joohyun pushes herself up on her hands, locking eyes with the devil. she searches her gaze for anything that might hint that this is all a joke all she finds staring back at her is a set of fear-filled eyes.

in seungwan’s mind, the memories of her finding out in the exact manner for lilith flicker through her mind. it was the very moment the fates set her betrayal in motion, the catalyst for the chaos that came after. her mind jumps to the next memory instantly; a weakened huntress, worn down by the demands of a child with a non-mortal soul. eventually, all she can see is lilith bleeding in her arms as she lost their child.

her body grows numb, the thought of losing joohyun has been eased despite the tumultuous months they’ve had together but this brings it back with a newfound intensity. for minutes, neither of them can find it within them to utter a single word. the tension in the atmosphere goes unnoticed when they’re both reeling from this revelation.

joohyun is the first to snap out of her thoughts and fear lunges at her without mercy. unlike lilith, she hadn’t seen this coming, let alone considered it was even possible. there’s no convincing either of them that this discovery is anything close to a miracle or a blessing.

“t-there’s no way…” the mortal stammers weakly, “h-how sure are you?”

the phantom throb of a heartbeat lingers on her fingertips, making it hard for seungwan to muster up a response. she knows what she felt.

“seungwan? i swear… i… i haven’t slept with anyone else… this… it’s…” joohyun is on the verge of tears, the devil’s silence and hardened gaze only scares her even more.

drawing a slow, deep breath, seungwan collects her fears into a small, imaginary box and shoves them into the crevices of her mind. she gradually grounds herself and finally, dares to look joohyun in the eyes.

“it’s the fates,” she croaks, “the fates ing did this…”

her deal with the fates springs to mind instantly and joohyun feels her stomach twisting further, “how?”

how?

while there’s doubt surrounding the question, seungwan finds that she has an idea of how everything transpired. the thought of joohyun being alone with the fates makes her heart tremble — they could’ve taken her away.

swallowing the lump in , seungwan tries her best to explain without burdening joohyun with her fears, “i don’t know the full extent of their powers but they can alter our bodies and souls with a touch.”  

“but… t-they can do this? ” joohyun’s voice grows quieter with every word.

“they did it to lilith,” seungwan clenches her fists, “we need to talk to the fates.”

it always goes back to lilith.

before joohyun can even react, seungwan scoops her into her arms and warps them to the far shore. the sudden motion of traversing through realms proves too much for joohyun, making her head spin and bile begins to rise from .

“i’m gonna be sick.” she manages to squeeze out a warning before struggling out of seungwan’s hold. 

last night’s dinner makes a reappearance with a violent retch that forces her to her knees. seungwan quickly crouches beside her as joohyun hunches over with one hand cradling her stomach.

a little sickness is easily fixable when you have the devil by your side; seungwan runs a hand down the mortal’s back gently, using her magic to soothe her body. for a moment, seungwan remembers this isn’t merely about her fears of losing joohyun, joohyun herself is probably terrified at the sudden turn of events.

“sorry, i should’ve let you stay home.” she murmurs, “are you okay?”

then again, seungwan doesn’t feel like leaving joohyun’s side right now.

joohyun nods weakly and wipes with the back of her hand, “my head is killing me but i want to know too.”

the mortal has no qualms about being scooped into seungwan’s arms again. she is in no state to be anywhere but in bed, let alone marching into the realm of the fates. with an arm looped around the nape of her neck, she rests her head against seungwan’s chest as the devil navigates the fog with a certain rage radiating off of her. while lucifer could never tell what the fates wanted, she can’t help but feel like all of this is part of an unfinished project of theirs, like they're simply picking up where they left off with lilith.

she’s had plenty of time to consider potential outcomes if somehow she and lilith had managed to escape the wrath of god — a family, made from her very own soul. it has been nothing but a dream robbed from her. the very same uneasiness of an unnatural pregnancy at the very moment when hope begins to flourish in her life strikes an icy chill down her spine. more so, she’s afraid to even think of a positive outcome — the happiness that should come with such an occasion is nowhere to be found when the fates can take it if they please.

they will never take joohyun from her, even if she has to start another war against the higher powers once again. if it does come down to that, she doubts her chances of victory, especially after recent events but she would die trying.

the sudden appearance of lucifer and joohyun sends a shockwave of surprise through the archives, sapping the usual drowsiness of the place. angels of all ranks peer over railings from floors above them, whispers speculating their reason for visiting again so soon. joohyun has become a hot topic amongst them given recent circumstances, and lucifer tends to be an omen for what’s to come. despite their curiosity, no one dares to question them or get in their way.

“close your eyes.” seungwan warns before she warps them to yves’ office and thankfully, joohyun is a little more prepared this time.

she presses her eyes shut to negate the dizziness that teleportation brings and clings to seungwan tightly. they land in the cherub’s office and like most angels, she’s not happy to see them.

“leave.” yves says curtly without looking up from her papers.

seungwan ignores her hostility, “we need to speak with the fates now.”

“no.”

“it’s important.” the devil insists.

“oh?” yves sneers, “you come here every time something does not go your way. what is the problem now?”

“there’s a half-demon, half-mortal baby in her womb and as far as i know, it’s impossible. unless you can explain how the hell that’s possible, we need to talk to them now.”

joohyun snaps her head at seungwan, “h-half-demon?”

“i’ll explain later.” seungwan whispers back.

the cherub tightens her jaw, she is not one to question the actions of the fates but peace between the realms has barely been restored, and now they’re ing them into undoubtedly another period of chaos.

“i don’t like this as much as you do, so just make this easier for the both of us to get the answers we want.” lucifer exhales slowly through her nose as yves finally looks up at them.

the angel’s brows are stitched together as she stares intently at joohyun’s figure, trying to find the truth in lucifer’s words. with them in such close proximity, it’s hard to differentiate lucifer’s magic from one of her spawn’s, if it even exists.

