Chapter 36 - Chapter 19: EP 19: Echoes of an Angel Part 1.

CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains some uncomfortable scenes, including non-graphic depictions of vomiting, torture, and blood. It is kept at a reasonable level for a teen rating, but may still be distressing for some readers. However if you can watch the Star Wars Original Trilogy without issue, then nothing in this chapter should bother you too much.

The Angel of the Owl House

Season 1: The Demon Realm

Chapter 19: Echoes of an Angel

"It honours me that an angel like you calls me such a name, Luz. But I am afraid I am here on Emperor's Coven business. The Emperor has demanded your presence at his castle. You are coming with me."

It took a few seconds of stunned silence for it to fully sink in to Luz and her friends what Lilith had just said. Their first reaction was to step a little closer to each other, preparing to potentially fight back against the scouts who had again come to arrest Luz. But then not only did the fact that the Emperor had demanded her capture finally register in their heads, but so did what Lilith had called Luz.

"W-What did you just call me!?" Luz stuttered.

Lilith smiled kindly; "I know that you're an angel, Luz. I'll admit, hiding your identity by claiming to be my sister's daughter and pretending to have inherited aspects of her curse was clever, but the Emperor is far wiser. He realised the truth and tasked me with bringing you to him."

Luz went white as a sheet; not only did Belos know what she was, but he'd also told his coven! No amount of Amnesia Tincture would be enough to solve this mess now; her secret was officially out! Not only that, but this was the worst time to be confronted! They were in the middle of the scorching desert and surrounded, and Luz had very little magic left. Absorbing the heat energy from the volcanic cavern on the way out had replenished her a little, but it was definitely not enough to fight back against Lilith and over two dozen scouts, even with Amity, Gus, and King's help. She thought about flying away, but it was unlikely she'd be able to escape the airships and there was no cover; only clear skies that would make her an easy target for ranged spells.

"Tia Lily, please! You can't take me to the Emperor! Y-You have no idea what he might do to me! I-I know I'm not your real niece… but I wasn't lying when I started calling you my Auntie! I don't have any real aunts…" Luz said imploringly. In truth, she didn't actually know if she had any aunts or uncles; the nature of angel culture meant it was possible that her Mami had siblings or half-siblings without knowing, but they couldn't be called aunts or uncles in the way Luz wanted. "… but I do have you! Please, don't do this!"

Lilith was touched by her words, and smiled sympathetically; "I understand your fear, Luz. My sister has filled your heads with horror stories and her hatred of authority. But you don't need to be afraid! Emperor Belos teaches that angels like you are servants of the Titan; he doesn't want to hurt you, he just wants to guide you down the right path! He can speak with the Titan as well, and knows that the wild ways of my sister are displeasing him!"

Luz wanted to argue; she knew the Titan couldn't possibly be talking to Belos even if he was an angel like she feared, as why would the Titan then give power to her as well when she opposes the Emperor? The fact that glyphs were basically wild magic and Belos had outlawed such practices also proved it! But she couldn't prove it to her aunt without explaining everything she'd learned, and that could lead to Lilith and the Emperor's Coven discovering that King was a Titan! If they wanted an angel because they "serve the Titan", what would they do to get their hands on the Titan's son!?

"We won't let you take her!" King yelled, stomping his foot in the sand, "She's my big sister! It doesn't matter if she's an angel too!"

Amity and Gus nodded in agreement, with the former taking back her staff (Rasiel could at least stand on his own) while the latter prepared ice magic in one hand and an illusion in the other.

"I'm sorry Miss Lilith, but I can't let you take Luz away! She doesn't want anything to do with the Emperor or his coven!" Amity scowled.

"Oh man, does this make me an outlaw now? I think I'm an outlaw now… Dad is gonna kill me." Gus said, shaking slightly in fear but still not backing down. Luz was touched by his loyalty to their friendship, especially since he'd been a big fan of the Emperor's Coven until recently.

Lilith eyed the three of them, regarding King and Gus with a raised eyebrow and looking at her apprentice with a sad frown; "None of you look surprised. I assume you already know?"

"I found out when I saw her fight Eda in her Owl Beast form that day in the rain." Amity replied.

"Since the day of the Detention Pit Incident for me." Gus added.

"And Eda and I knew from day one! We didn't care that she was an angel though; she accepted us as weirdos and we accepted her too! Eda, Luz, and I are family now! We won't let you take that away!" King roared, brandishing a fire glyph in one claw and an ice glyph in the other.

Lilith felt her insides twist as a spark of doubt entered her heart. She shook it off quickly; "I have no intention of destroying your relationships with one another, and I doubt the Emperor will either. He wishes what is best for Luz and the Boiling Isles, and even my rebel of a sister! Once Luz is shown the proper path and Eda finally accepts her destiny and joins the Emperor's Coven, you can continue to be a family!"

She looked to her apprentice; "I know what you learned in the Bat Queen's forest shook your faith in the coven, Amity. But perhaps Luz's angelic healing magic will be able to help the Emperor heal from what the wild magic did to him! There's no need for any of you to be scared. Trust me."

Rasiel narrowed his eyes; "Trust is a funny thing for you to request, when you're using force to get what you want." he said, glaring at Lilith; "If Belos wanted to be trusted, he would come himself and explain himself to Luz, and give her a choice. Sending armed thugs to do his bidding is the action of a tyrant, not a trustworthy man."

Lilith glared at Rasiel, finally taking notice of the odd man. "And who are you to say such things about the Emperor!?"

"I am Rasiel." he replied shortly.

"Well, "Rasiel", I wouldn't be so quick to lecture me or the Emperor's Coven about trust, given how shady you look." the Head Witch sneered, noting how dirty and unkempt he was, not to mention his emaciated frame and tattered clothes. He looked like a homeless person. Worse still, he was in the company of three school children and a very young demon, and Luz's clothing was notably damaged (her stomach was still exposed after Godric burned a hole in her hooded shirt, and she had a blood stained tear in the shoulder from being cut by his spiky tail hammer). It made Lilith very suspicious.

Luz realised what Lilith must be thinking, and braced herself. Using what little magic she'd regenerated, she subtly cast an ice spell over the inside of her throat while pretending to cover her mouth to cough.

"Tia Lily, it's not what it looks like! Rasiel didn't do this to me; he's…" she hesitated, before saying; "He's just some poor witch we found wandering the desert! He'd gotten attacked by some wild beast and lost his memories. He's been stranded and wandering the desert for weeks, trying to find his way back to his home!"

The lie filled her throat with fire, bringing a tear to Luz's eye which she passed off as being from sympathy for Rasiel's "plight". Amity, Gus, and King all forced themselves not to react with shock, while Rasiel had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from giving the truth away to stop Luz from lying for him.

Lilith, believing Luz couldn't lie, naturally believed her. However she was still suspicious of Rasiel; "What coven are you in?" she demanded, noticing the gold bands that hid his wrists.

Rasiel froze, but Gus was quick to answer; "Oh, he's in the Potions Coven!" he said nervously, taking Rasiel's right arm and sliding the band off whilst subtly casting an illusion to make the image of the Potions Coven sigil appear on Rasiel's wrist.

That seemed to satisfy Lilith, who then turned back to Luz; "Putting this man aside, how did your clothes end up so damaged? And why are you, Amity, and your friend playing hooky in this desert to begin with?"

Amity was the one to answer, coming up with a quick lie; "Luz couldn't go on the field trip because she was afraid of something like this happening." she gestured to the circle of scouts, "But she still wanted to go on a field trip, so we came to Palm Stings. We were just going to tour the desert, but after we found Rasiel, we stopped at this Oasis to refill our water and found a Lake Root underneath. Unfortunately there was also a hibernating Salamander down there, and Luz got a little roughed up."

Lilith hummed; "I see. This would have been a lot easier without my sister filling your heads with fear… regardless, my curiosity is satisfied and it's time to go. Come with me, Luz; the Emperor will ease all your fears and help you become an even greater angel."

Luz bit her lip, as Gus and King edged close enough to whisper to her; "Just say the word, Luz. I'll blast 'em with my roar, then we can fly away under an illusion!"

That was a good plan; but also a very dangerous one. It would mean that Amity and Gus would become wanted criminals! They wouldn't be able to safely return to their homes or go to Hexside any more! Their lives and futures would be ruined! Not to mention that now that the Emperor knew what Luz was, he would attack the Owl House in force to capture her!

Luz closed her eyes with an expression of pain; she couldn't let her friends be labelled as criminals! She couldn't paint an even bigger target on Eda's back… She had no choice.

"Tia Lily… if I go with you willingly, will you swear an oath to let my friends here go home? They won't be arrested or branded criminals for hiding me from the coven?" Luz asked, defeatedly.

"Luz, no!" Amity cried, only for Luz to shake her head.

"I'm sorry Amity, but I've got to protect you. I can't ask you to become criminals for me. Your lives are worth more than that." Luz said, making Amity's eyes fill with tears and Gus and King both stare at her in heartbroken shock.

