Notable OCs: Pegasus Lance's Bronze Saint Generation, Heracles Aguilon's Silver Saint Generation, Gemini Akassius' Gold Saint Generation, Daemon Lucifer, Maiden Elisa, Priam's Black Saints
Notable Original Concepts: Training Ground, Sanctuary Court, Teos Cloth, Athenian Empire mythology, Isle of Gardens; Stardust Prison
Recurring/Cameo OCs of Jenny DeVic: Mrs. Schafurwatt, Cyrus
Recurring/Cameo Concepts of Jenny DeVic: Great Bodyguard Legend, Golden Line Heritage, Sanctuary Orphanages, Andromeda Island's Geography & Tests, Sanctuary Nobility, 88 Knights Festival
Author Notes:
-Even though these are retrofitted chapters, I encourage old readers to read them anyway as their quality is much improved and the plot itself is buffed;
-This Side Story will actually be divided into three parts instead of two
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Please enjoy and review (^_^
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"My name is Lucifer and I am the Celestial Star of Pride and, most importantly, the future Dark Prince of Hades. This was the name given to me by my lord, the god of the Underworld. It's significance is relative to my role in His army is as obvious as it is disconcerting. No religion talks about how the Devil is the good guy, after all. I do not recall my original name, but who cares really?
I am starting this journal under the direction of Lord Thanatos. He says I must divert my needless mortal energies somewhere away from my duties. It seems to have been Lord Hypnos' idea. Someone must have told him I'm the one that gave Eurydice those flowers. I bet it was Zelos, when i find him I'm going to twist his fingers one by one.
To be perfectly honest I am not sure what the fuck am I supposed to vomit onto these pages. Michael says it's a good exercise, but what the hell does that weakling know, locked in that dark library with Hypnos? When we reach our 18th birthday I'm going to kill him and earn my 'red eyes'. Lord Hades won't want a pathetic bookworm as commander of His forces.
I suppose I could talk about how that asshole Rhadamanthys keeps treating me like shit and beating me up every chance he gets, or how that bitch Pandora keeps saying I'm a vandal compared to Michael. I think a good punch to both their faces when I get the Dark Angel Surplice will be enough catharsis.
Yeah, who needs a stupid journal, fuck this useless piece of-"
-Daemon Lucifer's first journal, first entry, dated April 8th of 1503. The bottom of the page is ripped off.
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2 Years Earlier (1974)
Underworld
Giudecca Palace
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In a bleak, broken scar in an otherwise dead dimension overlapping the Earth, there existed an ancient road of pebbled stone that only the departed walked on. It was what laid at the bottom of the Well of Yomotsu Hirasaka, as well as at the bottom of the Well of Urd. It was what you would find should you climb down the steps of Hades' Earthly Castle and it was what you would discover should you cross the river Styx. This road, occasionally interrupted by the murky Acheron and the frozen Cocytos rivers, crossed exactly eight mythical buildings that had stood there since the age of Myth and passed judgement upon the damned.
It marked a path under a sky absent of sun, yet teeming with one hundred and eight bright stars of various colors and shines that formed no discernible pattern and constellation, but that would still guide its residents towards their eternal punishment. This was the Road of Hades, which was born at the gate from the surface and transversed the Eight Prisons of the Underworld towards the Castle of Hades, Giudecca itself.
Yet, for all their mythological renown and residence in a world where the living were never supposed to be in, these buildings were all in tatters or complete ruin as if a whole army had passed through. The Hall of Judgement where Griffon resided was seemingly blasted apart by a meteor shower, the Egyptian monuments of the Second prison screamed with the howls of Cerberus roaming amidst the rubble of broken walls. As if the epicenter of whatever cataclysm the Underworld had gone through, the Third Prison was barely anything other than a huge crater filled to the brim with battle scars and with countless undead roaming free. This trail of mayhem and destruction continued all the way to even Giudecca, where the staircase was a mess of craters, collapsed pillars and broken statues of weeping angels. A low cry in the wind was often heard and the dead roamed free from their caskets and chains.
Such was the Underworld after the destruction of the Lost Canvas War. Even two hundred years later, the blood from the conflict still spilled freely in Hades' home.
But those that studied Sanctuary history would bat an eye at this spectacle; during the conflict of the Lost Canvas, the Saints of Athena never made it to the actual Underworld, as the vessel of Hades, Alone, staged a whole new conflict in the sky realm that he created among the clouds against Sanctuary, in his attempt to press his own objectives with Hades' powers. Even Hades himself had been brought to life in the Lost Canvas, where Libra Dohko and Aries Shion fought a desperate battle to contain him.
The Underworld, therefore, had never been invaded by Saints so as to sustain such widespread damage. At least this is what Sanctuary told its Saints and what Hades would tell you about his latest defeat to Athena.
A whole new generation of Skeleton Soldiers and Specters marched back and forth in this long, long road that defined Hades' domains, carrying weapons, corpses of the damned and building materials to conduct all sorts of tasks. The army of Hades could be mistaken for an armored construction crew, spending more time repairing this unexplained devastation in the shadowy empire than fighting to bring death to the surface world.
All of a sudden, by the construction sites around the Judgement Halls of the First Prison, a large explosion occurred, shaking the ground and destroying the wall! Skeleton Soldiers screamed as they fell down from the scaffolds and catwalks and the Specters scurried around like confused ants. The large wooden doors of the Hall burst open violently, shattering its lock, and a whole battalion of Skeleton Soldiers came marching out, forwarded by a pair of Specters that fought off everyone in sight.
"CORONA BLAST!" screamed Bennu Yakos, blasting a group of Specters that tried to stop his men. Shaman Kairos followed him closely, battering his shield drum and chanting blessings on themselves for added power. "LUCIFER! Where ARE you?!" he demanded to know.
Standing by the river with his boat, Acheron Charon, the Celestial Star of Space, pulled up his red-tint helmet lenses and looked on at the chaos in shock. "What the.. Have those guys gone insane?! What the hell are Yakos and Kairos doing?! The Underworld is already enough of a dump without them burning it all down!"
"Lords Bennu and Shaman stormed out of the Second Prison and broke into the Hall!" explained a panicked Skeleton Soldier. "They wish to leave the Underworld and want to confront Lord Lucifer as well! L-Lord Acheron, you must stop them before Emperor Hades takes all of our heads!"
Charon, however, merely shrugged. "Are ya daft, you grunt? I am the ferry of the Acheron River, my only lord is the coin. If they wish to leave that's their business. My concern is if they wreck my boat on the way out."
"T-then what are we supposed to d-do?!"
Acheron saw Yakos screaming on and on about the Pride Star. "Well, you heard the man, go get the Prince."
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The rebelling Skeleton Soldiers moved down to the shore of the Acheron River, where the Ferryman, the Nasu Specter and the Dark Prince already awaited. Acheron chuckled amusedly at the sight of their angry faces, bumping Lucifer's elbow to get a reaction out of him from the whole spectacle.
"Do you think anything about this is amusing?" was the Prince's only retort.
Charon shrugged. "I see Specters signing their death sentences. What's there not to laugh about-" There was a sudden air whiff before a lightning fast punch struck his cheek, cutting his laughter short, breaking his helmet and knocking him to the ground. The ferryman howled in pain, feeling blood and broken teeth in his mouth.
Lucifer's blood-soaked fist relaxed. "Don't ever mock your fellow men in my presence again, Charon, and maybe you'll live to see the war." he then tossed a gold coin at him so he could go to the dentist.
"A-agh…. I…. Y-yes, Lucifer, I won't!" the Celestial Star pleaded, his flash-brief resentment evaporating at the sight of the payment's glint. "Ha, ha, I k-keep forgetting you're my best customer."
Yakos raised his hand to signal his men to halt and walked up to the tall, attractive, young-looking muscled man of silver-colored shoulder-length hair wearing the terrifying Daemon Surplice of black cape, purple metal, red carvings of undulating lines and black, bat-shaped headpiece with a forehead ruby as red as the owner's eyes.
"The time has come, Dark Prince!" announced the white-haired, green-eyed Bennu. He felt the glare of the Daemon reduce him to the size of a vermin, as before him stood the Left Arm of Hades himself, but his teeth gritted and his fist tightened angrily in determination. "The time for us to cast off the chains of this false god and make our own fate before he rains death down on all of us! We won't stand idly by the Prisons, working as slave soldiers and waiting for our demise! We are leaving and taking our Surplices with us!"
The crowd of armored scythemen and crossbowmen loyal to Bennu cheered. Lucifer merely stared sternly.
"Your kind belittled us, faithful warriors who put their lives in Hades' hands!" continued Bennu, reciting the injustices. "But no more! You spat on us with your words, your fists and your treachery! But no more! We won't take anymore lies! From this day on…. we will carve out our own fates with no gods, no Emperors and certainly no self-entitled Specters to stop us! Do you hear that, Dark Prince?! We are leaving you and your God forever!"
And the men cheered further on and on, raising their weapons high in the air and shouting threats at the loyalist dogs that accepted to continue under Hades' yoke. Bennu and Shaman both felt encouraged by the sound of the crowd behind and felt, for the first time since they drafted their plan to depart, true confidence that they could punch their way through.
Lucifer ignored all the noise, however. "Do you believe in heaven, Yakos?"
The feeling of the sun being blotted suddenly came over them, even though the Underworld had no sun to speak of. "W...What?... How could I, in a place like this?!"
"But you're standing in Hell." Lucifer pointed out. "Certainly Elysium must be real."
The Bennu Specter stood agape, surprised at the sudden philosophical debate. "If you're talking about Hades' promise to bring us to Elysium if we defeat Athena-"
"Tell me, Yakos, Kairos" interrupted the Daemon Specter. "What kind of men who think Heaven won't come to them decide to defy God by attacking the Devil?"
Shaman Kairos stepped back, feeling a strange fear surging to him. "I… the kind…-"
Lucifer's eyes narrowed. "How dare you raise your fist against me? You really have no idea whose time you're wasting, do you? I'll tell you what kind; the cowards, the weak with no pride and no one to blame their failures on in the whole cosmos but themselves!" he stressed. "Useless men unwilling to fight for their honor in this world will die in the ditch. You are no exception."
The rebel lashed back. "Don't insult my honor! I've fought for my cosmos, my power! I have done my-"
Without a gesture from its owner, the Daemon's aura swelled in a screech, sending a shiver down their spine and turning a day barely lit by the stars into an almost complete night.
"Honor?! Your power?! Don't make me laugh." The shadows of Lucifer's body kept changing and increasing, seemingly engulfing the details of his body in the darkness of his cape, making him seem bigger and more menacing. "Prideless ants like yourself serving their own fears and interests have no future, but don't worry…., by the end of your run you'll see this and you'll lift your arms to the sky in praise of me."
The boast was not registered in face of the suggestion the two Specters detected in Daemon's claim. "You're letting us through?!" asked Shaman, having foreseen far more resistance from the Prince's part.
Lucifer walked away from Charon' boat. "Did you think I would stop you weaklings from leaving my army? I don't lead defects into battle and I will elate in seeing you and your men gone. You can live off your pathetic dream outside the Underworld, if you wish, and I look forward to hearing the news of your destruction on the surface."
Yakos' eyes widened in fury. "You w-WHAT?!" his fiery aura emerged. "Don't you mock us!"
But once again Lucifer wasn't at the least bit threatened. In fact, the darkness of his energy seem to swallow the heat of Yakos' aura, making the air colder.
