Unlike the fanciful palaces above the clouds that many people imagine, Heaven is a whole, complete world, just like Hell, it is also divided into various parts, including the well-known New Jerusalem and Eden.
The place where the angels reside is called the Holy City, with twelve gates, each carved with the image of an angel. The city wall boasts of twelve foundations, on which are inscribed the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
Entering through the eastern gate, one can see houses draped with veils and chosen believers coming and going, carrying on the same twelve professions as they do on earth.
After passing through the residential area, one can see an incredibly clear, crystal-like River of Life flowing through the city. The sparkling reflections on the surface of the river are mirrored by the lush trees planted on both sides of the river bank. Every month, these trees bear twelve kinds of fruits, and their verdant leaves are the most precious spiritual medicine in the world, capable of curing all people.
Upstream along the River of Life, you will come to the Sacred Palace composed of three structures. The halls of this palace are infinite, and only the pure angels can pass by its throne to reach the end of the river, which is a garden filled with green grass and fresh flowers.
The garden is also infinite. This is where the angels reside. The angels who have fulfilled their guarding responsibilities sleep on the grass by the river or perch under the trees to preen each other's feathers. The chirping newborns prefer to fish in Eden in groups.
Unlike the human world, the garden does not have common pavilions or tables and chairs. The angels walk barefoot and sit on the ground, but in the center of the garden, there is an octagonal veil set up by the Archangels where they often gather to discuss trivial matters related to work.
Michael and Lucifer are sitting in the veil, drinking spring water from the Crystal cups. Michael let out a sigh and said, "Of course I know you came back just to annoy Gabriel, but you must have a long-term plan. You cannot possibly plan on returning to Hell, can you?"
"I've been sick of Hell for a long time, if it weren't for Wheat preventing me, I would have isolated Hell and driven out all the devils."
Michael shook his head, seemingly unable to cope with Lucifer's capriciousness, but he continued, "I've told Raphael to bring back the newly born angels who were sent to Hell by Gabriel's command. I asked him to let them bathe in the Holy Spring and be baptized in the Holy Light again, hoping they could return to their purity."
"I thought you were just going to judge them."
"That would be unfair. They were only deceived by Gabriel. Moreover, the birth of every angel is blessed by the Lord. If they fall so easily, how am I going to guard the dignity of Heaven?"
"Inflexible." Lucifer commented after taking a sip of the spring water, but he made no objections. He wiped his mouth and said, "Wheat's wound hasn't healed, I can't stay in Heaven for long, I'll leave soon."
Michael slightly frowned; it was unclear whether he objected to Lucifer's relationship with the she-devil, or whether he was upset that Lucifer was on the cusp of abandoning his post again just after returning.
"The responsibility of an Archangel is to guard the Holy City, you must not be absent for too long, otherwise…"
Just as Michael was saying this, another young angel came over, saluted Michael and said, "Your Excellency Michael, His Excellency Raphael said that all the newborn angels have arrived. He is currently checking each one for any signs of degradation. Would you like to come and take a look?"
"I won't go." Michael glanced at Lucifer. It was implied that 'I have to keep an eye on another troublesome fellow here, who is even more worrisome than the newborn angels.'
After the young angel left, not long after, Raphael's figure appeared outside the fence of the bushes. He was leading a group of young angels towards the palace, evidently heading to the source of the Holy Spring. Using spring water to reflect their souls, he checked their purity.
Michael paid no mind to it and continued, "The trouble Gabriel has caused this time isn't small. The newly-born angels who have emerged over the past thousand years all have to be inspected. Those who have behaved improperly, quarreled with their brothers and sisters, or sneaked into the human world to cause trouble must all be dealt with to prevent such incidents from happening again…"
"By the way, Lucifer, if you can get in touch with the Demon King of Hell, ask them if they know which angel has been in contact with them. Their information is definitely accurate... Lucifer? Lucifer?! What's wrong?"
Lucifer was seen staring fixedly at the railings on the fence gate. His face was rigid, his expression as if he had seen a ghost. He opened and closed his mouth several times, then said somewhat blankly, "It's no- nothing. I think I'm just under too much pressure recently and started seeing illusions."
Michael immediately furrowed his brow. His personality was more serious and solemn, seldom joking around. Seeing that Lucifer was not joking, he asked, "Are you okay? ...Alright, if staying here puts too much pressure on you, I'm not going to force you to stay. But you should know that you mustn't have any deep relationship with a demon, that would be impure…"
But Lucifer suddenly stood up, grabbed Michael by the arm, and dragged him towards the outside of the bushes.
Confused by his actions, Michael allowed himself to be dragged up and as they started walking, Michael asked, "Where are you going? Have you forgotten the way out of Heaven? You can just ask any other angel to guide you, I have to go back to Eden…"
"Shut up!… I mean, I think the cases of the newborn angels falling is quite serious. We need to personally go to the baptism ceremony. We can't rely on that sleepy head Raphael."