Lilith smiled gently; "You have my word, Luz. I really don't want to drag you away in chains, so if you agree to come with me willingly, then I'll make the oath."

Luz nodded and whispered; "I'm sorry Eda…" before tearing off the damaged sleeve of her shirt, which still had some of her blood on it, and handed it to King; "Use that to complete the mirror. We'll see each other again King, so please be strong for me."

The little Titan's eyes filled with tears; "I-I will! We'll save you Luz, I swear!"

Luz smiled sadly at him, then gave Gus a quick hug, shot a meaningful look to Rasiel, then finally gave Amity a sweet kiss, before reluctantly walking over to Lilith and offering her arm. "Let's get this over with."

The Elder Clawthorne took Luz's hand and draw a spell circle for the Everlasting Oath; "I, Lilith Clawthorne, do swear that neither I nor anyone under my command will attempt to apprehend any friend or loved one of the Angel Luz Noceda for any crime related to hiding her identity."

"I, Luz Noceda, do swear to accompany Lilith Clawthorne to the Emperor's Castle." Luz said shortly, feeling the oath take hold.

As soon as it was done, Lilith smiled kindly; "I know you're scared, but everything will be fine. You'll see when you wake up."

"When I wake up? What do you-?"

Before Luz could finish her sentence, Lilith drew a rapid spell circle in front of her face and Luz immediately felt her eyes grow heavy. She tried to fight the effects of the sleep spell, but she was so exhausted from using up her magic that she couldn't resist and soon lost consciousness. Luz slumped against Lilith, who gently reached into her shirt and removed her concealment stone, causing Luz's hair to turn white and her wings to become visible. She was mildly surprised to see that Luz now had four wings, and the Scouts around her all gasped and muttered about the angel being real.

"Beautiful. You'll thank me for this someday, Luz. Until then…" Lilith turned to one of the larger scouts and gently handed Luz to him; "Place her on a cot on the airship and make sure the sleep spell holds. She swore to accompany me to the castle, but I wouldn't put it past her to fly away the instant we arrived; she was my sister's apprentice after all."

The scout nodded and marched to the largest of the airships, one that actually had a small cabin, and went inside. Lilith then looked back to Luz's friends. Amity was glaring at her with utter hatred, much to her sadness. "Speaking of apprentices… I understand your anger, Amity. But this is for the best. You'll see that soon."

"Don't even try to give me that! And don't ever call me your apprentice again! Luz loved you like a real aunt and you're just going to give her to the one person on the isles she wants nothing to do with! I swear that if anything happens to Luz because of you, I'll kill you!" Amity snarled, the hatred in her voice so strong that Lilith actually flinched.

"I see… You're afraid you'll lose your girlfriend; I can't expect you to be rational here." Lilith sighed, "You'll see the truth soon enough, and when that happens, I will happily take you as my apprentice again. Until then, good day. I'll leave you to make your own way home."

With that, Lilith snapped her fingers and the scouts raised their spears and began marching onto the airships. Lilith was the last to board the largest ship, and gave Amity one last sorrowful look before turning away and barking an order to the helmsman to set a course for the Emperor's Castle.

Amity, King, Gus, and Rasiel watched helplessly as the airships took to the skies and flew away, each of them fully of anger, sadness, and worry. As soon as the airships were far enough that there was no way the scouts would hear them, Amity got on her staff and said; "Get on. We need to get to the Owl House and tell Eda. We'll need her if we're going to rescue Luz."

They all nodded and got on Amity's staff with her (really pushing the usual three person limit, but Ghost was feeling angry enough herself to power through it) and began flying away as fast as they could, aiming for the Owl House. The left their Croconaw Crab mounts behind, knowing they'd find their own way home. Even without the detour to return them however, it would still be almost two hours before they got back to the Owl House, not to mention the time it would take to go from the Owl House to the Emperor's castle, and all of them feared what could happen to Luz in that time.

As they flew, Gus tried to use his scroll to call Eda and let her know what happened, but she wasn't answering.

"She must be down in the basement. Eda doesn't take her scroll down there, in case it goes off and startles her while she's focusing on a potion and causes an accident." King explained.

Amity cursed. It looked like they'd have no choice but to fly all the way there and let her know in person. She was not looking forward to it (and was really hoping Eda had made enough Elixirs to deal with the inevitable rage), but even so she flew as fast as she could, feeding Ghost her magic to speed her up.

"Luz, please be safe!" she thought. She prayed the Emperor wouldn't do anything too bad to her.

[Later]

When Luz awoke in a soft bed, she was sure that she'd been dreaming everything. She rubbed at her eyes, certain that she was in her room at the Owl House, and needed to prepare for the day's trip to Volcarpalis, one that hopefully wouldn't end with Lilith taking her away to the Emperor. But then she opened her eyes and saw the unfamiliar ceiling in dark shades of gold and brown, as well as the light of the setting sun streaming in through a window.

She gasped and shot up in the bed and looked around; the room she was in was huge; easily four times the size of her bedroom in the Human Realm, and decorated in shades of white, yellow, gold, and dark brown, matching the colour scheme of the Emperor's Coven but with an angelic theming to it. The bed she was on was a massive four poster with luxurious silken sheets, and the rest of the room's furniture was similarly grand and expensive looking, making Luz compare it to a princess's bedroom. As quickly as she could, Luz got out of bed and rushed over to the large windows that lined one of the walls, and looked out. She had to press herself right against it to get a good look at the building she was in, but as soon as she did, she recoiled.

"This is the Emperor's Castle!" Luz cried, recognising it. The fortress built inside a massive pit of spikes, with structures built into and on top of the surrounding cliffs. The castle's central tower was belching red flames and black smoke, reminding Luz of the Eye of Sauron. It was a terrifying place, and the last place Luz wanted to be!

"It wasn't a dream! Tia Lily caught me and brought me to the Emperor!" Luz panicked, on the verge of hysterics. This only got worse when she looked down and saw that someone had changed her clothes.

Her normal outfit had been replaced by black trousers with nothing at all on her feet, a skintight long sleeved black shirt with a high neckline, and a simple sleeveless white tunic with dark gold detailing along the edges and the sigil of the Emperor's Coven on the left breast. The clothing had obviously been enchanted for her too, as her wings were folded neatly behind her. With that thought in mind, Luz felt like vomiting as she shakily pulled the neck of the shirt away from her enough to look down it, but then she sighed with relief as she saw her underwear was her own. At least whoever changed her hadn't gone that far.

"I need to get out of here!" she said, looking around the room for her own clothes and satchel. She couldn't see them, and looking in the wardrobes only yielded countless similar outfits to the one Luz was currently wearing, most of which seemed extremely feminine and very old fashioned, while others looked almost biblical! Like the kind of attire she'd see angels dressed in on the walls and ceilings of churches.

Thoroughly creeped out and wanting to get the heck out of their before Eda came looking for her, Luz tried to summon her satchel to her only to suddenly gasp as the spell failed and she felt a pain in her right wrist. She looked down at her wrist and frowned as she saw a faint golden glow through the material of her sleeve. She rolled the sleeve up and immediately collapsed to her knees as she saw what now marked her wrist…

The Sigil of the Emperor's Coven.

The Emperor had wasted no time and taken no chances; he'd had Luz branded with it while she slept!

"No! No no no no no!" Luz cried, beginning to hyperventilated. She tried again to summon her satchel, only to again feel a sharp pain from the sigil, which released strange thin lines into her arm for a moment, just like when she'd seen that boy branded back at the Covention. She tried again and again; aiming to create a light beam, a flower, some ice, or even just a spell circle, but every attempt yielded the same failed result. She couldn't even hide her wings with magic!

"This can't be happening!" she said in a panic, "This has to be a nightmare!"

She pinched herself hard, and even slapped herself across the face, but despite the stinging pain, she refused to wake from reality. As soon as she fully realised that she wasn't dreaming, she felt bile crawling up her throat and rushed to a trash can in the corner of the room and promptly emptied her stomach into it. Then she lay on the floor beside it, limp and crying as she stared with terror at the mark on her wrist.

Coven Sigils couldn't be removed, Eda had told her that much, so did that mean she was stuck with this mark forever? Was she now unable to use magic completely, or had the Emperor done something so she could only use it when he wanted her to? What was going to happen to her now? Would it even matter if she escaped now that she was marked? Was it even possible for her to escape with this mark on her arm?

"No… I can't give up!" Luz decided, pulling herself together. "I'm the apprentice of Eda Clawthorne! I can't cry like a baby and wait for someone to rescue me! I've got to get out of here myself!"

She forced herself to her feet and wiped her eyes. She then flapped her wings and found, to her surprise and glee, that they still worked, allowing her to fly around the room. Now knowing she could still fly, Luz went to the windows and tried to open them, only to find all of them firmly locked. She then grabbed a chair from the dressing table and tossed it at one of the windows to break it, only for it to strike a golden barrier and bounce off harmlessly.

