#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast
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Dissonance - Chapter 18: To be Wanted by Demons
Zeke cracked his eyes open, they felt sore and his head was throbbing. He was basically wrapped around Belphie, their legs were tangled together and the demon’s head was once again tucked under this chin. Someone was playing with his hair, and it didn’t feel like Beel. Although he could sense seven powerful presences crowded his room.
“Awake now, darling?” Asmo’s voice was a soft coo in his ear.
“Mn.” Zeke mumbled an incoherent affirmative before letting his eyes close again, stretching as much as he could without untangling from Belphie, before nuzzling his face into the indigo hair of his sleepy demon. He was very comfortable. Asmo’s gentle presence snuggled against his back was soothing, although he wondered why Beel wasn’t the one cuddled up against his back.
“How are you feeling?” Satan’s smooth voice reached him, and he felt the bed shift as Satan sat next to Asmo and reached over to gently brush his hair out of his eyes.
“We should put a cold compress on your eyes, hon. They’re all red and puffy. You’ll feel better.” Asmo hummed softly, his slender arms wrapping more firmly around Zeke’s waist as he cuddled closer.
“You worried all of us, normie!” Zeke realized part of the weight on his legs was actually Levi, who was curled up by his feet.
“Yeah human! Don’t go having fits like that while most of us aren’t home!” Mammon tried to seem like he wasn’t just as concerned as his brothers, but Zeke knew better.
“Asmo and I sensed your distress. I was in a meeting with Lord Diavolo and had to rush back home.” Lucifer sighed as if greatly inconvenienced, but Zeke could sense the relief coming off the firstborn in waves.
“I ran out of my spa appointment, darling. You worried me so much, I was afraid something truly awful had happened to you. Ooh~ Our bond is so special, I never sense Solomon the way I feel you~”
Was that so? Zeke wondered why his pact with Asmo would be any different from Solomon’s pact with Asmo. Maybe it was because he was psychic? That seemed to have effects on everything to do with magic. Solomon had commented more than once that his psychic status played a part in how quickly he was picking up on his sorcerer lessons. It was so intuitive to him since coming to the Devildom and being exposed to so much raw magical power flowing freely through the air. At least once his pacts had shielded him from being overloaded with it.
Zeke had doubled his number of pacts today.
That should have been a more concerning thought than it was. In just a few short weeks he had gone from wary and cautious of the brothers to wholly embracing them. He didn’t care if they were demons. It had been weeks and not once had he felt like any of them meant him harm in any way. Quite the contrary. They had proven to be almost excessively protective of him, and each and every one of them had gone out of their way to make him feel wanted and happy.
Maybe it was just because he was so very tired of being alone, but Zeke felt truly cared for since coming here. As a weird orphaned child, with all his oddities and quirks, nobody had wanted him. He had gone through six foster families in less than a year. They all decided he was too much for them. His psychic abilities had frightened them, had made them discard him, had made him a freak.
Zeke had never been violent, had never hurt anyone with his visions or with seeing the dead, but that didn’t matter. They had labeled him insane and he spent most of his life in institutions for troubled and violent children as a result, because there was nowhere else for him to go.
It didn’t matter anymore.
Zeke heaved a sigh and opened his eyes again, turning his head to see Asmo’s face, still pressed near to his, and gave a tired smile. He would enjoy this while it lasted.
“I’m sorry for worrying all of you. Did…the twins tell you what happened?” He wasn’t sure how much they had shared with the others. Satan and Asmo were on one side of him, Belphie was dozing peacefully in his arms still, Beel had actually moved to sit on the other side of Belphie and looked slightly guilty, Lucifer and Mammon had taken up chairs at his bedside, and Levi was curled up around his feet and legs. All of them looked conflicted.
“Yes. We thought they should know. Are you mad?” Beel seemed genuinely concerned that he would be upset with them for sharing something so personal and traumatic. Zeke just felt relief that he wouldn’t have to repeat the sad truth again.
“No. I’m not mad. I never intended to keep it secret or anything. I just don’t like talking about it. It hurts a lot.” The demons all seemed genuinely very disheartened, and they were hovering protectively around him, he realized. As if learning about the demise of his sister made them all the more determined to keep him safe.
“We understand why you would not want to speak of something so personal and emotional.” Lucifer said for everyone, and he sensed the incoming question they all had too. “Did you really see her?”
Every pair of eyes, at least the open ones, were now fixated on Zeke. There was a tension in the room as they all waited for his answer with held breaths.
“Yes. I don’t know why she was there, but she was. I swear I’m not crazy or making it up.” Zeke let out in a rush. He was so used to others not believing him, to thinking he was insane or seeking attention. That was the last thing he wanted any of the brothers to think of him. He knew it was an irrational fear. They knew he was psychic, they had no reason to think he was spouting nonsense. He felt his chest tightening with that fear of rejection anyway.
“Shh. It’s okay. We believe you.” Satan hushed him quickly, cupping his face gently to look into his eyes. There was no doubt or scorn in them, just a gentle concern and profound sadness.
“I am glad she watched over you that day. I have not seen my brothers so happy as they have been since you came into our lives. I think Lilith must have known how much happiness you would bring us. She made sure that you would come to us, so that we could watch over you, as she once did.” Lucifer had moved closer so he could catch his gaze, his expression was uncharacteristically soft. Satan moved to make way for the eldest, so that Lucifer could run his gloved fingers gently through Zeke’s hair.
“I don’t understand why. I’m nothing.” His burning eyes and blurring vision told him tears had begun to well up once more.
“You are everything. The one human that is most adored by the seven rulers of Hell. We would not be swayed by a human that was nothing. Do I make myself clear?” Zeke jolted, startled as Belphie’s voice suddenly hissed angrily from where it was tucked against his throat, the sloth demon now clinging to him even tighter than before. He seemed genuinely offended by Zeke’s low opinion of himself. A quick glance around at the faces of the other six demons showed they shared the youngest’s thoughts on the matter.
“We really like you, Zeke. Please don’t say you’re nothing.” Beel looked about ready to cry again over him.
“They’re right, hon. We adore you, truly.” Asmo pressed a soft kiss to his temple, causing Zeke to close his eyes, unable to handle the way they were all staring at him just then.
“I have never felt more at peace than when we’re together. Nobody has ever made me feel this way before.” Satan’s sincerity made Zeke’s heart clench.
“You’re the only normie I like, so don’t say bad things about yourself, okay?” Levi’s voice was hushed, and it wavered slightly, as if the envy demon was ready to cry on his behalf.
“The Great Mammon doesn’t waste his time on just any human, and don’t ya forget it.” He felt Mammon ruffle his hair, and he managed a trembling smile.
“I would not call a human who was not worthy my master, Ezekiel. You are more exceptional than you realize.” Lucifer’s voice was soft, but firm. They all meant it, every single one of them. Zeke could tell by the warmth that radiated from the auras all around him.
“Thank you, all of you.” He didn’t know why they meant it, but he wanted so badly to believe it. Maybe for now he didn’t need to understand. For now, just allowing himself to believe was enough, right?
“All of you should get out and let him rest more.” Belphie grumbled, nuzzling against Zeke’s chest as he started to make himself comfy again, clearly intending on falling back asleep with him.
“He needs that compress for his eyes! Plus he should hydrate after crying, his darling head must be aching by now.” Asmo huffed, getting up and heading into the bathroom. A moment later he heard the sink running.
“I actually am thirsty.” Zeke couldn’t argue about the headache. He had to pry Belphie off of him to sit up, and the sleepy demon grumbled the entire time, but he finally had himself upright. Lucifer already had a filled glass that he handed to him. They must have had one ready for him while he was still asleep. He was struck again by how much care and attention he got since coming here. “Thanks.”
Once the glass was empty Lucifer took it from him and Asmo reappeared at his side to gently press a cool, damp cloth over his eyes and help him settle back down onto his pillows. Belphie immediately made himself comfortable pressed into his side, with his head laid on Zeke’s shoulder.
“Thanks Asmo.” He sighed, eyes closed and body relaxing. His head still hurt, but he figured that would fade with time.
“Everyone out. Let him rest.” Lucifer chided, and Zeke heard grumbling complaints, but sensed most of the demons leaving the room reluctantly. Belphie didn’t budge, which he expected, but he sensed Satan lingering as well.
“Can’t they stay, Lucifer? They’re not going to bother me. I’d actually rather have them here than be alone right now.” He knew Lucifer wouldn’t be able to say no, and it was confirmed when he heard the eldest give a tired sigh.
“Very well, but if they disturb your rest tell them to leave, if they don’t, inform me.” Zeke could practically feel the two demons in question roll their eyes, but he simply hummed an acknowledgment. He heard the door click softly shut as Lucifer left them alone. The bed shifted slightly as Satan sat beside him, his fingers gently playing with his hair, probably staring at him again.
“The human, the one that killed your family, do you know his name? Lucifer refused to divulge the information.” Satan’s voice held a very dangerous edge to it, one that had been kept in check until the firstborn had left.
“It was a real pain, him claiming that it wasn’t our place.” Belphie huffed from his spot cuddled against his shoulder.
“Why, yes, yes I do know his name.” Zeke’s eyes were closed, and covered by the cloth even had they been open, but the creeping grin told the demons all they needed to know about whether they were going to have to coax the human into assisting them. Apparently no convincing would be needed. The three of them would have plenty to talk about until dinner time.
#obey me#obey me oc#obey me mc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance#obey me diavolo
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Fear and Midnight for game!
What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?
Zeke has already lived his greatest fear - which is to lose someone he loves. He doesn't talk about it. Hates talking about it. At one point he thought he had nothing left to really lose. As he gets closer to the OM cast that fear is slowly creeping back up on him.
What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping?
Zeke has insomnia and nightmares. Being a psychic his dreams can be prophetic, so sometimes his nightmares actually come true. He sleeps only when he can no longer keep his eyes open. His abundant free time is usually spent studying, reading, or writing.
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Dissonance - Bonus: Who is in Control
“What happened to being on our best behavior?” The words flew from Satan as soon as he heard the human’s bedroom door slam shut, the fourth-born seething at Lucifer.
“I don’t want to hear it. He let that sorcerer manipulate him into an apprenticeship. Solomon’s up to something. I know it.” It worried him, not that he would ever admit that out loud.
“It doesn’t matter what Solomon is up to! Zeke will handle the sorcerer as he sees fit. He is not a child, and claiming to own him? Who is going to scare him off out of us? Forget whatever unintentional harm you think I might cause, you are going to keep him from wanting to stay with us.” Satan was truly trying to hold his temper, he didn’t want to cause a mess in the library. Zeke had seemed to like the room and it would be a shame to destroy anything that brought the human happiness.
“If you drive Zeke away from us, none of us will ever forgive you.” Both of them whipped around to see Belphie standing there, clutching his cow print pillow under one arm and rubbing his eyes. They were surprised to see the rest of their brothers peeking in from the doorway. Apparently the yelling had caught the attention of everyone in the house.
“Lucifer, how could you?! Why would you go and upset our darling human? Zeke is so sweet, and I think Solomon will be a great teacher for him. He is still human. You can’t restrict his only human connection!” Asmo’s pretty face was twisted into a scowl that was almost a pout. The others murmured agreements with the sentiment. None of them wanted Zeke to be upset.
“Of course you would think so, you have a pact with that shady human.” Lucifer rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest with a huff. He didn’t like that Zeke was upset either.
“I have a pact with Zeke too.” Asmo admitted slyly. He had purposely left out that little detail when updating Lucifer about the apprenticeship.
“You made a pact with Zeke?” Beel and Belphie said at the same time, exchanging glances and frowns. Belphie spoke again, pouting as he did. “We wanted to make a pact with him. To make up for this morning, and make sure nothing like it ever happens again.”
“That explains the increased power from this morning.” Satan mumbled thoughtfully, seeming to slip into his own thoughts.
Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t opposed to his brothers forming pacts with their human. Not at all. However, he didn’t expect it would begin this quickly. Then again, he had no room to talk, all things considered. He had made a pact with Zeke before even allowing his brothers to properly meet their human.
“Beel, Belphie, you can still make a pact with him. Although perhaps wait until he is in a better mood.” Best to appease the twins. They had been closest to Lilith, and though Asmo seemed to be befriending him fastest, undoubtedly the twins were most eager.
“Whose fault is it that he’s in a bad mood?” Satan countered. Lucifer grimaced, knowing the human’s current foul mood was really his fault. Even if his Pride wanted to insist otherwise. If only the human was more obedient - no, he liked his fierce spirit underneath the neutral surface.
“Assuming you all want pacts with him, let us agree to this much - aside from the twins we should not make more than one pact at a time. We should be giving him time to adjust to each new pact and the increased power that comes with it.” He shot Asmo an accusing glare. His younger brother was unapologetic, simply winking and sticking out his tongue while making a peace sign.
It was clear that their human’s magic had been out of control. He had felt the pull on his pact, Zeke had inadvertently used his own power against him. There was a certain swell of pride at the fact.
“He’ll definitely want a pact with The Great Mammon, why do the twins get to ask before me? I should have been after you!” The second-born was clearly greedy to have more of their human to himself.
“Shut up Stupid Mammon. Nobody wants a pact with a low-life like you. I doubt the human even wants to make a pact with a yucky otaku like me.” Levi was obviously burning up with envy learning about Asmo’s fresh pact with their resident human and the twins impending attempts to forge pacts with Zeke.
“Enough. Get out, all of you, go find somewhere else to cause a headache.” Lucifer watched his brothers disperse with no small amount of grumbling before heading back into his study and sitting heavily in his seat.
Lucifer didn’t want to examine the feelings he had about all that had happened in the last hour beyond the anger at Zeke’s entangling himself with Solomon. Most of his ire was directed at the sorcerer, and he might have taken it out on the wrong human. No, he definitely had. The way that Zeke had looked at him sent shivers up his spine. That couldn’t be right. He had certainly not felt a moment of doubt as the human turned his own words on him. The human definitely belonged to him, not the other way around.
On the other hand, it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant idea either. Yes, he was angry at Zeke for talking back to him, but he found it endearing as well. He liked that Zeke didn’t fold as soon as he raised his voice. If he was to bind himself to a human, well even if Zeke wasn’t Lilith’s descendant, he thought that he might be exactly the type that he would choose anyway. Polite, until given a reason not to be, ambitious in all the right ways, and powerful. With his guidance Zeke was going to become an invaluable asset to Lord Diavolo, then the prince would have to let him keep him.
#obey me#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me mc#obey me oc#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Bonus: Fate Written in Stone
Three demons sat in tense silence inside Lord Diavolo’s office. Lucifer was staring down at his teacup with a deep frown. The televised interview went well. He was very proud at how well his human had handled the situation. It was a situation that he should never have been placed in, however. He was going to hang Mammon from the ceiling for a month, or perhaps he should shred his brother’s beloved Goldie.
“Well that was not as disastrous as we all feared.” Lord Diavolo finally broke the silence, taking a sip of his tea.
“Not yet.” Lucifer sighed, wholly unconvinced. Zeke’s life was on the line here. How many demons might be especially tempted by his soul now? It would be quite the boast to be able to claim such a radiant soul as his human’s but now they knew that he was E. J. Novak. This incident had practically turned Zeke into a walking trophy, just waiting to be claimed.
“Are you having doubts about your abilities to keep him safe to the end of the year? Come Lucifer, have a little more faith in your brothers.” Lord Diavolo chided him gently.
“I will keep him safe, but you can’t deny the danger has increased dramatically.” Lucifer wished Lord Diavolo took this more seriously. He knew that Zeke’s welfare was only truly a concern to the prince insofar as it related to the success of his exchange program.
“That is true, but I am certain he will be alive and well at the end of the program. He will be returned home in just as much health as he was taken, or perhaps even better.” Lord Diavolo had all of Lucifer’s reports on the progress of their human. He would know that the brothers were taking better care of him than the human had ever bothered to care for himself.
The reminder that Lord Diavolo was still quite set on returning Zeke to the human realm at the end of all this only served to sour Lucifer’s mood further. He had hoped by now that Lord Diavolo would see the dramatic benefit the human’s presence was to his brothers, and himself for that matter.
“Young Master, if I may speak freely?” Barbatos had finally broken his silence to do more than observe the situation.
“Of course! I welcome your opinion, Barbatos, you know that.” Was Lord Diavolo’s immediate reply as the prince turned towards his steward. Lucifer also turned to look at the normally stoic butler, noting that he just barely seemed troubled. If Barbatos appeared mildly troubled then he must be very bothered by something.
“I feel that I must remind you of the future I had seen prior to bringing Mr. Pendergast for the exchange program.” Lucifer felt his stomach drop as Lord Diavolo made a gesture that Barbatos should continue. “Upon further and closer observation of this potential future I am quite certain that in the future I saw Mr. Pendergast will be murdered in the human realm by a deranged fan less than two years from now.”
The butler let that revelation hang in the room, now silent as the grave, as he allowed the implications to truly sink in. Lucifer felt an icy, sinking dread creep through him as he realized the true horror that Barbatos had just dropped on them.
Lucifer had brought Ezekiel here in the hopes of protecting him. He thought for sure that he could circumvent that desolate future by bringing him to the Devildom. If it was a deranged fan that caused his human’s death, that meant that coming to the Devildom set in motion the events that would lead to that grim fate.
That also meant that Mammon would be indirectly responsible for Zeke’s looming demise. If Zeke had not come here, he would never have had to go public with his identity, and no disturbed fan would have known how to reach him.
