How long had it been since I've looked for him? How long has it been since we dined or spoke with one another?
"Sir…?" Came the voice of Laph, alerting me to his presence.
"What is it."
"We've found him, Sir." He said, pulling out a map of the central highlands of Iluthath and pointing north over the Alventus Mountains. "The Seraphim Feather has found his presence there."
"Mephisto is—"
Shutting my eye, allowing the darkness to swallow my cognition, I allowed my divine sense to descend from the Heavens towards the Alventus Mountains: To a set of ruins that had heavily deteriorated by the ravages of time. Vines, flowers, and trees coiled around the ruins, eating away at what it once was. But at its center sat a Fallen. His dark hair fluttered loosely with a foreboding hue.
"I've found him," I said, opening my eyes as my body flashed. Whisking myself from the Gates of Heaven, I descended into the mortal world to the land of Iluthath, where he lay, his eyes opening like two venomous serpents.
"Mephistopheles," I addressed coldly.
"Have I become so merciful that I allow your little insects to track my movements?"
I smirked: "I was looking for your main body. I don't suppose you'll show me enough respect to show me where you've hidden it."
"Metatron, you realize the only reason you still exist. Is due to Ariel's plea for mercy on your behalf." Mephistopheles calmly said, opening those sinister ruby-red eyes that burned as bright as the deepest pits of hell. "Over and Over she pleaded. Father even asks that I forgive you. Do not test me. Patience isn't one of my virtues."
Not bothering to resist laughter from warming the land, vines began to coil at the base of my feet. Twisting as they began to take shape in the form of a throne.
I sat: " Mephistopheles, there is no need for hostility. We needn't be enemies."
"Is that how you see it?" Smiled Mephistopheles, arching his arrogant head. "Do you really think we are enemies? How arrogant. I don't have enemies, dear brother. That would require me to see you as an equal. An impossible feat."
"You—" Holding back the burning rage building due to his insufferable attitude. I clenched my fists.
I came here of my own recognizance; I showed him respect. And he disrespects me like this? Arrogant bastard.
"Mephistopheles, is there a need to—"
"Stop wagging your tail and speak. Tell me what it is you want. There only so much I can tolerate of your existence."
"Return to Heaven," I said, getting straight to the matter at hand: "Come back to us. Unlike Lucifer and the others, you did not fall in the traditional sense. Why not return to—"
"I knew it was a waste of time. I wonder what Father saw that he allowed you to keep your life? Or perhaps it was merely his love for you. Metatron… Let me be clear with you. I have zero interest in returning to Heaven as an Angel. I chose the Path of a Fallen because it suits me the best."
I flinched. Was he serious?
"Don't be ridiculous, Brother! Heaven needs your help!"
"Ridiculous, you say? You need my help, you say! " And he smiled. It was a smile that made my skin crawl with trepidation. " Heaven can burn. You can rot in the deepest reaches of hell for all I care."
"And what of the VIRUS!!! The one that turns our kind into a Teleth! WE NEED YOU! Do not be so arrogant, Brother! The Teleth existence is already blasphemous! We can't allow—"
"I don't care." He coldly spat. "What happens to the Heavens is irrelevant to me. As for the Virus, I'm sure you had a hand in creating it. Well—"
"Do not put that on me, Mephistopheles! I know my limits."
"Do you? You acted against me. Not once or twice, or thrice. But dozens of times. Even as I smashed your skull open. Or as I tore out your organs, leaving you left for dead. You continued to cross me." he grew silent, sucking in a long, elongated breath. " I don't care what happens to Heavens Gate. As for the other Fractions. They'll do what everyone else does and burn their bodies so they won't rise."
"And what if that doesn't work!" I howled." No matter our relationship, we are still family, Mephistopheles! Lower that fucking pride of yours."
"Is that before or after you tore off my sister's robes as a joke? Was it before or after you humiliated her before her entire family? Lion of God… How fitting. What should have been a calm and loving child became one of Heaven's Greatest Warriors. All because of you. And yet she still begged for your existence not to be exterminated. How drool."
Fingers clenching, I didn't speak from my heart. Emotions never worked on this monster.
"Then let us make a deal."
"You have nothing I would ever want. Oh, I lie. Kill yourself. And I'll join Heaven's Gate." He said with a ruthless smirk that left no quarter. "But you won't because you're a damn coward. You speak all this horse shit about family, but look at you. Begging like a fucking dog. Why don't you bark for me? Or is fetch more your speed."
Keep it together… Keep it together.
Gritting my teeth the best I could without breaking my mask of indifference dwindling each passing second, I sucked in a deep breath and spoke: "You seem to have your eye on Arsene Snow's children."
"Threats now? Need I remind you of what you hold dear? Don't threaten me."
"Sacrifices are needed," I told him, clenching my fist. I can't allow my bloodline to be contaminated. The Teleth needs to be exterminated.
He sneered, the calmness in his eyes dwindling like shards of ice. "The day you touch Izalith or Vesyrn Snow. You will die. I can promise you that. No one, not even the Fallen, will interfere with my plans."
'Then help me. Or I will exterminate them. Lilith is not as defended as everyone might think. I—"
"I warn you in the name of the Father, Metatron. Touch them. And you forfeit your right to exist. Now fuck off."