Bedeviled | Chapter 14: Always Faithful, Always Strong
Pairing: demon!jungkook x female reader
Genre: romance, angst, drama, horror
WC: 16.3k
Warnings for this chapter: strong language, anxiety, fear, mentions of blood and injuries, religious themes, mentions of past death and grief, tensionnnn, talk of loss of virginity, JK has mood issues, cruelty, insinuation of torture, betrayal...if there is anything i missed pls kindly let me know
Previous ML
The little angel holding your hand smiled excitedly at you.
“See? It doesn’t hurt anymore,” she whispered.
You nodded slowly, looking over at the taller figure beside the small angel. You couldn’t see their face due to the forest-green glow illuminating them from the inside out. Still, they felt so very familiar.
“Are you ready?”
You looked back at the small child when she spoke again, still grinning. Her smile was brighter than all the stars in the sky, the pale yellow wings on her back so tiny and fragile.
Larger front teeth protruded slightly from her mouth, making her look like a rabbit.
A very cute rabbit.
You couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on your face.
Her sweet grin really did remind you of someone…
“Am I ready for what?” You asked, confused. Your mind was a little blank.
A tiny giggle that sounded like ringing bells fell from the child’s lips, “To go home.”
You blinked slowly.
“Home?”
The ghost of the word left your mouth quietly in a single breath, full of a longing you’d never felt.
“Mhm!”
You swallowed the lump in your throat.
The grip on your hand tightened a little more.
Turning your head, your brows furrowed when you saw someone lying in the bed you got out of. She was in a very worn-through white nightgown, her face drained of life as she lay there, a thin layer of sweat glistening on her splotchy face. She appeared to be in a deep sleep.
One she would not wake from.
The rest of the shack was no livelier. There was a vase full of roses, but they were wilted beyond saving.
It was cold and dark.
And lonely.
You turned back to the two beings and gave a small nod.
“I’d like to go home.”
The little girl smiled giddily, then all you could see was white brightness closing in around you and a warmth that enveloped your cold body.
Blue, pink, and purple lights appeared, surrounding you. Gold and silver swirled around in beautiful shapes. Colors you’d never seen before danced in your vision as the sound of beautiful music played, bringing a deep and wonderful ache into your heart.
Then everything was white again.
You blinked hard a few times.
Your heart stopped for a moment when you saw that you were surrounded by clouds. Looking down, you realized you were standing on one.
Oh.
Oh my.
“____.”
The voice was that of a woman’s; deep but gentle, like a pool of warm chocolate. It brought a comfort so strong you felt your eyes water at just the single word.
It came from the shining figure.
The little angel was gone, only the tall being remained, standing in front of you. You still couldn’t see their face, but you were not afraid. You looked at them expectantly.
“You suffered for a long time.”
A single unwitting tear fell from your eye at the unexpected words. It slid down your cheek and fell to the clouds underfoot.
No one had ever spoken to you with such empathy in your entire existence; an empathy that reached deep into your soul where no other had touched.
You’d never felt more understood.
Then the feeling of grief washed over you. It was as if every painful thing that ever happened to you was consuming your mind and body in a matter of seconds, taking your breath away. Even though you couldn’t remember what exactly had happened before waking up in that room, you could feel every agonizing minute of it.
“You were alone for so long, scared for so many years, carrying it all on your own. Everything you gained along the way, you lost horribly by the end.”
You looked at the figure that was watching you closely and gulped, the pain not ceasing as you fell to your knees, unable to handle the agony surging through you.
“Was it worth it, ____?”
Tears fell from your eyes steadily as you held your heart, body shaking.
Then you could see him: his sweet smile as he handed you an apple, the warmth of his hand that held yours, the big brown eyes that looked into your own with a comfort so strong it never failed to fix anything that was scaring you…his beautiful soul.
No matter how wretched it felt at times in that life, you were never alone.
A sob tore itself from your throat as you began to remember everything that you had forgotten at first. Everything that you had, no matter how fleeting, before it was ripped from you.
You looked up at the figure that brought you to this place.
“Yes,” you whispered.
Although you couldn’t see it, you felt the invisible person smile.
All at once, the pain was gone, replaced with a joy so breathtaking you knew you would do every single second of it again, even if you had been truly alone.
-
You walked along slowly, the invisible person at your right as the two of you strolled through the clouds. She was so tall that if you could see her clearly, you were sure the top of your head would only reach her elbow.
“Why did you say I was alone most of my life?” You asked quietly, “If you already knew I wasn’t after meeting him.”
“Did the thought not cross your mind, ____?” The woman’s voice asked gently, “Were there not times you felt it was that way?”
You gulped, then gave a small nod, “At the hardest times…I suppose I did, yes.”
“That is why I phrased it that way. That thought, that doubt, was always there; lingering in the back of your mind. No, you didn’t think he wasn’t there for you. But on those dark nights without him there, it would come back. That anger of what was happening to you would come back, wouldn’t it?”
You nodded slowly.
“You needed to answer the question with that present. You needed to realize the truth yourself in the face of that despair.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
They nodded and you two fell into silence once more.
“Where are we going?” You asked, watching your feet disappear into clouds impossibly soft but still strong enough to hold you up.
You had always dreamed of being in the clouds. It was so much more than you had ever imagined.
“We’re going home.”
You hummed in response, then spoke up again, “Why did I forget everything for a little bit? How could I have forgotten him?”
“Do not blame yourself. It can happen at times, when someone passes. Especially if that person passed in a traumatic way. Those that do, tend to forget briefly who they were or where they came from. But it comes back rather quickly.”
“Oh…where did she go?” You whispered after a moment of contemplating, “The little angel.”
“You will see her again,” There was a gentle amusement in the being’s tone as she continued to walk beside you. You had a feeling she was more amused by your incessant questions than irritated.
“Oh, good.”
As you walked, you suddenly saw a huge golden gate ahead, appearing from the clouds.
“Is this home?” You asked breathlessly, stopping in front of the magnificent structure. You weren’t sure what was beyond them, but something was pulling you there, tugging gently at your heart.
“It is.”
You just knew that the moment you stepped through those gates, you would never feel out of place again.
Someone was waiting inside for you.
They had waited a very long time.
There, you would belong.
“Can I go in?”
“You can. Before you do, there is one more thing.”
__________________________________
“I’m letting you out of the deal.”
You feel your heart stop in your chest at his words, then tears spring to your eyes. You shake your head and pull back, not missing the way he reluctantly lets go of you.
“No.”
“What?” His brows scrunch and he takes a step towards you as you move back even more, wincing at the pain when you walk.
“I don’t want out-”
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” He snaps, “Because you can’t stop thinking about him. Just stop for a moment and think!!”
You shake your head but he steps closer, an angry yet desperate look on his face.
“If you refuse me now, I won’t give you another chance.”
“I know.”
“Are you fucking insane?” He looks at you in disbelief, “Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into by agreeing to this?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you so in love with him?! Why can’t you see what’s happening?” His eyes are wild with rage, “You are damning yourself to He-”
“What if I stay?”
You see the look of shock flash over his face as he takes a step back, going from one hundred to zero in a millisecond.
“You-...what?”
You swallow, feeling very small and unsure right now.
“You want me to stay, don’t you?”
The demon blinks a few times.
If you stay, it will be horrendous for you. It will be painful and wretched and nothing will ever make it better. But he doesn’t say that. He doesn’t tell you that.
He’s selfish.
And he wants you to stay, no matter what it might do to you.
If you go through all of this just for some idiot mortal boy, he wants no part of it. But if you stay for him…
If one thing is true, it is that misery so very much loves company.
You see one of his black brows raise slightly, as if you’ve gotten his attention.
Taking a deep breath, you stay strong.
Although it was a rash decision to use those words driven by exhaustion and panic, you knew you could buy time, that he would take it, that he would consider it.
What else could you expect from a demon?
“You don’t want him anymore?”
The way he says ‘him’ is bitter. Jealousy and rage crammed into that one small word.
You eye him carefully, “We still need to go through with the deal. We don’t stop here.”
He glares at you, “Why.”
“I came here to get something. I want to finish what I started. I won’t just toss it all out the window now.”
JK grinds his teeth for a moment, trying not to get angry.
“Fine,” he eventually spits, “You’ll get the Flame, if that’s what you’re so fucking obsessed with.”
“Thank you,” you whisper, voice breaking a little.
He rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh, “Your stupid little friend apparently doesn’t have a lot of time to become immortal. Let’s just keep going.”
You nod, following as he starts off. Almost immediately, you notice him slowing to keep pace with you as you limp slowly. He doesn’t talk much at first and you get the sense that he’s embarrassed for exposing himself like he did. The fact that he wants you to stay, no matter how selfish the intentions are…it means there’s something there.
Not long after walking again, though, he starts to talk.
“Why ‘Apple’?”
“I like apples.”
“Oh.”
Only a second passes before the next question.
“What made you decide to wear a dress? It’s not a very practical decision when one is planning to get the Flame of Immortality from the center of Hell.”
“I like dresses,” your voice cracks a little and you swallow, rubbing your throat with your hand gently.
He rolls his eyes.
“Well…is white your favorite color to wear then? Or brown…?”
You look sideways at him suspiciously but answer slowly anyway, “Umm…they’re some of my favorites, yeah.”
“What are your other favorites-”
He stops speaking and comes to a halt when you turn to him, badly scraped hands moving to your hips.
“Why are you asking me all these-...innocent questions?”
“What? You’d rather I ask something else?” He snaps, handsome face set in an annoyed scowl.
