Hazbin Hotel: Singed Wings

Christmas Eve, 1897, Third Circle district, one of the offices of the First Department.

Christmas celebrations, like all traditions that followed human souls, having pushed through the Supreme Court Meeting, were proceeding as usual despite the fact that the Second and Third Circles were preparing for an influx of souls in the coming decades.

Angels, Archangels, Cherubim, and even some Seraphim were granted the right to rest in anticipation of Christmas, not that they needed it, according to them. Almost all Celestials spent this time with close souls; almost no one was alone, and if there was any such loneliness, those around invited them over. A truly pleasant and warm atmosphere.

And how surprised I was to find Adam not just alone, without his usual companion Lute, but—

"If you've come just to stare judgmentally, then let's wrap this up and get the hell out of here." —the stretched words, slightly unsteady posture, slurred speech, and the characteristic type of smell, albeit of "heavenly" purity.

Adam was drinking, and he was drinking that very beer "Blackout," which had caused a small uproar among the alcoholic beverages of Heaven, capable of knocking even Athanasius down.

Adam was sitting at the exit of the office, on a small platform with benches, leaning against the building wall, holding a flask of beer marked with the same name, glancing at me with a frown.

"I never thought I'd see the First Man drinking not on Christmas, especially alone." —I approached closer, standing next to Adam on his left. "Anyway, I've finished all my business at your Department, plus I did almost all the paperwork; just stamp it and show up for the scheduled meetings."

"Ugh..." —Adam said lazily, tilting his head back, slightly hitting the horns of his helmet against the wall, to which he didn't even pay attention. "Now this is what I call a 'Christmas gift!' And as for me..." —Adam took another sip. "Then fuck off, I can drink whenever and wherever I damn well please, I'm Adam, the First Dick, that is, the original, preceding yours and all that." —He replied gloomily, looking at me somewhat listlessly.

From all my observations of this man, Adam only refers to his past when he wants to cover something up, or when he simply has nothing to hide his actions with; he usually doesn't engage in such nonsense. As he says, he has no need to flaunt his title and achievements; he just doesn't care, because "if someone wants to know, they'll find out for themselves, and I don't give a damn about the rest." Of course, sometimes he does brag about such things, but not this time.

"Of course, no one forbids drinking at the workplace." —I nodded, looking at the same view as Adam. At the landscape of the Golden City, adorned with a light layer of white snow. "Have you done anything work-related?" —I tilted my head slightly towards the seated angel, who was still a bit taller.

"Sure, I've done almost everything, who do you take me for?" —Adam waved his hand with the flask, looking at me with a hint of laziness; there was no trace of irritation in his eyes, as if he were dealing with work matters.

"For Adam." —I replied without batting an eye, enjoying the view.

"From your lips, that sounds almost like an insult..." —Another sip, Adam shifted slightly to the right. "Sit down, since you've come." —Adam patted the empty space next to him. "Want some?" —He summoned another flask, offering it to me.

"...Only if it's a little, and I can treat Sera to it tomorrow." —I replied, sitting down next to him and accepting a similar flask. It was high time to test the weaving for detoxifying.

I wove the spell and took a sip under Adam's expectant gaze.

"If you can persuade Sera and get her to drink, then please. That would be just hilarious..." —Adam nodded. A small pause of seven seconds while Adam watched my sip. "Not bad, Verg, or is it your magic?"

Even through the spell, the liquid hit my head. I swayed slightly, coughed, holding the flask in my hand, wiping a few drops from my mouth.

"Both, I still have to work today." —I replied to Adam, weaving the spell again. Relief came almost immediately, allowing me to breathe easily. "Fair enough." —Adam nodded, taking his own sip.

For a while, about five minutes, we sat in silence. Each of us was lost in our own thoughts. Like Adam, I leaned against the wall by the bench, allowing myself to become like my companion and dive into the flow of thoughts.

