I knew who Kako was. I grew up hearing the stories from my mother about the creation of Mongrels. He led the Demons in the uprising against the Angels– the one they called “Chaos”.

“You’re just in my head,” I whisper. “This isn’t real.”

Kako started to walk slowly, circling me. The image of him started to become a little more clear. I could see what looked like a man, but extremely deformed. His back was hunched, curled up and grotesquely shriveled, yet even so he was extremely tall, maybe seven feet or more. His skin in the darkness looked almost gray in comparison to mine. I glanced at his hands and noticed long and sharp fingernails, yellowed with age and filth. They were the longest fingernails I had ever seen in my life. I’ve heard stories about the Celestial demons' appearances, but the terror I had imagined didn’t come close to what was standing before me. 

“Oh, it’s very real,” Kako replied, walking behind me now. I could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. “But don’t worry, my dear, I am not here to harm you. In fact, I’m here to help.”

“Help me?” The fear was evident in how I spoke. My vocal chords were cracking, my throat dry as I responded to him. I could see from his smirk that he knew I was scared. My voice wobbled as I tried to gather myself, “You’re chaotic. You only bring pain and destruction.”

He laughed at this, the sound reverberating like the hiss of a serpent. “Pain and destruction? That’s such a limited view of what I do.”

I tried to stand tall. I didn’t want him to see me cower. “Then what do you do?” I asked.

“I guess I can see why some beings would see me as someone who causes chaos, but that’s what happens when you speak the truth. You see, my child, I strip away the lies, the delusions, the comforting half-truths that people cling to. Those who are weak want to see it as chaos, pain, destruction– but this is because they don’t want to actually see it for what it really is. The cold, raw truth.” Kako comes face to face with me now. “You are not weak. You know the pain and suffering in this world is really caused by those who would call themselves good, but they are the lowest of them all. They are really the ones causing chaos.”

I thought of the angelic Mongrels and the pain they inflict on our people– their own people. I see memories of Serf Seraphiel and Cyrus writhing on the floor, getting punished for looking a pure one in the eyes. Memories flash of my own pain when I was getting branded. Then, I remember my father.

Suddenly, I see no more darkness around me. The shadows in the void began to shift, forming a scene from my mind. I see myself as a child. cowering in the corner of my dimly lit room. My father is towering over me, his eyes filled with pure hatred.

Kako’s voice becomes soft and soothing. “You remember this, don’t you?” 

“Stop.” I say. I know what’s coming next. I don't want to see it again.

“The way he looked at you, the way he spoke to you.” He continues. “Your own father despises you, Noemi. He despises you because of your bloodline,” I see my father as he pulls off his belt and steps closer to me. “He despised you because your face reminds him of your mother.”

“Stop it!” I shout. “I don’t want to see this!”

“But you need to,” Kako insists, his tone still calm. I close my eyes but still continue to see the scene around me. I watch helplessly as my father abuses my nine year old body. My eyes fill with tears.

The scene around me shifted, showing my mother. She was arguing with my father about something and he slaps her, his hand colliding with her angelic brand.

“You dirty liar!” He shouted at her.

I don’t remember this. I look at Kako, confusion written all over my face and I see his red colored eyes lock with mine. Just a few moments ago, those eyes terrified me; but now, I see sadness written in them. 

Is that sympathy?

I look back at the scene before me and watch as my father uses his blood manipulation on her. “Tell me! How long did you know you had demonic blood?” His voice is cracking now.

She is sobbing on her knees, her face to the floor, covered by her long red hair. She doesn’t respond to him.

“How is this possible?” he screams. “How the hell is Noemi still alive? She’s already eight years old!”

Her voice is soft as she cries up to him. “I swear, I- I don’t know. Please, don’t hurt her. The King will kill her if he finds out. He will see her as a threat.”

“You fucking dirty demon!” Using his ability, he raises his hand and throws her across the room, her body colliding with the wall. I gasp and Kako comes to put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t you see?” My father steps toward her, grabbing a fist full of her hair and she cries from the pain. “Don’t you fucking see how this is going to hurt me? How if the King finds out, he will kill me?” he roared at her.

“P- please, Lucian,” she begs. “You’re hurting me, please!”

“This is your fault,” he replies, suddenly calm, and pulls out his dagger. “You are causing me to do this by tainting my family with your filthy Demon blood. The King set up our marriage under the impression you were of angelic descent, but you deceived us both.” He plunges the dagger into her neck. Her eyes go wide. “So, now, you are going to reap the consequences of your actions. I’m gonna drain this demonic blood out of you.” Father pulls the dagger roughly out of her neck and stands up. I let out a cry as I watched the blood pour out onto the floor, her face panicked as she chokes.

So much blood.

Father quietly steps out of the room.

“No, no, no, no!” I rush over to her side and try to stop the bleeding but I realize my hands just go straight through her. “No! Make it stop!” I cry to Kako. “Help her!”

“These are things that have already passed, Noemi. I’m revealing the truth of what happened to your mother,” he replies. “We cannot help her.”

I feel my anger rise within me. Anger and sadness, more intense than I’ve ever felt before. “Why are you showing me this?” I shout. 

“Because, I want to help you.” Kako comes over to me, bending down to meet my eyes. He is no longer attempting to intimidate me. Instead, I feel a sense of calmness at this creature standing before me. “You need to see what he did. This is the man who locked you away, abused you, and tried to destroy your very identity. Not just the demonic bloodline within you, but everything you are, everything you could be. He wants to kill you, erase you from this world, because he deems you impure. Is that fair? Is that just? Is that angelic?”

The shadows around me shift again and I see my cold, eleven year old body as I hang from the wall in the chamber. The candles around the room are still flickering after the ritual my father performed on me. There he was, standing over my body, waiting. His eyes are lifeless.

“How are you going to help me?” I ask, starting to give in. 

Maybe, he’s right.

Kako’s eyes meet mine once again. He no longer appears a monster, his body unraveling and straightening. He transformed into the most beautiful creature and I could see that he seemed to truly care about eliminating the unjustness in the world. “We are bonded now. From here on, I will be in the back of your mind, guiding you, and giving you power you have never felt before. You just need to give me permission to access that power, then I can help you fix it.”

“How do we do that?” I didn’t understand. 

Why is one of the first Celestial demons, standing here, trying to help me? How did he get here?

“Give in to your anger,” he replies. “Let the sadness take over your soul. Think about your mother.” My heart twinges. I feel the heat of frustration, and the coldness of depression, rise in my body at the same time. “Think about Cyrus and his father– the pain you've endured because of the prejudice of others… then, just say, ‘yes’.”

I feel the heaviness of the emotions all rush into me at once and I let myself feel them to their fullness.

“Yes,” I whisper.

Everything went dark again and then, there was peace.

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