“That is certainly…unfortunate.” Lord Diavolo was clearly trying to be careful with both his wording and his tone.
“Unfortunate?” Lucifer seethed as he stood and began pacing. “I brought him here because I thought I would be keeping him safe. Now Barbatos is telling me that decision might be the cause of his death? I think that is more than simply unfortunate.”
“I understand this must be very difficult for you, my old friend, but what is done is done. Fate is a hard thing to break. Perhaps no decision is the right one. Humans die, we can’t interfere, it’s forbidden.” Lord Diavolo had stood, trying to make a placating gesture, which only further agitated Lucifer.
“You don’t understand! This is my family. I can’t just accept that he is going to die, no matter what I do. I won’t lose another one, Diavolo. I can’t. If he stays here I can keep him safe.” Lucifer knew he was grasping at straws. He knew that it was forbidden. His initial reason for swearing loyalty to Lord Diavolo was because he begged him to do something forbidden.
“The Devildom is too dangerous for a human like him, Lucifer. He isn’t like Solomon, or the witches, not to mention the Celestial Realm would absolutely have something to say about it. My hands are tied here. You can’t protect him forever. The Reapers will come for him one way or another if it is time for his candle to burn out.” They were all sound arguments, and Lucifer hated that he agreed with it. It was true that humans did simply die so very easily. Their human had already nearly been killed because of a momentary lapse in the twin’s vigilance. It was only a matter of time before there was another mistake that put Zeke’s life in danger. Even if he somehow managed to protect him from every outside danger, Ezekiel would eventually wither away, but he still couldn’t accept this finality.
It could not be that there was nothing that Lucifer could do. Was his Father still punishing him even now? Or perhaps it was that Father was still punishing her. Barbatos had stated that Lilith’s bloodline had flourished at first. It was only more recent generations that tragedy had started erasing each of her descendants. Had Father somehow found out that Lilith had lived?
Lucifer had gotten so lost in his thoughts and pacing that he actually startled when he felt a hand gently rest on his shoulder. He turned his gaze to Lord Diavolo, and realized that there was genuine sympathy and regret in the prince’s eyes.
“Lucifer, there is little we can do. Remember, this is only a possible future. There is still half a year until he must leave. Use the time wisely.” Lucifer looked from Diavolo to Barbatos, but the butler remained unreadable. He knew that unless Lord Diavolo allowed it, Barbatos would do nothing. It was beyond frustrating.
“Barbatos, is there a possible future where he lives a long, happy life?” He knew there was a chance that the butler would refuse to answer, and for a moment, Barbatos hesitates, eyes flickering to his master still standing behind Lucifer. Diavolo must have made some gesture of approval, because Barbatos gave an almost imperceptible nod before giving his reply.
“No. None that I have seen so far. I’m sorry, Lucifer.” The mighty firstborn, Avatar of Pride, allowed his shoulders to slump in defeat. If Barbatos saw no good future for Ezekiel, then there was probably no easy way to guide them towards a future with a desired outcome for the human.
#obey me#obey me oc#obey me mc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me lucifer#obey me diavolo#obey me barbatos#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 1: Exchange Dilemma
The planning stages of the exchange program were almost complete. Things were moving forward smoothly, with three of the four students coming to the Devildom already selected and on board. All that was left was to select the second human that would accompany Solomon, and they had already decided on one very specific requisite for the candidate. The second human had to be one of hers.
Barbatos knew that the young master had made this decision with care. Lucifer had been faithful to his promise to serve, and this was to be his reward. Of course the human wouldn’t be her but to reunite the brothers with even a piece of her would surely do them well. The young master was worried about them. Thousands of years to adjust to life in the Devildom and yet they still didn’t seem quite whole. If the butler had any doubts on if this human could actually help, well he kept them to himself. The task of choosing between her descendants had been tasked to him, and he would be certain to choose carefully.
That was what Barbatos thought. Sifting through candidates to find the perfect one to suit the brothers should have been simple.
It should have been.
An unfamiliar feeling was creeping through the unflappable demon. When Lilith had first been reincarnated as a human all those years ago, Barbatos had kept a casual watch on her, then her children, her children’s children, and so forth, but things had seemed rather uneventful and progressing smoothly. Her human bloodline should have continued to expand with each generation, branching out further and farther - and for a long time it had. Admittedly it had been several centuries since the last time Barbatos had glimpsed through her family, but with each dull, broken thread of fate that he followed, the more a sense of unease filled him. So much misfortune and tragedy marred the bloodline now.
Had he truly committed such a gross act of negligence?
No, it could not be the end. The young master had only promised to reincarnate Lilith into a human, and he had done so, Lucifer could not say that Lord Diavolo had promised any more than that. That said, the young master had such a deep admiration for Lucifer that he had asked Barbatos to check in from time to time, to make sure that Lilith’s human legacy not be broken - an act of good faith - the young master had called it. He had not wanted whatever was left of Lucifer’s sister to fade into nothing, the fate Lucifer and his brothers had fought and fallen in an attempt to fight.
The endless dull, dead threads accompanied a rising sense of panic and dread. It could not end like this, he would not fail his master. Barbatos did not fear that Lord Diavolo would punish him, but he would not tolerate being the cause of his lord’s disappointment.
At last, in the endless twisting of fate, there was a faint glimmer of hope - one single thread. Barbatos seized the softly pulsing strand and followed it. It alarmed him how dull and frayed the cord seemed. By the state of this thread of fate the demon had expected to find someone old and nearing their end, imagine his surprise to find it lead to a young man with haunted eyes. They were a striking purple, which was certainly odd, humans did not tend to have eyes that color, more shocking was that when he quietly entered the proper flow of time and space those eyes immediately looked up from where they had been intently staring at a laptop screen to meet his gaze - unflinching.
That should not be possible. Barbatos was certain that he had concealed himself with magic. No human should be able to see him. They simply stared at each other for a long moment, neither daring to speak or even breathe.
The human broke eye contact first. He simply turned his eyes back to what he had been working on prior to Barbatos’ arrival and did not acknowledge him further. Was it a coincidence then? Surely if the human had actually seen him he would not wordlessly return to his task. He felt a moment of doubt. No, he was sure the human had seen him.
“Can you see me?” The words tumbled out of Barbatos before he could stop them. A most curious thing on its own. He did not do things without thought.
“No.” Was the human’s immediate response, although he did pause typing on his laptop to open a desk drawer and pull out a bottle of medicine. The young man took one of the pills before tossing the bottle back into the drawer and shutting it harder than necessary, clearly somewhat agitated. He was pointedly trying to ignore Barbatos now, which contradicted his answer. Of course, answering at all also made it clear that he was lying.
Barbatos was…intrigued.
Ignoring the human that was ignoring him, the demon began to explore his surroundings. This was a rather small apartment. A studio with an open loft. Only the bathroom seemed a separate, enclosed room. It seemed rather barren and sterile, the only real indication that someone lived there was the desk where the human sat, and three bookshelves behind him. There was no couch, no tv, no armchairs. The kitchen did appear used, but immaculate. Everything was neatly tucked away into the cabinets, only a coffee machine, a toaster, and a knife block decorated the counter tops.
Barbatos moved to the bookshelf, examining the titles curiously. He was surprised to find that a large section of the books appeared to be occult in nature, genuine magical tomes, as well as books on the paranormal. Most of the rest were fiction - horror, suspense, mystery, with a smattering of fantasy.
The human was still ignoring him.
There was a box set of books that Barbatos recognized. It was a rather popular supernatural mystery series called The Cohen Files by E.J. Novak. There were few books or series that had extensive followings across all three realms, but The Cohen Files was one of them. If Barbatos recalled correctly, both Satan and Levi were fans as well. Although Levi’s interest in the series was probably more to do with the video games based on the series, as well as the tv and movie adaptations. This seemed to be a limited run first edition box set, and it appeared to be signed by the author.
Well at least the human would have at least something in common with some of the brothers. Given their taste in books it seemed that the human would not be completely blindsided by magic altogether either. If the only descendant currently left had been completely unsuitable for the program that would have been most unfortunate. It bore further investigation however.
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Barbatos slipped back out of present time and decided to start at the beginning and move forward. Since the descendant was young, it was worth looking forward to his offspring and beyond to see if any of them were a better fit. The program could always be delayed by a century or two, given that none of the other exchange students would be greatly affected by such a change.
He watched the human’s life from beginning to the point Barbatos had already stepped into, now understanding why the young man’s thread had seemed so dim and worn. It seemed that this Ezekiel Jada Pendergast had not had the easiest life. Death and tragedy seemed to hang around Lilith’s recent bloodline. Like a dark shroud. Or a curse. He also now understood why the human could see him when he should not.
Psychic abilities were quite rare in humans.
Following the thread further, expecting to find new strands as he slowly ventured into the future. Instead he was jerked to an abrupt halt, stepping into the “present” again. The bright violet eyes that had held his gaze before were dimming rapidly. Where they had snapped to Barbatos immediately before, they were sluggish as they drifted towards him almost aimlessly now.
They were on a crowded street. Barbatos stood among the panicked humans. None of them saw him.
The only human that saw him was struggling to take in each breath, a crimson pool growing with each slowing heartbeat. Barbatos could only look down at this human he barely knew in shock and vague horror. Ezekiel was still so young. Was Lilith’s bloodline truly to end like this? With her last descendant bleeding out into the dirty street with a crowd of onlookers gawking?
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The student council room was silent and still. Lord Diavolo and Lucifer had closed the identical folders that Barbatos had set in front of them over an hour ago. His report on the last candidate - the only candidate - was absolutely objective and clinical in presentation. Devoid of any emotion, and as he stood by awaiting further instruction, his face betrayed nothing. Lord Diavolo looked troubled. Lucifer’s expression was unreadable to most, but the butler knew that the mighty firstborn was barely controlling a tempest of different emotions.
Silence dragged on for what seemed an eternity, the atmosphere of the room only growing more grim and heavy with each passing second.
“I won’t allow it to happen.” Lucifer finally broke the silence, drawing the gazes of the two other occupants of the room. “If he comes here, then this future won’t happen. I won’t let it end in murder again.”
“Lucifer…” Diavolo looked at his dear friend sympathetically. He could only imagine what his friend was feeling right now.
“He is the only candidate that meets the requisites we agreed on, Lord Diavolo. We will bring him here as our final exchange student. Your program will be able to move forward now.” Lucifer spoke calmly, rationally.
“Yes, but the exchange is only intended to last a year. Will you be able to let him go?” Diavolo already knew the answer, and knew it would be a lie.
“Yes, of course.” Lucifer said with all the self-assured confidence expected of the Avatar of Pride. The others only gave him a knowing look.
“Very well.” Diavolo finally answered, giving a dismissive glance to Barbatos. The butler bowed before opening a portal. He had a human to fetch. They would worry about trying to pry him away from the brothers later.
#obey me#obey me mc#obey me oc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me barbatos#obey me lucifer#obey me diavolo#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance Chapter 17: The Covenant of Twins
“Zeke! Zeke stop! It’s us!” That was Belphie’s voice.
“You’re going to hurt yourself. Please calm down.” That was Beel.
Zeke found that he could no longer thrash or fight. He was completely enveloped in someone’s arms. It was Beel, he didn’t need to see to know. The gentle giant was holding him, near cradling him, against his chest. The landscape of his worst memory was fading away as he blinked his eyes rapidly, watching the scenery morph back into that angelic room he had not been meant to enter.
At least he assumed that it did, everything was a dizzying blur of colors, the tears in his eyes distorted everything as he sobbed against Beel’s chest, breaths ragged as he tried to ground himself back in the present. Why had he been shown that now of all times? It was a memory he had tried so hard to bury, and for the longest time he’d been successful. Not that he forgot what happened, he could never forget, but the details had remained blissfully fuzzy until now.
Someone was softly stroking his hair, that had to be Belphie’s delicate hand, and he could feel one of Beel’s much larger hands running up and down his back in soothing motions. They were both quietly murmuring that he was okay and that he was safe now. Of course it would be them.
The twins.
Right from the moment he had come to the House of Lamentation the twins had been the ones to most attach themselves to him. Sure, all of the brothers seemed to quickly attach to him. They all vied for his attention, all of them tried to take care of and spoil him in their own ways, but none more than the twins. He had known they were twins, despite how much of opposites they seemed to be. Known and conveniently ignored that fact.
Zeke didn’t want to think about it, acknowledge it. There was always a bit of bitter envy in him when he encountered twins in the human realm. They were together. Why wasn’t Eliza with him? Once again he childishly thought of how unfair it was. Life never had been fair or kind to him, though. He didn’t want to resent Beel and Belphie for being together. It was good that they were both alive and well. Zeke wouldn’t wish being separated from your twin on anyone. It was like losing half of yourself. He couldn’t imagine something more awful than losing a twin. Still, he couldn’t completely control that small, ugly anger that continued to burn like embers in his chest.
“What is Lilith’s room doing here?” Beel wasn’t talking to him, and Zeke realized that he had finally quieted from his crying. In fact his eyes were barely open and he felt empty and numb as he practically laid against Beel, barely awake and aware.
“Another thing Lucifer hid from us. We can yell at him later, though. Let’s get Zeke out of here.” Belphie sounded torn between anger, bitterness, sorrow, and concern.
“Yeah.” Zeke felt Beel lift him up, carrying him cradled like a child against his chest. He closed his eyes and just focused on listening to Beel’s strong, steadying heartbeat, and what the twins were saying.
“Who’s Eliza?” Belphie asked as they walked towards Zeke’s room.
“I don’t know.” Beel said quietly. They were both speaking in hushed voices, probably not wanting to wake him.
“Lucifer probably knows.” Why did Belphie always sound so angry about Lucifer? Also he knew Belphie was probably right. All his information was probably in his file that Lucifer, Barbatos, and Lord Diavolo had when choosing him for the exchange program. His sister would be in his records, if they looked for it. At least he knew that they had not been openly sharing his private information with others, including Lucifer’s brothers.
“Eliza is my younger twin sister.” His voice sounded small, and hollow. There was no point keeping it from them. They were just going to ask if they had heard him screaming her name. It wasn’t as if he intended to keep it secret, it was just not something he enjoyed talking about. There was too much pain.
“You have a twin?!” Both twins exclaimed at the same time.
“Not anymore.” That made both demons stop, stunned. He opened his eyes and watched the emotions slowly cross their faces as they processed what he said. Shock morphed into profound grief. Suddenly Beel was hugging him fiercely, and he could feel tears start wetting his hair as the giant demon held him so protectively.
“I can’t imagine losing Belphie.” Beel admitted with a slightly wet voice. Zeke couldn’t see his face, but didn’t need to, he could feel the absolute pain and sorrow radiating off both of them.
“What…what happened?” Belphie asked quietly, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, and was loath to actually ask Zeke to speak of something so grim.
“Can we go to my room first?” Zeke was pretty sure they were alone in the house right now, but he felt exhausted and just wanted to lay in his bed and hide from the world. Even the house seemed gloomy now, as if it was trying to grieve with him.
Beel moved quicker now, carrying him to his bed and setting him down gently after Belphie pulled back the covers. Both twins crawled into bed with him, one on either side, sandwiching him protectively between them. It was warm and comforting and if he didn’t feel so drained and empty Zeke might have begun crying again. Neither of them spoke, both waiting patiently for him to begin speaking.
“We had just turned three. It was the weekend after our birthday. What we had wanted more than anything was to go to the zoo. Eliza was so excited about the polar bears. I couldn’t wait to see the tigers.” Zeke stopped and swallowed, thinking back on those old memories. He could remember it so clearly now, what he had tried so hard not to think about for fear of the pain they caused.
He felt the comforting hands of the twins on him again, running through his hair and rubbing at his shoulder, unhurried, just offering what solace they could with their presence.
“It was so normal. Father was driving, talking to mother who was beside him. Eliza was talking excitedly about some cows in a field as we drove past. She loved animals so much, didn’t matter what kind. I was looking out the window, watching the clouds. Honestly, at the time it seemed like I blinked and when my eyes opened again I was in a hospital. They told me it was three weeks later. I couldn’t remember anything. They told me it was a miracle that I had survived.” How many times had he wished that he hadn’t?
“When I was much older they gave me more details, when I asked. Our parents died instantly in the crash. My sister held on for two days in the hospital, they did everything they could, but her injuries were just…too much.” He had been so angry at them for not saving her. They had saved him, so why not her? Why did he get to live when she died? It was a question he’d been asking himself over and over for most of his life.
“It was a drunk driver. I was told that he walked away from the crash with a few scratches and bruises. I lost my entire family, my whole world, and he was fine. Oh he spent some time in jail, and he had to pay for the medical expenses, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.” Why did that scum get to live while his parents and sister died? That was a much better question. Except he didn’t really want the man to die. Oh no, death was too quick. He wanted him to suffer. This was the source of so much of that bitter anger that burned in his chest.
Part of the reason he was so fascinated with his Curses and Hexes class was specifically his desire to find a curse nasty enough to set against the man that ruined his life. Zeke didn’t know if he could ever be satisfied that the man had suffered enough but he would just have to settle for what he could get. It would have to be enough.
Zeke was snapped out of his vengeful reverie by two sets of arms hugging him tightly. He found he didn’t mind being squished between the twins. Yes, part of him was bitter that they were whole, but a bigger part of him was glad for it. They were the only ones who could even begin to understand his pain. He knew they had all lost a little sister, but none but Beel and Belphie could truly imagine losing a twin. It was comforting, and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel alone. They stayed like that, simply holding each other and not speaking for a long time.
