I was utterly exhausted, dizzy, and blissed out when the illusions began to fade. I remembered Rolando snapping a picture of me, but it wasn't with his phone. It was with an older looking black camera, presumably the same one he used to take pictures of his murder victims. My tired brain then realized something…if he had used the old one, that meant he planned on keeping it for himself. Having seen the gruesome pictures of me being possessed and wielding a knife over the human victims on ENVE, I was surprised he didn't gloat about his sexual escapades with me.

Coated with semen and sweat, I lay on my back. Rolando hovered over me. I could barely feel the third scratch on my arm…or the recent "ROLANDO" name etched into my other arm.

"Looks like someone enjoyed herself."

I could only groan and nod.

"It sure has been a lot of fun playing with you. Perhaps you'd like to wash up and get some rest?"

Darn it. He vocalized my thoughts out loud.

With shaking legs, I hobbled over to the bathroom. I turned the handles to the shower. No creepy black goo illusions, just regular lukewarm water. To my surprise and relief, Rolando wasn't there. A fury of fear entered my mind…it was one of my last days on Earth and not even on my familiar Earth. I could only hope that I was still in some psychedelic nightmare and that when I died, I would end up back in my world.

Thankful that I was clean, I dried off, got dressed, and headed back to bed.

To my surprise, there was a small plate of food on a small table for me. Next to it was a fork and knife, a glass of water, and a red rose in a vase. My phone dinged and I looked at Rolando's text: "Getting things set up for the ritual. Enjoy."

My heart pounded. Perhaps Rolando was expecting me to die during the ritual. I hoped he couldn't sense my fear from wherever he was.

I sat down and looked at my dinner.

It was a plate with blue pomegranate-like berries and two cut-up cooked fish on it. One looked like regular salmon. The other had skin that looked purple with a couple small unmoving eyes in the scales.

Envy.

I didn't want to believe he had traveled back to his world to get this fish, but the ominous evidence stared me in the face.

So, this was the type of food that his kind commonly feasted on. I didn't want to know if other demons or humans were also on the menu.

I ate everything, trying not to focus on the strange taste of the purple fish. Rolando had drained any last hope of me escaping…I felt utterly helpless. The only thing that could bring me comfort was…

I shuddered. I didn't like to think that getting intimate with Rolando would be something to crave. But he had breached my very soul, my very willpower. He had turned me into his obedient puppet…and I wondered if even death would allow me to escape his influence.

Then, I thought of something else. This was no redeemable quality of his by any means, but he looked incredibly pleased when he saw me surrender in sexual bliss. Infestor demons only got pleasure from fear and suffering, so this new discovery didn't make sense.

After finishing up a complementary chocolate piece shaped like a star, I curled up in bed again, staring at the wall.

Before long, I could hear Rolando coming back down the hall. He stopped by my door and appeared to be talking on his cell phone. I pressed my ear against the door to listen.

"Is the mortal ready?"

"Yes, my Lord. I'm retrieving her as we speak. Thanks for helping me get the fish for her dinner. A fitting last meal before her similar meals as a demon."

I shuddered. Maybe I was a Sinner after all. I couldn't believe that I could potentially become one. But would being a potentially eternal demon be worth it over being hundreds of humans?

I closed my eyes. Surely there had to be a way back to my world.

"I'm quite pleased with your videos of her murders, Rolando. Even if it was just possession. No one else will know the difference."

"Yes…she really broke down after her first kill…allowed me to possess her the rest of the time."

"Ruthlessness and obedience…she'll be perfect. Tell me, what did you do to her during the last part? I didn't see any videos."

Rolando glanced around. "Oh, just messed with her head some more…gave her some…creepy illusions."

"Excellent. Wouldn't want you getting too attached to the girl, right?"

Rolando glanced at the door, sensing my presence. "O-of course, my Lord."

Rolando cleared his throat and grinned. "So…about that bounty…"

"It'll come in due time after I sense her soul."

"How much, my Lord?"

"Incredible news! This time, you'll get 20 souls more than usual!"

Rolando froze. "Uh…20, sir?"

"Yes. 666 souls plus 20."

"With…all due respect, sir…I've been working hard these past few days…devoting extra time to the mortal and posting videos for you. And you seem very keen on taking this soul from another world. Shouldn't I get paid more…like say, 1,000 souls plus?"

