Hell was quiet.
Too quiet.
Not the silence of peace—but the silence that follows when every demon, every servant, every beast of ash holds its breath and waits.
The Void was gone.
But the scent of it lingered—like something rotting just out of sight.
Lina sat on the edge of her broken throne, the firelight flickering across her skin. The battle had left marks. Not on her body—those would heal. It was the soul that stayed scarred.
She'd burned a godless horror from existence.
She'd almost become it.
And she had bound herself to the one creature in creation who still looked at her like she was something worth burning for.
Andra stood behind her, silent, watchful.
He wasn't trying to fix her.
He was just there.
Which, perhaps, was all she needed.
For now.
—
But not all of Hell was loyal.
The cracks were already forming—among the older houses, the deep demons who whispered of the Void as a true queen, who looked at Andra and saw not strength, but weakness: a king made soft by devotion.
They wanted the old ways.
They wanted blood.
They wanted a ruler without love.
And tonight… they moved.
—
The ambush was fast. Brutal.
Three highborn warlords, corrupted by Void-taint, burst into the throne room under a veil of silence. No horns. No warnings. Just blades, curses, and intent.
But Lina didn't need guards anymore.
She was the fire.
Her flames ignited in a scream. Andra was already moving—sword drawn, slicing through the first attacker before they hit the steps. The second warlord fell with a curse still frozen on his lips.
But the third—
He made it close.
Close enough to cut her cheek. To make her bleed.
The smell of her blood in Hell?
It was catastrophic.
Power surged through the halls. Walls cracked. The ground split open. Her eyes went pure gold.
And in one breath, she vaporized him.
Ash scattered like snow.
When it settled, her crown rose once more—this time, not shaped by magic, but by sheer wrath.
Andra touched her shoulder.
"You're bleeding."
She nodded. "Let them see. Let them remember what happens when they try to touch what's mine."