The very words of Gabrielle put Belos in a trance. It sounded normal to everyone else, but to him, it was like an echo reverberating throughout his consciousness and soul. Not many men can say they talked to an angel after all. As a devout man of God, he felt unworthy to be in her very presence, especially after the centuries of all the blasphemy he did and committed to control the mongrel witches.

"Lady Gabrielle," he said, a slight shake in his tone, "I apologize for not contacting you sooner. This regards some… important manners that may need your attention."

Gabrielle merely raised a brow as her hands were now steepled, her stance ever straight and elegant as Philip continued to speak, "Firstly, the Day of Unity is fast approaching. In a mere fortnight, I will finally achieve my goals of wiping out this wretched Hell in the name of God, His kingdom, and all His servants."

Gabrielle nodded along, her smile never fading until she realized that he bore the mask that hid his face from all but his most trusted underlings; said underlings typically dying faster than she could keep up with. She always found it hideous and cowardly. A so-called servant of her realm and he couldn't even be bothered to make eye contact.

"My Lady?" he mumbled, getting her attention once more.

She responded with a direct tone, "Take that ridiculous thing off."

Belos looked up at her in what could be described as shock. He attempted to retort, but all he saw was the stare of a woman who did not like to repeat herself.

With a nod and a sigh, he took off his mask, revealing his incredibly wrinkled face, his blue eyes losing their ethereal glow and dulling out. His hair was long and reached his shoulders, what was once brown hair having long aged into a dull gray. Of course, the most notable feature one would first notice was the massive green, almost necrotic looking, gash across his face. Parts of the oily green goop began dripping from him and he used a finger to wipe it off.

The angel looked at him for a bit before extending her hand, "Rise." she ordered.

And so, Philip did. Gabrielle began to pace around him, the sound of her heels clicking against the stone floor with every step echoing across the room as she walked around him, "look at you." she muttered as she continued to pace around him, "you're far worse than when I last saw you. You are falling apart as we speak."

Phillip only nodded at her comment. "It will soon be over, My Lady. Once the Day of Unity is complete is when I will finally be at peace and move on to His Kingdom. Free of the vile witchcraft that plagues my body."

Gabrielle smirked. "And balance to the realms will be assured, with a certain perdition denied an edge during Armageddon, ensuring our victory," she muttered, coming behind the monarch. She placed her hands on his shoulders, her wings spreading close to both their bodies. Belos merely crossed his arms in response to this as she continued to ramble on, "I'll be sure to include your name in the list of major contributors to our inevitable triumph."

Belos smirked before the angel stepped back and turned, her wings folding back, "I presume we won't encounter any more… difficulties?" she asked, her smirk ever present, "we wouldn't want any of our hard work to be set back when we are so close to your goal, now would we?"

The emperor slightly grimaced, turning his body to face hers, "there has been… one recent development."

The angel's smile then faded, "what kind of development?"

Phillip hesitated to speak, but spit it out nonetheless, "A Hellspawn."

The angel's wings seemed to tense up for a moment or two before relaxing again. Gabrielle turned to face the monarch, her gaze ever piercing, "which one?"

This question made him tilt his head, "does it matter?"

The angel seemed to scoff at his question,"It absolutely does in this case," she hissed, "not only is a Hellspawn appearing in this realm before the centennial mark, it is also so close to the day we enact our plans of wiping out this dung heap of a world!"

She grit her teeth and sharply inhaled a breath, calming herself. As her mind cleared, she grimaced once more, "The reason I ask you of their identity is because I have a very sneaking suspicion I might know who it is…"

"Who?" Phillip asked, almost desperately, "who or what is this Hellspawn whose shadow looms over us?"

Gabrielle turned once more, "His name is - or rather was - Albert Francis Simmons, often nicknamed "Al" by many, including himself." She paced around the room as she continued to explain, "You see, he was once a former human mercenary, employed by one named 'Jason Wynn.'"

