- Lucifer, Fensyr, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Satan -
Lucifer, Fensyr, Amaterasu, and Tsukuyomi were sitting in the balcony section of an amphitheater. The group had been invited to a nighttime illusory play that Satan would be creating. An Illusory Satan stepped out to center stage and presented the play.
"Today's play will be one that is near and dear to my heart. One that some of you might be unfamiliar with. A tale of legend that is most popular in the territory of Heliopolis. A tale, not of Ra's many victories, but of Anubis'. A victory so great that it earned the legendary jackal-"
"Anubis is a jackal?" Amaterasu whispered before getting shushed by Tsukuyomi.
"-the title of 'Lord of Souls'!"
Illusory words formed in the sky above the stage spelling out "Anubis Stands Against the Einherjar".
The Illusory Satan bowed. "I do ask for your forgiveness if there are any mistakes made, for I am wearily out of practice with such things."
Lucifer rolled his eyes. He looked over at the other three to gauge their reactions. Amaterasu seemed confused while Tsukuyomi was enthralled. Fensyr was shoveling popcorn into his mouth and asking questions in between mouthfuls.
"I've heard of the battle but I wasn't aware of Satan's part in it?"
Lucifer passed Fensyr his popcorn bucket. "Satan is the reason Anubis fought the einherjar during Ragnarök. Anubis earned fame for crippling Odin's army while Satan removed a potential threat."
Fensyr swallowed a large mouthful of popcorn. "Wouldn't that make Satan and Odin enemies? And by association, you as well?"
Lucifer chuckled, "Funny thing about that; If Odin was going to hate me again, my being an angel would be enough of a reason."
"Again?" Fensyr asked with a full mouth.
"Quiet!" Tsukuyomi angrily whispered. "I think it is starting."
"I'll explain more during the trip," Lucifer said.
The play began. Satan's voice began to tell the story of a great war that had happened. A time of strife that seemed to stretch on endlessly between the gods and the "non-gods" as the voice put it. Illusory soldiers formed on the stage and ran at each other.
"How is he doing that?" Amaterasu questioned.
The realism of the illusions was immediately striking to Amaterasu, Fensyr, and Tsukuyomi. Fensyr stopped stuffing his face with food and started leaning forward in interest as the play continued. Amaterasu looked for mistakes in the illusions but was unable to spot any. Tsukuyomi had his hands clenched in excitement.
Lucifer flicked popcorn into his mouth. 'The playwrights are going to be angry that you're showing off again.'
The play was at its climax. An illusory Anubis stood on a wasteland, surrounded by arrogant-looking gray-skinned soldiers. One of the soldiers ran to attack Anubis. Anubis grabbed the soldier by the throat and snapped it. Before letting go, Anubis used his other hand to grab a white orb from the soldier's chest, crushing it in his hand as he dropped the soldier. The play reached its end and was met with an uproar of applause.
As an illusory Satan was giving closing statements about the play, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Fensyr were bombarding Lucifer with questions.
"Normally, when an einherjar dies, their soul travels back to Valhalla. Odin's endless army was an oppressive force during Ragnarök that was eventually stopped by Anubis destroying the souls."
"Anubis doesn't have to kill his target he just has to weaken them to a point where he can grab hold of the soul."
"The einherjar weren't a flawless force by any means, and Anubis wasn't the only god capable of dealing with them but he was instrumental in the fall of Odin's army."
Lucifer sighed. As he continued to answer the flood of questions, he thought about the mythology surrounding the Egyptian Gods.
'Ra always avoided talks of the S.D.T. but I'm certain Thoth would never let such an idea go. I can only imagine the amount of secret information Thoth must have purchased from Satan in regards to what humans believe the Egyptian Gods are. I wonder if Thoth has a room similar to Izanami's? How do I ask a Seeker a question without being suspicious?'
Despite Lucifer's thoughts, he wasn't struggling to keep up with the questions that the other three were throwing at him.
"The accepted theory is that if Anubis destroyed a soul on the E.B. that the owner would stay dead. It's still only a theory for obvious reasons."
- Lucifer and Death -
Lucifer leaned back in the balcony seat as he fidgeted his echo around his fingers. "Everything is set. My biggest worry is Fensyr and Amaterasu maintaining amiability during travel."
