Freya watched the spectre as it stood unmoving in the Elders Court, the ones that saw and contributed to the shaping of the universe.

She looked up for a moment, surveying the people she shared this responsibility with. There were the mala'chim, the holy ones the mortals sometimes called angels, the shedim, the messengers of hell, widely known as demons, who were only allowed in the Court because of the relevance of their darkness, and lastly, the gods; greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic, Irish, Indian, Chinese. The supernatural beings revered by mortals.

They all made up the Court, they all had a say in the affairs of the mortals and the Shaded beings of the Other World.

And yet in all their power and wisdom, Freya, the Norse goddess of love, beauty and magic, had never seen the Court so conflicted, the Elders had chosen it to be a gift, a special gift, but others thought differently.

"All this began with mercy, give it again and you are sure to regret it," said Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and hunt.

"Nonsense, I see no need for punishment when the Nightshades have sacrificed so much already" said Ares, greek god of war.

"Ares is right, if anything they deserve it," said Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun.

"I agree, but I feel it is unwise to give it our blessings, Logan and Miriam deliberately disobeyed direct orders from this Court, I propose that we curse it," said Zeus, the greek god of the sky.

Freya shot Zeus a warning glance, he knew that curses were no ordinary matter, they could scar the child for life, making him a Shaded being from birth, but then again, blessing him would do the same thing.

"Cursing him is a harsh verdict Zeus" said angel Zamariel.

"Harsh is such a strong word", said Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and strategy, "I would say he is being aggressively reasonable, the Nightshades broke the Lex by aiding one of the shedim, the Prince of Darkness for that matter, cursing them is the most logical option"

"You do not know everything Athena", said Thoth, the Egyptian god of knowledge, "I agree with Ares and Ra, the Nightshades made a mistake, and they have paid for it, cursing the child would be an unjust act, it is punishment without reason"

"Or it is a signal to the rest of the Shemer that we should not be disobeyed," said Zeus.

"Enough!"

Freya shook at the sound of Odin's voice. She turned to her husband, his one good eye burned with rage, but she could see better than anyone that it was a cloak covering his utter confusion.

For the first time in millennia, Odin didn't know what to do.

"We apologize King Odin", Zeus started, "we did not mean to be so...."

"Foolish?" said Odin.

Freya stifled a laugh as she caught the faint spark of electricity over Zeus's arms. She knew Zeus coveted her husband's place as King of the Elder's Court but she didn't think much of it, Zeus wouldn't dare to try anything.

He was weak.

"It seems the gods have forgotten who they are", said Odin, "mala'chim, what do you propose?"

"We believe that what is good and just is giving this child without blessings or curses, let him be mortal and nothing more" said the angel Uriel.

Odin nodded and then faced the spectre, Freya saw the deep sense of concern Odin had for it, the silent urge to try and give it a destiny worth something.

"I have come to a decision" Odin said. "We will make him a Phantom,"

The Court rippled with murmurs and protests, even Freya was shocked, he couldn't possibly be serious.

"Are you sure Odin?" whispered Freya.

Odin sighed and whispered back.

"I do not know, my dear"

"A Phantom is a most unwise decision" snapped Athena.

"Hold your tongue goddess" hissed Freya in protest.

Odin placed his hand on hers and she simmered down, only looking at Athena to give one last deadly glare.

"King Odin, please you must reconsider" said Ra.

"There is no need for petition, I have made my decision, blessings and curses will be of equal measure, and it will be a Phantom unlike any other, a warrior unheard of in any world" Odin said.

"The cursed will bless and the blessed will curse, Athena, Micheal, you will stand for the blessed, Anubis, Azazel, you will stand for the cursed, now let the ceremony begin"

The four stepped forward, Athena with her shimmering cloak of owl feathers and a helmet on her head, Micheal, his white wings shining with holiness, Anubis, his eyes glowing red and his ears pointed like a jackal's, and Azazel, his body rippling with darkness.

They reached the spectre and surrounded it, and then they began.

"I curse you with knowledge without understanding," Athena said reluctantly, her hand outstretched and shining with power.

"I bless you with deeper sight and with the magic of glyphs," said Anubis.

"I curse you with power without control," said Micheal, his tone heavy as he placed his finger on the spectre.

Azazel stepped forward and bent down, placing a finger over the spectre.

"And I bless you..."

