Pentagram City. Neighborhood of Silence, neighborhood park. 1933, a week before the Extermination.
"
...And that is why I have chosen to express it thus, rather than through the phrase "demonic influence on the soul is definitely negative," as corrected by the editors of the Goat News, for, as I have written to you, Good Mister, I still believe in the necessity of at least some publicity for the positive side of Hell available to Sinners.
My parents, and the closest acquaintances, do not believe in the truth of my words, voicing all the negative and negative features of Hell. I agree with them. I am aware of them.
But there is something good in Hell! The same neighborhood of Silence where you reside, Good Mister! As far as I know, it's one of the few places in the Ring of Pride where Sinners can have some order and law, unlike the rest of the City.
I'd like to go there, but mom and pa.... * Thick lines of ink, for the next three lines *
Or rather, I'd like to wish you a good day, Good Mister.
I am glad that you still continue to send me your letters, in spite of everything. I appreciate your persistence, as Father periodically burns your letters.
I told Mother that you happen to have two more copies of every letter you send. She took your joke with a laugh. She liked it.
I think my Mother doesn't mind our correspondence so much anymore.
Please send letters more often. I am interested in the life of a simple (I don't mean that your life is ordinary or boring, I don't mean that I am above you in status or... *At least two lines are crossed out with many lines*) A sinner.
I would really like to know your life, how you feel about this new life and how you remember your life on Earth.
Respectfully yours, Young Miss.
"
William grinned as he finished reading today's letter from Charlotte. He sipped from his mug of hot tea, placing the mug on the cup holder, breathing in the fresh fall air, especially lovely after the recent rain.
"Oh, has my dear friend fallen for the royal connection?" - A chuckle filled echo, voiced by his interlocutor, Lord Zestial. Spider, one of his many appellations.
The one was in his usual guise, save for the removed cylinder that lay beside him on the body-pleasing seat.
The two Overlords were in a small, rifled dark oak wooden gazebo. Instead of the usual wooden benches, there were cushioned couches, and around them was a forest of morning woods.
"A simple correspondence with an acquaintance, nothing more." - William dismissed the letter, which immediately disintegrated into a multitude of blue threads, traveling to William's house.
He was in his new suit of Silence, the same one he had worn before Alastor, except for his cloak, which had been removed, folded neatly on the seat, and a cylinder, similar to the one William had been wearing.
" A familiar who sends letters through a royal black goat with iconic horns? - Zestial said sarcastically, looking at William with an understanding smile. - "Has my brave friend already set his eyes on the royal daughter herself?" - The echo vibrated with the emanations of hidden laughter and mirth. -Al my friend has decided to enter the higher stratum, wishing to learn the mysteries of the demonic?" - Zestial grinned, sipping from his mug.
"Just a correspondence of acquaintances, nothing more." - William dismissed it, his tone showing his reluctance to pursue the subject. Zestial, being a polite Sinner, nodded with a chuckle.
"Of course, son of courage. All legends and myths begin with a simple spark, I even wonder where your legend will take you, my friend." - This time, at Zestial's words, William grinned, sipping from his mug.
"But not as interesting as my curiosity about your progress, especially given the recent... incident." - At the last, the face on William's mask twisted slightly, making Zestial chuckle merrily.
"Same as always." - Zestial tapped his long fingers on the table, beating out some oddly addictive rhythm. - "Old souls disappear in the fires of time, replaced by the young and ambitious who desire their power and strength." - Zestial's head tilted to the side as he contemplated his claws thoughtfully. - "New words are thrown around, new treaties are fused, new friendships are made and feuds erupt. As it always is, every time. Only the actors and the words of the play change," Spider echoed, giving it a sort of mystical look, and Zestial himself seemed to be holding something like a skull in the palm of his hand. - "There are new claimants to the reign, Zephyr." - The playfulness was replaced by seriousness, and William, who had been distractedly listening to the Sinner, thinking about his own projects, turned to listen.
They both sipped a new batch of freshly brewed tea as the flying set fell into place.
"I never cease to enjoy your fine abilities, my friend." - Zestial grinned, covering two pairs of eyes, savoring the earthy tea leaves. - Especially your product of the highest quality.
"Thank you, dear friend." - With a nod of his voice, William replied, savoring the drink in the same manner as his companion.
"Has this Overlord thought of opening his own business to sell such a thing, even if only in your Silence?" - Zestial asked aloofly, clearly lost in his own thoughts.
"I don't need money, I don't need employees. I just don't see the point of it." - William grinned, setting down his mug. - "My policy remains identical: requests, wishes, debts in the form of favors, protection, and the rest in return for my help and services." - The two Lords gave a brief, understanding chuckle. - "Naturally, a discount for my good friends." - William addressed Zestial in an ingratiating voice.
"Oh please, in the name of our friendship." waved Zestial at William's games. - "There is no need to denigrate such an honest and beautiful bond." - Zestial spoke in a playfully indignant tone, hiding the emanations of laughter in the echo. - "But still, I'd like to warn you..." - Spider's voice grew more serious, and William straightened, glaring at his interlocutor.
" Alastor, the new Radio Demon, has begun broadcasting his radio broadcasts." - Zestial's chuckle passed William by. He knew the two Sinners would agree on this, for both found pleasure in violence. In one sense or another. - "Rumor has it that you can hear the screams of his early victims, those he preyed upon, in his ethers." - Zestial watched carefully for William's reaction, whose mask did not change in expression in any way. Zestial hummed, which echoed in his echo. - "Word has it that young Alastor, the Radio Demon, has some... interesting history with the mysterious Silence." - Silence did not react to the hint in Spider's voice, making Spider's amusement grow with every word.
