My alarm went off, the blaring ten times louder this morning. I shuffled in bed and slammed it shut, and then rubbed my throbbing, aching head. It'd felt like I had a Fire Truck inside my ear drums, my sensitivity to noise dialed up a few notches. I sat up on my bed and opened my eyes, a blinding white sheet of light forcing me to press them shut again. "What the hell?"
Suddenly, I realized where I was, back inside my apartment, after a sure-death experience. I sprung out of bed like my sheets were on fire, and then walked over to my tall mirror, noticing that I was completely naked. Not only that, all of the cuts down my arms were gone, and my brain was intact!
"Was it… a dream?!" I gasped. "Could it be? But, everything felt so real…"
My heightened sensitivity to light and noise seemed to have vanished right then and there. I was confused, and itching for answers. So I reached for my phone on my desk and searched for Sasha's number. The call icon stared back at me, my fingers suddenly shaking at the thought of talking to that demon. "What am I saying? It was all a dream, right? I hadn't really gone on that date with Sasha. If I call her, she'd be on the other line. Her and no one else…"
…
"She's fine," I said to myself, half convinced. "And, it's early. I wouldn't want to disturb her morning with my panicky rambling."
I tossed my phone on the desk and went for my door. Putting the disturbingly vivid dream aside, it was still Saturday, and I had to go to work. First, I planned on paying mom a visit. I felt like I'd told her about my date with Sasha last, but clearly, I went home and crashed instead. I must have been tired. Sasha deserved answers for me ghosting her last night, but it would just have to wait. Right now, my mind was scrambled, and I was still spooked. I was in no shape to interact with anyone or anything but a steaming shower waiting for me in the bathroom. Except as I walked toward my bedroom door, I noticed something on the other half of my bed buried in bed sheets. My chest tanked, the thought of having company making me stop my stride.
Could I have been with Sasha last night after all?
My mind was running a mile a minute, and I was having a hard time walking over to my cozy guest. The only way was to go over there and lift the sheets off to find out who it was .
"Holy shit…" I whispered under my jagged breath. With a nervous gulp, I swallowed the intense fear and quietly walked over to my bed. She was far out, the other side of my bed being against the wall. So I climbed up on one knee, making sure to keep my distance. I was careful, cautious, and most of all, confused, seeing a pair of white furry ears poking out from my pillow.
Well, at least it isn't what I thought it was…
When I pulled the sheets part way, I noticed her face, a girl I'd never seen before in my life! I stopped the brim of the comforter by her chin, still covering the rest of her as she slept peacefully in her curled up position. That being said, she was a heavy sleeper, dozing through my alarm and my talking earlier. Whatever the case, my eyes were more preoccupied with those furry accessories on her head.
What was this cute stranger doing in my bed?
I reached over to stroke what looked like a cat ear. It was soft, realistically soft. And silky. The white fuzz inside was even softer, my fingers brushing along the base, hoping to find a hair band or something. Instead, the ears twitched, and the girl under the sheets moaned!
They are real! I screamed inside my head. Those soft furry cat ears were real!
I stirred her, the mystery girl rolling on her back. The covers over her skin tapered off, revealing that she was about as naked as I was. Thin waist, supple full breasts, soft, smooth skin—did we have sex last night?
There's no way I'd forget messing around with a girl like her.
"Isaac…" she mumbled, her yellow eyes opening up to me hovering over her. I yelped, an uncommon but justifiable reaction triggered by these recent turn of events! My heart was racing—I just had a terrible dream about a demon possessing my crush, I was ripped to shreds by said demon, and now, there's a bombshell of a babe in my bed with REAL cat ears!
And there goes the cat tail!
"Sugar bun!" she beamed, tackling into me and bringing me down on the bed with her. "Master, you're okay!"
The blush on my face was inevitable. She had her voluptuous breasts against my sweaty chest, and her round ass sitting between my legs. She cradled my face in her hands and rubbed her cheek along mine, and purred.
That's right, purred…
I slipped my hand over my junk, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. "Oh, it's nothing I haven't seen already. Don't be coy!" She giggled. "How are you feeling?" her bubbly voice asked me. "I sense your bloodlust levels are low."
"I must still be dreaming…"
"Hmm? Dreaming?"
"This is all just one big twisted dream!" I bellowed.
"Master! You're delirious!" She jumped. "Here, bite me."
"WHAT?!"
She sat up and brushed her long white hair away from her neck, inviting me to sink my teeth into her. "Usually, blood psychosis happens around 5% and lower. You're at 30% bloodlust, but maybe you're different than the norm, seeing as how you were recently reawakened into a—"
"All right, wait! Just wait!" I shouted, irritated and confused. "I need to know what the hell is going on here! I'm entitled to an explanation! So start talking, from the beginning!"
"You mean, you don't remember?"
"Lady, I don't even know your name! Something tells me this isn't a dream after all."
