Hey guys - long time no write! Good news, guys: I finally published my book! If you're interested, it's called The Glitch (Solivagant Soul Book 1) and is a $0.99 on Amazon Kindle (PS - the app is free!) so if you're interested, check it out! I'll paste the synopsis below so it doesn't get in the way of the Ao no Exorcist fanfic because, let's be honest, that's why we're all here haha.

That being said, to celebrate The Glitch's publication, for the month of January only:

1. If you pay for the book and send me proof, I will write you a one-shot of whatever Ao no Exorcist plot you want (keep it PG-13 please), and ...

2. If you pay for the book and leave a review on Amazon, I will write you a five-chapter story of whatever you want (again, PG-13). The only limitation is that it has to be something I've seen/read before or it is something easy to research (after all, I want to write you something of quality!), so send me a PM with a list of shows/books you want and I'll see what I can do!

Thank you all so much!

...o...o...o...

"You look like shit."

Satan blinked open his eyes, mostly out of shock than any real alertness. He couldn't remember the last time someone had called him a 'piece of shit,' with the exception of his twin sons and a certain exorcist. It simply wasn't done. He was, after all, the King of Gehenna, the absolute ruler of the frigid place, the one who had looked at God in the eye and said, No...

But, he wasn't any of things any more, was he?

"What the hell happened to you?"

Satan lifted his head, the whisper of a smile dusting his lips. "Yuri."

The exorcist held her hands on her hips, her bright eyes narrow, her eyebrows pinched together in annoyance. Yet Satan could still see the spark of worry in her eyes, the disappointment lingering there, the regret. "What have you done," she said. Her lips were full and round, her cheeks flushed with ... cold? Fury? Some emotion he could not name?

Death had not decayed her beauty in the slightest. Nor her compassion, Satan dimly noted.

For her to greet him, all the way down here ... down where no light shone, where darkness was absolute. Some mediatory between death and nothing at all.

Death ...

Satan's icy blue eyes drifted down, down to his abdomen. It was blemishless. The skin stitched together, not even a scar remaining, even when Kurikara had pierced him through just moments ago. He placed a hand over the spot, something stirring within him. His sons did it. They had killed him, and he could finally see Yuri. And yet ...

And yet ...

Satan lifted his head, something icy yet hot slipping down his cheek. "What have I done," he murmured, repeating Yuri's words. Yukio's expression, full of hate and exhaustion and fear, ripped through him. Rin, with his eyes dark and cold, tearing through his father without a moment's hesitation. Then the flicker of uncertainty when Satan did not stop him, did not even fight back. He did that to them. Forced them here, forced them to endure terror beyond human comprehension. He had done that, and had smiled all the while.

Suddenly arms enveloped him, soft and warm. Satan blinked, too startled to lift his hands, too shocked to push her away. "Yuri?" he whispered, glancing sideways at her.

Her long hair waved on an imaginary breeze, and smelled like the warm earth, like lavender, like a dream. Satan closed his eyes, inhaled, felt himself crack.

"You complete idiot," Yuri whispered. He could hear her voice catch a bit. "Why did you go and have to do all of that?"

Satan's voice was gravel as he replied, "For you." Yet even as he spoke, the words rang hollow.

"All I wanted ..." Yuri whispered, but her voice cracked and she thickly swallowed. "All I wanted," she tried again, her voice stronger now, "was for you to be happy. With them. And to be kind, and to value life, and to ... to ..."

"I'm sorry," Satan murmured. What else could he say?

"All I wanted," Yuri continued, "was for you to learn ... to learn how to love."

Satan's eyes flew wide. "But I did," he said. He pushed himself away from her, in order to look directly into her brown, beautiful eyes. "I ... I did love you."

Yuri's lower lip puckered. Tears blurred her eyes, then slipped down her cheeks. "This isn't love," she whispered, and then faded away.

Satan stared at her departing figure. Oh, he realized. My imagination.

His hands balled up at his sides.

His nails pierced the skin of his palm.

Blood - rich, red blood - dripped down his fingers.

And he lifted his head and screamed to the void.

...o...o...o...

I hope that's enough to get everyone back into the swing of things? I'll admit, it's been a long time since I've looked at this story, but now that I'm done with my book ... well, now's the best time to get it done.

Didn't I promise that I would finish it one day?

...o...o...o...

The Glitch - Synopsis:

Part-time student, part-time gamer, Cassidy Blare was one of the first to log onto Solivagant Soul, a massive online game set in virtual reality. Solivagant Soul was everything she had hoped it could be. It was an escape from reality, from her classes, from the tangle of her crippling anxiety. Online, she could finally be herself. It was liberating.

Until, of course, it wasn't.

A small glitch in her character forces her to experience in-game pain. That pain haunts her as she struggles to keep up with her best friend Aspen, who somehow always remains one step ahead. Yet Cassidy struggles regardless, and through it all, she discovers that her perfect escape from reality may not be so perfect after all.