"Azazel stop"

Azazel fell silent, his finger inches away from it's chest. Freya was so engrossed in the ceremony that she didn't notice who had appeared, she raised her eyes and as soon as they landed on the intruder she felt anger well up inside of her.

Standing there, with his hands in his pockets, was Lucifer. He was indeed the most beautiful archangel, even though she knew it was all an illusion, everything Lucifer presented as beautiful was ugly and evil underneath all the supposed light, his skin was too fair, his eyes too golden, his hair and wings as white as snow before it fell to the ground. He wore a black suit, like the mortals sometimes did, and he had a smile on his face as he looked at the spectre, like he was cooking up a diabolical plan, he caught Freya glaring at him and winked in her direction.

She felt Odin's hand stiffen over hers and saw as he reached for the spear at his side.

Zeus reacted first and sent arcs of lightning sailing through the air. They connected with Lucifer but passed right through him.

Lucifer sighed.

"Oh Zeus, impulsive as always, did you really think I would physically present myself here, in front of my adversaries, I'm back in my Hell where the Nightshades left me, I'm only manifesting myself to make sure the child receives a substantial gift," said Lucifer.

"You are the reason why this is happening in the first place, you have no right to be here Lucifer and you are not entitled to give it anything" said Odin.

"Maybe, but you see my dear Odin I am bound by the Old Laws, the Nightshades did something for me and so, by Law, I have a debt I must pay"

Without further confirmation he stepped forward, Azazel moved aside without hesitation. Freya noticed that none of the other chosen were making any moves, not even Micheal.

"What are you all doing?!, Micheal!"

Micheal turned to face Freya, remorse and resolve written all over his face.

"He has the others under his control, I do not agree with his methods but he is right, it deserves better" said Micheal.

Freya clenched her jaws and fists and simply watched as Lucifer began the last part of the ceremony.

"Wisdom without understanding, power without control, the magic of glyphs and of deeper sight, gifts and curses that grant overwhelming strength and ability, gifts and curses that would kill you before your life even began" Lucifer sighed, his voice reduced to a whisper. "All because your parents chose to help me"

He began to draw his mark.

"I bless you with understanding...."

"What is he doing?" said Freya, staring at her husband, expecting him to do something but he didn't move, he couldn't move.

"Control...."

"Somebody stop him!" yelled Zeus, lightning shot out at all sides but none of them reached Lucifer.

"And mastery"

"No" Odin whispered, utterly lost, trivially defeated.

There was a loud boom and a brilliant flash of light, and then the spectre began to dissipate, it's spirit leaving to it's assigned body and parent.

"When you need help I will be there" Lucifer whispered.

And then it disappeared.

Lucifer sighed in satisfaction and took a look at the rest of the Court. He smirked, snapped his fingers and vanished.

The chosen gods began to pant heavily as soon as Lucifer's hold on them was released.

"King Odin", started Anubis, "we are sorry, he..."

Odin raised his hand and Anubis fell silent.

"No need for explanation, Lucifer is older and more powerful than any of you, you didn't stand a chance," said Odin.

Odin glared at Micheal who met his gaze with equal ferocity. Freya knew that the mala'chim were the oldest of them in the Court. They obeyed one king and one king only.

They were the only ones who could call him Father.

"You could have done something," said Odin.

"I did what was necessary," said Micheal as he bounded up on his wings and flew to where the mala'chim were stationed.

"What do we do now?" asked Athena.

Freya saw Odin's jaw clench, what could they do now, what was Lucifer's plan?

"We wait, we see how the child turns out, whatever he becomes, we will deal with it," said Odin.

"But King Odin...." started Zeus.

Odin hefted his spear and threw it with swift speed, his aim clear and true as it struck Zeus in his arm.

Odin stretched out his hand and the spear flew back into his grasp, golden blood spilt from the wound and Zeus fell to his knees holding his arm against himself and breathing heavily.

"I said we wait, is that clear Zeus?" said Odin.

Zeus nodded, his head still bowed in reverence.

"Dismissed," said Odin.

He struck his spear and the rest of the Court vanished to their respective realms, their whispers of disapproval floating in the air as they left.

"Odin? Are you coming?" said Freya.

Odin looked at her, his eye pleading, she nodded in understanding and stayed with her husband, she hoped with all her heart that what just happened would not backfire in the future, for the sake of their immortality, and the fate of the universe.