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Year 16 AL, DRASTIC MEASURES
Marcellus's return to consciousness was gradual. The first thing to return to him was physical touch.
While he didn't have a "body" anymore, the way his spirit came together formed perhaps the closest thing to having any corporeal feeling. The only sensible way to describe it would be to say that Marcellus felt like he was floating through water but without the pressure and sluggishness.
Once Marcellus's spirit was able to grasp these rather odd circumstances, his life flashed before his mind's eye.
From the days of his troubled youth - the trouble all on him, for he was quite the troublemaker even as a kid - to his days growing up alongside Lazarus, as the two lost boys tried to figure out how to become men. These memories finally bled into Marcellus's beginnings of a Hero, growing his original gang of just himself and Lazarus from two to four as Karen and Merlin were added to his close circle of friends.
He recalled his days traveling around the World with his friends, haphazardly fixing some things here and massively blundering up other things elsewhere, while in no way being the bastion of peace that they probably should have been, all things considered. Indeed, he had his fair share of fun when he was a dashing rogue...
...Until that last and darkest day fell at the Monster Lord's Castle, which led to Marcellus losing himself.
More and more of that pain washed over Marcellus, forcing the pleasant feelings of his youth away to be replaced by crushing guilt that filled his adult life, as Marcellus remembered what he and Lazarus had become after losing their friends. Just as that pain swirled within, threatening to drown him once more as it did in the past, he remembered the light that shone through the dark. The one that showed him the way when he was at his most lost and confused.
Lucifina, the woman who had saved him from himself.
Marcellus remembered the change he felt taking place after meeting her, how much more alive Lucifina made him feel. It was the first truly pure thing he had felt since losing his friends. Lucifina had reawakened so much inside Marcellus, she had reminded him of who he used to be! So much so, that he feared that who he had become, was too far gone to be with someone as perfect as her...
...But Lucifina would not take no for an answer, and Marcellus was terribly weak to her advances. Finally, his trip through his life came to the point where Marcellus finally let go of his past, and embraced a future he hadn't believed he could have. And from there, he gained perhaps the greatest thing of all.
Marcellus remembered the birth of his purple-haired son, the most precious thing in his life. The joy of being a Father to Luka had nearly no equal, had helped to heal his heart even more. And so, the love of his wife and son had given Marcellus a true second chance at life.
Until Marcellus lost all of that, when his past finally came back in the form of an old friend to remind him that a man can only outrun the consequences of his actions for so long. Marcellus jolted, the eyes of his spirit finally opening as his own untimely death played in his mind. The moments of that night eight years ago, when he met his end at the hands of Lazarus.
Marcellus's eyes snapped open as his death ended the rush of memories. The man was immediately puzzled as he saw the gray clouds he stood upon, seeing the stray jagged rocks breaking up the dark fluff that made up the ground.
'What in the World?' Marcellus thought to himself as he then looked down at his "body" with wide eyes. The man quickly found that his body was transparent, looking less like a person and more like a stray beam of light from the sun that happened to look Humanoid. Marcellus's mind spun from the revelation, not being able to understand what was going on or why.
That was until an onlooking Goddess of Light made herself known.
"Welcome back, Marcellus." The blunt greeting caused the man to glance up, and he gaped at the visage of Ilias herself standing before him. Even with never having met the Goddess before in the flesh, there was no mistaking her for another, especially as she stood right before him. Ilias stared down at her Former Hero with a stern gaze, something only further intensified by the tenseness in her posture.
'What in the Hell is going on?' Marcellus thought, putting up an admirable amount of effort to keep his worry off of his face.
At one point, Marcellus had been a - mostly - diligent follower of the Goddess of Light. However, the man had renounced much of her teachings in his later life, as his opinion of Monsters changed considerably. So standing in front of the one he had betrayed was a quickly sobering one.
"I would think that being resurrected would make one quick to give thanks, but you don't seem to be very grateful." Ilias remarked, her tone not even holding a candle's worth of warmth.
Marcellus recoiled some but was able to finally find his voice, "Maybe I would be, if I knew why you decided to bring me back." He replied carefully, not at all knowing what to expect from this abrupt meeting. Certainly, Ilias wouldn't bring him back in the first place without reason, and Marcellus didn't know if he was looking forward to finding out said reason.
Ilias gave a closed-mouthed huff, crossing her arms as she did. Marcellus felt himself grow lost, the idea of what Ilias was like in his head not at all matching the person before him. The snideness and lack of grace in her posture was not at all what he would have expected from someone like her.
