Apocalyptic Passion

DEMON WORLD – ASMODEUS' CHAMBERS...

The silence in Asmodeus' chambers was suffocating.

The torches flickered restlessly, their dim glow barely illuminating the three figures standing before the Demon King.

Umbra and Noctis had returned.

And they had brought answers.

Answers that could change everything.

Asmodeus leaned back on his throne, crimson eyes fixed on the worn file in his hands. The weight of its name alone was enough to make the air heavier.

Project Azrail.

"Speak." His voice was low, but it carried the promise of destruction.

Umbra's form flickered slightly. "The file is incomplete, but we've confirmed one thing—Azrail wasn't just involved. She was the key."

Noctis added, "And there's more. The humans weren't the only ones experimenting. The demon scientists—"

"—were part of it."

A slow, deadly silence followed.

The temperature in the room dropped.

Asmodeus' fingers tightened around the file. Of course they were.

Foolish, arrogant creatures.

They had already caused enough destruction.

And now, it seemed their sins stretched far beyond what he had imagined.

"Find them." His voice was dangerously soft. "Bring me their leader."

The twins didn't question him. They never did.

With a synchronized nod, they melted into the darkness.

And then, they were gone.

AZRAIL'S QUARTERS – DEMON WORLD...

Azrail's sleep was never peaceful.

But tonight, it was worse.

The visions came like shattered glass, piercing her mind with fragments she couldn't understand.

A dark room.

A boy's scream.

A voice—familiar, but distant.

"Azrail… wake up."

Her eyes snapped open.

She sat up too fast, her breath sharp and uneven.

The candle beside her flickered violently, reacting to the storm inside her.

Something was wrong.

Not just with her.

With everything.

She could feel it in the way the shadows around her shifted. The way the air was too thick. The way her pulse was hammering in her skull like a warning.

Asmodeus was hiding something.

She knew it.

And she was going to find out what.

Even if it destroyed everything.

DEMON WORLD – THE FORBIDDEN ARCHIVES...

The air inside the Forbidden Archives was cold.

Not the natural kind of cold, but something older, unnatural.

Something that felt like a warning.

Azrail ignored it.

She had spent too long in the dark, waiting for answers that never came.

She wasn't going to wait anymore.

If Asmodeus thought she would just accept his rules, he was wrong.

If the Demon King was playing a game—

Then she was ready to break the rules.

She skimmed her fingers along the ancient tomes, feeling the magic humming beneath their bindings.

Scrolls written in languages long forgotten.

Books filled with knowledge never meant for mortal eyes.

Secrets.

But not the ones she was looking for.

She pushed forward, deeper into the archives—until she saw it.

A book.

Thick, bound in black leather, its edges worn from centuries of existence.

A sigil was carved into its cover—old, forbidden.

Her pulse quickened.

She reached for it.

The moment her fingers touched the surface—a sharp jolt of energy rushed through her.

Not an attack.

A recognition.

As if the book knew her.

She swallowed hard, flipping it open.

And froze.

Because there—on the very first page—

WAS HER NAME.

And beneath it—

HER BROTHER'S.

The breath rushed out of her lungs.

The ink was faded, but the words felt fresh, as if they had been waiting for her to find them.

Her fingers shook as she turned the next page.

And what she found made her stomach twist into knots.

A list.

A long, unforgiving list.

Names.

Each one marked with a symbol beside it.

Some had a cross—failure.

Some had a black line—termination.

Some were simply erased, as if their existence had been completely wiped away.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she scanned further.

And then, she found it.

Her brother's name.

But the mark beside his wasn't failure.

It wasn't termination.

It was something far worse.

"ALTERED."

Azrail's body went still.

Her stomach turned to ice.

What did that mean?

What had they done to him?

She gripped the book tighter, her nails pressing into the leather.

A part of her didn't want to know.

A part of her already did.

A sharp breeze flickered through the room.

The candle beside her flickered violently.

Her instincts screamed RUN.

The shadows moved.

And then—

A hand slammed the book shut.

The sound echoed like a death sentence.

Azrail's heart stopped.

A deep, smooth voice cut through the silence.

"YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE."

She turned—

And found herself face-to-face with ASMODEUS.

His crimson eyes burned into hers, unreadable.

Unforgiving.

And for the first time—

TRULY DANGEROUS.

THE CONFRONTATION....

The heavy book in Azrail's hands trembled as Asmodeus' fingers wrapped around it, ripping it from her grasp.

The loud slam of its cover shutting echoed through the ancient chamber.

Dust swirled in the dim torchlight, disturbed by the sudden motion.

Azrail barely flinched.

But she did not step back.

Her heart pounded in her chest, but she met Asmodeus' gaze head-on.

His crimson eyes glowed with something dangerous.

Something close to fury.

"You shouldn't be here."

His voice was low, controlled—but that was what made it worse.

Because Asmodeus only sounded like this when he was on the edge of something far darker.

Azrail's fists clenched at her sides, but she refused to break eye contact.

"And yet, here I am."

A flicker of something passed through his gaze.

Not anger.

Not irritation.

Something far deeper.

Possession.

And something about that unnerved her.

Asmodeus exhaled, his grip tightening around the book.

"Do you know what you just touched?"

Azrail lifted her chin.

"A book."

His wings twitched.

"A curse," he corrected, his voice sharper. "One that was not meant for you."

Her pulse quickened, but she kept her expression blank.

"It has my name in it," she said, voice steady. "That makes it mine."

Silence.

Then—

A low, humorless chuckle.

Asmodeus tilted his head slightly, watching her.

"You think that grants you the right to read what you don't understand?"

Azrail took a step forward, the air crackling between them.

"I think," she said, "that I have the right to know what you're keeping from me."

The torches around them flickered violently.

Asmodeus went still.

Then, in a move too fast for her to react, he lifted his free hand—

And snapped his fingers.

THE SHIFT...

The torches dimmed.

The shadows tightened.

And suddenly, Azrail couldn't move.

A force—powerful, invisible, absolute—wrapped around her limbs, locking her in place.

It wasn't painful.

But it was a warning.

Asmodeus hadn't even touched her.

Yet, he had overpowered her with a single thought.

A reminder that, in this moment—

He was stronger.

Azrail's breathing hitched.

But she did not surrender.

She clenched her fists, feeling the flicker of something inside her.

Something angry.

Something wild.

And she pushed back.

The pressure around her shuddered.

Then—it cracked.

The invisible force rippled, straining against her defiance.

Asmodeus' eyes narrowed.

For the first time—he looked surprised.

Azrail shattered the hold around her.

And then, before Asmodeus could react—

She stepped forward.

One step.

Two.

Three.

And she snatched the book back from his hands.

His wings flared slightly, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face.

Azrail stared up at him, her heart still hammering.

The weight of the book was heavy in her grasp.

"You can't keep me in the dark forever," she whispered.

Silence.

Then—

Slowly, too slowly—

Asmodeus smirked.

"You don't know what you've just started."