Layla knew the voice calling her and what lies ahead. She hesitated to walk forward, scared of what lied ahead. She felt a slight pain on her forehead as she tried to move around.

“I don’t know what’s happening, but if I am here, then that means I shouldn’t be dead,” said Layla.

Layla felt frustrated as she looked at the source of the noise.

“Every time I try something, it always ends terribly. Why did those people even attack me?” said Layla.

Layla remembered the words of Satanachia, ‘you have become a target that people want’ before leaving this place. She shrugged her shoulders and looked deeper into the void. The only thing she could see was darkness, along with a purple light at its center. She took deep breaths and relaxed her body.

“I guess the only way to get any answers is to keep moving forward,” said Layla as she began to walk deeper in the darkness.

Purple light emulated from the center of the darkness. As Layla was moving closer, she heard a playful voice in the distance.

“Layla, it seems you were caught faster than I expected.”

Layla quickened her pace as she approached the source of the voice. Once she reached the center, Layla found Satanachia controlling a small dark purple ball in the palm of her hand.

“I have a few questions for you,” said Layla as she starred at Satanachia.

Satanachia replied with a light smile and absorbed the dark ball into her hand. As she turned, the circles behind her also moved. The rings behind her were illuminated by purple light, lighting up the darkness. “I will answer your questions, but you have to agree with my proposal,” said Satanachia.

Layla returned a confused expression. “What do you mean by the proposal?” asked Layla.

Satanchia snapped her fingers, and a thick book appeared in front of Layla. It was the size of a textbook, the front and backside of the book were completely black. The only thing that Layla found on the cover was a purple ring.

“This is what we call a grimoire, its name is ‘Lemegeton’. A human has taken control of this book and abused it for his own gain,” her lips formed a deep smile as she narrowed her eyes, “I want you to take it and give it to me,” said Satanchia.

Layla could hear a glimpse of anger in her voice which caused her to step back. “Why would I do this for you? Can’t you get it yourself?” said Layla.

Satanachia revealed a slight grin. “Well, I can’t enter your world, so I need someone to do it for me. I also have something that you should want,” said Satanchia.

Layla braced herself and waited for what she would say. She wasn’t sure what Satanachia is nor what her goals are. But she had a feeling that she shouldn’t be trusted.

Satanachia opened her palm, and a bright purple light gathered on her hand. She threw the fire in front of Layla, Layla quickly stepped back and looked at the fire. As Layla was watching it, it started to form a silhouette of a woman.

“What is this?” said Layla as she watched the silhouette turn into someone familiar to her.

Eventually, the fire formed the figure of Layla’s mother. She had a tranquil expression, and her eyes were closed.

“Wait, what is this!” said Layla as she clenched her fist and glared at Satanachia.

Satanachia gave a small laugh, then wore an innocent expression as she looked at Layla. “Your mother ended up in hell after her death. I found her and brought her to you, shouldn’t you be happy?” said Satanachia.

“Hell, huh, so you are a demon then. If my mother ended up there, then that means that she deserves to be there,” said Layla after looking at the silhouette.

“Don’t be so mean Layla, your mother has suffered in hell. If I didn’t intervene, she would truly be gone. Don’t you think that her suffering could make up with what she put you through?” said Satanachia.

Layla could only stare at Satanachia. She tried to speak, but no words came from her mouth. Layla didn’t know what to think about her mother. Throughout the time that she raised her, Layla never felt like she cared about her. She never showed up to support her and only came to things when she had to. Over the years, Layla and her mother's relationship only grew worse.

Satanachia kept her playful expression as she approached Layla. The sound of her shoes hitting the floor echoed across the darkness. “If you agree to my deal, I will not only give you your mother’s soul but also the power to achieve what you want,” said Satanachia.

“And if I refuse?” asked Layla.

“Then I will find some other use for her soul. Souls filled with negative emotions are very tasty, I’m sure your mother would make a nice snack,” said Satanachia with a bright smile.

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Layla’s lips tightened as she started at Satanachia. “I guess I have no choice, you’re a monster Satanachia,” said Laya.

“Of course Layla, I’m a beautiful monster. And I hope you remember that,” said Satanachia.

Satanachia stepped back and opened her hand. The silhouette shrank back to a dark purple fire and moved into her hand, then she clenched her hand, making the fire disappear.

“Now, the contract is very simple. You get the lemegeton, and I will return your mother. I’ll give you a human month to complete your side of the deal. I will keep her until you fulfill your part of the contract,” said Satanachia.

Layla’s eyes widened listening to her conditions. “I only have a month to find the book and give it to you. Isn’t that too little time,” said Layla.

Satanachia returned a small chuckle. Layla felt the pressure around her started to increase, making it harder to breathe. Satanachia started to speak in a stern voice as she faced Layla. “Oh Layla, you don’t have a choice. I suggest you take the deal, it would be better for the both of us,” she said.

Layla nodded her head as she was struggling to breathe.

Satanachia put on a bright smile, and the pressure surrounding Layla disappeared.

“Now it’s time to finalize the contract,” said Satanachia.

She moved her hands forward. Multiple symbols started to form around it, eventually forming a circle with different symbols around it. A large piece of paper appeared in front of Layla, none of the symbols Layla could understand.

“What do I do with this?” asked Laya.

