- Satan and Lucifer -
(Past)
Satan was guiding Lucifer around Hell while the two had a conversation.
"You'll find many humans here have an interesting story to tell. I recommend sitting down with them and learning more about what it's like for their kind on the other side."
Lucifer grumbled. "I thought the idea behind this job was getting me to respect humans. How exactly is speaking with the worst of their kind going to do that?"
Satan stopped walking and turned his head toward Lucifer. "I'm not telling you to speak with the worst, that would be pointless, same with talking to the best. What I'm telling you to do, is speak to the level one through three prisoners."
Lucifer grimaced and kept walking. Satan followed behind, speaking in a condescending tone as he moved.
"Don't think you're above this. You want to go back to getting your teeth kicked in by Death because you can't watch your mouth, fine, just don't act as if fate is the reason you're so intolerable."
Lucifer whipped around, ready to threaten Satan until he suddenly felt the eyes of every nearby demon in Hell pierce him. He turned back around, mumbling to himself as he stomped.
- Lucifer -
(Past)
Lucifer walked through a white gate, appearing in a mud-covered village. He looked over the piece of parchment in his hand, reading the scrolling words.
"Varun?"
A human appeared before Lucifer in a puff of smoke. They were a young adult male whose body was covered in tiny scars and grime. They looked Lucifer up and down, scowling with a judgemental look as they did.
"You're quite young," Lucifer said in an uninterested tone.
"One to talk," Varun responded.
Lucifer's eyes continued scanning the paper. "I'm older than every human you've ever known combined."
"What kind of name's Lucifer?"
"Angel."
"What's that?"
As the two exchanged a back-and-forth, time started passing rapidly in the village. Children that had been running through the mud were now adults. The already shoddy buildings grew more decrepit.
Lucifer sighed. "I'm here to offer you the deal you were informed about prior. Work for me and your sentence will be reduced."
Varun groaned. "And then what? I have no skills, other than stealing."
Lucifer spoke as if he was ignoring Varun. "Hell has education programs. You'll be taught rudimentary skills so that you can reestablish yourself in this world's society."
Lucifer went over more of the information with Varun. The conversation didn't take long, with Varun and Lucifer both wanting to move through the procedure quickly. Before Lucifer left, he asked Varun a question.
"I'm curious; why did you turn to stealing?"
Lucifer knew the answer. He effectively had all the information he could ever want on Varun thanks to his status as warden. He was asking because of what Satan had said.
Varun looked surprised. "Do you not know?" he gestured to the village. "If I didn't steal, I didn't eat. Don't eat, don't survive."
"Why try to survive in this?" Lucifer's words slipped out.
Varun's face went from offended to sad in a moment. He scratched his heavily scarred wrists.
"I was told I should have never been born. So I guess I lived to spite those that said it," He watched as a group of teenage boys ran by. "Didn't last long though..."
Lucifer found himself suddenly interested in Varun's story. He stayed a little longer and asked more questions. When he eventually left Varun's prison world, he couldn't help a nagging thought in his head.
'Did that boy truly deserve to be here? Just for stealing in his short life?'
The words on Lucifer's paper shifted to form a list. Varun's name was first. The list scrolled, revealing hundreds of others.
- Lucifer and Satan -
(Past)
Lucifer marched into a room where Satan was playing a strange board game with another demon. He slammed a piece of paper on the board, cracking the board and sending pieces flying. The demon that Satan was playing with went to grab Lucifer but stopped when he saw Satan put a hand up.
Lucifer shouted, "WHY ARE THESE HUMANS HERE?!"
"Give us a moment," Satan told the demon.
The demon left, exchanging a glare with Lucifer as they walked out. Satan sighed as he moved the broken board game off the table and motioned Lucifer to take a seat.
"Let's discuss this properly."
"FUCK YOU!" Lucifer spat.
"Sit. Down," Satan threatened.
Lucifer moved around the table and took the seat that the demon had left. He started to rant.
