The glowing orange orb emitted a strange buzz above Nyx and Neo, still wrapped in each other's embrace. Nyx woke first, her head jerking off the Demon King's chest, disoriented until her memories of the night before returned, setting her body aflame. 

Neo opened his eyes and regarded the Nephalem thoughtfully, her soft, naked body still nestled into his side, one leg wrapped around his thigh. Nyx evened her uneasy breathing and lowered her chin on interlinked fingers atop Neo's chest.

"Well, that was-"

"Unexpected," Neo's gravelly morning voice finished her thought, and she blushed.

"What happens now?" Nyx questioned, dropping her eyes to the Demons chest. Her fingers swirled lines down his sternum absentmindedly, and he breathed deeply.

"Shower sex, car sex, sky sex-"

"Neo!" Nyx slapped his chest and buried her face in her hands, trying to stop the laughter escaping her lips- and failing. Finally, she met his eyes and continued, "I'm serious. And what is sky sex anyway?"

Neo's smirk was enough to make her wet.

"You'll see." He shifted himself from beneath her and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on his trousers and fastening his belt. He winked as he picked up her night dress and walked to the door, throwing it in the hallway.

"Neo! I swear if you don't-"

Her words were cut off by the closing of the door and a sexy chuckle from the hall. She searched the room and found a long-sleeved white dress shirt folded perfectly beneath the bed with a note. Knock him dead, nurse. "Iris?" Nyx's brow rose as she pulled on the shirt, happy to see it reach just below the crease of her ass. She started buttoning from the bottom and stopped at the base of her cleavage before leaving the room. Her head poked out and scanned the hall. Empty.

The bathroom was the first port of call, and she padded to the door, smiling when the sound of the running shower reached her ears.

The door creaked open, but Nyx maintained composure as she slinked to the vanity and washed her face. She could see flying water droplets in the mirror but no Neo from behind the tiled privacy wall. As she bent over to rinse her face, two huge wet hands gripped her hips, and another sizeable wet appendage brushed her glistening entrance.

She stood, letting the shirt fall and twisted in his grip until she was face to face with a drenched Demon King. His smirk showed off his sharp feline teeth, and his torso was even more impressive under the vanity light. She would have sworn the gods carved him if he weren't a demon.

"Oh, Nyx," he chuckled. "You're making me blush."

Nyx smiled straight back and fingered the buttons containing her breasts. "Then stay out of my head, Aido-"

Neo growled and captured her lips, dragging his finger down her throat to the shirt buttons. Then, with one flick of his wrist, the buttons popped from their holds and skittered across the tiled floor, exposing Nyx's front. The hum of appreciation from his lips to hers sent tingles down her spine, but she pulled back with a frown.

"You ruined a perfectly good shirt."

"It was spoiling my view," he retorted, placing his hands on her hips and guiding her to the shower. Nyx shrugged and let the shirt fall to the floor as she followed him under the hot spray. Moaning with delight, she rinsed her body and reached for the soap when Neo snatched it from her grip. "Hey!"

"Let me," he grinned, lathering the bar. She averted her eyes from his bobbing length and turned for him to wash her back. He cleaned every inch of her, carefully avoiding where soap should not go.

The gliding of his fingers across her body pulled small sighs from her but slowly, her mind returned as he washed himself. "Neo?"

"Yes?"

"You know I have to go back. I can't stay here."

She turned to see his face and bit her lip, seeing his jaw clench. "Yes, Nyx. I know that."

"So, what is the plan? What do we do from here? How can we stop Micah and Tunrida?" Her voice grew insistent despite the twitching in Neo's jaw.

"There is no we, Nyx," he answered quietly. "I will get rid of him, and Tunrida's plans should fall apart. She wouldn't go against me without angelic influence. You should be safe enough after that to return to earth and move on."

"I'm not sitting on my hands like some damsel. I need a job."

Neo's eyes twinkled as he surely thought of some 'jobs' she could do, but he quickly turned away.

"I don't have time to help you hone your skills. Maezikeen is trailing Micah as we speak. As soon as his guard is down, I will end him."

"End him?"

"Kill him, Nyx. You don't think he deserves it?"

Nyx sighed. "No, I do. It's just- Don't you think I should be the one to kill him? Eye for an eye, kinda."

Neo scowled and turned off the faucet before wrapping his waist in a towel and offering one to Nyx.

She fastened it in front of her breasts and padded after him. "What? You don't think I could do it?"

"It has nothing to do with that," Neo hissed, quickly dressing in dark tactical attire. "Now, get dressed." He gestured to a similar-looking collection of clothes in the linen cupboard and left her there, numb. The night of pleasure swiftly compartmentalised away. 

It was a mistake. I should never have let him get so close. Now he's done with me. 

The burn in Nyx's throat stayed her only company for hours until a bored-looking Maezikeen appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Finish your food and come with me. Neo may think you should stay out of the fight, but I don't."

"Wha-" Nyx quickly swallowed the crispiest apple she had ever eaten and threw the core in the rubbish. Maeze didn't wait. Instead, Nyx became temporarily lost searching for the missing Demon. "Down here, you idiot," she called from the central doorway leading to the main castle.

Nyx scowled as she jogged down the winding stairs to Maeze's side. "Where the hell are you taking me?"

Maeze smirked and grabbed her wrist with a gloved hand. "The dungeons. Don't make eye contact with anyone from now on."

