A text that will never come
The sparkle in your eye that will never be for me
A heart that will never be mine
I'll make you grieve, I'll make you grieve
For the life we could have had
For the love I would have gave
If only I met you sooner
I'll make you grieve, I'll make you grieve
If only you knew how I felt deep inside
If only you knew how much I'd change for you
If only I met you sooner
I'll make you grieve, I'll make you grieve
The black pen leaves the notebook and retreats to its side. Az looks down at his work with a look of satisfaction that quickly transitions to melancholy. He lowers his head into his hands and starts to rub his eyes with his palm.
"Why am I like this?" he chuckles to himself "I guess writing poetry is better than making a fool of myself to her like I usually do."
The eyes watching him, one red and one blue, partially close as the hidden figure can't help but smile. She watches Az arms crossed with intense curiosity. Almost jumping as Az turns his head around to make sure no one heard him talking to himself despite his empty apartment, she laughs to herself for forgetting that she is currently invisible.
"He's the one" she smiles to herself.
As the sun rises Az slowly opens his eyes. He remarks to himself that he keeps beating his alarm and waking up earlier every week. Not feeling tired, he shrugs it off and starts his morning routine. He eats breakfast, shaves, and then showers. Putting on his work uniform, he takes care to check his appearance in the mirror one last time.
Ding-ding! Az's arrival at the store is announced as soon as he enters. Everything seems to be in perfect order as soon as he enters. No messes, the aisles all seem well stocked, and there's no line at the register. To Az, this can only mean one thing.
"Looks like Lilith is here today" he thinks to himself.
A smile beams from across the register, "Mornin' Az, how are you?" The young woman playfully folds her arms and waits for an answer.
"I'm great as always, how are you Lilith?"
"I'm doing awesome!" she laughs
The conversation is interrupted as another co-worker comes out from the back. Another young woman, although noticeably colder in demeanor. Az was not nearly as fond of her as he was of Lilith. The cloaked figure smirks as she notices Az's smile quickly retract upon seeing her.
"Hey Az, bossman wants to see you in the back."
"Alright, good morning to you too Ellie." Az laughs
"Yeah good morning" Ellie responds with an eyeroll.
Az walks into the back into the boss's office. The cloaked figure follows but quickly stops at the entrance waits on the outside of the office.
"Even with being intangible, I still can't stand tight spaces" she laughs to herself.
Listening through the door she can hear bits and pieces of Az and his boss getting into an argument. She can barely make out that the register was short the other day and Az and Lilly were the only ones to use it that day. Az says something about how he gave too much change back.
"A lie" the cloaked figure raises her eyebrow "you're trying to protect her."
Az leaves the office after being lectured on being more careful. He gives a familiar look of satisfaction that quickly turned to melancholy. He sighs and starts to walk back out before he hears his two co-workers having a conversation.
"I think he's going to propose tonight" Az could make out Lilith saying through the wooden door.
"That's so exciting Lily, I'm so happy for you!" Ellie beams "Just be careful, don't let you-know-who hear, you know he has a weird obsession with you."
Lilith groans "Come on, he's a sweet guy. Don't talk about him like that."
Ellie rolls her eyes and starts to take some products out to the aisles. Az freezes at the door, composing himself before deciding to wait a minute before coming out. He puts his hand on the door but is unable to open it. Turning around, he walks back to the office.
"Hey, I'm really not feeling well today. You got Lilith and Ellie today so I don't think you need me here" Az grumbles, arms folded
"That's fine, you can go home. I need you back tomorrow though, it's just you and Ellie."
Az initially winces at the thought of having to work with Ellie, but for once is relieved he's working with her over Lilith. He thanks his boss before walking out into the store. Trying to force a smile and his usual humorous air, he approaches Lilith.
"Hey Lilith, I'm not feeling well today, the boss said I could go home. Are you two good?"
"Yeah, I hope you feel better Az. I have some cold medicine in my bag if you need some" Lilith smiles.
Avoiding eye contact, Az mumbles "I'm good, thank you though."
The silence of his apartment hits Az as he returns home. He walks through his apartment checking every room as if someone will suddenly be there. Sighing as he opens his shower curtain, the last place to check on his list.
