#❀ me: traumatizes her with the other routes

[scoobydoodean]

so imagine emma somehow reappeared in season 15. i think we can all pretty much agree that dean would be quite emotionally affected by her, but how do you think sam would react? obviously he’s changed a lot since season 7, and of course they’ve had jack now, so do you think he’d feel terrible and admit he was wrong, or even with all that do you think he’d defend his actions? do you think he would bring up amy and let it become a bigger debate about other times they’d disagreed? thanks in advance if you answer :)

I certainly don't think Sam would try to kill Emma again. I think he saw killing her as a necessary evil in 7.13 due to his and Dean's tenuous psychological states, which caused Sam to assess her as a much more serious threat to Dean's life than Sam would at almost any other point in the series. Basically, in any other season, I think Sam would look at Emma with much more compassion, and would believe they had the practical capacity to try and get through to her (see: 1.16, 2.03, 4.04, 5.06, 12.04, 13.01-13.03). In another season, Sam would (imo) be willing to risk another surprise assault thinking they could handle it if it happened—especially in the future with the bunker at their disposal. But in 7.13, the brothers have no home (not even the impala), recently lost Bobby, and lost Cas. They have absolutely zero stability and no resources. Dean is suicidally depressed, and Sam is hallucinating. Sam does not believe he and Dean have the capacity to handle a brainwashed child who might show up and ambush them within that very precarious context, so he kills her. He has lost everyone and everything, and he absolutely will not risk losing Dean too. That fear comes out as rage at Dean in the car, but I don't think Sam killing Emma was mean-spirited or an attempt to punish him. It was just... incredibly cold and calculated.

Is there a reason why you pick season 15 specifically for an Emma revival? Sam navigating how to handle a revived Emma later in the series would be interesting, but I personally wouldn't do it in season 15. I'd do it a little earlier than that—maybe 13-14. Maybe it's just because of my bias against season 15... but it feels too... mytharc heavy? Sam's morals surrounding family sacrifice change around season 14/15 which adds another complication as far as how he might re-assess 7.13. I think Dean might just implode if he had one more thing on his plate in season 15 and a lot of the juiciest father/daughter bits would be subsumed by Dean's fears of Chuck meddling which to me would be a shame. I also think conflicts between Sam and Jack over Emma would be juiciest in season 13 or 14 and imo there's a lot of potential there that would be overcomplicated or missed.

In general though, Sam handles a lot of negative emotions and traumatic experiences by pretending they do not exist/never happened. This is why he immediately sows the narrative that Emma was not really Dean's child. So he can make that the story and invalidate any significance she might possess. Her coming back would force him to confront something he already knows deep down but won't face—that Emma was Dean's child who had been brainwashed by a cult, and Sam killed her in perhaps the most cold-blooded play he's ever (knowingly) made. It's possible that Sam would react negatively to being in Emma's presence because it would resurface those feelings and that Sam would eventually make justifications to try and shove all those feelings back down again. But I actually suspect if Sam went the "Well things have changed now but I wasn't wrong for what I did back then" route, his main conflict wouldn't end up being with Dean. I suspect his biggest hurdle in terms of family conflict would end up being with Jack in a season 13-14 context, because I think Jack would see their similarities, and it might color his perception of both Sam and Dean's reaction to him in early season 13. I think he'd have a lot of questions about how Sam could see the good in him but not Emma despite him being objectively far more dangerous than her and having actively demonstrated that several times by hurting and killing several people and almost reviving ancient evils, etc. I think it could revive some of Jack's early concerns over Sam wanting to use him and not really caring about him. I'd even wonder if he might see Dean's initial rejection as part of a foundation Sam himself laid when he killed Dean's child then went back on without any explanation. Like I think they could reach common ground and Sam could reassure Jack, but I think it could create some very juicy conversations surrounding Jack and necessary evils.

I don't NOT think Sam and Dean would have a conflict over Emma, but tbh one has to acknowledge that at the end of the day... there is pretty much nothing Sam can't get Dean to shut up about, including his own traumatic experiences in hell that Dean specifically does not ever talk about because of Sam. If Sam tried to kill Emma again, that'd be another matter... but if it was just about whether Sam was wrong for Doing All Of That...? I'm genuinely not sure I would look to Dean to reignite a war over it. If anything, he probably told himself the entire situation was all his fault a long time ago. Now if you push that Emma revival back to the CARVER era...

[snobwhimsicality]

hello chat i am going to be a hater in tags for a moment (jst finished natlan act IV)

[lxnarphase]

━━ ❝ sweet, sticky, thick, and pretty ❞

☾₊‧⁺...synopsis : toji wants to give you another baby

☾₊‧⁺...cw : toji fushiguro x fem!reader, smut, penetrative sex, pre-established relationship, overstimulation, unprotected sex, breeding kink, dirty talk, rough sex, begging, smug and cocky reader, feral toji

☾₊‧⁺...a/n : this is a post from my old blog but i revamped it and i really wanted to share this again because i was really proud of it. and yes, it's another breeding kink + pregnant kink. consider it a part two, since it takes place after megumi is born

toji never thought he’d get off on the idea of having another kid with you.

yet here he is, dick hard in his sweatpants as he thinks about you carrying his baby again...how you'd start to fill out all over again, that cute chubbiness coming back, how he'd have an excuse to dote on you whenever you complained about the simplest of things.

it starts off with how he sees you coo over megumi, calling him your sweet baby. you're such a good mother, too, it's clear you'd likely be the favorite parent to that little brat.

but god, does he find it attractive just seeing you be a mom to the kid that he gave you.

the day you ask megumi what he wants for his upcoming 4th birthday at dinner, neither one of you is prepared for the words that come out of your son's mouth.

“i want a baby sister,” he states bluntly as he chews on the steamed carrots, looking at you and toji. it was clear from how confident the little guy is that he's put a lot of thought into this.

“but, i don’t want her to look like daddy. he’s ugly, i want her to look like mommy.”

little brat. you straight up choke, trying to stop the laugh-coughs as toji looks at his son, offended. this really is his son, because who else but you and the kid he made with you could have the nerve to say shit like that to him?

“twerp, you look just like me, you realize that, right?”

megumi huffs, looking at his dad in the cutest little glare. “that’s 'cause i'm a boy, though," he explains as if it's obvious, his precious little cheeks puffed up as he stuffs more of his food in his mouth.

"my sister has to be like mommy. you’d be an ugly girl, daddy.” toji just rolls his eyes, pinching the cheeks of the mini him, ignoring his protests. as the two bicker, you think. would it...really be that bad to have another baby? you always wanted a girl, after all, and toji took such good care of you and megumi...it couldn't be that bad. “well, uhm,” you begin, catching the attention of toji, an unfamiliar smile on your face.

there's a mischievous look on your face right now, his eyes narrowing as he waits for your response. whatever you're about to say is either going to haunt him for the next few days or make him roll his eyes at you.

“i'm sure daddy and i can work something out for you, 'gumi, but let’s think of some other things, too, m'kay?” 

ah.

you went the haunting route.

ignoring the little cheer his son let out, toji can't hide the disbelieving look that crosses his face when he processes what you just said.

'daddy'?

you've said the word, sure, usually when you talk to megumi about him. but something was different about how you said it, the way you looked at him when you said it, the barely visible flutter of your eyes...a silent promise there'd definitely be a deeper conversation about it later.

the very day megumi has a sleepover with the neighbor's kid, yuuji, toji is mentally cheering. he loves his son with all his heart, he truly does, but having a toddler in bed meant limited contact with his pretty wife.

it's only been 3 days since that little comment you made and it's been on toji's mind constantly. every time he tried to bring it up with you, megumi would interrupt and toji was not being the reason his son ended up traumatized because he overheard mommy and daddy talking about making babies in the kitchen.

"bye, gumi! make sure you behave for mr. nanami, okay? have fun with yuuji," you coo as you press two kisses to your son's cheeks, snapping toji back to the present.

"see ya, kid, be good," toji says, giving a nod of acknowledgement to nanami. megumi barely says goodbye before he runs after yuuji to the car, his run a bit awkward because of his overnight backpack.

waving goodbye to nanami, you shut the door, turning to look at toji with that smile as you.

"hi, toj."

you think you're so cute, don't you?

"hey, mama."

toji can't even lie, you are. wearing his t-shirt and sweatpants? yeah, your the cutest thing he's ever laid eyes one. his hands rest on your hips, pulling you flush to his chest. fuck, you weren't even doing anything but he could already feel himself getting hard just from looking at you.

he's never been so whipped in his life.

"d'you wanna talk," you murmur lowly, your finger running over the thin silver chain on his neck. "we could go to the bedroom...and talk about the baby thing."

toji's eyes darken at the suggestion, knowing exactly what would happen the moment you both go into the bedroom. "yeah. think it's 'bout time we talked about it," he hums as he grips your wrist, tugging you to your room.

as soon you both step foot into the bedroom, toji hungrily presses your lips against his, letting out a deep groan. "had me thinkin' about knockin' you up again all fuckin' week, mama," toji sighs against your lips, tongue running over your lower lip.

"wanted to stuff you full so fucking bad."

feeling you sigh so prettily into the kiss, his doesn't hesitate to shove his tongue in your mouth, hands busying themselves as they push your (his) sweats down off your hips before guiding you back to the bed.

you knew he would get excited over your comment, but you didn't think it would be to the point where he was rutting into you as he practically devoured you, feeling your back hit the bed.

“you want to give our 'gumi a sister? wanna be a mommy again," he questions, breaking the kiss to press his forehead against yours. one of his hands slithers up under the oversized t-shirt to cup one of your tits and roughly knead it, his thumb just barely grazing over your nipple.

"wanna have another kid with big, bad toji? tsk, poor cunt missed gettin' stuffed full of cum?" 

you just hum a little breathless. your hand comes up to cup his cheek, looking from his lips back up to his eyes. he's so handsome when he's over you like this, his chain dangling right in your face.

“maaaaybe. megumi just made me think about it, 's all. you've been a good dad t' him, how could i not want to give you another one,” you coo, guiding him closer so you can press a kiss against the scar on his lip. 

“besides…”

toji grunts when he feels your legs wrap around his waist, pulling him flush against you so you can feel the thick, heaviness of his arousal through his sweatpants.

“don’t you want me to make you a daddy again, toji? c'mon, knock me up, big guy.”

after those words leave your pretty little mouth, toji is on you as he realizes that you're 100% going to give him the worse breeding kink ever.

"'m gonna fuckin' ruin you," he growls into your ear. you aren't given a second to protest before he's ripped your panties off, complaints falling on deaf ears. the tips of his fingers gently run over your puffy pussy lips, your slick wetness coating his fingers.

"fuck, mama, you're soaked already." his eyes are focused on your face as you squirm and whimper when he swirls little circles into your clit, an evil smirk on his face. "can't wait to fill you up 'til you're dripping with my cum, doll."

you can't stop your hips from trying to grind into his hand, eyes rolling back when he teased your entrance. "toji, c'mon, baby, i need you s'bad."

"baby, you know you can't take me without prep," he coos at you. he can feel how hot and slick you are, finally, finally slipping two of his fingers inside your cunt. and oh, the way you arch your back a little bit with a pleading whine of his name is so, so pretty, you're so fucking cute.

"mmn, maybe y'don't need prep, you just sucked my fingers right in," he says huskily before pressing a little kiss to the corner of your mouth. "you wanna try, mama? wanna see if you can fit my cock in you? really gonna feel that stretch, though, babe," toji warns, knowing you can't give a sensible answer when he starts pumping his fingers in and out.

when it seems like your about to answer him, the only thing that escapes your mouth is a shaky moan, his thick fingers curling to hit just the right spot inside of you that has you gushing. unable to form words, you tug on his shirt and nod frantically, just wanting to feel toji stuffing you full.

"yeah? you wanna try?" toiji pulls his fingers out of you, chuckling when you whine at the sudden feeling of emptiness. he pops his fingers in his mouth, cock throbbing at the addictive taste of your cunt on his tongue. "c'mon, we're both wearing too much, let's get you outta that shirt, ma."

you waste no time throwing the shirt off, not even giving him the chance to undress you. but once your shirt is off, you're practically ripping off his stupid black t-shirt that made his pecs look fucking delicious and those damn sweatpants and boxers that hid your prize.

as you fuss over his boxers, toji takes a moment to look at you spread out on the bed before him. you still had a bit of chub on you, tummy nice and soft and cute, just how he likes it. if he knew where his phone was, he'd take a picture of you right now; frustrated, horny, naked, and pretty. all for him.

"tojiiii, stop staring and kick off your stupid boxers, you're getting on my nerves!"

you can't even look him in the eye as you say that because you're too busy staring right at his cock, a thick bead of precum formed at the tip. the lick of your lips told him everything he needed to know, but he wasn't fucking your mouth, not tonight at least.

"what? i can't look at my own wife," he asks with a raised eyebrow, biting back a laugh when you swat at his hand that pinches one your puffy nipple. "tch, so rude, doll."

before you can snap back at him, he brushes the swollen head of his cock against your slick folds, smearing your wet over the tip. that shuts you up quickly and toji has to hold back another laugh. always so fussy until he finally gives you what you want. he's spoiled you rotten.

"toji," comes a soft whine, so soft he nearly misses it. your eyes are focused between your legs, lower lips between your teeth as he teases you with his cockhead. you huff, pushing your hand against his chest to give you enough space to shift positions, knowing exactly what would get him to stop teasing you.

once you roll over, you shift so that you're face down, ass up, you hand slipping between your thighs to spread your sticky pussy open, slick dripping down your fingers. "tojiiii, please? please, baby, stop teasing an' put a baby in me...please, hubby, give your wife what she wants."

any other whines or begs are interrupted when his hand comes down hard on your ass. he was going to give you what you wanted, what you both wanted. he was going to fuck you, fill you up with all his cum and whatever leaked out? he’d make sure to push it back in, whether with his fingers, mouth, or tip of his dick. 

when he finally pushes into you, he just lets out the most wrecked groan you’ve heard from him yet, each inch sinking into you stretching those tight walls just a bit more.

"holy shit...fuuck me, baby, too fucking tight, you're strangling my cock," he hisses, fingers digging into the fat of your hips as he gave you inch after inch.

god, just the thought of fucking you not just to feel good, but to fill you up, get you to take his seed deep inside to give him another kid? it's fucking with his head, his wife was gonna be the death of him.

both of you moan once he's all the way inside. you feel so full, his cock is too fucking big it doesn't make any sense and you genuinely think you should've let him fully prep you...but shifting your hips just a little bit has his tip pressing against something sinful. you whine and reach back to grab at one of his hands on your waist, turning to shoot him a mean glare as you demand, “stop stalling n’ knock me up, toji." 

who is he to deny what his wife asks?

using a hand to steady himself on the headboard, his hips begin to move slowly, pulling out just an inch and pushing forward again. "so tight 'n' warm..." each thrust hits deeper and more powerful than the last as toji begins to pick up speed, the thickness of his cock hitting every deep part of you.

it's almost too much, but you don't want him to stop, especially not when toji started running his mouth.

“shit, look at you, baby…takin’ it like a champ.”

now you really wish you stayed on your back, then at least you could've slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up. you drop your head down against the mattress with a moan, starting to move your hips to match his thrusts, the room filling with the sound of skin slapping on skin.

“fuuck, c'mon, throw that ass back on me, thaaaat’s it, good girl.” 

he starts pounding into you harder when he feels you tightening up on him. the sweet moans and adorable words of “gimme more,” “baby, please,” or “s’ too good, toj,’” only pushing him to get even deeper, to get you to cum so he could stuff you full.

he coos when he sees you starting to scramble up further on the bed, away from his relentless fucking. he knows that he found that sweet spot that would have you creaming in minutes.

"tsk, you just never fuckin' learn, huh? 's always gonna be too much for you, isn't it," he huffs as his hand finds its way into your hair, tugging your head back to keep you from moving more. “hey. hey, nonono, don’t run away from it, lemme have it," he coos at you, following you up the mattress.

you never change, always swearing up and down that you wouldn't run from his cock, that you'd be able to take him. you wanted this, you wanted your precious husband to fuck another baby into you, t'give 'gumi a little sister, s’ i’m gonna give it to you.”

toji may sound like he’s still put together, but he’s just thankful you can’t see his face since yours is pressed into the pillows at the top of the bed.

you can’t see how he’s barely holding himself together, trying his hardest not to let himself go too much. the last thing he needs is to cum before you, knowing that while you wouldn’t mind, he’d be annoyed for breaking his streak.

he’s brought back into the present when you manage to turn your head a little, able to look him in the eye, and god, does he love what he sees.

your mouth is open as you moan for him, eyes lidded and focused on only him. he sees the little tears gathered in them, not quite spilling over but the fact that they’re there tells him he’s the one making you feel that good. 

“tuh-toji, ’m gonna cum, gonna cum—!”

"yeah?" hearing you moan so sweetly for him only makes toji smirk, fingers digging into your hips as he helps you meet each thrust. “gonna make a mess f'me already? poor little cunt can't handle gettin' fucked so good? mmn, shit, 's okay, baby. let go for me, mama, cum on daddy’s cock.” 

"t-tojiiiii," you shakily moan, nearly ripping the sheets as you cum suddenly. it was his voice, the way he tried to sound put together but you could hear how desperate he was to feel your pussy clamp down on him and get his cock nice and messy.

toji's deep, guttural moans mix with your cries when he unexpected is pushed over the edge, the way you desperately grinded back against him causing him to swear under his breath as he lost his pace, groaning your name as he emptied into you. it felt so hot, the pulsating warmth of his tip nudging against your cervix paired with his thick cum filling you up dizzying the both of you. 

you expect some kind of snarky comment from toji, trying to catch your breath so you could reply when he said it. but nothing comes (you have to stop yourself from laughing at the pun). you turn to look back, sighing when toji pulls out of you. usually he stayed inside, leaning down to tease you for cumming so fast...but he didn't.

something was wrong and for some reason, you felt like your pussy was in danger.

“toj…?”

he didn’t answer. he probably didn’t even hear you, not with the way he was looking so intensely at the mess between your thighs. the mess he made. toji doesn’t know what comes over him, his hands practically moving on their own as he moves you over onto your back, then moving his hands down to your sensitive hole and spreading. 

the scene in front of him just breaks him. you let out a soft whine, hips gently rolling into his hands. his eyes stay stuck between your legs—sharp and focused—as they watch the thick globs of his hot cum drip out of your hole and down onto the bed sheets.

the groan that leaves him is sinful, and once you make eye contact with him, you realize how fucked you are. he’s hard again, almost making you believe he didn’t cum if it weren’t for the creamy sheen of his cum on his throbbing dick and the hotness of his dripping out of you. before you know it, toji’s climbing over you, making sure your legs get pushed over to his shoulders as he pushes you into a mating press.

yeah.

you're fucked.

you keep making eye contact, and now that he’s so close to you, you see how crazed he looks. his eyes, completely black due to his blown pupils, have an unhinged look in them, and the half smirk on his face only makes you worry about your ability to walk the next day.

“t-toji, if you need a break to calm down, then-oh!” 

he shuts you up by pushing himself inside you, loving how your eyes cross so prettily. he has you now, you can't run away from the overstimulating feeling of him fucking you in this position. and when you feel his hands come up and lock together on your head to really keep you in place, you feel yourself gush all over his cock at the simple display of how strong he was compared to you.

you're so fucked.

all you can do is moan and cry out his name, hands grabbing whatever part of him they could reach. but he doesn't let you break eye contact, keeping you close to his face so he could see every little expression. and fuck, does he like what he sees.

“t-tojiii, t’ deep, t’ deep!”

“wan’ me t’ stop? t’ stop fuckin’ this messy hole?”

“fuck, y-you stop, and I’ll c-choke the shit out of yo-ouh!”

“that’s it, take it, take daddy’s cock, mama, lemme breed you.”

everything about this position is driving both of you crazy.

the closeness has you reeling, the way toji just cannot bring himself to break eye contact, needing to see what he was doing to you.

his thick cock is hitting deep, almost too deep, with the way each thrust of his hips causes the tip to press into the sweet spot inside you every. single. time. 

he has you for the whole day and the whole night, he's going to make sure you're stuffed entirely and doesn't plan on stopping until either you tell him you need a break or until he can't cum anymore. and even then, he doesn't think anything will be able to get him out of your cunt.

but with the way he just moaned into your mouth, thick spurts of more cum coating your insides…and the way he didn’t get soft, instead pressing you even deeper into the mattress as he began to pound into you with a groan of how much he loved your pussy…

you were sure it would be a while until he was done with you.

all rights reserved © lxnarphase | do not repost, copy, translate, or alter my work

[thependancer]

An analysis of the voices in Moment of Clarity

Before we get into the analysis, a little note:

1- I am mostly trying to show how the trauma has affected each voice compared to them on their normal routes. If they have deviations in other chapters and I have stated them as trauma responses, correct me.

2- I tried my best but some voices are just difficult 😭. So sorry if I couldn't give a satisfying explanation to your favourite.

Without further ado, let's begin:

Firstly, it should be noted that what exactly happened after you decided to stay with The Nightmare is something not even the voices themselves are sure about. But what we do know is that whatever the events were they were horrific. The voices have tried everything up to this point except freeing her. And since nothing was working and it was only making things worse, they are effectively useless now. Even the Narrator acknowledges that they are all extremely traumatized.

So let's see how these voices handle trauma.

1) The Voice of the Broken:

The voice of the Broken has shown incredible resilience and empathy in the past. And in this route he is somehow even more broken. He is also on the "Free the Princess" team, however he only wants to do it because he wants this misery to end. He has the most interesting explanation as to why we(the player) can't remember being here through all those lifetimes.

"Maybe you're shattered in your own way."

Ding Ding Ding. We've found the trauma response. The Broken has been shattered more than he already was. His will and empathy have run out. Where once he probably tried accepting the Princess, the Princess just shattered them further. He just wants to be done with it. As he says, "She smashes us to smaller pieces."

2) The Voice of the Cheated:

The voice of the cheated is the only voice to comment on the absurdity of us having so many voices. And he says it as if he's complaining about it. It's the only thing he can really do in that situation really. The Cheated does NOT like losing. But after complaining for so long and ultimately getting no where, he just accepts defeat at this point.

"It doesnt matter what we do. Because we always find her. And if we don't find her, she always finds us."

Subsequently he is on the "I don't fucking care what happens anymore" team. That isn't to say he doesn't want this to end. He does but he has just given up on trying to 'win' and get an ending. Effectively he wants to quit now. And he doesn't care if it's by completing the game or hitting alt+f4.

3) The Voice of the Smitten:

The voice of the Smitten has an interesting trauma response. The relation here is almost parallel to the relation Broken has with The Tower, except somehow worse. Smitten is incapable of seeing faults in the Princess. And when questioned if we really do love her after all shes done to us he tries to justify his love by saying

"To be given an ounce of kindness from something so pure would be more pure than any other love."

After we say that the voices in our head are wrong, he replies

"She is the ONLY THING that's right."

The Smitten is heartbroken. He's like that ex you broke up with but he still texts 'I love you' every night. Except the Princess has probably toyed with the Smittens love. But the Smitten can't not love her. So he decides he must become good enough to earn the love of "our cruel and beautiful godess". And the only way to do that is to free her. He doesn't want freedom he wants affection.

4) The Voice of the Hunted:

The Hunted was already one of the weaker voices mentally. Here he's just completely silent. He has like 6 lines the whole route. Which is only 1 more than the Stubborn. The Hunted is scared. He is almost paranoid. He doesn't even tell us to do this or that. He doesn't even comment on the mirror.

I personally feel Hunted was so broken that like a scared animal he decided it was better to hide. He does speak out in agreement to Cold when he says we sealed our fate by not killing her. Interestingly, the response is very minimal. Primitive even.

"Kill or be killed."

Which if you know Hunted, is not a normal response. He usually wants to run or hide. He never wants to kill, just survive. But here he says it would have been better to just kill. So whatever Nightmare did has made Hunted go from run to hide to kill or be killed. Wow! This is like prey animal that when cornered will just lash out in violence if they have no other choice. And that's exactly what Hunted is.

Now we start getting into some really interesting deviations.

5) The Voice of the Opportunist:

The voice of the Opportunist is so unbelievably broken its unreal. First thing to note is he already has an opinion. Secondly, he defends his own opinion. That isn't very opportunistic. He doesn't even flip flop like in his other routes. He's so different in this one, almost as if he's gained empathy as a response to trauma. He eve tries to comfort other voices like the Broken.

"You did your best really. There's just a pecking order."

And he is the only voice who tries explaining to Skeptic why his constant questions are bothering them. He does it in a positive way as well.

"They're good questions. Great questions even. But they just don't have any answers."