She scoffed at the name. He was truly an unworthy soul to first bear the title of Redeemer. "You see, Jason Wynn was a cruel man and one day, as Al Simmons was doing a mission… Jason ordered him killed on accounts of making a deal with the vile Lord of the Eight Sphere Malebolgia…" she then spun her hand around, as if forcing herself to speed up the story, "long story short, Al Simmons became a Hellspawn and quickly rose up the ranks, perhaps a bit too high for my liking."

"What exactly makes him so different from the others?" Phillip impatiently asked, crossing his arms, "from what I heard so far, this Al Simmons seems to be just like the rest of those putrid affronts to God."

"Let me finish first," Gabrielle sassily responded, much to his annoyance. "Ever since his resurrection, Al Simmons has proven time and time again that he may very well be the most dangerous Hellspawn in all the realms." She then listed some examples, raising a finger with each one, "he has killed numerous Angel Hunters, has traveled across multiple dimensions, has overthrown the vile deceiver Mammon, and has killed Malebolgia to name a few notable feats."

"Malebolgia is dead!?" Philip exclaimed in a confused horror.

Gabrielle shrugged, "as dead as he could be…"

It was now fully dawning on Phillip that this was no game. If her claim that he somehow defeated one of the most powerful Lords of Hell was true, then this could very well be the most dangerous foe he hoped to never face in his many centuries of existence.

Gabrielle continued, "I only hope that Albert hasn't come anywhere near the palace nor figured out the truth behind the Day of Unity…" she steepled her fingers once more, "I've given you plenty of reason as to why that wouldn't exactly go well in your favor."

Phillip shook his head, "no…" he muttered, "he has been sighted in many of the towns and cities, but nowhere close to the palace. For now, it appears I am safe."

"As long as he is on these Isles, you are never truly safe." she ominously whispered to him, "what has he done since coming here?"

"He's destroyed several crime rings and a police precinct."

Gabrielle snorted, "it's only a matter of time before he turns his attention to you…" she took in a breath before carrying on, "are your forces on high alert?"

He nodded, "and I have just sent my finest men to track him down." He paused before scowling, "including the Golden Guard."

Gabrielle perked up, "the latest one, I assume? What was his name, again? Hunter?"

She saw Phillip nod before dismissing it, "I suppose it doesn't matter, he'll die by the end of this anyways." she then looked at him with a sudden realization of a smile, "you sent him to die by the hands of the Hellspawn, didn't you?"

Phillip glanced away with a scowl, "I told him not to engage." he muttered with gritted teeth, earning the angel's shock.

"Don't tell me you're growing soft on them." She teased, earning Phillip's annoyed glare.

"A mere slip of the tongue," he clarified, "I assure you when all of this is over, should he survive, he will join the rest…"

The angel merely curved her lips into yet another smirk and walked towards Phillip, "Be on your guard, Phillip." She whispered, "better safe than sorry."

She then quite literally walked through him as she disappeared into an ethereal mist. Phillip glanced at the glass tablet that summoned her and saw that it glowed briefly before fading away. He grumbled, fanning away some of the mist still in the air before he snorted and put his mask back on, turning to the entrance of the skull cavity with the intent to leave.

He felt uneasy knowing that a dangerous Hellspawn like Al Simmons was on the Isles. Still, he remained perfectly composed as he locked the doors to the cavity behind him. He sighed, deeply. He was so close to ridding this world of this plague. All he needed was two weeks…

Who knew two weeks could feel like an even longer eternity than a few centuries?

The Woods

Grotesque did not seem like a strong enough work for Eda when describing the Hellspawn's face.

How it stayed attached to his body was just one of many conundrums that she couldn't unravel. He was a walking, deep fried corpse that could somehow talk. She's seen many things in her life that she or anyone else could describe as horrid, but this was something that truly fit the definition.