“Well, no-”
“Are you a virgin?”
You take a step back, looking at him with an appalled expression.
He only smirks.
“You got pissy when I asked questions I thought suited you. Figured I’d try something different.”
“Yellow and pink…and blue.”
You ignore the confusion written all over his face as you walk around him and keep hobbling along.
The sores on your hands and feet are extremely irritated and sore, the ones in your mouth a little less so. There’s still dried blood on the corners of your mouth and your bones ache so deeply you could curl into a ball on the ground and be fine with never moving again. The pain in your stomach lingers, but is nothing compared to when you were in the eighth circle. You still refuse to look at the wound on your right ankle from when the old man covered in flames grabbed you. It’s painful enough without getting a mental picture that will probably make it worse.
Overall, everything hurts. Your body continues to grow weaker simply being in Hell, steadily shutting down by the hour.
But you can certainly manage.
You have to.
“What the hell does that even mean?”
You bite your tongue as he jogs over to keep in step with you again.
“You asked what my favorite colors are to wear.”
He groans loudly next to you, “I don’t know why I keep forgetting how fucking annoying you are.”
“Aw, that’s sweet, JK.”
“Shuddup.”
You chuckle quietly, gnawing gently on your tender bottom lip as you keep your eyes forward, a million thoughts swarming your brain.
“What’s your favorite color to wear?” You ask as you glance at him teasingly, “Black? How original.”
He sneers at you, “Wow, you’re so fucking funny. You should be a comedian.”
“I might just do that.”
“What do you do, anyway?” He slows down a little more to stay alongside you after unconsciously walking faster. He can’t help it, with legs as long as his it’s second nature, “You said you’re nineteen. School? Work?”
“Mm, neither.”
“Neither?”
“Well, work I guess.”
“You guess.”
“Mhm,” You pick at the blood under your fingernails.
“Care to elaborate?”
He sounds annoyed with needing to ask for further details.
“No, not really.”
He bites his tongue before he gets the chance to snap at you.
“Ok, fine,” He says slowly, controlled, “You kind of work.”
You hide the smile creeping up on you.
“So you’ve never really had any hopes for the future?”
“I didn’t say that,” You correct him calmly.
“Well you sure as hell aren’t convincing me otherwise.”
You look at him as you walk, “Why should I need to convince anyone but myself?”
“I-” He stares at you for a second, “Never mind.”
It’s not even quiet for thirty seconds before his next wave of probing comes.
“Why apples, though? Pears are better than apples.”
A lump forms in your throat and you have to mentally push the memories out of your mind. Memories of him always preferring pears over any fruit.
“Because Pear would be a stupid name.”
He chuckles, taking you by surprise.
“Well,” You hum, “Pear is actually pretty cute now that I think about it.”
“Whatever you say, mortal.”
“It’s Apple.”
“I’m not calling you Apple.”
“Well then I’ll just call you Pear-”
“You absolutely will not.”
You scowl at him.
“I’ll do whatever I want.”
“Yeah?” He snags your arm, making you stop and pulling you to him at the same time, a dangerously flirty smirk on his face, “Is that supposed to scare me, Apple?”
Your heart lurches and your mouth feels dry.
He leans closer, “Go ahead and do what you want, I’ve nothing against that.”
You try to scoff but it doesn’t come out very strong so it kind of just sounds like you choke.
“I-I…I-”
“Y-y-you what?” The smirk is still on his face, mischief lighting up his dark eyes.
You try your best to glare at him, but it doesn’t seem to deter him at all.
He just leans in again, “If you stay,” his lips are close to your ear as cold breath sends tingles down your spine, “We could cause all sorts of trouble, Apple girl.”
You’re beginning to second guess your judgment of telling him that name.
It’s not the same as him saying it. It hurts a lot more than when he said it. It’s his voice, his face, his eyes that look into yours as it’s whispered.
But it’s not the same.
It used to be filled with so much love.
Now it’s tainted with a shadowy wickedness whispering behind it. But after not hearing it from his lips for five hundred years, it still makes your heart race.
“I get the impression you cause enough trouble on your own,” you whisper, pulling back and looking at him.
“You’d be right,” he chuckles darkly, also pulling away.
Your eyes fall away from his piercing gaze, looking over his shoulder.
He snaps out of the trance he was in as he looked at you when you point over his shoulder and ask, “What’s that?”
JK turns to see a gnarled mountain in the distance that’s smaller than the others, right in the middle of the barren wasteland; the bottom thick and the top coming to a sharp point.
“Ah,” he tilts his head and stretches his neck both ways, “You’ll see later.”
You give him a look but don’t bother responding.
It feels like you can finally breathe when he steps away.You don’t understand how he can so easily flit from one emotion to the next. He’s acting like he didn’t just bare his entire soul to you when he offered to let you go not even that long ago.
“You never answered my question,” He says as he starts to walk, once again matching your speed, or lack thereof.
“Which one?”
“I think you know which one.”
Your cheeks heat involuntarily and you clear your throat.
“I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s none of your business!”
“I think you’re embarrassed.”
“And why would I be?” You ask.
“Because you’re definitely a virgin.”
You scoff loudly, “If I am or I’m not, neither of them would make me embarrassed. I have no reason to be ashamed either way.”
“That’s exactly what a virgin would say.”
“Shut up!” You grumble, “If you want to know so bad then you have to answer a question of mine.”
“Fire away.”
“Just like that?” You look at him in disbelief, “After all this time and all the trouble you’ve given me, you’ll answer anything just to know if I’m a virgin?”
He shrugs, “I’m curious.”
You mutter in annoyance to yourself for a moment, then you look at him.
“What’s with the tattoos? Why are two colored and the rest not?”
“I don’t know.”
“I-” You glare fiercely at him, “Tell me you’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
You stop walking, which makes him stop to look at you.
“So, let me get this straight,” You say calmly, scratched up and bruised hands folded nicely in front of you, “It has been however long…I have answered many of your questions, and you have avoided almost every single one of mine.”
“And?”
“And you acted like it was some huge deal that you would only tell me in exchange for something equally as big, and yet you don’t even know the answer yourself.”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
You wouldn’t be surprised if he could see steam billowing out from your ears.
“You’re so- so exasperating!!”
He laughs at the fact that that’s the best insult you could come up with in your state of enraged shock.
“Technically I never said I knew.”
“Agh!” You throw your hands up in the air before pointing a finger in his face and standing up on your tiptoes to get closer, “I’m never telling you if I’m a virgin or not! Never!” Then you hurry around him and start marching away. You hear him laughing behind you, then the sound of him running to catch up with you.
“You’re so naive.”
“Don’t talk to me.”
He grins annoyingly, shaking his head, “Such a grouch.”
“I’ll show you a grouch in a minute if you don’t let me calm down.”
He puts his hands up in defense, “Damn, ok.”
Your face feels hot with anger, your cheeks undoubtedly red with the blood that’s rushed there.
Cool air would be nice right about now, but that’s a joke to even think about. Fanning with your hands does absolutely nothing. In fact, it might be making it worse.
You drop your hands to your side and sigh.
It’s no use being so angry. Him not knowing is technically an answer in itself. That’s what you wanted to know anyway, with several things.
Back when you first got here, he spoke as if he was a demon since the fall of the angels, that he was one of them, that he chose it.
Clearly his memories are not only gone, but corrupted into a false story that he believes is true though there are gaps in it that confuse even him. Like the fire, and the tattoos, and probably several other things; like the handkerchief in his pocket that he gave you when your eyes were burning. The one that looked like his mother’s…
She used to carry soft cream-colored ones around everywhere, and gave some to him.
That’s what he used to bandage your ankle when you were young.
What would his answer be if you asked him about that handkerchief?
You gulp.
He’s confused when you ask certain questions like that, you can tell. And confusion is the first step, as long as the timing is right.
Your breathing has calmed considerably and the anger has dissipated when he speaks up again.
“Are you calm now?”
“Yes,” you laugh quietly.
“You can have another go, if it’s made you that upset.”
“You must seriously want to know if I’ve done it, nothing ever makes you this generous…I’m not upset anymore, I do have a question though, that I’d like to be answered.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ll answer yours first.”
“Ok.”
You nibble your bottom lip, your cheeks flushing for a reason entirely different from anger now.
“I’m not a virgin.”
“Oh...wow.”
You turn your head to see that he looks genuinely surprised as he stares at you while you walk.
“Why does that shock you so much?” You chuckle.
“It’s just-” He shakes his head, “You’re so pure, it-”
“I’m pure?”
When his eyes lift to yours again, he sees a teasing smile on your face.
“Two questions,” You hold up two fingers.
He nods, apparently shocked into temporary silence.
“One: how do you know that I’m pure? And two: who says that not being a virgin would take that away?”
He scoffs, “Isn’t it obvious? I can see your soul, mortal. All demons can see the state of someone’s soul. It’s how they know their weak points, how easy they are to break.”
The demon stops and turns to you then, a look in his eyes that you don’t understand.
“How valuable they are to them.”
One of your brows lifts, “Ah, I see. And why would I be any less pure without being a virgin?”
“Your innocence would be gone.”
“And?” You look him dead in the eye, “Is my innocence gone?”
The way he stares at you makes you feel exposed, as if he’s peeled away your skin and can see right through you, into the deepest parts of your being. He is quite literally staring into your soul.
“No,” he whispers, his voice sounding confused at this revelation.
“Didn’t He make it for the human race as a gift?”