"I guess it was too much to hope they'd leave the winged girl in a room she could just fly out of…" Luz muttered, before looking for other avenues of escape. There were two doors out of the room; one to the side of the bed and one directly across from it. She tried the one across from it but found it locked, and an attempt to break it down with a chair only resulted in another golden barrier appearing. The second door wasn't locked, but it only led to a fairly large and luxurious bathroom.

"Did the Emperor set this up, or was it Tia Lily? Did they think a fancy room would make me want to stay after they kidnapped me and branded me like cattle!?" Luz hissed to herself.

There were no windows in the bathroom, and no signs of any vents in either room, leaving Luz with absolutely no way out. It looked like she'd have to wait for someone to come and get her… maybe she could get the jump on them and escape? If it was a scout, she could steal their clothes to escape! It only felt fair considering they'd taken her clothes!

Luz wouldn't get the chance however, as while she used the bathroom sink to wash the taste of bile from her mouth, she heard the sound of a key in a lock as someone opened the door to the bedroom. Luz froze and immediately began looking around for a place to hide and try to get the jump on them, but the bathroom didn't have any good spots and the door opened outward, so she couldn't even hide behind it. Carefully, she peeked out and saw Lilith stood there, waiting for her.

"Hello, Luz. Emperor Belos told me you'd awoken." she said pleasantly, acting as if she hadn't basically kidnapped her.

Luz glowered; "Oh? And how did he know? Was it maybe, oh I don't know… this freaking sigil you branded me with in my sleep!?" she snarled, showing Lilith the mark.

The woman looked down in shame; "I-I'm sorry about that, Luz. I didn't think the Emperor would go that far, and I tried to dissuade him, but he said it was too important to put off. With that sigil, he can keep an eye on you and find you if you run away or Eda kidnaps you."

"It also seals my magic!" the girl yelled.

"It doesn't seal it." Lilith insisted, "It just limits it. Normal sigils restrict people to only the magic of the sigil's coven, while the Emperor's Coven sigils allow the Emperor to customise which magic each member can use. For some of us, it's all of it. But for you, it's currently none. Don't fret though, he will remove the limits once you've been shown back to your proper path. Honestly, it isn't that bad…"

"Not that bad!?" Luz cried, "Tia Lily, I've been permanently branded! I'll be stuck with this for the rest of my life, against my will, because of you and your Emperor! You've basically enslaved me!"

Lilith flinched as guilt filled her. She really had protested the brand, but she couldn't deny the Emperor's will, and he'd placed the brand himself. Even if she'd tried to force the issue, there was no way Lilith could triumph there.

"I'm sorry, Luz. I know this is going to be a big adjustment, but just give it time. You'll find happiness here, in service to the Titan; I swear it! It's your destiny as an angel after all." Lilith said, forcing a smile on her face.

Luz didn't bother to answer verbally, and just glared angrily at her aunt. Lilith wilted under her gaze and had to look away; "A-Anyway, the Emperor has sent me to bring you to him. He's in the throne room, but perhaps I can give you a bit of a tour on our way? You were supposed to be here on a field trip today."

She added that last part in an attempt at lightening the mood, but it clearly wasn't working; Luz still looked very upset, and based on the slight redness to her eyes and the faint trails on her cheeks, Lilith knew that she'd been crying over what happened. The smell coming from the trash can in the corner was also proof of how upset Luz had been.

"Follow me please." she eventually said, turning on her heel and walking out the door. Luz considered just making a break for it, but she wouldn't be able to escape Lilith without her magic, so she reluctantly pulled on a pair of white boots that had been left by the door for her, and followed her honorary auntie out of the bedroom and into the halls of the castle.

The whole place was fairly uniform; the walls and floors were dull white with gold borders, and there were bluish green carpets, golden torches, and numerous tapestries of the Emperor's Coven sigil everywhere. There were even some statues of Belos, similar to the one in the Bonesborough town square. But Luz paid little attention to any of it, instead trying to find a potential escape route while ignoring the gawking of the scouts that crossed their path. Luz had gotten so used to wearing her concealment stone and hiding her wings that walking around with her white hair and angelic wings visible made her feel vulnerable. Lilith was also ignoring the scouts, while giving Luz a tour of the castle with forced enthusiasm, trying to suppress the guilt she felt.

They eventually came to the Relic Room, allowing Luz to finally see them all in person. She largely ignored Lilith's spiel about them, and instead focused on the blue Healing Hat.

"Hey, Tia Lily? Did you ever think of trying to use the Healing Hat on Eda?" Luz suddenly asked.

Lilith paused in her tour guide routine and nodded; "I did once, yes. But the relics in this room have largely lost their magic. They can still do a bit, but they're nowhere near their former majesty. Some, like the Amber Phial, don't work at all any more."

Luz looked over to the Amber Phial floating over its pedestal. It really was just an amber coloured potion bottle with a gold stopper and a blue ribbon around the stem, and Luz couldn't sense any magic from it. Figuring Lilith wouldn't care since it was useless now, Luz picked the phial up and blinked as she realised just how heavy it was. The phial was made of good, thick crystal… getting hit with it would definitely hurt.

Subtly, Luz glanced at Lilith, who was now discussing the Green Thumb Gauntlet; one of the few relics to still have some magic in it. The witch had her staff in her hand, but also had her back to Luz. Seeing an opportunity, Luz steeled herself and walked up behind Lilith, whispering "I'm sorry." right before smashing the Amber Phial over her head.

The phial shattered into a thousand pieces, and Lilith flopped gracelessly to the ground with a groan, completely knocked out. Luz made sure the woman wasn't lying on any broken shards of the phial, then snatched up her staff.

Corvanc returned to his Palisman form and squawked with displeasure, but before he could fly away or alert someone, Luz grabbed him. She held him with one hand and forced him to keep his beak shut with the other, making sure to hold him tightly enough that he wouldn't escape but not so tightly that she was hurting him.

"I'm sorry Corvanc, I didn't want to do this." Luz whispered urgently; "But I need to get out of here! The Emperor is going to do something awful, I can feel it in my bones, and Lilith would never let me go! She's too loyal to him…"

Corvanc stopped struggling, his eyes becoming downcast as he knew Luz was right. His partner truly was a good person, but she'd so often had her heart shoved down and suppressed by the things the Emperor had her do. Guilt gnawed at her constantly, and Corvanc could do nothing but offer his understanding… he didn't want the same thing to happen to his partner's niece, blood related or not.

Slowly, Luz released his break and he gave a quiet caw and nod, agreeing to help, before transforming back into his staff form. Luz smiled and hugged Corvanc's staff.

"Thank you. I just need you to get me to the Owl House safely." Luz said happily.

With staff in hand, Luz decided to take a few souvenirs from the relic room; grabbing the Titan Clay, the Green Thumb Gauntlet, and the Silver Tear Mirror and wrapping them all up in Lilith's cloak like a bandit's sack of plunder. She'd have liked to take everything, but too much would just slow her down. Once she was done, she snuck out of the relic room and used Corvanc to cast an illusion over herself to make her look like a normal scout, then began wandering the halls in an attempt to find the exit.

Sadly, her big escape attempt would end in failure. After only a few minutes of searching the halls, Luz suddenly screamed as her wrist was wracked with pain, causing her illusion to drop. She fell to her knees and numerous scouts came running and surrounding her, spears pointed at her.

"We've found the angel. Looks like she stole the Head Witch's staff." one of the scouts said as Luz whined under the pain in her wrist. She looked down and saw the thin lines from her sigil were spreading up her arm, making her body slowly go numb and immovable.

"The Owl Lady really did a good job corrupting her, if she could make an angel do something like that. Still, never knew our sigils could do that." another scout commented.

"The normal ones can't." said a short red demon with hands for hair. Luz was struggling to keep her eyes open through the pain as she looked at her, just barely recognising her as Kikimora, the Emperor's Assistant. Her Tia Lily had described her once while visiting the Owl House, and complained about her mercilessly.

"The Owl Lady's corruption was deemed too corrosive to be dealt with by a normal sigil, so the Emperor altered hers. He has been watching her from the moment she awoke." Kikimora informed the scouts, while Luz grimaced. So her attempt to escape had been doomed from the start!

"Wow… I feel bad for her." a third scout commented.

"Don't fret; the Owl Lady will be captured tonight and made to pay for her crimes. By tomorrow night, she will be a statue or a corpse and the angel will be free of her influence. The Emperor will do the rest." Kikimora said.

"N-No!" Luz protested, trying to crawl towards Kikimora, only to slump over as her body refused to cooperate. The golden lines began to spread over her face; "Please… leave Eda alone…"

Kikimora looked down at her imperiously; "Fear not, child. The Emperor will show you the Titan's will. You needn't worry about anything else."

With that, the last of Luz's strength was sapped away by the sigil and her eyes rolled back in her head, making her lose consciousness once again, her last thoughts before the darkness being of Eda.

