Ouroboros

by Uros Osium

What would fit a tale of a new beginning? Why, a recent end. For a whole bloodline on Earth, it was the end of it all. For the remains of a botched murderous spell, it is the beginning of a life among the damned. From blood anointed by the holy servants of God, to one tainted by the Fell spell destined to consume their living essence. (M Rating just in case)

15. Anima Magica - Chapter III

Year I - Act II - Anima Magica - Chapter III

Very wordy chapter this one. Focused on my bullshit take on magic, the effect it has, how to use it and other such things. Considering the tittle of the Act, you probably knew this was going to happen. This is a lore and dialogue heavy bit with some effects and information largely relevant later (and, in some cases, much later). If you have come this far, then enjoy!

As a side note: Huge coincidence about this story taking place ten years prior to both shows (nine before Hazbin Hotel proper, not the pilot) and Fizzaroli going that long with the clown pageant stuff. Believe you me I'll fit that somehow with a theory of mine… In the next Act.

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The three late comers to what was supposed to be their show first and foremost, were largely unsurprised at seeing everyone waiting for them fawning over Octavia. The owlet seemed happy with a few parlor tricks, flames and small creations of light being all she had to do. Simple, largely mindless (for her, that is) fun, more so in a room meant to make magic usage even easier. Octavia could conjure an inferno in this room in her sleep!

Which, incidentally, Stolas would deny if anyone ever asked. Luckily the room itself was largely 'everything*' proof.

Don't ask for clarification.

"Daddy!" The show was over the second the door closed and its almost imperceptible clicking attracted every single pair of eyes in the room. A quick dash later and Octavia threw her tiny fluffy body at her father so hard that…! Stolas almost felt it. "You took too long!"

"Oh my little star, I didn't…" As it was becoming custom, Gonzalo became the blunt voice of reason as he showed his phone. Specifically, the hour. "... It seems I took half an hour too long, yes. You are right, Octavia."

"Telling tales tends to take time." Evelinde was quick to offer a more friendly and less direct fix to this situation. A good call. Better leave the heavy stuff for whenever Stolas felt ready for it, if ever.

Then again, no one seemed willing to punish Gonzalo for his usual bluntness this time, perhaps because his cousins had been quick enough to pile on him to ensure he'd remain mum. Besides, the three HAD taken too long. But Evelinde and Carlos both would think the time well spent. While Carlos thought so more because, negatives aside, he was a good person that didn't want someone else to suffer in ways similar to his, Evelinde found she thought it more useful to make a bond with a Goetia prince that could be useful later, although the personal time spent with Carlos had been a welcome addition. Although the demon woman wouldn't admit that she, too, found it somewhat liberating to be, well, 'human' and open herself to someone else. Neither Carlos nor Evelinde had shared this much about past experiences like these after all.

Perhaps when they returned home she could take him away from training and work, just to talk and get to know each other a bit more. Evelinde would be lying if she said they had had enough time together, and having to divide it between three other contenders for his attention was driving the demoness up the wall. That she respected the situation enough to not kill, or threaten at the very least, someone was, as Rosie would put it, impressive (if not impossible).

Such thoughts would have to be put into action later. Now, while Stolas seemed to give her a nod and a slight smile, the attention was directed at something else: Magic.

"We may be short of time after all, but not enough to do a quick test with all of you." Stolas left his daughter down, much to Octavia's obvious displeasure, as he motioned for everyone to part ways from the circle they had formed around him. "Now. I would love for this to be a quick test and little else, but I need to know. Anyone here has any knowledge about magic, at all?"

Deafening silence was his answer. At least until everyone looked at the one person, other than Stolas or Octavia, that had any reason to know about spellcasting, or magic in general.

Evelinde was not one to shy away from attention, though this time she did wish to. "I'll admit… I know nothing of it." She said, her voice mousy for once. This was quite the shame for a demon after all, not that many would admit it. "My family line has been notoriously poor when it comes to magic, or so my grandmother says. She went so far as to admit that one of her greatest hopes was for her children to be more magically inclined, as human essence would hopefully make my mother and aunt more powerful, but…"

"I gather that was not the case?" Stolas offered with a bit of a frown. At her nod the owl sighed. "Well, less proficient does not mean incapable. Although I'll admit most demons do ignore magic more and more often nowadays. This is a shame, really, but understandable. It would be far easier if there were more books dealing in magic knowledge, but mundane weapons have been taking precedence… No matter; we'll have to make a condensed, albeit quick, lesson then."

A single clap of his hand brought forth a purple flame not far from the group. It dissipated just as quickly as it came, in its place a simple dummy, similar to those already in the room, stood straight as an arrow. This one apparently fully immobile instead of being imbued with false life.

And just as it came it went, because Stolas decided to put his still stored anger to use, summoning a meteor from a portal he created smack dab on top of the poor thing. The meteor, like Stolas' magic, was purple, burning, and apparently coming so fast that it was not flame what followed it, but a trail of plasma that, on impact, did not send shrapnel or flames, it just vaporized itself and the target, just leaving behind a hot flash that, while harmless, did scare the humans.

"Now." Stolas, of course, didn't bat an eye. It was a cathartic little thing. "This may look impressive, but you all should know: This is but a parlor trick, more so in a room such as this, made to allow anyone to use magic far more effectively. It is saturated with the stuff, the flow is near perfect and any magic user would feel their power amplified a hundred fold at least."

"You just fucking atomized a dummy with a rock from the cosmos." Ernesto volunteered in a tone that probably hinted how close he had been to an 'accident'. "I think this goes slightly above 'parlor trick', augmented by the room or not."

Stolas allowed himself a little uncomfortable laugh. "Okay, so maybe it looked impressive, but you must understand." He waved his hands, this time summoning another dummy in a far less grandiose way. "When I say this room is made to ease the use of magic, it simply means even the most incapable could do something with the fabric of reality. Even without prior knowledge you can do great things here, which is partly the point of our visit. More so now that we have little time for it." Stolas made a small pause to think, then explained further. "In a way you could very much do this while out there, in Hell, or even Earth. If you know how to pull magic, and it doesn't take that much to learn in all truth, it would be easy to cast this very spell if you have the affinity to it. Of course, if you did that… well, the likelihood of things going well is not too high."

The humans largely remained silent for a second. Ander was the first to react after a realization hit him. "I do get what you are saying there."

Enrique gave his cousin a sidelong glance. "You do?"

"I do parkour, I am very good at it now. I started without a trainer, I saw I could do anything I wanted, but I learned the hard way that 'being able to' and 'should do' are two different things." The young man shrugged, showing his arms and legs for everyone to see. The number of old wounds that had to do with impacts, as well as a few, luckily small, fractures were pretty clear. "When you begin, once you lose the fear of it, you think you are above anyone and everyone, at least if you didn't get hurt beforehand. Once reality confronts you, usually by falling down and breaking something, if you don't kill yourself being an idiot, you learn just how little you trully knew and how easy it is for things to take a turn."

Enrique nodded at this, but he quickly got that trollish smirk that so commonly marked his family. "Where was that smart brain of yours when you tried to tackle that bug guy?"

"Oh, go suck a diiiiiii-rge, yes, a dirge." There was a general chuckle from the family as Ander did his best to save the curious owlet from hearing anything *too* bad from them. "Whatever. Am I right? Or close at least?"

"Somewhat correct you are, yes." Stolas began to walk away from the group, motioning at them to stay put. Only his daughter followed him with small hoots as she walked. "This is a somewhat similar situation, after all, while not absolute, Hell is very dangerous. There are friendly faces, or as friendly as can be, and people tend to be civil… somewhat. Chaos is Hell's nature after all, but enforced civility keeps everything in working shape. Magic is, while easy to use, very hard to master, and a perfect deterrent to keep all of you safe. IF." Stolas punctuated as he lifted an arm in a sharp motion. "You pay attention so it doesn't kill you."

Stolas stopped a few steps away from the dummy, his daughter turning around a moment after her father so they both were looking at their human audience. With a slight of hand Stolas summoned a very tiny flame by exerting apparently no effort or conscious thought.

"Because, and you should remember this, enforced civility is NOT being civil; it means to wear a mask until there is a reason for violence. Sometimes this goes from an act to a true desire, sometimes friendship evolves naturally, and most people will at least attempt to squash the desire to kill each other because they NEED things to work. As such every tool to keep it that way is important, and magic is perhaps the most simple, yet complex, tool a demon can wield naturally. If you are capable of doing more than disguising yourself, many will at least force themselves to keep the act for longer." Stolas played with the flame on his hand, making it dance on his fingertips before shooting it towards a wall at frightening speed, creating a small explosion. "But you'll also find certain people circumventing this 'hard to master' little bit. How? By having things such as this: Items that hold great power for one reason or another."

Another display of magic took place as Stolas summoned a small blue portal. From within his room could be seen, or at least the bookshelf that contained one particular item the Goetia so desired to have in hand. A simple pull, a command, and the book flew to its master.

A grimoire, one with navy blue cover, gold reflective pages with a burgundy ribbon and golden borders. It had strange symbols on its cover, the only one clear enough being a moon apparently circling what, had the humans known more, would appear to be the Goetic symbol of Stolas, a personal seal of power. On its spine, perfectly placed on its center, lay a large red gem that held both hidden power and great value, not just a mere decoration.

Within the pages hid many secrets, spells and information. So much in fact that perhaps only beings as old and resourceful as Stolas' father, Paimon, would ever memorize in its entirety. Even then the chances were low, and Stolas knew for a fact that his father's memory was already beyond stretched, so only what he considered 'important' would ever stick.

A lesson he preferred not to dwell on right now.

"This is my grimoire." Stolas announced as a snap of the fingers closed the portal as Octavia looked at the floating book with her usual curiosity. "Within its pages I have all the spells I could ever need. Holding it close grants me not only the knowledge within, but extra power to wield the secrets it safeguards, for memorizing every single one of them is… problematic, to say the least."

Akiko pursed her lips, willing to venture what she thought of magic in general with a guess. "You mean it is dangerous?"

"Partly." Stolas didn't miss a beat. "Far too much magic in one's mind can make an otherwise simple magic session into a dangerous one, or a disaster, that is true. Demons are more in tune with magic than humans, so we are able to keep more in our own minds, if we train for it. But I guess that is not what you meant?"

"Not really, no." The young woman shook her head. For a moment she thought of going all respectful and the like, but she, like everyone else, had decided to go casual. So fuck it. "I fear what my father mentioned before we all came here. Using magic can be a great boon, or it can kill you. I'd sooner trust an unknown demon than magic itself."

"Your father is a smart man." Stolas had to give credit there. The Order's smiths DID need to play with magic, if only a small part of it. Too much and angelic steel and blessed weapons would do something… wrong. "And that is what I meant before. There are many ways magic can kill you while you USE it, not when someone uses it against you. One of the most common, for beginners, is overexertion: This is not a game like those you mortals have today. You don't have a 'blue bar' that tells you of your limits, as if something so simple could be envisioned in real life. You don't have points that tell you how much of your energy is still available for magic to siphon, or a number of spells you can use per day to make it safe. No, you have your body and mind to tell you, and you better learn to do so quickly."

Stolas made a face. The number of young magic users that expected something like that was stupidly high. Then again, many modern demons were far too used to technology and comfort. No, he made it clear things would work differently for those that wished to truly learn. "You will feel fatigue at first, then pain, then your consciousness will begin to fade and then, finally, you will die, likely feeling agonizing pain." And that was just the 'nicest' example he was willing to offer. "Never overuse your magic, unless you are curious to feel something far worse than dying of thirst within seconds. Similarly, a mind clouded by too much knowledge when the body cannot use it may also cause harm, going from migraines to, at worst, brain damage not even the highest born demon could recover from. This book makes sure I don't have that particular problem."

Jamba came next, and he had a good reason to ask. "What about self harm other than overuse and too much knowledge?" After all, his blood was meant to fight against magic. "Can it hurt the user? And I don't mean by overusing it or anything. Can I hurt myself if I, I don't know, summon fire?"

"That is another way it can hurt you, yes. But usually not like you probably mean." Stolas hummed as he summoned another little flame. Only this time he began to make it bigger, and bigger, and bigger… A literal fireball began to warm the room not soon after. "If I threw this at my feet, yes, it would hurt me. Its explosion would harm my child and, most likely, all of you." As such the Goetic Prince banished the fire with a wave of his hand. "What you likely meant is: Can my summoned power hurt me before use? And the answer is: Yes. Poor control, affinity, or lack of cohesion if you use more than one element can, and will, hurt the user."

"I see." Jamba felt self conscious as Stolas all but confirmed what he had feared. "So, since my branch of the family was meant to fight magic users…"

"That has nothing to do with using magic." Stolas stopped the young man right there. "It is highly frowned upon that those like you, mage killers, to wield magic, but you have the same chance as anyone else to have it backfire on you. Of course magic itself may not be exactly pleased if it has to work with you, limiting what ways you can use it, but that is something we have to test."

A few nods and a humm. So he could use magic. That was perhaps one of the more exciting news he got since ending in Hell. "So I could do something more than just stab with my spear then?"

