The Beginning Of An End

Chapter 20

The moment I heard the words, every trace of intoxication vanished. I was on my feet before I even realized I had moved. The room tilted slightly from the alcohol still lingering in my system, but my mind was already somewhere else.

Loki. The name repeated itself over and over.

Loki was there. In Hell. With them.

"How many?" My voice came out sharper than I intended.

Abaddon looked at me, and for once, he didn't immediately have an answer. That alone terrified me. The void deity was someone who always knew more than he revealed. He had seen countless possibilities, countless outcomes, countless endings.

Yet now he looked genuinely caught off guard. His eyes shifted away from me, focusing somewhere beyond the walls of his realm, searching through layers of existence.

"There are twelve."

The number settled heavily. Twelve. Not an army. Not an invasion. A message. A warning. A prophecy stepping out of the shadows.

"You can't go alone, Asmodeus."

I barely heard him. Because all I could think about was Loki. The last time I saw him, he had promised he wouldn't leave me. And now the universe had decided to test that promise.

"I have to go."

Abaddon stared at me. Then, unexpectedly: "I'll go with you."

I froze. "What?"

He looked almost annoyed by my surprise. "There is no point hiding anymore." A pause. "You helped me save Lucifer." His expression hardened slightly. "So I will help you save Loki."

For a second, I forgot how to respond. Coming from anyone else, the words would have been reassuring. Coming from Abaddon, they felt impossible. The being who claimed detachment from everything had chosen a side.

"Alright," I said quietly.

Abaddon opened the portal.

The void tore open beside us, that familiar sound filling the room. This time, I barely noticed.

The moment we arrived, Hell was already different. The palace that had once felt impossible to breach now felt abandoned. Too quiet. That was always the worst sign. As we approached the entrance, something caught my attention.

Astaroth. I stopped. The sight stole every thought from my mind. One of the strongest demons I knew was lying motionless across the ground. Blood spread beneath him, his body still.

For a moment, I couldn't understand what I was seeing. Astaroth wasn't supposed to fall. None of us were. Demons weren't meant to die like this. But Lucifer had proven that power didn't make you untouchable. And now Astaroth had proven it again.

A familiar rage burned through me.

"They did this."

Abaddon appeared beside me.

"Think carefully—" His warning barely reached me. I couldn't wait. I bolted toward the palace door, ignoring his shouted protests.

Inside, the twelve of them stood at the center of the hall. I froze, scanning the emptiness around them. All the demons had vanished—likely gathered elsewhere by the Devil, maybe safe for now. Loki could have been with them.

"WHERE IS LOKI?!" The roar cut through the room. A hammer slammed into the floor, sending cracks radiating to the entrance where I stood. I should have been smarter. All twelve turned to face me. I glanced to my side. Abaddon was there, thankfully.