Nasu Erika saw this, laughed and warned "Ha, ha, I would lower my tone if I were you." The fly wings of her Surplice clicked mockingly. "Your pipsqueak cosmos doesn't seem to be enough to even stand in Lord Lucifer's presence. Insist on acting strong and I will feast on your corpse before you ever leave this place."
Yakos raised chest proudly "I- am a w-warrior! I fear no one! Not even arrogant, lying-"
"You will fear ME, you rat!" Daemon Lucifer declared, his volume suddenly skyrocketing and underworld bats flapped and squealed out of caves nearby. The air went damp and the rebels gulp and gasped, as if the devil himself had appeared.
Charon sunk face in palm. "Calling Lucifer a liar? Does he want to get killed?"
"The power of the Bennu Surplice has gone to your head. You've obtained a strong Surplice, but unfortunately Kagaho's inheritance seems to be lost on you in mind. You failed to become half the Specter he was!... I will rejoice to seeing it back where it belongs, vacant for a more suitable replacement."
Yakos trembled hesitantly, not believing odds could be so much against him. "N-no… you're all bluffing! This man can't be that strong!" His fist became encased in fire. "I will PROVE IT! CORONA -"
Shaman interfered all of a sudden, grabbing his wrist. "YAKOS, DON'T! I sense the truth in him!" his eyes raised up and glassed, as if possessed by a sudden memory. "He's not deceiving us. Remember …. Lucifer's the one… that killed the Godslayer!"
Whispers and murmurs filled the area amongst the men.
"The god slayer…"
"The only man Hades fears!"
"I thought that was just a story to frighten us."
"That can't be!"
"Hey, quit with the debating and tell me what's it gonna be?" asked Charon. "Ferrying or corpse dumping? I'm a very busy man, so will you please hurry up and decide?"
Kairos and Yakos didn't seem to have the bravery to challenge Lucifer any further and none of the Skeleton Soldiers seemed as roused as a minute earlier either. The Dark Prince made himself content with breaking their spirits and tapped the Spacial Star's oar.
"Charon, carry these men across the Acheron, at my cost." Lucifer offered. "I want to see the back of them as soon as possible. You can take the payment from my personal treasury, it will surely cost less than the damage I will cause if I am to obliterate these cubs."
Once again murmurs of confusion and fear followed, this time over Lucifer's strange generosity.
"T-This isn't over, Pride Star!" Yakos still growled. The two rebelling Specters eyed the silver-haired warrior suspiciously but led their troops anyway past him to the river, where the corpses that littered the Acheron lifted up from its depths a whole fleet of ferry boats to carry the force in one go.
The Nasu Specter watched them board the vessels. "I understand we can't make omelets without breaking a few eggs, but...Is this really wise, Prince?" asked Erika. "The others won't like this one bit and it's not like Sanctuary won't retaliate, not to mention the Emperor-"
Lucifer squinted at her. "Follow their every step and use the chaos they create to break into Peloponessia."
She widened her eyes. "Right now? But the plan to gather intel on the Gold Saints wasn't meant to come to fruition until…"
"Yakos and Kairos are doomed anyway, their self-absorbed attitude would never harden their resolve. They will be stomped flat by the first Gold Saint they encounter, but we'll salvage this setback for the Specters or my name isn't Lucifer.." asserted Daemon. "Gather everything from the citadel; patrol routes, foot soldier papers, ins and outs, even the fort commander's cat favorite dish if you have to! I also want my own eye on this mess' end before even Hades does! Do not return to me until this is dealt with!"
"Yes, Prince. I will notify Lord Uriah on my way out." Nasu saluted him with a fist to the chest before her whole body vanished in the air with a swamp fume.
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Days Later
Giudecca Palace
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Daemon Lucifer, Celestial Star of Pride and the most powerful of the Specters, marched relentlessly through the empty, dark, carpeted hallways of the palace of Giudecca, black cape flowing behind his back as he reached the great, wooden doors. Candles of light flickered as he passed by, as if the Specter carried with him a supernatural wind.
Before touching the doors he looked one last time at the piece of paper inscribed with codes give to him by Nasu Erika. It detailed in an pre-arranged script of the fate of the Yakos/Kairos rebellion, namely their multiple attacks on Sanctuary villages and forts stationed between the Earthly Castle and Fort Peloponnesia, including their death in a village called Arcadia at the hands of the new Gemini Saint.
"These details confirm to me that the leader Akassius is indeed out of the active force." he mused to himself. "I am still too much in the dark about the rest of the Zodiac, however, these troops aren't ready to face one of the Civil War Gold Saints. A careless encounter would be a tactical disaster."
Nasu's intel provided little else of use aside from references to the new Fort Commander of Peloponnesia being Ionia, a candidate to the Capricorn Cloth that fought in the Civil War under Akassius. Apparently the only reason the new Gemini Saint cornered Bennu and Shaman was because, for once, they were intercepted by a team of lowly Silver and Bronze Saints and, secondly, said team managed to kill Shaman Kairos.
Nasu had been unable to approach the village itself to determine the exact identity of the Saints involved. Apparently she worried the Gold Saints were already encroaching the site and kept her distance.
The story still honestly concerned the Dark Prince. "Shaman wasn't particularly strong, but him being killed by a Silver Saint confirms my fears that the weaker members of the army are more detrimental than worth it. If they can't even put up a front to Gold Saints they are strategically useless. I need to root out the pests before they become our deaths." He looked up at the entrance to Hades' throne room "Time to face the music… though you would think that five hundred years of doing this would make me more experienced with explaining to Him about our setbacks."
More refreshed, he opened the doors brashly and soundly, allowing them to creek and moan as if they haven't been used in years. He instantly closed them behind his back and followed the rest of the red carpet, only stopping before the massive curtain that stood between him and the staircase of his Lord's throne.
The Specter narrowed his unique, blood-ruby eyes, trying to distinguish the physical features of the flesh puppet Hades had created to serve as a body. However, he couldn't tell anything aside from the long, curly red-hair characteristic of the semi-possessed vessels and the black clothes he wore, his shoulders topped by dark triangular caps.
"As if you needed any armor..." Lucifer thought to himself. He then knelt before the curtains, removing his black, bat-shaped headpiece incrusted by a ruby and staring at the floor as a symbol of his respect.
This was because Hades had prohibited all from seeing his new face and the Daemon Specter would not disobey the God of the Underworld in such a simple thing. The honor of the Dark Princes had been tainted enough by Dark Angel Michael in the last war. Curiosity was not worth ruining two hundred and fifty years of hard work.
"My Lord, master of the dead, Hades." declared Lucifer, finally "I've transversed the Prisons at your summoning, ready to serve."
The puppet tilted his head, accustomed to Lucifer's show of submission. The Celestial Star of Pride burned high above the 8th prison with appropriate pride, but the man himself was subservient to the Emperor these days, lacking the furious resolve to challenge everyone from his youth. The last two centuries serving the Underworld God after the fiasco of the Lost Canvas War's final battle had left the mark of humiliation the proud mortal needed to finally be humble before the emperor.
The puppet stood up, held by the invisible strings that composed the 'Big Will' of Hades, and walked to the warrior, though stopping in his tracks before he could be seen through the curtain. As an additional precaution, he took a black, mouthless mask from his vests and placed it on its face before beginning it's speech:
"Welcome back, Lucifer. It rejoices me to see that such a faithful and dedicated servant still holds up to his word and has answered so soon."
Although he seemed calm, Lucifer shivered a little on the inside. He had met two human incarnations of Hades until that day, including Alone, and none of them seemed to match the aloof dignity of their divine host's voice, like a monarch from another world. It was straightforward and confident that every single one of its commands would be followed. This was a pleasing contrast to the voices of the human vessels, which were usually little more than meek projections from pure-hearted humans attempting to wield a power too great for them.
"Your wishes are my commands, Lord Hades. I do nothing more than my duty as Prince of Darkness and as one who owes his life to thy merciful divinity."
Hades's puppet lowered its head a little to gaze better at Lucifer's image through the dark fabric. Just as expected, Lucifer hadn't aged a day since he first adopted the Daemon Surplice in its contained form. Even after 500 years of life, the Daemon Specter's anatomy was still as youthful and as perfect as the day he reached his physical peak. It satisfied Hades that his special masterpieces, the Dark Angel and Daemon Surplices, had endured so much in their effects. Another thing that amazed him was how the Dark Prince's minds were capable of adapting to such existence. He was sure that any other mortal would have gone insane by then, but that wasn't why he summoned Lucifer.
"Are the repairs in the Hall of Judgement finished?"
"Not aesthetically, my lord, but Griffin already assured me he'll be able to welcome the new dead through it."
The puppet smiled as much as it could. "And not another century too late, correct? Maybe I'll consider forgiving your life debt for this, if I forget the tardiness."
The God's strange claim was based on a very long history between him and his Specter. Lucifer had spent the last two centuries alone in the Underworld with Hades' Soul after the God saved his life at the end of his desperate battle with Aries Shion and Libra Dohko. Needless to say that at the end of the final battle the Specter was a broken mess, having received one hundred dragons of pure, unrestrained cosmos to the face, and it took a great deal of Hades's remaining strength to cure the imbecile to usefulness.
The god wondered many times after this if he should have left the arrogant mortal warrior to die. Lucifer had chased after Dohko, Athena and Shion without His permission, blinded by rage, and caused the ultimate collapse of Hades' efforts to take control of the Lost Canvas War after Alone's treason. The only solace Hades took at the time was from the Godslayer's death at the hands of the Pride Specter, Lucifer's greatest unsung battle feat.
This elating detail added to the fact that Hades' army was completely destroyed convinced the God to show a rare feat of mercy and save the Dark Prince's life, punishing him for his disobedience and loss for the next two centuries with managing the broken remains of Hell by himself.
It proved to be the right thing to do to save Lucifer as the Daemon paid the price not only with a redoubled loyalty, but also with two centuries of fighting the loose undead hordes and maintaining the Underworld from collapsing.
"Is your majesty happy?" asked Lucifer, hopefully looking up at him. "For the first time since my battle with Aries and Libra, the Underworld operates as it should."
"Happy? With two hundred years of screaming dead mortals out of their chains?" asked the God. "I would have been happier with a war won, with my niece dead and with my Prisons never broken by your rash vengeance against the Saints."
"Yes, your Majesty. I couldn't have accomplished it without the new Specters." Lucifer humbly thanked, forcing himself to pretend the God had not asked something else entirely.
The puppet squinted. "You mean the ones whose loyalty you obviously seem to have failed to secure as well?"
In the 20th century, in return for his services, Hades had recruited the new generation of Specters, offering the Surplices of his Lost Canvas servants to new warriors for Lucifer, even if it was just a bunch of replacements. They had proven themselves quite problematic, however, and it was precisely over the latest incident they caused with Sanctuary that the Dark Prince and God stood there together in the Palace that day.
Once again, Lucifer merely limited himself to his role. "Yes, your Majesty."
Hades stared at him for a second, slightly disappointed for a reason he was unsure of. "I think… you were more amusing when you used to lash out violently at being treated like the dust speck you are."
There was a sudden shift in the wind, like a storm had decided to move into an otherwise calm sea, and Lucifer's dark cosmos aura let itself out before the god, making the palace rumble and the curtain shake ever so slightly. A spectacle of purple sparks surged from his body, coursing through the power flare's surface, and the aura roared up like a living creature with fangs, angry eyes and wings.
Not intimidated in the least, Hades saw the shape of a demon surging in this manifestation, its claws elongating threateningly and closing in on the surface of the curtain.