And he clearly doesn't care what the others think about him at this point. He's also the few voices that have some semblance of sense. Like when Cold tells them to be unfeeling, Oppy says,

"He's not wrong. He's the only smart one left if you ask me."

Again a very different opinion from the rest of the voices that deem Cold to be a nuisance. He's in the minority here. And yet when you return and start making choices, he's so relieved.

"I'm sure whatever you settle on, it'll be the best possible decision you could've made."

The reason he's relieved is because there is someone actually in control. There is a decision maker he can agree with. Finally, someone to try and suade. But this is still the most resolute we've ever seen him.

6) The Voice of the Stubborn:

He is probably the most fed up with everyone else's bullshit. Interestingly though on this route he isn't urging us to face the Princess. The only route where he isn't in a hurry to reach the cabin. He has completely lost the spirit to fight. If you got knocked out, this Stubborn could not revive you. He still wants to get physical, just can't. Who's he supposed to fight? The Princess? That's already been tried. The other voices? Now that's an idea.

"Shut up. You {Contrarion} were here."

Fight me. It's right there he wants Contrarion to punch him so he can punch him.

"Ugh. Here you {Skeptic} go philosophising again. It never goes anywhere."

I'm mocking you what you gonna do about it? Fight me. But it's hopeless. He can't even be bothered to instigate a fight anymore. But he's the macho man. What will the others think of him if he isn't aggresive? The truth is others don't really care. But he does. So he says to smash the mirror. Partly cause he wants to feel the spark of a fight again, partly cause that's what others expect of him.

7) The Voice of the Paranoid:

He is STRESSED. To the point he's constantly thinking about the Princess. He only has one goal in mind. Free the Princess. Escape. Get out of here. Make the thoughts stop!!!!

Such a precious broken boi. He just wants peace. He states,

"(Freeing her) It's the only way to get our thoughts back."

He can also feel eyes on him. Not sure if that's just Para being Para or due to trauma. But he is growing restless because of it.

"She's watching us. She never stops watching us."

He also doesn't talk much. Like he's scared the princess will hear him. He was always quiet but he's unnaturally quiet. He also really really wants to free the Princess. Overall he's Paranoid, can't think about anything except wanting to free the Princess so he can have his thoughts back.

8) The Voice of the Contrarion:

Contrarion has always been a nihilist. Nothing matters so let's just have fun cue laughter. However, here we can't really have fun. So his attitude becomes, nothing matters cue laughter. Which just makes him seem so sad.

"There's no difference between fine and not fine. It just goes on and on."

We know that Contrarion does hate himself. But here he's trying so hard to hide it here. He does not want to look at himself. He doesn't even want to think about himself. When Skeptic starts to question identity. He's also been asked this before but he would rather look away than look at himself.

"Yes this is far from the first time you've asked us about consciousness. (In a mocking tone) 'Who am I?', 'What am I?'; (Angrily) What is 'I'? Who even cares."

The Nightmare has broken him so much but he'd rather ignore it. When the voices are telling us what to do with the mirror in the cabin, he says

"Just go around it."

He's so done with himself. He doesn't even want to look at himself. He thinks that the most disgusting thing he could see HIMSELF. Not only this he tries to dodge almost every question we pose.

"What does here even mean if you think about it?"

He doesn't want to acknowledge anything even remotely related to him. Where was I? It doesn't matter, nobody really cares about me.... atleast I don't.

9) The Voice of the Cold:

The voice of the Cold has barely been affected. Makes sense. But what's interesting about him is he has actually been affected. He either doesn't know or he is purposely ignoring it. He has become more irritable. He develops a form of empathy. He has some pity.

" I've tried to keep them numb but they are all too soft. A shame, really."

That doesn't sound like the backseat driver Cold we know? Cold wants to help the other voices but he well can't.

"You're lucky you haven't been stuck here like the rest of them. There's no other way to keep going. You either need to forget or you need to stop feeling much of anything. They can't do either."

The Cold tried to help them. But the nature of the voices doesn't let them be helped. Cold is severely disappointed because of this. He even blames the player for ending up in this position when he says,

"You sealed our fate when you refused to kill her."

He just wants the player to make decisions independent of the voices. He's seen what they all do. He sees that it always ends in losses. He thinks the player was there when the other voices were having a try. He thinks the player was just listening to their requests.

"You always give too much space to others. It's why you always lose."

He is also the chattiest in this route. He also has many lines where he just tells us to be unfeeling. He's trying to protect us as well. But he's also bored. And he just wants it to end because he's bored.

10) The Voice of the Skeptic:

Possibly the most broken of the bunch. He is TRAUMATIZED. Normally, Skeptic is the most grounded. He's the guy who always has a plan. But here? He's useless. He realises this. And just breaks. He can't answer any question. How many times have we been here?

"Many many many many times."

Skeptic, wheres the numbers? Was I here?

"Are you your memories? Or are you the one perceiving the present moment?"

For someone who really loves answers, he sure doesn't seem to have any. The most logical voice being turned completely insane. He can't accept anything.

"Can we love something that hates us? Can we love something that hurts us?"

He's trying to distract himself. He doesn't want to think about the situation. He doesn't want to THINK. That's so bizarre. The Nightmare has broken Skeptic so much he doesn't want to do the one thing he loves to do. In fact when we reach the Long Quiet his first words are,

"I can finally think again."

11) The Voice of the Hero:

The voice of the Hero has a reaction that would make anyone furious at the nightmare for what she did to our boy. Hero is normally jocund, enthusiastic, understanding, and overall lovely. But here he is depressed. He doesn't talk much which is unusual. He always has something to say. But he's just so defeated. When the Narrator tells you the only thing you can do is go to the cabin, Hero replies

"Or you could just give up."

Hero says that. Not Broken. Hero. Our Hero. The one who is always encouraging us through our journey. The one we can trust no matter the circumstances. Our best friend. This line is the most terrifying part of Moment of Clarity. If we had any optimism going in, it had left us in this moment.

"You're lucky. What I would give to be able to forget."

Please someone comfort our boy. He deserves all the chocolates in the world.

In the Long Quiet

Once you reach the Long Quiet the voices seem to ease up a little. They see death within arms reach and think it a mercy. As Hero puts it:

"Something tells me this is the end of the line, but I don't feel bad about it. I'm ready."

Which is a striking contrast to his usual plea to not look at it. His fear of death is converted to a longing of it. Which could be seen as a another proof of why the Narrator's utopia is wrong. Because people who have lived a nightmare long for change and even death. And so he is at ease.

The Broken says,

"It feels okay."

Which is huge for our boi. Broken never feels alright. He is always sad or depressed. Something is always not okay with him. But after living through a nightmare, things finally seem okay. And so he is at ease.

The Paranoid says

"The fear's gone."

Again an amazing development. Paranoid always feels watched, and he's scared of who it is and why is he being watched. But in his final moments, living through a nightmare, he realises that the fear has no place in him anymore. And so he is at ease.

The Stubborn says,

"I'm done fighting."

This statement is a confession. He had long lost the spark for a fight, but here he can finally admit it. He doesn't want to fight anymore. He doesn't want to resist anymore. He wants to let go, and he does. And so he is at ease.

The Smitten says

"My heart feels quiet."

The fire of passion is fierce. And here it burns the Smitten. He wanted affection. He desired a connection with the Princess. His heart was incapable of doing anything but. Now as he is unraveled, his passion is extinguished. His heart is quiet. He never did get the affection he desired but realised he didn't need it. And so he is at ease.

The Cheated says,

"The game was always going to end."

For him, this is an ending screen for a rage game. He hated the experience the whole way through. He constantly faced losses. But he persevered. And so he found the ending. After all, no matter how extensive the game was, it was always going to end. He is glad he didn't quit. He got to see the ending. And so he is at ease.

The Cold says,

"I'll be free of all of you."

The worst part about this nightmare wasn't the nightmare itself. It was the fact it was hurting the ones around him. They got hurt abd yet he was as unfeeling as ever. He knew he had to be right. After all, wasn't he the only sane one left? Now as death approaches, he doesn't have to help carry the burden of others. And so he is at ease.

The Skeptic says,

"I'm ready for the truth."

The Skeptic was thoroughly broken throughout this experience. A man of reality shatters when reality shatters. And the thinker's response to doubt is to seek. But no answers were present in the nightmare. Now there is something that is very clear in purpose. Something easy to test. The mirror is death? Alright then let's see the truth. There are answers again. And so he is at ease.

The Hunted says,

"I'm ready to sleep."

An animal who has tried everything to protect itself and failed over and over again. A wounded creature who was pushed to his limits. But he is very tired now. He tried his very best. Yet it seems death is inevitable. He has remained vigilant and fearful throughout the nightmare. Now he feels safe enough to rest. And so he is at ease.

The Contrarion says,

"I'm just ready to be anywhere that isn't here."

The nightmare had shown him how low of a person he could be. He has come to associate that version of himself with those wretched circumstances. As he leaves that place behind he leaves behind his self hatred. He wants to get on with it already. He finds esteem in himself and his voice now echoes with joy and pride. And so he is at ease.

The Opportunist says,

"Boys..... it's been an honour."

The one who has never experienced true connection. The one who is constantly at odds with himself and everyone. Throughout the nightmare he garners genuine connection and empathy. He realises that the ones he should truly support are those that he loves not those that are the top of a pecking order. He finally finds that connection in this moment with the others. And so he is at ease.

And so they are at ease.

[corn-cardigan]

please yap about enki’s sister I beg of you. she’s so cool and so are you

AW thank you!! 🫶

and thanks for letting me indulge in talking about these two!! here's how I see it:

I really like the idea that the ritual fight that was mentioned in Enki's intro wasn't the only time he had to face off against his sister. It was always like that for him and Ninmah. The priests that took them in saw their potential and wanted to know who the superior sibling was.

My headcanon is that not only was Enki physically weaker than her, but emotionally frail as well. That no matter what, he'd always be a close second to his "better" twin. Ninmah was exceptional and obedient. Enki was completely pathetic next to her.

I like to think when they were super young, they did care for each other. But under harsh, abusive conditions from the priests, it further drove a wedge between them. And Enki's frailty warped into his distinct bitterness as to no longer appear as weak - as to compete on the same level as Ninmah.

The ritual fight was an inevitability. A scheme to see who truly was strong enough to live. So when Ninmah spared Enki, it was sort of her way of communicating that she still cared about her brother. Even if they were pitted against one another, even if she seemed unfeeling and unbothered, she still loved him as much as a young (definitely traumatized) girl could in that situation.

So when Enki's given the choice to either accept her mercy or literally backstab her, both are completely plausible. Like yeah he also possibly still loves her. That's his sister and she was always there for him. But on the other hand, after years of cruel reprimanding, he finally had the perfect opportunity to prove his superiority.

Either way, it doesn't end happily at all. If Enki kills Ninmah and raises her as a ghoul, I'm going to assume she won't be completely herself. She's basically dead. The other route is also tragic. Enki accepts defeat and gets chucked into a well. And at the bottom, his resentment festers. Not only towards his whole diocese but also directed at Ninmah. Because if she did truly love him, why did she not rescue him? (In truth, she would've also been doubly punished, let's be real.)

Assuming they're both alive, I'm entirely convinced that they haven't spoken to each other in over a decade. Enki's probably got a LOT of indignation for his old order and, by extension, Ninmah. And Ninmah acknowledges that he's moved on. Maybe it's best they never see each other.

No wonder Enki is such a big hater. He was one of the few people born into this world with someone and yet he still ended up abandoned and alone. :,)

anywayzz that was very rambly and very sad. but did you know bc enki is green and ninmah’s red this means theyre mario and luigi coded

[therainscene]

I think I might have figured out what the Mind Flayer really is.

This theory has been percolating in my brain for a while now; it hasn't really finished baking yet but I wanted to get the gist of it down before The First Shadow debuts.

Let’s begin at the Hawkins National Lab, 6th November 1983. For the second time in her young life, El faces terrifying and deeply traumatic circumstances which cause her powers to lash out and rip a gash in the fabric of reality.

Meanwhile, across town, Will is doing what every queer 12 year-old has done and finds an excuse to spend an extra moment alone with his crush.

His little gay heart is as aflutter as the garage lights.

(Strange, that. The lights, I mean -- considering that he's on the other side of town from the lab. Do you suppose the Demogorgon trekked all the way to Mike's house and quietly followed him home again?)

Will heads home, lost in thought as he cycles past the lab. Is he thinking about how sweet his new X-Men #134 is gonna be? Or is he thinking about something even sweeter? The lights flutter again.

And something in front of him notices.

Will has always been noticeable: his clothes, his mannerisms, his interests -- they've always attracted the attentions of bullies. Now something new -- or maybe something that was always there and is only now making itself known -- has attracted the attentions of a monster.

He runs home, he calls for help, but he's alone, there's no escape. He races to the shed and loads a gun like his father taught him -- but it's not in his nature to be violent. He freezes, petrified.

The lights surge as his terror wrestles control of his powers and uses them to puncture an escape route in the fabric of reality.

Why were we so quick to believe that the Demogorgon -- a minion of the guy whose whole thing is his inability to open gates -- was able to open its own temporary portals in S1 and then never again?

Will could plausibly have been responsible for every temporary portal in S1: he’s at the Byers house when the Demogorgon pushes through its walls; he's on the run to Castle Byers when Nancy stumbles across that portal in the woods; and he's plugged in to one of Vecna's vines during the finale -- something we see Vecna plug himself into when he remotely opens gates in S4.

There’s one exception though.

Barb likely slipped through a gate in Steve's pool, but how could Will have opened that one when he was in his bedroom at the time, talking to his mother through the lights?

Let me ask you this: isn't it interesting that of all the injuries Barb could have obtained in her passage to the Upside Down, she got a nosebleed?

I think powers are more common than we’ve been led to believe, and gates are a last-ditch self-defense mechanism for anyone with powers.

This is why the four curse victims’ deaths opened a gate: Vecna pushed them to their breaking point to artificially trigger the self-defense response. Those headaches and nosebleeds weren't caused by Vecna directly, but by their own powers acting up as they inched towards oblivion.

[Shoutout to @givehimthemedicine's underrated powers and blood theory for the idea of Vecna's Curse being the overcharging of his victims' own powers.]

It was already pretty obvious that Vecna's Curse is a metaphor for suicide, and this theory reinforces it: every kid who gets targeted by the horrors of Hawkins for being "different" tries to find some way to escape.

Willel's misfortune is that their powers are considerably more easily manifested than the average person's. Byler tells the story of visible vs invisible queerness, but that's just a reflection of the larger theme at play in the show: the visible and invisible ways kids are othered and abused.

Max's trauma was a quiet thing that came from within and festered until it was almost too late to save her... but Willel's trauma manifests as a giant monster that openly hunts them down.

And I'm being literal when I say the Mind Flayer is a manifestation of their trauma.

We know that Vecna fashioned the Mind Flayer from a cloud of black particles he found in the Upside Down, but where did that cloud come from? The Upside Down is a mysterious enough place that it's easy to assume the Shadow is native to that realm... but what if it isn't?

The Mind Flayer is heavily associated with repression -- Will gradually lost his memories while he was possessed, and El lost her powers when the sliver of Flesh Flayer wormed its way into her leg.

But Will has mysteriously been without powers ever since leaving the Upside Down, and we've seen El lose memories too: her memories of surviving the lab massacre, in which she didn't simply escape by opening up a gate, but by disintegrating her attacker into black particles.

The Mind Flayer doesn't cause repression -- it is repression.

There must have been countless generations worth of traumatized children who took the extra step El did and sent their abusers -- or at least their memories of abuse -- into that hidden realm beyond the gate.

(There's also the possibility that Mr. Time-is-Just-a-Social-Construct is stuck in a time loop of some sort -- maybe the massacre has repeated hundreds of times, and Dimension X is a timeless graveyard of El's attempts to repress her trauma. This would explain why Henry seems to have both disintegrated and survived: we were watching at least two different iterations of the massacre all along.)

Whichever way you slice it, it's a perfect fit: the tool Vecna uses to perpetuate the cycle of abuse isn't some bizarro alien from an alternate dimension, but a direct consequence of the cycle itself.

The Mind Flayer tells us that escape alone doesn't work as a long-term solution: it might help you survive the initial abuse, but if you don't address the effect it had on you...

...it will come back to wreck havok.

[Edit: Click here for post-TFS thoughts on this theory]

[melt-into-the-night]

*mild spoiler ahead, keeping it as minimal as possible*

Listen I love Chloe and Max but it kinda boggles my mind that a large part of the fandom didn’t think at the end of the first game that if you chose “bae over bay” (or to the people that actually paid attention to the dialogue without being completely blinded by the pretty lesbian couple, the option known as killing Chloe’s mom against Chloe’s wish to save her) that their relationship was gonna be “happily ever after” and sunshine and rainbows…especially with how miserable they looked leaving in that truck, they might just be a little out of touch with reality… Not that they couldn’t work it out in the future (which to be fair, could still happen by the end of the new game assuming you continued down the Bae route) but them being broken up really shouldn’t be a surprise, and the way they’ve discussed it with Max being traumatized from her decision makes sense, choosing to kill all your friends and entire town just to save one person at 18 years old, isn’t something you just get over…

Beyond that, the people that are acting shocked that Chloe isn’t playing a bigger role in the game are out of touch too. From the jump, the game has been promoted as “the return of Max Caulfield”. Not the return of Max and Chloe. And while we only really have the first two chapters to go by so far, I feel like she’s as prominent as I expected her to be in this one. If not more.

Idk, I get being disappointed that at the moment, they are broken up, but like how else were they gonna keep her away from the game that continues Max’s story in a way that honors both endings from the original without them having to add a whole other character in the mix just for one timeline.

I can only predict the ending of this game so far, but it feels like the game plan for Max’s journey is to have her get to a place where she can let go of the past and move on and be happy, and we know that Max’s inability to let go of what happened in the past up until this point is the reason they broke up in the first place so to me, at least in the bae route of Double Exposure, it feels like the game plan is to eventually get Chloe and Max back together by the end of it (at least for those not exploring other romance options).

I don’t know…all I’m saying is don’t get all angry and dismiss the entire game before we see how it all plays out.

[simplybakugou]

Worth It | Mystic Academia: Kaminari Denki's Route

↝ The day of the MFA party had finally arrived and despite all of setbacks you and your members faced, it all led up to this day. 

© simplybakugou — all rights reserved. DO NOT REPOST/REUPLOAD, TRANSLATE, OR EDIT ANY OF MY CONTENT ON HERE OR ANY PLATFORM

⋆ PAIRING: gamer!kaminari x fem!reader ⋆ WARNINGS/TAGS: fluff :) ⋆ WORD COUNT: 2K

A/N: here's the written part for kaminari’s route! don't pay any mind to how dog shit the banner looks, tumblr hates me. hope you enjoy!! :) the kaminari cap is from @eraserhead-transparents

Mystic Academia: Kaminari Denki's Route

The stairs leading to the venue felt longer and more prolonged than you expected as you nervously climbed each step carefully. The day had finally come after much anticipation despite all of the traumatic events that had occurred to you and your friends. 

The MFA party was finally here and you were filled with both anxiety and utter excitement. You were finally going to meet your fellow MFA members whom you had been conversing with for over a week. To say you were excited was an understatement to say the least, especially to see a specific blonde gamer.

The anxiety you were facing slowly subsided as you began greeting the guests at the main doors, checking off people from your clipboard as they arrived. The security Bakugou hired had arrived and were stationed at every door and any possible entrance into the venue as he had instructed. Two burly men stood on either side of the doors, making you feel safe but also slightly scared at how intimidating their presences were. 

The first guest, a romance novel organization recommended by Mina, arrived, greeting you with a bright smile as they expressed how elated they were that the MFA parties were back. You smiled and thanked them for coming, continuing to do so as eventually a line formed as people waited to be checked in.

About half of the guests had arrived before you heard a shrill, high-pitched squeal, causing you to snap your head up to the source of the sound. A woman sprinted up the stairs, throwing her arms around you, nearly making the two of you topple to the floor. The two security guards to either side of you, knelt to your side, concerned that a random woman had essentially thrown herself at you but they eased up once they recognized the woman.

“Y/N?! I can’t believe it’s you!” The woman squealed, squeezing your shoulders in excitement. 

Thankfully since there was only one other woman in the organization, it was very easy to tell that this was Mina. You smiled. “You know you could’ve told me who you were before you jumped me, Mina.”

Mina laughed. “What can I say, I was too excited to see you.”

“Mina, I told you not to go too crazy,” a man scolded from behind Mina as he slowly climbed the stairs, clearly limping.

From his injury, you recognized him easily. “Hey, Kirishima.”

“Whoa you knew it was me?” Kirishima asked, slightly bewildered. “Was it the hair?”

You pointed to his leg and he laughed. “I guess that makes more sense.”

Your eyes darted to the long line behind your two friends, snapping you back to reality and your hosting duties. “Sorry guys, I’d love to chat but we still have all of these guests to check in.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can do it for you,” Kirishima reassured, taking the clipboard from you and immediately getting to work, smiling brightly at the next guest.

Mina looped her arm into yours, keeping an eye on Kirishima since his reputation made him popular and there was still a threat out there potentially still coming for all of you. “So, are you excited?”

You nodded. “I was definitely nervous before but I feel better after being here.”

“Oh, I get it. You’re nervous to see your boyfriend.” Mina stretched out the last word, poking your shoulder teasingly, prompting you to roll your eyes. “Speaking of Kaminari, what was it like seeing him in person?”

You shrugged slightly. “I think I was more worried about whether or not he was okay more than anything.”

You were purposefully leaving out a major event that had occurred when you visited Kaminari since you knew how Mina would react if she found out. However, she was not going to let you off the hook that easily, suspecting that you were hiding something. 

Mina narrowed her eyes at you. “So something did happen, didn’t it?”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

“Y/N, this is our first time meeting in person and I can already tell you’re lying.” Mina grinned. “Oh my god, did you guys hug or did he cry when he saw you? Wait!” She paused to gasp loudly.

“Mina, please calm down,” you muttered, smiling apologetically at the guests as they entered the building, taking notice of your energetic and overly excited friend. 

“Don’t tell me! You kissed, didn’t you?!” Mina exclaimed.

Your left eye twitched, confirming her guess and she squealed even more. “Oh my god, you did! I’m so proud of you!”

She tackled you into a hug once more and before you could calm her down as your face was heating up from embarrassment, an angry voice broke you away from your thoughts.

“Who the fuck is screaming like a little girl?!” A man bellowed as he climbed up the stairs. If it weren’t for his fashionable suit and matching vest, his scowl on his face definitely confirmed your assumption. This was definitely Bakugou.

“Dude, you’re not helping much either by screaming, too,” another man said, shaking his head at Bakugou. His black hair was combed back and he wore a white, plain suit. His eyes met yours and he smiled. “Y/N!”

The two men climbed the stairs until they reached the top. Bakugou looked you up and down shamelessly. “I guess you clean up nice even if you’ve got shit taste in clothes, new girl.”

“What the hell is your problem? I’m sorry about him. By the way, this is Sero and Bakugou,” Mina gestured to the two. 

“It wasn’t hard to guess which one Bakugou was,” you mumbled, causing Sero and Mina to laugh and Bakugou to simply glare at you. 

Bakugou moved past you and into the venue. “Let’s see if this isn’t a shitshow.”

Sero sighed, giving you an apologetic look. “Sorry we had to meet again like this, Y/N. I’ll make sure he doesn’t harass the guests and the staff.” Sero went inside, following Bakugou.

“I guess we should head in there, too.” Mina moved to make her way inside as well, stopping once she realized you weren’t following. “You’re not coming?”

You turned to face the stairs, taking a look at the guests and seeing the number of people dwindle down. Glancing over at the clipboard in Kirishima’s hands, it looked as though most of the guests were here. Well… except for one.

“He’ll make it, don’t worry,” Mina said reassuringly, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder and smiling softly. “You know he wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

You reciprocated the smile, nodding your head as you headed inside with Mina. 

The guests filled the once empty venue with their presences, numerous voices conversing and filling the once quiet air. The guests looked satisfied and happy, holding champagne flutes and plates of hors d’oeuvres. You smiled and briefly greeted them as you passed them, Mina doing the same. From afar you could hear Bakugou scolding one of the kitchen staff followed by Sero scolding Bakugou and apologizing for his friend’s brash behavior. 

“Y/N!” Kirishima called out to you. He handed the clipboard to you as he gestured to his phone. “There’s three more guests we have to sign in. Could you check them in for me? I got a call from my agency and I’ve gotta answer it.”

“Of course.” Kirishima thanked you as he made his way to one of the back rooms to answer his call. 

You made it back to the entrance, apologizing briefly for keeping the remaining guests waiting, and quickly signing them in. You sighed as you crossed the last guest name off the list, turning to thank the security guards who were keeping watch and keeping you safe.

