♱ • 1750 B.C. • ♱"Thank you" I heard Callisto say leaning the door when Loren was asleep in his bed, the pink quartz eyes stared at me as if trying to understand at what point I had begun to change.Would he be very surprised if he found out that Asra had not changed? If I found out the whole truth, starting with all that being a novel in my world?"No need to thank me" I spoke with one hand on his shoulder "even if he has to suffer so much, Loren is a lovely child and anyone who can be near him is a very lucky being."Callisto nodded, but his lips arched briefly."But... I thought I hated children" he provoked me and closed my eyes tightly.Asra really hated children and specifically the son of Callisto who "took" all the emperor’s free time, but as far as I remembered, Asra also hated the poor, the weak and those who were not born with talents. She could be many things, but someone kind and gifted with great empathy was not one of them, so I forced a smile."I don’t think I hate the

♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱Azrael had had a great week dealing with all the problems, which were found in the third territory and yet - we had no idea how we will solve much."Resources and wizards were sent," the fallen man said as he leaned his face in one hand, sitting on the couch with a haggard expression "frankly, if we work harder, we won’t even have time to breathe."I sighed."What can we do? You saw how things are around here" I said shrugging as I pulled some of the leaves that were on the table so I could analyze. Much of it was trade.With the tributes, many villages had become invalid and trade had fallen. There was no way to buy and without customers it was impossible to sell something."If someone had not SCREWED the princess of the territory, we would have to leave it to HER responsibility" Azrael growled "but no, my sweet king needs to fix more problems than he already has" he mocked "and now here we are...""For the 9 territories" I begged "stop this litany

♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱There was something different, Asra was different. A fire in her gaze, the way she smiled as she fought. I could see beyond that woman with whom I fought futile battles, beyond the demon who seemed desperate for Callisto’s love.It was almost like she was someone else.Then I was defeated, woke up in that dark, empty place. 2 days passed and then 3... 4... 5... 6...It was different! Finally it was different, something had changed and now... I could feel.I felt the cold, I felt the hunger, I felt the fear that my body sensed when the demons approached and even if I could not smile, even if I could not say what I wanted... I felt a small piece of hope arise.Esperança.Asra.Asra was my hope, because there was something different about her. Something different... about her.More days passed, more and more - and as frightening as it was to just stay there, it wasn’t so bad.I wouldn’t hurt anyone, I wouldn’t destroy Callisto, I wouldn’t condemn Loren

♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱That plan wasn’t bad, but it still depended on too much.It depended on how much Callisto was willing to hide from Azrael, how things would go when they were with the saint and whether he had any strength in that world that would force the story back on track if Asra changed it too much."I know" Asmodeus said jumping on the bed "you’re thinking too much! That’s why your pretty little face is in this deplorable state."I sighed."Really? Is that your focus?"He nodded."Your beauty is always my focus, dear."It was unbelievable, but the worst part was that I knew he wasn’t lying. That was really Asmodeus' focus."I’m really thinking too much" I muttered "but that’s because I intend to keep us alive in the midst of all this" I muttered "unlike a certain someone."Asmodeus laughed."Look... dying wouldn’t be such a bad idea, have you seen how much work I’ve been getting? It’s almost an injury. It’s too much work..." he whined "whenever that little turd of Calisto see

♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱Asra was asleep when I entered her room. Her face was slightly contorted in a position that did not seem comfortable to me, but still she slept peacefully."I should go back" I told myself, as I tried to convince myself, but before I knew it, I was next to her bed, watching her face asleep.Would Quinn forgive me if I loved her again?I had promised her, I had said that day in front of the waterfall that I would never love someone as I loved her and that this would remain for my whole life, even if they lived thousands of years more, even if we separated and had different lives. Even if we were to fight each other.I said these words and now I was standing there, in the room of the woman I took as a concubine for so many centuries. I was standing by her bed and I thought... I thought about how beautiful she was, about how I missed her smell. About how stupid I felt when she threw those countless truths in my face.I told Asra that I could never love