Reading that journal, my father warned me. Mal tried to warn me. Even Syril warned me about what was to come. I finally know what she meant by that. It really was not just Mammon’s two attacks on me, but Asmodeus’ arrival. Surrounded by demonic hellions in the forest, I feel stupid because this was part of Asmodeus’ plan all along. The attack on the cab was a diversion. Mammon knew I was going to follow him into the forest and straight into this ambush probably concocted by the archdemon himself. The only tragedy was Cort begin killed by Mammon.

Asmodeus with his cold red eyes and tattooed-half face looks towards me; he smiles a bit before going on to what he had to say.

“My boy, I been waiting for this moment.”

“I surely didn’t.”

“Too bad; I’m really sorry about that Noblood driver; what was his name, Cort.”

I give a surprise stare when he knew the driver’s name. The victim his goon killed just to have me come to him.

“Leave Cort out of this. He didn’t deserve that.”

“But you could have stopped him!” Asmodeus shows off his brute strong tone; he marches toward me pacing around me as his hands are behind his back.

“You see boy, you could have kill Mammon, but you didn’t.”

“No I wanted to, but I…”

He then comes closer quickly with his red eyes looming at my face. “But you couldn’t. You were encased with fear. Cripple to the fact you let that poor Noblood die.”

“I wanted to save him!”

“But you know what stopped you.”

He soon points his right index finger to my chest. As he touches my chest, I suddenly fear a sharp pain around the area he touched. The pain causes me to fall to my knees. I eek as the pain from whatever Asmodeus did was not good at all. I rub the area with my left hand.

“Sorry about that.” He tries to apologize. “As I was saying, what stopped you was your demon side.”

I look back him still reeling from that stinging pain and wonder what he is trying to say.

“You see boy, your demon side wants to take over. Let it. If you were in control, maybe that poor driver could still be alive.”

Having enough of him degrading Cort, I hastily get up from the ground to try to do something, but then I see Asmodeus throws out his left hand. Whatever Asmodeus did is causing me to stand completely still. I could barely feel my hand or my feet; my head is barely turning. And then Asmodeus’ left hand flickers, the momentum forces me back a bit landing me hard on the dirty ground back first.

All of the demons still standing around are just spectators while Asmodeus begins to walk closer. I try to get up, but Asmodeus quickly throws out his left hand again. His power cripples me again; I cannot move a muscle stuck to the ground.

“Having fun, boy!”

“You call this fun.” I had to say it as I want to move my eyes or see if I have feeling in my hands, but his paralyzing power is not letting me. He got me where he wants me.

“We can do this easy way.” He then kneels down with his left knee to the ground. “Or we can do this the hard way. Your choice.”

“I want to know the way to escape from here.”

He smiles after hearing that sarcastic remark, but in honesty I do want to know where the escape is.

“Very funny, boy. You’re funny.” He laughs it off.

“So why you want me?” I ask.

“Simple.” He replies swiftly after he stops the laugh.

Trying to get to the answer I had been waiting all this time.

“The answer is more power.” He replies again.

“What?!” I ask profoundly.

He smirks and takes an observation around me. “You see boy, power is what I crave, but there is much more you can offer me.”

“And what is that!” I holler.

“Hush! I’m speaking!” He yells back.

“Or what.”I state.

He stops smirking and starts sneering as he gets up from kneeling on his left knee; and then he raises his right hand right near his chest and neck. He closes his eyes doing something odd. As his eyes still closed, I start sensing my heart pumping irregularly. As I feel it beating oddly, I can see Asmodeus starting to smirk; he then opens his eyes.   

“Guess, you want to do it the hard way. So be it, boy.” He says as he then closes his right hand.

As I feel my heart beating strange before his hand closed, soon as he closed it, my heart begins to hurt. I can feel my heart wanting to rip out. The pain is indescribable; way much worse than my eyes were irritating. It is like I’m having a heart attack, but it seem Asmodeus sensed my heart and grab it with his power.

“So tell me boy, I will let go if you realize when I finish you are coming with me.” He declares.

I can barely talk as my heart is being ripped out plus I cannot move my hands or my feet. I hear what he is telling me about coming with him.

“Where to?” I ask.

“Your true home.” He says.

After hearing that, I give him a simple reply. “Never!”

He sneers again; and while acting like that, he squeezes his right hand tight. The control he has over my heart really shows its way when my heart continues to be in immense pain. I yell “Oww!”

The pain is torture, and I need to find a way to escape. Asmodeus squeezes his hand again and the pain increases. I scream out in pain because I could not stand it anymore; my eyes tear up as I can also feel tears dripping down my face to the ground. Trying to calm down my yelling, I need to tell him stop.

“Please! Please! No more!”

Feeling my heart is literally like a time bomb just waiting to explode; I try to hold my breath not yelling out but the pain continues to intensify. I can see Asmodeus smirking having a joy out of this; and then without notice, he opens up his hand. By opening his hand, the pain in my heart is gone and I’m free from being paralyzing down to the ground. He lets go of the restraint he had over me. I’m able to move my left hand over to my heart. I exhale a giant breath as I keep letting out more breaths after being down paralyzed and my heart nearly imploded from within.

