"And while god's busy getting faded,, - Chapter 5 - nxvr_you_fear (2024)

Chapter Text

“Hey, look at you!”

“𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶… 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦..”

Suchin laughed, her laugh that seemed to turn on the lights in his head for the first time in… what, thirty-six hours?

She set her suitcase down by the door and hugged Kenshi tight, sighing with fatigue. “Christ, that flight was way longer than six hours!”

“I bet they change the clocks when you’re asleep,” He chuckled.

“I’m starting to think so!”

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺…”

Not even five minutes into a conversation, and already, Johnny was in his head again. This time, he had swore to last at least a year before returning. But waking up to a demon’s voice echoing in your mind is enough to drive anyone up the wall.

Her eyes… so full of kindness that she gave to someone as underserving as him.

Some months before, he had sworn she knew about his ‘affair’ with the demon. But if so, she did a damn good job hiding it. Because those eyes sparkled as they looked at Kenshi, worlds of words that would take years to recite. Her slight eye bags only added to his guilt.

He couldn’t keep hurting her, he couldn’t.

It wasn’t as if their relationship was harmful to either of them. No, their lives bloomed like Sakura on the path to Truth, their love the branch that kept them tethered. Their moments together were spaced out, but loving, and their contact- romantic or carnal- was what others would envy.

Kenshi loved the smell of rain. He loved physical affection. He loved the scent of Suchin’s perfume, the way it hung nimbly around her like a cloud. He loved the little noise that happened when starting up Solitaire on his computer.

He loved her, he did. Kenshi’s heart bled for her. But still…

“𝘏𝘦𝘺, I…”

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴."

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?"

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 care for 𝘮𝘦, 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨..."

𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪'𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵

"𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘦𝘴?"

"𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺."

"𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴... 𝘊𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦."

Kenshi would rather hate Suchin, and have her hate him. It hurt being the bad person. He’d have to deal with it, though, because Johnny had made it clear from day two that their sessions could not continue.

‘Too cunning to choose either of us’... Those connotations hurt when he had first heard the demon say that. He didn’t know why, but… it felt like Johnny was berating him. Probably not, but there was always the possibility the demon was spiteful.

Why? For leading him on? Leading him on for what?

There was no way they could pursue this ‘relationship’. Kenshi had decided that the second time they met up. After Johnny did.

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴... 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦."

"𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵."

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦... 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨...?"

"𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵."

But… he’d betrayed his marriage over and over again. He’d come back over and over again. He’d lied to Suchin… over and over again.

“You still there, honey?” Suchin tapped his shoulder and smiled, that smile that was like honey to him. “Gosh, Kenshi, you’re more tired than I am.”

He laughed this off, trying to push away Johnny’s words that wouldn’t leave his head.

“Sorry. Work, all that.”

“I’m gonna go take a shower, alright? I’m beat from that flight.” With that, Suchin kissed him gently before heading upstairs, leaving her luggage so she could deal with it later.

Kenshi watched as she did so, feeling a familiar itch in his soul for something more. f*ck.

One day he’d tell her, divorce her, try to let her down as easily as possible without saying “Oh yeah I’m being f*cked by Satan’s child so thats why I’m leaving you, sorry honey, by the way I’m keeping the house’.

With a sigh, Kenshi headed upstairs to get his work clothes off and to face another night of 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵. He switched off the overhead light, leaving the room in darkness.

Outside the window, Johnny watched the whole event. With an unreadable expression, he slipped off into the night.

As he made his way through the sky, the city below went by a blur of lights and people. It mirrored the night sky, he thought. With the lights being the stars, at least.

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦?”

“𝘐-𝘐’𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

What a miserable little planet.

At the Beginning, the first human had done as he was built to. Had children with Eve, populated the world, led others on to worship the Man In The Sky, acting as another pawn in this pathetic game.

Nobody won, the demon thought as he jumped soundlessly from rooftop to rooftop. If you were a ‘good’ soul, you went to heaven. A pathetic existence where pain and all feeling was no more. If you were ‘evil’, you went to Hell. The realm was painful and lustful, but you and your bloodline were doomed to suffer an eternity. The only person who won, really…

God?