“How did you even get in that room? We didn’t even know it was there until we heard you screaming.” Belphie finally asked.
“I noticed a place in the wall that seemed off, kind of like Lucifer’s secret study. When I looked closely at that design on the wall I found a riddle. When I answered the riddle I was suddenly in that room.” It had been stupid of him to go snooping. He should have left well enough alone, but the mystery novelist in him hadn’t been able to resist.
“The answer was Lilith. How did you know?” Beel questioned him gently.
Ah, now that was a harder thing to answer.
“The day I stayed home from the demon attack I had a…dream. It was more like a vision, of something that had happened. I was Lilith, I felt her fall, watched Satan’s birth fro Lucifer, and the deal that Lucifer made to reincarnate Lilith as a human. I didn’t mean to see any of it, it just…happened. In that room just now I had a similar vision, but it was of the accident that killed my family. The funny thing is, Lilith was there that day, when I lost everything. She put her wings around me, helped me. I didn’t remember until I saw it again.” Maybe that was why he’d had the vision in the first place, to remember that Lilith had been there.
“She was there?” Belphie asked in a trembling whisper. Beel had started silently crying again.
“Yes. I’m sorry. I know it’s probably awful hearing these things.” He hated to make them cry, to bring up these horrible memories.
“No.” Beel said quickly, wiping his eyes. “We’re so glad she was watching over you.”
“Yeah.” Belphie agreed quietly. “We might have lost you both otherwise.”
“You wouldn’t have even known I existed. I still don’t know why any of you care. I’m just an exchange student. I won’t even be here that long. Then I’ll be alone again and nobody will care. You’ll forget about me.” Being alone and forgotten, something he accepted, but also feared.
“Never. We’ll never leave you alone again.” Beel squeezed him tighter.
“I’m only here for a year, Beel. I’ll be back in the human world in the blink of an eye for you.” Demons lived for ages, after all. A human life was barely a blink for them, let alone a single year.
“Make a pact with us.” Belphie said seriously as he sat up. He looked more awake than Zeke was used to seeing him. “Even if you go back to the human world, if we have a pact, we’ll be with you as long as you live - even if we’re a realm apart sometimes.”
“Okay.” Zeke didn’t even hesitate or question it this time. With Lucifer and Asmo he had been worried about their motives, but with Beel and Belphie he just wanted that connection to them. He didn’t even bother stating that they couldn’t have his soul. Zeke already knew they wouldn’t ask for it.
The infernal magic wove around him, causing him to break out in goosebumps. It felt different, more intense, having two pacts seared across his soul at the same time. He felt Beel’s mark sting beneath his sternum, over his stomach - a very Beel place - and at the same time Belphie’s mark felt cold as it engraved itself on his back in the same location as Beel’s laid on his front. He could feel the magic flowing between both pacts, even that a shared experience. The twins were always connected, as they should be, and Zeke felt a sense of overwhelming contentment settle over him as his eyes began to droop.
Beel’s gentle hands once more settled him back into his bed, and Belphie draped himself around him. Zeke felt warm and happy as he allowed Belphie’s magic to help ease him into a dreamless sleep while he recovered from the surging magic of his new pacts.
#obey me#obey me oc#obey me mc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 23: E. J. Novak
How had it already been six months? Time was slipping through his fingers like grains of sand. Zeke had settled into his new routine so completely, that it felt strange to think that it was already half over. He never wanted this to end. Although time moving so quickly had him stressed for more reasons than his eventual return to the human world. It was getting harder to keep up with everything that he currently had to juggle.
He was so wrapped up in studying, homework, plotting and enacting his revenge, cooking and chore duties, club activities, his reading sessions and coffee dates with Satan, gaming sessions with Levi, and spa treatments with Asmo, that his looming deadlines for his publisher had caught up to him before he had time to even catch his breath.
If all of that wasn’t enough, mid-terms were looming. It was true that he enjoyed most of his classes because the subjects were interesting and engaging - for the most part. That didn’t stop it from being stressful. No matter how much he liked learning, these were all entirely new subjects and he had started off behind all of the demon students. With Satan’s help his grades had all far exceeded the expectations laid out for him, but that had been both a blessing and curse. Lord Diavolo had decided he was doing well enough that the grading curve they had originally planned to give him was revoked.
Zeke had not been a fan of receiving a handicap in the first place, but it had been a certain safety net of sorts that he was sorely missing now that it was gone. There was a lot more pressure for him to perform well on the midterms. His success or failure would reflect upon the entire exchange program. At least the other exchange students were also under the same sort of pressure, as none of the others were being given a grading curve either. Of course they were all far more familiar with magic than he was. The only reason he wasn’t freaking out worse was because both Satan and Solomon had been spending exorbitant amounts of time tutoring him the past week as they all crunched for these exams. Even when they weren’t busy tutoring him, he was self-studying or writing well into the early morning.
Zeke hadn’t slept in four days.
At least the clubs had been easy enough to deal with. Going with a literary club had been the correct choice. He had been introduced to a wide selection of Devildom literature and he got to spend a lot of reading time peacefully with Satan. He had learned, much to his amusement and Satan’s annoyance that he was actually a faster reader than the demon. Although Zeke envied the Avatar of Wrath’s ability to never need a bookmark.
As for the fan club, other than lots of envious looks when Levi had told them about his autographed first edition copy of The Cohen Files, that one hadn’t raised any issues. Nobody suspected him in the slightest, all he had to do was lazily analyze each book with the other members of the club. They liked to speculate about him unknowingly. It was both amusing and weird to listen to fan theories about his books and himself in person, while they were all clueless that the author was actually sitting right there with them.
It was especially entertaining when Levi and Satan riled them all up into heated debates about such insignificant things like the gender of E. J. Novak. The fan club was torn on whether the author was male or female. Apparently he wrote the female protagonist too well, with none of the typical trappings male authors make when writing strong female characters. So clearly E. J. Novak was female. Satan was in this camp, he liked to point out that many female authors used initials in their pen names because statistically speaking male authors sold more books, so not making it obvious that it was a female writer was a strategy to get their books into more hands. In Satan’s defense, this was all true.
Levi was of the opinion that E. J. Novak was definitely a guy. He insisted that he could tell by the writing style and pointed out that not every male writer objectified their female characters. Then there was the complete lack of romantic subplots, apparently Levi considered this one of the core pieces of evidence to support the idea that E. J. Novak was a man. Zeke had to shake his head at it, because while Levi got it right, he felt like his reasoning was awful. Just because he hadn’t wrote romance into the books that ruled out him being a woman? Levi acted like female authors only write books with romantic elements involved. What a load of shit.
It was almost enough for him to side with Satan on this trivial issue on principle, but he already felt bad deceiving them about his identity. Lying outright when he knew the answer felt a bit too wrong, so he had to be on Levi’s team of E. J. Novak being a man. He knew it irritated Satan that he wasn’t on his side, even if it was such a stupid, silly little thing. Besides, he got to to side with Satan on a lot of his other observations about his work, the demon was almost scarily good at literary analysis.
What really had shocked Zeke was all the fanfiction discussion that went on in the club. He hadn’t even realized that was a thing! Some of the stories he’d read regarding his characters - especially Sadie - had turned him several shades of red. It felt a bit strange seeing his characters in such wildly different settings and behaving in ways he’d never even considered. He didn’t begrudge the fans their fantasies, but never in his life had he been exposed to that much smut. It blew his mind. Everyone else in the club had been more surprised that he didn’t read fanfiction. Apparently even Satan read fanfiction. Levi even got pressured to show some of the fanfiction that he had written. That was eye-opening, to put it mildly.
He was getting wildly off track. The static fuzzy quality to his thoughts told Zeke that he was starting to crash, and hard. He had been trying to finish up the last few chapters of his latest book, but his mind was so sluggish that he had drifted away from writing into rambling tangles of thoughts that did nothing to help the creative process. For the first time in a very long time, his life was actually more appealing than his stories. He didn’t feel the need for the distraction into the fantastical, imaginary world he had created for himself years ago. Zeke’s real life had become a fantastical world.
It had been a long time since he had such a bout of writer’s block. Zeke couldn’t keep his mind focused on the screen in front of him. He knew that what he needed more than anything was sleep, but he couldn’t neglect this any longer if he wanted to meet his deadlines. If he didn’t get this to his editor in the next few days they might miss the projected publishing date.
It was a pity that Devildom energy drinks weren’t safe for human consumption, but he could still get coffee. Zeke wandered into the kitchen in a bit of a daze. It was early enough in the morning that he thought that the coast would be clear, everyone should still be asleep - or gaming in Levi’s case - at this hour. The kitchen wasn’t as deserted as he’d thought however. Really it was no surprise to find Beel there, raiding the fridge before breakfast. He must be awake for his morning workout.
“Morning Beel.” He greeted with a yawn as he shuffled over to the coffee maker.
“You should be sleeping.” Zeke waved off the gentle giant’s concern, he must have been zoned out longer than he thought if it was already time for Beel to be up. Rather than feeling a sense of urgency to get back to writing he started a pot of coffee.
Lucifer would be awake soon enough to start herding them all to get ready for school, might as well make him a cup of hell coffee while he was at it. The firstborn always insisted that he preferred hell coffee when Zeke made it, and he knew about the bitterness being worse the more fond the maker was of who they were making it for. It was probably pretty bitter. He couldn’t deny he was very fond of the Avatar of Pride. Of all his demons, really.
While the coffee finished brewing he started making breakfast. It wasn’t his turn, but he was already up and needed the break from sitting hunched in front of his laptop. You couldn’t wring blood from a stone. If he wasn’t able to write, then staring at the screen wasn’t going to help. Refocusing on a new task for a little bit would probably help far more than anything else.
Beel seemed content to help too. Zeke had to keep him from eating the entire contents of the fridge anyway. Partway through cooking Asmo sauntered into the kitchen, apparently he was on breakfast duty this morning. They sent Beel off to work on getting Belphie up, while Asmo and he worked together to finish preparing the meal and setting the table before everyone began trickling in. Everyone else started showing up just as they finished laying out all the platters piled high with eggs, sausages, pancakes, and toast. He smiled at Beel carrying Belphie in.
He noticed that Satan was not there yet, but figured the bookworm had probably stayed up late reading so was running late this morning. Zeke headed back to his room, ignoring breakfast in favor of getting ready for school first. When he opened his bedroom door he froze when he saw a figure standing next to his desk, staring intently at his still open laptop.
Even while his brain was trying to process the situation Zeke knew who it was because they smelled like old books and leather, plus he could recognize Satan’s aura anywhere. It was warm and comforting, with that biting undercurrent of anger that he couldn’t fully suppress no matter how hard he tried. Finally his mind caught up, realizing the gravity of the situation as he rushed forward and slammed the laptop closed. Zeke knew deep down that it was already too late. His heart was racing, there was no way that Satan wouldn’t have figured it out. He wasn’t sure just how long the demon had been in his room, but the Avatar of Wrath was too clever not to have put the pieces together.
Satan had startled slightly when Zeke had rushed in and closed the laptop so abruptly, the demon staring at him with wide eyes for a few moments. Zeke imagined his expression was much the same, surprised and uncertain, as they both simply stared at each other for a few moments. Green eyes broke contact first, darting to the side.
“I didn’t mean to snoop. I finished this week’s book for the literary club and I wanted to talk about it with you before anyone else. You weren’t here and the laptop was open.” Satan looked both embarrassed and guilty for a few moments, but then Zeke saw the gears turning in the demon’s head before he snapped his attention back to him. “That…that was the next book in The Cohen Files series, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.” Now it was Zeke’s turn to look a bit guilty. He couldn’t lie to Satan’s face with the evidence right there in front of them. “You weren’t supposed to see it.”
“I can’t believe it.” Satan still had that expression, the one where he was concentrating, deep in thought. The expression that Zeke always felt a little flustered over, because the demon was so distractingly handsome.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want anyone to know.” He knew that Levi and Satan were big fans, and he’d felt bad about deceiving them this whole time, but he had his reasons.
“It’s so obvious now. E. J. Novak. Ezekiel Jada Pendergast, you took your first two initials, and the last name?” That did have Satan looking a bit stumped, like he was fitting a puzzle together but didn’t have all the pieces.
“Novak is my mother’s maiden name.” There was no reason to try to hide it now. Satan nodded as he seemed satisfied with this new answer.
“Oh.” A look of realization, then annoyance came over Satan’s face. “Levi was right. Curses.”
Zeke stared in confusion for a moment, before snickering as he realized the same thing that Satan did.
“Yeah, sorry. You lost that one. I’m definitely a guy.” He couldn’t believe that was the first thing Satan was worried about, then again, he knew Satan really liked being right.
“I was so sure.” It was adorable when Satan pouted, he didn’t do it often, but Zeke considered it a real treat when it did happen.
“I’m sorry.” Zeke couldn’t hide that he was amused at Satan’s reaction. He was worried that the demon would have been upset at him not telling him about being the author, but instead he was more worried about being wrong about his gender.
The amusement was short-lived, because other presences were suddenly brought to Zeke’s attention. Levi and Mammon were both standing in the doorway, watching them with wildly different expressions.
“Woooooah!” Levi cried out finally, rushing in to grab Zeke by the shoulders and shake him a little in his excitement. “You’re really E. J. Novak?! All this time I’ve been living in the same house as a legend. This is so cool! The games based on your books are some of the hardest, best written mystery and puzzle games ever!”
“Shh! Levi, not so loud!” Zeke tried frantically to shush the otaku’s fanboy moment, but it was too late, his room was right next to the kitchen.
The rest of the brothers had come to see what the commotion was, because they had sent Mammon to fetch Zeke for breakfast and suddenly Levi was screeching. Lucifer sighed heavily as he realized what was going on almost immediately.
“Oooh~, our darling is a celebrity and nobody told me?” Asmo practically squealed. “I can’t wait to -“
“No! No telling your followers, no tagging me, no nothing!” Zeke felt panic welling up in his chest. If everyone knew about his identity he’d have a very difficult time having any kind of private life. The whole reason he used a pen name to begin with was to keep his privacy intact. Not to mention human fans could get obsessive and crazy enough, he didn’t want to find out how bad demon ones might get.
“This is private, privileged information, and I expect you all to keep it that way. For Zeke’s privacy and safety Lord Diavolo and I have kept this hidden, even from you lot. No one breathes a word of this to anyone outside this house, am I clear?” Lucifer had been quick to try to take charge of the situation and do damage control.
Zeke could feel Satan’s arms wrap comfortingly around him and he turned to press his face against his school jacket as he tried to take deep, calming breaths. All the brothers began trying to reassure Zeke that they would keep his secret safe after seeing him so distressed about the situation.
“Uh, where’s Mammon?” Belphie asked suddenly, and looking around they all realized very quickly that the greed demon had already bolted with his secret. Nobody had to say it. Mammon would sell that information in a heartbeat without thinking of the consequences.
#obey me#obey me oc#obey me mc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 4: A Promise and a Pact
They were all gathered in the student council room. As he stood next to Lord Diavolo, slightly apart from his brothers, Lucifer found himself wishing that it were always so easy. Mammon had not tried to ditch this introduction in favor of his latest get-rich-quick scheme, Levi had dragged himself out of his room, and even Belphie was present - albeit leaning heavily against Beel with his eyes closed as they waited for Barbatos to open the portal that would bring Lilith’s descendant home. It was a promise several thousand years in the making.
No matter how far apart we may be, no matter how much time passes, even if someday you’re no longer yourself…
I’ll never forget you. And I’ll always pray for your happiness…always.
…I love you, Lilith.
Lucifer knew that Ezekiel was not Lilith. Of course he knew that, but it did nothing to diminish the promise that he’d made to his dying sister. Lilith would have loved Ezekiel. She would have loved every single human that came as a result of the happy life she’d gotten to live, among the humans she had been so fond of as an angel. Even if she was gone, one of her children was still alive. Lucifer would make sure Ezekiel was safe and happy. He owed it to her.
Lost momentarily in his own thoughts, it was the increase in hushed excitement from his brothers that brought the Morningstar back into the moment. He held his breath as the familiar swirl of one of Barbatos’ portals appeared in the center of the room. A swell of emotion overcame him, although his face remained stoic as ever. The human appeared from the twisting darkness, stumbling a few disoriented steps into the room and that thrill of excitement quickly gave way to worry. Something was not right. Lucifer’s brows furrowed as he started to take a step forward even as he heard Asmo’s delighted squeal at the first sight of the human morph into a shriek as Ezekiel crumpled to the floor.
Heart leaping into his throat, Lucifer and Mammon were kneeling at the human’s side before his other brothers had even thought to move. Diavolo and Barbatos had moved almost as quickly, blocking the others from crowding too close to the distressed human, Mammon gently tried to restrain Ezekiel’s hands from causing harm.
Lucifer slapped Mammon’s hands away as the contact made the human worse. He ignored his brother’s squawk of protest. The first-born should have known this would not be as easy as he wanted. It was not even that he did not know this was a possibility. Even normal humans could react unpredictably to crossing between realms, and Ezekiel was not an ordinary human. One psychic human might be perfectly fine in the Devildom, while another could certainly end up uncomfortable, or one like Ezekiel might find it completely inhospitable.
“Oi, Lucifer, what’s wrong with our human?!” He could feel Mammon’s mounting panic as they listened to the labored wheezing that came from Ezekiel even as the human fell unconscious. That wouldn’t do at all. More frenzied emotions would only contribute further to the problem, the human was overwhelmed enough as it was, without adding other emotions to the turmoil.