She resisted the urge to vomit as Spawn grit his sharpened teeth, what remained of his melted lips seemed to curl into a scowl, "Don't talk to me like I don't know what it's like to be cursed," he snarled, referring to her earlier questions, "because I've been cursed my whole damn life!"

The undead then composed himself as he sharply inhaled before sitting back down on the rock with a dull sigh. Eda watched in a bile fascination that the torn parts of his suit seemed to mend itself together, growing around the burnt flesh and forging a new mask, as though nothing happened. It was only now did Eda realize that the suit didn't look much like a suit at all. When she looked closely, she saw the striations one associates with skeletal muscle all over his body, as if he had no real flesh covering him. With this perspective, she saw him almost akin to a flayed corpse dipped in ink and covered with white patterns, chains, armor, and a cape.

It was no wonder why he had such a hostile attitude. It's as if his very physical existence was nothing but pain and that kind of pain can drive anyone mad.

"Go ahead." The Hellspawn muttered to her.

"What?" was all the witch could answer before he clarified, "get your snark and smartassery out of your system. Laugh at my sob story if you don't believe me."

Now, she didn't know what to do. On one hand, deep down inside, she really did have a hard time believing what he just said. On the other, that outburst was genuine. He was either a very good liar or genuinely a hurt man lashing out at the world.

Her instincts were clashing with her empathy hard, but she blurted it out, nonetheless. "I won't do that." She muttered, "for once."

Now it was Spawn's turn to be a bit surprised. He saw her sit down on the dirt, her back turned towards him in silence as she stared at the sky above. She sighed loudly, "Titan, we're just a couple of messes, huh?" she muttered, trying to lighten the mood, but receiving no answer from him beyond a slight huff.

She then heard his steps and felt his cape brush against her back. She turned to see his head hidden by his massive cape collar, his back turned to hers as her own was turned to him. She turned her head back and looked off into the afternoon sky.

After a couple moments of silence, she decided to break it, "Who was she?" the witch asked, referring to the someone that Spawn referenced in his venting.

Spawn let out a soft sigh, "Her name was Wanda." He said in a whisper just barely loud enough to hear.

"'Wanda…'" Eda repeated, "that's a lovely name."

"For a lovely woman. A lovely and beautiful woman."

Eda actually smiled at his comment. The way he talked about her reminded Eda of how she felt about Raine. "What was she like?"

Spawn paused before answering, "She was kind and was always willing to lend a hand and voice to those who needed it," beneath his mask, he smiled to the best of his ability, "she gave my life a purpose."

Now she was feeling nostalgic for all the wonderful times she and Raine had. "Yeah, I know what that's like." she muttered with a smile, "Raine Whispers."

"What was he like?"

Eda frowned and snapped back, "Well, for starters, they weren't a 'he!'"

"My apologies." The Hellspawn corrected himself, "What were they like?"

Eda calmed down and reminisced, "they were the kindest fellow I could ever dream of. They were the only witch who truly offered to support me in my lowest moments. My light in the dark tunnel that was my life at the time."

Her smile then turned to a frown, "I wish they were still by my side."

"Did you break up?"

She sighed, "It was… mutual. That's all I'll say."

Al grumbled, "at least you parted ways mutually," he mumbled, "I never got the chance to say goodbye when I was killed. And when I came back, she-"

He stopped himself, clenching his cape. Years of living with this still didn't make it hurt any less. The witch noticed his silence and grew concerned, "She what?" She asked, almost hesitantly.

Al finally settled for an answer, "She moved on… That's all I'll say."

Eda turned her head back around and planted her chin on her knees. To think she and this Hellspawn shared a bit in common. She didn't really know how to feel about that, really. Two souls cursed by forces they didn't understand, living their lives controlled by said forces, with shattered romances to add insult to their injury, the two of them hiding the neverending pain behind layers of carefree snark or unwarranted aggression…

Before she could think on this further, Al spoke up again, "you still have a chance, Eda."