One of the guards’ attention flicked over to someone behind you. “There’s one more guest you have to check in, ma’am.”

“Another guest?” You looked down at your clipboard and flipped through your guest list. “But that was our last guest…”

“Aw, come on, you already forgot about me, beautiful?” A familiar voice teased from behind.

You whipped your head around to the sound of the voice you wanted to hear the most, your heart nearly skipping a beat as you laid your eyes on Kaminari. He had adorned himself in a black suit, his blonde hair combed back with his black streak still in view and he somehow looked even more handsome than you could’ve imagined as he stood at the bottom of the stairs. 

The guards recognized him as the last MFA member as they greeted him. “You guys can head inside. We’d like some alone time if that’s alright.” The security acknowledged Kaminari’s request, closing the main doors and deciding to guard them from the inside. 

The sound of the doors shutting snapped you out of your initial shock and you rushed down the stairs and threw your arms around his neck. Luckily he caught you, preventing the two of you from falling. He laughed. “Did you miss me that much? We saw each other yesterday.”

You pulled away from him, moving your hands up to cup his face in your hands as you scanned him for any sign of pain or further injury. “Are you okay? Did the doctor say anything else? Is your arm infected? Did–”

“Okay, let’s slow down now,” Kaminari said with a laugh, moving his hand to hold one of yours in his. “I’m okay. The doctor said everything looks good which was why I was discharged today. You know I would never miss this.”

You smiled shyly, nodding your head as you knew he wouldn’t. “I know. I was just… worried.”

“You’re really cute, you know that?” Kaminari whispered, moving his hand to caress your cheek.

You felt your face heat up furiously from his words and he chuckled, knowing he successfully made you flustered. “Shut up, Denki.”

“I like the way you say my name,” Kaminari uttered softly, the pad of his thumb grazing down to your chin, hovering over your bottom lip. 

“Denki?” You repeated, feigning innocence as your eyes met his and moved down to his lips. 

Kaminari didn’t say another word as he wrapped his arm around your waist, bringing your body even closer to his and ducked his head down to close his lips over yours. You couldn’t help but smile against his lips, maneuvering your arms to wrap around his neck, as if you couldn’t get enough of him. 

That moment was everything for you. Despite how terrifying things had been the past week, your worries dissipated in an instant as your lips moved in unison against his. That is until the sweet moment was cut short.

“Hey! Are you two fucking idiots gonna keep sucking face or are you gonna talk to our guests?!” Bakugou yelled down from the top of the stairs.

You and Kaminari pulled away from one another, looking up to the top to see Bakugou, Mina, Kirishima, and Sero all grinning down at the two of you.

You laughed, surprised that even Bakugou had a small smile on his face. “Get up here, you two!” Kirishima called out as Mina was clutching Sero’s side and squealing furiously. 

Kaminari sighed. “Those idiots always get in the way.” He turned to you, extending his hand out to you. “You coming, gorgeous?”

You smiled, accepting his hand as your fingers laced into his and the two of you made your way back up.

This past week was a difficult one. Your life and the lives of your friends were continuously tested and you couldn’t help but feel as if you had made a mistake in joining this random organization that you happened to stumble upon, or rather were led to. But the sight of your friends looking down at you with genuine joy and the presence of the man you knew you wanted to be with for a long time made it all worth it.

Yeah… it was all worth it.

A/N: AAAHHH SHE'S FINALLY DONE! only took me two months hehe. thank you for all of the love and support for this route. i really enjoyed writing and editing this all out and i can't believe it's all done! if you're done with this series and are not interested in reading the other routes, thank you so much for reading kaminari's route! sero's route will take some time so for those of you waiting, please be patient :)

[phantomrose96]

I feel like it takes A Lot to collectively traumatize a fandom as fond of vivisection as the Danny Phantom fandom, but damn that'd do it. Fantastic fic!!!

Also I *love* the detail of the news report in the background of the breakfast scene. At first I was like "oh cool they're talking about PTSD, which he definitely seems to be developing" then I read it again and I was like "oh *fuck* they're talking *about Danny*" which is *chef's kiss* superb

(Prometheus)

Achievement unlocked! Danny gets to be an easter egg in his own story!!

I'm a fan of the trope (I guess it's a trope) of the secret-identity character who just has to listen powerlessly while the talking heads on the tv muse about what's happened to them. Doesn't matter if the broadcast is sympathetic or damning. Either way it hits for me.

When I was first piecing that scene together, I was intending to have Danny, Jack, and Jazz pay attention to the broadcast when it became obvious the reporters were talking about Phantom. It would be the vehicle to communicate to the audience that Phantom is slipping and Danny's definitely grappling with PTSD at this point.

But when I thought about it more, I wasn't actually in love with it as the delivery vehicle. Yeah I like the trope but it felt a little too much of just "I'm saying story details at the reader and using the newscaster as a mouth for that." It felt contrived in a way I don't like.

And what would everyone's reaction be? There wasn't a meaningful place to bring it. Like sure maybe Jack could scoff and say something like "Ghosts don't have complex feelings" or something else dismissive, but that wasn't constructive to the narrative I was building. What Jack thinks about Phantom isn't important to this kind of story. I could have Jazz maybe try to talk to Danny, but there's no way to do that with Jack in the room, and Jazz wouldn't need the newscasters for this anyway. It's her own baby brother, she'd have seen this before any tv host. And there's nothing important for Danny to gain from this. Other than maybe knowing his slipping is visible, but he knows.

So I came to a much better conclusion: ignore the news cast.

It does not need to be a contrived narrative device. It does not need to steer the scene. It does not need to misdirect me into unimportant conversations.

They ignore it. And THAT is so much more thematically potent to what is happening. Danny fighting through his denial. Danny shutting his friends out. The elephant in the room is ON THE TV and no one is even allowed to address it.

Tv host saying "Phantom has PTSD" isn't the vehicle I need for this "communicate to the reader Danny has PTSD" scene. THAT is much better done with Jack, and with his invention, and with the chekov's gun he's been dismantling and remantling the whole fic. It's done with Jack pointing a weapon at Danny - a thing which has occurred a THOUSAND times before - but it's different NOW, because of the trauma Danny is not coping with.

To be cliche, it's the show-don't-tell answer here. (And to be fair, there are PLENTY of places where "tell" is an entirely acceptable route and is often a necessary part of maintaining narrative velocity.) But in this case, the chill Fenton family breakfast atmosphere (tv ignored) snapping cold in the instant Jack draws the weapon on Danny is what the scene needed. The snap-change to Jack and Jazz's attitudes as they notice Danny's reaction. The "this isn't normal anymore" to a morning that was perfectly normal until this moment. And, only after that moment, revealing to the reader that Danny is crying.

The news cast gets to serve its best purpose as environmental storytelling. Confirming to the reader that this is bad enough to be impacting Phantom's ability to fight, to supplement the narrative which (coming from Danny's POV) is trying to not admit how bad it is. ("Super healing is cool!")

It gets to serve its purpose by being completely ignored. Until it's too late.

[amaltheas-garden]

tbh i don't think rhaenyra's phrase regarding haelena was said in a malicious way. as rider of the one of largest dragons alive rhaenyra probably supposed that if healena was to fight she would have already entered the conflict physically, probably with aemond at rook rest instead of aegon. i mean tb didn't know that aegon wasn't supposed to be here, so in their mind is more logical for healena to be with aemond instead of the king himself (also bc sunfyre is smaller than dreamfire) and because of her absence rhaenyra assumed that she will not fight with her dragon. i think rhaenyra's affirmations was linked to riding in battle and not in general

I think if we only take show context into account, then that's a reasonable interpretation of that line. Helaena is never shown riding and seems more timid than the other Targs. However, we also have to examine why that line is in the show. It's mostly there to reinforce for the audience the idea that Helaena is not someone who would willingly ride to battle on dragonback, and seems to have a disdain for dragon riding overall as we're never shown her connection to Dreamfyre, similar to how Aegon and Sunfyre's relationship was so heavily downplayed. But in the source material, we're told Helaena claimed Rhaena the Black Bride's dragon Dreamfyre at 11 (or possibly younger), in the section dedicated to Aemond's claiming of Vhagar, which details how dangerous it is, even for a Targaryen, to claim a dragon. Which brings me back to the main point of the line, why would a girl who at 11 years old claimed an adult dragon be unwilling to fly Dreamfyre, even if it meant saving her entire family. Well, F&B already answered that: Blood and Cheese. Arguably the most important outcome of that event was that it completely traumatized Helaena to the point she could no longer ride her dragon. But hotd is very intent on A. downplaying anything bad that happened to the Green characters and B. whitewashing any event that could make Rhaenyra look bad. Rhae's husband is the reason her half-sister went mad with grief and can no longer ride her dragon/be a player against Rhaenyra. Hotd instead went the route of b&c having no effect on Helaena, and the reasoning for her not riding Dreamfyre being because she... doesn't want to? Rhaenyra similarly was broken by the grief of her sons and allowed Jace/Corlys/Daemon to run most of the war effort in her absence, and rode Syrax a grand total of one time in the entire Dance, in the short trip from Dragonstone to King's Landing after Alicent surrendered the city. Yet this season is full of Rhae and Syrax scenes for no other purpose than the showrunners wanting the audience to know who the "real" dragon queen is (they literally invented mini side quests just to have an excuse to put more Rhae/Syrax scenes in). They made Helaena not want to ride into battle solely because they did not want to address the immense psychological harm Rhae's faction inflicted on her innocent sister, and downplay the greens' connection to dragons as it makes them seem just as Targaryen as their rivals, and the showrunners are not interested in a story without clear good and bad guys. The book makes it quite clear the only reason Helaena isn't on Dreamfyre is because of b&c:

"... only two mature dragons remained to defend King's Landing... and Dreamfyre's rider, Queen Helaena, spent her days in darkness, weeping, and surely could not be counted as a threat"

"... and Dreamfyre's rider, Queen Helaena, was a broken woman; the city had as well been dragonless"

"... and Dreamfyre, beloved of Queen Helaena"

"Helaena Targaryen was a broken creature who posed no threat to Her Grace"

(& from GRRM's Not A Blog) "... Helaena’s greatest joy in life is to take to the skies on the back of her dragon Dreamfyre"

[slimeboiss]

Honestly the worst part for me about Flip Side (aside from the sex trafficking ending but honestly that’s a hard one to beat) is Jecka’s piece of shit dad.

With Nicole’s mom, at least her scenes were far and few between - and it wasn’t always guaranteed to be horrifically traumatizing every time (especially in the first game). Hell even when things did get heated, the game at least made an attempt to take itself seriously. It didn’t make those scenes any easier to stomach, but Nicole could actually stand her ground against her mom.

In the Flipside, it’s every other scene with this fucking guy. There isn’t one route where Jecka’s dad doesn’t show up, there’s no way to avoid this piece of shit. Every scene is just the same, threatening to beat his daughter and calling his wife a worthless whore. The first time you see it it’s horrific but nothing THAT out of the ordinary for Class of 09 but it just keeps happening and happening and it never gets any easier to see Jecka panicking and begging her father not to hit her. Jecka *isnt Nicole*, which makes scenes like this so much harder to watch - which sucks because this scene is just copy and pasted for 90 percent of the game.

And unlike Nicole’s mom there isn’t even an option to kill him off - the one time you think he’s having a heart attack he’s just sucking on Nicole’s toes because of some convoluted and petty revenge plot by Nicole because this game is back to back Jecka torture porn through and through.

FUCK this game, 2/10 (1 point for the Hat Man and 1 point for Jecka and Ari kissing)

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 3 MATCH 32

Mammon propaganda:

“He was done dirty in the first round, I hope he wins this time because he deserves it 

First of all, he hates you at the start but then he starts to like you but he exclaimed his hate too much at the start so he can't admit it 

Everyone knows that he likes MC, even his little D (who are demons familiars) thinks that they should date 

He is a classic tsundere but doesn't actually hurt you like other tsunderes but he is so bad at hiding his feelings that everyone is just ignores it 

He is the avatar of greed, meaning he is clingy which may be a turn away for some people but he cares for you so so much 

He has never turned into his demon form to hurt you (Asmo hasn't but he has tried to seduce you with his power)

Don't get me started on his story cards, he literally is so cute

He wants to be a mentor to Luke, like Lucifer was to him, he is only mean to Luke because he wants Luke to learn about how life isn't all sunshine and rainbows

He is also so hot, he is a bisexual panic 

He is bullied by his brothers but he cares for them so so much despite their bullying

I am so in love with him and have written so many fics about him 

Anyway, I'm going to stop here because otherwise I'll be here all day”

“First friend, first pact, practically the MC's first everything, he is a major Tsundere, he holds my heart hostage, I just want to smooch him, he and MC share a room, he is such a cute little bab, he does bully Luke (a child) but it's revealed that he just wants to show Luke that the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows and want help him figure things out

He is the cutest little guy, he cares for his brother 

His sin is greed so he does steal things from people but since lesson 1 he hasn't stolen anything from MC 

He wrote a song to propose 

Sure he is clingy but in a good way

He is so cute 

He adopted a child, which he had to leave in the care of witches and willingly let's the witches extort him 

There is so much that I can say about him but 1. Spoilers and 2. I don't think you want to read that much”

“OKAY SO. OH MY GOD. 

First person we're able to properly romance in game. AND FOR GOOD REASON. He's had MCs back from the beginning, hes the one real one in the game. He's always trying to protect us and its so nice. Puppy boy. He's so me as well??? Like he's such a doting boyfriend it's literally so cute. When MC had to go back up to Earth, he kept breaking the rotating schedule in order to call us more. He always gets MC gifts (avatar of greed love language being gift giving im gonna collapse) and he just drops the most romantic lines out of nowhere??? Like sir are you trying to give me a heart attack. He's the secretly traumatized comic relief. He has ADHD. He's canonically queer (MC doesnt have a set gender). He even likes Head pats. Vote Mammon.”

“HE'S SO PATHETIC AND CRINGEFAIL. I LOVE HIM”

Jaehee propaganda:

“only female love interest in MM, not included in the first round for SOME REASON, you literally go off and live your coffee shop au with her at the end of her route.”

“My lesbian wife. Open a bakery with her after convincing her that she doesn't have to give up her happiness to make money. She can pursue her passions. Also her backstory is so sad and I just wanna hug and kiss her and throw hands at her "family" for making her feel like she does. Also the Valentine's dlc, you get locked in the back of the bakery with her and... Yeah that's my wife. I love her dearly. Also can we just acknowledge that she's like the only path that involves almost none of the dramatic death defying nonsense. You're just gay and in love and it's beautiful”

[starry-bi-sky]

Danyal Al Ghul's missed potential - this kid is not gonna behave like his canon self if he's with the league of assassins until his late formative years, and my reasoning why

(feel free to take this all with a grain of salt this is just my thoughts on it, this is all mostly amusing to me and isn't trying to be negative towards anyone else)

similar to how i was talking about how danny growing up in crime alley would affect him, demon twin aus with danyal al ghul make me laugh a lot (affectionate) because... whose teaching danny to unlearn all the ecofascism he picked up from the league of assassins? whose teaching him to be kind? to be gentle? Not the LoA thats for certain.

(you could plausibly say Jazz but she's only 2 years older than Danny and do you really expect a fellow child to properly explain why X is wrong to another child and have it be 100% effective? i don't doubt it'd help to an extent, but not in the same way an adult explaining it would)

plus a ton of other things, like whose teaching him to value human life? not the LoA. Whose teaching him how to adjust to living with American society after he ends up with the Fentons when he's 8-9-10? Who teaches him that killing is wrong, whose enforcing that?

(not the Fentons if you're going the neglectful parent route, and Jazz can try but i really don't think Danny is going to listen to her, a stranger who isn't even part of his grandfather's league)

How do you teach a child to value human life when the greatest development window for that opportunity has closed and he's already formed his own opinions?

You're not gonna get a Danny whose exactly like his canon attitude if he's staying with the league during his formative years (0-8 years old). you're not. You could get someone LIKE it, potentially, or someone who has traces of it or is similar -- like danny's wit and jokes and sarcasm, and on some level his kindness. but you're not gonna have a carbon copy. Development doesn't work that way. "nature" can only do so much in the face of nurture.

If anything, it doesn't even have to be a major change -- in the league he cans till be kind, but it's probably going to manifest in a different way than what is considered normal. Tough love, for one. But there's gonna be something that affects him negatively. Why make him 'always good/kind' when you can make him a brat who develops into a kinder (if spikier than in canon) person?

TLDR: Danyal Al Ghul would not be like how he is in canon if he's with the league until his late formative years -- not without any lasting pr permanent impacts from the league at least. Missed potential to make him an absolute nightmare like damian was -- especially in his early years when he first arrived to the Fenton house.

(this doesn't apply to danyal al ghul aus where he's either given to the fentons as a baby/is reincarnated/etc. this is mostly aimed for danyal al ghul aus where he fakes his death at like, 7-10 and somehow ends up, personality-wise like his completely canon self by 14 without any differences.)

(and even then if he's five or four, or even three, he would still be traumatized and influenced by the league. he'll just have more time to adjust. the sooner he leaves the league the more likely he is to be like his canon self, but not like an exact copy)

(more under the cut)

Anyways what I'm saying is that there is prime missed Danyal al Ghul potential to make him an absolute NIGHTMARE to the Fentons however way he ends up with them, just like Damian was with the Waynes! Cuz why does Damian get all the fun? Danny got the same training and endoctrine as him! He is also an ex-assassin! Why is Danny the only one who is 'well adjusted and non-violent' hm? Hmm?

Why can't he also be mean, and stabby, and a total stuck-up in some way or another? Have fun with his characterization, its prime opportunity to play play-doh and clay with him! If he starts out as X how does he get the personality traits of Y, and thus become XY?

Like take this with a grain of salt if you will, but make him arrogant. Make him an asshole! Make him a bad person at first! Because he will be! He's the blood son of the batman and you mean to tell me that damian is the only one arrogant about it at first? Make him stabby and mean even at 14 when he's begun to chill out! Have fun with it! If he's with the Fentons at any point past the age of four or five then he's gonna be a nightmare to handle because he still remembers the league and his time there.

(and while it gives him more time to chill the hell out, his time at the league is still gonna leave an impact on him.)

also what im saying as well is have him and sam potentially get along like a house on FIRE. Again, Danny grew up under the views of an ecofascist cult and nobody to challenge those views to him until he got to amity park at whatever age in late formative years he was at. He could be about as intense or even MORE intense about environmental awareness/rights than Sam is!

(also him being supremely unimpressed with Sam's wealth. he gave up a palace in the mountains for this town. because that's funny to me - like let his past have more influence on him! it'll be fun!)

you could have a danny who doesn't kill but doesn't fully understand the value of human life because jazz is like two years older than him and isn't that good at explaining why people's lives are important. he won't kill but he's not morally opposed to it. there's very little chance he actually gets bullied at school because he nearly killed Dash the first time he tried anything.

Danny could have scars, physical ones, because its implied in multiple canon that training starts at toddling (my best bet is 3 at minimum and ~maybe~ 2 but only on the later side of 2. Good fucking luck getting any infant under 2 to do anything you ask, ESPECIALLY assassin training. They're gonna stick the weapon in their mouth sooner than they're gonna do katas. This is coming from a daycare teacher.)

there's more examples of how danny being at the league during his formative years would affect him, but those are just some of them. he could have a sword! An appreciation for weaponry and nature. Maybe he still speaks all shakespearan and formal, does he still make bodily threats to people? If Damian is still threatening people at 14 why can't danny?

[yuikomorii]

might be wrong about this but I think the thing that really differentiates Ayato from his brother is that he actually values life in a ''pure way''. Both Subaru and Shu didn't really have the will to life until they met the MC, Reiji's only will was to overcome his father and become better than his brother due to his jealousy, and even if it doesn't seem like it from the surface both Kanato and Laito were too mindbroken due to their trauma to actually enjoy life in a non-twisted way.

Ayato went through a lot of traumatic experiences just like the rest of his brothers but unlike them, he actually had a pure reason to live, that's why he didn't abandon his brothers and was desperately searching for them when they arrived to Rottienburg (I think that's the name) and prioritized them after he got saved by reiji and was willing to go look for them with no plan ahead and he's never changed. Even after they obviously drifted apart he still wanted to save his siblings (like in Lost Eden) even if they didn't want to save him when he got kidnapped by Kino.

Or when he was the only who saved yui in the anime when she got kidnapped by the mukami (Ik it's only fanservice because the anime shows Ayato as the ml). Or when he was the only one worrying about mc in the Olympics cd when the whole thing crushed down. I know mc has had her effects in everyone (because even reiji got worried in the CD drama when he though someone was drowning, turns out it was just Shu being weird) but at the end of the day, Rejet made it very clear that ayato always was different from his brothers even as kids.

Too long? Maybe, I just like rambling a lot about ayato lol

// This franchise is longer than a decade, it’s time for people to stop pretending that Ayato isn’t different from the rest, because it annihilates his purpose like that. Now I’m not saying that everyone else sucks and Ayato is the only cool character there, it’s just that Rejet wrote him in a way that genuinely gives off main character energy. Heck, even other characters have confirmed that he got *something* nobody else does, which is true.

Credit to: dialovers-translations, tournesolia

One thing about Ayato is that he might roast and prank you, but the moment you need help, he’ll be the first to lend you a hand. He’s by no means perfect, of course, he has flaws and makes mistakes too, but his good qualities are just so many that they’re easily able to outshine his bad ones.

Another example is the DF prologue scene. The most normal reaction would have been fighting with the wolf, as Subaru did, but instead of trying to get rid of it, Ayato used himself as shield the moment he saw it, so as to protect Yui. What makes this scene so powerful is that not only they weren’t a couple back then, but in the other Sakamaki routes, he’s still severely injured. He values life, yet he still sacrificed himself for her, no matter if she dates someone else afterwards, and guess what? Even after waking up from the coma in the other routes, he holds no grudge against her for that, but rather is on good terms with Yui. I would also like to talk about how self-sacrificing he is in the Daylight CD, but I feel like everyone listened to that one already, given that it was the most liked of the Daylight series.