Lucifer turned around and flashed a stiff, insincere smile at Michael, who shot back a puzzled and slightly disdainful look at Lucifer. "Since when have you been so responsible? When God mentioned that new angels would be born from the Holy Spring, didn't you want to drain the water to prevent them from bothering you?"
"That's all in the past." Lucifer retorted, "Don't you remember when the first batch of newborns arrived, how annoyed you were, shedding feathers every day?"
While they were talking, they had already reached the Sanctuary where the ceremony was taking place. The Holy Spring flowing from the Sacred Elephant is the purest baptism spring. Newborn angels walk out from the spring water, which bestows upon them various beautiful qualities.
The vast majority of new-born angels are quite pure, to put it bluntly, a bit naive. They don't possess the omnipotent status that the Archangels were personally created with by God, and they rarely ever leave Heaven, the place where everyone is equally innocent. As a result, since the birth of the new angels, there have been countless instances of deceit, abduction, and corruption.
The best method to detect whether a new-born angel has been corrupted is to lead them to the source of the Holy Spring, where they were born. If their reflection is mirrored on the surface of the Spring, they're still pure, but if not, it's likely they've fallen.
When Lucifer dragged Michael in, the ritual had already reached its halfway point. The tested new-born angels were huddled together in small groups, discussing the recent events. Lucifer could hear them talking about him, but he was too occupied to care.
Lucifer's gaze rested on a figure at the very back of the untested line. As his sight focused on that face, Lucifer turned into a statute, then abruptly fell apart.
Diverse angels crammed in around the Holy Spring, feathers falling from their wings due to the tight squeeze and friction. Most of them had dark hair. Angels with radiant blond hair like Lucifer were scarce. The majority featured brown and black-brown hues, though there were also some red-haired angels.
Contrary to human rumors, angel irises don't tend to be frilly or colorful, nor do they glow. Many of them possess the "watery ash" color described in the Bible, essentially a greyish white. There are also some with a golden yellow or even a reddish-brown.
Therefore, a pair of blue eyes stood out dramatically, and even more so was the handsome face they belonged to, holding its own among a crowd of angels.
The name represented by the familiar features on that handsome face, that caused Lucifer to break apart was—Bruce Wayne.
It's hard to say this is Batman, because unlike the dark, and even gloomy demeanor known to all the Archangels, this Bruce was rather too saintly. The Holy light surging from his soul was stronger than all the new-born angels combined.
Michael was puzzled by Lucifer's reaction. Following his gaze, Michael became the second statue to fall apart in the sanctuary.
Raphael stood in the heart of the Holy Spring. His brilliant red hair was braided at the back of his head. Like any stuck with a coworker's mess because of overtime and late-night shifts, his brows were heavy, his expression weary, mechanically repeating his task.
"Next!" called Raphael.
The angel at the front of Bruce's line approached Raphael. He bowed to Raphael, then stooped to see his reflection in the Holy Spring. The moment he saw his reflection, he heaved a sigh of relief, folded his wings, and moved to the opposite side.
As Bruce was about to go next, Raphael didn't look at his face, but simply gestured for him to hurry. So, Bruce approached the Holy Spring.
Just as he bowed his head towards the Spring, two noises echoed around the room- Heaven's two most renowned Archangels, Lucifer and Michael, grabbed his arm, one on either side.
"Bruce! What are you doing? Do you think this is the right place for you?" Lucifer muttered through gritted teeth on his left side.
"What is Batman doing here?!" Michael sounded more terrified than Lucifer: "How did Batman get into Heaven? Who allowed this? Is the Angel of Death mad?!!!"
Bruce pulled on Lucifer's arm, shaking him off, then he freed himself from Michael. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Can't you see how I ended up here? Move aside, don't stand in my way of performing the ritual."
After he finished speaking, he wanted to step forward towards the Holy Spring. Yet, Lucifer grabbed him back and after a moment of shock, his eyes widened. Turning to Michael, he said, "It was Gabriel... Gabriel gave him his wings!"
"God! Look at what you've done!" Michael quickly made a series of prayers on his chest and said anxiously, "This is what happens when you deliberately provoke Gabriel! He even thought about blowing up Heaven! Think of a way out!"
Bruce frowned, shrugged off Lucifer's arm once again, and said rather annoyed, "Can't you wait until after I've performed the ritual?"
"Wait for a moment," Lucifer swiftly darted in front of Bruce, blocking his path to the Holy Spring and spreading his wings to stop Bruce's way.
Michael imitated Lucifer and blocked Bruce, but he was confused, so he turned down his volume and asked Lucifer, "What happened? Why are we stopping him..."
"What if a Joker pops out of the Holy Spring?!"
Just as Michael wanted to say it's impossible, he saw that Batman across from him snorted and rolled his eyes as if their strategies had been exposed.
"Haven't you noticed? This Batman is different... This... This...," Lucifer was at a loss for the right description, he finally said through gritted teeth.
"He's a bit too avant-garde!"