Every time I pushed myself to the very edge, instead of the looming void there was just a step down. Slowly descending, hoping that something would change. Either an end to so much destruction, or ascension to some manner of comfort. Currently, the world hadn’t endured enough of me, nor I of it.

My eyes opened, as if I had slept, but I did not recall any dreams. Across the muted gray above me, flashes of crimson and darkness flickered. A brief second, flashbacks of whatever happened before I blacked out. Violence. Ripping and tearing, the screams and the blood. Now my mind remained dull once more, unresponsive and blank.

I could not move. Pressure held against my aching body.

The slow turn of a page, and a sigh. “You’re finally awake then.”

It was the unmistakable voice of Pearl. I grunted in response, as I seemed unable to do much else at present.

The shuffle of movement and then her shadowed form loomed over me. She looked tired. Concerned. “You’re strapped down in the safe room, if you are confused.”

“Oh,” I managed. That made some sense.

“We’ve given you all the meds we could, without resorting to Org stuff.” Her finger ran along the side of my head. “Well, there’s one last thing I can try.”

I tried raising my eyebrows, but they found resistance in the strap pressing against my forehead. Any trepidation over what she might want to do was soon smothered out just as quickly as she pressed her clothed chest against my face. Through the warm fabric of whatever gray shirt she was wearing, I found soft salvation.

She moved back away.

“Think I need a second dose,” I complained, slightly more lucid now.

“You ass, Eric. I knew that’d work.” She rolled her eyes. “You really stirred up the hornet's nest, so get up already.”

“Mmm.” I squirmed against my restraints. “Remind me of everything again.”

With a sigh, she crossed her arms. “After engaging Beckett in combat, despite me telling you not to, you found out that they are bringing the old god back at the site of the Org in the city of Pinkjade. Then you turned into a demon and went on a killing spree throughout the tournament stands.”

Shame I couldn’t remember that part. It sounds like it was fun. How ironic to kill all demons I had to become one.

“Pinkjade?” I repeated.

“Part of the Lust district.”

The sound of heavy puzzle pieces clicking into place reverberated through my mind. A reason why the Org didn’t want Hunters sniffing around that side of Hell - Lowers or Mids. The fact that the Org itself was in the midst of a demon city, and was also the staging area of where they wanted to bring the old god back to life…

“Fuck,” I murmured.

“That’s putting it lightly.” Pearl shook her head. “You must be full of questions, so shoot, cowboy.”

“Yeah…uh, what did you mean by ‘life partner’?”

She exhaled and was silent for a few seconds. Clearly not what she was intending by the offer of answers. “Demons don’t have marriage in the same way the mortal plane does. There are a few bonds and blood oath type things, but for most the term ‘life partner’ is the closest thing to husband or wife… although it has a more concrete connotation in demonic.”

“You want to get demon-married to me?”

“Always such an asshole, Eric. Yes. I… realize we haven’t known each other long in the grand scheme of things… but I can’t imagine being happier with anyone else. Even if you keep diving into suicidal decisions.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t heed your warning.” Despite things working out my way, I did honestly feel bad for making her worry about me. “Do I need to ask your father for your hand?”

She groaned. “No. Honestly, I don’t know if he’d just kill you on the spot, or agree because it amused him. No Higher demon would officiate a bond with a human, but he has a… soft spot for you.”

“Yeah?” I struggled against my bonds again.

“Like an interesting insect, or small pet. He was most impressed with your tournament run.”

I should have known he’d been watching. It was part of the original list he had given me, although it seemed likely that Beckett had killed the intended target to get to me. Seemed unfair. He could have just approached me after I won fair and square. Now I only had the crown because he had turned tail.

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“Beckett must have been pretty scared to not spend the extra two seconds killing me before vanishing.”

She shuffled, but I couldn’t see her expression from where I was pinned. “Not only did you force him to blurt out secrets that he may have sworn to keep on pain of death, but the addition of his true name really shook him.”

I could hear the amusement in her tone, even if I couldn’t spy the smile. “I’ll have to thank Rods - and David - for their help.”

“You’ll have to do more than that. If I wanted to spend my day surrounded by sweaty, vomiting humans, then… well, I guess now that we are all but bound, then I should get used to it.”

For some reason, I was pretty sure bringing that information out into the world had just sped up the doomsday clock a little further. If Beckett and his ilk were working with the Org… no, I couldn’t stomach that being the truth. “How long have I been out?”

“You killed demons for a few hours until you calmed down. The boys were able to filter enough divine into you to shock you into being a little more placid. Wight and I got you back and strapped you in. You’ve slept for… a few hours - it’s early morning now. David’s in the spare room.”

She moved back into view, and her fingers soothed at the side of my head again. “Demon Eric is very ugly. I very much prefer the normal you.”