"Not necessarily." The Goetic Prince didn't want to shoot him down, but he had to make sure he was ready for whatever outcome he got. "It just means magic MAY decide to help you, or it may not. It may be something that helps you attack from afar, or make your blows more deadly. Magic has many forms. This brings another point to the lesson. Two, in fact."

Again Stolas opened a portal. From within another meteorite, this time in a standstill, was summoned. Stolas had a calm, relaxed face as he did so, with the purple flaming rock having a relatively stable appearance as it stood in place. Summoning his anger once more, if only in a flash, Stolas brought forth a second rock; this one was larger, unstable, and looked ready to explode. None of the humans, not even Evelinde, were all that confident on what would happen if the Prince lost control of that one.

"First is this: Emotion rules magic. While alive, magic works with you, or against you, but not in ways any of us, perhaps not even Lucifer himself, could understand. Only God may be able to explain its inner workings, and I assure you that He would never do that, for anyone." Stolas explained, snapping both rocks from existence a moment afterwards. "Similarly, what type of magic user you are is very important. Abjuration…" At the faces he received, Stolas changed tactics. "Offensive spell users work better if they know how to channel and control their anger. Defensive ones, including healers, need a calm mind, similar to those like me, whose magic lies more in divination, transportation and so on. Illusionists, summoners, enchanters and transmutators (alchemists and those whose magic strengthens, or weakens, others) all have their own restrictions and limitations they must learn to work with, or against. There are many ways to use magic and many ways you SHOULD and shouldn't do it. You can bruteforce through them once you learn and magic gets familiar with you, but doing so will still make things less stable and optimal the worse your state is."

"That is the first point." Stolas interrupted a clear barrage of questions coming his way. "The second is this." Again, a flame, but this time was different. In his free hand, as the other was now holding his book, Stolas held what looked like a nova. An explosion constrained within his control, yearning to free itself. "Elements." As the word left his beak the explosion slowly shrank until it became little more than a sharp white/blue light. "Mine is what humans would consider 'arcane' magic. And for those thinking about this particular question: Yes, there are many more elements than the usual four. Not only is there fire, earth, air and water, but also light, darkness, life, death, wood, stone, metal, lava and more… Magic cares not for what humans consider an 'element', instead laying claim to nearly everything that exists." Stolas allowed the representation of his power to fizzle. "Everyone's innate element, their primary connection, usually depends on the area they live in, personality and a few other factors. Anything secondary and beyond that? It depends, and it is what we will test today."

The family could do little more than share glances. Of course there were myths, tales and games, but that was it. How did magic really work? If it was alive, then could you piss it off? If it wished to hurt you, would it do so when you tried to use it? There were many questions and so few answers that most of them were actively thinking about backing off if they had the chance.

The others were more than crazy enough, with the youngest present being quick to step forth.

"How do I find what mine are, then?"

Stolas seemed pleased that at least one volunteered. The Goetia could see only two more about to step forward, with Marcela beating her brother either because she was curious or because she had already made up her mind to try no matter what. Whatever the case, she'd be a nice first case study.

"That is very easy, so long as we stay in this room. Again, you could learn by yourself, but this place will ensure better results and safety." Stolas patted at the target dummy that sat at his side. "Right now all of you are absorbing a lot of raw magic, and what you cannot store will just ignore you. Normally mortals shouldn't be able to, but all your souls are now bound to Hell, so you are more open than most humans to this effect." The Prince chuckled. "You get to live in a cage, but get a few perks as it were. Considering your month long stay in our land, and the nonexistent usage of magic on your part, all of you should be as charged as any magician could hope to be. We will deal with how to 'feel' your magic more accurately, how to notice if you are 'full' or 'empty', once using it outside this room becomes a possibility. Until then it is largely unimportant."

Stolas picked his daughter up, his part done, and walked back to the group. This time he waited a few feet away from Marcela, marking her spot as the one to be used for this test. A moment later, with everyone organized in an order Stolas found appropriate, the owl demon began to give instructions.

"Okay. Everyone ready?" Either eagerly, or knowing that this was going to happen, the family as a whole nodded. "Good. Then we shall start." Stolas placed his daughter down, with the little owlet clearly disregarding precaution and approaching her new friend to encourage her with surprising eagerness. "Now, while there are ways to use magic depending on your affinity, clearing your mind and remaining neutral works for everyone. No calm, no anger, no fear, eagerness or anything at all. This will put your 'core', as it were, in a neutral state with no ups and downs."

Making sure everyone got the gist of it, or that no questions were asked, Stolas kept going. "I know it is not easy for most, but try to calm down. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and let it go slowly. Do so a few times. This room should help you in this. Feel the magic around you, channel it. If you have the most basic ability to use it, things will come instinctually to you. Proper preparation would've been preferable, but we shall go with, as you say, 'gut feelings'."

Marcela did as told. It wasn't anything new. To calm her anger, or the many negative emotions she had grown familiar with, exercises to calm herself down had been a thing he had searched for everywhere she could. It had been her brother the one to find her a little book with some self help techniques when she started.

It was one of the few books without dreary content that she kept around. For a few years now she had found it useful and comforting. It was surprising how something so simple was also going to help her with what most people considered to be a myth.

Well, it could help. She had to try first.

So she closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. Then exhaled. It was something she had done many times before and, much like it did then, she found herself going to her own particular place. A simple room with her books, a door to escape back to the real world and her art supplies on top of a simple table. Marcela barely expressed herself with words, but her drawings, traditional, in black and white and hand drawn with care and detail, usually worked just aw well.

Only this time there was something else. On the table there were two things; a glass of water and a light that shone black, as if absorbing all color it touched. It was strange. She was a very creative person, she could easily see things in her mind, but this had never happened. Her personal little space had always remained the same after… Well, it had been like this for years.

Instinct took control of her hands right away. This was still her imagination, but there was a compulsion. Something made her hands move forwards, as if cupping something, while in her mind she touched the dark light, grabbing the water with her free hand.

Was this something that would happen to everyone else? Her question went unanswered as she heard someone clapping.

As soon as Marcela opened her eyes she saw her hands holding a small ball of dark water floating mere inches away from her skin. At her side was Octavia, clapping quickly with her little hands, while Stolas was on the opposite side, giving a quick nod of appreciation.

"Seems it came naturally to you, my dear. Very good indeed. Now, let's see..." Stolas remarked as he bent down to look over the watery orb. "Water, of course. I felt it on many of you. Living close to the coast, a river or lake would make such an element an easy acquisition. Natural elements resonate with places, then with the soul, after all. The other one is equally unsurprising considering your personality: Darkness."

Rosa was, of all present, the one with the most doubt in the family. She couldn't help it. Perhaps she wasn't the most devout there ever was, but her fear of doing anything wrong, evil or harmful was still very fresh. It was likely to never go away fully, even if her situation demanded otherwise.

So, she had to ask.

"Is that a good thing?" Of course she wasn't bold enough to be blunt, nor was she going to make it all black and white. But everyone, except maybe Octavia, got the gist of it. "The darkness, I mean."

Stolas stared at the young woman for a moment before nodding. There was no reason to call out her ignorance, or perhaps her unwillingness to change. Clearly not everyone in the family was as angry, or determined, to look past certain beliefs.

"It is like all elements, no matter the type, young lady. It can be used for good or ill. A user of Life, or Light, can be as much of a monster as someone that can control Death and Darkness. A Necromancer can be a saint while a Paladin can be a walking calamity." Stolas let out a few hoot like laughs. "Remember what Lord Lucifer said. While he used extreme examples, it is true. Many horrid acts can be good in truth, while what seems good can be the most heinous thing ever done. All depends on intent… and results. Having nice intentions will matter little if you end up destroying what you wish to protect or build. As such, darkness can easily be used for 'good', but that depends on the user itself."

Accept it or not, Stolas didn't need to lie. Humans were rather easy to understand in the simplest topics, and morality was, despite what most humans thought, very simple. What is good for me, or what I think is good for me, and mine, is good. Everything else is evil. The Goetic Prince thought it rather clear, after all humans were easily duped when it came to such things.

Demons were far more, eh, 'shrewd'. Yes, some were, as Carlos told him before, human in their acting. After all, modern demons were far closer tied to God's creations than most would like to admit, even if their origin was not always tied to Him. One reason why demons were a danger to humanity was their morals, or general lack thereof.

Yes, Lucifer made sure there was a society working, but as Stolas mentioned, many demons sustained civility through sheer willpower, out of need, or because any alternative would spell their death. Also, yes, most weren't pieces of shit, but the natural reasoning of 'Look out for number one' was always in every demon's head, even the most noble of them.

If you could call any demon 'noble', outside of the old meaning that is.

"Now, we have wasted far too much time. I hope all of you have paid attention and are just as quick to get to this point. But I must reiterate." Stolas lifted a finger in warning. "This room will ensure almost anyone can do this. ALMOST. It doesn't mean you should try while away from such a powerful source of magic. Keep my warning in mind at all times and wait until I deem you capable enough to do anything while on your own. Marcela here has had enough of an easy time to perhaps call to her magic much earlier, perhaps by accident. If any of you go through that, try to help them stop. None of you will have enough control and I won't have you suffering for a mistake like that."

"So, next step." Stolas wasted no time as he patted Marcela's head. A bit condescending, yes, but the man was eager. He hadn't gone through the paces with anyone but his daughter. Yes, this was a crash course, but he could take his time next week. "Let's focus, okay? Think about your magic. Now as I said, since you have proved capable of using it, you should instinctively know how it works. A crude feeling, a 'hint'. Allow it to aid you, do not fight it. That is how you achieve the best result for what most would call a 'hedge mage' right now. And remember: Try to keep your mind empty. Seek no emotion, just do what comes natural. Magic is not tamed, never try to. Allow it to help you get the result that should be, and only direct its efforts once you have understood your magic enough. Ready? Then go ahead."

Now that was a bit harder for Marcela. If she focused on her mind it was easy, well, usually, to keep her mind blank, or just think of whatever. With her eyes open, seeing the cute owlet at her side hooting her onwards, and with everyone in her family having their eyes glued on her…

It was a bit distracting, just saying.

But she wasn't going to disappoint, and Marcela didn't want to leave things to chance. She had been safe, for now. It had just been a month, but no one here wished to remain powerless. Weapons, luck and instincts weren't good for the others, and it would be even worse for Marcela.

So she allowed her mind to go blank and…

Took a step.

It happened as if it was natural, with the only change she could feel in her being the desire to throw up. Movement without moving, that is how she could describe it. One moment she was there, standing in front of everyone, the next she had moved, right behind the dummy, where the light couldn't touch her.

The sound of something slimy moving around brought her attention down. Water, black, like ink, pooled around her feet and was sucked into her form without a feeling whatsoever, as if it had never been there.

Marcela tried again, this time looking at the next dummy. Something told her to fixate on the shadow the lights of the room were forming, and she did. It was to the left and behind the construct, then it wasn't, because Marcela had taken its place, in a way. The dummy still cast its shadow, but Marcela had, somehow, in some way, moved there, now standing right where the shadow should be, almost hidden by it as it blinked for a second. The effect was lost on everyone else but Stolas and Marcela herself, as if the shadow had ceased to be for a fraction of a second the moment the magic had been used. However, other than the novelty of it, Marcela saw no problem and Stolas didn't seem to look alarmed, so she ignored it.

The teenager looked at her family, saw their silent faces and wide eyes, but her mind could only see the game of dancing lights and darkened surfaces. It was as if something was showing her where to move to jump from one place to another, almost effortlessly at that. It came as second nature in a way that almost scared her, yet, much like darkness had once done for her mind, from worry came understanding, and soon her doubts and nerves calmed down. Another 'step' and she found herself in front of her brother once more.

"..." Marcela wasn't sure what to say until she turned to Stolas. The question was simple but sincere once she found her voice. "Did I do good?"

"Oh you did marvelously, I have to admit. Limited, considering I can feel you'd be able to do more than jump from shadow to shadow, but a very good first try. In the future you may very well use the shadows as a weapon, or a tool for others purposes. But for a first try? A very good effort." Stolas was beyond happy. "Let me tell you, it is very hard to do this with just simple hints. Octavia had to study for a year before she started creating little fires."

"It was boring." Octavia pouted, puffing her cheeks as she did so. "So many books…"

"You like books, don't lie my little owlet." And while it was clear Octavia did, she had to huff and look away embarrassed. Of course the child couldn't let her father have the last word. "Besides. All that reading and mental training is what allows you to use a little bit of magic outside of practice. Our guests won't be able to do the same."

Octavia sighed, admitting that her father was right. "Okay daddy… But since she can do something now, can I play with her?"

Stolas thought of saying no. He wanted to see if Marcela could do more. But why rush? He had more humans to test and, to be perfectly honest, they did not have the time. Next week's meeting and practice would need to be scheduled for a much longer visit. Perhaps then he could discover more.

For now? He just nodded and let the children do as they pleased. Octavia simply dragged the older teen away and, after a moment of talking, they began to run around the room by teleporting. Octavia would take a long, long time to do that without any help whatsoever outside of this room, but for now Stolas saw no reason to impede her. Well, so long as she remembers not to teleport 'outside' the room. He did not want the entities not of God's hands to focus more attention than necessary on this place. Far too many of them already came to spy on his daughter.

