✔ 𝕮𝖗𝖔𝖜𝖓𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝕮𝖍𝖔𝖎𝖗𝖘

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝐗𝐕𝐈

The next day, Asmodeus woke up with a feeling of disorientation, as if he had woken up from a deep dream. The visit from Benjamin felt like a feverish dream, and for a moment he wasn't sure whether it had really happened or was just his imagination.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to recapitulate the events of the previous night. The memories of Benjamin's touching hands and tantalizing words seemed to linger in his mind like fog, elusive and yet somehow present.

And for some reason, he felt particularly strange that morning. As he got out of bed and looked directly into the large standing mirror, he realized what was making him feel so different. His gaze wandered to his neck, where he normally wore his amulet - an heirloom from his time in heaven that he always carried with him as a link to his past and his true self. He had inherited it from his grandfather, Asmodeus, and was supposed to look after it for the rest of his life. But the amulet was gone, and a cold feeling of apprehension crept into his chest.

He hurriedly searched his room, but the amulet was nowhere to be found. He searched in the bed, by the armchair and crawled across the floor. But it was impossible to find the heirloom.

A shiver ran down Asmodeus' spine, and he suddenly felt vulnerable and exposed without the amulet that meant so much to him. The empty hands groping for the familiar shape only added to his despair as he felt the painful gap around his neck.

With a heavy sigh, Asmodeus sat down on the bed, his mind whirling with thoughts and conjecture.

Had Benjamin actually come by last night to steal his amulet?

There was no way he could go back to heaven without this piece of jewelry.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door to the room, making the seraphim flinch. Calm only returned when Soles' voice penetrated softly through the thick wood. "Are you awake yet?"

"Come in," Asmodeus murmured and rose to his feet. Soles' uncertain fingers first peeked out from behind the door until he finally entered fully. It was obvious that something was going on, so Asmodeus informed him immediately. "My amulet is gone."

Surprised, shocked and horrified, Soles raised his eyebrows.

"Oh shit," the fallen angel groaned, trying not to look in Asmodeus' direction for too long. He didn't even have to ask if he had taken it off, because he knew how much this amulet meant to him. However, it was also hard to believe that someone could have stolen it directly from Asmodeu's neck. "Maybe we should ask Benjamin if anything happens to heavenly artifacts when they're in hell," Soles suggested, looking up again. Although he avoided looking the seraphim in the eye, he looked at his neck instead and swallowed hard. "Have you had... a visitor?"

Asmodeus quickly shook his head. After all, he could have dreamed the whole thing and he didn't want to get himself or Morningstar's son into trouble. "Do you think I shouldn't have taken a heavenly object with me to hell?" he asked uncertainly. "But I never take the amulet off."