First Demonic Dragon

Silence.

Izanami spent a lot of time basking in it.

She wasn't really the kind of woman who needed much in the way of amenities. Not a bed, or blankets, or books, or anything really.

She was just happy to be in a space where she wasn't being tormented by her brother for his merriment.

The days in this room had made her mellow. She woke up and stared at the wall and thought of nothing, as opposed to rampant acts of divine murder.

Perhaps it was the silks that had done it. Or the air conditioning.

Izanami sat up in her bed. This marked her first time moving from her position in over twenty hours.

She stared at the door instinctually, almost as if she was waiting for something. But no matter how long she waited, the door didn't open.

'They truly are gone.'

She had gotten a little used to Eris coming by. Though she never would have admitted it to her.

The nature goddess was a deity like few other. To know her was to love her. Even Izanami found herself dropping her guard to talk to her.

It didn't matter how bad she wanted to stop herself.

Eris spoke to her of simple, mundane things sometimes. Sometimes she asked Izanami about her feelings for Abaddon.

It was an odd conversation to be sure. None would expect a happily married woman to entertain discussions about another woman's attraction to her man.

Izanami couldn't answer why she was doing it in the first place. Perhaps she was just trying to make sure that she didn't go insane and pose a danger to others.

That felt like a far more plausible scenario. Than the others she had come up with so far.

Izanami eventually stood up and walked towards the door of her room.

Even though she knew that it was sound proof, she placed her ear against the door and pretended to listen.

If Abaddon and the others were still here, then what would she hear?

Would the halls be filled laughter, or obnoxious yelling?

If she could hear more, would she be more inclined to step outside?

Izanami didn't know why she wasted time asking herself this silly little inquiry.

Of course, the best thing for her to do was stay away from the dragon for as long as possible.

Anything else was dangerous. It might make her start thinking.

A person who sits and stares at the wall all day is not someone who wants to spend their time thinking.

Especially not when one has the kind of thoughts that she did.

Izanami glanced at a nearby mirror out of the corner of her eye.

Staring back at her was a ghoulish, horrifically burned woman who looked like a corpse already.

Her hair had even been melted out of her scalp in certain places. Discover more content at empire

Even after all these years, she still shuddered to look at herself. But it was undeniable.

Izanami felt that her appearance disqualified her from receiving affection. And who could blame her?

It wasn't as if she didn't have plenty of prior experiences to back up her expectations.

Izanami stood up again and walked towards the mirror.

Without saying a word, she took it down and turned it towards the wall.

This was just about the only way she could prevent herself from going insane. And she didn't want to go out of control and break anything that kind Valerie had made.

Finally, Izanami started to get back into bed. Maybe instead of just staring at the wall she would count some sheep this time.

Do you think he couldn't love you?

Izanami froze.

Her head snapped towards the mirror she had just relocated and her eyes became scary.

"…What is this..?"

Sure enough, the voice came again.

This is you. This is us. Simply talking and sharing ideas as friends are known to do from time to time.

"I'm not amused by games."

Izanami hurled a dark ball into the mirror. Shattering it into pieces.

She thought that would be enough, but now she realized her mistake.

The shards of glass may as well have been little mirrors, allowing her to see hundreds of her own 'reflection'.

Or maybe this wasn't actually her reflection at all. Their angles didn't match up.

He could love us, you know? As we are.

He is the great beast that was supposed to destroy all of creation. And we are the goddess who pulls mortals to their deaths.

Wouldn't that be such a pairing? Can't you just imagine it..? Doesn't it just set your need ablaze..?

Izanami saw the mirror shards swirl and begin showing her something entirely different.

Scenes that made her pale face blush, and made her squirm uncontrollably.

"H-How dare you!!"

This time, Izanami crushed the glasses so finely that they were nothing but grains of sand.

She then opened up a portal and hurled the ball of sand out into the farthest corner of space she could think of.

For ten minutes, she waited.

She waited to hear her own agitating, grating voice in her mind to tell her that she had somehow solved her problem.

Only when she seemed to relax did the voice return.

I'm not an entity bound to the mirror, girl. I'm you. I am the things you want, but wouldn't dare to say out loud.

Izanami clutched her head hard. She dug her nails into her scalp until she drew blood. "You… are a liar. I'm not this insane."

This is the power of love, girl. It makes you more insane than you could have ever dreamed possible. Shouldn't we know that better than anyone already..? After all, we-"

"STOP!! Just leave me alone!!"

Izanami slammed her head against her headboard. The wood couldn't adequately rattle her brain so she stood up again and tried the wall.

She smashed her skull again, and again, and again, until her vision was filled with red.

Tears stung her eyes. She had no idea if she was crying from the pain or the fear of going insane.

Izanami, don't do this to yourself.

'Be quiet…'

Let's really just take a moment to see the bigger picture, yes? I only want to help.

'STOP TALKING TO ME!'

"My love?"

Izanami opened her eyes as all of her blood ran cold.

She blinked her eyes a few times and what she found nearly knocked her onto her butt.

She was now in a completely different bedroom. The soft scent of candles filled her nostrils, and mellow music filled her ears.

She felt a hand gently turn her head and her heartbeat almost sounded like drums beating.

Abaddon stared deeply into Izanami's eyes with a look of immense concern.

"You fell asleep and you started tossing and turning… Should I be worried about you?"

This situation was too much for the death goddess. "I-I… Abaddon..? You're back..?"

Abaddon smiled in embarrassment. Izanami's entire world slowed down as he leaned forward and planted a short, sweet kiss on her lips.

"I'm sorry it took me so long. I didn't make you miss me too much, did I?"