In Heaven's gilded halls, where once laughter had rung-like forbidden bells-along echoing silence, I was alone once more.
Everything bathed in light felt cold now, sterile, tearing the joy from my immortal bones. Lucifer-he had been my everything:
My confidant, my tormentor, my secret flame. The bond we shared had burned hotter than celestial fire, his touch lingering like a brand on my skin, his gaze stripping me bare with promises of darkness we never dared voice.
And now it was shattered, torn away in a storm of defiance and exile. My chest ached with a hollow vengeance, a simmering rage at the cruelty of it all-at God, at fate, at him for leaving me behind.
Days melted into an eternity of being alone, until Samael burst forth from the shadows, as if a predator would come out of the void.
He was a storm cloud in that luminous light, tall and brooding, his wings folded upon his back like midnight cloaks, eyes gleaming with that lethal intensity that always sent forbidden shivers racing down my spine.
He came closer to me with that movement of a predator, confusion and excitement clashing in his deep, resonant voice; my pulse quickened against my will.
"The new creation," he said, his voice dripping with dark thrill,
"those humans. they have disobeyed an order given directly by God. And Lucifer—he manipulated them into it."
I shot to my feet, shock ripping through me like a blade. My voice shook with raw betrayal.
"Why? Why would Lucifer do such a thing?"
Samael's hand settled on my shoulder, heavy and warm, his fingers pressing just enough to ignite sparks along my skin—a touch that lingered too long, too possessively, stirring heat in the pit of my stomach amid the turmoil.
"Lucifer and Azazel,"
he murmured, his breath ghosting my ear, sending illicit tremors through me,
"they're consumed by revenge. Against the humans who stole their pride, against God for exalting clay over fire. They're tempting them into sin, proving just how unworthy those free-willed creatures truly are."
My throat choked, vengeance coiling like a serpent in my veins. Deep and edged with fury, the words forced themselves from my lips.
"What did God do to them? Were they. cast out?"
A slow, wicked smile curved Samael's lips, and his eyes darkened with satisfaction as he stepped closer, plucking a ripe apple from the ethereal tree beside us. The fruit gleamed crimson, tempting, forbidden.
"Indeed," he replied, voice dripping with relish. "Banished from Eden's grace, sent tumbling to a barren world called Earth. But God, in His mercy-or cruelty-added a twisted condition: Until the day Earth crumbles to dust, every human born there must hoard good deeds like precious gems to earn Heaven's gates."
He paced two deliberate steps, bit into the apple with a crunch that echoed through the night, a sound like a challenge. Juice stained his lips red, and I couldn't tear my gaze away-a flush of unwanted desire bloomed despite the rage churning inside.
"But that's not all," he continued, swallowing slow, deliberate. "God decreed new laws for the fallen angels-those kicked from paradise."
My voice sharpened with curiosity, tensing with anticipation.
"What laws?"
He leaned in again, his arm sliding across my neck in a possessive drape, pulling me close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body.
His lips brushed my ear as he whispered, hot and intimate,
"Some humans on Earth will be born with the sight-to see the fallen ones. And if they do. those demons must serve. Grant any wish, fulfill every desire. But after ten years."
His voice dropped to a husky growl that sent molten need pooling between my thighs. ".they can claim the human's life. End them in any way they crave."
I looked down, my heart pounding in a mixture of dread and dark allure. My voice rumbled in a low tone,
"Why tell me this? Why come to me specifically?"
His arm tightened briefly, a teasing pressure that made me ache for more, even as anger simmered.
"Aren't you the Angel of Time, Lucarious?"
he muttered, his breath scorching my skin until he released me with a jerk and strode away, his absence charging the air.
I didn't call after him. Didn't stop him. And the seed was planted, revenge festering like a sweet poison.
