A/N: I'm about 10 chapters into my writing, and due to some of the content in later chapters, darker themes being what they are, this may see a rating increase to M. It's nothing graphic, per say, but, I will be deeply exploring some of the nature that angels and devils have, and may increase it due to that.

Chapter 3

A mortal man could live his entire life in the blink of a goddess's eye. He would rapidly age, and meet his demise in a hundred or so years…that was the inevitable fate of any human. It was a fast life, where decisions and opportunities could slip away. The mortals made up for their short, often painful experiences, by turning to a strong social structure. They required others, a basic need to interaction on every level became the catalyst for their entire being. Time was of the essence, and even seconds were precious.

It wasn't something most goddesses had to contend with, but, sooner or later it was bound to happen. Such precedents were already in the records, protected by archives that would contain very deranged tales of years gone by. Myths of what might happen, painted a nightmare fuel unlike any other. Grieving for the loss of mortal lovers, immortal beings were often scripted to have endured solitude, and madness, eventually finding their own horrifying end.

Belldandy was not daft by any means. However, she was all too willing to put such stories aside, never questioning the truths it would bring. They were simply tales for young children, and they were not uncommon. All of creation seemed to like to spin morbid realities into cute nursery rhymes. Fables were merely folk stories to warn against evil. Bound by taboo, and scorned by fate, those were not things adult goddesses, mortals, or even demons, took to heart.

Perhaps, that was Belldandy's own undoing.

The warnings had been clear, even as a child, the fables chanted never to fall in love with a mortal…but even so, she dared to become her own written passage in the tales as old as time itself. After all, a goddess who fell in love with a mortal would have to eventually part with him. She knew that, surely, but such a fact had conveniently slipped into the back of her mind, until Keiichi's graduation day.

Belldandy hadn't noticed the man before her was not entirely the man she'd first signed the contract with…and he was not the young boy from her memory, either.

"Urd, what do you think you're doing?" He was a man set in his goals, and a full time job awaited him on the other side of his diploma. It didn't occur to anyone that there also might be a slew of trouble. "And for that matter, why are all the lights out?"

"I don't know, but I'm trying to watch my favorite program." She scowled, as she fumbled with antenna.

Keiichi pulled off his tool belt, sand jacket and sighed. It was his third day over overtime in a row, the sun had already set. With a yawn, he forced himself to give a grin. "Let me see." He said sleepily, as he leaned over to get a good look at the back. Everything was as it should be, but there was no power going to the television. "This is strange. Did we blow a fuse?" He finally asked before Belldandy came peaking around the corner.

"Please forgive me." Belldandy bowed. "I think we may have broken something."

"We?" Keiichi rubbed his dusty hands on his knees before looking to Belldandy in confusion. He was so exhausted, all of the goddesses could tell.

"I was trying to help Skuld to work on her ability to put up barriers." Belldandy began, moving to the side to show off her youngest sibling, and the magic around her. "I think she may have just absorbed the greater area around her instead."

"Ah…come again?" Keiichi said calmly, looking at the bubble encasing Skuld.

It was the eldest Norn who took pity on him first. "Putting the matter simply, a lot of demons use electric magic, and this barrier attracts electricity and then nullifies it." Urd explained, inspecting the level of the spell. It was strong, stronger than the youngest goddess could control. "Can't get out again, Skuld?"

"No…" Skuld shouted, though her voice came through muffled. "I've tried everything. I can't make it dispel."

"Have you tried to pepper the barrier with a low level ground spell?" Urd asked Belldandy, knowing sometimes, it helped.

"Yes." The first class goddess replied. "When I tried that, it was able to deflect it. I could try a water one but…" Belldandy looked away, a bit unhappy with that thought.

"If you hit Skuld with it, wouldn't that end up electrocuting her?" Keiichi continued, starting to understand the situation.

"Belldandy is too powerful." Urd agreed. "It's a risk we can't take. Belldandy, there's a vial in my room that'll get rid of the barrier, but I'm not qualified to actually chant the spell, you'll have to do it."

"Well, while you guys get Skuld sorted out, I'm going to get started on dinner." Keiichi replied, having nothing else better to do at that particular moment, he stood and stretched.

"It's been a long day." Belldandy interjected. "You should just go take a bath, and I'll cook shortly."

"It's alright." Keiichi insisted, moving his gear out of the way. "I should expect this of myself." Walking into the one room he didn't normally spend time in, he pulled out the bag of rice. "I can get a meal started every now and then, it's really no trouble, Belldandy."

It was that one defining moment that told her the truth.

"I-I see. Well then, I'll leave it to you." She said, ushering her sisters down the hall. He never complained about my cooking before…then again, it wasn't exactly a complaint. The pensive thought had no merit that she could latch onto, but even as she tended to Skuld, she wondered about him. I'm probably just being sensitive… After all, she couldn't possibly answer every desire he had, and took comfort in being needed in the small ways she'd grown accustom to. I shouldn't take it to heart.