"We met, made a 'standard' agreement, and resolved our differences..." - William sipped from his mug of tea, stretching out his words. - "Albeit each was left with a flavor of... displeasure, but that is fixable with time and good gifts." - William folded his fingers in a house, giving Zestial a friendly smile that burst into laughter that seemed to reverberate within himself.
"I'm sure we'll gather again around the table with some excellent tea." - Zestial nodded.
"Only if the Stag doesn't bring a corpse or a deer carcass with him." - William let the irritation out of his voice, looking away as Zestial burst into laughter.
...
Pentagram City. Silence, Lord Zephyr's mansion in the Forest of Mist. 1934. Two days later.
"
...And that's how my first day at Hell School went. The gathering of the demonic aristocracy, the constant feeling of being followed and stuff...
Nightmare... *A couple of ink smudges.. .*
I mean*New smudges, you can barely make out the words*.
I didn't mean to burden you/this letter with such boring details of my life. It's just that in the last --your--your--your letter you made a hint of a similar interest, which I took it that way*A succession of crossed out words* I'm sorry if I misunderstood you!
I wanted... I wanted to let you know that Father liked your pizza recipe (although as soon as he recognized you as the author, he immediately began to act disgusted, but in confidence, Father occasionally cooks (while looking at the recipe book, making some notes!) your pizza!), he spoke highly of your skills, which I think has made it less likely that he will try to intercept your letters, which makes it much easier for me to catch them!
By the way, did you know that demons born in Hell can make their way to Earth? Do you want anything? I don't demand anything in return, I just want to give you a gift for your attention and kind (and helpful, although Mother and Father don't want to admit it, they frown so amusingly, finding all sorts of words of denial!) advice. My articles may not gain much popularity, but Sinners at least read them.
I don't know if it's your doing, or if you somehow talked Silence into it, but my articles are published in your neighborhood all the time.
*The sentence is circled by an oval with a happy little girl's face with red circles on her cheeks drawn next to it.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (- >‿< -)
(->‿<-) ♥ ♥
Thank you so much!
(->‿<-) ♥ (->‿<-)♥ ♥(->‿<-)
I even heard that some of the Sinners of Silence even tried what I suggested, could you please, if you don't mind (and have free time, that is...), somehow collect data on what they achieved?
Even if they didn't succeed, like you said, negative stats are also stats that help in furthering their goal!
(->‿<-)
Sincerely yours, Young Miss.
*Just above, another girl's face with red spots on her cheeks is drawn, only this time it shows two short horns.
"
William grinned as he set aside the newly arrived letter. It had been brought by a messenger, who apparently hadn't even been disembodied this time.
Either Lilith or Charlotte herself had somehow managed to keep the Construct intact, so the reply to his letter had come almost immediately, just a couple hours after the last one had been sent.
His and Charlotte's little correspondence began to occupy William's time more and more often. The Princess, as she had once written, was very eager to quench her thirst for knowledge in the direction of the Sinners' Life in the Hole. She asked every little detail, down to how he got his clothes and linens, to which William wrote to the inquisitive girl that he simply ordered those from Silence, who got them from Earth.
William leaned back tiredly in his chair, adjusting the edges of his shirt, the top buttons of which were undone. White shirt over a gray body, dark pants, pink slippers. That was all his "work" clothes.
Now William was puzzling over the results of the prototype of the "Balanda" project, which converts the energy produced by the souls on which the test effect is being made.
He still can't decide on the design, the way of energy conversion itself and... It's easier to list the things that are ready.
The project "Happy Wolf", which embodies a mental network for souls, creating a large... mine or some distant city in the far north with constant frost, with its own economy, leader....
In general, on this project, William went all out, inventing his own little universe, in a way writing his own book.
"Frost at minus one hundred and fifty, frost storms, constant work in poorly equipped premises... Stupid laws, sawdust soup, twenty-four hour shifts, child labor, constant forays into the frosty deserts... Oh how I'll get even with these degenerates...", William liked to indulge in these dreams. For all the attempts to bend his rules, for all the robberies and violations, for everything...
He would send them to His Hell. A frosty Hell, similar to what people from Earth usually imagined...
William smirked evilly.
"Lucky Wolf was finished. Frost Hell wasn't quite finished, it lacked some critical details like any other book, but the technical part of it had long been worked out and perfected.
It was similar to the Eye of the Valkyries, an enchantment that William had offered to inflict on the Valkyries again in his last encounter with Adam and Lute at the Extermination. Those had responded with a sharp refusal, justifying Uriel's total control of the Valkyries' equipment, even though Lute really wanted to take William up on his offer, but simply couldn't.
William's eye fell on the calculations.
"Something's not right... Something's missing...," William diverted a good third of his mind to thinking. Each thread - a different angle on the problem. Each thread a separate analogy.
"The enchantment network that is supposed to transform energy..."
"The automated processes performed by the Constructs..."
"What could a Steampunk city possibly lack that should protect one of the last cities of humans from the horrendous frost... Usually the genera are bypassed..."
The last thought caught William's eye.
"Perhaps it's not a very suitable design, but the principle itself...", William enthusiastically began new calculations and drawings.
A generator! His Frost Hell would have a Generator, the heart of the City, whose beats would save people! The Generator will demand victims... Rebellious souls that will be forcibly converted into alternative thinkers, from which the Captain... Yes, the Captain, the City Manager... Happy Wolf... Wolf, will manage the City....
Earthstorm City!
...Okay, William should definitely write to Charlotte about this idea, asking her to come up with an adequate name for his utopia city...
William smiled happily.
"Utopia for Sinners...twenty-four hour shifts in the mines...," William blissfully closed his eyes.
What a pleasure it would be when he could make these fuckers feel all his pain!
...
Pentagram City. Silence, the roof of one of the houses. 1934. The End of Extermination.
