Chapter 34

**Temptation and Longing**

The cold, dark corridors of Egnand felt heavier than usual, as though the very air itself was thick with unspoken longing. Lucifer, seated on his throne of obsidian, found himself consumed by a singular, intoxicating desire that gnawed at him day and night. The image of Athena haunted him with an unrelenting persistence, appearing in the corners of his mind with a clarity that seemed impossible for mere memory. She was not just a passing thought—she was an obsession, a craving that ignited within him with a force that bordered on madness.

In the depths of his dominion, even the oppressive gloom seemed to flicker with echoes of her presence. Shadows twisted and danced in the dim light, whispering promises of what could be. They reminded him of what he wanted—no, needed. Every dark corner, every flicker of light seemed to play out scenes of a life that he ached for, one where Athena was by his side, not in the distant realm she now inhabited.