"Now, Gonzalo?" Stolas snapped the humans back to attention. "I placed you second for a reason. Step forward."

Gonzalo did so, clearly wary of the owl. "So… time for vengeance?"

"Pff, perish the thought." Stolas waved a hand, the man's first words and resulting cascade effect long forgotten as far as the owl was concerned. "Although if you hurt yourself I will derive a modicum of pleasure. But no. It is time for you to try. So go ahead: Empty your mind and see if you can bring anything forward."

Marcela was quick, in her mind taking less than ten seconds to do as requested. Gonzalo took a bit longer, but as a man that spoke his piece at all times, and that always had something in mind, clearing his thoughts wasn't as easy. That said, he did not disappoint.

In a way he couldn't. Vitriolic, prone to making fun of others and, as a counterpoint, brutal and ready to support anyone he liked (which was usually the people he made fun of more often), he was a very diligent person. Part of it was his obsession with money, and the fact that hard work, as he had found many a time, paid very well. Part of it was due to how smart the little shit was, because he could come off as oafish, but Gonzalo was by no means stupid, but to him smarts was not what won the day, but using said smarts correctly.

Perchance part of his 'correct' usage laid in going to his own 'happy place'. Gonzalo had a lot in common with his mother, and while he didn't show it, his cruelty and viciousness would most likely scare everyone in his family but for one person. He was a monster dressed up in niceties. But, unlike his mother, Gonzalo had taken steps to remedy this problem. His snark and closeness with everyone else was as much his natural personality as it was a coping mechanism that made him feel good, feel relaxed. It allowed him to feel as if the hunger for violence, a desire for fire itself, and all the cruel uses it sported, was not there.

And the way to maintain this control when he wasn't with his family, was to picture the best moments they had spent together. A simple, silly thing to some, but one that helped immensely. And right now? Right now it calmed him enough for his magic to show faster than Stolas had expected.

It did bring up a problem Stolas hadn't addressed with the teenager however: The aura.

Now, aura is what some people call 'life force', or the power of one's body coalescence around their form, usually giving out a light. Oftentimes this is brought up in asian mythos, modern and old, but there is a general acceptance worldwide, at least insofar as mortals go. The truth of the matter had to do with magic of course, and while belief was an integral part, humanity was, as it often is the case, wrong.

"Good, good. Concerning mixture, but good." Stolas assuaged the now steaming man as Gonzalo opened his eyes. "Seems you have two basic elements as your focus. Although your primary appears to have been superseded."

In fact Stolas had almost stopped the young man. A blue glow, only to be absorbed by red? In magic this could mean many things, but Stolas, while young for a Goetia, was exclusively focused on magic and applying it. He HAD to be good considering his job, or he would've made it just past his task assignment, only to die days after. Brutal, but fair when it came to his lineage. As such Stolas could easily identify 'Water', much as he could see what took over was 'Fire'.

Gonzalo had been this close to cooking himself before steam began to flow from his body and his hands were enveloped in fire. An interesting show that cleared Stolas on a particular detail: The blue had a particular hue, thus 'water' was not exactly what he should name the element, for it wasn't.

Stolas would've stopped the magic before Gonzalo got hurt, or at least really hurt. He was willing to let the young man suffer a bit so he'd come to understand that those comments of his would sooner or later get him, or his family, hurt. Luck was on Gonzalo's side however, perhaps unluckily considering a lesson learned early was far more valuable in Stolas' mind, but it also ensured nothing serious happened to him. Fire had a habit of going far too hard on the destruction side of things, and a second too late would've been fatal, something Stolas truly wanted to avoid.

"And what are they?" Gonzalo snapped his fingers as he saw the flames dancing around his hands, the motion sending sparks flying forward. "Because I can see fire, and I LOVE IT."

"Chill down, you pyromaniac!" Came a voice, that of Javier as he chastised his cousin. "Last time you played with fire you almost burnt down my house!"

"Mistakes were made! Now shut up!" Unfettered, Gonzalo focused, making a small ball of fire on his left hand. A snap of the fingers with his free one created embers. "Ow yeah. This will be fun."

Without prompting or waiting, Gonzalo threw the small fireball at the dummy that still stood in front of them. Unsurprisingly, considering its making, the practice doll took it without flinching. Gonzalo didn't seem to care. He had thrown a fireball and he was fire, literally. The young man was happy.

So time for, hopefully, the last lesson. There were many mortals to go through yet.

"While impressive I DO recommend caution, young man." Stolas brought Gonzalo back to reality, as nonsensical as it had turned out to be to most of them. "Ice is your primary, not water. A simple change, and one that is protecting you. Fire is usually limited when mortals use it because even the most apt users tend to overheat as they cast pyromancy. You? You will never have that problem… which means you may overextend yourself and drain your magic so fast you won't notice when it kills you. A much better death than the alternative, but I highly doubt you want it either."

"Oh shit." The euphoria and sudden crash had already been pushing it, but what little control to his newfound magic he had was as easily lost as soon as Gonzalo was told just how easy it would be to burn his candle. "Uh… so lots of practice?"

"Very much so, yes. I would recommend you take precautions considering your affinity seems more dangerous than helpful in your case." Stolas prompted the man to move away, instead motioning for the next. "Enrique, if you please? Step forward."

As Gonzalo moved away from the spot, his body fizzling down as the effects finally died down and his glow faded, Enrique took his cousin's place. However, before he started, Stolas decided to impart the lesson he had meant for Gonzalo as he addressed everyone.

"Now, before our dear Enrique takes a gander at the world of magic. Can any of you tell me what you saw when Gonzalo, and Marcela before him, did when they were using magic?" Stolas asked the crowd, with a moment of silence being his answer. "Anyone at all?"

Evelinde was the one to venture her answer. Perhaps because she was the most likely to have noticed. "Both of them had a glow? I am sorry if that is not the correct answer."

"Simple, but correct. And that is one of the first problems we will work on fixing before anyone here does magic outside of this room." It probably looked unimportant, but this was a matter of life and death. Stolas knew that much. "What you saw is an aura. A magical manifestation of power. A simple glow when someone is learning, such things can extend to shapes, visual hallucinations as perception is affected by a magic user's power, and magical constructs as the user's magic shapes the energy around them. I am sure some of you may see this before long."

He wasn't sure if everyone else saw it, but Carlos couldn't help but look back at his deal with Lady Rosie. The corpses, the darkness, the gore and apprehension in the air. Had that been her magic in action? An Overlord was meant to be powerful, so to have such a thing shown as a means of force…

It was effective, Carlos would admit that much.

"But showing one's aura, a manifestation of their magic, means many things." Stolas warned as he saw many faces showing interest, curiosity and, more worryingly, lacking the concern and doubt one should have in spades when dealing with magical forces. "It is a show of force, a natural effect of exerting magic in great quantities, and a declaration of a fight that may very well be to the death. To conceal one's strength is a must, both when it is simply physical, and when other powers are at play."

Stolas made sure to force steel in his voice as the most important counsel he could give was this. "I shouldn't need to tell you this, because humans and demons are alike when it matters, but I will just in case: To have an advantage you should never show your hand to your opposition. Only do so when you are sure they are in a position much lesser than you. Never, and I mean NEVER, overplay your hand. Goetic demons may survive nearly everything, and demons are generally sturdier than average. Humans like you? You must be the most underhanded until you have the power to contend with Hell at its worst."

Stolas wished he could do more, to curb such a flaw right away, but there'd be time. Showing one's hand would kill any of the mortals. Hell, it had killed many Goetia in the past. Luckily for everyone involved, the mortals weren't as stupid as some of the high strung and self aggrandizing Goetia that Stolas had seen in his life. Most of those were no longer around, and good riddance far as he cared.

The Prince knew his job, and while it didn't include keeping them alive outside of his lessons, he had to admit the prospect of having connections outside of the usual royal gatherings intrigued him. Perhaps he was being overbearing, but he didn't want them becoming complacent at any point in time.

So, he hammered it in. "Keep this in mind, but do not worry for the moment. To show yourself right now is largely unimportant as you are all among friends. It will take months for any of you to use magic unsupervised, and by then I will have taught you as I had my daughter. At that point all of you should have the sharpness of mind to know when you should, or could, employ a show of force. "

Of course Stolas knew there was a hinch here. Octavia had time. The mortals did not. One year before they were to be executed by Heaven itself. So the 'hard way' it was, just in case.

"However, if, by the time I consider you all ready to act independently, you have failed to control your own strength, then I will have to act in your own best interest: I will seal your magic so you don't give anyone an excuse to use it against you." Warnings and danger were motivators just as powerful as the promise of strength. To some, however, it was not enough.

Perhaps it was his desire to be a good father and his parent persona, or his desire to make a good impression. Hell, maybe his own selfishness played a bigger part than he thought it would. Whatever it was, Stolas had found someone outside of his circle that wasn't a piece of shit, and he found himself wanting to keep them close and, if possible, safe. In his mind it was the right thing to do, but he knew that, if the humans asked, they'd see many of his reasons to be far less than noble. That was fine, but hopefully they would never be curious enough for the owl to worry.

Even if it all had the risk of coming with a price tag. "Lucifer asked me to show you magic, to teach you how to defend yourselves. Not to close that path forever." And by 'forever' Stolas meant the literal sense. He just hoped his warning was not ignored or thought of as just hyperbole. "So I hope you understand I am playing with literal hellfire here. Consider it a personal favor on my part and please, pay heed to what I tell you."

It quickly sunk in. Stolas was sure of it. He could see many eyes that had eased their previous worry, that had been looking at the magic show with curiosity, once more growing cautious. Even those that had been eager before were now thinking twice about the whole thing.

That was good. A magic user without a good dose of fear, fear of fucking up, was as good as dead.

"You can't catch me!"

"Come here you little puff ball! Oh, sorry Prince Stolas!"

But again, there were kids around, and while Stolas had hoped for Marcela to be a bit more restrained, more mature, that… was not to be. He couldn't be angry of course, he had given them permission and there wasn't magic going around. It was all harmless fun and Marcela, at the very least, would not have long to enjoy her childhood.

Still, this had been slightly humiliating.

Having his daughter use his head as support for a jump when she opened a portal above him, with Marcela invading his shadow for a second or two, hadn't had a great effect when it came to his little speech. Many of the mortals, even Evelinde, were trying not to laugh at his discombobulated pose and nearly falling robe.

"No problem…" Stolas sighed as the teenager quickly fled in search of Octavia. "WELL! Now that I have lost what little face I had left today, how about we keep going?"

Very little was said on the humans' side, with Enrique doing his best not to chuckle as he calmed his mind. It took a bit of effort, as the sniggers still escaped a few of his cousins behind him, making his own chuckles and Stolas' dumbfounded surprise at his daughter's little opportunistic 'attack' made it hard for the young man to focus. In the end Stolas was right, though: This place made things very simple, and soon Enrique could feel himself 'center', although not how he expected.

His brother came to offer a hand. Literally, in this case, as Javier tapped Enrique's shoulder the moment he felt he was going to devolve into chuckles and lose his North for this one. A single, stern, but concerned, look from his older brother made sure Enrique did his best, with his brother quickly doing his part at his side. Since Stolas didn't say anything, only looking on in interest, neither brother thought this to be either wrong or dangerous.

Both brothers would be lying if they told you they were perfectly in sync. Enrique was closer to Gonzalo and Carlos in mannerisms and behavior, as well as in friendship, than he was with his own brother. Javier, for his part, was far more attached to Rosa, and while far colder than his cousin, Javier found himself fond of Rosa's benevolence.

But there was one thing that tied both of them to the hip.

All the crap they had to suffer through their life thanks to the damn curse? Both had shouldered together, and would do so, for as long as they lived.

Others found their own mindscapes to calm down. They had happy memories, their own constructed safe and happy rooms. The two brothers instead had their fantasies of 'dying for the cause'. Perhaps a leftover from their 'blood', considering their heritage. Perhaps a learned behavior from all the beatings they had to take to protect their family. To the two, now and until they died, their most calming thoughts were rather morbid: Their bruised, bathered, or even dying body, protecting their kin.

A fatalistic thought to be sure. But it clearly worked; their mind calm and the winds of magic telling Stolas that the two had found their own way of doing as instructed.

Perhaps this compenetration and good camaraderie had something to do with their affinity. Being brothers hardly matters when it comes to working together. In fact Stolas, and everyone else here, knew that family could be the biggest monster you may have to face at some point. But for Enrique and Javier? The owl prince could only see that it worked in tandem, being magic that resonated as close as two brothers, and magic users, could ever hope for.

Their underdeveloped magic signature aside, the effects were easy to see; dampness on their clothes (visually, not physically) and what looked like the ground beneath them liquifying and pilling onto their shoes, then climbing up to cover their clothes, trying to go further, but failing to do so.

To Stolas it was easy to see what was happening. "Well. It looks like both of you are far more defensive than your cousin when it comes to magic."

