He walked through the tunnels of Hell with a single destination in mind. There was only one creature he ever truly wished to speak with, and it had already been too long since their last meeting. He would have teleported right to where he wanted to be, but he wanted to stretch out his new vessel. The Devil couldn't walk around in an underworked vessel.

Outside of his destination, he paused. His red and yellow eyes burned with intensity as he looked over the door that separated him from the one creature he could stand. Wordlessly, the door swung open and he stepped inside the small realm of darkness.

The door slammed behind him and sheets of light appeared above him. A smile broke the flat expression on his face.

"My Lord." The Soul Keeper's voice was empty as ever as he emerged from his darkness. Souls swirled around him in the form of sheets of light.

"My Keeper." The man with multicolored eyes grinned, "How much darkness fills you?"

The Soul Keeper tilted his head. "That of thousands of creatures." He replied, despite his skin showing the darkness licking to consume every inch of him.

The man with multicolored eyes sat on the ground and gestured the other creature to him. The Soul Keeper obeyed by vanishing into his darkness and reappearing beside him. The Soul Keeper looked at him quizzically.

"It was not written that you would come."

The man with multicolored eyes sighed. This was the price the Soul Keeper payed. To gain his power, he had lost so much...

"Tyler."

The Soul Keeper tilted his head. He seemed confused. "It was not written that you would come, my Lord."

"It makes you forget." The man with multicolored eyes brought his hands together.

Almost unconsciously, the Soul Keeper held out his own hands, keeping his palms up. The man with multicolored eyes held his hands over the Soul Keeper's and gently massaged the air. The darkness on the Soul Keeper's skin stopped its movement. Within seconds, it was pulled away from his skin all together. The Soul Keeper inhaled a sharp breath as the man with multicolored eyes manipulated the darkness through his fingers.

The Soul Keeper looked dazed. His skin was clear of any and all darkness and his eyes were shifting to a dusty brown. He looked at the man in front of him and smiled.

"Long time no see." He spoke softly, as if he hadn't used his voice in a long time.

The man with multicolored eyes smiled. "Tyler."

"Josh."

"Is that what you wish to call me?" He asked with a raised brow.

The Soul Keeper nodded. "Your vessel... You are Josh."

Josh nodded. "So be it."

The Soul Keeper reached out and took Josh's free hand. "What have I missed?" He asked, shifting his gaze to the darkness Josh gently guided through his fingers. "It wants to make me forget."

Josh nodded. If anyone but Tyler could handle the unfiltered darkness, he would give them the job immediately. To lose Tyler continuously as he contained it all hurt him. It was why this mission was so important.

"My key is close to completion with his task. Soon this darkness will not longer be yours." He looked at the hand that wasn't holding Tyler's before looking back at the man in front of him. "We can cast it upon the world that cast us down all those eons ago."

The Soul Keeper squeezed his hand. "I'm not sure I can hold out so long."

Josh shook his head. "Bring in Ryan Ross. I brought him because of the method of his death. He can handle your residual darkness. That's why he is important. Feed him more darkness so you won't lose yourself. He's already been lost."

The Soul Keeper nodded. "Fuel the demons for what's to come."

"Demons don't control us, we control the demons." Josh whispered, "They will break the seals that restrict our take-over so that chaos can reign."

Josh suddenly hissed as the darkness burned him. He turned to it to see it attempting to attach to his skin.

"It's time." The Soul Keeper whispered.

Josh turned to him with sadness. Their time together grew shorter and shorter. He didn't want to let go.

The Soul Keeper leaned in and pressed a kiss against Josh's lips. He pressed his hand against the being's cheek as he pulled away. "I may forget, but I love you."

Josh forced himself to smile. The only creature that made him reciprocate any sort of feeling. "I love you."

The Soul Keeper pulled away and closed his eyes. Josh hesitated. The Soul Keeper was the only one who could contain it, but at the cost of losing himself. If he could have been a stronger leader, a true devil, Josh would have been able to handle this responsibility without risking the only creature he cared for.

This was Heaven's punishment. Contain the darkness or let it cripple his domain. The best container being the one closest to him.

"I love you." The man with multicolored eyes repeated as he released the darkness back to the Soul Keeper. It swirled over his skin until it fully settled back to where it had been before, already desperate to claim more of the little bare skin the Soul Keeper had left.

The man with multicolored eyes rose to his feet as Tyler's brown eyes shifted once again to the ruby red of the Soul Keeper's.

"Ryan Ross will be summoned." The man with multicolored eyes said, turning away from the creature that had already all but forgotten him.

"Yes, my Lord."

"My keeper." The man with multicolored eyes muttered under his breath before vanishing from the soul filled room.