Death Met the Devil

Chapter Two

Aki watched Lucifer sit in the chair. His power was astounding to her, but of course it wasn't his anymore. It belonged to the darkness.

He has stopped struggling after the first day. On the second, he was trying to lure her out. However, today he was quietly staring into the shadows. Aki knew that most mortals went mad by the third night. The strong remained sane for a little after that. Everyone eventually succumbed to the darkness. No survivors had ever left this cave. The souls could never survive their punishment. Aki was efficient, a death machine, as her mother put.

The torture could only steadily increase. The next part was due.

Aki pulled her cloak together and walked to the devil. She became a part of the darkness, and he could no longer see her. She was a a mere wisp, like silk flowing in the wind. Only there was no wind, and she was far from the smooth fabric. She stood behind him.

"Lucifer." She whispered his name and it carried to his ears like a breeze.

He flinched. He turned around, but she was no longer there. She used the shadows, each carrying that same whisper. His name came to him a thousand times, from every direction. Each whisper left him feeling like a knife had grazed his flesh, before plunging deep.

She kept the volume the same, but added more and more whispers until they were deafening. Aki would never admit it, but the fear and misery she wrought was rejuvenating. It was pure bliss, like eating chocolate after a fast. She soaked it in, but something demanded more. Lucifer had yet to scream in true agony, and Aki now needed to hear it.

The whispers became louder, pain increasing tenfold. Yet Aki heard no screams. No pleas or shouts. She stopped the cacophony and walked towards him, curious as to why he hadn't broken.

He sat in the chair, staring ahead with blank eyes. Aki walked closer and bent down in front of him.

"Well, hello. Quite loud, wasn't it?"

His voice startled her, and Aki backed away. She pulled her cloak closer and shadows surrounded around her, protecting her.

He held up his hands, bound as they were, in what she supposed was a truceful manner. "Wait, just want to talk. Don't I have a right to know who my captor is?"

None had ever asked before. She didn't know what to do. Would her mother mind? Surely not, as her voice itself would be a form of torture.

"I am Achylus."

He flinched, but maintained that smile. "Achylus? Greek, huh? You're kinda powerful for a goddess, you know."

"Yes, I know. I get my power from the pain and misery of mortals. You are quite powerful as well, Lucifer. More so than any other I've come across. Aside from my Mother and your Creator."

Aki saw that smile stiffen.

"Yeah, good ol' dad. He ran off awhile ago. I take it your mother did the same."

"No!" The reply burst out from her without her consent. The darkness pressed closer, aware of her anxiety. The room went cold and Aki backed away. "Mother didn't leave me. She said I had to stay, that she would visit me. She didn't leave. She wouldn't."

The darkness threatened to suffocate him and he tried to break free of his chains. His voice was calming when he spoke to her. "No, I'm sure your mother didn't leave you. I'm certain that she didn't. It's alright." He felt compelled to calm her down. Her lips kept moving as she whispered, and he could feel her power surging.

His words were lost on her. She disappeared in front of his eyes, and he was left alone to the darkness. She was gone, but the whispers started again. He flinched each time he heard his name, and was surprised that there weren't any open wounds on his body. He had once thought that he knew all the ways to torture a person. But this was on a level he couldn't fathom. Each time his name was said, pain lashed threw him like a whip.

Aki was in her room, looking out the window. All she saw was murky darkness. No sign of her mother. No light.

She sighed. Her room was grey. No color, no life. She only had what she needed. A bed and one solitary chair. The window was only put into place against her mother's orders. Aki had wanted to look out at the sea that had been there before. As punishment, her mother had placed her in darkness.

"You are misery, my child. You live to bring pain to others. You need nothing else."

Aki had nothing else. A bed to rest, a chair to sit in. She wasn't allowed food. She either tortured for sustenence, or starved. She didn't have to eat misery. She didn't want to. But mother said she must. If she took the blood of a mortal, bad things would happen to her. As such, Aki did as she was told. She learned to ignore the constant pain in her stomach. Most of the time she slept through it. However, she had food now. Misery that tasted like dark chocolate. Pain that was pure velvet. And anger that was delicious. All of those came from Lucifer.

His torture could continue, but Aki was now curious about him. He was the first to make it this far and the first to speak to her. She had never met with a demon, or ever met with the Creator. Mother had told her to avoid them. Lucifer was powerful, yes, but nowhere near Aki's. His power was given to him by his Creator. Hers came from the fear and misery of mortals. It was always growing, always apparent. While she may starve, she could still grow stronger.

Aki sighed again and removed her cloak. She only took it off in the privacy of her room. She didn't even remove it in front of her mother. Nyx had said that one would collapse into insanity if they gazed upon Aki, and that even she was in pain when looking at her. For her mother's sake, she began wearing the cloak.

Aki laid down on the stiff bed. She felt a night mare approach the bed, it's tiny hooves making impressions on the cover. These creature visited human dreams, turning them into twisted ones. They had a fondness for Aki.

The horse nickered softly, jumping onto her chest. Another one curled beside her head, resting in her hair. Aki drifted off to a dreamless sleep.