Even after denouncing Ilias's beliefs, Marcellus always imagined something more reserved from a self-proclaimed Goddess of Light. The man wasn't sure how to properly describe it, but something about the Goddess seemed very off to him.
"Truly, I wouldn't even consider it under any usual circumstance, but I'm in the very unusual position of needing help. Help that, perhaps, you may be able to supply me." Ilias answered cryptically as she stared off into the pool of souls behind him. Marcellus's apprehension only grew, why exactly would she need his help for?
As if hearing his thoughts, Ilias turned back to Marcellus with the same piercing gaze. "I have an offer to make to you, Marcellus, one I think you should consider with the utmost gratefulness." Marcellus furrowed his brows, not liking in any way how the Goddess of Light was talking down to him. He may just be a regular man, but he wasn't just going to stand here and take it.
"And what exactly is your almighty offer, then?" The formerly purple-haired man fired back. Ilias's mouth curved down, her bright blue eyes turning icy at the subtle slight. For a moment, the Goddess looked as though she would comment on it, but she decided against it. "Yes, about that..." Ilias surprised Marcellus with her speed, quickly leaning down and grabbing him by the arm.
Marcellus saw the odd place he had been standing in vanish as he blinked, being replaced with an entirely different room of golden cloud.
"...I am offering to pardon you, Marcellus." Ilias said from behind him, spurring Marcellus to turn around. The Goddess of Light was sitting on her marble throne now, staring down at him with the closest thing to friendliness since bringing him back. However, Marcellus was understandably doubtful. "Pardon me?"
Ilias nodded, "Yes, I am willing to forgive your failures to be a proper Hero and permanently resurrect you, body and all." The Goddess's direct insult was quickly ignored, as what she had said right after sunk in. "Y-You mean that I would, be able..." Marcellus felt a wave of emotion hit him, his mind quickly flashing back to his wife and son, "...To go back?"
Marcellus could not lie, even the mere idea was overwhelmingly tempting. But his doubt quickly rose again after the initial wave of emotion, questioning what Ilias's true intentions were. If she, for whatever reason, had a genuine desire to bring him back to life with no strings attached, she would've just done it already. Clearly, there was something else at play here.
Ilias saw the suspicion in Marcellus's eyes and nodded, "Yes, there is something I'd need you to do first before then. Something you should've done properly the first time, I might add." The Former Hero bristled, his thoughts immediately assuming the worse. "I'm not going to be a Hero for you again, if that's what you think!" He accused, but Ilias quickly waved his words away.
"Oh no, I have someone much more important than a Hero serving me now. I now have my Prophet, the one who will finally bring peace to my World." The Goddess of Light revealed, much to Marcellus's visible skepticism. "A Prophet?" He asked, the unfamiliar term causing the man to parrot Ilias's words.
The sudden and sickly smile that came to the Goddess's face would've sent a chill up Marcellus's spine if he had one.
"Yes, my Prophet, my final hope for saving this World from Monsterkind and uniting it under my rule." Ilias said as she rose from her marble throne. "And you can be a part of that, and win back the life you had so awfully torn from you." Marcellus made no attempt to hide his indignation now, "Forget it, I won't give up everything I believe in to kill in your name again."
As much as Marcellus wanted to be with Lucifina and Luka once again, he wouldn't betray them and his fallen friends by staining his hands with more blood for Ilias's sake. He'd already fallen into that trap before, he would not return to that way of living. He'd rather stay dead.
Ilias's smile did not fade. "I don't need you to kill, that's what I have your son for."
If Marcellus was still alive, his breath would've caught in his throat. Nothing in either life or death could've prepared him for how that sentence made him feel. The absolute dread that started to build within his core was unimaginably dense, the sheer weight of it threatening to pull him down to his knees. "You don't mean..." Marcellus trailed off, realizing that Ilias had yet to say who this Prophet was.
"Yes, Marcellus. Luka is my Prophet." Ilias confirmed as she started walking down from her throne. "He's only been on his journey for about a week now, but he's already made it to Sentora. Quite the progress - much quicker than even you - but he needs help being steered into the right direction."
Marcellus didn't know if he should feel relieved or not to hear that Luka wasn't going in the "right direction" in Ilias's eyes. On one hand, it gave the Former Hero hope that Luka hadn't been brainwashed into a mindless follower of Ilias but on the other, it made him fear for how this put Luka at risk of gaining the Goddess's ire.