"Because it's not!" she cried. "Sugar bun, all of this is real. I'm your familiar."
"My what?"
"Familiar. Your precious moonbeam, your frisky snow kitty," she cooed. "We are blood-bonded. And you're only allowed to see me outside of my cat form after you've reawakened. It's when your demonic essence is active!"
"See, saying shit like that isn't making this make any more sense!"
She giggled. "All right, I'm new to this. Sue me. I'll try doing a better job at explaining everything to you. After all, you are my master," she said softly, leaning into me with lewd eyes. "I'd like to ease you into this new life we are to have together. The transition won't be easy. My name is Lumi Arauz, of the House of Samael. I am a demon, more specifically, a demonic familiar."
I choked. "So, what happened last night… was real? All of it? Did I die? Wait, am I dead now?"
"You're not dead now, but you did die last night," she said, and then she sulked when she saw the terrified expression in my eyes. "I'm sorry, sugar bun. Persallus is a fate demon. A rare class of demon. We cannot interfere with their work."
"Who is Persallus?"
"The demon who possessed the florist, Sasha."
"You mean you know her?"
"I know of her. We aren't close. In fact, I try my best to steer as far away from her as possible. Persallus is a high-tiered demon. She could kill me! I'm only a familiar, part of the lower class in the demon hierarchy."
"Did you know she was going to… kill me?"
"Yes," she whispered in guilt. "But, I couldn't warn you, master! I was only a cat. So even if I did get close to you, there's no way for us to communicate. It wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway. Once a demon of fate has their eyes on you, it's over."
"Shit…" That meant that Sasha was still in danger…
"I was torn, master…I've seen Persallus' work, I know what she is capable of. At least I had some peace of mind knowing that you'd reawaken and claim your true title: Samael, the prince of the Underworld."
"I'm sorry, who?"
She smiled. "You're Samael, one of the four princes of the Underworld. Your father, the demon king, had been dethroned by demonic factions, his soul buried in Lazumar's Crypt. There's a spell keeping him caged up, as well as your three siblings. They cannot be killed, only put away. The same applies to you! The immortality perk is transferable. I am sure there are rules for a mortal vessel, though."
I stared at her stark-eyed, utterly speechless.
"You're the only one who managed to transfer your spirit beyond the nether realm, over the spirit world, and into the mortal realm. You've been hidden from me for so long. Even with the blood bond, your demonic essence was dormant. It wasn't until the target Persallus had on you did I catch your presence. You were close to death, edging the veil. And in this, you became closer to unlocking your demonic spirit through reawakening."
"I'm a fucking demon?!"
"A demon prince!" She beamed.
"Like that's any better!" I jumped off the bed, raking my fingers down my hair nervously. "I can't believe this…"
"It's not all that bad, master."
"You've got to stop calling me that…"
"But—"
"I'm not your master. I'm not a prince! And more importantly, I'm not some reincarnated demon!"
"Oh yeah? Then, how do you explain surviving last night?" she said, standing up and reeling herself closer to me for comfort. "I know it's not easy. You've forgotten your memory. All you've ever known is being Isaac, a mortal with a sinfully hot yet humble sex appeal. It is something difficult to process." I deadpanned her. "Buuut that's why I'm here. To help you. Master, I've been searching for years. When I entered the mortal realm, my main mission was to find you. I was lost without my other half. It was a relief when I finally caught your scent! Not your demonic scent, but your pheromones. The moment was bittersweet—having to wait for your death, followed by the excitement of finally seeing you again. In your reawakening, you are now more protected in a world filled with demons. Of course, I will be by your side, but you have to understand that a lot of these demons want you dead. And so do the angels. You are a prince of demons. You must be on guard at all times, and use your strength to protect your throne. And your women…"
"My women?"
"Your court! The members of the House of Samael."
"Well, where are they?"
"Dead."
I dropped my jaw, baffled.
"You have to build your new harem from the ground up again. They each play an important role in your domain. Luckily, I already got you covered! I've assembled the perfect team while we waited for you! We could meet them right now if you'd like!"
"What happened to the original crew?"
"War is nasty business. I… don't want to talk about it."
"I'm sorry…"
She cradled my face, her thumb stroking along the corner of my lips. "You shouldn't feel sorry, sugar bun. It isn't your fault. The demonic race is a bunch of selfish, insatiable monsters. They don't like being regulated, or told no. They believe the mortal realm is theirs, and that they are entitled to every living breathing human being. It's why they fought your father. It's why they invaded Earth, and the pact rate has increased substantially. It's why Ether City is going to eventually fall apart, as well as the nation. And ultimately, the world. Without self-control, boundaries, and rules, the demons will prevail. Without a leader, the entire mortal realm will crumble, and ultimately, we will cease to exist. The Underworld has split up into factions, each faction supplying contracts to grow stronger as a group. This is the dilemma Ether City is in right now. And seeing everything unfold from the other side, I could tell you, we are in a heap of trouble."
