Lucifer crossed the embers of the ritual circle, looking down at the Seraphim curled on the ground. Michael's aetheric wings had faded into nothingness, and the Fallen man wondered if such things had happened during his own rise to power. He knelt, shaking Michael's shoulder. The angel groaned, rolling onto his side.
"Are you alright?"
"I…I don't hurt as badly anymore…" Michael winced as he tried to sit up, his muscles aching from the quavering. "Did it work?"
"I think so. The sigils gave quite an impressive display after your sixth Sin. We won't know for sure until we test it, but that can wait until the morning. Your body needs time to rest after having the battle within you; the powers fighting to break free against whatever the Ruler did to us to prevent us from achieving our potential." Lucifer stood, and offered his hand to Michael.
The weak Seraphim allowed Lucifer to help him to his feet, and Edward came forward to assist his master with the burden. "Shall we take him back to the Great Hall, Sire?"
"Yes, I believe that would be best. Vincent, if you and Adam would like to join us, please do. Edward, let Michael go, I'm going to realm-travel us there, save you and I both the effort." Edward stepped back, and the three demons disappeared in their clouds to wait for their master in the throne room.
Lucifer leaned Michael against the wall, testing to see if the angel could stand under his own strength. He wobbled pitifully, but managed to remain upright.
"Still doing okay?"
"I'm…I'm…" Michael slid down the wall, breathing heavily. "I'm so…overwhelmed. I feel so many more things right now. Mostly her. I want, no…crave… Ravenna so badly right now. And I'm so…infuriated. There is nothing more I hunger for than to storm the Kingdom and demand change from the Ruler. Why am I feeling everything so much more intensely?!" His fingers buried deeply in his golden hair as he strained to keep himself under control.
Lucifer looked down at Michael, remembering the destruction he had caused when he had unleashed his own powers. "Ah yes. You have opened yourself to the Sins, and you will be more susceptible to them until you learn to make yourself a master of them. What you're feeling is Wrath and Lust. These emotions will always be part of you, it is only natural. I will teach you to harness them."
Michael became more distressed, hearing the overwhelming feelings would continue on. "Can't I go home? I want her so much. I miss her touch, I always sleep there, with her."
"You should stay here, you will be less able to resist the Sins until you become accustomed to your new powers, to control the Sins."
"Are you saying I'm a danger to Ravenna?"
"Perhaps a little. You need to be gentle with her. She comes from a fragile place; I won't soon forget the Essence Fire that showed me her assault. Not because of her, obviously, but that is how I knew there was an ally out there. But if you cannot control the Sin of Lust, you will be at risk of breaking her trust." Lucifer turned away from Michael, pacing toward the doorway.
Michael struggled to his feet, stretching to his full height. "I can't risk that. I gave everything for her to trust me - to break that now would be worse than Falling again."
A surge of power whipped through Michael's body, coursing through his veins, pulsing through him like a wave, knocking the breath from his lungs. "...Ravenna…," he whispered to himself, a small comfort.
He disappeared from the UnderKingdom, back home to the woman he loved.
Lucifer spun quickly as he heard the hushed name, in time to see the Seraphim disappear from the room. He huffed, irritated that Michael had not heeded his warnings regarding the new powers. "This is going to be a problem, and it's going to end up being my fault somehow."
The symbol of Lust ignited alone, the brimstone flickering in the dark.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
William followed Hellena out of the ritual chamber, keeping his distance, watching her shadow to know her path. Her boot heels left sharp clicks ahead, echoing off the walls, helping pinpoint her direction.
–She seemed so heartbroken when she left the ritual. Michael's' words really struck a nerve.–
The footprints ahead of him stopped, and William guessed that Hellena had either stopped running or had stepped between the realms. He turned around the bend, following the path that he had seen her shadows take. He looked around, but no signs of the other demon were to be seen. He sighed; he had hoped to try to console her, to make another step in reaching out to Hellena.
A drop of blood landed on William's arm, and he wiped it from his pallid skin. A second drop landed near the first, and he looked up, seeing Hellena sitting on a cragged arch. The female demon cried, the bloody tears dropping from her ruby eyes. William stepped between the realms, appearing next to Hellena.
"Go away, William."
"I can't do that. Not while you're hurting."
Hellena wiped the blood from her face, and looked up, blinking quickly. "Why do you care?"
"I was a father, and even though I died, it doesn't mean I stopped being a father. Parents don't turn away when a child is hurting."
The tears welled back up in Hellena's eyes. "Mine did."
"I know. Which is why I'm trying harder to be here for you, if you'll let me." Candor plain in his face as in his voice, William offered a fatherly smile.
"It's really nothing, William. Michael just…he hit a sore spot when he mentioned that nobody came to save me. I know I wasn't saved. It just hurts to be reminded of how I died, that's all." Hellena scrubbed at her cheek with the back of her hand, and sighed.
"I've slowly come around to accept that I'm dead. We really have a good second life here. And I know Michael didn't mean the things he said. He was just under the influence of the Sins, undergoing the ravages of Wrath. I'm sure you didn't mean the things you said to him, either, how could you have? You hardly know him.".
Hellena tossed a pebble from her vantage point, hearing it clatter to the ground. "Sure, I lied. I was given instructions from my master. You lied, too. Master Lucifer asked you to lie, exaggerate about how little he deserved that woman compared to your son. Don't you feel bad?"
William scratched the back of his neck absently. "Of course I do. It's not in my nature to deceive others. We both said things we didn't mean under orders from our Master, and he said things he didn't mean under the influence of the Sins. One day we can all sit down and discuss it, I'm sure we will all agree that there will be no hard feelings."
A look of understanding came over Hellena, and she nodded. "Thank you, William. You're the fatherly voice of reason I never had in my life."
Pride swelled in the miller's chest; he was slowly getting closer to getting Hellena to be more open to him.