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“Mother?”

A well-ordered dinner table carried supper. Few at the table were strangers, guardians sent by other parties to watch over the famed Queen of Demons. Her beauty was one to be revered. Who wouldn’t have lusted after her, a lady, as beautiful as much of the hated goddesses and equally fouled-mouthed sailors. Her collarbone accentuated her chest, the dress, of black and stripes – prominently gothic and of demonic nature. Her cleavage, one drooled by the sat guests, wasn’t left untouched for it was highly prominent due to her corset and curvature of the top. Asmodeus waited at her side, the table was joined by Mammon, Beelzebub, and Sathanas. Each obeyed their whim.

“Asmodeus,” she threw a harsh regard toward him, the older sibling.

“What is it, mother?” he narrowed and in the corner of his eye, Sathanas rose with a slam of the table, “-EVERYONE, GET OUT!”

“…” took a few to understand what had happened. And so, with another glacial scan, the dining hall dwindled into only Lilith and her children. The giant gated door beckoned a deafening metallic echo.

“Finally,” she dropped into her seat, “-some peace and quiet. Mother, brother,” she scanned, “-there’s something you ought to tell us?”

Her observant nature, relatively untouched by her temperate nature, overshadowed the wit behind her thoughts. And thus, caught with their preverbal pants down, Lilith and Asmodeus were stumped. The affirmation perked the ears of the other siblings.

“Sathanas…” added Asmodeus with a silent sigh, “-well, we’re in quite the predicament.”

.....

“Tell me about it,” Lilith interjected, “-I’ve done what I can to hold back the Kings demands. If we don’t do something soon, the castle will be sieged. Leviathan’s as competitive as he is ruthless – if he sees any of the other kings make a move, I’m sure he’ll leap into my room.

“Well, there has been a fight between the four kings.”

“Care to elaborate, Mammon?”

“I heard it from servants,” he slowly ate, “-they come to me for advice and I give them what they want in exchange for information. We can always depend on the demon race to not give a shit about the rules,” he yawned, “-ambassadors of the seven sins. How very boring.”

“Asmodeus,” Lilith strangled the room, “-what happened to Igna coming after us?”

“I don’t know,” he gulped, “-I thought he’d be here by now.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” she lowered her head and mildly swayed disappointedly, “-I guess we need to find a plan on our own.”

“I can take care of father,” Sathanas rose her hands, “-Satan is my father. He might want to listen to his daughter.”

“Belial… we don’t know where he is.”

“Lucifer’s a no-go.”

“Well, how pleasant,” she sarcastically clapped, “-if only my children were strong enough to kill the kings.”

“Please mother,” Asmodeus flashed a stern side-eye, “-do not speak of violence, especially since Beelzebub is not of age. Did staying in the Shadow Realm or Orin for that matter not teach us anything?” he scanned the table, “-Mammon, Sathanas,” he smiled, “-we know our way around the shadows. We’ve led many campaigns in which life and death of countries were decided. What’s the Hell in comparison, we have the home advantage,” he looked at Lilith, “-mother, I understand the hardship. I won’t dare say I understand how much it’s waning on thee. I ask this, please give us a chance, we’re your children. Let us show you, our potential.”

“…” despite her beauty, as per other mothers, her arsenal needn’t be violent or extensive, her regard, the mother’s stare of death – froze his request. “Mother?” her sanguine stare, the way in which the air around conformed to her, was hauntingly terrifying. She lowered her fork, tapped her mouth with a handkerchief, and breathed. Their focus horned on her every move, “-look here,” she sipped, “-I never said you were forced to stay at the castle. I only mentioned it because tis the only place I have power over. Hell is governed by the Kings and their courts. We’re in my estate, and as Queen of Demons, the demon-kind awarded me the castle in the lake. Whether a castle or a prison, it’s up to interpretation. I guarantee our safety within these walls. Now, if you were to adventure, I can’t say much about the outcome. I can’t even say if it’ll be possible to negotiate safety in case of capture. Do as you wish,” she gulped, “-I won’t impose further. As you said,” she stood, “-I’ll heed my children’s whim this time. Do not disappoint.”

Her seductively noble attire merged into an adjacent corridor. A palpable collective sigh of relief resounded. Sathanas sank into her chair, Mammon dropped his head onto the table, and Beelzebub curiously cycled his gaze across the siblings. Asmodeus bit and swallowed the last morsel, “-mother’s stern.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Mammon, what are your thoughts?”

“Brother, I can’t tell you. Hell is a fickle place.”

Sathanas stood, “-I should leave,” she said affirmingly, “-brother, you should know, mother left with that look on her face. She might do something stupid. Beelzebub,” she looked at him, “-I entrust you with mom’s safety.”

“Okay!”

“Sathanas.”

“Brother?” his callout halted her steps.

“Are you sure?”

“No,” she echoed, “-obviously I’m not. However, I must.”

“Why?”

“To help mother,” she threw her arms, “-what else?”

“I understand that but why Satan? I know your relationship with him isn’t that great. You ran away… rather, were kidnapped?”

“I’m my father’s daughter,” she smiled, “-nothing can hold a Haggard down,” she boldly exited the dining hall.

‘Nothing can hold a Haggard down,’ he leaned into the chair with a massive grin, ‘-little sister, you deserve our respect. Facing the problem head-on and without a plan, that’s such a Haggard thing to do.’

“Look at that,” Mammon commented, “-she accepted Igna as her father.”

“Right, I’d never thought that day would come.”

