"Oh Hell"

Chapter 5: "I wish there weren't Nine Hells, just Sex"

Nyx looked everything over as she considered what she was going to do with the information. "Who else knows?" she asked her daughter. Megaera shrugged. "Zagreus saved her twice. Once dragging her to the entrance of Hell itself, and then to the Second Circle" the Princess of Lust replied, and Nyx pinched the bridge of her nose. "I must inform Lucifer of this" she said after thinking everything through. "There's more..." she said, and Nyx stopped, turning to hear what Megaera had to say. Somehow, she knew this wasn't going to be good. "She's a living breathing human. Zagreus sensed her life force both times. The first he assumed it was just her soul getting used to... here but the second time it was stronger. Filled with fear" Megaera explained, and Nyx's considerably white face paled at this. The last time a live human had walked through Hell chaos had been unleashed like never before. Humans had legends of what the Underworld was really like, specifically through what they called 'Dante's Inferno' which had disgusted Lucifer when he had learned of it. Humanity was very rarely able to get to underworld without some form of assistance, and Nyx knew if she brought it to Lucifer now then the logistics issues were never going to be solved and the underworld could face civil war. He had a particular hatred of live humans walking through Hell but not because he couldn't touch them. He hated them because every time one made the journey the realm nearly fell apart at the seams. While humans were afforded protections and were not to be harmed there were many who risked invoking Lucifer's wrath just to play with the Humans whenever they passed through. Dead human sinners were one thing and frankly were never enough to get his attention. So long as the evildoers were punished accordingly or kept in their Hell Loops most of the time, he was willing to turn a blind eye unless a demon did something to go too far. Live humans were another matter. Lucifer had confided in Nyx after he had returned to Hell rather suddenly. The only reason he had even returned was to protect humanity. To protect someone, he had called them 'The Detective' and others. He hadn't explained much to her or any others of his inner circle, and she had checked, but what had followed was a few hundred years' worth of civil war coupled with a slight bit of Lilim genocide, reducing the population of that Demonic species by at least sixty percent. The female Lilim had begun to fix that slight issue which Nyx had mixed feelings on. A human being chosen now was possibly the worst thing that could happen and the last thing the Realm needed. "Have you seen her?" Nyx asked her daughter "Or were you too busy... fornicating... with Zagreus to notice?" Megaera didn't even blush in embarrassment. "I never saw her. I did my duty, duelled Zagreus until he beat me and I was sent back here. After that, I came straight to you" her daughter answered. Nyx didn't disapprove of her son and daughter sleeping together. There were worse pairings, and if anything, it improved their working relationship. "Did he say who else knows?" Nyx asked. If a live human was moving through hell, she needed to put a lid on the gossip. "Belphegor, Sathariel and Apophis will all know. They stand at the gates and there's no other way she could have entered" Megaera answered. Nyx drummed her fingers against her desk. During Lucifer's absence she had become the defacto ruler of Hell and while most of her time had been spent putting down large scale rebellions she had worked towards making the politics of Hell more stable. She had largely succeeded considering what she'd had to start with. All of her work was at risk of being undone if there was a Live Human in the realm. "Was she chosen?" Nyx asked. She knew the answer and didn't have to worry. Humans were chosen every few centuries to bring back word of what Hell was like. Fortunately that meant this should prove to be no problem and – "No" Megaera replied, and Nyx spat the sip of a drink she had taken in a spray. "She wasn't?" she asked as elegantly as ever, her daughter and fellow Demonic Princess choosing to ignore her shock. "Zagreus doesn't think so. He didn't sense the usual energies on her. If anyone would know its him" Megaera said, and Nyx's blood turned to ice. A live human who had been chosen was one thing, but a live human who hadn't had very rarely been heard of. It happened when Demons made deals but with Lucifer's ban on Demonic possession humans needed magic to get someone to appear. Depending how reasonable, or even cruel, that Demon was they would demand a soul as payment, but on in serious deals. Lucifer had enough Human souls already and he wasn't wanting for more. As a result, a demon could only demand a soul if a human asked for something big. Immortality, powers or celestial knowledge were prime examples. Those sorts of deals were very rarely made, but they were the most common ways that live humans had come down to Hell. Some Demonic Princes, such as Ratash, the Demonic Prince of Portals and Bargains, loved