Ilias continued, "Luka seems to have trouble with understanding that Monsters are not his friends, and has deliberately gone out of his way to even help them become closer to Humans." The Goddess paused, "And even worse, my Prophet has been getting a bit too close to Monsters himself. Much too close." Marcellus took note of how she stressed her words, "This needs to change, and you're someone who could help sway him for me."
"And what makes you think that I'd ever help you reeducate my son?" Marcellus challenged.
At that, Ilias's demeanor changed. Her face tensed, almost as if it was going to crack. She did not immediately respond, instead continuing to stride away from her marble throne and towards Marcellus. The Former Hero grew stiff as the Goddess of Light approached, but this fell away into confusion as she passed him by.
Ilias strode by, her large wings slowly flapping as she passed by. Marcellus watched uneasily as she moved for a curious-looking hill in the floor of golden clouds. One that, he noticed, was filled with water. The Goddess of Light stopped right before the pool, staring down at her own reflection. "Are you certain that you are prepared for what the consequences will be for denying me?" Ilias asked.
Marcellus hardened his eyes, opening glaring in defiance. "Nothing that you could do to me would change my mind, I don't fear your punishment! Turn me into ash, for all I care! I won't lift a DAMN FINGER to help you!" Ilias stayed facing away from the Former Hero as his yell echoed through her throne room, keeping her bright blue eyes locked on the pool before her.
"I never said that the consequences would fall on you." Ilias said, her voice a deathly whisper.
Marcellus froze, the weight of what the Goddess meant striking him powerfully. Ilias continued as the Former Hero felt his dread balloon. "Marcellus. It is imperative that your son, my Prophet, is not swayed away from me. Luka needs to follow me, to believe in me, to worship me. If he falters in this, if he betrays me..." The Goddess of Light allowed her words to hang, the throne room growing quiet again for a moment.
"...Luka will be punished for not only his sins, but yours as well." Ilias finished.
"WH-WHAT!?" Marcellus cried out, not caring to quiet himself as he marched for the Goddess. "YOU CAN'T!" He yelled, half in rage and half in despair.
Ilias whirled around, her bright blue eyes piercing. "I can, and I will. The sins of the Father," She stressed as she fully faced him now, "With fall upon the Son tenfold! He will suffer for all of your shortcomings, and more!"
Marcellus slowly shook his head hopelessly, any and all confidence quickly deflating upon hearing such a dire threat being made against his son, "N-No, please, not Luka!" The Former Hero couldn't bear the thought of his beloved son being subjugated to whatever torture Ilias would have planned. Marcellus was prepared to take responsibility for his own wrongdoings in life, but the thought of Luka taking on his punishment was too much. "DON'T HURT HIM, PLEASE!" He screamed.
"Then help keep my Prophet faithful, Marcellus." Ilias replied coldly, "If you don't, then you will have to watch as the blood you've spilled over your lifetime..." The Goddess leaned over, staring down the Former Hero, "...Will be matched by the blood Luka will shed, to pay for both of your sacrilege." Ilias finished.
This final threat silenced Marcellus, leaving the Former Hero to drop his gaze to the golden clouds below. A familiar feeling of utter helplessness fell upon him as he stood before the unsympathetic Goddess. The last thing Marcellus wanted to do was help his son become some pawn in Ilias's plans, but he also couldn't damn Luka to suffer Ilias's unforgiving judgement.
"What do you want me to do?" Marcellus asked quietly, his words already feeling like a grave betrayal as they left his lips.
Ilias straightened, her taller form towering over him now. "To do what you should have done in the first place as his Father..." The Goddess of Light said, earning a bitter glare from Marcellus. "...Give him guidance, tell him how Monsters truly are and how they can be. How they aren't capable of love."
Despite the gravity of his situation, Marcellus couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He knew that Ilias forbid Humans having intercourse with Monsters, but the way she worded it so specifically just now seemed off. The Former Hero didn't understand why, but it only added to the dread growing within him. Either way, Marcellus finally found the strength to ask the question that had been on his mind since Ilias revealed her plans.
"Why Luka? Why him of all people?" Marcellus interrogated, mounting up the last remnants of indignation he had left.
A silence fell in the throne room, a silence that felt very potent. All of a sudden, the Former Hero didn't know if he wanted to know the answer as he watched Ilias turn away from him again. The Goddess of Light's gaze fell downwards to the pool she had prepared for later on, something odd swimming in her bright blue eyes. Finally, she spoke.
"It has to be Luka. This, I've known since he was born..." Ilias whispered, a sickly passionate air to her words.