"My power and nature has not changed, your Majesty, I am still your most powerful vassal." assured the mortal who, despite being the source of this sudden uproar, remained calm and in complete submission in his knelt position. "And I repeat my claims of the past; the war of the Lost Canvas has changed me, I am a tempered Lucifer, ready to serve you with unquestioning loyalty and unflinching power."
And with this the demon of dark, electrical cosmos was suddenly pulled back into Daemon's body as if vacuumed, letting the air grow lighter and everything stop shaking.
The God was pleased, returning an honest smirk. "Good to know. I am anxious to find out what your Gold Saint killcount will be this era."
"If I have anything to do with it, my lord, twelve!..."
It took little hesitation for Hades to gesture him to rise, something he would usually not allow any other Specter to do in His presence. "I called you here for two reasons, Prince. First of all I would like you to confirm to me the fate of the Bennu traitor."
Lucifer accepted the invitation to stand, looked up at the silhouette of the puppet and answered. "The Saints have come to the Earthly Castle carrying the casket of Yakos and Kairos. The Bennu and Shaman Surplices have also rematerialised in the Underworld, in the shrine to their Stars." explained Lucifer. "They have burned the corpses of the Skeleton Soldiers that followed their expedition-"
"Expedition?" questioned the god, narrowing its pale, dead eyes "You mean the 'desertion', surely?"
Lucifer nodded. "Yes, Lord Hades."
The God of the Underworld smirked, delighting in the fact that, even after so many years together with him, Lucifer still rightfully feared his power and godhood.
Still he decided to test him. "Tell me, Lucifer, now that the matter is settled, what will you, as commander of my forces, do to prevent this treason from repeating itself?"
Not even flinching, the demon laid out his corrective plan by manifesting his cosmos of Darkness into a series of soldier toys. "The current forces are weeded with unreliable troops of no discernable distinction. I will conduct immediate decimation of them after a thorough reviewing of their character."
Hades, however, lowered the tone of his voice strictly"And what will you do with said characters? Punish them? I've had enough of half-hearted solutions, I want results!" The 'bad' pieces lit up in red and, with a flick of Lucifer's finger, vanished after their 'heads' were visually cut off, which immediately shifted Hades' mood. "Ahh, I see, Ha, ha, excellent."
"I lead warriors, not cowards." assured the Prince, closing his eyes. "The screening will provoke some attrition, yes, but the overall result will be an army whose orders will not be questioned."
But the God was not entirely convinced. "But what I want is traitorous Specters and Skeleton Soldiers in a purgatory of pain, Lucifer…" his chuckling smile then turned back to its threatening glare "And you let them through the Acheron, even paid for their journey, from what Charon tells me. Are you suggesting by your actions that you do not really concern yourself with punishing heathens?"
This was a trick and Lucifer knew it. "I would not, my lord."
Hades 'oh'ed "You would not have them, the enemies of your God, destroyed with your own hands? Would you not toss them into Cocytos yourself?"
Lucifer's red eyes narrowed determinedly. "In a nanosecond, my Emperor. Yakos and Kairos betrayed my trust as well, after all." It was with a pain in the stomach he said this, however, as obvious as it was to him that the God was playing with Lucifer's famous boast of never lying."Go on, you wretched plastic doll, toy with my honor further."
"Then explain yourself." demanded Hades, impatient.
"I will. Book of the Dead, 4th Spell: I am the Lord Hades, thy last and ultimate God, and my judgement is to all men and women under the Earth. My Judges are my mouth and their word is my word, and no False Judge shall spell my judgment lest he be cast on the fiery coffins beyond the walls of Dis for all eternity." Lucifer recited, knowing by heart the edicts of the Emperor. "In any other army the supreme commander must attend to the discipline of his troops, but the law of your realm, Lord Hades, has always been that the judgement of the Underworld be supreme. My role is to destroy your enemies through every means necessary. Show me a Gold Saint, and I will annihilate him in a thousand ways. Show me an heathen, and I will point you to your Judges."
"And of you?" the god asked, sensing the incoming excuses. "You lord over the Judges, do you not?"
Feeling the pressure in the atmosphere increase, the Prince made his point straightly as he lowered gaze in respect. "The men who are loyal and faithful cannot be made known that their commander, who whips and orders them to throw away their humanity for your sake, will then also judge them for their sins. I am not Minos."
The room got darker and darker, the candles flickered and the force of unseen ghost fingers was felt grasping the Daemon's heart through his chest, ready to crush it. "Yet you took the blame for this desertion over Minos' replacement, Griffon… whose name I cannot even be bothered to remember?!"
Feeling his life litterally in the God's fingers, Lucifer forced himself to stay calm. "Uriah, my lord. Griffon Uriah." reminded the Prince. "The Judges of the Underworld are incomplete as they stand, my lord. Until the army fully reforms, I am afraid morale will remain low in the army and the chain of command will continue to rupture."
Hades' tone lowered. "Very well, dear Prince." he hummed in reflection. "Well answered, at least you remember enough legalism to not overstep your boundaries and you remember enough of your studies to remind me why I keep you as my commander, but what am I to do with a unfaithful army?!" he suddenly shouted.
A gentle sigh was let out when the terrible feeling around his core left the devil. "If I may?"
"Speak!" the puppet shouted, as if he would rip out Lucifer's soul should Daemon so much hesitate.
"My suggestion is to end the recruitment of placeholders." Lucifer surreptitiously said. The God stared at him through the curtain curiously and the Daemon stepped forward in appeal. "Revive your army, Lord Hades, and let us quit this farce with those other fools. We are wasting the most important power of the Surplices, that of carrying the memories and powers of their owners across the ages. Enough waiting has been done for this generation of Specters and Skeletons to adapt to their role! Bring the Terrestrial and Celestial Stars back to my command and I can conquer Sanctuary once and for all!"
There was a short moment of silence between the two. Lucifer spent it glaring through the curtain, beads of sweat struggling to form in his face. Whatever the God would say now would affect the rest of his plans.
"On account of your services, I will consider it…" the puppet merely whispered.
Lucifer's head lowered again to help conceal his thoughts. "The chess pieces are set then." he then faced the God once more. "Soon there will be no turning back from the gears of war."
"You must think I am a fool, Lucifer, if you think I would believe you want to see your old comrades so badly. But I will let you deceive yourself for now. The next few years will be interesting, indeed..." Hades mused to himself. "It is fascinating that you would make that request, Lucifer, considering the second reason I summoned you here."
Lucifer's red eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean, Lord Hades?"
"My dear Lucifer, I bear good news for you." he said, catching Lucifer's interest "I'm sure that you will be pleased with this."
"Good news, my King?"
"Yes. It seems my dear sister, Pandora, is soon to return."
Lucifer widened his eyes as much as he could in sudden shock and his stomach seemed to contract and warm up. He forced himself not to look up at his Lord, though the temptation was great. "...Pandora? She woke up?"
"You seem bothered, Lucifer." Hades provoked, smiling devilishly.
"M-my King..." he muttered, swallowing hard. "Are you certain? But so soon! Athena hasn't even reincarnated yet..."
Hades closed His eyes, relaxing, as He felt the obvious emotions fighting inside Lucifer to burst through his stoic facade.
He walked down another step and continued "Pandora has opened the box which held Hypnos and Thanatos. As a result, they converted her and her home has been assimilated into my new castle. The passage to the Earth beyond river Acheron will now reach its full power, allowing greater armies and even my two liaison Gods to pass through," adding this last detail, Hades stared at His southeast, as if gazing directly at the entrance of his realm from where he was standing. "She is now speaking with the Gold Saints as my representative as we speak ourselves here, dealing with the rebellion matter. You shall welcome them when they arrive and follow the proper protocol."
"...Y-yes, my King!"
"Obviously, Thanatos and Hypnos are coming with her," added the puppet. "As well as Rhadamanthys...Thanatos picked him up in England."
This made Lucifer instantly retract from his bliss and turn his face into a bittersweet disappointment. He grunted a little with this additional information, but he should have deduced that it would have been like this.
Hades smiled, aware of how Lucifer felt about Rhadamanthys. "You know what this means, don't you?"
The Prince nodded like he was holding back something worse. "Yes, my Lord. I must take Wyvern as my pupil to pay for my crime of...murdering him," he almost spat. "When do they arrive, my Lord?"
"As soon as those insufferable Saints leave." Hades answered without even looking at a watch. "Minos and Aiacos should also join us soon. I want you to make sure that the Gryphon Specter doesn't raise too much commotion when his time to be disposed of comes. Do you understand?"
Lucifer swallowed hard. "Yes, my King. Is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked, doing his best to resist the urge to release his emotions.
"No, my dear Daemon. You are dismissed."
With this, the puppet turned its back on Lucifer and walked away, sitting back in it's eternal throne. Lucifer then stood up, bowed and banged his fist against his chest before placing his black headpiece back in its proper place. Daemon then walked away, his black cape whipping the air.
The puppet watched as His most powerful mortal servant slowly walked away towards the distance. He wondered just what kind of reaction Lucifer truly had to the news beneath his seemingly emotionless nods. He knew that Daemon would be glad to hear that Pandora was back, but He was curious to know how he would react to Wyvern's return.
Plus, with Hypnos, Thanatos and Pandora having returned, it meant that His plans could start.
{======================\(/\)/======================}
As soon as Lucifer closed the wooden doors of the throne behind him, he walked away a good distance from the Underworld God's hearing shot in a good hurry, more precisely towards his private quarter in the highest tower of the Palace of Giudecca.
The Dark Prince's room was austere, as opposed to the luxurious quarters reserved to the Judges in the Prisons directly guarded by them. The window had simple curtains, its most impressive feature being the view to the high mountains that surrounded Hades' realm and served as the barrier to the 'Desert Beyond'. The large bed was meant to host his lovers and not necessarily just one of them. The frame didn't have any extravagant woodwork and the sheets were plain and dull.
The most distinguished feature of all was by far the book filled window-side desk. The Underworld wasn't an ideal place to read, lacking natural light and all, but Lucifer's workstation was old, creaky and packed to the brim with journals that he wrote over the years by his own hand, not to mention a set of pictures were held up just above it in the right angle to be shined upon by the One Hundred and Eight Stars. These pictures included that of a young blonde woman of closed eyes, the nymph Eurydice. Another showed a group of Specters lead by a young man of armor shaped like an angel.
Lucifer picked up a third one, that of another young woman, this one of pale skin, raven hair, gothic clothes, a ruby ring and holding a trident with snake-shaped carvings in its guard.
He sighed out loud and pressed his back against the wall, covering his even more reddened eyes. He knew that Pandora will soon return to be Hades's puppet again, the weight of the centuries suddenly came crashing down on his shoulders. He wiped his pathetic tears, doing his best to not be heard by Hades, and turned sadness into rage by banging the floor with his armored fist so hard it cracked and shook the floor.
"D-Damn it..." he muttered. The picture was then tossed across the room at the wall. "DAMN IT! I won't let this all repeat itself, I won't!" Lucifer then realized how loud he yelled and covered his mouth. He then hastily walked away, thinking to himself: "They should get rid of the Saints in just… a few hours? Then I have to act quickly! I'll just take a time to make a little stop and then..."
Lucifer then remembered that Pandora shouldn't have reincarnated so soon! Was this Hades's doing? Was this part of His new plan to defeat Athena once and for all? After all, Athena herself had yet to revive and Hades always insisted to face her directly in battle, never resorting to cheap tactics. What had changed, then? Maybe Hades has finally grown sick of having his vessels being converted by Athena and is going to put an end to the Holy Wars once and for all…
{======================\(/\)/======================}
Chapter 27
Side Story 1
Arrival of the Gods – Part 1 of 3
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An Hour Later
Hades' Earthly Castle
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Fort Commander Ionia banged his fist at the iron palisade, backed by a battalion of Athena's foot soldiers and startling the Skeleton Soldiers. "This is a travesty, I demand you let us enter immediately!"
