"Do you like, wanna hang out?"
"Hang out?"
The whispers in his head caused Hunter to open his eyes. He was unsure how long he had been out.
All he knew was that he was cold, very very cold. And he couldn't see anything at all. The wind was hitting his back hard as he fell through endless nothing.
The sound of wind flooded his ears as he continuously fell.
"Let me explain, please?"
Whispers continued to invade his mind as his vision slowly unblurred. Not like it helped, he still couldn't see anything.
"Hunter I love you so much it hurts..."
"Were soulmates..."
Hunter felt his ears pop as he tried to take in his surroundings. Nothing, just like before.
The whispers began to overlap each other and became even more unintelligible.
"You went an hour without being super horny, that's growth Z-..."
"Just gotta make sure they know we're claimed,"
"You know when the veil thins..."
"We had amazing sex, from Z..."
"Welcome to the void, Hunter."
Hunter's eyes widened as the whisper became clear as day.
Before he had time to react, the air dropped in temperature and his back slammed into rocks.
Trying to grip onto anything, Hunter felt his hand scrape against the rocks. Breaking through his clothes, Hunter felt the cold air pierce his skin as an uncertain amount of wounds opened up.
Hunter continued rolling until he felt his back slam into something hard.
After coming to an abrupt stop, Hunter opened his eyes and saw,
Nothing.
His ears were flooded by what sounded like an earthquake that only just then seemed like it was coming to an end.
Hunter rubbed his eyes and reopened them and this time, he could make out the darkened portal right as it closed.
The sharp pain coming from his leg didn't go away and as Hunter brought his hand down to it, he could feel the warm blood coming from the open wound as it slowly dropped in temperature due to the cold.
God's he was cold. Hunter could feel the frost covering his bare skin, it was slowly traveling up his arms as most of his hands had been overtaken.
Hunter willed for fire to enlighten in his hand, and as it sparked it immediately became snuffed by the cold temps.
Fuck Hunter needed hellfire and he couldn't remember how Zekaj said to summon it.
Hunter took a guess and said, "Ignanis."
The pale gold flame lit in his hand and his surroundings became lit up.
The area around him became visible and he now understood what Zekaj meant with shiny rocks.
Spikes littered the area around the tiny clearing. The rocks he had tumbled over to were sharp and jagged. They were what ripped parts of his clothing. Hellfire had caused most of them to glisten in the light. So they were kind of shiny like Zekaj had said.
Hunter willed the little orb of fire to stay in place as he took off his book bag and opened it.
Putting on more layers of clothing, Hunter still could feel the cold piercing it's way through the extra layers, only it was a little more bearable.
Hunter breathed out of his mouth and watched the condensation appear immediately in front of him.
Supporting himself with a large spike, Hunter let the fire settle above his hand again, and with the other, he pulled up his scarf around his mouth and looked around for any sign of life.
Zekaj had mentioned a city and a castle, none of which Hunter had seen. There were no notable landmarks that Hunter could make out.
Closing his eyes, he focused. Hunter let the bond guide his way as he took his first step and the bond tugged at him, luring him in the direction to his right.
The warmth in his chest was enough to convince him that it was the right direction. It felt like Zekaj.
The ground was unstable and with each step, he had to watch where he was going. It was sharp gravel that luckily hadn't broken through his shoes. He could still feel the scratches and gashes from them earlier, especially the blood that was dripping down his leg that he didn't have the mana to heal.
Hunter had to climb over multiple spikes that stretched in random directions, each time he had to juggle the little ball of fire in his hands.
*****
After walking and climbing for what felt like hours, Hunter heard what sounded like wheels turning. He snuffed out the fire and looked around the spike he was sitting on. Several yards in front of him he could see what looked like a carriage lit up by the pale gold fire.
It rolled past him and continued in the opposite direction Hunter was heading in. It had to have been some sort of road ahead of him.
Hunter reignited the hellfire and climbed towards the direction the carriage had passed through. Not getting too close, he could make out the paved brick road.
He watched as it headed off farther and farther away from him before the small amount of light it had given off was nowhere in sight.
Dropping off of the spike he was on, he decided walking along the edge of the road was a lot easier than in the chaos that was the spikes. It was a lot less taxing on his body too.
Walking for a while, Hunter saw what appeared to be oil lamps ahead of him, lighting up the street. It was enough for Hunter to see and he dimmed the fire to conserve energy.
The farther along he got, the fewer spikes there were until suddenly, there were none.
It was only when there were no more spikes that he could see a wall, lit up by hellfire and surrounding large buildings on the other side of it. Hunter hid behind a large spike and peered in front of it, scanning the area.
