame comment
Derrick sat in the living room, watching TV, while Lyra was busy cooking lunch for them. News after news of current events that are all full of negativity and darkness came at him all at once, and he immediately wanted to stop it. There are a lot of negative thoughts that have been rushing in and out of his ears, and taking in more from the television was a little bit too much, even for him. As he was flipping through the channels, he suddenly heard a whisper in his ear. It was a voice he knew all too well—the voice of Lucifer."You need to come back home, Derrick," Lucifer whispered.Derrick shook his head, trying to ignore the voice. He knew that listening to Lucifer's whispers never led to anything good. But the voice persisted, growing louder and more insistent."You belong down here, Derrick, and you know that. We can rule together," Lucifer whispered. "If you begin to listen to my orders again, I can show you mercy. I will be able to turn my back and choose to not punish you for
Derrick settled into his seat in the home theater, eager to unwind with a movie after a stressful day. But as the film progressed, he couldn't help but notice something off about Lyra's behavior.Her eyebrows were furrowed as she watched the female lead on the screen cry upon being hurt by her evil uncle. "What a weak and pathetic character," she muttered under her breath. "This woman should just cry and drown in her own tears; what a weak bitch."Lyra was cursing at the screen and muttering under her breath, a far cry from her usual composed and measured demeanor. He tried to ignore it at first, thinking she was just having a bad day, but the behavior continued and even escalated.She scoffed as the female lead begged for mercy, "Seriously? You're just going to beg and cry like a baby? That's not how you handle situations like this. Oh my goodness! This is ranked as one of the best movies this year, and all I feel is irritation and disgust!"Lyra's frustration only grew as the female
Derrick had been feeling increasingly anxious and unsettled since last night. His conversations with Lucifer had left him on edge, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Lyra. He knew that he couldn't keep her completely shielded from the demonic world, but he couldn't help feeling guilty and responsible for any negative changes in her behavior.That morning, Derrick woke up early, unable to sleep. He quietly slipped out of bed and got dressed, trying not to wake Lyra. As he made his way to the door, he hesitated, looking back at her sleeping form. He knew that he needed some space and time to clear his head, but he couldn't bear the thought of leaving her without a word.In the end, he decided to leave a note on the bedside table, explaining that he had some urgent business to attend to and that he would be back soon. He hoped that she would understand and not worry too much.As he stepped out of the mansion and into the cool morning air, he felt a pang of guil
Derrick couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt as he wandered the hotel corridors, his mind consumed by thoughts of Lyra. He knew he had to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to face her and explain why. He knew he had hurt her by leaving without a word, and the guilt weighed heavily on him. He couldn't help but wonder if he had made a mistake by leaving her alone without any explanation. He vowed to make things right and to never let her down again; he just needs to know that it's going to be alright. After he resolves everything, his life is going back to where it was.He tried to shake off the feeling and focus on finding a solution to his problem, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Lyra. He couldn't bear the thought of her being sad, and he wished he could take back what he had done.Derrick sat alone in a hotel room two towns away. He really made sure that he was far enough from her. He closed his eyes and tried to mentally call out to Zin and Dame. He knew that both of th
Dame and Zin were sitting in the living room, lounging around. The tension in the room was palpable, and Dame kept trying to break the silence, thinking about what Zin was trying to tell him earlier. He tried to connect with him mentally; however, Zin made sure that he wouldn't succeed with it, closing his mind to anyone else, even Derrick."Zin, what is going on?" Dame asked for the umpteenth time. He rolled his eyes and looked at the stairs leading to the rooms on the second floor. "Miss Lyra has been inside their room for a long time now. What do you fear? She won't be able to hear us from here. What do you want to tell me earlier?"Zin shifted in his seat, his eyes darting around the place nervously. "I don't know, Dame. I just have a bad feeling about all of this." He looked into Dame's eyes as if he should realize something from his words.Dame frowned. "What kind of bad feeling?" he asked. "Also, stop rolling your eyes at me as if I should have gotten it by now when you haven't
Lyra woke up with a smile on her face, the remnants of her dream still fresh in her mind. She lay in bed for a few minutes, savoring the feeling of happiness and love that still lingered within her. She knew that it was just a dream, but it felt so real. It was the perfect thing to take her mind off things. Especially since her eyes are still so puffy from crying so much last night, it was the best way to save her mental state. It was not as bad anymore, now that she had the slightest hint of hope. As she got out of bed and began to get ready for the day, she couldn't help but think about Derrick visiting her in her dream. She was uncertain if this was Derrick’s doing. She wasn’t even sure if he had the ability to do so, but she was still happy about it. It only made her believe that no matter what happened, the connection between them was stronger than she thought. When she made her way downstairs to the kitchen, she found Zin and Dame cooking breakfast. "Good morning, Miss Lyra!
