*There had never been a gathering like this in the history of Hell.*

Not even the greatest meetings between the Rings could compare.

The enormous chamber had been constructed specifically for the occasion, with a table large enough to accommodate representatives from practically every major faction in existence.

Every Ring of Hell was represented.

Every Deadly Sin.

The Goetia.

The Overlords.

The Hazbin Hotel.

I.M.P.

The Vees.

And countless other demons who normally would have preferred to kill one another rather than sit in the same room.

At the head of the enormous table sat **Lucifer Morningstar**, ruler of Pride.

Beside him sat his daughter, **Charlie Morningstar**, and **Vaggie**, who remained close to Charlie with her arms folded.

Then came the Deadly Sins.

**Satan**, Sin of Wrath.

**Mammon**, Sin of Greed.

**Beelzebub**, Sin of Gluttony.

**Asmodeus**, Sin of Lust.

**Belphegor**, Sin of Sloth.

**Leviathan**, Sin of Envy.

And Lucifer himself, representing Pride.

Every Sin was present.

Every one of them.

Nobody had been excluded.

Across the chamber sat the Goetia.

**Stolas Goetia** sat among the aristocracy, his attention occasionally drifting toward the enormous gathering.

**Octavia Goetia** was present as well.

Around them were numerous members of the Goetia family and their extended aristocratic houses, including ancient nobles, princes, marquises, counts, and other members of the enormous Goetia bloodline.

The chamber was filled with feathers, crowns, horns, wings, aristocratic clothing, and ancient magical artifacts.

And then came I.M.P.

**Blitzø.**

**Moxxie.**

**Millie.**

**Loona.**

Alongside them were other associates and employees connected to the Immediate Murder Professionals.

Blitzø looked around the room.

He slowly leaned toward Moxxie.

"Why the are there so many people here?"

Moxxie adjusted his glasses.

"Because apparently this is supposed to be a meeting between every major faction in Hell."

Blitzø looked at the enormous room.

"...And they invited us?"

Millie smiled.

"Apparently!"

Loona sighed.

"I hate this already."

Not far away stood the residents and staff of the Hazbin Hotel.

**Charlie Morningstar.**

**Vaggie.**

**Alastor.**

**Angel Dust.**

**Husk.**

**Niffty.**

And the other residents and associates of the hotel.

Alastor stood with his usual smile.

Husk looked like he desperately wanted a drink.

Angel Dust looked around the room with obvious amusement.

Niffty was fascinated by practically everything.

Charlie, meanwhile, was trying to maintain some semblance of diplomacy.

Then came the Overlords.

Not just the famous ones.

Not merely the Vees.

**Every major Overlord who had been summoned was there.**

**Vox.**

**Valentino.**

**Velvette.**

**Carmilla Carmine.**

**Zestial.**

**Rosie.**

**Zeezi.**

**Alastor.**

And countless other Overlords whose names had been whispered throughout Pentagram City for decades or even centuries.

Ancient Overlords.

New Overlords.

Overlords who controlled businesses.

Overlords who controlled territories.

Overlords who controlled weapons.

Overlords who controlled souls.

Overlords who controlled information.

Overlords who had been around since before many of the younger demons in the room had even been born.

The older Overlords sat toward the rear of the chamber, watching everyone with varying degrees of suspicion.

Some had survived for centuries.

Some had watched entire generations of sinners rise and disappear.

Some had even known the ancient rulers of Hell personally.

And all of them had come.

Even the ones who normally refused to attend political gatherings.

The Vees were together.

**Vox** stood beside **Valentino** and **Velvette**, though Vox's attention wasn't on them.

His eyes were fixed on one particular person.

You.

Because you weren't sitting with the Overlords.

You weren't sitting with the Sins.

You weren't sitting with the Goetia.

You weren't sitting with the hotel.

You were sitting completely by yourself.

And you didn't seem remotely bothered by it.

You were in your **Eve form**.

Not Roo.

Not your Root of All Evil form.

Not some terrifying manifestation of primordial darkness.

Just Eve.

The first woman.

Well...

The second, technically.

Lilith had existed before you.

But you had never particularly cared for that distinction.

To you, Lilith had been nothing more than a mistake.

And you had never felt the slightest need to hide that opinion.

You sat with one leg crossed over the other, your expression completely neutral.

You weren't nervous.

You weren't impressed.

You weren't intimidated.

You weren't even particularly interested.

You were simply watching.

Hundreds upon hundreds of demons had gathered around you.

The Deadly Sins.

The Goetia.

The Overlords.

The Vees.

The hotel.

I.M.P.

Demons from every Ring.

Yet you looked as though you were waiting for someone to finish talking so you could leave.

Satan eventually slammed one massive hand against the table.

"ENOUGH."

The chamber fell silent.

"We are here because the political balance of Hell is becoming unstable."

Mammon immediately raised his hand.

"Who's paying for this meeting?"

Everyone stared at him.

Mammon shrugged.

"What? Meetings cost money."

Beelzebub laughed.

Asmodeus shook his head.

Belphegor barely looked awake.

Leviathan watched the room silently.

Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Can we please remain focused?"

Charlie nodded.

"Right. Everyone is here because we need to discuss the growing tensions between the Rings, the Goetia, the Overlords, and the other factions."

Alastor's smile widened.

