Chapter Text
6 months, 183 Days since the Incident
Edom. A barren land, dark and quiet, where hellfires once reigned. At least up until 6 months ago as calculated on the Earthly plane.
Currently the land lay dormant in the darkness, the life upon in some type of stasis, whether it be merely hibernation (or death?) -- at least that was what seemed to be on the surface.
However, that belied the absolute unrest below the surface, which was about to unfold….
Among the sands, something…silver -- a ring – started slow-blinking a steady, red signal. This very action roused two beings, who had formerly been lying sprawled and face down in unnaturally bent positions , lifeless on this wasteland of red dirt.
Lifeless – until now.
That slow-blinking signal appeared almost to be some sort of lifeline, causing tremors to ripple through their very bodies, followed by irregular sounding coughs and convulsing movements from both.
Both of their senses were suddenly at attention – but a quick move by one, instinctively, shot out a widespread hand toward the direction of the ring. And that very ring flew straight into his hand, as if it knew who it belonged to –
Suddenly the other fallen being burst into flame, its agonizing screams piercing the formerly dead quiet air. Then --
The flames swung right back at the holder of the ring, SCORCHING HIS SKIN, HEART, AND SOUL BEYOND RECOGNITION, causing the being to erupt into unearthly soul-shattering screams –
The abomination then proceeded to grow-- not only in height but seeming to grow beyond its own skin. Ripping sounds pierced the air as some oddly shaped sharp things burst out from its back. Slowly, they seemed to unfold, until they were splayed out – were they wings? As dark and threatening as the absolute black of night, and the wingspan dwarfing the being who bestowed them. The tips of the wings lit aflame, ever a magnificent yet terrifying display if there ever was one to behold..
Followed by its eyes, bursting into hellfire to match – filled with equal parts or pain and sorrow.
As the being threw its head back, and continued to shriek from intense pain and misery, this seemed to fuel a series of events – hellfires bursting out from the ground, lighting up the once dark sky until ribbons of fire streaked the horizon. As life across the land, one by one, joined together in a disorganized cacophony, becoming louder and louder, as they answered the call with their own shrieks –
Glad to arise once again, to answer the call of its leader – the KING OF EDOM.
In the distance, the castle of the rightful King lit up in flames, its very presence glowing in the barren horizon. Signaling to one particular being, that he was HOME.
A NEW DAWN HAD EMERGED.
Edom had risen – AGAIN. And the King, feeling the power of Edom rush up within him, lighting his veins with fire, giving him strength amidst its darkness.
It would take time for him to find his place, as well as purpose – once he had fully awakened.
Unbeknownst to him, the opportunity to fulfill that would come sooner than he expected.
______________
2 months, 60 days following the Incident… in a world opposite, within the secure four walls of the NY Institute…
(“…I don’t want to live in a world without you…””…please continue to live, Alexander. For me. Please…””See I told you, the ring belongs to you…” “Alexander you have to go now!”)
(They were in the abandoned warehouse, where Magnus had attempted to face the ramifications of the curse which had sealed his fate. He was burning up, quickly, the purple flames licking over his skin. When Alec arrived, he had been attempting to curl himself up into the tiniest ball in the corner.)
(That was when Alec had learned of the hopelessness of the situation. As the situation grew more dire, Magnus grabbed Alec by the lapels of his jacket and crushed their lips together, and as Alec returned the kiss he could taste the saltiness of his tears as they flowed into their mouths. )
(It was a situation that could not be stopped. Magnus was cursed, his corrupted magic having turned a deadly purple, with unpredictable effects. At that moment, the magic flowing through his veins had made him volatile, like a ticking time bomb. He could not be in the Earth’s atmosphere for too much longer, lest he be the cause of the absolute annihilation of the world as they knew it.)
(Magnus had nearly allowed himself to become consumed by the curse, to allow it to kill him so that he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.. But Alec’s pleas, and the anguish within himself had activated the magic within him – resulting in the instantaneous creation of the large pentagram, appearing below his feet, sealing his fate. He was to go to Edom, his only chance at survival.)
(SWOOSH – the sound of a portal opening up, created by Magnus.)