"And not a potential assassin?" Death responded.
"I've called in some favors," Lucifer reasoned. "Satan has Loki on information standby incase any potentially dangerous shifts start to happen. I don't think the journey will be safe but I am taking proper precautions."
"Sorry about Tsukuyomi," Death sighed.
"No worries," Lucifer said. "The black sand more than makes up for it, just don't tell Izanagi that."
There was a lull in the conversation as the two tried to carefully approach what was on their minds.
"Machia," Lucifer spoke first. "Izanagi said that was the name he 'saw' the most."
Death added, "But you think there's more to the organization?"
"It's because of what we know," Lucifer looked pensively. "Gaia and Nyx are certainly strong enough to start something like this but there's one key problem that sticks out to me."
"Kahvis," Death stated. "Why would they split apart from Machia?"
"Actually," Lucifer disagreed, "I was referring to the situation in Llamear with Tonatiuh. Why would Nyx, Gaia, or any other titan care about killing Tonatiuh?"
"Ash was responsible for that though," Death said.
"Obviously," Lucifer agreed. "But WE know that. Most of the world thinks 'Mezir' did it. Why was Mezir even after Tonatiuh? What relation does he have to the titans?"
"You know the Aztec pantheon," Death disagreed. "But," he relucted, "I suppose it is safer to assume more enemies not fewer. What about the attempt on your life though? What reason would the titans have for that?"
"Gaia hates angels," Lucifer spoke matter-of-factly. "I'm the only archangel she could kill without dragging Heaven into a war, and it was also more than likely that I was going to be a problem for Machia in the future. Two necks one swing as they say."
- Lucifer, Amaterasu, Peter, Satan, Tsukuyomi, Fensyr -
Lucifer and Amaterasu stood opposite each other in a massive outdoor arena. The two exchanged friendly insults as an announcer hovered high above.
"ALL BETTING STATIONS ARE CLOSED AS WE BEGIN WHAT IS SURE TO BE AN INCREDIBLE CONTEST!"
Fensyr, Peter, Satan, and Tsukuyomi sat together in a sectioned off part of the arena seatings. While Fensyr stuffed his face full of various foods, Peter, Tsukuyomi, and Satan were having a conversation.
"Lucifer, easily," Satan said.
"I think you have a bias," Tsukuyomi disagreed.
"He doesn't, trust me," Peter responded.
Satan signaled to nearby demons to bring over more food. "Unless Amaterasu wants to kill Lucifer, which I know she doesn't, then her chances of winning are minimal."
Tsukuyomi folded his arms. "I doubt Lucifer is planning on killing Amaterasu, so why does the same not apply to him?"
"Archangel," Peter and Satan said at the same time.
Peter and Satan looked at each other briefly before turning towards the demons that were bringing food.
"Wha' abou'," Fensyr swallowed, "What about their previous matches? Amaterasu implied she was putting up a good fight with just one hand, and now that she has both-"
"She'll be over-confident," Satan interrupted. "She's certainly stronger with two hands versus one, but she'd be a fool to think that her prior handicap was the main reason she lost duels to Lucifer."
Tsukuyomi grabbed a steaming white bun off of a tray, looked at it, and then turned to Fensyr. "I have been meaning to ask; what does 'little moon' mean?"
Satan informed, "It's a lycan nickname given to those with particularly pale skin and dark black hair."
"Oh," Tsukuyomi sounded relieved.
"It's primarily used for children," Satan added.
Fensyr lied, "I meant it affectionately."
"No he didn't," Satan revealed.
Tsukuyomi was offended. "You do know that I am significantly older than you, right?"
"Fuck off, both of ya!" Peter demanded.
Tsukuyomi started taking bites of his food. Fensyr went to argue but a glare from Peter warned him not to. Peter spoke to Satan directly.
"What's crawled up yer ass in the last thirty hours?"
"Cosm," Satan answered. "Lucifer's emotions rarely change in an unexpected way. Ever since Cosm, things have been noticeably different. I was just going to wait it out, see if things settled back into place, but now that Lucifer will be traveling again I can't risk him dying before giving me the information."
"Good luck with that," Peter chuckled.
"You're curious as well," Satan's tone had a hint of menace. "You don't know eith-"
Peter shook his hand at Satan, "Yeah yeah, be quiet, it's startin'."