The sea breeze in Los Angeles remained gentle as usual, carrying the rhythm of jazz music, but today's sunshine was not bright. The dark clouds hung low, seemingly about to burst into rain at any moment.
This wasn't the best weather for tourism, but it was particularly suited to bidding farewell to the deceased. A funeral was underway on a lush green field.
There were only a few people standing in the middle of the field, but many circled around them. Each of them was holding flowers, whispering a name, and some were even singing.
Shiller, dressed in a black suit, lowered his head. Lucifer, who was standing next to him, heard Shiller murmur:
"Dear Lord, you chose Delilah to be the servant of your Saint Heir. In this world, she demonstrated love through her vocal skills and preached the gospel with her gentle voice..."
"Since you summoned her back to your side, we ask that you grant her the favor of sharing in your eternal feast in Heaven with all the saints, for our Lord Jesus Christ, your Saint Heir, who together with you and the Spirit, is the only true God..."
Lucifer snorted, "Are you taking your prayer that seriously? A devout Christian, huh?"
Shiller ignored him, reverently crossed himself and then said, "Eternal Heavenly Father, Amen."
After the prayer, Shiller glanced sideways at Lucifer, then continued:
"O, Almighty and Merciful God, your most cherished son, whom you created and who followed as the first light in the world after its creation, the first angel, Lucifer Morningstar, stayed up drinking until four o'clock in the morning last night. His bad taste in alcohol astonished me, he doesn't even know who Hegel is, ..."
Lucifer hastily covered Shiller's mouth, glanced around, then whispered, "What are you talking about? How could I possibly not know who Hegel is? I have a PhD in Philosophy!"
"Is that so? ...Merciful Heavenly Father, Eternal God, your son, after earning his PhD in Philosophy, merely runs a bar on the West Coast..."
Lucifer quickly reached out to cover Shiller's mouth again. He said, "Damn it, you're my Pope, can you stop whining and complaining all the time? Is that how a pope behaves?"
Shiller snorted and said, "I became Pope just so I could resign. You won't let me resign, and I can't even call the boss to complain?"
"I am your boss!" Lucifer emphasized.
"Well, he's your Dad," Shiller said with a straight face.
"He's not my Dad!"
"So, he's your Mom?"
Lucifer had his fist raised but then waved it in the air and put it down again.
Shiller simply looked forward. At this moment, Delilah's collaborator was speaking up front about what a talented singer she was. When it was time for the body to be farewelled, Shiller placed the flowers and turned to see a sorrowful Lucifer about to approach.
"I thought you weren't upset," Shiller said to Lucifer on the way out. "If you're so reluctant to let go, why not resurrect her?"
Lucifer's steps paused for a moment, then he said, "I visited Hell..."
"And then?"
"I didn't find her."
Shiller raised an eyebrow. Lucifer lowered his head, forging ahead. "Delilah isn't in Hell. I found her in Heaven," he said as he walked.
"She made it to Heaven?"
"Hard to believe, right? She was a bar girl, did drugs, perhaps even dealt drugs, but she still made it to Heaven." Lucifer's Adam's apple bobbed. He said, "Do you know why?"
Shiller didn't respond, only looking at him. Lucifer answered his own question, "After I found her in Heaven, she told me everything."
"After Delilah left the bar, those people found her. The ones I told you about before, the ones who forced her into drug dealing."
"They put constant pressure on Delilah, wanted her to sell drugs in my bar. They hoped Delilah could convince me to become another distribution channel. However, Delilah knew I hated that stuff, so she kept refusing."
"Before she came to my bar, they gave Delilah an ultimatum. If she didn't cooperate, they would kill her." Lucifer pursed his lips, "Yes, she knew... she knew leaving the bar might mean death."
"But she didn't tell me, and just as she left the bar, those people blocked her way at the corner, gave her one last chance. They asked Delilah to go back to the bar and beg me to accept the drugs."
Lucifer's hand hung in mid-air, saying, "She refused again, she won't go back, she just wants to leave."
"Back then, she realized that someone was after her. As long as she returned to the bar, she wouldn't die, but she still wanted to leave. Thus, when the Black Wave Gang started shooting, she had nowhere to hide."