Emily's first descent to Earth with me as her guide…

...Then I told Emily that the miracle placed on the little doll had simply made a mistake, sending her back to Heaven prematurely, for which I received praise from Sera and Adam for considering such a detail, showing healthy responsibility, and for the resentment of Emily, which I could only remedy with two more trips to Earth over the next month, during weekends, where she gradually warmed up.

These were good trips to Japan, America, and Italy. Although the countries were obviously going through their own upheavals, especially something in the Western continent, I still managed to find a couple of good tourist spots that eased my guilt before Seraphina. Surprisingly, she became much more inclined to physical contact, even though she didn't practice such things with Adam. The Alps work wonders, no doubt.

As for Mrs. Apple…

She is not possessed by a demon; she simply lacks the characteristic signs of possession that I observed during my practice or read in reference materials. The Goetia demon, of medium rank and strength, as Adam said, was the maximum they allowed me to approach, occupying the body of the leader of one of the cults, but even he did not have the traits that Mrs. Apple exhibited.

It's not the type of energy in the shell; the "pollution of the soul" among the Sinners and demons of Hell is significantly different. But the main thing is that Mrs. Apple was physically an ordinary person, even though the body of the possessed changes, trying to adapt to the soul of the demon.

I couldn't figure it out better or gather more data with measurements since after that meeting we only corresponded through letters. Later, in the letters, she asked about everything and nothing, constantly running around and getting confused with the data. For some reason, she called the current century the "Age of the Dragon," referred to me as the demon-prince Magnus, and wrote her "exactly true" descriptions of events before the Great Flood, when Lucifer, Lilith, and Cain with his wives and children built the "City of Magic," rivaling the Golden City.

And the story where Lilith took pity on Cain during his exile, ascended to Earth with the help of her husband, and taught him "blood magic," after which the First Murderer gained strange powers and had three "children" with similar traits...

Considering how much material I've managed to gather on Adam's firstborn, I need to compile "snapshots" of letters with stories about Cain's adventures and his "children," and then publish a book. I'll become like Amedeo, only more adequate and sensible.

I took a small sip, and Adam followed my lead; neither of us spoke a word, not a single unnecessary sound. Each of us was lost in our thoughts.

Mrs. Apple is definitely a long-lived soul, perhaps one of the fallen angels. Just because I don't know about the cases of the fall that even Sera doesn't mention, doesn't mean… well, Sera is the Supreme Seraphim; she was involved in the Judgment of Lucifer, and there isn't even a mention here, although there are records of Lucifer's Judgment.

Then there's that feeling of "the Gaze"…

If we assume that God and Light, that is, the Holy Spirit, are one and the same, then Evil must have something similar or analogous…

Mrs. Apple, or whoever she is, if she's even "her," is she an avatar or embodiment of Evil? An "Angel of Evil," if such exist?

I didn't tell Sera or Adam about this meeting, convinced that if I even hinted at it, they would immediately send the Afanims, and that woman… Apple, she knows so much…

I don't know which part of her stream of thoughts is a fabrication and which is strangely presented truth, but the dates, events, and details of certain biblical occurrences that Mrs. Apple described in her letters exactly match the data from the archives I checked, cross-referencing her words…

She isn't bound by any oaths of Heaven, hasn't made any promises; she could have a wealth of valuable information that confirms or refutes what I've obtained in Heaven.

Though… maybe it's all just the ramblings of a madwoman.

This woman, whoever she is, behaves very strangely. She dresses as if she simply copied a style. In our last and only meeting, she wore men's clothing: a shirt, tight pants, a long black cloak, and a man's bowler hat, slightly elongated at the edges. While I can understand the pants—they highlight her attributes as a woman—the rest… It's as if she saw this outfit somewhere and just "put it on" completely. Not even caring to straighten the crumpled shirt or button a few buttons.

And her mannerisms… Even during our meeting, she changed her style of communication several times, altering her tone, even the timbre and pitch of her voice. If the literature of Heaven on psychology isn't lying, this is called dissociative identity disorder, or some kind of personality disorder. There are many factors that prevent establishing an exact diagnosis. Even in her letters, she constantly changes her style and handwriting, her writing manner keeps shifting.