The first thing Eda noticed was that he used her name. This was serious. He continued speaking, "you still have a family to go back to and make amends with. I never had that luxury."

He sighed, "my father was a salesman who was never around and my mother was a Satanist who set me on the path of who I would eventually become. By the time I confronted them, it was too late and they passed the moment I met them again like I was some plague." He then stood up, fully turning to Eda, who was still on the floor, "I don't know your parents, but they seem like kind people who just want their daughter back."

It was Eda's turn to stand, "but what if he hates me!? I ruined my father's life! I scared him-"

"If anyone can forgive someone, it's a father who knows it wasn't their child's fault!" Spawn retorted with a yell, calming himself down with a sigh, "don't waste this opportunity, Eda. Don't leave what could be fixed broken. Not like what I did."

He then turned around, a sudden gust making his cape flick northward as he began to walk away once again, feeling that he's said enough in this matter.

Eda was a bit shocked at him for many reasons. His sudden empathy resonated with her in ways that she felt were contradictory to everything she knew about him and his kind. Her foundation of knowledge uprooted and turned upside down.

"I…" the witch suddenly said softly, stopping him in his tracks, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

"Around what?" he asked.

"The fact that you care." she answered, "in spite of everything, all those killings you did, all the spats we had, you…"

She sighed in slight frustration, "I just don't get it!" she exasperated, "everything I've read about Hellspawns depicts as mindless murderers who kill everything in their way. Now you come along and… have a semblance of a heart!"

He tilted his head at the mention of her reading about his kind but carried on normally, "not every Hellspawn is a monster." he muttered, "some are just souls who want to see their loved ones again. I should know. I'm proof of it and I've met others who had similar fates."

"Well, Lilith is not going to enjoy this historical revisionism then."

Al huffed in amusement at that comment. He then looked upwards at the orange afternoon, "so now what?" he asked, receiving a raised brow from the witch.

"What do you mean?"

"Are we friends now since we actually talked to each other like adults?"

Eda put her hands on her hips, "I wouldn't call us friends just because we did some trauma dumping on each other.'" she looked to the side, "but I guess if anything, it proves we are capable of having a conversation where we aren't constantly at each other's throats.

Al chuckled, "I suppose you're right."

The witch stroked her chin, "I think, if anything, we should consider this…" she seethed at her next set of words before mumbling them, "a fresh start."

"Hmm?"

"A fresh start," she clarified with a louder voice before sighing and holding out her hand, "let's really commit to the idea of working together this time."

Al stared at her outstretched hand before nodding, "alright," he said as he raised his hand in hers and shook it, "a fresh start. No more fighting, no more insults, no more jokes."

"No promises on the last part, spooky," she said with a toothy grin, much to his annoyance. With the words said and done, they let go of each other's hands and stood there awkwardly, looking away from each other.

"Well, I guess I'll head back to my old haunt," Eda said, unease in her voice as Al nodded, "you go ahead and do… whatever."

"Patrolling," Al clarified, "but yes, I will."

The two turned around and headed off in their respective directions before Al stopped in his tracks.

"Wait." He said, loud enough for her to hear and for both to turn around.

"How do you know about Hellspawns?" he asked, "when I first came to the Isles, no one treated me like a boogeyman. At least not until I gave them a reason to."

Eda then reached into her hair and pulled out what looked like an old book that was crudely bound in rotten leather and tossed it to him, "here's some required reading." she said before turning back and heading towards her childhood home without another word.

Al caught the book in his hands, noting the aged leather and crude stitchings on it. Initially, he widened his eyes believing that Eda was somehow in possession of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, but he turned the pages to see that it was just someone's diary. From the looks of it, this book was at least one or two centuries old, maybe even older. Probably from one of her ancestor's.

He turned the page and began reading.

Police Precinct 128

"Look at this carnage…" Hyden muttered as he approached the crime scene. Beneath their feet, were the ashes and soot of scorched vampire corpses and viscera, their bones being picked up and carefully placed in body bags by other coven officers, for even the slightest bit of pressure could shatter them to dust.

