LOGINThe address Mark had sent didnāt look anything like Aria had imagined.As the taxi slowed to a stop, gravel crunching beneath the tires, she leaned slightly toward the window, scanning the surroundings. The air felt⦠different. Quieter. Too quiet. No hum of distant life, no chatter, no movementājust an eerie stillness that pressed against her skin.Still, she shook it off.Maybe it was just one of those secluded neighborhoods.The taxi came to a halt, and as she stepped out, the cool air wrapped around her like a whisper. Her shoes crunched softly against the ground as she straightened, brushing invisible creases from her outfit.Thatās when she saw him.Mark leaned casually against a sleek black car, one foot crossed over the other, arms folded. He looked relaxedātoo relaxedāand when his eyes met hers, a slow smile spread across his lips.āAria,ā he called, pushing himself off the car.Her face lit up instantly, warmth flooding her chest. āMark!āShe walked toward him, clutching the
The morning came softer than usual.Sunlight slipped gently through the curtains, painting Ariaās room in warm gold, and for onceājust onceāher thoughts werenāt heavy.She woke before the alarm.No dread.No confusion.No lingering shadows of things she couldnāt explain.Just⦠excitement.Real, simple excitement.She lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, and a smile slowly spread across her lips.Today, she was going out.Not into danger.Not into secrets.Not into Lucasās world of warnings and control and things that made her feel like she was losing herself.But into something normal.Human.Her chest felt lighter just thinking about it.For so long now, ever since Lucas had come into her life, everything had changed. What used to be ordinary had become distantāalmost unreachable. Conversations felt layered with caution, days felt watched, choices felt⦠restricted.It was as if she had been dragged into a world that wasnāt hers.And somewhere along the lineā¦She had almost
The bell rang, sharp and sudden, snapping the class out of its dull rhythm.Aria stretched slightly in her seat, rolling her shoulders as she packed her books into her bag. Her mind wasnāt on the lecture she had just sat throughāit hadnāt been for a while now. Too many things had been happening lately. Too many things she couldnāt explain.Lucas weird attitude.Selene's warning about a coming war.The things she had seen⦠the things she had felt.She exhaled softly, shaking her head as if that alone could clear the weight off her thoughts.āAria, are you coming?āShe looked up briefly, offering a small smile to her classmate before nodding. āYeah, I am.āBut as she stepped out of the classroomā¦She paused.Mark was there.Leaning casually against the wall, one hand tucked into his pocket, the other holding a drink. He looked completely at ease, like he had been there for a while and didnāt mind waiting at all.Her lips curved into an automatic smile.āHey.āHe pushed himself off the w
Before Lucifer ever fell⦠Before Hell learned how to mock, how to tempt, how to play with humanity⦠There were the Five. They were not created. They did not rise. They simply⦠were. Ancient. Unnamed by time. Unbound by order. Hell did not rule them. Hell formed around them. They were not demons in the way lesser creatures crawled and clawed for power. They were principlesāembodiments of impulses so deeply rooted in existence that even gods had learned not to provoke them. And among them⦠The First. Incubus. He did not walk into a room. He entered the mind first. Desire preceded him. Longing announced him. By the time his physical form appeared, it was already too late. His victims did not resist himāthey welcomed him. Incubus did not simply seduce. He studied. Every flicker of emotion, every suppressed craving, every hidden weaknessāhe tasted them all. He knew what a person wanted before they admitted it to themselves. And when he gave it to them⦠He gave it perfect
The descent into Hell was not marked by fire.It was marked by silence.Lucas did not step through a gate, nor did he summon a portal. Hell recognized himāfelt himāand parted.The air shifted first.What little movement existed in that cursed realm stilled, as though the world itself had drawn in a breath it dared not release. Then the ground beneath his feet darkened further, veins of molten crimson receding like blood retreating from a wound.He had not been here in a long time.Not because he feared it.Fear was a language Hell understoodābut never dared speak to him.No⦠he had stayed away because this place remembered.Every scream. Every fall. Every moment of weakness.And worst of all⦠it remembered his father's humiliation of him.Lucas walked forward, his steps measured, unhurried, yet carrying a weight that pressed against the very bones of Hell. The corridor stretched before himāendless, suffocating, lined with walls that pulsed faintly, as though alive. Shadows clung to th
Aria stepped out of the school gates beside Mark, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the pavement. Their conversation had been light, easyāMark always had a way of making things feel uncomplicatedābut her mind wasnāt entirely in it. It hadnāt been for weeks.Ever since Lucas had started keeping his distance.She had told herself it didnāt matter. That she didnāt care. That whatever they hadāwhatever he had made itāwas better left alone.And yetā¦Her steps slowed.There, parked just across the road, was a sleek black sedan. Polished. Imposing. Familiar.Her breath caught.No⦠it couldnātāBut it was.Lucas leaned casually against the car, his posture relaxed in a way that didnāt fool her for a second. Even from a distance, there was something sharp about him today. Something controlled. Dangerous.Her heart betrayed her with a sudden, violent thud.Why is he here?After weeks of silence⦠weeks of distance⦠now this?āAria?ā Markās voice pulled her slightly back, but s
The massive gates of the throne room closed behind Lucas with a thunderous boom that echoed through the dark corridors of Hell.For a moment, he simply stood there.His chest burned where Lucifer's power had crushed the air from his lungs. The pain in his ribs throbbed with every breath he took, bu
Aria felt it before she heard anything_the suffocating presence of Selene. She didn't need to be told before she knew that the goddess was back from the witch haunt. She stepped out of the room to see her walking down the corridor like a storm that had learned how to wear skin. There was a wild spl
The chamber was unnervingly silent. The kind of silence that presses against your chest and makes every heartbeat feel like a warning. Lucas stood by the tall arched window, his back rigid, shoulders tensed. Moonlight poured in, painting his form in silver, and shadows highlighting the taut muscles
Levi held the car door for her, and helped her get in. As the car doors clicked shut, and the engine came alive with Levi behind the wheel, Aria let out a breath. All these while, she had been worried that the witches would catch up with her, but now she was out of harm's way. What excited her more