If we assume dissociative identity disorder, we can identify one personality that can definitely be associated with Evil. Red eyes, more coarse behavior, strange passivity, and hints of sadism. If Mrs. Apple is somehow linked to Evil, we can expect the worst.

The second personality… Passive, pliant, listened to me in a daze, never taking her eyes off me, as if she were wrapping every word I uttered around her finger. I felt like I was sharing my thoughts with an attentive listener who… was tired. This personality, likely from an ordinary woman, if we accept the fact of possession by something, or something else, but… This personality was indifferent to the world. Both personalities, but this one more clearly. She didn't care how passersby looked at her, that they didn't see me but saw her walking toward the "cursed" house. It was as if she didn't even notice them. She didn't care that she stepped on sharp glass, which slightly tore her shoe; she just kept walking. She was unconcerned about her long black hair, which had little twigs and leaves in it… Even the bags under her eyes looked painful.

Letters from a potential embodiment of Evil or a soul somehow connected to it… As soon as I realized this, contacting Apple two days later while on Earth, I made the necessary adjustments to the developed weave for communication. Now, these letters go into a "mailbox" on Earth, where a "snapshot" is made, which I then review in Heaven.

Honestly, even the progress in the "Constructor" project pales in comparison to this acquaintance. I managed to make the Constructor carry a wooden box while maintaining normal and stable walking. Soon, we can start improving the "design" and complicating the memory matrix, and well—

"What are you thinking about, Vergil?" Adam asked quietly, taking a loud gulp.

"The results of the recent projects and work, nothing serious." I sighed, putting my thoughts on the back burner. "What about you?" I took a sip from my flask. "Is there any reason you decided to drink until you passed out?"

What the hell, how did Karl manage to outdo Ambrosia? With the right recipe and preparation, that stuff could knock even Lucifer out… I should probably drop by Karl's for a couple of lessons…

"Meh…" I waved my left wing, sipping from the flask. "'Those days' Vergil." Adam grumbled, sounding increasingly affected by the beer, but it didn't seem to stop him from talking. When he wants to. "…When a guy is chased by all the stupid thoughts, like questions of 'what if?', all past mistakes, all failures… Past relationships." He practically growled the last part.

"Eva and Lilith?" I asked quietly, ready to change the subject or make a joke, but…

"Yeah." Adam lowered his head, looking at the beer emblem on the flask. "Could our relationship with Sera really remind me of those—"

"Don't put yourself so high that your flirtations with Sera," Adam weakly smirked, "could somehow dismantle my old memories. Unlike you, I at least go to paradise parties where I constantly see similar lovebirds." The soft smile didn't last long, turning into a frown.

"It happens, old wounds sometimes reopen, and I allow myself this little weakness. Lute and the girls understand everything…" Adam said quietly, leaning against the wall.

"…Would you like to talk it out?" I asked just as quietly, looking at Adam's mask of unnatural calm. His golden eyes raised to the sky.

"…I don't know, what would you ask if I weren't drunk out of my mind?" His head turned slightly toward me.

"Why do you always wear that mask-helmet?" Adam quietly groaned, lifting his head back up.

"Honestly, if I were sober, I'd give you a punch in the face, but as it is…" Adam grumbled harmlessly, "Usually, I say it's just my style or some other nonsense like that…" Adam's hands began to slowly rise… Really? — "But in general…"

Adam slowly removed the helmet, revealing… the face of a completely ordinary, average person. A sharp chin, straight cheekbones. He probably had been a brunette in life, as even his hair was slightly "ashy," maintaining the main color, slightly lightening it, which is typical for most humanoid angels. His hair was styled with bangs over his forehead, the rest shaved short. A small stubble resembling a "goatee," golden eyes, and… large, noticeable bags under his eyes.

