Burning in Heaven (Darkness Trilogy Prequel)

Chapter 19

Asmodeus's PoV

I stare at the response from God. Stare at it because it's all I feel I can do. It's been a few weeks since I've gotten it and it still scares me. My heart thumps in my chest a loud reminder that this is all very real. I sigh and lean back in my chair, smoke exhales from my lips as I smoke. The words make sense, but my mind seems to freeze at them: We accept your terms on one condition: the night before King Asmodeus will walk through our throne room and serve his penance for his mate's shameful loss.

Of course, He'd do this. Satan told me to turn down the offer of course, that He can't have anything decent planned, but I have to do this. Lucifer and Satan would both do it, they have done it. It's my turn to sacrifice for Hell. I'll give Him whatever penance He wants as long as it means the people I love can be safe. The people I love who have hope and love in their lives still. I'm barely a shell of who I was and every day more strength leaves me. More strength is taken from me to the empty spot in my head where Lucifer's bond used to sit. We don't have time to wait to make another plan. I don't have time. I haven't told anyone that I think I'm dying. Satan would cancel this battle, this war and try to save me. I can't be saved. Lucifer's soul is calling mine into death and I'm only here because I'm fighting it. With every breath, I fight Lucifer's call just to be able to kill out God for him.

I stand and set the paper on the desk. I glance out my window, Asura and Satan are training. They've been training together endlessly. They've begun to unlock what Lucifer and I had. They work together like smoke and fire. Asura is smooth and relaxed as Satan is ever the angry fighter. They balance each other though. Asura has become a deadly fighter in a handful of weeks and Satan has become lethal, like a poison that kills untraced and immediately.

Leviathan is currently taking on Asura as Satan leans on the wall instructing. His red eyes are visible, lit with the flicker of power. His shadows have disappeared since the incident, not a flicker of power from him, except his eyes glowing brighter. Asura practically glows with her power now. The silver light threads constantly on her hand. A symbol of what she can do. I can still feel my own power stealing my air, my voice and forcing me into a kneel. I know I shouldn't have gotten upset at the name, but it felt blatantly disrespectful to me. To use the name I told her she had no right to, to use the name Lucifer almost always called me. At that moment I wanted her dead and if she hadn't Wielded my power I would have killed her. Then Satan would have killed me.

Something between the two has changed since Asura went to Heaven. Their bond is deeper, achingly so. It clogs my mind when I'm near the two. Mammon mentioned when I asked that he is unsure, every mate bond is different. He guesses that their bond runs deeper than any we'll see in our lifetime, because they are both Wielders, they have the ability to touch one another souls and interlock them permanently. Satan's wielding has never come close to what Asura can do, no one's has. Satan's Chaos and Asura's Wielding are beyond regular Fallen's abilities. A child borne to the two of them could rattle the world. Especially if they could hone their Chaos into a skill set. Satan's Chaos is raw, unformed, because it does not belong to him, he can not shape it beyond the shadows. Their child would be able to shape it into any skill set they wanted growing up, they could hone it into anything. Their child could change the world as we know it.

My phone chimes and I check it to see a message from Satan, Gonna stare out the window or join us?

You have to wait for the match tonight, I send my reply. Tonight we're holding a team fight three on four. Satan, Asura, Via versus Belphegor, Mammon, Beelzebub, and I. Because of how strong Asura and Satan are we put the extra on my team. My power as King of Hell can match one of them, but we need to offset both and no one would dream of separating them two. Sounds like a death sentence to even try.