I look back to him as he just stand there not showing a flinch. He continues to smile all the way.

“Now you have a taste of my specialty. Of why all demons fear me; and why Dantailon was weak.”

I glance back at him again after I heard that. He is now making fun of my father.

“Your father knew his demise. I wonder if you know yours, but because I’m being a bit friendly I’ll let you go.”

I try to stand up barely and slowly; I check to see Mammon and all the demons watching me still stand there. I look back to Asmodeus who approaches near me.

“But you need to know, I’m giving you this one last opportunity not to live, but to say goodbye. To your mother. To your friends. To Malphas.”

“I’m not saying bye to them.”

“Unless you want them to live, you will say your goodbye and when you are done, I’ll be ready.”

“No!”

He tries to smile, but sneers at the same time as he tilts his eyebrows down showing a frustrated look. “Listen boy!” He grabs the top of my shirt. “You have no idea what I can do. What I have done to you is not as much what I can do to your precious Noblood mother and friends.”

“Leave them alone!”

“I’ll give you time to say your goodbyes, if not they’ll be saying goodbyes to you…permanently.”

 I tried to punch Asmodeus in the face hard enough, but he feels the blow and looks back at me. He smirks again.

“I enjoyed that, but remember what I said. Boy.”

He lets go of my shirt as I stumble a bit. I then see most of the demons leaving in the way they came here—forming into those black clouds. Mammon smirks as well and morphs back into a black cloud swooshing up in the air.

I try to run to get Asmodeus attention, but before he leaves Asmodeus throws out his right hand.

I feel my heart being ripped out again. Grabbing hold of my heart with my left hand, I try to breathe normal but Asmodeus soon throws out his right hand again this time, I am forced back where the force pushes me right to a tall oak tree. All I can sense is my head hitting back first to the bark of the tree hard.

Then there is complete black.

Feeling like I was sleeping, I try to open my eyes only to still be fuzzy and notice the environment completely hazy. I then notice a strange figure coming towards me; someone with strawberry-blonde hair, but before I can get a complete look at the figure; my eyes close yet again falling back to the hazy black.

Sleeping again I can think about what happened back there. I thought if I go through pain my demonic side would come out, but I think because of my body being paralyzed it left my heart open to Asmodeus attacking it and I just think my demonic side was paralyzed as well; could not be able to move.

Then believing I was sleeping for an hour, my eyes fully open up. The haziness gone, but still dazed after the brutal hit to the head. I get up to where I’m lying on a grass-made mat on top of a table resting on a leaf –like pillow. I touch the back of my head to try to feel if there is a bump or if it was still bleeding, but to my surprise I did not feel no bump nor did I not felt blood.

I look around to see if I’m still in the forest, but shockingly I’m inside sort of a rustic, woodland interior of what seems to be a hut or something. I survey around to see most of the supports are logs and seeing the windowsill made of the logs and as well staircase. I look at the oak-made door right in front of me wondering who all of this belongs to. I stand up regaining my balance. Still wee bit dizzy after the hit, I think about Asmodeus and what he said about threatening my mother and friends if I do not come to him to his homeworld. And that homeworld is the Underworld.

As I observe the interior of this hut, I then notice someone opening the oak door; it looks like the same strawberry-blonde figure who I saw before. He seems young like me, but a year older. His hair is very noticeable. He has very snake eyes and a pouted mouth. He wears sort of a salmon zip up jacket as he carries two short fat oak logs. As he enters the place, he looks up to see me standing.

He gives off a refreshing smile and lays the logs near a wooden table nearby the door. He then focuses his attention to the stairs.

“Hey master, he’s awake!” He yells with sort of accent like he lived in Scotland.

I look up to the stairs to try to see who he is talking to, but then I glance back at him.

“How’s your head?” He asks.

I reach my left hand back over to my back head to try to feel the bump or bruise, but there is none. “It’s fine?!”

“It’s healed.” He states.

“Healed?” I confused.

“My master cast a healing spell to stop the bleeding. You were bleeding a lot if I didn’t come to you in time, you would probably bleed to death.”

“So I wasn't dreaming I did see you.”

“Yeah, you did, but you fainted out. I had to carry you here to where my master and I stay.” He says as I survey the place again. “You said you and your master.” I say as I think about what about what he said earlier about a healing spell. “Are you a witch?”

He giggles after I mentioned witch. “Actually I’m a wizard! The name’s Desmond Zard.” He replies as he steps forward to pull out his hand. Realizing he just want to shake, I put out my right hand as we both shake hands.

“And I’m Caden.”

“Oh, I know.”

“You do?”

“Yeah I had been keeping a glance watching you.”

“So you had been watching me. Why?”

“It’s part of my teaching.”

“Excuse me.”

“I needed to study a magical being for one of my tests.”

“So you wanted to see how a high school student lives.”

“Actually you’re a Devos.”

I’m a bit confused and startled when he said that. He knew I was a Devos, but how.

“How did you know?” I ask.

“From me.” A different voice replies.

