"Man, I feel good as new," Kael said, standing up and rolling his shoulders. The relief was obvious—his body finally free of pain for the first time in hours.
He grinned. "Hey… why do you guys look all hazy?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the world tilted.
Kael stumbled, knees buckling. He would've collapsed if Ellis hadn't caught him.
"Whoa, hey—you alright, man?" Ellis asked, catching him just in time.
"Yeah, yeah. I just—whoa." Kael blinked, swaying slightly. "Feel a little lightheaded."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Well, no shit, Sherlock. You took a health potion, not a blood refill. Your adrenaline's crashing, and half your blood's still painting the hallway."
Kael gave a weak laugh. "Yeah… rest sounds great right about now."
He paused, eyes unfocused as he glanced toward the stairs.
"Hey, uh… think you can give me a hand? I can't exactly walk straight, and my room's on the third floor."
Lily sighed, already stepping forward. "Alright, alright. I got you. Just like old times."
She slipped under his arm, hoisting it over her shoulder.
"While I'm helping chuckle nuts make sure there's no issue outside hate for an accident to happen while I'm away." Lily says asks Ellis to keep watch.
"Can do." Ellis says as he waves off heading to the front door to make sure nothing goes wrong.
As Ellis walked away Lily and Kael started going up the staircase, she let out a quiet grunt under his weight.
"Damn, Kael. Either I got weaker… or you've put on weight."
Kael managed a tired grin. "Let's go with both."
The climb was slow. Agonizing. Each step sent a fresh pulse of pain through Kael's side, but he didn't complain. He just grit his teeth and leaned into Lily's support.
She didn't speak either. Just kept steady, one arm wrapped under his, guiding him forward without comment.
By the time they reached the third floor, Kael was barely upright.
He raised a hand toward the open frame at the end of the hall.
"No point looking for a door," Kael muttered, voice rough. "Mine's already on the floor."
Lily blinked as they approached—and saw he wasn't joking.
The door to room 3-17 was splintered and half-crushed, lying flat in the hallway like a kicked-in barricade. Inside, the air was heavy with smoke and soot.
Kael's window was shattered, jagged glass still embedded in the frame. The blinds had been melted clean through. A faint breeze drifted in through the broken glass, swirling black ash across the floor.
And near the center of the room, just in front of the bed, lay the remnants of a body—burned into nothing but scorched flakes and melted cloth. The only thing left of the zombie he'd incinerated.
"What the hell happened in here?" Lily asked, taking in the scorched mess.
Kael gave a low grunt as they stepped inside. "Zombie broke through my door. Fireball came from the sky and struck it down. Honest."
She shot him a sideways glance.
"That's your story?"
"Look, it's been a long day. Ask me again after a nap and a couple painkillers."
Lily snorted. "Fine. In the grand scheme of today? Not the weirdest thing."
"I knew you'd understand," Kael muttered.
He pulled away from her slowly, unhooking her arm from around his back. "Hey… mind turning around? I need to change. Kinda don't want to bleed all over my bed."
Lily raised an eyebrow but turned away. "Yeah, sure."
He peeled off his torn jacket, then his shirt, hissing as the fabric peeled away from dried blood and bruised skin. The cooler air of the ruined room hit his bare back like a slap.
Behind her, Lily kept her eyes fixed on the cracked wall. Her arms crossed.
"So… fireball from the sky, huh?" she asked, tone casual. But there was something softer in it now.
Kael chuckled under his breath. "You still doubting me?"
"I'm just saying…" she hesitated, "...for a guy who hides everything behind sarcasm, you're not very good at lying."
Kael didn't respond right away. He sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, bare-chested and half-dressed, staring at the window where the wind stirred what remained of the zombie he'd killed.
"Yeah," he said eventually. "Guess I'm too tired to fake it right now."
Lily turned halfway, just enough to glance at him over her shoulder.
Kael looked up, catching her eyes.
They held there for a moment—longer than it should've.
She turned away again. "You done?"
"Yeah," he said, easing himself beneath the blanket. "Thanks."
Lily moved to his side, adjusting the edge of the blanket as he lay back. Her hand lingered on the fabric for a second longer than necessary. Then, without quite knowing why, she brushed a bit of ash from his cheek with her thumb.
"You're still the same idiot," she whispered.
Kael blinked up at her, eyes already half-closed. "God can't change that."
"No he can't…" She says softy
She adjusted the blanket a little more, fingers brushing lightly along the edge.
"Just focus on getting some good sleep, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," Kael murmured, a yawn catching at the edge of his voice.
His lips twitched into the faintest smile.
Then sleep pulled him under.
Lily stood for a moment longer, watching his breathing slow.
Then she turned, stepped over the ruined door, and disappeared into the hallway.
***
Elsewhere in the world.
The Infernal Descent had no stars.
Only fire.
Endless caverns of obsidian and iron stretched for miles beneath the dead earth, lit by rivers of molten hatred and the screams of devoured souls. Great chains hung from the ceiling like skeletal vines, dragging across the ground with every shift of the realm.
And in the heart of it all—within a throne carved from fossilized flame—he sat.
Luciferne.
The First to Fall.
The Pale Flame.
The Morning-Star That Burned Back.
His wings—shredded remnants of what they once were—dripped with corrupted divinity. His horns curled like broken spires, and his gaze... his gaze held centuries of patience.
A lesser demon approached, trembling beneath the weight of his presence.
"The message has been confirmed, my liege," the demon said, bowing low. "The Architect has departed. Heaven is silent. Earth… fractured."
Luciferne did not rise.
He smiled.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
"So... He's truly done it," he said, voice like oil running over coals. "He's abandoned the stage at last."
He leaned back, resting his chin against the edge of one taloned finger.
"I always said He would. Dreamers rarely know how to finish their stories."
A pause. Then:
"Begin Plan: Arms of Hell."
The demon bowed so low his horns scraped the stone. "At once, my lord."
He turned to go, vanishing into the smoke with a swirl of cape and shadow.
Luciferne remained.
Alone.
He stared up at the cracked ceiling of his throne chamber, where once, light had filtered through.
There was none now.
Only fire.
Only him.
And slowly, softly, he whispered:
"Just wait, old friend. I'll get my revenge."
***
Kael, slumbering like a baby, was enjoying his peace and quiet—even as the sun, once high in the sky, now crept toward an evening hue, casting shadows like it was already 5 p.m.
Slowly awakening from his slumber, Kael's eyes opened—different from how they had that morning. When he'd first awoken, they were tired and bored. Now, they were sharper. Focused. Like the eyes of someone who had seen too much and survived anyway.
He sat up slightly in bed, rubbing at his eyes.
"Oh," Kael muttered as a dull ache spread through his body. He stretched, joints cracking. "Everything hurts."
Flexing his muscles, he winced. "Yep… definitely real. Not a dream."
It wasn't, Seraphiel replied, her voice going through his mind.
"I was wondering when you'd speak up," Kael said, cracking his neck. "You've been awfully quiet since I ran into Elis."
"Well you were having such a fun time with Lily and Ellis I thought I let you enjoy your self a bit no need for a fallen angel to talk in your ear all the time." Seraphiel states.
"That and I'm pretty focus on fixing many things in your system. Speaking of which you should probably take a look."