Belphegor got hit by a strange feeling the moment he left the attic. He instinctively looked back, as if expecting to see someone.
But of course, he was met by the now empty room, devoid of any living being.
"..." Belphegor looked down before nodding at the human, signaling for them to keep going.
Their steps echoed through the enclosed space of the stairs to the attic.
Belphegor should have been thinking of it. Thinking of how to greet his brothers ominously and dramatically.
Revealing how much he had missed them, and how Lucifer was the villain all along... or something along the lines.
Like he had imagined it would be multiple times in the attic.
But now, his head was empty, save for the sole thought of you, and nothing else.
It was stupid how much it consumed his mind.
Although he couldn't remember much, he knew something bad happened.
And so, they arrived. On the other side of the door, would be his oblivious brothers. He could even hear them chattering about something.
...
Belphegor felt his heart pick up its pace.
It was this very moment he'd imagined multiple times.
The human gave him a look before taking a step back. When the demon raised a brow, they answered.
"It should be you opening this door, you know. I'll...stand right here." The human spoke hesitantly. Belphegor blinked at them before fixing his attention onto the door's handle.
Very slowly, he reached out and grasped the handles. It took a few moments for him to actually move them.
The handles were awfully heavy for the first time.
The door slowly creaked open, prompting all chatters in the room to halt. The six brothers instinctively turned to the door.
A long period of silence ensued, as none of the people in the room could speak.
...
"Belphie...?"
Beelzebub was the first to get out of his stupor as he called out his brother's name. Belphegor perked up at the mention before cracking a smile.
"Beel... It's me..."
"You're... You're really Belphie, right?" Beelzebub began to walk closer. His steps were slow, as if Belphegor would dissipate into thin air if he rushed.
Belphegor chuckled weakly.
"...Who else?"
And that was all it took for Beelzebub to break out into a sprint, nearly tackling Belphegor in an embrace. The younger twin managed to brace himself in time, otherwise they'd both crash onto the ground.
Beelzebub tightened his grip as he teared up. "Belphie...! I can't believe it... You're finally home!"
"...Haha... Yeah... I'm..." Belphegor's voice trembled. "...Finally home."
Home...
Truly, what was the meaning of the word?
He was home. In the arms of his twin, and in the very same room as the rest of his brothers.
...and yet why did he feel so incomplete?
As Belphegor basked in the embrace and comfort it provided, he couldn't help but grab Beelzebub's shoulders.
It was...different.
Different from yours.
And as Belphegor's nails dug into the fabric of Beelzebub's jacket, he began to tear up.
Eventually, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
And so he cried.
Cried for the loss.
Cried for the pain of your departure.
Cried for his lost memories, never to be recovered.
Cried for the loss of your warmth that he never even felt in the first place.
Cried, because deep inside, he was well aware that it was your last meeting.
- - -
"My name is ___, Belphie. Be sure to forget me soon, alright?"
- - -
It really made him wonder.
If he apologized and never said those words...
Would you have stayed?