She was always dutiful to him, both as his goddess, and as the woman who loved him. However, there were limitations to what he could be given…limitations that she, as a goddess couldn't possibly call into question. She had been permitted to stay by his side, allowed to bed him without recourse and punishment…but, she couldn't do the one thing she felt she had to do.

She couldn't bear his child.

…

"This isn't right." Belldandy sighed over a cup of warm tea on a chilly winter morning. "I don't understand it. Why me?" Belldandy asked, shaking her head in dismay. "Why can't I even be allowed that much?" She pondered if her father might answer her, but thought better of it. Oh, Holybell, what should I do?

I don't know, Master. Holybell answered. But it would be lovely to have a young one around.

Yes…it would be, wouldn't it? It brought a smile to Belldandy's face, wistful, and full of longing. I don't think our prayers would be answered, no matter how much we beg to have our desires fulfilled. That carried a frown to her face. Keiichi wouldn't resent that, would he? She paused, sipping her drink. If I tell him, do you think he would?

No, I do not, and would never think that. Holybell replied heatedly. He has never asked for you to carry his child. Such a thing would never cause a rift between you.

Belldandy nodded, sipping her tea again. I suppose there is that, at least. Though, she wasn't convinced. Still, isn't it the will of man to reproduce? Isn't the fundamental desire of all that is creation…to make life anew?

One would assume so, yes. Holybell reluctantly agreed, coming to the conclusion that it was a natural desire, especially for the human race. Such beings thrive because of that desire. It was their very foundation, without it, human life could not continue. However, he is not a man that can be measured by simplistic means. He is anything but normal, having received heaven's grace.

Belldandy let that sink in. She knew Holybell was right, but it didn't give her any comfort. It isn't as if we are trying to conceive, and he makes no mention of the idea, even as time goes on. Five years for a mortal man carried him into his late twenties…a man with a career, and yet, no child. At thirty, his eyes had changed from the confused, worried lad, to a person with strong conviction, and yet, still no child in which to speak of. However, Holybell, I desire his eternity. I want him to live on in the souls of others.

He didn't request it, as if, he somehow knew.

He was kind, and soft spoken. Gentle, and wise. He was stronger in his ways, and his ideals, never berating her. He always claimed he was fortunate, lucky to have a woman such as Belldandy by his side…and, even though he had changed so much, he was still Keiichi…still the man she loved.

However, what was enough for a mortal man, was often not nearly enough for a goddess. He's growing older, Holybell, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. We're losing valuable time. It had only been a week since his thirtieth birthday had befallen him, a week since she realized it for the first time. Her efforts to conceive were in vain, futile, and impossible. He's an uncle, and in the prime of his life. Yet, that will not always be so. What happens when he is unable to be here, and I have nothing left of him but a memory?

Holybell didn't reply. There was nothing she could say to that, because the angel herself didn't have the slightest clue.

I should have tried to better understand the laws that were in place. The goddess said to her angel, who over the short years on earth had been poisoned by Belldandy's doubt of herself. I wanted to be with him, is that such sin? She asked to the creature before her. If I had truly understood…if I had known what it would mean…

Holybell was withering away. She was not the beautiful angel she used to be. Her eyes glowed, a hot demonic white. Her hair was no longer golden, but instead a muted tan that seemed to be continually fading. Even her skin was no longer that timeless, breathtaking ivory. Instead it was dull, pale and lifeless…cold to the touch…a cold that burned.

Scars only heal if we let them, Belldandy. Holybell said softly, trying to soothe her master. At least her often unheard voice had not changed. You can't shoulder the entirety of blame, because you live here, in a place where doubt shadows over everything. Earth is a very fortunate place, even with all of the sadness it brings. She smiled, hauntingly beautiful. We are one, and thus, we do not regret that, despite my form now.

"Destruction is a catalyst for creation." Hild had kept a close eye though the years, without Urd knowing. Even though it seemed as if Hild was bored, the truth was, this was official. Her job dictated she watch over balance carefully, and, this was a gross stray to the negative in holy shares. While some demons found that fortuitous, Hild knew the truth. "Yet, if you destroy yourself, you will ruin creation as we know it."

She had to restore order…and now, through a bit of time, she understood better the whims of heaven. Keiichi was a gift best utilized by the dark hand of creation. A gift tossed aside by Heaven to continue to promote order. Balance could be restored, but, it was a horrible thing to do. She gave Belldandy a pill, pressing it into Belldandy's palm. Then, she pulled a blackened egg from bosom. "Take what you covet, child."