“Silence Mammon, I will handle this, he will be fine. Go take the others home.” Lucifer needed to get this situation back under control, and quickly.
“No way! We aren’t leaving him like this! How dare you tell us to go!” Belphie looked more awake and angry than Lucifer could recall in recent memory, and Beel honestly looked devastated to see their human in such distress. Asmo was wailing incomprehensibly, and Levi and Satan had taken their demon forms. Levi appeared to be nearly as hysterical as Asmo, while Satan’s tail was lashing back and forth in agitation, his eyes intently staring at the unfolding scene. He had probably already figured out the problem.
“Mammon, now.” Lucifer cut him off before he could add to Belphie’s protest. Mammon must have seen or heard something in his elder brother, because he closed his mouth into a grim line and moved to help drag his younger brothers from the room.
“We should move him somewhere more comfortable for now.” Barbatos’ unperturbed voice drew Lucifer’s attention back to the human. Ezekiel was still unconscious, his breathing was still extremely labored, and he still trembled, but his muscles were no longer spasming uncontrollably. Lucifer found himself hesitating for a moment. What if he touched him and the human deteriorated further? “I think he will be okay if you pick him up now, Lucifer.”
Shaking off the panic that had momentarily paralyzed him, Lucifer gingerly picked Ezekiel up with one arm hooked under his knees and the other supporting the human’s back as he held him cradled against his chest protectively. Even discounting his demonic strength, lifting Ezekiel from the floor was far too easy, he weighed considerably less than Lucifer thought he should. Looking at him closer now, it was clear there were dark circles under his eyes, his face had an alarming pallor, and he could feel how the human’s heart was currently hammering erratically.
Barbatos and Lord Diavolo led the way to Diavolo’s office that was near the student council room and silently directed Lucifer to set the human onto a couch. The first-born frowned as he settled his human down with as much care as he could. Ezekiel was still wheezing and sweat was now causing his dark bangs to stick to his forehead. Removing a glove he gently touched Ezekiel’s cheek, his skin was clammy and cold beneath his fingertips.
“I was afraid this might happen.” Diavolo crossed his arms and stared down at Lucifer and the exchange student with a worried frown.
This was an unmitigated disaster for the exchange program if the human could not survive in the Devildom. They would be forced to choose another candidate if Ezekiel wasn’t stabilized, and quickly.
“There must be something we can do. We can’t just send him back, you know what happens!” As much as it galled him, Lucifer knew that he almost sounded like he was pleading, but he was desperate. There was no way that he or his brothers would part with the human, but if the Devildom was killing him…
“I suppose there are some things that could be done.” Diavolo mulled over something for a few moments before looking at Lucifer with an uncharacteristically serious expression. “The problem right now is that his aura is not strong enough, or rather not trained enough, to withstand the Devildom’s natural magical fluctuations, or the auras of so many powerful demons.”
“Forgive me, young Master. I had not realized that he would be so drastically affected simply by entering the Devildom. When I visited him previously in the human world he was able to mask any physical discomfort my presence caused him. I would even say to an impressive degree. There was no indication that he would be this badly overwhelmed.” Barbatos did actually look somewhat remorseful at this outcome.
“It is alright Barbatos, I should have anticipated this and planned accordingly,” Diavolo looked at the human with a guilty expression. He certainly never wanted to cause harm to one of the exchange students.
“So we must find a way to bolster his aura, correct?” Lucifer felt himself filling with a grim determination. This was a problem that he could figure out. He could actually do something to help his human.
“Correct. The fastest, and safest, way to do so would be in the same fashion that sorcerers and witches increase their own power. Ezekiel should make a pact with a demon. Not just any demon will do. The amount of protection would correlate directly with how powerful the demon he formed a pact with. The goal is for the demon’s aura to overlap his own to act as a buffer or shield from other auras and stray magic.” Barbatos explained softly.
“A lesser demon would not protect him from more powerful demons. Obviously the more powerful the demon he makes a pact with, the better.” It was logical. Diavolo seemed deep in thought as he further contemplated the issue.
“Just so, my Lord. As the second eldest, a pact with Mammon should offer sufficient protection so that Ezekiel can live and function in the Devildom during his stay in the exchange program. He may still feel some discomfort around especially powerful demons or an excessive number of them, but it should be manageable. I am sure Mammon will be willing to form a pact with this human given the circumstances. Shall I fetch him?” Barbatos smiled politely, waiting for Lucifer and Diavolo’s decision.
“No. I will make the pact myself.” Lucifer decided quickly.
“If that is truly your wish.” If Barbatos was surprised by the declaration he did not show it.
“Are you certain?” Diavolo on the other hand seemed mildly troubled. “I understand your attachment to this human, but to make a pact with him? Are you truly prepared to call this human you barely know your master?”
“Yes. Mammon cannot protect him sufficiently, I can. As an exchange student he cannot simply avoid interacting with you and he will face hordes of demons inside the school each and every day, Lord Diavolo. As you may recall, it was you who charged me with his safety and well-being during his stay in the Devildom. This is my responsibility. His comfort has to be a top priority.”
“Very well, if that is truly your decision Lucifer, but he must consent to the pact. I will place a protective ward around this room to block outside magic. That should be enough to alleviate his symptoms temporarily. When he regains consciousness you must form a pact with him, or he cannot stay.” There was finality to Diavolo’s words and Lucifer did not doubt them for a moment as Diavolo turned and left the room. Barbatos bowed slightly before slipping quietly from the room and closing the door to give them privacy.
Lucifer’s gaze softened as he turned his eyes back to Ezekiel. The human looked so frail. He remembered holding Lilith in his arms as she was dying, the Devildom air choking her with each breath. The parallels were uncanny, but also cemented his decision. It was noticeable to him as the ward slipped into place. The difference was almost immediate. He reached his hand up to gently push Ezekiel’s damp bangs out of his face. The human’s breathing and heartbeat were already steadier, and color was slowly returning to his face.
A few minutes slowly ticked away, with Lucifer silently observing his human, trying to remain calm and patient. Finally Ezekiel stirred, brow furrowing as his face twisted into a faint grimace, hands twitching before reaching one up to press against his temple with a soft hiss.
“What happened?” Violet eyes finally cracked open, the human’s voice hoarse as he struggled to sit up.
“You fainted, rest.” Lucifer had gently laid a hand against Ezekiel’s shoulder to force him to lie back, but retracted his hand when the human flinched away from his touch.
“Sorry, please don’t - don’t touch me.” It was understandable that he was afraid, and Lucifer was certain that being touched by him was probably very unpleasant currently.
“I am afraid we haven’t much time, so let me be brief, you are in the Devildom to participate in an exchange program Lord Diavolo has established as a means of fostering peaceful relations between the three realms - the Devildom, the Celestial Realm, and the Human Realm.”
“Have…have I finally lost it? This is a dream, right? It has to be. This can’t be happening right now.” The hysterical edge to the human’s voice as Lucifer watched his hands move to grip his hair made something inside the fallen angel ache. He hated knowing he was the cause of Ezekiel’s distress, but this was for the good of his brothers, and the good of his human too.
“No, you haven’t lost it. When you arrived you had a violent reaction to the magic of the Devildom and to the demons present. I am truly sorry that we didn’t anticipate your needs appropriately, Ezekiel. This room has a temporary barrier to shield you, but that is not something that can be maintained for long, more permanent protections must be put into place. ” Lucifer reached up and grabbed Ezekiel’s forearms, making sure not to touch his skin directly. “Please stop, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Why me?” The way those vibrant eyes glossed over with unshed tears, the way his voice wavered, so vulnerable, made Lucifer sigh.
“It has to be you. Now listen, my brothers and I will be protecting you from now on while you’re in the Devildom. I am Lucifer, Avatar of Pride, and eldest of my brothers - I need you to make a pact with me. It is the only way I can shield you from the auras of other demons. You are far too vulnerable as you are now.”
“A pact?” The human’s face scrunched up, then twisted into something both afraid and defiant. “I am not making a pact with a demon. It might not be worth anything, but I am not giving my soul away.”
“It doesn’t have to be your soul. A pact can be made for something else.” Lucifer was glad there was some fire in his human, and the boy was shrewd.
“What do you want?” Ezekiel was still guarded, still wary. That was good.
“We need you to cooperate if there’s to be any hope of Diavolo’s vision for peace to come to fruition. Promise me you will work hard towards this goal, and that you will behave with dignity befitting a representative of humankind.”
“That’s really all you want?” Lucifer couldn’t truly blame him for being skeptical.
“If it puts your mind at ease at all, the other human exchange student has pacts with seventy-two demons.”
“Seventy-two?” Ezekiel’s stunned expression was almost precious.
“So, do we have a deal?”
“…Okay.”
“Good boy.” Lucifer’s red eyes glinted as a smug grin took over his features.
#obey me#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me mc#obey me oc#obey me barbatos#obey me lucifer#obey me diavolo#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 7: Involuntary Self-care
One moment Zeke had closed his eyes, and the next thing he knew someone was gently shaking his shoulder. He was so warm and comfortable that he did little more than groan and turn his face further into the pillow. There was a warm body still snuggled against his back. That had to be Belphie. He should have been more upset about a demon he barely knew demanding cuddles, but it wasn’t just that Belphie was physically warm. The auras of Beel and Belphie were so warm, so welcoming, that it was hard not to want to let himself absolutely melt into their collective space. He had almost lulled himself back into sleep.
“Dinner is almost ready. You have to eat.” Beel gently nudged him again. “Belphie you too, it’s time to wake up.”
He felt his clingy nap inducer heave a great sigh before uncoiling from around his torso, finally letting Zeke move freely again. When he groggily threw the comforter off him and swung his legs over the edge of the bed he realized that his boots were no longer on his feet. Someone had removed them and set them neatly beside the bed. Belphie’s boots were next to his. That must have been Beel’s doing. Taking a moment to rub the sleep out of his eyes, he couldn’t help but notice how chilly it was now that he wasn’t snuggled under the blankets with his own living space heater.
The house wasn’t as cold as outside, but it wasn’t warm either. It was probably hard to keep an old Gothic mansion like this heated properly. He could only imagine how drafty it might be. Come to think of it, most of the brothers had been wearing some kind of jacket, coat, or hoodie when he saw them earlier. Zeke wished he still had Lucifer’s coat, he’d lost it at some point when Belphie dragged him inside.
“You can go ahead. I’ll be just a few minutes.” Zeke shoved his feet back into his boots and laced them up. Everyone else was wearing their shoes inside, so he figured it was fine if he did too. They didn’t help much with his feet being cold. He’d have to wear thicker socks from now on.
“Mm. Okay, but hurry.” Beel’s stomach made a sound that seemed more like something you’d hear a bear make than someone that looked human. Well, mostly human, Zeke could still see the flickers of demonic features, and they all had inhuman colorations.
“I will.” Yes, best to hurry. Demons ate humans, and while Beel had been nothing but a total teddy bear since he’d arrived, Zeke didn’t really want to test how far his restraint actually went. It would be extremely lame to die on his very first day, after all. Not to mention being eaten alive seemed like a terribly painful way to go.
Beel gathered Belphie in his arms to carry him to dinner - he was pretty sure the sloth demon had fallen back asleep while sitting up and putting his boots on. Once they left he grabbed a simple black pullover from his closet and then went to his bathroom to quickly wash his face, hands, and use the enormous mirror over the sink to tame his unruly mop of dark hair. He didn’t care deeply about his looks, but he did want to look somewhat put together for his first dinner with the demons.
Satisfied that he was presentable, he hurried into the hall. They had said his room was right next to the kitchen, and he could certainly smell something appetizing. Zeke couldn’t say what exactly it could be, but if the way his mouth had started watering was anything to go by, it was going to be good. He wondered how different Devildom food was from what he was used to. Only one way to find out.
It would have been easy to find the dining room, all he would have needed to do was follow where he could feel Beel and Belphie. However he felt another demon approaching from the hallway that led to the entrance hall.
“Right this way~” Zeke barely had time to see Asmo before the demon had sidled up to him and linked their arms together with a heart-stopping grin. Once again he was struck by the fact that Asmo was dangerously pretty. He bet the Avatar of Lust was a real heartbreaker. Although he felt swirls of lust from Asmo as he was once more dragged to a destination, more than anything he felt concern and excitement. It seemed to be a recurring theme with the brothers. He would have to explore that thought more deeply later.
Asmo guided him into an enormous dining room - no, this was more like a dining hall - overflowing with a skull motive. Everything about the architecture and decor that Zeke had seen so far in both the House of Lamentation and what little he’d seen of RAD was very Gothic. He could appreciate that.
Beel and Belphie were already seated, a space open between them. At first he’d thought the sloth demon was asleep, but he raised his head as they entered.
“We saved you a seat. Sit here.” Belphie patted the seat beside him, and Zeke didn’t really have any objection to sitting between them. So far they had been fairly good company, even if Belphie was a bit pushy. Someone had other ideas it seemed.
“No way, you’ve totally hogged this cutie long enough. He’s going to sit beside me and after dinner we’re going to have a relaxing spa session. I spent all afternoon picking out the best, human-safe products to get our darling human looking his very best.” Asmo dragged him to the opposite side of the table and pushed him down into the middle seat before sitting next to him. Getting pushed around by the demons was going to get old really fast, he could already tell.
“Hey, Asmo, I’m sure that your spa thing is great, it’s not really something I’ve ever done or been into.” He noticed Beel changed seats so that he sat next to Belphie now. It was sweet just how close they were.
“Nonsense darling! Self-care is important and you had a very stressful day. Plus just look at your nails.” The demon grabbed his hands and pulled them up, showing his very much chewed fingernails. “Biting your nails is terrible for both them and your teeth. You leave it to me, hon. I’ll pamper you until you can’t stand it~”
“Sure?” Zeke did not, in fact, sound sure at all.
The other brothers began filing into the dining room. Mammon came in and immediately booked it to take the seat on Zeke’s other side, so now he was between Greed and Lust. Asmo seemed a bit more flirty than he was used to dealing with, but the flamboyant demon was nice. Mammon had been kind of rude to him, and frankly he wasn’t totally over being called broken. Levi was next and took the other side of Mammon. He was playing on his phone and barely paying attention.
That was a mood.
Lucifer came in, assessed the seating arrangement with a frown, but moved to take his place at the head of the table without commenting. Zeke had the feeling that he’d really wanted him to be in one of the seats beside him. Lucifer’s clingy, overprotectiveness was probably going to have to be addressed sooner rather than later.
Satan came in from a door that attached to the kitchen, wheeling an enormous cart piled high with food that had Beel actually drooling. Platters of what seemed to be some kind of roasted meat with an assortment of vegetables he couldn’t even begin to identify were set in the center of the long table.
“I made sure everything was safe for human consumption. We’ll only be serving food that you can eat at meals.” Satan seemed calm on the surface, but Zeke could sense that he was nervous about the meal.
“Everything smells great, Satan. Thanks.” The demon smiled as he took his seat, but was still somewhat tense. He wondered if Satan was still worried about earlier.
There wasn’t a lot of talk as everyone hurried to fill their plates, and Zeke could see why as he saw how much food Beel was shoveling into his mouth and onto his plate simultaneously. He supposed that was Gluttony at work. While he was busy observing the vibe of everyone, Asmo and Mammon had worked together to pile Zeke’s plate with slices of meat, a sampling of each side dish, and a couple rolls. It seemed like a lot of food to him, but he just smiled at both.
Seeing as Beel was helping himself already and nobody else seemed to be holding back, Zeke took his first bite of roast. The flavors absolutely exploded on his tongue, the meat was so tender it practically melted in his mouth and the heat of the spices had his mouth burning and tingling. It was more intense than he was used to, normally eating fairly savory food. He definitely didn’t hate it. So focused on getting his first taste of Devildom cuisine, he hadn’t realized that everyone was subtly watching him. Satan still looked nervous. Now he knew why he was still tense. It was kind of sweet that they were all worried about if he’d like the food.
“It tastes as good as it smells. You’re a really good cook.” He gave Satan a genuine smile, and the expression was returned. Everyone relaxed and dinner continued without further interruption. Lucifer did have to chastise Levi for playing on his phone at the table, and there was some small talk, it seemed like gossip from school that Zeke wasn’t much interested in. He was happy to simply eat in silence, observing his new house mates.
At least until Lucifer finished eating and addressed him directly.
“How are you feeling? I spoke with Lord Diavolo earlier. Originally we intended for you to begin classes tomorrow, however in light of this morning's events, we agreed that you could start the day after tomorrow instead if you needed more time to fully recover.” It was a generous offer. They must have been taking the exchange student’s health very seriously.
“I feel great, actually. Normally I’d be less than thrilled to be forced to go back to school, but with classes like Potions, Curses and Hexes, and Devildom Botany I’m actually really looking forward to it.” He was less excited about Seductive Speechcraft and Devildom Law, and it seemed like math, history, and art classes would haunt him no matter the realm, but it was still a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Only one other human was attending RAD as far as he knew.
“Very good, then I will let Lord Diavolo know. I will also take the opportunity to lay out some ground rules you will abide by while living here. There is a chore and cooking duty rotation. Starting next week you will be added to it. There is a curfew at midnight. For you specifically, you are never to leave the house unaccompanied by at least one of us. That is for your protection. My brothers and I can be trusted with your safety, but you are a human and plenty of lower demons will find it difficult to resist the temptation of a human soul. Especially a soul as pure and shiny as yours.” His soul was pure and shiny? That was news to him. Why would it be like that? He didn’t consider himself a particularly good person or anything.
