Lucifer stood at the edge of the moonlit courtyard, watching the man cradle a tiny white ferret in his arms.
The man was quiet, careful. He didn't seem to notice Lucifer. His head bowed, golden eyes soft as he gently stroked the creature's soft fur. The ferret gave a tiny yelp as it bit at his fingers, startled.
Only then did the man blink, realizing he'd held the creature too tightly.
"Sorry," he whispered, lifting it closer to his chest, his fingertips smoothing its white coat with gentle, repeated strokes.
From the doorway, Lucifer's eyes narrowed.
He looked at the stranger with the ferret—the man dressed in simple white, long hair falling past his shoulders, moonlight catching the contours of his striking profile.
He looked too familiar.
Too divine.
Lucifer turned his gaze back to the man inside.
He was supposed to be God. The Creator. The Holy One.
But the moment the white-cloaked man entered the courtyard, God had dropped everything and walked toward him—abandoning Lucifer mid-conversation. He didn't even spare Lucifer a glance.
Lucifer clenched his jaw.
"You..." Moses began, approaching the man who had been called God.
But his words stalled when the man shot him a cold, warning look.
Moses coughed awkwardly and rephrased, "You brought back a ferret? Did it bite you?"
The man said nothing, only raised a brow as if Moses had asked something idiotic. He resumed petting the animal. Moses knew better than to press further.
"It hasn't opened its eyes yet... Must be very young," he tried again.
A nod.
Then, calmly, the man said, "You have a guest."
His voice was clear, emotionless. Not a suggestion—an order.
Moses froze.
Right. Lucifer was still standing outside.
It had been over a month since the Trial of Ascension. Since Lucifer fell.
Since then, God hadn't stepped out of his quarters. He surrounded himself with double-layered wards, shut out everyone—light, sound, even Moses.
Moses had never seen Him like this.
For all the rumors that Moses was God's closest aide, even he knew: it had always been Lucifer who stood closest.
Lucifer solved every problem with a single command, shielded Heaven from chaos, understood the Creator like no one else.
And now...
He was the source of the chaos.
Last night, Moses had stood outside God's chambers for hours before finally working up the courage to knock.
God had let him in.
Moses hoped it meant He was ready to talk.
He wasn't.
"Tomorrow, Lucifer will come. Wear My robes. Put on the divine light. Pretend to be Me. Keep him here."
The words were spoken so casually.
Moses almost passed out.
"Wait—my Lord—"
He didn't even get to finish. God had already ripped a hole in the river ward, exposing the realm below.
The divine light surged upward like thunder.
Moses felt his soul leave his body.
How was he—a mere attendant—supposed to impersonate the Creator in front of the most powerful fallen angel Heaven had ever known?
God walked away without another word, leaving Moses behind.
Now, standing face to face with Lucifer, Moses trembled.
"Luc...Lucifer," he stammered.
Lucifer's presence was suffocating. Even fallen, he radiated overwhelming power—dark mist swirling at his feet, eyes glowing with restrained fury.
"After the judgment, I led the angels to heal Earth. Michael and I gave everything," Lucifer said, voice low. "And you—you disappeared."
He took a step forward.
"You left us. Left me."
The darkness bled from him, snaking through the courtyard.
Moses panicked, silently screaming at God to intervene.
Black clouds rolled overhead, swallowing the moonlight.
Lucifer's voice broke: "Do you know how worried I was?"
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Moses' waist.
"You left Heaven. Left everyone. Left me... for him?"
He glanced toward the white-cloaked stranger.
"You built him a garden."
His voice trembled, so did his lips.
He looked moments from breaking down.
If it weren't for the hurricane of darkness swirling around him, he might have looked heartbroken.
Moses was frozen.
The entire situation had spun off the rails. He wasn't even the one Lucifer was angry at!
He tried to signal God—pulling at the man's sleeve desperately.
Lucifer noticed.
"You're still protecting him!" he snapped, grabbing Moses tighter.
He turned to the man and growled, "What, are you afraid he'll get jealous?"
His voice was sharp, accusing. But in his eyes...
Jealousy.
Possessiveness.
The white-cloaked man didn't react. Calm, distant.
A doll.
A beautiful, untouchable doll.
Suddenly, the ferret in the man's arms gave a tiny squeak and jumped.
Lucifer instinctively reached out and caught it.
He blinked.
All the rage in his chest fizzled out in an instant.
He looked down at the tiny ball of fur.
So soft.
So fragile.
The white-cloaked man stepped forward and took the creature back.
"You're overthinking," he said quietly, turning to walk into the garden without looking back.
Lucifer blinked.
"Who is he?" he asked Moses. "Why is he so cold? And why does he call me Lucie?"
Moses said nothing.
He didn't have the strength to explain.
That night.
Lucifer sat at a wooden table in the yard, chin resting on his palm. The tiny ferret curled into a nest of cloth, trembling with cold.
Moses hammered away at the wooden frame beside him.
The man in white had told him to build a proper nest for the ferret. Then he vanished again.
Lucifer sighed and poked the small creature.
So small. So fragile. How long would it survive?
"So," he said lazily, "this is what it's come to? You left Heaven to play house in the mortal world?"
Moses, still hammering, replied, "We came to experience mortal hardship."
That's what God told him, anyway.
Lucifer rolled his eyes.
He reached over to pet the ferret again. It squeaked in protest.
The door creaked open.
"Lucie. Don't touch it."
That voice.
Lucifer froze.
So familiar.
"Did you just call me Lucie?" he asked, eyes narrowing.
He looked toward the doorway.
The man in white stood there, calm, untouched by the wind, moonlight catching his golden eyes.
Lucifer stared.
His heart skipped.
And something old, something sacred, stirred in his chest.
He knew that voice.
He knew that man.
But why was he pretending to be someone else?