that I thought the exact name would be too cruel,” Lucifer said, making me laugh once and mock,
“Too cruel for the Devil, come now, Lucifer, don’t tell me becoming a father made you soft?” He grinned at this and said,
“And tell me, just how soft did it feel when I hammered my fist inside your chest and made your heart beat for the first time with my blood in your veins?” Dariush burst out laughing and hit me on the back in jest.
“The old man has you there, Luc!”
“He did the same thing to you to, asshole, or are you forgetting?” I threw back, making Dariush shrug his shoulders and comment,
“For me it tickled.”
“I’m sure it did… now, if we could please get back to the box,” I replied, letting disbelief coat my tone after first rolling my eyes.
After this, Lucifer went on to explain that the night before Matthias arrived, Pythia dreamed of his future demise. How he was to be eventually cast out by Lucifer, stripped of his bloodline and his demon side, and imprisoned in Tartarus for what should have been eternity. She then saw another vision, and this time it was of me. She knew instantly that I was the one Lucifer had been searching for, the one who would be strong enough to accept his blood the way it was intended.
So, she woke and used the box, first drawing a map of what she had seen in her mind, knowing Lucifer would use his blood the way the box had been intended. But she also wrote down a single name before she sealed the box ready for him.
However, what neither one hadn’t intended, was that Matthias would seek out the famous Oracle and ask her about the outcome of an upcoming battle. Although, Matthias got a lot more than he bargained for and when she refused to show him, he took matters into his own hands.
He beat it out of her before weakening her enough so that he could claim the memories for himself. However, he only had access to the future regarding himself, and was cut off with only the merest hint of his replacement being mentioned. This was when he let her go, before he could rid her of her final breath, believing he had already killed her. Then he stole the box, knowing from Pythia’s thoughts that with his father’s blood, he too could discover who was to be his fated replacement. And thus, what kicked started the fated events that brought us to this point. As Matthias opened the box and discovered the contents.
However, he couldn’t understand the map, as he didn’t know how to gain the hidden information as Lucifer did. But, he did have my name… and so it seemed that’s all he had needed. That, and time. For it was hundreds of years before my mortal birth, as I was nothing more than a mere whisper of the Fates. A future both Lucifer and Matthias would be forced to wait for.
As for what transpired shortly after his attack on Pythia, Matthias put back the map, believing it was useless. Then he destroyed the single piece of paper produced by the Afreets that held the name Judas Iscariot inscribed on it.
A name he would never forget.
However, his actions soon caught up with him, for Pythia was not dead as had believed and, although badly beaten, she was only unconscious. Lucifer learnt of the attack, became enraged and discovered who was to soon face his wrath thanks to Pythia’s nightmares.
“When I learned who it was that had committed the crime, I had him hunted down by the one I knew was strong enough to bring him to me, so I could drag the fucker back to Hell myself!”
“Let me guess, used to go by the name of Arsaces and be known as the King of Kings in Ancient Persia?” I asked with a knowing grin.
“The one and the very same,” he replied.
“So, Dominic drags his sorry ass back to Hell and you throw his beaten remains in Tartarus?” Dariush confirmed.
“That is precisely what happened, for the moment I found the box on his person, he could not lie about having knowledge of the attack anymore, as the proof condemned him.”
“So, this box led you to me?” I asked, now knowing of its significance.
“It did, for Pythia still had the name of you burned to memory.”
“And Matthias had five hundred years to curse that same name and plan his revenge,” I