His subordinates tried to hold him back, grabbing him by the arms. "Commander Ionia, don't provoke them, you'll incite a battle!"
The veteran shoved them off effortlessly. "I WOULD RATHER IF I DID! This is a disgrace!" he grabbed the iron bars of the palisade and looked straight in the uncaring raven-haired woman's eyes on the other side. "Listen, young lady, I don't care if you are the sister of Hades, or the liaison of the Underworld, or the blasted whore of the gods themselves! I will demand answers and satisfaction from your God's crimes for these attacks even if I have to call upon the wrath of the armies of Athena herself on this heretic fortress!"
Surrounded by her Specters and the walls of her God's castle on Earth, Pandora merely smirked in amusement at the tall man's tirade. "Is this the best ambassador the Pope could send to argue Sanctuary's side? How quaint."
"WHAT?!" Ionia screamed, his face going red and his men doing their best to stop him from trying to crush through the gate.
She closed her eyes somberly. "You come here with the corpses and armors of rebels and cite them as proof of Lord Hades' ill-intent? If what the Pope desired was an apology for the inconvenience this is a poor way to show it."
A certain soldier of red-colored hair strands standing by Ionia stared at Pandora in shock. "People died! Whole villages, whole families were burned down and destroyed!... and all you have to explain it as… is an 'inconvenience'?"
Normally she would ignore the whining of enemy grunts, but Pandora's attention was caught by the strangely high tone of the soldier, since she thought women weren't allowed in Athena's ranks without a mask.
"Through the Underworld pass billions of sinful dead. Do you think those villagers are anything special to us? If you want consolation for whatever personal loss you may have suffered, just think that one day you'll join them in punishment in Lord Hades' realm," she suggested nonchalantly, further shocking the runt. "Pass my formal apologies to the Pope, and do know that it was not our intent to strike you, because if it had been," she then expanded her smile provocatively, "I assure you that the results would have been far more brutal."
Wrathful eyes widened beneath the shade of the helmet. "... H-HOW DARE YOU-"
"Be silent, soldier! You overstep yourself!" Ionia demanded, causing the red-head to stagger back and quiet down. "And you, Miss Pandora, mark my words; the fortress of Peloponnesia is under new administration and will be watching over you from now on very closely! The next slip up will be responded with war!"
"B-but Commander Ionia-"
Ionia waved his hand at his troops. "Toss the Specter and Skeleton corpses down this chasm! Diplomatic courtesy has been a waste of time, as I expected."
Pandora watched with a chuckle and holding on to her trident as the cart of bodies was lifted up by the Sanctuary soldiers. Yakos, Kairos and many other defiers and traitors fell down the green fire chasm that surrounded the castle and were consumed in an uproar of Underworld's flames.
She saw the Specters around her observe this with far less amusement than her, some of them even commenting and discussing the situation between themselves. "Is something the matter?"
"N-no, lady Pandora." one assured before going back to work.
A blonde-haired man in a white robe and with a pentagram marked on his forehead approach her just as the Saints were moving off. "Ignore them, Pandora, tending for the Specters will not be your responsibility."
She bowed her head. "Yes, Lord Hypnos. I also hope you were satisfied with the way I conducted the meeting with the Saints. Under no circumstances would I allow them inside our inner sanctum over such a ridiculous offense, as they called it."
Another man identical to the first in every way except in the silver-color scheme of his clothes and hair also revealed himself from the shadows. "You're still lacking in experience, but you handled yourself appropriately, Pandora." assured Thanatos, God of Death. "Sanctuary lacks the muscle to back its aggressions. Lord Hades' army surely moves as freely as it did in the last war if even rebels like these can conduct an attack unpunished."
Hypnos, however, rubbed his chin, his golden eyes looking around. "Though I have to admit our own army does not look as expected. Much must have happened in the Underworld after our respective imprisonments by the Lemurians Sage and Hakurei."
"Michael and Lucifer will surely hold the answers," commented Thanatos. "Even if the war was lost and all of the army was annihilated, they surely must have survived, or otherwise the Underworld would have been completely destroyed by the Saints. Rhadamanthys!" he called, to which a young, blonde unibrowed youth came answering. "Let us go! Now that this debacle is resolved, we are meeting up with Lord Hades and the Dark Princes as soon as possible."
Hypnos smirked. "Are you not just too anxious to be back on Eurydice's arms?"
"You know me too well, brother."
The young boy grunted. "Finally! I can go obtain my Surplice and become a warrior of Lord Hades right now. As soon as I become one with my destined power, I can become the greatest Specter in all the Underworld and deal with these pathetic matters with Sanctuary with my own fist."
{======================\(/\)/======================}
Third Prison
{======================\(/\)/======================}
Flanked by two high walls of rock, the Third Prison of the Underworld was the one meant for the 'greedy and wasteful' to roll the heavy rocks of their sins uphill to the top of all prisoner's personal hills of guilt. Should the undead achieve the feat of balancing the boulders on the peak, the God of the Underworld promised release from their punishment and reincarnation. These boulders, however, inevitably rolled down everytime the top was about to reach, forcing the dead to roll them back up again and again. Since they were made of Symplegades, these boulders would just reform if broken on the fall or destroyed in a fit of undead rage or by Sanctuary saviours during wars.
It had also been the site of the final battle of Lost Canvas War, where Daemon Lucifer, the last surviving Specter, caught up and trapped Aries Shion and Libra Dohko as they attempted to flee the Underworld with Tenma's corpse, Athena and finally her Bronze Saints. It had therefore also been the epicenter of the Great Collapse, the event in which all of Underworld lost its stability as a result of the battle stress between the Specters and the Saints, tossing it into two hundred years of war with its own released undead hordes.
In that year of 1974, however, the repairs to the Third Prison were complete, stanking the cracks from which the chaos had flown from. The dead now resumed their eternal chores, trapped forever in the despair of their looped task. The Golem and Troll Specters patrolled the site dutifully and the roads that lead to the other Prisons were repaired and guarded.
One of the people pulling up his boulder, however, was not an undead. In fact, he was not even trapped in that Prison.
Behemoth Torak, the Specter of long, dark hair and dark blue armor of spiky knee plates, shoulder protections curved down the arm in triple increments, heavily reinforced gauntlets and greaves, back shield shaped like a rhinoceros head and finally a three-pointed headpiece with a single short horn, marched up the hill with not one, not two, but three boulders tied to his chest and arms by thick ropes. He dragged them up towards his target, burning his dark cosmos and sweating profusely.
His foot suddenly slipped on the treacherous ground and his fell on his chest and was dragged down the hill by the weight of the boulders. A hand suddenly caught his wrist and Torak looked up to see the man in heavy, winged armor holding him.
"Don't lose focus or your guilt will destroy you." warned Uriah.
Torak growled, shoved Uriah's hand away after balancing himself and shouted "Shadow Sewing!" Black shadows seemed to emerge from the Underworld's horizon, flying through the air like the dark ghosts that they were, and jumped on the winged, heavily armored Specter which Behemoth Torak had been fighting.
The man released an amused smile and raised his hands, filling his fingers with the purple cosmos of the servants of Hades before commanding: "Cosmic Marionation!"
The black figures seemed to halt in their charge and tremble as many invisible strings took hold of them. Completely overriding Torak's control over them, Gryphon Uriah waved his hands a little and jerked his fingers, somehow causing the spirits to attack their summoner.
Torak grunted in frustration and said: "Not this time! Cosmic Marionation!"
Countering with the very same technique, Torak pointed all of his fingers at the ghosts and created the same invisible strings as his opponent's, wrapping the spirits within them. A struggle for control over the shadows began, with Torak employing a lot more cosmos and effort while his opponent seemed to be playing around, smiling as he was.
"Oh, you've been studying. Not bad, Behemoth." he congratulated "But my technique is superior, costing me less cosmos, allowing me to do this -"
"What?" asked Torak.
The man's smile expanded, being the only part of his face visible under the large helmet that shadowed his eyes, and his pinky stretched before clenching back. This somehow caused Torak's right ankle to suddenly rushed forward, causing the surprised Specter to fall on his back and be dragged right back down by the weights. Before he could recover, the shadows jumped on top of him and Torak yelled in fear and helplessness as he was encased in a vortex of rapidly moving dark spirits.
Gryphon Uriah shook his head and asked "Do you surrender?"
"Yes! Yes, I surrender! AGH! Help me!" Torak yelped.
Uriah smiled, leaped over him in the air and slashed the air with his fingers to release a series of shockwaves that cut apart the boulder ropes, freeing Torak. He then casted his technique on the shadows enveloping Torak, his lieutenant, and sent them away back to their Prison. Uriah walked next to Torak, who had his eyes closed in fright, and offered his hand, which the defeated Specter happily took.
All of a sudden, a far off boulder came crashing down and the Skeleton Soldiers started scurrying around like confused ants. One of the undead, a particular large one at that that towered over even Golem, held up a pair of Skeleton Soldiers in his hands and roared loudly, his body disfigured by his punishment beyond any semblance of humanity.
"AAGH! Someone help me!" the soldier screamed. He tried pointing his crossbow and fired a bolt at the giant, but the undead shrugged it off and tossed him screaming at the rock walls.
Golem's dark aura burned and his hands formed fists. "Don't get cocky, you monster!" The Symplegade rocks began floating around him, encased in his cosmos. He then thrust hands forward, launching them as dark comets "ROLLING BOMBER STONE!"
Troll leaped away and watched the rocks bash and crash the undead beast against the hills, burying him against piles of rubble that began trying to reform around him. But the walking corpse, despite its howls of pain, brushed off the rubble and stood back up unharmed.
"Damn it, he must have been a powerful fighter in life!" the Troll Specter deduced. "What the heck are we gonna-"
Before his sentence was finished, a large, armored shadow flew past them in a light speed leap towards the monster. The undead roared, sensing the threat, and attempted to hammer down the shadow with its fists, but it just leaped around left and right with surprising nimbleness. Torak then leaped over the giant undead, landing in his hill of sins, before immediately launching himself straight at the giant, the set up step alone causing the rock formation to crack and crumble down to rubble.
Just as the monster turned around, Torak's foot burned with his combination of darkness and earth cosmos to form a aura of raging blue, and the Specter twirled his body so as to deliver a straight, flying kick on the monster's chest, "BRUTAL REAL!" The enormous undead screamed feeling his whole non-functioning stomach being crushed against its spine. The blow then blasted him off straight through several other hills of sins and ultimately flooring him against the rock walls that delineated the Third Prison.
Torak landed flawlessly on the floor to the applause and cheer of Golem and Troll, as well as the Skeleton Soldiers.
"YEAH, take that, monster!"
"WHOO, nice kick, Torak!"
"Chain it up before it goes wild again."
Griffon Uriah also landed by as the Skeleton Soldiers began to throw chains around the knocked out undead. "Nice work, Torak, you prevented the Third Prison from becoming a bloodbath."
"T-Thank you, Lord Uriah." Torak said, bowing. "I'm… I'm not worthy yet."
