After the End (Julian and MC)

17

When we walk inside, the Devil is waiting for us, perched atop a throne at the back of the room. The glass windows let in a dark red light, bathing the room in the coloured glow. The Devil smiles and beckons us forward, his black claws curling towards himself as he fixes me with an eager stare.

"Welcome." He grins, looking down at us as we stand before him. "I must admit, I'm a little surprised you managed to get past my welcoming party." The Devil chuckles, rising from his throne and tapping his finger on his chin. "No matter, I haven't had a proper challenge since the last time you fools made a feeble attempt to stop me." He sighs, his grin widening as chains lash out at us from the shadows of the room.

Aisha and Salim throw up shields around us, but I can tell it won't hold for long. Asra joins them, but his power will only give a few more seconds of energy to the shield. I take Julian's hand and reach out with my magic, pooling my power around me and preparing for when the shield does break. Portia takes my free hand, allowing me to draw power from her too.

"You had a chance to live in peace, and you've thrown it all away... And for what?" The Devil chides us, baring his teeth in a grin. "Anything you wanted, you could've asked for. I can grant anything, for the right price." His grin widens as his eyes gleam, staring intently at me from his place in front of his throne.

"You can't give us what we want." I tell him firmly, narrowing my eyes and gritting my teeth. I close my eyes as the shield around us breaks, and as soon as the chains pull Julian and Portia away from me, my magic weakens and fades.

"MC!" Julian cries out as he's dragged away from me, fighting against the chains that bind him.

I look around wildly to see that all my friends are bound by chains, leaving me alone in the middle of the room. The Devil snaps his fingers, and I collapse beneath the weight of everyone else's mixed emotions. Julian's pain, Portia's insecurity, Asra's fear... They swamp me all at once, and I gasp for breath as I struggle to sit up on my knees. Glancing around the room, I can see that the others are feeling what everyone else does as well.

Above me, the Devil smiles, delight clear in his expression. "Your attachments to one another make you weak." He sneers, looking from Julian, to Portia, to Asra, to Nadia, to Salim and Aisha, and finally, to me. "You've risked everything for your precious Julian, and all to no avail. I'll destroy you, but maybe I'll keep him alive. Maybe I'll send him back to where he was, turn him back into a demon to remind him of the price of defiance."

Despite the pain in my chest, I manage to speak. "Shut up." I hiss, glaring furiously at the goat in front of me.

There's a deafening silence in the wake of my words, tension thickening the air.

The Devil narrows his eyes at me, his smile dimming. "I beg your pardon?" He asks, gritting his teeth and glaring down at me.

"I said, shut up." I repeat myself, somehow managing to draw myself to my feet. "Our attachments make us strong, and that's something you'll never understand." I seethe, the chains around me glowing and lightening. With almost no effort, I shatter the chains, replacing them with glowing golden ropes.

Despite the initial shock in his expression, the Devil looks vaguely amused, shrugging casually and sighing at me. "I don't need to understand it, I'm above it." He grins, waving his hands.

Black flames wash over me in a wave, and I summon all the magic in my body. I cast out a powerful shield, managing to keep the flames at bay. I grasp at the glowing ropes, but the onslaught of power is too much to bear. Agony forces me back to my knees, and the pain robs me of the ability to breath. I can feel my body splitting from the effort, and realisation opens a pit in my stomach.

I'm not strong enough.