Down Goes The Devil

Chapter 6

All Ethan had to do was envision the scene, and the dream morphed into what he wanted it to become.

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Samantha was standing on the shore, her toes in the sand, the wind blowing into her hair, and the sound of the waves moving in a beautiful tidal motion. She stood there, admiring the scenery, and then she started talking to the sea as if it was a humanized confession priest.

"I am lost, clenching on to a love that is not meant to be mine. Please, take my pain away." The words flew out from her lips desperately, attempting to sink into the water and be washed away, but that was not a beautiful daydream or a fantasy that has come to life. That was going to be her worst nightmare. The words morphed into a silhouette, and that silhouette morphed into someone she knew very well.

"Kevin?" She asked in disbelief. Kevin stood in front of her, his feet sunken into the cold water, staring at her coldly.

"The sea will never heal you, Samantha." The water started rising up, engulfing him fully, and as she started reaching out to him to save him from being drowned, she was pulled aback, as if her feet were chained to the ground.

"Kevin! Come back!" Her shouts echoed throughout the shore, as she watched her loved one slowly dissipating into the water. While she watched Kevin disappear right in front of her eyes, a giant tsunami wave arose and pulled her towards the sea. She struggled trying to hold on to dear life, attempting to escape, but her attempts were futile. She closed her eyes, as if the whole catastrophe would be averted if she tried to disregard it, but Ethan was the one in control, and he wouldn't allow it. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw the apparition of Kevin, right in the dark depths of the sea, holding his wife's hand, and walking away from her. She tried to call out his name, but it was in vain, as she was drowning, bubbles erupting from her mouth, forbidding her to speak to her so-called lover, and just as she was slowly encapsulated by darkness, Ethan whispered: "You'll always be on your own."

Samantha woke up in cold sweat just as her alarm started ringing. She was panting, eyes wide open, as if she's gone through hell during those brief hours. She got up, rushed to the bathroom, and splashed cold water all over her face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink, and she felt as if she was looking at somebody else. She began studying her expression meticulously: Messy hair, dry lips and dark eye bags. All that she could think of at the moment was: "Is this who I want to be?". Never has Ethan seen a being as pathetic as that one. He would've felt a tinge of empathy if he did not know how filthy her core was. No matter what she is going through, it was no excuse to be a dick to other people. While she leaned on the sink, she got this amusing thought that the nightmare she just had was a sign from the universe, and not a glimpse of hell weaved by the devil as punishment for her deeds. How idiotic. "He loves you, it's just a nightmare weaved by threads of your worst fears, do not overthink it.". Her facial expression altered into that of relief, and right then, he knew the power that he held over this woman. She was just a puppet. He was not in the mood to watch her as she did her tedious morning routines, so he decided to pay his foe a little visit in the meantime.

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"What are you doing here?" Lucifer scoffed at the sight of Ethan. It was as funny to him as watching a child sulking over a lost toy.

"Am I not allowed to visit my realm?" Ethan replied sarcastically.

"YOUR realm? This whole devil thing is starting to get into your head isn't it?" His expression started darkening the more they chatted.

"How does it feel, being god's favorite all over again?" The more he teased him, the more he felt Lucifer's blood starting to boil.

"Are you done yet?" He snapped at him.

"So, how well do you think I'm doing? I'm doing a pretty good job aren't I?" Ethan inquired mockingly. Lucifer raised an eyebrow and shook his head upon hearing his question.

"You're here to gather tips and tutorials on how to be a successful devil? Damn, you're really desperate aren't you?"

"All these years mingling with corrupted souls and you still can't get the gist of sarcasm?" He replied.

"To be fair, you're an amateur. Is that all you could do with that woman? What's her name... Samantha right? You're way too petty. I assumed you were going to lead her astray. Instead of doing so, you're just... Nevermind, if you're smart enough, you'll figure it out." His tone was vexatious, but Ethan did know for a fact that he was just messing with him out of envy.

"I'm surprised you're not spitting frivolous monologues as you used to when we first met. Was that just a devil thing? Are you done with the theatrics now?"

"Be gone." He was right. Staying in hell was not fruitful at all, he needed to go back and finish what he had started.

"Why are you still here anyway? Aren't you an angel now?" Unlike the snarky comments he uttered previously, that question was genuine. There was no reason for Lucifer to dwell in Hell anymore.

"This is my kingdom, and I am responsible for all the souls that roam around here. Your transition has no effect on my duties in Hell." He said, with a stern tone.

"Alright, suit yourself, I'm going back to earth."

When he went back,everything was almost the same as he left it. The days were as tedious as ever,and Samantha was being the same old hag that she was, being rude to everyone at the company. Surprisingly, she hasn't made any move on Kevin yet, or so he assumed. Kevin was stuck in his office, reviewing a clamp of documents, while she glanced at his office door one too many times, contemplating whether it was a wise decision to barge in on him that day. At that moment, Ethan was growing fed-up with the usual whispers, so he decided to watch from afar for a while.As he looked her in the eye while she was daydreaming during her working hours,he got a faint glimpse of her raging thoughts at that instance. She was still replaying the scene from the nightmare she had last night, pondering on whether it was just a reflection of her terrors and fears, or whether it was a sign from the gods above for her to stop chasing a married man. Her rational reasoning could've held her off if the devil wasn't there, controlling her and watching her make all the wrong decisions, but he was there to obliterate her rationale and wipe it off completely. What is she going to do now? As he was staring at the scene from afar, Kevin came out of his office and called out for her. This is going to be amusing.