Leviathan let out a low "hmmm." "So, are you saying that your reward is not sufficient enough?"

"Uh…I didn't really mean…"

"You think a little cretin like yourself really needs more? I'm being generous. The least you could do is show me some respect."

Rolando gulped. "It's…just…considering the situation…"

"I decide what's best in the situation. Perhaps you'd rather not be paid at all?"

"No, no, sir! Um…I just don't get why us infestor demons get…paid the way we do…I mean, you know how expensive it is to live in Envy, yes?"

"It should be more than enough, Rolando. You get paid more than the average aquatic for going up to Earth."

"But your elite make thousands more and they don't risk their lives to go here!"

"They're royalty. You're not. It's quite simple."

Rolando glowered, teeth barred. I moved back to my bed before he opened the door. His distorted voice sent chills down my spine.

"At least let my videos go viral…get me some internet fame. I killed I.M.P. for fucks sake!"

"Hahaha!" Leviathan laughed. "You think you're gonna get immortalized on our social media? Shelly Siren the sexy singer will always be on the top slot. I know you're one of my best demons, Rolando, but surely you should know that you're a passing trend. Nothing more."

Rolando's eye twitched before he closed the door.

A tense pause. Leviathan spoke. "I can sense your thoughts. I sense you may have some…thoughts of the mortal beyond just business?"

Rolando scoffed. "No way! She's just my pawn made to suffer!"

"Are you really being fully truthful here? You, an assassin, would blur the line and give into your immature desires?"

"I can sense your thoughts too…you wouldn't do the same?!"

"Silence!"

Another pause.

"I ordered you to make her into my loyal servant, not some sex toy. I expect this ritual to be completed and the mortal's soul in my hands by 3AM!"

"Yes, sir! Right away."

"And do you accept your bounty now?"

"Y-yes, thank you sir!"

"And Rolando…" Leviathan added. "Consider the mortal nonexistent to you from here on out! And don't let anyone else find out."

"I won't leave a morsel behind," he spoke in a low voice.

He hung up and looked at me.

Hold the phone!

Rolando was surely angry and very scary at the moment.

But did I just see…a hint of fear and sadness in his eyes?!

He paced back and forth, muttering to himself.

"Fucking old hypocrite. He thinks he can just tell me how to behave with humans. It's my mission. I act how I want!"

He paused, taking deep breaths, occasionally glancing at me.

It felt incredibly strange to try to sympathize with a villain, but I had to break the tense silence.

"I-I'm sorry to hear about all that," I said quietly. "Very mean of him to boss you around."

"No one bosses me around," he replied. "How many more mortals must I kill before he recognizes my full potential?"

I smiled nervously. "How about…none?"

Rolando rolled his eyes. "Very funny. I'll just keep going…even if I have to kill every guest in this place…the delicious despair…the sweet sadness…I can never get enough!"

"And yet you ignore your own sorrow?" I asked.

Rolando shrugged.

I dared myself to smirk. "Your own sorrow not tasty enough for you?"

Rolando glared at me. "I'm still going to kill you, you know."

Courage rose in me. "I know that. Do you really think that will make a difference? You could kill everyone on Earth, but what happens next when your loneliness comes back?"

Rolando paused in thought.

"I think I know your worst fear, Rolando."

Rolando forced a laugh. "I am fear itself, dear. I'm immune to it."

I stood up. "And my soul is love…yet I enjoy it with all my might. Love is eternal…fear needs vessels. What happens when fear can no longer consume others around it?"

I pause. "It will find what's left and consume itself."

"I'll never consume myself."

"You of all beings know the sinister powers of psychology! After you've been fed your despair and everyone is nothing but bones, you'll find yourself chained to your own mind, searching everywhere for someone's sob story, when the only story you'll ever see is your own."

Rolando gasped softly.

"There's no escaping your own trauma…and sooner or later, you'll need to figure out how to transmute your own pain into something else."

Rolando rolled his eyes. "Like what? Love? No way."

"I bet you were born into a place where you knew no real love…you only learned to seek power from the very beginning."

"I need fear like animals need meat!" he roared.

Then he added, "You're nothing but a useless little bitch!"

