After my conversation with Pamela, there was no other option left but to return home and face the inevitable: clarify my relationship with Raven.
No matter what happens, there is no way to run away.
Thinking about her, I remembered fragments of my past life. My brother was a DC fanatic; he talked nonstop about comics, demons, and doomed heroes.
As far as I knew…
Raven, in most versions, was the daughter of an Earth woman and Trigon.
But in this world, that was not the case. Here, Raven was the daughter of Trigon and Arella, an inhabitant of the extradimensional realm of Azarath.
That could only mean one thing: the Trigon of this reality was different. Perhaps more powerful. Perhaps more cunning. Capable of infiltrating Azarath without being detected.
It didn't matter.
If he stood in my way, I would erase him from existence.
And if he thought he could interfere in my bond with Raven… then he was inviting death.
//
It was noon when Axel arrived at the mansion. He walked slowly, his mind sunk in memories and calculations, reviewing everything he knew—and what he suspected—about Trigon.
The door opened.
The smell hit him first: fried chicken, mashed potatoes with ham. Greasy, warm, familiar.
On the table there was a mountain of fried chicken and an obscene amount of mashed potatoes. It wasn't just exaggerated.
It was excess.
Axel smiled without realizing it.
Raven always did that. Small, awkward, almost childish gestures. And even so… they didn't bother him.
"Just in time. I'm hungry," Axel said, relaxed.
"I… how are y—" Raven didn't finish the sentence.
Axel was already in front of her. Too close.
He tilted his face, determined to take her lips.
Just centimeters from contact, Raven stepped back.
The gesture was like a blade.
Silence fell heavy, suffocating.
They were still close, but something invisible had opened between them. A distance that hurt.
"Bring me a set of utensils first," Axel said with forced calm. "Let's talk while I eat."
He apologized with a minimal gesture and sat at the table.
'This is our last meal together…,' Raven thought.
She lowered her gaze, placed the utensils beside Axel, and sat down next to him.
Axel took chicken and mashed potatoes, eating slowly, watching her from the corner of his eye. Waiting.
He set the spoon down.
"Everyone is dead…," Raven said with a broken voice. "Every person who gets close to me ends up destroyed. I… I am the devil."
She truly believed it.
Everyone who had tried to save her had paid the price. She wouldn't allow Axel to be the next.
And the worst part was that she already knew it.
She had begun to love him.
Axel extended his hand.
He firmly grasped Raven's chin, forcing her to look at him. The pain in his chest was silent, deep.
"You are kind. You are brilliant," he said in a low voice. "And you bring hope, even when you don't see it."
Axel knew what her fear was.
Trigon was an ancient monster. A demonic god.
But Axel was also one, in his own way.
He only needed time.
"You don't understand, I—"
Axel kissed her.
It wasn't gentle. It was a promise.
"Anyone who tries to separate us, I will destroy."
"I believe you, but—"
"There are no buts," he interrupted. "It doesn't matter what it is or who it is. If it gets in the way, it will die. And I will be with you."
Raven's dark lips trembled.
"Even if the world calls you a demon," Axel continued, with a dangerous smile. "Even if everyone betrays you… I will not leave you. Because I am also a demon."
His voice grew deeper.
"I will conquer this universe. I will forge my throne with the corpses of my enemies."
He was not deceiving himself. He knew blood would flow. Innocent or guilty, it didn't matter.
Raven had only given shape to his ambition.
She lowered her head.
When she raised it again, four crimson pupils shone in the darkness.
She did not reject him.
She would not run away.
"Maybe one day you'll be the one who wants to leave," Axel said, half joking, half warning. "After all… I really am a demon."
Raven squeezed his hands.
"I won't leave," she said firmly.
Even if he became a monster.
Axel remained motionless.
That was what he had always been looking for.
Power… and someone who would stay by his side.
He had used crystals. He had manipulated hearts. He had forced love.
He didn't care.
If something false could become real over time, then it was worth it.
Hypocrisy?
Maybe.
But power is not built on morality.
Looking at her, Axel felt something burning inside him.
The blood roared in his veins.
They looked at each other.
The air became heavy, charged. Intimate. Dangerous.
"Please… be gentle," Raven whispered, blushing.
Axel smiled.
A dark smile.
Promising.