“All that seems fair enough. I’m not used to needing an escort everywhere I go, but I don’t want to get eaten so I’ll learn to live with it. Sorry again for the hassle, I know you all probably have better things to do than babysit me.” He was curious about everything the Devildom had to offer, but he hated relying on others. Hopefully he could just tag along when one of the brothers was going to something he found interesting. At least that way he wasn’t nagging them to take him sight-seeing.
“Don’t be silly~” Asmo cooed at him. “We’re all more than happy to have you here. Ooooh, we’re going to have so much fun! I can’t wait to take you shopping. Majolish is the place to fill your wardrobe!”
The others seemed to have finished eating and took Asmo’s shopping talk as their cue to escape while they still could. Even the overzealously protective Lucifer had ditched him!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later Zeke was reconsidering this whole spa session thing. Whatever herbs and oils Asmo had put in the bath he’d drawn him were phenomenal. He was currently wrapped in a fluffy robe with matching slippers, reclined back against some soft pillows with his eyes closed. His nails were trimmed, buffed, and shined to perfection. A light purple polish that matched his eyes had been applied.
Whatever face mask Asmo had put on him had left his face feeling softer than it ever had before in his entire life. The demon had also massaged some kind of cream into the dark circles under his eyes, then given him an entire facial massage for good measure. He had been lathered in lotions and toner and things he couldn’t even name.
“You know, no one is as beautiful as me, but you could definitely be second place. Especially now that you’ve got an artist like me to help you look your best. Oh, but it does help that you’re such a pretty canvas.” Asmo’s voice was really pleasant to listen to, it was upbeat and he spoke with this sing-song quality. Zeke had found it easy to simply relax and listen to the demon chatter away about this or that RAD gossip, about fashion trends, or color theory. Sometimes he slipped in these types of flirtations. This one made him open his eyes and tilt his head so he could look properly at the demon sitting on his bed.
“I don’t think anyone has called me beautiful before. At least not that I can remember, anyway. When I was younger the other kids called me creepy.” That probably had more to do with the general air of melancholy that surrounded him, especially back then.
“Have you never met someone with eyes before?” Asmo made an offended sound of indignation at his admission. “Honestly, what could they possibly have found creepy about someone so beautiful?”
“Probably the Gucci eye bags, pasty pale skin, and weird eyes? Normal humans don’t have purple eyes, and humans suck at accepting anyone different.” Zeke shrugged, having long since gotten over caring what other people thought about his appearance. He didn’t even care much about his appearance beyond ensuring he looked like a functional human being that contributed to society.
“Your eyes are gorgeous, darling, and your complexion can work for you. Just leave taking care of your beautiful self to me. No one will be able to deny how handsome you are with me as your stylist.” What a bold proclamation.
“Thanks Asmo.” Zeke chuckled softly. His knee jerk reaction at the beginning of this was to be offended, thinking that Asmo was treating him as a novelty, some kind of doll or pet to play dress up with. The longer he had spent with Asmo this evening, the more he realized just how sincere the Avatar of Lust really was. Not only did he seem to want Zeke to look and feel his best, he seemed to want that for everyone else too.
“You’re welcome, hon. If you ever need reminding how gorgeous you are, just come right to me and I’ll be happy to tell you over and over again~” Asmo giggled and flopped on top of Zeke. They stayed there quietly for a minute until the ornate clock chimed the tenth hour. “Oh! That’s my cue, darling. Now that you’re all pampered and ready for bed, it’s time for me to finish my own routine. I simply must get my beauty sleep, and you should too!”
“Okay. Goodnight Asmo.” He didn’t bother pointing out that he’d slept most of the day away and probably wasn’t going to be getting any sleep that night. There was no doubt in his mind that Asmo would fuss over him if he did.
“Good night, Zeke.” The demon squeezed him in a hug before hopping out of bed and sauntering out of Zeke’s room.
#obey me#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me mc#obey me oc#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 8: The Witty Sorcerer
Zeke started exploring his new room as soon as Asmo left. There was a couch in front of a fairly large tv. The makeshift study had bookshelves and a tall wooden cabinet sat near his alchemy workstation. Apparently Barbatos had managed to bring all of his books here sometime between taking him from the human realm and Lucifer bringing him to the house. It wasn’t just his books lining the shelves, though. There were a couple of horror manga series that he didn’t recognize, as well as a book series called The Tale of Seven the Lords which he did know, because they sold it in his world too. Fantasy wasn’t his favorite genre, but he enjoyed this one.
More interesting were the additional occult textbooks. He wondered who had set these out for him. It was impossible to resist flipping through a couple of them. Zeke spent hours studying intently. He had found his textbooks and class schedule set out on his desk. Undoubtedly he was terribly behind on all of these subjects compared to demons who had been attending RAD for years, so if he wanted to excel he had to be proactive. It didn’t hurt that it was all fascinating.
The hours ticked by all too quickly with him so engrossed in reading. Zeke didn’t look up again until the D.D.D on his nightstand started beeping annoyingly with his wake-up alarm - that he didn’t set. Lucifer probably did before even giving the thing to him. That seemed like a very Lucifer thing to do. How telling was it that he’d met the demon yesterday and already knew that was absolutely on point?
Either way he reluctantly gathered his textbooks and put them into a black leather messenger back that had been provided for him. The shower in his bathroom had amazing pressure, and he spent a few minutes more than necessary just enjoying the hot water. Out of the shower he dried and brushed his hair before going through the lengthy routine that Asmo had insisted on to take care of his skin. Amazingly the demon insisted that he’d given him a quick regimen compared to the Avatar of Lust’s own process. Even if it seemed like a pain he figured doing it was easier and faster than not doing it and having Asmo drag him back to his room to do it properly.
Besides, it was hard to argue with the results. His skin felt softer and looked clearer. The skin around his eyes wasn’t nearly as puffy as it had been, even the circles weren’t quite as dark. Still, there were shadows under his eyes, that was simply part of him at this point. He checked all of his piercings in the mirror, fiddling with the small silver hoops and black diamond studs. Satisfied with the way his appearance he headed into his closet.
Someone had left his uniform hanging in his closet, the fabrics meticulously ironed, he couldn’t see a single crease or wrinkle. Zeke wasn’t the biggest fan of uniforms, but it couldn’t be helped. This one reminded him vaguely of a military dress uniform. The metal adorned with the RAD insignia glinted as he settled it into place. He double checked to make sure everything was neatly in place and his light purple tie was completely straight before he could grab his bag and leave someone knocked at his door. They didn’t actually wait for him to answer though.
Asmo sauntered in, all bright smiles and jittery excitement. “Good morning darling! Excited for your first day?”
“Morning Asmo, yeah. Can’t wait.” Knowing that he’d be surrounded by demons all day was a bit disconcerting, Zeke had never intended to ever deal with demons, and now he lived with them and would be attending a school full of them. Still, that apprehension was the very reason he was here. Relations between the realms couldn’t improve unless they all learned to live together peacefully. He didn’t doubt all the warnings about demons he’d read in his occult books, but at least some demons were willing to try.
“Oh hon, you’re going to class like that?” Asmo was giving him an appraising look.
“What’s wrong with how I look?” Zeke frowned, looking down at himself. His uniform was on perfectly. He was sure of it.
“Nothing that I can’t fix, don't worry your pretty little head. I thought I might need to do some touch-ups for you this morning.” The Avatar of Lust took him by the hand and pulled him back into his bathroom. Zeke found himself unceremoniously pushed to sit on the edge of his bathtub while Asmo rummaged through his vanity drawers. “Ah-ha! This will do wonders, oooh, and this. We have to have you looking your best for your first day. Turn this way darling.”
Asmo had pulled out concealer and liquid eyeliner. Zeke didn’t wear makeup. He wasn’t opposed to it, but he was too lazy and didn’t care enough about his looks to bother. Since he didn’t have to do it himself Zeke shifted to face the demon, curious about how it would turn out. He had no doubt that Asmo would make him look good. That was a given. Still, he sat still and followed the avatar’s gentle directions. It only took a few minutes.
“All done~” Asmo gently pulled Zeke back up to put him in front of the mirror so that he could admire the demon’s handiwork. “Aren’t I amazing?”
“Yeah you are.” Zeke had to admit that it looked nice. The shadows under his eyes were gone, and the black eye-liner really made the purple in his eyes pop. Now he was going to have to learn how to do that himself. No doubt Asmo would be teaching him all kinds of things about beauty and skincare.
“Aren’t you just the cutest~! After me of course.” Asmo squealed and flung his arms around him, nuzzling at his cheek happily. Before they both gathered up their bags for class and headed to the dining room.
Lucifer was already sitting at the table when they walked in, so was Beel. He didn’t see Belphie, it was the first time he hadn’t seen those two together. It made sense that the Avatar of Sloth would be a later riser, and it also made sense that the Avatar of Gluttony would usually be the first one to the table at mealtime.
“Good morning.” Zeke pulled out the chair next to Beel, who was shoving what looked like bacon and pancakes into his mouth. Asmo sat on the other side of him.
“Good morning, Zeke. Did you sleep well?” He couldn’t help but freeze at Lucifer’s question. At least his face froze too so his expression didn’t change until he forced himself to smile.
“I slept very well, actually.” Not a lie, he had slept very well yesterday, unusually well even. Zeke just didn’t sleep last night. That was normal for him. Somehow he managed not to squirm as those piercing red eyes seemed to bore holes into him. He was saved from further scrutiny by the appearance of Levi and Satan who took their seats with minor grumbling.
“Levi, did you stay up all night playing video games again?” Lucifer had found a new target. Zeke thanked his lucky stars and shot the otaku a sympathetic look. Sure, Levi had called him a normie but he didn’t seem so bad.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he tuned out Lucifer lecturing Levi so that he could snatch a few pieces of bacon and a piece of toast for his plate. There was a fresh pot of coffee on the table, he poured a mug and added just enough cream that the liquid wouldn’t scald his taste buds off.
“Is that all you’re going to eat?” Beel had paused his gorging to eye Zeke’s breakfast skeptically.
“I’m not that hungry, honestly. I usually don’t eat a lot at breakfast. Eating too heavy first thing in the morning makes me feel a little sick.” Beel didn’t look convinced by Zeke’s reasoning, but thankfully got distracted by his own breakfast again as Zeke began nibbling on a piece of bacon. It was more gamey than the bacon he was used to, but it was still good.
Mammon finally dragged himself into the dining room complaining loudly about getting up this early, with a sleepy Belphie shuffling in behind him just as Zeke was finishing up his small breakfast and coffee.
“Asmo move, that’s my seat.” Belphie grumbled. “You sat next to him at dinner. Who’s hogging the human now?”
“Sit next to Beel. I was helping our darling Zeke get ready for school.” Asmo retorted with a dismissive wave of his hand.
“He looks ready to me.” Belphie pouted with narrowed eyes.
“You’re both acting like you’re fighting over a new toy. Stop it.” Satan glared at them from his place at the table.
Oh bless Satan, or not, because he was a demon, but Zeke shot him a grateful look even as the others seemed ready to deny what Satan said.
“You’re all going to be late if you don’t hurry up.” Lucifer chided before it could descend into a full blown argument.
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Breakfast had been a mildly tense and hurried affair after that, and to prevent further argument, everyone had walked to school together. Although that didn’t seem to stop them fully, since Asmo walked with his arm linked with him and Belphie was half-leaning against Zeke’s other side as they walked. Of course only Mammon complained loudly about this arrangement. For his part, Zeke was honestly fine with it. He liked Asmo way more than he had thought he would at first, and while Belphie could be a bit bratty, he liked him too.
Once they reached school they had to go their separate ways. It made sense that most of the demons would have far more advanced classes than him, given they’d been attending RAD for much longer. Surprisingly all of the brothers, except Lucifer, shared at least one of his classes, but he assumed that was because at least one of them had to be with him at all times. It made sense.
Mammon was in his first class, which happened to be Mathematics and Arithmancy, much to Zeke’s dismay. It wasn’t that he was particularly bad at math, but it was so boring.
Also it was hard to focus. There were so many demon auras around him, and a fair amount of them were far from friendly. Plenty of his classmates were looking at him with barely contained hostility, or hunger. Of course as it turned out, Zeke had a personal guard dog with a fairly loud bark.
“Oi! What ya lookin’ at? Scram!” To Zeke’s amazement not only did the demon currently eying him like a piece of meat scramble out of the classroom, but the teacher didn’t even bat an eye at any of it. Good to know. Come to think of it, hadn’t Lord Diavolo referred to the brothers as the seven rulers of Hell? Did that make them nobility? Didn’t they also mention the brothers making up most of the student council?
So, not only was he one of only four exchange students, one of two that were human, but he was also living with the student council and what equated to demon lords - no wonder he was drawing so much attention. So much for trying not to be the center of attention.
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The rest of his first class had passed without incident. Mammon had walked him to his next class, which Zeke was much more excited about. Beel and Belphie were waiting for them outside the Pactology classroom. Before coming to the Devildom Zeke had no interest in pacts with demons, but now that he had a pact with Lucifer he couldn’t wait to learn everything that actually entailed, because he really didn’t know.
He felt safe sandwiched between Beel and Belphie. All Beel had to do was glance in the direction of any demon that so much as looked at Zeke and they turned away hurriedly. He supposed Beel could be considered intimidating. The Avatar of Gluttony was huge, muscular, and seemed to have a bit of a resting bitch face. Still, he couldn’t find the gentle giant scary, demon or not. Beel had been nothing but very sweet to him so far, and he couldn’t sense a malicious bone in his body - at least not towards him. Belphie seemed to sleep through the entire class, but Zeke wasn’t inclined to disturb him.
Aside from the expected hostility and being viewed as food, things actually seemed to go fairly smoothly in his first two classes. Sadly most of this first class on pacts was going over the history of pacts as opposed to methodology, which made sense, but was still slightly disappointing. Well he had a year to learn. It would be fine. The classes were long, and after Pactology would be lunch. Which was probably a good thing, he could hear Beel’s stomach rumbling.
When class was dismissed Beel didn’t even wake Belphie up, he simply picked his brother up along with both of their things. Zeke threw his own bag onto his shoulder and followed them out. Now, he was not a short person, but only two of the brothers were shorter than him - Asmo and Belphie. Beel still had almost half a foot on him and in the crowded hallways he found himself lagging behind a little. Demons that parted for Beel and Belphie didn’t mind shoulder checking him. One did so hard enough to knock him into a locker. He opened his mouth to call out to Beel, to ask him to wait up, or to get these demons off his back, but a hand went over his mouth and jerked him into an empty room he’d just passed.
Beel was so focused on getting to lunch, assuming that his human charge was still behind him, that he didn’t even look back.
Zeke felt a fresh wave of terror creep up his spine, but that spark of unadulterated rage that flickered in his chest kept it from seizing him completely. He grabbed at the wrist of the demon that had clamped his clawed hand over his mouth, trying to pull it away. All he needed to do was scream! Those claws scratched at his skin, prickling beads of blood to the surface on his cheeks and below his jaw as the demon lifted him off the floor by his face as he clawed and kicked in a feeble attempt at self-defense.
Lucifer please help me!
He shouted that thought as loud into his head as he could, and he did feel something swell inside him. A cold fury circled him like ice and the demon holding him winced. Zeke could feel Lucifer, but couldn’t summon him. Why couldn’t the class have taught him how to actually summon a pacted demon?
The door to the classroom slammed open and the demon turned from Zeke to snarl at whoever was interrupting his snack.
“Spirit of wind come forth!” That wasn’t a voice he recognized, but he wasn’t going to complain! The demon was wrenched away from Zeke by a strong gust of wind. The claws left parting gifts scratched across his jaw and neck, but he was free as he was dropped in a heap to the floor.
He heard a crash, what he assumed was the demon being flung across the room into desks and the wall, but all he could focus on was pressing his hand against his bleeding face. The scratches stung and he knew that the smell of human blood was probably a dinner bell to any nearby demons. Thankfully the scratches were shallow, but they were bleeding more than he’d have liked.
Zeke jerked away as a hand rested on his shoulder. The aura that had just brushed him was immense! It also wasn’t demonic. He looked up to see a blue-eyed, silver-haired human. That wasn’t reassuring for some reason. Aside from noting that this person wasn’t a demon and they were very powerful, Zeke couldn’t read his aura at all!
“Sorry, I won’t touch you. Let me get someone for you.” The other human raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Hear me, denizens of darkness, you who are born of shadow and you who give birth to it. Hear me and do as I command! I, Solomon, call upon you to send forth one of your number! I summon the Avatar of Lust, Asmodeus!”
The room was filled with a glowing pink light, and Zeke watched the swirls of magic with wide eyes as Asmo materialized right in front of them.
“Solomon seriously? We’re at school!” Asmo had begun scolding Solomon - apparently - as soon as he’d arrived, but devolved into a shriek a moment later as he saw Zeke bleeding on the floor. “My darling! WHO DID THIS?!”
The Avatar of Lust practically shoved the human that summoned him out of the way so that he could fuss over Zeke. He had never felt genuine anger come from Asmo until that moment. A handkerchief appeared from somewhere to be pressed against his face and neck, honestly Zeke was a bit overwhelmed. He realized that Solomon was the one putting pressure on his scratches. Wasn’t this a bit over dramatic? It only stung a bit and they weren’t deep.
“I’m okay. Just a little shaken.” Zeke didn’t complain when Asmo gathered him into his arms and held him there on the floor.