(Alec’s mouth went dry --)
(Right, this was where Magnus ended up pushing him backward into the portal, against his will – because there had been no way, no how , that Alec would have left him otherwise, even upon the threat of his own death. He was not going to leave Magnus alone, not when there was a possibility that he could explode before the pentagram pulled him down to Edom…)
(But, instead, Magnus did not push him away. To Alec’s surprise – Magnus only continued to kiss him lovingly, and it seemed like all the explosions around them had frozen in time – but wasn’t Magnus’s normal magic defunct now, in light of the curse that brought him to the abandoned warehouse where he was to spend his last few moments, in his attempt to keep himself from destroying the world?
(Alec was so confused. But, Magnus’s mouth, and tongue were so soft and pliable and sweet, Alec pushed it all to the back of his confused mind, wanting – no needing – to stay connected to his love for as long as they both had, until time ran out ---)
(Magnus pulled away slightly just then, inhaling deeply as if having smelt the sweetest of smells, and his eyes met his own. “I’m coming with you,” Magnus said resolutely, his tears running down his face as he smiled. “I figured it out. I don’t need to go. We can be together, for always…”
(Alec couldn’t believe it. “Really?” he asked, incredulously, tears coming to his eyes. Tears of relief, tears from stress built all over the past few months when Magnus, being under the curse, was doomed either way, either to exile or to death.)
(Magnus’s hold upon his arms tightened in that loving way as he gazed upon him. “Yes,” Magnus said. . But now Magnus’s face had changed slightly from the face of the man he loved. His eyes were like fire, his voice had gone down a few octaves, and his face was scarred. Alec shuddered, as he leapt back, only to be restrained by – whatever this was…)
(“You’re mine. For always,” the creature cackled, and the face changed even more, now into some indescript looking demon spawn with long sharp teeth. “Silly boy, you didn’t think that this was real, did you? Magnus’s magic became tied with this curse, he’ll never be free –.” And with that the demon appeared to melt, becoming some black sludge that started oozing quickly toward Alec, grabbing hold of his – feet?!
Alec Lightwood screamed, bolting up in bed. For a moment, he didn’t know where he was.
And then, as he regained his faculties, he felt weight, like lead, drop upon his very soul. Magnus Bane, the former High Warlock of Brooklyn, his fiancé – was not here with him. Magnus Bane had never made it out of that warehouse, at least not with him. He had attempted to go to Edom. And something bad happened.
And now Magnus was presumed dead.
2 months. 60 days since his fiancé had attempted to go to Edom, not only to save the world, but to save himself. Nearly 61 days actually, to be exact.
61 days...since those accursed sirens sounded, signaling that there was no reigning force over Edom ---
61 days since his life stopped taking on any meaning. And 61 days and nights of nightmares just like this one. He had come to accept them as routine, since he never failed to have one every night since the incident.
And every time he woke up, he would turn to his left, half-expecting Magnus to be snoozing peacefully next to him, his golden aura giving him an almost angelic presence.
But no, Alec was still alone, having broken into a cold, clammy sweat, amidst dark green bedsheets at the NY Institute.
He couldn’t bring himself to stay at the loft. There was just too many memories there. And he couldn’t bring himself to go into the bedroom they shared together, as the burnt bedsheets were still there from when he and Catarina had gone over that day. It just reminded him of how compromised Magnus had become, leading him to make the decisions that he made – leading to ultimate heartbreak.
Alec had known that it was inevitable that he was going to lose him. And yet, having known that ahead of time, hadn’t made any difference in the end.
He had not been prepared. One couldn’t possibly prepare for this.
Nor was he over it. Not by a long shot.
And perhaps, not ever.