"To think that one man was responsible for this," Meera snarled, "it is an insult to our great Coven!"

"Or a showcase of how complacent we have become." Gendry commented, "We've diverted so many resources to capturing the Owl Lady, that once she no longer became a threat we did not know what to do when someone or something even more powerful than her arrived."

The burly being then waved an arm around to highlight the massacre around him, "had we been prepared for something even half as dangerous as the Hellspawn, we would not be seeing this right now."

The other brigadiers seemed to hesitate in their nods, as though the very idea of criticizing their coven was an uneasy one, in spite of how right he was. They said nothing as they turned to see the Golden Guard discussing something with Boris and all three of them inched closer to overhear what they were saying.

"You can track him, yes?" Hunter asked, his arms casually crossed as he asked.

The demon nodded, "of course I can. I simply need something to pick up the trail with."

"What, the wreckage surrounding us is not good enough?"

The tracker snorted, "I will need something far more specific. A stray drop of blood, hair, whatever."

The Golden Guard nodded, but not before rolling his eyes behind his mask. He ordered a forensics guard to bring him something related to the culprit and he did it with haste.

The forensics guard brought out a small vial of glowing green liquid that matches the description of the same liquid found near a plaza just a week ago. "This is the Hellspawn's blood," Hunter said, bringing the bag closer to the monster hunter, "does this suffice?"

Boris grabbed the vial and nodded, "Indeed." he smiled before putting his fingers in his lips and doing a sharp whistle.

Mere moments later, he was greeted by three hounds. Or at least, their bodies resembled hounds, but they had wormy appendages where their head and neck should be, a lamprey-like mouth opening up and revealing a circular jaw filled with needle-sharp teeth. The Wormhounds saw Boris present the vial of the Hellspawn's blood, opening it up and letting them sniff it. They huffed and ran across the courtyard, nearly tripping other coven members along the way.

"We follow them." Boris sneered as he started walking. Hunter only threw up his hands as he followed, while the brigadiers briefly looked at each other before making way with them.

Clawthorne Estate

It should have been easy. She made a whole ten step process in her head and everything.

But here she was, frozen at the gates to her old home. Even the simple act of opening them felt like it took all her willpower to do so.

"You can do this." she muttered as the metal gates creaked open like a wailing spirit and she took her steps on the family grounds with clenched eyes.

"Edalyn?" the voice of her father said in the distance. She opened her eyes and briefly saw her father's form emerge from the distant house but immediately turned away, refusing to look at him in fear of the shame she would bring.

"Edalyn, is that you?" her father asked, concern ever present in his voice. He reached a hand out before it began to shake uncontrollably, but not because he was hesitant, no, it was a far more permanent problem now.

"Edalyn, my sweet…" he whispered, "you've come back."

"... Hi, dad."

Her quick response at least reassured him that she knew he was there. "Edalyn, we were worried sick. We nearly went out on a search party."

"Well, you didn't need to." she responded, "I'm right here." Eda didn't turn to face her father. She couldn't bear to look at him. The moment she'll turn around, she will see his scarred, angered face.

Her deadpan tone, combined with the fact that she wouldn't even turn to look at him, Dell knew exactly what was going on. He cut to the chase, "Edalyn, it wasn't your fault-"

"If I had better control of myself," she interrupted, words choking on air, "I wouldn't have run away. I wouldn't have nearly killed you!"

"It was my carelessness that led to it." He attempted to reassure her, "If it's anyone's fault, it would be mine."

"That doesn't make it better." She seethed, her eyes already watering, "you were crippled and forced out of your own profession! Our name became a laughingstock-"

"I never cared about the family name!" Dell intervened, "I never cared about the scars! All I cared about was knowing that you were safe!"

