In the heart of an ancient, shadow-drenched coven, a pale woman with flowing white hair sat enthroned in silence. A jagged black crown rested upon her brow, and a twisted staff of bone and obsidian stood at her side. Her name was Aurora—once the consort of a king, now a queen in ambition alone.
Before her knelt a man cloaked in shadow and power. Her son—Yama.
"My son," she said coldly, her voice echoing off the obsidian walls. "How long will you wait? When will you take the throne of Hell? You know I've hungered for it for millennia. If I don't get it, all my sacrifices will have been for nothing. And I... will vanish."
Yama hesitated. "Mother Aurora... I'm not ready. I—"
Clang!
The butt of her staff slammed against the floor, silencing him with a reverberating shock.
"Not ready?" Her voice rose in fury. "You command five thousand demons, ten thousand human mages, a hundred loyal minions, and every coven of witches and wizards bows to me. What more must we wait for?"
Yama stared at the ground, unable to meet her eyes. He knew better than to challenge her in anger.
Aurora's eyes burned silver-white. Long ago, she had been cast aside by the Lord of Hell—her husband. She was replaced by Lilith, his other wife: beautiful, powerful, adored. Lilith had it all—grace, wisdom, obedience. Aurora had only her beauty. And for that, she was exiled. Even her child was taken from her.
Now, ages later, after mastering forbidden spells and spawning armies of sorcerers and demonic half-breeds, Aurora had returned to claim her vengeance. But Zeus, the son of Lilith, was crowned heir to the throne. The insult still burned.
Yama spoke again, carefully. "I'll begin the preparations, Mother. But I need time. There are... factors I must assess."
Aurora narrowed her gaze. "Be clear. What factors?"
"There's someone... Anubis. She's the new Demon Lord. She's growing stronger—and I suspect she's being groomed by Zeus to be a weapon against us."
Aurora's jaw tightened, but she said nothing.
"I'll investigate and report back. I must go now."
Before she could reply, Yama vanished into the shadows.
A dark silhouette stepped forward from the wall behind the throne.
"Follow him," Aurora commanded. "He's hiding something. I want to know what."
---
Anubis stood alert in her courtyard, eyes narrowed toward the space before her. A flicker—then a form emerged.
Yama.
He stepped from the shadows with a smirk.
"No welcome for your uncle?"
She scoffed. "Don't call yourself that. I forbid it."
He chuckled, circling her like a predator. "You've grown bold. But you can't rewrite blood."
"What are you talking about?" she asked, watching his every movement.
"Oh... so he didn't tell you?" Yama raised a brow. "Why do you think he gave you a second chance? He didn't do it out of love. He needed a weapon. A tool. That's all you are to Zeus. A sword to wield in the coming war."
Anubis narrowed her eyes. "Lies. He gave me life, purpose, power. I owe him everything."
Yama shrugged. "Think what you like. But when the war begins—and it will—you'll be standing alone. He'll discard you the moment you're no longer useful. Join us now, Anubis. You'll have freedom. Power beyond your imagination."
Anubis clenched her fists. "You think I would betray him? Never. I am his. I gave him my soul, and I'd die before I betray him."
Yama's smile faded. "Then die."
He raised a hand, and thick, dark fog coiled around her, rising like smoke with teeth. Anubis tried to move, but her legs locked in place.
"What... is this?!" she gasped. The fog hardened, sprouting claws that tore into her flesh.
Yama laughed. "This fog will peel you apart slowly. Surrender now and I'll spare you the pain."
"Never!" she screamed.
Her eyes flared blood-red. She vanished in a flash of light, reappearing behind him. "I've had enough of your voice."
A dagger materialized in her hand, and she lunged—but he vanished, reappearing with ease several meters away.
"Childish tricks," Yama sneered. "You think you can kill me?"
"Watch me!" Anubis screamed. "Wind Vortex!"
A storm of violent wind erupted around Yama, swallowing him.
He laughed inside it. "Is that all? A tickle!"
But Anubis wasn't finished. Her form shifted—horns curved from her head, her eyes glowed like molten lava.
"Chains of Demonic Flame!" she roared.
Red-hot chains erupted from the earth, spiraling around the wind vortex. They fused with the wind, igniting it in a demonic inferno. Yama's scream echoed through the skies.
"W-What is this?!"
"These are the chains of the first Demon Lord," she said coldly. "No being can escape them."
She landed with force and slammed her palm into the ground.
"Demonic Arrows of Pain!"
Black arrows tipped with cursed smoke rose and shot into the vortex, piercing Yama again and again. His screams became maddened.
"AHHH! Make it stop or I'll—!"
"You'll do nothing!" she roared. "You insulted my master. Tried to sway me. Now suffer for both!"
"You dare call me a slave?" he bellowed inside the vortex. "I'll show you real power!"
The skies split as green flames exploded upward. Thunder crashed. The chains shattered. The impact hurled Anubis across the ground. Blood burst from her lips.
Yama emerged, his body wrapped in the green fire of the underworld.
"If Zeus couldn't kill me, what makes you think you can?" he growled.
He raised a hand, summoning the fog once more. It slammed her to the ground, pinning her.
She struggled, but she was drained. The Chains of Demonic Flame had taken too much from her. Her body trembled. Blood ran down her stomach.
Yama approached slowly. "You exhausted yourself summoning what you couldn't control. Pitiful."
He hurled a ball of green fire into her gut. She screamed. Her vision blurred. Another came. Then another.
She didn't beg.
She didn't weep.
She only glared.
"Will you yield now?" he asked, a wicked grin forming. "Submit, and I'll heal you. Serve me... and I'll make you stronger than even Zeus."
"Fucking kill me already," Anubis spat, blood-stained saliva hitting his boot.
Yama's grin twisted. "So be it."
He summoned a long black sword, its edge humming with ancient runes. "This is a demon-slaying sword. One strike, and you'll be erased from existence. Say goodbye, little Lord."
He raised the blade—when snap!—a glowing whip wrapped around his wrist, pulling it back sharply.
"You don't touch what belongs to me," a voice growled behind him.
Yama froze.
That voice.
Zeus had arrived.