"I do not want him to become a demon." Belldandy told Hild, for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"You are a Norn, Belldandy." Hild told her gently. "If you are so unwilling to see beyond what you do not understand, you are indeed a darker messiah than even myself." Not often one to be so kind to a goddess, she would make the rare exception. "Urd is the eldest Norn, tasked with governing creation's past…she is good and evil, light and dark…the very pull of creation itself." She put an arm around Belldandy's shoulder. "Skuld is the future, tasked with protecting that which is unseen and unknown. Skuld can see a bright hope when no one else can…and she would risk her life for that light, even when you cannot."

She turned to Belldandy then, her many eons of wisdom spilling forth. "You are the present. Tasked with acceptance for what has happened, and what will happen. You are the goddess who maintains the tree, and, you are the goddess responsible for seeing creation through to another era." She pulled away and began to play with some magic between her fingertips, idly amusing herself. "This is a fate that must come, because the heir to my throne refuses her place…and your father and I are not eternal."

"My father would never choose such a thing. For Keiichi of all people, to become a demon, would imply that my father preordained this." Belldandy said. "He wouldn't advise it, and he isn't that cruel."

"Oh but he is, Belldandy." The magic she used was a memory magic, and it replayed old scenes as if they were a movie. "He is cruel, more than you will ever understand, because he is fair…because his laws are indeed justified." In an orb of unholy light, a child smiled happily up at her mother. She knew nothing of her journey, or that she would be left behind, alone in the gates of heaven. "I would never forsake Urd, no matter what the price may be." The world around her was lush and beautiful, but even the sight of simple creatures frolicking frightened her…this was not the world she knew of. "Yet, Belldandy he will forsake you, to save creation."

The last image was Urd being left alone to fend for herself. Hild hated the gate, and creations laws, but she had to follow them. Because the two could not meet, nor share words, Urd had to wait for her father alone in heaven. Hild would never forgive the gate for that. "Heaven and Hell are a balance, because of who the rulers are. It is preordained, that the two rulers share a close bond."

"That sounds as if it is a farce." Belldandy couldn't believe it. She refused to. "You lie, Hild."

"I speak the truth!" Hild commanded, a dark surge of power overtaking her for merely a moment. "The doublet system is not without fault! I agreed to it, because it was one of Tyr's damned stipulations. It was the only way your father would allow Urd into heaven, and reluctantly, I agreed. For her sake." Hild replied. "However, let it be known that killing can still happen. In the minds of extremists, it is entirely possible to over look those losses for the sake of a cause."

Belldandy murmured. "We grew up together, and, she's still a goddess."

"I can accept her choice, Belldandy." Hild told her.

"Yet, you still require an heir for balance…not just anyone, but one incapable of killing others, despite the doublet." Belldandy sighed, she didn't want to believe it. "Is that it? Do you really want us to emulate the two of you?" It was disgusting to think about. "He could never be like you."

"If you do not turn him into a demon, you will poison creation." Hild said pointedly. "Your sisters would not be able to save you from your inner darkness, and you would have to be purged, and eliminated." Her words were so harsh, like a dull blade tearing through the air in a slow, agonizing way. "If that were to happen anytime soon, Keiichi would live out his life as a different man, far worse than any demon." That was only the short term…Hild dreaded the long term. "A few hundred years after that Urd would likely become a demon herself, because she would have lost the one person to accept her the most. Little Skuld would not be the same, and the dreams that she sees in you would be destroyed." She crossed her legs, and folded her hands atop her knee. "There is no happiness in that path, not for anyone."

"I see." Belldandy sighed.

He was always fair. Belldandy believed that, but, Hild was right. Fairness didn't exactly grant a person's deepest desires. Often, fairness seemed like a harsh mistress, a slap to the face, and a lost cause. If giving one man to the devils, promised a bright future for everyone else, of course her father would do it. What Belldandy would gain in return for that, well…that was something a bit more personal.

She knew, if Keiichi swallowed the devil's egg, he would have a reflection of himself…a mirror into his soul. She knew, because she'd already decided. She could love him, despite that. They could be compatible, because as Hild had so implied, there was more to creation and the rules than were suspected…and though some were iron clad, others were far more difficult to discern.

There was one thing, though…Hild was still alive, as was Belldandy's father. "How long, Hild?" Belldandy asked. "How long would Keiichi and I be permitted to be together?"

"That I do not know." Hild said softly. "However, your father is my light, and I am his dark. Our rein is the same."

"He's your doublet." Belldandy murmured. "How do you know that?"

"In case you've somehow forgotten, I'm the ruler of demonkind. The spell can be utilized by a first class demon. What kind of queen would I be, if I couldn't do at least that much?" Hild said as stood from her place. "In response to your question…any time at all that you gain with him is time well spent. This is worth the price, if you believe in nothing else, believe in that."