Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
263. Rueben - Pandora V

Tyson speaks next, probably thinking out loud, as he's mostly rambling, "If Olivia is a descendant of Pandora, and the latter was the one who sealed Ophyr in the Dybbux box, it could be that he is afraid Olivia will imprison him again. She is in more danger than I originally thought."

"Tyson is right. Jason is the least of our problems," Ansel confirms Tyson's theory. "Ophyr is our real target. Olivia doesn't have the Dybbux box. She is sure Azael got hold of it."

Fuck. "Not only do we have to deal with the Dukes and Azael, but now we have to think of a way to stop Ophyr and his army of Nephilims while looking for the Dybbux Box?" I huff. "Keeping our woman safe won't be easy." "Don't forget the Blight, the other half of Ophyr's army," Ansel adds. "Olivia is not the only hellstar in danger. All of them are."

"We are pretty much screwed," Jasper voices his concern.

Ophyr, whatever he might be, might want to destroy God's creation and kill my woman, but I won't make it easy for him.

"Olivia is working on a plan, but she hasn't given me any details about it. And," Ansel emphasizes, "even if she had disclosed anything to me, it's not my place to talk about it."

Rin shifts his weight from one leg to another. "For years, we have been fighting against the Dukes. Many of our own have died. There's no way a woman will find a way to deal with the enemy."

I glare at Rin, but it is Ansel who puts him in his place. "Olivia's role is not to defeat the Dukes but to lead the other hellstars into battle when Armageddon begins and to stop Ophyr from destroying the world. I'm afraid Armageddon is near. Days before her disappearance, Ladybug told me that the Four Horsemen were already on Earth. One for each type of being of this world-demons, angels, Nephilims, and the Fallen." Ansel says the last word so quickly I barely hear it. A frown appears on Tyson's face. "What are the Fallen? And what is the role of the Four Horsemen?"

"The Fallen are...different," Ansel's tone makes it clear that he doesn't want to talk about this topic. "Ladybug disappeared before she could explain about the Four Horsemen. She left to buy groceries but never returned home. The next day, a man I never saw before came to get me. He told me Ladybug was going to be out of the city for a while. Meanwhile, I'll be living with a family of Lords who promised to keep me safe from the Bringers of Doom. That's how I ended up at the Carr's house," Ansel finally tells the whole truth about how he came to live with my family. My parents were involved in all of this? And who was that man and what was his connection with my parents? Nor will I find out, as Ansel says, "That was the only time I saw him. I never asked Francesca or Reid about him because I was afraid that if I did that, he'd come to take me back to Ladybug. For the first time in my life, I had a family. Brothers and a sister, friends too. Reid and Francesca were keeping me safe. I didn't want to be the Guardian. I was going to public school, and truth be told, I was having a blast." He did? He was always so serious, I could have sworn he hated his life, since he was an orphan. "Do you have questions, or should I continue with the videos?" Ansel asks.

I have so many questions I don't even know where to start.

"Finish the story about Pandora. I want to know how she trapped Ophyr with the help of Lucifer when he had already confined himself in Hell," Steven says.

Ansel takes out a cigar and lights it. After a few drags, he says, "The Catacombs beneath the Blood Lodge are Pandora's doing. When she couldn't contact Lucifer, with the help of her powers, she created a tunnel that led directly into the heart of Hell. To avoid humans getting inside and ending up in Hell, Pandora later added more tunnels that led to nowhere. Ultimately, the Blood Lodge was built on top of it to keep the Catacombs hidden from the Dukes. Once inside Hell, Pandora asked Lucifer for help with stopping Ophyr. He made the Dybbux Box, which Pandora used as a prison for Ophyr and half of his army."

Jasper makes a small summary for us. "God created the Universe and everything in it. Then, Ophyr appeared and wanted to destroy it with the help of Nephilims. Meanwhile, more drama unfolded as demons and angels started to fall in love, which led to them having children, who were called humans because they lacked divine power. Lucifer smashed with Pandora; they had a daughter who disappeared in mysterious circumstances and was never found again. Lucifer and Pandora split up.

"More shit happened when Azael, together with other traitors, attacked the Garden of Eden and almost killed Lucifer. Pandora had a secret baby. After many battles over the course of a long period of time, Pandora finds a way to stop Ophyr once and for all.

"Back to the present. Olivia, who has suffered more than enough, has to fight against Ophyr and his Nephlims when the last war starts. Is there more, or am I missing something?" "What about Runa?" I ask, curious about the fate of Pandora's second daughter.

Ansel takes a drag from his cigar before replying, "She had many daughters before she died at an old age, years before Pandora and Ophyr faced each other in what would be their last battle." Tyson starts smoking as well. “This is some serious shit. Why is there so much hidden from us?” he wonders.

Ansel finishes his cigar. "It might have to do with the fact that hellstars don't want the Lords and the Dukes to know they have powers. If that is true, my theory is that the hellstars are the ones who made the story of Pandora and the Dybbux box into a myth and altered many details. After that, they hid their powers from their husbands and only let them believe they were hellstars because they were soulmates to both human and his demon or angel. As for why, I don't know. Maybe men forced the hellstars to use their powers to hurt others." His eyes suddenly go wide. "Mose is in great danger."

**Happy Easter everyone.**