Enrique didn't know if that was the word he'd use the moment whatever effect his magic was trying to go for covered him in mud, only for it to surprise him as the magic ceased. Now his clothes were not only dirty, but covered in hard, dry mud that, surprisingly, didn't seem to weigh anything. It even moved perfectly fine. Had it been real, normal mud, the brittleness (and weight) of the material would've made dust, and pieces of the cover, fly around with every single, slight movement.

Javier was far more curious. "Is this some kind of 'earth armor'?" Succinct and simple. He had played enough games to notice some similarities, even if he thought he was wrong.

Stolas surprised him by confirming his suspicions. "Correct, young man. A simple enough summon of water, obviously your primary element, to mold earth and coat whatever you are wearing. A rather simple form of armor reinforcing that can take many forms and use many elements to make warriors survive longer." The owl hummed as he scanned the mud covered forms of the two. "Still too weak, but it could stop physical attacks. Even with the enhanced magic in this room it is clear you'll need a lot of practice if you want to create armor even while you wear none. And it will take even more for you two to make said armor also resist magic, not just mundane threats."

Enrique frowned a bit. "So we are mostly defensive? Not like the pyromaniac creep?"

"Fuck you very much, cus!" Gonzalo's cry came from his own spot back with the others, clearly flipping Enrique off.

"I am afraid so. Not an ignoble ability, but most magic users will see you as the 'lesser problem', and they'd be right." Stolas ignored the two cousins about to clover each other, the lesson was more important. "You two are defensive, capable of augmenting your natural resistance. At first it will only be physical. Give it time and you'd be able to conjure literal armor also capable of deflecting magic for a time. Perhaps with time there could be some divergence, but that will take many years. For now? Defense is your forte and that is what we will train."

Complaining and grumbling could be heard as Javier dragged his brother away, the dirt in their clothes washing off as their magic left their bodies. Stolas could understand, truly. Magic was not a gift that gave you what you wanted at all times. It was an entity that granted you a boost geared towards what you were good at. Like it or not, you were usually stuck with it. Mortals would say that it wasn't 'fair', but magic did not give a toss about fairness.

Speaking of stuck. Stolas motioned for both Ander and Ernesto to come forward. The two normal humans were likely the hardest to pinpoint here. In fact Stolas had little hope for them, but he was going to give them a chance.

They better never learn what other Goetia would prefer to do with them. This was something better left locked in his mind. Hopefully Stella wouldn't run her beak later.

Neither needed any encouragement, and that was perhaps far better a start than Stolas had anticipated. Ernesto tried first, clamping his mind shut, or at least that is what Stolas could feel as he focused on the young man. A forceful attempt that did not yield results now and, most likely, would yield none later if he didn't try to truly calm down. Ander, on the other hand, didn't seem to have certain thoughts weighing his cousin down, making it easy for his own magic to act up.

Without much control, true, but he did show possible promise.

If you were to ask the cousins they'd tell you very different things here.

Ernesto couldn't help but think back to his brother. Try as much as he could, his mind, now that he tried to empty it, went back to that fucking idiot. Pablo had up and ignored everyone since they landed in Hell. He had snubbed their mother, told Ernesto to go away every time he tried to open up again, to try and help his brother out. For some reason the young man's mind just kept going back to every bad encounter he had for a whole, damn, fucking month.

He had thought this would be easy. Ernesto was not one to be still, but he could relax his mind. Or he thought so at least. Instead, as this situation proved, the biggest problem in his mind would come back, bite him in the ass and pour frustration all over him. Frustration that, as it grew, only made him angrier, an anger that he managed to squash down. But for how long?

For Ander it was simple: He couldn't give less of a shit about his own section of the family. Cruel and callous? Probably. But Ander had been left to his own devices for a long while now. His stay in Hell hadn't been pleasant thanks to the many brushes he had with his parents, his brother and his little sister's nagging. But you know what he had learned? That he didn't need them. And he had learned that a long time ago. The only difference was that here, in Hell of all places, he could be free.

He hadn't abused Rosie's hospitality much, but he had been jumping from roof to roof on more than one occasion. Was it dangerous? Fuck, you don't know half of it. Even somewhere where he was basically protected by the Overlord of the place, which apparently should've been enough but, you know, Hell, a lot of people had tried to have a go at him. However, after living in a large, and rather crime ridden city, for so long, this was nothing new for Carlos. More deadly? Sure. Scary as shit when a monster swooped down to try and get you? Yeah. But the excitement was incredible!

Perhaps it was not a 'calming' thought, but the idea of doing it again, and again, and as many times as he could, made Ander happy. Happier than he had been in a long time, because he had his family around him. A family that hadn't discarded him. A family that told him he was a fucking idiot, but didn't leave him aside despite all the differences they had.

It made him feel like he could fly.

And he could! Well, somewhat. As it happened, much to his surprise as he almost 'fell' backwards, he was floating in place.

"We all float down here, cus!"

"GONZALO! FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

Stolas opted to ignore the antics going on behind those practicing. He was more interested in the pair right now.

Before them, and in many that were yet to show their abilities, he could notice dual elements. Not uncommon in professional mages that managed to rise from apprenticeship and demonstrated talent. In fact it was not strange for ancient people, human, demon and angel alike, to have three or more affinities. Such things were apparently still equally common with those of The Order's blood in them. Regardless of that, Stolas had expected both normal humans to have no magical aptitude at all. Modern humans just didn't seem as attuned to magic as in the olden days.

'Live and learn', as they say. Perhaps Ander was slow in showing his abilities, but Stolas could feel the element of air pooling around him to do more than just float the man about. That his cousin Ernesto was yet to show himself was understandable; he was trying to force it. Still, this was a valuable lesson for everyone, and Stolas did love to learn, or at least confirm, something this little scene was helping him with. Perhaps a note he'd pen to someone just as interested as he was. For later however, as he had a job to do still.

"Good, young Ander, good. But I think your focus is lacking a little bit." Stolas gave a gentle and encouraging clap. Ander probably needed it, being upside down as he was now. A few moments of missing had allowed for the magic to clearly show just how little grasp the young man had. "I recommend 'letting go'. Gently, if you can. Try to-."

"SHIT!"

And there it was. The first big mistake of the day.

Ernesto finally managed to coerce the magic around him to work. That wasn't good. 'Coercing' wasn't the point. Channeling the magic, guiding it and allowing for the energy to flow was the task at hand.

Perhaps Stolas had hoped for too much…

Wondering about whether he had failed already or not would need to wait. Stolas had to act quickly. Ernesto hadn't conjured too big a spell, but he was clearly far more offensive than his cousin. Manifesting a bubble to choke someone's life out wasn't exactly the first spell any water based mage tended to learn, but clearly Ernesto had anger, doubt or any other such feeling clearly gnawing at him, more than enough for it to manifest in a harmful way, especially considering his unrefined attempt at using magic. It probably didn't help that a small mass of water, what some would define as a 'slime', was also trying to envelop Ernesto himself.

Canceling another magic user's spell was not terribly difficult, but it needed no interruption, as it was a more delicate art than just using magic for your own purposes. This would be the subject of their next practice session, one with more time and a lot more care put into it. For now it only required Stolas to flash his eyes and overwhelm the spell itself, the rawest, most bruteforce way, but also the fastest.

No need to allow either man to die by drowning after all.

"It seems going two at a time has been the wrong choice on my part." Stolas hummed as he allowed both young men to gasp for breath. "I suppose we have enough time to go one by one again. If not, well, we'll have to manage."

Jamba stopped some of his cousins from stepping forward, instead going to check on the two still sitting (or, in Ander's case, lying and gasping) figures. The conjured water quickly evaporated, alongside the coldness on their bodies, but Jamba didn't seem particularly happy.

"Shouldn't we do something about this?" He spoke with concern and no little bit of bite. His family being hurt was not exactly something he had really expected to happen. "They almost…"

"It was but a few seconds without air and panic. Nothing too bad when it comes to a miscast. There are FAR worse outcomes, young Jamba." Stolas was neither apologetic nor worried. He had hoped for no errors, but this was rather tame. "Although I will first teach you how to try and diffuse an enemy's spell during our next class. That one will certainly be safe AND necessary so all of you keep safe at all times. Perhaps boring, as counter magic tends not to be flashy or visual, but after this I am sure all of you will want that kind of safety."

Every human nodded quickly, with the two affected being far more eager. Stolas let out a sigh. "I am sorry about that little accident however." Stolas waved a hand, what remained of the conjured water quickly dissipating. "So, seeing as so many of you can indeed use magic, we will be focusing on defense until you all master it. But first." As he saw Ernesto and Ander finally get up, Stolas motioned at Jamba. "Let's see if magic truly is against working with you, young man."

Jamba got both his cousins to give him a look. Whether it was one of encouragement or warning, he did not know, but the young man felt himself worry more and more before he took a deep gulp of air, his lungs almost refusing to work. The moment magic went on the fritz and almost hurt Ander and Ernesto, Jamba could swear his skin went white.

Jokes aside, everyone had panicked, even Gonzalo. Marcela and Octavia had even stopped playing, but the little owl had convinced Marcela all was okay the moment her father stopped the magic from hurting both of Marcela's cousins.

Jamba was not so easily assuaged, but part of the deal was to test this out, so…

"Calming down isn't going to be easy now." Jamba grumbled. He wasn't one for complaining, but trust, and confidence, were both lacking.

"I will be here." Stolas promised, then motioned to Jamba's family. "Your family will be here. There won't be anything to worry about. Just calm your mind, let everything go."

Generally Jamba wouldn't have said anything. He didn't do it now either, he would never. He was far too serious and way too used to hardship to let most things phase him, much less after his first day in Hell, even more so after he knew all that was hidden in the family. That did not mean he didn't think it, and boy was the peace going to be broken if he spoke his piece. But there was anger in how callous Stolas seemed after the fiasco just now, remaining 'calm' only because he knew something far more important.

Stolas could be, and he probably was, a dick. But while most of his family hadn't explored Hell much, Jamba had dared venture outside of the tower with some of the others.

He had seen the cannibals prey on an unlucky passerby.

He had seen the sex, the drugs, the violence and the madness.

He had seen Carlos ignoring it all, having an almost normal walk with Evelinde.

And he had been there when Carlos, away from all demonesses always at his side, be it Evelinde, Leonor or Rosie, as Zana usually did her thing, almost broke down. Only five in the group knew how bad their cousin was taking it and how hard he was really trying. Gonzalo, Enrique, Akiko and Ander had all been present during that panic attack.

Carlos did his best to offer a strong front, and he did genuinely like his time with girls that, for once, weren't trying to hurt him. But the curses, the physical pain and the constant nervousness his situation brought, as well as the time always counting down, was something he could only hide for so long.

So he did what he did many times when things got to a certain point. Emptying his mind was a very easy thing for him by now. The effects went unseen by him, but everyone looking at the young man saw a simple but noticeable change.

Unlike most others, Jamba wasn't so obvious as magic began to work, its effects far more subtle at first. It began with a ripple and a wave in the air, then a simmering, then a visible distortion. It was as if the temperature was rising at great speeds, but anyone coming close would feel the air as cool and comfortable as it had been before, perhaps even damp after the magic water from before made a slight drop.

No, the physical effect took a few more moments, but it quickly manifested as Jamba's already more than decent physique bulked up. He almost grew a size of muscle, with his clothes stretching as he did so, only for the groaning of fabric to stop as the magic apparently took effect on them and 'enlarged' them too. It was far from the most visually impacting thing seen to date, but it was still impressive, and made the family think of a certain old anime.

"Gonzalo." Enrique broke the silence the moment his cousin opened his mouth. "If you so much as mention Dragon Ball, I swear to God, Lucifer and everyone else, that I will use you as a battering ram to open the fucking Pearly Gates."

"..." Gonzalo snorted in disgust. "None of you appreciate my humor sometimes."

Ander was the one to say what everyone thought. He sounded a bit hoarse, but otherwise perfectly fine. "No, we don't. You are a fucking troll. Get a dial for this crap."

"Speaking of, what is happening now?" Ernesto pointed at Jamba. His cousin had barely reacted and still had his eyes closed. "He keeps going."

"Don't worry, everything is fine." Stolas waved the humans' concern away with a hand as he inspected the magic's effects. "Just physical strengthening, nothing else." He did sound a bit disappointed, but he had expected something similar. "Jamba has an easy time connecting with magic, but I highly doubt he will grow too powerful in it, much less with any speed. Magic is not his strong suit, as it usually is with mage killers, but using it is simple enough. Mastering it? Well… it may take him far longer, if at all, than any of you."

Jamba finally let out an exhale. He felt perfectly fine, even better than ever, for a second, then it went away and his muscles returned to normal. Magic was supposedly easy to use here, but clearly his own affinity and ability for it were greatly lacking.

"So… I can only make myself stronger?" He asked, frowning. Clearly this was not exactly the best thing ever. Barely the same level as his cousins. "It doesn't seem all that important."

"No gift of magic is the same, and none is useless." Stolas pointed out as Jamba began to wobble back to his family. Clearly he had been drained more than most and he had done very little. "It will take time, a lot of time for you, but you could easily imbue your attacks with fire itself. Of course I'd recommend not focusing on magic for combat, neither you nor Ander, but there are always uses for a tool so long as you maintain it."