“I mean…I suppose, but-”
“And if I didn’t abuse it, if I used the gift as it was meant to be used, did I not do what He had intended for me?”
The demon swallows, confusion thick in the air as he stares at you, extremely unsure of everything he thought he knew.
“The act itself is not sinful,” you whisper, watching all the emotions flitting across his face as he tries to figure it out, “The intentions and circumstances behind it? They certainly can be.”
He says nothing, thoroughly befuddled in every sense of the word.
“I think innocence comes in many forms. I am far from perfect, but I do know that I did no wrong when it came to losing my virginity.”
“Oh.” Is all he’s able to come up with.
After another minute of him working through things in his brain, he clears his throat.
“So this…this best friend of yours…is he-?”
“Is he the one that I shared myself with?”
He nods, uncertainty still clear on his face.
How strange it is to be informing him that you are not a virgin when he himself is the only one you had ever been with.
“Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t.”
You step closer, eyes not leaving his, “You said demons know when souls are valuable to them.”
He nods, but says nothing.
“And?” You take another step towards him, as if offering for him to look again, “How valuable is my soul to you?”
“Any demon would stop at nothing to take your soul.”
“I’m not interested in just any demon,” you whisper, “I want to know how valuable it is to you. That’s my question, that’s what I want you to tell me. You didn’t answer me before, when I asked you how you felt.”
“I did.”
“No, you didn’t. Not really.”
“I told you,” he grits out as you step ever closer, “I can’t.”
“If I am so valuable to Hell’s collection of souls, how could you offer to free me? How valuable can I possibly be if you’re willing to let me keep my soul?”
JK gulps, pursing his lips.
“How can a demon let go of a soul that any other would stop at nothing to take?” You whisper, eyes searching his, pushing just a little more.
“Stop.”
“You said you would answer me.”
His eyes fall from yours.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Why did you offer to let me leave?”
“It doesn’t matter now,” he hisses, “You refused, and I told you, I will not offer it again.”
“Then why offer it in the first place?”
You gulp when his eyes raise to yours again, anger and something else there, something you’ve seen flash through them before, but very rarely.
You realize with a jolt to your heart what it is.
Sorrow.
“You want to know how valuable your soul is to me?” He glares at you, stepping closer until you can feel his cold breath on your cheeks, “I would do anything to rip it straight out of you. Anything.”
You blink rapidly, holding back the tears that are threatening to come.
“I would risk losing hundreds of other souls just to have this one.”
A cold finger runs along your chest, stopping right in the middle and not moving.
“How valuable are you to me…?” A painful ache surges through you at his slight change of words
“So valuable-” His voice drops below a whisper, “That I would’ve let.. you.. go..”
Your heart is hammering in your chest and you know he can feel it.
“JK…”
You don’t finish your sentence and he says nothing to fill the quiet. That’s when something else hits you.
Tears spring to your eyes at the realization.
“You-...”
His eyes stay locked on yours.
“You kept talking earlier, asking silly things,” you mumble tearfully, sniffling, “Because you knew I didn’t like it to be quiet.”
His following silence is answer enough.
“I can’t,” is all he says after a minute.
You nod slowly, his previous words floating through your mind.
‘I can’t…love you.’
He can’t love you, but he can let you go; that’s all he knows how to do.
You bite your bottom lip harshly, the stinging pain a welcome distraction from the one on the inside. After a moment to gather yourself, you nod again, not looking directly at him as he watches you with a look so unlike this version of him you don’t think you can handle it.
Then you raise yourself up, just enough to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.
As you’re lowering yourself back down, you stop at the feeling of his hand on your cheek, though you keep your eyes downcast.
I’m sorry, Jungkook.
That you had to be alone for so long, that you had to wait for me, until I could come to you.
I am so sorry.
“Hey.”
You finally look at him at the light tone of his voice.
“We’ll be at the ninth circle before too long, you can’t grow soft on me now,” he smirks gently at you, “What happened to that feisty little attitude of yours, little mortal?”
You swallow the tears building up in your throat, bottling them up and putting a cap on it.
You will not fail, ____.
Do not doubt yourself so.
Nodding slowly, you swallow again, biting your lip as hard as you can handle.
“I think I’m tired,” you croak, dropping your gaze to the ground between you.
His boots are still sleek and shiny, completely flawless. The laces going up his shins look brand new, not a fray to be seen. The contrast to your beaten and bloody feet wrapped in torn black silk from his shirt is almost comical.
“Only now?” He asks, a teasing lilt to his voice.
You breathe out a tiny laugh, “Yeah, didn’t really hit until now.”
“Ah.”
You rub your eyes, fighting the yawn creeping up on you.
“Let’s not talk about it,” you mumble, “It’s making me more tired.”
The sound of gravel moving makes you look at him as he turns to keep walking, granting your wish without a single protest.
“Come on,” he calls out without facing you, “If you fall asleep standing there I’m not carrying you.”
You follow slowly, your brain spinning in circles as you try to stay calm.
______________________________
“Can I go in?”
“You can. Before you do, there is one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“If you had the choice, would you like to become an angel?”
“I don’t understand,” You stared at the being that brought you to the golden gate in the clouds, brows furrowed in confusion at what they just said, “So…everyone that comes here is an angel…?”
Just like before, you felt her smile, even though you couldn’t see it, “Not everyone, no. The little ones that pass away in the womb become angels,” her voice was still so gentle and deep, it brought a wave of comfort over you just hearing it, “And some that were born and have lived a life worthy of it. Do not worry, everyone else that comes here is joyous regardless.”
‘The little ones that pass away in the womb become angels.’
Your heart stuttered in your chest when you thought of the little angel.
Could it really have been…?
Before you could break down into sobs and start begging to see the child, you cleared your throat, knowing the time would come to see her again. “And you…are you an angel?”
“I am.”
“Were you a human once?”
“No,” The voice had a distinct smile in it, “I was always your angel.”
“My angel?” You asked in astonishment.
“Yes.”
“What-” You shook your head to clear it, “What does that mean?”
Instead of getting an answer with words, you suddenly felt a strange pull in your chest. Then the being was gone and you were in your beloved forest, the breeze blowing the leaves gently. You turned this way and that, beyond confused.
“How-”
You got cut off by the sound of a tiny giggle. Turning in alarm, you froze at the sight of a small child on the ground by the apple tree, her back leaning against it as she played in the grass with her feet.
You, it was you…at four years old…
Taking a step closer to the small version of you, the grass soft beneath your feet, you sucked in a breath when you saw someone else there too, a warm smile on their face as they watched you laugh.
It was a woman who looked no older than twenty-five, but with an ancient wisdom in her emerald green eyes. She wore a dress of dark green that matched the deepest parts of the forest. Over it were thin plates of armor, a slender sword with a verdant hilt at her side. On her back were large wings that looked like a bird’s; the color of a sunlit field. One of the wings was wrapping around your small figure protectively.
Her hair was blonde, but looked to have hints of leaf green in it as well.
The angel’s beauty was unmatched; you had never even imagined someone could be so utterly breathtaking. She truly looked like an otherworldly being that had come from the forest itself.
There was a soft green glow about her as she placed a gentle hand on your head right after a bright red apple had bonked it harshly.
Her head turned at the same moment as your tiny one, looking at the fruit laying on the ground.
As little you stared at it in bewilderment, the angel looked up and a smile graced her elegant features.
You watched yourself reach for the apple, then you noticed the woman looking up into the tree and laughing delightedly. So, you looked up to see what she was watching.
Heart flying to your throat, you took a step back when you saw him.
The small boy with dark hair and eyes that were wide as he looked down at the child he accidentally dropped an apple on. He scrambled down the tree quickly to apologize.
All of the figures began to shimmer before disappearing, despite your sudden cry for them not to go.
You gulped and pressed a hand to your forehead as another scene unfolded in front of you.
The river was there, just ahead. Cold water rushed by, higher than it usually was. After only a moment, you realized what day you were looking back on. Seconds later, you saw two children running over to the river and laughing.
The little girl said something you couldn’t hear as the boy bent down to pick up a pretty rock. In the next instant, the girl ran into the water. It was swift as it took her off her feet immediately.
The boy looked up, then dropped the rock and leapt into the water to save the younger child.
You watched in horror as he screamed for her, swimming as best as he could.
But his arms were too small and the current was too strong.
You couldn’t even see the girl anymore, she was gone, dragged under the surface.
Then you saw the woman again.
She was on the riverbank, tall and beautiful as always. She reached a hand down into the river and grabbed hold of something before pulling it up effortlessly.
You saw your own little hand come out of the water as she pulled you out, then your head broke the surface. You gasped and looked around before seeing your best friend holding on to the rose bush.
It was her…
That was the only thought in your head as the scene changed yet again.
You were back in the forest, by the apple tree. This time, you were watching yourself at fifteen as you cried your heart out after finding out that you were to marry Hoseok and your mother had hurled horrid insults at you.
“Why me?!” You heard yourself scream at the top of your lungs into the grass, throat burning and heart pounding painfully in your ears.
The angel was there on the ground beside you, bent over in order to have an arm and a wing around you in a warm embrace. You noticed with a hitch in your breath that she was crying too, crystal tears dripping down her porcelain skin and falling to the forest floor as she stroked your hair ever so gently.
She was whispering words of encouragement and reassurance in your ear even if you couldn’t hear it at the time.
Once again, the two figures weeping on the forest floor shimmered and disappeared. They were replaced with quick flashes of your life running across your vision, the angel always there; a warm proud smile on her face when you were kind or shining tears drenching her cheeks as you lay sobbing in your mother-in-law’s house after losing your child.
