⚠️ Viewer Discretion Advised:
This chapter contains intense emotional conflict, themes of supernatural desire, dark fantasy imagery, and references to prophecy and spiritual warfare. Scenes may include suggestive tension and depictions of psychological distress. Reader caution is advised, especially for younger or sensitive audiences.

Deep in a Forest of the Earthly Realm, Year 2007 of the Second Earth

The air around them grew thick with anticipation as the babaylans began the ritual again. The circle pulsed with energy, but this time, it felt different. Charged...expectant. Lualhati felt a strange thrill coil in her stomach. The ritual felt familiar, yet the air itself seemed to hum with something more.

Something dangerous.

Then, before her, a presence began to gather.

He emerged from the center of the circle, a vision of dark beauty that stole her breath. Abaddon.

His beauty was blinding. His dark hair shimmered in the dim light, silver eyes piercing through her, seeing her in ways no one ever had. Her heart raced, and in the space of a breath, she felt herself drawn to him, despite the fury she felt bubbling beneath the surface. Her breath hitched as his gaze locked with hers, the world around them falling away.

For a moment, Lualhati forgot everything. She forgot her father, the babaylans, the unrest in their world, forgot the reasons she had summoned him in the first place. The look in his eyes was like a fire, burning her to the core.

"Tell me, human," he purred, voice like velvet. "Do you like what you see?"

Lualhati's breath caught in her throat. For a brief moment, it was as though the chaos of the world melted away. Her father's protective stance stepped in front of her, a barrier between them, but it was too late. Her gaze was still locked on Abaddon. She could feel the heat of him, the magnetic pull of his presence like a storm on the horizon, drawing her in despite her better judgment.

Exposed and overwhelmed by the potent charge crackling between them, Lualhati felt her father step in front of her, a protective barrier against whatever dark allure this being held. "Forgive my child's foolishness," he said, voice trembling slightly.

Abaddon's eyes flicked to him, dismissive. "A child?" His voice was sharp, his gaze narrowing as he addressed Jose with a mocking tilt to his lips. "She is no child, Jose. She is barely a few moons from her blooming. Do not mistake her for anything less than she is."

His eyes returned to Lualhati, and she felt a flicker of something dangerous, thrilling crawl up her spine. His gaze was a fire, burning her from the inside out. She was drawn to him, despite the fury swirling inside her, despite everything that told her she should hate him.

"Why did you summon me?" he asked, his tone more curious than angry now. "Tell me, Lualhati. What is it that you want?"

Her lips parted, but the words caught in her throat. What did she want? What did she need from him?

She didn't know anymore. Only that she couldn't look away.

Her father stepped forward, his voice strained with the weight of the situation. "My Lord, my ancestor warned me to summon you only in dire times." he said, his tone firmer this time, though there was a hard edge to his words. "We did not mean to disturb you."

Abaddon waved a hand dismissively, gaze still fixed on Lualhati. His tone shifted, becoming sharper as he turned to the elders of their assembly. "You disturb my realm with your incessant fears and questions. You think I dwell in this darkness for your amusement?"

The babaylans rallied, voices rising in a cacophony of fear and accusation. They spoke of beasts invading homes, witchcraft rampant in nearby villages, and sirens dragging fishermen to watery graves. The tales were dire, each more harrowing than the last, a testament to the growing unrest in their realm.

"I have seen the strife," Abaddon said, his tone turning serious, amusement fading. "But I assure you, I have it under control. My subjects are working to maintain peace, despite the encroaching chaos."

"Then why have the attacks increased?" her father pressed, urgency lacing his voice. Abaddon's expression darkened, shadows shifting around him like whispers of forgotten secrets.

"I have sent my scouts to investigate. They brought grave news. A prophecy of my abolition has been revealed to all fallen angels. Chaos beckons, and you will feel its tremors."

The revelation struck like lightning, sending shockwaves through the assembly. The air grew thick with dread, and Lualhati felt the ground beneath her shift.

Abaddon had spoken, and the very fabric of their world trembled at the edges. After Abaddon's declaration, all the firstborns were asked to leave the gathering. Soon after, her father told her they were leaving.

As they walked home, Lualhati pondered what she had learned. Abaddon's reign was being challenged. Surely that was what he meant by a prophecy of his abolition.

The vision of the King of the Abyss lingered in her mind, her heart pounding in awe of his beauty. She understood that Abaddon was using an earthly facade to walk the human realm, but he was undeniably gorgeous.

That night, more than ever, she wished to see her angel before sleeping, yet he did not come to her in dreams. Distressed, Lualhati sought her great-grandmother Cassandra for wisdom.

"Understanding takes time, my sweet," Cassandra replied gently, her tone soothing. "And courage often lies in patience. Perhaps you do not need him in your dreams as much as you think."