"My, my. What a wonderfully complicated situation."

Zestial spoke from among the ancient Overlords.

"Thee speaketh truly."

Rosie smiled pleasantly.

"It certainly is a rather impressive gathering."

Carmilla remained serious.

"We should discuss the actual problem."

Vox crossed his arms.

"Agreed."

Valentino rolled his eyes.

Velvette was already looking around the room as though mentally ranking everyone's outfits.

The Goetia whispered among themselves.

Stolas occasionally glanced toward you.

Octavia noticed.

"Father?"

Stolas looked at her.

"Yes?"

"Why do you keep looking at her?"

Stolas hesitated.

"Because..."

His eyes returned to you.

"...I'm trying to understand what she is."

You heard him.

You simply turned your head.

Stolas immediately straightened.

Your eyes met his.

You stared at him for several seconds.

Then you calmly asked:

"Do you have a question?"

Stolas swallowed.

"No."

You nodded.

"Then stop staring."

"Of course."

You turned away.

Blitzø stared.

"Okay, that's fucking hilarious."

Moxxie whispered.

"Sir, please don't antagonize Eve."

Blitzø lowered his voice.

"I'm not antagonizing her."

Millie smiled.

"You're absolutely antagonizing her."

"I am not."

Loona sighed.

"You are."

Meanwhile, Charlie approached the subject everyone had been avoiding.

"Eve."

The entire room immediately became quieter.

You looked toward Charlie.

"Yes?"

Charlie smiled politely.

"We're grateful that you came."

"I was invited."

"Yes, but..."

Charlie hesitated.

"You didn't have to come."

You shrugged.

"I know."

That answer caused several people to exchange glances.

Lucifer finally spoke.

"You understand who is sitting in this room?"

You looked around.

"Yes."

Lucifer gestured around the chamber.

"The Deadly Sins."

You looked toward them.

"Satan. Mammon. Beelzebub. Asmodeus. Belphegor. Leviathan."

Then you looked toward Lucifer.

"And you."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

"The Goetia."

Your gaze moved toward them.

"The Overlords."

You glanced toward Alastor, Vox, Valentino, Velvette, Carmilla, Zestial, Rosie, Zeezi, and the other ancient and modern Overlords.

"The hotel."

Charlie, Vaggie, Angel, Husk, Niffty, and Alastor.

"I.M.P."

Blitzø, Moxxie, Millie, and Loona.

"All of them."

You looked around the room again.

"I know."

Lucifer stared at you.

"And you're not intimidated?"

You blinked.

"No."

Silence.

Satan leaned forward.

"Not even slightly?"

"No."

Mammon frowned.

"Not even by me?"

"No."

Mammon looked offended.

"That's rude."

You shrugged.

"I wasn't trying to be rude."

Alastor's smile widened.

"Then what are you trying to be?"

You looked directly at him.

"Nothing."

That answer somehow made the entire room more uncomfortable.

Because you weren't trying to establish dominance.

You weren't trying to prove that you were stronger.

You weren't trying to frighten anyone.

You genuinely didn't care.

And every ancient being in the chamber understood exactly how unusual that was.

You weren't simply another powerful demon.

You weren't a sinner.

You weren't an Overlord.

You weren't Goetia.

You weren't one of the Deadly Sins.

You were **Eve**.

The first woman.

And beneath that identity was something far older.

Something that had existed before most of the hierarchy surrounding you.

**Roo.**

**The Root of All Evil.**

You had watched civilizations rise.

You had watched them fall.

You had watched demons become kings.

You had watched kings become forgotten.

You had watched Hell itself change.

So why would you be impressed by a room full of demons?

Lucifer finally sat back down.

"Then perhaps we should proceed."

You nodded.

"Please do."

The meeting continued.

Arguments broke out.

The Sins debated.

The Goetia protested.

The Overlords disagreed.

Vox argued with several ancient Overlords.

Velvette interrupted repeatedly.

Valentino complained.

Carmilla attempted to keep everyone focused.

Zestial occasionally silenced entire sections of the room simply by speaking.

Alastor watched everything with his permanent smile.

Charlie attempted to mediate.

Vaggie kept an eye on everyone.

Blitzø whispered inappropriate comments to Moxxie.

Millie tried not to laugh.

Loona looked increasingly irritated.

And through all of it...

You simply sat there.

Completely unfazed.

Eventually, Satan turned toward you.

"Eve."

You looked at him.

"What?"

"You've been silent this entire time."

"Yes."

"Do you have nothing to say?"

You thought for a moment.

Then you answered honestly.

"No."

Satan stared.

You leaned back in your chair.

"You called a meeting."

You gestured toward everyone.

"So have your meeting."

A few demons exchanged looks.

Then you added casually:

"If you need my opinion..."

Your eyes briefly changed.

For the tiniest fraction of a second, something ancient stared through them.

Something darker than any demon present.

Something that didn't belong to Hell.

Something that existed before its kingdoms, before its politics, before its rulers.

"...you can ask."

Your eyes returned to normal.

You smiled faintly.

"But until then..."

You rested your chin against your hand.

"...I'll just watch."

And for the first time since the meeting began...

Every single faction in the room understood something.

The meeting wasn't being watched by Eve.

It was being watched by the **Root of All Evil**.

And she wasn't impressed.