Then it was all gone.
You were once again surrounded by white clouds, the giant golden gate looming in front of you.
But this time, the being was no longer hidden from your view.
The woman from the visions stood in front of you, a soft knowing smile on her pretty lips.
If possible, she looked even more magnificent than in the memories.
She was twice your height, dressed in that beautiful green gown, the armor shining brilliantly and the sword safe at her side.
You gawked wordlessly at the huge wings behind her.
“Y-”
You gulped, shocked into speechlessness.
Her smile grew warmer at the look on your face.
Finally, you found the words.
“The invisible person,” you breathed, “That was you?”
Her head dipped slightly in confirmation.
All the times you ever felt scared, felt unsafe in any way, all the nights you couldn’t sleep thinking of the ghost in the forest…all of it seemed so silly then. With the angelic warrior walking beside you during every step in life, nothing was ever going to hurt you.
You blinked owlishly. “You…how are you my angel?” Was all you could think to say.
Her laughter was like waves crashing against the golden shore.
“There are many different angels. I am a guardian and I was tasked with keeping watch over you. Guardians have always been angels, from the beginning of time.”
“But…why me?”
“Everyone has a guardian angel,” she explained softly, “Most of them don’t know it until the end. When the Creator made me, He showed me some of your life. He asked me if I would love and protect you. I said yes. Until you were conceived, I simply waited.”
Your heart burst in your chest.
The angel’s first choice…was to love you?
Tears pricked at the corner of your eyes.
“Why don’t some people ever know of their angel until they die?” You whispered sadly.
She leaned down, blonde locks tinted with green falling over her shoulders.
“There are many forces at work in the world, ____. So very many of them with wicked intentions and a desire to wreak havoc and despair. They try their best to be the loudest. Sin is attractive, until you see its truest form.”
You gulped, “I didn’t know of you though, yet I still felt you there. Do others not?”
Your angel nodded sadly.
“Why?”
The look in her eyes was so vivid, it felt as though you were looking through each and every moment in history, every little thing she ever saw…Your heart ached deeply in your chest at her next words.
“Because mankind is lost,” she whispered lowly, “And has very much forgotten how to listen.”
_____________________________________________
The exhaustion is heavy on your shoulders.
Your eyelids feel like they’re being weighed down with hundred pound weights. But still you walk, dragging one foot after another, again and again. Steps eventually turn into miles. The scenery never changes.
JK walks beside you, but neither of you speaks very much. Every once in a while, you’ll mention something about how long this stretch is and how hot it is, and he’ll mumble an agreement.
It’s maddening that you can’t keep him in a certain state for long. He was opening up, he was softening even if just a little. The second the moment passes though, he clams right back up.
It happened when he offered to let you go, it happened when you spoke by the fire, it happened when you asked him about the value of your soul to him.
It has happened multiple times.
And yet each time it passes, he is no sooner retreating into his shell and pretending like it never happened in the first place.
The only thing keeping your spirits up at this point, is reminding yourself that if it wasn’t getting anywhere, he wouldn’t have softened even for a moment.
None of this is futile.
It is slow and it is painful.
But it is not futile.
Your stomach turns when you suddenly remember the voice.
The one that came back when you saw JK’s true form, that mocked him and delighted in his agony. It said something.
“This is my territory, little angel…you get out.”
He knows you’re here, and that you are not a mere mortal.
A sickening pit forms in your stomach. You don’t know what will come of it. But one thing is for sure; you have even less time than you thought.
“Back at the shed.”
You jump a little at the sound of his voice, but recover quickly and look at him as you continue to make your slow trek towards the oddly shaped mountain all alone in the middle of the wasteland.
“Hm?”
You watch him as he stares into the distance ahead, a small frown on his face.
“You said it was my fault.”
“Huh?” Your voice is weak.
You know exactly what he’s referring to, but you need time to think of an excuse.
“When you were losing your shit,” he speaks calmly, not a hint of anything but curiosity in his tone, “You said that it was all my fault.”
“W-Well, yeah,” you try to scoff, but it still shows the anxiety consuming you, “I was delirious from exhaustion and not to mention the unbearable heat. I mean come on, out here is bad enough, but in that circle-”
“Stop lying.”
You gulp, glancing at him briefly as you try not to stop the rhythm of your walk.
“I was exhausted and overheated,” you mumble quietly.
Technically you were, so that isn’t really a lie.
He sighs, “I suppose I brought this upon myself.”
“What?”
“I should’ve known that sooner or later you would refuse to answer my questions as I have yours,” he shakes his head, an annoyed smile on his face.
“I mean,” you laugh lightly, “It took me long enough to stop offering answers so freely.”
“Why did you? Before.”
“I don’t know,” you say softly, staring at a black cloud in the sky, “I think maybe I wanted to tell you, as unwise as it seemed at times.”
He doesn’t answer, but he does look at you closely as you walk.
“Have you never felt that way?” You whisper, still not looking away from that little cloud up there in the bloodstained sky, “Have you never felt so burdened with secrets and struggles that you felt such an urge to just let it out? To let it out to whoever gave you that chance, even if you knew that they would hurt you in the end…”
He blinks slowly, “That sounds like a burdensome way to live.”
“Oh it is,” you say softly as you drag your eyes away from the cloud and over to him.
“That’s why you offered things up so freely. Why you kept wanting to exchange information.”
“I suppose that’s one reason.” A sad laugh huffs from your lips.
“What’re the other reasons?”
“There you go again,” you look at him with a playful glare, “Tempting me to say all my secrets, just for a second of fresh air to breathe because I won’t be the only one holding them.”
He shakes his head, “That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Oh? And what are you doing, demon?”
He feels a strange unpleasant thud in his chest when you call him that. You’d been calling him by his name for so long now he had gotten almost used to it.
When he looks at you, he can see something different in your eyes. Something subtle but calculating. It’s a very careful look as you watch him, as if waiting to see what he’ll do, waiting to see the reaction you’ll get from him.
You know something that he doesn’t.
A foreign chill runs down his spine, startling him. You are a lot smarter than he’s given you credit for. A split second passes where he’s full of an uncomfortable thought that perhaps he’s never had the upper hand.
Perhaps everything has been on your terms.
A pit forms in his stomach when you begin to look different. Your hair doesn’t appear quite as tangled, nor does it look dirty. It tumbles down your shoulders in soft waves. The dress and cardigan you wear are not torn or messy with mud and other unsavory things.
As he stares into your eyes, there’s a very subtle color change in them. As if someone was standing behind him and flashed a bright golden light into your eyes for only a second.
Then it all fades away and he sees just you looking at him expectantly.
Just messy little you.
You look the same as you always have, only just a little confused now at his long stretch of silence. You don’t seem aware at all that he was quite literally seeing you in a different light momentarily.
“JK?” Your voice is soft, “Are you okay?”
“What?” He chokes out, voice thick with confusion and maybe just a little fear.
“You look like you just saw a ghost,” you giggle at the silly term down here and with a demon no less.
“Why did you call me that?”
“Huh?” You step closer, confused by his question.
“Why did you call me demon?”
“Did I?” Your brows furrow and you cock your head to the side, “I don’t think I did, though.”
“You did,” his voice comes out harsher than he intended.
“Oh,” you watch him closely, bewildered at his behavior, “Well, I’m sorry if I did. I wouldn’t have thought you’d mind if I did anyway, though.”
“I-” JK clears his throat, “I don’t. It just confused me for a second.”
“Oh…okay.”
Awkward silence falls between you two, then you nod slowly and turn to keep walking.
You’re not sure what just happened, but whatever it was, it rattled him quite a bit.
It takes a moment before you hear him start walking behind you.
“I shared because I thought you might share as well,” you call to him, “Nothing about you makes sense. You know that, right?”
“You’re the one that doesn’t make sense,” he scoffs, but jogs to catch up to you anyway.
“Look at us,” you gesture your arms out weakly, “What a pair we make. Nothing about us makes sense!”
He chuckles as you smile.
“Speak for yourself,” he nudges you in the arm as you walk, which makes you smile harder.
Maybe you can get that shell to crack again after all.
-
It took less time than you thought it would to get to the lone mountain. You look at it in confusion, head tilted back to see as high up as you can. “That took forever…it looked further away,” you mumble.
“When are you going to learn that nothing here is made to make sense?” JK looks up at it alongside you, “If it makes sense, you’re comfortable. You’re not supposed to be comfortable here.”
You turn to him, “Since you’re being somewhat honest right now, I’ve been curious about something for a long while.”
“Mm?” He doesn’t seem to be paying attention to you, his gaze directed towards the bent and twisted vines that cover the small mountain, all the way up to the top.
You two are around a hundred feet away, but you can see the dead climbing plants clearly. Part of you wonders if those are also snakes, like the ones at the entrance to the fourth circle.
The memory of that feels so old, like you had given your shoes up and had been walking on bare feet through Hell for years. It makes you feel strange, and unsettlingly confused.
“When I first got here,” you speak a little louder, relieved when he turns to you, “There was something I noticed that you did.”
“And what was that?” He whispers, subtle mischief reflecting in his dark eyes.
“Before we even got to the entrance, when we first spoke,” you keep your eyes on his face, watching for a hint of anything other than the bored expression now painting it, “You referred to it as the Underworld. Only after we passed through the gate-...”
There it is.
You see a flicker of something in his gaze. Swallowing thickly, you quietly finish what you were saying.
“Only after we passed through the gate did you call it Hell.”