I turn around to hear a British dialect from an old man walking down the stairs and soon sitting on a stool just a few feet away from the stairs. His ghost white beard and powdery eyes look to me continuing to speak. “My dear apprentice Desmond needed to know how a Devos interact with his half of his kind.”

“So wait! You knew I was this Devos…um….” I say.

“Oxley.” He responds back. “And yes, I knew you were a Devos.”

I turn back around to see Desmond. “Did you see when I got attack by Purson, Mammon, and Asmodeus out here?” Desmond refuses to answer.

“I want to know!” I declare.

He senses he want to talk about it, but does not want to.

“It was under my orders.” Oxley says.

I turn back around sicken to find out they were here and they knew I was under attack by these demons, but could not do nothing. “Why you let me suffer?”

“Caden, you half to understand I wanted to help you.” Desmond responds.

“But I told him not to.” Oxley replies to him. “You need to know how to control your demonic side.”

“Well it’s hard to control my demonic side if I was paralyzed.” I say.

“Asmodeus is very dangerous. I know it is hard for you to feel that you felt betray that we were here and we could have save you, but it was not our fight.” Oxley says.

“Oxley, is it, I can’t really control my demonic side. I could barely use it when I was attacked by one of Asmodeus’ lackies.” I say.

“Well it’s different now. I can help you.” Desmond states.

Oxley looks at Desmond, “Not now, my apprentice.”

“But master…” Desmond says.

“This is not our fight!” Oxley declares in his old robust voice.

Could not stand for it anymore, I reach to the front door to open it so I can exit. But before I can even go and touch the ember knob, Desmond stops me.

“Caden, wait!” Desmond says.

“Why? Your master already explained it the best way he can.” I say.

“You don’t understand Caden; demons are dangerous to mess with.”

“And I’m half-demon. What that makes me?” I ask.

“Our ally.” Oxley says as he gets up from the stool and walks toward my side near the door. “You need to know Caden that we are your allies. We are not those demons who left you there to die in the woods. Desmond saw you injured, and he brought you here as we cast a charm to heal your wounds and let you rest.”

“For how long?!” I ask trying to see where he is going at.

“Two days.” Desmond replies.

I pause when he said that. Two days! That hit to my back head really knocked me out and to rest here for a couple of days, my mother must be going crazy.

Still flustered over the fact I been in these woods for a mere two days, I need to remain meek.

“Listen Desmond and Oxley, I thank you for what you guys did for me, but I need to head back home before my mom sends out the National Guard to find me.” I say.

As I about to open the door right behind me, touching the ember knob Oxley comes near me and stops me for a second.

“Caden, I need you to realize this for me.” Oxley says.

“Okay?!” I say.

“I may be old, but I’m not dumb. I sensed amazing powers within you, but you are not taking control over your side.” He continues, “I had known of what the Alpheus prophecy has prophesize about the Devos’ inner struggle between both halves. But one thing the prophecy has left out which you should know is that as the time comes and the Sabbath day moves towards the next Blessed Twilight there will be dominion of one half.”

“Dominion of one half? What you mean?” I try to ask.

“This is where you need to find out yourself. Either your human side or your demonic side will be the true dominion over the other as the Sabbath day of the next Blessed Twilight comes near.” He explains.

“You know what Oxley, I’m please you are telling me this, but I really need to go.” I say as I shake his hand, but I then open up the door proceeding outside.

“Caden!” He says trying to get my attention, but to no prevail.

Once back outside feeling the breeze of the air and leaves of the trees near me blowing away, I run away from Oxley’s hut where turning back look like a medium sized, plump-like, log made hut seeing the roof is made of hay and leave stems. I continue to run until someone spears me down to the ground.

Hitting the dirty ground, I tried to see who or what and then as I turn back around I notice Desmond speared me. “What is your problem?” I say as I try to get up.

“Caden, Oxley wasn’t finish when he had to tell you something important about the prophecy.” Desmond says.

“I already know I’m meant to rise against the darkness and that I was conceived on the Blessed Twilight and I have a internal struggle with both halves. I get that.” I mention once again.

“But do you get what Oxley told you about the dominion of one. The fact that it will start to happen on the Sabbath day on the next Blessed Twilight.”He states.

“He can tell me another day.” I say trying to ignore the fact, but Desmond seems tenacious.

“Caden, the next Blessed Twilight is happening the following year!” He declares then gives off a sigh of relief.

I stop when Desmond tells me about the fact it will come a year later. If my estimation is correct, my birthday is not on the Sabbath day, I was conceived on the last Blessed Twilight.

“That’s what Oxley been trying to tell you before you ran off; by the Sabbath day, one side will be dominant over the other.” He explains.

Dominion of one. The fact it did not showed up when I read the prophecy fully. Syril knew and she never told me. Why not as well my father? Why he did not mention it in the journal. As I stand thinking about what else can make my life even more screw up than it already has, here is yet another monumental development of what my life now is…a rare hybrid with two halves that by next year will change dramatically, demonic threats out to get me for a reason I do not understand fully, and I still got two trials to complete.