__
Sometime later, same day
MOOD: Garbage - Even Though Our Love Is Doomed
Alec was just standing around in Ops, staring listlessly straight ahead. Or, rather, he was unconsciously staring at that corner in Ops, where the machine and indicators were all beeping and noisy, active as usual as they surveyed the known dimensions of Hell. Color-coded too, he noted idly, Green for Duduael, Yellow for Diyu, Red for Edom, and so forth. Anyway, they were all abuzz, with their own distinct sounds -- all except for the one for Edom. That one was quiet, eerily so, and had been for the last 2 months, no blinking red light, Alec noted dully. Same old, same old. And again, that very observation made Alec sick to his stomach, and that dull ache right behind his eyes was starting again, only to build up unbearably as the day progressed . It was TORTURE to be reminded of this, day in day out.
EDOM. Devoid of life, the silence seemed to SCREAM OUT into the void -- well the void that was now Alec’s heart.
…ever since Asmodeus had been defeated, along with someone greatly loved over here.
What was assumed by the Shadowhunters, well actually more from Isabelle, because she was the one to conduct the investigation at the time -- was that Magnus must have arrived in Edom, since there hadn’t been a body to recover among the remnants of the warehouse, which had been destroyed by the explosion. However, upon arrival to Edom, Magnus must have encountered Asmodeus. And it became the ultimate clash of Father Vs. Son. It was no secret that his father, the current reigning force over Edom, had always wanted Magnus to rule by his side. But Magnus, having escaped that fate centuries ago, kept resisting. Ultimately, if one was not going to join forces with the current regime, then one was seen as being against them – an enemy. Even if it was their own flesh and blood.
That must have been what had happened. Otherwise, Alec couldn’t fathom WHAT would have caused Edom, and his love, to disappear off the face of the universe, just like that, and crushing his soul in the process.
Anyway, the Shadowhunters within the Institute knew not to speak of the one lost by name aloud, only in hushed whispers – and definitely not around the Head of the New York Institute…
_______________________
5 months, 152 days after the Incident, or so…who knows?
The months seemed to blur from one into the next. Alec was having trouble distinguishing one from the next…
It was all the same with regard to routine. Wake up early, spar, go through paperwork, check in with Security officers…check in with Isabelle, who he had solicited for help in organizing missions – he had tried, but given up after one too many left him choked up, remembering past missions he and Magnus would go on together – his heart simply could not take in all of this! Isabelle, ever so gracious, accepted the extra duty without question, yet with an imploring gaze directed at him. PLEASE TALK TO ME, BIG BROTHER. PLEASE…
As usual he would shake his head. Not today.
She would nod stiffly, and leave the office. Then he would just slump back in his office chair, his eyes unfocused, and breathing shallowly through his mouth, hoping that the day would end soon so he could just go back to sleep.
As much as he abhorred the nightmares, they only came every other night now, so he would always pray for an uneventful night of sleep that night. Then he would mumble a prayer of everlasting love for his dearly departed fiancé, choking toward the end, before he would swallow hard, his voice thick with tears. And then pray for sleep to come him, quick.
All too soon, the morning would come again, and he would go through the same routine, yet again..
If someone could evoke the very nature of how it was to be a zombie day in day out – it would be in the form of Alec Lightwood. Ever since losing the love of his life 5 months ago -- has it already been that long? To him it would always seem like yesterday….
5 months ago, it seemed like all the life had been sucked out from him. All emotions, personality – gone.
His siblings gazed at him from a distance day in day out – with pity and sadness. Alec himself was aware that they did, though -- and he hated it. He swore he was going to do whatever he needed to do, in order to do his job, day by day. No matter what it took. It didn’t matter if he no longer had a heart. After all, one didn’t need a heart to kill demons right? Or to maintain order…
When Magnus had died/became MIA, he had taken his heart with him. And since then, he had no more capable to feel. Or to care about anything or anyone, especially himself.
However, the one thing he did care about – with a sense of urgency – was that Magnus Bane would not be forgotten by those within the New York Institute. Or even the Clave for that matter.
After all, it was due to Magnus’s influence that Alec started to take action to fight for equality for those within the Downworld. The Downworld Cabinet meetings were now a regular event on the schedule. Alec attempted to garner more enthusiastic about these, as he knew Magnus would have wanted these meetings to be productive. But ack – to see Raphael Santiago there, the Head of the New York Vampire Clan, practically Magnus’s son in all ways that were meaningful -- it would bring tears to his eyes. And, Angel everyone was always looking, looking at him. So sympathetically. So pityingly. And right, there was that one empty seat at the table, which Alec just had to be facing every time there was a meeting!
