♱ ⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅ ♱ "Who are you?" the childish voice questioned me, and bluntly, I stared at the little being who was sneaking around the gardens of the emerald palace. What was I supposed to say? It was obvious who this child was, for there, in the midst of hell - children, were rare. As rare as dreamy happy endings. That little boy was Loren, Callisto's son and his one true love until then. The being to whom the king dedicated his life and the reason he opened himself to Elaine. There were even some fans who said that Elaine was not so good and had blatantly used the boy to get closer to the king. At the time, I remember disagreeing and defending the heroine. "I am Asra" I replied simply by extending one of my hands to him to help him stand up. The little boy wore black clothes that stood out on his excessively pale skin. There were reddish circles under his crimson eyes, and he smiled briefly as he took my hand. "Asra? Like the phoenix that swallowed the deadly sun?" He look
♱ ⋅ 1750 A.C. ⋅ ♱ ⋅ Calisto ⋅ ♱ "He's gone again" Azrael said and I felt my body heavy. What the hell was left to happen? Asra had practically thrown me out of her room after an argument where I couldn't even go against what she said. "How can he run away again? What the hell are these maids up to?" I growled, sinking into my chair. Loren had been doing this quite often lately, and I knew in part that this was just a response to my actions, but it didn't get me rid of Azrael. He loved to remind me of this damned fact. "Well, maybe..." "Shut up" I spoke, interrupting him before giving him a chance to continue, to finish whatever the damn rant was. The truth was that Azrael hated Asra for all the things she had ever done, and I... well... I forgave her and I forgave her, because I know that it is exclusively my fault that Asra is the way she is. I condemned her. "You really have no way" he grumbled, and I could only sink further into the chair. "He can't have gotten far" I mu
♱ ⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅ ♱After that day, Callisto did not return to my room and did not even set foot in my palace, but unlike what the ancient Asra would do, I entertained myself with other things. After all, it wasn't just romance that the novel was based on, and I knew well that as much as it was a pretext for the main couple to get closer, there were problems to be solved throughout the kingdom.Fights in territories.Abuses of citizens by lesser demons.Tributes are being demanded in small villages in the name of the demon king.There was much that Callisto could not control, even more so when angels were trying to invade his castle and murder his son and Loren... well, little Loren was doomed.He needed time.In the original story, it was up to Elaine to discover these facts together with Azrael and little by little solve them. It was one of the things that made Callisto see her with new eyes.Like the sweet and gentle person, she was the person who cared about mortals even when they ag
♱ •⋅ 1750 A.C. ⋅• ♱ I didn't expect it to be so easy to be with Asmodeus, but when he sat down in front of me and tea was served, it all seemed too ordinary. Not something creepy like being in casual conversation with one of the scariest and most powerful demons in all of Hell and the novel universe I've read, but like being with a friend from a long, long time. Was that part of the result of being in Asra's body? A part of her responding to the presence of her best friend? Well...whatever it was, it was helpful, since in the end I didn't feel pressured as he slumped in his chair like a careless teenager. "This prince life is so tiring" he grumbled as he stuffed his own mouth with buttery cookies. Those cookies that the maid always left on the dresser and that somehow the body seemed to hate (even though I considered them partially tasty). Unlike me, Asmodeus devoured them like a gluttonous child. "Tiring?" I Asked with a raised eyebrow. It was very brazen of him to say somethi
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱ "What did you say?" I couldn't believe it. Azrael was surely wrong again. "Sir, I don't believe you got it wrong." I needed to "Repeat it" I growled. "I..." He didn't have the heart to speak, not after what occurred when he took the damned blessed being into my palace. It was an affront, a real attempt on Loren's life. "I understand what you wanted to tell me that day" he hastened to speak "but this time it was Asmodeus' fault." Asmodeus. The prince of lust. He never meddled except when Asra got involved in something complicated and he stepped in or even took the blame. It was obvious that Asmodeus had no appreciation for me and he didn't try to hide that in any way. "What did he do this time?" It was impossible that Asmodeus would be involved in anything dangerous or even problematic, but the truth was that I was unaware of the nature of Asra and Asmodeus' involvement. And that fact really bothered me. "He took the duchess with him to
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ The third territory was synonymous with different. Although the sky was still the same and the people still walked the streets with the black sun making the day darker - everything was different. There weren't as many smiles on their faces and even for a world that had been ravaged by demons, that place was too dark. "What happened here?" I muttered "I heard that..." Asmodeus held my shoulder. "That it was beautiful here?" I nodded. Even when Elaine went to the third territory, it was different. The place was alive with all Lucifer's affection. The third territory was the refuge of many mortals who still cherished what was once an ordinary life. It was a beautiful place. Undeniably beautiful. "How?" I questioned and the blond demon next to me shrugged. "Maybe it's because Lucifer doesn't wake up yet" he said and his words took me by surprise. "How? Lucifer hasn't... woken up?" my lips didn't even seem to want to move. Asmodeus was lying, right? He had to
