The star crossed lovers

XXXIX

When Lucifer arrived at his palace, he barely had the strength to keep his steps steady. Each footfall echoed through the grand, empty hallways, his once powerful presence reduced to mere shadows of what it had been. His head swam with a thousand thoughts, all of them circling back to her—Davina. He had let her go. The weight of that realization nearly crushed him.

As he reached the inner sanctum of his palace, his knees buckled beneath him, and he stumbled, catching himself on the stone walls. He paused there for a moment, leaning heavily against the cold surface, feeling the rough texture beneath his fingers. The willpower that had driven him here, the strength he'd summoned just to make it back, was gone now—shattered like glass. He sank to the ground, his back against the wall, letting himself fall into the weight of his defeat.

Lucifer sat there, breathing heavily, the great walls around him towering like a reminder of his endless power. And yet, that power meant nothing now. His voice came out in a whisper, so soft it barely seemed to belong to him. "The almighty god... has fallen," he chuckled bitterly, the sound hollow and broken. His laugh was tinged with sadness and a strange sense of relief. Sadness because he had left her behind, because she would never be there with him again, because his heart—his very soul—was tethered to a love that could never truly be his. But relief, too... because it was over. This painful, cursed life he had endured for so long was finally drawing to an end. He had no more reason to hold on. 

He took out a letter he carried in his coat and then murmured some words like secret chant and just like that the letter vanished into the thin air . 

According to him she had made her choice. For her, there was no place for him anymore. He imagined her far from the darkness, away from the suffocating void that surrounded him every day. "She's better off..." he whispered to himself, closing his eyes. She would be free, as Luna had promised. She wouldn't walk the same path of shadows that had consumed him. She wouldn't be trapped in this endless cycle of despair. The wolf goddess would live—unburdened by the dark lord's fate.

Suddenly, a small voice echoed from his left, shattering the silence around him. "Lucifer! Lucifer!" It was Ethan, the little child who had always followed him around like a shadow from past few days . But now, Ethan's voice was high with panic, desperate. "Help! Someone, help!"

Lucifer's eyes fluttered open, and he turned his head weakly toward the sound. His vision blurred as he saw Ethan running towards him, his tiny feet skittering across the floor. By the time the boy reached him, Lucifer was barely able to keep himself upright, leaning heavily against the wall for support.

Ethan grabbed his hand, tears streaking down his small face. "Lucifer!" he cried, shaking his arm. "Please! Don't go!"

Lucifer's breath hitched, his chest rising with the effort it took to speak. He gazed down at the boy, his heart breaking a little more at the sight of Ethan's terrified face. 

With all the will he had left, he whispered his final words. "She's safe," he said, his voice barely audible, his lips trembling. "This time... she'll be safe. I can't protect her anymore..." His voice trailed off as his strength waned. "Do it for me," he murmured, his grip on Ethan's hand loosening as his arm fell limp.

"Lucifer!" Ethan cried, sobs wracking his small frame. He shook Lucifer's hand, desperately trying to wake him, but the once mighty dark lord didn't move. His body lay still, lifeless.

"No! Please! Wake up!" Ethan's cries grew louder, and soon the sounds of his sobs filled the entire palace. The demon servants, drawn by the noise, rushed into the hallway . They stopped short at the sight before them—their Lord, the one who had been unmatched, undefeatable for so many centuries, was slumped against the wall, motionless. His tiny hands clutched his still form, tears falling endlessly from his eyes.

The servants watched in stunned silence, their eyes wide with fear and disbelief. How could this be? How could their Lord, the embodiment of power, the being who had ruled over the darkest realms, be reduced to this?

And then... Lucifer's body began to change.

A faint glow surrounded him, soft at first from his chest - the place that Darcey once daggered, but it grew steadily brighter, like the edge of a flame catching onto dry paper from the center . His form shimmered, the edges of his body breaking apart like ash scattering in the wind. The once mighty figure of Lucifer dissolved, crumbling and burning away, just as paper disintegrates in fire. The embers of his essence floated upwards, spiraling through the air, carried away by some invisible force.

Ethan's tiny hands clutched at nothing but ash now, his tears falling into the scattered remains of the dark lord. "No!" he screamed, his voice raw and broken. "Come back! Please, come back!"

The servants watched in horror as Lucifer, the one who had stood tall and proud for eons, disappeared before their eyes. There was nothing left of him now, only a faint shimmer in the air that slowly faded away.

The mighty dark lord was gone.