Nyx nodded and glued her eyes to the concrete floors as she followed Maeze. The grip around her wrist tightened as they pushed through a large crowd.

A barrage of questions flew at the unlikely duo.

"Whut' eyek?" Who's that?

"O ka vekkr utaj akut Yekkri' zik?" Did she just come from Master's quarters?

Maezikeen hissed at the loquacious demons and dragged Nyx faster. Her feet slipped beneath her, and she slid across the floor, earning a few snickers and hoots.

"Ka o yek jeomei. Ut ut zik i yo ka eraj!" Maeze growled, wrenching her off the ground painfully. The words came slower this time. She is a prisoner. Do not look her in the eyes! Maeze put on a show of yanking Nyx's head back by pulling a fistful of hair. She grinned maliciously and roared. "Ka o ka Te Krmui!" She is the Soul Stealer!

The Demons congregating screamed and hissed, dispersing from the area like cockroaches. Maeze laughed and dropped the act as the last Demons disappeared. "Idiots. Let's go. No one should bother us now."

Nyx rubbed her scalp but couldn't help the scoff from escaping her lips. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

Maeze sneered, but Nyx twisted the insult with a smile. "You're helping me, which means you like me. So we're friends."

"Demons don't have friends."

"Well, you do," Nyx quipped, following along, finally able to absorb the splendour of the gigantic space around her. The high ceilings held half a dozen gold-plated chandeliers, illuminating the windowless room. The furniture sparsely bordered the walls as if the area were a ballroom. A golden throne perched over a small stage, the armrests made of human bones drenched with dried blood. "Ew. Is that Neo's?"

"Yes. Keep moving." Maeze tugged her wrist, and they paused outside a double-bolted door behind the throne. "We don't have long. Do your thing."

The door swung open with a grating creak, and the droning wails of prisoners sent chills through Nyx's body. So many voices called for help, mercy and death in various dialects, which Nyx could seemingly understand.

"Who are they?" she whispered.

Maeze frowned. "Traitors, spies, failed assassins, you name it."

They approached the first cell; the scent of piss and dank air stopped Nyx like a solid wall.

"Hurry up, Ajovo. Change their damned souls."

Nyx gulped and stepped closer to the cage. The Demon within stayed in the darkness, making her lean closer. A black, gangrenous hand shot out and swiped at her face, but Maeze tore her out of reach before the Demon made contact.

"You can't touch them!" Maeze hissed, drawing a pair of daggers from her hips and gesturing to the caged Demon. "Aj yekai, utvek." Get back, scum. Her dark eyes softened slightly as she motioned her head to the Demon.

She wants me to try again. Without even touching it. How the hell do I do that?

Nyx steadied herself and squinted against the darkness, realising the beacon of the Demon's soul was as dark as the shadow it inhabited. A slight headache formed behind her brow, and she rubbed it irritatedly until an image flashed in her mind. The Demon's rotting soul hovered in her minds-eye, and she blinked as the afterimage stained her thoughts. Huh...

"Would you hurry the-"

"Hang on," she grumbled, closing her eyes and inviting the darkness into her. Without much coaxing, the Demon's blackened soul leapt forward, and Nyx grasped it in her hands as if she had caught a firefly. Raising her hands to her lips, she imagined the purest light emanating from her lungs, and she blew softly on the darkened soul in her hand. Like dusting an old picture, the shadows and tar flew from the Demon's soul and in its place was a light-coloured orb with faint swirls of grey. Nyx opened her eyes as she tossed the soul back into the cage, waiting for it to seek its original home. The very human screams of horror proved her success, and Maeze chuckled. "Not bad. Although, you'll need to be a bit quicker than that."

The pair trained until every Demon in the dungeons were human, and Nyx felt like toppling over. Maeze's villainous laughter was enough to set off a migraine, and Nyx grumbled. "Can you calm down already? You're making my head hurt."

"Don't rain on my parade, little Nephalem. I've been trying to break these scum for decades. Now I can throw them in Ao to suffer for all eternity."

"Maeze," Nyx chastised. "They're human now, and their souls are mainly good. You can't make good people suffer. It feels wrong."

"Being good now does not excuse the crimes of the past," Maeze retorted, exiting the dungeon without waiting for Nyx to follow.

"Well..." Nyx mused, stumbling into the throne room. "Can't we just send them to purgatory then and let fate decide?" She was sure the Demon would rebuke her idea, but instead, her face twisted into a strange appreciative- frown?

They trudged back up the stairs to Neo's quarters, and Nyx paused, looking for A'ren and Ruz. As if she had called them out loud, the hounds bounded through an open door and brushed against her with their giant heads. Hello, Master Nyx.

Hello. I missed you. Ruz whined and booped his nose on Nyx's head.

A'ren mirrored the other hound's action with a grumble. We missed you!

"I missed you too, though it's only been a few hours." She stroked their silky ears and turned to see a very confused Maeze. Her mouth hung open, and her brows furrowed comically.

"What?" Nyx questioned with a slight giggle.

"Do you understand them?" she demanded, flicking her eyes over the beasts.

Nyx blushed. "Um. No, I mean, I hear voices in my head when they are with me, but I thought I was going insane... I thought I understood your language too. The language of the dead? Is that normal?"

Maeze seemed to choke on air. "Te vektaikrti eo?" You understand this?

Nyx nodded. "Yes, I just said I understood."

Maeze turned and finished her ascent to Neo's floor. Then, without turning back, Maeze chuckled and said, "I know what you are."