“it is not possible, she has always been barren.” yves states, a fact known to most, if not all within the celestial realms.

lucifer clenches her jaw, “you know the fates are powerful, that’s why you obey them. do you really think this is beyond them?”

only lucifer would insult an angel she needs a favour from. clicking her teeth sharply, yves rises from her seat, relenting to the devil’s request, “we used to have peace in these realms.” 

she leads them to the entrance of the void and the door swings open, allowing them passage to the realm of the fates. seungwan gives her a nod of thanks and with joohyun cradled in her arms, they enter the darkness together.

unconsciously, as they tread through the darkness, seungwan’s grip tightens as if she’s trying to keep joohyun closer.

“yah…” joohyun jabs a finger into her chest lightly, “you’re squishing me…”

seungwan startles, relaxing her grip, “sorry…”

“it’s okay…” she murmurs before attempting to ease their nerves, “what did yves mean? that i was always barren?”

seungwan releases a soft sigh, “all your past lives have never been able to have children.”

“except for lilith?”

“it was a pity, what happened to lilith.” the voice of the fates echoes through the darkness before the two are blinded by a bright light.

in a blink of an eye, before joohyun’s vision clears, the fates appear before them seated at their desks. the countless shelves filled with folders loom above them and it seems they have only grown in numbers since the two have been here.

“we couldn’t even go a year without a visit, you miss us that much, lucifer?” clotho acknowledges the two despite the trio being busy typing away at screens.

their snark makes seungwan grind her teeth, she snarls, “care to explain why joohyun is pregnant?”

“it was a gift.” lachesis answers nonchalantly, though a tint of a smirk lingers on her face.

seungwan scoffs, “a gift?”

“you said you wanted a successor and we merely granted you that wish.” clotho hums, “plus, this was our bargain from joohyun to return your soul, so unlike the previous time, we did get consent. we all get what we want. it is a win-win situation, or should i say win-win-win?”

bargain from joohyun?

seungwan looks down at her charge who looks uncomfortably pale. the realization has started to sink in for the mortal and the words of the fates are repeating in her head.

you will know when the time is right.

how the was she to know they wanted to put a baby inside her? on top of that, a half-demon? they are sly and twisted, no wonder seungwan holds such disdain towards them.

“you guys are sick.” the devil seethes, “what do you truly want out of this?”

atropos tuts, “lucifer, darling, you have known us for your entire life. what else could we possibly want?”

chaos, their existence revolves around it.

interpreting their words, to seungwan, chaos can only mean war. the thought of rending them from existence sends a twisting feeling into her gut. no one wins in a war.

as if reading her thoughts, lachesis speaks with a lightened tone, “come now, lucifer. lighten up a little, you should be looking forward to the birth of your child as we are.”

“you know there can only be one outcome if you take her away from me before her time is up.” her threat is nothing but a joke when spoken to the higher powers.

the fates cackle and seungwan feels like she’s already playing into their hands. their laughter sounds wrong and it brews uneasiness within the king of hell — for them to be amused meant nothing good.

atropos stops typing and the slow turn of her head feels threatening, it sends a shiver down the couple’s spines as she seems to be staring at them from under the cloth obscuring her eyes. “beneath our fingers lie infinite variations of outcomes, each one branching out into more and more possibilities. your path is malleable, lucifer. choose the worst and nothing but dust and darkness awaits you.” she says slowly, her words edged with a warning and an invitation.

try and regret will be the only thing you ever know.

the devil falls silent and joohyun looks way too pale to speak. she clenches the fabric of seungwan’s shirt, almost pleading for them to run before the fates change their minds about them.

but where could they go where fate could not touch?

“fear not, joohyun, we honor all deals made.” clotho says, sensing that the conversation has scared the mortal, “no harm will come to lucifer as long as you uphold your end.”

their words hardly offer any relief, joohyun is forced to trust them. seungwan, on the other hand, shifts the conversation back to the matter at hand.

seungwan swallows the lump in . she remembers how weak lilith grew, if things hadn’t turned out the way they did, seungwan suspected childbirth would have killed her.

“you tried it once with lilith and it failed. why again? why now?” lucifer presses, “you could’ve taken something else for the bargain.”

“indeed we could have,” atropos agrees, tenting her fingers as she speaks, “did you ever wonder why god only banished lilith after her pregnancy was discovered?”

to this day, the discovery of lilith’s pregnancy by the heavens remains a mystery to the devil. she had thought that they would be safe if they stayed away from the cities but somehow, he knew. lucifer always assumed he knew where to find her, like there was some unseen tether between them and all he had to do was follow it to track her down. their question makes her doubt if that is even remotely true.

“it’s because i left his side…” seungwan answers weakly.

“he feared you, his strongest weapon, his greatest creation,” clotho smiles, yet it feels more sinister than ever, “certainly there is nothing more enthralling than this, a unison of our magnum opuses.”

her heart sinks, and a wave of hopelessness crashes against her chest. to an angel, their strength is their pride but seungwan has long forgotten that strength is a vital part of her existence. seeing how much the fates valued it despite how much she’s put her soul through over the years unsettles her.

she has no doubt that whatever they put in joohyun is likely to be powerful, something strong enough to upset the balance amongst realms. a terrifying thought, though one that she casts aside in favor of joohyun’s wellbeing.

“seungwan…” joohyun’s voice is soft, yet a tint of fear coats her tone. she doesn’t quite understand what the fates mean but this whole situation is so far beyond her control and scares her a lot.

“will this hurt her?”

the fates shrug in unison, “there have been no absolute records of a half-demon, half-human child. mortals that get impregnated by demons or vice versa end up with children that take after the mother. we cannot promise anything, however, mortal medicine has improved since lilith’s time. the risks are certainly lower now. keep us updated.” lachesis explains with a sly smile.

neither one likes what they’re hearing and the mortal’s fears grow with the ambiguity of the fates.

it draws the demon out of her thoughts and instead of reassurance, a small apology slips from seungwan’s lips. she caused this very situation, if only she had known to rein in her anger for one night, joohyun wouldn’t have made a deal with these slimy hags. her therapist wouldn’t be happy that she’s going back to her old ways but only drastic measures will work with them.

