[Michael’s point of view]

As I stood there gazing upon the visage of a beautiful naked woman hidden behind only by the puffy fabric of a long bathing towel, her deep black eyes tempting me with a playful seductive gaze, I found myself unable to think, to move, or even say a single word. Was there even anything worthwhile to say?

That had to be a dream, a fantasy created by my weak soul and mind after being cast down on the very edge of insanity, yet it felt quite real. However, that was the first time in my life when I bared witness to such a gaze. The first time when instead of hate, disgust, and disapproval, I saw love.

“Michael?” she asked with a sweet honey-like voice.

I blinked surprised. With a tempting sway of her hips, she approached me and then stopped at just an arm length away.

“Ah... er... a...”

No words could form on the tips of my lips, only the confusing sounds of a mumbling idiot.

She leaned closer. Her gaze provocative. She looked at me with such sweet tempting eyes, almost as if she tried to tempt me and convince me to give in to my inner desires and... and...

What sort of desires did I have for her?

I closed my eyes for a moment and looked deep inside my heart. For Syliar, there was only love, but it was a strange one which I couldn’t explain to myself how it may have started to blossom. It was as if those emotions had always been there from the very beginning of time, ever since I was born. It manifested as typical teenager carnal desires, but among them, there was also a longing call for her warm touch and embrace. Just holding her in my arms or letting her hold me in hers seemed like enough to change the whole world for me.

Opening my eyes, I was expecting to see her getting dressed, but instead she was right there, just a breath away from my lips, ready to steal another kiss from me. I froze. She showed me a gentle smile while capturing my gaze with her seductive eyes.

“Michael... I...” she spoke softly in a sweet tone of voice.

I took a step back and stumbled on something. As I fell, I reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her down with me.

“Ugh...” I groaned.

“Naughty boy.” she said with playful smile.

Looking up, I found her sitting on top of me. The towel came off, allowing me to see her naked body in her full splendor. My cheeks flared up, I gulped, and although it was a bit hard, I moved my eyes down to take a peek at her forms.

She did not try to stop me or scream at me. An intense blush covered her cheeks, making her look dangerously cute. I had to admit though, I did not mind the way we were laying down on the floor.

“Erm...” I tried to speak, but before I had a chance to say a single word, she leaned down and stole another kiss from my lips.

I did not struggle.

The soft feel of her lips and warmth of her body trapped me in a splendid trance. I could not escape from it, but I doubted I would have desired to do so either way. Like two pieces of clay, we molded in that moment which seemed to last for an eternity. Even though it was only a kiss, ironically, it felt like a God sent bliss.

When our lips parted, I regretted it, but I looked into her eyes, and I saw Syliar’s feverish desire to continue. Thinking about it logically, I saw no reason to escape her or wish to flee from her embrace. Out of all the humans in the world, out of all the beings in the Universe, the only one to offer me even then smallest drop of affection and love was her.

Yet... I had to ask...

“Why?”

She looked into my eyes, but didn’t reply, she smiled instead and then kissed me again.

I felt myself melting in her embrace one more time, feeling her mold over my body, yet the pleasure came from the pure affection she showed me rather than a hormone driven teenage body.

Closing my eyes, I submerged myself completely in that emotion and moment. How much I desired it, how much I longed for it. For a while now, it seemed like offering me affection and love had been an unbreakable taboo for everyone who saw me.

Honestly speaking, I did not even notice when she unlocked her lips from mine and rested her head on my chest, listening to the beating of my heart.

“Do you know what I am?” she asked me in a calm tone of voice.

I blinked surprised and moved my hand around her. Instinctively, I embraced her as if I had known her for an eternity. Her words were odd, but at the same time felt familiar, almost as if I had heard them before.

“A demon...” I replied calmly.

She exhaled.

“Not just any demon, Michael...” she told me and then kissed me one more time.

Again, such a beautiful bliss it was. However, while she did this, I heard the noises of cracking bones and ripping flesh, then I saw them... she spread her wings. They almost covered the entirety of the room and looked as if a group of savage sadists did quite a number on them.