If I had met him on Earth, especially at the height of a regular human, I wouldn't have thought that this was Adam, the First Man. Although I had seen his face during the first meeting as an Archangel, I had just started applying "distribution of streams of consciousness," which allows one to think about several things at once, making such details, which usually go unnoticed, blurry… Sera hadn't mentioned this, probably because of her nature as a Seraph.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm all about sexuality and stuff…" Adam said with a weak smile, now fully tilting his head back against the wall. "Sometimes these horns get in the way, damn it…" he muttered quietly.

"And you wear the helmet because it's your duty as Commander of the Valkyries?" I ventured, carefully examining the mask-helmet he was still holding. The weaving…

"Nope…" Adam took a deep breath, looking me over. "Just for fun, I guess…" He offered me the mask.

What?

My hands mindlessly took the helmet, while my eyes analyzed its structure in detail, filling the second stream of thoughts. The helmet was smooth, made of some strange material, but I'm not an expert in such things; it was light, as if I were holding a knitted cap, and the center of gravity shifted conveniently depending on its position. The horns were sturdy, not tipping the helmet, and the golden tips were more than just decoration, they were…

Thoughts raced somewhere in the back of my mind, leaving me puzzled. "Cognitive dissonance," is that what it's called when your beliefs clash with reality and your reaction to it? Adam, whom I hadn't seen, focused entirely on the possibility of copying the structure of this artifact, chuckled quietly.

"Looks like you're overwhelmed…" Adam smirked, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. "Are you even alive over there?" The nudges in my shoulders went unnoticed.

Finally gathering myself, I applied the toxin-extraction weaving once more and managed to respond clearly.

"…I'm fine, but this…" I struggled to articulate, my serious tone rather hindering than helping. "It's not typical of you." I raised my right eyebrow, not taking my eyes off the helmet, prompting Adam to laugh a little louder.

"If I had known something so simple could hit you so hard, I would have done it long ago." Adam shook his head, taking another sip from what seemed to be a very large small flask. "But back to your question." The cheerful notes in his voice nearly vanished, and his expression turned grimmer. I raised my eyes to Adam, who had turned away.

"It all started with our Fall with Eve, where…" Adam faltered, glancing at me. "You know I didn't eat the Apple, right?" Adam nodded in response to my nod. "Eve began… to be shy about nudity, taming our children not to go naked." Adam leaned back against the wall, sighing. "I wasn't against it, because constantly washing off the dirt that was becoming more attached to my skin, or washing the little camouflage every time was too tedious." Another sip of beer.

Meanwhile, I was able to assemble a model and characteristics of this modified holo-helmet, used in some parts of Heaven's army.

Adam simply placed his hand on the helmet extended back to him, dissolving it in golden light.

"They were constantly obsessed with those silly feelings, I didn't understand them, but I respected their wishes." Adam shook his head. "For the entertainment of children or for hunting as protection, I put on helmets from those years." A picture of the skull of some animal, resembling the skull of a saber-toothed cat or bear, appeared in his hand. "But after I died…" The image disappeared, and his palm clenched into a fist. "How I ascended to Heaven, how I got out of that garbage dump and regained Heaven…" His eyes narrowed wearily, and his hand dropped. "I don't care, but as it turned out, I felt normal in a robe and mask, without them - like I was naked, like I was starting to be shy about nudity." Adam said gloomily, falling silent.

A moment of silence and then Adam turned to me, looking into my eyes.

"Now my question." There was a shadow of his old smirk on his face. "What the hell are you constantly hiding your wings for? Your status as an Archangel?" A quiet irritation was not even hidden in Adam's voice.

"What's with you and Lute constantly getting on my wings?" My bewilderment was genuine.

"Wings are the symbol of an angel, its main attribute, and you…" He poked me with his dark finger. "…at every opportunity, you hide them, it's more likely to see you with them than without." Adam frowned gloomily, to which I simply shrugged.

"It's not that important to me." To the laconic answer, Adam fell silent.

This time, the silence was not so soft, rather tense, and Adam's gaze seemed to have become heavier.

