- Lucifer and Eros -
Lucifer arrived at the banquet hall where the post-match party was being held. The hall was what one would expect of Olympus's gods. Large pillars with tapestries depicting the upper-ranked gods, servers standing at tables serving food and drinks, a bar, and a large group of musicians playing in a corner. In the center of the hall stood a statue of Ares.
The moment Lucifer landed he drew immediate attention. Most of the beings at the party looked at him then quickly looked away and whispered to each other. He ignored them and walked over to the bar.
"Medusa venom," Lucifer asked the satyr bartender.
Eros walked up behind Lucifer and wrapped his arm around Lucifer's back. "Archangel or not, that's still a little strong, don't you think?"
"Two glasses," Lucifer changed his order and turned his head to Eros. "What do you want?"
The bartender pulled out a dark bottle. The bright green liquid in the bottle created a glow behind the eyes of the snakes that were depicted on the bottle. The drink sizzled as it hit the two glasses. The bartender carefully slid the drink over to Lucifer.
Eros covered his nose with his free hand. "It's been so long since we last spoke, so I was curious; how's that thing with the valkyrie going?"
'You always were good at pretending nothing happened,' Lucifer thought.
Lucifer pulled Eros's hand off of him. He picked up one of the glasses and did a shot. He winced as the liquid burned his throat going down.
"You can feel pain?" The satyr bartender mumbled.
Lucifer gave an irritated look to the barkeep. "Yes? Did someone say I can't?"
The bartender nervously shook their hands. "I didn't mean to offend you, L-Lord Lucifer."
Lucifer groaned and turned back to Eros. "That 'thing' with the valkyrie was over the last time we spoke. What makes you think anything has changed?"
Eros nervously laughed as he spoke to the bartender. "Usual, El."
The bartender poured a purple-looking drink into a glass and handed it to Eros.
Eros took a sip of the drink. "Come on! Regardless of your actual status, a valkyrie-archangel relationship will always be interesting to me. You're our world's version of Romeo and Juliet."
Lucifer finished off his second glass and winced again. "You know that story is fiction, right? Also, you do remember that the two main characters die, right?"
Eros motioned to the table where food was being served. He and Lucifer walked over while he continued pressing Lucifer with questions.
"Classics are classic for a reason," He said taking another sip from his drink. "Everyone hates, or hated..." he whispered, "your father...but his issues with Odin were a hot topic for millennia."
"Maybe I should have just taken the bottle," Lucifer sighed. "You make it sound like the angels and valkyries were at war when it's nothing but stone-throwing."
Lucifer grabbed a plate and handed it to the nymph serving food. "Just fill it with whatever you think's best."
The nymph didn't make eye contact when Lucifer handed the plate to her. Her hands shook slightly as she filled the plate up.
Lucifer shifted his eyes from the nymph's shaking hands to Eros. "Enough about me, what about you?" his eyes started glowing slightly. "Anything you want to tell me about in regards to how things have been on Olympus."
Eros continued his nervous laughter as he made brief eye contact with the nymph. "Maybe if you controlled those eyes of yours better you would have an easier time finding someone new."
Lucifer made a doubtful expression. "No humans or demons. Given where I work and live, that greatly limits any potential options."
The nymph went to hand Lucifer his plate.
"What about nymphs?" Eros joked.
Lucifer caught his plate before the nymph dropped it. "I have a feeling they don't like my eyes."
Lucifer and Eros walked around the hall. Lucifer stuffed his face while Eros peppered him with more questions.
"What about that half-vampire girl?" Eros asked.
Lucifer spoke through a partially full mouth. "Even IF I had considered that, I've known her since she was a child. Not to mention her mother would have a fatal level of disapproval for such a thing."
"What about that one second-generation angel that seemed to be interested in you?" Eros elbowed Lucifer's side. "What was her name? Mira?"
Lucifer nearly choked on his food. "I think you misinterpreted contempt for love."
Eros smirked. "Not that strange for me, given, you know," He motioned all around the hall.
Lucifer finished the food on his plate and handed it to a nymph server. The server kept her eyes on the floor as Lucifer handed her the plate.
"Hate to tell Cupid this, but "love" isn't part of my life," Lucifer joked.
Multiple beings turned to look at Lucifer after he said that. He noticed Eros's face had shifted to worry.
"Speaking of, where's HE in this place?" he whispered.
Eros whispered back. "He left early."
Lucifer spoke casually. "That's for the best. Once Zeus gets here I'm going to thank him for the hospitality and leave."
