- Dimitri and Heinrich -
"I'm surprised you didn't try to stop him?" Dimitri said.
"Mmm," Heinrich kept writing. "I'm already breaking a world law by making these notes, that's enough for me. Lucifer can handle himself."
Dimitri looked at Lao's sleeping face.
"I understand the feeling," Heinrich stopped writing. "He'll be okay. It's just the depletion."
Dimitri's eyes shifted to Lao's chest. "I'm not worried about the depletion, I've seen Lao use his contract before. What I've never seen is his heart stopping."
- Underworld and Olympus -
The negotiations with Zeus had gone surprisingly well. Zeus accepted Lucifer's terms, Death kept his negative thoughts towards Lucifer's plan to himself, and Lucifer explained to his team that everything was set. The group would still be in the Underworld for a few more days in an attempt to recover after everything that's happened.
There was a close call between Death and Poseidon when Death realized that Cerberus might have been killed. Poseidon assured Death that he didn't let anything happen to the three-headed guard dog. Persephone confirmed Poseidon's words after checking on Cerberus through her root network. Poseidon had felt a bloodlust from Death equal to Zeus that further cemented his want to just obey what he was told.
Death and Persephone briefly searched through the Underworld for Thanatos while Zeus and Hade swept through what remained of Olympus.
Hades was surprised by the amount of damage that had been done to Olympus, commenting on the piles of minotaur corpses that seemed to litter the streets. Zeus had little to say in response. Zeus was thinking more about who had organized this attack.
The days went on without further issues. Lao woke up to a very melancholic greeting from Dimitri. Elijah went over Heinrich's notes with Lucifer. Elijah was surprised by the number of discrepancies while Lucifer's expression was stoic throughout their reading. Lucifer's eyes seemed to drift to the side constantly as he read.
On the last day before the group would be leaving for Hell, two major events happened. Death went to retrieve the items he had originally been looking for in Tartarus and Lucifer had a conversation with someone he had never expected to be speaking with.
- Lucifer -
Lucifer asked Hades for a room away from everyone else. He claimed that he wanted a moment to himself to go over his plans for Poseidon one last time. He said he had felt a little overwhelmed by everything that had happened and just wanted a moment to think alone. He told his team and Death that he would have his echo on him if anything happened.
Lucifer pulled a chair out for himself and sat down in the isolated room. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, exhaled, then opened his eyes. Appearing before Lucifer was a being that looked similar to him, the most striking similarity being their eyes. The being's eyes were a perfect reflection of Lucifer's.
The being had red skin with curved horns and black wings folded to their back. They had one hand sticking out of their black cloak, revealing their claws.
'Who are you?' Lucifer asked in his mind.
'...Really?' The voice answered. 'I know we might look different but it should be obvious. I am the Lord of Darkness, Ruler of Hell, Lucifer. Though I suppose I could also be called the Devil or Satan.'
'What about Samael?' Lucifer asked.
'DON'T CALL ME THAT!' The other Lucifer screamed.
Lucifer had been doing his best to ignore what was now in front of him over the course of the last few days. He didn't feel he had the energy to deal with whatever this is at the time but now was more curious than ever. He had a thousand questions for the being in front of him.
'I was never called that, so you know,' Lucifer said. 'While we're on the topic of names, do you mind if I call you "Devil" for now?'
'So long as you don't call me that OTHER name,' Devil agreed.
Lucifer decided to lead with what he felt the most important question was, 'Why are you here?'
'How should I know?' Devil responded. 'Why do you show mercy? Why are you interacting with those...humans? It's disgusting.'
Devil's genuine tone when saying "disgusting," told Lucifer more about this being. Wherever this being was from it was clear that they seemed to be closer to the image of "Lucifer" that humans had. This realization made Lucifer immediately distrustful of Devil. He decided he would need to be more careful with his questions now.
'Where's our father?' Devil asked with a grimace.
'Dead,' Lucifer responded without hesitation.
'Lucky you,' Devil smiled. 'Who did it? Better yet, how did it happen? Was it slow? Painful? What about Michael?'
Lucifer sighed before responding. 'Do you have magic?'
'You're no fun,' Devil scowled. 'I have powers, yes.'
'Does he have a different name for it?' Lucifer thought to himself. 'Does wherever you come from have magic?'
Devil looked down at Lucifer with superiority. 'Oh...I don't think so..."Lucifer." If you want to know more about me you'll have to tell me more about yourself first.'
If Lucifer had more time than he did to talk he might play this game with Devil.
'Question for a question,' Lucifer groaned. 'I answered about "our" father, so answer my last question.'
Devil looked deep into Lucifer's eyes, clearly expecting something to happen. When nothing did he clicked his tongue and answered.
'Yes, it has magic. Who killed our father?'
'Death,' Lucifer answered. 'What are your powers?'
'A number...of things,' Devil responded. 'Why would Death kill our father?'
'That answer wasn't sufficient,' Lucifer glared. 'Give me a better answer or this conversation is over.'
Devil tilted his head. His face seemed divided between a twisted smile and a scowl.
'I have all the time in the world...do you?'
'I can wait,' Lucifer folded his arms. 'I exist in this world, you only exist in my mind. I'm sure that must be frustrating for someone like you.'
'What's that supposed to mean?!' Devil spat.
'I'll answer if you answer my question about your powers,' Lucifer huffed.
Devil walked through the table that had been between the two of them and went to reach for Lucifer's neck. His hand passed through Lucifer's body which made Lucifer snicker.
'FINE!' Devil shouted. 'I can peer deep into the minds of those I make eye contact with. I can find their greatest desires...their fears...everything. I can hear their..."voices." It's a useful tool for making torture more effective.'
'Uh-huh,' Lucifer responded. 'So, what do you want to know?'
Devil clenched his hand. 'Why would Death ever kill our father? How did that guide kill OUR father?'
Lucifer hid the curiosity he was now feeling. 'Which do you want an answer to? Why Death did it, or how he did it.'
Devil spoke through his teeth, '...How.'
'It's difficult to explain since you don't know how Death's magic works,' Lucifer smirked. 'I can explain that if you want to trade more questions first.'
'YOU-' Devil disappeared.
'So I can make him disappear if I concentrate hard enough,' Lucifer sighed. 'His powers aren't one-to-one with mine but they are similar enough to be worrying. There's not much I can gain from him and I can't be certain that it's safe to give him information. He might just be a side effect of my new powers, but on the off chance he's something more, I need to be careful.'