Silence reigned on the elevator trip to the top. Cobalt sat limply on the floor, his fathers words ringing in his skull, over and over again. Swallowing hard, he rubbed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, but nothing seemed to work. It seemed like Brass was the one thing keeping him from completely unravelling, and now he was stuck down there alone. Truth be told, Cobalt didn't think he had the strength to see this through. Not alone.

No.

He wasn't alone.

He looked up to see Lilith standing with her arms folded, staring through the gaps in the walls at the shifting stonework and machinery beyond the elevator. Her brow was knitted as it usually was, but it was with concern, not annoyance. She took a deep breath, shaking as she let it out.

The reality was settling on them both. The deep, underlying terror that they had been trying avoid this whole time. The desperation of the situation. The hopelessness. And the irony of how willingly blind they had been up until this point.

They never really stood a chance, did they?

And yet here they were...

"It's gonna be messy. No matter what happens, it's gonna end in blood," Lilith said, tapping her foot.

"I figured..." Cobalt responded.

He swallowed hard.

"... Are you scared, Lilith?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Terrified," she responded without missing a beat, "but not of dying."

"What?"

"I was only ever afraid of dying for something I didn't believe in. But I've got that now."

"So... what are you afraid of...?"

She glanced over at him, her single red eye the softest he had ever seen it.

"... I'm afraid of losing the first friend I've had in a long, long time."

He didn't know what to say. He couldn't know. But before he could even begin to think of anything, the elevator shuddered to a halt. Before them was a single door made from blackened steel. Beyond it... the source of all of this. The one Lilith had been running from for months.

"You ready?" Lilith asked, cracking her knuckles.

He swallowed hard.

"... As I'll ever be..."

Rising to his feet, the Incubus took his place by Lilith's side, ready to face whatever terrors awaited them at the peak of the Tempered Bastion. With a nod, Lilith pulled the lever next to the door, causing it to screech open. Beyond was a hallway lined with blue torches, filled to the brim with Devil soldiers dressed in heavy armour. They started upon seeing the elevator open, but made no attempt to attack. Instead, they just watched as the two intruders slowly walked down the centre of the hall, their red eyes burning behind their visors.

"Why aren't they attacking...?" Cobalt asked quietly, sticking close to his friend.

"Guess he ordered them not to. He always did have a flair for the dramatic..." Lilith responded, meeting every glare she was afflicted with.

"... You're talking about this Alpha guy, right?"

"The very same."

The tone of her voice...

"You know him well."

Lilith just nodded as they approached the doors at the end of the hall. Cobalt looked into her eye, and the Devil glanced away. He thought back to the mishmash of her memories he had been subjected to when Immoderata had infected his mind.

"... You were close."

"... Yeah. I said I wouldn't keep anything from you anymore, but... that was the one thing I never knew how to tell you..."

Cobalt placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand Lilith. Let's do this, shall we?"

Clenching her jaw, she nodded stalwartly.

"Yeah. Let's."

Raising her foot, the Devil kicked them wide open with a deafening clang.

The only way that Cobalt could describe the atrium beyond was that it resembled a Jump Chamber, but much older and far more intricate. In the centre of the chamber was a grand platform set with the figure of a pentagram, raise high upon stone steps. Conduction spires carved from metal ringed it, reaching high enough to touch the ceiling and weave into the construction of the rafters. The machinery in the walls was most prevalent up here; sparking and flashing with red energy as the walls between worlds were worn tenuously thin. The air tasted of copper and salt, and as Lilith and Cobalt stepped inside, their attention was drawn to the single Devil standing atop the platform, his back turned to the pair of them.

"So. You're finally here," he spoke in a booming voice, one that dripped with power and authority.

He was dressed regally; a dark cloak was set upon his shoulders, frayed from age and laden with worn silver threads. His hair was long and silver, and though his back was turned, Cobalt could see just how tall his iron horns rose. When he stretched his wings, they extended much further than Cobalt could have imagined.