While I understand that some people out there prefer more rational and/or introverted characters, I can’t stand those who deny the essence of a character. And, for all people who blame Rejet for “making him more special than the rest”, let me remind you that he’s the Diaboy who got the worst journey ending. Let that sink in. :”)

[witchinatree]

i have posted a LOT about the issues i had with season 4 of TUA but i'm going to say everything i've been thinking right here right now. i cannot get this shit out of my head.

i think a lot of it ties back to the flaws i noticed in season 3, they tried to take on too much and abandoned the previous storylines that were waiting for them (viktor's traumatic relationship with leonard, five's trauma in general, lila's parents dying because of five, DAVE, etc etc) and we were all expecting them to tie it all together in season 4

instead they just.. added more..???? jennifer and abigail were thrown in late season 3 and were just suddenly supposed to be super important to us (they were not.) the subway that takes you to other timelines (objectively cool as fuck, why is this only introduced in the last season of The Timeline Show)

and i'm still really upset that reginald is an alien because it makes no fucking sense. i always assumed he created the mystery 43 babies (why else would he seek them out and already have a plan for them) but the alien route was.. ill-fitting. i think it would've worked better if he fell in love with abigail, who was an alien and created marigold, and then his hubris and curiosity was what unleashed it into the world and doomed the timeline. "sure this mystery chemical destroyed the planet my wife is from but i'm reginald hargreeves so that won't happen to me!" [happens to him] also i wish abigail was not just used as "see! abuser not so bad! abuser have wife! he love wife :]" because. what. and then her weird complaints about reginald in episode 6 that came out of nowhere confused me. they just should've written her entirely different if they were gonna have her at all

AAALSO i hated that they regressed all of the characters back to how they were in season 1 (or worse??). luther was living in the old umbrella academy building because apparently he will never leave it?? after everything?? diego's life was different but he was still doing this weird job shit (discount batman and mail carrier are the same thing) and he was miserable with his loving wife and kids (who ARE you.). allison's husband left her again (what the hell raymond) and she was still the neglectful single mother of claire?? after EVERYTHING I KNOW I ALREADY SAID THAT BUT GOD. klaus actually had something going for him, if only his recovery wasn't made into a joke, and then he relapsed and got kidnapped and was just very.. season 1 klaus.. but with no ghost ben anymore. five.. eugh. he was not season 1 five he was just NotFive. crazy how they had a magnus archives crossover and just brought in NotThem to take five am i right guys. ben's also different because it's not the same ben from season 1 but they just made him really fucking mean. like worse than season 3 because there wasn't that underlying "please i just want to be loved" thing. crypto bro ben was funny as fuck though. and VIKTOR just fucked off by himself after working so hard to be part of the family again. glad he got to transition and become canada's #1 manslut but jesus, just abandoned everything you did to be part of the family huh.

my vision for the ending of TUA would go something like this

ending of season 3, pretty much the same but they all have their powers and reginald's head getting sliced in half did not reveal him to be some alien freak. also at some point abigail would have been introduced. i don't feel like rewriting season 3 too okay i'm cutting corners.

luther finds sloane when he goes back to where the umbrella academy building used to be, but it's now a very lovely apartment that the two of them live in together. they host all of the family gatherings for sentimental and space reasons. i think luther would explore the stripper idea but decide not to follow it because of sloane. sloane would be fine with it but luther would still get worried.

diego and lila live in the same house somewhat nearby. lila's family (they do get to be alive but lila does have to overcome the trauma of losing them while simultaneously getting them back) are their neighbors, it was the compromise they came to because diego wanted their house to be their space but lila wanted her family close. they have three kids who are each loved and names get to be in the fucking show. (looking at you mystery twin. grace and coco (?) didn't really get much attention either). they have a big backyard that the kids all play in together when they're visiting

allison and ray are still together and they have claire (maybe another kid...) they also live somewhat nearby the rest of the umbrella family because i refuse to let them separate. i don't have much to say about them other than RAY DID NOT WALK OUT ON HER.

klaus and dave live in allison and ray's neighborhood. maybe they adopted a kid? maybe they didn't? i think their family would be really cute either way. klaus is still overcoming his addiction and dave supports him through it. it's not made into a joke and actually gives klaus a lot of depth and emotional moments. also just in general dave meeting the rest of the family would be really really sweet

five gets to retire. he lives with viktor in my mind. full circle on viktor being the person who always waited for him and offered him a place to stay after he got home in season 1. five would not actually be getting a retirement pay because he has never had a real job so he's just vik's roommate now. he could have a romance plotline with a woman working at the department store down the street named delores. she looks familiar.

ben lives alone and works at a tech company? honestly i don't know what i would do with him in the pre-plot but it would not be put him in jail?? me personally. i think he would probably move further away than everyone else but stay close enough so he could visit sloane sometimes. he still feels like an outsider but doesn't know how to tell the umbrellas he wants to be their brother now

and viktor lives with sissy harlan and five (previously mentioned). his transition gets to actually be explored (PLEASE.), harlan is in therapy, and sissy is a strong working woman!! again i don't really know what to do with him pre-plot. just know he's the happiest he's ever been!!!

and just in general, a lot of this happiness from all of them comes from their powers and that they can finally be one big happy family together (whether ben likes it or not). setting up the inherent tragedy that comes with perfection

episode 1 opens by showing everything i just explained, the tragedy of getting everything you want or whatever the title was. their powers are still integral to their lives. they're either tied to their careers (luther would probably be like a wrestler or something again, diego could try police work again because i want that to be explored) or other aspects of their existence (allison still finds herself doubting how much of her life is real, klaus' relapses are always caused by his trauma surrounding ghosts, five sometimes space jumps when he wants to be alone [also i think he could feel some sort of shame/guilt because he lives with viktor and can't really contribute much without the commission. not really his fault though because of his insanely fucked timeline], ben uses the squid to carry things or grab things that are far away, and viktor plays the violin to help him remind himself that he is in control of his power now, and he won't end the world again)

the main conflict starts when ben meets a new woman named jennifer and shakes her hand when introducing himself (starting the marigold/durango reaction that builds very slowly throughout the season.) it could be romantic but i think it's just devestating. they're slowly realizing they're losing everything they worked so hard for because of something they can't control

yadda yadda yadda figuring shit out while also having conflicts in their life from the earlier seasons and it culminates in the old umbrella academy building, viktor is the only person who can remove the durango and marigold from ben and jennifer and save the world. he finally gets to be the hero, be the one to stop the end of the world instead of cause it, but he needs to take the marigold from each of the siblings in order to balance the amount of durango jennifer had (no idk why he would let the other like 30 something marigold kids keep theirs i really don't know how to fix that. why would they do this to me)

each of the siblings have to give up part of their lives, part of their identities, and it's hard for them!!! they struggle a lot to agree to do it!!! and it's also harder for them because they don't know if viktor will survive doing this. but he's the only one who can? is his life more important than the existence of everything and everyone? ultimately, they all give up their marigold, and viktor takes all of it and the durango to save everyone. it cancels itself out and stops the cleanse reaction, and i think it would kill viktor (but it doesn't have to). we see that same clip of the 'perfect world' but they get to be in it. they were never the problem. lila and diego play in the park with their kids. allison ray and claire are walking together. klaus and dave are talking on a bench. luther and sloane are carrying a large basket of food. ben and five are helping them set up the picnic. harlan is sitting in the grass with sissy next to him. each of the adults have a small violin tattoo on their wrists. their lives will never be as perfect as they were before, but they can finally just rest and move on. because it was never their fault.

also reginald dies. fuck that guy

[winterchimez]

No Longer Human | Ju Haknyeon

SUMMARY: what happens when you find yourself in a life-and-death situation, only to have Lucifer himself approach you, seeking your help to change his fate and avoid succumbing to evil? is that even possible? and when you discover that you are the long-forgotten Lake Deity, possessing the ability to purify all forms of evil, will you accept his request in exchange for regaining your powers?

PAIRING: lucifer!Haknyeon x f!reader

GENRE: fantasy/devil au, strangers to lovers, angst (like very heavy ngl), horror, some fluff, slight suggestive

WARNINGS: nc-17, slow-burn, it's a devil's au so expect it to be dark & angsty af (but fear not there's some comedy & fluff in between), mystical creatures (sacred deities, demonic creatures, devils, fairies), cursing, violence, blood, mentions / descriptions of weaponry (katana, kunais, spears), alcohol consumption, petnames (princess), betrayal, minor characters deaths, reader goes through a lot of traumatic experiences (so yknow bear with her pls 🥺), multiple nightmares, suspense, gore, kissing, a couple of life-and-death situations throughout the fic, Haknyeon & reader bickers A LOT, proofread once (lmk if i missed anything!)

WORD COUNT: 26,972 (haha.)

A/N: my writing comeback folks 🫡 and this is also my submission for deoboyznet's bite back halloween event!! happy belated birthday to my other 妹 on this platform @ethereal-engene im so sorry i couldn't get this out in time on your birthday but it's finally here & i hope it's worth the wait (and ily so so much forever!!) 🥹💗 also shoutout to @sungbeam @momhwa-agenda for pitching in ideas for me from the start & really helping me through with this ❤️ (also yall say thank you beam for deciding the banner for me 😤)

You have lost count of the number of times you have been on the run. 

As much as the fear and adrenaline overwhelmed you, you tried to not look behind and kept running forward while doing your very best to not trip on the pebbles and sticks scattered throughout the forest. 

The sound of you stepping on the branches didn’t help in the slightest bit, as it only alerted and made the enemies quicken their pace faster than they already were. The forest wasn’t a great place to hide in after all—you could only last for a good minute, even behind the thickest possible tree if you were lucky enough. 

After running for what seemed like forever, you finally set your eyes upon the glistening light beyond you, and a smile was finally plastered across your face, replacing the horror you had prior to this. 

But it seemed as if your happiness wouldn’t last for long. 

You find yourself at the top of a cliff, and sweat begins dripping down profusely from your forehead as you look at the crashing wave beneath. It definitely didn’t help that the weather was horrible, causing the waters to flow at an aggressive pace that would ignite fear within oneself upon whoever laid their eyes upon them. 

Turning your head from the left to the right, you desperately tried to make out a different escape route. Perhaps climbing down the cliff instead? However, you knew it was out of the question, given that the rocks were slippery from the rain, and you would immediately lose your grip and fall straight into the waters.

There may be vines you could tie up to help you swing from the cliff to the other side of the forest. But given the situation, there was absolutely no way you were going to make it in time. 

So you were left with only one option: below. 

Immediately, a low growl was growing increasingly louder behind you, and you slowly turned to look at the source of the sound. The demonic creatures appeared right where you were, leaving only a few metres apart before they slowly crept your way. 

Taking a few steps back before you felt that you were on the edge of the cliff, you jerk your head back to take one last look at the crashing waves below, knowing that it would be your only way of escape from your persuaders—that is if you would eventually make it out alive or not.

With a deep breath, you turned and leapt into the water, paddling frantically to stay afloat. The experience felt straight out of a horror movie: the freezing cold water, the strong currents relentlessly slamming into your face, making it hard to catch a breath. At times, you were completely submerged, cut off from sunlight as the waves dragged you under.

And you absolutely feared and hated the dark deep waters underneath. 

Before you could even figure out on what to do next, the water slowly washed you up ahead, and the next thing you knew was that you were at the edge of a streaming waterfall. 

This was it. It was the end. 

For the last time, you looked straight up into the gloomy grey skies, taking in everything you could see before shutting your eyes tight and submerging yourself into the deep waters. 

Goodbye, forever.

"Y/N, do you believe in the demonic creatures?” 

“Huh? What makes you say that?” 

The man chuckled. “No, nothing much. I just never hear you talk about them as much as your peers did.”

It wasn’t unusual for your mentor to ask you random questions out of the blue, as he was knowledgeable in every field and quite a superstitious man himself. Besides, there has been an increase in sightings of demonic creatures across the nation, and you assumed that he could be worried about your safety. 

“With all due respect, sir, I assure you that you don’t have to worry about me in the slightest-”

“But the other young lads are working together to devise a plan to drive the spirits away for the safety of the townsfolk. So tell me, why are you still here then? All alone and staring into the waters?” 

You knew that you couldn’t keep up the facade any longer, and you weren’t too sure if your mentor would accept the excuse you were about to give. But you have always stood firm with your beliefs, and you weren’t going to let somebody else convince you otherwise. 

“I honestly don’t see why the public would pose them as a threat to our community. I humbly believe that everyone, even spirits roaming on earth, has reasons to do whatever they were tasked to fulfill. Sure, the creatures may seem scary looking, but what harm is there if they have not laid a single finger on us?” 

There was a silence. 

Your mentor was just staring straight at you, not saying a word. 

You figured that he was probably stunned at your answer, given the fact that you were the only one who felt neutral—even siding with the creatures, if you will, compared to your peers.

That was why you decided to keep your mouth shut, fearing that you might cause an uproar among the community. 

Suddenly, your mentor’s eyes darkened, and there was this ringing sound in your ear, being unable to pick up whatever he was trying to tell you before your subconscious slowly drifted apart.

What was going on? 

You tried your best to shout and scream for all you could before your eyelids began to droop. 

And for the very last time, you were able to make out the words that your mentor was trying to mouth at you.

“You’re going to regret this, Y/N.” 

Instantly, your eyes darted open, and you jerked up from that nightmare you had just had, trying your utmost best to catch your breath before focusing your vision on looking at your surroundings. 

You were alive. 

It seemed as if you had ended up at a creek, and there was no sign of the demonic creatures that had been chasing you from before. Given that you had a great sense of a presence nearby, you heaved a sigh of relief, knowing you were safe from danger.

At least, that was what you thought. 

You definitely failed to recognise a presence crouching down on your right who has been staring straight at you for god knows how long.

“So you have finally woken up.” 

Immediately, you screamed and backed away from the sudden jumpscare, trying your best to calm your fast-paced breathing down once again. “Don’t do that! I don’t need more jumpscares than I’ve already had for the day,” you retorted. 

That was when you finally stopped to look carefully at the man in front of you. He had strikingly blonde hair, beautiful eyes with some hints of red at the corners, and a white tank top paired with a black leather jacket over it. 

He was very attractive looking at that too. 

“You were having a nightmare, and you just wouldn’t stop squirming around when I tried to revive you,” the male replied. 

“Revive me? You saved me from the waters?”

“Hell yes I did. Shouldn’t I be getting a simple “thank you” for that?” 

Immediately, you sat up and tucked your legs underneath with your knees touching the ground. Then, you bowed your head, signalling that you were grateful for the man’s kind act. 

Instead of saying anything, the male continued staring at you from top to bottom, making you feel slightly uneasy. You weren’t sure if you were supposed to speak up, so you decided to fiddle with your fingers, hoping that he would notice that it was time to break the ice. 

Thankfully, the silence between you both didn’t last that long, and a little scoff escaped his mouth, making you feel confused and somewhat a little terrified. 

“Umm…is something the matter?” 

This time, the male rests his chin upon one of his hands as he tilts his head to the side a little. “You seemed so much different from what I have been told.”

“Y-You know me?” 

“Everyone knows you, Miss Deity Of The Sacred Lake.” 

Huh? What deity, what lake now? 

You stared at the male for a good ten seconds before tilting your head to the side and giving him this most innocent look he had ever seen on a supposed deity that he had been trying his best to locate for a while now.

“So the rumours are true,” he sighed before finally getting up to dust his clothes from pebbles or sand.

Before the male could turn his head back, you quickly jumped onto him, causing him to fall straight back onto the ground—crawling him up and gripping onto his collar for dear life.

“Please! Please help me! I need to know who I am and why these mysterious demon-like creatures have been chasing me!” You cried out loud, and your voice was shaking. 

You could tell the male was astounded by your reaction because, according to his sources, you weren’t supposed to be in this state. Well, rather—when you were who you were actually known for before the chaos that happened. 

All he could do was let out a deep sigh before leaning back slightly and narrowing his eyes before speaking up again. “What makes you think I can trust you with this little act you’re putting up? Who knows, you might be making a fool out of time.”

You scoffed. “Do I look like I’m playing around right now, mister? I literally almost lost my life back there. If you can’t help me, I’ll just keep wandering around wherever this is until I get the help I need.” 

You snarled at the man himself before you stood back up and turned your heels in the opposite direction, stomping away furiously as you listened to your hot breath as second. 

“What the fuck was his problem? What an actual scumbag-”

Before you realized it, you were suddenly lifted off the ground, and the next thing you knew, you were being piggybacked by the same guy as before. You kicked your feet and tried to cause a ruckus, desperately wanting to break free, but he only tightened his grip on your thighs.

“Let go of me! You’re not helping at all!” 

“Nice try, Miss Deity. You clearly failed to notice how there’s a branch stuck right in your left ankle, and the bleeding is becoming much heavier each minute.”

What? Are you hurt? 

The moment you heard those words, you quickly looked down to see that your ankle was now covered in blood—yet you felt zero to no pain this whole time that it happened. Were these some kind of superpowers you had? Perhaps what he was saying about you being a deity is true?

For the past week, you've had many more questions than answers, and you finally concluded that he is your best source of help right now—whether you like it or not. 

With that, you sighed before slumping onto his back, which was surprisingly warm (contrary to his somewhat cold behaviour). Then, you wrapped your arms around him as he walked off into the distance. 

The entire walk was silent, and neither of you spoke a word. You weren’t too sure if you should break off the awkward tension between you both, so it was probably best to just leave it as it was until the male finally spoke, easing the atmosphere just a little.

“What’s your name?”

“H-Huh?”

“You don’t expect me to keep calling you Miss Deity throughout the journey, don’t you? I’d much prefer calling you something that’s much easier and comfortable for the both of us.”

You paused. It has been a while since you’ve last heard your actual name, and you couldn’t remember why that was. Your memory was still all foggy and blank, and you almost forgot what you were called besides this so-called “deity” that the man kept addressing you as. 

It was at the tip of your tongue, but it took a while to put the words together and finally answer the male’s question.

“I-It’s Y/N…I think…” You mumbled as you hid your face in his jacket to hide yourself from embarrassment, waiting for him to make another comment about your odd behaviour. 

But neither of his teasing remarks came, and he replied with something you had least expected to hear from him. “Haknyeon. We’ll be stuck together for a while anyways; I figured it would be best to get to know each other better from now on.”

You both eventually found a secluded area within the woods. There was a little cave right where you had both stopped, where you would take shelter for the night. Given your history of being afraid and alert most of the time, Haknyeon had reassured you that nobody was to come here and that he had scoured the cave, making sure it would be ideal to rest here for the night. 

Haknyeon seemed a lot quieter than before as he placed you on one of the rocks to take a seat. He set up the whole area for you two—making a bonfire, going around to hunt for food, and even putting his jacket over you to keep you from the cold. 

You were still trying to process everything as you kept looking at the male walking through the woods, trying to piece together everything he had said to see if it made any sense. 

He did mention you were the Lake Deity, and you kept replaying that nightmare you had right before you woke up at the creak. Who exactly was that? Why did your mentor warn you about the regrets that you would have coming your way? 

Most importantly, who exactly are you? 

As Haknyeon finally took a seat and began roasting some of the freshly caught fish on a branch, you slowly approached him and sat right next to the male himself. Haknyeon wasted no time handing you one of the fish, but you stared at it blankly before he was the one to break a small piece and shove it straight into your mouth.

“I don’t want to be responsible for your starvation, so I highly suggest you eat something for the night,” he replied bluntly. 

You shot him a little snarl before biting into the meat, but you had to give him credit—it tasted much better than you expected. You couldn’t even remember if you were used to food like this in the wild before losing your memories, but this certainly passed as a good meal.

Now that you'd gotten a proper taste of your meal for the night, you grabbed an entire fish and began chewing. However, the glum look on your face was too obvious to ignore, prompting Haknyeon to speak up once again on your behalf.

“If you have any questions, just ask away. I will gladly answer them now that we have settled down for the night.” 

Once again, you hated how he could read you like a book, and you unknowingly gave him the biggest pout. “Look, I’m trying to be nice. You should be grateful because I don’t treat everyone like this.” 

You scoffed. “So what? You’re a mean and cold guy throughout your entire life?”

It took Haknyeon a few seconds to process what you said, and you could see the hesitation in his eyes. You figured that everyone has their secrets, and you decided not to pry any further than that. 

Shockingly, Haknyeon answered your question when you quickly tried to brush it off and change it to another topic. But it was an answer that you weren’t sure if it could be a dream or reality.

“They don’t call me the devil for nothing, Y/N.”

Devil? What was he talking about? 

“You what?”

Haknyeon sighed. “I meant what I said; that’s why I’ve been trying desperately to look for you, Y/N. The so-called Lake Deity.” 

You immediately tossed your fish to the ground (not on purpose) before grabbing onto his wrist, your eyes pleading for more answers. “Haknyeon, please. Tell me everything you know, even about you. I need to figure out this messed up situation that I’m in.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Haknyeon replied before clearing his throat, indicating that it’s going to take a while to keep you in the loop with everything fully. “I am indeed the devil himself, the supposed ruler of the underworld, Lucifer. But it all happened against my own will.” 

“Huh? How can a devil not accept his own faith?” You were puzzled. 

“Because I wasn’t supposed to become the devil himself, Y/N. It’s all because of my messed up ancestors that placed me in line for the throne in hell. To put it simply, the blood of Lucifer resonates within me, and I want to get rid of it before it’s too late.”

“And finding me is the solution to your problem?”

“From what I’ve been told, yes. Apparently, the lake deity was one of the strongest amongst the five sacred deities of the nation as she had the power to cleanse all spirits and evils—even the king of the underworld himself.” Haknyeon finally turned his eyes to look straight at you as he made that last remark. 

“She is also known to be immortal—free from all sorts of pain and danger that would come her way,” he continued, pointing to the injury you had on your ankle, which now clearly explains why you felt zero pain and were in tip-top condition even falling from that high of a height from the waterfalls. 

“But with the current state you’re in,” he paused as he looked at you from top to bottom. “I highly doubt you’ll be able to do anything for me.” 

Now that stung like hell. However, you couldn’t refute it because what he said was true—you had zero recollection of how you ended up this way, and you’re just learning the fact that you were some sort of sacred deity of a lake. 

But Haknyeon wasn’t done. “I’m not giving up, though. I’m going to help you regain your memories and power.”

“Now, why on earth are you helping me so much-”

You were immediately cut off by Haknyeon moving forward to pinch your mouth together, causing you to form an ‘o’ shape as you narrowed your eyes at him. 

“It’s all for me; don’t get so full of yourself.” 

When he finally let go and turned his back to you again to grill the remaining fish by the fire, you gave him a nasty snarl as you chomped down on your food. “You truly are the worst.” 

“You know that I can hear you, right?”

“S-Shut up!!”

A little time has passed since you both decided to retire for the night. Haknyeon insisted that you should sleep within the cave while he kept watch near the entrance. As much as you tried your best to fall asleep, you were just tossing and turning around for god knows how many hours by now. 

You figured it wouldn’t hurt to go for a little walk, and you slowly tip-toed your way out of the cave, trying your best not to wake the devil, who was sleeping soundly as he leaned back on the cave walls. 

Figuring that it would be nice to tell him you wouldn’t be gone for too long, you decided to pick up a few branches and leave on a trail for where you were going—so that he could find you if needed.

Eventually, you walked deeper into the forest and stopped when you came across what seemed like a contaminated lake. It wasn’t the usual clean waters that would reflect the moon and stars above the surface; instead, it was pitched black and had somewhat of a foul odour. 

You stared at the lake briefly before bending down and moving closer to the edge to further examine the water's contents.

Just then, a sudden thought popped up, and you figured that it would be a good time to prove whatever Haknyeon had said was true. 

You’re a lake deity who has the ability to cleanse all spirits and evil. 

Clearly, the water before you wasn’t so-called possessed or evil. But maybe, if you were able to purify all sorts of evil spirits during the time when you had your powers, then perhaps a contaminated lake shouldn’t be too hard for a deity like you. 

So here you were, sticking out one of your fingers, and you slowly submerged it into the waters. After a few seconds, you slumped in disappointment as you saw that nothing had happened before deciding that it was much better to give up. 

“Who am I kidding? This has all gotta be some sort of lie-”

As you tried to get up, you realised your finger was somehow stuck in the water. Slowly, a glow emitted around the surface of your finger before it took over the lake in one swift motion. 

The once black, cloudy, muddy water was slowly turning back to its original state as you slowly watched the reflection of the moon on the waters and eventually the entire night sky. It was real, after all: your abilities to purify all sorts of evil. 

Just then, a voice echoed through the forest, calling for your attention as it chanted your name. You stood up frantically, turning around to see where the source was coming from before you finally landed your eyes upon the lake again—a fragment of your actual self slowly coming up from the waters. 

Your eyes widened as you saw yourself staring back at you (in a water form, that is), slowly calling out for you to come closer. With that, your feet decided to move on their own, and before you knew it, you were walking on the waters—making your way to touch yourself standing in front of you. 

“Y-You’re…me?”

“Indeed I am. I’m your other half. It’s my pleasure to serve you once again, Y/N.”

“S-Serve me? What are you talking about?”

“Your powers have been sealed away for a period of time now, that is until you broke the seal and awakened your powers just now.”

This might be the moment to finally get the answers you’ve been desperately seeking. Quickly, you grabbed their shoulders and began shaking them furiously. “Please! Tell me! What happened to me? Why did I lose all my powers? And most importantly, why can’t I remember anything before this?”

The figure in front of you hesitated momentarily and eventually spoke up in a rather soft voice, lowering her head ever so slightly at the same time. “I wish I could tell you, but I can’t, at least not right now.”

“W-Why? Please! Don’t leave me hanging anymore!” You screamed but were silenced as the figure leaned in to give you a big hug. 

“I’ll be within you to guide you through your journey, Y/N. Just know you won’t be alone anymore, and I’ll always be by your side and slowly bring your powers back to life just as they once stood firm and powerful in the past.”

Just like that, the figure burst and dispersed back into the waters, leaving you staring straight through the depths of the forest before a voice brought you back to reality. 

“Who told you that you could leave my sight just like that?” 

You turned behind to see that it was Haknyeon—crossing his arms as he leaned against one of the trees. You really wished you could read his emotions, but his face was expressionless—you couldn’t tell if he was amused or annoyed with whatever had just unfolded before his eyes.  

“How long have you been here?” you asked, though you were pretty sure you already had a good guess that he’d been here long enough to see everything from the start. 

“Long enough to see that you had regained your powers,” he commented before walking to the edge of the lake, putting his hands into his jacket pockets. 

You sighed before slowly making your way towards him. “Look, I left a trail behind for you to come find me. At least I was respectful in that part.”

“I don’t need some branches to tell me where you are. All I need to do is to focus, and I can tell which direction you went.”

“Right, because you’re the devil.” 

He scoffed. “Hell yes, I am. So promise me you won’t do this again without my knowledge.”

“What are you? My babysitter?” 

“Guess you don’t want my protection after all.” He smirked before turning his heel to face the opposite direction before you grabbed his wrists to hold him back. He was stunned by that sudden action you made but more so by the look on your face right now. 

You are desperate, and you have just gotten a glimpse of potentially finding out who you truly are as you awakened the powers you had in the lake. There is absolutely no way you were about to give up now, and you will be needing Haknyeon’s help in your journey ahead. 

“Haknyeon, I…I can’t do all of this alone, not with the current state I’m in. I promise you, if you help me regain my powers and memory, I will do my best to break whatever this curse you’re dealing with,” you begged as you looked straight into his eyes that somehow just turned bright crimson red for a second before it was gone. 