“I’m a Demon Queen...” she told me.

I had to wonder though, should I have been frightened? Should I have feared her? Should I have tried to run? Neither of those options seemed viable for me. Actually, I didn’t desire to do any of those things because I felt no fear or intent to kill coming from her. Unlike all the humans I had met until then, Syliar was the only one from whom I had never felt such things.

“I don’t understand...” I told her.

It was true though, why did it matter?

“That means, I’m the supreme evil entity who rules over countless dimensions and Universes. I judge the souls who are evil and punish those who the angels send over... I desire the blood and torture of weaklings and the corrupt. I can slaughter legions of angels if I desire to. I can destroy this world in the blink of an eye if it makes me angry...” she said with a confident voice.

I listened, but I could not see such a monstrous being in her. It was like hearing a cosplay player confessing the sins of their character. To me, they were nothing but fictions, however, deep down, I knew they were the truth.

“Do you wish to harm me?” I asked her.

Syliar looked down for a moment. It was like she was avoiding answering or trying to think of a good excuse, or so I thought.

“No.” she replied.

“Then?” I asked.

“Michael...” she said as she looked back up into my eyes with such a gentle gaze in hers. She lifted her hand and softly touched my right cheek. “You are my Soul Mate, the one and only soul in this entire Universe, in all possible Universes, whom I can’t dare to harm. I love you... I truly love you even if you believe that for a demon, such a thing is impossible! Actually, the simple fact that you are my Soul Mate makes it possible for me to love you in the first place...” she said, and my heart felt like it was going to stop.

I couldn’t explain it, but what I was feeling, what I was seeing was the truth, it couldn’t be anything else but the truth. Syliar wasn’t lying to me, but instead she was speaking a truth which made my heart ache, although, why was it so?

“You love me? But... Syliar...” I said.

My voice was not my own, however, the tone felt older, much more experienced. Was this actually me?

“Michael, have you ever wondered why your own life was so messed up?” she asked me.

I looked into her eyes, but her words brought all my actions to a halt. The pain of my memories resurfaced. There were so many times when I actually asked myself that very same question. I saw people walk by me, happy people, normal people, and then I looked at myself. I was in pain and suffering almost all the time. No matter where I looked and towards whom I turned to, the result was literally the same. I was being scrutinized and scolded for the simple fact that I asked or even dared to demand justice. The truth was clear, and I couldn’t do anything to blind myself away from it. They were behaving oddly around me, almost like they were programmed or born with an incredible, near infinite hate towards me.

Nodding softly, I replied “Yes... too many times to count...”

Syliar smiled gently and then said “Even in the form of a human, I still see you as beautiful...”

I blushed.

“You are beautiful as well...”

She giggled cutely “This is not my true form, however.” she confessed.

“Your true form?” I asked curiously.

“Yes... My true form is that of my soul, which can take various shapes, depending on the species I encounter or desire to interact with. The same goes for you, my dear...” she explained in soft tone of voice.

“What do you mean?”

Her words confused me, and again, I found myself asking how was it decided that I was her Soul Mate? What proof did she have? Why did I have to go through all of that? What sin had I committed to be treated by God in such a manner? Did it have anything to do with what she was trying to explain?

Such questions shook my mind and soul, but I feared the answer she was about to offer me, I feared the truth. Although it was a bit strange how such a thing could be possible when I had no idea if it was going to be something good or bad.

“Michael...” Syliar said as she pushed herself up. Our gazes interlocked and from the tip of her lips, her words were let to flow all the way to the center of my soul “You are a fallen angel...”

In that moment, I could feel strange energies surging through my entire being. They unlocked something hidden deep inside my soul, but I had no idea what. One thing was certain, however, that shocking truth was sure to change my life completely from then on. Unfortunately, I had no idea if it was going to be for the good or for the worse.

Still, why was I so sure that was the truth? Syliar was a self-proclaimed demon I only met a few hours ago. For all I knew, she could be the actual reason why my life was so messed up. Normally, that should have been the normal course of thought, but not for me. What I felt in my heart, what my mind said, and what instincts screamed at me, all of them pointed at the same thing: Syliar was telling the truth.

