Aira didn't sleep.
Not after what she had seen — her twin brother alive, twisted by pain and betrayal, now standing as her enemy. Not after what Lucien had whispered in the dark:
> "There's more blood on my hands than you'll ever know."
The palace was colder now. Even the torches lining the walls seemed dimmer, like they too feared what was coming.
Lucien hadn't spoken to her since the night of the attack. He'd locked himself in the West Wing — the forbidden side of the castle. A place only spoken about in whispers.
But Aira couldn't wait anymore.
Her magic was growing. She could feel it pulsing beneath her skin, as if something ancient was waking inside her. And if Lucien wouldn't give her answers, she'd get them herself.
She crept down the corridor, her fingertips grazing the wall for balance. The scent of ash and iron clung to the stones. At the end of the hall, the door to the West Wing loomed like a monster's mouth — heavy, black, and chained.
Except tonight, the chains were broken.
Swallowed by nerves, Aira stepped through.
Inside, candlelight flickered. Scrolls and spellbooks littered the room. A massive red sigil burned on the floor. In the center stood Lucien, shirtless, his back scarred with ancient marks.
She gasped.
He turned slowly. "You shouldn't be here."
"I need the truth," she said, stepping into the circle.
Lucien's jaw tightened. "The truth will break you."
"Let it."
He stared at her, the shadows in his eyes almost human now. Almost.
Then he walked to a table, unrolled a scroll, and handed it to her. "Your name is written in every prophecy of the Devion bloodline."
Aira read the faded text. Her breath caught.
> "When the moon bleeds and the heir of light returns, the Devil Heir must choose: love… or legacy."
"I'm the heir of light?" she whispered.
Lucien nodded. "And I am cursed to destroy what I love most… or be destroyed by it."
Silence choked the room.
Aira's heart pounded. "Then why did you marry me?"
His eyes burned. "Because I thought I could control fate. But I was wrong."
Suddenly, a mirror on the wall cracked.
Aira turned — and saw her brother's reflection.
> "Time's up, sister," his voice echoed. "Your light dies tonight."
A sharp wind howled. The sigil under her feet began to burn.
Lucien stepped in front of her. "He's breached the boundary. He's not alone."
Aira clutched the amulet on her chest.
It was glowing… and cracking.
Lucien's voice turned desperate. "Aira, if you use your power now, you may not come back."
"But if I don't…" she whispered, "we all die."
She raised her hands, eyes glowing silver.
The wall exploded.
Figures in blood-red cloaks surged in.
And then—blackness.
The chamber filled with smoke and screams. Red-cloaked intruders poured through the shattered wall like a plague of shadows. Aira could barely breathe as the air rippled with ancient, forbidden magic.
Lucien shoved her behind him, his blade summoned in an instant—black steel, humming with wrath.
But these weren't ordinary enemies.
They moved like phantoms.
One lunged at Lucien. He spun, slicing through the air, the impact cracking the stone floor. But even as one enemy fell, three more replaced him.
"Aira!" he shouted, his voice rough with command. "Protect the amulet! It's not just your power—it's the seal keeping him out!"
Him.
Her brother.
She looked down. The glowing crystal pulsed erratically, lightning threading through its cracks like veins of fury.
"No—" she gasped. "It's breaking."
A sharp laugh cut through the chaos.
And then... he appeared.
Her brother stood at the threshold, arms wide, as if welcoming the chaos. His eyes were molten red. His cloak flowed like fire behind him.
"You always got the crown," he said, stalking forward. "But I got the curse."
Lucien charged before he could take another step—but the twin raised one hand.
Boom.
Lucien hit the wall so hard it crumbled behind him. Blood trickled from his mouth as he staggered to his feet.
"Stop it!" Aira screamed, stepping forward. "If you want me, take me. Leave him out of this!"
He grinned. "Oh, I plan to take everything."
Suddenly, the broken amulet on Aira's chest flared with blinding light—and shattered.
The world went white.
Aira screamed as power surged through her. Her vision blurred, her body lifted from the ground. Every nerve burned. Magic pulsed from her skin in wild waves.
Lucien's voice reached her faintly. "Aira… no…"
She fell.
Right into darkness.
And then… silence.
A voice whispered in her mind:
> "One must die for the other to live. Choose."
Aira's body hit the floor with a thud, the shattered remnants of the amulet glimmering around her like broken stars. Her breath came in sharp gasps, magic still crackling off her skin, but her eyes were distant—haunted.