[Meanwhile]

Eda sat in her basement potions lab, keeping an eye on three bubbling cauldrons of elixir as she knitted away with the Witch's Wool she'd been preparing earlier. Sitting with her was Willow, recently returned from the field trip to the Emperor's Castle, and waiting for Luz and the others to get back. The fact that she was sitting with one of her kid's friends while knitting a gift for said kid was making Eda feel strangely fuzzy inside.

"Wow, when did I get domesticated?" Eda commented with a smirk as she took a look at the newly completed Witch's Wool cape.

"That looks great, Eda." Willow smiled, "Luz will love it. King will love his too, I bet." she added, nodding to the small box that held King's hand-crafted gift too.

"I certainly hope so. But yeah, Luz is totally gonna love having a cape! She and King have really been doing a lot to help a curmudgeonly old lady like me…" Eda thought aloud. Not only were her kids always understanding of her curse and her quirks, but they never judged her for it. Even when she stole things, Luz would just smile and return them without judgement, and even after she'd swallowed him as the Owl Beast, King was always willing to throw himself into the fray to keep her tied down so Luz could fix her up.

Both her kids were so good to her, something reinforced by the three cauldrons bubbling away nearby. One was a standard batch of Super Elixir made with Luz's tears, but one of the others was made with a few barbs and a bit of the quill of the feather Luz had given her, and the other had a single drop of Luz's golden blood in it, while all three were brewed with ingredients grown by King.

"I don't know if I'd call you a curmudgeon. Before I met Luz and got to actually meet you, I was always kind of scared of "The Owl Lady", but now that I actually know you, you feel more like… a roguish eccentric? Even with all the chaos you cause, people in Bonesborough still like you." Willow smiled, "Even Morton at the potions shop asks if you're doing well whenever I visit him."

Eda grinned; Morton was a good friend, who she still visited from time to time to buy the ingredients that didn't come from plants. She'd heard that Willow was making some pocket change by selling him some of her plants for ingredients.

"I guess it's nice to know that I'm not seen as just some nuisance… Wow, I never thought I'd care about that! I blame Luz's influence; her goody-two-shoes act really rubs off on ya after a while!" Eda grinned, folding the cape up and wrapping it in a ribbon, while carefully tucking a short letter into it. She had letters for both King and Luz; things she wanted to say that she didn't think she'd have the nerve to. As it was, she planned to high tail it out of the room once she gave the letters to her kids.

Putting the two presents aside, Eda got up and examined the cauldrons. The Super Elixirs were done, so she ladled it into bottles and stored some in her hair before calling for Hooty and having him hide the rest around the Owl House. While he was doing that, she took a tiny spoon and dipped it into the potion with Luz's blood in it. The golden liquid had turned the elixir into a thick, syrupy substance that looked like molten gold, and when Eda brought it to her lips, she found it tasted unsettlingly like caramel. It had a similar consistency too, so swallowing it was a bit tough, but the instant it went down her throat, Eda felt her magic levels skyrocket.

"Whoa!" she gasped, her magic leaking out into a golden aura around her; "Okay, I am glad I tested this stuff in such a small dose first!"

"I can feel your magic from here!" Willow exclaimed, having backed away with a Super Elixir in her hand just in case Eda had a bad reaction.

"It's amazing! But I can already feel the effect fading." Eda frowned, her aura dying down. "But the curse feels… calmer? It doesn't feel like it's pushing against my mind to get out any more."

Willow looked at the Bile Monitor on Eda's chest and saw that the black specks had fully disappeared, and the gem had gotten back some of its amber lustre. "Well the important thing is that it works." she said.

"You got that right, Flowers!" Eda smirked as she began to pour the thick syrup into bottles. She compared the finished product to the regular and Super Elixirs; the regular ones were a glowing orange, the super ones were a glowing golden yellow, and the new ones (which Eda had decided to call Ambrosia, to match Luz's angel theme) looked like melted gold.

With that done, she took a look at the last cauldron, which contained parts of Luz's feather. This one had turned pearlescent, like the elixir that Luz had overfilled with tears back on that rainy day months ago. That alone was enough to make Eda wary, so she cast a barrier spell over Willow to keep her safe before taking her little spoon and having a sip of the potion. Eda's eyes began to glow a soft gold as she felt her heart beat faster and her Bile Sac begin working over time. It wasn't quite a Bile Overload, but it was on the verge of one, so Eda quickly grabbed another potion from her stores and chugged it down. This was a simple soothing potion that lowered her heart rate and reduced the production of her Bile Sac, allowing her to slowly relax. Her eyes stopped glowing and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew! Okay, so tears are curatives, feathers speed up magic production, and blood is just a straight up magic booster, albeit a brief one. Rasiel was right on the money with his description." Eda commented, taking a seat again as she dropped the barrier around Willow.

"Let's hope he's right about the Panacea Mirror too." Willow commented, looking over to a heavily shielded part of the potions lab, where the silver mirror rested beneath every protective spell, enchantment, and barrier that Eda and Luz could muster, to ensure it wasn't damaged or rendered impure before it could be completed.

Eda nodded, eagerly anticipating the kids' return. She'd had her curse for her most of her life and had given up on a cure before Luz had come along, so she'd thought it would always be a part of her life. But now that a real cure was so close, she found herself excited and almost melancholic. The Owl Beast was a terror that had ruined most of her relationships and dreams, but she still felt oddly sad at the idea of never seeing it again. Perhaps this was some kind of cursed Stockholm Syndrome?

Eda bottled up the last of the Feather Elixir (which she decided to call a Bile Booster, lacking a more creative name) and set about cleaning the now empty cauldrons with Willow's help. The two were just getting into a conversation about the various plants Eda had seen on her travels around the isles, when a loud voice echoed through the house above.

"EDA!"

The Owl Lady blinked; "That was Amity, right?" she asked Willow.

The bespectacled girl nodded worriedly; "She sounds panicked. I wonder if something happened."

The two gulped and ran up the stairs to the main part of the house, where they found King, Amity, Gus, and a very ragged looking but very much physical Rasiel. That sight made Eda smile, but the looks on their faces and the absence of Luz wiped the smile off her face.

"What happened? Where is Luz!?" she yelled.

King ran and jumped into her arms, burying his little face into Eda's chest. "S-She's gone… Lilith found us as we were leaving Volcarpalis."

Eda growled; "Lilith!? So, my suck up of a sister decided to kidnap Luz to get to me!? How far the mighty have fallen! You stay here kids, I'll go deal with this." she said and she began to march towards the front door, summoning Owlbert to her side.

"Wait!" Amity grabbed her arm to pull her back. Eda's hand popped off, making the lavender-haired girl shudder.

"What is it Boots? We don't have time to waste!" Eda snapped, grabbing her hand back.

"Lilith didn't capture Luz to draw you out. She did it because… Emperor Belos knows the truth." Amity said miserably.

Eda's already pale skin took on a sickly pallor, and she had to use Owlbert like a cane to keep herself upright as her legs went weak; "No… no that can't be!"

"It's true." Rasiel said, his voice still croaky, "Lilith and the entire Emperor's Coven now knows that Luz is an angel. They took her to get her away from your "wild influence". Luz went with her willingly so the children wouldn't be branded as criminals."

Eda put a hand to her face; "Of course she did… that selfless little fool…" she shook her head and stood resolutely; "It'll be alright. I'm going to go get her back."

"Wait, we should cure you first!" King said, showing the torn off sleeve with Luz's blood on it; "It's a long story but we've got both Luz's blood and Rasiel's! We can complete the Panacea Mirror and remove the curse! Then you can fight as much as you want!"

Eda and the others looked excited, but Rasiel shook his head; "We can do that, but the blood needs to be blended into the mirror's surface with angelic magic, and without my wings, I can't do it. The magic already in the mirror should blend it naturally overtime, but it'd take about a day."

"So either Eda goes without being cured, or we have to leave Luz in the Emperor's clutches for a whole day!?" Willow exclaimed.

Rasiel bowed his head; "I am sorry… if only I had my wings, I would be powerful enough to save her myself."

The Owl Lady didn't even think about it; "I won't leave Luz in that monster's hands! I'll go now. I've got enough Super Elixirs to keep me going."

"We'll come too!" King declared, Amity, Willow, and Gus nodding along, only for Eda to shake her head vehemently.

She put him down on the couch and said; "Absolutely not. Luz sacrificed herself so you kids wouldn't become criminals. If you go with me, that sacrifice will be pointless and Luz will never forgive herself. I'm going alone. Besides, I won't have to worry about holding back if there's no one else to get caught up in my attacks."

Eda then looked to Rasiel; "In the meantime, I have some potions in my lab downstairs for things like muscle atrophy and nutrition. Take some and get your body in better condition, then I'll hear all about your adventures when I return with Luz." she said, putting on a confident face.