"It’s already seven; where is she?""I swear, Zin, they told me that they would be home immediately; they were just in the restaurant; what would take them so long? They can walk from there to here and it will only take an hour.""I think we should have followed Miss Lyra around as well," Zin replied to Dame. "It is much more difficult for us to take good care of her when we are still focused on the office job. It’s going to risk her life even more. We made a really bad decision; I am already calling it." Zin bit his lips and sat back down on the couch, looking out of the window to see the exact moment that the security people and Lyra would arrive back home. "I think it’s better if we just tell her exactly whats happening. It could really be the best option, but we ignored it like a psycho and chose the risky approach.""I know that trusting other people for Miss Lyra’s safety is a little bad for us to do, but it’s a matter that should be stopped by humans, right?" Dame stated. "If s
"It’s been fine," Lyra happily smiled as she spoke with her friend, Rhian. "I know that you two might think that I am lying, but I swear, I am doing a lot better this week. I am trying my best to have my best life.""I know you are really worried because of your relationship with Derrick; Zin has already told me that," Raine joined in as she placed two huge bowls of shaved ice dessert on the table. "He had told me that the two of you had a really bad fight. He asked us to be extra nice to you because you are really sad about it.""Yeah," Lyra lied. "But we were able to talk it out.""Of course, nothing will be resolved when you put time and effort into communicating your real feelings and your true emotions. It’s really great to hear!"Lyra nodded once again. She was not able to tell her friends that everything they were talking about right now were thoughts and pieces of information that appeared out of nowhere. Dame and Zin had informed Lyra one week ago that there was a rumor roami
"Dame!" Zin rushed inside the mansion with sweat dripping from his forehead. He saw how Dame’s eyes grew big in surprise, and before he could even say anything to him, Zin had already snatched his cold beer and chugged it right in front of him. "What happened to you?" Dame looked around, checking whether there was someone chasing after Zin. However, aside from the beautiful and calm view of the pool behind him, there was nothing. "Why do you look like that?" Is there someone chasing after you? Are you in trouble?" "I don’t think I was being chased," Zin said. Dame rolled his eyes when he answered. "Then why do you have to come in here as if you were about to die or something? You stressed me out within the few seconds that you arrived." He grabbed the bottle of beer from Zin’s hand and took a sip from it as if claiming what was his. "What’s wrong with you then? Were you able to visit Master?" "I did," Zin answered, sitting beside Dame. "I actually did a lot more than that, and I r
As Zin soared higher in the darkened sky, he marveled at the view before him. The borders of hell and earth were marked by a jagged line of jagged rocks that extended as far as the eye could see. The air was thick with the stench of sulfur, and the sky was a deep shade of crimson that seemed to bleed into the horizon. In the distance, he could see the dark silhouettes of mountains rising up against the fiery sky and the occasional flicker of flames dancing in the abyss. It was a desolate and terrifying landscape, but one that Zin had grown accustomed to over the years. As a demon of hell, he had traveled to the borders many times, but this time felt different, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. Going closer to the edge, he felt tightness in his chest. It's always been this way whenever he flew closer to crossing the borders. He could already feel the breeze coming from the land of the living, but his gut feeling seemed to have won that tim
Elvis sat in his grand office, surrounded by opulence and extravagance. The room was adorned with expensive paintings and rare collectibles, but the air was thick with tension. Wendy, his best partner in crime, sat across from him, her face set in a deep frown. The only sound in the room was the soft ticking of a gold-plated clock on the mantle. Despite the grandeur of the room, there was a sense of foreboding that seemed to permeate every inch of the space. Both knew that they were treading dangerous waters with their plan to bring down Lyra, and the tension between them was palpable.Elvis sat across from Wendy in his office, his eyes locked on hers as he pitched his latest plan."Wendy, I need you on this one," he said, his voice low and urgent."What's the plan, Elvis?" Wendy asked, crossing her arms."We need to bring Lyra down," he said, leaning forward in his seat. "Something that we always do, but this time it's going to work out!"Wendy listened to Elvis with a sense of appre