"
...Oh, how Daddy laughed! You know, he was so excited about the new idea that he immediately rushed to realize its concept, giving out several names for the city you described along the way!
Here are, in my opinion, the best ones:
Omsk,
Chelyabinsk,
Uzerbansk,
Lucigrad,
Charlygrad,
Montigrad,
Popagrad,
Analgrad,
Fuckgrad,
Pussygrad,
Adamgrad,
Yahvegrad,
Vivzigrad,
Vivzipup,
Stepangrad,
Midnightgrad,
Ivangrad.
...--Pardon-Pardon me for putting so many words on paper, it's just that Daddy was so happy, and Mommy loved it!
I don't approve of this variation of Hell... It's too unnecessarily cruel and silly, in my opinion, but Dad and Mom loved it! I haven't seen Mom do anything with Dad in their workshop in a long time, and he almost never lets us in his workshop!
He has so many ducks in there... I think they are ducks.....
You know, I've always wanted to be closer to my dad. *The following sentences are abruptly crossed out, keeping the first one as something the author decided to intentionally leave out.
I mean... It's not that Father is a bad parent, not at all! He loves me very much, spoils me constantly, fulfills literally every wish, giving me anything I ask for, and his and Mom's personal life in the post...
He's a great dad. *Very small print, as if embarrassingly left out and forgotten by the author himself*(but I sometimes wish he would spend more time with me and my mom...).
Sorry to burden you with my problems, they are only... They are not problems at all, our family is fine, we have a great and healthy family!
I'm looking forward to your next letter, especially one like this.
Write more often.
Please.
Sincerely, your Young Miss.
"
William went over the letter once more, the contents of which had so amused Lute and Adam that they were now flying back to the Embassy.
Naturally, he wouldn't let them read that in full, especially the part where Charlotte detailed Lucifer's "animated" reaction to the idea of a Frost Hell.
Adam's only suggestion was to choose the name "Ebengrad" since it sounded so "cool and fucked up".
"If Hell doesn't have Ebengrad with its Captain, then it can't be called a real Hell where good and kind Sinners atone for their sins," was Lute's comment, which barely concealed her chuckles as Adam grunted openly, trying to hold back an even bigger cackle.
"So Ebengrad, the only refuge of Sinners in Frosty Hell... Under Captain Happy Wolf...", William chuckled softly as he looked in the wake of the angels flying off to Paradise.
Adam and Lute were sharing news as usual. Emily, surprisingly, had decided to show competence and "adulthood," as Adam called Emily's new type of behavior. Sera was up to her ears, and her cute and cuddly ear feathers, in her work, which, as Adam and Lute confirmed, had been the norm for that one until William came along with his "automation nahoy". Adam's words that he'd had a little to drink.
Adam had brought William the ingredients to make Blackout, of all different types, for which William was grateful. Lut was more empathetic, giving him tea seeds, William's favorite kind, from the time of Paradise....
William hardly felt that tugging pain in his chest anymore, at the mention of his... his mistake.
William shook his head, snapping a call to the Minions who were cleaning up the lunch spot as William leapt from the roof into the distorted space, finding himself at home.
William immediately stripped off the excess, remaining naked, immediately laying down on the bed. It was going to be a hard day, especially considering the cost of rebuilding Silence's broken architecture....
More inspections of that bloody queue...
William was only glad that he had finally made progress on the Balanda project, so that the future Generator that would be under his mansion could soon be up and running... Maybe even set aside a separate area of space, wrapping it in another dimension so that mere Sinners and uninformed Overlords wouldn't find its "shaft"?
William leaned back on the pillows, sighing relaxedly, feeling the pleasant soreness of his muscles after a hot shower.
But most importantly...
...The touch of the woman's hands, the soft but real kisses on his neck, his lips.
Return kisses, return hugs, return caresses from William.
The image of the bedroom. So real, so close and yet so incredibly distant. A naked Sera that blazed with a multitude of feelings and emotions, telling him her story already.
No judgment, no questioning, just relaxation from the work done and the worries of the day....
Fatigue, longing. Joy, lust. Excitement, anticipation.
William wrapped his arms habitually around his Seraphima's neck, pulling from her lips a moan so sweet and pleasant to hear...
He ran his hand over her trembling and so strong body, distinctly feeling every muscle twitching under his touch...
Three pairs of wings encircled his torso...
William's mouth caressed such familiar breasts...
William began to move his hips while Sera moaned and squeaked sweetly beneath him...
William and Sera have found a way to communicate. With Emily, they couldn't, leaving her with only phantom sensations, but Sera tried to teach her everything she needed to know.
They didn't communicate with words, not a single word.
Only emotions, only pure intentions, only... What words can't even describe. William just can't find the right words.
One of the few ways for William to completely disconnect himself from the Gehenna around him, from the degenerates and idiots, the cannibalistic maniacs and scheming spider acquaintances that surround him.
So far only for the Day of Extermination, when the portal opens to close, but... Sera and William are working on replacing their dreams with such... "calls"?
William didn't know the exact definition of this type of communication, but he didn't want to complain in any way.
After all - after all, Sera was just as much as he was... missing her.
...
Pentagram City, Silence, basement lab. 1936.
"
...That's how Daddy gave up on your idea. No offense to you or your (I assume your?) book, but my dad goes from idea to idea pretty quickly. Something doesn't seem to work out, he doesn't tell me or even my mom.
Sometimes I worry about his mental state.
...Still, can you send your drafts of that book with your next email? I know I didn't speak well of your ideas, but I am EXCELLENT!
I mean...I'd still like to look at your work. It's the least I can do for all your help and kind advice. At least this is how I repay you since you won't take anything from my dad or mom.
...Excuse me, how are you doing? Imean, the next few sentences are crossed out.
