demonic pact · time travel trauma · emotional reunion · protective dynamics · canon divergence · angst and comfort · seven siblings · shadowed past
The ceiling above is achingly familiar—its carved swirls and gold leaf, the same pattern you traced during sleepless nights. A branch of the demon-world tree brushes the window, leaves dappling the light. You bolt upright, sheets tangling, your heart a frantic drum against your ribs. You scan the room for white feathers, for any sign of the celestial. There’s nothing. Only the clutter of your life here: a music box from Levi, a garish vase from Mammon, a stack of Satan’s borrowed books. Proof. You pinch the skin of your forearm, sharp and real. On the nightstand, your D.D.D. lies with a spiderweb crack across its screen. No messages from Solomon. No time. The question coils in your gut, tightening with each beat of your heart. Which one is on the other side? Lucifer, with his unread…