As Malachi's hand opened, the world seemed to tilt into a horrifying, silent vacuum. Zaliyah didn't scream. He didn't have the breath left in his battered lungs to make a sound. Instead, as gravity took hold, he simply closed his eyes.
In the rushing wind, his mind retreated to the only sanctuary he had left: his memories. He saw Riosuka's gentle smile as she poured tea in the garden, he heard RiRu's high-pitched laughter echoing through the halls of their home, he felt the rough, calloused warmth of Karas's hand against his cheek.
He knew this was the end. He was a broken thing, a celestial spark being snuffed out by the very darkness he had tried to survive.
With a final, agonizing effort, he struggled to cast one last glance toward the tower. He saw the twins. Iruna was a mask of gore blood was streaming from her ears, her eyes, and her mouth, a terrifying testament to the spiritual force she had exerted trying to shatter Kizari's sealing spell. She had offered her very life force to save him, and she had failed.
THUD.
The sound was not the sharp crack of a fallen demon, it was the heavy, wet thud of a body hitting the ragged rocks at the base of the tower. Zaliyah's body lay on the cold, unforgiving ground like a discarded bag of rice, limp and his whole body twisted in ways the human frame was never meant to endure. Heavy Silence reclaimed the night.
At that same moment, miles away in the Human Realm, the tranquil surface of the pond in the Ruo Han garden exploded.
Karas broke the surface, gasping for air as if his lungs were on fire. The portal had spat him out into the freezing water, the shock of the transition nearly stopping his heart.
The guards stationed at the garden perimeter rushed forward, their lanterns swinging wildly in the dark.
"Lord Karas" one yelled, reaching out to pull him from the reeds.
"No! No! Stay back!" Karas roared, pushing them away with a strength born of pure hysteria. He scrambled out of the water, his fine silks were now wet , heavy and dripping, his eyes wide with fear . "I have to go back, They're going to kill him, I have to go back!"
He stumbled toward the estate like a madman, his boots squelching in the mud. Riosuka rushed out from the main villa, alerted by the commotion. When she saw him, her son, who had been missing for four harrowing days-she nearly collapsed with relief. But the relief was short-lived.
Karas fell at her feet, his knees hitting the stone path with a bruising force. He grabbed the hem of her robes, his hands trembling violently. "Mom... Mom, I have to go back. They're gonna kill him. Mom, they'll kill him!"
Riosuka was bewildered, her heart hammering against her ribs. She knelt, trying to steady him. "Karas, calm yourself. Who is going to kill who? You're safe now."
"Zaliyah!" Karas shrieked, the name tearing from his throat in a broken sob. "I told him to come with me... I begged him... I apologized, but he stayed! Mom, they'll kill him! The demons... they'll tear him limb from limb!"
Riosuka froze. "Karas... what did you do ? Where is Zaliyah?"
"I did what I had to do, but it wasn't enough" Karas lamented, burying his face in her lap, his tears wetting her expensive silks. "Mom, please... give me Zaliyah. I want Zaliyah! I can't live without him, Mom, please save him" I don't understand...I don't understand why he didn't want to come with me ....I-I told him I was sorry.....
Riosuka stared down at her son, her own tears blurring her vision. She felt a cold, hollow dread. Does she mourn the son she thought she had lost, or does she mourn the son she is about to lose to madness?
From the deep shadows of the veranda, Caius stood watching. His face was unreadable l. The heir of Ruo Han was on his knees, weeping like a broken child for another man. It was an abomination. Caius felt a grim sense of relief that the sun had not yet risen; if the public saw the future of their residence in this state, the rumors would incinerate their reputation by noon.
In the Underworld...
Kizari finally flicked her fingers, releasing the twins from their torment. Iruna collapsed instantly, her body trembling so hard her wings rattled against the stone. She didn't wait to recover. She and Harun ignored the blood dripping from their own faces and scrambled down the tower's inner stairs, reaching the base in a desperate, frantic blur.
Malachi and Kizari didn't stay to watch. They took to the sky, their dark wings beating rhythmically as they flew toward the royal wing, leaving the wreckage behind.
In the shadows of a nearby pillar, Ailla stepped out, clapping her hands slowly. Her smile was wide, her eyes glittering with a sick, operatic delight. "Magnificent," she whispered to the darkness.
"What we tried doing for so long," Shakdam murmured from behind her, "His Majesty finished in a single day ."
Shakdam replied "We should have invited the commander sooner"
"Indeed " Ailla purred, her silk robes fluttering in the cold updraft. "I should go thank brother. None of this would have been possible without his... insights." She turned and walked away, her laughter lost to the wind.
On the ground, Zaliyah was no longer a man, he was an unrecognizable chunk of flesh. His bones were shattered, his tattered clothes soaked through with a deep, dark crimson. His white hair, once his pride, was dyed a solid, matted red. His face was a landscape of bruises and swelling, his eyes knit shut by trauma. Most horrific of all was his throat-the deep, jagged furrows where Malachi's claws had dug in were so deep the faint pulse of his windpipe was visible through the torn skin.
Iruna reached him first. She threw her hands over her mouth, a choked, high-pitched keening sound escaping her throat. "B-brother..." she stammered, her tears mixing with the blood on her cheeks. "He's not breathing. Brother, he's no longer breathing"
Harun's face was pale, his jaw set in a hard line to keep from screaming. He knelt and gingerly gathered Zaliyah's limp, broken body into his arms. He felt like he was holding a bag of shattered glass. "He won't die, Runa," Harun gritted out, though his voice shook. "He can't die."
They carried him to their former chambers-a small, hidden room away from the prying eyes of the royals. Harun sprinted back out, returning moments later with a terrified royal physician.