I folded my arms. "Who's lying now? If I were useless to you, I wouldn't be in front of you right now!"

"You know nothing! You can't even possess me!"

"I don't need to. Sometimes intuition is all you need."

A tense silence.

I inched closer.

"It's okay, Rolando. Even the fiercest of monsters need some…appreciation."

"If this is some pathetic trick to somehow redeem myself…"

"I don't expect you too," I cut in. "I'm just giving you something to think about. When I'm gone and you're alone."

Rolando ran his claws through his hair. "I don't need anybody else! I only need fear and other's pain!"

I stared at him in the eyes, bravely. "Is that what you think? Or is that what your society thinks? You…like dominating others, don't you?"

Rolando paused and then showed a small grin. "Yes."

"This is how I know you're…n-not a mindless monster. You say you only like suffering. Why did you enjoy having sex with me?"

"Because I overpowered you!"

"But like a sicko, I…enjoyed it. And you enjoyed my bliss."

"So?"

"You got off something other than fear! I'd say for an infestor demon, that's an incredible change."

I tried not to laugh as Rolando briefly stood with a stunned look. He hovered around me, lost in thought.

Then he faced me and sighed. Ideas came to his head. "My, my. You really are something else. No other mortal would dare guess my own fears. You try and turn me good…perhaps I can keep trying to turn you evil."

"I'll never be evil! Killing those people was not by my own will!"

"And I'll never be what you call 'good.' And here we are."

He peered deep into my eyes. "Now that I think about it, you're far from useless. You seemed to see right through me…dare I say you're special."

I blushed despite myself.

"If you really are foolish enough to…"

Ocean water morphed around him, small bubbles glowing.

"…dive into my depths, perhaps you'll find something interesting…"

He was manipulating me once again, but I couldn't hide my morbid curiosity.

"I will be killing you, so knowing my secrets won't be a big deal," he said.

'What if I tell them to other demons in Envy?' I thought. 'Reveal your own fears on the ENVE app?'

"I'll make sure you won't," Rolando mentioned. "No one will believe you and you'll be mine."

'Hey, you said you wanted me to be evil. Who's the manipulator now?!'

"Heh. You got me there."

He hovered back. A wide grin spread across his face as he waved his hands in front of him. Darkness danced as he focused intently.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Making sure you get to stay with me."

I raised a playful eyebrow. "So you love me?"

"I love how delicious and pathetic you are."

I shrugged. "I guess that's what happens when you spend time with mortals too long…others would think you weak for forming relationships…"

Rolando seethed. "You will not tell my boss or anyone anything!"

I held up my hands. "Even if I wasn't your puppet, I would never do such a thing!"

Rolando briefly looked taken aback.

"You're an untrustworthy person," I said, "But you can trust me fully that I mean it."

Rolando peered into my head and his face softened. "Ok…well, I guess that settles it."

He focused on his dark magic again. "I think I figured out something that'll be a win-win for both of us. How about you accept my deal?"

I shook my head. "Fuck, no! You really think I'm stupid enough to make a deal with a demon?"

"No. Quite the opposite."

"I don't need to know your secrets if you don't want me to! Why not just let Leviathan take me for himself?"

Rolando's growls turned distorted as he manifested something and showed it to me.

"Because we both know I want something more…"

My blood turned to ice. I was staring at…

"Yes, it's a contract. Yes, I want your soul. Cliché but true."

"No way!"

Rolando chuckled darkly. "This isn't a choice, sweetheart. I have already claimed your body and your mind the last few days. Naturally your soul is next. Go ahead and read it."

"I, - hereby offer my body, mind, and soul to the infestor demon Rolando of the Envy Ring of Hell in exchange for these benefits and circumstances:

"Immediate return to my home world upon my own (second) death (as a Sinner demon via angelic weapons, death by elite, magic or other natural causes) and upon the death of Rolando. Upon Rolando's death, both our souls shall be transferred to my home world at once, back to the same time as when I fell through the portal…"

I gasped. Surely that couldn't be possible! It would be like I had never left home! But being the trickster that he was, Rolando wasn't going in without something benefiting him.

And that's when I saw the catch:

"…and Rolando's soul shall follow me as well, allowing him the chance to feast on the fears of humans in either world."

"Rolando, please, you can't do this!" I cried.

