The Devil's Temptation!

Her mind was muffled and she could barely think straight.

It looked like he was expecting something, it was oddly familiar and Anna took it to be some kind of deja Vu affecting her soul. Like a spellbinded whim, the words subconsciously slipped from her mouth without warning.

“I choose Roshan.” Came her response, but in a soft whisper that carried emotion’s she herself was oblivious to.

Roshan’s grip on her arm loosened as the look in his eyes turned into one of shock and bafflement. A frown appeared on his forehead as her words finally sank in.

She chooses him? That wasn’t even part of the options.

Her gaze never left his and the more he stared into them, the more familiar those eyes looked in his head.

All of a sudden, vague images of two figures shot through his brain like a typescript and his eyes unknowingly dilated. Those chocolate-brown eyes were vivid in the flashbacks, the rest weren’t clear but he could hear a faint voice in his head.

The voice speaks, but it sounded distant, like it’s traveling with the wind now.

.....

“I choose Roshan.” The familiar dulcet voice kept saying and it left him agitated, a sudden feeling crept up to his chest and his expression looked lost.

Why did it feel like it wasn’t the first time he’s heard it?? Why did it feel like he’s heard it before?

The look in his eyes suddenly displayed a loneliness which Anna instantly took notice of. Her eyes widened and like Roshan knew his emotions were being sensed, he averted his gaze and freed her.

“Why did you say that?” He asked in a hoarse voice, as though she just said something abominable and Anna cautiously shifted away from him and moved to the other side of the bed.

Roshan was obviously upset as he ground his teeth at the thought, did she even know what it meant by saying something like that to him??

Her heart accelerated even more when she recalled her own words, how she said something that she wasn’t even sure herself.

“I.... don’t know.” She admitted with a heavy breath as her own words sang in her head. She chose him?? How did something like that even come to her mind??

It was the stupid deja Vu!

Unbeknownst to her, those words affected Roshan in many ways except she couldn’t see his expression since he had his back facing her. Unfamiliar and vague memories kept replaying in his head and most of all, why did the voice in his head sound just like Anna’s??

He felt dizzy. It was giving him a blinding headache, he had to close his eyes for a few seconds but the unclear images won’t leave him alone. His chest felt heavy as a strange feeling crawled right into the direction of his scar.

“Say it again.” He ordered, causing Anna to whip her head at his direction and she blinked.

“What?”

“Say it.”

Anna was confused now, first he asked her why she said it and now he’s telling her to repeat it??

“Say it and I’ll free you from this.” He sincerely told her and his desperation was something she never expected. Anna couldn’t hide the surprise in her eyes when he stated he’d let her go if she said it.

As much as she felt it was a bad idea, she had no choice but to do as he says. With a racing heart, she uttered those words once again.

“I choose Roshan.” Her voice came out soft, it was pleasing to the ear and before Roshan knew it, a glacial pang of pain stabbed his chest, he felt he was being stabbed with a dagger ice frozen from a poison well, it savagely stabbed him to the extent he spat out blood.

“Ah!!..No!” Anna’s hands instantly flew to her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from screaming in horror. Shock and fear became evident in her eyes the moment she watched blood escape from his lips.

Was that blood???

Shock-stricken, Roshan’s hand frantically moved up to feel his chest.

His heart. It was beating!!

“Y_your highness...” she suddenly reached for him at the other end of the bed, wanting to get a better view if it was actually blood and it was.

“How...how did this happen?” She questioned in horror and instantly got out of bed, she hurried to the drawer to check for any medical kits but there was none.

“Where is it??”

She searched the wooden shelves and the cupboard by her bedside, but there were no medical kits. Unsure of what to do next, she hurried back to Roshan who’s mind didn’t seem to be here at the moment.

“I...I couldn’t find the medical kits...isn’t there a physician around?”

He was still bleeding and since she couldn’t find the medical kits, she reached for the hem of her dress and crouched before him at the edge of the bed, using the dress to carefully wipe the blood away from his lips and that’s when Roshan’s mind came back to reality as he looked at her.

He saw the panic in her eyes as she gently wiped the bloodstain away, as though she wasn’t trying to hurt him but he grabbed her hand at the last minute, stopping her.

“Don’t.” His tone still came out firm despite his condition.

“But...”

“Don’t, Anna.” He sounded serious, meanwhile all she wanted to do was help. His expression looked pained. This is basically the first time she saw him look this torn.

“Let it be.” He added in a whisper and before she could say anything, he snapped his fingers and was out of sight to her gaze.

He left?

Anna sank in her bed the moment it occurred to her that he didn’t actually leave but was escaping her presence.

She just did what he asked her to do, what happened???

The look in his eyes was something she’s never seen in them before, he was always cold, his gaze was empty but today, she saw loneliness, his silent pain and that left her dumbstruck.

Was he actually suffering on the inside??

Roshan appeared in his room and fell right onto his bed while clutching tightly to his chest, his beating heart was causing a dreadful pain to sting at him and it’s unlike any pain he’s ever felt.

Whose memory did he see? Why did that voice sound like Anna’s??? He closed his eyes in despair, feeling the pain worse the more he thought about it.

Not only that, those vague memories were making his heart beat.

He bit his bloody bottom lip as though he was trying to suppress the pain and silently let it torture him, not until Azazel appeared out of the blue with a file in hand. He was about to say something, but instantly paused when he found Roshan in a terrible state.

“Roshan?” His eyes dilated.

He walked towards his bedside to get a better look at him, Roshan’s eyes had gone red in pain, it felt like every tendon in his body was being plucked out. The veins in his body felt like they were being slit and he closed his eyes again.

His heart wasn’t supposed to beat, why was it beating???

Make it stop!!

Azazel, seeing his condition, instantly dropped the file on a desk and crouched down to Roshan’s bed level. He placed a hand on Roshan’s shoulder, then closed his eyes with an engrossed expression.

After a few seconds of concentrating on his spiritual powers, Azazel’s body suddenly glowed in a dazzling white light as he silently chanted some words. He could feel his energy seep from his body, concentrating it to move directly to his hand and connecting to Roshan’s body.

Roshan, who had a painful expression on his face as he was silently tortured, suddenly felt the aches in his heart reduce slightly. Gradually, the painful stabs reduced and only then did he realize Azazel was passing some of his energy into him.

“Stop!” He uttered in displeasure.

“Ruin the process and face the consequences.” Azazel calmly threatened as he pushed more energy into Roshan’s body.

The pain finally reduced to a tolerable extent, leaving the being to relax as he let out a tired breath. Soon enough, the memories as well as the voice faded like he never even heard them in the first place.

He was currently sweating all over and Azazel stopped glowing.

“Are you mad?” Roshan cursed either way, “why did you give me your strength?”

“I didn’t give you, I shared it with you which you are certainly going to pay me back for, you’re welcome.” Azazel calmly responded before meeting Roshan’s stare.

The being looked weak as he barely moved from the bed, he was sweating from the pain and Azazel couldn’t dare to imagine how horrible the pain must have felt.

“What happened to you?”

“What are you doing here?” Roshan questioned back, catching his breath but he felt weak to even move. He licked the bloodstain away from his lips while Azazel’s gaze lingered on him.

His eyes moved to the scar on Roshan’s chest, new scars had formed on them again and he understood exactly what took place.

“Father’s punishment seems to be taking a great toll on you.”

“He should rot in hell.”

“Father is hell itself, so that wish isn’t something that can be accomplished.”

Seeing the stubborn demon was starting to feel a little better, Azazel shifted his attention to the file he had dropped on the desk.

“The higher demons dropped a meeting invitation for you, go through it when you feel better.”