Closing my eyes, I peered into the threads of fate, and wave after maddening wave of chaos and blood fell upon me:
visions of Earth terrorized-people on their knees, worshipping fallen angels like gods; summoning from Hell's darkest corners demons to lay waste to the world. Cities in flames, rivers of crimson, screams of ecstasy and agony intertwined while my once-beloved brethren ruled with cruel, seductive tyranny. Beauty and vile everywhere.
My eyes snapped open, and the twisted mix of fear and fury coagulated into a vengeful resolution.
"Lucifer. Azazel," I whispered in a voice hoarse from betrayed love and burning hatred to the empty air. "You weren't like that. What have they done to you?"
I couldn't let it stand. To stop them-to drag them back from the abyss, to force redemption or exact my own revenge-I descended to Earth.
The mortal realm hit me like a fever dream. Humans multiplied like wildfire, breeding in frenzied passion, generations rising and falling in blinks while Heaven's time crawled eternally.
One heavenly day equated to centuries here; the world spun in chaotic haste.
I searched relentlessly, scouring every shadowed corner, every sinful city, driven by tense, obsessive needs. Days bled to months, my body aching with unfulfilled longing, vengeance sharpening my senses.
Until finally I found him.
Lucifer.
Standing in a grove dimly lit, his form was changed yet intoxicating: wings charred to obsidian beauty, eyes burning with an inner fire, a body honed by exile into something dangerously magnetic.
For one breathless second, all my pain, my rage, the lonely nights were gone. I surged forward, wrapping my arms around him in a fierce, desperate hug, jamming my body against his hard planes, inhaling his scent-smoke and sin and the ghost of paradise.
My hands clutched his back, fingers digging as if I might meld us together, reclaim what was stolen. Heat exploded between us; my core throbbed with a raw and forbidden want.
He did not return the embrace. His body tensed, voice coming deep and dry, like ash on the wind.
"Lucarious. It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"
I drew back far enough to smile through the pricking of my eyes, my voice soft with ache still.
"One day in Heaven. is ten centuries here."
He refused to meet my eyes, staring into space.
"Well, in your calculation, I'm gone only a few days."
Desperation clawed at me. I grasped his shoulders-firm, unbending muscle beneath my palms-and shook him gently, the touch electric. "Listen to me. I've come to take you back. Heaven awaits if you repent. Where's Azazel? We'll bring him, too. Just. ask forgiveness. God might relent."
With a sudden violence, he pushed me from him, and eyes flashing, bitter scorn etched upon his features. Rejection hurt like a lash, yet it kindled stranger fires—a perverse delight in his mastery.
"I asked a question once. Remember? Why bow to clay? And now—you. Why are you on Earth?"
I forced a smile, lips trembling, and lied through teeth clenched with inner turmoil.
"I've been cast out too. I'm fallen, like you."
His laugh was low, mocking, sending shivers of angry desire racing through me. "Oh. But I'm not returning. If you truly cared, join us—me and Azazel. Become one of Satan's legion." He smirked, answering himself with cruel certainty. "I already know you'll refuse. Get out. I have no use for traitors like you and Samael. If you loved me, you'd have fallen with us."
The silence choked me. No words came, only a storm of guilt and heart-broken lust.
He raised his elbow, and black smoke curled from his palm like seducing tendrils, coalescing into a slim leather-bound tome pulsating with dark energy.
He pressed it into my hand; the touch of fingers against mine sparked the old heat.
"The rules for the fallen," he said coldly, "obey them, if you value your continued existence."
Then he said nothing more, but turned and disappeared into the darkness.
I didn't search for Azazel after that. His rebuff would be the same as Lucifer's-sharp, unforgiving.
But I remained on Earth. Vengeance now burned in my blood, hot and unquenchable. I'd play their game, but against them.
Oppose their corruption, thwart their revenge, preserve the brothers I once knew-or destroy the monsters they'd become.
From that day on, I joined the brawl. A player in this eternal chessboard of fallen angels and fragile humanity, every move dripping with seduction, betrayal, and delicious promises of ruin.