He was truly Lucifer himself. 

Just when you had expected him to agree with everything you said, he suddenly took over by pulling both your wrists forcefully towards him before he picked you up and slung you on one side of his shoulder, walking back towards the cave where you came from. 

“On a second thought! I still hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” You yelled as you balled up your fist and kept hitting him on his back. 

Even though Haknyeon said nothing in return, he had plastered a smile across his face for the first time since you both had been together. As you both descended into the darkness, Haknyeon mumbled something under his breath that was loud enough for himself to hear. 

“You’re damn right going to help me break this stupid curse, Y/N.”

You both almost set off immediately the following day to your next destination. Since you barely knew where exactly you were, Haknyeon decided to be the guide as you began your trek down the woods.

Along the way, he felt it necessary to tell you a little bit about the destination you both were heading to and a little bit more about yourself. 

It turns out that there were originally five deities, and each deity has its very own tribe. Given that you were the Lake Deity, you were known to be the leader for the people of the waters. It was definitely the best lead and place to go for now if you needed answers.

Thankfully, the distance from where you both rested the night before wasn’t too far from the tribe, and it took about two days to arrive, with you both taking breaks in between and resting up for the day. The moment you arrived at the entrance of the tribe, sure enough, the people fell down on their knees in awe, seeing that their deity had personally come to them instead.

You had no idea why the crowd cheered; some even shed tears when they looked at you, and they wasted no time welcoming you both into their safe haven. The moment you both walked towards the end, that was when you were formerly greeted by an elder which you assumed that he was the head of the tribe.

Without wasting a minute, he brought you both up to his chambers before stopping Haknyeon in his tracks. “My apologies, dear young man. But I’m afraid that this conversation is strictly between the people of the waters.” 

Both you and Haknyeon’s eyes widened upon hearing those words, and you were just about to step in to defend him—knowing that he was the devil himself, it would probably be best not to anger the male. 

However, he beat you to it by responding to the elder rather calmly, contradicting to his usual demeanour. 

“Well then, I guess you wouldn’t mind if I waited right outside the room. I promise I won’t be eavesdropping.”

“That’s fine by me. Thank you for understanding,” the elder smiled, leading Haknyeon to turn his heels and walk straight out of the room before closing it shut. 

With Haknyeon finally absent, the elder immediately bent his knees and intertwined his fingers together before ultimately bowing his head to the ground, causing you to do the same and wanting to support the man back up.

“We’ve waited so long for your return, my lady,” he sobbed. 

Not knowing what else you could do, you decided to gently hug the elder for a few seconds before encouraging him to lift his head back up and telling him everything that had happened up until this point (omitting the fact that Haknyeon is a Lucifer himself, for obvious reasons). 

The elder was shocked, to say the least, to hear about everything you have been through. You had zero recollection of who you were until you met Haknyeon and heard what happened back at the purified lake. 

Knowing that it would be a long day, he reassured you by guiding you to take a seat as he prepared a warm cup of tea before offering it to you. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly began to recall what exactly happened to the tribe, including their very own deity. 

“My Lady…I fear that you have been in a slumber for a couple of decades now,” the elder replied, still puffy from the tears that flowed beforehand. 

“D-Decades? What do you mean by that?” You questioned hastily, wanting to piece the information together as quickly as possible.

“Fifty years ago…when the demonic creatures slowly took over the nation and defeated each of the deities…but it seemed as if you were the last one standing back then.” 

“Deities? Tribes? Do you mean a war broke out?”

“Yes, my lady. It was like the end of the world, if I may put it simply. All five deities stood up against the evil spirits and fought against them. We were close to achieving victory until another wave of enemies struck again, strong enough even to defeat each one of them.

You were taken aback by all of that information. You couldn’t accept that an actual war broke out in this very nation, given that everything looked unharmed and well-kept in the tribe and even in the woods as you journey here.

The most shocking fact was that you fought in the war alongside your fellow deities, whom you barely remember now knew what their names were. 

Wanting more answers, you decided to press on, trying your best to find out any relevant information you needed. “T-Then…are those deities dead?”

“Dead would be a way to describe them, yes.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The elder sighed before he stood up to walk towards the window as he peered down at his tribe. “According to records, all of them were sealed away and long-forgotten—their locations unknown, and their lifespan would’ve probably slowly faded away given the intensity of the spell from the devils.”

Just then, he turns back towards you. “However, you somehow manage to stay alive and look the same as you did back then.” 

Puzzled, you tried piecing the information together to come up with a proper response. “You mean I wasn’t sealed away?”

“Maybe you were, or maybe you didn’t. Neither of us knew the exact details, my lady. If only Father were still alive, he would probably have given you a much better answer than I could have since he was present. He was the one who saw with his own eyes of the enemies sealing off the deities,” his voice softened, and his shoulders slumped in defeat, upset that he couldn’t give you the answers you wanted to hear. 

“I’m so sorry, my lady. I really wished I could’ve been much more helpful to you.”

“Oh my gosh, please! Don’t apologise; you have given me so much that I needed to know,” you forced a smile, reassuring him that you would be okay. “But I need to know something, elder. About my powers.” 

With that, the elder lifted his head again as a smile plastered across his face. “Perhaps staying here for a while could help, my lady. You are our deity, and I’m sure you could use the endless streams and lakes we have here to recover your abilities. I’m sure my people would be more than willing to help.” 

Suddenly, you definitely felt a lot at ease, and the underwhelming feeling you’ve been suffering for the past weeks was gone the moment you stepped into the tribe. Perhaps it was truly the power and barrier that the people of the waters have put up seemingly resonates with your element, making you worry-free about everything that has been troubling you for a while.

Taking in your first sip of tea, you slowly swallowed down the warm liquid before closing your eyes to rest for a bit. 

“Maybe this is what it feels like to call home.”

Hours had passed before you realised that you had been chatting away with the elder and resting up in his room. So when you opened the door to find that Haknyeon was nowhere to be seen, the panic started rising again within you, making you dash down and out to the open fields of the tribe to search for him.

When you tried asking for help, many of them directed you towards the waterfall behind their tribe. Sure enough, you found Haknyeon sitting on a branch, leaning against the tallest tree as if he were taking a nap.

Unfortunately for you, you weren’t the best tree climber, so you made a couple of sounds as you made your way up to where he was, making him grunt in his sleep. 

“I thought you could just fly up here using your powers,” he growled, feeling a little annoyed that his peaceful nap was ruined.

“Well, sorry to disappoint you, mister devil, that my powers are long gone, and I’ll need some time to break the seal off within me to gain my abilities back slowly- wait. How did you know I could fly?” 

Haknyeon didn’t say anything but turned his head to the other side, making you narrow your eyes at him once again. 

“You eavesdropped my conversation, didn’t you?”

“Not by my own will. It’s part of the devil’s powers to be able to do that, whether I like it or not,” he replied calmly. “Though I was already off the moment I closed that door, and I’ve been here since taking a well-deserved rest after three long days of being your bodyguard.”

You smacked his arm lightly. “You made an agreement with me, so deal with it.” 

“So, what’s your plan for now?” He asked.

You contemplated for a little while as you remembered everything the elder had just told you a while back. It was a major decision to make after all, given the fact that you were on a journey to figure out why you ended up the way you did. And without fail, you also agreed to cleanse the devil’s blood within him before it’s too late. 

Staying here would certainly grant you the protection and ability to recover fully, but you also couldn’t ignore Haknyeon’s needs—you promised that you both were in this together from the start. 

Most importantly, you knew that there were more answers to be found outside of the tribe. 

“Here’s my plan,” you announced as you scooched closely to Haknyeon. “I’m thinking we could rest here for a couple of days. I’ll hopefully be able to recover some of my abilities, and you could rest up, and then we’ll make a move.”

“To where?”

“Anywhere. Maybe the other tribes, now that I’ve known that there were people like me in the past and that they were sealed off somewhere within the nation. If I find out where they were buried, I may be able to regain my memories fully at some point,” you stated firmly before noticing that Haknyeon now had his eyes opened and was staring at you for a while.

You sighed. “No, I did not forget about our promise.” 

“You better not because I could dispose of you at any time whenever I wanted to.”

You scoffed. “You wouldn’t. You need me after all, if you want to truly change your fate.” 

For the first time, Haknyeon lets out a little chuckle and a genuine smile before resting one of his hands on your head, ruffling your hair slightly before moving down to caress your warm, soft cheeks. 

“Yeah, I’ll be needing you so bad. So don’t you leave nor die on me anytime soon.”

In the blink of an eye, it was already your last night here at the tribe. After announcing to the elder that you have decided to embark on your journey ahead, he insisted that the people would love to throw you a little farewell party before you both left. 

The atmosphere was lively, to say the least. There were a couple of dancers performing on the stage that was set up at the centre of the open fields and dozens of mats were laid across the field for everyone to sit and relax. 

Haknyeon decided to pick a seat furthest from everyone while drinking the sake that was prepared for him. He wasn’t much of a social person, and he decided that it was more of your thing since you were basically the sole reason everyone was celebrating for the night.

Even as the devil himself, he couldn’t help but plastered a smile across his face when he saw you having fun with the tribe—stuffing yourself with a bunch of sweets to being invited up on stage to dance with everyone else. It has been a while since he saw you being genuinely happy, ever since he found you at the lake during your first encounter. 

You have been through a lot, and you definitely deserve times like this. 

Slowly, as the night passed, the atmosphere began to slow down, as some people began packing away to rest up in their cabins. Only a few people remained who decided to drink the night away like Haknyeon did. 

As he poured his last bottle of sake into his cup, he peered his head up and heard the rustling sounds of the grass getting louder and coming in his direction. The moment he witnessed what was before him, he immediately put down his cup frantically before grabbing both of your shoulders to support you.

“Ah~ It’s Haknyeon~ You kinda look funny~” You slurred, being obvious that you were too drunk even to hold a proper conversation. 

“God, you reek of alcohol. Do you not know how to control your tolerance?” 

“Who are you to tell me how much I should drink! *hiccups* I can do whatever I want tonight!” Your voice getting louder with each sentence and Haknyeon had to pull you down before you fall into his embrace.

If only you were sober enough to have a proper look at your so-called devil friend, you would’ve noticed how his face was now flushed red and he was too stunned to think of a way to retaliate back.

Before he could even come up with a proper response, he suddenly heard soft snores and looked down to see your arms wrapped around his waist—hugging him as if he were a pillow, not wanting to let go.

With a last hiccup from you, your soft voice didn’t go unnoticed before you eventually drifted off completely to sleep. 

“Stay with me…don’t leave me again…” 

With a deep sigh, Haknyeon carefully unwrapped your arms before positioning you correctly to lay down on his lap—stroking your soft, silky hair as you squirm your body to turn towards the side with one of your hands clutching onto Haknyeon’s jacket. 

Slowly, he leans down to gently place a soft peck on your forehead as he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before rubbing your soft and sensitive earlobes to seemingly help you sleep better.

“A devil never goes back on his words.”

It has been about a couple of hours since you both had hit the road, leaving behind the tribe with your tears slowly dripping down your face. It took you a while to fully stop but Haknyeon said nothing but passes a clean napkin for you to wipe your tears while you were on the road.

Not knowing where else to head next, the elder of the tribe suggested visiting the sacred shrine that used to house all the deities when you were all younger to train your abilities before your predecessors passed them down to you. 

However, the location of the shrine was long wiped out from the map ever since the war broke out, so nobody knew where it was except for the sealed-off deities themselves. 

Panicking when you heard the news, the elder reassured you that the waters shall guide your way—highly suggesting that the priest from the shrine will certainly be able to help you out on your journey. 

Trusting your instincts, you followed the dew drops on the leaves, guiding your path deeper into the forest, away from where you first came. It wasn’t long before Haknyeon noticed how shallow your breathing had become, prompting him to halt the journey by tapping your shoulder.

“It’s time for a rest. We’ll continue on after lunch.”

“Y-Yeah…sounds like a plan…” You huffed, before sitting down on the opposite tree from Haknyeon. 

For the first few minutes, you tried your best not to glance at the male as he got both of your supplies ready and organised them out to prepare for lunch. Something has been going on in your mind for the past couple of days, but you couldn’t seem to bring yourself to tell him straight to his face. 

Instead, you quietly watched as he touched one of the trees within reach, using his powers to make the entire tree fall apart and break it into firewoods. All he had to do was arrange the pieces on the ground, and with a snap of his fingers, a fire immediately ignited—causing the wood to burn in no time.

It was the first time you had seen any of his powers, and you figured that the devils themselves probably had the ability to control literally anything that was within their reach—which was why the nation feared them for centuries. 

The more you began to be in awe about what he was capable of, you certainly failed to notice how he was aware of every single motion you made—including staring at him for minutes now.

“Don’t be a creep and spill out whatever that’s on your mind.” 

Dang it. 

“I should’ve known that you were able to read minds…” you mumbled before hiding your face with your hands from embarrassment. 

The male simply sighed before walking towards you and gently pulled your hands apart, revealing your flustered face.

“I-I was just daydreaming! Yeah! Nothing’s wrong in the slightest,” you chuckled, wanting to be over and done with this entire conversation. 

“Daydreaming about dirty thoughts that made your face completely flushed red as a tomato?” 

God, you hated this side of him.

“I promise it’s nothing. Now go back to make the fire,” you spat, turning your head towards the side to avoid looking straight at him.

But Haknyeon doesn’t budge, and he continues to stare straight at you for seconds until you know that he isn’t going to give up whatever this matter is. 

And you should’ve known how devils are persistent as hell. 

You sighed. “Okay, fine. I want you to teach me how to fight.” 

There was a minute of silence before Haknyeon suddenly scoffed right at your face. “You? Fight? That must be the funniest joke I’ve heard all day.”

“Hey! Don’t laugh! I was part of the war decades ago, fighting for my people! T-Though I have no recollection of how I fought…” you began to lower your voice at that last part, feeling embarrassed enough to talk about this. 

“And what makes you think you will be needing such fighting skills, Miss Y/N?” 

“Look. We’re up for a long journey ahead. I highly doubt we will be getting peaceful days like this as we continue. I can’t just be this pathetic deity who barely knows how to defend oneself forever,” you responded back. 

“What happened to you saying that I should be the one protecting you throughout this whole journey, hmm?” Haknyeon asked in a cocky tone. “I thought you were going to be a good princess and just sit back-” 

You didn’t give him time to finish his last sentence before you cut him off. “Well, not anymore. Now that I’ve gotten a slight glimpse of my past, I’m more than determined to get back on both feet to fight back.” 

That was more than enough to keep Haknyeon’s mouth shut. It was probably the first time you had seen him being so taken aback, and you couldn’t help but keep chanting the words “I won” in your head. 

Damn, it feels good to overtake the devil. 

After some moments of contemplating, Haknyeon finally picks himself back up and poses another question. “So, what weapons are you interested in learning, Miss Deity?”

Your lights lit up. “Oh my gosh, I get to choose weapons?!”

“This is not play club, kid. They are dangerous, and you can even hurt yourself if you don’t know how to use them properly.”

“Oh, I know. Spare those details; I’m ready to learn whenever!” 

“Not until you acknowledge me as your teacher.”

You paused. “Ew. No. I’m not calling you that.” 

“Suit yourself, then. I’ll be heading back to cook a fine damn meal, and I will be the only one who gets to eat lunch today,” Haknyeon smirked before he stood up and turned his heel back towards the firewood.

“You disgraceful piece of shit!” You shouted back at the male.

“Now, that’s not very deity-like of you to say those words, hmm?”

“M-Mind your own business!”

“Ow! My arms hurt so bad…” you whined as you used your left hand to gently massage your right arm while holding onto your wooden katana. 

You both went straight into training right when lunch was over, and just when you thought Haknyeon was done pulling up tricks, it seemed as he was able to manipulate space and draws out two wooden katanas from his waist before throwing one across towards you. 

He taught you the basic stuff—like how to grip onto the sword and swing it properly. It has been close to an hour of practice when you finally felt your arms were sore enough for you to signal him to stop.

“Like I told you, darling. It’s not all fun and games when it comes to picking up a weapon. If this were a real battle, you would’ve been long-harmed by then.”

God, he’s strict as fuck. “W-Well! I know that! I just properly learned how to grip a katana like an hour ago. Cut me some slack,” you pouted. 

While you were busy trying to wipe off the sweat on your palms, Haknyeon takes a few steps towards you and took your katana away without saying anything. “Hey! What was that for!”

“Look at your own hands, Y/N." He peers down, and you do the same, with an immediate look of horror plastered across your face.

Your hands were bleeding, and all cut up. 

Suddenly, he grabs your wrist and pulls you back towards the fireplace—searching through the supplies before he grabs a bottle of liquid and opens up the cap with his teeth before pouring it down straight onto the palms.

“What are you- Ow!” 

“Hold it in, Y/N. It’s just honey; it’ll help to heal the scars in no time.”

As Haknyeon was busy trying to tend to your injuries, you noticed the look of concern he actually had on his face. Usually, he would put on this cold and emotionless look towards you, and he couldn’t care less if you wanted to pick up a fight against him (well, because of his ego, and he knows that he will always win nonetheless). 

But this time, it felt different. It was like seeing the devil being all soft and loving for a second. 

“You could’ve just left it as it is, you know, being nice doesn’t suit your devil persona in the slightest,” you teased as you put on this smug look. 

But Haknyeon didn’t respond to that. Instead, he just kept pouring the liquid until it has fully covered your hands—leaving the liquid on as it is to let it completely soak your injuries. 

Oh god, have I stepped out of the line? He probably doesn’t like it-

“Y/N. If you had the choice to be the good guy or bad guy, which one would you go for?” Haknyeon asked while his eyes were still transfixed on your palms.

What kind of question was that?

“Obviously, the good guy. What are you talking about?”

“Exactly. I didn’t choose to become the devil. I was destined to take over the throne because of my ancestors,” his shoulders slumped when he said those words out loud, giving you some hope as if he was trying his best to open up to you about his past for the first time.

With your ears perked up, you slowly moved closer towards the male, careful not to drop the honey on your palms if you did not want to hear another scolding from him. 

“Go on, I’m listening,” you softly replied as you read the tension in the air has dramatically shifted from before.

“Would it be insane if I told you I could’ve lived a normal life? And not waiting for the days to come before the devil’s blood fully consumes my well-being? It’s all stupid, isn’t it? He laughs, even though the thought about it is absurd to him. 

“Well. What happened?”

“Centuries ago when my grandfather met the love of his life, and he wanted to do anything to be with her—even if it meant selling his soul to the devil. Without her, it was as if his life was falling apart, and he couldn’t bear to see her with anyone else. So one day, he made the trip done to hell to make a pact with Lucifer himself.”

“Your predecessor, you mean?”

“The original Lucifer, yes. Devils don’t last forever, Y/N. Just like you deities, it was important to continue the bloodline to keep the balance in hell,” he huffed. 

“So that was were your grandfather became the vessel,” you slowly pieces the puzzles together.

“Crazy, isn’t it? He gave up his human life to become one with the devil, and with that he was able to return to his lover. But he should’ve known that nobody would want to be near the actual Lord of the Underworld himself.”

“D-Don’t tell me…” your eyes suddenly tearing up, as if you had just remembered a scene from your past. 

“Given that look on your face, I presume you know exactly what I’m talking about,” he chuckles. “That incident where a broken-hearted devil who tore apart his village and even killed his lover because she rejected him. Ever since then, he completely turned his life around and went down into the depths of hell to reside there forever—building up his army of demonic creatures and taking revenge in the human world.” 

You were stunned. You couldn’t have known that the devil themselves had a past like this. From young, you were only taught that no humans should ever interact with the devils themselves—that was why the deities were born to keep the balance between earth and hell.

“S-So…you were cursed, too?” You questioned.

“Undoubtedly, yes. But not completely as of now since the throne already has their very own Lucifer. However, his lifespan is slowly fading away each day, and they desperately need an heir, so that’s where I come in.”

“But how can you run away from it? I mean, won’t the devils or even the current Lucifer would come looking for you?”

“That’s why I needed your help, Y/N. I have been dedicating my whole life to turning this prophecy around—proving that I will not become the devil of the underworld and possibly go back to living as a normal human being. Though, I definitely did not expect to find you in the current state you’re in,” he pauses as he looks at you from top to bottom. 

With that, Haknyeon slowly got up from the ground and walked a bit further to look up in the sky, which was now filled with hundreds of stars. “I have put a spell in hell to avoid them tracing my movements, but I’m afraid it would not last forever.” 

So that was why he was so desperate when you both first met. 

After giving it a second thought, you slowly stood up while still holding onto the honey liquid in your palms before you reassured him with your words. “Thank you for telling me all of these, Haknyeon. Now, I’m more than determined to save you from your fate.”

As you said those words out loud, Haknyeon turned back to you, and you finally saw for the first time how beautiful his smile was under the moonlight. There was this sparkle in his eyes, and you could tell that your words had somehow comforted him. 

“It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay,” you emphasised on those last few words as you slowly walked up to him. Haknyeon then responded by slowly pulling your cupped hands apart and letting the honey drip down onto the ground before gently rubbing your palms with his own hands—as if he was trying to push the liquid further into your injuries to make it heal a lot faster.

“That’s why I’m going to keep you safe no matter what, Y/N. You’re my one and only last hope.” 

Under The Depths Of Hell

“Ugh…that has got to be the worst headache I’ve had in a while…” one of the men grunts as he slowly wakes up to find that he has been lying on the ground for who knows how long. He scanned his perimeter to find that his fellow comrades had experience the same thing, and he quickly went around to wake all of them up.

“W-What happened?” One of his fellow comrades asked. “Why is everyone passed out?”

“That’s what I would like to ask you instead, Doyle. What on earth happened that knocked us out cold,” he growled as he slowly scanned his surroundings. 

Before the man could possibly come up with a proper answer, loud and strong footsteps were heard and was approaching them each second. It’s wasn’t for long until one of the gates was being swung open with a loud bang, and out walks a tall, built man.

“Y-Your Highness!” The man bowed and ushered everyone to do the same. “Our humble apologies, we have no idea what happened-”

“Haknyeon.” The tall male replied.

“I beg your pardon?”

“It was Haknyeon. He placed a spell on all of us that caused us to fall into a deep slumber, and he has escaped the depths of hell,” the tall male cursed under his breathe before slamming his trident on the ground, causing it to form a crack that sent chills towards the other members.

Without hesitation, he swiftly grabs hold onto the male that was bending down in front of him on his neck before slowly dragging him up. “Say, aren’t you the best military commander in hell? Donovan?”

Dovovan was trying his best to speak as the tall male began putting in pressure on his hand around his neck. “Y-Yes! Your Highness! I-It’s all to keep you and hell safe at all times-” he choked. 

“Well then? Tell me how can Haknyeon slip through the guards and go missing unnoticed for a year now.”

A year? Does that mean that everyone has been in a deep slumber for a year now?

Not giving the chance for Donovan to speak, the tall male slams the commander’s body straight down onto the ground once more, stepping on his back before giving everyone else the death stare. 

“It seems to me that you are all no match for my successor just yet,” he chuckled. “I should’ve expected nothing less for the next King of the Underworld.”

None of the guards dared to speak another word, nor were they brave enough to turn away from the one and only Lucifer himself. They knew that when their master had gotten all worked up like this, one single mistake could easily cost them their own lives, and they would be thrown straight into the burning flames, where their bodies would turn into ash within seconds. 

“A little bit too silent, aren’t we? Well then, how about this?” Lucifer taunted the rest of the members by tossing Donovan’s body straight into the fire—only his loud screams echoed throughout the chamber before completely vanishing into silence once more.

“Let me give all of you a piece of advice,” Lucifer continued as if nothing had happened seconds ago as he continued to walk straight ahead, making each of the guards move aside to let the devil himself pass through. “My lifespan is decreasing each day, and I’m afraid that I will no longer be able to stay on the throne for long. That is where Haknyeon comes into the picture, and he needs to stay put in here as soon as possible to keep hell’s balance going.”

Finally, Lucifer stops in front of a dark-haired individual at the corners of the room with his arms crossed, yawning as he sees the king himself approached. “Which is why I will now appoint Balor as your new commander.” 

The male sighed. “You really do be putting me through so much trouble. I told you I’ve retired a long time ago,” Balor spoke to the devil himself in a relatively unbothered way, making the other guards slowly begin to whisper among themselves about their odd relationship with one another.

“You have been my strongest soldier since the day I ascended to the throne, and it’s only fitting for you to go retrieve my successor if it’s the last thing you’ll do,” Lucifer commanded, giving no room for negotiation as he lifted up his sharp claws to dig into Balor’s skin—leaving behind a scratch mark on his right cheek.

