Disclaimer I do not own Hazbin hotel/helluva boss series, and I am not making any money by writing this story. Hope everyone that reads this enjoys it.
thoughts will be in italics
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Hell was quiet, it was an unnerving thing in the realm of damnation when so many had gotten used to the noise produced by the citizens of the Pride ring, be it from vehicles, gang warfare, screams of pain and or suffering and the constant begging of the weaker souls who lived in Pride. Sinners had tried to act as if nothing had changed since Heavens clean up day as many had started calling it when hundreds of thousands of souls had simply vanished but that had been simply impossible as various businesses had collapsed which sent the citizens into a panicked frenzy as they lost access to things that made life in Hell bearably for the average or lesser soul who lived in Pride. The act hit the Overlords the worst as some had vanished while others had their power bases destroyed after losing to many souls to Heaven and thus the governing of everyday life had just disappeared for a while as it took forever for the Goetia to care enough to put in any effort to rein in the chaos going on in Pride and for the new Overlords to rise to prominence and power and the remaining older Overlords to regain their bearings and reassert themselves as the ones keeping order and running Pride when Hell nobility didn't want to.
For some though Heaven's purge had been a sort of boon in their power and status. One such Overlord was Carmilla Carmine who had seen major growth in her business with many being willing to pay or sell themselves to her to get even a junk piece of angelic weaponry not that she sold anything that could be considered junk. Many powerful sinners had become vulnerable thanks to cleanup day and Carmilla made bank on those who wanted to cash in on their chance to get even and settle scores or debts. What improved her success was the reduced supply of angelic steel with the extermination being postponed and pushed back to later dates and being set to a much later schedule.
Despite all of her prominence and growth, Carmilla still felt rather nervous as sitting across from her in her office was the current voice of Paimon, prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia. She found it funny that she was currently surrounded by loyal souls all armed with weapons crafted from heavenly steel and yet she was the one who still felt scared stiff while the prince looked like he was just having an everyday meeting.
"Miss Carmine I must say I am so please you had time to meet with me. I was worried you may not have any openings for a meeting, but it seems I was worried about nothing. I must say though it was a pleasant surprise to be able to find open parking and not have to destroy someone's vehicle or rip their limbs off for a spot." Taking a sip from the tea provided Stolas had a shiver of delight go up his spine as he could taste the quality of the drink, though he was somewhat astonished that he could tell this was from Earth and not any product produced in Hell. I'll need to ask her about who is supplying her things from Earth at a later date. The food and drink are just divine and it's such a hassle for me that the only time I have a chance to get some goodies is when some idiotic humans summon me for whatever stupidity they feel is worth selling their souls for.
"The honor is mine to have you here my lord. It's a rare… 'gift' for one such as yourself to even grace us with your presence. To what do I owe this honor prince Stolas? Carmilla worked to keep herself calm and collected and the perfect face of the powerful and feared businesswoman that she had become and yet she still kept running over escape scenarios in her head and ways to harm and slow down the prince if he got violent or threatening. Carmilla felt so out of her element as for the first time in decades she was not in a position of power, she was the weaker party in the negotiation and she hated how weak it made her feal, how it brought back rather unpleasant memories of her life before she ended up in Hell.
"Oh, it was no trouble at all Miss Carmine. Normally I would've sent a representative, but this is a rather important piece of business that I need taken care of and from what everyone has told me and from what research I've done you're the best person for the job."
Carmilla felt herself having to suppress a shiver at the idea of a Goetia looking into her history and affairs. That shiver forced itself out as she choked on her cup of tea as Stolas pushed forward a piece of paper he had been writing on while speaking in a hushed yet serious tone. "I need this order filled and delivered."
This could seriously hurt my stock of angelic steel. Why does he need so much and what is he planning to use it all for? What he was willing to pay was tempting but while Carmilla had enough steel for what Stolas wanted she wasn't sure she wanted to take the risk of hurting her storage when the exterminations had been set to a new schedule and her ability to restore her stock of angelic steel was much more limited. I need more information. I can't just sell this much steel on such short notice without some information, but the prince is unlikely to share why he needs the steel not to mention I can't just refuse him without the Goetia retaliating in some manner.
Carmilla was between a rock and a hard place as she tried to come up with an idea on how to offset as much risk as possible and she hated how casually calm the prince seemed as he sipped tea while she was putting in a great deal of effort to not collapse from the stress of the meeting. She was just glad her daughters were at the storage site taking inventory and not here where the prince would have so much more leverage against her to force a transaction. Carmilla decided to bite the bullet and lower herself and throw out some of her pride. Getting information was more important than her pride as it could help her avoid angering the prince or find a way to delay the deal until she was in a more comfortable situation.