"Certainly not, you need to train a lot harder if you want to rise in rank. You have a tough act to follow up on, too." commented Uriah as he watched the grunts throw chained hooks at the defeated undead "Behemoth Violante was powerful and dedicated, but Lord Lucifer and Lord Hades are watching us, and they know how to reward the Specters." Uriah then tilted his head, looking past Torak towards the person that had just arrived. "Speaking of the devil…"
Torak smiled at the most famous and used pun in the entire Underworld and turned around to see that, indeed, Daemon Lucifer was passing through their Prison, ignoring all the Specters working on the prison's repair and the moaning undead that carried the huge Rocks of Desires across the damaged valley. His captain walked past him and went to greet Lord Daemon, who had nodded at the both of them as if to summon them.
"Stay here, Torak." said Uriah "This won't take long."
Torak obeyed and went to yell at some of the other Specters who were slacking off. Meanwhile, Uriah arrived next to Lucifer and kneeled before the Prince of Darkness, respecting Lucifer above all other mortals.
The Daemon Specter returned the gesture with a nod. The blonde man in Griffon armor before him was perhaps the most prominent member of this new generation of Specters. The biggest proof was the fact that Uriah was the only member of it to presently wear a Surplice of one of the Three Judges. This was because Uriah was not only a powerful warrior, but also reliable, honorable and a source of inspiration for others, like Behemoth Torak.
These three aspects extraneous to his strength set him apart from the sadistic Minos and had earned Uriah the position of one of the few Specters Lucifer entrusted anything with. The obvious proof of Uriah's nature was Behemoth Torak, Uriah's protégé that had been instilled with the same sense of honor as his commander's. In short, Uriah was the closest a Specter could be of "kind and noble", which was why Lucifer had complete trust in him to the point of having enlisted him into his private plans so soon.
"Rise, Gryphon Uriah." ordered Lucifer, whose command Uriah immediately obeyed. "Lord Hades has told me that his divine servants and Her Highness, Lady Pandora, are returning."
"That is great news, Lord Lucifer." said Gryphon, his blue eyes gazing at Lucifer's two rubies with a mixture of respect and trust. "I'm happy that our God will have his dear sister by his side so soon."
"A little too soon..." Lucifer thought, suspicious of Hades' actions. "Rhadamanthys, the Specter of Wyvern, is coming with Thanatos and Lord Hypnos. He will soon undoubtedly become the Celestial Star of Fury."
Uriah raised a brow when Lucifer called Hypnos a Lord but not Thanatos. He suspected that it was because Lucifer still held some shreds of respect towards the God of Sleep while having cast aside the others. "I see, my Prince." he said.
Lucifer sighed, knowing that he had to confront Uriah with a horrible conclusion "You know what Wyvern's arrival means, don't you?"
Uriah knew, as he also knew that the great Rhadamanthys, a man considered a legendary hero in the Underworld who had briefly obtained the powers of a demi-god, was obviously one of the Specters of the previous generation. "Yes, my Lord. It means that Gryphon Minos is soon to arrive to...replace me." Uriah swallowed hard with this sentence.
Lucifer sighed yet again, unable of imagining the despair that Uriah was probably facing. "We shall greet them..." he said, "and you shall act like you don't know of anything! You and everyone else are on my list of trusted Specters. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Lord Lucifer...
"You shall be by my side when we greet them in the First Prison and you will make sure that the army keeps its behaviour in check!" Lucifer added, firm and resolute.
Uriah nodded in obedience. "What else would you have me do?"
"Nothing. When the time comes, I'll help you leave this place along with Minotaurus Guen and Basilisk Maia. We will use the guide of my proposal to attack Andromeda Island to get you through."
Uriah raised a brow. "Not Alraune?"
The Celestial Star of Pride huffed. "I'll cross that double-crossing bridge when I come to it."
Daemon then nodded at Gryphon and started to walk away, but Uriah couldn't leave things like this! He still had concerns! "Wait, Lord Lucifer!" he called.
Daemon stopped, "What is it?..." he asked without turning around.
Gryphon gulped and hesitated "...What about...the others? What about the other...new Specters?"
The Celestial Star of Pride looked back at him with a determined red-eyed glare. "When the time comes, I'll show them the light."
"Yes, but..." Gryphon then glanced at Behemoth Torak, worried "What about Torak?"
The response was impatient. "Don't worry. He'll have a part to play in my plans. I know that he's strong. Is this all, Uriah? I've got better things to do."
Uriah gulped, realizing that Lord Lucifer probably intended to go visit Michael's grave. "No, Lord Lucifer. That was all."
{======================\(/\)/======================}
Moments Later
Second Prison
Asphodel Meadows
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Lucifer stepped inside the grove of flowers and walked towards the large rock standing right in the middle of the flowers of the second prison's garden. He sighed and his hand went inside his Surplice collar to bring to the surface the "Yours Ever" Silver-Star pendant which he has carried his entire life. His hand tightened around it, nearly crushing it, and Lucifer wiped on last drop of hidden emotions that dripped from his eyelid.
The place he stood on was known as the Asphodel Meadows and it was the only one in all of the Underworld where flowers grew in. It was where the souls of average lives or who managed to be pardoned by Hades resided in, as the God tolerated not any mortal soul in Elysium itself. It was a land of utter neutrality where the 'acceptable' mortals could flicker in the form of tiny light specks in air, making the garden seem like it was filled with fireflies. Bathed by the waters of the river Lethe, it was said that the souls here slowly lost their identity so they could be cleansed for reincarnation.
These souls did not interest the devil, whose attention was on the lonely rock tomb.
"I know it's been a while since I've visited you..." he started, allowing a deep silence to fall for a little while before he resumed "...but I'm here again. With the new Specters here, I don't have as much to do so I can visit you more often."
The rock did not answer and Lucifer smiled when, to his own relief, he didn't feel like he expected anything else. It was a good sign. It meant that he was just talking to a rock and not with a rock. It meant that he wasn't THAT crazy. At least, not anymore and as of yet...
"Hades called me today." Lucifer resumed "You know what he said? He said that Pandora is coming back! Ha, ha, she's coming back!" he added with a sudden smile. "I know you would have liked to see her again. She always spoiled you rotten when you were little. Called you her little bookworm prince…"
A gust of wind blew by, making the flowers flutter, the soul specks flash and the spell Lucifer put himself in break momentarily. Mourning was an acquired habit for him and occasionally his arrogant old self would come to surface to mention how stupid he looked talking to a rock.
The Star of Pride ignored it. "If it wasn't for me threatening to kill you and for Rhadamanthys beating you up as a kid...you would never have learned. You'd have staid the weakling kid and Pandora would have kept dragging you to her tea parties with Hades. Now she's back..." his smile then disappeared "...to be Hades's slave once again!..."
Lucifer silenced himself once again, as if to give the rock time to answer. But there was nothing there to hear him, much less answer him back. It wasn't like Michael was buried under that rock or anything. After all, after he died, Michael's body turned into stardust like all the other Specters and Saints that passed away.
It was always like this. The immense cosmos of their bodies would transform their bones and flesh into stardust upon death and, sooner or later, they would be all nothing more than dust in the wind… Michael and Lucifer were no exception. If anything, their extraordinary powers made their remains especially susceptible to it. If he died, there would be a body to bury, but it wouldn't last very long.
Lucifer then reached once again for the inside of his metal collar, putting the silver star back in its place and removing an old and rather dirty black feather. It was intact despite it's long age and all that it went through, being actually made of the mixture of stardust and the unique "Damascus" alloy created by Hades to construct the Surplices. That specific feather was also all that was left of the Dark Angel Surplice and, thus, was the only physical thing left in the world from Michael.
It was incredibly hard despite it's lightness, having once been a part of the Black-Winged Archangel of Flames, which was why when Lucifer blew his breath against it, it did not tremble or waver.
"I will keep these for a little while longer." he informed. "Soon enough they'll be all that anchors me to your memory."
"You still feel guilty, don't you?" a sweet, caring voice asked from behind him.
Lucifer sighed. "He was my friend...My best friend and probably the only one I ever truly had," he reminded. "I just wish I could have understood his actions before...No! I should have understood!" he then turned around to face the two blond nymphs that gazed at him with eyes of sympathy. "Instead I turned my javelins against him. How could I not feel ashamed, Eurydice?"
The stunningly beautiful blonde Nymph of black eyes, white toga and sandals bowed. "One day you will come back to this place with pride. I assure you, Prince." she then placed a bouquet of flowers from Elysium itself at the grave.
Lucifer smiled, feeling his heart somehow warm with the Nymph's gesture, "Thank you. That is very nice." he then remembered something he was meaning to ask her "I've heard many times that Nymphs are capable of bringing out true, pure emotions from even the most cold-hearted puppets. They say that even an emotionless vessel could love you. Is that true?"
Eurydice turned to him "Oh, you know I wouldn't know anything about that. We never met anyone besides you and the Gods."
"Really? What about the rumor that you girls possess the Heart of a God?" asked the Specter, curious.
This time the Nymph hesitated. "... Are you still focused on that plan of yours? Which reminds me, Lucifer, I have the scrolls you asked for." She then pulled out a set of scrolls she had been carrying with her and gave them to Lucifer. "These should give you all the info I could possibly get about the Aspects of God."
The Specter anxiously analyzed them one-by-one at the speed of light, making sure that he didn't skip any line of the ancient knowledge of the Gods embedded within those scrolls. He sighed in disappointment when he realized that those scrolls couldn't help him obtain his objective.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" asked Eurydice.
"No..." answered Lucifer "I guess I'm just gonna have to look for it somewhere else."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I wish-"
"It's okay, Eurydice." interrupted Lucifer, waving his raised hand. "I already have another locations in mind. Like Sanctuary."
"But you're going through so much trouble for me! I mean...you could get executed!" Eurydice added. "I wish you wouldn't entertain this plan any longer, though, Prince."
"I wish you wouldn't call me that," the red-eyed Specter sighed.
Eurydice's touched her own chin. "...Don't be ridiculous, it's your title."
"You've known me since I was a whelp training for it, though, long before Hades gave it to me. I don't see you as someone to demand respect from."
The suggestion that this would be the last time that they would meet did not escape her radar. "Did something happen at Giudecca? When you called me to meet you here…"
The Daemon's expression was grave. "Yes. It seems we have to move forward with your escapade. Your husband Thanatos will be crossing that gate within the next hour." The woman froze still, her face paled, her hands ceased the prayer and her eyes widened. "If you want to escape, you will only get one shot."
"Oh no..." Memories of Thanatos' actions during the last war surged back to her mind, the image of the scorched mortals burning the most in her heart.
Eurydice had wanted to leave Elysium after she found out the cruel treatment humans were subject to and Thanatos opposed this idea. Being his favorite Nymph, however, motivated the death god to convince her to stay, that Hades' goals were ultimately benevolent. The destruction shown to her by his battles with the Saints, however, were more than enough proof of the contrary and Eurydice's love for Thanatos died in the 18th century.
After he was sealed by the Sanctuary's Pope, Eurydice saw saw her chance to plot an escape with Lucifer's help, but the two of them were having a lot of trouble because the only road between the mortal world and Elysium, the Underworld, spent two centuries being occupied by the revolting dead.
"It isn't too late to turn back." Lucifer suggested, seeing the fear in her. Above all, he would prefer the Nymph wouldn't take this risk. He stepped towards her. "Eurydice, you knew this would be inevitable; forget about all the hordes that have filled the roads until now, the passage to the Earth would never accommodate you in its weakened state. You'd be robbed of your lifeforce. Only Pandora's return to the underworld could strengthen the link enough for non-Specters to pass through. No matter what happened, you wouldn't be able to get out of here without facing your husband. You can still reconsi-"
"Absolutely not!" she assured the Specter, shaking her head. "I've made up my mind a long time ago."
