Sealed Souls

The smoke from the sacrifice did not dissipate. Instead, it solidified into figures of surgical white and shadows of absolute black that lurked from the sanctuary’s rafters. Astaroth recognized them instantly: the Angels of Death, their void-scythes ready to claim Dorian’s body, and the “Executioners of Light”, faceless beings sent to tear Uriel from Carter’s form for permitting a romantic aberration on mortal soil.

Astaroth let out a dry laugh, but Griselda, staggering, spat the words at him with urgency:

"If you don't fight to keep Dorian and Carter together, Dorian will die and you, Astaroth, will vanish into eternity! Uriel will be confined to the Pit of Oblivion for his treason. You are the one with the most to lose, Demon King."

"I don't care about Uriel," Astaroth growled, though his amber eyes instinctively searched for the angel's position. "I only care about continuing to exist."

"Then make him love you!" the witch decreed. "If you cannot get Uriel, in Carter’s body, to give you his love voluntarily, both will suffer the fate I have mentioned."

Griselda collapsed to the floor, her energy spent. In that same instant, the "miracle" faltered. Astaroth felt a glacial cold creeping down his spine and, suddenly, Dorian’s legs stopped obeying him. The Demon King tried to take a step, but his knees gave way, leaving him vulnerable on the blood-stained floor.

It was then that Uriel, inhabiting Carter’s body, arrived suddenly and approached with a firm stride. Seeing the Sovereign of Chaos reduced to impotence, a spark of superiority flashed in his eyes.

"So, after all, you’ve lost your strength!" Uriel exclaimed.

"Don't touch me!" Astaroth bellowed, clenching his teeth as he tried fruitlessly to stand. "I know what I must do."

"Are you sure?" Uriel leaned over him with a gelid smile. "What was your true intention in trying to seduce me a moment ago?"

Astaroth looked up at him from below. The shaman’s words echoed in his mind: “You have to make him fall in love with you.” He knew the angel loved Dorian’s essence but despised his own.

"Because I’ve lived repressed for too long," Astaroth lied, forcing a note of vulnerability into his voice, "and you attract me. What you made me feel was almost immediate."

Uriel let out a laugh heavy with skepticism. "Attract you? You are nothing but a parasite confined to a body that can’t even support itself."

Wounded in his pride, Astaroth lunged, grabbing Uriel by the lapel and pulling him down with the remaining strength in his arms. They both hit the floor with a dull thud that stole their breath. Uriel ended up on top, trapped, with Carter’s chest pressed against Dorian’s. The electric tension returned with devastating force; Uriel’s face flushed in a violent blush, his heart hammering against Dorian’s ribs, unable to look away from the eyes that challenged him.

"So... I don't attract you?" Astaroth whispered, his voice a hoarse gasp of victory. His hip bucked slightly—a deliberate, provocative brush against Uriel’s crotch, which responded with an involuntary shudder. "You lie, angel. Your body is much more honest than your tongue."

"You don't attract me, you bastard," Uriel replied, though his voice trembled, betraying him. "Dorian is the one who fascinates me. Carter feels a true love for him—it's not pity, it's pure devotion. Something that you, in your infinite loneliness, will never understand."

"Then that explains why our virilities feel suddenly aroused. Doesn't it?" Astaroth asked while his tongue, slow and deliberate, swept over his own lips, savoring the power he held over him. "Or perhaps... is this Carter’s devotion I feel burning in your body? His love for Dorian making you hard right here, against me?"

Uriel’s blush deepened—a wave of heat that washed over him from head to toe. He tried to pull away slightly, shifting his hips to ease the growing pressure in Dorian’s crotch, a movement that only provoked more friction.

"Where are you going?" Astaroth questioned, his hand descending like lightning to seize his waist, his fingers sinking into the flesh with a possession that was both painful and electrifying. "The battle has only just begun, angel. And you won't move from here until your body confesses what your mouth denies."

"What are you doing on top of my son's body?!" Dorian’s father’s scream shattered the air, interrupting the awkward and seductive moment between them.

Derand, regaining consciousness after Griselda’s display, looked at them with horror. Uriel reacted quickly, rolling to the side to hide their compromising position.

"Sir, forgive me..." Uriel stammered in Carter’s voice. "I was only trying to lift your son; he collapsed for no reason after the healer's sacrifice."

Together, Derand and Uriel lifted Dorian’s dead weight. Astaroth remained silent, analyzing the scene. He realized that Dorian’s father was completely unaware of the secret relationship; to him, Carter was just an efficient employee. If the truth came out, Dorian would lose the empire and end up on the streets. Uriel’s secret was the only chain keeping the CEO safe.

Minutes later, while the father prepared the transfer to the Thorne residence, Uriel and Astaroth were left alone in a corner of the sanctuary.

"So, his family knows nothing," Astaroth said, a smile beginning to reclaim its edge. "Dorian would be dethroned if they knew he loved his assistant."

"That’s why Carter has been so careful," Uriel responded coldly. "But this will change when I manage to expel you from this body."

Astaroth let out a dark laugh that made the hair on Uriel’s arms stand up. "That will never happen again. You are mine from now on, and we will both stay in these bodies forever."

"That’s impossible!" Uriel spat with arrogance.

Astaroth smiled coldly and whispered slowly: "You still know nothing about me, and I warn you, I will do it."

Uriel felt intrigued, remembering that Astaroth was an imposing king in Hell, gifted with unimaginable powers. "Don’t you dare do it..." Uriel warned, seeing Dorian’s eyes begin to glow with a supernatural intensity—an amber light that seemed to suck the brightness from the room.

Suddenly, Uriel felt a violent tug on his own essence. Carter’s eyes began to emit a golden radiance, but not by the angel's will, but by a seal Astaroth was forging at that very moment, binding their souls to the flesh permanently.

"I’ve already done it," Astaroth whispered with malevolent joy. "Now you will be Carter forever, and I will be Dorian forever."

Astaroth leaned into the angel’s ear, sentencing his fate with a whisper that sealed the contract of blood and spirit:

"Until death do us part... Carter!"