You’re surprised to see a smirk spread on his face.
“Here I thought you were too daft to catch on to that, and yet you knew the whole time. I’m surprised, little mortal.”
You look indignant at that, but he doesn’t stop.
“Most humans don’t catch it consciously. Only in their subconscious do they realize how much more uncomfortable it feels to hear the word Hell.”
He whispers that last word as he leans closer, as if the term itself is dirty and he finds pleasure in seeing you squirm because of it.
You gulp but hold your ground as he moves even closer.
“I won’t tell you,” he whispers.
You’re about to protest but he startles you by placing a cold finger to your lips, effectively shutting you up.
“I won’t tell you,” he says again, staring into your eyes, “Because you’re a smart girl.”
Grinding your teeth, you force yourself not to pay any attention to the feeling in your lower stomach.
“Aren’t you, Apple?” He asks innocently, the look in his eyes showing the true delight he feels making you twitch, “Tell me that you’re a smart girl.”
One of your brows raises and you purse your lips.
He’s really pushing it, and he knows that.
“I also have dignity,” you whisper back.
If anything his smirk grows.He finds it amusing when you snap back at him.
“You didn’t say Hell because you wanted to be sure I’d follow you,” you keep eye contact with him, “Make it sound less than it is until it’s too late, right? Underworld sounds far less intimidating, less of a chance for the turning back of a potential soul for you to steal.”
“I don’t steal anything,” he hisses, “I told you that.”
The staredown lasts another ten seconds before he speaks again, voice a bit strained from trying to reign in his irritation at your accusation.
“See? I knew you were smarter than you let on. Why bother asking all these silly little questions if you already know the answer to them?”
“I wanted you to confirm it.”
“And?” He seems to have gathered himself again, “Has it been confirmed enough for you?”
One of his black brows raises as he clenches his jaw.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, can we move on, or would you like to stand here and spew more nonsense?”
You shake your head, eyes drifting back over to the gnarled mountain.
“We can go.”
“Splendid.”
The demon turns on his heel and all but marches angrily towards your next destination.
You sigh, then do your best to pick up your pace in order to keep up with him.
“Does it annoy you that I talk a lot and ask questions that seem useless to you, or does it annoy you that I know more than those you typically deal with?”
“Both, little mortal,” he snaps, “Fucking both.”
You stumble to a stop and wince when he halts suddenly, looking up at the looming form of nature in front of you.
A pit forms in your tummy when you see the vines ever so slightly writhe under your careful observation.
Great. More snakes.
A shaky sigh leaves your mouth, “Is this the ninth circle?”
“No.”
“Oh…what is it?”
“It doesn’t matter,” JK mumbles, then turns to walk away, “We need to go around it, not through it.”
“Wait!” You call out before he can get too far, relieved when he stops. He says nothing though, just stands there.
“I-” You clear your throat, “I think we should go in.”
“Why?” He scoffs, turning to look at you with an irritated glare.
“I don’t know,” your voice breaks, betraying you, “I’m…curious?”
“You’re curious?”
You nod.
He stares at you in disbelief.
“Are you fucking serious?”
When you don’t say anything, he turns the rest of his body, hip tilted and arms crossing over his chest, biceps bulging slightly at the action.
“You’re telling me that you want to waste more time by looking inside of a useless fucking mountain?” His glare narrows even more, “We’re almost to the ninth circle. It isn’t far from there that your stupid Flame is waiting. Why do you suddenly have time to tour every fucking corner of Hell?”
You glance back at the mountain helplessly; you have to get in there. It might be exactly what you need.
“Aren’t we just wasting more time standing here arguing?” You ask breathlessly, anxiety clear in your shaking voice, “Just- show me what’s inside and we can keep going-”
“Fine,” he growls, stomping over and grabbing one of the vines.
You audibly gasp as he grips it harshly, ignoring the loud hissing before he tears it from the handle of a wooden door. The demon tosses it carelessly to the ground, where it slowly slithers away. You hadn’t even seen the door there, you’re absolutely sure it was only rock just moments before.
The hissing grows louder and you step back, watching in disgust as the vines wriggle and slither off of the door that becomes ever more visible the more they flee. Soon enough, the ancient mahogany door is clear of the snake vines. JK grabs the handle and yanks it open. Dust falls from around the doorway.
You stare wordlessly into the dark tunnel it uncovered, a lump forming in your throat.
“Why-” you gulp, “I-...H-has no one come in here for a while?”
The demon scoffs quietly in annoyance.
“There are other entrances. I guess no one’s bothered to use this one for a couple hundred years.”
“Couple hundred years?” You echo quietly, staring into the void.
“Well,” he sighs and leans against the doorframe made of stone, “Ladies first.”
You glance at him to see a stupidly handsome smirk on his face.
He’s far too aware of the fact that you don’t even break a small smile at his words, all you do is blink a few times before looking into the dark mountainside.
Then you walk inside and are soon engulfed in blackness.
__________________________________________
“Because mankind is lost,” she whispered lowly, “And has very much forgotten how to listen.”
A few tears fell down your cheeks and you brushed them away with the tips of your fingers.
“Is there nothing to be done for them?”
“There is much.”
She smiled as she stood straight again and looked down at you tenderly.
“What?” You whispered brokenly, “What can you angels do against such wickedness?”
“We are stronger than any darkness, child. But we cannot force humans to choose, they have free will to do as they wish. So we can listen when they are broken, and we can bring them hope. There is a war going on, one that most mortals cannot see. Humans are much more important than they know, for they are constantly being fought over.”
You stared at her with wide shiny eyes.
“We will continue to fight for them, despite their blindness to our existence. Above all else, ____, hope is the most powerful weapon against evil. No human is born wicked, wickedness is made. As angels, dear child, we will fight for Him and his creations until the end. With the Father leading our armies, we will always be faithful, and we will always be strong.”
“And what about me?” You wiped your damp cheeks again, “Earlier, you asked if I would like to be an angel. Could I bring that to humans? Could I help them?”
One of those proud smiles grew on her face.
“Yes.”
“...how did I live a life worthy of that choice?”
“Would you like to see?”
After a moment, you nodded slowly.
Once again, there was a bright light around you, closing in until you could see nothing else.
Then you were in a small room. You immediately recognized it as your childhood house. You were in the room where your mother prepared meals.
It was as if you were a fly on the wall, watching the scene from your past unfold in front of you.
Mother was there.
A lump formed in your throat at the sight of her. She was saying something to six-year-old you, who was sitting on an old rickety stool close to the ground and peeling something carefully.
You couldn’t see what it was, but you were unable to move from your spot in the corner to try and look.
“Mother.”
The tiny voice came from the child you. “What is it now, ____?”
Mother sounded irritated. You furrowed your brows as you watched.
Why was she so upset?
Tiny you smiled to yourself as you continued to peel what was in your hands, “There was a boy today that I saw.”
“Who? Jungkook?”
You giggled, “No. He was smaller than Jungkook…but he said he was nine!”
You got no reply.
“Mother, he said he was eight, but how could he be so very small? How?”
“____,” she snapped, “I’m busy, can’t you hold it in until Yoongi comes? Talk his ear off instead of mine.”
You didn’t seem hurt by the comment, only nodded, “Ok.” Then you went back to your peeling.
Mother sighed loudly, “He was probably one of the kids from the village over. They always come crawling in here and start begging for scraps.”
“Scraps?”
“What? You think you’re hungry, child?” She sneered, “There are others out there hungrier than you. Be grateful for what you have, you hear me? That kid is probably so hungry he hasn’t grown. Probably isn’t much use at home.”
Standing in the corner, your eyes widened in shock as you placed a hand on your heart.
How could she say something so horrible?
Little you immediately burst into tears, startling you.
“Quiet down, ____! Why must you cry so much?”
“Oh Mo-mother!” You sniffled, “Can’t we share some of our food with him, please?”
“Absolutely not!” She hollered, “Why should we pay for his family’s incompetence??”
“But I don’t mind sharing,” you whispered tearfully, bottom lip protruding.
“Any food going into that boy’s mouth from this house is off your plate,” she snarled, then told you to hush up as she finished her sewing.
Everything faded away, then you were in a field. The small one behind the Kim’s barn. That boy was there, as little as you remembered.
A bright smile graced his features as the six year-old you handed him a cloth with food in it.
Even though it was plenty long ago, you remembered it clearly then. It was one of the many meals you had gathered from your plate and snuck to him. You swallowed thickly as you watched the tiny girl smile as the boy ate every last bit of food. You knew behind that smile, her tummy was growling awfully.
Before you could fully process it, there were suddenly images flashing in front of you, much like when you were watching your guardian angel during your lifetime.
Images of you running through the forest and singing with the birds…ever so slightly moving your position so that the sun went into your eyes instead of your best friend’s…slipping another piece of bread from your plate and onto Mother’s when she wasn’t paying attention.
She was talking about how hungry she was that day…
Rescuing bugs and lying on the floor of that sick boy’s room for hours and hours.
Everything was going by too quickly. It felt like your entire life was playing in front of you, time passing slowly yet quickly at the same time.
All you could see were flashes of a girl hugging trees and speaking to her beloved clouds…offering to sit on a spot on the log after seeing it looked more rough than the other side before Jungkook could notice…struggling to hold the filled pail but saying nothing so that Yoongi wouldn’t need to carry it for you…quickly pulling weeds so your best friend wouldn’t have to do as many…
Such little acts, usually for Jungkook.
He didn’t notice all those small things and you always made sure to be subtle so it would stay that way. You did it because you loved him, not because you wanted anything in return.