The Spiral Labyrinth, with all good intentions, had volunteered to send a representative in the interim in Magnus's stead.
But it had been a half-hearted effort, at best --
They hadn't even seen to formally assign the position of High Warlock after Magnus's sudden disappearance, currently selecting a warlock, Lorenzo Rey, as the interim High Warlock. If Magnus had been been alive, he would have despised the choice. He and Lorenzo had cemented themselves, rather quickly, as bitter rivals upon Lorenzo's warlock party all those weeks ago.
Lorenzo Rey had seemed less than pleased when offered the position in interim status, not to mention that he was asked to defer to Catarina Loss at this point in time, who Isabelle had unofficially sought out for information and advice since this whole thing unraveled before them. At the time, he had seemed like he was going to take issue with it. But then he had turned to face Alec, who was just staring straight ahead glassily into space, and the words seemed to die upon his lips. Instead he just pressed his lips into a fine line, and said something along the lines about respecting wishes and him being fine with being scarce for now while they resolved their issues about this empty seat (and the position). Then he had extended his condolences to "Mr. Lightwood", after which, he abruptly excused himself and left the room.
So that chair had remained empty, causing a gaping hole to tear within Alec's soul every time he had to look at it. Even though Alec never outwardly said anything, it was clear to everyone that the Head of the Institute was in such mental pain. The tension was nearly unbearable.
Eventually, Raphael could no longer take it, and made the executive decision to move that chair away. Alec had paled, not saying a word -- knowing it was the right thing to do. But he couldn't help internally screaming as he watched it being taken away. In doing so, his heart broke asunder yet again.
It had been the right thing to do. After awhile, Alec was at least able to dull his feelings enough during those meetings, to not be thinking of a chair that was missing, while attempting to communicate with the Downworld representatives in some normal fashion. But once the meetings had ended, and everyone dispersed, he would be back in his room, staring at the window -- the delayed feelings then finally breaking forth, with tears rolling down his cheeks.
The fight to make sure that the Clave never forgot Magnus’s contributions to the Shadowhunters continued to be an uphill battle. But at least he had succeeded in gaining some concessions. Alec had made sure that Magnus’s file held nothing but the truthful depiction of his history, getting rid of all the assumptions and bloated rumors that painted him in a negative light.
He even brought it upon himself to make sure there was a place for Magnus’s final resting place– right in the cemetery right in back of the Institute. Prior to this, there had never held any tombstones of those other than befallen Shadowhunters. His soul heavy, Alec had gone to the Clave, and firmly stated – no, cajoled – for Magnus to be memorialized properly, as he had given so much of himself in helping the Shadowhunters of the New York Institute, and mainly helping him, the Head of the Institute – that was the least that he felt Magnus deserved. This had been met with objections, but Consul Jia Penhallow had only held up her hand to silence all the objections. Then she walked over to him, and folded him into an embrace.
“We loved him too,” she whispered. And it had nearly brought him to his knees, in tears. But he had held his own at the time…
He stood in front of the tombstone now, his emotions raging furiously within him..
MAGNUS BANE, the tombstone read, the name carved handsomely into black marble. The tombstone stood out against the others, as the fiery warlock had commanded a presence when he was around. It was quite fitting, actually….
Except, Alec thought, as his hands clenched into fists, and his eyes filling with tears as he stared dully at it, This shouldn’t have been what happened. Magnus had been IMMORTAL. He was not supposed to leave first, his heart screamed. They were engaged. They were supposed to get married, and live for the number of years they could have had together, until it was time for Alec to leave. BECAUSE ALEC WAS THE MORTAL ONE – ALEC WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE TO LEAVE, FIRST.
And, yes, that was a horrible thought to consider, in itself. But the fact that Magnus had left first, that had been unexpected. And that was what was so hard for him to accept…even now.
