The Love That Remains

"Brother, it looks like you have won." Arius pops up behind Reis. "A demonic god, huh? Everyone in heaven is talking about this."

"Are you not going to save your ward?" Reis asks him quietly. "She worshipped you a lot."

"I have paid her back in full." Arius sighs. "I am tired of her tactics. You know me. I am Death. I hate the ones who cheat me. Dabria has cheated me repetitively. But, things were not in my hand. As a god, I am the slave of the ones who truly worship me with their whole hearts."

Reis leans back on the wall. "Now, you are not her slave?"

"She forgot about me after getting the spell." Arius grins. "I wouldn't want her to go to the hell or reincarnate. That place is perfect for her. You know me well, Brother."

"So, Death has also forsaken her." Reis looks at the building. He can see what's going on inside. Fang Aisa and Sung Jun has easily defeated Dabria's witches and tied them together with a spirit rope. Dabria is trying to run, but Sung Jun wastes no time. He shoots a spirit arrow with his spirit bow. It hits right into her legs. Dabria screams and falls on the ground.

"My sweet daughter." Dabria tries to crawl toward Fang Aisa. "I am your mother. I have kept you in my womb for months. He is hurting me. Will you let him do this to your biological mother?"

Fang Aisa smiles softly. She turns to Sung Jun. "What are you waiting for? Let her go. She is the woman who gave birth to me."

"Are you sure?" Sung Jun asks Fang Aisa. Dabria's eyes become hopeful. Her daughter is a fool. If she can leave, she will finish the spell and make sure that Fang Aisa is tortured eternally.

"Hurry, honey. We have to prepare for a wedding." Fang Aisa sighs. "I don't want to waste our precious time here."

"As you wish, my wife." Sung Jun beams at her. He chants the word and a radiating white square appears beneath Dabria and her people. Before Dabria could understand and scream, the white square swallows her and her witches alive. There is nothing left. Dabria and her coven are gone.

"They prevented the apocalypse." Arius lets out a deep sigh. "Fate would have been furious."

"She is having fun in the holy river." Reis shows a small smile. "Do you want to talk to Sung Jun about the contract?"

"I would rather not talk to him." Arius cusses out mentally. "After I made the deal with him, I realized the real meaning of the terms. If he exercised those terms, I would technically become his slave and accompany him everywhere including heaven. I won't appear in front of him. He can do whatever he wants. I will miss my youngest scythe. Did I tell you how much I hate a heavenly blessed child?"

"I know how much you don't want to go to heaven. It's hard to escape punishment if you go there." Reis doesn't feel bad for his brother. "If you try to force him to go to heaven, you would meet the same end as Fate. Only a fool would make a contract with one. "

"He is coming out." Arius straightens his back. "I am leaving. Bye."

Arius vanishes into the air before Sung Jun comes out. Sung Jun and Fang Aisa are happy. Their faces are bright and full of hope. They are holding hands happily. For some reason, Reis likes this image.

***

"This is too much." I shake my head when I look at the trunks full of Devil's cores in our house. "Where did you get these?"

"I gathered them in the last eight years for you. You don't have to go to the realm of devils to hunt them down." Reis puts his hands on his waist. "Use this to absorb them all at once. There should be enough Devil's cores to make you a mid-rank demonic god. Do it now under my supervision."

"Wait!" Sung Jun glares at him. "We have to prepare for a wedding."

"Then, prepare for it," Reis tells him with a condescending tone. "She can absorb them while you prepare for it. It will barely take a few hours. We must do it before Jar'Golen comes out of Hell. He will go after her and the devil's cores for sure."

"That demon!" Sung Jun scowls. "You did it on purpose."

"Did I?" Reis sits on the couch lazily. "I might have."

"Why that Death God can't collect cores for me?" Sung Jun complains. "I have to go to heaven for this."

"Heaven's path is difficult and different." Reis chuckles. "You have to study, cultivate, and master the ten perfections before you can become a god. Fang Aisa has never been the type to study a lot. If she takes Heaven's path, it will take eons. So, this path is more suitable for her."

"I guess I am lucky." I sigh. So many cores. How many devils did he kill? "Sung Jun, I am sorry about this."

"Don't worry." Sung Jun pats my head. "Become a god. I will prepare everything. We will have a grand wedding. You can use this room. I will make sure that nobody disturbs you. Don't take too long. Tomorrow is our wedding."

"Will you be alright?" I ask him.

"It will be." He hugs me. "Since we are together now, everything will be fine."

I feel sad when I watch him leave. Why can't I spend time with my husband? Something is always happening.

"This is the last step." Reis smiles at me. "After this, you are free from the contract. You will live your life in any way you want. You will be free of me."

"We are friends, Reis." I lightly slap his cheek. "Don't forget that."

"Alright, since you are begging, I will accept you as my friend after you become a god." Reis stands up in front of me. "Now, sit down and begin."

I follow his instructions and begin absorbing the cores. I can feel dense dark energy throbbing inside each of them. I sense them listening to my call. Each core floats around me in rhythm. One by one being absorbed in me. It flows through my veins to my core, filling and changing me in a way that I couldn't describe.

I have to give something up to become something else. I have to sink into the darkness and let it overwhelms me while clinging onto my sanity. The dark chaotic energy dances around trying to eat me alive. Becoming a god isn't easy.

Will I find happiness with my Sung Jun? I have to become strong to be with him. I can't let this dark chaotic energy win.