"Are you Alph-"

"KNEEL."

As soon as he barked that order, the Incubus was overcome with fear. His legs buckled involuntarily, and he would have collapsed were it not for Lilith grabbing his arm.

"So it's true. You stand shoulder to shoulder with a lower demon. And an Incubus, no less. I had hoped - in my heart of hearts - that it was lies. The reports, the rumours, the sightings... I truly wanted to believe that it wasn't true."

The Devil amongst Devils turned around, and Cobalt stumbled a second time.

Oh sweet hellfire.

He wore a fine suit, finer than any Cobalt had seen in his life. Steel plating had been seamlessly woven into the design, and upon his lapel were half a dozen medals. But as terrifying as his stance and garb were... his face was even more so. There was something about it that frozen Cobalt's blood solid in his veins. A powerful, austere visage, only slightly marred by a rough goatee. Dark rings circle his eyes, both of which were the deepest red Cobalt had ever seen. And yet despite that, they almost seemed to glow.

He was paralysed, but so was Lilith. She kept her face set firm, but she could hide how she shook.

"What would your mother think?" he spat hatefully, glaring down at them both.

"Don't you dare bring her into this," Lilith responded, standing her ground.

His frown deepened as he turned his gaze onto the Incubus in his midst.

"You. Cur. Do you know who I am?" he asked, raising an arched eyebrow.

"... I've heard you're called Alpha," Cobalt breathed, his weak voice paling in comparison to the Devil's.

His red eyes narrowed.

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"You already know the answer I'm looking for. Spit it out."

Cobalt swallowed hard. There wasn't a demon in all of Hell who hadn't seen that face in a historical tome or even in the Book of Aneop.

"... You're him. You're... Lucifer."

"Satan. Overseer of Creation. Alpha. King of Demons. I have a thousand titles, but above else, I am your god, cur. I made you. And I can unmake you just as easily. So answer me a simple question..."

His eyes flashed. It wasn't a glare from the light, or a trick of Cobalt's mind. Lucifer's eyes flashed brighter, seething with unbridled hate.

"... why would a cur like you ally yourself with my darling daughter?"

Cobalt didn't know whether he should have been shocked or not. All the signs were there; Lilith's memories of royalty, the reverence with which the other Devils referred to her, the outright refusal to discuss her father that cold night in December... And still, to hear from the horse's mouth that his closest friend was none other than the daughter of the progenitor of all demons...

"Your silence speaks volumes. Still a mindless animal after all these centuries..."

Lucifer returned his attention to his daughter.

"And what of you, Zelde? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Lilith took a step forward, protectively placing herself in front of Cobalt.

"I'm done with that name. And I'm not here to argue with you," she spat, like a true rebellious child.

"Of course. Not only are you going to shame your mother's memory, you're going to sully her name, too."

Lucifer took a deep breath as he began to descend the stone steps. Behind Cobalt, the Devils soldiers filed into the chamber, taking up positions all around them, completely trapping them.

"You knew from the beginning that this was the plan, Zelde. You were to inherit it, after all. Our glorious return to Hell. Our triumphant conquering of Earth. And our long-deserved ransacking of Heaven itself."

"You're talking bullshit, old man. She wouldn't have wanted this."

"You don't get to speak for her, girl. You lost that right the moment you betrayed your very blood."

Even when he was standing on the same level as Cobalt, he completely towered over him. Even Lilith - the tallest person he knew - had to look up into her father's eyes.

"So what's it gonna be? If I don't fall to my knees and beg for forgiveness, are you just gonna kill me? Is that it?" Lilith growled, baring her teeth as she began to lose her temper.

He slowly shook his head.

"Don't push me, Zelde," he breathed, his voice as cold as ice.

"Our time is done, old man. Devils have no place in Hell anymore. I told you this. I've been telling you this for fucking centuries, and you still wouldn't listen. No, I'm not the one putting mom's memory to shame. You are."

