He paused a few feet away, staring at the madness. He wasn't around to keep up the façade—to tidy up, so-to-speak—so it was little more than a bottomless pit of anarchy. Fire raged as demons ran loose, fighting and fucking, torturing and taunting. Every Hell that had existed converged into one gigantic mindfuck of a nightmare.
It turned his stomach.
They were savages.
Luce slowly approached, the gate within reach of his fingertips. Anything inside was trapped there, the reapers constantly attacking anyone who got too close, ripping them to pieces like they'd done to Luce so many times before. He watched it for a moment on the protected side of the gate, contemplating, hesitating, before letting out a deep sigh and stepping right through.
The second he entered Hell, the scenery change. It was like a flood rushing through, wiping away the madness and dousing the fires, the molten lava hardening, the Hell reforming that Serah had seen day in and day out when she approached the gate.
Lucifer's Hell.
Desolation.
Lightning flashed, thunder cracking, rumbling the ground, knocking demons off their feet. Lucifer's wings had emerged, overshadowing everything, obscuring Hell in a shadowy darkness. Demons immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed down as he stood there, eyes sweeping along them all, anger simmering inside of him.
He said nothing.
With the snap of a finger, they vanished. Back to their cages, forced back into their torment, as Lucifer locked them all away.
All except for one, that is.
Lire.
The demon was not far in front of him, bowed obediently. Lucifer strolled forward, kicking his side hard. "Get up."
Lire scrambled to get to his feet. "My Lord."
"Make sure they're all locked up again," Lucifer said. "You find any stragglers, you let me know and I'll make them regret disobeying me."
"Yes, anything you need." Lire turned to scamper away but paused after a few steps. "My Lord, it's great to see you, but I thought things were well on earth. We were informed you were roaming free."
"I was."
Lire stared at him. "So why are you here?"
Luce had no answer for that. With another snap of the finger, Lire disappeared, vanquished from sight. Why was he here? He didn't know. This is the last place he wanted to be. But being on Earth, being near Serah, not being able to touch her, or be with her?
Well, maybe there were two things worse than Hell.
Luce strode right down the long winding dirt path, leading straight to the decrepit castle, passing not another soul along the way. He went inside, went straight to the conference room, retaking his seat on the carved marble throne in front of the long table. Slouching down, he let out an exasperated sigh and pulled the old deck of cards from his pocket.
He didn't play War today.
Today, he played Solitaire.
The plastic bags dug into Serah's skin, cutting off the circulation as she tried to juggle nearly a dozen of them, clutched tightly in her hands and around her wrists.
Getting groceries was a pain. Literally.
She strode through the parking lot toward the motel, trying to endure it, but it got to be too much. Groaning, she set down the bags in the middle of the lot and flexed her fingers, bright red from the strain.
She needed a car.
She could afford one with all the money she'd saved working and living at the motel. In fact, she'd made enough the past few months to afford to move out into her own place. Living and working in the same place had gotten to her, messed with her head, so much so she'd passed out on one of the beds last week, fell asleep in the middle of her job.
It wasn't like her at all.
She'd dreamed about the man again, the man who was always around yet wasn't really there at all. It was peculiar, and she could remember him so vividly, every detail of his face, even the sound of his voice. It was the first time in all the times she saw him that he actually spoke to her.
Her boss had offered her a new job, a promotion of sorts, working regular hours at the front desk at night, so Serah figured it was time to move on, settle into a normal routine, try to build a life.
She hadn't seen the stranger since making that decision.
Not that any of it was real, anyway. Not that he was real. Her imagination was running wild, conjuring up phantom people in her dreams.
Or maybe you're really crazy, like the doctors suspected. Who has an entire lifetime of memories wiped away in a freak lightning storm?
Sighing, Serah reached down to pick up the bags again when a voice cut through the lot nearby, calling out to her. "Here, let me help you."
She quickly looked up at the sound of the foreign voice with a twinge of an accent, seeing a man she'd never seen before in front of her. A blue suit clung to his frame, his hair long and pulled back. He was unusual looking, his features sharp as chiseled stone right down to the pointy nose. He smiled kindly, though, a tingly sensation creeping along her spine when she looked into his eyes. Bright, bright blue… unnaturally blue… the sort of blue that felt familiar, like a crisp lake full of the coolest, purest water.
It momentarily entranced her. The man wasn't particularly attractive, but those eyes were.
"Uh, okay," she said, blinking away her stupor as she shivered from the chill. She returned his smile as he easily picked up all of the bags for her. "Thanks."
He nodded. "Sure thing, m'lady. Lead the way."