"Do I even care if someone broke in?" Az collapses onto the floor, sobbing. "She's going to marry him. They both think I'm pathetic. She's only nice to me because she feels sorry for me." the sobbing stops as his voice turns deadpan.
Az stands up, brushes himself off and retreats to his bedroom. He opens his notebook to the last page he worked on.
Stolen story; please report.
A text that will never come
The sparkle in your eye that will never be for me
A heart that will never be mine
I'll make you grieve, I'll make you grieve
For the life we could have had
For the love I would have gave
If only I met you sooner
I'll make you grieve, I'll make you grieve
If only you knew how I felt deep inside
If only you knew how much I'd change for you
If only I met you sooner
I'll make you grieve, I'll make you grieve
"I'll make you grieve" he smirks as he grabs a medicine bottle. Az stares at the bottle for what felt like ages. He started sobbing again before opening it. With a crash the bottle falls to the floor spilling its contents as Az hears a voice call out to him
"Wait! Stop!" the cloaked figure reveals herself
Az jumps back in shock with his heart racing. He quickly collects himself and examines the person before him. A person about as tall as Az, seemingly inhuman but similar in appearance to a young woman. The hair on her right side is black whilst the other side is blonde. Her left eye is an unnatural shade of crimson red, and her right eye is blue.
"I am Parametris, I've been watching you and well I have a deal for you I mean it's more of an offer but I think you know you might be interested and" she starts to stutter, excitedly tripping over her words. She rests for a second and collects herself.
"Let's start with this. I am Parametris, it's nice to meet you Az." she beams with a smile.
"What the hell are you? Are you supposed to be my guardian angel or something? I wasn't actually gonna do it you know, I wouldn't put that on her" Az rushes to defend himself. He glances down at the pills on the ground double checking he didn't already ingest any
Parametris responds with a twirl "Close! And no, you're not hallucinating!" she puts her hand on Az's shoulder "I'm actually a fallen angel. Well, technically not! I'm a second-generation fallen angel since I was born in Hell so technically I didn't fall from grace but that's just how we call ourselves and" she collects herself "and I should not be telling you all this!"
"So you want my soul?" Az chuckles "And what do I get in return?"
Parametris frantically waves her arms in front of her "Oh no no no, I don't want your soul. It's actually pretty stupid to make a deal with souls since if I had your soul I could just nullify my end of the pact and" Parametris breathes "I want to make you an offer. Join me in a competition where the prize is literally anything you wish!"
Az sits down, rubbing his eyes to make sure he isn't dreaming. The adrenaline from the shock and the emotional turmoil of the day. He pulls out his phone considering calling the police. His eyes focus on his home screen.
No new messages
"Alright crazy lady who claims to be a fallen angel," he leans back "I'll hear you out."
Parametris excitedly jumps up and down while shaking her fists "Alright! Every few years Hell starts a game on Earth, we call it the Athanual games. Residents of Hell can buy one of these" Parametris produces a glowing shard from her left wrist before retracting it "and implant it into a human to make them their partner for the games! Then you just gotta kill enough of the other participants to get six hundred and sixty six shards and then you can wish for whatever you want!"
"Kill? You really are insane." Az lowers his head into his hand
"Oh! I forgot! The shard also supplants Hell's rules onto you. Like how we can do things like uh," she snaps her fingers and engulfs her hand in flames "like this. So you'll definitely be able to kill people! And the more shards you get the more abilities you can unlock! I can't believe I forgot to mention that, that's one of the main selling points for most people apparently!"
Shocked, Az stands up "What the hell are you? How are you doing that?"
"Um, I told you already. Oh yeah, you probably aren't used to this kind of thing. Many humans these days don't believe in Heaven and Hell, I understand. Even if you don't believe me, under the terms I just listed would you agree to participate with me?" Parametris beams.
"Why me?"
"Because," Parametris breaks eye contact for the first time since meeting Az "you're a good person." She re-initiates eye contact with a smile "So would you accept?"
He lets out a sigh "Sure, what the hell do I have to lo-" Az is cut off as Parametris stabs her shard directly into the center of his chest. It hurts for a moment before the only sensation left is warmth. Az looks into Parametris' eyes as she smiles back at him before everything fades to black.