“our souls are not your playthings and joohyun isn’t another experiment.” the devil snarls through clenched teeth, “if anything happens to her, i will seek out every fragment of my creator and return him to this world.”

in a blink, the fates surround them. one stands before them, and with wrinkled fingers, reaches for lucifer’s jaw

“a threat, lucifer?” atropos arches a brow as she lifts the devil’s chin slightly, “we struck a deal with joohyun, the consequences of breaking it come at the cost of your soul. we can easily take back everything we have given.”

lucifer had wondered about the relationship between god and the fates, on top of that, what would happen if he were to return?

seungwan shrugs free of her wrinkly fingers and joohyun nervously tugs at her shirt, clearly afraid of what the fates are capable of.

the mortal pleads, “let’s leave, please…” 

seungwan swallows her indignation, she’s not about to start a fight when joohyun is even more vulnerable than before. furthermore, she can’t bring herself to argue further with the fates; there is no answer nor resolution to this predicament that they are in. 

“ you guys.” the devil hisses.

“you will thank us in a couple of months.” clotho laughs as the fates return to their seats, “also, we have another gift, a little something to congratulate you two.”

a transparent box drops into joohyun’s hands and with one look at it and she can tell it’s a nativity set. she makes the mistake of making eye contact, if one can even call it that, with the fates and the visceral terror that runs through her threatens to make her puke again.

“eat you old s!” seungwan grumbles as she teleports them back to earth.

back to the safety of her bedroom, joohyun still feels the creeps from the fates lingering. she pours the contents of the box out on the bed and stares at them.

the fates’ twisted sense of humour reflects in their gift because instead of it being a regular nativity set that clotho had bought from joohyun weeks ago, it’s been painted over to resemble her and seungwan and the ones closest to them.

“this looks like burger,” seungwan mumbles as she picks up some figures, “and this looks like seulgi.”

a red dog and a girl with green highlights in her hair, anyone could tell who they were. joohyun picks up their figures and hands them to the devil.

“and us.”

the realisation hits seungwan a little later and she gasps loudly, “that day, when you told me about the old lady!”

“it was them.” joohyun bobs her head, “i knew something about her felt off…”

“did she have her eyes covered?” 

“she had sunglasses on but most rich old ladies do, i didn’t think much of it then.”

seungwan takes a seat next to her and kisses the crown of her head gently, “they would’ve found another way. i’m sorry that this happened.”

what is an appropriate response for finding out one is magically pregnant with a half-demon baby because of a deal they made with the beings that write destiny itself? joohyun’s head hurts at the very thought of it and she sighs softly.

“let’s talk more later…”

seungwan sympathetically tucks her back into bed with a soft kiss. the news of her pregnancy has shaken her up to say the least, but the accompanying nausea makes her less inclined to speak as well.

when seungwan takes a step back, joohyun tugs at her wrist — she doesn’t want to be alone.

“i know you don’t want to be alone but there’s a lot that i don’t know… and it makes me uneasy.  i’m going back to hell to see if anyone knows anything,” seungwan explains gently, “get some rest and i’ll be back as quickly as i can, promise.”

she leaves a glass of water by the bed before joohyun unwillingly watches her disappear in a blink of an eye. alone, she shuts her eyes and tries to not perceive the existence of a half-demon baby in her body.

hours turned into days and seungwan hasn’t returned. it’s been two days and burger showed up a few minutes after seungwan left from hell. the hound seems to know of her condition, or maybe seungwan ordered him to protect her. he trails behind joohyun wherever she goes, sticks a little too closely to her and refuses to let her out of his sight.

for the most part, joohyun has taken a couple of days off work to try to sleep everything off. she’s lucky the house is empty because sooyoung likes to spend her time in hell instead. speaking of her sister, she has no idea how to break this news to her but she’ll hopefully have some time to prepare herself.

she wants to avoid thinking about it entirely but it’s hard when her nausea ramps up an entire level. the ailments that have been hampering her in the weeks prior makes a lot of sense now but joohyun wishes they would just disappear. eating becomes a chore and while she tries to stomach whatever she can, it eventually results in her kneeling before the toilet. like an alarm she can’t turn off, it is a painfully obvious reminder that she’s pregnant.

joohyun wonders if it’s the demonic side of the baby, certainly, they’re causing as much trouble as seungwan.

she lounges on her couch with burger’s head on her lap. after all they’ve been through, his flames don’t bother her as much as they used to. the hellhound watches her quietly as she his fur mindlessly.

“it’s been two days… when is she going to come back…” the mortal sighs.

a thought flutters through her mind, one that she has ignored in the initial hours of seungwan’s absence. considering the fact that it’s been days, it begins to solidify.

“is… is she leaving me..?” joohyun swallows as she looks down at burger, “what if she doesn’t want… this?”

burger rises to his feet and whimpers in an attempt to reassure her but he can hardly keep up with the speed of her spiraling thoughts.

