"You will move your ass and will help me." Seth threatened me to see that I refused to help him, "I don't think I have much time left. This is the quickest way. I've prepared everything carefully."

"But this is horrible. Seth, this is going too far." I said, startled, "What if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing will go wrong if we do things correctly. I won't wait until next year. I can't anyways." He said putting the last candle on the floor.

We had vacated the room to have space for the ritual. There were candles forming a spiral. There was also a knife and two glasses, one with a transparent liquid that smelled like a very concentrated liquor, and other empty.

I looked at the clock, eleven in the evening of October 30. Seth had said the ritual was complicated and lengthy. We should start it before Halloween and the result would see before the midnight of October 31.

Seth had been involving in a lot of weird stuff lately. Repeating all the time that his time was ending and he needed to take all of us with him. I mean I truly believed all of this was about the h. He's been befriending some weird bearded guys that thinks they are powerful wizards. Despite all the wrong things I've been doing, I had very well established the limits of my transgressions. However, Seth is dragging me to commit a new sin and I as always I can't said no.

"At least tell me what is the purpose of all this." I asked. "What kind of revenge is this?"

"You won't like to know." he said coldly.

"You want me to do something and you don't even tell me what is it?"

Seth ignored my claim. He took the knife and the empty glass. He made a clean cut on his left hand, clenched his fist and blood began to fall staining the glass bottom.

A chill ran through my body and found myself in panic.

"Dean, come here," He whispered.

I didn't want to, so I stayed still.

"Dean come here!" This time was a commandment.

I sat next to him and he took my left hand. I panicked.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"A sacrifice."

I tried to get lose but he tightened his grip.

"I won't kill you, Dean. Must sacrifice the only thing that I can call mine. And that is you Dean. But don't worry I just need your blood."

I was so shocked and scared that I didn't realize when he made the cut on my forearm. We started to struggle as this was going too far and I didn't want to be part of this. But Seth didn't let go. He dropped the knife and grabbed me by the force of both arms. He shed my blood in the glass, but a few drops fell on the floor. He released me and I was in panic.

"Calm down, don't want you ruin everything." He told me in bossy tone.

"Seth, please stop." I begged."

Seth began to recite some weird chant and I was frightened.

Behold the flames rise,
From the compass' cardinal points,
Burn the sacred oil,
And, with the ashes you'll anoint,

Arrange the symbols,
Of the wizard, and, magician,
Light the candles,
Place the parchment paper in position,
Between its leaves place,
The lash from a black cat's eye,
A straw of a broom,
Fold, and, burn, and, centralize,

I am the devil's advocate,
A salesman, if you will,
You know my name.

I'm claiming what is mine by right,
It's time to close the deal,
You're bought and sold, bought and sold,

Come join me in my infernal depths,
Mephisto's hall of fame.

He took the strange liquor and poured it into the glass with our blood, using the knife to mix it. The liquor took a deep red color.

"Seth please stop!" I begged but he was no longer looking at me.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would have thought that was impossible. It was like a cliché scene of classic horror movies. The candle flames became more intense as Seth drank that thing. I wanted to run away. The candles revolved spiral and a gray shadow emerged.

Seth shouted those words louder and I shouted at him to stop but he wasn't listening. The gray shadow took the form of a kind of cloak and stopped in front of Seth. He walked toward it and I didn't know what to do, so before it could touch him I threw myself in between of them.

"What the hell have you done Dean?" Seth shouted angrily.

I saw the shadow getting so close to me and that's the last memory I have of the ritual.

I woke up and saw the clock. It was one in the morning, October 31th. There was a puddle of blood on the floor and above it was Seth. His body was also covered in blood. I threw the knife in my hand and I approached him. I hugged him and he was cold and stiff and his body covered with cuts. He was murdered with a knife.

Then I realized that I was also covered in blood but had no wound. It was Seth's blood.

…

Roman is fully recovered and are walking toward the last kingdom. I am scared.

Arriving at the door another earthquake happens, I look down and for the first time I appreciate all the kingdoms. To the distance I see the black river and to my dismay I see the speed of the tide has increased. I direct my gaze to the portal through which I entered into the valley and the light moves faster and in more irregular way expanding and contracting.