Johnny landed on a rooftop, gazing down at the world below. The evening was quiet, navy sky above not yet littered with stars. A stray cat sat on the pile of cardboard boxes next to him. He ignored the creature.

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘮, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓𝘌𝘋

“I see you’re not feeding your little pet tonight, ‘Johnny’?”

Johnny sighed. “His satisfaction isn’t my responsibility. If anything, he should stay away for his own good.”

The demon behind him chuckled, stepping out of the shadows. Her face was covered with a mask, eyes sharp and staring. Her hands remained tucked behind her back in a formal stance (how ironic.) as she continued. “So you’re not denying he’s your pet?”

Johnny ignored this, reaching out and stroking the stray cat. It tensed for a second, before leaning into his touch and letting out a soft purr.

“Why are you here, anyway?”

The younger demon chuckled to herself, stepping beside him. “That’s no way to talk to your superior.”

“Cut to the chase.”

She raised an eyebrow, one eye gleaming with something powerful. “It’s about your little ‘doll’.”

Of course it was. Johnny gently picked up the cat, staring into its eyes with a childlike curiosity. He didn’t meet the other’s eyes, instead focusing on the creature in his hands.

“People are talking, you know. About you and him. They say he’s just right fo-“

He glares at those brown eyes, teeth bared. “He’s not. Understand me? This is none of your concern what happens outside of section seven.”

She doesn’t flinch at Johnny’s snap, instead giggling to herself. “Actually,” She places a gloved hand on his shoulder. He can’t help but notice her purple nails, dark and gleaming.

“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥.”

The demon laughs at Johnny’s reaction. “Don’t look so surprised. I’m no longer a princess of a circle now. sh*t, I’m not touching the other eight sections either. No… now, my job is to look for worthy… ‘candidates’.”

“It’s a bad idea.” It’s a clumsy pronunciation , and it’s a hissed whisper, but Johnny’s meaning is clear.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

“Protective much?” Another chuckle, but it’s humourless this time. “I would think he’s a right fit, would you not? He’s an Impure human, he’s of the right build, he’s being ploughed by a-“

“It’s a bad idea, Mileena.”

She listens, amused. There's the look in her eyes that Johnny’s hated since… well, forever.

“I’m saying no. He’s not right. Besides, he’s… if you tried to use him, there’d be backlash.”

Mileena laughs. “What backlash? A sexually incompetent wife? She-“ The demon stops laughing as she realises.

“Holy sh*t.”

She stares at Johnny, who doesn’t meet her gaze. Her formality is gone, but the effect of her words does not change.

“Is this an official threat, ‘Johnny’?”

She is met with silence. The cat gives a small meow, an anxious thing. How vile.

“𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦.”

Her eyes are lit with fire of Down Below. Johnny knows what she can do, what she’s done. This is a demon who’s destroyed half of Hell at a command from one of the Dark Priests of Hell, all to find one soul who escaped confinement. This is a demon who’s torn the throats of innocents out because they got a hint that she wasn’t human.

The demon who has the power… to take a human for sacrifice.

Part of him wanted to defy Mileena. To talk back, say she’s no better than scum from the gutters. He wanted to shrug his shoulders without making eye contact, an action that would probably cause her to 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦.

Part of him wants to let this happen. Johnny knows all too well the rituals. Demons are summoned from all corners of the dimension to watch as a being is strung up, heart torn out and eyes given to Him as a gift. The sacrifice is always a filthy soul, one irredeemable. It’s what forbids God from saving them from such a cruel fate.

Then, said sacrifice has their soul taken and made His for eternity. Agony beyond immortal bounds, and an existence forgotten about in the mortal realm.

Would… would that be such a bad thing to let Kenshi die?

“𝘐-𝘐’𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

“No, Mileena.” Johnny meets her eyes as he says this. His tongue won’t allow him to speak a different dialect anymore. It’s too difficult.

She eyes him up and down, taking his words and analysing them. The cat is in her hands- Johnny didn’t even realise she had taken it.

“That’s what I thought.” Her tone is icy cold now, all formality back. Somehow this makes it worse.

“You should watch yourself. Someone could get word of your… ‘relationship’. You’re aware that being in contact with a candidate will get you banished back to Hell, yes?”

