The Primarchs existed long before humans learned how to write history.
Before kingdoms rose.
Before mankind preserved memories in books instead of songs.
They were the first monsters to walk the earth.
Ancient beings born from oceans, storms, darkness, forests, stars.
Some were worshipped.
Some were feared.
Some ruled openly among mortals while wearing human faces.
Over time, they learned to imitate humanity so perfectly that entire civilizations forgot what truly existed beneath their skin.
The beastfolk carried diluted traces of their blood.
But true Primarchs,
those standing at the summit of all living things,
had nearly vanished from the world.
Their numbers dwindled with every passing century.
And because of that,
finding a mate became nearly impossible.
Cyrinne had been young when she met Isaac.
Young enough to still believe eternity would be kind to her.
The Demon Lord fascinated her immediately.
He laughed too loudly.
Spoke too freely.
Looked at her without fear.
Most creatures lowered their heads in her presence.
Isaac only lounged lazily upon his throne and smirked.
"Do you like what you see?"
"And if I do?" Cyrinne replied.
His grin widened.
That was the beginning.
When he abducted her later,
she allowed it.
Human kingdoms nearly started wars over her disappearance.
Cyrinne ignored all of them.
She remained inside the Demon Realm willingly.
Isaac possessed enough life force to withstand her existence, something exceedingly rare among living beings. Primarchs instinctively searched for compatible mates once they reached maturity.
And once they chose,
they chose only once.
A Primarch could never truly love another unless their mate died.
It was not custom.
Not tradition.
It was simply how their souls were made.
At first, Isaac's wandering habits did not bother her.
Women followed him constantly.
Demons adored him.
His castle overflowed with beauties from countless races.
Cyrinne merely watched with detached amusement.
She was too powerful to feel threatened.
Too ancient to care.
Then they became real lovers.
And suddenly,
everything changed.
She wanted exclusivity.
Not because she doubted herself.
But because devotion meant something different to Primarchs.
When she chose Isaac,
she gave him something irreversible.
And surprisingly,
for several years,
he remained faithful.
Or at least she believed he did.
The crystal sat hidden inside Isaac's private chambers.
Black.
Perfectly smooth.
Small enough to fit within one hand.
Cyrinne discovered it accidentally while searching for him late one evening.
At first, she assumed it was another stolen human artifact.
Then she felt the spatial distortion beneath her fingertips.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Interesting.
The world twisted instantly.
Space folded inward around her.
And suddenly,
she stood beneath crimson lanterns.
Music drifted through narrow streets.
Women laughed from balconies overhead.
Warm light spilled from open windows.
Perfume thickened the air.
Cyrinne stared silently.
For one brief moment, she genuinely believed she had stepped into some hidden human city.
Then she recognized the demonic architecture beneath the illusion.
And slowly,
her expression changed.
Not confusion.
Not anger.
Recognition.
This place had been hidden intentionally.
Carefully.
A second life.
Cyrinne walked through the streets.
Nobody stopped her.
A woman brushed past carrying wine.
Another laughed while fixing her clothes.
Somewhere nearby, musicians played softly behind silk curtains.
The entire place felt alive.
Used.
Old.
Her footsteps finally halted before a half-open door glowing gold from within.
Voices drifted outside.
Isaac laughed.
Cyrinne pushed the door open.
Silence swallowed the room immediately.
The Demon Lord lounged carelessly atop a velvet couch while two women rested against him. One sat comfortably in his lap.
Another poured wine into his glass.
A third emerged from behind silk curtains while adjusting her dress.
Isaac looked up lazily,
then saw her.
And smiled.
"Cyrinne."
The room became deathly silent.
The women stared nervously between them.
Cyrinne slowly looked around.
At the luxurious room.
At the women.
At Isaac.
Then beyond him,
toward the countless glowing windows outside.
An entire hidden city.
Built solely to deceive her.
Isaac finally sat upright.
"Do you consider this betrayal?"
Cyrinne looked back at him.
For the first time in years,
she spoke his name without warmth.
"Isaac. Do not insult me."
The women immediately lowered their heads.
One quietly slipped from the room.