Marcellus's bewildered gaze went down to the Goddess's reflection, her intense face freezing him in his tracks. The Former Hero was alarmed at the sudden change in expression because - oddly enough - it looked familiar. He hated to admit it, but for whatever reason, it reminded him of Lucifina. However, the most disturbed part of this realization was the fact that his wife only ever had that wild look in the moments leading up to a very long and heated night.
Before he even had time to process this, Ilias whirled around, facing him once again. Swiftly, the Goddess approached him and started Marcellus by placing a hand on his head. In that split second, the Former Hero felt his entire World blur, the clouds around him suddenly growing brighter and brighter until he had to force his eyes closed. Marcellus gasped as the light grew so bright that he could even see it through his eyelids now.
The Former Hero bristled up, realizing what just happened: He had gasped.
Marcellus furiously gripped his chest, gasping again as his hand actually felt flesh behind the cloth. He forced his eyes open, able to glance down at his now nontransparent arms and legs. Marcellus could hardly believe it, he was alive again.
"My Prophet will be here soon, Marcellus." Ilias said, quickly snuffing out Marcellus's brief wave of amazement. He peered up at the Goddess of Light, who seemed more imposing now than ever. "Remember what I've told you, and conduct yourself very carefully..." She commanded, the room itself growing cold from her malice.
"...I will be watching." She said, before placing a hand on his head.
Marcellus's World quickly went black, as Ilias put him to sleep until she needed him once more...
Luka had only been able to get a few hours' worth of sleep in before he was called to Heaven once more.
The young Hero looked up, finding the familiar sight of his Goddess sitting on her throne. Before he said anything, he took notice of the disarmingly dismayed expression on Ilias's face. Like many times before, the sight of Ilias's troubled expression caused him to feel a shiver run up his spine.
"H-Hello, my G-G-Goddess." Luka said while giving a bow, his long white nightshirt swishing around his legs as he moved.
His gesture seemed to placate Ilias some, her frown turning up into a small smile. "Greetings, my Prophet." The Goddess said, but the throne room quickly went silent once again. Luka shuffled nervously as Ilias said nothing more, simply gazing upon him with what had to be the most intense gaze he'd ever seen her have before.
Luka's confusion was not unfounded, as even the Goddess felt conflicted now. At first, she had intended to bring up Luka's actions from earlier in the day. She had wanted to chastise him for helping a Human marry a Monster but now as her Prophet stood nervously before her, Ilias felt her conviction dwindle. The sight of his distress spurred her to comfort him instead.
"Come here, Luka." Ilias called out, holding out her arms to the purple-haired boy.
With a good deal of hesitation, Luka shuffled towards the marble throne. He kicked up small tuffs of golden cloud as he drew near, eventually arriving at the foot of his Goddess's chair. To his surprise, Ilias leaned forward and grabbed under his arms to lift him onto the throne with her. Quickly, Luka became squeamish as she sat him next to herself, the pair of Goddess and her Prophet sitting very close on the throne that was not made to fit two.
Luka made an admirable attempt to not let his unease show as Ilias placed a hand on his head, lightly delving her fingers into his long purple locks.
"How are you, Luka?" The Goddess of Light asked as she began to massage his scalp. The purple-haired boy in question shivered from the touch, feeling Ilias gently scratch at his scalp. It was an admittedly pleasing sensation, one that he absentmindedly began to lean into. "I-I've been well, b-but today was difficult. I must a-admit." Luka offered, trying not to touch Ilias himself as she felt the top of his head.
Ilias nodded, her face turning somber. "I know, my dear Prophet. I watched your battles today very closely." It was true. From the beaches outside Port Natalia to San Ilia itself, the Goddess of Light had viewed every fight Luka had been involved in. Ilias's frown grew as her hand trailed down to the back of his head, finding the large scar the Sea Anemone had left behind.
A great surge of anger shot through the Goddess as Luka flinched at the spot being touched. This particular injury was one that Ilias had been greatly disturbed by, the sight of his blood coloring the water red still fresh in her mind even now.
For a Monster to mar her Prophet in such a way, was a sin of the absolute.
"I wish you didn't have to suffer such terrible injuries, Luka." Ilias said as she gently ran a finger along the now-healed cut. "However, with Monsters, such a thing is inevitable." The young Hero didn't reply, sitting silently next to the Goddess of Light as she pulled her hand away from the cut and to his hair again as a very bizarre urge to keep caressing her Prophet's head took over.
