The Devil had existed since before humans learned how to pray.
Before fire.
Before fear had a name.
In Hell, he was called Lucien, the Supreme Devil—the one who judged contracts, weighed sins, and decided which souls burned and which served. He was not cruel for pleasure, nor kind for mercy. He was balance. Cold. Eternal.
Hell obeyed him.
But Hell bored him.
Every day was the same. Demons knelt. Souls screamed. Time moved in circles. Nothing surprised him anymore. Nothing touched him.
So Lucien watched the human world—not out of interest, but habit.
Humans were fragile creatures. They sinned, cried, loved, and died in the blink of an eye. Their lives meant nothing in the grand scale of eternity.
That was what Lucien believed.
Until one evening, when his eyes fell upon a small, forgotten town called Ashwood.
And inside that town… a bookstore.
The bookstore was old, with cracked wooden shelves and yellow lights that flickered when the wind blew. Inside stood a girl on a ladder, reaching for a book far above her head.
Her name was Aanya.
She slipped.
Lucien expected her to scream.
Instead, she laughed.
A soft, genuine laugh—light and warm—echoed through the shop.
Lucien froze.
Something inside his chest… shifted.
He narrowed his eyes, focusing on her. She climbed down, brushing dust from her clothes, smiling at her own clumsiness. There was no audience. No reason to pretend.
It was real.
"What is this feeling?" Lucien whispered, his voice unheard in the human world.
Curiosity pulled him closer.
That night, he watched longer than usual.
He saw Aanya close the shop late, apologizing to a customer even though it wasn't her fault. He saw her feed a stray cat outside, splitting her dinner in half. He saw her pause under the moonlight, eyes distant, like she was carrying a quiet sadness no one noticed.
Lucien had judged millions of souls.
Yet he had never seen a heart like hers.
Night after night, he returned.
He told himself it was observation. Nothing more.
But when Aanya didn't show up one evening, Hell itself felt… empty.
Lucien clenched his fist.
"I am losing control," he said.
And for the first time in eternity, the Devil broke a rule.
He went to Earth.
Aanya walked home under dim streetlights, hugging her bag close. The air felt strange—too quiet, too heavy.
Then the lights flickered.
And went out.
She stopped.
Someone stood ahead of her.
Tall. Still. Wrapped in a black coat that didn't move with the wind.
Her heart pounded.
"Don't be afraid," the stranger said.
His voice was deep and calm, like darkness speaking gently.
"You shouldn't walk alone this late."
Aanya swallowed. "Who are you?"
Lucien hesitated.
What was he supposed to say?
"I'm… a traveler," he replied.
It was the first lie he had ever told.
Their eyes met.
Time stopped.
Lucien felt it—sharp and overwhelming—like his soul had cracked open. Her eyes held fear, yes, but also something else.
Trust.
Aanya felt it too. She didn't understand why, but standing near him felt… safe.
"Thank you," she said softly.
She walked past him.
Lucien turned, watching her disappear into the night.
That was when he understood the truth.
He didn't just notice her.
He loved her.
And loving a human was the greatest sin a Devil could commit.
End of Chapter 1