"It's 'not that important,' you say?" Adam's syllables sounded as if he was preparing to attack, and his tone began to rise. "So you don't think it's important that such a pathetic human soul was still granted forgiveness and given eternal bliss, right?" Adam raised his voice, leaning in threateningly.

"Adam, I'm not…"

"You're just a fucking asshole who doesn't understand the whole picture, all the shit my family and I went through." The quiet, calm tone stood out from the image of a drunken angel, as if he had suddenly sobered up. "You don't know what it's like to 'Lose Paradise,' you don't know what it's like not to know 'Will I ever get back?' knowing you've lost it?" Adam's face contorted into something midway between a grimace of anger and disgust.

"Adam…"

"You didn't promise your children and your beloved wife Paradise, which you ultimately escaped from them." Without letting me get a word in, Adam raised his voice for a moment. "You didn't see how your firstborn killed his brother, you didn't climb out of the very shit of Sin and clear the ruins left by that asshole who, for fuck's sake, calls himself a Seraph." Adam's breathing became heavier, at which I leaned back slightly. His golden eyes didn't leave my face.

"If you didn't know, then Lucy, that red-and-white snake, destroyed EVERYTHING." Adam raised his voice on the last word. "God had a Plan, the Seraphim had their own plans and tasks, but it all went to hell because of the desire of two selfish imbeciles who decided they knew better than everyone else." Adam leaned back against the wall, and his voice became quieter, losing its threatening notes. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Earth was supposed to be something more, there were supposed to be Seven Earths or so." Adam's eyes darted towards mine, catching my surprise, at which he smirked. "Yeah, that's not even taking into account the ideas of other Seraphim or God's complete Plan, but when that idiot let Evil into Earth… Darkness… whatever you call that bullshit, but it destroyed everything fundamental, leaving only a pitiful semblance of the original idea." Adam's tired voice became almost monotonous.

"Does God even…" Adam interrupted me again, raising his voice.

"He still loves humanity." Adam uttered as if it were a mantra. "All the heavenly beings love humans, and He especially…" Adam's face contorted slightly, "Those who respect and acknowledge him, at least."

When Adam fell silent, silence arose between us again. That was where I should have ended, but… I want to know more.

"Are all your children in Hell?" At my new question, Adam looked at me disapprovingly.

"No, they were taken out of Hell by one good Seraph, you don't know him." Adam's tone didn't allow for new questions, so I changed the subject.

"Even Eve?" For a moment, the threat returned, but disappeared just as quickly.

"Eve…" It seemed that Adam was plunging into memories, and his voice was addressing something distant. "Eve changed…" Adam took three loud, big gulps from his flask.

"Did you after Eden…"

"Eve and I were closer than any other people in their entire history." Adam interrupted me for the nth time in an irritated voice. "That connection where we didn't need words, we didn't need any unnecessary worries, when we 'saw' each other completely…" Adam's eyes dreamily looked up at the sky, rapidly filling with stars. A puff of hot air came out of Adam's exhaled mouth. "We gradually developed this connection, became closer than the Seraphim could have imagined." Adam turned his head towards me, in his eyes… "We were one, she was an extension of me, and I was her complement." A semblance of a smile appeared on his face. "Not your 'wooing' with Sera, where you need two years to hold hands." I just smiled and nodded at the jab, but continued to listen silently to the words of the oldest man.

"It wasn't like the connection with Lilith, even though I still love that bitch…" He stopped, his face contorting in disgust. "The one who loved me back." The smile returned. "But even so, you can't compare them both, because each one is special." He raised his hand, on which two female nude silhouettes appeared, their shameful parts covered in hair or smoke. One with long blonde hair down to her knees, and the other with shorter, black hair down to her buttocks. "Lilith was like fire, warming but capable of burning. We could argue with her, but we always came to a compromise, and Eve…" The figure of Lilith disappeared, leaving a black-haired woman. "Like a part of you, like a guardian angel who loves you with all her being, supports you without words, will always understand…" Adam slammed his palm shut.