At the far end where the wall suddenly stopped Hunter could see what Zekaj had been talking about again. A large dark castle lit up by the pale gold fire on an island hanging over what Hunter assumed to be the void.
He had made it, to the city at the edge of Hell. Zekaj was close.
The bond knew this as it tugged at his chest.
Now the only thing between him and Zekaj were the countless guards that were positioned outside of the gate and along the top of the wall.
Not to mention the city filled with demons on the other side of the wall.
Sitting on the jagged ground, Hunter breathed in and out. He felt weak and every step felt like he was dragging along anchors attached to his feet. His limp got worse with every passing step and god he was so tired.
He had been walking for hours and he just wanted to sit down and take a nap. But a lingering thought in the back of his mind told him not to. Hunter knew for his sake, it was probably best to listen to it.
The gash on his leg was still dripping blood and Hunter just hoped he wasn't losing too much.
He was running low on mana for sure. There wasn't much left in his system since the portal spell and he hadn't regained any at all. It wasn't safe to let himself drain so much but he had no other option.
Hunter had a good idea of how to get past. The only problem was getting it to work. He had to make himself invisible.
Pulling out the spellbook, Hunter got to work.
Hunter opened the book up to the page with the rune of invisibility and inaudibility. Both were simple enough.
Pointing his finger in front of him, Hunter focused his mana at the end of his finger and dragged his finger along in the air.
The pale gold magic followed behind it as the rune floated in the air. Right next to it, Hunter repeated his steps with the inaudible rune. Touching both, Hunter's surroundings greyed out and he had to hope no one would be able to hear him.
Breathing in deep, Hunter stood up and supported himself with the spike, and prayed for more energy. Strapping the book to his side, Hunter walked out into the open.
No one's eyes landed on him, all of them glanced over him. It was successful. Hunter breathed a sigh of relief and now needed to solve his next problem. Getting the gate to open.
Hunter quietly stepped around each guard, making his way closer and closer to the gate. He came to a halt when he heard the familiar sound of turning wheels coming closer and closer, only this time they were much faster.
The guards all stood straight up and bowed their heads as the carriage came to a halt and the gate slowly opened.
The carriage was pulled by a horse-like creature, only its head was more jagged and sharp, had no hair, and void seemed to seep out of its skin and drip onto the floor.
"What brings you back so soon Master Aegon, Lady Caroline?" The gatekeeper said.
Aegon? Caroline? Zekaj's parents?
"Our sons needed our immediate attention, a trip to The Inferno is going to have to wait," Caroline said to the guard from inside the carriage. She carried herself with elegance that Hunter could tell just with her voice.
Hunter couldn't see inside the carriage but tried his best to get their attention. He still had no idea how to get the spells to go away.
"Aegon! Caroline!" Hunter pleaded, his voice dry from the cold of the seventh ring.
Hunter knew he was out of luck when the carriage moved through the open gate. He quickly followed along as it slammed shut. It was much faster than his measly walk and soon turned the corner ahead of him.
Slowly he made his way into the city circle.
The city was a lot more bright than the wildness on the outside of the walls. It wasn't incredibly bright and there were still dark patches but he no longer needed his small ball of fire. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to keep it up anyway.
The city was made out of buildings that Hunter could only describe as gothic. Large buildings made of darkened brick, with accents of various shades ranging from black to lighter grays.
The city center had a large statue of a man, that was taller than most of the shops and houses, that Hunter had no idea who it was of. He didn't have time to read the plaque at the base, he needed to get to Zekaj quickly.
The streets were busy as void demons walked up and down the sidewalks and across the streets doing their daily shopping. All of them had the same glowing horns only silver, showing them to only be commoners like Zekaj had told him.
They came in many shapes and sizes but most of them were definitely over 6 feet and a lot more muscular than Hunter. None, except the occasional demon, were more muscular than Zekaj though.
Hunter weaved his way up the street keeping his distance from any demon that might cross his path. His eyes would occasionally catch glimpse of something that caught his attention but he had no time to stand and stare.
The city was huge and Hunter assumed tens of thousands of void demons lived here.
Hunter came to a stop as a loud voice shook him to his core.
"I smell Human!" A large demon boomed. It had come from in front of him and Hunter quickly got out of his way as it turned back and looked around the area.
This demon was different from the ones around him. It almost appeared like a minotaur compared to a humanoid. It had the same face shape as one and pale gold jewelry hung from his ears and nose.
"It smells like him!" The minotaur demon said.
A smaller woman demon stepped up to him and Hunter learned his name.