"My lord this is quite a hefty sum you are asking for and the fact that you're willing and ready to pay for it all upfront, it leaves me feeling somewhat uncomfortable. What is this all for and why all the cloak and dagger?" While the Goetia had property and proxies in the ring of pride the Hell born princes and princesses rarely ever visited or spent any time in the pride ring, so it was always news when one showed up yet somehow Stolas had managed to avoid the ever seeing and annoying eyes of Vox and no news or even rumor spoke of him coming up to pride at all. He wanted secrecy, no one was to know he was up here making this deal with her, and she needed to know why, even if just only a portion of the why was provided it would help calm her nerves somewhat.
Stolas looked a bit apprehensive at the question pausing for a moment as he took out his grimoire looking through its pages. The time he was taking and the silence filling the room left everyone on edge. Carmilla felt herself starting to fidget a bit as her nerves were starting to really get the better of her self-control.
Stolas stopped leafing through his grimoire placing the book down leaving it open for all to see and yet all that was visible was empty pages. For everyone in the room it left them rather confused but for Carmilla the sight was different as the light seemed to leave the room from her perspective until all that could be seen was herself and Stolas. "Much better, having some privacy for such important details is often necessary. I do apologies but I can't risk my siblings learning of this." Stolas paused as he gave Carmilla a chance to calm down and take in the privacy spell he had set up as he explained that as far as the rest of the room's occupants were concerned, they were in a protracted staring contest, for them though their minds where currently inside of the grimoire for a chat in privacy. "You did say you wanted to know, didn't you?"
Carmilla was starting to regret ever asking any questions instead of simply shoving down her apprehension and worries and simply accepting the money and providing the prince with what he asked for no questions asked.
"What I need this all for is a rather complicated ritual my dear. For one there was a lot of unseen damage done to the cosmic fabric that made up Hell from whatever Heaven did when it removed all those souls and while Hell is more than capable of repairing itself, I any the other princes have been given the task of repairing the damage lest sections of the rings collapse into each other. We Goetia draw strength from Hell and thus in its damaged state there are many of my people who have had their strength and power diminished."
Carmilla felt like she was hearing something she really should not be and worried what conditions Stolas could end up placing on her to make sure she stayed silent. The prince was known to be the calmer and 'kinder' of the Goetia but that didn't mean he was dangerous. "My lord, are you sure you should be telling me this?"
"Oh, it's not much of an issue to share. Most of the damage is superficial at best so only those ranking at the level of duke and bellow really have to worry and even if they are weakened, they are still more than capable of wreaking havoc on you overlords." Stolas spoke with such a jovial tone that it really made her feel ill at ease as she knew there were overlords dumb enough to take the risk of striking the Goetia in any form if they thought there was some weakness to exploit.
"What is more hush hush is the other ritual I will be setting up… I'll be casting a rather complicated and old scrying spell to get a glimpse into Heaven. My father and his colleagues wish to try and understand what Heaven did or if they have any plans to repeat the process, but they can't risk doing the ritual themselves or they will be noticed. I on the other hand have the skill to do this but my own power is low enough that I won't be noticed."
Carmilla looked rather shocked and surprised at the idea of spying on Heaven. She wondered if Stolas knew that his father was setting him up to be a sacrificial lamb if this went wrong and Stolas was found out by Heaven but realized that the prince likely knew he was expendable.
Light flooded her sight as they both left the pocket space the book had stored their minds in. Stolas didn't seem phased at all as Carmilla tried to catch her bearings her guards moving to check if she was alright when in their eyes she suddenly fell forward and looking a bit ill. She waved them off as she slowly stood up looking at the purchase request the prince had given her. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you prince Stolas." Stolas nodded in thanks and left the office for his car to return home.
Carmilla ordered her men to make sure that Stolas got what he asked for and not to ask any questions when she saw their confused faces. She just wanted to leave the room and see her daughters. The people in charge of Hell were making plans and making moves and she wanted to be as far away and out of their line of sight as possible. Something big was happening and she didn't like the idea of being caught up in it. Could Heaven plan on doing another clean up of souls? Will I or my daughters be caught up in it? What if the prince is caught and I'm implicated in his actions due to giving him the supplies he needed? So many worries but there wasn't anything she could do about it except try to weather the storm as best she could and hope her family survived.
/
Stolas hadn't been entirely honest with Carmilla, it hadn't been his father who had asked him to set this all up. No, it had been his grimoire. While most could simply be considered powerful spell books and tomes of ancient knowledge, a true grimoire was an entirely different beast. No, they were books specifically crafted by Lucifer himself from the cosmic fabric of Hell and his own angelic blood. They were living tools to make the administration and maintenance of Hell and its denizens a much easier task. The true grimoires themselves were alive in a manner and would often provide messages or tasks for their wielders.
To tell a regular soul or Hellborn you were following the orders of what was simply a book in their eyes would sound like lunacy, but any other Goetia would understand. No matter how lazy or self-interested, if a true grimoire gave you a task you completed it. Stolas looked at the book worried about the many tasks he had been working on completing, hoping for the day his father would take it. If he was honest with himself, if not for his father's orders he would've pawned the thing off to one of his older siblings to deal with it.