I've told you so much about myself and my goals and my daily life that I forgot to ask you. How are you? Do you have a dream...*The line below is crossed out with multiple lines*
You know... and we had some family friends over today. The Von Eldritch family of purebred demons. Frederick and Bethesda are good souls, they are quite strict in etiquette and to their children, Seviathan, the son, and... Helsa, the daughter of the family.
You know, Seviathan, was also interested in my goals, dreams, and hopes... But not so you! Maybe the point is that he's not a Sinner like you and not doomed to the slow fading of the soul?
Pardon me, that is.
I didn't mean you were doomed, I... will ask my father to help you... and the other Sinners!
*Three lines are crossed out, and the next lines seem to be written in a different ink, clearly later than the top of the letter.
You know... Could you send your best words and confirmation of our ideas right now? It's just that there's this bitch here... She's calling us idiots and dumbasses for our thoughts! Can you please help me play her off...put her on...convince her otherwise?
Helsa is the arrogant, ass-kicking, bitch who can't see beyond money and her family's influence! She doesn't like my music, specifically my songs! No, can you imagine that?! She doesn't like my writing, or even yours, although as soon as I named you as the author, this lycimer immediately changed her record!!!!
That's what I need to shut the fuck up....
"
William, still chuckling, sent the Messenger that was to fly at top speed to the Morning Star Mansion. Charlotte was clearly pissed off about her girlfriend.
It was the first time William had ever seen Charlotte convey so much emotion in a letter, or rather, so much anger that she had even forgotten how to properly end a letter!
"Which means the girl really needs her good friend's help... Which will clearly set me apart from the demons of the aristocracy... If it goes beyond this incident.
No. Today was William's big day.
The first launch of the Balanda Generator! The prototype performed well last time, and the energy itself...
Converting the "red" energy of the Sinners' souls into some... "standard" or "neutral" energy by simply purifying it like water... Of course, at least a quarter of the volume is lost, but for the prototype, it was a great indicator of its performance!
This "neutral" energy could be used in many different ways. As "batteries" for his Defenses when he goes on duty...
Where he still can't do proper research due to his constant busyness! A couple years of work, cleansing sins and alleviating the suffering of the "infected", and all he can answer to Father Gabriel and Sister Olga is "God's ways are mysterious" and other bullshit!
William could barely rest from his business in the Silence, and here he had to keep an eye on the Defense, the duration of which had barely grown an hour!
Six years and one hour! An hour, damn it!
A terrible result for William. It was a good thing that the Balanda Project and the Lucky Wolf Project were nearing their end, which would give William some free time, since the Silence would be taken over by his new....
William never came up with a good word for it. "Android" sounds kind of weird... 'Phantom' sounds more suited to a ghost or a regular one of the Constructs... 'Shadow'... sounds kind of dark, not really fitting....
"Gestalt?" - William voiced the thought aloud as he watched the Generator's first work. Everything was going as planned, the Generator was handling the "test" type of energy perfectly, and the energy loss had been reduced to five percent.
"Gestalt" wasn't bad anymore... but it sounded off....
William walked around in circles in his lab. The usual white and gray large room, littered with equipment tables, scribbled boards, monitors, and other mago-mechanics. No big deal, he'd change it as soon as he was free of the Overlord's worries...
"Replicant!" - William almost jumped, knocking over some of the calculation papers. The weave allowed to simply "store" all the past calculations on a flash drive, if William was not mistaken with the term of those angels from the Innovation Department... A place where the transformed information could be stored, eliminating the need to store a huge amount of waste paper. Sera and William had immediately approved of such a development, but Uriel and the other Seraphim had indicated to hang on to it. He said that Rai needed time to adapt to the new technology, even though he was not opposed to it, but an established system could not change in an instant, especially in such a fundamental part of itself.
William, on the other hand, continued to elaborate on a past thought.
"The first of them... Replicant of Truth and Honesty... Based on the soul of Lirds... Oh, there he is! My future leader of the Silence that will free up my free hours!", William was already eager to start developing.
Intelligence on the level of the Sinner himself, without his own will, without his own personal thoughts of ego, only what will be laid down and allowed by William himself... A perfect worker that will never betray, for he will see in his Maker...
"Aren't they like angels?", William stopped abruptly, freezing in a pacing pose.
"If man was created in the image and likeness of God, and I know this to be a fact, then... Can't a creature to whom God and the Devil have granted full Freedom of Will... have the same thought, if God can think in identical categories as God himself?"
William jotted down the interesting thought, intending to ask Lucifer about it if the occasion arose. As much as he might not like the Devil now, William realized that they both liked interesting challenges and questions.
While William pondered and took notes, the Generator was working as intended. No errors, no malfunctions. William had done his job correctly and his new creation was the result of painstaking hours of work.
Soon, William switched to other types of energy, preparing for a new phase of the Construct project.
...
Pentagram City District. Morning Star Mansion. A little later.
"...That's when this little man realized who was in front of him!" - The voice of the patriarch of the Von Eldritch family sounded strangely sonorous at the table of the large and well-maintained mansion, in the living room, where a medium-sized round table was set, where the adults of both families were sitting.
The words elicited friendly laughter from the occupying souls, some heartily, like Frederick's wife, Bethesda, and some more reserved, like the husband and wife of the Morning Star family, Lucifer and Lilith.
They were having another round of what Lucifer couldn't call a family reunion. Frederick, as usual, was dressed in his best suit, and Bethesda was dressed in another "sexy" dress, exposing her black stockings, shoulders, and bust.
Lucifer had nothing against Bethesda, it's just that his eyes and lust were fixed on only one woman. His wife.
Lilith dressed more modestly. Her normally dark burgundy dress had changed color to a brighter blood color, with a golden snake braiding her neck and bust. Red, shoulder length, gloves with "standard" makeup were attached.
