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The Empress Luna

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The Archdemon of Sloth had spaced out as he tried to process her story.

Her poor brother-in-law had stared into her eyes without really staring at her like the man wasn't even there.

He was so confused that his soul was probably taken, floating somewhere in Hell.

"Are you listening to me?" She quizzed him as she snapped a finger in front of his face, making sure he was still catching up.

Sloth flinched when she broke him out of his trance.

"Oh, I don't know. I forgot what you said. That was hard to understand." He scowled at her and her brows knitted in confusion. "You are giving me a headache. This is making me crazy."

Blinking rapidly, Sloth withdrew from her and got up, brushing splinters off his strange robes. "I can't deal with this."

He sighed heavily and returned to his seat earlier as if they weren't wrestling with each other in the first place.

Shocked by his sudden change of behavior, Luna reluctantly rose from the mess and sat on the comfortable couch in front of Sloth, pretending that there wasn't a broken glass tabletop in front of them.

She rested both of her palms on the armrest and tucked her legs under her skirts.

Both of them simultaneously released a dejected sigh.

"Now, this is a proper conversation." The Archdemon of Sloth murmured as he rested his elbow on his armrest, cradling his head with his palm.

He glanced down at the clutter on the floor. "I made a mess on my study and it bothers me."

Crossing his legs, Sloth added in a murmur, "Philip and Simone will be here soon with snacks but there was no table."

"I don't eat snacks." She said with a straight face. "I am a vampire."

The Library of Congress became quiet.

She suddenly sensed danger in the air before the Archdemon of Sloth pressed his chest in a modest fashion and spoke in a husky tone, "You can eat me if you are hungry."

Luna narrowed her eyes at him as she gave him the look.

"I was merely jesting, sister-in-law, I don't plunder a woman that didn't belong to me." The Archdemon of Sloth gave her an innocent look as he chuckled, "You can drink my blood if you can tolerate its taste if you are hungry. My brothers aren't here to fetch you yet."

Luna stared at him coldly, raising a hand, and showed her palm outward. "No, thank you."

"Anyway, back to your 'husband' in the Vampire Realm—" The Archdemon of Sloth must have sensed her annoyance for he had decided to change the topic for his own good. "If you insist that you have a husband, why did you claim my brothers as yours and merged with them through the blood bond?"

"I was forced to."

He arched an eyebrow. "I don't believe that one bit."

"Believe what you want, Sloth." Luna tilted her head back, her gaze looking up into the skylight windows above her which showed how the lightning danced in the sky.

Clearly, the thunderstorm wasn't over yet as it continued to destroy tall structures outside the castle.

She brought her gaze back to Sloth.

Luna narrowed her eyes at him with an intensity that would make him shiver. "You don't have any intention to help me and take my side so believe whatever you want."

"Hmm." Sloth frowned at her as he rubbed his chin in contemplation, "I thought you needed my advice on this."

Luna lifted her chin in a challenge, "What is this precious advice, shaman?"

There was a large jagged streak of lightning which flashed outside the tall, arched window.

Luna fought the urge to flinch when it hit the oak tree.

The fluorescence also gave the Archdemon of Sloth a sinister vibe when he smirked at her.

He cleared his throat and her ears perked up with anticipation.

Luna and Sloth continued to stare at each other as she waited for his response.

Closing his eyes shut, he said with conviction, "You must stop searching for the right answer. You think too much. It can't be found." When he opened his eyes, he smiled at her, "--ultimately it wasn't important. Get comfortable with the limitations of your intellect and the reality of not knowing."

Luna blinked.

Was he telling her she was stupid?

She didn't understand Sloth.

His words were as vague as a phantasm.

"Your advice is bullshit." Luna crossed her arms and said, "That wouldn't solve my problems."

"This is your current reality and you just have to deal with it. Focusing harder wouldn't solve it and neither will increased effort." Sloth shrugged with nonchalance. "Time, surrender, and humor are your only ally here in Hell. The only way to work around your problem is not to work on it."

"You said you are a past shaman who bridged the gap between the normal world and the spiritual world. Well, that's basically opening up portals." Luna insisted. "You mentioned you had gone to the deep end of it..." Gritting her teeth, she pleaded even if she hated asking for help, "Mayhap, you can help me go back to the Vampire Realm."

"Your energy was deep and mysterious, Lune, like an elusive wisdom of an unsolvable riddle. I could just taste your power in the atmosphere just from the tip of my tongue despite the fact that you are a fledging Archdemon." The Archdemon of Sloth settled back in his chair with exaggerated casualness. "You could figure out everything on your own without my help. Perhaps, I could also say that you have stronger skills than me."

"I know what you are doing, Sloth." Straightening her spine, Luna cocked her head to the side and smirked, "You are just stroking my ego because you want something."

"Of course, you know about Archdemons and their bargains. You had interacted with Ravin and Luxen." Sloth deliberately raised an eyebrow as he chuckled, "Plus, you are an Archdemon now so you probably know how things worked around here."

She asked warily, "What do you want in exchange, then?"

"Your memories with the Vampire King."