"You should thank me that I came up with this idea to save your skin from eternity in Envy! Keep reading."

"Other benefits:

-Enhanced powers, instincts and possession abilities as Rolando's counterpart, Rolanda."

"You dare try and change my name?!"

Rolando chuckled. "You're gonna be an incredible monstrosity!"

"I'll never be like you!"

"We'll see about that."

'Just you wait, Rolando, until I can possess you and move you around with my powers! See how it feels to be mentally powerless!'

Rolando licked his lips slightly. "Try it, dear." Was he seriously getting off at the thought of me dominating him?!

"How can you even make a contract anyway?" I asked.

"I'm a demon, what else do you expect? Mortals have been making deals with the devil for thousands of years. This contract will affect your very afterlife."

I froze. "W-why not just dump me to Leviathan and accept your bounty? Not enough for you, isn't it?"

I whimpered and shook…and felt a tang of arousal as he purred, cupping my chin: "Your soul will be more than enough payment for me."

He stood behind me, hands on my shoulders. "For both of our sakes, I suggest you sign it." He released me.

"Can I wait until…"

"No!" He let out a deep sigh. "You must sign it before the ritual. Please."

I looked up at him. Was he really that desperate?

"Yes, you could say I'm desperate. After that phone call and all I've worked for, do you really think I'd let my boss keep you all to himself?"

"You're bluffing."

"Am I?"

He stepped away, folding his arms with a small smile.

"What are you doing, Rolando?"

"Waiting for you to sign it."

"I'm not gonna sign it!"

"You read it. You know it's your only chance of going back to your world."

"I don't suppose you could help me find a portal instead?"

"I already told you I wouldn't let you go. I intend to keep that promise. Now it's your turn."

"You really are a sadistic freak!"

Rolando grinned. "It's what I do best."

"Then make me sign it!" I declared. "Possess me! Harm me! Do something if you wanna stoop so low!"

"You must sign it of your own free will."

I scoffed, folding my arms. "So NOW you say I finally have free will? Just make me if you're so desperate."

"It's how contracts work. Both parties must agree."

"But I don't agree with it."

"That's up to you."

"Maybe I should let your boss get angry at you! Then maybe he wouldn't send you to haunt more humans anymore!"

Rolando just stood unfazed. "I suppose you could do that. But let me ask you this: do you want to have a chance to get back home and stay with me…or would you rather be Leviathan's eternal commoner servant?"

"M-maybe Leviathan will take me back home instead…"

"We both know that's bullshit," Rolando stated.

Once again, I was helplessly wrapped around Rolando's finger, falling into one dark deceptive hole over another.

With a shaking hand, I took the hovering fish bone pen in my left hand.

"Y-you know if you don't take me home, you'll have to pay some price, right?"

"Things will naturally work out on their own," was all he said.

I hovered the pen over the parchment, over the signature line. Before I could start, Rolando got to my thoughts again. "Sign with your full mortal name, please."

I gulped. "HelluvaScribe not good enough?"

"I only want the best from you. I promise you will not regret this."

"Swear on it!"

"I swear on Leviathan's fury that you will not regret becoming mine!"

"That wasn't what…"

Rolando cocked his head.

"Now swear that you will also sign a contract I'll make for you!" I tried.

Rolando laughed. "Name one human who has successfully overpowered a demon. I'll wait."

"King Solomon!"

"Was an asshole and we both know it."

I had to chuckle at that.

Rolando stood and waited some more. His unusual method of suspense worked, and I finally couldn't take it.

Blinking back tears, I held the fish bone pen and signed my name. Rolando traced his claw over one of my scratches, drawing a bit of red blood. He then scratched his own arm with a clawed finger. He held his two claws over the paper. The red and black drops fell onto the parchment, merging into each other.

Rolando cackled wildly as the parchment and pen vanished. Bulbs burst from outside the hall and the room was plunged into darkness and cold.

I was lifted into the air and then set down on the bed. All I could see was Rolando's glowing yellow eyes and sharp teeth. He pressed his knee into my chest and gripped my wrists, pinning me down.

He inhaled deeply and slowly opened his mouth. As he breathed and growled, I felt numb and incredibly cold. My chest and head started pounding and it felt like a snake was wrapping around my chest. I shook and gasped for air, my eyes beginning to roll back. Dizziness took me in and out of consciousness and a few times, it felt like was outside my body.

