Page 74 of An Unexpected Ascension
“I-I do not leave my manor. No, that’s what my Second in Command is for.”
Cowardice, perhaps?Maybe, but Lucifer doesn’t strike me as someone who fears what he himself had a hand in creating. No, there is something deeper there.
“Long ago, Hell was merely a vast land of ruin where beasts roamed free to torment and defile, to obliterate the souls of the damned. Only, I could not be erased. So, I built myself a home. As time went on, I realized my lands were empty and those that still lingered, didn't stay long for the evil that lurked would eventually swallow them whole.
“And as I watched from the window of my war room, I realized this was no place for my Ada – when I bring her home of course – so I made some changes. The first was to build a city to protect those souls that still held on. During these times, I was able to sort through who was worthy to stay and who was irredeemable.
“I saw chaos, anarchy, riots. These people – they needed structure and guidance, and the only way to truly rule was to be the only monster they feared or at the very least, feared more than the beasts that roamed at night.
“That is when I found Greygore. A cruel, disgusting thing. Tearing people from their new homes, dragging them by their legs, sucking the soul from their bodies before shredding them to pieces. It was... something I never wished to see again. And to think, this is where my Ada will spend her eternity. The place was much too ghastly for a sweet soul like hers.
“I quickly found that this animal cannot be maimed, much like me, and being so new with my powers, I was maybe a little reckless. So, I lured him to my very own dungeons. My methods I’m not so proud of, but the souls I fed him saved many others.
“Still, I knew it couldn’t be that easy. Shackles and bonds did not hold such a creature and surely, he would escape. With the fearlooming over me that my Ada would never be safe, I did the only other thing I could think of. I made a deal with the universe.
“And now our souls are linked in exchange for his entrapment. Which means I cannot leave this manor, or I risk a great, ancient evil escaping.”
“Depravity in the form of a beast,” I mutter, recalling Hermes’ words.
“Indeed. Many mistake Greygore for me. I guess we’re two halves of a whole now, aren’t we?” He smiles sadly. “He may be the true Devil, but I still reign over Hell.” Lucifer stands, extending a hand in invitation. “Join me in our training room. I can teach you a thing or two about a dagger.”
The Devil could be soeasy to love.
He’s nothing like the rumors back on Earth or even in Heaven. Everyone fears a man that is nothing but kindhearted and levelheaded. His soul is made to be loved and to give that love in return. I see it in the way he speaks about his wife. The way he reminisces about his sons.
The real fear lies in the demon who he calls his Second.
In the few hours Lucifer trained me, I only picked up a couple techniques on wielding a dagger. Nothing that would bring down an army, but enough to at least know how to hold it properly.
As the skies grow darker, that very demon leans against the doorframe of my room, arms crossed. I feel his presence before I see him, tucking the dagger Lucifer lent me into a holster strapped to my thigh.
“Let’s go,” he orders coldly.
I take my time, stalking over to him, purposely dragging my feet. Before I have the chance to get to him, he’s reaching his arm out, snatching my bicep.
The world twists and contorts, colors colliding and blendingtogether, like a dizzying roller-coaster. In a flash, we’re standing in the city streets of Hell.
Blistering heat swells, thickening the muggy air. The stench reeking of rot and bile, insides decaying and strewn along alleyways. The buildings are not tall, but there are many, clustered and all different sizes. They vary in states of disaster, some boarded up with wood, windows busted and graffitied, while others sparkle and stand proud under the red sun.
There’s a distinct memory that flits to the forefront of my mind when I toured New York at midday in the height of summer. The streets bustling with chaos, bodies flooding the walkways. Noise, all different sounds clashing, creating a buzzing that rang in my ears for days after.
Only here, these bodies are dead. Some lie sobbing on the ground outside buildings, begging for help. Some are merely bones, skin missing in patches. Then others, perfectly intact, showered and well dressed.
It was vastly overwhelming compared to Lucifer’s manor that sat mostly empty on a good day.
“Keep up. Wouldn’t want you to get lost,” Hermes calls back to me, already weaving his way through the corpses roaming around.
We thread through bodies, passing a variety of shops offering sweets, liquor, and weapons. The last one caught my eye, a sword glittering in the window.
“Wait! Shouldn’t we stock up or something?” I shout at him.
He halts only for a second. “Later.”
Then continues, disappearing inside an alleyway.
I race after him, down the dark, damp narrow street between two buildings. The last time I was left alone in Hell it didn’t end in my favor. Hermes stands outside a door, waiting for me before knocking. It creeks open, revealing a male made of thick muscles, tattooed from bald head to the tips of his fingers. There are several piercings adorning his face with sharp pointed studs.
His black eyes rove over us, apparently deeming us worthy ofentry. As we walk past him, I have the urge to curl into myself, to hide my soul from the giant towering over me. He only smirks, showcasing a set of sharpened teeth. A monster.