“what am i supposed to do..?” joohyun’s voice quivers as tears threaten to fall.

the hound hops off the couch and steadily returns to his normal size. lowering himself before joohyun, he prompts the mortal to get on. dealing with worried, pregnant mortals isn’t part of his expertise but getting joohyun to where she needed to be is.

ensuring that joohyun has a firm grip on him, burger dives into the underworld. 

they arrive in the second circle where the heat prickles at joohyun’s skin uncomfortably. the sudden descent into hell stirs up her sensitive stomach and she quickly clamps a hand over . if there’s one thing she wants to avoid forever, it would be interrealm traveling.

a few deep breaths help to quell the rising bile and joohyun releases a tired exhale when her stomach finally settles.

she might strangle seungwan when she finally sees her.

burger doesn’t seem to know where seungwan is or he would’ve taken her straight to the devil. he trudges through the underworld aimlessly at a slow pace, sensing that his rider isn’t capable of his regular speed. it does mean that demons do notice the queen alone on the hellhound, however.

and they sense what feels like a modicum of seungwan’s magic lingering on her.

burger takes her to the bar that seungwan and the kings regularly frequent. a heavy scent of cigarettes and booze clouds the air and joohyun wrinkles her nose, she doubts this is good for a half-demon baby so she tries to be quick. she slides off burger as he shrinks down to fit through the pub’s doors.

once loud and boisterous, the bar stills in the presence of the queen. she tries to seek out a familiar face but everyone is staring at her with perplexed looks. she has no clue that without their usual chatter, it’s easier to pick out heartbeats — especially when their hearts don’t beat.

“joohyun? oh shoot, i mean, queen joohyun?”

the mortal snaps her head to the sound of her name and she’s relieved to see ryujin behind the counter. she wastes no time in making her way to the half-demon.

“you’re alone?” ryujin asks, “where’s her majesty?”

joohyun nods her head, “that’s my question too.”

clearing loudly, the patrons of the bar catch ryujin’s hint and resume their conversations. once she’s certain that they won’t be overheard, she returns her attention to the queen.

“she dropped by to look for yerim the day before and i haven’t seen them since.” the bartender explains, “you shouldn’t be here alone.”

the mortal swallows nervously, “i-i’m worried… she hasn’t been back for two days…”

ryujin tenses up, her words trailing off apprehensively, “she’s not…”

instinctively, joohyun reaches for the ring around her neck. the warmth that passes through her fingers reassures her that seungwan is alive, just missing.

“she’s alive,” joohyun mutters, “i just don’t know where the hell she is.”

“even if you did, i don’t think coming to hell is the wisest idea in your… condition. ” ryujin picks her words carefully but it catches joohyun by surprise.

“y-you can tell?” the mortal gasps.

the half-demon nods, “you smell different, it’s light but distinct. it’s probably impossible to tell when you’re with her majesty but now that you’re alone, it’s become more obvious. and when it went quiet just now, i could hear your heartbeats. i’m pretty sure the others heard it too, it’s only a matter of time before they connect the dots and word spreads. it’s safer if you’re not here.”

joohyun purses her lips, she has never felt so lost. coupled with the lack of seungwan, she feels herself on the verge of crying.

“hey, it’s alright.” ryujin coos, “i’ll get someone to look for her majesty and if she shows up here, i’ll let her know you’re looking for her.”

biting the insides of her cheeks, joohyun nods with a small smile. “thanks ryujin.”

“no problem.”

“would you happen to know about… half-demon… pregnancies..?”

ryujin widens her eyes in shock, her eyes moving down to peer at joohyun’s midsection as if she’ll spot something out of place. 

“did… her majesty… seungwan… she…” the half-demon stutters as she tries to word her question in a non-invasive manner, “is she the sire?”

“yes..? i think?” joohyun bites her lower lip, “this was the fates’ doing.”

now that makes a lot more sense as to why joohyun radiated a familiar scent; this isn’t a natural pregnancy and it brings about new concerns. 

ryujin stitches her brows together with worry, “i don’t mean to alarm you but keep burger with you at all times. it’ll only be a matter of time before the angels catch wind of this…” 

talks of angels send a chill down joohyun’s spine, she wonders how yongsun and byulyi are going to react to this. “are they going to come after me?” she asks softly.

“i can’t say for sure, i think my dad would know a lot more but he’s dead.” the half-demon mutters grimly, “my mom kept me a secret but the moment heaven found out, they tried everything to get rid of me. didn’t need to guess which side of me they despised.”

“but this has nothing to do with them.”

ryujin drops her voice low, “unless they fear its potential power. my dad was a king but he wasn’t a seraph, and i might have gotten my kicked by sahaquiel but i’d say i held up pretty well against one of heaven’s strongest. lucifer was god’s strongest angel, an irrefutable fact considering she obliterated him. now picture her child? even if they are half-mortal, i’d be wary. they’ve been known to step in if  they deem it will stop a situation from growing out of hand.”

given the suddenness of this situation, the shock of it all has blinded the couple to the potential dangers. on top of worrying about seungwan and her condition, she has to fear for her life too? a heavy exhaustion threatens to crush her.

“i don’t know what to do, ryujin.” joohyun admits in a defeated voice.

the half-demon shoots her a sympathetic look, “i didn’t mean to burden you with extra worries. go home for now, you can discuss everything when her majesty returns.”

“i don’t know when she’s coming back.”

“did she say where she was going?”

joohyun shakes her head, “she said she was coming here to look for help. apparently, half-demon, half-mortals don’t exist. we're way over our heads.”

“wouldn’t surprise me. most demons terminate pregnancies, kids are more hassle than they’re worth down here.” ryujin shrugs and seeing joohyun’s face collapse, the half-demon quickly apologizes. “sorry, i didn’t mean it like that. given how we’re generally like, therapy era and all, we’re frankly better off without kids.” she adds with a nervous chuckle, “you’ll be fine, seungwan’s not like the others.”

terminating it hasn’t crossed her mind until now. while she considers the idea, the words of the fates ring in her ears — we can easily take back everything we have given.

“it’s fine…” joohyun presses her lips into a thin line,, “i just… i’ve been trying to not think about any of this but it’s hard when my body keeps reminding me.”

ryujin’s face twists with sympathy, “natural remedies work well on our bodies, herbs and salves tend to do the trick instead of chemicals and drugs. have you seen a doctor?”

again, joohyun shakes her head helplessly, “i was waiting for seungwan to come back.”

reaching under the counter, ryujin pulls out a bag of gummies. “it’s a far shot but demons love sweets.” 

joohyun notes her words with a small nod, “i guess anything is worth a shot, thank you, ryujin.”

