Cold is not good for a being made of fire. Katagogi knew that, and Jay-Jay knew to panic about it. With the demon stuck in the middle of the sphere of death, rapidly becoming numb of all feeling, she was a slave to the sphere’s motions: The shaking, the flashing, it felt like they had failed, and had the demon more strength, she’d feel desolate at the thought. All she could do in the numb state of near-death was to keep pulling in anything she could, to try and make the difference: the saviour that no human would acknowledge, that exceeded her progenitor.

It took a herculean labour to find the energy to bring in more of the sphere, and just moments after she tried to, the sphere began to collapse in on itself. The feel of being smothered was an uncomfortable one, and she pushed out with her ragged willpower, with the thought of Jay-Jay’s form on her mind. The edges of her vision inside the sphere darkened and dimmed as the sensation of cold grew more and more. It was like the sphere was nullifying her: making the hot, cold; the bright, dull; the living, deceased. She almost welcomed the concept of death, as the sphere seemed to continue collapsing. Contrary to the outside of the sphere, inside it was peaceful: Serene, almost. 

In the moments of calm, Kata wondered what it would be like to die. Demons so rarely died, at least not the elemental ones, such as her. She knew that this was her end though, and she embraced it. The act of exerting herself so much, absorbing so much entropy and death from Fenrir’s final act of hatred and spite, had left her used up. 

It was at this point that the orb exploded outwards, a crescendo of bright light and serene beauty. Katago̱gí felt her body be flung away by the act, gliding on the rainbow trail created by the orb’s dispersal. It was a beautiful thought: that she’d succeeded and that she would go out in such a bang. She knew that Jay-Jay would be writhing behind the sealed off part of her mind, and yet the demon didn’t seem to mind that much. 

A few hundred feet from the stones, the Demon’s body landed ungracefully on the ground and seemed to begin to disintegrate. As each inch of the Ifrit vanished into nothingness, it revealed Jay-Jay’s human form behind it: like the removal of a suit, one fibre at a time. The barrier that kept Jay-Jay locked up and safe inside the shared mind shattered, and the distraught host cried out at the vanishing demon. “Why do you have to go! Why did you lie to me? What about the promise?!” Despite her vanishing form, the cold Ifrit felt tears well up in her eyes. It was Jay-Jay’s body, but both of the creatures wept: true tears that seemed to sizzle down the over-warm skin. 

[i]”Eternity is a long time. I am far too old and far too lonely to regret doing what I did.[/i] By now, the shared body had mostly returned to human flesh. Everything below the shoulders looked like Jay-Jay, and one hand reached up to touch the demon’s face, one tender finger tracing a finger along the tear, feeling the comfortable heat. 

“You said…You said when we started this that you’d protect me because I couldn’t protect myself. How are you going to do that now?” There was a defeat in Jay-Jay’s voice; A certain empty ring to the words, as if she already knew the response. 

[i]”Come now Jay-Jay. You’re a hero now, and I’m dying happy, most people don’t get that.”[/i] Half of Jay-Jay’s face was human flesh now, the disintegration almost complete. With one final sigh, the Ifrit offered one last thought to Jay-Jay: Host and friend. [i]”Besides, I’ve left a few embers behind. I may be gone, but you can start a new flame whenever. That’s the beauty of fire, all it needs is a little fuel.”[/i]

And then, she was gone. Jay-Jay was alone in the field, curled up in a ball and weeping at the loss of a demon. 
---
Unlike most dead beings, who would swan dive into the rivers of Death, Katagogi floated down, blazing a trail of light and fire that was so atypical of the underscape. She thought briefly of old Hades, who once lay claim to the land of the dead. How much of that had been true, and how much was falsehood? He certainly wasn’t here now, and nor was the river Styx guided by a ship. Even Cerberus seemed like a lie now, despite the parallels that might have been drawn with the pink-haired one’s companion.

She recalled her times visiting this realm before, as her old hosts past away. It had been a disjointing feeling, knowing that you only had to pass through the realms of death: but each time had left her with a carnal interest. Death had seemed like such a peaceful being, despite what he entailed. She almost hoped he would indulge her in a few games before she finally died. Did death show favourites? Would he show an interest in her as she entered his realm for real? It was nice to think that her abnormality would entice him, as so few had ever actually wanted her. Prometheus had not sought her out, nor had any of her hosts: at least not intentionally. Even Jay-Jay had been made host to the demoness by chance, not by choice. Being chosen at the end would be…pleasant.

Something caught her eye in the endless waters of death. She had thought the passage would be quick, and yet death had not deigned to meet her yet. Instead, she saw a sight most unexpected: the Pink-haired one, as well as the Werewolf’s toy and the new, dead one. What was this trio doing in the underscape? 

Then the thought crossed her, one that left her half amused and half aghast. Fenrir’s soul would be down here too, wouldn’t it? Was that why death took so long to greet her? Perhaps the God-wolf was putting up a fight, not that he would win. No one escapes death, neither god nor king nor hero. 

It seems that the demon would have one last chance to say goodbye to a few members of the Bane and Hoyle group, not that she cared much past the reaper. The boy-toy had been an antagonistic force to Jay-Jay and the dead-one had not shared a word with her host. The fire-demon floated down towards Daisy and the duo, blazing out in the dark depths of death like a small sun. She didn’t say anything, but wrinkled her nose at the strange smell of decay.