Eros motioned to the other guests to stop staring. "So soon? I know things are...awkward, but we rarely get visitors here anymore, especially ones with ties to the human world."
"There's a reason for that..." Lucifer mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Eros asked.
Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "Seriously? I know you want to avoid talking about what happened but do you really not understand why Death and I avoid this part of the territory?"
"I'd love to hear the reason," Zeus said as he walked up to the two.
- Lucifer, Zeus, Eros -
'Reasons,' Lucifer corrected Zeus in his head. "I appreciate the hospitality, but I really should be going. I think my presence here is bringing everyone else down."
"Nonsense!" Zeus said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "You proved to everyone here that you're a god worthy of respect!"
Lucifer could tell that Zeus wasn't being genuine. He didn't know why Zeus was acting this way, just that it meant he couldn't leave as soon as he wanted. He pushed his irritation down his throat and spoke in a more respectful tone.
"It's a difference in perspective, Lord Zeus. I'm afraid I might not know how to act properly since I deal with humans on a daily basis."
'At least you can pretend to show respect,' Zeus thought before speaking. "Let's not focus on differences. Come! Tell me more about the Demon War. I'd love to hear about it from someone who was on the frontlines."
'Fuck me,' Lucifer groaned in his head.
- The group in the Underworld -
The group in the Underworld arrived at a large stone palace. There were large torches lit with blue flames leading up the steps of the palace. A gigantic four-legged, shadowy figure ran up to the group.
"Down boy!" Hades yelled at Cerberus.
Cerberus went to pin Death but Death held the three-headed mass of black fur up.
"Good to see you again!" Death happily exclaimed.
Cerberus's two tails wagged into a blur as Death put them on the ground and started giving them a belly rub. The massive hound dwarfed Death in size as it happily wiggled.
Elijah whispered to Peter. "I thought he was terrible with animals?"
Peter whispered back, "Normal ones, yeah. Cerberus loves him though. Somethin' to do with his "presence" from what I was told. Luce and Hades know more about it than I do."
- Ash and Kahvis -
Ash and Kahvis stood in a large stone hut. The middle of the room had a board with scattered pieces. Each piece had the name of a god on it. Ash was holding one labeled "Tonatiuh."
"I wonder how he's doing?" Ash mumbled to herself.
Kahvis kept their eyes on the board. "Are you really that confident in your fire magic? Why not pick a target with a non-matching element?"
Ash put the piece on the board. "It's not about being better, it's about taking the chance to fight them. I'd even fight Agni if he was one of your targets. So you know," She leaned in closer to Kahvis, "regardless of how you feel about my allegiance, the moment I attack Tona, that will be the starting shot for the war."
Kahvis clenched their hands. "I know that. It just means you better not lose."
Ash smiled as she spoke in a mocking tone. "If I do, then what comes next is your fault for trusting me."
Kahvis stood up from the board and looked Ash in the eyes. The two stared at each other for a moment. Kahvis's stern expression was in stark contrast to Ash's smile.
Kahvis spoke first, "Do you have any idea what it's like to be weak?"
"Can't say that I do," Ash responded.
Kahvis picked up a handful of pieces from the board. "The "weak" in this world have their lives decided for them by those "above" them. They have their lives toyed with by those that view their existence as objects, instead of living beings. They have to hope that gods like YOU AND ME make the right choices. So please, don't treat this like it's just some game that you're using to relieve stress. Some beings don't have the luxury of power like you."
Ash's smile softened to a grin. "That's their fault. Some might laud you for your belief in noblesse oblige but I think it misses the point of existence. You can't be an eternal protector for the weak like you want. Some day, however long it takes, you will find yourself too tired to constantly protect the weak and will wish that they had the strength to protect themselves."
Kahvis dropped the pieces onto the board. "I can't claim to understand the life you lived before arriving here so I'm only speaking on my experience. I don't wish to look over this world's weak, ready to swoop in and solve their problems for them; I want those who are unjustly oppressed by certain gods to have the foot removed from their necks while also pushing towards a more reasonable form of equality."
Ash stopped grinning. "More reasonable than Death's idea of equality, right?"
Kahvis didn't answer.
Ash sighed. "It's honorable to want to destroy things like the Underground in Passage, just be careful you don't step on a martyr's landmine in the process."
"A what?" Kahvis asked with curiosity.
"Nothing..." Ash mumbled as she turned around. "I'll get Tona's head so we can start this war properly. Try not to die before I get back," She mocked as she walked away.