"Volveth, you know it's not him. Calm down, you're frightening the children."
The minotaur grumbled to himself and visibly calmed down as the minotaur features faded and a normal demon form took its place. The jewelry still hung from him and his ripped shirt now lay loose against his chest.
The previously minotaur-ed demon scoffed and walked down the street and the woman followed.
Hunter continued on his trek and made his way down the street. Praying the spell didn't randomly run out as he continued on.
Closer and closer he got to the castle as he came upon a bridge that went right over the endless void. It connected straight to the large castle in front of him.
The dark castle loomed over him and Hunter knew that Zekaj was somewhere inside. After months of being separated, they would finally be back together.
Hunter felt dizzy and he knew that wasn't exactly the best thing to feel when crossing a bridge. He hadn't felt cold for a while, as a matter of fact, he felt really warm. Hunter felt like taking a layer or two off but didn't want to leave evidence lying around.
Breathing in a slow breath, Hunter stumbled down the bridge, stumbling along with his leg.
The courtyard was luckily not gated and he walked right on in. There was a small stable and the familiar carriage was seated outside of it.
The void horse was drinking from a water trough and a demon took its harnesses off.
Ignoring it Hunter shivered along as climbed the steps up to the castle entrance, which too was guarded by demons.
God how many fucking steps were there, Hunter thought. Hunter leaned on the railing and dragged himself up the steps.
After what felt like a million steps, Hunter came to the grand entrance.
The door was gigantic. It had four pale gold runes on the front and that was all the Hunter could make out through his blurred vision.
Hunter walked around the two demons that he stared at as they made out instead of guarding the door.
Looking up at the runes, Hunter watched as one began glowing.
"Oh haha," Hunter laughed as the world around him regained color. "That's Zekaj's rune, haha."
Hunter laughed uncontrollably as the door opened.
"Is that the door?" One of the guards said as they broke their kiss.
Hunter turned around and came to his senses as the two guards stared at him directly in the eye.
Turning back around, Hunter was met by even more glowing eyes as around twenty void demons in armor stared him down.
"Human?" One of them said, the remaining guards that hadn't been looking now turned towards the entrance.
"Fuck," Hunter said and with one last burst of energy, a wave of grey magic rippled off of him, knocking down many of the guards.
And Hunter was off in a mad dash, not thinking of what direction he was going in. The bond was leading his way.
Turning down countless hallways, Hunter passed many workers and guards as he used up the rest of his energy to run.
The tugging of the bond grew and grew as he came to a large door that was at a dead end. Hunter used the last little bit of strength and pushed the door open. Turning back, Hunter had seen he magically lost the guards.
The door closed as Hunter slipped into the large room.
"... you've felt this way before..." Hunter heard talking from the other side of the room. He wasn't close enough to make it all out.
"I don't give a fuck this time it feels different!" Hunter felt his heart pound in his chest. He knew that voice.
Zekaj.
He had his back turned to Hunter.
There was a demon taller than him, yet less muscular, that almost had a face identical to Zekaj.
Zekai.
"Listen Mom and Dad will be done unpacking soon and we can talk you down alright? So just calm down, the bond is just playing tricks with your mind, Hunter isn't her-" Zekai's eyes drifted away from Zekaj and fell on the Human covered in layers of clothes, whose face was hidden behind a scarf, except for the eyes.
"Holy fuck," Zekai said.
"What?" Zekaj turned away and Hunter's eyes met the glowing pale gold eyes of Zekaj.
Zekaj looked more or less the same, just less put together. His beard needed some trimming and love and his hair was a spikey mess.
His eyes had slightly noticeable bags that were hard to see due to the gray skin.
"H-hunter?" Zekaj whispered.
Hunter didn't say anything but pull off the scarf and try to take a step towards Zekaj as his legs finally gave out and he almost collapsed to the floor.
Zekaj caught his mate in his arms and gently lowered both of them to the ground.
"Hunter?" Zekaj said with no reply.
Pain ripped through Zekaj's body and he knew something was wrong. Hunter was way too cold and way too pale. All of the color in his skin was gone and most of it was covered in frost.
Hunter's eyes lay lifeless, staring up at his mate. His last breath left his lungs and turned to a small cloud of condensation.
"Kai he's not fucking breathing!" Zekaj roared as the void dripped out of him, his enraged form threatening to unleash.
Hunter was dead.
Part 4 of How to Tame a Demon:
Living with the Demons
Coming soon.
A/N:
Thus Part 3 of HTTAD has ended. Our favorite horny himbo is back. And wow that ending really took Hunter's breath away, right?
Right?
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-MEK