“The demon is restrained over there, Asmo.” Solomon offered helpfully. “I was hoping to meet the other human exchange student, but this is not how I pictured it happening. I’m Solomon by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks for the save. I’m Zeke, also I can feel Lucifer coming, and he is pissed.” As if on cue, the Avatar of Pride slammed open the classroom door, red eyes blazing with fury. Zeke was surprised to note that Barbatos and Lord Diavolo were both behind him, also looking rather displeased. Lucifer’s aura had been so intense he’d missed theirs.
“What happened?” Yikes.
#obey me#obey me mc#obey me oc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me diavolo#obey me barbatos#obey me solomon#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 20: That Time I Had a Sleepover Retreat at the Demon Lord's Castle and Gained the Pact of Envy!
Zeke felt like he was in a bit of a daze as he sat on a couch in a lavish sitting room at the Demon Lord’s castle. Simeon and Solomon were fussing over him, carefully bandaging a few small scrapes he’d earned over the past several hours. They didn’t want to use healing magic, citing how exhausted he already was, saying it would be better to let such minor injuries heal on their own. Given he was too tired to disagree he simply sat there and let them fuss.
The more pressing thing taking up his attention was the infernal magic still pulsing through his veins, the stinging mark on his left shoulder a reminder that he had just gained his fifth pact. Zeke still thought it all felt a bit surreal, but Levi was still hovering nearby, hands wringing as he watched the others tend to him. The events leading up to this were wild, to say the least.
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This all started when Lucifer announced at breakfast Friday morning that Lord Diavolo had decided to host a sleepover retreat at the Demon Lord’s castle for all the exchange students and the student council - which was just the brothers, Diavolo, and Barbatos. Most of the brothers had groaned at the very idea. Beel seemed entirely indifferent, still scarfing down his breakfast as if nothing else mattered - which to the Avatar of Gluttony was probably pretty close to true. Asmo on the other end of the spectrum, seemed downright giddy at the idea of having a sleepover with Zeke.
That had all the brothers flipping their tunes about the retreat. A small argument broke out over who would get to room with Zeke, a privilege all the demons seemed to want, but Lucifer halted that argument with the proclamation that room assignments would be chosen at random when they arrived at the castle. That earned grumbles, but everyone agreed that was the most fair way to do it.
The itinerary for the retreat was gone over, and Zeke found himself a little daunted by what was revealed. The first night seemed perfectly normal. They would arrive after school to the castle, hand out room assignments, take a tour of the castle, and have dinner prepared by Barbatos. The next day was okay, he was looking forward to breakfast and lunch prepared by Luke, and a scavenger hunt could be fun. It was the formal dance that worried him. He had never been to such a thing. Well, Zeke had never been to a sleepover either, but that seemed easy. He didn’t want to look like a total fool in front of a bunch of Devildom elite that would be in attendance. Plus, he didn’t have anything to wear to that kind of event. There was hardly time to prepare for anything, as the retreat would begin that night.
Lucifer tried to reassure him that Barbatos had an outfit prepared for him. Zeke still didn’t know how to dance. All of them wanted to teach him, but in the end Mammon won out on giving him a crash course ballroom dancing lesson the next day in-between the activities planned. He was a little surprised that it would be Mammon, but everyone reluctantly agreed that Mammon was a good dancer. That was something he hadn’t known about the Avatar of Greed, and he was looking forward to the lesson. Even if he still thought dancing in front of a bunch of people would be very embarrassing.
As if the formal dance wasn’t enough pressure, the third day he was expected to cook human world food for everyone. Zeke was an average cook at best. Could he really make something good enough to be served to the literal prince of Hell? He was assured that anything would be fine. This was about cultural sharing. They were having cuisine from a different realm each day of the retreat.
Things had begun to go wrong almost from the moment they arrived. Zeke was mortified to learn that he would be sharing a room with Asmo and Simeon. He had gotten much better at interacting with the angel over the last few months, but sharing a class with him and sharing a room with him for three nights were entirely different beasts. At least there would be the tour to distract him for most of the evening. He could avoid sitting near him at dinner too. That would just have to do for now, because Lucifer was not accepting any complaints or requests to switch rooms.
Everyone was shown to their rooms so that they could drop off their luggage and get settled in. At least he would have Asmo with him, although that might be a bad thing. The Avatar of Lust knew all about his silly little crush on Simeon, and he wasn’t exactly subtle or discrete. Honestly Zeke was amazed that it had been this long and his secret was still safe. The gossip started almost immediately, but thankfully Asmo only talked about how there could be no one that didn’t love him. Simeon questioned that, but Zeke could only agree with Asmo. The demon was insanely charming. Sure, he imagined some people wouldn’t like him, but that was bound to be far less people than that adored him. Asmo had shown him his Devilgram following. It was staggering.
Thankfully Satan came soon to gather them up for the castle tour. It started nice, they got to see a portrait of the current Demon King - Lord Diavolo’s father. There was a lot of really gorgeous artwork in the castle, both paintings and sculptures. Some of it was a bit grotesque and morbid, but still beautiful in its own right.
The real disaster started while they were following Little D No. 2 through a hall of paintings. Apparently one of Asmo’s exes, a witch named Helene, was trapped inside one of those portraits. There was a strong pull, and he blacked out momentarily. Solomon was calling to him when he woke up. They were alone, in the labyrinth beneath the Demon Lord’s castle, because apparently that was a thing.
Solomon summoned Asmo, while I summoned Beel. That just left us to find Mammon and Levi. When they did find the second and third born they were being chased by a giant snake. A snake that just happened to formally be Levi’s pet, a.k.a. Henry 1.0. Zeke couldn’t make this shit up, and he was a writer by trade! There was more than one moment that he truly thought perhaps they had somehow gotten themselves trapped in one of Levi’s ridiculous anime shows. That was the level of bullshit he felt they were putting up with.
Beel offered to eat the snake, but Levi begged for them to spare Henry 1.0, and as much as Zeke was over the situation, he couldn’t say no to the otaku when he was sobbing and begging like that. He used his pact to forbid Beel from eating Henry 1.0. Solomon was to the rescue with the brilliant plan to have Asmo charm the snake after using an incantation that was meant to amplify Asmo’s power. It worked and the snake even led them out of the labyrinth. Zeke filed that spell away in his memory for later, and thanked his past self for having the foresight to do so.
When he was able to retreat back to his assigned room he fell into bed immediately after showering and changing into his pajamas. He was too exhausted to be worried about sharing a room with Simeon. The angel made no comment when Asmo crawled into bed with Zeke to cuddle either.
You would think that would be the end of it, right? Nothing more could possibly go wrong in this train wreck of a retreat weekend, right? That’s what you’d think. No, day two saw Asmo totally screwing up the scavenger hunt, which wasn’t a big deal in and of itself, some of the others complained, but Zeke was able to spend time with Luke and spent another chunk of the afternoon with Mammon learning a few traditional Devildom dance, including a waltz. Mammon made it feel easier than he had been worried about.
The formal dance had Zeke nervous as hell, dance lessons be damned. Barbatos really had ensured that he had something to wear for the event, though. The demon moth silk dress shirt matched his eyes impeccably, the waistcoat was black with silver stars, and the tie matched, black dress pants and very expensive black leather shoes rounded out the roster, forgoing a jacket. Glimmering diamond cuff links gifted to him by Lucifer completed the look. Asmo absolutely gushed over him. All of the brothers, Solomon, the angels, and even Lord Diavolo complimented him when he came out dressed for the dance. Barbatos simply had a pleased, secretive smile.
Lucifer swept him to the dance floor for the first dance, to the complaint of his brothers, but Zeke simply promised that they would all get a turn. The brothers passed him around the dance floor, dance after dance until his feet were getting tired, even in the surprisingly comfortable dress shoes.
Up to that point he had only danced with the brothers, Solomon, Simeon, and Luke. Most of the demonic auras in the ballroom were quite powerful, but none could compare to Lucifer. They had mostly ignored him, giving barely a polite acknowledgment when Lord Diavolo introduced him along with the other exchange students. That was why he was surprised when one of them actually asked him to dance. The demon’s aura wasn’t particularly malicious, and he thought it might be good for Lord Diavolo if he was seen mingling with more than just his caretakers. He accepted, but found at the end of the song that the demon refused to let him go.
Zeke ended up with a strained and bruised wrist, and that demon ended up being escorted from the dance by Barbatos. The aura coming off the butler was terrifying and that was even looking at the auras of the brothers! Surprisingly both Simeon and Solomon seemed quite furious at his minor injury as well. Luke was outraged, but worried and fussy as Simeon healed Zeke’s wrist for him with a kind smile that made his heart thump wildly.
He wanted to sleep, but Mammon, Levi, and Beel dragged him out of his room to go on a mission. Of course it was Mammon’s idea, although Zeke couldn’t for the life of himself understand what could have possessed any of them to think it was a good idea. For his part, he wanted no part of it, but was dragged along anyway. They were going to sneak into the room that Lord Diavolo and Lucifer were sharing for the retreat, to get a picture of a sleeping Lucifer, because Mammon thought the picture would sell for a lot. Again, Zeke was very against this, but forced along anyway.
Predictably things went awry almost immediately. Instead of stepping into the room they were expecting, they were met with a pitch black room. Oh, and it was occupied by a pissed off Cerberus. Thankfully before the hell hound could eat them, they were teleported back into the underground labyrinth.
Zeke could have done without the reunion with Henry 1.0, especially since it involved them once again running for their lives. At some point he tripped, struggling to keep up with the demons. His ankle was twisted and he scraped his hands and knees. He was inclined to allow Beel to really eat the damn snake this time, but once again he was moved by Levi’s tears as the weeb clung to him and begged for him to do something. Asmo wasn’t with them this time, and neither was Solomon. However, Zeke knew what to do now. He summoned Asmo, and was shocked when the same incantation that Solomon had used on Asmo before actually forced the Avatar of Lust into his demon form as he channeled more power into the demon.
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That was how he found out that his magic was special enough to be more potent than the most powerful human sorcerer in history. Also Levi had begged him to make a pact with him through pitiful sobs, citing how Zeke was his true Henry, being willing to do whatever it took to spare the murderous Henry 1.0 just because he didn’t want to make Levi sad. Well, he couldn’t deny the reason he had not gone for a violent ending to that little saga was the Avatar of Envy’s tears. Naturally he couldn’t turn Levi down when he was being that pathetic about it.
Zeke closed his eyes with a sigh. The rest of the brothers were in a quiet, but heated discussion in a far corner of the room, obviously trying not to disturb him. He startled slightly when he felt something being draped over him, but relaxed again when he realized it was Levi’s jacket, the otaku giving him a nervous smile.
Maybe the retreat wasn’t a total waste after all.
#obey me#obey me oc#obey me mc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me lucifer#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me diavolo#obey me barbatos#obey me simeon#obey me luke#obey me solomon#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 6: Seven Deadly Sins
Focusing so intently on the aura of the house had been a mistake. Zeke had barely managed to step onto the porch before the front door flew open and six new demonic auras hit him all at once forcing him to take a step back. He wasn’t afraid, exactly. There was no malice, no hate, no deadly intent. If anything, the auras surrounding him were all a mix of concern and relief. There were too many voices talking over each other. Everything was happening so fast, a blur launched itself at him and all he could do was squeeze his eyes shut while bracing for whatever impact was coming. There was the sound of an impact, in fact he thought he felt the porch rattle with the force of it, but nothing touched him.
“Enough!” Lucifer’s voice was a low, threatening rumble and his aura was full of annoyance and exasperation. All other voices immediately fell silent. Peeking his eyes open, Zeke’s vision was filled with ebony feathers. The four regal black wings that he’d only caught ethereal glimpses of until now were on proud display, spread wide in front of him like a dark shield. He could see the black horns curving from Lucifer’s head. It was the first time he had seen a demon intentionally in its demon form.
“Oi! Ya didn’t have’ta hit me!” Oh, so that was the impact that rattled the wood beneath his feet. Wait. Lucifer had hit one of his brothers that hard? The demon had been so gentle with him so far. Of course, he was still a demon. Zeke shouldn’t be surprised.
“Behave yourself or I’ll hit you again. Do not descend on him like an unruly pack of feral dogs. No one touches him without his permission, or need I remind you of what happened just a few short hours ago?” Yeah, maybe caution was the wise idea, at least for now. He had no idea how the pact with Lucifer actually worked. It was working just fine as a buffer against outside energies, but what about direct contact? Since he’d woken up no one had directly touched him, except Lucifer, and that had not included skin contact.
“Are you going to at least let us meet him? This is hardly fair. You act as if we would ever intentionally harm him.” Zeke didn’t have to strain much to see over the wings that were obstructing his view of the demons that had poured out of the house at their arrival. The one that just spoke seemed very agitated. He didn’t have wings, but a black armored tail that faded into a toxic green towards the end, his horns curled a bit back and out. They almost seemed opposite of Lucifer’s horns in a way. The blue-green eyes and blond hair were also a stark contrast to the demon currently shielding him.
“Of course I don’t think you would intentionally harm him. It is unintentional harm that I am worried about.” Okay, maybe Lucifer was being a little overprotective here. These were his brothers, right? Zeke couldn’t sense ill-intent from even one of them. At least not towards him. The blond was oozing contempt and rage, but that was all directed at Lucifer - although now that he looked closer he could sense hurt and self-doubt after the eldest’s comment.
The others also seemed to be varying degrees of angry or upset at the comment, but not quite like Satan, the name floated across his mind, like a whisper. As his gaze swept over each demon he gathered the names Mammon, Leviathan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor with little trouble. It wasn’t hard for Zeke to place the sin with each Avatar either. Each sin seemed to encompass one of the demons, like a layer on top that you had to peel back to see everything that lay beneath. It wasn’t all they were, but their sins seeped into everything that they were, like an inescapable cage holding them. Well, that's depressing. It was time to diffuse the situation.
“Uh, Lucifer? I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but could we all relax? Please?” Lucifer’s wings twitched and the demon remained tense for a few moments before exhaling and dropping his demon form. Zeke stepped around the first-born and offered the rest of the demons a polite smile. “Hello, I’m Ezekiel Pendergast, but I’d really prefer it if you called me Zeke. It’s nice to meet you. I know looking after me for the next year is probably a huge inconvenience but I’ll try not to cause you too much trouble. Thank you for having me.”
“Oooh, isn’t he just precious? So polite!” Asmo hadn’t hesitated to step forward, squishing his cheeks in his very soft hands. This one was dangerously pretty. “I’m Asmo, hon. You know you worried us all half to death, that’s so bad for my skin, you know! You can make it up to me later~”
“Oi, hands off Asmo!” The Avatar of Lust was pried away from him, and that pout was even more dangerous. “I’m the Great Mammon. What the hell even was that back there? I thought you were broken!”
Well that was just plain rude. Zeke bristled slightly, how many times had people implied that he was broken or defective in some way? Swallowing down the irritation his smile grew just a fragment tighter.
“Watch how you speak.” Lucifer smacked Mammon on the back of his head.
“C’mon Lucifer ya know I didn’t mean it like that!” It still came off as incredibly insulting regardless of the intention, but he wasn’t sure how to feel about Lucifer’s casual violence towards one of his brothers.
“Ignore stupid Mammon. Uh, I’m Levi. You’re probably a total normie, and I don’t normally associate with normies, but I’ll make an exception for you, I guess. Do you like anime? Manga? How about video games? I can totally give you some good recommendations!” Did this weeb just call him a normie? Wow, okay. Not the best first impression, but good to know that otaku dorks were a thing here too.
“Ah, I look forward to it.” Zeke was more into books, but he could enjoy manga, anime, and video games. He wondered if he’d have the free time between studying and keeping up with writing deadlines. That was something to think about later.
“I’m Satan, the Avatar of Wrath. Welcome to the Devildom.” The introduction was curt, and the demon turned and disappeared back into the house as soon as the words were out of his mouth. It was kind of rude, but Zeke figured Satan was hanging onto his anger by a thread and needed to excuse himself to compose himself and just get away from Lucifer. That animosity was something he wanted to avoid, honestly. Curiosity be damned.
“I’m Beel. Are you okay?” Okay, this one was huge, but he gave off major giant puppy energy. Zeke felt himself immediately liking the gentle giant.
“I’m fine now, thanks for asking.” Beel seemed so earnest and concerned. It was sweet. He hadn’t expected demons to be so welcoming or caring. Maybe he should find this suspicious, and in a way, he did, but for now he just wanted to get settled. Sorting out his thoughts and feelings about everything could wait until he had been left in peace and quiet.
“I’m Belphie. You look tired. Come on, your room is ready.” Zeke blinked at the sleepy looking demon as he grabbed his arm and began dragging him inside. The thought of resisting did flash across his mind, but only for a moment. He did want to see his room.
“Belphegor! I said not to touch him without his permission.” Lucifer’s voice was raised and angry as the oldest followed them inside.
“This is okay, right?” Belphie gave him an almost cheeky grin that was definitely calculating. Zeke didn’t need to be told this was probably the baby of the family. He seemed like someone used to getting his way. Rather than verbally answering he gave an uncertain smile and nodded. He really did want to escape to the sanctuary of his own room. It was nice to know he had his own space. “See? It’s fine.”
“Fine, but don’t make a nuisance of yourself. Make sure he rests.” Lucifer was clearly annoyed, but allowed Belphie to continue. “The rest of you find some way to preoccupy yourselves. Don’t crowd our guest.”