Silence. The night is quiet on the rooftop, with the faint noise of lively traffic below on the street.
He never thought he’d be putting Kenshi in so much 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. f*ck, he should have left him alone long ago. This wouldn’t be a slap on the wrist; This was eternal 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 Mileena was talking about.

This was a painful consequence, something Johnny… 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. Yes, the coil in his stomach wasn’t lust or fury, but terror.

He feared himself, not any god or hellpriest. But this…

f*ck, Johnny felt 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 at himself for even thinking of letting Kenshi be taken. That kind of inhuman feeling of pure filth that made itself known. What the Hell was he thinking?

He couldn’t let this happen.

“” Johnny said, looking away. He sat on the edge of the roof again, looking down. There was a rumble in the sky above as thunder swells the clouds. He swallows.

“Just… 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. It wouldn’t be fair if you left a widow.”

A harsh laugh. It’s the sound of scraping nails against flesh that rattles in her throat. “And why should I spare such a human? Have you mistaken carnal bliss for deep devotion?”

Silence.

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯... '𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘯𝘺'?”

There’s a weak cry as the cat’s corpse falls to the floor, twitching before it grows still. It’s eyes are gone.

Johnny’s blood runs cold at this. “What stops you from choosing someone else?” The question holds hints of desperation that he fights to conceal in his voice. It probably didn’t work.

“I could choose someone else, yes. But why go through the trouble when he’s perfect for the job…?”

A hand on his shoulder. It takes all his strength not to tear the limb from Mileena’s body and beat her with it until she begs. She notices his rage and removes the hand, waiting for his response. A silence hangs between them.

Johnny can’t let this happen.

“I…” He silently begs his tongue to work. “I can’t… stop you, Mileena. So, just…”

“𝘔𝘺 𝘮𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩.” 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳.

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳?” “𝘐…” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. “𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹, 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴.”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵.

𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. “𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯’ 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘴? 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩?”

“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩.𝘞𝘢𝘴… 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴?

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳. “𝘐𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵…?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.

𝘚𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺.

“𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯’ 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘦𝘩?”

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦,” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬. 𝘖𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰’𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘦,” 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘺’𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯.”

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴… 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥.

“𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?” 𝘈 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘖𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘈 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭. 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯’ 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯’ 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.

“𝘚𝘢𝘺… 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺?”

Johnny’s eyes open again.

The night where everything fell into oblivion, he thinks. f*ck it all. The sun’ll explode in two billion years. That’s if God doesn’t make it sooner. With all the scum on this earth, might as well make it now.

But he can’t do that to Kenshi.

No, even as those dear eyes looked at him during his first ‘session’ with the demon, Johnny knew something would go wrong eventually. Those eyes were full of deep sorrow and guilt at what he was doing. At what he had done to his wife.

The demon needs Kenshi to stay alive so he can fix his life. Then, he’ll hopefully forget about Johnny. Even though breaking him is more fun than anything, it can’t continue.

“… just find someone else.”

No reply comes.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭?”

“𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴.

𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥…

𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭. 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵-𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘻𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘕𝘰, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘦𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘰, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯- 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦-𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘮, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘱. 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.

𝘖𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵.

𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘗𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯.

“Trust me on this one,” Johnny continues. “It… I’m asking you, Mileena. I’ll owe you one, just…”

𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘰.

“I-I know your sights are set on other things, but… I’m asking something of you.”

𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

“Please.”

𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥.

Johnny’s eyes open again, heart pounding in his ears. It’s almost painful. This emotion… this did not originate from carnal release as the others do.

This is real fear. Somehow that’s worse.

Something in his heart aches for the human. It’s foreign and strange, but it's alive. It begs for his safety, for Johnny’s protection.

Turning around to try and gauge Mileena’s reaction, to beg, to plead, to try and drag her down to Hell in search of a promise of Kenshi’s safety, he instead finds nothing.

She’s gone. Probably has been for a while.

The severed head of a ram lies on the floor. Its white fur is completely corrupted by dark red blood.

The creature shocks Johnny back to his senses, its lifeless eyes staring at the night they could not see. Its fur, once white and pristine, is now caked with blood, an impure substance that the demon has drawn from Kenshi many times.

The message is obvious.

The ram is in danger.