The last thing you saw was you lying on the ground by the apple tree, looking at the sky through the leaves.
That was your seventeenth birthday, the one Jungkook missed.
It was also the day you had forgiven your mother.
The tear sliding down your cheek as you smiled at the white clouds shone brightly before the rest of the image lit up and disappeared.
You gasped in a breath, unaware of the tears falling down your cheeks as your gaze focused back on the angel in front of you.
“You know that you were not perfect,” she said gently, “But now you see the difference you made for others without knowing it. The love you always had for every single one of His creations.”
You wiped your eyes.
“That kind of love for nature and humanity is rare to come by.”
“But-...”
You couldn’t help but drop your head into your hands and weep. You didn’t even know why you were crying, you were just feeling everything so intensely.
“I know it must seem like a lot.”
The guardian angel’s voice was gentle and full of sympathy.
“The decision is not meant to burden you. You need not say yes. You will be joyful no matter the choice.”
“I want to,” you sniffled, wiping your messy nose with the back of your hand, “If there’s anything I can do for those still on Earth, I want to. I want to help.”
The look in her eyes when you brought your gaze back to hers, was so full of love and something that you had never seen before. It was almost like…the look of a mother who was proud of you beyond words.
That must be what it feels like.
“Can I help him?” Fresh tears pooled in your eyes, “H-how long has it been since I passed? I don’t even know if he knows. Can I help him in any way? Please? Oh, please let me help him.”
The smile slowly slipped off the angel’s face.
“What?” You caught your breath, “What’s happened?”
“It…It has been three days since you died, ____.”
“Three days?” You breathed in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“And…Jungkook,” you choke out, “Where is he? Does he know? Is he alright? He must b-”
The look on her face made your stomach drop. You gulped, trying your best to have the courage to ask.
“Guardian angel…what’s happened?”
______________________________________________
You keep your hands out in front of you as you walk along the hall inside the mountain.
It doesn’t seem as though light has ever existed walking through here. It feels almost thick with the blackness, like you’re moving through syrup.
You know he’s behind you, even though he hasn’t said a single word. His presence is unmistakable. It used to bring a wave of warm comfort over you, back when you were both young. Now, there’s a slight energy in the air when he’s around. The energy itself does not bring you comfort, but knowing he’s not far from you does. Just having him close is more than you’ve been able to have for so long.
Finally, you see a tiny light in the distance. It looks like a ball of fire, way down at the end of the hall. The closer you get to it, the less it looks like a floating orb and more like a doorway.
“Wait.”
You freeze at the sound of his whispered warning, so soft you almost didn’t hear it. Not moving a single muscle, you wait with bated breath. It almost makes you jump out of your skin when you feel a cold hand on your waist, the chill seeping into your thin clothes and making you shiver.
It doesn’t take much prompting for him to move you to the side gently, just enough so that he can squeeze past. A choked breath is stuck in your throat as you feel his body drag against yours.
Then his touch is gone.
You can see his silhouette in front of you, framed by the flaming orange doorway that’s only about fifty yards away. Your heart almost stops the next second when you see a few dark figures past the doorless arched entryway into whatever cavern is in the mountain, walking idly by as their voices carry down the hall.
“The Jia girl?” A high pitched snarling voice asks shortly.
“Yes.”
That voice was deeper, you don’t recognize either of them though, never heard them before.
“She relented quickly,” The higher voice cackled, “Didn’t take much.”
“If you’d gotten me sooner it would’ve taken even less.”
The third voice that cuts in sends a chill down your spine. You know that one, but you only heard it once. The way he tenses next to you confirms it.
What was his name…San? Sal?
Something with an S…
Sav.
That was it, that was the name of the demon that you saw talking to JK. What is he doing here?
“Who cares if it’s already been done?” The first voice sneers, clearly irked.
It sounds like Sav and the whiny voiced demon are about to start arguing when the deep voice cuts in again.
“Enough!” It growls loudly,, “Sav, have you found him? I thought I told you to figure it out.”
Silence follows, then Sav clears his throat.
“The last I saw of him he was in the sixth circle.”
Him? Sixth- sixth circle?
A gasp gets stuck in your throat when it dawns on you.
“Doing what?”
The menacing sound of the deep voice makes goosebumps go down your arms and legs.
“How should I know? Probably just fucking around as he usually does.”
A low chuckle floats down the hall. It’s so low you can feel it in your bones. You have a feeling it wasn’t a good idea for Sav to talk back like that.
“Tell me Sav, if he’s always so busy fucking around, how does he manage to get almost three times as many souls as you each term?”
Your stomach twists violently. If you don’t get away you’re going to be extremely sick all over the floor.
A freezing cold hand presses to your mouth as you get pushed into the wall gently, not to restrain you in any way, but to keep you from view. You hadn’t realized the whimper that left your lips after hearing the demon’s words.
It’s silent outside the hall. It feels like an eternity passes before the low-pitched voice of the demon that seems to be higher in rank growls again, “You asked to be the one to deal punishment. If I don’t see it done by the beginning of next quarter, you will be strapped right next to him.”
The sound of heavy footfalls echoes around, then the loud slam of a door, which makes you jolt in his hold. More silence stretches on.
Have the others left?
You glance up at JK, a question in your eyes. You can see the tense expression on his face as he stares towards the doorway, a hand still pressed to your mouth. He looks down at you, then slowly shakes his head. There’s just barely enough reddish light to see the way his jaw clenches and eyes squint in thought.
“I told you not to act so high and fuckin mighty- ah!”
A high-pitched yelp cuts off the whiny demon’s comment.
“If you know what’s good for you, shut the fuck up,” Sav hisses, poison dripping from his tongue.
Another chorus of footsteps bounces off the walls before the sound of two doors slamming echoes into the hall.
You watch him close his eyes slowly before he swallows and pulls the hand from your mouth. Tears form as much as you try to fight them.
What were they saying? Why would he be in trouble? They said it themselves, he gets more souls than most of them.
That reminder makes a wave of nausea wash over you and you put one of your own hands over your mouth to keep from being sick.
He doesn’t say anything, just starts walking towards the glowing doorway, boots making a loud thunk with each step. It doesn’t seem like he’s worried. The way he walks emits an air of confidence.
Maybe you shouldn’t have come in here…No. No no no.
You need to see if this is what you’ve been thinking of, hoping for.
No sound comes from your bare feet as you hurry down the hall after him, as quiet as a church mouse.
-
When you step through the doorway, a small gasp slips from you despite your attempts to keep it in.
It’s a large circular room.
The distance from the wall in front of you is almost the length of a tennis court. You saw a few of those on Earth not long before coming here. The entire room looks to be the size of at least two of them but in a rounded form.
The ceiling is so high you can’t see the top. The sheer vastness of the room is not what made you gasp though. It was the walls covered in glass windows; spanning the entirety of each wall. The windows do not lead to the outside, there is a blood red wall behind each of them.
Inside, trapped between the wall and the glass, are thousands of darkened souls.
You know if they were not here, they would be shining with a light that could not be extinguished.
They would look like stars, only the size of your palm.
These souls do not look like stars; they are black and shriveled as they hover in their designated place.
Your shaking hands move over your mouth to keep in the horrified scream that wants so badly to come crawling out. The sound of your knees cracking on the cold marble floor echoes around the huge previously silent room.
JK turns from looking over the ones nearest to him to see you on the floor, torn hands shaking as they stay clamped over your mouth. Tears are streaming down your face as you look around the ever growing collection of tainted humanity.
“Is this place…?” You finally whisper shakily, horror-struck.
“The Chamber of Souls,” JK responds quietly. Despite that, his voice echoes, feeling like it’s everywhere and closing in on you.
The walls feel like they're moving inwards, hellbent on squishing you until you can’t breathe.
Your head feels like it’s spinning as you close your eyes and pray fervently in your mind.
It’s horrible, so horrible. It’s so sickening to look at.
Your body is already weakening faster than you have time for. Angels were never meant to be in Hell. Seeing something like this, despite it being what you came for, is beyond what you thought you could handle. As an angel, it’s so much worse.
To see the result of despair and anger and wickedness right in front of you…It is physically painful to be in the vicinity of these souls.
JK walks over to you slowly, watching you closely as you shake on your knees, eyes diverted to the ground.
“Why are you so upset?” He whispers coldly, eyes trained on your face when you look up at him.
“I-...”
You drop your gaze back to the marble floor, “I wasn’t expecting it.”
He says nothing, and when you look up at him again, his eyes are slightly narrowed as he looks at you. You clear your throat and wipe at your eyes harshly.
Pull it together, ____.
Come on now, don’t blow it.
Not when it’s so close.
“Sorry,” you let out a choked laugh, “I- think I’m just overwhelmed with everything right now.”
All I need to do is find his.
I am so so close.
“Are you ready to leave?” He asks, face not showing much emotion.
“What? No!”
His brows furrow as you scramble to your feet and wipe at your eyes again.
“Why? The ninth circle is-”
“I wanted to look around in here,” you manage to get out, then turn to walk away from him, ignoring his lingering stare. He’s way too silent for your comfort as you look at the souls grotesquely on display.
How are you meant to know which one is his? Your mind is spinning in circles as you force yourself not to look at him.
He hasn’t moved from where he was standing, but you can feel his stare on your back as you walk around the perimeter of the room.
“What’s in here?” You ask when you get to a spot where there is no glass on the wall, but a black wooden door with a rusted gold handle.
“Exit.” He says bluntly.
“Oh.”
