Stay With Me Afomia

Chapter 8

Afomia's hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove, her eyes focused on the road ahead. The city was a blur, a darkened world that seemed to be closing in on her. The further she drove, the closer she got to her goal—the place where her killers were hiding. The brothers who had murdered her, the ones responsible for her death, were waiting for her. They didn't know it yet, but their time had come.

As she neared the address, the familiar darkness inside her grew. The anger she had been holding back surged again, a storm of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. This was it. She was done waiting. Done being weak.

She stopped the car outside the large, ominous house and stepped out. The night air was cold against her skin, but it only fueled the fire inside her. With swift, determined steps, she walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. The sound echoed in the silence, harsh and uninviting.

The door swung open, and the brother who had always been the most cruel—tall, muscular, and smug—stood there, his face twisting in confusion when he saw her standing there. Afomia? He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Before he could say a word, the metallic sound of a gunshot filled the air. Afomia didn't hesitate. With precise accuracy, she pulled the trigger. The man crumpled to the ground, his life ending in a single, swift moment.

One down. The others would follow.

Afomia stepped into the house, her eyes scanning the surroundings. She moved like a predator, silent, deadly. One by one, she hunted them down. The other brothers tried to escape, but they were no match for the rage burning inside her. She was relentless. Cold.

As the last brother fell, the weight of what she had done finally hit her. The adrenaline was starting to fade, and she felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. Her body was drained, her vision blurring. She staggered, her knees buckling beneath her, and before she could catch herself, the darkness overtook her.

Zein had been far away, dealing with matters of his own, when he suddenly felt it. The pulse of energy, sharp and final, hit him like a wave. Afomia.

Without thinking, he tore open a portal, the air around him rippling with his magic. His heart was racing as he stepped through, the scene that greeted him filling him with dread. There, on the cold floor of a darkened room, lay Afomia's lifeless body. Blood pooled around her, her eyes closed, her chest still.

No. No, no, no.

Zein dropped to his knees beside her, his hands trembling as he reached out to her cold skin. He felt an agony unlike any he had known before. The pain of losing her was overwhelming, like something inside him had shattered. His heart was breaking, and he couldn't stop it.

"Afomia..." His voice was a whisper, raw with emotion. "I'll make a way to bring you back. I swear I will."

His words were desperate, but he knew the gravity of the situation. The dark magic that surrounded her death was something he had never faced before. It was powerful, dangerous. But he would find a way. He had to.

Zein's fingers brushed against her face, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw her eyes flicker. Was it possible? Could she hear him?

But no. She was gone.

He closed his eyes, feeling the surge of helplessness. He didn't want to let her go. Not like this.

Afomia's POV

I could feel everything slipping away, the darkness swallowing me whole. But then, something unusual happened. I found myself somewhere—floating, yet aware of everything around me.

I could hear his voice. Zein.

I smiled bitterly. He was probably laughing at me, wasn't he? "I did it," I thought. "I got my revenge."

But then... I heard something that made me pause. The sound of a soft sob, a c***k in his usually confident demeanor. Zein was crying?

My heart twisted, and a strange feeling coursed through me. I was supposed to be done with everything, to leave the past behind, to exact my vengeance and walk away from all the pain. But now, I was hearing him cry, and suddenly... everything felt wrong.

"Why is he crying?" I asked myself, the words tumbling out in disbelief.

I tried to focus, to understand what was happening, but the fog was too thick. A part of me wanted to wake up, to return to that place where I could fix this. The anger, the vengeance, it all seemed so meaningless now.

A small smile crept onto my lips, and in that moment, I realized something. I had made a mistake.

I had hurt him. But I never wanted to.

And now, more than anything, I wanted to undo it all. To go back, to fix everything... for him.

Zein continued to kneel by Afomia's side, tears silently falling as he whispered, "Please, don't leave me. I need you. I'll fix this. I'll bring you back. I swear it."

In that moment, his desperation filled the air, and something flickered in the distance—a spark of hope.