"It was that fucking scumbag who took them away from me!" Adam suddenly raised his voice, and his golden wings began to emit a faint golden glow of energy. "Every single one! Okay, Lilith, she got tricked, went astray, but Eve!" He turned his head to me, as if looking for answers. "She didn't do anything to Him or Her, but those bastards still decided to use her in their games, HER…" Adam leaned towards me. "The mother who forgave the First Murderer because she loved her children so much, the woman who almost convinced me to do the same!" He placed his palm on the center of his chest.

I remained silent, allowing Adam to release the accumulated negativity that he had probably been holding back until this moment.

Sometimes no words of support are needed, just letting the speaker talk. To look as attentive as possible, nod and agree, allowing the other to be convinced of their thoughts.

"And they poisoned her!" Adam slumped, and his tone became quieter and weaker. "You know what it's like to feel the loss of that connection every day?" He looked at me with eyes full of old pain. "When you lose a bit of the person who loved you with all their soul every day, whom you loved even more in return…" Adam's voice became almost inaudible. "Then we started arguing more often, she kept withdrawing further, but we found a compromise, and that Scumbag didn't interfere… Much." He winced.

Mrs. Apple… What are the chances that it's Eve? I don't know if it's a coincidence, but what if…? Mrs. Apple is Ev-?

"Were you looking for her?" I ask quietly, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"The first thousand years in Heaven, I was only doing that, taking breaks to protect Heaven and Earth." Adam didn't push away my hand, taking another big gulp from his flask. "I've scoured this whole fucking stone ball, but she was nowhere to be found. The heads from the Third Circle think that she's either in Hell or disappeared somewhere, maybe even into some other world, similar to this Hell…" Adam's eyebrows dropped wearily.

"Would you want to find her?" To which Adam looked at me strangely, but then sighed.

"Back then, I would have definitely said 'yes,' but now…" Adam looked away. "I don't know, so much time has passed, and if she really was on Earth all this time, then…" His voice became a whisper. "Why didn't she call me?"

"A curse or the influence of the Fruit?" To my ideas, Adam nodded.

"The Seraphim think roughly the same way, but they gave up on this a long time ago, giving her search the lowest priority." Adam pulled my hand away, finally lying down on the bench, summoning a cloud beneath him.

I leaned with both hands on the bench, leaning forward slightly, maintaining my balance, which was becoming more difficult due to the influence of beer.

"…You were saying that there were supposed to be seven Earths according to the Plan?" I try to change the subject, at which he smirks.

"Did you think the Scumbag offered his Fruit, let Evil into Earth, and it just got in there like alcohol into water?" There was a slight smirk on his face. "No, this bastard's crime is much worse." Adam's face became darker, he folded his hands on his stomach, looking up at the sky.

"He didn't just 'let Evil into Earth,' he actually destroyed the foundation of God, which could have grown into something more magnificent than Heaven itself!" His eyes looked tiredly at the stars that were beginning to appear, and his quiet voice continued the story. "His crime is not only that he deprived me," he pointed a thumb at himself, "Lilith, Eve, and the rest of humanity of Eden, but also messed up all the Seraphim's plans, almost destroying God's Plan for Earth." He listlessly dropped his hands, lowering the flask to the ground.

"Humans were supposed to be immortal, not to know needs, to be very different from angels, maybe even surpass them in some ways…" Adam sighed heavily. "But we have what we have."

Silence fell again, leaving me to quickly ponder what I had received, forcing me to come up with new questions while Adam allowed me to get answers to them.

If Mrs. Apple really is Eve… If she's not just some legendary woman cursed by angels or God…

"What would you do if you found Eve?" I asked Adam quietly, looking at his golden eye that had lazily opened.

"No idea." He dragged out the words.

"…What if I found her?" He opened both eyes, looking at me unexpectedly firmly.

"You'd better not joke about such things, otherwise you can go to Raphael, grow new wings." A threatening note appeared in Adam's voice.

