Fifty years ago, in another dimension.
Lilith materialized above the skies of Earth. She evaded the angels, but was getting tired of their cat-and-mouse game. Gabrielle especially.
That woman was her most persistent admirer since her eldest brother disappeared.
And no, she didn't make him disappear.
It has been two millennia since Lilith visited Earth.
Last time was during the blunder with God's mortal son. A nasty affair, she felt bad for him.
Which was to say—things have changed a lot since.
"That shakeup worked?" she smirked to herself, examining a metropolis from above. She saw metal boxes driving around, puffing toxic clouds.
Buildings reached the skies, plenty of wealth—but also suffering, hidden in the cracks.
"They did away with slavery at least," she mumbled, reading random people's minds. It was a cacophony of voices—things've changed so much that she'd no longer understand them.
They still had problems, but they've changed. Evolved. Got better or worse.
"I'd have to stay for a while to get the hang of this—"
"You will not, demon," a voice snapped behind her. "This ends now."
Well, an angel did track her down after all.
Lilith spun, ready to unleash a strike, but—it was only a kid.
A thousand years old, give or take. Pure, porcelain skin, dark hair, and, what she found odd, a dark pair of wings. He definitely didn't exist yet during her last visit.
"Come on, did God run out of capable angels?" she teased, relaxing her stance.
She only let a fraction of her aura leak out, and the youngster recoiled.
"I-I'm more than capable," he claimed, already trembling. "I'm a high-profile guardian—"
"Sure, you are," Lilith chuckled. "You've a name, too?"
"Lu-Lucifer," he choked out, suffocating from her sheer presence. She dialed it back, letting him take a deep breath. This could've been exactly what she needed.
"All right, Lu, listen," she said, her tone casual, floating closer. "I'm not here to stir trouble."
"T-that's not what I've heard of you," Lucifer tried to snap, but it was only a mumble. "Gabrielle said you're a greater demon, bringing Earth suffering, and—"
"Oh, so you know me?" she chirped with a smile. "Gabrielle's a little dramatic."
Given that God created her with the sole purpose of combating her—
Not that she was stronger, but her abilities made her a terrible match. Especially the ways to manipulate time—a forbidden art, even she'd respect and refuse to touch.
"You're Lilith, scourge of Babylon. Enemy of God and Mankind."
"Oh, cool. But the scythas would disagree," she laughed, touching the angel's shoulder.
She snuck up on him in plain sight, breaking through all his defences—
Only so he knew, she was in total control.
Lucifer shuddered, almost crashing out of the sky, but she held him up.
"Anyway, as I said, I'm only here to chat," she repeated. "You're a guardian with funny wings, but that's perfect. Let me read your mind to get a hang of how things go these days."
She didn't ask for permission. She announced what she'd do.
The boy could tremble and squirm all he wanted, but she was already inside him. No, not in a perverted way, although—somehow, Lucifer's reactions were not what she had expected.
His gasps, his passivity—
She knew a probe this strong would cause him distress, but he seemed to have enjoyed it.
What a weirdo. But, well, if he was different than the rest, it could only make her job easier.
"Let's see. You had some high-profile humans in your care indeed." She dug through his memories, and she was right. He was only a thousand years old. And what a millennium it was.
Europe had risen from the Dark Ages, and its countries became colonial superpowers.
War and hatred shaped human civilisation, then the exploration of the Americas—
"Your two most notable clients from the last century were both from Austria, huh? An archduke and a painter. You let one get assassinated, leading to the greatest war ever—"
Lilith recoiled. Millions have died, but that wasn't the worst part.
That painter—he sure kept him alive during dozens of assassination attempts, but—
"That man with the funny mustache," she mumbled. "You protected a genocidal maniac to his last breath, leading to an even greater war. Holy fuck, you didn't understand your assignment."
"E-everyone makes mistakes," Lucifer stuttered, his porcelain face turning crimson.
"Dude, you caused more death and suffering in thirty years than I could in ten thousand."
And this was God's angel. Yeah, no, that gave her all the confirmation she needed.
She'd stay a demoness and oppose the old man forever.
That said, as Lucifer's black wings suggested, he wasn't earning their praises, either.
She tried to probe further, but her future sight kicked into gear at the most unexpected moment. He saw a boy—only fifteen at the time—and a bright future ahead of him.
"Oh, so this is your next one?" she asked, projecting the image right back into his head.
The angel froze, his eyes rolling back—again, what the hell was that reaction to the pain?
She showed him the future she experienced, well, glimpses of it.
A boy who'd have a strong drive, striving for control, trying to make the world a better place.
The usual story, but he had no distractions, no self-doubt, and he went until he succeeded.
He'd become the President of the United States and prevent two nasty wars, but—
"See, another one getting assassinated," Lilith cut the image off once it became blurred. "People are like that. The more you help them, the more they want, and then they turn against you."
"S-so it's true," Lucifer mumbled, shaking off her influence. "You can see the future?"
"Sometimes," the demoness said with a shrug. "I can see his."
"But what am I to do to protect him?" the angel asked, and Lilith's eyes lit up.
This was her chance—and could've gone both ways.
She could help this failure of an angel to guard someone important and rub it in God's face.
Or—she could corrupt him, and use him as proof that his servants are way worse than she was.
Decisions, decisions.
"You can let things play out as they are now," she offered, playing the uninterested. "He'd have a good few years, though people would remember him as someone who wanted too much."
"No, that plague you showed me—how do I make him stop that?" Lucifer asked, almost begging. Was there a plague, too? Oh, right, that's why the boy wanted to run for his third term.
But the people took it as an act of tyranny and assassinated him.
The angel might've paid better attention to the vision than she did herself.
She saw too many of these. They were too inaccurate and came at the worst possible times.
But to him, it was new. To Lilith, it was a chance.
"Do you still have that stupid rule that you can't manifest in front of your guarded ones? Not before their last breath?" She asked, her mind racing.
This could've been her ticket to the ground. Undetected—for a proper investigation.
"I can appear in his dreams, but—I often get ignored."
"Well, then," Lilith smirked. "I'll manifest instead, and you'll shield my presence. I'll alter his path—and his soul will be mine. Your plague won't claim millions of lives—but he'll suffer."
"Can you do that?" Lucifer's eyes widened. The kid sure was eager.
"I can do whatever I want. Give me three months, then sit back and relax."