The old demon took one look at Zaliyah and recoiled. "Great Ancestors..." he whispered, his hands shaking as he reached for Zaliyah's wrist. He sat in silence for a long minute. "I don't feel a pulse. There is no life here."
Iruna collapsed into Harun's arms, her weeping turning into a rough, rhythmic shaking. "No... no, check again" Harun roared. "Check again!"
The physician moved his hand to Zaliyah's chest, then torn his neck, then back to his chest. Suddenly, his eyes went wide. He froze. "I hear it... I hear it..."
Iruna bolted upright. "He's alive?"
"I hear a heartbeat," the physician stammered, "but it isn't his. It's... it's smaller. Faster."
The room went deathly quiet. The twins looked at each other. Xulthas hadn't been lying. The child, the life inside Zaliyah-was still fighting.
"It must be the baby," Harun whispered.
"What about him ? Is his heart not beating?" Iruna asked frantically. "I can't feel any energy. Usually, I can feel the faint warmth of his core."
The physician shook his head, looking haunted. "I cannot hear his heart. I do not feel any pulse, nor any demonic or celestial energy. And yet... he is not cold. He is in a state of deep, unnatural suspension. A coma beyond my understanding. He might wake in weeks... or months. Or never."
"How is the baby alive if he isn't?" Harun asked.
The physician looked up, his confusion turning to suspicion. "More importantly... how is a man pregnant at all? This defies every law of the Underworld."
Iruna and Harun exchanged a telepathic glance. Do we tell him?
No, Iruna replied. If the court knows he is a Celestial Hybrid, they will finish the job the king started i started.
Harun led the physician to a side room to discuss "medicine," while Iruna remained. With shaking hands, she began the gruesome task of cleaning Zaliyah. She stripped away the tattered, blood-soaked silks, weeping bitterly as she revealed the full extent of the damage. His body was a map of violence, purple, black, and blue.
She washed his hair, her fingers trembling as they traced the empty, raw patch of scalp where Malachi had ripped the hair out by the roots. She caressed his swollen face, whispering, "Everything will be fine. Please don't sleep for too long your highness."
She dressed him in clean linens and called the doctor back. The physician spent hours applying salves to the open wounds and wrapping Zaliyah in white linen. When he was finished, Zaliyah was covered from head to toe, looking like a silent tragic Egyptian mummy.
In the royal study, Malachi sat in his high-backed chair, there was dry blood decorating his face. He looked like a of war who had won the battle but lost his soul.
Uphior stood behind him, his own sword still coated in the gore of the nobles he had executed.
Kizari sat on the edge of the mahogany desk, her movements predatory and seductive. She leaned forward, placing her legs over Malachi's thighs. She reached out, her fingers playing with his blood-matted curls, before gently pulling his face toward hers. She leaned in, her tongue flicking out to lick Zaliyah's blood off Malachi's cheek.
Her hand slid down his chest, tracing the hard lines of his abs. She was hyper-stimulated by the violence, her breathing shallow and quick. She began to nuzzle his neck, her hand sliding lower, ruffling through his hair and then drifting toward his crotch.
"Uphior," Malachi said, his voice a muffled rasp as Kizari bit his earlobe. He handed a scroll to his right hand man. "Pass the Royal Decree. Everyone, nobles, servants,the highclass, the lowly beast is to be at the Execution Tower tomorrow night. Anyone who fails to attend will be executed on the spot."
Uphior bowed low. "As you wish, My King."
He turned and left, the heavy doors thudding shut behind him.
Kizari didn't waste a second. She slipped her hand into Malachi's pants, her eyes locked onto his as she slid her hand up to his throat, circling his Adam's apple. Malachi's breath hitched. He was aroused, the dark adrenaline of the day turning into a sharp, hungry need. He reached out to pin her to the table, but the door opened.
Xulthas entered, his expression as calm and clinical as ever.
Kizari groaned, throwing her head back. "You always ruin the best parts, Xulthas."
"My apologies, My Queen," Xulthas said with a dark grin spreading across his face .
Kizari rolled her eyes but didn't move from Malachi's lap. She continued to lick the blood from his jawline.
"What is he?" Malachi asked, his voice low.
"His core is a fraction," Xulthas replied. "A perfect, unstable split between Demon and Celestia, l specifically elf."
"A demon/elf hybrid," Malachi muttered, his eyes narrowing.
Kizari pulled Malachi's face to hers, kissing him deeply, her tongue tasting of copper. She was impatient, her body arching against his.
"He could be the hybrid of Lady Lilith," Xulthas continued.
Malachi went still. "How could I forget? The only successful crossing in centuries. If he is her blood..."
"That hag Mephisa," Kizari hissed between kisses. "She fails at everything, even killing her daughters mistakes."
Malachi looked at Xulthas. "Take him away tomorrow. I do not want to see him. I do not want to hear his name. I do not care what you do with him or how you 'study' him. But in five years... I want him back on his feet. In this palace. Under my thumb."
Xulthas bowed deeply. "Your wish is my command."
As Xulthas turned to leave, he heard the heavy thud of Malachi pinning Kizari to the desk. Kizari's voice drifted through the closing door: "I want to cum on your books, Malachi...So when you read them you think of me "
In a flash, Malachi's strength overwhelmed her. He pinned her wrists to the wood with one hand, his other hand hooking under her knees to lift her legs high. Kizari was slick with need, her moans starting as a low growl that escalated into a shrill, desperate sound.
As Xulthas walked through the long, echoing hallways toward the room where Zaliyah lay like a corpse, Kizari's loud, moans filled the stone corridors, a haunting yet beautiful soundtrack that contrasted the tragedy unfolding in the Underworld. Zaliyah lay in a silent coma , while the man who broke him celebrated his "victory" in the arms of the woman who cheered for his death.