Luka wasn't sure how to feel as this continued for an awfully prolonged amount of time. Again, the feeling of the Goddess's fingers trailing across his scalp was pleasant, but it was becoming increasingly odd. Sometime during this peculiar attempt at a bonding moment, Ilias's efforts caused Luka to jolt as a chill went through his body. Automatically, the purple-haired boy reached down to the side to steady himself, accidentally grabbing the Goddess's lower thigh.
"Ah~" The soft, quiet moan that came from Ilias's mouth was quickly followed by both Luka and the Goddess beside him bristling. However, what each of them felt from the accidental contact was very different.
Luka quickly let go of Ilias's leg, leaving the marble throne with a shameful blush coming to his face. "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, I didn't m-mean t-to touch you th-th-there!" He exclaimed, bowing his head away from his Goddess's gaze. It was fortunate that the young Hero wasn't looking at Ilias at the moment though, for if he did, he'd see a similar shade of red on her face as well.
But it wasn't from embarrassment.
"N-No, you are fine, my Prophet. I am not upset." Ilias quickly said, but she couldn't help but twitch at the warmth spreading up the leg he had gripped, a foreign heat making its presence known to her once again because of her dear Prophet. The way he touched her - although unintentional - sparked something inside her. Ilias had dreamt strange dreams about him feeling her in more questionable ways, but feeling his hands on her now was...
...Very...
Thu-Thump
...Interesting.
"A-Anyways," Ilias started, nearly quivering as Luka raised his hesitant gaze up to meet her own. "I'm going to have Eden show you more of Heaven today, my Prophet. And after that, I-I have something very special for you." The purple-haired boy gave the Goddess of Light a smile, "A-Alright, my Goddess." Luka said, giving her another bow.
Ilias watched as her Prophet dropped his head, the curious warmth continuing to spread higher and higher up to her core. She clenched her legs together, nearly gasping as the action felt electric. Quickly, Ilias rose from her throne and approached Luka, placing a hand on his head of purple hair. His body shimmered, disappearing as she sent him down to Eden's Garden.
The Goddess quickly returned her hand to herself, placing it right above her own chest. Despite Luka being gone now, the fire inside of her seemed to only grow. Unsteadily, Ilias returned to her throne and sat down in an attempt to compose herself. However, a strange urge suddenly befell the Goddess, and she began pulling up her dress.
More and more of her fair skin was revealed, the flesh on the leg Luka had touched steadily becoming redder as the skin of her thigh was revealed. The skin here was an alarmingly bright red and a powerful heat was radiating from it. All just from being touched once. Ilias quivered as she touched the spot with her fingers, lightly trailing around the spot.
Suddenly, Ilias's thoughts went to the times when Luka had been sensual with Monsters. In particular, she recalled the nights when he had touched the Harpy and the Elf in particular. She hated to admit it, but the Goddess had clearly seen the effects of Luka's touch on those nights. Their moans, their ecstasy-riddled faces, their attempts to grow closer as he pleasured them, it all showed that Luka clearly had a certain aptitude for such things...
...If only he could see that Monsters did not deserve to feel such things from him.
Luka found himself transported to the Garden of Eden, appearing before the large crystal-clear pond that was at the heart of the Seraph's realm. He peered at the gray rock in the middle of the pond, seeing the Seraphim herself kneeling on the flat stone while praying. Luka watched in wonder as the water around her rippled, swirling around Eden as if being stirred by her very presence.
Eventually, Eden dropped her hands and looked over to Luka with a smile. The Serpah fluttered her Angelic wings as she rose, moving to hover across the pond towards Luka soon after making it to her feet. The young Hero couldn't help but match the smile the Seraph wore as she neared, greeting her as soon as she floated up to him.
"Hello, Seraph Eden." Luka said, spurring the Angel to quickly reply likewise.
While giving a nod she said, "Greeting, my Prophet!" Eden exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together soon after.
"Now, since Ilias has tasked me with being your Heavenly Guide, I have written out a Holy Itinerary for us to follow!" Eden declared, pulling out a piece of white parchment as she did. The Serpah's eyes grew energetic as she began reading out the scheduled route for them to take. "Now, I figured that the best way to educate you about Heaven would be to start from the bottommost Level and make our way up from there!"
"Bottommost Level?" Luka asked with great interest.
Eden nodded, "Yes, everything below Ilias's Throne Room is divided up into Nine Levels..." She said, lowering the paper as she began her explanation. "The First is the Order of the Seraphim, which is my Garden!" The Third Great Seraph gestured around as she said this, taking great pride in her home.
