In a land where there is nothing but darkness, a throne glowing in red flames was occupied by a handsome man. He wore nothing but loose black cloth that acted both as a long skirt and something to cover his toned, bare torso. Although he wasn’t used to it lately, he managed to have only one side of his chest covered. Good thing there is nothing to feel down there but heat. The horns above his head looked a lot bigger than before. His hair grew longer, falling to his shoulders. He’s been in hell before, but he never felt it for a while. Now that he’s back, he can definitely tell how devastating it is to be down there once again. Instead of smelling her sweet fragrance, he was left with nothing but the smell of something burned. The screams of those evil souls are the only thing he can hear aside from the whispers that kept running through his mind. Each of the thousands of doors in front of him contains a room for each soul to suffer their own kind of hell, prepared by his demons. No
Lyra was sitting at a long dining table. She scrunched her nose at the invasive scent of flowers smacking her face left and right. She had never liked flower arrangements as centerpieces, but this experience made it the worst one she had ever had. If she ever checked out the colorful petals on the vase, she would be able to see the face of one of the people she hates the most in the world. Wendy can be quite irritating when she smirks and nods with so much confidence. She acts as if she is able to do whatever she wants and ruin everything that Lyra has. Lyra could see it in her eyes. Those heartless eyes with no conscience reveal everything. Wendy's mind is completely blank whenever they meet, and only the sound of coins and money pouring into her purse distracts her. "You do not expect me to eat with the two of you, do you?" She spoke with sass in her voice. Lyra sounded different. She was no longer sweet and innocent. She sounded like she was finally ready to fight for herself. The
In the devil's mansion, Zin almost shed all of his feathers as soon as he realized that he was not able to reach Lyra. He kept on calling, but she never answered. The sun is about to set, and he won't be able to take it if something bad ever happens to his new queen."You still can't reach her, huh?" Dame asked from the kitchen. He headed over to the couch and laid down. "Where else could she possibly be? She doesn't have a bunch of friends, right?""Her friend!" Zin perked up. "How can I even forget?"Zin typed so quickly on his phone that it was almost comical. He hurriedly dialed Raine's number. Three rings in, and he already heard her voice."Zin! Are you with Lyra right now?" Raine clearly sounds like she was battling a bunch of bees. She was panicking and her voice was shaking; he could tell that she was also trying to catch her breath while wind sounds came through. "Please, Zin, tell me that you are with her. You picked her up, right?""She's not with me," Zin replied. He tapp
Lyra's POV If I had been born in his world, I could have had a nightstand beside my bed with golden telephones for calling the maids for assistance. If I were Watson, I could have had a mini fridge in my room, full of water bottles that could cover at least one full meal, and a good one at that. I could have had indoor slippers that had logos of brands that I never learned to pronounce. I would have had this entire room to myself—a room that is bigger than my very first apartment. But I wasn't. I bet my mother would've hated the fact that I am here in his mansion, staying in a room that he said he carefully prepared for me. Did he really believe that he tricked me into believing that lie? How would he carefully prepare something for me when he knows nothing about me at all? I think he truly believes that I am unable to think for myself. In this house, even if I stay inside my room alone, I can't breathe properly. I swear, every time I looked at the walls, they were slowly closing i
Derrick walked inside the mansion without hesitation. Of course, as Lyra expected, there were a bunch of guards blocking the entrance, but Zin and Dame were left outside to take care of all of them. The devil faced the old man sitting in the dining room, drinking his wine, with a plate of amazing-looking stew in front of him. He looked up with a smile on his face, pointing at the plate right in front of him."You rushed here to join me for dinner or what?" he joked.Elvis really thought that Derrick was clueless. He was so confident that he could handle Derrick and get away with all the things he did. After commanding Jane and his men to keep Lyra inside her room without letting her check what was happening outside and downstairs, he faced the unexpected visitor without any fear or guilt in his face. In fact, he proudly took a bite of the tender piece of pork and closed his eyes to savor every bit of it."Where is she?"Derrick asked. He did not bother to stay put and sit back to talk
The entire ride back home, Lyra slept in Derrick's arms. He held on to her, watching her face as he carefully sneaked a kiss or two. It was good that Raine was still fast asleep because of Zin. Derrick was fine with it since it would only mean that he would act normally with his underlings. "How's hell?" Dame casually asked. "It's hell indeed," Derrick responded. Once he saw that Zin was about to talk, he signaled for him to stay quiet. "She's still asleep; don't you dare wake her up." Zin bit his tongue in order to not mess up. By the way his master glared at him, he knew that he would get more than a scolding as punishment. Derrick's eyes are only kind and filled with loving emotions when he's looking at her lovely face. It was obvious; he's willing to risk everything for this woman. The tough exterior that he has disappears in a second when he's with her. It was late in the night when Lyra woke up. The familiar arrangements in the room made her feel at ease. She could tell tha
Lyra's POV I woke up at four in the morning. The sun was not out yet, and the cold breeze coming from the balcony doors that I accidentally left open last night gave me chills. It was surprising that I didn't feel this cold while we were sleeping. Maybe it was because I was fast asleep or because Derrick was literally my blanket under a blanket and it was so warm. It was the best sleep I'd had in a while. I bet he's super tired as well, seeing that he's still sleeping and snoring right now. Usually, he is awake before I even open my eyes. It's amazing that he's still dreaming right now. That's perfect. I still have a lot of time to spare, so I could focus on making sure that the breakfast is good enough for his taste. There are moments when I can see his face light up whenever he eats food that he actually likes. The last time I saw him enjoy something was when I made pancakes for him. It was a little bit too sweet for me, but for some reason, he liked it a lot. Maybe he really like
"Derrick," Lyra tried to shake her man awake. "Did you hear what I just said?" Lyra was amazed to see Derrick still sleeping after she just poured her heart out. In her mind, it was clear. She wants to show her true feelings towards Derrick, expecting at least a little smile, just so she can tell that it was a happy moment for him too. But she got none of that. Derrick snored. Earlier, she found it cute. But slowly, she began to sigh over it. It was the most anticlimactic confession in the whole universe. Lyra can't stop thinking about how lame she might have sounded. The timing was not right. She could feel her toes involuntarily curl while reliving the scenario in her head. Perhaps, him being asleep was better. At least she could pretend that nothing happened and feel less awkward about it. To make herself feel better, she chose to watch him sleep. His beauty was enough to make her forget everything and feel happiness in her heart. She was smitten. She used her fingertips to car
"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