†††

Y/n

Y/n knew she was making a mistake.

As she stood above the sleepy Jimin with his red and black hair covering half his puffy face, she realized disturbing him to ask her stupid question was a bad idea, but she had to. If she was going to commit to Jimin and give in to the whole soulmate thing, she had to know more, and he was the one who could fulfill her needs.

In more than one way, of course.

"I need you to take me to Hell," she said, and he rubbed his eyes as he sat up in bed and quirked a brow at her.

"Baby, didn't I take you there last night with my hellfire dick?"

She facepalmed. "Jimin, no. I mean I want to go to Hell and talk to Lucifer."

At that, he seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, seeing as his eyes jumped. Any tiredness he once had drained from his expression and got replaced by a stiff body.

"Y/n, why in the sweet lord heavens would you willingly want to meet Lucy? He's an asshole. He makes me look like an angel" Jimin paused to hold up his tiny index finger. "I'm allowed to say that, by the way. I'm his bitch."

"I know, but that's not the point. You're not going to be an incubus for too much longer, so you won't see Lucifer anymore, right?"

He tilted his head, and his plump lips resembled a duck's beak. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"We should take advantage of your powers while you have them. I want to meet Lucifer and learn more about the demon world before we can never speak to him again."

Yeah, Y/n acknowledged that was stupid. She had done more stupid things in her life than she could count (exhibit A: letting a demon live with her), but there was limited time left to ask all her remaining questions, and she wanted to take it right to the top. Plus, she had met Lucifer before. He wasn't as scary as the legends made him out to be.

Or maybe she was being stupid again by thinking that.

"That's not a good idea," Jimin said, holding up his hand to stop her from replying. "But alright, if you want to, I'll take you, but I'm not staying with you. I hate that place. Too warm."

"Then how will you know to come get me?"

"I'll give you an hour there." Jimin stopped and sighed. "Well, maybe I should wait with you. Hell time is slower than it is here. To prolong the suffering, y'know?"

"How much slower?"

Jimin shrugged. "Every hour down there is about five hours up here."

Y/n almost yelped from that revelation. "Heck no! You're staying up here to babysit Harry! He can't go that long without company!"

"Did you just tell me to babysit that fucking guinea pig-" Jimin cut himself off and grunted. "You know I don't like Harry. I'd rather go to Hell with you than pig-sit that bitch."

"Too bad. Teleport me to Hell, give me one hour in Hell's time or whatever, and then I'll never ask again." She gave him the best puppy eyes she could muster. "Please?"

"I should've given up my powers sooner," Jimin mumbled as he rubbed his head. Despite that, he hopped to his feet and sighed, approaching her and resting his hand on her shoulder. "We'll go, I'll drop you off, and I'll come back an hour later. No more, no less. Understood?"

When she went to nod, he grabbed her wrist to stop her, and he narrowed his eyes to continue speaking.

"Don't wander. You stay with Lucifer, do you understand me? Mortals aren't supposed to be in Hell. This isn't Dante's, Y/n, you can't just run around and expect Virgil to come and save you. You're lucky I can even get you in with my powers."

For once, Jimin didn't joke, laugh, or smile, so she opted to hum in agreement, not so much as squeaking (like Harry) in protest. When she didn't, he snapped his fingers, and the first thing she felt was sweltering heat and what seemed like fire skimming by her face. She yelped from the sudden rise in temperature, but what got her most was the view.

Pools of lava steamed up the massive space, although she had to admit it wasn't as large as she anticipated. Yes, Hell had a wide landscape, but it seemed narrow at the same time, featuring a high ceiling for demons to fly around, but not so high that she couldn't see the top. Jagged rock formations made up the burgundy walls, and waterfalls of magma were the main event. Demons swam in them, and beyond them were the fields where souls got whipped and tortured for their misdeeds.

"Welcome to Hell, princess," Jimin said with a tight jaw.

Y/n's lower lip quivered. "Jesus, it's... I don't know what to say. Do I even want to know what else is here?"

"Well, let's just say Dante got some things right."

Jimin's gaze slimmed, and in the distance, she saw what he was looking at: trees. Not just any trees, though; Harpies tortured them at every turn, and Y/n stumbled back. Jimin held her upright, his grip stronger than ever before.

"What... what is that for?" Y/n asked, her voice wavering as it passed her parched lips.

Jimin didn't meet her eyes. "Suicide."

She whipped her head around to ask another question, but he moved by her before she could pry. Suicide was punished in Hell? Although she had read Dante's Inferno before, it had been years, not to mention she chose not to remember such horrific fates.