Luka was silent, diligently listening on as Eden glanced down at her itinerary once more. "Then, below here is the Second Level, the Order of the..." Eden bit her lip, a noticeable shift in demeanor coming to her. "...Cherubim." The young Hero felt confused as he noticed the strangely tense way the Seraph said this. However, she quickly moved on.
"Then from there is the Third Level, the Order of the Thrones which leads to..." Even more oddly, was how Eden's face flashed with something close to disgust as she listed off the next section. "...The Fourth Level, which is for the Dominions." The Seraph glanced back down to Luka, "We will not spend much time there, I assure you."
Luka gave a confused tilt of his head at the comment but did not move to interrupt Eden. "Below that is the Fifth Level of Heaven, the Order of Virtues, and under that is the Order of Powers, who comprise the Sixth Level. And beneath them is the Seventh Level, the Order of the Principalities." The purple-haired boy nodded, taking in the unexpected amount of information the Seraph was dumping onto him.
Eden looked a bit tense again as she arrived at the second-to-last Level. "The Eighth Level would be next, the Order of the Archangels. Which then leads to the one we will visit first, the Ninth Level, the Order of the Common Angels." The Seraph ended her listing-off of the Levels with a smile, "We should start right away, as this is the largest section but is also the easiest to explain, I believe."
"Okay, I'm ready!" Luka said, his excitement growing now.
With no further delay, Eden put away her Holy Itinerary to hoist Luka up into her arms. The young Hero squirmed a bit as the Seraph held him in her arms, still a bit flustered at how easily she was able to do this. Suddenly, the pair shot through the golden clouds at an alarming speed. Luka yelped as the sight of Heaven flashed before his eyes, only able to see an undefined blur of the rest of the realm as Seraph dove down.
Finally, the abrupt descent ended just as suddenly as it started, and the pair of Aunt and Nephew dropped onto the fluffy cloud of the bottommost Level of Heaven. Luka stared around in wonder, not having been prepared for just how large this portion of Heaven would be. The golden expanse looked as if it went on forever and there were outlines of gleaming marble structures in the distance, something that left the purple-haired boy in quite a stupor.
"Don't worry, my Prophet. I know it's a lot, but I know all of Heaven by heart, so I can simplify it all for you!" Eden said, quickly noticing his anxiety. She placed a hand on his shoulder and began leading him forward. "Now, there are many different areas of the Ninth Level, most of which belonging to one of three different Districts."
Luka nodded, watching the marble buildings steadily grow closer. "The first and most important is the District of Worship, which includes our Temple of Ilias, the Library of Heaven, and our various Phrontisteries." Eden said before leaning down to smile at the purple-haired boy, "I'll be taking you to the Temple first, so that we can have a very special late-night mass! I've invited the entirety of the Angels of the Ninth Level to attend, so they'll all be there to meet you!"
A very powerful pang of anxiety hit Luka when the Seraph revealed this. "A-A-All of them!?" The purple-haired boy stammered out, not at all sure if he felt comfortable with this. Eden chuckled at his nervousness, "Don't worry, my Prophet. I'll be conducting Mass, so everything should go smoothly."
The Seraph rose to full height, missing Luka's hesitant look. "After that, is the District of Amelioration, which contains all of the sparring areas and training grounds for our Angels." Luka put on a face of interest but was still stuck in his apprehension over what was to happen. 'How many Angels are even in Heaven!?' The purple-haired boy thought in alarm, having no idea what to expect when they got to the Temple.
"Then the final section of Heaven is the District of Leisure, which is all the areas open to Angels for activities outside of worshiping and training." Eden finished with a flap of her wings, her blue eyes looking expectant as they began venturing into the collection of marble buildings.
Luka glanced around the uniform structures, noticing that they all seemed to be about the same size and shape, aside from one very prominent building, which he recognized as a Temple of Ilias. However, he noticed the distinct lack of Angels. 'I guess that they're already waiting for us in the Temple.' Luka thought with growing apprehension.
How was he even supposed to act around them? Luka already knew that Ilias considered him more special than normal Humans, as she expected a great deal of things from him. But where did Luka stand compared to the Angels? Where was his place in the Hierarchy of Heaven? Was he on equal footing with them, or did being a Human make it to where he was lesser still?
"E-Eden," Luka began, bringing the Seraph's attention to him as they drew nearer and nearer to the towering Temple of Ilias. "H-How am I supposed to c-conduct myself with the Angels? H-How would they regard me?" His question seemed to catch Eden off-guard, as the Seraph had to quietly mull this over for a few seconds.
