Click
I closed the door to the room, sighing, and looked around the room once more. Turning to my left, I went to one of the boxes to begin organizing the room, putting everything in its place. Clothes and shoes in the closet, toiletries in my bathroom, and makeup, which I knew I wouldn't be using, were placed on top of the dresser in the room.
Unboxing the box filled with clothes, shoes, and makeup made me sigh and shake my head. Even though I had told my mother not to buy any of these things, she still went out of her way to buy dresses and heels. There won't be a day in time I'll wear any of those things. But who knows, mothers always tend to learn things even though we tell them otherwise.
The time it took to organize a third of my stuff was about 20 to 30 minutes, with about half of the boxes remaining, and almost on cue, Azaelia's voice sounded in my head.
'Food's ready,'
'Okay,' I responded. Ella responded, 'I'll pass.'
'I see how it is, don't want to have dinner with your long lost cousin cause I'm an illegal.' I thought of rolling my eyes and walking out the door.
'Shut up!' Ella shot back and said nothing after that. I laughed in my head as I continued to walk down towards the kitchen.
'Wooow, look at the lady trying to have the last word.'
'No one is trying to have the last word.'
'Then let me have the last say,'
'Fine!'
'Alright,'
'Okay!'
'You're still talking, Ella,'
'You don't get to call me that anymore!'
'Gasp! Nooo, oh my devil, my heart is broken.' I thought, grabbing at my chest, pretending my heart was broken.
'My only cousin hates me. Since you hate your mom too, can I take her? Oh look, she's plating the table. Hi Mommy Lia! Can you adopt me as your daughter?' I continued to say in my thoughts as I raised my hand to say hi to Azaelia, who was plating the table.
'Shut it,' She said in my head, motioning for me to sit at the table with her finger.
'Yes, ma'am,' I thought, immediately going to sit at the table and say nothing else.
'Pfft, not saying anything else, are you?' Ella thought into my head.
'Elmi, my sweet cousin, when your mother says shut it. You shut it.' I thought, saying a random nickname by taking the first and third syllable of her name and switching them around.
'Who the Nether you calling Elmi,' Ella said annoyed.
'Hey, it suits you. You're trying to be everyone's enemy, it's part of your name, and switching the syllables around sounds like enemy in a sense. So, you shall be called Elmi.'
'Oh, it does. I think I'll call her that too.'
'Mother!'
'Come eat!' Azaelia yelled in her head.
'No, you can't cook!' Ella said, causing me to form lips in an O shape.
'Ooooo, you done it now,' I thought, and Azaelia disappeared in flames before returning with Ella and sitting her down in a chair.
"Hmph! Look for yourself, then." Ella said, motioning towards the table. I looked at the table as Azaelia came back with a big bowl of soup that was red and occasionally bubbled like a witch's cauldron in one hand, and the other held bread that was burnt and oozing something blood red.
What the hell was that? Was this today's dinner? Looking up from the monstrosity, I locked eyes with Ella, who had a smirk on her face with a raised eyebrow as if saying, 'I told you so.'
"Uh, Aunty," I began nervously while pointing at the soup and bread. "What is this concoction?"
Azaelia turned to me while scooping some soup and placing it into the bowl in front of me with a piece of bread oozing red stuff.
"It's blood tomato soup with grilled demonic goat cheese."
"Blood? And did you say Demonic goat cheese?" I looked at my bowl and back at Ella. "Aunty, I don't think I'm quite hungry at the moment," I said.
Unfortunately, my stomach decided to growl at the wrong possible time, causing my face to redden.
"Uh…"
"Your stomach seems to think otherwise. You didn't even try it." Azaelia said, frowning between Ella and me. "I tried with this one, too."
I sighed and picked up a spoon next to the bowl, dipping it into the soup to try it. I hesitated as the metallic scent of blood hit my nose. Was this blood? It smelled like it. I glanced at Azaelia, and she was looking at me with anticipation. I gulped, put the spoon in my mouth, and swallowed the soup.
Even though my nose smelled the metallic scent of blood, it tasted very delicious. I wonder if it was due to me turning and awakening as a demon, but it had an almost sweet, acidic taste on my taste buds. My eyes were surely playing tricks on me. I grabbed the still-warm bread oozing red substance, which was supposedly cheese. I ripped a piece, dipped it in the soup, and ate it. Paired with the soup and the grilled goat cheese.
"My eyes are playing tricks on me. It doesn't look appetizing, but it's excellent, Aunty."
"Wait, seriously?" "Really?" Both Mother and daughter said at the same time, and tried it themselves. Ella was the first to look surprised.