You make your feet keep walking until you reach another door that looks the same but with a dirtied silver handle. You look at him with a question in your eyes.
“Exit.”
“Ah,” you can feel your hands beginning to sweat as you scan the wall of souls over and over again, looking for any indication that one is different from another.
You end up passing him and the hall that you came from as you go for another loop.
Only this time, there’s a small alcove that you hadn’t noticed before that catches your eye.
You stop and look into it. In the shadows is another black door that looks a bit more battered than the others. The handle is a deep crimson color.
A pit settles in your stomach when you realize the scratches on the side of the door look like the result of long nails. As if someone was desperately clawing at the door in an attempt not to let it close. An icy phantom draft sends shivers down your back the longer you stare at the door.
“Step away from there.”
You jump at the sound of his voice, but scurry away from it anyway.
“Why? What’s in there?” You ask breathlessly, fear making you shake as you stand close to his side. You want to forget the realization you had moments before he said that.
The realization that the handle was not red, but bronze. That the bronze handle was covered in dark blood.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving,” he says sharply, grabbing your arm and pulling you towards the hall that you came from.
“Wait!” You cry desperately, eyes frantically scanning the walls again, “Wait, I can’t leave yet!!”
-
“Stop it!!” You scream, fighting him as he drags you down the pitch black hall, never letting up until you’re outside in the blood light of Hell once again.
“What the fuck is your problem?!” He lets go of you unexpectedly, which makes you trip and fall to your hands and knees before scrambling back up and lunging for the entrance again.
But the demon grabs you before you can go back in.
“Let me go! Let!! Go!!” You screech as you try to fight him off, kicking and hitting as hard as you can.
But you don’t stand a chance as he yanks you away and pushes you just hard enough so that you stumble and need to catch your balance. When you turn back he’s standing between you and the doorway.
“Stop it!” He roars before you get the chance to dodge around him.
You freeze for a moment, then fall to your bottom on the muddy ground in front of him, sobs ripping from your throat, tears leaving wide streaks on your dirty cheeks.
You can’t stop crying, it just keeps coming; salty droplets pouring down your face as your body shakes with heavy gut-wrenching sobs. He watches you grab at your tangled hair and scream.
Everything is ruined, you don’t know what to do anymore.
That was your one chance and you blew it. This whole thing was your only chance…and you blew it.
“I’m so sorry,” you can barely get the words out as you cry helplessly, nose running even as you try to wipe it, only succeeding in smearing more dirt around on your face, “I’m so sorry!!”
“Why are you sorry?” He snaps, not having a single clue as to what the hell is happening to you right now.
“I failed,” you whimper tearfully as more tears spill out, “I wasn’t strong enough, or smart enough.”
____.
____, do not give up.
Please, listen to me-
“It’s too late!” You scream as you slap the ground before bursting into another round of uncontrollable sobbing, “Don’t you get it?! I lost! I failed!”
You only begin to settle when you see that he’s come closer and is looking down at you without anger, without anything but confusion on his pretty face.
“Hey.” He calls to get your attention, sending the most painful pang into your heart as you look up at him, bottom lip trembling.
Not even on your deathbed did you look such a mess.
“You can finish this,” he says, “The ninth circle is right there. You can make it to the Flame.”
A few straggling tears fall down your cheeks.
“I never wanted the Flame,” you hear yourself saying miserably.
His head cocks to the side as his brows furrow.
“What do you mean you never wanted the Flame? The Flame is why you came here, it’s why you’ve suffered through each and every-”
“It’s not.”
The pure confusion on his face makes a thought pop into your head.
Confusion is the first step…
You hadn’t wanted to do it yet, it wouldn’t have worked before. Maybe it isn’t too late. Maybe if you do it now…it might work.
____, listen to me.
You struggle to your feet, wide eyes looking into his.
His dark eyes flicker around your messy face stained with tears, the shining glimmer of hope in yours a huge contrast from the sobbing you had been doing only moments before.
Then you’re stepping closer and he isn’t stepping away.
He doesn’t even flinch when you take his face in your hands and raise yourself up on your tiptoes.
He doesn’t protest, he doesn’t fight you at all when you pull him into a kiss.
The second your lips touch, it’s like that last band snaps inside him and he can’t stop.
He doesn’t want to stop.
A sigh leaves your mouth when you pull away. Only a second later, he pulls you back in, connecting your mouths again in a desperate kiss, his cold hands holding the nape of your neck.
He tilts his head to the side to deepen the kiss and you gasp when you feel something wet prodding at the seam of your lips. The moment your mouth opens in that gasp, his tongue meets yours in a heated tangle.
Your wet lips slide against his as a groan slips from him.
“Fuck,” he moans icily into your mouth.
You can feel his hands running down your sides with frenzied desire.
Focus, I need to focus.
Your eyes scrunch shut as you try to keep yourself in check.
JK’s brows furrow as his mind begins to blur, a strange heat building up inside of him as he continues to kiss you.
Green leaves and a bright sun flash in his mind, startling him enough to pull away.
“Don’t stop,” you gasp, pulling him into you again.
He shakes off the strange images and dives right back into your lips, an insatiable hunger burning in his lower stomach as his hands travel to your waist and grasp it roughly.
Only moments later, he sees a roaring river and hears the sound of laughter.
You feel him pull away again.
“Just focus, it’s okay,” you whisper, hands cupping his cheeks as you press another kiss to his lips, “Just close your eyes and breathe.”
He wants to stop and ask you what’s going on, but he doesn’t waste a second before pressing his lips back to yours. One of your smaller hands cups his cheek, then you start running the tips of your fingers down his neck and shoulder before holding onto his bicep where that horrible tattoo lies. He feels you grip the sleeve of his shirt harshly, as if you’re dying to just tear it to shreds.
A vase of dead roses flickers into his blurry mind, then the image of someone lying on a bed, hair splayed out around her.
His brows furrow more, but he doesn’t stop kissing you as the pictures he can’t make sense of fade away. He doesn’t stop his hands from sliding behind your waist and traveling up your back slowly.
Trees crowd in all around his vision.
There’s someone running in front of him.
A small girl.
She turns around briefly, a huge smile lighting up her face as she laughs.
“You’re cheating!”
She only laughs louder and continues to run until she’s disappeared into the bushes ahead.
“Apple!”
The demon’s eyes fly open and he pulls away.
You gulp in a breath as you look up at him.
Then your heart freezes in your chest when you realize what’s happened; the look on his face as he takes a step back from you turns your stomach to rot.
“Wait,” your voice is weak as you reach a hand out to him.
You can’t see anything but bewildered anger in his eyes. You were so focused you hadn’t known that he was touching your back. That he-
“I-”
“Shut up.”
You snap your mouth shut.
“Turn around,” he breathes, just barely keeping it contained.
“I can expl-”
“I said turn the fuck around!!”
You flinch but make no move to do as he says.
You can see the last bit of patience snap in his eyes as he grabs your arm and yanks you to him so that he can rip the cardigan off of you. It tears easily, falling to the ground as you put a shaking hand over your mouth and shrink away from him.
The white wings on your back droop in defeat, the tips just barely brushing against the ground.
“You-”
The furious hatred on his face is clear.
You’ve never seen him like this, not ever.
“You’re a fucking angel?” His voice trembles with rage.
“JK…”
He steps closer, making you flinch again, “Say that name again and I’ll rip your fucking head off.”
You gulp but don’t say a word.
“So this was your little game the whole time, huh?” He hisses, stepping closer, “See if the precious angel could defeat a demon in Hell..and here I thought you were smart.”
“That wasn’t it,” you mumble, a few tears sliding down your cheeks.
“What the hell were you thinking, little angel?” He glares at you in disgust, “That I would fall for you? Love you?” A sadistic chuckle leaves his lips as you close your eyes.
You jump without opening your eyes when a harsh grip snags your upper arm and he pulls you to him.
“You really thought I could care about you.” He muses with a dark chuckle, “You, a disgusting pathetic little puppet. I knew there was something off about you this whole time. Did He not give you enough love up there? Had to come to Hell to beg for it?”
You refuse to look at him, you just stand there, trembling and keeping your eyes screwed shut.
“Open your eyes and look at me.”
Reluctantly, you do as he says. His dark ones are full of so much rage and hatred it makes you sick as he searches your watery gaze.
Then you feel a cold hand close around your throat.
“I would kill you right now,” he whispers in your ear coldly. You close your eyes when you feel him start to squeeze harder and harder until you can’t breathe, “If I thought you were worth any more of my time.”
A pained gasp escapes you when he shoves you to the ground.
You hit the dirt harshly, arms buckling as they try to catch you, wings muddied and sore. Your watery eyes raise to him again, desperate and terrified.
“Please don’t leave me,” you whisper helplessly, voice hoarse from his actions. You know what would come of an angel lost in this place.
He knows it too.
The demon looks down at you, the lowest angel in existence, with a loathing unmatched before spitting venomously, “Find your own way out of Hell.”
Your vision blurs with tears as he turns and walks off without a single hesitation, his tall dark figure getting smaller and smaller until you are completely and utterly alone.
_________________
You sit there in stunned silence for a few minutes, just staring at the spot on the ground where he once stood. There is nothing in your mind, yet there is everything all at once. Everything is spinning wildly, nothing making sense.
Then finally, a sliver of a cohesive thought passes through and you stumble to your feet, tripping over yourself in your haste to get back to the door.
The snake vines have begun to return, attempting to hide it once more.
You smack and tear at them viciously, tears pouring down your cheeks silently as you uncover the handle and yank open the door.