The red-eyed man took a different approach. "You're right, but… would you really do that to me?" he suggested, getting her attention. "Me and Thanatos have never been happy student and mentor, but… I care about you. Eurydice, I've known you since I was a little boy, you're the one face that has stayed with me other than…. blasted Hades!" He then looked away sternly, trying to hide his pain. "If you leave…. if you get caught and die because of this… I will lose my first love, my first light, the first person that has ever made my heart beat so fast."
Touched, Eurydice's hand caressed his cheek, her eyes softening saddingly. "I know, dear Prince, I know…" she then shook her head. "But the both of us know my life in Elysium has no future. Even if I never love again, I am going to Earth and will live as a mortal. Besides," she then lifted up his chin so he would look at her. "You have someone else whose heart you have to save. And it won't be easy."
"Yeah…" agreed the Specter "And the bad news is that I haven't yet come up with a plan to do that. I do have a plan to get you past those two twin freaks, though." Lucifer's fingers snapped and a flare of darkness emerged from among the meadows. A single skeleton soldier, his head completely concealed in his helmet, came out and knelt obediently. "This is Héloise, a vassal of mine from my dealings with Sagittarius Priam. She carries my instructions that will take the both of you out of here."
"Oh, I see...So this person will not only get me past Thanatos, but also join my journey?" Eurydice asked. She noticed the dark undulating carvings in the helmet. "Your equipment looks different, were you a different kind of Skeleton?"
Before she could answer, Lucifer narrowed his eyes, walked up to Héloise, and ripped off the metal decorating pieces in a single swipe with such force that the soldiers head snapped back and yelped as if slapped.
The Pride Star crushed the pieces to dust in his hand. "You just couldn't resist, could you? If Thanatos notices anything weird about the person smuggling Eurydice out he'll snuffle the life out of all three of us."
Héloise's head lowered in guilt. "...I-I'm sorry, Lucifer. It won't happen again."
"Lucifer, what was that about? Poor her." commented Eurydice, tending for the girl.
"Héloise needs to concern herself with getting you out, not being artistic with her armor. To answer your previous question, she has her own objective." assured Lucifer, as if to tell Eurydice the soldier would not be spying on her in his behalf.
Eurydice made an effort to forget the Prince's harshness. "What is the plan then?"
Lucifer then took the black, metallic feather and showed it to them "Here. Take it. And protect it with your life."
The Nymph gazed at the beautiful feather for a while, admiring it despite it's unusual color. "Wasn't this… from the Dark Angel Surplice?"
"...Think of it as a memoir from anyone from the Underworld you might still have good memories about."
"But it belonged to him." She shook her head. "No, I can't take this."
The Specter closed his hand around hers so her fingers would grasp the feather tighter. "This isn't just a feather, Eurydice, it's a piece of a Surplice. It serves no purpose but to make me think of what could have been… and of giving you extra insurance that your passage through the Earthly Castle's gateway won't just send you back down."
"I'll hold it for her, Lucifer." Héloise assured, taking the feather. "Even if they find it on me, I can just disguise it as part of my Crow armor."
Lucifer then looked around, gazing at the flowers that composed the Asphodel Meadows. "The next part of the plan is to get you past the big welcoming ceremony that will be held unnoticed."
"I've thought about that too, but I don't see how I can get past so many tempered 7th senses, even disguising my cosmos. Do you have an idea?" asked Eurydice..
Lucifer tapped his own head with a sly smile "I do, though it will require some labor," he claimed. "You like picking flowers, right?"
{======================\(/\)/======================}
Two Hours Later,
First Prison, Hall of Judgement
{======================\(/\)/======================}
The trumpets and horns ranking along the large marble staircase sounded loud the celebratory tune at the sight of the incoming ferries of Charon. Sided by his trusted Specters and Skeleton Soldiers, Lucifer adjusted the black, bat-winged headpiece in his forehead, making the ruby in it mark a triangle along with his blood-red eyes, as he stood in front of the massive doors of the Halls of Judgment. He folded his arms, trying to look as dignified as possible, as Gryphon Uriah barked orders back and forth to place the new Specters and Skeleton Soldiers in proper formation.
Right by him, Héloise scrapped with much effort the large black chest to Lucifer's side. The Daemon glanced at the huge, black chest at his side, wondering if the two would be able to fool both Thanatos and Hypnos.
The staircase of the First Prison, which was sided by black mountain sides, were now also sided by a rows and rows of Specters on each side, men who had never even seen Hades' puppet, much less two Gods in the flesh. Standing upright facing their front, they awaited their turn in the ceremony, letting a banner marked with the symbol of the Prisons being present between each of the five of them. After he made sure everyone was in place, Uriah joined Lucifer's side, calling his lieutenant, Behemoth Torak, to join them.
"Lord Lucifer, what can you tell me ahead about Lord Hypnos, Lord Thanatos, and of Lady Pandora?" the Judge asked.
"The one with hair like me is surprisingly quick to the trigger, so don't make any mistakes around him," advised the silver-maned Dark Prince. "The other, on the other hand, is surprisingly manipulative, so don't let his smiles make you think he approves of you. As for Pandora, just pretend you don't exist unless spoken to and you'll be fine."
The Judge blinked. "What? Even a Judge like me?"
"Presume you are anything more than the dirt beneath her heel and I'll shock you myself for the impudence," calmly warned the Prince, startling Uriah. "She is the Sister of Hades, not a mistress or a maid. Offenses to her by the army will be seen as a personal attack on the God of the Underworld…. and on me."
Torak knelt before Lucifer and Uriah."What about… this chest, Prince Lucifer?"
"Just stand by our side, Torak. My vassal will have to carry a personal gift of mine to Lady Pandora to her Earthly Castle once the walk towards Giudecca begins and I want you to assist her."
Torak nodded, banging his fist against his chest, and stood up, placing himself next to Héloise. "Pleased to meet you. I don't think I've sensed your particular cosmos before."
The Skeleton Soldier looked away. "I have been in the Underworld for many years, Lord Behemoth. Prince Lucifer has just kept me aside for training," she explained.
"Anytime now..." thought Lucifer, wondering just what the hell was taking them so long. He admitted to himself that he was nervous, as the first five minutes of the ceremony would be crucial to the Nymph's survival. He had to make sure they got through.
"I must admit, Lord Lucifer, that you did a tremendous job gathering this reception in just three hours." complimented Gryphon Uriah.
Lucifer smiled, though not looking away from the turn the stairs made towards the river at the end of his sight, which would be from where the new arrivals would come from. "Thank you, Uriah." he answered the blonde Specter "But I also had a lot of help from your protégé."
Uriah smiled in return, glancing at Torak, who remained stoic despite the Prince's compliment.
Lucifer suddenly noticed that there was some unrest among the rows of new Specters. Though silent, they more than often moved their arms and fingers around a little and glanced to the sides, some even drumming their fingers on the banner's shafts or on the plates of their Surplices. But who could blame them? They were about to meet not one, but two Gods in the flesh, joined by Her Highness Pandora, Lord Hades' sister, and a kid that was supposed to become the next Wyvern Specter. Little did they know that, for them, Rhadamanthys' arrival was anything but a good thing for them.
A good, solid ten minutes of waiting passed in which the dark-armored men awaited with discipline expected from any military. Lucifer, who was supposed to be the patient one, eventually also felt his throat drying and his sight narrow, but did his best to not let it show to anyone but Uriah. Fortunately for him, it wasn't long before a Skeleton Soldier suddenly rushed through the stairs coming from River Acheron, carrying a scythe with a banner attached on it's top. The soldier saluted the enormous contingent of superiors and announced:
"Lord Lucifer!" he shouted. "Her Highness Lady Pandora, His Divinity Lord Thanatos and His Divinity Lord Hypnos have arrived!"
With this, the replacements mumbled with each other, agitated, and the soldier quickly sprinted to join his comrades in the sidelines. It wasn't long before four figures emerged from the turn the descent took, causing the Specter to erupt in a massive salute:
"ALL HAIL LADY PANDORA, LORD HYPNOS AND LORD THANATOS!"
"HAIL!"
Scythes, spears and the handles of arbalests then drummed on the ground and on the rocks in unison three times in a row. The four figures stopped at the beginning of the massive staircase, Thanatos and Hypnos taking the front while Pandora and a young, blond boy with two brows that were threatening to unite within a few months took the rear. Thanatos raised a brow, confused:
"Again, complete strangers. Who are these men?" he asked, not recognizing any of the Specters.
Hypnos hummed a little, also confused "Maybe a lot more than we thought happened after we were sealed. I recognize, however, Lucifer in front of the doors of the Hall of Judgment."
Thanatos narrowed his eyes to have a better look at the distance "Ah, yes! It's him. I guess he'll tell us what this is all about. Then again, all things considered, it seems Alone has failed and Lord Hades has yet to conquer the Sanctuary."
"One thing at a time, brother." pled Hypnos. "Lord Hades can enlighten us when the time comes. Pandora, Rhadamanthys..." he then called, catching the attention of the two youths. "Let's go."
The four of them climbed the stairs as silence filled the valley with Rhadamanthys occasionally glancing at the rows of Specters.
"So this is Lord Hades' army?" he asked. "They look like a bunch of weaklings if you ask me."
"Indeed." Thanatos answered.
"So which one is the Wyvern Surplice?" he demanded to know, itching to kill whatever incompetent excuse for a warrior occupied it.
The God of Death chuckled. "Be patient, Rhadamanthys. We will address your case soon enough. Lord Hades himself will be happy to award you your Surplice, should you prove yourself."
Rhadamanthys grunted with Thanatos's command. Nevertheless, his eyes ran through the rows of Specters. If any of those Specters were wearing his Wyvern Surplice, he should surely be able to tell on his own.
The four of them finally reached Lucifer, Uriah, Héloise and Torak. The two Specters instantly bowed while Lucifer simply yanked off his headpiece and held it next to his chest as a simple gesture of respect. He stared into the silvery and golden eyes of the two Gods, suddenly reminding himself of their stature after 223 years of their absence. It was a weird feeling, as he forgot how imposing they could be.
Indeed, for everyone standing there the presence of the two Gods inspired an odd sensation of being dwarfed. The Specters felt as if enormous shadows were on them despite the lack of sun and the strange body and armor symmetry between the two supernatural twin creatures sent off a bizarre response in their brain like the terror of looking at something they had never evolved enough to understand.
In fact, from the corner of his red eye, Lucifer saw everyone but him and Pandora herself having difficulty keeping their heads raised. A strange atmospheric weight pressed on all of them, their blood ran cold and the sensation of even spotting the bottom of the two gods' garments with their lowered heads was akin to knowing there was a corpse in the next room.
Uriah and Torak supported themselves on their hands, never having imagined that being in the presence of deities could have such an effect. Beads of sweat formed on their temples and they saw the tip of their fingers growing pale as the immense, deathly cosmos emanating from the twins danced invisibly in the air. The horrible sensation that many ghastly hands were grasping them in an attempt to drag them to another darker dimension, whether of death or simply slumber, was felt and it revived nightmares of previous trials in all of them.
In the midst of all of this, though, the Dark Prince just hoped Thanatos wouldn't be so much of a jerk after spending two centuries inside a box.
He then glanced at the blond, English boy. "Gah! Rhadamanthys..." he thought with spite. There wasn't enough time in the world to get onto why the two of them had a schism between them and he still couldn't believe Hades was forcing him to be the Fury Star's teacher. Then again, Lucifer DID kill him. Now that he thought of it, he killed a lot of people in the last Holy War whose death he ended up regretting to cause and didn't kill enough people who actually deserved it. Maybe spending some time with his hated foil really would do Lucifer some good about forgetting past regrets.