Jimin led her to a cave in the back, and Y/n almost tripped a good ten times on the way over. If Jimin wasn't holding her, she would have crashed to the rocks more times than she could count; however, her mind went blank when she found herself face-to-face with Lucifer again, and it was safe to say the king stood up from his burning throne and shooed his servants away. His single horn glowed and illuminated his wrathful face.

"You brought a fucking mortal here?!"

"Her request, not mine," Jimin replied without so much as a hitch in his voice. He coaxed her forward before stepping away. "See you in an hour."

With one snap, he left, and since the servants had fled. That meant Y/n was alone with Lucifer. The king of Hell, and the one who had set Y/n and Jimin up.

She rubbed her arms as she approached, glancing around and hoping no demons would pounce on her. "He told the truth, okay? I asked to come down to speak with you."

"When I chose you as his soulmate, I didn't do it because I thought you were stupid, Y/n," he said in a snarl. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I need to know more. I need to know if I should worry about my future and Jimin's. He's the longest-living incubi ever, right?"

"Correct. You think that impacts your relationship?"

"I do," she said, straightening her shoulders and attempting to hold her ground, but the heat combined with the unknown territory had her trembling. "How do I know all those years of memories won't hurt him when he gives up his powers? What happens to him after he gives up his powers?"

Lucifer snorted. "They won't, and you mean if he gives up his powers? I think he'd rather go through eternal suffering than settle down, no offense. Don't take it personally."

"You underestimate him. Him and I are in a relationship."

Lucifer stopped, lowering his clawed hand and widening his eyes. "What did you just say?"

"Jimin and I are in a relationship. He's going to give up his powers for me, he told me."

Lucifer skipped away from his throne and rushed up to her, his eyes wider than before and his jaw slacked. He opened and closed it a few times before shaking his head.

"No fucking way. Park Jimin is settling down? Ho-ly shit, I need to throw a damn party. Hang on, let me go tell all the demons to stop the torture for the day so we can celebrate."

Lucifer ran out, leaving Y/n alone in the throne room. She kept shivering, and she pressed herself against the jagged cave wall with her body huddled down and shrinking itself to make herself as small as possible. It took two minutes, but Lucifer returned with a spring in his step and a grin on his mangled face.

"You just made my life. I never in a million years thought Park Jimin would settle down-"

"I'm not here to discuss that," Y/n interrupted, and the king shut up. "I want to know more about the demon world, so can we please put Jimin aside and talk about it?"

"Ah, you're no fun, but fine. Ask away."

She found it disgusting how he tortured souls for a living—suicide victims, at that—and had time for a dance break, but she was speaking to the king of Hell, after all. Perhaps she shouldn't be surprised.

"Jimin told me Hell is a reform center, but what about this is reform? Why are you working with God?"

"You think I want to get on God's bad side again? Sweetheart, I did it once, and this was the result." He motioned to his fucked up face and body. "He showed mercy by allowing me to run this place, okay? And yes, Hell is a reform center. We torture people for long enough that they remember it. You think your dearest doesn't remember his time as a tree?"

Y/n stiffened. "As... a tree?"

Lucifer stopped for a moment, eyeing her. "He didn't tell you how he died?"

"He's always been pretty vague about it and implied his sin was lust."

"Well, yes, among other things. You're ranked based on your worst sin, and lust is one of the lightest. What sin you have determines what demon you become. Lust sins are, well, incubi. Every sin has a demon type so they can go around convincing people to give in to those no-no desires."

"If you're a reform center, why are you trying to convince people to sin?"

"Our demons try once," Lucifer said, holding his clawed hands out as if that showed his point. "If you give in after one temptation, you don't have the mindset Heaven wants."

"Okay... I think I get it." She scratched her head and cowered in the corner, clearing her throat. "But there's one thing I don't understand: if Jimin's sin was wrath, why is he an incubus?"

"He asked me for it, and I granted it."

"But... why?"

Lucifer dropped his gaze to the ground. "I've always pitied them, the trees. If they ask me for something, I give it to them. Maybe it's selfish, but I don't like having the trees, even though God insists."

Y/n didn't know how to process that information. Demons came in all forms, yet Jimin was a special case. However, it went beyond that. That day, she discovered the thing she thought she never would, and even if she ever did, she doubted the answer would be as appalling as it was, and her new knowledge had her stuttering and staggering over her own thoughts.

Y/n just learned how Jimin had died.

†††

A/N: Early update since y'all smashed that vote button last chapter. A longer update, too! Thank you for your continued support on this story, everyone!