Alec didn’t want to talk about it. He would never want to talk about it – ever. Otherwise it would just make him break down, and the hurt and pain would never end. So he took care to never allow any conversation about this to occur –
Even as his sister would look at him with pitying eyes, or opened her mouth to speak. He knew what she was going to say, and he didn’t want to hear it. Or his parabatai, stopping in the middle of sparring, with an imploring look upon his face --
“Alec, please. I can feel how much you are hurting, even dying inside. It’s killing me too --”
No, Jace, Alec thought, gritting his teeth. But no, it was not Jace’s fault. He – Alec – didn’t know how to handle this. He just didn’t.
And so, he decided he just…wouldn’t.
He refused to stop. He refused to talk. If he could just keep going the way that he has been going – things would be just fine. Who needed a heart anyway? Not when the one person whom you thought you would be sharing and spending a lifetime with –
Was no longer there.
Without him, it just wasn’t worth even existing ---
Right now, he was just merely surviving.
____
6 months…183 Days…? give or take a week or two after….
A muffled yet consistent noise was sounding within the walls of the institute -- in the early morning.
And it was disturbing Isabelle’s beauty sleep, causing Isabelle’s face to contort into a frown as she tossed and turned, further burrowing herself under the covers.
WHAT WAS THAT, SOMEONE’S ALARM CLOCK? It wasn’t loud, yet loud enough to annoy, and wake up any light sleeper..
And unfortunately that seemed to be her, today…
OH, C’MON! Isabelle’s brain screamed. Just a few more minutes of sleep. By the Angel, on the day where she hadn’t expected any scheduled missions to occur, and where she thought she could actually get a decent night’s sleep, instead of having to GET UP at that accursed hour of 5am, which seemed to be everyone’s favorite time to wake up, for some reason. Just what Isabelle didn't need.
What she needed was SLEEP –
...wait...
As Isabelle’s ears became more accustomed to the sound, she suddenly jolted up in bed, her eyes widening. That wasn’t the sound of an alarm clock…
These were --
“The monitor,” Isabelle uttered in a choked up whisper, her mouth going dry. The monitor in that very corner of Ops, tracking spikes of power in Edom, namely any signs of Greater Demons – or those with heightened demonic signatures. That monitor had been silent for 6 months.
A million thoughts started flying through her head -- all going backwards from today, Day 183, down to what they termed as “M Day“– not only did both she and Alec witness the warehouse exploding, wondering if the pentagram had pulled Magnus down into Edom in the nick of time...
But it was also that very day that those sirens rang, as the buzzing and the red lights had come to a complete halt. Then that screen went black -- silenced, indefinitely –
That day they termed, “M-Day”, was the day that she witnessed the absolute emotional devastation of the person whom she cared about the most, her big brother Alec, already stretched thin upon the unknown status of his fiancé, Magnus Bane --
Then to hear those sirens SCREAM, signaling the death of any reigning force upon Edom, incidentally also announcing the most likely demise, of not only Asmodeus, who had been down there, but also of one very beloved warlock, a beloved friend, a beloved fiancé –
That mournful guttural cry of agonizing heartbreak that escaped Alec's lips before he collapsed onto the floor in front of everyone -- in utter misery and defeat -- continued to echo in her mind every since…
A day which had burned itself into Isabelle’s brain.
For as long as she lived, she would never care to relive that, ever again.
___
No one expected that the monitor would ever light up again and start buzzing again, now that Asmodeus and (most likely) Magnus Bane were dead.
But now here it was --
Who knows WHAT had come to claim Edom as their own. Perhaps a Greater Demon from another dimension of Hell? Or…even worse?
Who knew what was even out there? Experience with whatever was in the hellfire dimension was not their forte. And now they were down one very valuable resource, Magnus, who was their go-to in these type of matters. The ultimate resource they had, was lost to them all. Not only a resource, but Isabelle had considered Magnus one of her closest friends, too.
But ironically, despite their lack of knowledge on things, it was up to them, the Nephilim, to keep the world safe.
Her next thought was edged with fear and trepidation, her heart stuttering in her chest.
For Alec to hear this start up, yet again ---
183 days since that utmost tragedy and loss...
6 months...
She couldn't even begin to predict how he was going to react to this.