The Deal With The Devil

"Grab Onto My Hand, Rose!" Lucifer's voice rang out with fear and pain, his throat raw from how much he was trying to contain the terror that gnawed at him. "Please, just try, you can do this."

He kept trying to encourage Rose—or maybe he was trying to convince himself that all would be okay, after everything they'd been through.

"I'm trying, it hurts!" Rose screamed back, the agony clear in her voice as tears filled her eyes. She fought to hold back the panic, her hands slick with blood, her fingers barely gripping the thick, leafy branch she clung to. The pain was unbearable.

Her body was covered in wounds, but the worst of it was not the bleeding—no, it was the weight of hopelessness pressing down on her. She tried not to look down, but the vertigo swarmed her senses, the dizzying height threatening to tear her apart.

Was this it? Was this how it was all going to end for her? Was it her fault that she was special? Why, wherever she went, was she always hunted? She had no answers.

Her blue eyes met Lucifer's for a final moment. They were filled with so much pain, like a stormy sky just before it breaks—turbulent, dark, and heavy with the weight of everything unsaid.

Lucifer wasn't as bad as everyone made him out to be, at least not to her. When the entire world had cast her out, when every immortal had turned their back on her, Lucifer had stood by her. He still did.

He had always been her anchor in a world full of chaos. But she couldn't bear being the one who caused him so much pain anymore. No, it had to stop. And maybe the only way to end it was for her to let go. She was just so tired. Maybe even a little too tired.

Not the kind of tiredness that comes from physical exertion or the weight of a long day's work, but the kind that comes when the spirit is ready to surrender.

The exhaustion of someone who had nothing left to give, standing at the edge, waiting for the end with an empty heart. Every ounce of hope had been drained, and all she wanted was peace, even if it meant embracing the cold silence that awaited her.

Lucifer watched Rose closely, his eyes narrowing with a pain only he could understand. He knew her better than she knew herself.

He could see the look in her eyes—the one that meant she was about to give up. The look he had always scolded her for, the one he had tried so desperately to stop. But this time, it was different.

The look in her eyes was one he couldn't fight. "No! No! Rose!" He screamed, his voice cracking, breaking under the strain of the moment. He wanted to stop her, to make her see that there was still hope, but the tears that streamed down his face betrayed him. He was powerless.

Rose's heart broke for him. She had never seen Lucifer like this. Never seen him cry. It was the first time, and it shattered her. She gave him a weak smile, one full of sorrow and love. "I'm sorry. You must go on without me. Be happier."

The branch she clung to creaked, groaning under the pressure, bending dangerously as if it were moments away from snapping completely. The sound echoed through the air like a countdown.

"You are my happiness, without you I am as empty as a winter sky, cold and endless, with no sun to warm it!" Lucifer cried out, his voice a desperate roar. The words tore through him, raw and unrestrained.

The only other time he had felt this helpless, this empty, was when he watched his mother die—slowly, painfully—at the hands of his father. He had been unable to save her, unable to stop the death that stole her from him. And now, history was repeating itself.

He was about to lose the one person who had meant everything to him, and he couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

Before he could speak another word, before he could beg her to stay, Rose whispered, barely audible over the wind, "I'll always love you." Her voice was soft, but it cut through him like a blade.

With one final, resolute push, she leaned into the branch, the last breath of life in the fragile thing that held her. It broke, splintering under her weight, and she fell.

Lucifer's heart shattered, his world crumbling around him as he watched her disappear into the void. "Rose!!! Noooo!!!" He screamed with all his strength, but it was too late. She was already gone.

His body trembled, his arms reaching out in a futile attempt to catch her, but there was nothing left to hold onto. Only the sound of her final fall, fading into nothingness, as he collapsed to his knees in the endless emptiness that was now his reality.

He heard them trying to break through the wall he had built around him and Rose, to protect them from the creatures that dwelt in that place.

Their attempts were relentless—sharp, distorted sounds as their claws scraped against the magical barrier, a low humming vibration that made the air feel thick with tension.

The wall, woven from his powers, crackled and groaned, as if resisting the weight of their dark, ancient force. There were whispers too, faint and sinister, brushing against his mind like a cold wind.

He should join Rose, because what was the point of living if his heart had already been ripped from his chest? Lucifer stood, numb, as if someone else was pulling the strings. His body moved without his consent, a puppet to his own sorrow. He stood at the edge of the cliff, the wind biting at his skin, as he finally released the magical barriers he had held up for far too long. The moment his grip faltered, the creatures came rushing forward, their eyes burning with hunger. Their growls and screeches filled the air, an unsettling symphony of darkness closing in around him.

"I'm coming to join you, my love," he whispered to the void, the words barely escaping his lips. The moment they left his mouth, he let himself fall. The fog swallowed him whole, a cold embrace that took him away from the world. The creatures stood at the edge, watching, waiting.