“Fine. But I’m retiring for good after this mission. And I will not be leaving my room from then on,” he swatted Lucifer’s hand away as he approached the guards. 

Lucifer began laughing menacingly while Balor was doing his job to regroup the team before walking straight back to the door to enter his chambers. 

“I shall give you all one last chance to bring Haknyeon back here to hell. If not, you all can rot with the dead in the burning flames for the rest of your lives.”

Y/N's POV

“Say, Y/N. What do you think about snow?” 

You were puzzled by that question. “What’s this about snow? It’s not like you have not seen them before.” 

The female simply chuckled. “True. But apparently, my tribe loves them the most. It is said that during winter, it forms a glacier in the mountains. It’s just a beautiful sight to see and they do this activity called “skiing” in the human language.”

“But isn’t your tribe known to care for nature? Shouldn’t spring be their most favourite season among the four?” 

“What’s wrong with being different than the norm! It’s always fun to explore different things that are available out there! Like this one right here!” The female didn’t give you room for coming up with a response before she threw a ball made of snow right at your face.

You yelped and was surprised that the hit wasn’t as hard as you thought it was. The ball simply melted down and returned back to the rest of the snow that was on the ground.

“What was that for!” You yelled back.

“That, Miss Deity of the Lake, it’s called a snowball fight. Again, my tribe thought me this fun activity,” the female stuck her tongue out at you before slowly forming another one in her hands.

Not going down without a fight, you grabbed a fistful of snow into your hands before making one yourself. “Now, you have done it. Prepare for battle!” You jokingly teased before you both eventually broke out into a whole snowball fight.

Both of your activities didn’t go unnoticed when a couple of spectators came along after a few minutes. 

“Oh ho! What do we have here!” Another female replied as she forms both hands into a binoculars trying to look at what you two were doing. 

“Hey! A snowball fight! Let me join them!” One of the male shouted enthusiastically before leaping over the fence to run towards your direction. In no time, the snowball fight was getting much more heated than ever before, making some of the snowballs being thrown into one of the spectator’s outfits.

“These kids…what will I do about them?” The other male replied as he dusted the snow off his clothing, but to no avail because more kept coming each second. “Don’t you plan on joining them?” The male asked the female, who was still standing with her handmade “binoculars”, looking out at the three in the snow.

“Looking at them from here is fun enough! I’m just so happy that everyone is having a good time with one another since it’s been a while since we have gathered together like this,” she simply smiled.

With that response, the male, the eldest among the five, could only reply with a simple sigh before a smile formed on his lips. “You’re right. It has been a while.” 

Now that you have an extra party, you are having so much more fun than before where you were eventually completely covered in snow. However, that was when you noticed a strange stench as you continued with the activity.

Not knowing where it was coming from, you tried your best to sniff around with your nose, trying to locate where the weird scent was coming from. 

That was when you looked down to see that the white snow was slowly oozing out a red liquid, and curiosity got the best of you when you decided to pick the snow up to examine it.

And you really wished you hadn’t done so.

Blood was now dripping out from the snow and following down to your arms before everything around you was slowly turning crimson red. You tried to call out to your friends, but they could no longer hear you and were slowly fading away.

Your surroundings began to darken, and all you could see was the bright red colour taking over your vision.

What exactly was happening?

Please…guys…where are you…

Don’t leave me.

“Don’t leave me!!!!”

“In what god’s mind were you dreaming about?”

Huh?

You tried to blink your eyes as you slowly adjusted your eyesight to finally realise that you were on Haknyeon’s back—his arms carrying your thighs from behind.

“Wait wait, what’s going on? Why are you carrying me?” You asked.

“That’s my question to you instead, Y/N. One second, you were smiling and the next you were sweating profusely and mumbling incoherent words. Until you finally screamed and woke up seconds ago,” Haknyeon spat before he turned his head towards the front of the road again.

God…another nightmare. 

“N-Nothing…don’t worry about it…but hey, answer my question, mister devil. Why were you carrying me?” 

“Well. I finally figured out the route to the shrine when you were in deep sleep for a whole day. I tried everything I could to wake you up, but you wouldn’t budge, so I decided that it was best for me to lift you and give you a piggyback ride to the shrine.”

Now, this was embarrassing. “H-How long have you been carrying me for?”

“Half a day.”

Oh, hell no. “Okay okay! Put me down! I’m awake now; you don’t have to carry me no more,” you chuckled as you tried to free yourself from his back. But with his strength, you weren’t able to move an inch as his grip around your thighs tightened once more.

“Save me the trouble and be a good girl while we head to the shrine. We’re almost there anyways,” Haknyeon replied bluntly before picking up his pace and climbing the steps up to the stairway, which seems to be the entrance of the shrine. 

All you could do at this point was to hide your face of embarrassment by lowering your head down behind his back with your forehead resting on his shoulders.

“Why does this always happen to me…” you sulked, but you quickly realised that you shouldn’t have said that because the annoying Lucifer was back to taunt you again.

“You’re an amusing lady, I must say.”

“Q-Quiet you! I never asked for your opinion!” 

As you both began your usual bickering, it was when you were brought back to your senses when a soft, calming voice calls out to you both. The moment you both focused your attention up ahead, a slender female wearing a red hakama paired with a white kosode immediately bowed before slowly approaching your direction.

“To whom may I offer the assistance today?”

Judging by her clothing and demeanour, you knew she was a shrine maiden, and you had probably arrived at the place you had been searching for days. Quickly jumping off Haknyeon’s back, you dusted your clothing and gathered up your composure before greeting the maiden herself.

“O-Our apologies for the sudden visit, but is this where-”

She giggled. “If you’re looking for the priest, you have come to the right location.” 

Just then, she guided you into the shrine as she touched the invisible barrier protecting the place to make way for the guests. It was then you figured that it was why the shrine wasn’t as easy to locate because of that, and you couldn’t blame them after what had happened during the war decades ago. 

The place was grand, especially for a shrine in the middle of nowhere. Everything was preserved just as it was hundreds of years ago—adorned with traditional art and furniture throughout. As you both explored, one piece of art caught your eye in the main hall, prompting you to break away from the maiden and Haknyeon to take a closer look.

The moment you stood in front of the picture, you were left standing still and slowly reaching out your hand to touch the piece of art. It depicted the five sacred deities protecting the people of the nation—each five of them standing tall and strong on the top of the cliffs.

Immediately, you noticed a faint blue hue emanating from one of the female deities, and you gently brushed your thumb over the art. Instantly, a water drop emerges from the picture as it dissolves into your skin, giving you a glimpse of your past from the art itself. 

“I see that you have come to notice the picture firsthand, Miss Deity.” 

Taken aback with the sudden voice, you quickly turned to your back to notice a maiden standing right there with a paper fan covering half of her face. Gently, she closed up the fan to give you a slight bow before inching a little bit closer.

“It has been a long time, Y/N. Welcome back,” she simply smiles.

It was then you immediately realised who this was. Noticing a kagura suzu in her other free hands as well as glamorous kimono, it could only mean one thing.

She was the priest that you have been looking for.

“You must be…”

“Priest of Kiyoshi Shrine, at your service, my dear.”

“Please…” you begged pitifully as you walked closer to her and slowly bent your knees to sit on the tatami mat. “You’re the only one who can tell me everything now. Please, tell me what to do.” 

“I suppose the elder from your very own tribe sent you here? He certainly did the right thing for remembering me after all these years,” she chuckled before going down to your level and placing one of her hands on your shoulders.

“Let’s get you all cleaned up and have a hearty meal before we proceed.”

You have sworn that one day, when you finally regained your full powers back, you’re going to bury Haknyeon and seal him in the depths of the ocean for what he did you to in front of the priest. 

As if what happened earlier when you both arrived wasn’t embarrassing enough, the devil himself had the audacity to give you a good scolding when you suddenly left his side to have a good close-up look on the art in the main hall while the priest was busy prepping the dining hall with her maidens for you two. 

Turns out that the priest was seemingly witnessing the whole ordeal for a good minute before she spoke up that dinner was ready as that was where you three ended up now.

Gulping down the warm miso soup that was perfectly well-seasoned down your throat, you made sure to give Haknyeon one last death stare to make sure that he was going to pay for what he did one day. 

“You two seem really close,” the priest giggled as she continued looking back and forth between the both of you. 

“Not that I have a choice; he’s supposed to protect me while I sort out the mess with my past,” you mumbled before shoving a piece of the freshly grilled fish down your mouth. 

“You’re a priest, right? Perhaps it would be great to give Y/N a good cleanse for all of the dirty and rude remarks that she has to say about me,” Haknyeon gestured with his chopsticks to you, letting the priest know that it was fitting for her to do a cleansing ritual on you.

“F-Forgive me! Miss dearest, I mean- your Excellency. Please ignore him; he’s just a vulgar guy,” you laughed nervously before turning your head to stare at him once more. 

“Well,” the priest paused as she put her food on the table. “I’m glad to see two people from different backgrounds interact like this. It is certainly a sight to see as compared to the past.” 

Just then, you remembered that the priest had mentioned telling you about everything she knew, and you seized that opportunity to ask her now. But it seems she was a step ahead of you as she stood up and walked to the centre of the hall before taking out her kagura suzu and pointing it straight towards Haknyeon. 

“Let me ask you this one question, young male. And I would highly suggest that you reply honestly, for no lies can ever pass through my eyes. Are you sure that you will keep Miss Y/N safe at all costs?”

You were stunned by that question as you looked back and forth between Haknyeon and the priest. Why exactly was she posing such a question? How was this related to whatever that she was going to tell you about the past? 

But Haknyeon simply closed his eyes and placed his utensils on this table before crossing his arms. “Since you mentioned that you can see through all sorts of lies, maybe you should be able to tell how sincere I’ve been with Y/N and my words through my heart.” 

Immediately, a dark red aura began to emanate from Haknyeon’s back, while a white aura radiated from the priest. In an instant, their eyes changed color, and the tension in the air intensified. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe between the two, leaving you to contemplate what to do next.

Should you diffuse the fight? Maybe with your so-called powers that were able to cleanse through anything? 

Suddenly, the priest spoke up first. “I certainly hope you will not repeat the same behaviour you did decades ago during the war.” 

Wait. Repeating the same behaviour during the war?

All you knew from what the elder said was that the demonic creatures were the ones responsible for destroying the nation and sealing away the five sacred deities. You didn’t hear anything about Lucifer being involved in any of these.

Unless…

You turned to look at Haknyeon, now staring at the priest with his deadly, bloodshot red, glowing eyes.

It can’t be.

“Y-You are the one responsible for sealing me away?” Your voice began to tremble, trying hard to think of different excuses to prove that point was false.

There was no way. After all, you have felt his sincerity (despite his awful mouth) throughout your journey. If anything, he couldn’t have put up this facade long enough to deceive you all along.

You wanted to believe that the soft, heartbroken look on his face when he told you about his past was true. You wanted to hold onto the fact that your promise to help change his fate would definitely come true. 

Because you will not be able to tolerate any more betrayals anymore. 

When you finally mustered up the courage to pose another question to Haknyeon, both the devil and the priest immediately stopped exerting their powers and returned to their usual selves. With that, the priest simply shook her suzu once as the bells rang across the hall—a light spark emitting throughout to cleanse the place.

“Thank you, young man. Forgive me, as I was merely trying to test your sincerity. I’m so glad that you have a good heart, especially towards the lake deity right here.” 

“W-What’s going on?” You questioned, feeling more lost than ever with everything that had just unfolded in front of your eyes. 

“Let me recite a story from a long time ago, Y/N. Perhaps you will be able to remember piece by piece as you listen to my words.” 

In one slow, graceful motion, the priest simply spread her legs and arms apart as she began the kagura dance, shaking her bells according to the beat and rhythm at her own pace. Twirling around with the instrument in hand, she starts reciting the story from the very beginning.

Long ago, when the nation had no leaders, the God of Eternity descended from heaven to witness the chaos that unfolded before his eyes. He decided they needed a leader to help keep the balance while trying to minimise the bloodshed that had unfolded over the years. With that, he used his powers to break them into five pieces, each representing one element: fire, water, earth, air, and space.

The five sacred deities were born, and each was given the role of gathering and creating their own tribe on land. Each of them had its purpose, and they kept the peace between the different tribes.

The first generation of deities kept a well-balanced society for a century before deciding that it was time to reunite with the God of Eternity as he slowly began to age. Before ascending to heaven, each performed a ritual to extract their remaining lifespan on earth to give life to their successors. 

The first lake of the deity was known as Asherah. She decided upon the lake not far from where her tribe resided, where she slowly placed her powers into the waters, creating the next generation of the Lake Deity, Y/N.

The other deities did the same as they gave birth to their successors: Mahuika (fire), Ilana (earth), Zephyr (wind), and Astrophel (space). 

The second generation was known to be far stronger than their predecessors, as they helped defend the nation against countless wars and misfortunes. The new water deity possessed a new power that her predecessor did not: the ability to cleanse and purify all matters on earth. 

Finally, it came to a point where his people informed the space deity that the gates of hell broke loose, and the demonic creatures had slowly made their way to earth. At the beginning, they posed no threat or harm to the people, and they were able to live peacefully for a while. 

Not until the second known Lucifer, who sacrificed his human life to sell his soul to the devil, rose in power—deciding that it was best to wipe out the entire nation to claim this land as his own. The once peaceful nation that had stayed this way for a century broke into war once again, with the deities all leading their own tribes to fight against the evil spirits. 

But he couldn’t see the battle till the end when his lifespan completely went out, and that was when the new Lucifer emerged from the depths of hell onto earth—going face-to-face in battle with the five deities. 

Nobody knew how he could gain so much power within a short time, but he undoubtedly surpassed the previous one and wiped out the nation in one swift motion. Many people lost their lives, and the five deities were severely wounded. As if that wasn’t enough, he decided to seal the deities away—turning them into rocks, which eventually merged with nature and became a massive statue with no hopes of returning to life. 

Claiming his victory, he returned to hell to regroup and sat on the throne with pride, occasionally sending some demonic creatures to taunt the human world as the people were helpless to fight back.

However, if his ego hadn't got the best out of him, he probably would’ve succeeded in sealing off all five deities back then, not noticing that there was one sole survivor among them. 

With that, the kagura performance stopped, and the priest pointed her suzu at you. “And this is where you shall continue the story, Y/N.” 

You simply blinked at her with your mouth ajar, not knowing how to react or what you should say back to her. Instead, you decided that it was best to keep your mouth shut and try your best not to let your emotions get the best out of you. 

The priest knew that it must’ve been hard to recall everything at once, but she knew that if she held back even further, severe casualties would surely fall upon the nations sooner or later. 

Shaking the bells once more to gain your attention, the priest slowly comes down to your level to gently whisper to both of you. “As you go on your journey to finish the story, I highly suggest that your next location will be the people of the forest, the tribe once protected and guided by the earth deity. They have been suffering from contamination on their land for years, and only with the power as strong as yours will be able to help them rewrite history, Y/N.”

You did not know what to say. Sure, you would love to help anyone in need, but the fact that you were suddenly tossed into the role of saving an entire tribe and potentially substituting as their leader? It was too much for you to take in. 

Your silence was enough to give the priest and Haknyeon a proper answer, so she decided it was best for you to think it through and sort out your thoughts as time passed.

As a result, the rest of the evening went by quietly, with everyone finishing their meals before retiring to their room. Perhaps Haknyeon could read the look on your face, and he said nothing but a simple “don’t be out too long” before he went ahead to shower before bed.

All you wanted to do was be alone after learning about everything that had happened, and you walked to the waterfall behind the shrine before dipping yourself into the waters.

The moment the waters came in contact with your skin, you felt the surge of powers slowly moving up your body as you tried manipulating the waters again, just like you did at the lake back then. As expected, hundreds of water droplets rose from the waterfall as they slowly ascended to the skies, creating this beautiful sight as the moonlight illuminated each one of them. 

You smiled, not because you were happy because your powers were slowly returning as usual and you had finally found the answers from your past, but rather because it had all left you feeling more conflicted than ever before.

You were the sole survivor of the war, and your fellow deities were long gone. And now, you were in charge of saving the people of the forest. 

Can you even do it? Being the old, wrecked, helpless deity who lost all her powers and memories to potentially save a tribe?

Thinking that you’ve had enough thoughts for the day, you slowly submerged yourself under the waterfall, hoping the waters will help wash away all negativity. 

Back at the shrine, Haknyeon had just gotten out of the shower as he dried his wet hair with a small towel draped around his neck. He couldn’t even retire into his room in peace when the priest stood before his door with her arms crossed as she closed her eyes to ask him a question.

“Are you planning to tell Y/N?”

Haknyeon paused for a bit before bluntly giving the priest a reply. “I haven’t decided that yet.” 

“I suggest you won’t wait too long, for the spell has already been broken. I have a feeling that your fellow comrades are already on their way, searching for their new leader. With that, you potentially place Y/N in danger once again.”

The priest’s words felt like dozens of sharp, piercing knives straight through Haknyeon’s heart, but he knew he couldn’t deny everything she had just mentioned. He already had more than enough time in the shower, blaming himself for why his powers weren’t strong enough to hold on for a little longer and what a weakling he was. 

As much as he knew that being close to you now would potentially cause more harm than before, he knew that he couldn’t leave you be either. He was in a dilemma about which option would be better, but he didn’t have much choice. 

Just then, the priest passed Haknyeon through the corridor, and she turned around to look back at the lucifer-to-be once more, her voice much more stern than before.

“If you don’t wish to repeat history and potentially lose the very sole surviving deity for the sake of the nation, then you shall part ways with her as soon as you can.”

For the next couple of days, you decided you needed some time off from everyone since you were still emotionally in bad shape. You didn’t want to interact with anyone, not even Haknyeon. 

Thankfully, each of them respected your space and allowed you to seemingly walk around the shrine and up to the waterfalls back and forth whenever you needed to. Though, the priest would send a maiden to check up on you occasionally, which was completely fine with you. 

With the peace and alone time you’ve had recently, you slowly began to recall when you were with your fellow deities. The nightmares didn’t stop either, and it only made you reminisce about them a lot more than often now that you have remembered everything that had happened.

You have never felt so lonely before—being far away from your tribe and left alone as the sole survivor. You really wished your fellow deities were still here with you, laughing the days away to protecting the nation together. You wanted to be reunited with them as soon as you possibly can. 

Doing the only thing you knew was fitting for the situation, you went back up to the waterfall and submerged half of your body into the waters before you concentrated your whole energy to call upon your other half. Sure enough, your powers were much more stable than before, and you could give the water figure a face that looked exactly like yours.

“Hey, other me. It’s been a while,” you replied as you tried your best to choke back your tears.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Y/N. How have you been?”

“Horrible,” you sniffled. “I really wished that this was just a terrible nightmare that I’m living in right now.” 

“I know. But Y/N, you’ve held on for long enough to get to where you are now, and here you are, finally getting all of the questions that you’ve once had answered.” 

Not entirely convinced, you sighed deeply before letting a single tear fall from your eyes. “Is this all really worth it, though? Having such a tragic past where everything was taken away from you, and now potentially going to help save a tribe that I have no recollection of? What would Ilana think of me saving her people?” 

At this point, you couldn’t care less if people were beginning to hear muffled cries from the shrine. You just wanted someone to talk to and wished your former friends were here to share your burdens. You began sobbing profusely—using your hands to wipe the tears that were pouring uncontrollably from your eyes.

Your other half simply smiled with this empathetic look before she closed the distance between you two and gently cupped your face with her hands—helping wipe your tears away before pulling you in for a hug. 

“Y/N. You’ve done well. I’m sure the others would’ve said the same thing if they had seen how you have lived for them and the nation. I, for one, am proud of you for surviving through that.”

“B-But…I can’t do this…not alone…”

“Who says you’re all alone? You have me, and you have that devil boy that you’ve met on your journey together. You will never be alone through all of these. But right now, know that these tribes your fellow friends have left behind need help. Deep down in your heart, I'm sure you want to make Ilana and the rest of the deities proud. Haven’t you promised Haknyeon the same thing too?”

That’s right. You’re sworn that you will definitely help Haknyeon change the prophecy and his fate. You promised that he would not end up like his uncle or the current ruler in hell and that he could return to being human again. 

You hadn’t just been coming to the waterfall for peace. You have also been secretly trying to hone your skills once more—living up to the name of the Lake Deity you once knew. 

As you hugged your other half tighter, you tried to come up with something lighthearted to break the solemn mood. “You know you could’ve just told me what you couldn’t say before back at the lake.”

“Well, I knew you would eventually learn the truth about Haknyeon one day. He seems like a pretty good guy, good enough for you to continue your journey after all this chaos ends.” 

You immediately shot back up. “Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s for you to find out sooner or later,” she simply winked before earning a snarl from you. 

“Party pooper,” you retorted back. 

“Good things always come in the form of surprises. I don’t make the rules.” 

You slump your shoulders in defeat. “Fine then, just promise me you will see this through till the end with me.”

Your other half simply smiles, and she extends her pinky towards you. 

“Pinky promise, Y/N.”

Sweat began to drop profusely as you continued swinging your katana to cut down as much bamboo as possible. It turns out that there was an old training ground behind the shrine where the former deities would hone their skills whenever they came to visit, and the priest would’ve been the mentor as she spoke directly from the God of Eternity. 

The space was ample enough for a duel or even to act as a mini horse-riding battle in the past, according to the priest. It was a location where the deities would come whenever they needed advice from the priest or if they needed to connect to God for advice if there be any.

Over the course of the past couple of weeks, you have been secretly training your combat skills in private whenever you have gotten the chance to. It wasn’t something you wanted to bother Haknyeon with, especially at night when it was time for everyone to head to bed. 

The devil training you tirelessly throughout the day whenever you had a break from your travels was more than enough that you could ask for, and you have noticed how there was this unsettling look plastered all across his face. 

He wouldn’t tell you anything, and you decided it was best not to pry further; that would eventually end up as something uncomfortable between you two. You figured it was important to give one another some space in certain scenarios, and everything has played out perfectly for now. 

Just as you continue swinging your katana, a few raindrops suddenly fall onto your clothing before eventually turning into a downpour. The moment the water came in contact with your skin, you couldn’t help but feel a little bit sentimental—as if the skies were crying for the Lake Deity. 

Your tears were pretty much dried up from crying nonstop for the past couple of days, and the loneliness hasn’t left you in the slightest. However, you try your best not to let it get to you anymore—for you were about to head to the Earth Deity’s tribe in less than twenty-four hours. 

Letting the rain soak up your entire clothing, you continued cutting down the remaining bamboo around you before your movements suddenly came to a halt when a sharp blade came out from nowhere to clash with your katana—putting a stop to your training as you narrowed your eyes to see whoever it was in the dark.

And there was no way you could ever forget those bright, crimson eyes. 

Except that he looks a little different from when you were actively talking to him when you first arrived. You have avoided him like a plague, and he seemed somewhat dejected.

Did something happen?

“You’re going to catch a cold if you keep this up,” Haknyeon warned. 

“Then what are you doing out here in the rain? I fear that you might get sick before I do since water doesn’t have much effect on me. " You tried to keep the atmosphere a little lively by making a joke, but it looked like he wasn’t in much of the mood to retaliate. 

Haknyeon simply sighed before grabbing your wrist to walk you towards the abandoned dojo right next door as the rain was getting much heavier. He decided it would be best to wait until the skies cleared up slightly before heading back down to the shrine. 

It wasn’t unusual for Haknyeon to stay all quiet and not say anything, but given everything that had happened for the past couple of days, you couldn’t really decipher what was going through his mind.

Especially with that look on his face that you felt foreign about. 

However, you managed to squeak a little voice out from your throat, trying not to show the fear or uncertainty in your voice. “A-Are you mad at me?” 

As much as Haknyeon was surprised what came out of your mouth, he tried his best not to show his emotions but simply took off his jacket to drape it over your head as he bent down to your level. 

“I’m not mad. Just a little scared.”

“Scared? The devil actually gets scared?”

“Y/N, as much as we devils are deemed as evil incarnated, we do have emotions just like your humans and deities do.” 

Well, that was surprising. 

Since he has finally spoken up, you tried to clear off the awkwardness in the air by trying your best to keep up the conversation with him. “Listen, I- I’m just not myself for the past few days, and I needed some time alone to think-”

“Me neither,” Haknyeon softly mumbled before sitting next to you. “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

You scoffed. “W-What are you apologising for? I should be the one to say that instead-”

“Y/N- Can you…just answer me truthfully on this one question I have for you?” Haknyeon shut his eyes when he said those words as he balled up his fists on his lap. You have never seen him feeling so conflicted and uncertain before, given that he was the one who was always dominating you. 

This new side of him felt…sad? As if he had been hiding something for so long, and it was slowly eating him away. Not having the energy to put up with another fight, you just cut to the chase and simply nodded your head. 