King and the others couldn't argue, knowing full well that Luz would blame herself just like Eda said if they ended up becoming criminals. Amity and King were still gearing up to sneak out and follow Eda, unwilling to stand by and do nothing while a girl they both loved was held prisoner, but Willow subtly held onto both of them, her strong arms around their shoulders making it clear she wouldn't let them go, even if her expression was obviously one of reluctance.

Eda marched out of the Owl House and gave King and the others one last wave before flying off on Owlbert, having a sinking feeling that things were about to get very bad.

[Meanwhile]

For the third time in one day, Luz found herself slowly waking up. But unlike last time, she had no delusions that everything had been a horrible dream and she was waking up in her bed back at the Owl House… as she was currently chained up above the ground. She opened her eyes and found herself back in the bedroom she'd initially woken up in earlier, only this time with all the furniture stripped out of it and replaced by a large white and gold ring that had been erected in the middle of the room. Luz was hanging from this ring, her limbs spread out so her body was in an x-shape formation. Her boots and tunic had been removed, leaving her in just the black shirt and black trousers, and thick golden cuffs had been affixed to her wrists and ankles, with heavy chains binding them to the ring-shaped frame. Her wings weren't physically restrained, but had been immobilised in a spread position behind her by some kind of red energy that was coming from a crystal embedded into the ring-shaped frame above Luz's head.

Luz's heart began to hammer as panic built in her; her escape plan had failed miserably, and now she was even more restrained than before! She could move her head and swing her body forward and back a little since there was slack to the chains on her legs, but that was it!

"How am I supposed to escape now?" she muttered bitterly.

"You aren't. I rather think that is the point of so many restraints."

Luz gasped and looked around frantically for the source of the voice. It had been the voice of a man, with a calm and even soft-spoken disposition. It was even somewhat regal, which made Luz's heart sink as she realised who it must belong to.

A figure rose out of the floor, covered in a red aura, and stood tall in front of the restrained angel, who gulped fearfully as she came face to face, or rather, face to mask with Emperor Belos.

He was a tall man draped in a white cloak with gold at the bottom and a dark brown mantle on the top, which became part of a hood that covered the back of his head completely. The mantle was also decorated with gold, including a medallion with the Emperor's Coven sigil on it, and his face was covered by a bizarre golden mask that somewhat resembled a bird with its beak pointed downwards, and two antler-like protrusions sticking out from the top. He towered over her and gave off an aura of power that made Luz shudder, but she could also sense something deeply wrong with him. His magic felt like countless different people's all twisted up into one, with something profoundly rotten at its core.

"Hello, Luz Noceda the Angel. It is a pleasure to meet you, though I wished it was under more pleasant circumstances." he said politely, giving a little nod of his head.

Luz gulped as piercing blue eyes shone out from his Belos' mask; "I apologise for the chains and uncomfortable accommodations. I had arranged a rather nice room for you, but it appears I got ahead of myself. I should have known affording you such freedom while you were still corrupted by the Owl Lady's foul influence would only end badly. Now my Head Witch is nursing a rather nasty bump on the back of her head, and a relic older than you are has been shattered."

"Um, sorry?" Luz squeaked, deciding it was probably best to be meek when completely defenceless.

Belos actually chuckled; "Think nothing of it, child. The Amber Phial lost its magic years ago, and it's Lilith's own fault really. She's been quite the disappointment lately; failing in almost every task I gave her. To think she even ended up knocked out by a young girl without access to her magic. Honestly, these Clawthornes… the whole clan are a thorn in my side."

Luz frowned angrily as a wave of defensiveness rose up; "She can't be that bad, since she caught me for you."

"Yes, and yet you still seem loyal to her. The love and kindness of an angel is truly second to none. She betrayed you and yet you defend her… I am truly glad to finally have another angel by my side." Belos said, lifting his arms from below his cloak to reveal the golden gauntlets he wore.

The young angel's eyes widened even further; "Y-You mean y-you are…!?"

Belos laughed, "Allow me to formally introduce myself…" His body glowed and a large pair of wings appeared from his back. "I am Belos, Grand Seraphim on a crusade to bring order to this realm."

The young High Angel gasped in both surprise and horror as the theory she and Amity had come up with together turned out to be true. Not only was Belos an angel, but he was a Seraphim! Though the real horror she felt was from the sorry state of Belos' wings. Despite being a Seraphim (or a Grand Seraphim, as he called himself), Belos only had one pair of large wings, which appeared to be functional, but very rough looking, lacking the neat and carefully groomed look that Luz's wings had, and that she'd seen from her mother and Rasiel's spirit form. They were ragged, with broken feathers or patches were the feathers were missing to expose greyish green flesh. Belos saw her horrified look and turned slightly, allowing her to fully see his wing joints.

Luz almost vomited then and there.

Depending on their rank, angels could have two, four, six, eight, or ten wings, each one being able to move and flap independently, but with all wings on the same side of the body sharing a single joint. Belos' wing joints showed that he was indeed a higher level of Seraphim, as he had the ends of ten wings coming from his wing joints, but only two wings were still intact. The other eight wings looked to have rotted off, and all that remained was rotten green flesh and blackened sinew, connecting to wing joints that looked grey and diseased. Luz had never even conceived of such a thing; it was like Belos had gotten gangrene in his wings!

"Not pleasant to look at, is it?" Belos said, noting Luz's wretched expression.

"W-What happened to you!?" she cried, her sympathy for the sorry state of Belos' wings overpowering her dislike for him.

"This is the cost of spending too much time in the Demon Realm." Belos sighed, "They were once pure white and healthy, like your own." he said, looking at Luz's wings longingly, "But they began to decay after a few years in this place… The corruption and sin is so thick in this realm that it rots us from the inside out. I will spare you the sight of it, but the rest of my body is similarly marked by the corruption of wild, demonic magic. It is why I wear this mask."

Luz's mind raced; being in the Demon Realm could rot an angel's body!? She hadn't noticed any negative effects in her own body, but perhaps that was the result of the Titan's magic. Perhaps he was protecting her? Or perhaps something or someone had cursed Belos?

Belos hid his wings again, sparing Luz the sight of them. "How long have you been in the Demon Realm, Master Belos?" Luz asked, slipping into the more polite tone she'd originally used when meeting Rasiel. Belos seemed to like that, based on his body language.

"For centuries. I was not born in the Divine Realm, and have not been blessed enough to see it. Instead I have lived the majority of my life here in the Demon Realm, trying to bring order and righteousness to this land of sin. But as you are no doubt aware of by now, Wild Witches despise and hate our kind. They revel in evil and corruption, and act like spoiled children, lashing out violently against those who wish to stop their fun." Belos' voice became tinged with grief and hatred; "They brought about the corruption and demise of my only family, and so I resolved to bring order. I have been working on that for so long, and now I can finally achieve that ultimate goal; all thanks to you."

Luz gulped; "Me!?"

"Yes Luz. You are the final piece I need." Belos said, gently putting his hands on her shoulders, "I need another angel, one pure and untainted, to complete the Day of Unity. A day in which true order can be brought to the Demon Realm! Evil and sin will be burned away in divine light!"

The young angel found herself being almost taken in by Belos' proclamation; he spoke so confidently and had an odd kind of gentle charisma in the way he talked. She could see how he managed to become the Emperor of the Boiling Isles and hide his true nature from the isles' people; even she was almost being convinced! But the strange magic she felt from him was putting her off, stopping her from being completely suckered in. It didn't help that she since Belos had first revealed his wings, Luz had been able to sense something else… something in the shadows. When she tried to focus on this feeling, she heard a childish laughter that sent shivers down her spine.

Shaking this feeling off, Luz looked Belos in the eye; "Master Belos, I understand that it's the duty of an angel to promote goodness and order… I even understand wanting to get justice for your family and fighting against evil. But don't you think you're going too far? It feels like you're trying to force the Demon Realm into being just a cheap copy of the Divine Realm! Covens instead of Crest Orders, binding people's magic instead of restricting them to different roles… Like Eda for example; I know she can be wild and cause trouble, but she isn't a bad person! And then there's the Palismen…"

Belos took his hands off of Luz and for an instant, she flinched as his eyes became cold. The moment passed quickly and he sighed sadly; "The Palismen are an unfortunately sacrifice. Their essence is the only thing that staves off the rot that afflicts me. And as for my order; this is what the Titan wants! I've heard his voice; he was the one to direct me on my path. As for the Owl Lady…" his voice filled with disgust as he said the name, "… I merely want to cure her curse and invite her to her rightful place in the coven. I want to offer her redemption."

Ice filled Luz's veins as the glyphs on her body pulsed faintly with the Titan's magic. Something about what Belos said twigged at the back of Luz's mind; Raine had told Eda that Belos wanted something from her to complete his plan, which Eda suspected was either her curse or her portal. But Belos himself claimed he only wanted to help her… So was Raine misinformed? Or was Belos lying? Not only that, but he'd referred to her as just "Luz Noceda the Angel", not the High Angel, despite her four wings being visible… and he referred to himself as a Grand Seraphim, but Rasiel, another ten-winged angel, had only ever called himself a Seraphim. It was possible the name was something that had originated in the 100,000 years between his sealing and the current moment, but combined with her other suspicions, Luz was extremely wary.