“don’t sweat it, if you need anything else, i’ll be here. don’t worry, she’ll show up eventually.”

limited by her mortality, joohyun knows there’s not much she can do. her trip to hell did little to ease her nerves but at least she has some answers and she feels a little less alone in this mess. 

the mortal quietly makes her exit, popping a red hound-shaped gummy into . the sweetness calms her slightly as she requests for burger to take her home.

seungwan returns ten hours after joohyun’s brief visit to hell.

the mortal periodically checked the clock as she counted the hours since seungwan left her side; a grueling fifty six hours.

though, before she can even yell at seungwan, an angel makes her presence known.

in the ten hours since joohyun left the underworld, gossip and rumours of her new condition spread amongst the demons. most of them are accompanied with outrageous speculations but the truth remains despite how far word traveled — joohyun is pregnant.

perhaps it was by fate’s design or perhaps a matter of luck, an angel happened to be in the realm of the demons when it was spreading and that is all it takes for the seraphim to catch wind of it.

sahaquiel is the first to descend from the heavens; seething and cursing lucifer’s entire existence as she wields her spear in one hand.

she would not return until she turns lucifer into dust.

the angel’s wrath does not last when she finds joohyun alone. if the rumors are true, it seems impossible that lucifer would leave her side. perplexed, sahaquiel reins in her anger and waits. she masks her presence and watches joohyun from a distance, assessing the situation with caution.

leliel tries to coax her back to heaven but sahaquiel has always been stubborn, such a rumor cannot be left unconfirmed. she refuses to leave and without much of a choice, the angel of night allows her to do as she pleases. in the tenth hour of her watch, it pays off.

lucifer returns looking a little dirty and scratched up and sahaquiel strikes. admittedly, the seraph knows her actions might affect the balance between the realms but she knows lucifer, and she knows inaction by heaven tends to lead to catastrophic outcomes.

through the window, her spear flies forth from her hand and embeds itself into lucifer’s chest, the sheer power of it pins the devil to the wall.

joohyun yelps, jolting from her spot on the couch as burger takes a defensive stance before her. 

seungwan, caught off guard, has almost no chance of reacting. face twisting in agony, she curses under her breath as she makes eye contact with joohyun.

run.

perhaps the karmic debt they’ve accumulated over the years has finally crossed a tipping point. the devil could only guess the angel’s intentions by her fury — she, or they, might have ed up somehow or it might be the brand new soul the fates have generously bestowed upon them! but how could heaven have known when they themselves have barely come to terms with it?

the seraph makes her presence known as she enters the apartment through the now-broken window, her clothes brushing broken glass to the floor. all eyes are on her as she strolls over to the devil with an unrestrained intent to kill. 

“y-yong?” joohyun squeaks, “what’s going on?”

“yeah! why the hell are you attacking me?” seungwan adds in protest as she struggles to free herself. the scent of singed flesh slowly begins to fill the apartment as the devil burns her palms on the shaft of the spear.

sahaquiel splits her spear into two, leaving half embedded in lucifer’s chest while she holds the other in her hand. her glare never leaves the devil even as she answers joohyun.

“i’d like to know why the demons are saying you’re pregnant.” she mutters, “too odd to be false, don’t you think?”

seungwan looks confused, almost panicked even. normally she’d have time to make up some sort of excuse to weasel her way out of heaven’s wrath but not this time. she glances at her charge who has her hands raised in an attempt to calm the angel.

the mortal draws a deep breath and braces herself, “i can explain.”

“i told you i would kill you if you let anything happen to her.”

the seraph deems that is all the confirmation she needs to plunge her spear into lucifer’s throat. the devil quickly reacts by grabbing her hands but it takes all her strength to stop sahaquiel. the tip of the spear breaks her skin but it’s the least of her worries — she worries about what the angel would do to joohyun instead.

“yong! stop! it’s not her fault!” the mortal dashes over to the two celestials, “it was the fates!”

however, before joohyun could even reach them, she collides with what feels like a wall. she stumbles back, cradling her forehead as it throbs with pain. unbeknownst to her, seungwan is capable of setting up invisible barriers to protect her charge — they still had a pact after all.

“stay back, hyun!” seungwan warns through gritted teeth, “go to yerim! or seulgi!”

in the chaos, it seems that listening is impossible. joohyun refuses to budge and sahaquiel is set on killing lucifer and the devil is too occupied with thoughts on how to get joohyun away from the seraph.

“it’s not seungwan’s fault—”

“don’t lie to me, it has her magic!”

“burger! get her out of here!”

the only one that listens is the hound that ducks between the mortal’s legs, causing her to fall onto his back in a predetermined motion. catching her with ease, burger obeys the commands of his creator and decides safety lies with the kings of hell.

without joohyun’s safety plaguing her thoughts, the demon’s hair gradually turns blonde and sahaquiel slips into her true form as well. the angel is still attempting to murder her and lucifer is trying her best to not sustain any more injuries. their strengths are even now, leaving them in a stalemate.

“i should’ve killed you in our previous fight.” the angel sneers.

seungwan scoffs loudly, “you’re too weak to do so now!”

her insult angers the seraph who recalls her spears back into one, leaving seungwan wincing at the fresh wound in her chest. 

“could’ve done it slowly…” seungwan mutters before sahaquiel tries to launch another attack. the devil ducks, narrowly missing a decapitation. “let’s not do this here, joohyun will kill me again if we destroy her apartment.”

to the perfect place for a celestial battle the two goes — the far shore.

a throbbing headache overwhelms joohyun when burger lands in the administrative offices of hell. the world spins beneath her and she hunches over, hands clutching fistfuls of burger’s fur.

“…” she curses under her breath as she clenches her eyes shut, willing herself to feel better because she has more important matters at hand.