Why did Lucifer put a weird emphasis on the last word? It was like he had to remind them that he was, in fact, a guest. Oh, right, demons eat humans - flesh and soul. Oddly he didn’t feel frightened of the reminder. Every demon he had interacted with so far had been exceptionally friendly towards him, it would have made him suspicious that they were somehow trying to get him to let his guard down, but he could sense their good intentions.
Zeke was distracted from thinking about it when Belphie pulled him to an intricate door, it looked like it had a carving of Yggdrasil on it, which he could greatly appreciate. Among the chiseled leaves he saw his name discreetly weaved into the branches.
“This one’s yours. It’s right next to the kitchen. Go on.” Belphie stopped and leaned against him slightly, looking very much like he was about to fall asleep where he stood. Zeke wasn’t surprised when Beel came up behind them and steadied his brother. He had felt the large demon following closely behind them.
Turning the silver handle, Zeke held his breath as he pushed open the door to get his first glimpse of his room. He was not prepared. The room he stepped into was out of a storybook. There was even a tree growing in the middle of the room. The branches formed a canopy over his bed, and soft faerie lights were strung along the leaves - was that a fire hazard? Probably not, they had magic. No way would they accidentally light the house on fire, right?
Moving further into the room he couldn’t believe just how much room there really was. The room was sectioned off, the tree divided the part that was clearly for sleeping from the side of the space that was clearly devoted to a sort of attached study. His laptop was already sitting neatly on top of a large, intricately carved wooden desk. There also seemed to be an alchemy station in the corner. He had a whole dining table in his bedroom. This seemed like an inordinate amount of space. If his room was this big, how big were the rest of the bedrooms?
It wasn’t over. He found a door leading to a large bathroom. There was a whole garden tub with a separate shower. There seemed to already be an absurd supply of products provided. Another door leads to a walk-in closet. It seemed that Barbatos had brought over his clothes and hung them neatly. The drawers were probably also filled with his clothes. However he noticed that there were far too many clothes, and some of them were definitely not his. They were too stylish and expensive looking.
Beel and Belphie were watching him from around the closet door frame. They both looked nervous. The auras around them swirled with anticipation. Were they worried he wouldn’t find the room acceptable? This place was almost bigger than his entire apartment, what could he complain about? Honestly, when he realized he was expected to go to school he was picturing something closer to his cramped, shared college dorm room. This was above and beyond his expectation.
“This is incredible.” Zeke beamed at them both. Both their auras lit up, happiness and satisfaction swirling with brilliant colors. Beel’s face also lit up, a wide smile to accompany his aura, while Belphie’s expression barely changed. He still looked very sleepy, but there was the hint of a smile.
“Good. Now come nap with me.” Zeke blinked. Was Belphie for real?
“Uh, honestly I already napped today, and that’s kind of weird for me. I really don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep.” Also the demon had wanted to nap with him. Demons probably had different ideas about personal space. Zeke hadn’t slept with another person next to him since he was a toddler. “If you’re tired you should definitely go take a nap. I’ll be fine.”
“Lucifer said to make sure you rest, and as much as I hate to agree with him, you should definitely rest. It’s hard on humans to traverse realms like you did if they’re not used to it, and you reacted worse than most.” Belphie gave a dissatisfied grunt before grabbing his hand and pulling him back towards the main part of the bedroom.
“Right.” Well he couldn’t argue against his poor reaction to arriving in the Devildom. That didn’t change the fact that Zeke wasn’t really sleepy. One nap was already more than normal. Belphie didn’t seem to be taking no for an answer, though.
“Lucifer said not to bother him, Belphie. Maybe he’d rather get a snack than take a nap right now? You look hungry.” Beel was so sweet.
“I ate breakfast. Although, I’m honestly not sure how long ago that was now.” He wasn’t sure exactly how long he was unconscious initially, and then there was the nap he’d started in Diavolo’s office at RAD. It occurred to him that he genuinely had no idea what time it was. He didn’t feel all that hungry though. Sleep and food were generally afterthoughts for him.
Belphie was seemingly undeterred though, because a tug on his arm brought him down onto the bed next to the sleepy demon. He thought he heard him mumble something about them being too noisy, but Zeke was pretty sure that Belphie was already asleep, and he was trapped in his arms now. He tried to wiggle out of his new prison, but was unsuccessful. It didn’t help that the bed was unnaturally soft and the demon was so very warm. Has he ever felt more physically comfortable? Did humans even have mattresses and pillows this soft?
Resignation seemed the only choice, so Zeke relaxed into the bed and sighed as Belphie snuggled up to him even more. Beel looked torn, but he ended up pulling a spare comforter over the pair of them.
“I’ll wake you up for dinner. We all eat together at breakfast and dinner.” Beel smiled reassuringly at him.
Zeke wasn’t sure why Beel seemed so sure that he’d be falling asleep, but even as he thought that, he realized his eyes were already feeling very heavy. Was this because Belphie was the Avatar of Sloth? Then again, maybe it was just how soft and warm everything felt just now. The demon was spooning him and the feeling of his soft breaths on the back of his neck were kind of soothing. Plus he could feel his heartbeat against his back.
This is kind of nice.
#obey me#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me mc#obey me oc#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 19: Revenge Best Served
Zeke found himself humming softly to himself in the kitchen. A cookbook he borrowed from Satan was propped open in front of him. It was his turn to make dinner and he was attempting Babylon Curry. So far following the recipes and some minor assistance from one of the brothers had served him well enough to make it through cooking duties. He even found that he enjoyed cooking for the brothers, who always praised him for making the Devildom dishes well despite never using the ingredients before.
Beel and Belphie were sitting at the island counter - Belphie with his head down napping, and Beel munching on a large pile of snacks. Zeke had learned quickly that if he wanted to actually cook he had to make a lot of easy snacks to occupy the Avatar of Gluttony or risk losing all his ingredients before he could cook them. With Beel preoccupied he could let his mind wander a bit as he prepared the curry.
Following the incident in Lilith’s replica room he had noticed several things. First and foremost, the twins who had already been fairly attached to him, were even more so now. It wasn’t just Belphie sneaking into his bed almost every night, now Beel was doing it too. If he wasn’t in his bed, they would join him in Levi’s room for games and anime, in the library while he and Satan studied, or they would look at stars together in the planetarium - whichever activity Zeke was doing that night. Beel and Belphie were his near constant companions when they weren’t in separate classes or he wasn’t with another of the brothers. Zeke found himself attending Beel’s fangol practices, supporting him from the bleachers, usually with a sleeping Belphie using his lap as a pillow.
It wasn’t just the twins, though. Asmo somehow became even clingier than before. The Avatar of Lust was always touching him when they were together, even if it was just linking their arms. Mammon invited him out to watch his modeling shoots, and Zeke went to be supportive - it seemed fair since he was showing his support to Beel’s sports practices, plus he was genuinely impressed and proud of the Avatar of Greed. All of the brothers were devastatingly handsome, but Mammon was an actual model and seemed to take it seriously and he knew there were few things that the demon actually took seriously.
The café outings with Satan were almost a daily occurrence now, and sometimes Solomon would also tag along. Zeke enjoyed spending time with them both. Even when they weren’t having a full-on lesson, Solomon always seemed to be teaching him something. Zeke still preferred his solo not-dates with Satan, though.
Levi bombarded him with texts about games and anime that they should enjoy together, and Zeke spent more nights in Levi’s room hanging out with the otaku than in his own room sleeping. Sometimes the twins dragged him back to his own bed so that Belphie could coax Zeke to sleep magically, but sometimes they simply cuddled up in a bean bag right there in Levi’s room to doze off together.
His evening visits with Lucifer changed as well, with the eldest actually stopping work to ask him about his day and engaging in full conversations. Zeke could tell that the firstborn truly enjoyed hearing about whatever he had gotten up to with the other brothers each day - even if they had just been studying or reading. Sometimes Lucifer would put a record on, one that was safe for him to listen to, since most of them were dangerously cursed.
Life in the Devildom became more comfortable and appealing by the day. He had never really missed the human world before, but now he almost hated when he was reminded of it. Zeke would one day, not terribly far from now, have to return to that place. He would be alone again, and now that he had experienced what it was like to be accepted and loved he knew that familiar loneliness would be utterly unbearable.
Zeke felt like a whole new person since coming to live in the House of Lamentation, and desperately did not want to lose these new feelings. Despite the visions being a horrific experience, the aftermath left him with a renewed sense of purpose. The outpouring of support from his demon hosts had been overwhelmingly therapeutic. A lifetime of feeling unwanted couldn’t simply be erased, but for the first time he felt like he was actually healing.
The hole in his heart, once filled with a barely contained storm of rage at the world, was channeled into a much more productive, well-controlled furnace of smoldering embers, ready to forge the way to his own desired form of justice. He could attribute that in large part to Belphie and Satan.
He thought the idea of destroying another human being’s life would make him more squeamish, but surprisingly he felt almost nothing but a soft, preening satisfaction as they researched and made their plans. Satan and Belphie seemed to be enjoying their scheming together with him, both in general and because they were the ones helping him with this momentous task. It also meant they both got to spend even more time with him, which seemed to be something all of the brothers coveted, so they got to gloat even more over that.
Now instead of mystery novels, Satan and Zeke spent their free time pouring over books on advanced curses and torture methods. Zeke learned a lot about various interrogation techniques, both ancient and modern over the weeks following the incident in Lilith’s replica room. Satan was vastly knowledgeable on both curses and torture, and Zeke found it was all rather fascinating. It was a convenient excuse to spend more time with the blond demon.
The other brothers seemed various degrees of concerned or curious about these developments, but thankfully made no comment on their current reading choices. Even Lucifer seemed to leave it well enough alone, even though he had to have at least some idea of what they were planning. Lucifer had seemed reluctant to give his brothers information on the man that had caused the deaths of Zeke’s family. Did he simply not care now that Zeke was involved in the retribution? Was his silence and inaction a signal of his approval?
Whatever the case, Zeke was mostly just glad that Lucifer was not trying to dissuade him or get in his way. The same went for the others. None of them were trying to stop him or talk him out of whatever he was up to, but only Satan and Belphie were actively helping him. More than once he wondered if the other would assist in his plan if he asked, but decided against it. He wanted to be the one orchestrating this particular tragedy.
Zeke didn’t want too many cooks in the kitchen and all that. An apt metaphor given his current task.
It did occur to him that his therapists would have a field day if they knew he was actively plotting the ruination of a living, breathing human being. They had lectured him endlessly about finding forgiveness for people that he perceived had wronged him. Of course that was years ago now. He had learned to lie very well. Zeke knew better than to mention that he stilled burned with resentment and hatred when he thought of that man walking free and enjoying his life without an ounce of remorse…
“Shit!” Zeke yelped as the knife he’d been using to cut the vegetables a little too aggressively slipped and cut his finger. The two demons were beside him in almost an instant.
“That looks deep.” Belphie frowned while Beel grabbed a hand towel and took Zeke’s hand, putting pressure on the cut, which had begun dripping blood.
“I smell human blood.” Satan mused with a scowl as he entered the kitchen, a stack of file folders tucked under his arm.
“Guess dinner has extra flavoring tonight.” Zeke joked, gesturing with his free hand to the one Beel was still holding. “Knife slipped, I let myself get distracted.”
“And angry. I could feel it as I was coming down the hall.” Satan sighed, setting the folders down and walking over to take Zeke’s hand from Beel, humming as he looked over the wound. “It’s a pretty nasty cut.”
“I’ll be more careful.” Zeke sighed, before he recited a healing incantation that he’d studied on his own. The cut slowly closed and he flexed his fingers experimentally. “Not a big deal, see?”
“Hm. You’re improving very fast. I’m impressed.” Satan smiled as he wiped the blood from Zeke’s hand. “Let me help with dinner. I wanted to talk to you anyway.”
The twins had still been hovering, but Zeke shooed them away, so they shuffled back to their seats, still watching carefully, as if afraid he might hurt himself again if they took their eyes off him. He rolled his eyes.
“Well I’ll let you handle the rest of the cutting, I guess. Honestly there isn’t a lot left to do. What did you want to talk about?” Zeke had an idea and was practically buzzing with anticipation as he measured spices to stir into the curry pot.
“My contacts in the human world sent me all the information I could want.” Satan inclined his head towards the folders. “Some of my many acquaintances were able to dig up everything you asked for on the target. We’ve researched all the necessary curses, and gathered all the reagents we need. I have to say, your plan is positively diabolical. If I didn’t know better I’d have thought a demon came up with it.”
“I honestly thought you’d need more help coming up with ways to torment this guy, but we barely had to do anything.” Belphie added, looking very smug.
“Why thank you, I’m pretty proud of myself. I probably shouldn’t be, but I don’t care. When can we start the next phase?” Zeke was physically bouncing as he turned to Satan, eyes sparkling with a sinister glee. Twenty years he had held this grudge, and at long last he could practically taste his revenge. He did not care if that made him a bad person, or even an evil person, he figured he was going to Hell anyway, might as well give a real good reason for his eventual eternal punishment.
“We can start tonight.” Satan smirked, his eyes flashing with a matching delight at the idea of beginning their little game.
#obey me#obey me oc#obey me mc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me satan#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Chapter 2: Preparations
The House of Lamentation was in chaos.
Lucifer had been forced into a position where a secret several thousand years kept could no longer remain hidden. Belphegor’s violent opposition to the exchange program had placed him onto the path of treason, and perhaps more importantly, posed an unacceptable risk to a particular human exchange student. His brothers had reacted to the revelation that Lilith had not died when they fell, but had been reborn to live a human life in absolute secrecy from all but Lucifer, Diavolo, and Barbatos with a gambit of emotions, from shock to anger, to solemn contemplation.
They were all angry at him for keeping this information from them. Lucifer could not blame them. Slowly, each of them begrudgingly acknowledged that they could understand why the eldest had not told them of what Diavolo had done. Of the promise that he had made. If even one of them slipped up in the slightest, if the Celestial Realm had found out that Lilith’s judgment and subsequent punishment had been circumvented by the future King of the Devildom it would have led to all out war between the two realms, and likely the end of Lilith’s second chance to simply live a peaceful life. Now they knew why Lucifer was so loyal to Diavolo, although not all of them were content with that, even knowing the truth.
It was like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The knowledge was no longer his burden alone to bear. Lucifer had waited, patiently, for all his brothers to calm after learning of Lilith’s human resurrection. Once a tense acceptance was reached, that was when he shared the rest of the news.
A thrill of excitement rippled through his brothers as Lucifer told them that the second human exchange student was to be Lilith’s descendant. The mood was dampened somewhat when he quickly revealed the final revelation.
There was only one living descendant of their beloved little sister. Only one chance to cling to the last living remnant of her. Lucifer left out the grim fate Barbatos had foreseen for Ezekiel. That was only if nothing changed. Nothing bad could happen to a member of his family, he wouldn’t allow it. All he needed was for their human to come home to them and everything would be fine. His brothers didn’t need to know about something that he would never allow to happen.
What they should know was why they needed to protect and cherish their lost little lamb, and why it was in everyone’s best interest that the human remain with them, where he belonged.
Forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Attached to the file Barbatos had given Lucifer earlier there was a candid photo of Ezekiel sitting at a coffee shop enjoying a drink while scrolling through his phone. Asmo let out an unholy squeal at seeing him.
“He’s so pretty! Not as pretty as me of course, but just look at those eyes.” The fifth born had snatched the picture from Lucifer’s hand and the rest of his brothers crowded around trying to get a good look at the human that shared blood with their sister.
“Yeah. They’re kind of like mine and Belphie’s.” Beel was looking intently at the human’s face.
“A little, but not quite.” Belphie yawned, rubbing his eyes as he tried to stay awake. This was important, although he was still not happy with the fact that Lucifer had lied to them for millennia.
“Oh, but they look a bit thin, don’t they?”Beel had developed a frown the longer he looked at the photo. “I wonder what he likes to eat.”
“Hm. Yes, I think you’re right Beel, he does seem a little thin, his hair isn’t quite as shiny as it should be, and just look at those nails. He definitely bites them. Oooh, I can’t wait until he gets here! I’m going to pamper him until he’s practically glowing. After a much needed spa day I can take him shopping, he’ll look so cute when I’m done dressing him up.”
“He’s not a pet Asmo.” Satan sighed, having gotten a glance at the human he stepped back and sat down with a scowl.
“Of course not!” The Avatar of Lust sounded downright offended.
“Oi, you can’t just hog the human all to yourself Asmo. He’s going to want to learn about all the best places to have fun, and no one can show him a better time than The Great Mammon!” The second-born was not to be outdone by his little brothers.
“The only thing he’ll learn from you is how much of a scumbag you are stupid Mammon. LOL. The human’s probably a total normie. No way he’ll want to hang out with a yucky otaku like me.”
“Oi! I ain’t a scumbag!” Mammon was ignored.
“He looks really tired. Does he get enough sleep? I should get him to nap with me when he gets here. The rest of you are too loud.” Belphie yawned again, his eyes were closed and he was leaning against his twin, obviously slowly losing the battle against sleep.
“Silence!” Lucifer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The human will be arriving in three days, and you will all be on your best behavior. I don’t want you to overwhelm him. Remember, he does not know us and does not know about Lilith. You are going to upset and confuse him.”
“All the more reason for him to nap with me. It’ll be peaceful.” Belphie said with a lazy smirk, peeking one eye open to stare down his older brothers.