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ A part of Asmodeus seemed unable to believe what he had just heard, but another part seemed happy to see me finally changing my way of thinking. It was as if he was trying to decide if he wanted me as someone who needed protection, who sometimes seemed happy, and someone who clearly didn't know what love meant, but finally had individuality. "Asmodeus" I called out to him snapping him out of his trance "I'll be fine, even if I'm not with him." Those words didn't seem real, not least because a part of me - whether it was the reading part or a fragment of what Asra felt for Callisto -, still wanted to be by the king's side. "You..." he stopped "if you say so." He muttered as if he was trying to convince himself, as if he believed my words, even though they seemed surreal, and I knew they did. Callisto had been my addiction, my obsession. Whether it was as who I was before or as Asra. I could still remember all the times I had protected him in fan forums, in so
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱ Loren moved around inside the carriage, looking much more excited than usual. "We really are out here!" he said with a huge smile and I couldn't help but laugh. My sweet son was really surprised. It wasn't really something to be surprised about, after all... Loren had never left that place. He had never set foot outside the walls that protected the capital. He was not even allowed to go out in the small village. "Yes...we are" I spoke again extending one of my hands to support him. To make sure he didn't fall off the bench straight to the ground "but try to sit up, son...you might end up hurt." Like a good child, he just ignored me and continued to kneel on the bench with both hands on the carriage glass. I knew it was crazy and a part of me seriously wondered what sanity I had left. Had I really done all that to make sure Asra was okay? Or was the truth that I was jealous? I huffed. It couldn't be that. It was Asmodeus, even if he was the
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Azrael ⋅• ♱I watched her without realizing it, watched until the sun was setting and the barrier surrounding Samael’s plan was thinner, until the rune fragment she sent me was strong enough to enter."Don’t be an idiot," I remembered as my wings throbbed, "there’s no room for kindness, not after all you’ve done, don’t be such a hypocrite".I swallowed hard and a smile easily appeared on my lips when I crossed. It was like a fog touching my skin, a comfortable cold, a feeling I had missed even without realizing it.What the hell was I thinking? What was going on with me?I closed my eyes tightly, but my wings just beat, just took me there, to that breathless breath and that smile that could be felt in her voice when she called me."Azrael!" His arms wrapped around my neck and... had they always been so warm?"I thought you couldn’t come..." whispered her face down to my neck, I could feel her lips arched into a smile "okay? Did you get hurt getting past the barri
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Azrael ⋅• ♱The child began to be able to move gradually, in a way that was still a little time consuming and different from his usual, from the child who ran around and insisted so much to have his little body in that garden.His speech had returned too, his voice was less guttural, more understandable and a smile that was not painful could be seen, one that was not put on that face just because of the melancholy of Callisto."Look! You can move your arms better now" the quartz eyes were flickering as you said that as something equivalent to Loren’s first steps, as if that was some kind of novelty that should be celebrated with various gifts and a party "how is your breathing? Something still burns?" tried to caress that small face as if it was something that would break by any slip on his part.Loren was now like a valuable piece of porcelain, one that could not risk being damaged after being restored."I’m fine, Dad..." the child’s voice was still low when to
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱"I like stars," he said while playing with a pearl between my fingers "I like how they look, how they’re bright and beautiful. I like purple, I like how the sun in this world is red, even though here where Samael lives he looks different."Keir smiled, his hands still playing by my hair."What else?" asked me with her face resting on my thighs."I like salty foods, slightly spicy, bittersweet and especially the dessert that the boss of the mansion always makes." The one that looks like jelly with syrup."Pudding? ' She asked me smiling from the corner and I nodded."That’s right, pudding.""Um, um, uh...""I also like pretty dresses, braided hair, flat shoes, delicate swords..." I continued to list "I like hardcover books and slow songs.""And old scrolls? You live surrounded by them" Keir joked, his lips arched in a mischievous smile that made my heart beat."Silly" I hit with my fingertips on his nose."I know, I know" gave up "continue... what els