That was very much true, and everyone present knew by now that every tool would need to be used. Not all humans had seen much of Hell, but they all knew not every trouble would come from the demons themselves.

It was just so ironic that the place sending light down here at all times was also the one casting the largest shadow.

With that thought in mind Akiko stepped up. Stolas wasn't going to call her first, far more curious about Rosa, but either one was fine. Carlos was to be the last, because Stolas could feel something was wrong with the young man, but his two remaining cousins could come in any order.

Her origin did bring something up. "Now, before you start." And while small, it was important to point out. "You all must know something: All religions go back to God, for good or ill. Any minor deity, and by minor I mean, for example, Zeus, was either an angel, a demon or even an empowered human. All of them, in one way or another, bow down to God Himself."

Akiko quickly understood what he meant. "Does this have to do with how magic will work for me?"

"Yes, and more. But usually it matters little. Demons with affinity for other cultures may have natural antipathy for those of conflicting faiths. Islam and Christianity based demons get to blows almost all the time. Magic does the same in a similar way." With his magic Stolas summoned accurate replicas of Japan and China's banners. "Similar cultures, but with hardly any love for each other. You could be a great weapon against your enemy, if you find her. But she could also do you much harm. If magic with its origin in the mythos of China were to harm you, it could easily go through you. Similarly, magic of your own could end a Chinese creature, mortal or not, with ease. Something for much later, I am sure, but do keep it in mind."

True, it was unimportant for now. In the back of Akiko's mind, and everyone else, that did not mean it would remain so forever. A cold sweat ran down the young woman's back at the mere idea. As if she could see something happening, something bad.

But whatever it was, and however bad it was going to be, it lied in the future. Anything this meant, whatever this 'insight' was, it would matter once it took place. And it wouldn't ever happen if they didn't survive in the first place. That alone was enough motivation for Akiko to do her best and get in position, meditating to the best of her (now shaken) abilities.

Troubled mind or not, her father's training did have some positives. Perhaps Akiko didn't exactly like the forge, but being able to focus on what needed to be done, to let go of anything but her task, had been something Enomoto had drilled into Akiko for her own safety and growth. It clearly did more than that, although Akiko felt fear creeping in the moment she felt something liquid, and VERY heavy, pool around her hands, growing up to her shoulders.

From outside it was easy to see what it was: Metal. It looked like liquid steel, but the shine changed every so often. The sheen was always metallic, the color differed, but the origin was simple in Stolas' eyes. The element of Metal was the only one in the young woman, and it was very strong. Fitting of a metalsmith's daughter trained in the art.

Weird wouldn't be the first thing on her mind however. She'd prefer to define what she was feeling as 'dangerous', and not for whoever was on the other end. A shiver ran down her spine as she tried to collect her thoughts and 'pull off', to turn it away. Luckily she did, but her arms felt stiff, and as she looked at her hands she saw why.

One of her nails was almost completely metallic.

It began to chip off after a moment, as if turning to rust and falling away, leaving behind the normal nail. But something told Akiko that she had played with fire.

"Ah, metal, yes. Fitting. Not so much your affinity to it." Stolas hummed in clear concern. "I am sure you will be able to bond with your element, but it is also clear you don't have any love towards it either."

Akiko rubbed her arms at the feeling the magic left behind. "I guess this has to do with being trained as a smith?" Stolas gave a simple nod, not that Akiko expected anything different. "I just… my heart is not into it. I do it as my duty, nothing more."

"That would explain it." Stolas nodded in a very owlish way. While the others could offer challenges, Akiko would be a problem. She had great magical properties, Stolas could feel it, but her clear animosity to her role wouldn't help. "We will take your particular training with much more care, my dear. Magic overpowering the body is not something I expected, but just as deadly, if less likely, than running out of it. Learning to counter magic is now a much more important task for you."

Distress wasn't what crossed Akiko's mind, but the idea of having to use something she clearly wasn't comfortable with did hurt the young woman. Wood she would've accepted, even Earth, or Water, like most of her family. Fire? Far too close to Metal for comfort.

Life gives you lemons. That is how she finally described it. A not so happy frame of mind that she kept to herself as she moved back to the group, allowing Rosa to step forth and join Stolas.

And Rosa was NOT happy being there. She had been fine when the little owl had been her focus, but Stolas was too intimidating for the young woman.

"Scared, young Rosa?" Stolas did his best to appear non threatening. We'll just say Rosa did her best to take it at face value.

"Yes." Which is to say, she sounded forced and very insecure.

"You weren't showing any signs of fear until now." Stolas hummed as he moved closer to the young woman. He didn't do it out of curiosity, to reassure or anything of the like. He did so because it was very easy to focus on her and feel her magic. "Believe me, you are likely more dangerous than I am right now, considering I made a promise to take care of you."

This made Rosa blink. "I am?"

"Oh, indeed." But as close as Stolas was, he still left a good foot or two between them. In fact he was to the side and behind her. "Do try to focus on your magic and you'll see what I mean."

Belief was one thing Rosa always had, if perhaps not to the same level some others in her family. But she had always taken to her grandmother's teachings with gusto, and even after seeing that things were not as she had believed, that there had been lies and worse, Rosa still held to the hope that there was a silver lining somewhere.

A belief that got eroded by the day.

She did not explore. She barely spoke to the demons around her. Rosa did all in her power to make it look like everything was normal. To her this was a nightmare barely survivable because her family was still there.

…

Some of them anyway.

It was easy to feel the strain everywhere. Some showed it without a care, others didn't want to let the rest see their weakness. A few seemed content. And the smallest number truly detested to be in Hell, to be near demons.

Rosa could stomach it, but being here was making her feel worse every single day that went on. She was not truly devout, but she was perhaps the gentlest soul among those now condemned to remain in Hell while life still coursed through their bodies. Of those unhappy about their situation only Rosa didn't voice it with spite or anger. She was afraid, yes, and she usually didn't show it. But now? Now she was about to show if she was worth anything in front of a demon that could dictate whether or not she'd be kept safe, that would tell the one in charge of her if she was dead weight to pile more tasks on everyone else.

No, it wasn't Stolas. For all her fear towards a demon Prince of all things, Rosa felt cold sweat as Evelinde's void eyes landed on her. Lucifer himself had a grip on her cousin, that was true, but Rosie was the one that could squeeze the family directly. Rosa did not know whether or not she'd do it, but the fear of failing in any way, of giving that woman an excuse to apply pressure, was the one thing getting her close to puking her guts out right there and then.

Thus it wasn't possible for Rosa to calm down. Everyone else had the mental fortitude or previous experience doing so. 'Abstracting', some would call it. A way to cope and empty the mind, or just a form of ignoring everything else. Rosa had been the only one never to find enough problems, personally at least, to need it.

She didn't need it then, and she didn't need it now.

Of everyone involved Rosa was not the strongest one when it came to magical affinity. Stolas knew that, and it was likely that many of Rosa's cousins knew it. To be truly strong in magic would require very little connection to the physical world. Rosa had her family, and so long as they were alive, so long as she could help them, there would be no way for her to let it all go.

However, as light began to pour around Rosa, Stolas took a step back. That the young woman wasn't strong in magic did not mean she wasn't either dangerous or helpful, but right now all she could offer was the former. It was not that her magic was out of control, not at all. In fact it was the opposite: Of all present, stronger or weaker, Rosa was the only one Stolas could see using her magic with impunity in short order. Perhaps a month or two. She was not so powerful she'd drain herself, nor so connected that she could do it almost without noticing. She was a perfect medium, and now she was calling her element to bear.

"Light, of all things." Stolas spoke softly, with everyone seeing Rosa's hair slowly glowing and flowing. The light ascending and descending at the same time. A rather advanced aura for someone that just started, but still not fully 'formed'. "Light that comes from belief and hope."

Rosa was astounded at first, then happy. A small smile, unseen by those behind her, forming on her lips. Only to quickly die.

"Hah! You won't get m-ah!"

Playtime was over.

"Octavia!"

The owlet was once more intruding the space used for training. Far too lenient Stolas had been, he saw it now. And far too willy-nilly had magic been used while two children played in the area.

Because Rosa's light burned, if only slightly, one of Octavia's hands.

It was faint, but it was there. Rosa could see it in slow motion as Octavia used a small burst of magic to push away from the light surrounding Rosa. The burn was superficial, barely more than a rash most likely, not a significant, or real burn, more like an irritation if she thought about it. But the scream and the reaction from the owlet made Rosa clam down, shutting the magic away and taking a step back as Marcela appeared under Octavia's shadow, grabbing the young Goetia, as Stolas ran for his daughter.

All that hullabaloo for nothing. Stolas was quick to check on his child and while yes, there was what you'd consider a 'wound', it was indeed nothing worth mentioning. A little bit of magic on Stolas' part and Octavia was perfectly fine once more. She was quick to mention that 'My hand itches', but other than that, and the flash scare, she was fine.

"I am sorry…" It was Octavia the one to speak first, and with good reason at that. The owlet was young, but she already knew to do much better than get close to a demon, or in this case human, practicing magic. Her tone was a mix of ashamed and regretful, as it should be. "I was just having too much fun… I know I shouldn't get close when others practice magic, daddy."

"Don't worry, my little starfire." Stolas should've been mad, but his worry and care for his daughter took precedence. Besides, it was also his fault. "I was far too complacent, and I know I allowed you to get away with something I shouldn't. Tally it to your father wanting to give you everything." At the very least his concern had washed away, but not his worry. On top of that there was the other situation he had to tackle as he looked back at Rosa after she had slinked away to be surrounded by her family. "But you do know who you have to say sorry to?"

Right he was, and Octavia knew. This was not Rosa's fault, despite the young woman trying to hide away as if she had murdered someone. It probably came in as a shock when the little owl walked towards her, father in tow, while Marcela trailed not far behind.

Marcela didn't worry, and neither did most of her family. The only one freaking out was Rosa. Everyone else just let her ride it out. If there was one thing you shouldn't do with Rosa, ever, it was to either wake her up forcefully, or try to snap her out of any funk.

ANY. Funk.

None of her problems, and this included sleepwalking, she was at any danger from, even those that would probably be considered 'bad' (to be nice) for anyone else. Rosa was a resilient one. But she had her mother's violent tendencies when startled, not when scared. Wake her up, jumpscare her, or otherwise surprise her, and you are likely to have her repeating 'I am sorry!' for half an hour while you search for your teeth.

Now, when properly scared? She was a mess. The only worst reaction to her being apologetic. And right now? Right now it was a mix of the two as she kept trying to say 'I am sorry' and 'Please don't hurt me' in ways that no one, not even those in her family, could understand her.

Her groveling, mewling and general pathetic attempts at speaking stopped when Octavia finally made it in front of her. The little owlet was clearly dreading the interaction and rubbing her still smarting hand, but otherwise it was obvious she was perfectly fine.

"I am sorry." Only horribly embarrassed, and she sounded like that too. "I shouldn't have done that. I didn't want to scare you."

Rosa had indeed stopped at last. Whether she noticed how cringe induced, shameful, or just embarrassing her reaction had been, no one dared ask the moment her eyes and face made it look like she was a deer caught in the headlights. Any action right now could snap her out of it in a worse way.

A brain reboot would do that to her. Rosa did not handle quick changes well, and only the constant shock of the first day in Hell made somewhat functioning. At least she didn't suffer anything like this after the fact.

Finally, and with a shaky voice, Rosa finds the words to form a mumbling sentence. "Why are you sorry? I hurt you…"

Octavia huffs as she hears that. The little owl princess was far more angry at herself than anything else, but even someone that knew nothing of magic should be aware of the basics. It was like firing a gun, something Octavia barely knew anything about, and even she knew that there were RULES to do it right, more so when practicing.

"You never get in the way of magic practice." Octavia grumbles to herself, but a quick cough from her father deflates the anger, no matter where it was directed. "I shouldn't have been playing around. But I was so bored!"

"Boredom is not an excuse. Then again, we already stressed that fault lied with my decisions too." Stolas shook his head. Pleasing his daughter had always been one of his top priorities. One of these days it would backfire. "Regardless, this is a perfect example of something you should learn at last, young Rosa."

Rosa saw Stolas picking up his daughter, eyeing him with curiosity. "Learn? What should I learn?"

Only to be answered with Stolas handing his daughter to her.

Once more Rosa's brain started to fizzle.

"You have Light in you, but also a 'Holy' element, in a sense." Stolas hummed as he watched his daughter wave a hand in front of the very confused young woman. "'Holy' or 'Good', is like 'Evil' or 'Chaos'. They aren't truly elements on themselves when it comes to magic, more like an 'added effect'."

Seeing as Rosa at least was not grasping it, Stolas explained further. "You wish to believe in absolute good, unsurprising considering I made sure to learn as much as I could about all of you, and a very nice and nurturing nature is so ingrained in you that I doubt even Hell's worst citizens could take it away from you." Stolas chuckled a bit at that, although it DID pose a problem. "While your nice nature is beyond welcome here, you should correct your mindset when it comes to 'absolutes'. For one, Light is not something that can be easily studied in Hell, not even when it comes to magic experts, so we will be slow with your training. More importantly: Imbued with Holy energies as it is, Light, generally a healing element, will only bring harm to demons, perhaps even to your family." With a quick nod Stolas hinted towards Carlos. "Carlos is bound by a Deal AND a Contract. If you tried to help him you may also burn him, albeit much less than you'd do a normal demon."