He glanced back at the group to see the pale, black-haired girl with a weak smile gazing back at him. Lucifer smiled back at Pandora, trying to get a reaction out of her, but she merely observed him with curiosity, no strong emotions detected. No flustering, no indignation...Nothing!
And more importantly no special reaction to Lucifer having eyes colored like blood, which was a telltale sign that Pandora was already color blinded.
"And if she sees no color, then her mind really is once again back to its brainwashed state. Seems like Alone's treason and Rhadamanthys sacrifice for her at the Lost Canvas really didn't mean anything," he thought before noticing the necklace around her neck "Figures, Thanatos and Hypnos' grip on her is probably already strong as steel."
Lucifer then sighed for the hundredth time that day.
{======================\(/\)/======================}
"Can you promise me you'll watch out for her, no matter when she returns? Can you promise me that, at least, you'll try to have her...feel something?"
"...If you tell me why you turned your Flaming Sword against Lord Hades, then yes, of course I can!"
The beaten Dark Angel smiled happily. "It's a deal, then."
{======================\(/\)/======================}
"Like I thought… I have to be the one to do something to save her." the Dark Prince then pulled himself together. "Welcome, Lord Thanatos and Lord Hypnos! I rejoice to see you again." greeted a smiling Lucifer, who then returned his gaze to Pandora "Welcome, Pandora. I missed you terribly."
Once again, Pandora's emotional reaction was limited, just smiling a little further and slightly bowing. "Thank you," she said "Tell me, Specter, do I know you well?"
He shook his head. "Not from this life of yours, Lady Pandora. Let me introduce myself formally. I am Daemon Lucifer, the Celestial Star of Pride. I am Lord Hades Prince of Darkness."
"Prince of Darkness?" she asked, curiously. "What does that mean?"
"It means that I'm right below you and just above the Three Judges in rank." Lucifer answered so straightly it was like he had done it a million times. "But there will be plenty of time to explain to you my responsibilities later."
"The first Prince of Darkness, as far as I am concerned." Thanatos commented with a cocky grin. Hypnos squinted in annoyance, giving his twin a 'this again?' look. "I have groomed him myself to be the destroyer of the Gold Saints, Pandora. Through him, you will command the entire army of the Underworld."
Pandora nodded in comprehension but Hypnos raised a brow. Normally, Lucifer would be the one to introduce himself as the "1st Prince of Darkness" to boast about his self-proclaimed superiority over his equal, Dark Angel Michael. He was also expecting to see Michael by his side. Did Dark Angel die after the God of Sleep was sealed by Hakurei? And who were those men which had hailed to their arrival?
Something wasn't right...Michael and Lucifer, while being intense rivals, were of equal rank and, therefore, in formal occasions, where Lucifer was needed to be present, so was Michael. The God of Sleep then used his divine reach to look past the First Prison and towards the Celestial Stars of Pride and Absolutism, which normally shined right above the 8th prison.
Both stars were still burning brightly. "The Dark Angel Surplice is intact, but where is the host?"
He was about to ask Lucifer, but Thanatos was one step ahead. "Before we get on with the pleasantries, Lucifer. tell me...who are these men?" he asked, a hint of suspicious aggressiveness in his voice.
Behemoth Torak raised a brow as he remained knelt, confused, but Uriah remained still, knowing exactly why Thanatos didn't know them.
"Why, they are your humble servants, Lord Thanatos," answered Lucifer, placing his hands behind his back "They are Lord Hades' Specters."
"What?" asked Hypnos, slightly revolted. "Are you joking, Prince Lucifer? We are not so absent minded so as to forget the faces and names of our warriors."
"Let me introduce them, Lord Hypnos. This is their captain and my second-in-command, Gryphon Uriah." Lucifer said, waving his hand towards the blonde, heavily-armored, winged Specter "And this is Behemoth Torak, Gryphon's Lieutenant. This Skeleton Soldier behind me, on the other hand, is a personal slave."
"What are you talking about, Lucifer? Minos is the Gryphon Specter! And, if I recall correctly, the Behemoth Specter wasn't named Torak, nor was he a servant of Minos or even a male!"
"I'm afraid I have to repeat my sibling's query. Lucifer; are you perhaps mocking us?" asked Thanatos, his silver orbs narrowing. "Think very carefully what you'll answer."
"Of course not, your Divinity. They are your servants!" Lucifer answered with exaggerated emphasis before answering with the 6th sense "I can't vocally answer you right in front of them, but, for now, I'll tell you that they were recruited by Lord Hades to help me repair the prisons. After the battles that occurred post your sealing, things...got a little ugly down here."
"Ahh, I see..." Thanatos said, enlightened and looking at the Specters in a whole different way. He chuckled. "Forgive our confusion. Our omniscience was quite...limited within that box."
"Wait a minute!" Hypnos thought to himself, looking around "The prisons were damaged? How far did the Saints push the battle against us?" Hypnos knew perfectly well the consequences of the prisons being damaged after the Specter army suffered such crushing losses. He imagined that the Daemon Specter must have single-handedly dealt with the situation, and remind himself to ask Lord Hades for details later.
Thanatos then turned his look towards the huge chest that rested besides Lucifer's feet. "And this box...?"
Lucifer swallowed hard, "This is it!" he thought before answering "This is actually a welcoming gift for Lady Pandora!" he announced.
Pandora's wavering attention was captured "For me?" she asked, surprised. "What is it?"
"Yes, Lucifer." agreed Thanatos "What is it?"
A drop of nervous sweat ran down Lucifer's cheek. "It's...a surprise. An offering, really. I was hoping that Pandora would be able to open it in Hades's Earthly Castle so that this welcoming ceremony wouldn't be interrupted."
The girl, however, was slightly suspicious and hummed to herself. "I don't see why I cannot be granted it immediately, Dark Prince. I've come to meet my brother as soon as possible, and although you say you have an authentic treasure chest to welcome me with, why would you give this to me and what for?"
The Specter of Daemon, however, was unfettered in his response. "Because of a simple gentleman's code, milady." he assured. "I am confident you will find it appropriate, so no need to wedge it in your welcoming ceremony."
"You're… confident?" This time, Pandora was truly intrigued. Thinking back on the man's words, he claimed to have known her in previous lives, so maybe there was something on to this. She approached the confident with curiosity and chuckled in amusement. "Now I feel like I really must know. You, soldier," she asked Héloise "Do you know what's inside?"
"Yes, milady. I am honorbound not to divulge it, however," the Skeleton guaranteed. "If you wish so, however… you may take my life if you find the gift unpleasant later on."
Pandora stared at her, surprised at both the gender in the voice and the actual claim, taking both as a sign that she could trust this. "Take your life? Oh-oh…. I will remember that wager, Skeleton. Alright, I understand." Pandora said, letting out a small smile "If I find what's inside unacceptable in the slightest, I will have your soul sucked out by my dear brother. After all, Lord Hades should be my first priority. I thank you for your attention, Prince of Darkness, and I shall have someone open it later."
Lucifer widened his eyes. Was that… excitement just now?
"I see. Torak! Héloise!" he ordered, causing the two to instantly stand up. "Take the chest to Hades's Castle immediately!"
"Yes, Lord Lucifer." they answered in unison, before rushing to grab the huge rings on its sides to pick it up from the ground.
Suddenly, a grey-greaved foot stepped on its top, preventing it's departure. Torak and Héloise instantly let go of the chest and then took several terrified steps back when they saw that it was Lord Thanatos pinning the gift. Thanatos smiled as he saw Torak retreating and removed his foot, instead turning towards Lucifer.
"Open it." he asked.
Lucifer's smile of relief was crushed into sudden fright "What?" he asked.
"I told you to open it." Thanatos repeated.
"But, Lord Thanatos, surely you don't want to waste any time to ruin my surprise for Pandora!" Lucifer argued, keeping his tone in check.
"I couldn't care any less about your surprise for her," enforced the God of Death. "I will not have subterfuge among the Specters! Even among ones such as yourself!"
"...But..." Lucifer gritted his teeth angrily. "It was going too easy."
Rhadamanthys raised a brow with the sudden tension. Why didn't the guy just open the damn chest? Pandora, in turn, suddenly felt frightened by the sudden situation, wondering if the Death God was gonna execute the Specter for such a strange thing.
"Has the Daemon Surplice failed to protect you from deafness?" Thanatos asked. "I told you to open it."
The effort that Lucifer put into keeping calm was immense "Lord Thanatos, there's nothing inside of-"
Thanatos' mouth 'oh'ed. "Are you telling me that inside this rather large chest is nothing but an offering to Pandora? Unless it is packed to the brim with gold from your personal treasury, I don't see why you would need something so heavy as to need two people to carry it off."
Hypnos then decided to intervene, "Lucifer, your actions are being most suspicious. I side with my brother and enforce his command. Open the box or we'll do it ourselves!" he threatened.
Lucifer sweated hard "...Fine." he resigned, placing his headpiece in place to free his hands and headed towards the chest.
Thanatos stepped away from the box to give Lucifer room to kneel next to it and the Prince of Darkness opened the two first locks of the three that restrained it without a fuss. He then gazed at the third and final look and hesitated, inhaling and exhaling hard as his stomach tied itself in a knot.
"Hurry up and open it, already!" barked Thanatos.
Lucifer contained his anger and closed his eyes for a second, relaxing. His hand reached for the final lock and worked it open. He then lift the lid with a sudden rush and stepped away from it, revealing it's contents.
Pandora gasped and the two Gods widened their eyes in surprise.
"You see, Lord Thanatos…" Lucifer voiced with shame "It wasn't such a matter of how heavy the cargo was, but how delicate."
The insides of the box were filled all the way to the top with a massive amount of extremely beautiful flowers, herbs and other plants, having all being picked from the Second Prison's garden. The enormous variety of multicolored petals was staggering, something that was enforced by the clear glows of cosmos that emanated from them, being each one of them drenched with power by the stardust reserve beneath their birthplace. The result was a box filled with glowing beauty, the aura around the plants even illuminating the ceiling of the box's cover with a rainbow-colored myriad of light.
"By Lord Hades!" Pandora gasped "They're so beautiful! What are they?"
"These are Asphodels. In the Underworld, they are only born in the outskirts of the second prison." answered Lucifer. "In previous lives, you would make Elysium Tea for yourself and for Lord Hades, your little brother, so I had these picked for you."
"I see, tea for my brother, of course!" exclaimed Pandora, possessing no such memory of such a hobby, but seeing how it would definitely be something she would share with Lord Hades. "Of course, only someone as magnificent as Lord Hades could demand such exquisite tea. And for Him to share it with His sister...Such kindness! Thank you, Lucifer. This is a wonderful gift!"
"The flowers are all drenched with cosmos gained from concentrated stardust. As a result, they emanate a cosmic signature that, when they are so packed together, can be quite obfuscating even long after they were picked. Of course..." Lucifer explained before turning towards Hypnos and Thanatos, whose faces shook with embarrassment. "...I didn't want to make a spectacle of such a trivial thing. Am I clear of suspicion, my Lords?"
Thanatos let out a resigned scoff. "Sure. Let's proceed with this ceremony."