The sound of your bare feet hitting the rocky ground softly as you run echoes off the walls in the darkness. Before long, you can see the archway ahead.
Despite the pain and fear filling you, you push yourself harder until you’re stumbling into the Chamber of Souls and falling to the marble floor.
You stagger to your feet and hurry to the wall nearest you, eyes scanning the souls frantically as you limp quickly around the perimeter.
They all look the same.
They all look the exact same.
You start to hyperventilate as you go, dirty fingers running along the glass and leaving smudges behind.
Come on, Apple.
You can do this.
You gulp and force your exhausted legs to keep moving.
He would not give up on you, no matter what.
Suck it up and keep moving.
Your eyes dart this way and that, mind screaming in a horrible panic when you realize you have no idea what to do. Then a thought occurs to you.
Maybe you won’t be able to tell the difference by looking at them. But maybe you can in a different way.
Your feet take off running back down the hall where you came from, until you are outside once again and looking for the first heavy thing you see.
There’s a decent sized stone not far from the door. You grab it and run back inside, lungs burning as you don’t let yourself stop to take a breath.
You can do this, Apple, you can do this.
By the time you make it back into the room, you can barely breathe as you lug the rock over to a section of the glass. Closing your eyes, you mutter a quick prayer before opening them again and hurling the stone right at the fragile substance and watching it shatter.
You put your arms over your face in an attempt to protect it from the worst of the flying pieces of sharp debris. Only your face, chest, and arms were cut by the shards, but not too badly.
Your chest rises and falls in heavy breaths as you stare at the gaping hole in the windows in front of you, the blackened souls floating there, undisturbed.
Just as you’re reaching a tentative hand in to grab one, to hold it and see if you can know who it once belonged to, there is a clapping sound from behind you.
You whirl around to see a demon there, leaning against the archway you came into.
His skin is pale, eyes dark blue and shaggy hair a dirty blonde that goes to the top of his prominent cheekbones.
The demon wears a fitting black shirt that’s tucked into the waist of his skinny black jeans.
There’s a smug smile on his unsettlingly handsome face as he claps his hands slowly, again, and again, and again.
You say nothing, eyes drawn to the tattoo on his bicep; the dead monarch butterfly being strangled by a serpent.
Sav.
“Well, if it isn’t the little stowaway angel herself.”
You continue to stay mute, watching cautiously as he pushes himself off the rocky wall and starts to slowly walk to you from across the room.
“I thought angels were supposed to be…I don’t know, pretty? Perfect little princesses of Heaven?” A dark chuckle leaves his throat at your silence.
Sav stops ten feet away from you.
“You’re not any of those things, are you?”
When he takes another step towards you, you finally move, inching backwards along the edge of the room with each step he takes. The smirk on his face only grows as he observes your messy hair, bruised skin and dirty wings that droop behind you, currently at rest.
“This is what JK risked everything for? Seriously?”
“How did you know I was here?” You ask sharply, eyes narrowing, “How did you know what I was and he didn’t?”
Sav scoffs.
“Because he’s a fool-”
“Really? And why did it take you so long to find me then, if you’re so smart?”
His blue eyes narrow as he continues his slow but steady advance.
“I wasn’t looking for you, little angel. I was looking for him.”
“That makes you look even stupider.”
You see his jaw clench.
“I was busy,” he says, strangely calm, “I knew he was up to something, but honestly? I didn’t think even he would be so brainless as to lead an angel through Hell.”
“How did you know?”
“I didn’t. Not until now, at least,” he chuckles, “Your wings kind of tipped it off a bit, I suppose.”
You gulp, trying to figure out which way is your best bet on getting out.
“Don’t even think about trying to escape, it’ll just be a tire for us both.”
You say nothing.
“Where is he, anyway?” Sav’s creepy smile returns, “Your little demon lover.”
When you don’t say a word, he throws his head back and cackles.
“He left you.”
Your hands are sweating as you clench them into fists, your eyes darting around to see which door you can get to quickest. It looks like the one with the silver handle might be your best choice. Sav is standing over by the bronze door in the alcove, the gold handled door is between you. The archway is straight across the room and you know where that leads, but he would catch you before you could make it out.
Silver it is.
“You do know what happens to naughty angels when they get caught in Hell, don’t you?”
All you do is stare at him, mentally timing yourself on when to run.
“JK knew…and yet he left you.”
Your heart feels like it’s been impaled by a hundred swords.
“It’s almost like he wants you to suffer.”
You continue to slowly inch your way around the perimeter as he keeps walking closer.
You can make it to that door.
“I wish he were here,” Sav pouts, “I’d pay to see the look on his face when I torture his little angel until she’s begging for me to have mercy. Telling me she will do anything to make it stop..”
You gulp, forcing yourself not to look at the door you are about to make a run through.
It’s only a few feet away now.
Sav is just about to make another snide comment about your appearance when you turn and bolt for the black wooden door with the silver handle. You can hear him screaming something angrily, but you don’t stop to find out what it is. You’re out the door faster than lightning and running at full speed down the pitch black hall.
It’s unclear whether he’s followed you in with the sound of your panicked breathing echoing in your ears. Your body is so exhausted it feels like it’s going to collapse. You can’t let it.
…
You almost made it out.
The exit was only a few feet in front of you, when an arm riddled with muscles wrapped around your waist and pulled you back.
The bloodcurdling scream that left you could’ve been heard miles away.
It was a scream only those that knew the horrors that awaited them would understand.
It wasn’t Sav that grabbed you, it was a demon much larger than he. A demon that cackled maniacally as he dragged you back through the tunnel and into the Chamber of Souls, where Sav was waiting, a delighted smirk on his face as he stood there and watched you cry and fight as hard as you could, fear clear in your eyes.
He knew.
He knew you would never have made it out, no matter which door you chose.
The demon holding you tightly against it- so hard it pinches your wings painfully- has red scales and a horrible long snout full of sharp teeth. It has bony ribs, but muscled arms and thighs as it stands on two mangled legs.
You grit your teeth, gathering yourself. Then you bite the demon’s slimy arm covered in scales, drawing a pained howl from him as he drops you to the floor, knocking the air out of your lungs.
After a second, you scramble to your feet, blood dripping from your mouth. You aren’t sure if the blood is your own or the demon’s as it hisses curses at you. Sav just watches you closely as you heave in several breaths.
“You could defeat us right now,” he says casually, “If He allows it. All you would need to do, little angel, is ask Him. Ask Him or one of His little minions to assist you. Call to His strongest minion of all, go ahead.”
You gulp and wipe at the bloody streaks on your chin, glaring at him.
He’s right, you could get out of this.
You can make them suffer.
“If ever you need me, little one, just say my name and I will come.”
“If you hurt us even a little bit though,” Sav looks at his nails, inspecting them as he sighs, “We will torture him greater than even the dealt punishment for not delivering enough souls to Hell.”
You close your eyes.
There was never even an inkling of a plan to leave Jungkook here, even after he left you. All you needed was to get out of this predicament.
But you will not risk him enduring more agony because of you.
Sav tuts when you lower your head, staring at the floor.
“Why so eager to help him when he couldn’t care less about you?”
You don’t say anything.
Even as the demon that grabbed you in the hall harshly digs his clawed fingers into your arm, breaking the flesh and drawing blood, your arms wrest behind you, you still say nothing.
“Thank you little angel,” a devilish smirk spreads on Sav’s pink lips, “For finally giving me something to hold over JK’s pretentious little head. You, I must say, are the most satisfying weakness of his that I could have ever hoped for.”
“I’m not his weakness,” you mumble, knees beginning to shake as the grip on your arms tightens, “You said it yourself, he left me.”
Sav scrutinizes you for a second longer, then he turns on his heel, the demon holding you following behind him as he heads for the alcove.
Out of nowhere, another demon emerges as you walk. It’s a tall thin man with too big eyes and a smile that stretches across half his face. You swallow thickly when he grabs your left arm so that you’re being dragged between them, feet barely touching the ground.
When you see Sav opening the door in the alcove, the one JK told you to stay away from, a terror you’ve never experienced takes root.
Sav smiles sadistically at you.
“You made a deal with a devil, darling. Now, you’re going to pay the price.”
Every fiber of your being is telling you to scream, to scream and scream and scream. To beg for someone to come save you.
Your body shakes uncontrollably as you’re dragged closer and closer to the door leading into stairs that fall into blackness. Tortured screams echo from below as you stare at the scratch marks on the door.
If you weren’t restrained, you’re sure your own nails would be digging into that same wood. An act so desperate it would tear that wood to splinters in an attempt not to let the door close.
Any mortal would have blacked out from pure gut-wrenching fear at the knowledge of what awaited them down those steps.
You are too horrifyingly aware as you continue to tremble violently, arms sore as the demons clutch you tightly, pulling you closer and closer to the staircase.
You are too terrified to scream.
The demon standing in front of you raises a brow and tilts his head at your silence, "You really are loyal, aren't you? Well, pretty thing-"
Sav leans in, mockery dripping from his tongue as he whispers, "Semper fidelis, semper fortis, little angel." He tilts his head back and laughs, then he walks into the door first, the demons holding you following closely behind.
“Don’t bother begging for mercy, doll,” he calls over his shoulder, “It doesn’t exist here.”
The last thing you see is Sav walking down the steps before the sound of the door behind you slamming shut reaches your ears.
Then there’s nothing but darkness.
___________________________________________
a/n: tysm for reading, thoughts are always welcome, ily <3
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