“But why? Even if I am a fallen angel, why did my life... Why was I hated so much?” I asked with fresh tears rolling down my cheeks.

Syliar looked at me with a gentle look in her eyes and then wiped off my tears.

“A fallen angel is merely an angelion who took neither the side of good nor evil and was sent to experience the life of a mortal to make up his mind. Normally, they are outcasts of society who go through many hardships, but never to the extent you went through. The way your parents hated you. The way everyone around you desired your suffering. The way life and fate itself forced itself to make you feel miserable all the time. Those aren’t normal...” she explained.

Her words baffled me.

“You mean to say I wasn’t supposed to live like this?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“T-Then...” I tried to say, but the words trembled on the tip of my tongue.

I could not speak anymore.

Somehow, she realized the state I was in, and what she did as a result was something I would have expected from an angel, not a demon like her. Syliar embraced me and pulled me closer to her, letting her blood-drenched wings cover us both, yet I did not feel grossed out or repulsed by them. It was the opposite actually, they calmed me down and gave me the feeling that it was alright to cry.

“I’m sorry, Michael... I know it was hard, but yes... it is strange. Normally, you should have felt a bit of suffering, loneliness for being unable to find me, your Soul Mate, maybe even have a tendency of avoiding holy places. Your life, however, was nothing but suffering, pain, hate, and torment. Like I said, an extreme...” she told me as I kept weeping in her arms.

“Who? Who did this to me? Was it God?” I asked and looked up at her.

She remained quiet. I could not tell if she actually didn’t know the answer to my question or if she was intentionally avoiding it.

“Michael... God is...” she said.

Her words trembled on the tip of her lips. I could feel that something was wrong. She wasn’t sure herself or she didn’t want to tell me, either way, I wanted to know the truth. Looking into her eyes, I waited for her answer, but then... something happened.

“Go in!” someone shouted outside.

Like an animal sensing a dangerous predator, she arched her back and lifted her wings up. She threw a sharp gaze towards the door and let out a feline hiss. It was strange, but I was a bit confused since I didn’t know if I was supposed to see her as hot or scary. For some reason, her versions of scary had no effect on me.

“Take cover!” another shout was heard.

The next thing I heard was something hitting the ground and rolling inside the room, stopping close to where we stood. I turned my head, and I heard Syliar hiss again. It was only for a fraction of a second, but I saw it. They threw some sort of grenade, but unlike those I saw on TV, that one was made of glass and had some sort of liquid inside. There was no time to take a better look at it, Syliar immediately covered me with her wings and then I heard a loud bang.

I groaned and covered my ears with my palms, but it was already too late for that. A painful ringing soon followed, but besides this, I couldn’t hear anything else. Syliar said something before she dashed out. I rolled over and tried to get up. Smoke filled the room, and I coughed. I recognized what this gas was, it was naphthalene. My eyes started to sting because of it.

What was happening?

No matter how hard I tried to look around, I couldn’t see anything. The gas was too thick. I heard of smoke grenades and tear gas, but naphthalene grenades? It looked more like a scenario from a weird video game than real life.

“Syliar? Where are you?” I called out, trying to make my way through the room.

I stumbled on something hairy and fell on the floor. Looking back, I saw the severed head of a man in his thirties. The look of horror on his face told me that his death was not pretty.

“Oh God!” I said and scattered away from it until my back hit something.

Scared, I looked up and what I saw frightened me even more. Right behind me stood an entity similar to Syliar, a demon. He had a pair of big blood-drenched demonic wings folded on his back. A villainous smirk formed on the tip of his lips and that alone sent a chill running down on my spine. He was dangerous. I could feel it in every fiber of my body.

Good evening, mortal. I am Demon Lord Severus Traghart the Second. I advise you to come with me, there are... important matters we need to discuss. he spoke directly to my mind, and each word felt like a nightmare unleashed upon my psyche.