As Hypnos, Thanatos, Rhadamanthys and Pandora all walked past him to enter the Halls of Judgment, Lucifer allowed himself a winning smile before turning towards Behemoth Torak and Héloise. "Take it to Hades's Castle as previously ordered! Be hasty but also careful, these flowers are delicate! And unlock the chest once you leave it so that Pandora can open it on her own! If she finds one smudge on one petal and I'll rip both your heads off. I'll be escorting the newcomers to Giudecca Palace." Lucifer then turned towards the Specters "And as for all of you: get back to work!"
The Specters, mumbling and complaining, broke their formation, gathered their respective Skeleton Soldiers and headed towards the Prisons to continue their workday.
{======================\(/\)/======================}
Moments Later
Hades' Earthly Castle
{======================\(/\)/======================}
"Okay, give me a second." Torak's foot raised itself from the ground, his hands being occupied as they held the huge chest, and battered the heavy, metal doors in front of him, making them open apart and allowing him to step outside the staircase from Hell. "There, not so delicate, but it gets us through."
Héloise felt a shiver running up her spine when another geyser-like blast of green flames erupted from the hollow center of the spiral staircase and they entered the new Castle of Hades in a rush, not bothering to close the doors behind them. "Is it true that without an armor made of Damascus, passing through this staircase would take your life?"
The Behemoth Specter nodded. "Yes, Damascus is only found in the Underworld and in some outcrops next to potential gates on Earth to here. You should know that, Soldier."
They walked past the empty room that had greeted him, noticing the ceiling made of glass marked by Christian images of angels and paradise, and climbed down the staircase leading to the lower rooms of the castle.
"I do, but that woman was able to pass through unharmed." Héloise commented.
"She's Hades' sister, so what do you expect?" pointed out Torak "Besides, she had those two Gods with her."
It wasn't long before the two found the Victorian-style dining room, ignoring the creepy dolls that decorated the place and dropped the chest rather carelessly against the stone wall. Torak then remembered Lucifer's command to unlock the chest and he obeyed him, using the spare key to open the three black padlocks.
"I don't buy that," insisted the Skeleton Soldier, grabbing her own chin. "She must have had something with her too, right?"
"Hmm? What makes you think that? Isn't divine blood enough?" Torak then narrowed his eyes. "Then again… you are Lord Lucifer's vassal, right? Do you know something I don't?"
Héloise's helmeted face turned away. In truth she was thinking about the black feather Lucifer entrusted her with. "Of course I don't. I'm just a soldier."
The black-haired young man stared at her. "... Are you joking?"
She staggered. "What?"
"Lord Lucifer doesn't need soldiers at hand." pointed out Torak. "When I first arrived at the Underworld, Lord Uriah was the strongest, most honorable man I ever met. He inspired me to obtain my own strength. When I once told him this, though,..." his blue eyes then looked up to the glass ceiling of angelic figures "...he told me 'I am strong, but Lord Lucifer is almighty. I am honorable, but Lord Lucifer is proud. In what you see in me as exemplary, in him you will see as the apex'... Lord Uriah's example is what I guide myself by, so I don't believe for a second, Skeleton, that you are useful to Lucifer like that."
The Skeleton stood silent at this.
"Who are you, woman?" the Specter demanded to know.
After a bit more of hesitation, she took her hands and reached for the helmet lock behind her head, which she released so as to take off the head protection. A headful of blonde, curvy, shoulder length hair flowed out and a pair of green eyes on a fair face was revealed.
She tossed out the helmet. "My name is Cerah Héloise. I've been a vassal of Lord Lucifer per his agreement with Sagittarius Priam."
Torak recognized the name format. "You… you're a Cyrulian. I thought you all passed by our Prisons back in…"
"I am one of two left." Cerah explained, her expression sincere. "Your name is… Torak, correct? I hope you don't think I've been tricking you. I'm under orders of Lucifer."
The Behemoth would have none of it. "What orders? Are you one of those Sanctuary rebels that Prince Lucifer has been conspiring with, or are you a spy like Nasu Erika? Tell me or I'll kick your head unto the wall!"
Her green eyes narrowed determinedly. "No. Priam and Daese intend to defeat the Pope."
"And you?!"
Cerah's aura burned an intense yet silent flare of white, illuminating the room. "...I intended to kill him."
Torak once again staggered. "... You what?!"
She walked over to the chest and opened it, revealing the Asphodels. "It's okay, Eurydice, come out." she then pulled up a whole different person, a beautiful blonde haired Nymph.
Torak's face went pale, recognizing the woman from conversations once overheard in the Underworld. "That's…. t-that's Thanatos' wife?!" He stepped back in dear. "W-what has Lucifer done?! This…"
The Nymph was helped out of the chest. "Is it time yet?... I thought I was going to suffocate."
"W-WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU PEOPLE DONE?!" Torak screamed, his face twisted in panic. His fingers ran through his hair in a panic. "That god will find out! He'll…"
"Torak, stop, you need to stay calm." Cerah appealed, her green eyes narrowed. "If Thanatos sees an ounce of fear in you, he'll know who took Eurydice away and when he does-" She then detected a rise in his cosmos, causing her to stagger. "D-darn, Eurydice, stay back!"
The Specter's dark aura manifested itself, revealing the outline of a huge rhino around him. "I c-cannot…"
Cerah's hand was suddenly engulfed in white light that transformed her Skeleton gauntlet into a new, makeshift metal hand of black metal. "D-damn it, I didn't want a fight, but don't think I'll back down, Behemoth! BURN, CORVUS CL-"
"Wait!" Eurydice's hand suddenly reached out and touched Torak's, somehow causing his entire aura to calm down and collapse. "Torak… I'm sure you don't want to hurt us. Please let us through."
The man staggered and trembled, feeling her touch and unable to be hostile. "Y-you… why wouldn't I want that?! Your presence here endangers all the Specters!"
"Cause Lucifer trusted you to carry me," she pointed out, her eyes narrowing in a rare show of determination from the Nymph. "So you must have a better nature than most. He's not naive to the point that he would think you would not detect me. And your Lord, Gryphon Uriah, trusts Lucifer, does he not?"
The Behemoth hesitantly pulled back his fists. "Don't you dare use his name…"
"I'm sure you want to keep the Specters safe from Thanatos' wrath... but I am not careless, Torak, I wouldn't have done this if I wasn't sure Lucifer had everything under control." she assured, smiling. "Cerah couldn't have carried me here without suspicion, and Lucifer could not afford to let too many people know."
Cerah's fist burned with an intense white light that contrasted with her black-armored fist. "Eurydice, step away, he's not going to-"
"It's fine, Héloise. Torak understands what I'm saying or he would have attacked by now. The situation of the Specters is that dire," the Nymph guaranteed. "Behemoth, I'm sure you understand you would have done the same in our shoes. I ask you nothing more than what a disheartened human would -"
"You're not human, you're a nymph, a trophy of the Gods!" argued Behemoth, his teeth gritting. "And what the hell do you know about us Specters? Why should I listen to you?!"
Eurydice looked him in the eye sympathetically. "Because I'm a puppet of them, too, no?"
This honestly surprised Torak and, by extension, Cerah who did not know why this was so impactful to the Specter.
Behemoth's expression softened and he hesitantly nodded. "... Go on."
Eurydice lowered her head humbly. "I think you know where I am going with this already, young Behemoth. I may not be human, but I know nothing convinces a human better than feeling for themselves the pain of others. If I can't ask you for your sympathy…" she then stepped away to let Cerah through with her attack. "... then what use are any words?"
The Specter stood there, stunned, his trance only broken by the flickering of the charging light in Cerah's fists. He pondered for a good half a minute what he should do.
He walked towards the Cyrulian. His dark aura flared up as if he was about to fight her right then and there. The contrast of the energies clashed ever so softly and beads of sweat formed in the protector's face.
Behemoth growled angrily at this realization; if he wanted, he could crush her in a second.
"If I fight you here… Thanatos will definitely know..." Torak concluded. "...and won't pardon any of us. The guard is light outside, you may pass."
Cerah blinked, seeing his dark aura vanish. "What? Really? Thank you!" but her initial relief hardened into suspicion. "But why?"
The tall youth looked at his own armored palms. "I solve everything with my fists, but I don't think this is a situation where they would do any good." Torak confessed. "Leave before I change my mind."
Satisfied with his job, Torak dusted his hands, took the spare key and walked out of the rooms, the sound of his hasty steps climbing towards the room that lead to the Staircase to Hell echoing in the now empty-room.
The Cyrulian girl made her cosmos flicker away after she was sure he wouldn't return. "Thank goodness…Sorry, Eurydice, about taking so long to carry you up here, I mean."
"Well..." answered Eurydice as she placed the fallen flowers back in the chest and closed it "...you know that Lucifer couldn't really control the time Thanatos and Hypnos spent talking around. And he missed Pandora."
"I suppose...What's the history between those two, anyway?" she asked. "In all the years he spent training me he never explained to me anything."
Eurydice chuckled. "Of course not, would you tell your student your weak point?" She closed the chest and turned away. "It's really as run of the mill as it can be; he loves her… but she doesn't love him back. And likely never will. Even if Pandora's heart wasn't as locked to her God as that of a Nymph, she would still love someone else."
"How do you know?"
Eurydice guided her out. "Because I've seen it happen between those two…. more than once." It wasn't a straight answer, but, then again, she owed Lucifer some discreteness. Eurydice then suddenly heard the old, Victorian clock denouncing the coming of midday in German Time zone and she got up in a rush "C'mon, we have to hurry. Thanatos will notice we are gone sooner rather than later! We have to leave this castle!"
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Chapter End
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Next Chapter: Side Story 1 – Arrival of the Gods – Chapter 2 of 3
Description: The Gods arrive on Giudecca Palace where they reunite with Hades. Thanatos and Hypnos are informed of what has transpired since their sealing by Sage and Hakurei and new plans are drafted to restart the wars with Sanctuary
Author's Note: This side story was originally planted in the middle of the Second Arc. It came to me during the development of the fighting that will occur in it and it was not only a welcome break from the action writing for me, but also a good opportunity to fill in the readers a bit more about the state of the Underworld prior to the events of said Arc, which grew in relevance more and more as the story developed.
In Version 3, it makes more sense to place it between Arcs not only because the information for the Second Arc is pre-established a bit better but also because Side Story 2 was placed back then between Arc 2 and Arc 3, not to mention Side Story 3 was planned to be placed between Arc 3 and Arc 4 and so on and forth.
As it stands now it provides you with a lot of insight on the Underworld during the events of the First Arc, which will be important for the first half of the Second Arc.
I don't wish to delve too much on the changes made to this chapter in these notes other than state that they were made mostly as a retrofitting effort, to stamp out spoilers and to reboot some characters I was heavily unsatisfied with. Hopefully Side Story 1 - Arrival of the Gods will now not only be better written and better placed, but also a better set up for things to come.
One quick headnote I should probably make is that Lucifer isn't 'shipped' with Pandora. Writing a character as having feelings for someone and writing the story so as to pair them up together purposely are two different things. For once, the outcome of the latter isn't a foregone conclusion, lol. I also have no particular distaste for Rhadamanthys, I actually think he's my favorite Specter. It just so happens that Daemon's character conflicts with him, but you'll overtime see why.
Eurydice being a Nymph is a storyline from LYKM where she escapes Elysium and a marriage with Thanatos after she learns of the brutality of war in the human world. Like all other LYKM storylines that take place in LR, they still hold plot value here.
Finally, make sure to check out Hitagi Gahara's SKD scanlations of Next Dimension, Saintia Sho and others. The writer of this fanfic is proofreader of Saint Seiya Next Dimension's English releases and they're your current top source for high quality scanlations in English.