At least they were excited now. Lucifer had decided against sharing too many details about the exchange student. It was the human’s right to maintain at least some amount of privacy while he grew accustomed to his new family. All his brothers truly needed to know was that Ezekiel was all alone in the human world, and belonged with his family here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next three days saw a flurry of activity. Surprisingly all of his brothers wanted to contribute to preparing Ezekiels’ room - the spare one next to the kitchen. It had seen very little use since the occupation of the House of Lamentation by the brothers. They rarely had guests staying long enough to need a room.
Barbatos had included information on their human’s current living arrangements and all of his brothers were appalled at just how little he seemed to have - space or possessions. They did not take into account that perhaps that was a deliberate personal choice, but Lucifer did not bother trying to reign them in when they seemed so very excited about spoiling their new human. Not that the eldest would ever admit it, but he also wanted to give Ezekiel more than he might ever actually need.
Beel and Belphie strung soft star lights through the branches of the tree that was the focal point of the room. Levi and Mammon found out through Barbatos what genres of media their human liked so they could partially fill the shelves with Devildom books and manga they thought that he would like. Satan found out that Ezekiel was apparently into the occult in the human world and added a few beginner’s magical tomes to the shelves before stocking up a cabinet with potion and ritual tools and ingredients. Meanwhile Asmo somehow got clothing sizes so that he could gather some staples and basics to tide their human over until he could properly take them shopping.
Lucifer magically added a bathroom suite to the living space that included a walk-in closet. Asmo took the liberty of stocking that too. Belphie made sure the bed and bedding was some of the most comfortable in the house, aside from his own, of course. By the end of the last day before Ezekiel was scheduled to be brought, every single brother seemed satisfied that they were ready to bring their human home.
They had no idea.
#obey me#obey me mc#obey me oc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me dissonance
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Dissonance - Bonus: Crime and Punishment
TW: Torture, TW: Graphic Depictions of Violence
Lucifer and Diavolo watched as Zeke was gently guided out of the classroom. They waited until he was well out of earshot before either of them spoke.
“I take it you will want to see to the offender’s punishment personally? I won’t object to it. While my subjects are free to think and feel however they wish, I forbade harm to my exchange students. Moreover, this was an attack against your family, even if they did not know it.” Diavolo’s usually jovial demeanor was replaced with a quite serious one.
“I will make an example of him. No one should be foolish enough to touch what’s mine. I will show what happens to those that harm my family.” There was a sadistic gleam in Lucifer’s eye as he planned out exactly what he intended to do to the demon that hurt his human. A commotion in the hallway drew him back out of his planning.
Both Beel and Belphie burst into the room, demon forms out.
“I smell human blood.” Beel’s pupils were blown wide open as he sniffed the air.
“Where is he?!” Belphie’s voice was frantic but held a low, threatening quality.
“I leave it in your capable hands from here, then. Zeke may be excused from classes tomorrow.” Diavolo gave the twins what he hoped was a reassuring look as he strode from the classroom. He knew that it was best he not question how Lucifer handled his family, and knew that the twins would have to deal with both guilt over this incident and Lucifer’s fury.
“Where’s Zeke? He’s hurt.” Beel looked torn between concern and rage.
“Tell us where he is, Lucifer!” The accusing tone of Belphie’s voice caused the eldest to snap as he turned his cold fury onto his younger brothers.
“You were meant to be watching him!” Both of the twins flinched back as Lucifer’s demon form sprung free, voice causing the very air to crackle as he rounded on his brothers. “Zeke could have been killed because of your negligence. Could you not keep your eyes open long enough to keep him safe? Could you truly not pause and hold your hunger a few moments longer? Did neither of you really make sure that he was still behind you?!”
“Please Lucifer, is he okay?” Beel looked distraught, and even Belphie had lowered his head and looked close to tears.
“He received only minor injuries. As much as I hate to say it, you should both thank Solomon for doing your job. The sorcerer apprehended the demon and is treating Zeke’s wounds, then Asmo is taking Zeke home for the rest of the day.” Lucifer hated feeling as if he owed that damnable sorcerer anything.
“We’ll rip that demon to shreds.” Belphie growls, eyes glowing with malice and magic.
“You’ll go to lunch and inform the rest of your brothers of what’s happened. I don’t need any of them rushing out of a class Zeke doesn’t show up for this afternoon. You will attend classes as normal. I will be handling the demon’s punishment personally. Asmo will look after our human until school is over.”
“But Lucifer!” Belphie clearly wanted to hurt the demon that dared touch their human, and Beel looked ready to run straight home to see that he was properly taken care of and safe.
“No. Consider this your punishment.” They didn’t get what they wanted after failing so spectacularly. Let them stew in their guilt and anger for the rest of the school day. Maybe it would ensure they were more attentive in the future. At least that made them both slink from the classroom without further argument. He knew they regretted their mistake, and he hated to give them another thing to blame themselves for, but this time it was deserved - that mistake nearly cost Zeke his life. At least nothing worse had happened.
“The individual has been moved to the last cell on the sixth layer of the dungeon.” Lucifer had not even noticed Barbatos' return. It hardly mattered. He grinned as he headed for the dungeon beneath the castle. There was a demon deserving of the worst kind of punishment waiting for him.
The cells were cold, unfeeling stone and iron, magically enhanced to keep more powerful demons from using brute force to break free. This demon was hardly powerful. In fact, this lower demon was probably barely stronger than the average human. How pathetic and foolish. Such a pitiful creature had thought it wise to lay a hand on what was his? It would learn its proper place, one way or another.
Barbatos had generously strapped the demon, Abrenos, down to a metal gurney with a tray of tools helpfully laid out for his use. The butler never failed to impress. He would have to remember to thank him for his thoroughness in preparations later.
“L-lord Lucifer please, mercy! I beg you!” The offensive parasite pleaded for mercy, as if he would have offered mercy to Zeke had Solomon not arrived in time the human would have died screaming - or attempting to.
“Mercy? You attacked one of Lord Diavolo’s exchange students. The one that my brothers and I were charged with protecting. Harming the exchange students is forbidden. You have committed an act of treason. There is no mercy for you here.” There was no mercy within Lucifer for such disgusting vermin. It might be hypocritical of him, he would not have cared if it had been any other human - but it wasn’t another human. It was his Ezekiel. The last surviving human with blood ties to his beloved Lilith.
“No! My lord please, I’m sorry!” The fool seemed to finally realize the gravity of his mistake. After all, what higher crime was there than treason? Death would be the demon’s only mercy - and that would not be granted swiftly.
“Sorry? No, I don’t think you are, not sorry enough. But you will be.” He ran his hands lovingly over the instruments of torture that would serve to deliver Abrenos’s due punishment. Finally he picked up a fine scalpel, excellent for precision work. “Now let me think. You had your disgusting claws in my human’s delicate skin. I think I’ll start by flaying the skin off your face. Fitting, yes? You marred his face, now I’ll remove yours. Yes, I like that idea.”
The demon gave a pathetic whine, before more pleas sprang from his lips. They were ignored, of course. The pleas gave way to howls of pain as Lucifer began making precise cuts so he could peel back the skin, separating it from muscle. Abrenos tried to thrash in his agony, tried to beg again for mercy with each smooth slice, but Lucifer merely basked in the music he was making and the magical restraints did not let the demon so much as budge. The wet sound of slicing meat and drip of black ichor was a fine accompanying backdrop to the vermin’s wails.
“Why, I daresay this is an improvement to your look. Now, about those filthy claws of yours, we can’t have you scratching things you’re not supposed to.” Satisfied with his work on the face, he set aside his scalpel with a delighted grin only to pick up a pair of pliers.
“No, please. My lord please. I’m so sorry.” The words were a bit garbled, and definitely wet as the demon wheezed, trying not to choke on his own blood.
“You can be more sorry than that, it’s as if you aren’t even trying.” The demon’s claw came free of its nail bed with a delightful ripping sound punctuated by a hair-raising scream. The other nine joined the first, each making a pleasant clinking sound as it was dropped onto the metal tray.
When the last claw was discarded, Lucifer stepped back to admire his handiwork thus far. He also wanted to give the demon time to catch his breath. It wouldn’t do for him to lose consciousness. This was a punishment, after all.
“P-please! I’m sorry! I will never even look at the h-human a-again!” Lucifer relished in the absolute terror in those eyes.
“You’re right about that. You will never look at my human again. In fact, you’ll never be looking at much of anything again.” Among the tools was an iron poker that flared white-hot as Lucifer channeled just a trickle of magic through it.
The torturous screams were akin to a symphony, and Lucifer was the conductor. He stepped back and simply observed as the demon convulsed in his restraints, voice growing hoarse as the minutes ticked by, until finally the bottom-feeder had quieted into pathetic, gasping whimpers.
“Shh. Shh. It’s over for now.” Lucifer’s rage had cooled somewhat, his sadistic desires temporarily satiated. “My brothers will want to have their own turns with you, and I will not spoil their fun by ending your miserable excuse for a life prematurely. Perhaps by the time the human has lived out his natural life we will be ready to put an end to this.”
He left the babbling fool in permanent darkness to clean up and head to the student council room. There was always more to be done. At least this had been a pleasant distraction from paperwork for a short while.
#obey me lucifer#obey me barbatos#obey me diavolo#obey me asmodeus#obey me solomon#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me dissonance#tw: blood#tw: torture#tw: violence
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Dissonance - Chapter 16: Lilith and Twins
As it turned out, he had started on a Tuesday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he had Arithmancy, Pactology, Potions, and Devildom Law. He only had the last class on those days with Simeon and Luke. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday however, he had Devildom History, Curses and Hexes, Seductive Speechcraft, Devildom Botany, Art, and Divination - the only one of those classes that he didn’t share with Simeon and Luke was Seductive Speechcraft. He supposed it made sense the angels wouldn’t be in that class, but was really cursing his luck at having so many classes with the criminally beautiful angel.
Thankfully he was able to control his reaction much better the second time they met, and it got easier by the day. Yes, he still found Simeon stupidly, sinfully attractive, but he could ignore it for the most part. He even decided that the angel was nice, but he sensed a lot of sadness, regret, and anger in him. That was surprising to him, but maybe it shouldn’t have been. It seemed even angels weren’t immune to misfortune.
Overall Zeke was amazed at how easily he settled into his new life.
Classes were interesting, his classmates became marginally less hostile, there were no further attempts to attack him, and getting to know the brothers, angels, and Solomon was fun. Mammon was in more of his classes than most of the other brothers, and while he was definitely a slacker and could be distracting, class with Mammon was never boring. Curses and Hexes with Satan, Simeon, and Luke actually became his fast favorite class. Luke was apprehensive at first, but once he offered to work with him the little angel came around surprisingly quickly. It was obvious that Luke was extremely prejudiced against demons, but he knew demons and angels used to be mortal enemies, so he kind of understood.
Divination seemed like it was going to be stupidly easy for him. He had the class with Satan, Simeon, Luke, and Solomon. His mentor marveled at how quickly he picked up the various tools and techniques. It wasn’t as if Zeke was even trying. His psychic abilities were simply well suited to the art of divination. Simeon also seemed quite adept. Zeke wasn’t sure why he was so surprised that his psychic intuition made this easy. He had prophetic dreams sometimes, divination was already a talent of his apparently - reading tea leaves or tarot cards came naturally to him.
Homework was a breeze with Satan’s assistance, which he always readily gave, and when not doing homework together they often would read in each other’s company, then discuss their respective books. They traded book recommendations, Satan introduced him to all the local stray cats around both the House of Lamentation and RAD, and went to various cafés together - usually ones with cats much to Zeke’s delight.
When he wasn’t with Satan after school, he was taking magic lessons with Solomon, which was usually at Purgatory Hall. Simeon and Luke always made tea and snacks for them to share while they studied and practiced. After the first few lessons he noticed that Simeon would make him vanilla, caramel, or mocha lattes - depending on the accompanying dessert - instead of tea. It seemed very on brand for an angel to be so sweet and considerate. Although the brothers seemed just as eager to do things to make him happy or cater to his tastes. It was probably sad that he found it so strange for other people to want to make him happy.
Late in the evenings he would often find himself in Lucifer’s study, simply reading while the eldest did paperwork, or often bringing him coffee, tea, or snacks. Zeke watched Lucifer take care of everyone else, and it made him want to look out for the demon, even if only in small, insignificant ways and even if he didn’t really need it. His pride demon didn’t say it outright, but he could tell that his company and care were appreciated.
His nights and wee hours of the morning were mostly spent studying, writing, or in Levi’s room watching anime or playing video games. Sometimes Beel and Belphie would drag him to bed and the Avatar of Sloth would force him to sleep, but Zeke couldn’t really be too annoyed about it. He never dreamed when Belphie cuddled up to him in his sleep.
The weekends were full of shopping with Asmo and Mammon, who both insisted on buying him far too much of everything. Zeke had never owned so many clothes, accessories, or beauty products before. When the shopping was done, there was plenty of sight-seeing. Satan liked taking him to museums and art galleries, Levi took him to the aquarium, he got to see a Devildom movie with Beel and Belphie, and Lucifer even took him to the theater to see a live play, followed by dinner at Ristorante Six, which was apparently a very fancy and expensive upscale restaurant.
Before he even knew it, Zeke had been in the Devildom for almost four weeks. It was a jarring revelation. He felt more at home and more content with each passing day. That worried him. He was becoming complacent. This was a passing daydream that he would eventually have to wake up from, it was something he needed to remember. It was already too late for him. Just the thought of going back to the human world, back to being alone and empty and bitter, made his heart squeeze painfully.
He liked it here. No, he loved it here. Sure, he still didn’t quite fit in, but only because he was human, not because people thought he was crazy. Everything was new and exciting, his classes interested him, living with the brothers was doing wonders for his health overall - between being forced to eat and sleep semi-regularly instead of neglecting himself completely in favor of work. Most of all, he never felt truly alone in the House of Lamentation. Even when one of the brother’s wasn’t by his side, he could feel the house’s presence surrounding him in a comforting feeling of belonging.
It was one of those odd moments where none of the brothers was with him that he found himself passing by a place in the upper hallway that always felt just a little strange to him. He was reminded of Lucifer’s secret study whenever he passed that section of wall. There was a decorative pattern, but when his curiosity had him looking closer Zeke realized there were words written there.
When the morning star dwelt in the heavens,
its light show down upon this on,
sparkling brilliantly,
the eighth of the eight.
Well if years of writing mystery novels had taught him anything, it was that he was definitely looking at a riddle, and not a particularly difficult one at that. The morning star was obviously Lucifer. The eighth of eight? Well there were seven brothers, but Zeke knew that there was also a sister, he had felt her death in one of his nightmares.
There could be only one answer.
“Lilith.” Zeke breathed the word in a quiet whisper, uncertain what exactly was about to happen. Bright light blinded him, forcing him to shield his eyes. When the light faded, he was no longer in the hallway. It didn’t even look like he was still in the Devildom. Gentle sunlight streamed in through large, arched windows lined with sheer white curtains. The walls were a soft green, the picture frames a gilded gold.
Although he knew for a fact that he had never actually stood in that room before, Zeke instinctively knew exactly where he was. This was Lilith’s room in the Celestial Realm. Well, a replica of it hidden magically hidden within the House of Lamentation, at any rate. Who knew about it? Lucifer, obviously, but what of the others? None of them had ever mentioned it before, and he was sure he wasn’t supposed to be there.
When he turned to leave a wave of dizziness hit him and he reached up to clutch his head as it throbbed sharply. His vision blurred as he struggled to keep his feet, but the pain was so intense and he couldn’t see. It felt like he was plunged underwater, unable to breathe, his ears full of a rushing sound.
Suddenly he felt that familiar sensation of falling, and the phantom pain that seared through a wing he didn’t have. It was her again. Why would he be shown this? He didn’t want to feel her die again! He couldn’t watch her die again.
Zeke forced his eyes open and suddenly he was no longer falling, but his eyes widened in horror. There was twisted wreckage all around him. He recognized the car. It used to be his father’s SUV, now little more than mangled metal. There were tiny cries coming from inside. He was rooted to the spot, he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see this. The cries didn’t stop. He covered his ears, but he could still here his own tiny voice begging for his parents to help him because it hurt and he was so, so scared and Eliza wasn’t answering him - pleas that would never be answered.
Sensing light behind his eyelids he forced them open. He still couldn’t move, but he saw her kneeling there beside the remains of the vehicle. Lilith had her wings outstretched to shield him, as she reached into the car and gently pulled him from his booster seat, shushing him soothingly. Zeke didn’t remember this, didn’t remember her being there that day, but he also had no doubt that this wasn’t some twisted imagination of his. Why did she only help him? Eliza needed her too!
Rescue crews arrived, they took his tiny, broken body away, off to the hospital that would save his life. They rushed Eliza away too, but he knew she would not make it. His chest ached with something hollow and cold, something only anger at the world and the unfairness of it all had ever eased - if only slightly. Why did she die when he got to live? He was her big brother, damnit! It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t fair!
Why did his parents leave him alone?
Zeke knew it wasn’t their fault, but of all the spirits that had caused him grief over his life, theirs had never once come. They moved on and left him all alone in the world without so much as a goodbye. Eliza had never come either, but he could hardly blame her. He never could be angry with her, not even for a second. She was the other half of his soul, after all.
His twin.
“ELIZA! ELIZA! ELIZA!” He screamed her name until he was hoarse, until he felt hands grabbing at him and concerned voices calling his name as they shook him. Zeke thrashed in their hold, fighting to move, to do something, anything to change what he knew could not be undone.
#obey me#obey me oc#obey me mc#obey me zeke#obey me ezekiel jada pendergast#obey me lilith#obey me dissonance
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