Lualhati frowned, disappointment washing over her like a cold wave. "But it's not fair! I want to see him, I miss him, Lola. I want to understand why he's gone!" Tears welled in her eyes, and she welcomed the warm embrace as her Lola wrapped her shaking shoulders.

It was then that her parents came knocking on Cassandra's bedroom door."We thought Lu was here. I'm sorry to interrupt your moment, ladies, but your mother and I have something to tell you." Jose sat next to his mother on the bed while Luisa joined Lualhati on the other side.

"Your Uncle Dereck has agreed for you to stay with him and his family in Venice to study and complete the Art degree that you wish." Luisa began. "After your high school graduation next month, you'll go to Venice to train and take that special literature course you've mentioned."

Lualhati was momentarily dumbfounded before relief registered on her face. "Are you sure you can let me go to Venice now? I know I have been insisting on this special course, Mom, but I don't think I should go now."

"You will be training too, so I will let you go," Jose confirmed, a smile breaking through his seriousness.

Finally, Lualhati allowed herself to feel hopeful, thinking that going to Venice might help her heal her longing for her angel too.

Once Lualhati left, Cassandra confronted her son and her daughter-in-law. "It's true then? The prophecy has begun?" she said softly. "But isn't she too young for the King to claim her?"Jose nodded somberly. "Yes, but we still have time to prepare her. We cannot allow him to succeed."

*******

Abyssal Realm, Year 2007 of the Second Earth

ABBADON

I stormed through the obsidian corridors of my dominion, fury clawing at the edges of my self-control. The torches lining the grand hall hissed and sputtered as I passed, their flames bowing to the storm gathering beneath my skin. Shadows twisted and recoiled, uncertain whether to flee or feast upon the dread I carried like a cloak.

How dare she?

That impudent girl. That reckless, maddening girl.

Lualhati.

"You presume to tell me what is needed? What kind of king Abaddon must be?" I snarled into the void, my voice ricocheting off the stone like thunder. "Do you even understand what it means to carry the Abyss on your back?"

I struck a pillar in passing. It cracked clean through, ancient stone split like bone beneath my fist.

She had no right.

No right to speak to me in that tone. No right to cry and beg and break in front of me, as if I were still capable of being moved. As if her words could twist the blade already wedged in the hollow of my ribs.

She made me feel.

And that...that...was the true offense.

"Your Majesty," came a voice from behind me, quiet but sure.

Darion.

Of course it would be Darion. Steady, irritatingly perceptive Darion.

"I sensed your wrath, my king," he said, eyes scanning the ruined pillar. "The Council grows restless. Whispers rise again. They wonder if the prophecy is unfolding."

I turned, slowly, the weight of my glare enough to silence lesser beings. "Let them whisper. Let them dig their graves with fear."

Darion didn't flinch. "They also wonder... what holds you so tightly in torment."

He was baiting me. I could hear it in his tone. But worse than that, he knew.

"Is it the girl?" he asked.

The question landed like a blow.

I said nothing at first, only let the silence stretch between us until it grew unbearable. Then. coldly, tightly; I spoke.

"She dared speak to me of justice. Of kingship. As if she understands the weight of dominion. As if her mortal heart could grasp the calculus of suffering I must endure to keep the Abyss from tearing itself apart."

Darion studied me. He saw through the smoke and thunder.

"It wasn't her impudence that shook you," he said carefully. "It was her absence. Wasn't it?"

A tremor ran through me then. Not of rage.

Of fear.

I hadn't heard her thoughts in weeks. No whispers in the corners of my mind. No dreams leaking through the cracks between worlds. Since she was a child, her soul had brushed against mine like a constant song. Sometimes gentle, sometimes discordant, but always there.

Now, only silence.

"No trace of her," I murmured, voice hoarse. "No tether. No pulse. As if some great blade severed what once bound us."

And then I saw her again. In flesh. In pain. The curve of her brow drawn in worry, her voice rough with sorrow. And everything...everything...collapsed inside me.

"My bond with her was forged in prophecy and fire," I said through gritted teeth. "Now it slips through my fingers like smoke. It feels... like drowning beneath my own dominion."

My voice faltered.

"She has taken something I did not know I still possessed."

Darion stepped forward. "Your Majesty... is it not the fate of kings to lose things we love?"

"Not like this," I snapped, voice breaking with emotion I could no longer conceal. "Not without a sound. Not without warning."

My pride once a monolith, now lies in ruin.

And worst of all, I cannot even name this ache aloud. I am the Harbinger of Doom. Not some lovelorn specter lost in longing.

I turned from him, my hands trembling.

"Leave me," I commanded. "And summon the Council of Eight."

Darion hesitated, sensing the fracture in my will.

"Now," I said, quieter. "Before I crumble into something... lesser."

As he bowed and disappeared into the corridor, the darkness rose again to embrace me. But this time, it did not comfort.

This time, it wept with me.

*******