Grim Reaper's Handmaiden [Grim Books:1]

Epilogue

Lucifer, the king of the underworld, marched in front of the crowd of humans with his henchmen following suit.

His crimson eyes pierced through as his long furry maroon cape brushed the floor. He held with him such abominable and intimidating aura that made the whole place fall into a deafening silence.

Gyth and Dante bowed in his presence as he proceeded to sit on the huge bejeweled chair that was his throne all along. His henchmen stood behind him as his proud eyes glanced over the whole place, leaving tremors of fear to the crowd.

Lucifer snapped his finger and a harpy came flying to the center of the platform.

“Let’s start shall we? I’m Atalia, the king’s familiar.” She said and the ceremony began its course.

One by one we formed a line and went up the platform. Atalia accompanied the first ones and I watched as the first man in line stopped in front of Gyth.

Gyth proceeded to wear the black garment over the man, which turned out to be a hooded cape. Soon after, Atalia led him in front of the king and they bowed to show respect.

They stood in front of Dante next as he opened a huge ancient maroon box and the crowd of humans began gasping in bewilderment.

Inside the box are the familiar looking crimson badges that I recently heard from Dante.

Dante picked out one from the box and pinned it onto the upper left chest of the man’s cape. I felt my hands shaking as I see the genuine happiness painted all over the man’s face.

This grand ceremony, for some or most of us, will be the last day or perhaps the only day that we’ll be ever able to form a smile on our faces.

Some humans showed a blissful expression upon receiving their badges like it’s a huge achievement to them and some were filled with visible grief. The latter are the ones who knows what horror lies behind this grand scheme.

I glanced over to Gyth, his brows furrowed, visibly showing how distasteful the task is for him.

It wasn’t long until it was my time to walk up the platform. My heart is pounding against my chest and I feel my stomach churning as the woman before me descended down the platform.

Soon enough, Atalia gestured for me to come up. I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat as I forced my feet to take a step forward.

I stood in front of Gyth and as soon as his features came to sight, my tension began calming down. His gaze gave me reassurance and a smile instantly formed my face.

“Alright?” He asked as he grabbed the black garment hanging on my arm. I nodded as I savored his sublime appearance up close.

He draped the cape gently around my back and tied the string of cloth in front.

“You look beautiful.” Gyth said, our eyes meeting. “I’ll see you later.” He said, flashing me a gentle smile that greatly eased up my nerves.

That didn’t take long when I glanced over my shoulder, meeting eyes with the most dreaded being in the underworld.

I can almost hear the loud beating in my chest as I take a step forward, which seemed to be more difficult than ever.

I felt the lack of blood in my lips as I stood in front of the king. He formed a mischievous smirk, which I quickly avoided by bowing before him as fast as I could.

The bow felt like forever and I can feel the cold rush in my skin every second that passes by. I lifted my body for one last look at the king before taking a step away.

I felt the weight in my body being lifted off as I gasped for air.

“Doll, you look pale. Are you alright?” Dante asked as I dragged my feet towards him. I weakly nodded, taking a much needed deep breath.

He picked up a badge and took a step closer to me. His breath brushed my forehead as he leaned down to pin the badge against my cape.

I flinched as his face draw nearer to mine. I glanced over to my shoulder, avoiding his face as I felt a sudden heat building on my face.

“You’ll be alright.” Dante softly said with a smile but his eyes showed otherwise.

I must’ve stood there for quite some time for Atalia to gesture for me to descend the platform. I felt anxious at what Dante said. It’s as if he’s bidding me farewell.

I descended the platform and went back to my place next to Emily and Vernon. They smiled at me with a relief expression on their faces.

When everyone received their badges, Atalia took the center again.

“Now, for your loyalty pledge to the king.” Atalia said, raising her right hand up to her shoulder level. She then grasps her hand into a fist and swing it towards her left chest, resting it on top of the crimson badge.

She nodded and that was our queue to follow her gesture. The hall was filled with silence as our fists are against the badge of the king.

Soon after, a man went up the platform to lead our pledge. Atalia gave the center to him as he repeated the gesture.

“Repeat after me.” He said, breaking the silence as his fist rested firmly against the crimson badge.

He took a deep breath as he said the first words to which we uttered right after.

“We, the devoted servers of the king; Lucifer.”

We repeated, “We, the devoted servers of the king; Lucifer.”

“Vows to always obey his words and be worthy to his name.”

“Vows to always obey his words and be worthy to his name."

“From today on, until our souls shatter.”

“From today on until our souls shatter.”

“All hail the king! All hail Lucifer!”

“All hail the king! All hail Lucifer!”

The pledge filled the halls.

The words and screams echoed repeatedly through my ears and my vision became hazy. Sweat began forming on the palm of my hands and I felt terribly sick.

“At last.” Vernon said as him and Emily crowded around me.

“Finally, it’s all done.” Emily said and I couldn’t disagree more. I frowned, looking at them in dismay.

“It’s just the beginning.”

-the end-

A/N: Thank you for everyone who read and supported this story! Thank you for taking part and indulging yourselves into this fantasy realm that originated from my overly imaginative mind. Im aware that the story has a lot of holes and isn't quite developed but I'm still happy with it since it's my first work. I'll be learning along the way and hope I can write a better one next. It is my pleasure and greatest gratitude to even have readers ಥ_ಥ

This is the end of Book 1 and I hope to hear from you all in Book 2. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Always keep safe my loves! ( ˘ ³˘)♥