Lucifer himself, simply changed the color scheme of his usual costume, which now matched his wife. The golden crown in his cylinder stood out, but that was all that had changed in his usual appearance.
"Another gathering of families... Another joke about stupid people that just couldn't know about the insidiousness and power of demons..." Lucifer was bored. He had basically been in this mood for the past few years.
The craft doesn't bring the same pleasure as before. Goetia rounds cause even more disgust and rejection than usual. The Sins' complaining and squabbling amongst themselves is more annoying....
Damn it, he and Lilith almost had a fight!
No, he doesn't mind his daughter having a pen pal, but not him!
Lucifer, unlike Lilith and Charlie, knows perfectly well with whom his daughter corresponds constantly, to whom she recently sent a letter on this strange owl, although she could have used the family goat, Lucifer constantly reminds her!
No, she says something along the lines of "he's faster and stealthier, and he's also not known as the royal messenger." No, Lucifer agreed with that last part, but the other part....
Yes he could make that goat end up right under Schwyfyf's ass in the blink of an eye, or whatever, but...
He's a stupid angel, though now a Fallen Angel, for not even checking his theories with calculations before launching them into the world! His only merit on that day was that he, Lucifer, helped him send Eve to Paradise and Lucifer didn't even get a hint from Adam or Sera that the Second Woman had reached the Pearly Gates!
So, Lucifer had his doubts about choosing his Charlie.
Even more so...
"Fuck off, you stupid fucking animal!" - another conversation between Lilith and Bethesda was interrupted by a scream from the latter's daughter. Both women looked at each other and stood up, stepping out into the hall where the scream of the youngest child of the Von Eldritch family had come from.
Lucifer himself hardly wanted to pay attention to it, because he knew that Charlie again did not share something with Helsa, so she got what she deserved from his favorite daughter, but Frederick said something to him, so Lucifer was forced to keep up with the crowd and also look at these silly children's games ...
"...Who the hell is that monkey?" - Frederick asked the other adults in a mixed voice as he watched his daughter being chased by at least three sickly large impersonations of demons. Black bodies, different-colored forearms and eyes... One red, seemingly fiery, throwing fireballs at Helsa that didn't do much damage to the pure-blooded demoness, but definitely messed up her hair, the second blue one staying behind, waving his arms, speeding up those... demons. The third was a brown one that was constantly running, throwing, pawing at her dress, spoiling that, after Von Eldritch's daughter....
And here's the fourth one Lucifer sensed. Green, jumping out of ambush, somehow knocking that one to the ground, causing Brown to catch up to Helsa, starting to yank that one... just yanking. Fire was just messing up her hair, and Blue kept waving his arms around, apparently supporting the other three...
And his Charlie...
With a smile worthy of his name, watched this clowning, leaving no ambiguity about the organizer of this assassination attempt!
Lucifer is so proud of his Little Devil!
True, his wife... and the adults of the Von Eldritch family don't share his enthusiasm....
No, maybe Lilith is just playing for conversation, but still....
Lucifer has made up his mind.
Whatever Lilith thought up as a punishment, no matter how angry the Von Eldritch family members are at Charlie, he will absolve his daughter, who defeated her "enemy" so beautifully by doing it with someone else's hands!
Lucifer would not even forbid that one to send a letter to William. This time.
...
Pentagram City, Silence, the laboratory of the Zephyr Mansion. 1937. Four months after the breakthrough in Project Balanda.
"
...That's how Helsa got what she deserved. Bitch should have learned a long time ago to keep her mouth shut and keep her mouth shut.
I'm sorry to say this, but I'm just so glad to finally shut her up with her bitchy behavior!
Frederick and Bethesda didn't like it. Seviathan silently refrained from commenting (traitor!), and he was part of the prank by distracting his sister while I was sorting out your gift!
My mom didn't like our prank with you either. She forbade me to write you letters... Through her, but my dad, on the contrary, was very happy for our prank! Tom liked it very much, because it made the Von Eldritches have to leave us even earlier.
Papa doesn't like such tedious meetings, as Mama says, Papa gets bored more and more often, preferring to lock himself up in the workshop or at meetings with the Sins...
Did you know Beelzebub is a woman? People seem to think of her as a man, though in different cultures and religions she was even a goddess! She's a cheerful and cute fox... a bee? Although, she has the nickname Queen of the Flies, which, if you look at it, doesn't really suit her.
By the way, this letter helped send through my mom's all-seeing eye, my dad. For some reason, she got mad at me for that joke....
In recent years, he and my father more and more often began to have quarrels or petty disputes, although it is such a rare phenomenon ... They both shield me from their problems, making up something to justify, but ...
You've had similar experiences on Earth, haven't you? Do you know anything about wife-husband relationships? Can you please give me some advice and I will pass it on or secretly (very) apply it on my mom and dad?
*The next couple of lines are crossed out *
By the way, I really liked your outline for the book Frosty Hell, if I got the title right. There's something so... cozy (?) about a closed city whose inhabitants live as one big family, even if they issue strange laws there and the workers are kept as garbage (I still think you should have changed the concept of Captain, because it's just stupid, who in their right mind would issue instructions about 24 hour shifts, child labor and sawdustsoup !).
How are you guys doing? Not in terms of being a Sinner or a helper (or whatever you work as, pardon my curiosity), but just... how are you doing?
I'm doing well. Recently, my dad and mom took me to Lou-Lou World, a park my dad created. It's really fun and beautiful. It's in Pentagram City, so you can even visit the place yourself! If you want, you can.
What's the best way to address us now? "You" or "you"? It's just that you and I have been communicating by letter for so long that "Good Mr." and "Young Miss" with a polite tone is kind of....