“take me to seungwan, burger.”

the hound refuses to budge, after all, while joohyun may be his master’s lover, her commands do not override lucifer’s. 

“burger,” joohyun’s voice is commanding, causing the poor dog to stiffen out of fear, “take me to seungwan, now.”

he whimpers in a way that begs her to see reason but her patience has reached an all time low. fifty six hours without seungwan and a half-demon baby inside her is enough to frustrate even the gentlest of mortals. and they’ve all seen a world without seungwan, there’s no way they could let it happen again.

“i’m ing exhausted and we’re not letting her die again! i’ve waited days for answers and nobody, not you or yongsun will make me wait another minute!”

if the soon-to-be queen of hell’s appearance didn’t startle the kings looking over their documents, joohyun’s outburst certainly did.

“unnie? what’s going on?” sooyoung’s voice is tinted with concern as she approaches her sister who looks unwell.

snapping her head up, the mortal stiffens. on top of everything, joohyun has to deal with sooyoung as well. her frustration has already hit its boiling point and the mortal thinks she can only handle so much.

“not now, sooyoung, please.” joohyun murmurs as she urges burger once again, the heels of her feet dig into his sides, “i need to get to seungwan now.”

“what’s wrong?” seulgi chimes in casually, “what heavenly sin did wannie commit now?”

“’s sake…” joohyun grinds her teeth and decides it’s easier to be upfront about the whole situation, “i’m pregnant and yongsun is trying to kill seungwan, i need to stop them!”

in a room of demons who perceive things much faster than a human, sooyoung is somehow the first to react.

a gasp, followed by her hands covering , sooyoung’s eyes widen at her sister.

“and you were on my about wanting to sleep with a demon!”

though, nobody expects anything of substance to leave her lips.

joohyun is one snarky remark from strangling her sister — she would if seungwan and yongsun aren’t fighting to the death again. “not the ing point right now, sooyoung!” 

sooyoung clicks her teeth loudly as she nudges her fiancée, “do something.”

the demon snaps out of her daze as do the other kings, “uh… stay here, it’s probably not safe for you to be near two fighting celestials. we’ll stop them.”

“i’m going, if anyone can talk yongsun out of it, it’s me.” joohyun is firm and if the situation isn’t so pressing, she wouldn’t need to do this, “you will obey the queen of hell.”

the demon kings nod in unison as a tint of nostalgia washes over them at the thinly-veiled threat — lilith would never ask too.

together with an army of demon kings, the new queen of hell leads them to the far shore to save their king.

the sounds of battle strikes their ears from the very second the queen and her demon kings land in the foggy nothingness. the ground rumbles with the sheer impact of a spear of light missing its target and joohyun clings onto burger a little tighter.

her stomach twists and her rage seems to quell it slightly. a crinkle forms between joohyun’s brows as she feels the warmth within her growing. she makes a mental note to ask seungwan about it later — if they escape yongsun’s wrath, that is.

burger sprints ahead at full speed, seeking his way to his creator. the demon kings surround the hound protectively, ready to shield their mortal queen from any harm that might befall her.

though, there’s one thing that the demons have neglected, something that they’ve long lost, something that could hurt their queen despite their best efforts.

divinity.

the kings yell out warnings, seulgi tries to shield her from it, but they’re all a second too late.

it’s too late, the blinding grace of an angel’s complete halo illuminates the area around them. even if she turns away, it would be impossible to avoid it.

to joohyun, she gradually registers the impossible blindness before her as something beyond a mortal’s comprehension, and a warning from seungwan ages ago comes to mind.

i can't cure blindness caused by divinity.

she braces herself for any sort of pain or darkness but it never comes. instead, her eyes adjust and for the first time since the beginning of existence, a mortal lays eyes on an angel in their true form.

joohyun has seen the ruined form of lucifer, though that is fitting for a fallen angel, the king of hell. to see the uncanny appearance of a proper seraph sends a chill down her spine. humanity has gotten their perception of angels all wrong, their bodies are not soft or gentle, rather they are crafted with a terrifying unnaturalness. 

burger skids to a stop and perhaps she’s too distracted by the sight of the seraph but joohyun loses her grip on him and is sent flying forth.

, she has only a moment to panic before bracing herself for impact. her arms shoot out in preparation to catch herself but she feels her shoulder colliding with something solid and unbearingly hot.

joohyun expects to land roughly on the ground but in an unexpected turn of events, she finds that the devil has cushioned her fall. careful not to touch her with hands that burn with hellfire, seungwan glances nervously down at the petite mortal laying on her chest.

“hyun? can you see me? are you hurt?” seungwan’s voice quivers as she pushes herself up with her hands, “joohyun?”

dizzy with the speed at which everything has happened, joohyun forces a nod as she looks up at seungwan. she’s in her broken celestial form, blonde and much larger than she usually is and it almost feels wrong for her to look scared, but she is. her eyes searches every inch of her body for any signs of hurt but she sees none. her eyes aren’t cursed with a haunting whiteness that befalls all who dare gaze upon a celestial.

“i-i’m fine…” joohyun heaves, “i can see… how?”

seungwan releases a sigh of relief, “i don’t know but i need you to get away from here, it’s not safe.”

“let me talk to her, i’ll explain everything.” joohyun urges as the seraph approaches silently, shrinking back into the form that the mortal is more comfortable and capable of looking at.

“we’ll handle her, get her somewhere safe, wannie.” seulgi mutters as she stands alongside the other kings in front of lucifer.

“i am not out to hurt joohyun.” sahaquiel states, “lucifer should have known better before siring a child. especially with a soul this unpredictable.”

seungwan hisses, “you could’ve blinded her and you’re making a fuss about me having a kid? i don’t even want this!”

her words still the atmosphere in the far shore and joohyun’s expression collapses slightly. she whispers softly, almost as if it’s meant to be a thought, “you don’t want this?”

seungwan opens to speak but sahaquiel interrupts her, “you are putting joohyun at risk and you know that.”

