Chapter 341: Contested Seat

The heat deformed the air trapped inside the upper keep of the central citadel belonging to the Demon Realm. Red-black stone formed the walls and the banners of the current regime hung heavily from the ceiling in the thick atmosphere. Daniel walked the span of the open chamber in the middle of it, bare-chested, with unstable demonic authority manifesting in his skin in form of dark veins of light. On the other side of the chamber Ruka sat on the edge of the throne dais, elbows on knees, staring at the floor between his boots

Neither of the brothers had gotten any proper sleep since Nyx’s impromptu convocation.

Daniel halted at a distance from his brother and turned to face him. "You’re holding back."

Ruka didn’t raise his eyes. "I’m not. I’ve already chosen."

"Our mother’s gone," Daniel said. "And the seat is open. The authority is pressing against us both. Every cycle you keep this up, you only make it worse."

Ruka lifted his gaze and met Daniel’s. His eyes were tired, but focused. "Then take it. I didn’t want it even at first. I don’t want it now. I am a king. It is what I chose and it is what I shall continue to do. Our mother is gone and her disappearance matters more than anything else. Replacing her and finding her replacement takes second place. Never was becoming a pillar in some alternate cycle a priority of mine."

Daniel stared at him for a long moment. The veins of darkness in his skin pulsed.

"Even before the transfer started," Daniel said. "Even before you and Nyx pulled us in and told us what was happening. I wanted it. I wanted the power to stand at the level she stood. I wanted the strength to have the authority to command and to have the realm kneel before me. I wanted it, Ruka. I wanted to be worthy of the blood she gave us."

The expression on Ruka’s face didn’t change. There was nothing mocking or derisive in it. Just a quiet acceptance of the things Daniel was saying.

"I know," Ruka said. "That is why it should be you."

Daniel’s fingers curled into the muscles of his palms. "You are the elder. The court respects you. If the seat was yours for the taking-"

"I would resent it for the rest of my life," Ruka said. "And the authority would resent it as well. You are a real demon, forged in this realm, hungry to reach the peak that our blood is capable of. I am not. I respect our mother enough to not want to abuse whatever claim I have on this realm. She deserves better than a half-assed replacement just because the seat is empty and there hasn’t been a proper replacement in centuries." Daniel looked away. "You are the right choice, because you want it. That makes you worthy of carrying it."

The silence that stretched between them was filled only with the sound of the excess power that had spilled into the room.

Daniel ran a hand over his face and released a slow breath. "And Lucifer?"

Ruka’s voice was level. "Lucifer was never really invested in this realm. He had his own path and his own authority. Our mother loved him as if he was her own, but he didn’t build his foundation here. He doesn’t have the court or the people to command and control like the seat demands. If the authority is equal parts compatibility and lingering claim, his isn’t stronger than yours. Let him stay where he is. This realm is not his priority and never was. This is our mother’s realm and she isn’t here anymore. This is our home and until she returns it must be our priority."

Daniel went to the far end of the chamber, bracing his palms against the cool stone of the windowsill. Outside, the different districts of the Demon Realm burned in the steady light that was characteristic of the place. The power that Lilith had embodied was noticeably weaker in the impression that the realm itself left on the visitors. Lesser lords had begun probing at the edges of the court’s authority. The court needed stability and Ruka had been the rock in the center of it. Daniel hadn’t realized how much of the last few cycles he’d spent in tension with the progenitor pressure and the knowledge that the seat he wanted was within his grasp.

"I know what it means if I finish the crossing," Daniel said. "It will change me. The seat never sits easy. It will make me into the pillar the realm is waiting for, and it will force me to stay in place forever. It will put me in the line of succession next to those that had taken it before."

"I know," Ruka said. "I also know that you have wanted that for a long time. You admired our mother. You wanted to obtain what she had, not out of greed, but because it was there and you felt deserving. Now the mechanism is there, Daniel. Stop wasting your energy on the seat and the man that isn’t worthy of carrying it. Finish the process and grab the power yourself. I will keep the court in order while you do it."

Daniel remained at the window for several minutes before he let out a slow breath and began pulling the extra energy within the chamber towards himself instead of waiting for Ruka to do the same.

"You’re sure," he said.

"I am sure that I do not want the seat and you are the one that does. I am sure that our mother would prefer that the authority went to the son that wanted it rather than the one that only accepted it. That is enough for me."

Daniel turned away from the window. The pulsing in his veins had steadied. Not finished, but it no longer resisted the pull of the Demon Realm. "I’ll take it."

Ruka inclined his head. "Then do it right,"

The tension in the chamber eased a fraction as Daniel pulled the excess power to him and away from his brother. The seat remained open, but for the first time since the awakenings began it had a candidate that didn’t hesitate once offered the choice. Ruka remained on the edge of the throne dais and watched his brother walk towards the fulfillment of the desire that had been growing in his chest for so many cycles. Outside the keep the Demon Realm turned and twisted in the patterns it always did, bereft of the progenitor that had watched over it before her death, unaware that one of her sons had at long last accepted the responsibility that belonged to her until the day she faded away.