“It’s easy, get some of your blood and put it on the contract. If any of us break the contract, then our souls will be consumed and destroyed,” said Satanachia.

Part of the darkness around Satanachia started to gather in her hand. It formed a small black knife. The sharp part of the knife was highlighted by a purple outline with black being the main color of the rest of the knife. Satanachia tossed the knife to Layla, forcing her to catch it.

When Layla caught the knife, she had a sense of familiarity with it. She looked at the knife then at her hand. “Will damaging my hand affect me in the real world?” asked Layla.

“No, but it will hurt,” said Satanachia.

Layla bit her lip and did a shallow cut on the palm of her left hand. The pain sent a chill down her spine as she closed her hand. And pressed in on the paper floating in front of her.

The paper started to shine with a red light, blinding her. As she was closing her eyes, she heard the voice of Satanachia.

“Remember Layla, I’m always watching you,” said Satanachia.

Layla’s vision turned black, the last thing that she saw was Satanachia smiling at her.

Layla’s senses returned to her as she was trying to open her eyes. She heard a muffled voice close to her.

“Someone else is awake!”

Layla’s eyes revealed a dark gray room. Layla started to look around and found out that there were many people in this large room with her, most of whom seemed to be unconscious. The room didn’t seem to have any windows or glass around it, it felt empty because there wasn’t anything inside it. A lot of them she recognized from the bus they were on. As she was looking around, she heard someone walking up to her. He had a troubled expression as he started to walk to Layla from across the room.

Layla's senses returned when the man approached her. He wore casual summer clothes that were torn with multiple smug marks along the edges of the shirt. Her left arm felt very sore and she had a slight headache. The man crouched down and offered his hand to help her.

“Are you okay?” asked the man.

Layla returned a slight nod and started to sit up by herself. “I’m fine, where is this place?” said Layla.

The man smiled awkwardly and pulled back his hand. “I’m not sure, I woke up here, just like you,” said the man.

“Ok, then did other people come while you were awake?” asked Layla as she began to wonder about the red-eyed man on the bus.

The man shook his head. “So far no one has come in, I even talked to other people that woke up earlier than me, and they said the same thing. No one seems to have any of their belongings either,” said the man.

Layla looked around and found that most of the people were awake but weren’t doing anything. “Has anyone tried to break out?” asked Layla.

The man gave a sigh and he pointed at the door. “The only exit has been the door at the end of the room. People have tried calling for help from there or breaking out. But nothing has been working,” said the man with a disappointed expression.

“I see,” said Layla. She began to wonder about her conversation with Satanachia. She remembered that someone who was on the bus used something similar to what Satanachia could do.

“For now, we just try and help anyone else who has woken up,” said the man.

Layla did a slight nod. “Thanks for the information,” said Layla.

While she was talking to the man she heard a young boy in the background.

“Daddy!” said the child as he was running to the man.

The man opened his arms to welcome his son that was running to him. The man caught him and brought him to his shoulder.

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” said the child.

“Don’t worry, daddy’s trying to get you food,” said the man with a happy expression.

“Ok, I trust you, daddy,” said the child while returning a bright smile.

The child then looked at Layla with a curious expression. He started to scratch the back of his head as he looked at her eyes.

“Why are your eyes purple?” said the child.

“Purple?” said Layla.

The man-made a stern face as he turned to his kid. “What did I say about calling people about their appearances,” said the man.

The child put his head down, then turned to Layla. “I’m sorry,” said the child.

Layla wore a small smile as she saw the kid's apology. “It’s okay,” said Layla. Layla wanted to look at a mirror, but she didn’t have her things with her.

Layla could hear footsteps approaching her from the man’s direction. She decided to get up and found that her body started to feel weird. It was much easier for her to get up from the floor. Almost as if her body was lighter than usual. She tried to move her left arm only to find that there was little pain.

As she was toying with her arm, Layla heard a nervous voice behind the man.

“Kevin, I told you to stay with me.” said a feminine voice.

A woman with short brown hair came to the man’s side. She wore a long summer dress that was covered with grey marks. It was further shown with the bright yellow color of the dress.

“But, daddy took too long,” said the child.

“I know, but we were trying to find a solution to give him some time,” said the woman.

The child nodded and reached his hands out to his mother. The woman raised her hand and took him off the man. She turned to the man while bringing the child closer to her chest.

“I know you want to help people, but remember what is at risk,” said the woman as she looked to the child.

The man looked at the woman. “Yeah, I know,” said the man.

The man turned to Layla. “For now, I would recommend you try and rest. You don’t know what will happen, by the way, my name is James,” said James.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Layla,” she said.

The woman started to walk away while carrying the child that was waving at Layla. James nodded and walked away with the group farther down the room. Layla moved to an open corner and started to ponder what was happening.

“My body feels different, is this the power that Satanachia was talking about?” thought Layla.

Bringing up the name of the demon made Layla tremble. Remembering seeing her mother being controlled made her clench her fist in anger. Her mother was a retired actor. Layla remembered watching some of her old movies when her mother wasn’t home. She was surprised as a kid because the fun personality she found in her films wasn't a side she ever got to see in her mother.

“I will get you back mother, you don’t deserve to go to hell,” thought Layla.

As Layla was thinking about her next move, she heard noise from the other end of the room. A loud voice started to call her name.

“Layla, where are you!”