Stolas took out a small knife whose edges were covered in a light golden sheen, cutting his finger with it and letting his blood drop onto the book. Slowly he leafed through its seemingly blank pages and was happy to see spells, knowledge and history writing itself out in the pages. Prophecies were starting to reappear, and new schedules could be set up as he took note of changes to lost prophecies he could recall and made sure to make some calls to those who would need to be informed.
The last thing he needed to set up was to increase the number of human souls ending up in Hell. Since Heavens actions the number of souls falling had dropped, while sinners hadn't seemed to notice the grimoire had and it made sure to inform the prince that the number of souls falling needed to increase. Not immediately but at some point, things needed to be sped up. Stella had simply told him to open a portal and send a few of his legions to collect the quota but that had been an idea to shut down quickly as that would get Heaven's attention and their likely execution.
His stepbrother told him he would look into things to see if he could help with a solution, but Stolas wasn't holding out any hope. He had thought of going to lust and asking Asmodeus for help with how he had easy access to Earth and maybe contracting some of his succubae and incubus, but he doubted the sin of pleasure would help. They gained power from humans more primal reproductive urges not death or human souls and would likely refuse due to the risk to their own power.
The Grimoire told him a solution would make itself known in the future, but Stolas didn't feel much comfort with his own powers of divination, not showing him anything. It was the one task he didn't know how to complete without risking his own life or his families and he didn't like how little there was he could do.
Arriving home Stolas simply collapsed into his bed exhausted hoping he could have some time to rest before he was dragged back to work due to his duties. Stella walked in to complain about something she had been dealing with as a few of Stolas siblings had attempted to kidnap her a week back and she was working on a retaliation plan. Seeing him asleep on the bed gave her paused as she simply sighed as she put a glass of water next to his bed and closed the door behind her as she took out a golden dagger smiling at it as she imagined the screams she could draw out of her step siblings. "No one is to disturb my husband until he wakes on his own time is that understood." The servants nodded not wanting to upset the mistress
Stella froze up when she saw the open grimoire glowing a blackish red with her name being written into existence on its pages with a task for her to complete. She grimaced but understood that her own plans would need to be put on hold. She took out her phone, calling her brother that she needed his help with something important. She picked up the grimoire leaving a note for Stolas, so he knew what was going on and wouldn't panic about the book being missing if she hadn't returned before he woke up.
On Earth plans were drawn up and deals were made. Various politicians had scandals leak out of nowhere and funding drying up or getting that funding from less than reputable sources taking pr hits. Other politicians found cases dropped, bad pr disappearing and new donors popping up out of nowhere. A judge that should've earned his bench was looked over for another less reputable pick, certain lawyers managed to pass the bar by a single point while others had their test go missing forcing retests and dragging things out. Police that would've lost their jobs due to their more violent tendencies where simply transferred and given a short slap on the wrist while better officers ended up being moved away to new precincts allowing the worst side of other precincts to fester. Gang leaders escaped imprisonment and crime and violence spiked in cities as less extreme and violent leaders died or disappeared or were replaced with those who thrived on violence and chaos. New laws were written up making things more difficult for people and old laws that help keep people comfortable and happy were weakened or cut down and ended.
All over the world an icy chill of wind seemed to blow, and a harsh painful laugh followed as misfortune seemed to flow over the earth. Millionaires, money men who wanted to help, to save the world found themselves under attack as hackers tried to drain their funds, as lawyers and company board groups fought to oust them and steal the golden gooses money and gold or simply disappeared or died in accidents of fate when traveling, a plane engine failure, a random avalanche or a spooked animal attack while on safari. Cheats and scam artists made banks as others lost everything to their schemes.
So many schemes and deals, so many souls collected and lost as misery grew and people got desperate or greedy and were willing to sell, steal, bargain and pay any price to climb that invisible ladder or escape the pit they found themselves in. thousands of small dominos being set up to build up the pressure cooker that was Earth and the human condition to make old goals easier down the road as pressure built until either something broke or a release valve was found.
Hell was silent, unnaturally so, the nature of the realm being muted and dulled. On Earth there was noise as life went along yet unknown to those who inhabited the mortal realm, sheet music was being drawn up and written as misery and suffering acted as a muse to invisible cosmic forces. A concert was being planned and soon its music would flood out in a symphony though what type of symphony was a matter of debate as no conductor had been chosen yet. Once the conductor was found, the unknown concert would begin; a musical masterpiece of unknown scope would reach out for the ears of all to hear and yet none would hear at all. A melody to steal the light from mortal eyes, the warmth from their hearts and deafen others to sweater, kinder melodies, to steal the sweet taste of life and replace it with only bitterness.
Hope this chapter was a fun read for everyone. Don't forget to like and any comments are always appreciated as they tend to help with planning and focus on the story and having a good direction to work with.