Dominic sat in his chamber, his hands gripping the arms of his chair until his knuckles turned white. The echoes of Lucius's voice still haunted him, that cruel whisper replaying in his mind like a curse.
He had told his men that monsters could bleed. He had shouted it with fire, but now, in the quiet of solitude, he questioned himself. Could a Devil bleed, or was he trying to kill something far beyond man?
One of his most trusted lieutenants entered the room cautiously. "Dominic, the others grow restless. They whisper of retreat. They say we cannot fight him."
Dominic's jaw tightened, his pride screaming against the weakness in his chest. "Let them whisper. I will not bow to Lucius. He is flesh and blood. He must be."
But the words felt hollow, even to himself.
The lieutenant leaned closer, his voice low. "You saw what he did. You saw how he moved. It was not human. Tell me, Dominic, do you still believe you can face him?"
For the first time, Dominic did not answer. His silence was louder than denial.
Far away, in the Devil's estate, Lucius stood before the council. He poured wine into a crystal glass, his movements calm, almost casual. "Dominic has seen the truth. Now the question is not whether he resists, but how long before he breaks."
Adrian Crowe smirked, his hands folded neatly on the table. "He will break, Master. Men always do. Pride is a mask, and fear eats it away piece by piece."
Darius grinned wickedly. "Then let me hasten the process. Send me, and I will carve regret into his very bones."
Lucius raised a hand, silencing him. "No. Dominic must drown in his own fear. If he is to fall, it must be by his own weight. That is the punishment for betraying me."
Back in Dominic's hideout, he paced the room restlessly. Every step felt heavier, his thoughts a storm of anger and doubt. He remembered the day he chose to stand against Lucius, the fire in his chest, the certainty that he could succeed where others had failed.
Now that certainty felt like a noose tightening around his neck.
Another lieutenant entered, carrying papers. "Dominic, the government offices are collapsing under Lucius's control. His reach grows by the day. We are losing allies, losing ground."
Dominic snatched the papers, his eyes scanning them quickly. Each line was worse than the last. Funds cut off, officials bending to Lucius's will, soldiers defecting. His empire was rotting.
He slammed the papers down, his chest heaving. "How did it come to this? How does he control everything?"
The lieutenant hesitated, then whispered, "Because he is the Devil, Dominic. And you tried to strike him."
Those words pierced deeper than any blade.
Dominic sank into his chair, his head in his hands. The faces of his fallen men flashed before his eyes. Their screams returned, haunting him in the silence of the night.
He whispered to himself, barely audible. "Perhaps I was a fool. Perhaps no man can kill him."
For the first time since his rebellion began, Dominic felt the sting of regret. Not just for failing, but for daring to betray the one who had once ruled over him with fear and certainty.
Enzo, training with Darius at the estate, paused for a moment, as if sensing something. "Master, Dominic is weakening, isn't he?"
Darius chuckled darkly. "He is breaking. That is what happens when you turn from the Devil. He lets you burn in your own shame."
Meanwhile, Ravenna licked the edge of her blade, her smile sharp. "Let him crawl back. Let him beg. I would enjoy watching him cry before Master."
Lucius stood apart from them, his crimson eyes glowing in the dim light. He had not needed spies to know Dominic's heart. Regret was a scent he could feel from miles away, a weakness that clung like blood to the air.
He whispered to himself, his voice soft yet terrifying. "Soon, Dominic will understand. Betrayal does not destroy me. It destroys only those foolish enough to attempt it."
Back in his hideout, Dominic stared into the mirror, his reflection pale and weary. He no longer saw the confident man who had once dreamed of tearing down the Devil. He saw a shadow of himself, hollowed out by fear.
The mirror seemed to mock him, showing him what he had become. A broken man standing in the ruins of his ambition.
Dominic slammed his fist into the glass, shattering it, but the fragments only multiplied his reflection. Dozens of broken eyes stared back at him, each one whispering the same truth: You cannot escape him.
As blood dripped from his knuckles, Dominic finally admitted the words he had refused to speak aloud.
"I should never have betrayed him."
The shadows around him seemed to stir, as if carrying his words away.
And somewhere, far above, Lucius smiled.