Chapter 4- Of Hate and Love

Warning! This chapter contains angst, explicit violence, and mentions of child negligence & child abuse. Viewer discretion is advised!

Oh cruel fate thy iron grip,

Cause hearts and bonds to wilt and rip,

My broken mind is soon to slip,

To meet end with a final snip.

For the next two years, Seraphina spent her time growing up and learning how to walk and speak properly. Her vocabulary grew at a rapid pace because of Uriel's amazing teaching. She even started to be able to read somewhat fluently. 

However, her incredibly quick learning progress didn't go unnoticed by the Higher-Ups. Naturally, Michael was worried about this. Knowing the gods and their wicked schemes, something was going to happen soon and Michael was certain he would not like it…

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Location: Hell

Growls and snarls filled the air, the darkness lightened only by the flicks of a dying flame painting its eerie shadows onto the cave walls. Heavy pants left his lips as blood ran down his cheek, his ears ringing as his bruised body was barely able to stand upright. The vicious bloodthirsty shouts of the crowd around them filled his head. He felt his heart thump heavily in the rhythm of their delighted voices when the monstrous demons in front of him got back to their feet. Angry grimaces now pulled the monsters features into masks of unforgiving rage.

'... Why…' He thought in desperation as he clenched his fists tightly. 'Why… Why!!' He could taste the nauseating iron scent of blood in his mouth, his small body cramping in pain. He lifted his gaze to stare at the powerful red-haired man in the crowd, who was sitting there upon his throne with no care in the world.

His eyes met the man's unforgiving gaze whose orbs glowed with pure disappointment and disgust as they drilled into his. 'Why… Why are you not helping me...father!' He screamed in his head, tears threatening to stain his bloodied cheek as he tried to move his beaten body into a defensive position. Desperately, the boy crawled away from the demons, his right leg crushed and deformed beyond recognition as panic overwhelmed his senses.

"A Morgenstern always fights to the bitter end. A Morgenstern never shows weakness. A Morgenstern rules over those who are weaker than them and defeats those who are stronger than them. A Morgenstern doesn't love, a Morgenstern uses hatred as fuel to rise to the top. We are the cruel rulers of the underworld. Don't forget that, Hyoko. You will not bring dishonor to our family's name." 

These words rang through his head like the taunting calls of a mockingbird. His muscles tensed in desperation and raw fear when the figures of the gigantic beasts towered above him with sinister grins on their demonic faces. Their heavy iron clubs were thrown back and swished through the air before coming into impact with his upper body. 

A gasp of pain left him with a splatter of blood as he felt his rib cage crack. His vision dulled when he landed back on the ground, the voices around him turning fainter as he struggled to breathe. '...Am I...really going to die?' The young boy questioned himself, fear and adrenaline rushing through his body as his arms shivered. 'I am scared… I don't want to die…' Tears escaped the corner of his eye and ran down his cheek, leaving a trail within the dark red crust of dried blood. He saw his miserable short life flash in front of his eyes, his body so numb he didn't even feel the bone-crushing grip around him when one of the demons picked him up…

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From a very young age, Hyoko's life hadn't been easy. The first two years of his life had been peaceful, an illusion of serenity that dispelled as soon as his human mother was killed by the angelic forces. For what reason? The answer to this question was burned into his memory. She was killed because of him. Because he was the Devil's spawn, the heir of the Morgenstern family, and the firstborn son of the most hated man in history, Lucifer. 

After his mother’s death, he was forced to live with his father in Hell, a place not suitable for a young child. The things he witnessed had scarred his mind, all while he never had an approachable figure, someone he could go to and just be a child. His father had never been present, and even in those short moments he was there, Lucifer had made it very clear he wouldn’t accept him as his son unless he proved himself worthy. 

At four years old, Hyoko had been forced to kill, feeling the blood stain his hands and the life drain out of a living breathing being. It had been one of the most intense feelings he had ever experienced and the horror it stirred in him still haunted him to this day. 

At five years old, he almost lost his life after being stabbed in the back continuously from an assassination attempt. 

And now… At mere six years old, he had to participate in Hell's death battles to prove his strength to his father. Fighting against such ancient brutal demons with a small body as his was nearly impossible, even more so when the promise of rising in the ranks of the Underworld fueled the beasts to new strength. Yet, he had no other choice but to kill to survive. The more blood had stained his hands, the darker his mind had grown. But no matter how disgusted he was from killing, he never had the option to give up. Because giving up meant to accept your death and bring dishonor to your family, something Hyoko was far more scared of than any pain.

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