“it’s not her fault, yong. i made a deal with the fates, i have to hold up my end of the bargain.” joohyun tightens her jaw, “seungwan didn’t do anything, this was the work of the fates.”

sahaquiel tenses at the use of her false mortal name, “it was to bring her back, was it not?”

“yes…”

“then it is her fault.”

“you brought me to the fates,” joohyun murmurs as she pinches the bridge of her nose, “i don’t want to argue, please, yongsun. all of this is… ing insane … and i need time to talk to seungwan.”

“if i refuse?”

joohyun glances at the demons standing between her and yongsun and involuntarily, her brow arches up, there’s nothing more she needs to say.

“fine, i’ll be back… or seek me out when you’re ready.” the seraph relents, gaze softening, “word has traveled to the seraphim and the various circles, i have to report this to them but you won’t have long till they come to a consensus on what to do.”

the mortal bites her lower lip nervously, “can you keep it from them? just for a while… until we figure this out?”

sahaquiel exhales sharply through her nose, “it’s not within my control anymore, joohyun. i can try to dissuade them from acting but lucifer has to answer for this eventually.”

“anything helps, thank you, yong.” joohyun forces a small smile and the angel nods, taking her leave with a fierce flap of her wings.

a brief beat of silence lapses in the realm before joohyun jabs a finger to seungwan’s chest. her shirt prevents her skin from scalding joohyun with hellfire so the mortal does it over and over again.

her cries rip into the devil’s soul as she wails, “where the hell have you been? you were gone for two whole days! you left me alone to deal with this and now you’re saying you don’t want this? for ’s sake, seungwan!” 

the mortal’s sudden outburst makes the demon kings shift their feet uneasily, something about this whole situation makes them want to stay and witness the two hash things out despite how uncomfortable it may be. drama that is certain to turn the whole world upside down and they’ve got front row seats.

seungwan casts her gaze to the ground as she slowly slips back into her usual form, leaving joohyun to straddle her. sahaquiel has given her some new wounds but she’ll deal with that later. 

“it’s difficult to explain, hyun…” the devil swallows uncomfortably, the best and worst parts of her past have been resurfacing ever since she met joohyun and this is merely another moment where she’s forced into vulnerability.

the demon kings are forcefully ushered away by seulgi who has the decency to offer the couple some privacy but burger lingers around, guarding them from whatever grotesque creatures creeping around in the fog.

“try,” joohyun mutters through clenched teeth, “i can’t do this alone.”

seungwan’s gaze flits to her lover and she releases a shaky exhale, her past with lilith is something she has held close to her, details meant for her memory alone. her initial departure from heaven isn’t a secret, but her reasons are. the only angels that know the truth have already been killed by seungwan when lilith was banished, even the demons that rebelled with her did not know of her miscarriage.

they never spoke of the loss, lilith would shut her off at any mention of it — it was one of the things that was too painful to even speak of. lilith had seemingly come to terms with it; she would call the demons her true family and with the instability of the realms, they both knew it would be too big of a risk to try again.

perhaps it’s the idea of what could have been that makes the loss hurt more, a child born of their own flesh and soul, a child that belonged to no one but them.

“lilith… lilith had a miscarriage… the fates planted my soul in her despite knowing that her body was ill suited for childbirth…” seungwan feels constricting at the thought of joohyun withering away before her and even more at the thought of losing another child, “she grew weak and i’m… i’m ing terrified of watching that happen to you too… i… if anything happens… i don’t think i can choose this… child… over you…”

the pain in her voice makes joohyun’s twist with a terrible ache, her initial anger has simply faded into an understanding of sorts. though, she too feels conflicted.

“i’m… scared, joohyun. i didn’t mean it when i said i didn’t want it, i’m just… not entirely sure if it’s ours to keep,” seungwan adds with a shaky murmur, tears welling up in her eyes, “in any other universe without god and the fates, i would’ve loved this but it’s… you… you came back to me after all these years and i refuse to let you go again.”

somehow, as much as joohyun is struggling to accept this baby, it feels wrong to choose her life over theirs. perhaps it’s her motherly instincts kicking in already. “it’s our child, isn’t it? as much as it doesn’t feel like it.” her voice is strained as she lifts her gaze.

seungwan exhales slowly, “it is… but i can’t lose you.”

not again.

“seungwan…”

the devil babbles on, “i’ll work something out with the fates, or i’ll convince sahaquiel to save you. i can’t… i can’t ing lose you again…”

joohyun clamps her hands around the sides of her face and forces the demon to look at her.

“i know you’re scared, so am i, but you won’t lose me and neither will i let the fates take you from me again.” she slips her arms around the nape of seungwan’s neck and closes the distance between them. resting her chin on seungwan’s shoulder, joohyun exhales softly. “we can work things out, for now, i’m glad you’re back, i’ve missed you.”

seungwan’s hands naturally reciprocate joohyun’s affection, she presses the mortal close to her and draws a deep breath. “me too… i’m sorry i was gone for so long.”

they stay in each other’s arms for a long while until their limbs are on the verge of falling asleep. to lucifer’s mansion they return to since joohyun’s apartment is destroyed by another celestial fight.

cleaned up and wounds treated, the couple cozies up on the couch with blankets and tea to soothe their nerves. they have a lot to talk about, mainly what seungwan has found out in her extended absence. she starts from the beginning; first going to yerim for her help and knowledge, the rest of the kings might know something but she didn’t trust them to keep their mouths shut about this. asmodeus would’ve been the best person to approach but he’s unfortunately dust, so the next best person would be ryujin’s mother, an archangel that had been shunned by her community.

while yerim did her best to track her down, seungwan traversed the world, revisiting prominent demonic cults that practiced the dark arts. many had been abolished by time, but those that remained had journals and records of demons claiming firstborns or as a sacrifice. what she found provided some insight, though it worried her just as much.