"It is," Ella confirmed, and Azaelia smiled as she proudly smiled at the concoction she made.
Afterwards, we all continued to eat in silence until we were all stuffed and nothing was left on the table.
"My first meal here was delicious. Thank you." I said to Azaelia, who nodded.
"Thank you for the meal." Ella followed afterwards.
"Aunty," I began looking at her, "I know that Netherial names are forbidden to mention. But what about clans?"
"Clans are fine to mention," she confirmed, and I followed with my next connection.
"What is the Asura-Nocthyrion clan?"
"Mika'Ella and I, as well as you, are part of the Nocthyrion clan. It is the bloodline of fallen Angels. The name is derived from Noctis, meaning night, and -hyrion, a suffix for demon royalty. We are descendants of the four fallen angels Semihazah, Samael, sometimes associated with Lucifer, Azazel, and Baraqiel, united not by blood entirely but by power. So one might awaken one of the four abilities. So your Nocthyrion side comes from your mother."
"And Asura must be my fathers. Do you know anything about them?" I guessed through an obvious process of elimination.
"Not much," Azaelia said. "I never knew much about your father, but one thing I know is that Asura's aren't to be fucked with. Rumors say they were born from pure destruction, forged in the chaos before heaven and Hell drew their borders. Asuras were so feared that not long ago, the Asura clan was wiped out by the seven kings and Queens of Hell. If any clan could become the Gods of the Nether realm, it was them. Plus, do you know what demons used to call your father?"
I shook my head at her question.
"Demons called him "The Prince of Hell" because he was a sin weaver, and he almost mastered all seven sins and became the next ruler. Demons even believed him to be the son of Hades. The first sovereign, but it was never confirmed.
If he had never met your mother, he probably would have succeeded in becoming the next sovereign."
"What stopped him? I don't believe that man would've quit something like being the next ruler cause of my mother. No matter how impossible that sounds."
Azaelia pointed a finger toward me, "You most likely. It's the only explanation."
"Me?"
"Your father, Alavion, was hated throughout the realm, Alex. Every demon clan out there wanted him dead and would stop at nothing to make him fall from the peak. His first weakness was your mother. He fell in love, and love, being the opposite of lust, weakens a demon.
The other demons aiming for the peak started going after your mother. If they couldn't kill your dad, then why not the woman he fell for? I always wondered what could have made my sister run away when she could have defended the top with your father as the strongest fallen angel to exist.
Then I put two and two together once she sent you back here. A second weakness was in the works, and not just any weakness either. The strongest fallen angel was pregnant with an Asura demon's child.
The moment you would've been born, you wouldn't have been able to start your life outside the womb before you were killed."
"I don't believe that," I said, shaking my head. "The high possibility of my death after I was born, sure. But if they were that strong, they wouldn't have died, right?"
"They probably couldn't use any of their sin energy," Ella said, chipping into the conversation, which was a surprise to me.
"Exactly," Azaelia confirmed, interlocking her fingers and leaning slightly forward so her elbows were on the table. "Their escape would have been meaningless since using sin would be a beacon depicting their location. The veil and Shadow would have found them."
"Who are the Veil and Shadow?" I asked
"They govern the interaction between demons and mortals, so that the mortal realm doesn't tip towards an apocalypse too quickly. We demons need to interact with mortals to satisfy our urges and powers.
Lust demons becoming adult-rated actresses or actors, wrath demons fighting in the UFC, or signing up for the military, demons of greed aiming to become the next millionaire and gain riches primarily through scams. Gluttony demons killing humans and eating human organs for cannibalism. We practically spread sin into your realm to grow stronger.
The otherkins and the beings in the sky even allow us to roam the mortal realms from time to time."
"That's strange? Why would they allow that?"
"Fear and hope," Ella said, gaining my attention. "We demons spread our sin and fear, and as a result, create more religious individuals to worship the beings in the sky. A win-win for both sides."
"Are you trying to tell me that the mortal realm is just some kind of farm of energy for both heav— fuck me," I stopped when a headache came on for a brief moment, "for both the beings in the sky and hell."
"You can see it like that. What we're aiming for in the end is to see who can farm the most individuals for our realms." Ella replied to my question.
"You're making humans sound like cattle?"
"…" Ella remained silent and just shrugged her shoulders.
Azaelia sighed, "We're farming humans, in a sense, who are on our side. Demonic worshippers or sinners come to hell, and religious and virtuous individuals with the purity of souls go to the sky realm. If they're neutral, atheist, or both good and bad, then we reincarnate them until they fully pick a side."
"What's the purpose of that?" I asked
"For the future war for who can rule the three realms, the prophetic Armageddon."
