Back in the Demon Realm, the atmosphere was nothing like the typical chaos and fire. It was worse. The Kingdom of Doom was shrouded in a silence so heavy it felt like it was physically pressing against the stone walls. The rain of blood had stopped the moment they returned, replaced by a biting, unnatural cold that frosted over the obsidian pillars.
Eryx sat on his throne, but he didn't look like a king. He looked like a statue carved from shadow. His eyes, usually swirling with the heat of a thousand hells, were dim and vacant. He stared at the opposite wall, his mind replaying Lilith’s wailing voice over and over again. The words You killed her were carved into his brain. For a being who had lived for eons and seen countless empires rise and fall, the concept of a permanent loss like th