Lucifer stood still, took a deep breath and said, "Up until now, I still think it's absurd that selfless sacrifices for others would grant admission to heaven. A person who has committed evil all his life, only needs to consider others at the end, then he can go to heaven. How ridiculous is that!"
Shiller picked up on the bitterness in Lucifer's tone. But quickly, Lucifer's tone shifted as he said, "However, when I became the one on the receiving end, when I became the one being considered, I had a very peculiar feeling."
"I don't understand. A woman who I met by chance, I rejected her pursuit, did not offer her any further help, even if she came to plead for my help again, I would likely just reject her. But she just refuses to accept it."
Lucifer took a deep breath, his tone containing even more complexity. Shiller stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said,
"I guess, you discovered that humans are far more complex than you initially thought after your fall from heaven, right?"
Lucifer turned his head away, not responding. Shiller continued, "This is what ordinary people are like. They can be surprisingly wicked, but also astoundingly kind. If you wish to punish their evil, you must also be prepared to accept their kindness, otherwise, it will be hard for you to be an ordinary person."
"Do you think you're an ordinary person?" Lucifer asked.
"Of course. But in your presence, I am not only an ordinary person but also a devout Christian. My eternal God, your most beloved child, is now feeling sad and terrified..."
"Shut up!"
Lucifer quickly got into the car, and after Shiller got in, he noticed they weren't heading towards the bar. So, Shiller asked, "Where are we heading?"
"Chloe's daughter Beatrice is getting out of school soon, I am going to pick her up. Chloe is busy with a case related to the Quin Group and can't leave."
"By the way, how are things between you two?" Shiller asked.
Just as Lucifer was about to answer, Shiller continued, "If you two have successfully gotten together, shouldn't you fulfil your previous promise?"
"No, we haven't..." Hearing Shiller recite, "Oh merciful Heavenly Father," Lucifer changed the subject, "....but we're almost there. She really likes me."
"Then you should..."
"Let me drop Beatrice home first, then I'll help you with your seasickness."
Lucifer says he will keep the promise after dropping Beatrice, but he goes for another round to the restaurant. After grabbing some food, he dropped it off at the police station and spent some time with Chloe. By the time he finished, it was already dark.
Seeing the darkening expression on Shiller's face, Lucifer drove back to the bar. After sitting down on the sofa, he rubbed his hands together, "Okay, let's see...why exactly do you get seasick..."
"Wait a minute!" After a pause, Lucifer made an odd expression, as if a mix of surprise and amusement, which then morphed into a hard-to-describe look. It was unclear what he had seen.
Shiller sat there, watching Lucifer's constantly changing expressions. He realized that what he hated most were not spoilers, but those who clearly knew everything yet refused to give away anything no matter how much he asked.
"I guess, you definitely don't want to tell me what you saw. So, I won't ask. All you need to do is help me deal with the seasickness," Shiller said.
"No." Lucifer shook his head, "You'd better solve this yourself. I'm sorry, I can't help. Wait, wait! Don't pray! I didn't break my promise...Alright, fine, isn't a hint good enough?"
Shiller was looking at him as Lucifer touched his lips, contemplated, and then said, "Your seasickness isn't a physiological phenomenon, the issue lies in your soul. You can go there to find the answer."
Shiller adopted his tone, then stood up, "Thank you for providing an entirely useless answer. I should never have relied on others."
With that, he walked out of the bar. Before he left, he glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall. He must have finished his Superego leave, it had been a while since he had used the Thought Palace, and he almost forgot about it.
Taking the nearest flight, he flew overnight back to Gotham. After resting for a night and then working for a whole day, he didn't enter the Thought Palace until after returning to his mansion in the evening, intending to investigate.
Everything was as usual in the Thought Palace, but Shiller didn't see his Superego. After going through the Thought Palace again, he didn't find anything unusual, so he turned his attention back to the hole at the centre of the Thought Palace.
Shiller stood beside the hole for a while, then brought the boat over again, going into his subconscious through that hole.
After sailing in the infinite darkness for an unknown amount of time, Shiller finally saw a glimmer of light. He brought the boat closer and realized that the scene looked familiar. Wasn't this the scene when he found Lucifer's feather last time? Could it be...
Just as he thought about this, Shiller saw that floating in the darkness of the subconscious was a softly glowing... scale.