This snaps Rosa from her brain fog. Only the presence of a fluffy owlet calms her mind. "I could hurt Carlos?"

"You could hurt everyone in your family that has agreed to stay here, including your parents." Stolas clarifies. "Not likely but you could." And, sad to say, the explanation was simple. "The curse awaiting for your souls after its failure is an extra anchor to Chaos itself. Even if you return to the mortal world, so long as the woman cursing you remains alive, anything Holy could hurt any of you more than it would help."

Rosa almost retracted into herself. She could hurt everyone with her magic? Something that, despite her fear, had sounded so interesting, now could be a source of pain for everyone else if she did anything. Rosa was about to devolve into sobs before Octavia gave the young woman a hug straight to the neck.

"Remember." Stolas took advantage of his daughter's little 'attack'. At least Rosa seemed to melt on his little owlet's feathers and cuteness. "Intent matters, young lady. You are afraid of Hell and all it represents. You want to leave. I can respect that. This is no place for living humans like you, not in most cases." And Stolas did understand. Hell was cruel like that. "I know it may be hard for you, this situation is, after all, straining you in ways you never thought possible. But if you want to help your family, I'd recommend getting more familiar with other denizens of Hell. Get to learn their nature, see that, yes, they are dangerous, probably demented by your standards, but not necessarily 'absolute evil'."

Rosa was silent for a second, then she began petting Octavia. An adult would've considered it rather demeaning, or perhaps an insult at worst, considering how she was doing it, but Octavia seemed to hoot happily at the attention.

"I don't want to be here." Rosa finally admitted. "I don't hate it here, but it feels wrong." When Octavia looked at the young woman's eyes, seeing her sadness, Rosa tried to distract her with more pets and a hug. It worked, or at least Octavia allowed herself to be coddled at least. "I had very little contact outside the family despite trying to be the nicest, but I feel so afraid here… It is hard to put up a brave face at all times, Prince Stolas."

"Believe me, I know." Stolas could easily empathize with Rosa, more than she knew. "Just give it time, my dear. Besides, if things come to the point you may want to leave, it shouldn't take long for you to have a chance. I know you may not want to burden your cousin anymore, but he may be able to have a word with Lord Lucifer in a few months."

"A few months?" This time it was Carlos the one to butt in. Almost everyone else in his family, even Evelinde herself, had been about to ask. "I thought it would take much longer."

"It should, but Lord Lucifer did not tell me much more beyond that. Who knows?" Stolas let out a little shrug. "Perhaps he is helping somehow. It helps him, in a way, if you were to ask for some in your family to be sent up before you, ah, 'do the deed' as was agreed."

Rosa and everyone else went from confusion to a different array of emotions.

Carlos was the most telling; he had a level of acceptance that bordered coldness. Expected, considering he was very much aware of Lucifer and his intentions. How could he not after their little talk and the contract? Evelinde had the decency of looking away with a blush at the very least. There was no hiding that both of them clearly enjoyed their situation, for different reasons, but only Evelinde saw no downsides to it all. For the demoness, this was normal. For the human… it would be.

Everyone else, other than Octavia, who was ignoring the conversation and enjoying the continued ministrations provided by Rosa, had their own expressions to add to the mix. Most had hid them well, and quickly at that, but there was a level of resentment Stolas had seen, despite clearly being thankful to the Lord of Hell. Considering they were basically marked for death by Heaven, they knew this was the best they were going to get.

But a month doesn't erase the fact that, at any point, the deal could change. Not in a way you'd consider brutal, after all a Contract is a very safe thing by Hell's standards, but asking more things of Lucifer could have dire consequences. It was probably that thought what brought Rosa from sadness to a clear resolution in a few seconds of time.

"I'll do my best." She promised. A firmness in her voice that, from what Stolas saw of everyone else present, was not common. "I… I hope you have the patience to help me, Lord Stolas."

"None of that 'Lord' thing, please. Prince Stolas at most. I wouldn't mind just 'Stolas' when we are alone. I'd hate for some of the other nobles to lay an eye on any of you if they think we are too close." Stolas grumbled more to himself than anyone else a few words the mortals didn't get to hear. "And don't worry. We will have time to help you with this. Considering your nature I am sure you could be one of the few healers, not doctors, to be in this ring. Most are in Sloth, with only a few Sinners and the rare demon offering any ways of mending."

"Considering Sinners apparently can recover from being eaten." Gonzalo muttered, just loud enough to be heard. "I don't think anyone would make a living as a doctor over here. There aren't that many Hellborn from what I have seen."

"And those that are around don't seem to let people 'just get hurt'." Ernesto was quick to add. No need to be overly direct with Octavia nearby. Besides, everyone got the meaning quickly enough.

"True, but there are still many willing and needing to get medical attention." Stolas hummed as he thought of certain scenarios. "Sinners may regenerate, but outside help makes it less… unpleasant. Demons rarely get sick, but it can happen, even Sinners may catch something. Human medicine works wonders sometimes, but it is very regulated." He looked at Rosa. "If you were to become a healer, even if Rosie ever stopped protecting your family, you could keep yourself, perhaps everyone, safe by being one of the few active healers. Just food for thought."

Rosa was probably the most surprised by this. Everyone else? They had varying degrees of knowledge, and a few had seen that, while the mine they had was very animated and staffed with weirdly friendly demons (Mostly because the pay was stupid good, they had a place to live that wasn't shit and the food was, for once, not total crap), they still had to leave for a long while if anyone got any kind of scuffle. Now they were aware that medicine could only (easily) be found in the damn bottom of Hell, so that explained a few things. To have someone that could mend you in a snap of the fingers would make anyone a celebrity.

And if said healer could also burn you to a crisp if you fucked up? Well, let's say some of those present hoped Rosa wouldn't let go of all that 'Holy' in her. Just in case.

"I want you to remember, dear Rosa, that yes; many of us in Hell would be at each other's throat at the slightest opportunity." Stolas broke the silence that befell the group for a moment as he motioned to his daughter. Octavia obviously had not a care in the world so long as she was being petted and hugged. "But know that not all of us are monsters. Are most denizens of Hell dangerous? Opportunistic? Yes to both, and many ARE monsters. So it IS in your best interest to keep your wits about you, but please." And Stolas couldn't help but stress this. "Do know that, while I may have given you that impression, I did not mean for you to be scared: Fear is a mind killer, this I know. Do not think everyone will outright hurt you. Just be mindful of yourself, your position and your own power. Be on your guard and don't give your trust easily. Hell is full of souls that deserve so much better, so do not alienate them out of cowardice."

Whether he meant his own fate and the fact that his life was basically decided for him, or the hopes for his child to have what he never did, Stolas did not explain further. At least Carlos and Evelinde had an inkling of his meaning, and many of the mortals present could see a hint of it, but Rosa took it differently.

This wasn't going to make her feel any better anytime soon, but it would help. In a way she had just been told that there were decent people out there. She had even seen some of the demons at 'home' act like what she'd call people on Earth. Her mind couldn't really make the full connection despite the obvious because there was something in her far more in tune with what her grandmother had expected to achieve than anyone else in the family.

Octavia had been the first demon child she had seen, unlike many of the others. And it was Octavia who had made Rosa's heart melt a little. She couldn't think the owlet to be a monster, or scary, but something in her wanted to. Now, with her in Rosa's hands, and Stolas doing her best to assuage her fears, Rosa's inner conflict just grew. But, far more important than what she should or could feel, there was something else.

Stolas said people here suffered. That violence was the norm. True medicine was somewhere Sinners couldn't get it, and even Hellborne would have difficulties, she was sure of it. After all, it was Hell; having a medical system did not mean it worked well.

So perhaps, just a 'maybe' right now, she could help with that. Stolas said that 'Light' was for mending, didn't he?

For good or ill Rosa's personality was a caring one. The idea of letting people suffer just because this was Hell, and because she was scared, did not sit well with her. Far more important: If she could do magic, if she could help, then she HAD to. Back home she had no means of doing so, heck, back home all she could do was fish with her family to put food on the table. Here? If Stolas spoke no lies, then Rosa could do many things.

A loud, squeaky hoot was heard when Rosa hugged Octavia closer to her chest. The child didn't seem to mind, although Marcela, by now at Rosa's side, couldn't help but look at her cousin with a raised eyebrow. Perhaps her attraction to cute things would make whatever change was going in her mind go faster if she interacted more with Octavia, and Marcela was more than willing to share some time with both of them. That way the younger one in the family could check on the two and make sure everything was alright.

Besides… She could let loose and act more like a kid with Octavia around. That,and she knew Rosa would join from time to time. You cannot stay moody and dark forever without losing a screw or two after all.

"Surprising little development aside." Stolas grabbed everyone's attention as he motioned the last human left with a test to complete. "Carlos, if you would? I highly doubt my… darling wife is willing to wait too much longer for us. We are quite tardy as it is."

Carlos gave a quick nod, with everyone giving him an expectant look. After every little surprise that came out of this training session no one believed Carlos, of all people here, would not spice things up further. In a way the young man was excited, in another, he was not. Ironically enough this had nothing to do with a bad outcome, mostly with the fact that Carlos had never been that much of a fan of the magical world. Generally he preferred to play the 'dumb muscle' in games when he could. Becoming a magician of any kind was mostly seen on his side as a duty that he'd take with gusto if it helped the family, and there was some excitement there, but not as much as many others in his family had, that was for sure.

But there was someone that clearly had an interest in it all. So, while she was smiling in anticipation of what Carlos could discover, the young man took Evelinde's hand and moved ahead with her, making the demoness let out a little surprised gasp.

"W-wait!"

It was rather cute. Carlos had yet to see Evelinde surprised in such a way; confused, out of her element, and slightly fearful of every eye on her. She was curious, cruel, sadistic and (beyond) slightly insane, true, but she could still get flustered.

And Carlos would not mind admitting that the dark blush on her cheeks was, at the very least, a beautiful contrast.

Or enticing, if you managed to coax it out of him.

"Oh no, not waiting here." Carlos chuckled, trying his best to let all past apprehension behind him. Every worry could wait for later as he dragged Evelinde to her side. "You said your grandmother AND your mother expected a little magic, didn't you? How about you try? You have a chance now."

Whether it was shyness, a strange thing to see on the Cambion, or fear of failure, which Carlos had seen when they had their first shared talk with Rosie after the contract was made, Evelinde did her best to decline. "I wouldn't dare impose…"

"It wouldn't take long." Stolas shot the pale woman's hopes with just a few words. "It would be just a moment, my dear. Besides, Lord Lucifer did ask me to teach Carlos' family." The owl's eyes had a glint of mischievous intent to them. "You are part of his family now, aren't you?"

"But I…" Evelinde's next complaint died in her mouth.

While Stolas did seem to be teasing her, likely sure that Evelinde would achieve nothing, Carlos seemed fully sincere in his hopes. It was the human's small, but gentle smile that made her take a deep breath to compose herself and smile back.

Breathing a sigh she accepted. "Fine… fine, you win." She took her hat off, just in case, handing it to her partner. "Hold this for me, please?"

Carlos took the hat with a nod. It still surprised him that Evelinde could be so delicate. Most of the 'Cannibals', Sinners or the Hellborn, had impressive claws, but most of them had the decency to retract them when dealing with him. A safety measure. No one wanted to piss off Rosie. And for good reason; Carlos remembered what Evelinde had done on their first day in Hell, and a few of the Cannibals were far more brutal and deliberate in their butchering, if not more powerful yet less coordinated than Carlos' future lover.

To see how she snuck a caress his way made him think of the times they held hands. It was such a different feeling from when he did it with a fellow human. Evelinde was slightly colder, the skin surprisingly softer, and the claws feeling like a butcher knife that willingly put away sharpness to instead give a warm, if dangerous, touch. Confusing signals were sent every time the two had a moment with each other, but Carlos was slowly not only becoming accustomed, but wanting more of it. Maybe it was the sense of constant danger, or the fact that Evelinde truly cared, or wanted to, desperately, that got his blood pumping.

Either way he took the hat, even held her hand for a second. "Just don't worry, okay?" He squeezed, feeling as if blood would come out as the claws made contant. Yet, as always, it was perfectly safe. "Magic or not, it won't make a difference to me. I just want you to have a chance. Test it out, now that you can and have someone that won't hinder you, belittle you or just outright hurt you if you have nothing." He finally let go of her hand. "Just relax, okay? You'll do fine."

Evelinde didn't want to let go, in fact she wanted to lunge at him, instincts telling her to do that and far more, audience or not. Instead, fighting to keep that for later, when they were alone, Evelinde managed to mouth 'Thank you' before taking a few steps towards the Goetia Prince.

Stolas didn't say anything, not that he needed to. Instead, as Evelinde got in position, what he did was drag the dummy that was ready for her and place it just a few feet away. It was clear that, whether Evelinde had magic or not, Stolas had already seen something and knew that the young demoness was only meant for short distances. Still, the dummy was a short distance away, not close enough to touch.

