She Belongs To The Devil

The Grim Reaper's very presence was grim and cold.

Its face was covered with its hood which was the darkest shade of black. Its dark clothes alone gave the feel that not even light could escape past it. Its skinny and lanky fingers were holding the scythe on its shoulder.

And it was staring straight at Dragomir as if it was staring right into his soul.

Adeline's heart froze upon seeing that terrifying dark figure. Upon seeing the death. The coldness in her heart spread throughout her body and rendered her immobile.

Now that she knew that her father's time was up for real, she was shaken to her core. She wanted to scream and shout and cry but she couldn't move a muscle.

All she could do was helplessly watch the grim reaper hold out his hand and spread its lanky fingers.

"Nooooooooooo…" Adeline heard Claricia screaming in grief and she was startled out of her petrifying daze.

She instantly turned towards her father just in time to see a glowing blue thing, the size of the marble, escaping from Dragomir's glabella. It hovered in the air and was slowly being pulled towards the Grim Reaper.

Adeline held her breath and followed the soul with her blurry eyes.

"Adeline! He won't hold my hand anymore!" Claricia began to panic. "Maybe it's because his hands are too cold." She lifted Dragomir's palm and rubbed it to warm it up.

Everyone in the room knew what it meant. Some of them instantly broke down into tears, some consoled the others, while some of them ran out of the room.

Claricia glanced at Adeline and asked, "Adeline, will you rub his other hand? And someone should add more blankets."

Adeline clasped her mouth with both of her hands. She ended up breaking down again. She looked through her tears and shook her head to Claricia.

Claricia's lower lip began to tremble but she was still refusing to believe that her husband was no more. She wasn't shedding a single drop of tear. She lightly caressed Dragomir's grey hair and asked in an undertone, "He is just resting. Why are you all crying for no reason?"

Nigel lifted his hand to hold his mother in his arms but he stopped midways when his eyes fell on the unmoving body of his father. The pain in his heart surged too much and all he wanted to do was run to get rid of the pain. He swiftly turned towards the door and sprinted outside because he knew what was going to happen to him.

Fenris and Rhea glanced at each other and they also ran after him.

Adeline gently touched Claricia's shoulder and shook her. She didn't want Claricia to go into denial or go into shock. "Mother…" she whispered pleadingly. She wanted Claricia to accept the truth.

Adeline's whisper was finally able to get through to Claricia.

Theodore, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen in the room. He was somewhere in the sky of Wyverndale, blocking the path of the Grim Reaper with his massive black wings.

"Lord Immortal!" The Grim Reaper bowed his head and greeted Theodore.

Theodore glared at him with his fiery eyes and growled, "Where are you taking him? Heaven or Hell?"

"I'm afraid that I cannot divulge the information to you." The reply came in a distorted voice.

Theodore narrowed his eyes and asserted his dominance, "Let's get this straight, Reaper. I am the Prince of Hell. And if he is about to go to Hell, then I would love to take him with me. And if he is about to go to Heaven, I would love to escort him till the gate."

Theodore's horns glowed as if the hot lava was about to erupt out of them. And he shouted at that Reaper again, "So answer me unless you want to face me in a duel. I am sure there are others who can take your position."

The Reaper was being wary of Theodore at first because there were instances when the demons would snatch the souls if they detected the aura that they desired in those souls. Such missing souls would mostly end up becoming vengeful spirits as demons would always snatch the souls with a negative aura.

However, even though Theodore was threatening him, the Reaper didn't see such ill intention behind Theodore's request. So he agreed without further delay, "Prepare to escort him to Heaven, Lord Immortal."

Theodore let out a huge sigh of relief after hearing that Dragomir was going to Heaven.

He gave a nod to the Reaper and shifted to the side. The two of them then ascended at the speed of light.

And after a while, Theodore could see the thin membrane-like air that was glistening and waving constantly. It was the portal that would lead to the Heavenly realm.

Theodore closed his eyes and prayed to his father, "Father, please let me enter the Heaven realm. I want to escort my father-in-law to the gate."

He opened his eyes and took a deep breath in before entering through the portal. He also braced himself for impact and readied himself to fall down if his father didn't listen to his prayer.

It looked like his father listened to his prayer as he was able to pass through the portal.

The moment they crossed that portal, they were welcomed by the blindingly bright light falling upon them.

Theodore flinched as he had abruptly traveled from the dark to the light.

Theodore looked around to see fluffy clouds everywhere. The golden and white light was making the clouds sparkle. In the distance, he could see the huge white gate that stood tall in the middle of those beautiful clouds.

"The gate still looks as glorious as before," Theodore pressed his lips into a thin line and glanced at the two tall statues of the angels spreading their wings. Those statues had been acting as the gate since the beginning of time.

They flew for some more. The gate got bigger and bigger until the Devil looked like a small bird in comparison.

They were finally in front of Heaven's gate. The Grim Reaper and Theodore landed on the cloud.

The Reaper then held out his palm and released the soul of Dragomir. He bowed to Theodore before leaving to collect another soul.

Theodore watched Dragomir's soul slowly taking the form of Dragomir, the way he had left Earth.

Dragomir was now laying down on the clouds. He was wearing a white robe. And he was glowing as though his soul was also emitting heavenly light.

Theodore went and sat down beside Dragomir.

Dragomir slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he noticed was Theodore.

The moment Dragomir noticed Theodore, he instantly blurted out without even sparing a look around him, "Theodore! I just had the most realistic dream ever."

"Everyone had gathered in my room. And then I felt really sleepy so I closed my eyes. But then I saw a bright light and my memories started to flash in front of my eyes. I thought I died for a second there."

Dragomir laughed and tried to pat on Theodore's knee. But his hand went right through. He furrowed his brows and tried to touch Theodore again but the same thing happened.

"Father… it was not a dream," Theodore gave a sorry look to Dragomir.

"Oh… right…" Dragomir smiled wistfully and sat up. He looked around to see nothing but clouds and a huge gate beside them.

Theodore got up on his feet and gave his hand to Dragomir.

Dragomir was confused but he still took the hand. And this time, to his surprise, he could touch Theodore.

Theodore pulled Dragomir up on his feet and he said, "I didn't get to say goodbye to you while you were still on Earth. So I followed you here."

Dragomir gently caressed Theodore's raven black hair and smiled. "I'm sorry I made you run around so much during my last moments."

"No, I was happy that I could gather all your family members just in time," Theodore looked away in an attempt to hide his glistening eye rims.

Dragomir then stared at the huge gate and asked, "So, is this Heaven or…"

"It's Heaven." Theodore sniffled and added, "Hell isn't this bright."

Dragomir smiled and wrapped Theodore in a last embrace. "Theodore, thank you for being such a loving son-in-law. I am at ease knowing that Adeline will be loved."

"I'm going to miss you. We all will," Theodore closed his eyes and hugged Dragomir back.

"I will miss all of you as well." Dragomir then pulled back and took in a deep breath, "I should probably go inside then…" He gave a sorrowful look to Theodore and said in a sad tone, "Adeline must be crying her eyes out. You should be by her side."

Theodore nodded and forced a smile. "Goodbye, father."

"Goodbye, Theodore." Dragomir patted Theodore on the shoulder.

He took one last look at Theodore's angelic face and then headed towards Heaven's Gate.

To both Dragomir and Theodore's surprise, they saw a familiar figure appearing at the gate.

"Dragomir! You're finally here…"