“i don’t think i’ve ever read so much in my entire life,” seungwan tries to lighten the mood before continuing, “apart from ryujin, there haven't been any other known half-demons but it doesn’t mean there aren’t any others. not all fall from heaven live in hell, there’s demons scattered all across the world and they don’t conform to the same rules that we do.”

“you found other half-demons? why did the fates say that there were none?” joohyun frowns.

seungwan purses her lips, “technically, yes. the ones that yerim and i managed to find were all dead.” 

“yah… that’s not reassuring at all.”

“i know, but at least there are records of them existing.”

joohyun hesitates her next question, wondering if it’s better if she didn’t know. ultimately, she decides it’s important for her to know every little detail, her life alongside this half-demon within her is at stake. “what… what happened to them?”

seungwan tenses up, “they… don’t make it. all of them end up stillborn. the ones that do make it end up fully mortal or fully demon.”

joohyun is quiet for a moment, “all?”

the devil nods slowly, “there’s only been a handful of recorded ones but… yeah… all of them.”

“how can they tell? if it’s part demon?”

“half-demons have one red eye, ryujin has that too.”

joohyun instinctively moves her hand over her midsection, as if the need to protect her baby has taken precedence over her fear.

“what about half-angels?” the mortal snaps her head up.

“half-angels?” seungwan quirks a brow, “ryujin is the only one we know of.”

“i was thinking… you were once an angel, what separates your physique or soul from an angel’s? is there a difference between half-demons and half-angels?”

seungwan frowns, “our halos, mainly. it changes the way we interact with magic. beyond that, i’d say we’re the same. besides, angels rarely interact with humans, let alone get close enough to impregnate them.”

“you thought ryujin was the only half-demon but it turns out there are more. what’s wrong with assuming the same for angels?” joohyun retorts as if it’s the most obvious thing.

the demon sighs, scratching the nape of her neck, “i don’t want to get anyone in trouble if i do find them. it’s likely that they’re kept a secret and if i were to start searching, it would certainly draw a lot of attention and i’m sure the seraphim will keep a close eye on us now.”

hearing all of this unsettles joohyun and she understands why seungwan said it might not be theirs to keep. who knows how many odds this baby would have to beat just to even take its first breath?

“what can we even do?” her voice is a mere whisper at this point, fear has overwhelmed her entire being.

“well… yerim and i talked about it and we think it might be because half-demon souls are incompatible with the human body. we still have to do more research but some journals have suggested that souls without a proper body tend to be more malleable in a way. it aligns with what the fates have told us that babies tend to take after their mother’s soul, and probably their physique as well.”

“but our souls are different, aren’t they? my soul… it’s…” joohyun trails off, finding it hard to piece the right words together.

seungwan nods, “your soul is one of a kind, but even the fates can’t predict the outcome.”

joohyun pales at the sound of that and they sit in silence for a moment, fully comprehending what it means. 

“there’s a likely chance of us… losing it…” seungwan forces herself to speak the dreaded words, “but it also means there’s a chance of it surviving.”

the mortal meets her eyes and her breathing stills, “y-you want this?”

again, seungwan feels herself beginning to tear up at the thought of having her own family. the thought of losing it all creeps up on her again and she wills it away. what she wants has never been up to her, no matter how desperately she tries. this time is different though, this time, it’s completely out of anyone’s control. 

their child is beyond the reach of the fates, and god.

they could be setting themselves up for a lifetime of grief but the opposite entices her, a child to call their own, a family that she’s meant to have. but that isn’t enough, her fears from the past threaten to suffocate her and she knows for a fact that she can’t lose joohyun.

she doesn’t know when her tears begin to fall but she finds herself wiping at her cheeks when she speaks, “i-i do… but not at the cost of you…” her voice cracks as she admits it, relief and fear pours out of her and she holds joohyun tight.

this time, it’s joohyun’s turn to question just how much control she has over everything, she has to uphold her end of the deal to keep seungwan alive. “i don’t think we have much of a say in keeping this baby or not.” she leaves a soft kiss on the crown of seungwan’s head, “as much as it scares me, i think i want it too. if it doesn’t work out, we’ll find a way to threaten the fates.

seungwan cracks into a small smile, a soft chuckle escaping her lips, “i see the turns have tabled, making you the queen of hell might be the best decision i’ve made.”

on the wall in front of them hangs the portrait of lilith, and joohyun’s eyes can’t help but drift towards her. joohyun’s feelings of not measuring up have faded significantly, however different they might be, one thing stays true despite however much time has passed, they love seungwan.

wherever lilith might be, joohyun wonders if she’d be comforted to know all of this, of her existence and how her actions in the past have led them to this very fate. 

a lack of response draws seungwan’s gaze to joohyun, and she follows the mortal’s eyes. before she can even wonder if she’s hit a nerve, joohyun asks.

“do you think she would agree?”

seungwan hums softly, “if she knew how happy you make me, she would.” 

end notes:

this chapter is long overdue, i know. life got in the way and i lost the drive to finish this momentarily. one final chapter to truly wrap it all up but it's just a matter of when i'll finish writing it.

life has been good, i graduated from school so i'm back to my funemployment era, practically where i was when i started this fic but i have more skills now! yippee!
also pretty crazy, i started talking to my gf shortly after i started this fic and i spent almost the entirety of august with her in real life. got to spend both our birthdays together and it's surreal. no idea what i was thinking when i booked my flight, one month living with someone i've never met before, it could go so wrong. but i'm thankful it didn't and even more grateful to know that we work out better in real life.

i hope life has been treating you guys well too, whenever you may read this. thanks for reading this :D

also wanted to say that it's so cool that awnoh got featured on aff! i was going through some stuff when it happened so i didn't have the capacity to celebrate it but yippee!!! thank u!!!