It was late. You were returning from a nice, calm bath when you spotted the apparition. It was a pale figure that appeared to gracefully float through the corridor, wearing white robes in stark contrast to the heavy darkness around it. What you could see of its face was smooth like porcelain, except for the edges. The sides of its face were unnaturally cracked and peeling. Your breath was stuck in your throat as it turned the corner at the end of the hall and disappeared from sight.
Some things in the Devildom are just naturally terrifying to humans. The vision spooked you so much that you flew into the nearest room â the twins' room. You slammed the door shut in your rush, waking them both.
Beelzebub sat right up. His bed creaked and his head whipped towards the door in alarm. His eyes softened when he realized you were the late night visitor, but he did not drop his guard. Something was clearly wrong. He reached for a bedside lamp.
Belphegor, initially not visible under his hoard of covers, stirred with a growl. A single eye, obscured by a curtain of bangs, peered out from his pile of bedding.
It took a moment for Belphegor to shake off the rest of the blankets, prop himself up on an elbow, and find his voice. "Huh? What's wrong...?"
In that time, Beelzebub had already gotten up to come get you. You didn't realize your knees were shaking. The thumping of your heart against your chest cavity was distracting enough.
"I saw a ghost," you choked out as Beelzebub draped a still-warm sheet around your shoulders. With a gentle hand on your back, he guided you to a clear space at the foot of Belphegor's bed.
"That shouldn't be possible," Beelzebub said. He shot a glance at the door, making sure it was shut, then positioned himself in front of you so you'd stop staring at the doorway. "We got rid of all the ghosts here centuries ago."
Belphegor agreed. "Any that are left should be sealed up. Or maybe trapped deep in the crypt, but definitely not just wandering around."
There was a pause as he looked you up and down. You were still slightly damp from your bath and you smelled like fresh soap. Your pajamas were soft and clean.
"Doesn't look like you were exploring the crypt," he noted, rubbing his eyes.
Belphegor asked if you weren't half asleep, seeing things in the dark. You shook your head. Beelzebub said maybe you were so hungry you were hallucinating. He offered to get you half a bag of leftover chips from under his bed. You declined.
"I'm going to go look," Beelzebub decided. The sheet around you was pulled tighter and he tied it snug across your chest like a security blanket before he strode back to his bed, slid his DDD into a pocket, and rolled his shoulders. "If there's one ghost, there could be more. We need to warn Lucifer if there's an infestation."
"Yeah, go Beel. You've got this." Belphegor cheered the most deadpan, exhausted cheer that anybody ever chanted.
You thought of stopping him, but these were two full grown demons. They could send any ghost flying with a mildly annoyed look. You merely bid Beelzebub "Good luck" as he walked into the hallway, as casually as though he was running on a bathroom break. The door clicked shut behind him.
A heavy weight, Belphegor, made your shoulder dip. You tilted to the side as he grabbed your arm and pressed his forehead against your shoulder. "You'll stay here with me, won't you? We can wait for Beel to come back together."
"Yeah, okay," you told him a second before Belphegor pulled you down and nuzzled a cheek against your head.
"Great. I was just about to... go..."
He interrupted himself with a big yawn that blew a big gust of hot hair against your neck.
"Mmh. I was just about to go back to bed," he continued. "You can stay with us tonight whether he finds the ghost or not."
Regardless of what you wanted, Belphegor seemed convinced you would be staying. He was halfway through making you his personal pillow and incorporating you into his mound of blankets when the door swung open again and Beelzebub announced, "I found the ghost."
You crawled out of Belphegor's grasp, which wasn't too difficult as he was already half asleep. Beelzebub dragged a figure into the room, one draped in a white robe with a porcelain smooth face that peeled at the edges.
Drops of red liquid fell to the ground. A very tipsy Asmodeus sauntered into the twin's room with a wine glass of Demonus sloshing in his free hand. He was wearing some kind of sleep bonnet with an attached satin veil that fluttered with every minor movement. His beauty mask had begun sliding off, crinkling and rolling up at the edges.
Belphegor asked, "The ghost was Asmo?"
"I found him coming back from the kitchen. I don't know what he was doing before that," Beelzebub explained.