While ‘normal’ was a stretch of the word, I agreed with her. Code Red was a last ditch protocol. Let the demonic energy win and corrupt me, and Rodney would disable my return artefact. Consequences were unknown, but it looked like I had survived it.

“How damaged am I?”

“Regeneration has healed most of the injuries from fighting and maladies from the transformation. Your right arm is… well, you’re lucky to still have it.”

That’s where the demon had stabbed me with his flaming sword. It must have some special properties to it - if I could regenerate my whole hand then for a cut to still be a problem at this stage… it wasn’t a good sign.

“Any chance I could get out of the restraints?”

Pearl sighed again and relinquished her fingers from my head. “Not yet.” She leaned down and gave me a soft kiss on the lips, her white hair falling down on my face, blinding me. “We need to bring Wight in to make sure you are stable.”

“Understandable.” Didn’t like it, but better to get the all clear just in case I wasn’t quite myself. Felt okay, and my reserves were… low but balanced. “Did I put on a good show, though?”

She hummed and vanished from my view as she went to walk around the room. “I did enjoy watching you destroying demons. As a human… even as a Hunter… you did very well.”

“But…?”

“I said before that as my life partner, you need to step up. Part of my duty will be to train you so that we can be equals.” Her footsteps took her to the other side, where to door was. “It won’t be easy, but time is running thin. I choose to stand beside you as you enter the Mids. I love you no matter the cost.”

Before I even had the chance to open my mouth and respond, she was through the door, the click of it closing following shortly after. Hadn't really told her that I wanted to be her life partner, my mind too roving between all the things that had happened.

So, now I had a demon wife. My workplace was soon to become the staging site for the thing I was destined to stop. Employer might be in on it - or at least they were preventing our connection to Heaven.

That question rolled around in my mind again. Where do souls go when we die?

Plus, I was really hungry again. Apparently, destroying demons for hours took a lot out of me. What was I just asking myself? My brow furrowed as I tried to recall it… but again it slipped away. How strange.

The door opened again, but this time it wasn’t Pearl returning. Something about me could sense their energy frequencies. It was Wight.

[Eric.]

His feathered body appeared beside me, his crimson eyes looking down into mine.

“Sorry for all that.”

[It is rather fortunate that you survived, and that your gamble paid off.]

I shuffled against my restraints. “I’m not entirely sure it was the right call to make.”

[I certainly wouldn’t make the habit of antagonizing Higher demons. It’s too late in the game for there to be another Last Lantern.]

There wasn’t much I could do but grunt and feel uncomfortable. Both under the weight of my destiny, and from these damnable straps holding me down to the bed. “This is in case the corruption lingers within me?”

[Oh, it certainly does. Even without turning into a demon and engaging in wanton bloodshed, the length of possession and surrounding powers from the arena were a lot. Even for you.]

“Careful,” I said, as I closed my eyes. “Might get me thinking I’m not invincible.”

[Do you remember much after you turned?]

I went to shake my head, but could not. “No. There are flashes of violence, but nothing really detailed.”

[You saw fit to fist fight demons, and I stood beside you and killed them too.]

While I wouldn’t have expected him to stand back and tap his foot waiting for me to be done with my outrage, it warmed me to consider he fought against the demons as well. Even if it was just to keep my ass out of the fire. I wish I could remember it. Hopefully, I didn’t taint myself in someway by letting the demonic power take control.

“I feel rather calm, considering.”

[Hardship forges you to be more resilient, Eric. The Pearl… we were all concerned about your longevity. But surviving means there is something worse in store for you.]

“Of course.” I sighed. The elephant in the room was growing larger by the second. All the clues were now pointing to the flashing billboard over the Org Headquarters. Even knowing what I did now, it wasn’t as though I could barge my way in and demand answers from the Director.

If the Org was preventing access to Heaven, and was where the demons wanted to raise the old god, then that was surely where I’d end up fighting and probably fulfilling my supposed destiny. Didn’t mean it was today, or even this month. Now that they knew the Lantern had returned, my time was limited.

“They’ll be coming for me now, won’t they?”

[The Pearl has assured me we are safe within the house. In Hell, we will need to be prepared for anything.]

I couldn’t even scratch my nose at present, but now I should expect assassins every time I stepped out into the wider world. Or wider Hells. I’d brought this on myself, but lucky didn’t last forever. In taking my fate into my own hands, I had brought the end times closer. But I was hungry for them now. Lived under the thumb of too much power, pushing me towards a purpose that couldn’t hurry up and get here.

“What do we do about the Org?”

[I went there during the night. They appear to be none the wiser over everything that occurred. They are sending you the Mids Quest this morning.]

I grunted. Time to roll the dice again, and see how lucky I truly was.