"Everything is very out of control." I say frightened.

Roman has an expression similar to mine, he looks me in the eyes. "No matter what happens, I'll make everything possible to fulfill what I promised. I'll give you back your life."

"You said we should try it, you made it clear that there was always the possibility of failure, especially because we have been meeting challenges to reach the top of the volcano."

"But everything has changed and you know it. Until recently I was in control of the situation... now I don't know what's going on." Roman looks at me with a hint of sadness, "I shouldn't have touched you."

"I think you're forgetting that it was what I wanted." I stroke his face, "This time I won't blame others. I did want to be yours and enjoyed every second of what we did."

He takes me by the waist, "I don't know what will happen, I just hope you don't forget that I lo..."

"Shhh, I know, I know." I whisper.

We kissed softly. I know he feels the same, this is a sort of farewell. I give everything in this last kiss and he does the same. Shortly after we let go, the guard of the door, a fully human-like creature looks at us emotionless. Something tells me they are waiting for us. The guardian opens the doors without any reverence. It's the first one that don't bow at Roman and that only increases my nervousness, definitely something changed in this valley.

We enter and the first thing I can see is that this kingdom is bigger than the others. Is circular in shape completely surrounding the crater, which is huge. There is a beautiful marble road circling the crater and some gardens around. There is a kind of ledge on one side of the crater and there is the palace.

We approached the edge of the crater and then see that there is a road from the gardens of the palace entrance and heads to a huge rock labyrinth located further down to the right of it. The labyrinth has many roads, it's impossible to see one that leads to the entrance or exit.

From each side of the maze, there are three paths of rock that end in a rocky islets located further below the maze. Those islets are punishment camps very similar to those on the kingdom of Astaroth.

I desperately stared at Roman, "Where do they have him?"

"I don't know but I won't lose more time. I'll find out."

The ground shakes again and I can see the look of surprise on the slaves circulating in this kingdom. Apparently no one knows the reason for these quakes. Roman takes my hand and quickly walk into the palace. Slaves murmur but nobody dares to say anything.

I can see something of desperation in Roman's face. Emotion that I share, because we run out of time and he knows it.

"How long do we have?" I ask something scared.

"Less than ten hours." A guttural voice gives me the answer.

I look up the stairs in the palace and slowly descends to whom Astaroth referred to as the king of all this valley: Abaddon. Like the slaves, and Leviathan and Roman, Abaddon has human form. It's just a little higher than the average human. He's dressed in a blue gown decorated with blue metallic patterns. Has a kind of platinum belt and feet also carry sandals with small golden stones embedded in them.

His face isn't young-looking as Leviathan and Roman. He looks older than them, as someone who is coming to his forties. He has a short beard. His eyes are green and his skin is as white as Leviathan's. The expression on his face is cold and impassive, like his attitude is among angry and serious. When he finishes his descent, the ground shakes again.

"Look what have you done!" He says angry.

I direct my gaze to the balcony from where Abaddon was and to my surprise there are all Roman's brothers. Leviathan smiles at me very maliciously.

"Then you know why I'm here." Roman returned to his sultry-mode.

"You created a huge flaw in this valley allowing the entry of a living creature!" Abaddon shouts, "And it seems that it was not the only transgression that you made since the whole system is collapsing around us."

"You're the almighty here... enlighten us with the answer." Roman smiles slyly.

"There's nothing to do, you are an idiot and you will be punished severely!"

Now I panic, What will he do with Roman?.

"We'll talk about that later, there really isn't much time. Dean and I made a deal, he gave his soul in exchange for his boyfriend who is staying here."

An earthquake of major proportions send us all to the ground. One of the slaves desperately enters the palace. We stand up again.

"It's going to erupt!" The slave cries in panic.

"This is what you have done. You were so stupid to fuck him!" Abaddon is hysterical.

"He's my lover, what did you expect I do?" Roman smiles slyly.

Abaddon slaps Roman sending him back to the floor. "You are just a fool. You think rules are made for nothing. This valley has its own life, this volcano is a demoness and is going to erupt as a result of her pent-up anger by your transgression."

