Fractured • Choi Yeonjun

Chapter 88

Ticking~

A few weeks of grilling training from everyone that I knew had my body aching all hours of the day. My brain was also a victim of the constant abuse that was my new training schedule.

"You've come a long way since you accepted my blood." The demon prince said as he leaned back on his throne.

Yeonjun slings an arm over my shoulder and smiles down at me. "She's always been a quick learner."

I offer him a half smile, not able to force a full one. These weeks have been long and rough and he has been by my side for every bit of it... but there was a part of me that was becoming more and more stressed at the fact that I may well just be walking to my death soon.

"How long do we have to keep this up before I'm ready?" I question them both.

"A bit longer," Yeonjun replied, squeezing my shoulder.

He said the same thing.

"I think sooner rather than later." Asmodeus chimed in while rising from his throne. "That's why I think it's time I give you that dagger."

~~

An hour later and I'm pacing my room. Wall to wall. Over and over again, all the while my eyes never leave the dagger that rests in the middle of my bed. I only held it long enough to get it home and in my room before I threw it.

There was something about the power of the dagger that chilled the blood in my veins. Something that made my stomach curl and twist with anxiety.

Or maybe you're just getting cold feet. The very sweet voice of my self-conscious spoke.

I shake my head, I've been ready to face my death for far too long for this to scare me off from my mission.

Though... I was scared to die. It wasn't death or the fact that my soul would linger in the depths of hell for an unknown amount of years that made my leg bounce and my heart pick up its pace, no. I was worried about failing before I died and leaving the others to face Andromalius on their own.

If I did fail and die Andromlius could come for my soul once more and this time there would be no saving me and once he did that I knew he would come for the only family I have left.

I can't fail. There's no other option.

I take a few steps closer to my bed, my eyes still locked on the dagger.

I pick it up and roll it around in my hands. The same feeling from before creeps into my fingers and up my arms, sinking low in my stomach.

It was a simple dagger, one that could easily be looked over as nothing impressive, until you saw the blade that was hidden in its sheath.

The metal that made the blade was a deep crimson red that swirled and mingled with what looked to be some kind of dark onyx metal, but it wasn't metal at all. It was made of compressed souls of demons. The crimson had been added over time as the maker of the dagger used it to kill more demons, their blood being absorbed by the blade.

This dagger held thousands of demons in it. Maybe that was why it made me feel so uneasy, I was holding the damned souls of demons in my hands.

I place the dagger on my bedside table and sit down on the edge of my bed. My muscles and joints stretched and popped thanks to how stiff and worn out they were.

I lay back and stare at my ceiling, thoughts of how this fight was going to go racing through my head.

I had studied the layout of the cave Andromalius was stuck in and found vantage points and weak points that I would need to stay away from. And the blue flames that kept you should you touch them...

~~

I sat on the roof legs stuck between the rails as I watched the sun lower in the west, slowly sinking behind the tall buildings that took up most of the skyline.

It had been two months since I learned what Rerek had really planned to do with my soul. I haven't looked for his presence in my mind since that day. I knew he was still there, hiding away in the dark like a coward. Learning of his betrayal had cut me in a way I never thought it would. I had grown too comfortable with the fact that I had an ancient demon as someone I called a friend. I forgot what he was, a demon. All they want is power. Rerek has been trying to break free from his own shell for thousands of years, so how could I, a simple human, think that he didn't care to leave there anymore since he saw the world through me?

Stupid. Didn't I know it? I was stupid and naive, always have been. I was just lucky that I had control of that small part of him now, or he could still try to escape.

Another fact to weigh on my mind. If my physical body were to die, the part of his powers that I have, could finally rip free and return to him. He could actually be free. I wouldn't just leave the others to Andromlius' rather, I would leave them to the end of the human world.

"Evelyn?" Yeonjun's gentle voice made me jump and turn with my hand raised, red smoke posed to strike.

"Yeonjun, you startled me," I say with a sheepish laugh as I lower my hand and let the smoke disappear.

"Deep in thought?" He questions as he takes a spot next to me.

I reach out and grab his hand in mine. "Yeah, a lot to think about," I reply as I rest or hands on the warm concert between us.

"Want to talk about it?" He pulls my hand up and kisses the back of it while his eyes stay locked on the sky.

"No, it's the same thoughts. I can't fail, there is too much at risk if I do."

"Evelyn, you won't fail. You've become strong since you last saw him. I know you can handle what's to come."

"I'm only strong enough now thanks to Asmodeus' blood."

"Nah, I think it only gives you a little boost, the rest is all you, dear."

I turned my head and offered him a small smile. I take that moment to drink in his face in the fading orange light.

He was just so beautiful. He had become my everything. He was what gave me hope that I really could pull this off. He had become my other half.

"Are you going to cry?" He asks gently as he brings his free hand up and wipes under my eyes.

"No," I reply with a half sob half laugh. "Yes..." I saw before my bottom lip started to shake. "I hate to admit that I may be terrified about this mission."

Yeonjun let out an airy chuckle. "And no one can fault you for that. When I faced him, if it wasn't for my anger, I would have been scared shitless." He pulls me tight against him and rubs my back as I bury my face into his shoulder. "Even one of the princes of hell is scared to face Andromalius, if you weren't scared, I would worry that Asmodeus' blood had changed you."

"Yeah, I don't want to stab anyone again."

Yeonjun shakes his head as his body moves in silent laughter.