After a few more moments, Eden decided on her answer. "Well, our Goddess holds you in great regard, Prophet Luka. When you were born, she showed me as such when she revealed your soul..." Luka faltered at this, now listening very closely as the sage-haired Seraph continued. "...See, your soul is perfect, Ilias said so herself and even showed me this. So, if you were on our Hierarchy of Angels, you would be ranked even higher than me." Eden finished, giving Luka a smile.
Luka couldn't even say anything to that. He was greater than the entirety of Heaven? If it wasn't coming from Eden, the one that Luka knew was Ilias's most important Angel, he would think that it was a lie. But the Seraph had seemed adamant as she spoke, nothing but genuineness coming from her words. Though even still, Luka had trouble wrapping his mind around this.
Not only that but now he was very curious as to what Eden meant by Luka having the "perfect soul".
"Well, here we are!" The sage-haired Seraph remarked, gesturing to the awfully large doors of the Temple before them. Luka glanced between Eden and the door, his nervousness growing so much that he was almost shaking now. His title of Prophet had scarcely felt so heavy before that moment, now that Luka realized that it wasn't just Ilias counting on him, it felt all the more real.
"E-Eden!" Luka whispered, the frantic noise causing the Seraph in question to glance down at her Prophet. Eden found herself becoming upset as she saw Luka's worried expression, almost missing the hand he had extended towards her. "C-Could you, h-hold my hand, please?"
It was an odd request for Luka to make, one that he hadn't needed to do for many years. However, the purple-haired boy felt the need for the physical comfort of hand-holding erupt inside and strangely enough, it called for Eden's hand.
It was almost as if, subconsciously, Luka knew that he and the Seraph were family.
Eden, on the other hand, was taken aback by the request. She hadn't expected him to ask such a thing from her, but the Seraph also felt an instinctual urge to swiftly fulfill his plea. Without thinking, Eden grabbed his awaiting hand, gently taking it in her own. The sage-haired Seraph automatically started running her thumb along the top of his hand, feeling Luka settle down in her grip. It was then that Eden really realized something.
She was the Prophet's Aunt.
For whatever reason, this fact hadn't really occurred to her before now. Somehow - even when knowing perfectly well that her Fallen Sister was Luka's Mother - the connection had never truly resonated in her, even when she met Luka before. But now, as she helped to bring down the purple-haired boy's anxiety, Eden could feel their closeness in a different way than before.
It was a nice feeling, one Eden found herself liking quite a bit. There was something more delicate about it; it wasn't exactly fragile, but it made her feel a bit more protective over him. Though this was somewhat strange because there was certainly nothing in Heaven for Luka to be protected from...
'I wonder if this is how Lucifina felt.' Eden mused. Almost immediately, the thought caused the Seraph to frown. 'Well, not that it matters. Luka doesn't need her anymore.' Despite her own assertion, Eden felt just a small, almost insignificant twinge of doubt at the thought. Quickly, the sage-haired Seraph shook away the sensation and reached forward to push against the marble doors.
Luka heard various chattering from inside the Temple turn into a hush as Eden easily opened the doors, revealing quite an overwhelming sight to the purple-haired boy.
Before he even took a step inside the towering building, Luka could see how large the inside was. It easily dwarfed even the Temple of Ilias that resided in his hometown of Ilias Village, having an innumerable number of rows of booths climbing high up inside the Temple. The purple-haired boy took note of the fact that all of the large Temple's seating was also faced towards its middle, forming a distinct circular Prayer Hall.
However, the seating arrangement was not his primary concern. What was the source of his rising anxiety, was the overwhelming number of Angels sitting in these seats. Luka felt his heart pound in his chest as the realization that he may be just a bit underprepared for all of this began to set in. There were so many of them, and they were all now homed in and focused on him.
Their Prophet.
Eden had said that Luka would be ranked higher than even her if he was to be on their Hierarchy, but at the moment he felt lower than the floor itself.
Luka felt Eden squeeze his hand, and he glanced up at the Seraph. "Worry not, Luka, the Angels are just excited to see their Prophet in the flesh for the first time!" The young Hero gave a tentative nod as Eden started to gently lead him into the Temple.
The air itself seemed to be buzzing as Luka nervously shuffled behind Eden, keeping as close to the Seraph as possible to keep hidden. However, this did little to hide Luka from the thousands upon thousands of bright blue eyes peering down at him with a steadily growing interest.