"How can we calm the volcano?" I ask.

"You want to calm it down when you are the reason why this happens." Leviathan's still angry because I defeated his pit of souls.

"We need to offer a sacrifice and hope it works!" Abaddon shouts to Roman.

"What kind of punishment will our younger brother receive?" Astaroth asks angry.

"He will receive a very useful punishment." Abaddon sentences.

Roman pretends he doesn't care, but I know he does. I can feel it.

"You want to get the soul of the lover of your lover. This is quite stupid," Leviathan mocks at Roman, "Anyways you know how it works."

I'm confused and Berith smiles slightly before explaining to me, "To claim a soul of a kingdom where we don't have jurisdiction, we should give something or fulfill any task."

"They say that you defeated two pits of souls." Abaddon angrily points at me, "Defeat mine too."

"If I get it, I can take Seth."

"You are nothing but mortal trash, you will not get it." Abaddon says with disdain. "In any case a deal cannot be undone, so I cannot stop you if you want to fight for the soul of your boyfriend. My slaves will take Seth into the maze. He is very hurt and weak. You must go for him, survive the maze, find the exit and take him outside before the volcano erupts, if you get it you will obtain the reward you asked for. If you touch the lava, you are going back to your world."

"What will happen with Roman?" I ask, "You spoke of a punishment."

"Roman?" Astaroth is puzzled. "Who is Roman?"

"That's the name he gave to me," Roman softly says.

Astaroth looks at Roman in disappointment. I just realize, Roman never told me his real name.

"No matter the outcome you get through the maze, your dealings with this idiot will not apply when I impose his punishment."

"What are you going to do?" I feel a terribly cold running through my body.

"I will offer him as a sacrifice to calm the wrath of the volcano. It should work because we are offering one of us and he is the cause of all this. If he is lucky enough, his fate will be the exile inside the crater, where he will lose his rank and his kingdom and become a simple wandering soul... he will be completely alone in an empty place, forever." Abaddon says angrily, "If he is not lucky, he will be punished by the demoness for a long time... maybe forever."

"After a few years she will quench her thirst for revenge, returning to her eternal state of hibernation with this volcano, and I'll be exiled. I don't think the punishment last for long." Roman looks at me and smiles, "Anyways, it was worth it."

Abaddon speaks with his brothers and several of his slaves, all they go outside to the garden. However, Roman doesn't move, rather than follow the group I go to him.

"Dean, stop wasting time. You'll have to do this all alone and that maze is impossible." Roman is expressionless.

"But... there must be something I can do for you... this is all my fault."

"To be honest I didn't think the punishment would be so severe. I was wrong." He strokes my face and sultry smiles, "But I need to face my fate with dignity my darling."

"Roman I lo…"

"Please don't. If you dare to say it I won't be able to fulfill my punishment with dignity. So don't say anything." Roman remains his calm facade.

"Why Roman?" I begin to cry, "Why you made that deal with me?"

He smiles sweetly, " I have a weakness for beauty but to be honest it was what I saw in Seth's memories what made me want you. Despite all the horrible manipulation you were subjected by that asshole, your feelings were honest and I wanted something like that. But it was impossible that I could get something like that if your soul was condemned. You killed him babe. You are a murderer and your soul would be damned because your boyfriend was evil. You didn't deserved it. So, I wanted to save you soul and this was the only way. If you fulfill the last challenge, you will recover your life before the murder. You won't be a murderer, you will be free, your soul will be saved…"

"I will be saved. But what about you!" I'm crying, "Why did you sacrifice this much if you could of have me by blackmail or use your magic to seduce me if you have wanted. But you take care of me and made me fall in love with you."

Roman looks at me with intensity and sadness, "I have been seducing and corrupting all kind of creatures. I've had enough sex for pleasure, my darling. I wanted that thing I saw in Seth's memories. I knew there was no other way to get it. I had to do it the way humans do it. So I never forced anything, I wanted to feel and experience something at least, similar to that you've shared with Seth. But not everything went as I planned because fall in love with you was never in my plans. However it happened, and although it's beautiful it's also painful. But I don't regret it, for the first time sex wasn't only an exchange of mutual pleasure, I made love to you. I'll never forget it."

