Chapter 98 – You Feel Empty
She tilted her head, studying him. "That too has become a problem?"
He chuckled dryly, low in his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, that’s the thing." His gaze turned distant, the corners of his mouth twitching like he was chewing on something unspoken. "I don’t know how to enjoy my life without working. I mean, when I left, I knew what I wanted. Sleeping in. Good coffee. Maybe finding a new apartment without infernal rats that try to unionize."
"And did you get those things?"
"I did," he admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I got sleep. And caffeine. And quiet mornings. But now I don’t know what to do."
Celestaria raised a brow. "You’re having sex with mortals though."
He narrowed his eyes. "Except that."
She smirked but said nothing.
"I’m an incubus," he went on, exasperated, "and I haven’t slept with anyone for, what... almost two centuries before this little ’vacation?’ That’s a disgrace. I almost became a laughing stock in the Lust ring territory."
Celestaria sipped her tea as if that was the most normal update to a therapy session.
Lux lifted his glass again and muttered, "Or I already became one."
"Do you care about that?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Not really. As long as the negotiation went smoothly. That’s what matters. That’s what always mattered."
Her silence hung, like a gentle gravity settling between them.
"You’re a hardworking demon, Lux," she said at last.
"I know," he replied, eyes low.
"No, I mean... you’ve always been the most hardworking one. The one who never stopped. Not when your parents left. Not when your position was challenged. Not when they forced you into the Succubus-Lust political merger meetings in leather chairs shaped like asses."
"That was one meeting," Lux muttered.
"I heard the chair moaned when you sat," she said flatly.
He choked on his drink. "Okay—yeah. That part wasn’t in the minutes."
She leaned back again, more serious now. "You don’t stop, Lux. But that work, all of it—it’s eating you alive. You feel empty."
His eyes met hers. The faintest shimmer behind his usual smirk.
"I know."
A long pause.
"That’s why I took this vacation," he said. "That’s why I disappeared. I wanted to escape from everything. From the contracts. The councils. The infernal inheritance lectures. The endless threats disguised as dinner invitations."
She waited.
"But then," he said quietly, "when I finally got what I wanted... freedom... silence... peace... I realized I don’t know what to do with it."
His fingers tapped his glass.
"And then came the cherry on top," he added, voice turning bitter. "I became a damn target for your realm."
She frowned slightly. "Because of the artifact."
"Exactly."
"You mad?"
He laughed once. Low. Rough. "No. I’m furious."
She sipped again. "Want compensation?"
"You know I do."
She considered him for a long beat. "What kind?"
He stretched, then let his arms drop limply over the sides of the couch like a teenager defeated by reality. "Therapy coupons and almond milk won’t cut it."
"I figured."
His gaze hardened. "I absorbed a relic that your realm guarded for millennia. Not as a heist. And now? They tried to kill me."
Celestaria folded her arms, the glow of her divine aura dimming slightly as she leaned her weight on one hip. "They didn’t try to kill you."
"Oh, I don’t know," Lux said with that dry, bitter edge that usually came right before something exploded. "The flaming spears. The time-lock arrow. Trapping me in Limbo."
She didn’t argue.
Instead, she stepped closer, standing directly in front of him now, arms loose at her sides.
"I understand that," she said quietly. "But that’s normal."
Lux stared at her, blinking once. "Normal? They were high-levels. Almost on par with Warlords. One of them cracked my ribcage. I bled. "
"I know."
"Then how is that normal?"
She met his eyes without blinking. "Because none of them like someone who’s going to grow past them."
A pause.
"Especially not demons," she added. "And especially not you—the one who made contracts that cross into multiple realms. The one who sits in the boardroom of Gluttony’s vault, flirts with Envy’s agents, and keeps Lust from imploding by sheer political charisma. You’re a thread that ties together dozens of pacts, nations, and legacies."
Her voice softened, just slightly.
"And once you die... all those contracts break."
Lux’s entire posture shifted.
From slouched and casual... to still.
Very still.
He stared at her, the ghost of something cold flickering behind his red eyes.
"Your point is?"
She walked slowly toward the center table. Lifted her tea again, fingers steady.
"My point," she said, "is that’s why I gave you the artifact. The special one. Hidden inside our vault. Meant for only those we deemed necessary."
He scoffed. "So I was right. It wasn’t just a PR move."
"No," she said calmly. "It wasn’t."
Lux set his glass down, a bit too hard. The faint clink echoed.
"I don’t get it," he muttered. "You handed me a divine limit-breaker. Aren’t you afraid I’ll use it? That I’ll outgrow your leash? That I’ll... wage war?"
His voice darkened.
"I’m still a demon, Celestaria. Greed and Lust. I’m not all negotiation and seduction. I’ve held armies at bay. I’ve made warlords cry. I’ve burned cities just to make a point."
"I know."
"I could be anger. I could be insanity."
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t move.
Instead, she smiled softly.
"The problem is," she said gently, "not all people can activate that artifact, Lux."
He blinked.
She continued, pacing now, fingers trailing across the polished crystal table. "That relic wasn’t just sealed. It was selective. You can’t use it unless you fulfill certain conditions. Not just compatibility. Not just power levels."
She turned, looking at him again.
"You have to sacrifice."
Lux frowned.
"Real sacrifice," she clarified. "The kind that leaves scars. You can’t just throw mana into it. You have to bleed something intangible. Something woven into your soul."
He exhaled once, slowly. "I didn’t offer anything."
She walked toward him again. Calm. Measured.