My name is Charlie. Actually, Charlotte Morningstar, that is, Morning Star, Princess of Hell, daughter of the Queen and the King, that sort of thing....
My friends call me Charlie, my parents call me Charlie. You can call me Charlie if you want.
You already knew that when you sent that owl (what's her name? She's so cute!) to our house, didn't you?
I'm sorry to be so abrupt, it's just...*The remaining words are crossed out*.
How's that sound? I can ask my dad for something, if you want? Maybe we could get together sometime.
You said you were kind of busy with something, do you need help with it? You might not be able to tell from me, but I know a thing or two about infernal magic (or I can ask my dad, he's great at it).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Your Charlie.
It's me, by the way.
*The letter came with a small photo of the girl herself. Clearly taken in a hurry and in a rush of emotion, the photo showed a beautiful girl with snow-white skin, red spots on her cheeks, long blonde-gold hair, and red eyes in yellow-gold whites. The girl was visible up to her chest, being in either a nightie or a shirt that barely cut off her white neck. There was an embarrassed smile on her face, her eyes looking straight into the camera.
On the back was a beautiful italicized signature, "Charlie to his pen pal.
Just below it was another signature in the same handwriting, "What is your name? Can I also get a picture of you?"
"
William... was, to say the least, surprised. How could it be otherwise, when the Princess of Hell herself sends you strange letters with her own photo? Even though it was quite... Discreet, but for something like this....
Charlotte... Charlie... Charlotte was clearly showing more and more positive feelings towards him, which was... strange.
"Doesn't she have anyone to socialize with besides me at all? Not even that 'Seviathan' or whatever the name of that son of the Von Eldritch family is... or whatever their name is..." thought William as he read the first letter he'd received in months.
In general, William expected that for his complicity in the princess's prank he would be... punished, sent some kind of fine, maybe demanded on the carpet of the Von Eldritch family... He even purposely suspended his work on projects, focusing (which was already a feat) only on the affairs of his neighborhood....
which was business as usual. The police didn't keep up with everything, couldn't see to it in time, apparently demanding an expansion of the Constructs' staff that William doesn't have time for...
Deaths of Sinners, the appearance of new ones, catching illegal "immigrants" who had tricked his Constructs into interviewing him...
"Nothing, I'll make the right Replicants, then I'll see how these scum will sing...", with this thought William calmed down every time, which made the Residents even more nervous.
Expectedly, the Inhabitants were now afraid to even squeak when William was out walking, leaving beforehand or hiding in their houses. If he caught them unawares... Those clowns just froze, trying not to breathe!
William took a kind of pleasure in watching these scum suffocate while he very slowly busied himself with things around them....
One of them might have really died... But William immediately found that soul, because this Sinner, as William immediately checked, had no criminal record, and from memory, when William looked into his soul, he had given up drugs altogether!
William didn't want to lose such a specimen, so his Constructs, Scout, Watcher, and the Crawlers and Queen, quickly found this Sinner and personally dragged him back to the Silence.
"And actually... Something has to be done about this already...", William sighed, looking at a photo of Char... Charlotte herself. It was an ordinary photo, taken in a hurry, which was evident in the angle, the pose itself, and some shaking in the frame.
What was he - the Fallen Angel that had previously worked with the Princess of Hell's father - to do with the ever-increasing... affection, friendship? No, Adam's advice, William remembered well, but... Lilith and Lucifer would flay him alive for any sneeze in their daughter's direction.
He's just a simple Fallen Angel mage, just conducting his first experiment to create the basis for a Replicant. That's what he's been doing for the last few days.
He's been trying not to leave his neighborhood for the last few years. Not out of fear or anything like that, no. He just has a lot on his plate, both in the neighborhood and on Earth. Here, too, right in his hands, are the results of yet another one of his destinations.
The princess wanted a rapprochement in communication, "becoming best friends!" or whatever Emily had said when she explained to him about the Righteous and their relationship... William didn't really understand such... sudden leaps in relationships. He'd thought Charlotte saw it purely as a pastime to be enjoyed a couple of hours a week, nothing more, but here...
Two letters a week - the early years of their relationship. Four letters a week is their current norm. That's not even taking into account the times when apparently the Princess was 'left at home' or 'locked in her room' while both parents went off somewhere on business. Charlotte even described what her parents' bedroom looked like... The few things William would never want to learn about the Universe Poisoners. It was in the same category of knowledge as the question "Who dominates the Morning Star's bed?". William didn't want to know about it, much less get a truthful, and therefore frightening, answer to the question.
Now, though...
Should we keep talking? Charlotte would have to prepare for the possibility that sooner or later she would either call him to visit or find him herself. Plus, he'll have to build relationships with the people who cursed him while he was in Heaven.
Cut ties? William found it hard to imagine how he would make himself look in the eyes of the Princess, and what the King and Queen would do to him for such a transgression.
Carefully keeping his distance? William has been following this tactic all along, which is why Charlotte is only now writing him such letters. If William had shown more involvement and interest, the Princess would have called long ago for a visit, for dinner with the Devil himself.
William ran his palm over his face, slumping back in his chair. This was definitely not how he had envisioned the Princess of Hell, the daughter of Lucifer, the Devil, the Exterminator of Light, and Lilith, the First Woman, the Queen of Sin, the Mother of Monsters.
He'd thought that the one was a perfect liar, having adopted the skill from her father, but... William didn't even need to remember Charlotte's soul data, obtained a couple months ago through the Minions, comparing those to the first samples collected during William's first days in Hell. Charlotte was not what William's stereotypes had painted her to be.
Kind, painfully kind, slightly naive but able to vent her anger outward. Terribly polite, awkward, a little innocent, and... ridiculously sincere. She spilled out all her feelings on paper, as if Emily was entrusted with a letter, and in what colors she complained about the surrounding irritants ...