Isaac rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"Don't treat this like an insult. Treat it as the natural flow of events."
"You wanted me to discover this."
"I knew you eventually would."
The Demon Lord stood and approached her slowly.
"I remained faithful to you for one hundred years."
Cyrinne laughed softly.
The sound felt wrong.
"You built an entire city."
Isaac exhaled heavily.
"It was easier this way."
"Easier."
"You love like a catastrophe, Cyrinne."
Her eyes sharpened instantly.
"And you love like a coward."
The temperature inside the room dropped.
The remaining women trembled.
Isaac dismissed them with a glance.
They fled immediately.
Now only the two remained.
Ancient beings.
Ancient monsters.
Ancient lovers.
"Do you think you understand?" Isaac asked quietly.
"I understand perfectly."
"No." He leaned back slowly, still composed. "You don't."
"You chose me once and expected that choice to become my entire existence."
"That is what Primarchs do."
"I am not a Primarch."
The answer came immediately.
Simple.
Calm.
True.
Cyrinne fell silent.
Isaac laughed bitterly.
"You bind yourselves eternally and call it devotion. The rest of us call it suffocation."
After so long, something genuinely wounded crossed her face.
Because she finally understood.
He had loved her.
Perhaps he still did.
But not in the same monstrous, irreversible way she loved him.
And maybe he never could.
"This is my limit," Isaac admitted quietly.
That hurt more than cruelty.
More than denial.
More than lies.
Because she believed him.
He had tried.
For years.
But eventually he returned to old instincts like a starving man crawling back toward poison.
Cyrinne suddenly felt unbearably tired.
The great Primarch slowly looked around the hidden city once more.
The glowing lanterns.
The laughter outside.
The endless rooms.
Proof of betrayal carefully maintained over decades.
Infrastructure.
Not impulse.
And despite being perhaps the strongest creature alive,
she had still failed to become enough for one man.
The cruelest part?
She could never simply choose another.
Her soul would never allow it.
Isaac stood slowly.
"You can attempt to kill me and free yourself, but you know it won't be easy."
Older Primarchs could tear apart a faithless mate.
Cyrinne was still too young.
Too incomplete.
Too in love.
That was why he remained audacious enough to challenge her.
She stepped backward.
For the first time since meeting him,
she no longer wanted him touching her.
"Accept this, Cyrinne," Isaac said softly. "Things have merely returned to their rightful place."
His eyes remained calm.
Almost gentle.
"I gave you what you wanted for a century. Now it is your turn to give me something in return."
"My freedom."
"My love for you will remain unchanged. You are still my precious wife."
"As long as I live, that position belongs only to you."
Cyrinne stared at him for a very long time.
Then finally,
very quietly,
she asked:
"Have you ever loved me the way I loved you?"
Isaac smiled faintly.
"A Primarch's love is not something any demon could ever understand."
Cyrinne smiled too.
Small.
Fragile.
Because she already knew that.
She had only wanted to hear him say it aloud.
Then she turned around and walked away.
And suddenly,
Isaac moved.
Flames exploded through the room as the Demon Lord transformed instantly, wings unfurling violently behind him.
He slammed her against the floor.
The establishment trembled.
His eyes glowed gold beneath the firelight while venom dripped slowly from his fangs.
He looked suddenly afraid.
"Don't be foolish, Cyrinne."
His claws pressed against her lower abdomen.
The mark there throbbed painfully.
"You have nowhere else to go."
"You know what happens to Primarchs who separate from their mates."
"You need me."
His voice lowered dangerously.
"Walking outside alone now is no different from walking as a corpse. You will suffer longing for me."
Cyrinne's eyes narrowed.
Then,
the world exploded.
Silver-white fur erupted violently through the chamber as her true form emerged.
The impact sent Isaac crashing through stone walls.
Cyrinne landed heavily upon massive paws, breathing harshly.
In her wolf form, she could suppress part of the unbearable longing tearing through her body.
Only a fraction.
But enough.
Enough to run.
She turned.
And fled.
"CYRINNNNNNNNNNE!!!"
The Demon King's roar echoed through the collapsing palace as his beloved wife finally turned her back on him.