"Eehh? Are you guys having a sleepover?" Asmodeus almost dropped his glass as he weaseled out of Beelzebub's grip and stumbled over to the bed. He dropped to his knees on the carpet beside you and laid his head on the edge of the mattress. You smelled alcohol on his breath. "Without me? Boooo. Booo, you guys are so mean to your big brother."
Asmodeus looked much less scary in the light. His bright white sleepwear was dazzling, like there were diamonds weaved into the fabric, and there was more color to his face than you saw before. A red flush going from one cheek to another.
You pushed his sweeping veil aside to pick at the corner of his mask.
"I seriously thought you were a ghost!" you exclaimed as you peeled it off in one satisfying revenge pull.
Beelzebub came over to yank the Demonus out of Asmodeus' hand before it stained the floor any more. You crumpled up the face mask and threw it in the general direction of a trash can. Beelzebub disposed of the rest of the alcohol by drinking it and setting the glass down on his nightstand.
"That's silly," Asmodeus giggled. He rubbed his smooth face against Belphegor's smooth sheets.
"Where is there a ghost this pretty? You're so silly," he giggled. "That's why you're my favorite. Beel! Belphie! Try harder!"
Belphegor turned his back to his brothers, not wanting to see whatever Asmodeus was drunkenly doing to his bed. "Great, this is resolved. I'm going back to sleep now. Beel, turn off the lights."
"Me too, I'm sooo tired," Asmodeus sighed. He gripped the sheets and the leg of your pajamas and began dozing off, half on the floor and half slumped over the bed.
Beelzebub frowned. He was tired, too. But it wouldn't do to leave a mess in the bedroom. The two of you stared at each other in mutual silence until the heavy sounds of snoring soon began from Belphegor. You slowly slid off the bed, careful not to wake anyone again.
Beelzebub scooped Asmodeus up and laid him down next to Belphegor. His lips were moving, as though talking, but Asmodeus didn't make any audible sounds and obediently cuddled up against his log-like little brother.
You intended to tip-toe towards the door and finally return to your own room, but Beelzebub offered an invitation to stay. And by that, he swept you up off the ground and plopped you on his bed just like he had done for Asmodeus. You tensed up in surprise, as anyone would do upon being suddenly picked up. The light clicked off.
"I don't feel like escorting you back to your room," Beelzebub said as he slid onto the bed next to you. He pulled you away from the edge and into his arms.
"It's not that far. It's downstairs. I live here too, I can go myself," you told him even though you leaned into his embrace and cushioned your head against his arm.
"And risk running into another ghost? Don't be reckless," he teased. Asmodeus' Demonus lingered on his breath.
You didnât know where you were, or how youâd gotten there. The last thing you remembered was being in your bedroom, dozing off, and then suddenly finding yourself in that place.
However, that place wasnât entirely unknown to you; there was something about it that felt familiar, but you couldnât quite put your finger on what it was.
âThere you are!!â
You turned toward the voice, and your eyes flew open as you saw the figure of a man approaching. Like that place, you didnât know who he was, but there was something familiar about him. What you had no doubt about was that he was an angelâthose white clothes, that aura of solemnity, and that great power beneath the apparent calm; he couldnât be anything other than an angel.
As he approached, you felt intimidated; he was very tall, and your first instinct was to protect yourself. However, you soon realized he hadnât noticed because he seemed even more nervous than you were.
âI thought he had made some kind of mistake, though of course he doesnât make mistakes"
His voice was hoarse, but there was a youthful ring to it. He was a grown man, and the more he spoke and the more you looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.
âYou might not understand any of this, but Iâm so glad to see you, Mcâ
Then he looked at you. As soon as you saw his eyes, it hit you. Of course he looked familiarâyouâd spent hours and hours with him. Youâd shared so many moments that you trusted each other more than anyone else. You knew him because you loved him like family.
âLukeâ
Time stood still, and the angel trembled slightly as he smiled kindly; he blushed all the way to his ears and began gesturing and talking so fast and breathlessly that you could barely understand himâthere was no doubt about it, it was your Luke.
