CONTROL BEFORE POWER
The apartment was quiet.
Too quiet for the Lust Ring.
Outside the balcony window, pink neon lights flashed over the streets, clubs, and velvet towers. But inside, the air was still, heavy, shaped only by my breathing and the hum of the Rings inside me.
Pulse Breathing. Echo Sense. Resonance Pressure.
Three techniques.
Three pillars of control.
I inhaled, letting the First and Second Rings rotate in calm synchronization. Then I pushed the Third Ring downward folding its chaotic hunger into a thin, silent coil.
Alastor's voice brushed against my mind like the stroke of a violin bow.
"Slower, boy. Precision over force.
You are sculpting yourself, not wrestling a beast."
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
Every ounce of my focus went into suffocating the Third Ring's instinct to listen to Lust Ring's constant emotional noise.
Bit by bit, it settled.
Alastor hummed appreciatively.
"There. Much better. You are finally learning to mute yourself. A necessary skill if you wish to remain unnoticed by… certain eyes."
I knew exactly who he meant.
Lilith's presence in the lower layers still haunted the edges of my thoughts.
She didn't notice me, I said quietly.
"No," Alastor replied. "But she sensed something. And that is already too much."
I exhaled.
Control first.
Everything else later.
THE NEW PRESSURE
A sharp pulse crawled up my forearm.
I froze.
What
"Do not suppress it," Alastor cut in."That pressure is no accident. Let it move freely."
But
"No excuses. Allow it."
The pressure traveled downward, gathering in my palm.
It felt like invisible threads tightening under the skin, aligning in a strange rhythm that was neither pain nor comfort.
My pulse synced with it.
My breath synced with it.
The Third Ring was not listening outward anymore it was listening to me.
Alastor whispered:
"Good… good. Now extend your hand."
I did.
The pressure sharpened and suddenly the air bent.
A thin line shimmered at my fingertips.
Not light. Not shadow. Not sound.
Something in between.
A blade.
Formed out of resonance.
My heart stuttered.
…What is this?
Alastor's voice was soft, almost reverent.
"Another technique," he said.
Then his tone darkened with satisfaction."And this one can kill."
THE RESONANCE BLADE
The blade hummed without sound. Weightless. Perfect.
When I turned my wrist, it followed, cutting a clean arc of distorted air.
I swallowed.
This feels… natural.
"It should," Alastor chuckled."It is a weapon shaped from your intent. No wasted energy. No demonic flare. No aura to detect."
I shifted my hand; the blade lengthened slightly.
It vibrated dangerously.
Alastor snapped:
"Careful! Do not overload it!"
But I was a second too slow.The blade thickened, warped, pulsed with unstable resonance
CRACK
I forced the Third Ring down brutally.
The blade collapsed.
My arm felt like it had nearly ruptured.
Fuck…
"Oh yes," Alastor said cheerfully. "Quite the explosion you avoided. Your arm would have been an unpleasant smear on the wall."
I glared into the air.
He laughed at the glare.
THE FUTURE THEY KNOW
I sat down, arms trembling.
Alastor's tone shifted—subtle, but serious.
"Now that you can kill," he said, "we must discuss why you must."
I stared at the neon city outside the window, demons yelling and celebrating stupidity in every direction.
"Demons. Angels," I said. "There's always some threat."
Alastor's voice dropped.
"And humans."
I stiffened.
You believe me, then, I said.
"I believed you the moment our souls fused," Alastor replied calmly."You know the future of this world. And so, now, do I."
He continued:
"We know humans will attack Hell.
We know they will build the organization you described.
We know they will open a technological portal."
My fingers tightened into a fist.
"They're going to dissect demons like animals."
"Indeed."
"And Hell is not prepared."
"No," Alastor said."Hell has never prepared for humans. Only Heaven."
His voice sharpened to a blade sharper than mine.
"Demons expect spears of light. They expect cleansing fire.They do not expect rifles, plasma cutters, neural anchors, or dimensional stabilizers."
My Rings pulsed uneasily.
They can hurt us, I whispered.
"They will," Alastor said."Unless you evolve faster than their technology."
He paused.
"For twenty-two years, you will grow.And for twenty-two hell years, humans will research, experiment, develop."
And the day will come, I finished, "when they step through a metal gateway and drag hellborn creatures into cages."
Alastor chuckled darkly.
"Oh, boy… that day is guaranteed."
PREPARATION
I stood up again.
I summoned the blade.
This time, it appeared instantly clean, thin, obedient.
"That," Alastor murmured, "is the weapon that begins your preparation."
I tightened my grip on the air.
It's not enough.
"No," Alastor agreed."But it is the first true tool you possess."
I moved through the room slowly, carving invisible arcs in the air.
"Humans will be the last enemy Hell expects," Alastor said."And the only enemy with no divine limitations."
I made another cut.The blade remained stable.
And when they come, I said, I'll be ready.
Alastor's smile echoed through my mind.
"That is the idea."
A FUTURE THEY WILL CHANGE
I dispelled the blade.
It vanished flawlessly.
No backlash.No pain.
Progress.
"Alastor," I said, still watching my fingers, the future… the shows… everything we know
"Yes?"
What if we change it?
Alastor laughed softly, a warm ripple of radio static.
"Then, my dear Malerion…"
His tone grew delighted.
"…we will force the universe to improvise."
I smiled.
The Rings pulsed.
And the Blade hummed beneath my skin, waiting to be called again.