March from Darkness | ✓ (to be edited)

THIRTY-ONE

PHRER

EARLIER...

"You did what?" I snapped, glaring at Forseti, hearing a recently-shown-up Hel snicker behind him. "And don't you start laughing, I'm not even nearly done with you."

Forseti stared at me, bored and unfazed by my concern. "He'll be fine." He said it with so much confidence that I almost wanted to hit him. "I wouldn't have let him go if there had been that much of an i—"

"He literally just got back from almost being killed, For! I don't think right now is the best time for you to be so nonchalant about this!"

"Phreryan, do not worry," Hel said from her position near the door, her hood still pulled over her head, although I could see the faint transition from her dark-brown skin to the dead flesh covering her left side. "Besides, Lucifer would not hurt your lover."

My eyes snapped wide open as Forseti's almost popped out of his head. "Your what?"

"Oh, leave it, cousin," she scoffed. "It's not as if he could have prevented it, anyways. Let the poor man finally feel and let love into the cold, empty heart he has that has only ever been filled to the brim with morality."

"Wow, thanks a lot, Helly," I deadpanned, feeling her irritation at the nickname.

"I already have to deal with Baryn calling me that. I do not extend that slight permission to you, du lilla skit." I took the name-calling in stride. I was glad that after nearly three decades of not seeing her that she kept up the humorous way we talked to each other. It was slightly abusive, sure, but we found entertainment in it.

"How is Baryn, anyways?" I asked. I had met the strange being a few times, only becoming aware of his abilities a couple decades ago.

"He's fine—" She paused, almost listening for something. "Speak of the Devil... literally."

I went to open my mouth, but a fissure of power went through the room before the being himself appeared. Baryn was interesting: he was a being birthed from a Primord, one of the first Gods in the Universe, from the Aztec pantheon and a Greek daemon who was given the ability by one of the Children of Sin to be able to reincarnate at will.

He was just under six-feet tall with dark hair and very light purple eyes with grey fibres extending from the outer rim of his pupil. I could see why Lucifer was attracted to him, he was a very handsome being, but something about him had always unsettled me. He had a glint in his eyes that made me immediately concerned, and before I could stop myself, I asked, "Where is Demitri?"

He raised a brow. "A little worried, aren't we?" My eyes narrowed in displeasure before he scoffed and continued. "He's with Lucifer and the Sins. Don't worry, Sāma is with him.

"However—" he looked over at Hel— "we need a little help."

Even from under the dark shadow of her hood, I could see her white teeth glint in the light. "How so?"

"We need to get Daraya back."

It was at that that her teeth disappeared, signalling she had closed her mouth. "You are not asking me to do what I think you're asking me to do, are you?"

"Which would be what?" Forseti asked, confused.

"We need to subject his physical vessel and soul to the thing it fears the most in order to speed up the process of Demitri reforming into Daraya," Hel explained.

"And before either of you protest—" Baryn looked pointedly at Forseti and I— "Sāma has already agreed that it is probably the best thing to do, and Demitri has agreed to be submitted to what will essentially be torture for him. So, really, I just need Hel and Loki."