Ancestral Lineage
Chapter 349 - 349: Pain of Love (2)

Geraldine opened her eyes to a portrait, the only portrait in this room, staring at her from the opposite wall. She didn't flinch. Her crimson demonic eyes locked onto it, glowing softly with a storm of restrained emotion. Pain. Fury. Longing. Loss. And love—terrifying, unyielding, eternal love. Emotions so potent that if unleashed fully, they would unravel the very fabric of the Demon Realm.

Everything she and he had built—everything birthed from the unholy, beautiful love between Lucifer and Lilith—would burn to ash.

The portrait was of a devilishly handsome man with skin pale as snowfall, his long, flowing hair was crimson, touched with threads of golden fire. His ruby eyes stared out as though they saw through time itself. A sharp jaw framed a smile that once brought kingdoms to their knees.

But what made the portrait truly sacred—untouchable-was—was the depiction of the black demon horns atop his head. Regal. Menacing. Sacred.

These horns represented a very great and powerful man. These horns were part of the things Lucifer left behind when he disappeared. These horns had a mind of their own and only bowed to Geraldine.

No one knew about this or even the shape of the horns. Even the ones in the portrait were fake. They were just assumptions about what the horns looked like.

The shocking part was that the Lucifer in this portrait looked exactly like Ethan if you ignored certain things like eye color and hairstyle. You could say this was a carbon copy of Ethan.

"So… you came back as Ethan, huh?" Geraldine muttered, her voice thick with disbelief, rage, and affection. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing. "What am I supposed to do with you now, you arrogant bastard?"

She spoke to one in particular. She was the only one in the room. This had become a habit of hers after these many years, and she was sometimes seen as mad or crazy, though no one said it out loud.

She wasn't the most feared Demon Lord for anything. She is legally a psychopath!

"Sloth is awakening, too," she hissed. "And just my fucking luck—she's one of his soulmates. Just how many of us are bound to that cursed soul?!" She finally exploded.

She was royally pissed at none other than FATE!

Her power surged like a tidal wave.

The entire region trembled—an expanse equal to four massive continents—shuddering under her fury. The skies turned violet. The oceans boiled. Hellfire cracked the clouds.

Somewhere beyond the walls, a foolish crow flew by and let out a mocking caw.

It exploded in midair, reduced to crimson mist.

No one mocks the Queen, you stupid crow!

"My queen! Please calm down!" A beautiful female demon suddenly entered the room and knelt on the floor while screaming towards Geraldine. Her gaze was only on her queen and strictly away from the portrait, which was as stable as stable can be despite all the shaking.

"Laudi, why? Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Haven't I been good enough?

Why? Why? WHY?!" Well, this was getting out of hand now!

Geraldine's eyes turned a deep black with a red slit. Her claws and fangs elongated as a dark, foreboding aura seeped from her.

"My queen, please! I know that you miss him and he's very near you! Please let's wait a bit more. I'm sure he will come to us once again." Laudi, the succubus maid and butler of Geraldine, said, her voice strong with emotion, she dropped to her knees, long black hair flowing like shadows behind her, eyes filled with desperation. She had been with Geraldine ever since the official establishment of the Demon Realm, so she was aware of the pain her queen was going through.

"But why?! What is the essence of all this, if I were to be separated from him in the end? My soul yearns for him, and he has even forgotten about that time short some years ago! This is worse than death!"

"And you are destroying something you both built together out of love! If you destroy it now, how would he feel?"

"Mother..." A soft voice suddenly entered the room, laced with emotions. Despite the almost monstrous appearance Geraldine was portraying, he approached her.

Her aura cut, poisoned, and tortured him, but he still moved on, crossing this deep and dangerous sea of anger and pain, and longing belonging to his mother.

"Mother, please calm down. I know you miss Father, and I don't know how that feels, but please exercise a bit of patience. You've already waited for more than 1000 years. You can wait some more."

"Xander dear... it hurts a lot! I... I..." Geraldine said as she fell into her son's arms, crying.

Her claws retracted.

Her fangs vanished.

And for the first time in centuries, the Demon Queen… cried. Lilith Geraldine Beaumains cried.

...

A long, long time ago...