What he brings up next only makes you feel puzzled. 

“Do you trust me?”

Really? He’s asking all of these now after everything you both have been through? You clearly have told him before that you could no longer take in anymore betrayals if it were ever on his mind. But who were you to judge, especially when the likes of his people defeated your fellow deities in the past. 

But you wanted to believe that whatever he had said until now was true, and he was genuinely sincere from the start. He just so happened to be caught up in this unlucky fate passed down from his grandparents when he much deserved to live a normal life with the humans on earth instead. 

Without hesitation, you blurted out what you felt deep down about him. “Of course I do.” 

But it seemed that he wasn’t satisfied with that answer, and he simply shook his head before running one of his hands through his strikingly blonde hair. “It’s…not that simple, Y/N.”

“Then tell me. Make me understand whatever that’s going through in your mind. We promised that we’re in this together,” you begged as you grabbed both of his hands while putting slight pressure on them.

“Y/N,” he sighs. “Can you not go to where the people of the forest are?” 

What in the fucking hell is that question?

“You know I can’t do that. I’m the only person who possesses the power to help purify their land-”

“Yes, I know. But- is there a chance you can stay put here, and I’ll help them out in your place instead?”

“Haknyeon. Stop playing games with me, and tell me what exactly you’re actually thinking.” 

“It’s just…Y/N. I’m afraid to lose you.”

Lose you? What was he talking about?

It could be that he was looking out for you since you had learnt about the horrors of the war, and you haven’t fully regained your strength and powers yet. Perhaps going there unprepared could do more harm than actually saving the people.

But still, you made a promise to yourself. You weren’t going to let innocent people lose their lives again because of what the devils had done in the past. Instead, you will change history and give the nation a purpose to live again—just like your fellow deities would’ve wished for if they were still alive today. 

Squeezing his hands tightly once more, you commanded the male to look straight into your eyes and not look away. 

“Listen to me, Ju Haknyeon. If you think you can keep looking down on me forever, I will prove you wrong. Staying here for the past few days has helped me regain my strength and will to fight, and I will step up on the battlefield if I have to. This nation is my beloved people. As much as I want to help you change your fate, I’m going to change theirs, too. And I don’t need no justification for my purposes.”

Making sure he had registered everything you had just said, you let go of your hands before cupping his warm cheeks to bring his face much closer to yours.

“Understood?” 

You both stayed like that for a few seconds, though it seemed like a couple of minutes had passed instead. You expected him to swat away your hands and retort back with another teasing remark. Instead, he simply tilts his head slightly to the side to completely savour your soft hands on his cheeks as he smiles for the first time in days. 

“Your win, Y/N.” 

“Hah! The day has finally come when I beat the king of the underworld!” You childishly replied before standing up to do a couple of jumps on the wooden floorboards and then sitting down again to give him this smug look on your face. Haknyeon just smiled as you began yapping about your training and how you discovered a new skill each day.

Before you knew it, you both had been sitting here for a few hours, and the sun was slowly rising. The rain was beginning to stop, and the birds were chirping away from the trees nearby. 

“Y/N. It’s time for us to head back-” Haknyeon was about to get up from his seat when he felt some weight on his shoulders. The moment he turns around to see that you fell asleep at some point, his eyes immediately soften before he leans back on one of the pillars at the dojo—pulling you in and cuddling you before he rests his lips on your forehead. 

“Let us be okay.”

At The Gates Of The Entrance To Earth From Hell

“This is why I hated coming up to the surface; the air stinks as fuck,” Balor exaggerated as he stepped foot into the forest with an army behind him. 

The other members were astonished by the new environment around them, given that it had been decades since so many demonic creatures had ascended to Earth since the war. They didn’t need to launch a full-scale battle, as they had already tasted victory with all the deities sealed away.

Until Haknyeon escaped from the depths of hell. 

Who would’ve thought that the peace that the underworld had experienced for the past couple of decades would abruptly come to an end all because the next successor refuses to accept his own fate and take over the throne? It was definitely a first in hell’s books.

The moment all the soldiers arrived at the surface, their aura immediately caused the nearby fields to wither away slowly—turning each corps from green to ash grey. The moment any animals decided to come close, Balor would simply snap his own fingers, and they would all perish in a split second. 

“Listen lads, I refuse to stay up here for long, and I suggest you all do the same before his highness loses his patience and tosses all of you into the scorching flames in hell. Doyle,” Balor points his spear at the young lad. “Locate Haknyeon’s whereabouts by smelling his scent.”

Doyle did exactly that by taking a whiff of the air before he pointed his comrades to the north. “He is headed up north, sir. But…”

“But?” Balor asked.

“His scent smells…different. It’s like he has someone with him, and it doesn’t smell like a devil to me.”

Surprised, Balor’s eyes widened, but the look was quickly replaced by a smug expression. He let out a sinister laugh that sent a chill down the spines of the other devils. There was a reason they were terrified of Balor becoming their commander, and they would do anything to ensure he didn’t replace their former leader, Donovan.

There were rumours that sparked around for centuries that he was a lot more dangerous than Lucifer himself, and he was the former right-hand man of Haknyeon’s grandfather. If he had the chance, he would’ve seized the throne and overthrown Lucifer if he wanted to. But nobody knows why he refused and has kept a pretty low profile for a long time now.

However, they have always been on the lookout for whenever Balor may slowly creep into one’s chamber at night, and the next thing that happens, they will perish or be killed by his own hands. Since Lucifer trusted him with everything, his Royal Highness would simply turn a blind eye and not care if there was one less demon in the underworld each day. 

It had been decades since the devils themselves had heard that specific laughter, and they knew that it could only mean bad news. 

Balor threw his head back and laughed menacingly, savoring each moment as his voice echoed through the forest. He couldn’t care less if someone heard him; in fact, he wanted someone to notice and be terrified of whatever tricks he was planning to pull.

All of a sudden, he snaps his head back and showcases this awfully frightening grin towards his underdogs, letting them know that the show’s just about to begin. 

“Just you wait, Ju Haknyeon. I’m going to rip you into shreds.”

Y/N's POV

“Oh my god…”

You could only mumble those three words in horror as you focused on the sight before you. Thankfully, the people of the forest did not live too far from the shrine, and it only took a couple of hours with the horses that the priest had provided both you and Haknyeon with. 

But nothing could’ve prepared you for what you had to see with your very own eyes. 

All the crops were wilted, and nearly everyone was malnourished, lying on the ground in a struggle between life and death. As you slowly marched into the tribe, the overwhelming stench in the air hit you immediately. How could these people have lived like this for years? No wonder they had suffered and taken the worst damage after what happened to their deity.

As you walked past each of the people, they didn’t even have the strength to look at you or give any reaction. You took your time to slowly examine each and every one of them: some were having trouble breathing while the rest were either coughing up blood or they had fallen into eternal slumber. 

Your grip against the reins on your horse tightened as you felt that you were on the verge of tears, and your actions didn’t go unnoticed by Haknyeon. He was catching up from behind, but he moved right up next to you and placed his hands on yours—squeezing them tight to give you some comfort.

“This was why I didn’t want you to come, Y/N. It’s just too much for you to handle and even for me.”

As much as there was some truth to what he said, you promised that you wouldn’t turn away from reality anymore and ignore your people anymore. You simply closed your eyes and took a deep breath before turning to Haknyeon to give him a weak smile.

“It’s for my people. I’ll be okay, promise.” 

Haknyeon knew from the back of his mind that you were the worst liar that he had ever come across. To be fair, he also had the ability to read other people’s minds, so it wouldn’t have taken any effort for him to decipher whatever you’re hiding behind those fake emotions after all. But because you insisted on coming even though you knew what the consequences would be, he simply hoped that you both could resolve the matters at hand as quickly as possible, and he would return you to the shrine in one piece.

It felt as if you were marching through the village endlessly, with the situation worsening the deeper you went. The people living farther inside the village suffered even more than those near the outskirts. But that wasn’t the only thing that caught your attention. At the very center of the town stood a massive hibiscus flower—at least thirty meters tall, long wilted for who knows how long.

You tried to focus hard, and just as expected, you noticed some red hues flowing into the flower. You followed the trail until you realised it was being exerted by the people of the tribe. It looked like they were exchanging their lifespan to keep the flower up.

Before you can even walk close to the flower itself, a voice emerges from behind you that causes both you and Haknyeon to turn around. There stood an elderly lady holding onto a scepter to support her as she walked towards you, struggling to breathe or have a proper conversation with you. 

You quickly leapt down from your horse to give her support before she ushered you both to the back of the village. Confused, both of you simply followed her for a while, as something told you that she had something important to show you both. 

Sure enough, you were led to what seemed to be a garden once filled with a variety of flora, now reduced to nothing but dry soil. In the center lay a tombstone, and the lady leaned down to brush off the dust that had settled on the marble over time.

It simply read: here lies our unforgotten deity, Ilana, who sacrificed herself in exchange for keeping the tribe alive. 

No. It can’t be.

“T-This…Is Ilana’s final resting ground?” You stammered, trying your best to hold back your tears as you rested your eyes upon your former comrade’s tombstone.

“We found her, or her statue, not long after the war ended. Our ancestors were the ones who created this resting place for her. It used to be a well-kept, beautiful garden—filled with vibrant flowers and creatures such as butterflies and fairies that made the place feel so alive. It seemed that our deity left a portion of her powers with her before she passed on, and it has kept us going for decades until the power slowly began to fade away, which caused us to suffer that fate that we have now.”

“Is that why your people…”

“Yes. The hibiscus flower that stands strong and tall at the center of the village is what keeps us people alive. It was our source of light, guidance, and even nutrition. However, when our deity’s power diminished, so did the sacred flower. Refusing to let it die, we people of the land decided to exchange our lifespan to keep it alive.”

“But why? Why would you sacrifice yourselves for that? You're all dying!" Tears welled up as your voice grew louder, prompting Haknyeon to gently squeeze your shoulders in an attempt to calm you down.

The lady simply chuckled weakly. “Perhaps, it may seem absurd to outsiders. But just like how everyone has something that they cherish deeply, it’s the flower of life that guides us through our everyday lives.” 

The moment you saw the look she had on her face, you knew that there was nothing that you could say that could convince her to do anything that she and her people have been doing otherwise. Instead, you composed yourself before telling her who you were and your purpose for visiting. 

“Well then, tell me what I can do to help. I’m the last living deity, overseeing the lakes and purifying all evil. I will not let you people suffer anymore, and I’m sure your deity would want the same.”

It was hard for either of you to tell when the sun had gone down, given that the entire village had been surrounded in darkness due to the heavy contamination in the air. The first thing you did right after speaking with the lady was to head back towards the sacred flower and try placing your hands onto the hibiscus to see if anything had happened.

Sure enough, your palms began to glow as you touched the flower, and it slowly shifted from black to a faint, vibrant red. Unfortunately, you could only sustain it for a few minutes before collapsing to the ground, causing Haknyeon to rush to your side to check on you.

You knew exactly what it meant. The flower was far too contaminated, and it would take a great deal of strength and time to completely purify the entire thirty-metre-tall flower. However, you wouldn’t take failure as an option, so you decided to turn your attention to other pressing matters.

You enlisted the help of the elder and Haknyeon to gather the people in groups, then gently placed your hands on their heads. As you expected, your powers were more than enough to cleanse their contamination, restoring them to full strength and health. As soon as each person recovered, they wasted no time running around the village to help others in need.

By nighttime, you have successfully healed one-third of the population before you realise that your body can no longer keep up with the excessive power you use today. It took Haknyeon a lot of convincing to pull you away from your responsibilities as he forced you to rest in the cabin the lady had prepared for you. 

As much as you tried to fall asleep, you kept tossing and turning throughout the night—barely getting a wink of sleep. With that, you finally decided that you weren’t getting any sleep for the night before you stood up and opened the doors to breathe in the somewhat less contaminated air. 

The fact that you were slowly able to see the bright stars shown in the skies somewhat gave you hope that these people would soon be freed from their nightmares. With that, you decided to share the good news with someone.

More specifically, with her.

You made your little trek up the hills until you reached the same garden the elderly lady had brought you earlier this evening. The moment you passed through the last patch of long branches covering your path, you suddenly laid your eyes upon the tombstone, where the moonlight was shining directly upon it.

Slowly taking a few steps towards it, you couldn’t help but smile as you saw the lights that reflected the marble. You made a little spot to sit down and rest your hands on the material.

“Hey, Ilana…it’s me,” you spoke while tears began streaming down your face. “You’re a warrior, and you’re a hundred years way up ahead of me. The way how you’ve kept your tribe alive after all these years, and the amount of devotion they have for you and the village? It’s something that I could never have done, even for my people.” 

Adjusting your seat as you scooched closer to the tombstone, you resumed whatever you needed to tell your friend. “I’m so sorry that you had to suffer the same fate as the other three, but I’m here now…and I will do my best to save your people if it’s the last thing I’ll do.” 

And that was it. You could no longer hold back your emotions and everything that you’ve held up to this point as you began sobbing uncontrollably. If someone were passing by, they would for sure hear your loud cries and probably report to the village. 

“I-It should’ve been me…why was I the only survivor? Why did you and the others have to go like that?” 

You kept on chanting those exact words, and till this day, you could never forgive yourself for how much the others have suffered for decades. You wished that you could trade places with them—that way only one tribe had to suffer for a little bit while the other four remained strong.

That doesn’t mean you don’t love your people, but you knew that things would somehow work out with the four deities being around. Hell, you haven’t even visited the other tribes yet to see how grave their situation was—you just knew and were told that Ilana’s tribe suffered the worst and were in grave danger. 

Your cries then turned into screams, and you could no longer hold back the overwhelming emotions that you’d been trying to contain for a while now. Immediately, a pair of warm arms wrap around your torso, and you know exactly who it is without needing to open up your eyes.

You hugged him tighter in response, and your tears flowed excessively to the point that it would ruin his leather jacket anytime now. But Haknyeon chose to remain silent as he cradled you in his arms. He caressed your head and rubbed your back, trying his best to give you as much comfort as possible. 

You were in so much debt to this man. He has been with you since the day you tried escaping and was on the brink of death. Although your first impressions of one another weren’t the best, you knew now that he had always been a good guy deep in his heart—even though he was a devil himself. 

About ten minutes had passed when you finally calmed down; you looked up at the man for the first time since he had arrived before asking him weakly.

“H-Haknyeon…do you think I can do it?”

This time, it was his turn to wipe your tears away before gently rubbing your puffy cheeks with his thumb—giving them a little squeeze to tease you just a little. 

“Affirmative, Miss Y/N.” 

Just then, his thumb that was pinching your cheeks suddenly moves down to your lips, swiping them once before he closes the gap between you two. 

“Tell me to stop if you don’t like it.”

Before you could even retaliate, he pulled you in and crashed his lips on yours. Deep down, you already knew in your gut that you had never wanted to reject his touch, which has become much more prominent, especially in the past couple of weeks. 

You needed him just as much as he needed you, and you wanted to savour his warmth and how sweet he tasted as long as you could. You were surprised at how his lips felt on yours because if you had told someone that the devil was a pretty good kisser, they would’ve thought that you had lost your mind.

But not Ju Haknyeon. He was different, and you were glad that you had given the devil himself a chance.

As you pulled apart to catch your breath, your tongues slowly untangled with a soft pop. You opened your eyes to take in the sight of him—his eyes glowing red, making him look even more irresistibly attractive than before.

“You didn’t reject it…” he panted. 

“Just like how you didn’t reject my lips, mister devil,” you challenged back.

“Hah,” he scoffed, rubbing his lips with his thumb. “You’re a needy woman.”

“Right back at you, Ju.” 

“Well then, one more?” 

“You’re damn right we’re going for another,” you smirked before pulling him down as you both fell back on the ground, reconnecting your lips with one another and savour it for as long as you possibly could before it was time to head back into reality in a couple of hours.

“How many people are completely healed?” The elderly shouted at one of the passersby.

“Two-thirds at this point, ma’am! We’re close to regaining our powers back!” 

“Well then, what are you guys waiting for? It’s about time we go help out the lake deity who’s exerting all her powers towards the sacred flower!”

Just as the elder had commanded, the people split into two groups: one headed towards the sacred flower to help purify the contamination, while the others stayed back to help the ones who were still too weak to stand up. 

With the unity of the entire tribe, you received far more help and support than you expected. The people of the land were able to channel enough power to sustain the flower’s life while you focused on purifying it. This saved you a great deal of energy, and the flower was already halfway restored, turning back into a bright, vibrant red.

“Only a little bit more! We can do this!” One of them shouted.

“That’s right! I’m sure our deity has sent the help we have needed for the past decade at this right time! Let’s push through, lads!” 

As you witnessed how the entire tribe came together as one to help save their homeland, you couldn’t help but hold back the happy tears as you was what you wished Ilana could’ve been here to witness it herself.

With that, you summoned your last ounce of strength and poured it into the hibiscus. Within seconds, the glow from your hands radiated outward, enveloping the entire flower. To your astonishment, the last remaining contaminated spot vanished into thin air, and the dark clouds in the sky dissipated as the bright sun shone down upon the tribe.

Immediately, the entire village erupted in cheers, with everyone hugging one another and letting their happy tears stream down their faces. The moment your eyes saw the outcome of your efforts, you finally let go of yourself before falling onto your knees, only to be caught by those warm pair of arms you love.

“I…I did it…I actually did it…” you said softly, looking up at Haknyeon, who returned this proud and touching look right back at you. 

“You’ve done so well, Y/N. You saved your people,” he praised before tightening his grip on you. 

You both took a moment to gaze lovingly at the people around you as you rested your head against the crook of Haknyeon’s neck. Your hands intertwined, you spoke softly, “This is such a proud moment for me. I feel like a proud mother watching these people finally reclaim their freedom after so long.”

“And they finally did because of you, Y/N. You deserve the credit.”

“No, Haknyeon. These people should deserve it after everything that they’ve been through. I’m just the lake deity passing through to provide some assistance.” 

Haknyeon simply smiled as he planted a soft kiss on your forehead. “Alrighty, Miss Y/N. Let’s go report back to the elder and check up on the rest of the people at the borders.”

“You’re right,” you stood up as you dusted your clothing. “Let’s go-”

“Maybe you should hold your horses right there, young lady.”

Both of you immediately shot up and prepared yourselves in defensive mode, scanning around to see where the source of that deep, taunting voice was coming from. However, it all seemed odd when the people were still cheering for their victory, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Until you felt a sharp pain in your neck, and it immediately turned into a cut as blood began oozing out profusely. You let out a scream as you fell to your knees—your vision began to blur from whatever had caused the injury.

What was going on?

Just then, grey clouds began emerging in the skies, and dozens of black swords fell from the skies straight to the grounds—the swords themselves turning into demonic creatures as they began holding all of the people captive. 

Then, a loud thunder began to rumble as a large sword fell straight upon both of you—and out emerged a tall, built devil. Judging by the look on Haknyeon’s face as he came into contact with whoever it was, you knew that it probably meant bad news. 

“Ah, Haknyeon. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? We definitely missed your company back in hell.”

“Balor. You shouldn’t have come,” Haknyeon gritted his teeth as he locked eyes with the man, both exerting their devil’s aura at once, taunting one another.

“Now, that’s not very nice to say to your senior, young lad. After all, I’m in charge of mentoring you the moment you ascend to the throne-”

“There will be no ascensions, and your mission ends here. I suggest you quietly bring your troop of men and leave before you try anything funny,” Haknyeon warns as he pulls out a katana and points it directly at his rival, getting ready for battle even if he had to harm his kin.

“P-Please!” Your voice squeaked, and both men turned their heads to you. “L-Leave these people alone…they do not deserve to get caught up in all of these…” you begged while trying to keep your balance and vision clear.

“My my, what do we have here!” Balor chuckled as he began swinging his spear playfully from left to right. “Who would’ve thought the Ju Haknyeon or soon-to-be Lucifer actually went to elicit help from the lake deity to change his fate? Hah! How pathetic!” 

Balor’s laughter erupted almost immediately, and you hated how much his voice stung and kept ringing in your ears. But thankfully, it didn’t last long till Haknyeon immediately charged in with his sword, and a full fight between the two devils eventually broke out.

Both of them were skilled enough that you couldn’t even see when their blades clashed against one another, and they were moving around at the speed of light. 

So this is what the devils are capable of. 

As much as you wanted to stop them, the injury you had sustained was far more gruesome than you thought, and your consciousness was slowly fading away until you felt another strong presence that had just appeared behind you. 

Instantly, the strong aura made your hair stand, and you froze in place as whoever it was leaned close to your ear and whispered just enough for you to hear.

“Who would’ve thought that you would actually escape my seal?”

The presence didn’t go unnoticed by Haknyeon as he stood utterly still—his eyes widened, and he saw who it was that had just come up to the surface.

“Lucifer…” he mumbled. 

"I suppose the rumors were true after all," Lucifer said, yanking a handful of your hair and lifting you like a rag doll. "The lake deity truly is the strongest among the five. My apologies for doubting your abilities."

“Leave her alone!” Haknyeon yelled at the top of his lungs, but he was soon stopped by Balor, who was now holding him down in one swift motion with his spear merely an inch away from his neck.

“Oh, my dear Haknyeon. We missed you dearly; you know that it’s bad manners to run off like that,” Lucifer growled, and your cries and pain only grew louder and more prominent the higher he lifted you up.

“Name your price, Lucifer. What are you planning to do? Leave Y/N and these people alone. This is a matter among us devils,” Haknyeon tried his best not to provoke the current Lucifer any further as all of your lives were at stake. Deep down, he was praying that whatever Lucifer had up his sleeves, it better not be the worst-case scenario that he had always feared from the back of his mind.

Sealing you away for good this time.

Time was ticking, and he was trying to come up with another negotiation if needed be. But it seems that Lucifer already had something up his mind, and he knew it could not be good.

“You know, Haknyeon. Maybe you should’ve thought twice before you ascended here on earth actually to find this stupid deity to change the prophecy.”

As Lucifer spoke his last words, he tossed you straight to the side before charging into Haknyeon—his claws piercing right through his chest, making him scream in agony. Lucifer then asserts an incredible amount of power into his successor—the power that Haknyeon had desperately tried to keep to himself broke free and finally consumed him as a whole.

His blonde hair gradually shifted to jet black, and his eyes glowed a permanent, blood-red crimson as the powers consumed him. The moment Lucifer set him down, he was no longer the person you once knew. He let out one final scream before the skies darkened completely, and heavy rain began to pour.

He was no longer human. 

Lucifer could only break into laughter at the sight of his successor’s transformation. He brought his hands together and applauded. “Behold, everyone! This is the new Lucifer, destined to be the lord of the underworld and rule here on Earth! But if you’ll excuse us, we have a ceremony to attend back in Hell.”

Lucifer then turns his head to look at you one last time before he slowly approaches you. “Oh, and I almost forgot. It’s only the right manners for me to dispose of trash like you.”

With a snap of his fingers, a black portal opened directly above you. He picked you up one last time and hurled you into the darkness.

You swirled through the void as if thrown into a rushing stream, screaming at the top of your lungs for anyone—or anything—to help stop this. But you were far from the village and the perpetrators, and the source of light was slowly fading away from you.

This was it. It was the end. You had failed the nation and Haknyeon. 

It was time to say goodbye to everyone and everything.

You had no idea how long you had been lying lifelessly on the shore. After being thrown out of the portal by the former Lucifer, you somehow found yourself near the sea, with waves crashing against you every few minutes.

In the beginning, you kept screaming your heart out as tears streamed down your face. You kept blaming yourself for everything that had happened. You were so close yet far from victory, and you shouldn’t have let your guard down when the creatures from the underworld infiltrated the people of the forest’s tribe.

You kept digging your hands into the sand, repeatedly dragging the material until your palms bled from the shards of broken glass and sharp shells that had accumulated over time.

You didn’t even want to think about what happened at the tribe. Those innocent people who had just escaped their worst nightmare were now back in the hands of the devil, and god knows what else they would have to suffer this time. 

Ilana’s tombstone. You really wished nothing had happened to your former comrade’s final resting place as you hope that she will no longer be in pain but be able to rest in peace. 

And…Haknyeon.

You’ll never forget the look of agony on his face when Lucifer pierced his heart and shattered the seal he had fought so hard to maintain. The way he transformed as the devil consumed him—his hair shifting from blonde to jet black, and his eyes turning a permanent blood-red—will be etched in your memory forever.

Every single time you thought about what happened to your fellow travel companion, the more you hated yourself. You both started off this journey with one sole purpose: you regaining back your strength and identity, and Haknyeon with his wish to change the prophecy. 

Yet, only one of you was able to achieve your dreams at the very end, while the other was now sent into the seven layers of hell to suffer his cursed fate. 