My mouth hung open from shock. That couldn't be the whole system of the world. Farming humans like cattle to gather minions for war?
"You can't be serious," I muttered, my body going weak.
"For what it's worth, the demons might be winning from what I can tell. Those two individuals who created that device…what's it called? The small box you touch and interact with. Starts with "I" something." Azaelia said, snapping her fingers, thinking of the word on the tip of her tongue.
"The IPhone?" I answered
"That's the one, that's going to speed up the process for us."
"How?" I wondered, "Wait…you don't think a demon created it, do you?"
"The idea, yes; the creation, no. Demons aren't allowed to interact directly with the mortal realm. The closest way is by possessing the bodies of mortals."
Azaelia said, making me put my hands up in surrender.
"Okay, let's stop here. I can't take anymore. This is just too mind-blowing." I said, getting up from my seat and grabbing my empty bowl. "Plus training, I most likely have to wake up early, right?"
Azaelia nodded, standing up and grabbing all the utensils, bowls, and plates on the table.
"I might as well go to," Ella began, standing up and grabbing her own empty bowl and utensils. "I still have school to go to early in the morning."
"Sure," Azaelia began walking towards the kitchen as Ella and I walked behind her. "After you do the dishes and clean the kitchen."
"Huh," Ella stopped in her tracks as Azaelia put the dirty bowl that held the soup and other stuff in the sink.
"Hey, I cooked. It's only natural that you clean, and well, Alex here has to…". Azaelia motions her hands in my direction, using her body language to tell me to come up with some excuse to get out of doing the dishes.
"Finish moving the boxes and stuff into my new room," I said, putting my bowl into the sink and turning back to walk back to my room.
"See, she has to finish moving her stuff into her new room," Azaelia said, repeating what I just said, causing Ella's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance as Azaelia walked out of the kitchen after me.
"Thanks, Elmi, we owe you one!" I yelled out as Azaelia and I walked up the stairs.
"Uggghhh! You guys suck!"
"Yeah, yeah, we heart you too!" I yelled back
"Lies, assholes! Leave, stop talking to me!" Ella yelled from the kitchen, making Azaelia and me laugh.
Azaelia slightly pushed my shoulder; it was aimed to be a light push, but it ended up making me go into a full run down the hallway. My legs weren't prepared for the sudden burst of speed that I tripped over.
"Damn, aunty," I said, getting up from the floor and dusting myself off. "What percentage of strength did you use this time, huh? 5 percent again?"
"Oops, sorry. That was… 2 percent…I think?" She replied, which made me shake my head, still looking down at my arms and legs as I dusted them off. However, the cadence at which she replied sounded off.
Looking up, I saw that her cheeks were red and a bluish aura coated her skin, and her breathing was a bit quickened.
"Aunty?" I called out once I saw her condition. She looked like a feline in heat.
"I'm going to…go shower." She said, disappearing before me and teleporting straight into her bathroom or something. I shrugged and decided to walk down the hallway into my room to finish organizing it. As I went to start organizing once again, the sound of rushing water echoed through the right side walls of my room.
She indeed needed to take a shower. That woman looked like she caught a fever out of nowhere. Midway through organizing my room, the water turned off, and the sound of something being moved in Azaelia's room sounded. Then the moment I heard something that sounded like a KitchenAid mixer on the low setting. I froze.
I hope that's not what I think it was. They had those kinds of devices down in the Nether realm? The part that made my mouth hang wide open was how quickly it went to full power.
What the actual fuck? Kicking that thing into full gear without a warm-up is crazy work. Unless her being in the shower was the warmup. Wait, why am I even thinking about this? Then the sound that echoed through the walls confirmed my suspicions.
"Ohhh fuuccckk…mmmhh." Her muffled moans sounded, and I couldn't help but cover my mouth and try not to laugh. Yes, I know it was weird to laugh at the fact my aunt was *cough* playing with herself.
But I was more shocked than disgusted that I don't care if Azaelia and Ella heard me when I thought to myself.
'Ain't no fucking way!' And I busted out laughing, and I could've sworn the machine stopped for a quick moment, then resumed confirming that she heard my thoughts, but didn't care.
'Damn it, woman, soundproof your room in the future at least! Your niece and daughter are in the next room over!' I thought and left my aunt to her own pleasures while I continued to organize the room. Once I was done with everything, I called it a night and tried to go to sleep. But the machine in Azaelia's room just kept going and going and going. It's been like two hours already. I'm sure of it.
I looked up at the ceiling of my room while lying under the covers of my bed. Having the same thought once again.
'Ain't no fucking way…'