Dame was surprised to find Lyra sitting alone in the dark living room with no lights on. He had brought lots of food back to the mansion, hoping to lift her spirits, but seeing her like this made him worried. It was really bad timing that Zin decided to try and go back down to hell that night. Dame could tell, just by the vibes that had hit him straight on, that he wouldn't know how to deal with Lyra like that."Miss Lyra, are you okay?" he asked, placing the bags of food on the coffee table in front of her. He wanted to kick himself in the face. The look in her eyes is the perfect tell that she is not doing alright, but he still chose to ask, just to make her feel bad that it shows. "You know what, let me just get the lights; don’t even bother," he whispered before walking directly to the switch.Lyra looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "You are already back?" she asked, confused as she watched the leaves outside the window dance. "It’s already dark outside," she sa
A black bird flew into Derrick's shoulder as he was calmly watching over the newly appointed demons in his realm. As soon as he was able to look into its eyes, his mouth fell wide open, and his jaw hit the floor beneath him. He won't be able to forget those eyes, and he would never forget how Zin looks when he's in his real form.Immediately, Derrick stood up to snap his fingers in the air, and without waiting for another second, they were inside a dark room. Derrick's own little space whenever he wanted to stay out of everyone's sight. His only hiding spot from all the demons that would often try to bombard him with a bunch of questions or sometimes the yells of those souls who were being punished."What are you doing here?" he immediately asked. Right before his eyes, he watched as Zin transformed into his human form to hug him. "Zin, is there something going on? Why are you back here? You crossed the borders again?""Master, it doesn't matter right now," he said, still clinging on
Derrick paced back and forth on his desolate throne in hell, tormented by the images and thoughts invading his mind. He kept seeing Lyra, his beloved wife, surrounded by sinister figures and cloaked in shadows. The more he tried to push the visions away, the more they persisted. Even if he knew that he'd only bring chaos into Lyra's life, he found out that he wouldn't be able to give it up that quickly. Especially after he spent an entire month's worth of time in hell reminiscing about the moments they had together."My dear, please be safe out there," he whispered, wishing that it was only the thoughts in his head that kept on messing him up and not real visions or premonitions of what was happening or what was supposed to come for Lyra in the land of the living. If that was the case and he's stuck down in the depths of nothingness, he will for sure not be able to move forward. He is afraid of what he might end up doing just to stop that."I do not need much," he stated. "I only need
Lyra sat at the breakfast table, pushing her food around with her fork as Zin and Dame bid her farewell. "We'll be back as soon as we can, Miss Lyra," Zin said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Take care of yourself," Dame added, placing a hand on Lyra's shoulder. "If you need anything, just call us." Lyra forced a small smile. "Thanks, guys. I'll be fine. I just need some rest, that's all." Zin and Dame exchanged a worried glance before Zin spoke up. "Are you sure you don't want us to stay? We can handle the hotel issues later." Lyra shook her head. "No, it's fine. You guys go ahead. I'll take care of myself." As they gathered their things and made their way out of the mansion, Lyra was left alone with her thoughts. She couldn't shake the conversation she had with Lucifer out of her head, and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. "I can't believe he would do something like that," she muttered to herself, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why would he want to