"She truly believes that all Sinners deserve a second chance, a chance to make amends...", William grinned, rubbing his face, invigorated after hours of working on the Replicant prototype.
"Ask Lucifer to solve the formulas passed through Charlotte?", William chuckled at the silly thought.
It was easier to tear his soul apart at once than to entrust such an important part of the Replicant to the Prince of Deception.
William brewed himself his fifteenth cup of tea.
The night promised to be interesting, and the situation with Charlotte...
William would leave that for his future self.
...
Pentagram City, Silence, the laboratory in Zephyr's mansion. 1938.
"
...And therefore... I would like to apologize for...
My past behavior. For being so... outbursty and reacting to... your desire to remain anonymous, at least in front of me.
...Then I was very angry that you didn't send a photo or give me your name. I didn't realize that to you...how to you I looked like the Princess of Hell, with parents who are the scariest and strongest souls in Hell.
*Some lines with similar words, crossed out*
I apologize.
I... missed your letters. Very much.
It's gotten more boring at home without your jokes or... God, it's been so long since I've written an article! You know, I was thinking of quitting... Or rather, coming at it from the other side, looking at the problem from a different angle!
I really don't want to give up my dreams to rehabilitate sinners.
I... considered your opinion that not all Sinners... are worthy of a second chance. I don't agree with it, but I wish to... prove to you otherwise!
You mean...let's start over?
...I wrote a new article. I haven't even shown it to my parents. You'll be the first. *Several broken lines, as if the author hesitated to cross out the sentence, the rest of the line is smudged with blots of ink.
I mean, you'll be the first to read my article!
Mom laughed really hard when she saw this sentence... Can I have something for a prank?
Not like the one back then, if you remember, with Helsa. It's just that I think mom needs to perk up, since she's been walking around moody the last few weeks. I don't know why. She's always going out to the far side of our garden, it's the one I wrote about in my twenty-fifth letter, a year and a half ago.
I'd really like you to help cheer her up. Maybe some kind of instrument or music?
My mom loves to listen to stringed instruments, especially guitars or lutes. Violin is a close second, my dad plays it best. He has such a beautiful golden violin.
Did you know he plays it every year on Slay Day? He says it's for some "gray" souls...I don't quite get it.
I won't take offense if you're still mad at me, especially for ignoring your letters after not writing to you for a little over half a year.
I only burned and destroyed your letters for the first week. The ones after that, I kept, only opening them recently.
I'm sorry. Can you please write back as soon as possible?
Yours, Charlie.
"
Vilya ran his eyes over the rambling letter again.
Today should be the day he finally creates his first Replicant, literally freeing him from one of Hell's shackles...
As a letter of golden light is immediately teleported to him. A light that William has only seen from one Seraphim. Lucifer.
A hint from the King of Hell, William realized immediately. He knows exactly where he is, despite the Silence's defenses.
Knowing Lucifer, how much such a short and specific acquaintance is worth, the Devil must have recognized William. He couldn't help but remember his Weave, couldn't help but recognize William.
...Which means Lucifer knows that there is one more Fallen Angel in the Ring of Pride. How long has he known? Considering that that "white scarf" around Charlotte's neck was Lucifer... Probably since the beginning.
What did that change? Absolutely nothing.
Charlotte's letter? William thought that she had finally cooled off to him when she abruptly replied to his letter, sent right after "the one with the picture." William even began to relax, forgetting such a strange and at the same time interesting period of his imprisonment in Hell, and here it was.
Charlotte, it turns out, is a very sensitive person who doesn't hold a grudge against someone for long. Otherwise, William simply could not explain such a strange letter, similar to her first article, which she gave him to read at their first meeting.
Sharp transitions between writing styles, jumping from topic to topic, one common theme-"apologies"-and, as in the first article, this was repeated throughout the letter.
Considering the fact that the letter was sent through Lucifer, Charlotte... Did she really want to send him a letter so badly? Or did she want to ensure that he received the letter?
Either way, William put these matters aside for the following day, focusing on what was important.
The First Replicant.
Hundreds of trials, thousands of mistakes. Lots of redesigns, even more new calculations and developments.
And now William finally has his cherished ritual-scheme-instruction manual at hand.
All the reagents and preparations have long since been prepared and ready to go.
The generator has successfully passed all tests, generating energy similar to what the Overlords received when they made contracts, taking the souls of Sinners for themselves. Researching the properties, concentration and just the energy itself wasn't hard, with 'friends' like his it wasn't that hard. Zestial, reveling in the suffering of his workers, enjoying punishing the guilty.
Alastor. His friend-opponent-rival-partner. Sinner had gotten his title, as Zestial had told him long ago, "Radio Demon" or Radio Demon. He had a similar reputation to William, for his victims disappeared definitively, and with each new kill, a new scream appeared in his radio broadcasts. Zestial liked it, and William was disgusted, weaving to shield himself from this garbage.
Alastor was settling in quite well in general. A radio host, controlling the news, the entertainment, even the science part! He was nestled at the top of the food chain and enjoying his power. The latest news, interesting events, often about murders or victims, but Alastor was competent and adequate enough to be a responsible radio host, so even William listened to Alastor's broadcasts from time to time (through the henchman, and that was half an hour or an hour after the broadcast, when it was necessary to clear the information from other nonsense).
Zestial, who controlled the materials for construction, lived happily ever after. The new Overlords were squabbling over the vacated seats, while the likes of Alastor enjoyed the show of cleaning up the excesses and shortening the most insolent, and the likes of William and Zestial, on the other hand, simply watched, waiting for the establishment of the new Order, or Generation, as Zestial called it.
According to Sinner, the new Lords would finally take their places in ten or twenty years, give or take, depending on the determination of the contenders. Otherwise, Zestial and William would need to step in and take over for a while, cleaning up the rabble and allowing the more adequate souls to rise.