"Go ahead. If you have what it takes, this may even be too close." Stolas took a few steps away. "Do try to control yourself. You may get carried away otherwise."

No further explanation needed, Evelinde felt herself smile as wide as she could. There were reasons for this, one of them being that Evelinde had never, in all her life, managed to be 'centered', as Stolas had told everyone to be.

She just couldn't.

Emptying her mind did not work. All she saw when she tried, all she could smell and taste, was blood and gore.

Had she been seeing the land full of corpses in real life, Evelinde would've had to control her drooling. In her mind? In her mind all she could do was envision a vast land of mutilated bodies and dying people that fit her interests. She could hear the screams, feel the pain she had inflicted, and delight herself in the idea of what she could create with all this. Evelinde was a true traditional woman, if you were to ignore her violent tendencies and warped mind.

There were so many things she could use, things that any human would consider her a sadistic monster for. There she saw perfectly unblemished skin on a decapitated body, something she could convert to leather for the right dress Rosie would make. A head here and there, with well cared hair, hair she could pluck to create thread and strands with the right method. Bones and teeth here and there jewelry could be made, nails for buttons, eyes kept sealed in glass. So many toys, so little time.

Fashion was not everything, meals were important too. Food of every kind, with kidneys, spleens, lungs and entrails; savory with a squelchy sound as you bite down, filling and apeticing to the last bite. A breast here, literale in this case, with firm hindquarters there, a leg, an arm, and bloodwine to match.

Hunger, work, entertainment and more. That is all that Evelinde kept in her head, and all she thought she'd find as she tried her best to let it all go.

So when a space full of red, pain and cries for help was overcome by a white void, the young demoness could only blink in confusion.

It took her a few moments to understand, and she only did so because the sound of footsteps echoed as if they were in a big hall. In fact, as her mindspace grew again, Evelinde found out that yes, this was a hall. A dancing hall. No, that was wrong. It was a ballroom. A ballroom just for her.

The steps grew closer.

Reds still dominated the scenery. It was mandatory, even in her mind, to see the carmine color envelop everything. From the many empty tables, ornate and with equally detailed chairs all turned to look at her, to the curtains, beautiful and embroiled in not gold, but what looked like ruby dust. Glass, walls, wood and stone, everything made of reds so pure Evelinde could imagine blood had been solidified and worked in ways only artisans from Hell could ever achieve.

A boring, or horrifying sight, depending on who you asked. Less gory than her previous scene to be sure, but those that knew…

"Would you dance with me?"

Evelinde turned to see an illusion, for she knew it was just that.

Carlos was there, in a white dress shirt, jacket and pants. A brutal contrast her mind did not care to identify as clashing or fetching with the background, for this was not Carlos as he was now in the real world. In the real world Carlos still had some chub, he was this close to killing himself with training to lose every pound he had gained, and the results were incredible. Still, he still had some extra padding. But here?

Here Carlos looked in his prime.

He was rippling with muscles, his face fetching and daring like Evelinde had dreamed it to be, once he became confident and comfortable enough with her. He was offering her a hand, the shirt and jacket barely holding the desire she saw on his face, but the eagerness was clear. Here Evelinde saw what she fantasized about: A man for her and her alone.

A fantasy she knew would not come true…

Because in this silent place, with no more steps to echo through the hall, she could hear voices. Not uncommon for her, that was for sure, but these ones she knew from outside, not from within her mind. She knew of two, her fellow 'companions' and competitors for Carlos' affections. But there were many. More than she had yet to hear. Voices she knew would join and would fight her for the one good man she had found after years of failures and betrayals.

"Ignore them for now." Carlos' doppelganger brought Evelinde's attention back to him. "This is our alone time. Let's dance and enjoy each other. Shall we?"

Evelinde didn't find the words, but she found her nerve. Perhaps this was an hallucination brought by her overly active and dysfunctional mind, but the Cambion was willing to take what was offered to her.

As such, and after years of having her 'own space' being just brutality everywhere, Evelinde's mind found her new focus: A slow, tender dance, with voices not envious or angry, but happy in the back of her mind, a melodic and tranquil dance tuning in from somewhere as Evelinde found herself leaning against her partner.

Outside, in the real world, much to everyone's wonder, Evelinde had indeed begun dancing. Her smile was still there, but it was much less manic now. An interesting, perhaps welcome change.

One that came with a little something else.

A red mist and a large pool at the woman's feet.

It was as if Evelinde was flowing with blood, and indeed she was, in a way. Her claws were dripping, growing, elongating like never before, changing her complexion around her natural weapons from a pearly white to a crimson coloration as her fingers grew like scythes, ready to sweep and cleave not fields, but bodies. It all seemed to go along with music only Evelinde could both hear and dance to.

Until the woman opened her eyes, her smile cracking a bit, as something snapped in her mind. Whatever it was, it was probably not good, but Evelinde had enough control to let out nothing, no scream or whimper, as she clawed her hands forward, releasing the magic that had found its way inside the demoness' body.

A sound like breaking glass followed as Evelinde's claws were 'spent'. From scythes to her normal hands they went, a red wave of solidified, sharp blood rushed forward, exactly in the direction of the dummy Prince Stolas had placed for her. Whether intentional or lucky, no one knew, but everyone present was thankful only the dummy had to take it, because the wave of blood cut through the thing like a hot knife through butter. Worse yet was how the thing seemed to absorb part of the blood, turning red, then darkening, finally almost turning black as the blood apparently corroded the material, turning the thing into a putrid blackish puddle.

"I am… sorry." Evelinde brought both hands to her lips before anyone could figure out what was really happening. At least everyone but Stolas, whom Evelinde turned to face as soon as her mind cleared enough. "I think I lost my focus. Something… something else came to mind."

Stolas hummed, looking both at the woman and the previous target of her magic and clear ire. A simple flick of the wrist and the puddle was gone, along with any remaining blood shed by Evelinde during her little magic display.

"Do not worry. What matters is that you succeeded, although something tells me your manipulation of magic into blood may remain unrefined for a long time." Stolas said this without being hurtful or too direct, but Evelinde got what he tried to convey. Her mind was not really cut for magic. BUT! She could use it. "We will have to take our time making sure you find your center, but we will do it, do not fret."

Evelinde offered a smile, only this time most of those seeing her could tell it wasn't genuine. At least it wasn't until she turned to Carlos.

The Cambion walked to him, taking just a few steps, before ignoring the hat he was trying to give her back and instead hugging him close. It was a behavior none of those present had seen before, not even Carlos had hugged her, much less the opposite. It was perhaps a bit too much for the both of them; Carlos being still worried and perhaps doubtful while Evelinde did not want to risk what she had gained, and was still gaining as time went on, before he was ready to do more.

A whisper didn't make it anywhere but to Carlos's ears. "Carlos… can you promise me something?"

Carlos took a second. It was too long a wait, he knew, but he had to measure his words. "What… Is something wrong?"

"Just promise me you will be safe, okay?" The Cambion's words were both tender and full of fear. There was something there, in her mind, that had scared her horribly. "And… if we both are still here next year… Could we… dance?"

"Of course." It was perhaps a bit late, but Carlos managed to return the hug. At the last moment, before pulling away, he added. "Hey, Eve?"

Noticing he had been about to pull off, but instead lingered, Evelinde did her best to drag Carlos onto her. She wasn't about to share what had happened, not here, but it was clear she was afraid of letting go for some reason. Stolas was waiting though, and she couldn't drag it forever, so she ended up responding after a long moment went by.

"Yes?"

"Would you… like to sleep with me today? Nothing, uh, strange or untoward. Just, you know, sleep on the same bed."

Evelinde would've been giddy at any other point. Right now? She only squeezed the man harder. "Please."

The demoness let him go after that. She even gently took away the hat and brought up her mask. It was not shyness that made her walk away and ignore all questions from everyone, including Octavia. At any other point Evelinde would, just out of courtesy, answer, or given the closest to a non answer she could, to the young Goetia Princess. Right now, after whatever happened, the Cambion had no desire to speak again. Whatever joy had been derived from doing magic, from achieving one thing her family seemed keen on, was, at best, secondary or, at worst, just not here.

Carlos was about to forget Stolas and go to Evelinde again, to see what was wrong. It wasn't until Stolas placed a gentle hand on his shoulders that Carlos resigned himself to what had to happen. After all, they had taken far too long today. Somehow he knew that not being up to schedule would give Lucifer an excuse to do something, and that was not part of his plan.

"A lot of emotions are running wild and we haven't done things right today." Stolas tried his best to console the young man. "Let's finish for today, hmm? Try your best and we shall be done. Have a nice lunch, then work out these kinks, as it were."

"Yeah, sure…" Carlos seemed to deflate. Something didn't sit well with him, and it was clear what. "I… am not sure if I'll do it right now, though."

"Do not worry." Stolas took Carlos' hands on his own for a second. A light flash of light, magic, as Carlos quickly found out, and, as soon as Stolas let go, a pair of… symbols, or whatever they were, appeared on the back of Carlos' hands. "I highly doubt things could go badly. Just in case, these should stop magic from flowing freely if your focus slips."

Carlos opened and closed his hands a couple of times. The symbols felt somehow strange on him, but he chose to ignore it. "Then let's get this done with."

Stolas said nothing. Carlos' family did the same. Even previous mistakes and scares didn't leave an atmosphere as heavy as this. It was perhaps because those little surprises hadn't been exactly positive, but the change Evelinde went through, even for those that didn't know her well, seemed far too much for what they had seen. Dancing, smiling and finding out she could indeed do magic? All those sounded like good things. To retract into herself and shy away was not what any of those present would've expected. And her daring hug and whatever words she shared? It was obvious they had an effect on Carlos.

So it was no wonder the young man was having troubles.

Normally Carlos was not a hard to please man. In fact he was very simple, in a way. Being alone with his thoughts from time to time was enough. Reading a book with some music, or playing video games was reserved for more stressful situations. Using all his might on something, usually training in some way, was what allowed him to blow steam whenever he was truly ill at ease.

Visualizing any of those things had usually been serviceable enough when it came to a bad day, or just to calm himself down whenever he went to one extreme or another.

Thinking of some physical activity was a good way for him to break out of a more reserved and 'respectful' approach that he tried to offer people like teachers, police officers or the like. A simple way of being nice and not too personal his mother had insisted he take, considering she had been in problems with authority in her youth and wanted her son to suffer none of that.

A more collected thought, like resting on top of grass with the wind blowing, reading a book or hearing music, tended to calm him down and crack less jokes or say less stupid shit whenever he was going overboard. Carlos was no motormouth, much less a social butterfly, generally forcing himself to speak in many situations unless he was comfortable. Problem is, if he WAS comfortable then there were very few ways to stop him from saying stupid shit and trying to make people laugh. It did not always end up well, though.

Both sides were now clashing with the worst part of his mind: His worry and self doubt.

To put it in a visual way that could be understood, Carlos couldn't focus on anything. The grass and wind in his mind were dying and silent. The music and book were discordant and faded to illegibility. And the attempt he made at thinking of training? For a second Carlos thought his muscles were really aching, because in his mind, for some reason, he went back to the day he fucked up and hurt himself.

It had been a damn month. Thirty freaking days. He shouldn't feel as if he was about to puke because Evelinde, for some reason, was acting weird. He knew the woman wasn't right in the head, he had seen her doing some of Rosie's errands, he had nearly puked with a few of the things he had witnessed. Hell, he puked during the Tithe.

And yet having Evelinde look like her happiness had gone away was making him unbalanced. He felt as if he was going to be sad, or perhaps angry, and with a growing desire to hurt someone. Was he really this invested in just a month?

Of course he was. Carlos was starved for a companion that cared for him, loved him, and that wasn't familial love.

So having Evelinde act like that only allowed him to feel one thing.

Anger.

"Carlos… please, mind yourself."

Stolas tried to warn the young man. But who would hear him when such imbalance was at play? He should've predicted it, but either way there was a chance Carlos would've tried to keep going anyway.

At first it wasn't worrying Stolas. He knew Carlos would be a mess, if only because not everything here was his. The cold air that began to swirl around him? Yes, ice, that was his. Not water, so like Gonzalo in that regard. The dust that stuck to his body and began to harden, primarily around his arms? Earth, that was also his. The dual elements that many in his family seemed to play with. It was all fine until he began to show what came after.

Because it sure as hell wasn't right for his bones to start showing through his skin, as if he was behind an X-Ray machine.

Add salt to the wound the moment he began to glow green, then burst to flames, and things couldn't get worse.

Stolas was glad about his precautions this time. The owl prince did not need to act, and whatever discomfort or, more likely, pain Carlos would've felt were mitigated to nothing with the sigils he had left on his hands. True that a good magic user would've been far too guarded, or their magic too strong, for Stolas to mark them that way, but Carlos did not doubt Stolas' intentions, at least not enough to oppose his actions, so all he had to do was wait.

Now, necromantic energies and necromancy users weren't dangerous per se. The fact that everyone present, save for Evelinde, had gasped or yelled as soon as Carlos' darker side began to show, in a sense at least, was as bad as it got.

