Page 120 of Hell-Bound

Azur scoffed.

“I know it isn’t like Ziemia’s plane, but it still has its beauty.”

“Beauty? What makes this beautiful?” she asked skeptically. “Or are you just envious of your sister?”

Azur muttered something audible under his breath before responding.

“Ziemia created her land with delicate creations on the surface. The beauty of my creations existsbelowthe surface. The glitters of vurmite, that you so love, the fires from the mountain. Fire is not just destruction, my darling. It can be used to forge, rebuild, and strengthen. My plane isn’t what it used to be before my brother, but it is still beautiful in the ways that matter.”

Ren considered, returning to observe the billowing smog.

“I suppose you’re right. I can’t say I’m very comfortable here. It’s dreadfully hot.”

She wiped the beads of sweat that were beginning to trickle down her temples.

“But I agree, vurmite is truly something spectacular to behold.”

Ren turned, having heard a dull popping sound from the direction of her companion, but it wasn’t Azur before her any longer—it was Jester.

“No. Absolutely not!” Ren barked.

“There might be creatures down here, and I can’t be The King of The Hells walking around a random layer of The Underworld. It would be too suspicious. I’m trying to keep the most powerful relic in the universe hidden, after all.”

Ren ground her teeth.

“It’s just—I don’t like it,” she said, crossing her arms.

Azur, as Jester furrowed his brow.

“Please explain.”

“Jester was my friend!” she blurted.

Azur cocked his head, a strand of Jester’s straight hair falling into his eyes.

“He was…the first real friend I’ve ever had, and now it feels—it was like a lie! Like our friendship was all a manipulation.” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “And I feel like my friend died, and now he’s here again, but not and—”

She choked back her angry tears.

Azur reached for her, grabbing her hand.

“I won’t say that manipulation wasn’t part of why I chose to be Jester around you. But the times we had together, the laughs we shared, that was all real, Ren. At least, it was for me.”

She wanted to interrupt, to vent all her unexpressed outage at him, but she let him continue.

“Sometimes, all the time, I can’t be who I want to be. I am a god. I am the villainous King of The Hells. I can’t be seen jumping from walls and telling jokes in halls. It would be—disrespectful to all the beings who are hurting. And it—” He cleared his throat. “It’s also a way for me to see Ahdan again.”

It felt almost unfair that he could use Adhan to defend his actions. Yet Ren knew he was being genuine. If she thought about it, it made sense why he’d want to keep his identity hidden from her. But this reasoning didn’t stop the hurt that bubbled in her stomach.

“Let’s just go. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” She dropped his hand. She was beginning to realize that most decisions were double-edged despite their intentions.

Azur looked over her head.

“It’s that way.”

Ren turned, noticing for the first time how the two large craters dipped down and formed a hollow. It would have been almost invisible from the sky, and she imagined it would be easily overlooked if one didn’t know its exact location. From this vantage, she couldn’t see any towns or cities close by. The area looked positively barren.

Except for under the ground,she reminded herself.