"An eternal punishment for one single time to feel love..." I wipe away my tears.

"It was worth it. Baby, the demoness is asleep all the time, that's why when something wake her up, it arouses her anger. The punishment won't last forever. When she returns to hibernate, I'll be exiled, everyone will forget me. You should do the same."

"I won't forget you. Please don't tell me I'll forget all this when I leave." I begin to cry more heavily.

"That would be the best, would be a great comfort to me." Roman is unable to keep faking calm and looks at me sadly, "Knowing that you won't torture yourself with my memory. I just want you to fix your life, don't do more stupid stuff. I don't want you end up in one of these kingdoms where my brothers could take revenge of you. Souls are dead so they forget his path in this valley. You are alive, you will remember everything."

"If I fail your sacrifice would have been in vain." I'm feeling desperate.

"Then you have a good motivation to win the last challenge." He rubs his thumb on my lower lip, I close my eyes, "The eternal exile is worth, because I got to love you and I got you to love me. You made me feel unknown emotions. I'm grateful with you for that. You did something in an eternity no other creature got to do. Totally worth it."

"You're wrong! None of this is worth, nothing!" My despair is killing me.

He grabs my left wrist and I feel that burns. It's very painful but I say nothing. He loses the grip and there is a scar that goes around my wrist, is a kind of scar tattoo, like a beautiful tribal chain. Similar to the tattoo on his arm.

Roman looks at me with tenderness and kisses me. I hug him and tearfully return the kiss. We let go and he cleans my tears with his thumb.

"I'm selfish, I'll send you with that mark on your wrist as proof that you were mine. As a final gift I'll tell you what you wanted to know since the first time. I'll quickly explain how this valley works."

Roman walks in front of me and start talking, "The souls of the living beings reincarnate. There's nothing you should feel guilty, my love. You and I weren't meant to be. Now you will find Seth again and he will explain what happened, why you killed him. I can't explain you that because I can't keep breaking rules here. So even if this life you are living is not that good. You can do the things right, you won't be here whe death comes to you and in your next reincarnation you will find someone worthy of your love."

"So, the punishment isn't eternal..."

"No, the punishment is according to how they lived their lives. There are many souls we always see around here. We have seen other only rarely. Your soul had never been here before."

"You said you wanted my soul for the rest of my lives. That means that whenever I die, no matter how was my life, I'd always come back to you."

"You would fulfill your period of punishment or reward with me, because your soul would be mine. All your deaths would be for me. I would wait for you Dean every time and you would be my prince. But it was something ambitious and it won't happen. I tried to force the destiny and I failed."

Several of Abaddon's slaves take me by surprise. "Everything is ready, you will meet your boyfriend into the maze." They say.

"I won't leave you!" I began to shout, struggling to free myself and stay with Roman, but it was useless, they're stronger than me and begin to drag me outside of the palace, "I want to stay with you! I wanna give my soul to you! Not just for the deal, I do wanna give it to you!"

"I know sweet Dean." Roman says, but he never turns to see me. "Goodbye my love. That scar is the memory that will remind you that no matter what happens I'll be always with you, supporting you."

They take me to the garden. I can see there all the kings of this valley. All of them but the one I fell in love. There's nothing I can do, at least I'll save my soul to make all this sacrifice worth. But to be honest I have no motivation to do it. Just the hope that in some way I can save him too… but, how? They blindfold me and I hear someone clapping. I'm dizzy but nobody is holding me.

I take off the blindfold and I realize I'm inside the maze. A new earthquake shakes the ground, throwing down a wall, then I see him. Seth is sat in front of me.

The chant Seth is reciting is part of the song "The Conjuring" by Megadeth.

Okay, let me know what you think about this chapter. You think Dean will save his soul? You think Roman will be sacrificed? What do you think is gonna happen now that Dean finally found Seth? You think this is the end for Roman and Dean's relationship?

Thanks for your support. The next chapter will be the penultimate and then the end of this fic. Leave a review and thank you so much.