It was a deathly sensation.

No, it was death.

His form had been brought to its end.

Damon had heard people wonder what death felt like. Everyone always had an answer, one theory or another.

Death was an unknown, much like asking what came before birth.

And strangely enough, Damon knew death.

He had experienced it.

Yet he still could not define it.

He could not remember what it was, only the sensation before everything came to an end.

He knew death and did not recognize it.

Perhaps it was more accurate to say that death knew him.

Then what was this sensation?

Damon was here.

He was alive.

Though he was not entirely sure that was true.

Nevertheless, he existed. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

This space looked strange. It resembled a broken and ruined world. A distant sadness lingered here, one so profound he could not fathom it. It was as though this doomed place wished to be whole again, wished to return to its former glory.

Yet somehow it was glorious in its destruction.

Perhaps even more glorious than when it had been whole.

Wreckage drifted endlessly through the void around him.

Fragments of forgotten cultures.

Ruins of civilizations.

Relics from the past, present, and future.

Even the images of gods lay shattered here.

Damon did not know whether this was a somber paradise or a ruinous hell.

Slowly, he rose to his feet, his gaze wandering across the endless devastation.

A moment later he froze.

He had a body.

Not just any body.

His body.

His fingers moved across his chest and arms. There was no corruption. No twisted flesh. No whispers clawing at his thoughts.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, his mind was his own.

Only one small truth remained buried deep within him.

"Am I dead?" he asked quietly.

His voice vanished into the endless ruins.

Surely this was the afterlife.

This was where the dead went.

A faint sadness settled over him.

He had not imagined he would die like this.

His thoughts drifted to Ranar.

Would she be alright without him?

She would probably cry.

No.

She would be inconsolable.

Evangeline would leave the battlefield the moment she heard the news.

Luna would return home as well.

Together they would try to comfort the little girl.

Raising her would become their responsibility now.

Damon lowered his head.

"I’m sorry."

The words escaped as little more than a whisper.

He would never watch her grow up.

That hurt more than death itself.

Luna would probably try to stay strong for Ranar.

She always did.

But at night, when nobody was watching, she would cry herself to sleep.

She hated showing weakness.

It was a flaw she had carried for years.

A flaw born from never wanting to burden anyone else.

"What are you doing?"

The sudden voice shattered the silence.

Damon turned sharply.

A man stood nearby, looking at him with open disdain.

The voice was familiar.

The appearance was not.

The man was demonkin.

Long black horns curved from his head.

His features were handsome and sharp.

Dark hair flowed behind him, dancing lazily in a wind Damon could not feel.

Golden embroidery shimmered across a long robe draped over his shoulders, giving him the appearance of a king dressed casually.

"Ashcroft..."

Damon blinked.

Then a slow grin spread across his face.

"Ahahahaha. I see. This place really is hell. Why else would you be my company? Ah, I don’t even get peace in death. Well, I was an evil man."

Ashcroft’s lip curled.

"The feeling is mutual."

He folded his arms.

"However, considering we are not burning and the silence of this place remains undisturbed, along with young Lilith’s expression, I imagine we are not in hell."

Damon tilted his head.

Only then did he notice her.

Lilith stood several paces away.

Motionless.

Her eyes were fixed on the sky.

Or whatever passed for a sky in this place.

Two brilliant suns hung overhead.

Yet their light never reached Damon and the others.

They simply watched.

Silent.

Unmoving.

Lilith stared at them as though trapped in a trance.

Damon stepped over floating debris and approached her.

When she failed to react, he grabbed her shoulder and gave it a shake.

"Hey. Hey. You okay? Snap out of it."

Lilith blinked.

Slowly, she turned toward him.

A deep frown formed on her face.

"Ar... are we in hell?"

Damon shrugged.

"Honestly? I couldn’t say. Pretty sure we died. I mean, I tried to protect you, but your soul must’ve been scorched by Morticai’s phoenix flames."

Lilith placed a trembling hand against her chest.

Her gaze moved between Damon and Ashcroft.

"We failed, didn’t we?"

Her voice sounded hollow.

"We were given a chance to return to the past and change everything... and we changed nothing."

She lowered her eyes.

"Everything happened exactly as it should have."

"Lysithara fell."

"The Unknown God got his way."

Damon’s expression darkened.

Slowly, understanding settled over him.

Of course.

This was punishment.

The Unknown God had known from the beginning.

He had known they would fail.

Rage surged through Damon.

He threw his head back and screamed into the void.

"Damn you, Unknown God!"

His voice echoed endlessly.

"You bastard! You knew we were going to fail!"

"Show yourself!"

"I know you’re watching!"

The ruins trembled beneath his fury.

Then something happened.

The two suns vanished.

Only for a fraction of a second.

Then they returned.

Damon immediately fell silent.

The suns narrowed.

As if squinting.

Then they vanished again.

And returned.

This time closer.

Much closer.

Damon, Lilith, and Ashcroft stood frozen.

A terrible realization crept into their minds.

Those were not suns.

"There is no Unknown here, heathens."

The voice came from everywhere.

It filled the heavens.

It shook the ruins.

It commanded existence itself.

"You are far from your vile god."

The feminine voice was vast beyond comprehension.

It sounded like a million soldiers screaming their final battle cries.

Like countless dying warriors drawing their last breaths.

Like doom itself given speech.

The entire realm seemed to move according to her will.

Her.

Not him.

This was not the Unknown God.

The two suns Lilith had been staring at all this time were eyes.

Eyes that had been watching them from the moment they arrived.

Damon felt every trace of color drain from his face.

Before he could react, Ashcroft lunged forward.

The demon lord slammed both Damon and Lilith to the ground.

Then he bowed deeply.

Lower than Damon had ever seen him bow before.

"Hail Minerva, Goddess of Doom."