"Hundreds upon hundreds of humans forced into situations in their previous lives where they had to choose between dying or committing sins to survive. WHY?!"
Satan clasped his hands together. "I didn't make Hell or the magic that governs it. I didn't create the "Scales of Morality" as some have called it nor do I have the means to change it."
Lucifer's face twisted with anger. He covered his expression with his right hand before slamming it through the stone table. Despite his actions, he spoke quietly.
"This work is maddening," He covered his face with his hands. "Children killing children. Humans who have experienced centuries' worth of misery in just a few decades. Why?"
Satan shrugged. "It gets better. Humans have improved considerably from how they used to be."
"You know what makes me sick?" Lucifer rested his hand on his mouth and started rocking slightly in the chair. "The "leaders". The way they speak about their own."
Satan sighed and leaned forward. "You're not doing this every day. I gave you far more work than normal because I wanted you to understand what this job is truly about."
Lucifer looked up. "And that is?"
"Helping the more interesting parts of humanity by giving them a second chance. One thing though."
Lucifer raised an eyebrow.
Satan leaned back. "I want you to tell anyone that asks that this is your idea. I don't need the added attention that comes with helping humans."
"So that's what you had to gain from this," Lucifer mumbled to himself.
Satan smiled. "I'm doing what's right for the wrong reasons. I'll owe you a favor for your continued discretion."
Lucifer glared briefly before returning to a look of melancholy. He stood up without saying a word. His steps were heavy as he left.
- Death and Gabriel -
(Past)
Death walked around the main spawning area of Purgatory. His hunter form drew the scared looks of everyone around him. He was quickly approached by an angel that started hurrying him into the nearest building.
"Gabriel-" Death was cut off.
"Please be more aware of your surroundings," Gabriel pleaded.
"Mmm," Death grumbled as he left his hunter form.
Death's body was more injury than flesh. Burns, scars, bruises, and more were draped across every inch of his pale skin. The other angels in the building nearly froze in shock at the sight of Death's body.
"Why weren't you healed?!" Gabriel asked in an accusatory tone.
"They were scared..." Death said. "Minerva is still working with Eir, and every healer I asked on my travels seemed terrified of me. I didn't want to waste time so I decided to wait until I got back."
Gabriel quickly ran around and started shouting for healers. Death stayed still, looking around at the faces of the other beings. His eyes were glassy as he played the memory of his most recent hunt back. The pain of the healers restoring his body snapped him out of his head.
"What monster did this?" One of the healers asked.
"Monsters," Death corrected. "I don't know. The hunt was messy so I can't say for certain which injury belongs to which monster."
Angels went to the door of the building and started leading anyone who entered away from where Death was. Gabriel was near the front giving orders.
"He's supposed to be their champion, we don't need them seeing him like this."
"We can't have him walking around here in that form though," One of the other angels argued. "A champion should inspire not terrify."
Gabriel shook his head. "The line between inspiration and terror is razor-thin when it comes to soldiers. He'll always scare the new reborn, all we can hope for is that the ones with experience will understand his sacrifices."
"Is he even doing it for them?" One of the angels said under their breath.
"No," Death said, now standing behind the mumbling angel. "I do it for the world."
Death draped a purple cloak over himself and left before the mumbling angel could apologize. He walked back through the main area Gabriel had rushed him through. The whispers of the scared humans around him filled his head.
"He's... human?"
"He looks so frail?"
"I thought he was a monster?"
Death closed his eyes as he continued his walk. He slowed down when he heard the voices of other humans start to spread through the crowds.
"He hunts monsters for us. That's what that other form was."
"What kind of monsters?"
"There are monsters in this world?"
The mention of monsters started to rile the crowd until more voices joined the conversation. The voices assured that the monsters in the world were kept under control by Death. Altered, less-gruesome versions of Death's adventures were spread throughout the crowds. Looks of fear started to shift slightly.
'Do we have to do this every time?' Death questioned as he opened his eyes.