Going on a hunch, Luz smiled shakily; "I-I see. With a goal like that, are you a part of Crest Redemption?"

Belos paused for a moment before replying, "I have not been a part of a Crest since my family was taken from me, but that was the one I once belonged to."

Luz forced herself to keep her face neutral as fear gripped her heart. There was no Crest Redemption, which meant Belos was lying. She watched the man closely, but couldn't tell for certain if he was in pain from his lie thanks to his masked face. But even so, now Luz knew he was willing to lie to her, and so she had no idea how much of what he'd said was true and how much was false.

"And what Crest were you a part of, Luz?" he asked, his tone once again gentle and polite. Clearly he was trying to win her over.

"Crest Kindness. The doctors and healers of the Divine Realm." Luz replied, before deciding to take a gamble; "I-I might be able to heal your affliction. I've received a blessing from the Titan too, and part of it was powerful healing magic. If you remove the sigil you branded me with, I can try to use it to help you."

Belos chuckled; "Tempting, little one. But I suspect you'd heal me and then immediately flee. No, I will endure my curse until I am sure you have been purified."

Luz shuddered; "P-purified!?"

"Indeed. You are an angel, and have done well to spread a bit of order to this corrupt realm; driving off a Mandragora on two occasions, defeating the Greater Basilisk, destroying Grometheus… you truly have my gratitude. But I cannot overlook your sins either." his voice took on a scolding tone, like a disappointed uncle; "Breaking criminals out of the Conformatorium, assisting the Owl Lady in her various acts of mischief and depravity, not to mention your break out from the Bonesborough Precinct and most recently, skipping school."

Despite herself, Luz blushed in embarrassment. "I-I had good reason for all of that!"

"No you didn't, but I understand and forgive you. The Titan and your innate angelic virtue has kept you largely pure, but the Owl Lady's influence has pulled you down a bad path, so much so that you don't even realise it. But the purification will fix you. Once Edalyn Clawthorne is dealt with and her influence removed, you will be able to take your proper place at my side, as a saviour of the Demon Realm!" Belos declared grandly. "I have even prepared a place for you in my coven. I already have two very loyal young comrades; my Golden Guard and Silver Sentinel, and you would complete the set as the Platinum Paladin. All you need to do to take your rightful place is accept the purification."

Belos waved his hand and a long staff appeared in it, topped by a red orb and a single wing made from white and gold metal. There was a distinctly mechanical design to it, and it sparked with red electricity as it produced an illusion over Luz's body, replacing the outfit forced on her with a new one that included a platinum breastplate and faulds, white trousers, gold armoured boots and gauntlets, a golden cloak and hood, and finished off with a pair of platinum pauldrons over the top of the cloak's shoulders, and a platinum mask that covered Luz's entire face and resembled a bird's face; specifically an owl. Luz had to admit that it was a pretty cool look, and really fit the angel aesthetic, especially with her four wings still spread out behind her.

But no matter how cool the outfit was, Luz shook her body as much as the restraints would let her in order to dispel the illusion.

"No! I don't want to have Eda out of my life! She's like family to me!" Luz protested.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes behind his mask and pointed the tip of his staff at Luz's nose; "Edalyn Clawthorne is a wanted criminal with the largest criminal bounty on the Boiling Isles. Her sins are numerous and severe, and corrupting an angel is the most severe among them! You WILL sever your ties with her, or I will make you." he ordered coldly, all trace of his earlier kindness gone. The nice guy act hadn't worked for him, so he was no longer playing around.

"I won't! I don't care what you do to me, I won't give up on Eda!" Luz yelled, digging in her heels. That was a line she wouldn't cross, especially not for this shady liar of a Seraphim!

Belos once again shifted gears; "Please Luz, I don't want to see another angel ruined by this place. Edalyn Clawthorne will lead you and the entire Demon Realm to its demise! Her removal is the Titan's will!"

"LIAR!" Luz screamed, "I may not have spoken to the Titan with words, but I've received his blessings three times over! His glyphs are engraved on my skin! The very first blessing he gave me was to fight back against your guards at the Conformatorium to SAVE Eda! I don't know what you really want with her, but it is your will, not the Titan's!"

Belos actually stepped back, his staff dropping to his side as his eyes widened in shock; "W-What are you talking about, Luz? An angel cannot lie, and I have heard the Titan's words! You must have misinterpreted the reason for his blessing."

Luz scoffed; "An angel CAN lie, it just burns out throats like crazy! And I know you've been lying! There is NO Crest Redemption, a four winged angel like me is called a High Angel and a real angel would never call another one by a lower rank than they are, and while I've heard of ten-winged Seraphim, no one has ever called them Grand Seraphim! Plus you changed your story from wanting to redeem Eda to wanting to remove her! Either you've lied to me several times, or you don't know the truth and I'll bet ever snail I have that it's the former! I don't know why your throat doesn't burn, but because of that, I can't tell when you're lying and when you're not! Combine all that with chaining me up and branding me like a slave, and how can I ever trust you!? If anyone has been corrupted; it's you! You've become a tyrant!"

Belos stared at her in shock, before he suddenly sighed irritably. All signs of his positive persona faded away and his body language became far more hostile.

"The corruption of this foul realm truly does run deep, if it can turn even a pure angel into an agent of chaos. Well, you know the saying… Spare the rod…" he raised his staff and pointed it at Luz, his eyes gleaming angrily as Luz recoiled, "...and spoil the child!"

Red lightning arched from the end of his staff and struck Luz's body, making her scream in agony as pain wracked through her. The lightning made all of her muscles cramp painfully, and she thrashed in her chains to try and get away from it. Belos kept this up for three seconds, then stopped the lightning, causing Luz to hang limply, panting as tears streamed down her face.

"I don't want to do this, Luz. But if pain is the only way to save you from yourself, then I will harden my heart." Belos said with faux sympathy.

"You… don't… have… a heart!" Luz spat, her muscles still painfully sore. Her defiance was rewarded with another three seconds under Belos' magic, making her scream herself hoarse.

"You are a stubborn one. No doubt the corruption of the Owl Lady runs deep. But I will cut it out of you no matter how deeply it goes. But I shall grant you a respite for now; I have other things I wish to discuss." Belos said, lowering his staff again. Luz remained silent; making snarky comments would just get her another round of stinging lightning and she suspected she'd be getting enough of that without inviting more.

Belos snapped his fingers and summoned Luz's satchel, which had been stuffed with her original clothes. He pulled these out and discarded them on the floor, before rifling through her things. Taking a chance, Luz asked; "W-Why was I changed into these clothes?"

"I felt you needed some proper clothing. I don't know where you got those odd garments, but they are certainly not fitting for an angel. Besides, they were damaged." Belos replied, idly examining a few potions Luz had in her satchel for emergencies… not that they'd helped her here.

"And who exactly changed me?" she asked timidly, fearing the answer.

Belos chuckled; "Fear not child, that was done by Lilith. Your modesty was left intact; I have no interest in what is beneath your clothing, and any in this castle who would have such an interest would find themselves petrified."

That was a relief at least; Belos may be a twisted and corrupted example of the worst stereotypes of angels, but at least he had some standards. Luz watched him look through her belongings without concern, as she didn't carry much besides some text books, emergency elixirs (her supply of which had been depleted that morning), some extra utility potions, and a few other odds and ends. Since Luz didn't tend to carry her Azura books with her, or her personal diary, the only thing she had in the satchel that couldn't be replaced was…

"Ah, now this is familiar." Belos said, pulling out the diary of Philip Wittebane. "Looks like we can add "stealing from the library" to the sins you've committed."

Luz gasped softly; clearly Belos recognised the book. "I was going to return it once I was finished reading it!" she argued.

"Of that, I have no doubt. I confess to being familiar with this book myself; I may be the only other person on the Isles to have read it. Tell me, how much of it have you read?" Belos asked.

"About half, maybe? I've read up to Philip's trip to Volcarpalis." Luz answered shortly.

Belos hummed; "Ah yes, the site of one of the two fabled Black Tombs. Would it be safe to say you opened it, along with the one at Caplacier?"

Luz's eyes nearly popped out of her head in surprise, making the Emperor laugh; "Oh come now, did you think I wouldn't find out? A rather imposing blue skeleton appears on the Knee, and you think I wouldn't investigate? My most loyal servants found your escape tunnels and got into the Caplacier Ritual Chamber only to find the Black Tomb gone." Luz gulped as Belos sighed; "It's a shame too; I visited the place once and failed to open the tomb myself. I lacked the Titan Blood necessary at the time. Would you like to tell me what you found inside the tombs?"

