Mirrors ◇ Joji x Reader

XVIII. Assiah and Gehenna

Monday, November 27

Joji plopped down on the bed and lied back, groaning in an amalgamation of pain and frustration. I glanced at the window; dusk had come. My mind was boggled at the short length of time that had passed. It felt like I was stuck in the void for days, but it was merely an hour.

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden violent shifting of the mattress. I swung my head around, tearing up and covering my mouth as I saw Joji convulsing on the bed. Crawling next to him, I held his hand and waited for the seizure to pass.

Joji had PNES, which is short for Psychogenic NonEpileptic Seizures. This means that events that result in psychological trauma or stress cause him to seize up. Normally he'd take medicine for this, but he hadn't needed  it since he stopped filming Filthy Frank videos. He had been so much happier as a result. This was his first seizure in years.

It hurt to see him like this and not be able to do anything about it. Holding him down or even giving him a hug could hurt him, so the only thing I could do is be with him and wait for the episode to pass. His eyes flickered rapidly as he violently convulsed. After some time, his body relaxed and his eyes closed. I waited for him to show some sign of consciousness.

"You're cute when you watch me sleep."

I jumped, "Hon... you weren't sleeping."

"What do you mean I wasn't– no... did I?"

His eyes flung open to look at me, face softening upon seeing the tears running down my face.

"I-I'm so sorry (Y/N), I didn't know..."

"Don't blame yourself. Do you still have your meds?"

Joji rubbed his face, groaning at the pain in his arms, "I don't remember, gotta check the cabinet."

He motioned to get up, but I gently held him down, a hand on his chest.

"I'll go get it. There wasn't enough time for me to fix you up, you just went straight into a seizure as soon as we got back."

"Fuck..."

"I know you're going through a lot... I mean you were fighting the King of Demons for fuck's sake."

"Prince of Hell, babe."

"Same thing, really."

I rummaged around the top drawer of the bedside table. There were countless pill bottles, some prescription, others over the counter. I checked every label, handing a bottle to Joji.

"Here. I'll be right back."

Joji looked over the label before returning his gaze at me and nodding. I hurried down the steps and opened the cupboard to grab a cup. As I was filling it under the fridge filter I couldn't help but wonder about Joji in the void...

He looked so helpless up there... as if he wanted to save me but was trapped in his own prison... How did he get there? What could that mean? Was it even real, or was it a hallucination from being there so long?

I felt water running on my hand. Gasping, I pulled my hand off the trigger as some of it spilled on the floor. I drank some of it so that it wasn't overflowing, then headed back upstairs.

"Here."

I helped Joji sit up, frowning as he winced in pain before handing him the glass. I watched him take his pill, dying to find the right time to inquire what's been on my mind.

"Can I ask... what happened to me?"

Joji swallowed hard and glanced at me before chugging the rest of the water, setting the cup down on the bedside table.

"I guess... I have to come clean, huh?"

What else has he been hiding, exactly?

He sighed and looked down at the mattress.

"He wasn't lying... about anything. The shifting... where you came from... it's all true."

My eyebrows knotted up in frustration; this whole ordeal has been lies and confusion. When will it end?

"Let me start from the beginning..." He looked up at me, biting his lip.

"The world... Assiah... was one at some point. Nothing complicated. Everything was a straight line and time was unbending."

He paused.

"Then, suddenly... a rift emerged. See, Satan was bored that day and he wanted more chaos to spread; he didn't have any power of his own. So, he wanted to create a new dimension, purely for that purpose: Gehenna. And it was successful. He ruled in chaos and his son Amaimon ruled Assiah. But the humans revolted; they learned how to exorcise, wrote books, they learned incantations and all that shit."

I didn't break eye contact with him for a moment while he was telling this. It was like a fairytale.

"They drove Amaimon and all the other demons back to Gehenna, and made Assiah their own. And... that's how my bloodline started."

This was all so fascinating, but there was more I needed to know.

"So then... what happened to me?"

A/N: Hi loves! Reads are declining because I don't update as often anymore but I won't let that stop me! How are you guys holding up? I hope all of you are safe. Next chapter coming as soon as I can get to it! Thanks for reading 💜