Chapter 558 – Sleeping Beauty [Part 2]
Inside the glass, nestled like a goddess in a dream, lay Azithra.
And Lux’s instincts imdiately flared.
Sothing felt wrong.
It wasn’t the way she looked. No, that was the problem. She looked... too perfect. Her pale snow-like skin untouched by ti, her long silver hair cascading around her shoulders like spun silk. She wore a flowing gown made of layered starlight, threaded with moonruned embroidery. Her expression was peaceful, serene.
Too serene.
Around her lay hundreds. No, thousands, of flowers. Arranged carefully. Lovingly. Orchids, roses, moonlilies, night-blooming devora petals. Between the petals, delicately placed, were jewels. Crystals, pearls, even infernal-grade rubies that would’ve funded a small kingdom.
And beside them?
Photos.
Old ones. Grainy, enchanted captures. Azithra and Eros at a masquerade. On a lake, laughing. In front of a giant cake, frosting on his nose. She was smiling in every one of them. Unapologetically alive.
And just off to the side...
Rows of vials.
Glass.
Perfectly aligned.
Each filled with a thick white liquid.
Ely stepped forward first, the soft creak of her heel pressing into the floor.
Then her breath hitched.
"Oh... god..."
She covered her mouth with her hand.
Lux didn’t move yet. His eyes flicked from the coffin to the floor, to the vials, to the glowing candles above. Each rune floating had an enchantnt tied to preservation. Warding. mory anchors.
But the coffin wasn’t sealed.
Azithra lay there like Sleeping Beauty in her glass chamber, but no decay. No sll of rot. No soulless emptiness.
He stepped closer. His eyes narrowed.
She wasn’t dead.
Lux could feel it. Her soul was still tethered. Faint, but there.
Eros finally spoke, quiet, voice carrying years of wear. "Azithra, we have guests."
Lux glanced at him.
The man looked older. Not physically. Emotionally. Like each year without her had left a mark sowhere deeper than skin. Even his smirk had dulled.
Eros moved beside the coffin, not even looking at the flowers or the pearls. His gaze stayed on her face.
"What happened to her?" Lux asked.
Eros exhaled through his nose, sitting beside the glass like he always belonged there.
"I don’t know," he said, quietly. "One day she just... slept a little longer than usual. You know, like anyone would after a long night. She always liked morning naps."
Lux watched him.
"Then it beca two days. Then three. A week. She woke once. Said she had a dream she wanted to finish."
His voice cracked slightly. But he masked it.
"She never woke up again."
Ely stepped closer, hand hovering just above the glass. Her voice ca soft. "But she looks fine."
"That’s the problem," Eros said, a small bitter laugh curling around his words. "She is fine. No sickness. No curses. I gave her tonics every day. Checked her vitals. Soul is intact. Body preserved. She’s just... sleeping."
Lux studied the magic in the air. The symbols floating around her head. Dream stabilization runes. Soul anchors. Love-bound ward loops.
"She’s under a ritual," Lux said. "Or at least sothing close. But it’s old. Organic. Not artificial."
"Yeah," Eros muttered, turning his eyes toward a huge painting hanging on the wall across from the coffin. "Ten years. She’s been like this ten goddamn years."
Ely gasped. "You’ve waited that long?"
Eros nodded. His fingers brushed the glass gently. "I miss her so much."
Lux sighed, folding his arms. "I’m shocked you’ve restrained yourself this long."
Eros gave a small, tired smile. "Yeah. too."
Lux glanced toward the photos. The candles. The vials.
His eyes landed on one of them.
It glowed faintly under the preservation charm. But the contents weren’t magical.
Thick. White.
Lux picked it up.
Eros turned slightly.
"Oh, that?" he said casually. "Yeah. Sotis I can’t help it."
Lux stopped moving.
Eros gestured toward the painting. "So I masturbate in front of her portrait. You know. To feel close to her."
Lux stared at him.
Eros pointed at the vial in Lux’s hand. "Those are the result. I collected them."
Lux didn’t blink. Just calmly, thodically, placed the vial back down and pulled out a clean handkerchief to wipe his fingers.
Ely looked like she was trying not to pass out. Her mouth opened. Closed. Then she whispered, "I want to scream but I don’t even know where to start."
"She’s beautiful," Eros muttered, ignoring them both. "Didn’t want her to feel alone. So I... accompanied her. With gifts."
"Your... bodily gifts," Lux said flatly.
"You say that like it’s weird."
"Because it is."
Eros shrugged. "Demons process grief differently."
"No, Eros. No species processes grief like this."
The older incubus grinned weakly. "You’d be surprised. I’m just more honest."
Lux exhaled again. Then faced the glass coffin.
"She’s in a deep dream state," he said finally. "Her body’s suspended between waking and sothing else. I can feel it. Whatever she’s seeing... it’s stronger than anything here."
"She always loved dreams," Eros said, voice breaking a little. "Said the dreamworld was where the soul dances."
Lux nodded slowly. "So you want to wake her up."
"Yeah."
"That’s why you dragged here."
Eros looked at him now. Really looked. "You’re one of the only ones who might be able to. You’ve been inside dream engines. Navigated soulvaults. Your bloodline lets you tap into Greed’s will and Lust’s heart."
Lux frowned. "You think I can just walk in?"
"I think you’ve walked into worse."
Lux turned to Ely. She looked pale, but determined.
She t his gaze. "What can I do?"
He stared at her a beat.
Then he turned back to the glass.
"...I’ll try," Lux said.
Eros smiled faintly. "Good. Because I’m running out of vials."
Ely gagged.
Lux muttered, "You need therapy."
"I need my wife back. So I can fck her."
And for once, Lux didn’t argue.
He just nodded. Tapped his fingers against the coffin. And whispered sothing in Infernal tongue.
The candles flickered.
The air thickened.
Sothing shifted.
Yeah.
This was going to be more than just a favor.
This was going to be personal.
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