Chapter 475
King of the Linderworld
Adrik
Once we finally made it upstairs, I was exhausted. I didn’t even need to tell Sephie I was exhausted.
She felt it. She didn’t waste the opportunity to tease me about it, though.
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“You definitely got new level zapped. Fighting it never ends well, either. I know this from experience,”
she said, her sweet smile across her face. She walked back to me, unbuttoning my shirt for me.
“Is this from being able to feel all of them the same way you do? That doesn’t seem like it should’ve
zapped me,” I said as I watched her undressing
She chewed on her lip, her mind trying toe up with solutions, “I don’t know. Maybe there’s more
and we just don’t know it yet?”
I put my hands on either side of her face, gently pulling her to me. I kissed her softly, wanting so much
more, but I had zero energy. She smiled against my lips as she pushed my jeans off my hips. She
pulled back, pointing to the bed. “Go to bed,” she said sternly.
I dly climbed into bed, waiting for her to turn off the lights. She climbed in next to me, after stealing
my shirt to wear. Sheid across my chest in her favorite spot. I might’vested 30 seconds before I
was outpletely.
I found myselfpletely awake in my own darkness. Haven’t been here in years. I rarely remembered
my dreams, if I even had them. I assumed I had them, but because I never remembered them, I
couldn’t be totally sure. I looked around, trying to see if I could see anything, other than my own body. I
could still feel Sephie, just as strongly as I always did. I knew she was still happily sleeping on my
chest.
Gradually, the darkness gave way to a path ahead of me that led to a small house. I’d never seen the
house before, but I decided to explore anyway. When I opened the front door, I could hear someone
ying the piano. I recognized the song as one of Sephie’s songs she regrly yed.
I walked further into the house, trying to be quiet so as not to disturb whoever it was ying the piano.
After a short hallway, there was arge room where I saw a man ying the piano. I looked around the
room, trying to find clues as to who he was or why he’d be in my dreams. I also wanted to know why
he’d be ying one of Sephie’s songs. I was so busy looking around, I didn’t notice when the song
ended.
“I can y her song because I’m the one that gave her the melody,” he said, as he stood up from the
piano. He turned to face me, a pleasant expression on his face. There was something familiar about
him, but I didn’t feel like I’d ever seen him before. He watched me, watching him for a few moments.
Finally, a smile stretched across his face. That’s when I knew,
“You’re Sephie’s father,” I said. He nodded. “She has your smile.”
“That might be all she has from me, but I find it’s one of my favorite things about her,” he said.
“Mine too.”
He chuckled. “We had extra angels on standby when you two first met because your heart threatened
to stop every time you saw her smile. Did she ever tell you?”
Iughed. “No, not about the extra angels. She did tell me she knew my heart threatened to stop each
time.”
“She found out that little detail early on in your journey. She was still worried you would think she was
bonkers if she revealed too much. I don’t know why she would think that about you. You’ve handled
everything like a champ. Better than anyone expected. Seriously. You cost quite a few of us a
substantial bit of money in the beginning when you didn’t fr eak out about things we were sure you
were going to fr eak out about,” he said.
I couldn’t help butugh again. “Clearly her smile is not all she has from you.”
He grinned. “I can’t really take credit for her love of the wager. She discovered it well after I was gone.
But it does seem to run in the family.” He paused for a moment, contemting how to proceed. I knew
if he’d brought me here, there was something important he needed to say.
I decided to go first. “I have to thank you for all the times you’ve helped us. You’ve proven to be a very
valuable resource for us through all of this and
I’m very happy that Sephie has you.”
“You’re not the only one that’s grateful. It’s because of you that she has the right people around her
now. I owe you thanks for that, too. Between you and Ivan, I really have nothing to worry about. I mean,
I still do. Fathers gottather, you know. But you two will always make sure she’s protected and safe.
The others too, but you and Ivan have very special roles in her life,” he said.
“Is there something new happening to me? Is that why I’m so tired right now?” I asked.
He inhaled deeply. “You’ve felt your connection get stronger with everyely, but especially with
Sephie?” I nodded. “And you’ve also felt your demon getting restless, so to speak? Especially when
Sephie was gone with Viktor earlier?” I nodded again. “Your demon is growing stronger, which means
you’re growing stronger. You’ve demonstrated you haveplete control of it.” He paused again,
looking at me like he was somewhat nervous
to tell me the rest.
“Why does that make you nervous?”
“Much like Viktor, I want no part of H ell. My wings are whit e as snow for a reason. It’s an unavoidable
side effect of getting news delivered this way. Not to worry, I can manage,” he said, giving me a weak
smile. “Adrik, when Stephen joked about his gift leveling up, he was really telling you what you’d be
able to do.”
“Ripping the demon out and crushing it?” I asked,pletely surprised.
“Well, not crushing it. But because your particr demon is as powerful as it is and because you are
who you are, you now have the ability to condemn souls, both human and demon straight to H ell. You
can take both from a body and send them to H ell.”
“What happens to the soul then?”
“It spends eternity in H ell. You’re the only one that can grant it reprieve once you condemn them.”
“That doesn’t sound like something I’m going to use very often,” I said.
He smiled at me, his shoulders visibly rxing. “This is exactly why you were granted the power.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your new gift is not something to be taken lightly and it’s only meant to be used in very extreme cases.
Namely, Ricardo and Martin. Those two have made such powerful deals with their demons that
Stephen’s gift would bepletely ineffective on them. He could break them, but the soul is eternally
bound to that demon. Even aftering back, it’s going to be forced to live out the same life over and
over. You’re what can break that cycle. Send the demon back to H ell, along with their souls and those
souls never get the chance toe back.”
“There’s no chance at redemption for them?” I asked, suddenly not sure I wanted the responsibility of
condemning someone’s soul to an eternity of
suffering.
“It’s a heavy decision, Adrik. You’re right to be wary of it. You have to remember that both souls made
their own choices. They knew the consequences. They might not have known the full extent of those
consequences, but they knew there would be consequences nheless. You are what will keep
future generations safe from those two demons. Think of it that way. It’s easier to digest.”
I was quiet for a few moments, thinking about what he’d just told me. “How will this affect Sephie?”
“Yes!” he said quietly. He quickly looked back at me, trying to look serious once again. “Sorry. I knew
you would ask that,” he said, grinning at me. “Because you and she are so connected, your strength
will also be her strength. However, you’re the only one that can condemn souls and deliver them
to H ell. But she’s going to see an increase in her power just as you will. Her demon will also grow
stronger. Ivan will get a boost from her, but not as much as what she’ll get from you. The other three
will be connected to their demons quickly, once you realize your full power. They’ve already
drawn considerable power from both you and Sephie. You’re what unlocked Stephen’s extra gifts.
That’s when it became apparent you could handle this responsibility. Nobody expected you to go full
nuclear and then just turn it off like a switch that quickly. Especially not when it came to
Armando.”
“I have Sephie to thank for that. She showed me how to control it,” I said.
His smile lit up his face, much in the same way that Sephie’s would light up a room. It was evident that
he was proud of her.
“What about Viktor? How is he going to handle all of us being so connected to our demons?”