Lucifer's gloved fists tightened.

"I'm not taking this insolence from. Either you bow your head now as my daughter, or I'll part it from your shoulders as an enemy."

Lilith took a sharp breath through her nose before getting all up in her father's face.

"Go. Fuck. Yourself."

"Very well. Remember; you chose this."

Cobalt didn't even see him raise his foot. One moment he was watching the tense family reunion with a hand of ice gripping his heart, the next Lucifer had kicked him in the chest with all the force of a freight train; a blow so strong that he only felt the pain hit once he was already flying across the chamber. Sharp, stabbing pains spread through his chest as his ribs buckled, and upon striking the far wall, his skull was smashed against a steel piston. Lilith screamed and tried to summon her pistols, but Lucifer effortlessly grabbed her throat in a single hand, hoisting her off her feet without even ruffling his suit.

"You sulk like a child for centuries, only to bite the hand that fed you from the moment you were born. You had everything to gain and more, and yet you'd rather wallow in filth with the very creatures that stripped your mother - my wife - to the fucking bone. What did you think you'd do, Zelde? Convince me to be satisfied with squatting in a squalid cavern for the rest of eternity? Disappear to live a new life amongst the lower swine? Take my crown for yourself?"

He scoffed and raised her higher. He was choking her, and yet not a shred of emotion showed on the King of Demons' face.

"No. No more second chances. You cross me, and you pay the price. And I'll start by taking back what's rightfully mine."

He reached his free hand towards his daughter's eyepatch, but upon realising what he was doing, Lilith grit her teeth and melted away into a puddle of ferromantic magic. Furrowing his brow, Lucifer watched as she slithered across the floor, rejoining with Cobalt as he struggled back to his feet. The soldiers surrounded him, shoving him towards their king and cutting off the only escape he had.

"What do we do...?" Cobalt breathed, wincing as he held a hand to his wounded ribs.

She didn't respond. All he could hear was her breathing; desperate, terrified hyperventilation.

"A contract. Is there any low you won't stoop to?" the lord of Devils spat, marching towards the Incubus.

"S- Stay back..." he stammered, terrified to his very marrow.

"You don't get to make those demands, cur. KNEEL."

Without Lilith to steady him, he did as he was told, collapsing as Lucifer approached.

"Look at you. Wearing the crown of your betters, as though you could truly command that kind of power. You're an animal. And you have one chance to surrender Zelde to me before I split you asunder," he threatened.

Cobalt shook his head.

"I- I can't. I- I don't know how to end a contract, and Lilith can't do it either."

Scoffing, the King of Demons raised his hand. Molten metal fluidly coated his hand in a surge of ferromantic magic, forming a set of semi-solid claws that glowed with some unknowable power.

"Are you forgetting who you're addressing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wh- What?"

"I don't care how closely entwined your souls are. This will hurt."

The look in his eyes... There was nothing. None of the arrogance the other Devils had. Just cold, emotionless hate.

Awestruck as he was by Lucifer himself standing before him, Cobalt could do nothing as he unceremoniously shoved the claws straight through his chest.

Cobalt was well-acquainted with pain of the body. Hell, even grievous injuries didn't seem to bother him anymore. So too was he familiar with pain of the mind; the two mixed well. But never before had he felt pain in his very soul. Lucifer's claws left no wounds, and yet the agony was worse than any injury he had felt before. He screamed at the top of his lungs as Lilith did much the same, their anguish discordantly harmonising as Lucifer began to mercilessly extricate his claws with agonising slowness.

As he pulled, the Incubus' mind was set aflame with a thousand flashing thoughts and images; half of them his, half of them hers. Lilith's entire consciousness was spread across his mind's eye like an endless tapestry, with each memory stinging worse as it was permanently ripped from his skull. He could feel the bonds between them tearing; his connection to the Devil weakening as Lucifer gradually ripped her away. Her spectral form was gradually being pulled from his body, connected to his very soul by strands of ectoplasmic fluid. Her screams of agony rang louder and louder as she was pulled from Cobalt's body, the pain folding over into itself a thousand times with every second that passed.