Amongst the congregation was a lone pair of bright pink eyes, which were looking at the Prophet with much more devious intentions growing in her mind...
'Holy shit!' Cupid thought as she stood in her seat, a necessity due to the fact that her body was still childlike, due to her recent reincarnation. 'He's here, right now!?' The Angel of Love had only half-heard Eden's call for Mass in the Ninth Level of Heaven, entirely missing the fact that it had been called for this very reason.
The Angel of Love stared down at her Prophet with wide eyes, despite how tired she was feeling due to being rudely interrupted by Eden's rather recent announcement of the late-night mass. Usually, such a thing would make the Angel of Love quite irate but now that she saw why this Mass was being conducted, Cupid couldn't be more thankful that she actually bothered to show up for this.
"Valkyrie, Valkyrie!" Cupid yelled in her mind, trying desperately to reach her fellow Angel-in-love. Eventually, after a few belated moments, the Archangel replied.
"What is it, Cupid? It is awfully late to be shouting at me." Cupid ignored the clearly annoyed-sounding Archangel, gleefully bouncing on her heels as she ogled Luka down below. "The Rooster is in the Hen House, Valkyrie!"
"...What?" Came Valkyrie's tired response. Cupid rolled her eyes at her fellow Angel's inability to catch her meaning, but wasted no time to make comment of it. "Our Prophet is in Heaven, right now!"
Valkyrie did not immediately respond, but when she did, the Archangel's composure had already been rattled. "H-He is, wh-where!?" Valkyrie asked with a stutter, something desperate coming out in her tone. Cupid snickered as she gazed down at Luka, watching Eden bring him to the pedestal in the middle of Heaven's Temple.
"He's right here in the Temple of the Ninth Level, Valkyrie." Cupid answered, "Go get Endiel for me, I think it's time we made our move!" The Angel of Love could help but giggle to herself, her heart-shaped pupils practically glowing as she leered at the unsuspecting Prophet down below.
Some very up-and-down moments for this chapter.
As you've read, Ilias is going to be using Marcellus's own love for his son against him as she attempts to use the man to influence Luka. If you were wondering, the threats she uses - much like the ones she used against Micaela - are bluffs, but they are more than enough to force Marcellus to be Ilias's puppet. Or as much as he's willing to allow, at least.
After all, what else could a Father in his position do, other than try his best to protect his son? And to think, Marcellus barely even knows a fraction of how terrible things are going to be for Luka...
Though not everything is truly so bad, as Luka's relationship with Eden starts to become stronger. This will become more and more important as time goes on, as the Seraph will end up being an unexpected protecter of sorts while he's in Heaven. As you'll eventually see, she'll even indirectly help protect him from Ilias herself, once the Goddess's budding desires begin to dig in even deeper.
However, before that happens, Luka will find himself in the crosshairs of a Trinity of Angels looking to bed their Prophet by any means necessary. Like this chapter, expect the next to be an odd mishmash of both highly disturbing and highly wholesome happenings.
Also, I did have to go back and add a small detail in the last chapter right before Luka starts adding to his journal. Not much of an addition, more of just a reminder of something.
F14M3RZ: The Mermaid Dessert subversion is definitely one of my favorite gags of this story. It's a bit of a cop-out perhaps, but Luka already gotten more than a fair share of Mermaid attention. If he were to get into a three-on-one bout of "rewarding" right now, Alice would have to level Port Natalia in its entirety.
Ilias using Marcellus will be one of the most irredeemable things she does in this story. And even worse, it'll all get even worse when Luka finds out the uncomfortable truth about his Father's past.
Proud Parent: Well, the souls aren't being erased per se. It's just that they turned out be very useful...
omegaqilin: Yeah, I base most of the details I write with each Monster on their Paradox names plus tidbits of what is revealed in their dialogue as well. I don't follow it by heart, necessarily, but I use it as a framework.
The harem aspect is going to be a very challenging part of this story. Mostly because I am well aware of how difficult the dynamic is to write in a way that is both satisfying and somewhat logical. That, and I don't want it to divulge into simple smut too much. So I will treat this element of the story as delicately as I possibly can, because I am also very aware of how a bad one can absolutely ruin a story.
To describe Ilias as lovesick is quite fitting, I believe, as she's subconsciously pining for what she sees Monsters receive from Luka. Though this won't be an underlying desire forever. Eventually, Ilias will realize this, and start planning for more than just having Luka as her Prophet.