"Well, what about the angels?"
"They aren't doing too well up there. Many of them have fallen. Fallen angels are angels who have disobeyed god. They are being influenced by the demons, splitting rewards from pacts like currency."
"When you say pacts, you mean demonic contracts, right? Making a deal with the devil?"
"Yes!" she said enthusiastically, pointing her finger in the air. "Demons need pacts to survive. Without demon deals, the underworld would fall as a realm. Think of demon contracts like the Earth's sun—your world needs sunlight to survive. The same applies here. No contracts, no Underworld."
"And the angels? What the hell are they planning on doing with human souls?"
"That I'm not entirely sure of. Souls are very powerful celestial devices. And very versatile. It could be for anything, really."
"So what am I doing here?" I asked her seriously. "I get it. It's not an easy concept to chew on, but I'm willing to accept everything you've said here. That being said, what is my end goal? What is my mission? Obviously, my old life is over. I'd been gullible, willing to live in this façade, ignoring the potential bullshit around me. Cult activity—the news romanticized it. So I brushed it off. Hell, everyone did. No one takes the supernatural seriously. Except here and now, I'm living it. I'd died last night, murdered, with my custard out in the open. And I have been brought back to life. I'd be stupid not to consider the possibilities of me being something unnatural. That being said, I have a role now. I have this mission. There's shit to be done, right?"
"Yes. You need to become the new king of the Underworld!"
"And why the hell would I want to do that?"
"It is your destiny! Unless of course, you are planning on freeing your father. That's the longer route, may even be a little harder, too."
"What I mean is, why the hell would I want to help demons?"
She looked back at me hurt.
"I'm sorry, Lumi. I know you are one, and you're only out to help me, but I grew up believing that demons are bad."
"Are you bad, master?"
I looked back at her blankly, distraught.
"What we are doing here is restoring order to this breaking world. If you don't stand up and take your father's place, you're forfeiting the lives of humans everywhere, your mother included."
I turned my head away from her conflicted.
"In this order, we had a working system. The humans willing to give up their souls are given a contract. In this contact, they are given certain numbers of years to live and enjoy whatever wish they asked for. The higher the price tag on the wish, the lower the years you get to live. Remember that we don't force a contract on anyone. In fact, we can't. We may only persuade as demons. So these humans of free will know what they are getting themselves into. It's on them if they don't read the fine print. There are conditions in this contract. It is universal. The repercussions of making a deal with a demon are vast, all of which are disclosed in the contract. So you see, we aren't all bad. We do what we must to survive. But now, that system is broken. And we need to fix it. Too many demons are possessing humans, and killing others. And this practice is bad for both realms."
"A race without laws is a race doomed to fail, taking down everything in its path. Yeah, I get it."
"Do you, though?"
I raised my eyebrow at her, telling her to elaborate.
"There are two outcomes from this current crisis that could happen: one, people would be less willing to make demon deals, the result of us losing credibility, or two, the people possessed by these rowdy demons will become gluttonous, turning this world into a pile of corpses."
"I'm more concerned about the latter."
"I don't know, master. I see a world without demons being a bad thing, too. There needs to be a balance between good and evil."
"So you say."
"So I know. The question is, are you going to stand up and do something about this spiraling chaos before it becomes too much for us to handle?"
"Save the world, that's your bit?"
She nodded vigorously.
"That's a lot to take in. I still have a couple of questions, but… they'll just have to wait." I skipped the shower all together and slipped on my thermal hanging on my computer chair.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to visit my mom. That demon who possessed Sasha, Persallus, she knew all about our history."
"This is normal. When a demonic spirit possesses a vessel, it acquires all of its memories."
"Which means that my mom is in danger right now."
"I hope you're not thinking about fighting her! A clash with Persallus right now is not a good idea."
"I'm not going to fight her," I said as I slipped on a pair of trousers. "I'm going to make sure my mom's okay. If I have to move her into another hospital, so be it. We'll talk more when I get back, all right?"
"I'm going with you, master!" she beamed.
I smiled. "It's Isaac. Call me Isaac. And sure. You can tag along. You said you're on my side, right?"
She nodded happily.
"Good. Because I'm going to need some friends with this target on my back."
"I am your familiar, after all. It's my job to protect you. You're not a mortal anymore, which means that Persallus has no reason to confront you."
"Great. Now, um, can you put on some clothes?"
She gave me a sneaky look. "Oh, Isaac, are my juicy melons distracting you?" she purred, running circles with her breasts.
I snickered, scratching at the back of my head while trying to fight a blush. "Yeah, they are. Especially when you're massaging them like that."
She giggled. "Boy, this new you is definitely interesting! You were surrounded by naked girls all the time back at the court, and it never flustered you up. Well, I can't say you're exactly the same person anyway. You've spent most of your life as Isaac. And there's so much I want to learn about you."