āđāļāđāļēāļŠāļđāđāļĢāļ°āļāļThe air inside Ariaâs apartment felt wrong. Not silentâno, silence would have been kinder. This was heavier. Tense. Like the walls themselves were holding their breath. Lucas paced. Back and forth. Back and forth. His boots struck the floor in sharp, restless rhythms, each step echoing the storm building inside him. His jaw was tight, his fists clenched so hard the veins along his arms stood out, pulsing with restrained power. He had gone to Lucifer. Demanded answers. And what did he get? Nothing. Lucas let out a harsh breath, dragging a hand through his hair as frustration clawed up his spine. âThose dreadful demons are with her, and you wouldn't give me the answers I need,â he had growled earlier, his voice low with threat. But Lucifer had only watched him with that same infuriating calm. âI will not interfere in matters between my sons.â Lucasâ eyes darkened at the memory. Sons. The word alone made something violent stir inside him. âI will tear apart everything yo
The address Mark had sent didnât 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 feltâĶ different. Quieter. Too quiet. No hum of distant life, no chatter, no movementâjust 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.Thatâs when she saw him.Mark leaned casually against a sleek black car, one foot crossed over the other, arms folded. He looked relaxedâtoo relaxedâand when his eyes met hers, a slow smile spread across his lips.âAria,â he called, pushing himself off the car.Her face lit up instantly, warmth flooding her chest. âMark!âShe walked toward him, clutching the
The morning came softer than usual. Sunlight slipped gently through the curtains, painting Ariaâs room in warm gold, and for onceâjust onceâher thoughts werenât heavy. She woke before the alarm. No dread. No confusion. No lingering shadows of things she couldnât explain. JustâĶ 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 Lucasâs 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 distantâalmost unreachable. Conversations felt layered with caution, days felt watched, choices feltâĶ restricted. It was as if she had been dragged into a world that wasnât hers. And somew
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 wasnât on the lecture she had just sat throughâit hadnât been for a while now. Too many things had been happening lately. Too many things she couldnât explain.Lucas weird attitude.Selene's warning about a coming war.The things she had seenâĶ the things she had felt.She exhaled softly, shaking her head as if that alone could clear the weight off her thoughts.âAria, are you coming?âShe looked up briefly, offering a small smile to her classmate before nodding. âYeah, I am.âBut as she stepped out of the classroomâĶShe 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 didnât mind waiting at all.Her lips curved into an automatic smile.âHey.âHe pushed himself off the w
Before Lucifer ever fellâĶ Before Hell learned how to mock, how to tempt, how to play with humanityâĶ There were the Five. They were not created. They did not rise. They simplyâĶ 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 principlesâembodiments of impulses so deeply rooted in existence that even gods had learned not to provoke them. And among themâĶ 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 himâthey welcomed him. Incubus did not simply seduce. He studied. Every flicker of emotion, every suppressed craving, every hidden weaknessâhe tasted them all. He knew what a person wanted before they admitted it to themselves. And when he gave it to themâĶ 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 himâfelt himâand 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 understoodâbut never dared speak to him.NoâĶ he had stayed away because this place remembered.Every scream. Every fall. Every moment of weakness.And worst of allâĶ 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 himâendless, suffocating, lined with walls that pulsed faintly, as though alive. Shadows clung to th
Years ago during the time that Lucas had gone on a killing spree, destroying and killing creatures that wouldn't bow in submission to him, Behemoth had been the hardest to break.Legend had it that Behemoth was once the king of hell, thousands of years ago, even before the devil came into power. He
The next morning, as early as 6 am, Lucas called Aria's phone, but after a few rings and she didn't pick up, he got scared and drove to her apartment. "Aria!!!" He yelled and banged on her door. As he was about to break into the house, the door opened and Aria stood there in a night dress lookin
After quietude had returned, and the street was littered with bodies, Lucas turned to search for Aria. He saw her staring at him, visibly shaken by the incident. He walked towards the shop she had hidden herself in, but Aria backed away, and this feeling of rejection made Lucas angry. He came to th
Days after Lucifer's visit, Aria stayed restless, day and night. She didn't feel right with the devil's advise, especially after witnessing the hatred Lucas showed towards him when he warned him to back off. But the devil's warning lingered in her mind, and it bothered her. She decided to seek Levi