William didn't care about power in the Ring. Didn't care about using his influence like everyone else was "normal" or like he should.
William explained his position time after time to Zestial, corresponded with Alastor, that he then voiced it on his radio, quite professionally, as William pointed out.
"I just want to do my research and development. I can help by fulfilling wishes, whims or requirements, for an appropriate fee, but I'm not interested in anything more than that. There are many rules in my Silence, but the one most important of all is that you don't touch the Overlord without a really good reason, on like an invasion of Sin or an abrupt start to the Extermination." was William's statement and common topic of conversation.
Stag... had a strange sympathy for it. He may be a psychopath, but he was a psychopath who was intelligent and understanding. If that could even be said of a maniac torturing, or whatever it is he does, the souls he captures. A great waste, from William's point of view, but everyone brews the soup as they wish.
It was only because of this attitude and minimal interaction outside of his Silence that he was left alone by the other Overlords. All that was left was the neighborhood work, which was already up to William's neck, allowing only minimal progress on his plans.
Now...
Concentration. Calculation. Outline. Image. Purpose. Structure...
The first stage is framework and foundation. William needed to take a soul, in this case the soul of Lirds, which had retained almost all of its energy, not counting the loss from the torment it experienced while without a shell, as a "frame" and the energy of the souls, which William called "Vite", used to "mold" in a combination of Aether, both polarities, as an addition to his idea.
A process identical in the beginning to the creation of a normal Construct, with a difference in the material - "Vite". He needed to create the "skeleton" of the future Replicant with maximum precision. His brain and limbic system. The first time, as William had long ago learned, it was necessary to concentrate as much as possible, to double-check every detail and to move slowly, because otherwise it would be a waste of energy and the loss of the soul of one of the strongest Lords.
The red orb, Lirds' soul embodied through his instruments, was wrapped in a dark purple-blue-white wrapper, like a skein of thread first wrapped around the soul, only to "fall" into place, as if weaving around an invisible mannequin, the "lines" and "material" forming into the shape of a large, about two-and-something meter tall, human silhouette. Red energy spreads evenly across the "knitted doll".
Concentration. Image. Intention. Concept. Meaning. Inspiration...
The second stage is the laying of "organs" and "muscles". It is necessary to continue using Vite, strengthening the newly created, at the same time, it is necessary to start laying paths for the "soul" and "coating" the frame with Ether, each detail and part - its own concentration and polarity.
A process in which mistakes can be made, or rather, they can be corrected if they are noticed in time, unlike the last stage. William had no intention of making mistakes, but he was somewhat relieved that he could relax a little, for the process of creating the Replicant was surprisingly complex for his shell.
The "knitted doll" began to thicken, now resembling more the skeleton of a real person, around which muscles and the first organs began to appear. A semblance of lungs, stomach, kidneys, heart, carefully incorporated into the nervous system. The image began to resemble an exhibit from museums of human anatomy rather than some kind of toy.
Concentration. Calculation. Result. Soul. Mind. The call. Moment. Command. Worship...God....
William shifted all his mental processes to accomplish the most difficult part of the Replicant ritual.
The hardest part is the pseudo-mind and pseudo-soul. William needs to get into the role of a clockmaker working with the most complex clock in the world, with a great multitude of parts, each dependent on the other. Touching one element, affects those that depend on it and those that follow. Like a potionist brewing the Elixir of Immortality, with thousands of steps and minutiae, the adherence to which guarantees the most coveted prize for a man.
William couldn't see it, completely focused on the process of embedding the Mind, Soul and Knowledge Matrices, but when he opened his eyes...
The figure of a middle-aged man, whose skin and face seemed to be artificially molded. From afar, it would appear to be a human, but when approaching, anyone could notice some... irregularity.
The man was naked, he had no genitals, only a very inattentive person could call this figure a real person, not a well-made doll. A moment more and dark threads began to twist around the figure, entangling it into a simple white shirt with a yellow tie, glasses on his head, black pants and shoes.
An overly pumped body with many ballooning veins coming out of his heart. Two and a half meters tall, heavy breathing. Short, almost military cut black hair, slicked back. Voluminous arms, almost as big as William's own head, broad, muscular shoulders, and a chest of steel, with not a single layer of fat, only muscle.
William exhaled tiredly, slumping back in his chair. His breathing was heavy, and the noise in his ears, loud as two bells at his ear, made it hard to perceive reality. The mask cracked, nearly falling off William's face, and his hands, and the rest of his body, shook violently. William saw only blurry patches of ever-changing colors.
He saw what was probably his first Replicant, his skin... Red, black, green, blue... It was as if he had taken some sort of hallucinogen, or just abruptly gotten the worst case of color blindness... William wiped his cheek, which had some sort of liquid on it. Not blood, judging by the sensations, which couldn't be trusted right now.
"Could it be materialized Aether?", a silly thought visited William.
The Aether is part of everything as it is. It interacts with it all the time. Sinners, Righteous, Demons and Angels, they all interact with the Aether, the only differences are in levels of understanding and depth...
And he, it turns out, works with the atom... maybe even less? Don't the Seraphim do the same...?
"No... They don't need that kind of fiddling... while I'm trying to get to the depths of the two-dimensional world, the Seraphim are looking at this picture as inhabitants of the three-dimensional world... They have a different understanding of such things... I don't know if that's worse or better...", William seemed to be high. At least, the way his classmates described the flow of his thoughts, and the state of his body itself...
He heard footsteps. Heavy ones, as if an elephant or an angry Adam was walking nearby. William would have reacted somehow, maybe come up with another plan that would cause him to lose everything he had again, but....
He was so, so lazy...
William decided to take the only true solution to the situation: sleep.