Suddenly, a massive wave crashed down on you as thunder rumbled in the sky, threatening to unleash a tsunami that could wipe out the entire shore. You floated aimlessly, struggling to keep your head above water to breathe, but eventually, the waves became too overwhelming and engulfed you completely.

As you sank deeper into the ocean, the light from above began to fade. Large sea creatures swam overhead, casting shadows that made your surroundings feel even darker and more desolate than before.

With that, you closed your eyes as you let yourself fall deeper into the depths of the ocean, not caring about anything in the world right now.

Maybe, you were just not fit to be called the Sacred Deity of the Lake anymore.

“Y/N? Y/N wake up, you sleepy head!”

Who’s voice was that?

Slowly, you began to open your eyes until the bright light was blaring right onto your face, causing you to rub your eyes for a bit before you could adjust your eyesight to look at where the source of whoever it was was coming from.

You looked around and your gaze finally landed on a woman standing just a few feet away. She had long blonde hair with hints of green highlights, and she wore a green dress that resembled leaves, adorned with blooming flowers at the hem. She offered you a warm smile with her hands tucked behind her back.

That could only mean one thing.

You immediately rushed and hugged her tight—resting your head at the crook of her neck. Tears began streaming down your face again until she returned the hug to you as she drew circles behind your back to help soothe you seemingly.

“Ilana…I miss you so bad…”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? We have so much to catch up on.” 

For the next few minutes, you just savoured the moment of being able to reconcile with your best friend and take in the scent you’ve missed so badly for the past several decades. The moment you both broke apart from the hug, you couldn’t help but reminisce back on the good old days and the teasing started almost instantly between one another.

You both talked about how you had a snowball fight once where you ended up destroying one of the rooms back at the shrine and challenged one another to draw the funniest faces possible on your fellow deities when they were asleep. 

It was great to take a step back in time for a bit, and you really needed that distraction from what was happening in the real world.

“I saw what you did for my people back there, Y/N. I can never thank you enough for that,” Ilana looked at you with regret in her green eyes, feeling awful that she couldn’t be there for her people when they needed her most. 

“Don’t be. It’s our responsibility, after all, to keep the nation at peace.”

Right after you said those words out loud, your friend seemingly stared at the ground for a couple of seconds before you had to ask if everything was alright. The moment she held her head high up again, the look that she once had with you when you both first reconnected was now replaced with a much more determined and serious look as she placed her hands on your shoulders.

“That also means that I have seen the aftermath of what happened right after my people were freed from the fate they have suffered for the past several decades, and I’m here to tell you something very important.” 

“I-Ilana? Is something wrong?”

“Y/N, the reason why I’m able to appear here in front of you is because I was able to transmit the last remaining powers I’ve had for this moment. I’ve elicited the help from Astrophel for this-” 

Ilana suddenly stops midsentence and turns behind to see the three figures slowly approaching you. Sure enough, it was the other three deities that also suffered the same fate, just as Ilana did.

“Indeed, Y/N,” Astrophel continues. “This is a subconscious space that I created right before we passed on, for we knew it would come in handy, especially in times like this.”

“Y-You all knew I would break free from Lucifer’s curse?” 

“Of course we did. You are the strongest amongst all five of us, after all,” Mahuika smiled as she gave you a thumbs up. 

“We have always left a small portion of our powers within you right before each of us was sealed away. It’s just a matter of us returning to you like this at the right time. And you did the right thing when you touched Ilana’s tombstone back at her tribe,” Zephyr commented. 

“That’s right, Y/N. We have seen the damage the underworld has caused our beloved people for the past several decades. But now that you have awakened your powers, it’s time to overthrow them and change history again.” Ilana concluded.

You couldn’t help but smile as you took in all of your former friends' words as you’d missed hearing their voices. However, you slumped your shoulders in defeat the moment they were done talking, and each of them looked at you with a puzzled look.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I fear that I’m no longer the lake deity that people once looked up to back in the day. I’m just a crippled, good-for-nothing deity who barely knows how to fight or control her powers no more. I failed to save the people of the forest and I- I also failed to keep a promise,” you choked back on your tears.

The other four deities simply turned their heads towards one another and gave each other looks before Ilana stepped forward to tilt your chin back up.

“It’s about Haknyeon, isn’t it?”

You gasped at the moment his name escaped from your friend’s mouth. Given that they mentioned how they’ve been watching everything that has unfolded until now, there’s no doubt they would probably have figured out the relationship between you two. 

“You know, I once had a dream about the God of Eternity warning me about the consequences of befriending someone from the underworld. If I had taken his advice back then, I might’ve been able to escape whatever has happened between us-”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Y/N.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Ilana?”

Mahuika chuckled. “Who says we can’t change history and the norm? You befriend and help whoever you want!”

“Given that he hasn’t done anything but protect you up till this point, he’s definitely cleared in my books,” Zephyr replied confidently. 

“They’re right, Y/N. You need, or rather, will definitely be needing his help if you want to save the nation this time.” Ilana grip on your shoulders tightened. 

“But how? He’s no longer human and has completely turned into Lucifer himself. There’s nothing much he could do anymore…” 

“I would take those words back if I were you,” Astrophel points up as a piercing light shines down from above.

Suddenly, the consciousness of all four of your former deities began to fade, and you could no longer feel their hands on you. Panic set in as you frantically rushed from one to another, pleading with them not to leave you behind after all the years you had desperately tried to reconnect with them.

“Fear not, Y/N. We will be with you in your final battle. All we ask is that you trust yourself and in Haknyeon,” the four voices echoed before they eventually faded away.

With that, a large, dark hand descended from above and pulled you out of your space. You must have blacked out for a moment because when you came to, you found yourself back on the shore, watching the waves gradually calm after the storm.

It was then that you noticed you were lying on something much softer than sand. You felt a pair of arms resting behind your back and on your thigh.

And that scent. You will never forget it, especially how you’ve been travelling together for weeks. 

The moment you locked your eyes with him, you jumped up and hugged him as tightly as you possibly could as you rubbed your cheeks with his. He responded in the same way and planted a soft peck on your cheeks but never fails to make a teasing comment just like he always did.

“I do not recall that either of us would give up before we achieved what we wanted to.”

“I-It’s not that…” you sniffled. “I’m just taking a dip in the ocean.”

“More like you were drowning to me,” Haknyeon spat. 

“What matters is that you’re here now, and you’re alive and well,” you quickly kissed him once on the lips before you had to pull apart and bow your head down at him. “I-I’m sorry…I wasn’t able to help you change your fate…because now you’re-”

“That’s not my main concern right now, Y/N.”

You titled your head back up. “It’s not?”

“Well, for one-” Haknyeon grunts as he tries to stand back up. “-we need to go clean up the mess in the underworld before anything else. Those creatures would definitely catch up soon now that their king is dead.”

King is dead?

Wait. Does that mean?

“L-Lucifer is gone?”

Haknyeon turned his head down to look at you as he shuts his eyes. “He died in my hands, yes. Honestly speaking, he was a lot weaker than I thought. He was the one who awakened my powers, and yet he died because of it. How ironic, isn’t it?” 

You couldn’t believe your ears. You realised that the person right before you was now the current Lucifer, who had just overtaken the throne. He definitely gives off this darker and more sinister aura than before, but you knew that deep down, he was still the same person you have come to trust and love.

“Though I wouldn’t be so sure about Balor,” Haknyeon commented. 

“You mean the commander?”

“He’ll be our last enemy, Y/N. And we’ll be fighting him till the very end.”

“Woah woah woah, hold up. What do you mean ‘we’?” You stopped him in his tracks, hoping that what you’d heard was just a hallucination.

But it wasn’t. Haknyeon simply smirked before he opened up a portal, grabbed your wrist, and led you to it. “You don’t expect me to die alone in battle, do you? I’m going to need a partner-in-crime for this. Also, someone to heal my wounds after the battle is over.”

“Look at you being all confident saying you’ll win this,” you teased. 

“So, are you coming with me, my princess?” 

Oh, hell no. He did not just use that word against you.

“Name your price first.”

“Well, you can either join me or you can go have another dip in the tsunami. Your choice.”

You sulked. “You’re no fun. You just want me to suffer either way.” 

“It’s the only two options available now, Y/N. But I promise, we’ll be in this together till the end.”

That’s right. You were finally going to make things right, and your former deities promised to be with you in your final battle—each of their remaining spark of flame and powers nestled within you.

Taking a deep breath, you intertwined your fingers with Haknyeon and closed the gap between you two.

“Lead the way then, king of the underworld.”

“W-What is this…” Doyle stammered as he walked closer to inspect the huge pile of ash that lay on the throne. The moment he touched those ashes, it only left a permanent burn that felt so hot as if he had just tasted what it feels like to fall straight into the burning fires below.

“That, my fellow soldier, was what used to be the king or at least his remains,” Balor answered while polishing his spear as he placed it straight into the fire to let it burn for a couple of seconds before taking it back out.

“I-I don’t understand…how and when did all of these happen?” 

“Let’s just say that you can ask the gentleman who’s standing right behind you right now,” Balor threw one of his kunais straight towards Doyle’s direction before it was intercepted by a katana knocked it straight to the ground.

“Sacrificing your own soldiers just to kill me? You really are worse than Lucifer himself,” Haknyeon gritted his teeth as his devil aura began exerting excessively, giving Balor a death stare. 

You figured that since Haknyeon was in his own territory, he was definitely able to exert twice as much power as he did back on earth, and whoever wasn’t careful would undoubtedly lose their head to the current lord of the underworld himself.

“These foolish demons are nothing but pawns, just like Lucifer, who fell at your hands. He was far worse and more useless than his predecessors.” Balor stepped forward, pacing in circles at the center of the chamber. He taunted Haknyeon, beckoning him with a gesture to approach the stage for a duel.

“Something tells me that you’ve waited all these years for this very moment, for Lucifer to die that is.”

“Of course, young lad. I wasn’t about to get my hands dirty from killing him. Sure, he was an easy job, and I could’ve done it during the war. But what better for him to die under the hands of his successor; now that’s a scoop that’ll go down in history.” 

Haknyeon was slowly getting ticked off by his demeanour, and he immediately unleashed a large amount of power onto his sword, engulfing the katana in flames. 

Balor did the same, but his flames burned a dark purple instead. When both men reached a standstill, they charged at each other without hesitation. Their blades clashed in a relentless frenzy, and you struggled to keep up with the action as it unfolded before you.

You knew that you weren’t just going to stand there watching, so you armed yourself with your very own katana as you turned behind to face the hoard of army that was ready to skin you alive.

However, you have come prepared this time, and you’ve gotten help from your fellow deities within you. Focusing all of your energy at once, you glistened with a blue light surrounding you as you pointed your katana straight at the devils themselves.

“I’m not here for a fight, though if you insist, then you’ll have to suffer the consequences of my blade.”

As soon as you announced your intention, the entire army charged at you. You quickly got to your feet, striking them down one by one. Thanks to your purifying abilities, the demons evaporated into thin air upon contact with your blade.

Before long, you began to hear the voices of your fellow deities within you, each infusing their powers into your blade. With Zephyr's energy, you created a swirling vortex, while Astrophel’s power transported some demons to another dimension.

Mahuika’s flames were far hotter and more powerful than those surrounding the chamber, reducing the demons to ash with your blade's touch.

With Ilana’s power, you infused poison into their bloodstreams with every cut, causing them to collapse to their knees, suffering the effects of a toxin that could never be cure

Then it came down to your own powers. Channeling all your strength, you summoned a water dragon that coiled around your enemies, purifying them in an instant.

After clearing the path, you were left with a sole survivor with his back glued to one of the pillars at the very end. You recognised who it was as he was the one tagging along with Balor when you first encountered the male back at the tribe.

However, he seemed terrified, and he was in no shape to fight back. Instead, he quickly got on his knees and lowered his head, begging for mercy.

“P-Please! Please spare me! I have nothing to do with this!” 

“What makes you think that I should listen to you? You’re a demon from the underworld,” you posed the question as you rested your katana against his neck. Doyle begins sweating profusely, and you can tell by the sweatdrops that fell right onto your blade.

“Balor was never our leader! Donovan was! And we never wanted to have anything associated with him!” 

You narrowed your eyes. “What do you mean by that?” 

“H-He’s far more notorious than Lucifer ever was…and he has done far worse than what we know in the books. He must be eliminated if we want to prevent another war from happening,” Doyle cries out in desperation as he says those last words.

It definitely took a little bit of time for some convincing, but you decided to test out what he said was true. Grabbing hold of his arms as you pulled him up in one swift motion, you pushed him right in front of you with your blade situated right behind him.

“Lead the way to the chambers, then. And don’t try anything funny.” 

Doyle did precisely what you had proposed with his hands up as you both made your way into where Haknyeon and Balor were still going hard with one another. Instead of catching them still in battle with one another, both were now kneeling on the ground—breaking out in a cold sweat and trying to stabilise their breathing. Evidently, they had used up much of their strength, and it would be now or ever to end this duel.

“I must say- dear Haknyeon- you’re a lot stronger than I thought you were-” Balor panted as he used his spear to get back up on his feet. 

“I commend you for holding out for this long- nobody has ever lasted more than a minute when sparing with me-” Haknyeon challenged as he too slowly got back up and positioned himself carefully, trying hard not to lose his balance. 

However, both you and Doyle’s presence didn’t go unnoticed, and Balor wasted no time making use of his telekinesis power to move Doyle right in front of him with his blade piercing right into the side of his neck.

Both you and Haknyeon were shocked by what had happened and were about to make a move until you stopped what Balor had said next. “If you want to kill me, then you’ll have to kill this pathetic demon first.” 

You didn’t even need to hear Doyle’s cries as you could read the message from his mouth.

Please, save me.

Something in your gut just tells you that he would be a worthy comrade to save and potentially be of great help in the near future. You also wanted to trust the look in his eyes when you first confronted him before coming into the chambers. It looked sincere, and you knew he was here at the wrong time. 

Especially with everything you had been through with Haknyeon, not all devils and demons are just as bad as you’ve heard from the books. 

With that, you swiftly turned to look at Haknyeon before giving him a nod—signalling him to help distract Balor while you prepare for the final blow. Given that you still had the power of the four deities within you, you were going to focus all your energy at once and unleash them all with one final shot.

Thankfully, Haknyeon got the message and redirected his attention towards his enemy—charging straight into him while being careful not to harm Doyle in any way.

You only had one final shot and needed to be careful as you aimed at the demon from above. Balor notices your efforts and simply mocks you right there and then. 

“What can a useless, crippled deity like you do anything? You barely have any powers left within you after the battle back at the tribe!” 

You ignored his comments while he struggled with Haknyeon to focus and aimed at his weak spot. You desperately scanned through for an opening until you noticed a little reveal of his skin right at the top of the left ribcage, and it also had a scar that was about a century old. 

This was your only chance. Standing tall and firm with your sword at the ready, you took a deep breath and infused the entire blade with the combined powers of the five deities. Then, you leaped onto the platform, aiming directly for Balor’s weak spot.

However, you should’ve known this wouldn’t be as easy as you thought. What you thought was a scar was a seal—it kept him alive for so long as no contamination or abilities could ever harm him.

“Remember what I told you, young lady. You’ll never defeat me like this.”

Just then, Haknyeon scoffs as he forcefully pulls down Balor’s collar and positions his now sharp claws right onto the seal. “And this is when your overconfidence will kill you, just like Lucifer did.” 

The moment Haknyeon slashed the wound wide open, the seal immediately broke and the contamination from the air went straight into Balor’s body—causing him to scream as he pushed Doyle to the side before falling straight down to the ground. 

It was evident that the air was too much for his centuries-old body, absorbing far too much power than it could ever handle. Balor’s body immediately darkened and created a cracked appearance throughout, giving him little to no hope of recovering back to normal.

As you were distracted by everything, Haknyeon grabbed your hand, holding the katana while his other hand rested on your shoulders. You immediately divert your attention towards him as he reassures you with the look he has in his eyes.

“It’s our chance, Y/N. Let’s end this.” 

The second you nodded, you both dived straight towards the enemy and plunged the sword into the seal. The powers of the deities were far too strong for anyone to fight back against, and you both immediately backed off as far as you possibly could before he eventually exploded into ashes. 

With that, Haknyeon finally falls onto his knees as he lets go of the aura and powers he has been exerting throughout the battle, and you hold him in your arms. You both simply took the time to regulate your breathing before resting your forehead against his.

“It’s over…it’s all over now…you can rest… Haknyeon,” you sobbed as you ran your fingers through his jet-black hair, still glad it felt the same and just as soft as before. 

At that moment, Doyle approached you both and bowed his head in admission of defeat. Gently, you lifted his chin with one hand and rested the other on his head, channeling some of your remaining healing abilities into him. Instantly, his wounds began to heal, restoring him to his former self.

But that action only left him speechless. “Why are you helping me, Lake Deity? I’m clearly your enemy…”

Instead of you responding to the male, Haknyeon does it for you as he grabs onto his collar to pull him close and whisper into his ears.

“Don’t die on me now, lad. Because I’m going to be needing your help from now on.” 

The three of you then broke out into chuckles, and you stared at these two males before you before you looked straight up and closed your eyes shut.

“Thank you my fellow deities, you may all rest in peace now.”

“Oh my gosh! Did that really happened?” One of the boys shouted.

“Of course not! Who says the devils and humans can actually get along! It must all be a fairytale,” another child retorts back at the question with his arms crossed, shutting down any possibility of that ever happening. 

However, the children were simply cut off with a chuckle from the priest as she stood up with her kagura suzu in hand. “Now, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, my dear. After all, I am able to see anything that happens in this world and even below with my very own eyes. A priest never lies, doesn’t she?”

“Well then!” Another boy stands up as he walks closer to the priest. “How can we know that whatever you told us was true?”

Just then, a dove seemingly appeared from the skies, flying straight down to rest on the priest’s extended arms. The bird simply exchanged a few chirps as if it were talking to her before she let it go. 

“Perhaps you should head to the people of the waters to ask the Lake Deity herself, then.”

As the dove flies high in the skies, it spreads its wings wide and swiftly makes its way to where the tribe stands proud in the presence of their Lake Deity. This time, it seems that all four tribes are also gathered together as the crowd cheers with the few selected individuals on stage.

The moment you came up on stage dressed in a sky-blue kimono, the other four individuals already waiting for your arrival immediately bowed down to welcome your presence. As you cleared your throat to indicate that the crowd could lower their voices, you began your speech immediately. 

“To the people of the nation that I truly love, I am here today to bestow upon you your new deities! It will take a while for us to truly restore the peace in this nation, but fear not as your new deities will surely be here to guide you along the way.” 

As you finished your opening speech, you simply walked in front of each of the selected ones from each tribe, holding your hand out and resting it on their heads—transferring the last remnants of your fellow deities' powers into them to create a whole new generation of successors. 

Anala, the one who becomes one with the fire.

Cielo, the one who dances with the wind.

Orpheus, the one who controls space. 

And finally, Evanthe, the one who resonates with earth.

The moment you successfully transmitted all of the powers to everyone, the four individuals stood up as they bowed towards you, and you returned the same favour. “I look forward to working with all of you in this new generation.” 

The crowd immediately erupts in cheers as they finally get their deity after decades of pain and suffering. You could tell that everyone was eager to start rebuilding their tribe and make things right again. As you looked at these four new deities, you couldn’t help but smile as a single teardrop fell from one of your eyes. 

Mahuiaka, Zephyr, Astrophel, and Ilana. May your legacy continue on with these new young ones.

Once the ceremony has ended, your very own people from your tribe wasted no time to get the party rolling as a carnival was up and ready for each of the tribes to reconcile and get to know each other better, just like it used to many years ago. 

The elder was in charge of overlooking the entire event as he was busy trying to get all the servants to go around, ensuring nothing was amiss. Thankfully, your tribe were pretty much the outgoing ones, and you have managed to catch your eye on how many of them seemingly grabbed hold of different people from the other tribes to eat to their heart's content or even dragged them up on stage to dance. 

You simply sat on one of the rooftops as you savoured the moment, smiling as if they were your children who were playing and getting along well with everyone, as if you were a proud mom.

Your peace was short-lived as you were interrupted by a thump from your side, and you didn’t even have to turn around to look at who it was. 

“You’re late,” you commented.

“Not my fault that I’m now in charge of the underworld. A king’s got matters to deal with, just like you being a full-fledged deity now.” 

“So, what brings you here today? Since you said you were so busy dealing with your matters.”

Haknyeon simply scoffs. “What? Now I can’t even make time to come up and visit my own lover?” 

You scooched closer as you intertwined your fingers with him. You hated how your heart always melted upon those sweet, cheesy words he would say about you occasionally. “You could’ve come watch me at the ceremony, too.”

“God, you’re a demanding one.”

“And what if I am? I just want some love and attention after working so hard on my own,” you sulked before Haknyeon pulled you in for an embrace. “Okay fine, I gotta commend you on that. You truly have changed so much, Y/N. The nation will be saved once again all thanks to you.”

“Yeah, but not everything,” you sighed as you pushed Haknyeon away briefly. “I didn’t manage to help change your fate, after all.”

“Look,” Haknyeon pauses mid-sentence as he cups your face. “We’ve talked about this before. There’s no need for you to apologise for that. We defeated Balor; that’s what matters. Besides, the underworld is looking so much more different under my rule than it was centuries ago.”

“Well, I guess both humans and the devils being actual comrades is something that we have changed history about. And you know what, Haknyeon?” You looked at him with this smug look on your face. “I guess you do look so much hotter with jet-black hair. It pairs well with your leather jacket, too.”

“What? Are you just going to sweet-talk me and embarrass the shit out of me? If that’s the case, I’m leaving-”

“No~” you purred while clutching his arms tightly. “Don’t leave me just like that~”

“You’re being extremely clingy tonight, and I don’t know if I should be afraid of that or not.”

You simply smacked his arms to teach him a lesson. “It’s your fault that we can’t see each other often.Just let me enjoy this tonight, okay?” You rolled your eyes back at the male before leaning down to rest on his shoulders. 

Both of you stayed like this for a while until the fireworks started going off, filling the night sky with vibrant colours. It was also part of the saying where people tend to get sentimental when they see things like that, and that was exactly what Haknyeon decided to say to you as he tilts your chin to face him.

“Thank you, Y/N. For trusting in me since the day we’ve met and for showing me how being the devil himself isn’t all so bad, after all.” 

As much as you wanted to retaliate with another teasing comment, you decided not to break the wholesome moment you both had by going a different route instead. 

“Right back at you, Haknyeon. Thank you for giving me a purpose to live again.” 

The moment you finished your sentence, Haknyeon pulled you in for a kiss, and you pushed yourself forward to make sure you savored up the taste of his lips once again. It definitely felt different from where you both shared your first one back at Ilana’s tombstone, and you were glad that the kiss has much more of a deeper meaning this time. 

His fingers gently glide through your long, silky dark hair while his other thumb pushes your lips down so that he can gain more entry for the kiss—both of your tongues intertwine with one another until it becomes a battle of who’s able to hold on for long. 

When you two broke apart from the kiss, you simply rested your forehead against one another and stayed like this for a few seconds–enjoying the peace while the fireworks went off in the background.

“Please tell me you’re staying for the night,” you panted.

“Only if you want to,” Haknyeon responded. 

“And then we’ll go on a picnic date tomorrow morning?”

“That is if Doyle promises to bake the macarons in time. He says it’s some sort of ancient recipe his grandparents had passed down to him and you’re the lucky one who’s going to be taste tasting it for the first time in centuries.” 

You simply chuckled at that cute comment about Doyle. You loved how he has also become part of both of your lives now that he has been promoted to being Haknyeon’s right-hand man. 

“But what if I get a bad reaction from his macarons?” You teased.

“Then I’m tossing him into the flames, and he can perish for all I care.” 

You simply shook your head at your lover whenever he made sarcastic remarks like this whenever Doyle was mentioned. He knew you fancy him, and sometimes it gets a little too overboard (according to Haknyeon himself). Knowing that jealousy doesn't look good on Lucifer, you decided to devise something reassuring to keep him on track.

“I’ll also make you your favourite tangerine jello cake tomorrow if that counts.”

“Does Doyle get a piece or not?”

“Nope, just for you. But he’s getting a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies if that’s okay.”

Haknyeon simply smiled at your cute comment, and he was just so happy to be the luckiest man alive and have someone like you by his side. No matter the differences between you two, you are now part of one another, and you will change history by making both humans and devils be part of each other’s daily lives from now on.

Just like that, Haknyeon plants one more kiss on your lips before cuddling you in his arms as you two watch the last batch of fireworks together for the night.

“I look forward to our date tomorrow, then. I love you more than you could ever imagine, Y/N. And I will never let you go any more, and I hope you’re prepared for that.”

A/N: yall my laptop crashed so many times while writing this i really hope yall will love this work as much as i do 🥹💗

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