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Quinn ⋅• ♱His arms wrapped around my body and then everything seemed to be fine.I no longer felt the blood, nor the weight of the souls that I plucked, that I hurt."Everything will be fine" he repeated as a melodic song and if it was Calisto who told me those things... I naturally believed."How can you not like it here?" I asked as I stared at that landscape, the sky, the grass that resembled a red foliage. The stars that always shone in the sky almost always cloudy.Calisto snorted."I don’t know..." he said sincerely "maybe... I just can’t see the beauty of hell when I didn’t have you by my side."A twinge struck my chest, a twinge of happiness and hope."Fool" I mocked wrapping my arms around his neck.I loved that being.He loved his color-changing eyes, loved his foolish way of thinking that the world was more beautiful outside of hell. He loved the way the rebellious waves of black hair he had struggled to unravel around his delicate face.I loved the
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱I could not sleep.My eyes weighed and weighed, but I could not sleep - because there, in my arms -, there was a fragile being who did not seem able to open his eyes again.Whenever everything was cloudy and sleep pulled me down, I saw myself awakening in fright and looking at him.Checking.Checking to see if he was still alive, if he was still breathing.It was every day, every second - more complicated to watch, to watch."You should rest," Azrael told me one night, his eyes sharply in pain as he stared at the child, my child."How?" I heard myself ask, Loren’s sleeping face was so pale I had to put my fingers close to her nostrils to make sure he was still alive."Samael is good" he said hoping to console me, but it didn’t work.How would it work?"Then why haven’t we heard from you?" I practically growled, my hands closed in fists, tears burning in my eyes "I sent letters and more letters... I... I did everything I could... I DEMANDED answers a
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Asmodeus ⋅• ♱"Asmodeus is a great...""This time it’s going to work," I said ignoring the voice of that damn demon in my earring as I focused on that crystal, that crystal I was able to form from Quinn’s blood."You’ve been repeating this since...""Shut up" growled tearing the earring from my ear and throwing it at the wall.I wasn’t in the mood to be careful about whether or not I could hurt him or even break his prison.I was just tired.I wanted to see her."It needs to work" I muttered as I imbued more and more magic in that little crystal "work, work..." I kept repeating, as if somehow that was a stupid mantra - strong enough to make everything work; but nothing could be easy when it was for me, right?Nothing worked as it should.I bit my mouth hard, the fangs thrust into my lip until a sliver of blood came down my chin.I couldn’t see her, I couldn’t be with her or protect her. I couldn’t go to her even though time was passing and yet, the least I was a
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Loren ⋅• ♱My eyes weighed, my belly looked strange and at times it was like floating in my own body.I could feel my father’s affection as he tried to talk and distract me, but now even opening his mouth was a complicated task."It’s going to be okay" he repeated and at that point I already knew he was saying it more to himself than to me."I know" I wanted to answer while smiling, but my mouth did not move, in fact, opening my eyes was already a gigantic effort, so I was content to grunt and hold her hand.It wasn’t a squeeze, I couldn’t even call it anything but touch. A soft, almost nonexistent touch that my father should be questioning if it was real.He was sad, wasn’t he? Abbadon should also be, but after I started sleeping more than 17 hours a day, she was no longer there, just Dad.A version of Dad who stared at me with a red face from crying."Do you want to hear a story?" He asked me with a broken voice and I forced myself to smile, forced my face to
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Samael ⋅• ♱I blinked."What was it?" she asked me as she sat in the armchair and the red-eyed duchess stared at me with an raised eyebrow."I did not expect... the two" I spoke sincerely, after all the agreement I had made with Elaine was already a clear way to make the duchess calmer with all that; even so, the sharp gaze of Asra shot me as if my mere mention of her being there was an offense. Maybe it was the result of years on the battlefield, but I knew when I wasn’t able to win a war, so I sighed winning "but since you’re here..." I muttered indicating with one hand to the armchairs - sit down."Where will you start?" Asra questioned, the red hair falling with perfectly braided waves on her back, the sharp eyes staring at me and looking for any sign of flickering in my attitudes or decisions."I’ve been thinking about tears..." I said remembering Quinn, the way he had acted.Since that day, the bastard did not even give me a mere sign of life and Callisto’
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱Samael did as he said he would, but from the day we arrived at the camellia mansion - a name given by Keir, since the garden was full of camellias -, I did not even see the slightest sign of the priest’s existence, but now, when morning came by the door of our house.The huge smile on his face made me question my own sanity as he said - what was sweet? If you keep looking at me like that, I’m gonna think you don’t like my presence.I opened my mouth to confirm that assumption, but I chose not to."Just... I thought it was too early for you to be here," I lied and apparently that wasn’t one of my best lies, as he just smiled as he drank his tea."Early? We have a lot to study, especially if we want the child to experience one of my theses before dying."I swallowed it hard."Is he... very ill?"Samael laughed quietly."Does it really matter to you?"'No' I realized as I pressed the skirt of my dress between my fingers.My concern for Loren... was mini