Page 37 of Virgil's Demons

“These angels do like to play games, don't they? I don't like to share.” It cackled.

"It knows I’m here." Death whispered. “You don’t have much time.”

I stood my ground, prepared to fight all of them for her.

The demon taunted me through Barythaya again. “Oooh, I got chills just now. But you'll need more than that cowardly strength to beat me, soldier. Just remember, you will never be able to run from the hell that's inside you.”

With that, Barythaya lunged, her hands reaching for me, but I was faster. I pinned her to the floor, my heart pounding in my chest as I watched the demon and Death battle inside my love. One fighting to own her soul, the other to protect it only to indulge in its selfish lust.

"I will get her back," I swore, my voice shaking with fury. "I don't care what it takes. I will give my soul for hers!" I screamed while looking up at the heavens to a God who didn't respond.

The demon's laughter echoed around me, sounding surreal coming from my sweet love. But as I held her there, trapped beneath me, the doubts filled my head. And I was strong enough to fight this battle for the one I loved. Because she was the closest thing to love I have ever known.

BARYTHAYA

The weight of the darkness pressed down on me, dragging me deeper into the suffocating void. It was as if the world had been swallowed whole by the shadows, leaving me to drown in this black sea. My throat was raw from screaming, from crying out for the one name that kept me tethered to whatever hope was left.

"Virgil! Virgil!"

But my voice was swallowed by the nothingness around me. There was no echo, no sign that anyone heard me. My body felt immobilized, yet the pain was searing, alive, cutting through my flesh like the sharpest of blades. It wasn't just physical agony. No, the true torment came from within—there was something inside me, a presence, gnawing at the edges of my sanity.

I could feel the monster clawing at my mind. No, not a monster, a demon. And it was the one who had been whispering twisted things in my ear, taunting me with images of blood, of suffering, of pleasure that came from the pain.

I wanted to fight it, to push it away, but I was losing, drowning under its cruel influence. My chest tightened, the air growing heavier as despair settled in like a cold storm. But worst of all was the gnawing emptiness that surrounded me and therealization that I couldn't find Virgil. No matter how hard I called for him, no matter how much I reached out through the void, he wasn't there.

"Virgil..." my voice came out as a broken whisper, barely audible. I felt like I was slipping away. I was losing this battle, sinking deeper into the abyss, and I wasn't sure I could climb out.

I screamed, clawing at nothing in my desperation and then just as suddenly, everything changed.

Something colder than the black void itself washed over me, freezing the demon's twisted voice in its tracks. The sensation was like a blade slicing through the suffocating darkness. It was calm yet terrifying—a presence unlike any I'd felt before. My heart faltered, the demon's claws retreating for just a moment, like even it recognized the power approaching.

"Barythaya..." A voice, soft but sharp, cut through the silence. It was gentle, yet it held a finality that sent chills down my spine.

My eyes fluttered open, and through the swirling abyss, I saw it. A figure cloaked in deep shadows, its robes flowing as if they were part of the night itself. Its face was hidden beneath a hood, but there was no mistaking the power radiating from it.

"Who—who are you?" I croaked, my throat burning, my voice barely a whisper.

It stepped closer, the weight of its presence filling the space between us, and with a pale, delicate hand, it reached out to me but stopped just above my face. Cold emanated from it, an unnatural chill that I welcomed because it made the demon retreat even further.

"I am what humans fear most," it said softly, its voice like ice in my veins. "I am the end. The final breath. The one who waits at the threshold when all else fades."

Death.

My heart stuttered, a cold dread sinking into my bones. The demon's grip loosened as if even it was afraid of what stood before me.

"Is that what this is? Am I dead?" I asked it.

"Not yet," it responded. "Its not your time yet..." I could feel it as it looked me over, trying to read me.

"I hear you screaming for him," Death murmured, almost sympathetically. "Screaming for Virgil. But he cannot save you, not as you are."

My breath hitched. "What do you mean?"

Death's gaze seemed to pierce through me. "Virgil is strong, but he is bound by human limitations. He cannot enter this place, this darkness where the demon feeds on you. I've seen him try. He's stubborn, unwilling to let go, clinging to hope. But you are slipping out of his grasp, Barythaya."

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. "I don't want to die. I don't want to leave him."

The figure circled me, her voice like a low hum. "Virgil loves you, but love is not enough to pull you from this place. I have spoken to him. He refuses to give me your soul, defying the natural order. But if you stay here, lost in this demon's grasp, he will lose you anyway."

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