Finally, Rolando moved back, and my head rolled to the side. My hand and arm looked incredibly pale in the dark. Was I dead?

Rolando licked his lips and chuckled. "Ohhohoholy shit! I forgot how delicious the stuff is!"

My worst fear came true when Rolando leaned down and spoke in a dark whisper.

"I just consumed a good chunk of your soul."

I was too drained to speak.

'Why did you do it?! Surely this wasn't in the contract!'

Rolando smirked. 'I told you that I own your soul, especially after you signed it. Perhaps you didn't read the invisible fine print!'

'Why not just…'

'Consume it all? I would, but I have to leave some for Leviathan since I'll be sending the rest of you to Envy. Don't worry, though, I'll give you back your energy once we make it to Envy together.'

'I don't trust you!'

'Heh heh, heh. We'll work on that.'

He helped me sit up on the bed, me staring at the floor, the room out of focus.

"By the way, Leviathan doesn't need to know about my little feast on you. He is the embodiment of Envy after all…but even he will know that he can't get his way all the time. And thanks to you, I believe I'll finally get mine."

He stared at me again, water forming around him. "Now, before we start the ritual…"

He hesitated a bit. "Let me try something different…"

As quick as thought, I was consumed by him in his liquid form, collapsing again.

0 0 0

I found myself in the old mind theater again in my seat. Strangely enough, I wasn't bound by rusted chains this time. What was he up to now?

He slipped out of my chest and manifested next to me. He was eerily silent as the curtains opened and the silent mind movie began.

I prepared myself for more mental torment.

But the green-tinted memories I saw this time weren't my own.

I was staring at what appeared to be a black watery void. I spotted a large demonic-looking fish with its mouth open wide. The camera raced to the right as the teeth barely missed. Black underwater caverns twisted this way and that. When a clearing was revealed, I saw a serpentine figure with long white transparent hair, gray skin, glowing escas on her fin ears, and glowing eyes. She smiled softly with her sharp teeth, moving close in an embrace.

She had to have been Rolando's mother.

His mother nudged Rolando forward toward a group of smaller fish. She caught one in her mouth and handed the half-eaten bits to him. I saw a series of fish getting eaten, more and more as he grew up.

Then to my amazement, I could see the Envy Ring itself. The buildings were decorated with coral, seaweed and eyes along the sides. Mega-size billboards and TV screens advertised everything from phones to drugs, to aquatic themed music and movie stars. The demons were morphing and shifting from aquatic forms to more bipedal forms suited for navigating on land. Royal demons in scaly dresses and pearls were posing in videos and posters around every corner… "Jealous yet?" read the ads. With so much emphasis on trends and being the best, I could see why anyone would get messed up in a place like that.

Your worth…the amount of love you received…your very livelihood dependent upon your ruthlessness and influence! If you weren't seen and heard by the best or by many of the masses, you were nothing but a bottom feeder sulking in the bowels of the Envy Hell civilization.

And Rolando's killings were his twisted form of entertainment…an escape.

The next scene, though I couldn't see him, I sensed a younger Rolando being pushed around by a group of bullies. I then saw the stern faces of Rolando's mother and father, both with transparent white hair, fin, ears, and glowing eyes. Both wore nice suburban clothing. There was no hitting or abuse, but a lot of silent chiding and disapproval. From watching other scenes, I also got a sense of disdain from the Envian demons against other species like imps, succubi, Hellhounds, and humans. It was like seeing a malevolent elitist Atlantis.

Then there were flashes of Rolando traveling into mind theaters and looking at other demons' memories. A clawed hand reached out to a fish demon chained in his head, propping open his teary eyes to make him watch more.

I was appalled by Rolando's sick pleasure in seeking other people's suffering. I saw face after face of crying demons…male and female, rich and poor, being forced to view their own flaws.

Then to my surprise, I found myself sobbing at a sad scene. Rolando appeared to be of age…a young age. His parents gave him a hug, a wave…and then swam off.

Just vanishing without another glance.

The tall imposing buildings, the bustle of the crowds, glares from passerby, many looks of disgust down at him from the higher-ups…

Rolando was left to survive all on his own!