Zein's fury burned like an inferno as he hunted down Felix. The blood of his beloved Afomia still stained his hands and soul, and he needed answers. He knew Felix had been involved—he couldn't escape the fact that his role in all of this had caused the chain of events that led to Afomia's death.

Zein's magic guided him to the dark, desolate place where Felix was hiding. His body was already covered in wounds, the result of Zein's relentless pursuit. Felix, who had always been a quiet, calculating presence, now looked vulnerable. But there was no room for mercy in Zein's heart—not now, not after what had happened.

As Zein approached, the crackling of his power filled the air, an overwhelming presence that pressed down on the world around them. Felix, slumped against a crumbling wall, was trying to stand, blood dripping from his chest and arms. His once steady demeanor was gone, replaced by a look of fear that Zein had never seen before.

"You knew what would happen. You knew and still—" Zein's voice trembled with a mix of anger and betrayal. "You let her die, Felix. You let this happen. You're responsible for all of it!"

Felix, too weak to defend himself, could only manage a pained grunt as he staggered backward. His body was no match for Zein's power, and his blood pooled on the floor beneath him.

"Please, Zein... I..." Felix's voice was strained, barely above a whisper, but the regret in his eyes was unmistakable.

The heat of Zein's rage only intensified. He raised his hand, ready to strike Felix down, to make him suffer for everything—his betrayal, his part in Afomia's death. Felix was nothing but a traitor in his eyes, someone who had led her to her doom.

But before Zein could unleash his wrath, a powerful voice echoed through the room.

"Zein, stop!"

Zein turned, fury still burning in his chest, but his eyes widened in shock as his father, the King of Hell, stepped into the room.

"Father?" Zein's voice was laced with confusion and disbelief.

His father's face was grave, his features hardened with the weight of countless centuries. He had always been a figure of power, but now, in this moment, he seemed distant—almost regretful.

"Zein, I ordered Felix to do it." His father's voice was heavy with remorse. "I am the one to blame, not him."

Zein shook his head, disbelieving. "But why? Father, you're the King of Hell. Why would you allow this? You have the power to bring her back! Bring her back to me!" His voice cracked, his anger and sorrow intertwining into one desperate plea. "She was supposed to be mine. I need her. I can't—"

His father's eyes softened, and he stepped closer to Zein, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "Because your mother was human, Zein. You must understand, I don't want you to suffer the same fate she did." His words were filled with a sadness that reached deep into Zein's heart. "Afomia was not like us. Her soul, though powerful, was human. Bringing her back would only curse her with a life of suffering. She was dead because of her choices. And the balance of the realms cannot be undone so easily."

Zein's voice trembled with raw pain. "No, Father! She can't be gone! She can't—"

His eyes burned with an emotion so fierce that it threatened to tear him apart. "I don't care about balance! I don't care about the consequences! I need her with me! Please!"

His father's gaze hardened, yet the sorrow remained. "I'm sorry, son. I cannot bring a dead, sinful soul back to life. It would tear apart the fabric of this realm—and the human world, too. Even I cannot play god in this instance."

Zein fell silent, his chest heaving with unrelenting grief. Every word his father spoke felt like a blade stabbing deeper into his already broken heart. The realization that Afomia was gone—and he could never bring her back—was more than he could bear.

"But... I made a promise," Zein whispered hoarsely, his hand shaking as it gripped his father's sleeve. "I promised her I would protect her. I promised that I would never let anyone hurt her. And now... now she's gone."

His father's eyes softened, but there was nothing more to say. "You can't protect her from death, Zein. Sometimes, that's just the way of things."

Zein stood frozen, his mind whirling with the weight of his father's words. His thoughts were a storm, each one more painful than the last. He couldn't accept it. He refused to.

As Felix's blood continued to stain the ground, Zein's rage subsided, replaced by an overwhelming sense of loss. He had failed Afomia—no, he had failed himself.

He turned away, stepping back toward the portal he had created to return to the place where she had died. He needed to be alone.

"I will find a way," Zein muttered to himself, his voice thick with determination. "Even if I have to burn this entire realm to the ground, I'll find a way to bring her back. I won't stop until I do."