Suspended in nothingness Az starts feeling panic. He can't see anything, hear anything, or feel anything. There is no discernible scent in the air. Right as he starts to feel he may have been tricked, a voice fills his head.
"Welcome to the Athanual games. Once you wake up, you will meet the fallen angel Parametris who has chosen you to be their partner. Here you will pick out abilities and items to fit the slots allotted to your shard. Since you have the lowest tier of shard, you will be allowed to pick one ability and one item in addition to the two abilities your partner has chosen for you. If you obtain more shards, you will be able to obtain more abilities and items."
A huge panel appears in front of Az as he suddenly realizes he is now on solid ground. There have to be thousands of different traits listed on the panel, and the item panel seems almost as big.
"Your perception of time has been slowed down by a hundred times until you leave this space. Please spend all the time you need."
After calming down from the initial shock, Az spends a few hours combing through all of the abilities. He notices a few combinations that could work for the future, and makes a few mental countermeasures to a few abilities others could take.
"What am I even doing this for?" Az laughs "I'm gonna fucking die first thing anyway. At least it's better than watching her get married and she won't blame herself if I get murdered."
Az rubs his chin as he deliberates "Seems she picked two defense-oriented abilities for me. I don't know if she was trying to go for a combination here, she sure as shit didn't tell me if she was. The first one she picked heals wounds that I inflict onto myself. Some of these abilities harm the user in the process of using them, but I don't think that's the only reason she chose this one. The other is just an ambiguous 'resistance to other abilities', I guess that's one that everyone is going to be taking. I doubt the first tier of it does much though"
Az settles on an ability called Lightning Strike. This ability at its first tier allows its user to shoot a weak bolt of electricity upon snapping their fingers. This ability has the drawback of burning the skin on the offending hand. Parametris senses that Az selected an ability and gives his motionless body a satisfied smile. Ten more minutes pass on Earth, about sixteen hours for Az.
"What could possibly be taking him this long on the item menu?" Parametris impatiently remarks, sinking back into the sofa. "Just pick the juice that heals you already like everyone else is gonna!"
Az stares motionless at the item panel. He reads that same item description for what feels like the millionth time.
"Cupid's arrow
This item, once embedded within the target, will continually emit a chemical which will cause them to focus heavily on your good qualities and encourage strong positive feelings towards you for as long as you live. If the target has a significant prior relationship with you, they will almost certainly fall in love with you."
His eyes glaze over that last part again and again.
"If the target has a significant prior relationship with you, they will almost certainly fall in love with you."
He makes his choice.
"Hey welcome back Az!" Parametris stands up from her rest and excitedly greets Az
"Thank you, Parametris." Az sobs "I don't even need to win, you already gave me what I want. I'm probably gonna die in the first few days anyway but at least I'll get to spend my last few days in Heaven."
Parametris gives Az a worried look "What did you pick for an item, Az. Please tell me it wasn't" she senses what he picked "Az… you can't. Free will is important. It's important to me, and it should be important to you."
"It'll leave her system once I die right? It's not like it will last long." Az coldly states
Parametris breaks eye contact again "You're not going to die like that! And you really don't have to use that Az. Please listen to me." Parametris takes a deep breath "I've been watching you for a while. I see all the cute and sweet things you do for her. Even the things she doesn't see and will never know you did for her. If she only knew the extent of it I'm sure she would love you back!"
"If only I met her sooner" Az laments "She has a boyfriend. He's going to propose tonight."
With an excited bounce and a wide smile Parametris beams "But they aren't married yet! There's still hope there always is! Go and see her tonight, tell her how you feel! I've seen all the sweet things you've done for her, she'll have to realize you two are meant to be!" a sparkle fills her eyes "you can do this Az, you absolutely can do this!"
Az laughs "You really aren't much of a demon, are you?"
She shrinks back and breaks eye contact "Please, don't call me that."
Az apologizes "Sorry. I do find it kind of amusing, I thought your kind were supposed to be scary and want to harm humans. You actually seem nice."
Parametris forces a smile.