Luz bit her lip and shook her head, making Belos tilt his head; "No? A pity. I suppose I could always go and ask Amity Blight and Gus Porter; they did accompany you on today's misadventure."

"NO! Stay away from them!" Luz cried, only to be silenced when Belos pointed his staff at her threateningly, the end sparking slightly.

"Now now, let's not go making demands of our hosts, hmm?" he said threateningly; "You will answer my questions, or I will find others who will. You owe enough penance already, so make this easier on yourself, before I have to go and get your girlfriend." he added, saying the last word with disgust. "Perhaps she'll also be able to answer where you got your Titan Blood from?"

The young angel grit her teeth in anger, before sighing defeatedly; she couldn't let Belos go after Amity! And there was no telling what he'd do if he found out about King! He was willing to torture Luz for not siding with him, despite supposedly caring about her as a fellow angel; she doubted he'd be merciful to the son of the Titan.

"I found a spirit in the Caplacier Tomb." she said miserably; "The spirit of an angel who'd lost their body 100,000 years ago."

"Ah, so that explains this little bauble." Belos said, waving his staff to make a ring fly out from inside his robes; it was the same ring Luz had used to carry around Rasiel's spirit; "I thought it odd for an angel, a race incapable of using Oracle magic, to have a ring embedded with an oracle stone. Well now I have my answer. And what of Volcarpalis; what did you find there?"

"The Black Tomb was already gone when we arrived." Luz answered honestly. "We met a High Priest named Godric, who tested me in combat before letting us go. He's the reason my clothes were burned and damaged. I didn't take anything from the Fire Temple with me when I left."

After all, she hadn't technically taken Rasiel's body, he'd done that himself.

Belos seemed satisfied with that answer; "I see. And what became of the angel spirit? They aren't present in this ring any longer, I can tell that much."

"He left." Luz said simply, "He was disappointed when we didn't find a Black Tomb at Volcarpalis. I don't know where he is now." Again, she gave three truthful statements and let Belos come to his own conclusions.

The Emperor stroked the bottom of his mask as if stroking his chin; "How bothersome. Another angel might have helped me bring you back to the path of light without the need for such painful penance. But no matter; an angel without their physical body wouldn't have been of use for my plan." he dropped Rasiel's ring on the pile of Luz's clothes, clearly having lost interest in it. He then held up Philip's diary; "Now, I think it's best if the remaining secrets in this little book remained secret, so…"

He waved his staff again and the diary went up in green flames. Luz cried out in horror as Philip's diary was burned to ashes, taking with it one of her biggest leads into other Black Tombs! Who knew what secrets he'd written about that Luz would never discover now! And it must have been something useful too, as Belos had read the diary too and deemed it too dangerous to risk Luz getting her hands on again.

"How could you do that!? That diary was 400 years old! The only thing Philip Wittebane left behind!" Luz yelled.

In response, Belos gave her a very quick zap from his staff, less than a second long and just enough to make her scream and then silence herself. "I believe I warned you about making demands, child. I dislike having to discipline you in such a way, but it is my duty as your elder."

Luz looked up at him with hatred in her eyes, but kept her mouth shut. Belos narrowed his own eyes; "Wilful child… Moving on, there is still more I wish to learn from you." he pointed his staff at Luz's left hand; "I noticed the blue sigil on the back of your hand there, and Lilith reported seeing a similar gold one on your chest, and a green one on your abdomen while changing your clothes. Would I be right in assuming these are the Titan's glyphs you claimed to have engraved on your skin?"

The girl nodded, and Belos gave her a sharp look; "I require a verbal response, child."

Gritting her teeth and forcing herself to be polite, she replied; "Yes."

Belos peered closer at the glyph on her hand, then reached up and tapped it with a finger. He even took off his golden gauntlet (revealing a fairly normal looking, but aged hand) and traced the glyph with his finger tip. "Hmm, it doesn't activate like a glyph, nor does it feel cold to the touch despite being the ice glyph… interesting."

Luz frowned; "So you already know about the glyphs?"

Belos snorted; "I told you I have spoken with the Titan. He did not place the marks on my skin as he did with you, but he still blessed me with their knowledge. I experimented with Glyph tattoos but they failed to work how I'd hoped, yet these feel more like birth marks and grant you the innate power of the glyph without the need to draw them… fascinating."

He took a step back, then suddenly pointed his staff at Luz again. She squeaked in fear and recoiled as far as the chains would let her, but Belos didn't torture her. Instead he said something that briefly terrified her even more!

"I previously said there was nothing beneath your clothes that I cared to see, but it seems that was incorrect."

Those words sent terror through her heart, as he cast a red spell at her abdomen that cut away the entire midriff section of her black shirt, with the cut piece then disintegrating into red particles. This revealed the plant glyph on her abdomen, which Belos stooped to examine (from a respectful distance).

"Hmm, I wonder if the placement of the glyphs is significant… the ice glyph on the back of the left hand, and the plant glyph on the stomach… Where exactly is the light glyph again?" he asked.

"M-My sternum." Luz said in a frightened whisper. Belos wasn't touching her or getting within a metre of her bare flesh, but she still felt horribly vulnerable, and was terrified he'd rip off the rest of her shirt to take a look at the light glyph. It may not be in an explicit part of her chest and thus wasn't hidden beneath her bra, but she still feared this insane Seraphim pawing at her body.

Thankfully, Belos didn't seem to have any intention of going that far. "Exposing that area after already exposing the abdomen would be pushing the bounds of decency. I doubt I will glean any more insights from them anyway." he said, seemingly speaking more to himself than to her.

Luz eyed him cautiously, and tried to take her mind off her feelings of vulnerability by trying to work out just what Belos really was. He could lie and clearly didn't know about the Crest Orders, which made it seem like he wasn't an angel, but he also had the wings of an angel and possessed incredibly powerful magic. Was he perhaps one of the angels who'd resided in the Demon Realm, like Zachael and his family? That would explain his lack of awareness of the crests. And the rot that was afflicting him could potentially be why he could lie; he was clearly corrupted and losing his angelic powers (even though he was still incredibly powerful). It was a puzzle she couldn't quite figure out, and she was fairly certain that asking would just get her zapped again.

Belos then snapped his fingers and Luz's casual clothes returned to her satchel, before it disappeared. "Tell me exactly how you learned each glyph, and when they appeared on your skin. Leave nothing out." he ordered.

Reluctantly, Luz obeyed and told basically the same story she had to Godric, only omitting the parts about King this time. The Emperor stroked his chin as he listened, occasionally narrowing his eyes when she said something he disliked, like when she fought Eda as the Owl Beast. When she was done, Belos shook his head; "Thank you Luz. My questions are done, and thus, so is your respite. The issue of your corruption remains, as does the cause of it. I ask you again; forsake the Owl Lady and accept your rightful place at my side. Bring order to this corrupt realm…" he lifted his staff and pointed it menacingly at her face, "… or do penance until you understand the weight of the sins she has infected you with."

Luz's eyes shone with fear and her heart beat wildly as she stared down at the tip of the staff threatening her. She knew that only pain could possibly answer what she was going to say, but she swallowed down her fear and steeled herself. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then glared up at Belos.

"Torture me as much as you want." Luz snarled, fiery determination in her eyes; "Kill me if you have to. Eda and this "corrupt" realm finally made me feel like I belonged. I was finally able to help people and make friends, without being seen as a failure! I found all kinds of love, even some I'd never felt before, and found an extended family that I could never have hoped for anywhere else. I would die for them… and I WILL die before I betray them!"

The Emperor stared at her, completely unmoving for several long seconds. Her defiance and determination, as well as her bravery in the face of pain and death, gave him pause. It was the same spirit that drove the righteous to martyrdom, something he had no doubt Luz would accept with all her heart. If nothing else, it showed she still had purity beneath the corruption of the Demon Realm. And whether she liked it or not, Belos would save her… even from herself.

"You will die before you betray them… no, I should think not. But someone will. It is clear to me now that the Owl Lady's sins cannot be redeemed. Only her death with free you from her influence." he said grimly, a judge ordering an execution. "Edalyn Clawthorne will not abandon so useful a tool, especially one that is the source of the cure for her curse… she will come for you. And when she does, you will sever your connection and her life with your own hands. I can just as easily take her portal from her corpse."

Luz paled and shook her head, barely even registering the confirmation of what Belos wanted from her mentor; "Never! I'll kill myself before I hurt Eda!"

Belos chuckled darkly; "Oh my dear child… what makes you think you'll have a choice?"

He didn't hit her with another spell, and instead reached into his robes and pulled out a syringe. The needle was thick and long, and the syringe itself was filled with a black liquid that Luz couldn't identify, though she could feel the magic coming off of it. It was Titan magic.

"Do you know what this is, Luz?" he asked, beginning to pace around the girl, forcing her to strain her neck to keep him in sight.

"I'm sure you're about to tell me." she snarked.