She continued through the parking lot, straight to her room, and unlocked the door. The man set the bags right inside, pausing near the doorway, being nice enough to not enter without her permission.
It turned his stomach.
They were savages.
Luce slowly approached, the gate within reach of his fingertips. Anything inside was trapped there, the reapers constantly attacking anyone who got too close, ripping them to pieces like they'd done to Luce so many times before. He watched it for a moment on the protected side of the gate, contemplating, hesitating, before letting out a deep sigh and stepping right through.
The second he entered Hell, the scenery change. It was like a flood rushing through, wiping away the madness and dousing the fires, the molten lava hardening, the Hell reforming that Serah had seen day in and day out when she approached the gate.
Lucifer's Hell.
Desolation.
Lightning flashed, thunder cracking, rumbling the ground, knocking demons off their feet. Lucifer's wings had emerged, overshadowing everything, obscuring Hell in a shadowy darkness. Demons immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed down as he stood there, eyes sweeping along them all, anger simmering inside of him.
He said nothing.
With the snap of a finger, they vanished. Back to their cages, forced back into their torment, as Lucifer locked them all away.
All except for one, that is.
Lire.
The demon was not far in front of him, bowed obediently. Lucifer strolled forward, kicking his side hard. "Get up."
Lire scrambled to get to his feet. "My Lord."
"Make sure they're all locked up again," Lucifer said. "You find any stragglers, you let me know and I'll make them regret disobeying me."
"Yes, anything you need." Lire turned to scamper away but paused after a few steps. "My Lord, it's great to see you, but I thought things were well on earth. We were informed you were roaming free."
"I was."
Lire stared at him. "So why are you here?"
Luce had no answer for that. With another snap of the finger, Lire disappeared, vanquished from sight. Why was he here? He didn't know. This is the last place he wanted to be. But being on Earth, being near Serah, not being able to touch her, or be with her?
Well, maybe there were two things worse than Hell.
Luce strode right down the long winding dirt path, leading straight to the decrepit castle, passing not another soul along the way. He went inside, went straight to the conference room, retaking his seat on the carved marble throne in front of the long table. Slouching down, he let out an exasperated sigh and pulled the old deck of cards from his pocket.
He didn't play War today.
Today, he played Solitaire.
The plastic bags dug into Serah's skin, cutting off the circulation as she tried to juggle nearly a dozen of them, clutched tightly in her hands and around her wrists.
Getting groceries was a pain. Literally.
She strode through the parking lot toward the motel, trying to endure it, but it got to be too much. Groaning, she set down the bags in the middle of the lot and flexed her fingers, bright red from the strain.
She needed a car.
She could afford one with all the money she'd saved working and living at the motel. In fact, she'd made enough the past few months to afford to move out into her own place. Living and working in the same place had gotten to her, messed with her head, so much so she'd passed out on one of the beds last week, fell asleep in the middle of her job.
It wasn't like her at all.
She'd dreamed about the man again, the man who was always around yet wasn't really there at all. It was peculiar, and she could remember him so vividly, every detail of his face, even the sound of his voice. It was the first time in all the times she saw him that he actually spoke to her.
Her boss had offered her a new job, a promotion of sorts, working regular hours at the front desk at night, so Serah figured it was time to move on, settle into a normal routine, try to build a life.
She hadn't seen the stranger since making that decision.
Not that any of it was real, anyway. Not that he was real. Her imagination was running wild, conjuring up phantom people in her dreams.
Or maybe you're really crazy, like the doctors suspected. Who has an entire lifetime of memories wiped away in a freak lightning storm?
Sighing, Serah reached down to pick up the bags again when a voice cut through the lot nearby, calling out to her. "Here, let me help you."
She quickly looked up at the sound of the foreign voice with a twinge of an accent, seeing a man she'd never seen before in front of her. A blue suit clung to his frame, his hair long and pulled back. He was unusual looking, his features sharp as chiseled stone right down to the pointy nose. He smiled kindly, though, a tingly sensation creeping along her spine when she looked into his eyes. Bright, bright blue… unnaturally blue… the sort of blue that felt familiar, like a crisp lake full of the coolest, purest water.
It momentarily entranced her. The man wasn't particularly attractive, but those eyes were.
"Uh, okay," she said, blinking away her stupor as she shivered from the chill. She returned his smile as he easily picked up all of the bags for her. "Thanks."
He nodded. "Sure thing, m'lady. Lead the way."
She continued through the parking lot, straight to her room, and unlocked the door. The man set the bags right inside, pausing near the doorway, being nice enough to not enter without her permission.