It felt like hours, but when she was fully emerged, Lucifer ripped his daughter right out of Cobalt, snapping the final few tendrils that kept them bound. Lilith hung there upon his claws, fully corporeal and dressed in the leathers she wore the night she first jumped him in the park.

Cobalt himself collapsed to the ground, twitching all over as every recoil of his being recoiled from the shock. His body felt completely drained, shaking and slicked in sweat. His head felt worse; where there was once the reassuring presence of Lilith, he could now feel... nothing. Just an empty hollow where the Devil use to be.

"I don't care if you've killed Devils before; I am nothing like them," he spat at the Incubus, before turning his attention back to Lilith.

She was completely silent; her eye had rolled back into her skull and she was twitching erratically.

"Now. To take back what's mine."

Tearing off Lilith's eyepatch, he plunged his fingers straight into her eye socket. She awoke with a start, resuming her screaming with renewed fervour as her father mercilessly forced the Iron Artillery from her skull. Blood flowed down the side of her face as she thrashed and squirmed, but with a sickening crack, Lucifer pulled the prosthetic eye free, dropping his daughter to the floor once he was done.

"Thousands died to create this. It was never yours to take," he said, his voice low and cold.

Lilith lifted her head, no doubt suffering just as much as Cobalt from the broken contract. She was pale, and struggling to hold her eyelids shut.

"D- Dad... stop this. Please..." she gasped, trying and failing to stand up.

He just regarded her with a cold eye as he wiped the Iron Artillery off on his cloak.

"Look at you. Appealing to emotion when it suits you. You've had your chance for that, Zelde. Too little, too late."

He snapped his fingers as he slipped the prosthesis into his pocket. The marching of heavy boots rang out through the chamber as a pair of soldiers grabbed both Lilith and Cobalt and forced them to their feet. More of Lucifers underlings crowded around the machinery circling the central platform, pulling levers and turning dials as red energy began to course through the pillars all around them.

"Tell me you're not...! Stop...!" Lilith cried, unable to break free from her captor.

Her father looked back at her.

"You've delayed our plans enough. If we're to regain our lost honour, then a show of force is required. Open the Gate. Wide."

Lucifer's loyal soldiers saluted and threw the switches in tandem. Bolts of lightning shot forth from the pillars, converging in the spot just above the central platform. The energy seemed to latch onto the very air, tearing it open into the biggest rift Cobalt had ever seen. It hung in the air like a seeping wound, flashing and sparking as hot wind blew forth.

Whether it was fear or adrenaline - perhaps some mix of both - the sight of the rift snapped the Incubus back to his senses. He rammed his elbow into the Devil soldier's helmet, distracting him just enough to break free and make a desperate charge towards Lucifer while he had his back turned. He didn't know what he was going to do, or even why he was trying to rush him to begin with, but his mind was still echoing with hollow, resounding emptiness.

Lucifer spotted him immediately and effortlessly lashed at his legs with a long, barbed tail. Tripping forward, the Incubus was snatched out of the air by the King of Demons, hoisted up off his feet as he did with Lilith.

"Tenacious. Behind those eyes, you're every bit the animal I made you to be, aren't you?" he mused, narrowing his eyes at Cobalt.

"Y- You can't do this...!"

"I can. I've earned it."

He shut his eyes and thought for a moment.

"... Perhaps it's easier to show rather than tell. Consider yourself lucky, cur; you're getting a front row seat to a new era...!"

Tightening his group, Lucifer arced his arm back and hurled the Incubus straight at the rift. He flailed his limbs and spread his wings, but nothing he did could contest with his very maker's overwhelming power. With one final glance at Lilith, Cobalt was tossed straight through the portal, screaming all the way.