The sky above the Original Demon Realm had been painted in hues of crimson and gold. Not from a sun, for there was none—but from Lucifer himself, who floated high above, surrounded by six burning halos that never touched his flesh, spinning slowly behind him like silent sentinels. His presence alone lit the heavens.

Below, the obsidian palace shimmered under his light, its spires made of darkened crystal, absorbing all sound like the breath of a sleeping god.

And there, on the highest balcony, shrouded in a sheer black veil, stood Geraldine.

She had just finished slaughtering an entire celestial battalion sent to assassinate Lucifer.

Her body was splattered in golden blood.

Her chest rose and fell. Her claws still smoked.

But her eyes—those bright, wrathful crimson eyes—shimmered with something else entirely as she looked up.

Then he appeared.

Not in a flash of thunder or a scream of power—but gently. Quietly. Like a lover slipping under silken sheets.

He landed before her, barefoot on the bloodied stone, dressed in a robe of shadows. His long crimson hair swayed like liquid flame in the windless air. His ruby eyes—eyes that held galaxies, that had made angels fall and stars weep—rested on her.

"You're hurt," he said softly.

Geraldine scoffed, wiping blood from her cheek. "I'm not the delicate one here."

Lucifer smiled, and the entire realm seemed to sigh with him.

"You always say that," he said, stepping forward. "But I still worry."

She turned away, her arms crossed. But her heart thundered. He could hear it.

"Why did you come here?" she asked.

"To see you," he said.

"No," she whispered. "Why did you come to me, all those years ago? You were supposed to fight me. You were supposed to kill me."

Lucifer tilted his head, expression unreadable. "I came to destroy what they feared."

"Then why didn't you?"

He reached out, brushing his fingers against her cheek.

And she shivered.

"Because," he whispered, "what I found wasn't a monster."

He leaned closer, his voice barely a breath. "I found a woman strong enough to hold my truth… and gentle enough to cradle my soul."

Her lips trembled.

"You fell for me... didn't you?"

"I did," he said. "The moment you looked at me like I wasn't divine. Like I was… real."

He pulled her close, and for a moment, the world forgot to breathe. They stood there—King and Queen of Sin—no crowns, no armies, no gods. Just two souls scarred by time, longing to be whole.

"You gave me something I never thought I'd have again," Lucifer murmured. "A home. Not a throne. Not a kingdom. A place. A heartbeat. You."

Tears welled in her eyes.

"You left," she whispered. "You promised you'd stay."

He looked away then, pained. "I had to. If I hadn't… You would have died. The war wasn't over. And Fate—"

"Fate be damned!" she screamed, her voice cracking the air. "I would have died for you!"

"I know," he whispered, gently placing a hand over her heart. "That's why I had to disappear. Because you lived for me."

Silence fell between them.

He leaned his forehead against hers.

"If time is just another chain, I'll break it to return to you," he vowed.

"And if the stars burn out," she whispered, "I'll become the night and wait for you."

Their kiss was not passionate, but desperate. Endless. It was the kind of kiss that only immortals could understand. One filled with memory. Grief. Love. Hope.

And then…

He vanished.

And Geraldine woke up that day screaming.

The war ended. Time passed.

But that promise?

That vow?

It echoed still in every rage she unleashed, every tear she shed, and every time she stared at Ethan, wondering—

"Is it really you, my love?"

...

"I have a way to get to him..." Xander suddenly said, causing Geraldine to break out of her thoughts.

"Huh? What did you say?" Geraldine asked.

"Yes! I'm sure we can get to him."

"How?"

"Through his horns."

"His horns? What do you mean?"

"My Prince, don't tell me..." Laudi suddenly exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"That is the only way."

"What are you two talking about?!" Geraldine asked in exasperation.

"You really became senile after all these years, eh?" Xander said mockingly.

"I'm not old, you brat! Now tell me what you meant before I take away your console..."

"Wait! Wait! I meant that we can get to Father by aiding him. The last time you checked, he was at the Saint Realm, but still far from it, right? Now there are three things he needs to ascend further and become a True Saint, and start the real journey, as you say.

He already has two of them- the Ancestral Seed of Anbord and enough soul power. What is left is a catalyst of negative energy. The horns are rightfully his, even if he's different now."

"You..."