But his father's voice followed him, filled with finality: "Some things cannot be undone, my son."

Zein didn't answer. He couldn't.

He would find a way, even if it meant walking into the darkest places of the underworld to do so. He couldn't live in a world without her.

And in that moment, he made a vow to himself: no matter the cost, no matter the price, he would do whatever it took to bring her back.

He just didn't know yet if it was even possible to defy death

In the deepest abyss of Hell, where even the most damned souls dared not tread, whispers of an unprecedented act rippled through the infernal kingdom. The air was thick with the scent of burning sulfur, and rivers of molten lava carved their way through jagged obsidian cliffs. Yet, despite the endless torment that defined this cursed realm, the demons were speaking of something new—something that had never happened before.

The name Zein was on every tongue.

A demon prince had chosen eternal suffering over his own freedom. He had willingly taken the burden of a human girl's sins, trading his power and existence for her salvation. The moment the bargain was sealed, the entire underworld had felt it—a tremor in the very foundation of Hell itself.

In the grand halls of the infernal palace, where the Devil himself ruled, the demons gathered, their eyes flickering with curiosity and disbelief.

“This is madness,” growled a demon with horns as thick as tree trunks, his crimson skin pulsing with barely restrained rage. “No demon has ever done such a thing. Not since—”

“Not since the King,” finished another, his shadowy form barely visible in the dim glow of the hellfire torches. “But even the King never sacrificed himself completely. He loved a human, yes, but he remained a ruler. Zein? He has thrown himself into two hundred thousand years of suffering for her.”

A wave of murmurs swept through the gathered demons.

The story had spread like wildfire. Afomia—a human girl, a sinful soul tainted with vengeance and blood—had become the reason for the greatest sacrifice in Hell’s history.

A female demon, her eyes gleaming like molten gold, stepped forward, her serpentine tail flicking behind her. “You speak as if this was unexpected,” she purred, amusement in her voice. “Zein was always different. He was always reckless, always defiant. But love?” She tilted her head, her black horns gleaming under the firelight. “Love turned that recklessness into devotion.”

Another demon scoffed. “Love?” He spat the word as if it burned his tongue. “Foolishness. Weakness.” His glowing green eyes narrowed. “He has fallen for a mere mortal, and now he will suffer for it. This is no love story—it is a tragedy.”

“Then why is Hell shaking?” Another voice, deeper and older than the rest, rumbled through the chamber. The demons turned toward the speaker—a towering figure cloaked in darkness, his presence alone commanding silence. “Why does the very foundation of our realm quiver under the weight of his sacrifice?”

No one answered.

Because they all knew the truth.

Zein’s decision had changed something.

Hell itself was watching.

The lesser demons trembled at the realization. If a prince of Hell was willing to bear the weight of human sin, to give up his power, his immortality, his very being for the sake of love, then what did that mean for the balance of the underworld?

The thought was terrifying.

And exhilarating.

“He will wake again,” the golden-eyed demoness mused, her lips curling into a smirk. “Two hundred thousand years may be an eternity for mortals, but for demons, it is only a moment.”

The shadowed demon beside her nodded. “And when he wakes… he will find her.”

Another silence stretched between them all.

This had only happened once before—with Zein’s father. The King of Hell had once defied fate for a mortal woman, a love so powerful that it had left scars on the very fabric of Hell. But even then, he had never gone as far as Zein had.

Because unlike his father, Zein hadn’t just loved a human.

He had become her penance.

He had taken her sins.

And in doing so, he had shattered the unbreakable laws of Hell.

“His father should have stopped him,” a skeletal demon rasped from the darkness.

“No,” the molten-eyed demoness whispered, her smirk widening. “His father knew that nothing could stop him. Just like nothing will stop him when he wakes.”

The fire around them flickered violently, as if Hell itself had heard her words and agreed.

Zein, the Demon Prince of Hell, was now a prisoner of his own love.

But not forever.

Someday, the cycle would complete.

Someday, Afomia’s soul would return.

And when that day came, Zein would rise again.

And Hell—all of existence—would never be the same.