*Ok, sorry about all the changes…the prologue has been pretty tricky for me*

It was an easy place to get to, without any kind of vegetation. It was hot and dry and full of thorns. Cursed, too, so there wasn't much traffic. But this part of hell wasn't easy to maneuver through. He felt pain in his side and his lungs ran on empty for the first time in centuries.

-stay away- he was told. He felt the thought travel through him like poison. But it was pointless and he refused to listen.

"I love you," he said, even though he couldn't hear him back.

In the clearing, he could see the beginning of a fire. The foul smell latched on to his clothing. The ceremony had already started.

Angels were floating above, holding clay pitchers. Their eyes briefly traveled to him, but they paid no mind. He memorized their faces.

"One day, I'm going to kill you." He growled. They smiled mockingly and waved him away.

-fucking idiot- he heard, and it made his head throb.

"Dmitry!" he screamed. His feet took him closer, past the mist that were the foulest souls. It tackled his ankles and weighed him down.

Almost there, he told himself. He could see the face of his Halfling. He was chained to a burning cross in with only his limbs and head unbound. A small freedom.

"I thought I told you not to come," he yelled angrily.

"You would have done the same thing for me," Julius said. The gaseous vines traveled up to his waistline and finally stopped him from coming any further.

"I thought you were the smarter of the two of us," he joked. But the movement pushed him closer to the cross, burning more of his skin off.

Julius knew tears had dripped from his eyelashes, but didn't wipe them away. How could he tear his eyes away from something so terrible? His arms were stretched in front of him. They were less than an inch away from him.

"Don't cry," he said softly. "I'm ok knowing you can keep living,"

The mark on his hand started to glow, one he only received yesterday before they took him. It was a reminder that there was such a thing as goodness, but also that there was too much darkness to really see in the light. It only blinded him when it was there.

The demon had to force himself to look into his eyes while the angels started to pour holy water on the Halfling. Dmitry's skin was completely wiped away where it touched him. It released his soul in the vapor, and it was collected in a small orb. The rest of the body was left lifeless and it slumped forward, slowly disintegrating. His eyes widened in horror when he heard laughter. How could anyone laugh when someone was in so much pain?

He would learn.

...

Julius didn't realize how pathetic he really was. With Dmitry gone, he was nothing. There wasn't a reason to live anymore, not that he had a choice. When the angels and other darklings left, he stayed in the same spot for years to rot. During that time, he wanted to feel pain. The Halfling had given everything to him. And what did he give back? Absolutely nothing. What was his love worth when Dmitry had saved his life? his punishment had to be incomparable to what Dmitry suffered, because he deserved it.

Time didn't heal his wounds. But he could feel something new that made him unstick from the ground. His eyes finally opened and looked around at the hell that he was chained to. It's because he was a demon. He was evil. His fate was going to destroy him one day. Then, the angels would celebrate a perfect world. The idea was disgusting, and he was almost glad he wouldn't be apart of something so bland. But that meant every second was leading closer to his death, and that wouldn't do. He made a promise. He was going to kill every angel that he could find.

So it was strange when he finally contracted again. It had nothing to do with his plan. Trading years for one insignificant soul was a waste of time. He knew that. But the strong attraction almost forced him onto the surface. And he could tell immediately that the boy that summoned him wasn't like the others. There was something familiar about him.

Julius took a human form and bowed under the immense pressure. He wanted to please him, to take control, and more than anything else...

to change his name