Balefire? Now that was trickier. More widely known as 'Hellfire', it was something that could only be created in Hell and, on top of that, usually something that took the color of the ring its parent elements came from. So creating 'regular' fire (well, 'regular' for demons that is) in Greed, for example, would create the same green that was trying to consume Carlos.

Stolas' best guess, considering Carlos didn't peg him as a greedy fellow, was that this 'greed' came from his desire to keep his family safe and happy. He would willingly sacrifice anything and anyone else to do so, which could be considered a virtue in some cases, but extremely selfish and greedful in the eyes of most angels. You are meant to be kind and helpful to everyone after all, even if it hurts you and yours. Or so most angels would spout at you if you ever dared ask.

All those thoughts amounted to Carlos looking like a person still alive after coming out of a nuclear reactor: Glowing green, most of his body radiating energy, bones perfectly visible and a few vital areas covered in a mix of ice and stone that had hardened and melded together under the power of the enchanted fire.

To be honest, he should be dead right now.

And no, Stolas was not playing around or exaggerating. He'd be so candid to say that Carlos had 'Fucked up beyond belief', if he was asked. There was so little control of his magic there that Carlos should've burned to less than dust at this point.

The moment Carlos opened his mouth to scream, for that was all Stolas thought the young man should be able to do at this point as the seals on his hands began to take away his magic, Stolas made a simple motion and the show ended. Pain faded just as quickly as the ice and stone covering Carlos' body did. The glow disappeared and his form returned to normal as magic was expelled from his body. Likely a disgusting feeling, in more ways than one, and something that would leave Carlos feeling sore for a while, but far better than the alternative.

Perhaps Lucifer was having a laugh at this, but Stolas considered every failure on the family's part to be a serious problem.

"Tell me, Carlos. Does all that has happened weight heavy in your mind?" Stolas asked as gently as he could while approaching the now prone man. His brain had been bombarded by pain in many forms, so merely being awake was a surprising and welcome conclusion.

His gasps for breath weren't anything unexpected, though. Carlos sounded a bit raspy as he spoke. "You… you could say that…"

Stolas chuckled. "'You could say that'." He let out a sigh as he helped the young man to his feet. "Did you know I had to do this by myself?" The Prince did his best to dust away physical remains of the magic that had been forcefully banished off of Carlos' clothes. "Father was rather strict, I know that won't surprise you by now. He was also anything but patient. I had to go through a lot to get where I am right now, and the only reason I did was because Goetia, like me, would not die just from magic."

"Sounds lovely." Carlos groaned, his skin, his whole being, feeling like it had been stabbed. "Going through this once was an experience I'd recomend everyone."

Stolas chuckled at the sarcasm dripping from the man's voice. "I am sure. But do let me offer a suggestion." Stolas let go of Carlos at this point. "Let's take a break with magic when it comes to you."

Carlos' eyes widened as he looked at the Prince. "But-!"

"I know what we are meant to be doing." Stolas shushed the mortal with a gentle but very firm glare. "Everyone can still train. You? You are going to be watching."

It made Carlos frown. How long would it take? As if sensing his apprehension and clearly knowing the question floating in his mind, Stolas did his best to reassure the young man.

"It will take some time. A single month is not enough for you to be ready, and you have too much to shoulder all this." Stolas knew that his condescending tone was coming out. It sounded as if he was babying the man in front of him, which Carlos clearly didn't exactly enjoy. Still, the young man held his tongue as Stolas did his best to course correct. "You will be paired with a wife in weeks, a month tops. You have to prepare for a life or death situation. You are to seek out more concubines." The owl lifted three fingers, one by one, before digging them on the man's chest as he added a fourth. "And you have yet to truly settle in Hell."

Carlos frowned as he felt Stolas' palm on his chest. He could feel his heart going a mile a minute. The pain did not want to go away and his body had pumped a lot of adrenaline. The fact that he had remained so composed was not natural and Carlos wasn't willing to ask just how much shit Stolas put on those things he had added when the Prince touched Carlos' hands.

"I don't have the luxury of time, Stolas." He quipped at last. Carlos felt petulant enough to cross his arms and look away. This was embarrassing and infuriating at the same time. "If I did, we probably wouldn't have had this mess to handle."

"Oh, but we would." Stolas hummed with a small smile that openly said 'I know something that you don't'. "Time would have made only a little difference here. A few protections here, some more practice there… But Ice and Earth do not mix well, and Necromancy on itself can be tricky when paired with something else. As for Hellfire? A flame that could burn demons? You were going to hurt yourself no matter what."

Carlos deadpanned. "You know I don't mean just that."

"But it is a mirror of everything else, my friend." Stolas pointed out with a serious look on his face. "You are the one in a more difficult spot between you and your sister. Between you and every single one of your family members even. As a fellow man with far too much weight to shoulder, let me tell you this: You do not have the luxury of time, but you will have to use it anyway. If you dont… you may not need to worry about the new year."

Carlos' knuckles whitened for a second, the crack of bones getting in place as muscles tenses clear enough for all to hear. This was just too fucking much, and he had already made a mistake.

It was so damn hard to keep everything in check, including himself. All the shit he had to deal with, and now apparently Evelinde had her own problem to boot. At some point he knew the facade would begin to crack and he'd break down in front not of his family, but everyone else. There had to be a damn way to get everything done before it happened.

"Don't worry about it." Stolas' voice became gentle as he made Carlos turn to face his family. "They worry, you know? Talk with them a bit more. You have support when I never had any. Our situations may be similar in some ways, Carlos, and while I am out of practice when it comes to being friends, I am pretty sure I would be a bad one if I didn't point out you have people willing to help you with everything."

"I should be the one busting my chops here, Stolas." Carlos did his best to look away, not that the prince let him. "I made deals just for that. I basically sold my soul to try and protect them."

"I feel this is something you'll hear a lot, my young friend, but this is Hell." Stolas had a crooked smile as he said this. Clearly that phrase was, if nothing else, amusing the Goetia Prince. "The only way you'll survive by doing everything yourself is if you are monumentally strong." And his taunting words only made the smirk grow larger. "Are you powerful enough to challenge my good Liege to get your 'soul', as you put it, back?"

Carlos frowned. "Of course not." The question felt more like a humiliation than anything else. "Who in Hell would?"

"No one, that is the point." Stolas was daring enough to boop the man's nose. "So what you should do then is start using your family's support. They offer it without ill will and you will need it." Stolas gave Carlos a gentle pat on the back. "Fear not to be slow at first, young man. You are already doing more than most, and far too quickly at that. All good things need to be nurtured."

"Nurturing this may mean I won't be able to do anything with it when the time is up." Carlos pointed out, not amused with Stolas' more childish acts. "I appreciate the counsel, though. But I really don't want to push more crap onto them."

"If too many of you break, you won't make it." Stolas cautioned, meaning Carlos was very much right in his fear. The problem was what Carlos was willingly ignoring. "But if *you* break? Rosie and Lucifer will both lose their grip on your family. If that happens, then every single opportunistic monster around will go for them. There are far too many out there willing to take a pure human soul by any means necessary, Carlos." Carlos wanted to fire something back, but the young man relented. Stolas wasn't lying, and Rosie had mentioned this more than once to him. "Try not to be a mountain, Carlos. You cannot be a load bearing pillar by your lonesome, at least not yet."

A bitter taste filled Carlos' mouth, both figuratively and literally. Vile tried to come upwards as the idea of his family suffering because he fucked up made him sick to the stomach, while his head was trying to come up with a way to not burden them anymore yet still make it through all this crap.

He came up short, and his time to think didn't last much longer the moment Stolas' robe began to vibrate.

"Wait a second." The Prince took his phone from one of the many pockets in his robe. "Yes?"

"STOLAS! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" And now Carlos really didn't want to say anything.

Stella's shrill cry was loud enough that perhaps his family heard her despite being, supposedly, too far away to hear their conversation before. If there was one thing Carlos would concede, it would be that Stella had an impressive pair of lungs.

"Calm down, 'dear', chill." Stolas grimaced while Carlos wondered just how powerful a Goetia body had to be to not be deaf by now. "We took a little longer than expected."

"And what the fuck did take this long, hmm? Any entrails the servants have to clean from the walls?" Stella growled, still loud enough for Carlos to hear. At least she wasn't screaming anymore.

"No, none of that. Everyone showed promise, Stella. We had to speed up considering none of them fizzled out." Stolas grumbled as he tried to clear his ear. That it was only ringing was a surprise on its own. "And Carlos proved himself a bit of a challenge. Four elements in one package. My best guess is it had to do with his deals with Lord Lucifer and other demons bringing out something from within him. He almost went up in flames."

Stella snorted. "Leave it up to you to fuck Lucifer's new plaything up." But she did make a contemplative pause. "Well, at least it looks like everyone will have one use or another. I am surprised you didn't get any of them killed."

Stolas' expression slowly morphed into the most 'I am so done' face he could muster. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Stella."

"Whatever. Get your feathered ass up here." Stella all but demanded. "Your damn cooks don't want to know their fucking place. They demand the food not be eaten cold, and that it should be enjoyed by everyone, you damn idiot. I am not willing to wait for YOU any longer and I cannot stand their fucking antics for another second!" She made the smallest of pauses. "And where is Octavia? She should've been studying in her room and didn't answer me when I went looking for her."

"Octavia heard me talking with the humans about the magic lessons and decided to come see." Not the full truth, but Stolas considered Stella needed just the bare minimum as far as he was concerned. "We are done here anyway. We'll join you shortly, so tell the cooks to wait just a few minutes longer."

"Then hurry the fuck up! If they keep pestering me I will have them flayed!" And with that lovely note, Stella hung up.

"That woman…" Stolas took a deep breath as he shared a look with Carlos before facing everyone in the room. "Well! Food is ready and my wife was kind enough to call for us. I hope everyone is hungry?"

There were a bunch of nods and 'yesses' here and there, but no one made much of a fuss or seemed all that interested in eating as Stolas went for the door and gently ushered everyone out. At least most of them were keen on leaving.

No one was surprised when the one closest to the door, Evelinde, waited for Carlos to get her. She was still not all there, and not in the usual sense, going for a very possessive, even desperate, grab at Carlos' side the moment he was within touching distance. Carlos didn't seem to mind much, basically squeezing himself against the demoness without a care.

Envy was there for Stolas as he looked back at the now empty room, then at the couple going upstairs. Perhaps his life was messed up, that was true, but Carlos had at least one person that wanted to be with him in ways Stolas had only dreamed off. Bad as today had been, his new human friend still had a large family that cared for him while Stolas had his daughter. It was enough, Stolas would never say otherwise, but there was still something missing…

Selfishness was, ironically for a demon, not something Stolas indulged much on. Self pity? Yeah, but he still had guests home and, to be honest, most of them were very entertaining. His woes could easily wait for a lot longer, more so if future visits became more pleasant.

So, with a humm and hoping for at least a calm lunch (if Stella allowed), Stolas hoped that what was left of today would end well enough. It was only in passing that he wondered at Evelinde's reaction and the flicker of outside magic that came before it happened. That wouldn't be the first time something from 'outside' affected whoever was in the room his father had made, but it was surprising for someone as 'unimportant' as Evelinde to be affected. He would admit to a bit of worry, as the magic was very diluted, as if it came from outside the room, not 'outside' as in the things lurking beyond.

Whatever the case, Stolas closed the door and joined everyone upstairs. It was high time he retrieved his little owlet from Rosa's grip to give her some cuddles of his own. That always made him feel much better.

*** Somewhere Else in Heaven ***

The body of Nathaniel landed with a heavy thud on the cell. He hadn't been thrown in carelessly, but that was only because of where they were and who they were. Far as Heaven was concerned, Nathaniel was on thin ice. Confinement had been all but guaranteed, perhaps something worse. But who would've allowed this to happen? His supposed superiors and people that were meant to follow the rules and do 'good'.

The ascended human felt less like an angel today. Not because he did something wrong, but because it was clear something was truly wrong in Heaven.

His actions would not brand him as 'fallen', not yet. But he had the uncontrollable desire of telling a few of those far older and 'wiser' than him that such a brand would fit them much better. After all, if they wanted to do things right, then what was with that damn plan of theirs? If he hadn't found out they would've done this without their target having any kind of warning. Whether just or not depending on the crime, it was a clear stipulation by GOD HIMSELF that the punishment should be known to its full extent.

Someone was doing far too much for this to be just a little mistake and a 'shady thing here or there'. But Nathaniel could do little more than he already did. Even then something had gone wrong! Carlos had the gift Nathaniel handed him, but the message didn't get to him, but someone else close to him. Where had he been for the magic to stray that way?

Nathaniel could only grunt as he got up, searching for a seat to plop himself over. Whatever would happen was now out of his hand. He only hoped whoever received the vision could decipher it. Now that he was here Nathaniel was going to get one visitor, then it was likely months of isolation for him to pay 'penance' for his transgression.

The human turned angel could only grimace at the thought. No one else was giving a damn and Nathaniel would be lucky if they let him out before the year's end.

And if the humans survived? They would be watching Nathaniel's ass every time he made contact with them.

The angel could only sigh dejectedly and wait. This was going to be a mess and he wasn't going to be able to help.