using circles of hell to test a human. there was no deal attached at that point, at least on Ratash's side. He simply used it to make sure humans were aware of that which they asked for. If they made it through and still wanted the deal, it was granted. Not every Prince required a deal to see something like this done, but those who were willing to invoke this chaos on the underworld were few. "If Lucifer finds out, he will be furious" Nyx reminded her daughter, and this was enough to make Megaera shuffle uncomfortably. She was utterly devoted to Lucifer and valued loyalty above all. Nyx knew she was going to be asking a lot, so she needed to be careful with how this was handled. "Lucifer has to know, especially if she was brought here by illegal means" Megaera pointed out, and Nyx wasn't able to disagree. "I concur, but I would rather approach him with as many facts as possible. If he learns of a Live Human here now and suspects treachery, his wrath will be unlike anything we've ever seen. It will make his rage over Dromos seem desirable in comparison" Nyx explained. Megaera didn't respond straight away but Nyx knew she was considering her words. Her logic was sound, and even if Lucifer was angry with her, it would be for show more than anything else. She wasn't trying to rebel and she had no intention of betraying him. All of this was going to be a moot point unless Megaera agreed to keep it quiet for now while he focused on the supply issues. "Without him we can't determine how she arrived. Moreover, she's going to have to approach the princes of the Circles and the realms of Sin. One of the three at the gates will have suggested it, or she's smart enough to know she requires their seals of safety" Megaera responded, using her own logic against her mother, but anyone affiliated with them knew it wasn't out of malice. "All true" she conceded without argument "So who do you think brought her here?" Megaera shrugged at her Mother's question, as vital as it was she didn't currently have any answers. "Ratash would be logical, but he remains in solitude with the Djinn. Dagon is the prince of knowledge, even if he is only an Archduke in the political power structure he's certainly strong enough to drag a human down here" she speculated. Nyx nodded, accepting the guess for what it was, even without proof. Megaera didn't make accusations or hint at them lightly. "Did Zagreus mention her condition?" she asked. Megaera nodded, and knew her mother wasn't going to like what was next. "Near dead, but still able to be saved by human medics. Zagreus noted that her injuries appear almost frozen as if in stasis. Worse, he pulled her out of a Hell Loop. One that was designed for her" she answered, and Nyx's face turned into a scowl. "And she has not been treated?" she asked, trying not to let fury enter her voice. "Zagreus was able to supply her with more blood, but he isn't the Demonic Prince of Healing. When, no, IF she returns to the Mortal World we need to hope that human healers find her quickly or she will bleed to death up there" Megaera explained, and Nyx felt furious. "I hope that for the sake of whoever caused those injuries this human is not one of those Lucifer came to care for" she said. Lucifer's inner circle, Nyx, Megaera, Malphas, Amon and Thanatos had all been at the hidden meeting where Lucifer had offered something of an explanation regarding his time on earth. Ramiel had been unleashed to cull the Lilim, innocent or members of Dromos's rebellion alike and Apophis had been enacting vengeance on the other leaders of that same rebellion. Had they not been busy, Lucifer would have had them join him. To hear his explanation. Regardless Nyx didn't know if they had been caught up but right now it was best to keep the circle small. "Its times like this I wish there weren't Nine Hells, just sex" Megaera deadpanned. Nyx knew her daughter had her preferences and she and Zagreus were hardly exclusive so she took the attempt at humour for what it was, although it was bitter humour. "Will you look into this?" Nyx asked her daughter. She saw the look of curiosity on Megaera's face, and offered an explanation without request for one. "Lucifer may be back but he is pre-occupied, and we both know he has no interest in ruling. That much was made clear upon his return. I may be the princess of pride and the embodiment of Night and Darkness but I still handle the day to day of this realm. I cannot very well get involved without questions being asked" she explained simply and politely. Megaera considered this factor. "You really think keeping this from Lucifer is a good idea? If he finds out we both risk losing our powers" she said, and Nyx nodded. "I hope that we can have what we need before he returns from looking into the current angle of his own investigation. I won't ask you to keep it from him daughter, but I do ask you not to seek him out and tell him while he is busy" Nyx requested. She knew it was going to be as good as she got. "Acceptable" Megaera said "I need to speak with Thanatos." Nyx watched her daughter unfurl her wings and fly away, in search of answers.