Lucien crawled toward her, blood smearing across the stone tiles with every move. "Aira—Aira, stay with me."
Her lips trembled. "He's inside me."
"What?" Lucien froze.
Aira's twin—Arion—stepped forward, the fire in his eyes now a calm, controlled blaze. "The seal is gone, Devil Heir. And with it… her freedom. She was always the key."
Lucien pulled Aira into his arms, shielding her with his body. "Touch her again, and I'll burn your entire bloodline into ash."
Arion smirked. "You'll have to kill me, then. And if you do… she dies too. We're linked now—curse and all."
Aira's eyes fluttered open, her voice no louder than a breath. "He's right. I can feel him… inside my mind. Like poison in my soul."
Lucien gritted his teeth. "We'll fight it. Together."
Arion raised a glowing dagger, its blade forged from obsidian and bone. "You don't get to decide. She's mine by blood. And blood… always wins."
Before Lucien could respond, a tremor shook the chamber. Ancient runes along the walls flared to life. A summoning spell had been activated—one Aira hadn't known was carved beneath the very palace floor.
"No," Lucien breathed, eyes widening. "He's not just trying to take her. He's trying to bring the true heir of the Abyss into this world."
Arion nodded. "Father is coming. And she is the gateway."
Lucien turned to Aira. "Listen to me. You must fight it. Do not give in. Your light is stronger than his darkness."
Tears rolled down her cheeks. "What if it's not?"
Lucien kissed her forehead. "Then let my darkness protect you."
He stood, summoning his full demonic form—horns, wings, eyes burning like coals.
But Arion was ready.
They clashed, light and shadow tearing through the palace like a raging storm. Every blow shook the world. Fire and ice, blood and thunder. The two heirs of hell, fighting over the soul of one girl.
Aira screamed as a pulse tore through her chest.
Her skin cracked with glowing veins.
She could feel something ancient stirring within her—something that wasn't hers.
And then… her eyes turned black.
Her voice dropped to a whisper not her own.
> "Lucien… run…"
But he didn't.
He turned just in time—
To see a blade plunging toward his heart.
Lucien's blood soaked the ground, his eyes locked on Aira, who now hovered inches above the floor—her body glowing, her veins streaked with shadows. Her expression was unreadable, torn between terror and power.
"Aira," he called out, voice raw. "It's me. You have to fight him. Fight it."
But the girl who turned to him wasn't the Aira he knew.
Her eyes had turned pitch black, laced with golden rings that shimmered with deadly magic. A voice that wasn't hers echoed from her throat—deep, layered, ancient.
> "You shouldn't have touched what was meant to be sealed."
Arion laughed darkly, flames swirling around him. "She's awakening, Devil Heir. The Blood Gate has opened, and the first seal is broken."
Lucien dragged himself up, using his sword as support. "I don't care what power you've stirred. I will not lose her."
He charged at Arion again—but this time, Aira raised her hand and stopped him midair, his body suspended by unseen force.
"Don't come closer," she whispered, a single tear running down her cheek. "I don't know how long I can hold him back…"
Lucien's eyes searched hers. "I believe in you."
But the tear froze on her face and turned black.
Arion spread his arms wide. "She's slipping. When the final moon rises, her soul will be mine. Our father will rise through her."
Suddenly, the chamber shattered with a blinding flash. From the corner of the room, a mysterious woman in a hooded cloak stepped out, her voice echoing like wind through the crypt.
> "You're early, Arion. The gate isn't fully ready yet. You're risking the timeline."
Lucien narrowed his gaze. "Who are you?"
The woman threw back her hood, revealing crimson eyes and silver hair—almost identical to Aira's.
"I'm the Seer of the First Flame. And I'm here to finish what your ancestors started."
Aira screamed as chains of fire wrapped around her wrists, dragging her toward the summoning circle. Her body trembled violently.
Lucien's heart thundered. "NO!"
He broke free from the spell's hold and sprinted toward her.
But the Seer whispered a spell, and the floor beneath him split open, revealing an endless abyss.
Lucien began to fall.
"AIRA!"
Her eyes flickered—black to silver, then black again.
> "LUCIEN!"
She reached for him.
Their fingers touched for one breathless second.
And then—
He vanished into the abyss.
The chamber went silent.
Aira collapsed in the circle, her body limp, her breath shallow.
The Seer smiled. "One heir has fallen. The other… will awaken."
The final seal began to glow beneath her body.
And somewhere deep inside her…
The Devil stirred.