She was rewarded with a sharp poke from the wing of Belos' staff, but nothing more. "This is bile. The source of magic for witches and demons. A revolting substance that shows that even their biology is corrupt. I have performed various experiments with injecting bile into creatures who do not naturally produce it, and the results are always intriguing. Did you know that in creatures who do not produce magic bile, even a tiny drop of it can trigger a Bile Overload?"

Luz froze as it felt like a rock just dropped into her stomach. Belos stopped his pacing in front of her and leaned in close, so his mask was only inches from her face; "And this syringe happens to contain about 30 millilitres of Titan Bile. One of the Titan's five humours. It is the second most potent source of magic on the isles, right behind Titan Blood. It is much more abundant of course, but that is also because it is useless outside of the body. Would you like to know what happens when someone is overloaded with Titan Bile?"

Luz shook her head frantically; "N-No!"

Belos' voice lowered to an ice cold whisper; "How unfortunate then, that you have chosen the path of penance. Forgive me Luz; this hurts me more than it hurts you."

With that, he swept behind Luz again as she struggled and thrashed in vain to escape her chains. "Wait! Stop! Please! Don't-!"

Her begging gave way to a short shriek as she felt the needle be jammed into her spine, right between her wing joints. She cried out as she felt the foreign liquid be injected into her body, then let out the most tortured scream of her life as her body was filled with a burning sensation. It was like her blood had been replaced with lava, making her thrash and scream as the Titan Bile coursed through her. Belos moved to her face and observed her curiously, especially as her body arched and her eyes turned an ominous, solid black as she was frozen in a silent scream.

Then Luz's body went limp, and Belos watched as she began to warp and change. When the transformation was completed, he stared at what he'd done with a mix of horror and amazement. Angels did not have natural Bile Overloads as they produced no magic bile, and given the form that now faced him, Belos thought that truly had to be a blessing from God.

A bellowing, terrifying roar shook the castle and filled everyone within with dread.

Fifteen minutes later, Belos still stood where he once had, though the room around him was in a far worse condition. When he'd had the room prepared for Luz, he'd had it fortified with the most powerful barriers and protective magic his coven could muster, to ensure Luz wouldn't find a way to escape and the Owl Lady couldn't just blast her way in, and those protections were the only reason the castle was still standing. Every surface in the room had deep grooves carved into them from razor sharp claws, with chunks of the walls and floor having been torn up and tossed around the room. Patches of the room were smouldering from flames, while others were frozen solid or overrun with weeds. The ring-shaped frame Luz had been chained to was now naught but splinters scattered about, and the remains of the chains still clung to Luz's limbs as the girl lay unconscious in the centre of the destruction she'd caused. Shards of the crystal that had bound her wings were beneath her hand, having been shattered right before the effects of the overload wore off and Luz had returned to normal and lost consciousness.

Belos had some trouble processing what he'd just seen, but he was very glad he'd decided to brand Luz with his coven sigil immediately. It had been the only thing that saved him. The creature Luz had become would have torn him to shreds if he hadn't been able to use her sigil to restrain her whenever she tried to attack him. He wondered if the incredibly potent effect had been because of Luz's lineage, or because of the Titan's blessings?

Either way, he smiled and reached into his robes to pull out a small Comm-pact mirror. He opened it and the masked visage of the Golden Guard appeared on it.

"My Lord, is everything all right? We heard the roars from the angel's chamber, and the entire castle has been shaking." the Golden Guard asked, sounding frantic.

"I am fine. You did well to obey my orders and not allow anyone to enter. The angel is subdued; she sadly rejected a peaceful purification, so penance is required." Belos replied.

The Golden Guard shook his head; "I'm sorry to hear that. Hurting an angel… it must be hard on you, Uncle."

"It is, but she will come to understand and thank me once she has been cleansed. Speaking off, have the Coven Heads arrived?"

"They have. However Head Witch Scooter Crane sends his apologises, as his health is too poor to make the trip. He's sent his subordinate Raine Whispers in his place. They are waiting with the others in the throne room, with my partner and Kikimora."

Belos hummed in amusement; so the Owl Lady's old flame would get to see her downfall. How fitting. "Excellent work. And what of Lilith?"

"Head Witch Hettie Cutburn has seen to her. She has a headache, but is otherwise fine. I believe she's currently pacing outside the Angel's chamber." the Golden Guard answered.

"I see. Good work; inform the Coven Heads that I will be there shortly to inform them of the agenda for this evening." Belos ordered.

"As you command, Uncle." the Golden Guard replied, before Belos closed his Comm-pact. He then turned to the door and opened it, finding that Lilith was indeed pacing up and down the hallway outside, holding a glowing blue ice pack to the back of her head. The instant she saw the Emperor, she dropped to her knees.

"My lord! We all heard that horrible roar and heard the sounds of battle! I feared Edalyn had transformed into her cursed state and broken into the castle somehow!" Lilith said, trying to subtly peek behind Belos.

The Emperor snorted, unimpressed, and stepped aside; "If you are so desperate to look, then come in and do so."

By moving aside, he gave Lilith a clear view of Luz's unconscious form, making her gasp. For a moment, she forgot her place and ran forward and passed the Emperor, stooping to cradle the girl. Luz had no signs of injuries, but her sleeping expression was restless and pained, and both the sleeves of her shirt and her pants below the knees had been destroyed somehow.

"Luz! My lord, what happened to her!?" Lilith cried.

Belos sighed irritably; "Your sister's influence runs deep. I had to be… less than gentle with her."

Lilith looked up at him with shock, and to his surprise, a fair bit of outrage. "You hurt her!? You promised you wouldn't hurt her!"

"Do not forget your place, Lilith." Belos snapped, "I do not answer to you. Do not forget that."

For a moment, Lilith continued to glare, before she dropped her gaze. "I-I am sorry, Emperor Belos. I just worry for Luz. She has become precious to me."

Belos nodded sharply; "I will forgive it… this time. But only because you succeeded in bring me the child. I dislike having to hurt her Lilith, but so long as your sister's talons are stuck deep in her heart, I must use the methods available to me."

Lilith didn't like the sound of that. Blood relation or not, Luz had called her Auntie, and Lilith still wanted to call her niece. "T-This will all be over tonight though, won't it? You said you'd capture Eda tonight, and then you'll cure her curse. She'll join the coven, and then Luz can see that Eda is doing the right thing. She'll come around too. I'm sure of it!"

Belos eyed the woman; "Lilith, so long as the bond exists between your sister and the young angel, she will never truly accept the Titan's will. She is blinded by her loyalty to her "mentor". I'm afraid I see no other choice but to eliminate Edalyn Clawthorne. Only then will Luz be free of her influence."

Lilith gasped; "But my Lord, you swore you'd cure her!"

"Don't be so naive, Lilith. This is the Titan's will. If Luz cannot be purified while Edalyn lives, then she must die. The Day of Unity depends on it. Unless you believe you can convince Luz to sever her ties with her precious mentor?" Belos asked, almost taunting Lilith. He was curious to see how far his Head Witch would go… her loyalty was a useful tool to exploit after all.

Lilith bit her lip as her mind raced. She knew Luz would never sever her bond with Eda, even if it killed her. She loved the woman like a mother, even if she struggled with that idea (and knowing she wasn't Eda's real daughter suddenly made their conversation about why she didn't call her Mother make a lot more sense). But perhaps it could be broken from the other side? Eda loved Luz as much as Luz loved her, even if she wouldn't admit it…

"I-I might have an idea." the Head Witch said; "Allow me to be the one to capture Edalyn tonight. She will come for Luz, and I will apprehend her. Then I can talk to her; I'll convince my sister to sever her ties with Luz. It will hurt them both, but I'm sure Eda loves Luz enough to hurt her now to save her suffering even worse later. Then you can cure her curse as promised and Luz can fully devote herself to the Titan. Everyone gets what they want and nobody has to die."

Belos almost laughed; Lilith truly was desperate. He doubted her little plan would work, but it was no skin off his nose. If it worked, then great! If it didn't, then Edalyn would be either captured and easy to pick off, or weak enough to make a follow up fight absolute child's play.

"Very well, Lilith. I will give you this one chance. I suggest you prepare yourself; your sister will no doubt be here soon." Belos said magnanimously.

Lilith's expression lit up with delight; "I won't fail you, my lord!" she got to her feet, carrying Luz in her arms. Belos gently took the unconscious angel from her, and watched as Lilith hurried from the room to make her preparations. Once she was gone, Belos used his staff to repair the ring-shaped frame and reattach Luz to it so she was properly restrained; even with her magic being controlled by him through her sigil, it was best not to let the crafty little girl run free until she'd come to accept her true duty as an angel.

Satisfied that his plans could go ahead (albeit less smoothly than he'd like), Belos turned and swept from the room, locking it behind him as he went to meet the Coven Heads. The real show would begin soon, and he couldn't wait. By sundown, he would have the Portal to the Human Realm AND an angel free from the Owl Lady's influence to begin moulding into his ideal image.