Out the dining hall, along the main corridor which crossed the throne and went up to a vexing set of spiraling stairs – the slow clops of Lilith’s heels wallowed onto a secluded tower. The highest in the castle, her bedroom. A rudimentary key opened and undid its lock, she smoothly entered and locked, her vanity table littered with pearls and jewelry. The bed, a cacophony of the dress. A full-sized mirror shy of a tall bookcase beside which rested one of two windows giving outside. She fell on a rocking chair and unfastened her dress, ‘-mind games, pain,’ her window tapped, ‘-must be him again,’ she slowly got up and moved to the window, not before allowing other taps.

“What do you want?”

“Lady Lilith, please consider. Leviathan wishes nothing more than to have a child like his brothers. Like Satan has a daughter and lucifer an academy. Please reconsider,” pled a pig-like flying creature, “-I wish you would answer my lord’s desire. He’s but a hopeless romantic.”

“Yes, a hopeless person indeed. Come tomorrow, I have much to think about.”

“Does this mean?” it sparked, “-are you considering my lord?”

“Who knows,” she closed the windows and dropped on her bed. ‘-We’ve been stuck in Hell for what seems like decades. I don’t know if I can last. I want to feel the touch of another, I want to feel love and affection. I need to be at peace. My mind can’t help it. The Shadows were fun, I had Gophy, Intherna, and Miira, we were the guardians,” good memories flooded, “-we had our own factions and did as we wished. Freedom… is a privilege. I feel so hopeless… like a princess stuck in a tower. This is not me; it is not. I need to get out, anyone, please, I need an out, I can’t take it.’

Cross the dimensional boundaries, Igna found himself in the shelter of the thunderous cackles. *Realm Retraction,* blood slowly contoured his chin. Vanesa sat upright over the altar, her calm demeanor and confused blinks set a tone of relief within Igna. She threw her legs sideways and sat facing Igna, “-pops?”

“Vanesa, welcome back.”

“So I died?” she stared at her hands, “-did you revive me?”

“Yeah, sort of,” flashes illuminated the church, “-how do you feel, anything out of the ordinary?”

“No, I don’t think so,” she looked around, “-I’m good, I guess. Pops,” she pointed, “-why is the Reaper of Souls here?”

“Excuse me?” he followed her fingers, ‘-Undrar?’ the helmed Bringer of Death unstraddled the skeletal horse, “-Igna,” she grabbed his collar and shook violently, “-tell me, who are you?” He calmly stared through her helm.

“Take off your helmet. I rather talk to you face to face.”

She undid her grip, to which, Igna swiftly took advantage, grabbed her wrist, and pulled it behind her back, locking her in a tense grip, “-I don’t take kindly to unprovoked attacks. Tell me, Undrar, what’s the matter?”

“If you’re going to restrain me, at least put some effort into it,” she swiped his feet and pushed, throwing him over her shoulder, “-my,” he gracefully landed, “-that could have been bad. What is wrong with you, Undrar, someone’s angry.”

“Me, angry?” she removed her helm and stormed into his face, “-look at this,” she showed her cheeks, “-can you see it, the bruise?”

“Bruise?”

“Yeah,” she dropped her shoulders, “-Igna, are you or are you not my ally.”

“Depends on what side you take.”

A tenuous silence settled between, “-Igna, face me in stride. I’m telling you, if the matter isn’t resolved now… people will get hurt.”

‘Undrar doesn’t get angry for no reason. Something must have happened. A bruise, someone ranking high must have put hands. Who is it, who’s stupid enough to… wait, Artanos and Zeus, they’ve formed an alliance. This unites the whole of the heavenly realm… if I’m right, they’re looking to make connections, what better way than to have her, the second most powerful entity since Creation.’

Undrar’s breathing heightened, her flush expression bordered woe, “-Undrar did Zeus try-”

“Stop,” she grabbed his shoulder, “-Igna, look at me. Are you my friend or not?”

He stared at her nonchalantly, “-you know the answer, why ask now?”

“Igna,” she lowered her head, “-it’s that, your brazenness, that’s the reason we’re here. I don’t care about the rest, you just had to say you needed help… Miira, Lilith, they’re trapped. Gophy, she nearly died, are you going to throw away everything?”

He sandwiched her palm, “-Undrar, I’m not an ally to reality. I’m the Adjudicator.”

She pulled and held her mouth, a moment’s terror flashed as did the loudest thunder crack, “-the Adjudicator… the end of tim-”

“Yes, the End of Times,” he lowered his hands, “-Undrar… I won’t apologize. It has come to this. I will end Reality as we know it, and I will make certain the world restarts with a better prospect. They’ve long ruined reality, she’s becoming undone, and her powers are not insufficient to control the passage of time. People manipulate mana like it’s nothing, and the gods, the damned gods, don’t care about the result. Undrar, what will you do?”

“What will I do?” she looked at him squarely, “-if you’re hell-bent on destroying the world… I’ll do everything I can to save it. Adjudicator, enemy to reality. The true meaning of three in one. Igna, I say this as a friend, the path you walk isn’t your own. You’re being manipulated… you so easily cast aside what the world has done and recklessly rush toward the end. What about family?”

“Family?” he snickered, “-you were supposed to be my family, look where we are. Undrar, it’s best that you leave,” he held a ball of condensed mana, “-join Artanos and Zeus, they approached and infected your mind. It doesn’t matter, I’ll carry the burden as I’ve always done. Alfred was rejected, Staxius was lonely…” he exhaled, “-leave, Undrar, before my affection grows into hate… please leave.”

“Igna,” she shook her head in disappointment, “-you’re right, you’re always right. Artanos approached us, and I suppose we’ll join forces. I’m not staying around to see what Staxius created go to waste. We’re done, goodbye.”