She turned her head slightly as he continued, "no amount of pain from my damaged nerves, losing half my sight, and not being able to carve Palismans again was even remotely close to the pain I felt worrying nonstop about you! I worried every day would be your last even long before you became a wanted witch and I sighed in relief at every report about you still being at large because it was one less moment of my heart aching at the possibility that I may never see you again!"

Eda fully turned her head, immediately retracting it when she saw his scarred face. Dell inched closer, "Edalyn, please…" he pleaded, "just look at me."

She shook her head. "I can't." she whimpered, "I'll just be looking at my greatest failure."

"Edalyn…" Dell whispered, "you think I resent you for this, but I don't. My little speech should have told you that I forgave you a long time ago."

Now Eda turned, her eyes filling with tears as she finally looked at her father, his big beard and hair. Adorning his soft face was a scar that went down from his eye, rendering it useless. She felt a lump form in her throat just looking at him, his smile shining through his scarred face.

Her lips trembled and she lunged at him, clinging to him in a hug so tight that she won't dare let go. In that moment, she was no longer the Owl Lady, the formerly most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles. At that moment, she was a child clinging to her father for safety.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she murmured into his shoulder, hugging him as tightly as she could.

"It's ok, my little Edalyn." He whispered to her. For what felt like hours, they were embraced, not saying anything before Eda opened her eyes to see a certain teenager and demon slowly approach them both.

"Eda?" the latter asked, almost with hesitation.

"Luz. King." she says with a soft breath and without warning releases her grip on her father and rushes towards the human and demon, hugging them tightly.

"GAHK!" they both cried out at the pressure before getting used to it and returning the hug.

"Luz. King. I'm so proud of you both," the witch whispered, "always remember that."

Neither King, nor Luz knew what prompted this, but they appreciated it, "Thank you, Eda," Luz whispered to her teacher.

Eda looked up to see her mother and sister approaching her, worry on their face.

"Edalyn!" Gwendolyn shouted, "we were worried sick and were about to-"

Eda silenced her with a hug, bringing in her and her sister in with no other words needed to be said.

"GROUP HUG!"

The voice of Hooty shouted and suddenly everyone found themselves constricted by his body together, "I love you guys!" Hooty shouted with tears in his eyes as everyone tried to adjust themselves before embracing each other.

As this moment of peace goes on, in the far distance, Spawn watches from the shadows of the trees, smiling beneath his mask at the tender moment before looking down at the book in his hands and tracing a thumb over the aged leather cover.

He placed the book in one of his pouches, turned around and returned to the foliage of the woods to resume his patrol, but not without sparing one last glance at the group.

He was happy for Eda to have something he could never have.

A family.

As he walked away, he was unaware of the amphiptere stalking him from a nearby tree branch, it snarled when it saw the diary in his hands and immediately took off from its perch, flying back to the crypt and towards its master…

Edge of the World

"He should have been here by now." the deep voice of Tarak muttered as he looked upon the horizon, the setting sun giving way to shadows that was slowly consuming the beach he stood on, "what is taking him so long?"

"Relax, Tarak," a voice whispered behind him. The witch turned to see a figure in robes and armor that seemed oddly two-toned in color, that being a dull green and white, their face obscured by their hood with the exception of their glowing yellow sclera and red iris', "I've been waiting for this moment far longer than you have and have since learned to appreciate the virtue of patience."

Even with their obscured face, Tarak could tell they were smiling.

Suddenly, a giggle that was as cold as ice got their attention, "Yeah, you need to relax, buddy," the third voice said, this one bringing Tarak's hairs to stand on all ends. Both of them turned to see a figure whose body was completely covered in the encroaching shadows with the exception of a face covered by greasy makeup, wild hair that did no favor for his mostly bald head, and pure red eyes that shined like an ominous beacon.

He flashed yellow, rotten teeth, his smile stretching just a bit too wide for comfort as he continued to speak, his voice calm, but more than capable of capturing everyone's attention.

"All good things come to those who wait."