In the heart of the Infernal Realm, where time and space twisted into a void, the Spire of Broken Truth loomed—a monolith of blackened stone older than sin itself, rising from molten plains. Crimson lightning clawed the sky, casting jagged shadows across the throne room of Lucifer, a cavernous hall pulsing with heat that reeked of blood and brimstone.
Kael struggled on the obsidian floor, chains of Grey Flame biting into his wrists. Forged by the will of the Ashen Guards, each link thrummed with Lucifer's unyielding law. The guards, their faces hidden beneath angular helms, moved with merciless precision, their grips unshakeable.
With a synchronized heave, they forced Kael's knees to slam against the stone, the impact echoing like a war drum. The scent of scorched flesh stung the air as the chains seared his skin, yet Kael refused to lower his head.
His crimson eyes blazed with a fury only the rejected could know, a fire that marked him as Lucifer's son.
Three of the twelve Ashen Guards leapt into the air with unnatural grace. One seized the chain at Kael's throat, yanking until his breath rasped. The other two pinned his arms wide, the links taut as if to rend him apart.
Above, in the shadowed alcoves, the Three Flames watched in silence. Their glowing eyes, like smoldering embers, bore into Kael, their presence a weight heavier than the chains—a reminder that mercy held no place here.
Kael's chest heaved, blood sharp on his tongue, dripping onto the black marble.
On the Throne of Mirrors sat Lucifer, his form shifting between man and monstrous silhouette, wreathed in an aura of suffocating pride. One elbow rested on the armrest, fingers tapping the skull-carved surface in a rhythm that mocked the tension below.
"Kael," Lucifer's voice slithered through the hall, smooth as a serpent's coil. "My… little son."
The title was a blade, twisted with disdain. Kael's fists clenched, the chains clinking faintly.
"You've made yourself the talk of Eliadorn," Lucifer continued, rising from his throne. His bare feet met the floor soundlessly, each step radiating contempt. "Do you know what they whisper?"
Kael's silence was his defiance, his gaze unyielding despite the trembling of his body.
Lucifer's lips curled into a cruel smile. "They call you a mongrel, inheriting my fire but none of my restraint. A stain on the Throne, a shadow where Pride should stand."
The Three Flames' eyes flared brighter, their glow cutting through the dark.
"Yet here you stand," Lucifer said, his tone almost amused, "holding your own against twelve of my Ashen Guards."
Kael's jaw tightened, teeth grinding as he fought the chains.
"But," Lucifer's voice sharpened, "you tore an Ember noble's son in two. Tell me, was it worth it?"
The memory surged through Kael's mind: the noble's son, his sneer dripping with venom as he laid filthy hands on Kael's mother, mocking her human blood, spitting on her beauty as if she were nothing.
Kael's lip curled. "He touched her first."
Lucifer's chuckle was silk over steel. "And so you destroyed him?"
The guard at Kael's throat yanked the chain tighter, spots dancing at the edges of his vision. Still, he forced the words out. "He deserved worse."
Silence fell, thick and suffocating. Then, Lucifer's hands met in slow applause, the sound mocking the hall. "My son, you speak of worth as if you grasp it. You mistake vengeance for strength."
He stepped closer, his shadow enveloping Kael like a shroud. "But perhaps you're merely… predictable. Like every mortal I've watched break."
Kael spat blood onto the floor. "I'm not mortal."
Lucifer's smile was a blade without warmth. "No. You are less."
The words struck deeper than the chains, a truth wielded by the one who gave him life. Kael's pride refused to buckle, even as the weight of those words pressed against his soul.
Lucifer turned, pacing toward his throne. "You carry my fire but cling to your mother's weakness. You act without regard for the Infernal Realm's order, without respect for the power that sustains it."
"I don't respect you," Kael spat, the words igniting the air like a spark in dry tinder.
The Three Flames stirred, their heads tilting in eerie unison. The throne room's heat surged, the air shimmering with menace. Lucifer froze mid-step, his gaze a storm of restrained fury.
"Bring the mortal woman," a voice thundered—not Lucifer's, but the Black Echoes, the void above the throne that spoke for the Red Devil across all domains.
A contingent of Ashen Guards marched forward, dragging Elara, Kael's mother, into the hall. Her knees hit the floor before Lucifer, her face marred with burns and bruises, yet her eyes burned with defiance.
"Mother has no part in this," Kael growled, his feet scraping the stone as he strained against the guards. "Do not—"
"Silence!" the Black Echoes boomed, cutting him off.
Lucifer crouched before Elara, his crimson hand tracing her wounds with a gentleness that belied his cruelty. "My beloved Elara," he murmured, his voice a velvet blade.
"Please… let Kael go," Elara whispered, her voice trembling with desperation. Tears fell before she could stop them.
Lucifer's eyes softened for a fleeting moment, so brief it might have been a trick of the light. His fingers brushed a tear from her cheek, his touch warm yet cold with calculation.
"I remember the day I first saw you," he said softly, his words edged with menace. "You were… different."
"You weren't like this," Elara replied, her voice breaking. "Have mercy. He's your son."
Lucifer's thumb lingered on her lips, as if savoring her plea. "You speak of mercy as if it belongs to me," he said, his tone icing over. "Kael's fate was sealed the moment he drew breath. Your kindness festers in him like a disease."
Elara's eyes flashed. "If defending his mother from a predator is a disease, then may he die with it."
Lucifer rose, his gaze shifting to Kael, whose struggles grew fiercer.
"You think you can curse me with chains?" Kael roared, his voice shattering the hall's oppressive silence.
A feral grin split Kael's face as he yanked a guard forward with a surge of strength. His teeth sank into the guard's neck, tasting iron and ash as volcanic blood flooded his mouth. The guard clawed at him, but Kael held fast, his eyes blazing with a hunger not entirely his own.
"Kael!" Elara's cry pierced the chaos, raw with terror. "Stop!"
The other guards yanked him back, bones creaking under the strain, but Kael's grip held. The guard's thrashing weakened, molten blood pooling like liquid fire on the marble.
Lucifer's chuckle rolled through the hall. "See? His rage is mine."
Kael twisted, wrenching a cuff free with a snarl. In a heartbeat, he seized another guard's chain, throwing him off balance. The others stumbled, colliding in a clatter of armor.
Staggering on his feet, chains dragging behind him, he dragged himself weakly towards his father.
More guards moved to intercept, but Lucifer raised a finger, halting them. The Black Echoes spoke again, their voices a chilling chorus: "Kael Morningstar, by the authority of Pride's Throne, you are banished to the Mortal Realm. You will dwell among the dirt and crawling things you resemble. Should you return without summons, you will be ended."
Lucifer stepped close, his voice a whisper in Kael's ear. "If you want to see her again, fight your way back to the top, Kael Morningstar."
Before Kael could respond, Lucifer's palm struck, sending him hurtling through realms. The horizon tore like fabric, black and gold bleeding together as Kael crashed through veils of reality.
Glimpses of alien worlds flickered past—demons hissing in shadowed planes, rivers boiling under storm skies.
His descent ended in a bone-shattering impact, the earth splitting into a crater beneath him.
Dust and heat swallowed him, his body still as he stared at a fading crimson comet in the sky.
One thought burned through the agony: If you want to see her again, fight your way back to the top.
With a roar, Kael tore the chains from his wrists, the metal screaming as it shattered.
I will.