âWant to take a walk? I have a lot to tell you, and I donât think we have much time"
You followed him, though you werenât paying much attention to what he was saying. You had so many questions, and you didnât think he was answering any of them. Of course, the question that kept repeating in your head was why the Luke standing in front of you was an adult.
âThe Celestial Realm hasnât changed much in appearance, but there are a ton of new institutions and programs youâll love"
âNew institutions?â
âYeah, and Iâm one of the main people in charge, and I donât want to sound cocky, but Iâve worked really hard for thisâ
He was speaking very quickly and in a stiff tone you recognized well; he was trying to hide something, or at least avoid talking about something. He was smiling, but he didnât look you in the eye even once, and that smile didnât reach his eyes. Youâd told him a thousand times when he did that, that he could tell you anything, that youâd always be there for him. And then, you realized another truth. You stopped dead in your tracks.
âLukeâ
He stopped a few steps away from you; he had suddenly fallen silent. Given how strange the situation was, you hadnât realized it and had never thought about it, but angels, just like demons, took thousands of years to grow up. And the fact that Luke was an adult could only mean one thing.
âI guess itâs been a long time since our exchange year at the RAD endedâ
His body began to tremble again, this time more violently. His fists clenched, and it was a while before he spoke again.
âYou know what? I just officially became a Principality"
Your heart sank when you heard his voice; there was none of his former resolve left, now it was trembling, and you knew full well it was because he was trying with every fiber of his being not to cry.
âI always thought that when I finally made it, everyone would recognize me, butâŠâ
You stepped closer and took his hand; he tensed suddenly, and you could hear him swallow hard. He turned slowly and looked at you with a smile so sad that you stopped breathing; his eyes were red, filled with tears, and he looked at you with a pain that couldnât be described in words.
âBut when I finally made it⊠in the end⊠I just wanted one person to recognize meâ
His smile widened, and the tears just started to fall. You hugged him, hugged him with all the strength you had; you yourself were on the verge of tears. He barely fit in your arms; you could no longer shield him from the world with a hug. Luke was an adult, and that meant you had been gone for a long time. It had been a long time since that Luke had lost you, surely longer than the time youâd spent together. And yet he still thought of you.
âI know it's not right, but⊠but I needed to tell you, I needed you to know, I⊠IâŠâ
The tears had turned into sobs, and that angel clung to you like a child; after all, no matter how many years had passed, he was still your little boy.
âI'm so proud of youâ
That was the last straw; you hugged him even tighter, for who knows how long, and when he finally calmed down, he looked at you and started laughing, tears still streaming down his cheeks.
âAnd here I was hoping youâd see me being awesomeâ
âOh, Luke, youâve always been awesome. Itâs just that now youâre so grown upâ
You couldnât help the motherly tone, and that made him blush.
âIâve grown up a lot, havenât I? Barbatos said youâd be surprisedâ
âSo it was himâ
âYeah⊠Iâve been asking him for years, and in the end, it was his graduation gift to meâ
You took his arm, fighting the feeling swirling in your chest.
âWell, tell me everything. I want to know how my favorite angel got to where he is nowâ
The afternoon passed amid all sorts of stories, anecdotes, and tales as unreal as the very idea that angels and demons existed. Tears welled up in your eyes countless times, and you couldnât help but think about how much you regretted not being able to watch Luke grow up.
When the sun set, the angel stood up and looked at you with a sadness filled with affection.
âWell, it looks like itâs timeâ
âThe afternoon has flown byâ
He looked at you for a few long seconds and hugged you; he had undoubtedly grown so much.
âI love you so much, Mc. Iâll always love youâ
âMe too, Luke. Alwaysâ
You woke up in your bed, feeling dazed. You didnât know why, but your heart ached. You felt as though youâd just experienced one of the happiest and most painful moments of your life, but you couldnât remember what it was. You looked in the mirror and saw that your eyes were filled with tears.
maybe this is just in line with my wanting to elaborate/rewrite the main story buuuut i wanted to play with the idea of getting trapped in a dating sim and the only way to get out is to complete all the routes and find the secret end đ who's the secret end? idk and neither does mc; i think it would be fun if the mc knows they're in a dating sim but the boys don't Â
this would be way too difficult and complicated but ofc i wanted to make it an actual vis novel đ