Without thinking, I leaned in and sobbed into his chest. Rolando didn't harm me or chide me…he let me stay there for a moment. Then he gently pushed me off, making me sit up.

Then I saw another scene on the screen: a snapshot of a poster from Lord Leviathan, a job advertisement to encourage infestor demons to invade the human world! Dread spread through me when I saw a sort of slogan on the ad: "Taste human flesh for the first time!" I saw Rolando's arm move forward, shaking hands with a mysterious figure…but could only see the glowing eyes.

Then the last several scenes were of several hotel guests and the previous manager berating him while he was in human form. I flinched as more scenes showed him disemboweling and killing several other humans at the hotel. Then he was hovering through the air, fighting Blitzo and Millie in the pool room.

Then the screen went blank.

I sat stunned in my seat…hardly believing what I just saw.

"You…may be wondering why I've chosen to share this with you," Rolando said.

"Normally, I'd never share this stuff with anybody. Ideally, you'd be dead by now and in the Pride Ring."

I lowered my head.

"But since Lord Leviathan has taken an interest in you…it seems that I have as well."

He looked me deep in my eyes.

"Since I'll be killing you shortly and Leviathan is close to getting you, I figure you deserve something…special. I know what it's like to be you, now you can find out what it's like to be me…sort of. I've lived in Hell for a long time…a hundred years of human time means nothing. I guess you could also say that I…or another version of me worked for the Queen Leviathan. I've never shown these to anyone else…I've certainly had fun manipulating you, but I'm being completely real this time…I, a Hellborn, won't last forever, but you, a new Sinner, will be practically indestructible…and under my power. Who would be more fitting than you to carry on my fearsome legacy, eh, Rolanda?"

"So that's your plan? Using me to immortalize you and your legacy?!"

Rolando shrugged. "Why the fuck not? Besides, you and I do have some things in common. We both wear glasses, we both love taking pictures, we love to swim…"

"I am nothing like you!" I protested.

"You killed my guests!"

"Not of my own will!"

"You killed people in some of your past lives!"

"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!"

Rolando cupped my cheeks as tears spilled from my eyes. He scooped up a drop and dabbed it on his tongue. "Face it, dear. Leviathan wants you to be his vicious loyal princess. And I've made you into my sweet little plaything. Death is coming to you, and the only choice you'll have if you want to endure my world is to become like me."

"Would you…really like it if I tried to kill you like a monster?!"

"I own your soul, remember? If you killed me, both of us would return back to your world…and I'd get to feast on the rest of your kind while you would watch like a pathetic helpless husk!"

He gently poked his claws into my neck, inching his teeth close. I closed my eyes in surrender.

"It's over, little one," he mused. "No matter what happens next, I'll get to enjoy myself. You have reached my darkest depths, so relax and let me string you along for the ride."

Dark waves and fog obscured the screen, numbing my mind and body.

I drifted in and out of consciousness as he carried me down the hall.

I could barely scream or move. I soon found myself nude on a wooden floor in the same room with the chandelier overhead. My left thigh was sharp with a pain, almost burning. Black, blue, and indigo candles were in a wide circle. A cold knife blade dug into my skin as Rolando carefully carved Leviathan's sigil into me. I heard a few "jedans" in the chant, but the rest sounded like demonic gibberish.

I was in a fetal position, my arms and legs bound with rope and covered in Rolando's strange black goo. I was biting a dark cloth in my mouth. Rolando snapped a picture of me with his phone and sent it to his boss and the rest of Envy.

I let myself get carried away by Rolando's last illusions, thankful to find a perverted distraction from the sacrificial ritual.

"Indulge me," an illusion Rolando echoed to me.

I wasn't sure if it was the pain, or the illusion Rolando moving his gray dick toward me, or if I was actually biting the cloth, but I bit down as hard as I could. For all the shit he did to me, perhaps showing him some pain might draw some sense into him. Seeing him gasp in surprise, even if he wasn't there, gave me a strange satisfaction in all this madness.

Wait…why…why was I doing this?! Suddenly craving lustful domination and inflicting pain?

Rolando was right…I was helpless and utterly pathetic.

I sobbed heavily.

Both Rolandos appeared very pleased. The illusions faded and I surrendered to my thoughts.