♱ • 1750 B.C. • ♱"Thank you" I heard Callisto say leaning the door when Loren was asleep in his bed, the pink quartz eyes stared at me as if trying to understand at what point I had begun to change.Would he be very surprised if he found out that Asra had not changed? If I found out the whole truth, starting with all that being a novel in my world?"No need to thank me" I spoke with one hand on his shoulder "even if he has to suffer so much, Loren is a lovely child and anyone who can be near him is a very lucky being."Callisto nodded, but his lips arched briefly."But... I thought I hated children" he provoked me and closed my eyes tightly.Asra really hated children and specifically the son of Callisto who "took" all the emperor’s free time, but as far as I remembered, Asra also hated the poor, the weak and those who were not born with talents. She could be many things, but someone kind and gifted with great empathy was not one of them, so I forced a smile."I don’t think I hate the
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱"What’s up?" The crimson eyes asked me as he lay in my bed "have you thought what we’ll do?"I raised one of my eyebrows."Shall we go?"Asmodeus shot me with his eyes."Yes, we will or are you trying to shut me out just when it’s about to get fun? I refuse! You even used my name on that... Thing to help people" he said and the disdain in his voice was too obvious. Too sharp.It was good that we were dealing with treason, because if that were a problem to solve the unpopularity of Asmodeus - we would be completely fucked. And certainly not in the good way."So?" He raised one of his eyebrows, hoping I would answer him - because he wanted an answer and one that would please him.I sighed.I was scared to death of Asmodeus a few days ago, but now? I couldn’t see that demon as anything but a little child who desperately needed attention.The only problem was that I didn’t have time to play house with Asmodeus and give him the attention he wanted. Not while I wasn’t su
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱Azrael had had a great week dealing with all the problems, which were found in the third territory and yet - we had no idea how we will solve much."Resources and wizards were sent," the fallen man said as he leaned his face in one hand, sitting on the couch with a haggard expression "frankly, if we work harder, we won’t even have time to breathe."I sighed."What can we do? You saw how things are around here" I said shrugging as I pulled some of the leaves that were on the table so I could analyze. Much of it was trade.With the tributes, many villages had become invalid and trade had fallen. There was no way to buy and without customers it was impossible to sell something."If someone had not SCREWED the princess of the territory, we would have to leave it to HER responsibility" Azrael growled "but no, my sweet king needs to fix more problems than he already has" he mocked "and now here we are...""For the 9 territories" I begged "stop this litany
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱"It’ll be okay" he repeated every time with that same damn smile "I really... really can’t anymore" he murmured "I still see her in my dreams, still... still..." Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he held that damn dagger in front of his chest "I can’t stand it anymore, Elaine... I just want... this to come to an end."I wanted to stop it. I wanted to stop it, every time I wanted to stop it, but still... I still couldn’t.I just stood there, smiling as he went through that damn dagger in his chest, I just stood there while the only being who seemed to be good, caring, careful and kind...Morria.For me, for... everything I made him do.I killed him myself.I destroyed it and then..."It’ll be okay" his son repeated, such a small body, his eyes also had tears about to gush, but this time he just smiled at me - as if I had done him a favor "one day... maybe I can see you again" He said as that door closed and then everything started again.Then I
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱There was something different, Asra was different. A fire in her gaze, the way she smiled as she fought. I could see beyond that woman with whom I fought futile battles, beyond the demon who seemed desperate for Callisto’s love.It was almost like she was someone else.Then I was defeated, woke up in that dark, empty place. 2 days passed and then 3... 4... 5... 6...It was different! Finally it was different, something had changed and now... I could feel.I felt the cold, I felt the hunger, I felt the fear that my body sensed when the demons approached and even if I could not smile, even if I could not say what I wanted... I felt a small piece of hope arise.Esperança.Asra.Asra was my hope, because there was something different about her. Something different... about her.More days passed, more and more - and as frightening as it was to just stay there, it wasn’t so bad.I wouldn’t hurt anyone, I wouldn’t destroy Callisto, I wouldn’t condemn Loren
♱ • 1750 B.C.. • ♱ • Callisto • ♱"And the girl?" Asra asked me and it caught me by surprise.I had been so distracted between her and Loren that I forgot about the prisoner."What’s up?" I asked leaning back over the chair and the redhead in front of me smiled."I heard she came with you."I snitched."Azrael’s idea, he found it dangerous to leave her in the palace" I said shrugging "in the end... we have not yet got rid of all the priests, let alone the pope."The pope.He was the real problem. An ordinary human - as far as everyone knew-, but with so much sacred energy imbued in his body that a single touch of his would be able to make Loren a time bomb about to explode.I’ve had nightmares about that bastard since the day Loren was put in my arms.Asra nodded."Don’t you know anything about the pope’s whereabouts? Even after all this time?" she seemed to mean something, suggest something."We tried, but even if we kept a vigil over the villages, nothing was discovered," I expl
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱That plan wasn’t bad, but it still depended on too much.It depended on how much Callisto was willing to hide from Azrael, how things would go when they were with the saint and whether he had any strength in that world that would force the story back on track if Asra changed it too much."I know" Asmodeus said jumping on the bed "you’re thinking too much! That’s why your pretty little face is in this deplorable state."I sighed."Really? Is that your focus?"He nodded."Your beauty is always my focus, dear."It was unbelievable, but the worst part was that I knew he wasn’t lying. That was really Asmodeus' focus."I’m really thinking too much" I muttered "but that’s because I intend to keep us alive in the midst of all this" I muttered "unlike a certain someone."Asmodeus laughed."Look... dying wouldn’t be such a bad idea, have you seen how much work I’ve been getting? It’s almost an injury. It’s too much work..." he whined "whenever that little turd of Calisto see
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱Asmodeus was right to some extent and I had to admit it. It would be easier to catch Azrael if he was at least trying to do something, but it still scared me.Then, when the prince - still hurt by the idea of what I thought of him - left, I threw myself into my bed, feeling, for the first time in a long time, a little peace.Yeah, I had to solve something big like a betrayal that even the fans couldn’t handle, but... I was fine.I spent my whole life wishing I was in one of the countless books I read and now I was. I was Asra - not the protagonist, but that somehow did not bother me.I was still there.I could still change the bad things that were going to happen with the characters I loved and for the first time, I could have something I didn’t have in my entire other life.I had an Asmodeus.I had a friend, even if he was from "Asra" and not mine, I had a friend. A friend who would never lie to me, who came to my room every day.Asmodeus.That demon that I hated
♱ •⋅ 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