Aiden faintly huffed. “I’m glad to hear it loud and clear,” he said, his voice laced with genuine contempt.

Much to the contrary of Agarath, Aiden showed consistency in his behavior when pleased. Even his voice reassured him he wasn’t going to be thrilled over a good response, nor lose his temper when getting slightly anxious. Aiden was a good businessman like Asmodeus but had Agarath’s sharp sense for profit.

When Asmodeus took a sip of his cup of hot tea, Aiden slightly raised his index finger as if he had just remembered something very important. “I need to inform you, Asmodeus, that the boy you’re fond of will perish due to Agarath’s recklessness.”

Asmodeus’s eyes flickered from ocean blue to crimson. He grinned at Aiden and set the cup of tea aside. His smile, once confident and relaxed, cracked.

“Pardon?” Asmodeus asked, fixing the crack in his smile.

Aiden’s hands came to the light a bit more, showing his fair and ghostly skin under the room’s cold lights. He reached for Asmodeus’s hand and carefully held it; his soft touch was deeply haunting and unsettling, but the demon’s poor hand was trapped in those slender, cold fingers of the entity.

“It’s about the Chronos, remember?” Aiden started, his hand slightly tensing whenever Asmodeus tried to pull away. “The one Agarath traded information with Mrs. Lilith about her Heir that, naturally, is very close to the object Mrs. Lilith is aiming to kill…” he tightened the grip and darkly chuckled, almost as if he was overjoyed. “Chronos are rare and valuable, but I don’t want to resort to such savage ways… no… I don’t have interest in battles that I will perish…” he released Asmodeus’s hand.

Asmodeus scratched the reddish area on his skin and then hid his hands on his lap. His expression was difficult to read and understand, but some colors were finally turning clear to Aiden's amusement. “Why do you say that?” He asked, his eyes turning ocean blue again.

“Mrs. Lilith got her pass to go to the human world,” Aiden bluntly said.

Asmodeus’s mask faltered and his smile dropped. “Mrs. Lilith… got her pass…?” he asked, almost like a mumble.

Aiden faintly chuckled and his ghostly hand disappeared in the darkness where he was sitting. “Yes, the Lady of Hell got her pass from the King and she’s already on her way to have her boy back but… how will he react after all those years? It’s no secret she had ignored his pleas… what a pity… and the Chronos is so next to her Heir… I’m no fool to get into this mess.”

The cup of tea Asmodeus was drinking fell on the floor, shattering into thin pieces of refined porcelain. The cracks, scattered on the carpet, resembled Asmodeus’s mask falling apart among the ocean of information he had just gotten. His original plans were engulfed in the ravaging waves that just came out from Aiden’s mouth, and his legs worked on their own by forcing him to stand.

“I need to go back,” Asmodeus urged.

Aiden deep, haunting laughter filled the room and Asmodeus’s ears. “You? Protect him? You, the one who did everything in Wishing Well? Don’t make me laugh…”

Asmodeus clenched his fists and grabbed his leather backpack, stuffing the books inside it without much care. When he was about to turn his back to Aiden, the entity whistled, and the demon looked at him.

“Here I thought that the hypocrite was me… but there are tons of us, right?” Aiden laughed. “But I’ll give you a cup of sweet tea… yes, I can do that… you did so much for us…” he snapped his fingers.

A small pocket watch fell into Asmodeus’s hands. It was simple, yet there was something beyond its gears and numbers that made the demon’s skin itch and burn right where the crimson diamond-shaped symbol was.

“When you turn the little button beside it, the time will slow down. Do whatever you please with this little thing,” Aiden waved his hand in dismissing.

Something felt wrong with that clock. Asmodeus slowly turned the object and discovered a diamond pattern engraved in gold on its silver back.

Asmodeus’s mouth slightly gaped and his hands trembled. “This… this is…”

“Yes, there’s the Chronos' blood and hair in it, fascinating right?” Aiden grinned, right behind Asmodeus. His ghostly hands were touching the demon’s shoulders and guided his arm to store the clock in his pockets. “How will you live knowing you were responsible for this little thing plus your boy’s current situation, hm? I’m curious to know more…”

Before Asmodeus could strike the entity with his dagger – hidden under his coat – Aiden had turned into mist while he laughed. Everything on the desk turned to dust, and the coffee Aiden was drinking became stale. Every trace of the entity disappeared.

Asmodeus panted, feeling the haunting presence of Aiden in the room, and took the clock again. He felt so nauseous by the object’s composition that he gagged and tossed it away after cutting its glass. To Asmodeus's surprise, when the clock reached the floor, it instantly came back to his hands again, untouched.

“Shit…” Asmodeus cursed under his breath.