"I want to spend these two centuries seriously searching for her." I answer firmly, looking directly into his eyes. "If I can't, then I'll admit that I couldn't outdo the Seraphim." Adam continued to look, not saying a word. "I know I haven't been doing the impossible every week, but I hope that a simple person has some chance of finding the one who has been lost to the Eye of Heaven and the First Man for so long…"

Adam remained silent. He didn't look away from me, staring intensely into my blue eyes, and I didn't look away either, holding his gaze.

"…If you've seriously decided to try to do what the Seraphim couldn't do in the last nine thousand years, then…" He got up slightly, and a golden sphere, overflowing with energy, appeared in his hand. "My power, a good part of it." The sphere pulsed like a golden heart, surrounded by a dozen small disks. "If, again - IF, you find her in these two centuries, then you can use this power to help her somehow, or to contact one of the Seraphim, there's this Miracle that will connect you even with Michael himself, who can pull you out even from the jaws of Lucifer." Adam's voice, for the first time in all our acquaintance, was deadly serious.

"For me, this is nothing - I'll sleep it off and recover, but you might need it." He holds out the sphere, which suddenly pierces my shell, somewhere near my soul. "It will disappear within these two hundred years, and it will also help to find her, there are my images of her soul… As the Seraphim saw her while we were together…" Adam got up, sat down next to me, and leaned closer.

"And another thing…" Without his mask, Adam is significantly less scary, but for show and for such a gift… "If you tell even one extra person about everything you heard or saw me in what state… " Adam's eyes narrowed dangerously. I nodded respectfully.

"I'll tell Eve when I find her." To which Adam just smiled, clapping me on the shoulder.

"She's allowed." He paused for a moment, as if deciding something, then Adam got up from the bench, and the flasks, except for mine, evaporated in a golden light.

"Alright, let's go, at least you'll take a walk with the First Man." Adam evaporated his helmet in a golden flash, gesturing with his palm to follow him. I got up, shaking off the intoxication with my weaving.

"Did Lute abandon you?" The sarcastic notes familiar to our communication evoked a smile from Adam.

"She went to the book club, can you believe it?" Adam's voice was gradually regaining its cheerful and unserious tone, and his gait became firmer with every third step.

"To those 'Crusaders of Star Dust'?" I put my hands behind my back, letting out my wings. In practice, Adam made it clear that if I was going somewhere with him and Lute, then I should at least not stand out from the style of their group, letting out my wings.

"I have no idea what that bullshit is, but my girls, the Shield Sisters, have gotten really into that crap." Adam grimaced irritably, continuing to walk towards the sleeping area of the Third Circle. "Did you read?"

"If I had the power to stretch time in a day…"

And so we walked: joking, teasing each other, and just having a good time. Adam, it seemed, even warmed up to me, opening up slightly, telling more details about Eden or talking more freely about Lilith. He didn't bring up the topic of Eve anymore and indicated with his tone of voice not to ask.

For example, it turns out that Lilith actually took pity on Cain, "the fucking disgrace of the family and the one I've long since renounced," and actually taught him Lucifer's magic… She even conducted some rituals, Adam believes that she asked Lucifer, and somehow changed Cain, making him similar to her, bringing him closer to her nature…

"So Apple wasn't lying?!"

We were walking, as it turned out, to the living quarters of the souls of the "Old World," those direct descendants of Adam and Eve, some even lived in "Cain's First City," but the main thing…

"So where are we going?" I ask Adam, who's walking next to me, not having put his helmet back on.

"To destroy your false beliefs." Adam chuckled, turning his head slightly towards me.

Before I could ask a new question…

"Father, how happy I am to see you!" A deep, low voice sounded surprisingly soft. "How was your workday, how are your women, dear Father?" Wide-open arms, as if ready to embrace the First Man in steel embraces, and judging by Adam's face, these are not my speculations.

Abel. Second son and first murdered. Adam's most famous descendant had an impressively large figure, his muscles showing even through the light golden vest, and his black trousers fit snugly on his clearly trained legs, which were shod in golden shoes with white inserts at the ends of the soles.

Brown, long, slightly below shoulder length, semi-curly hair, a small, short, practically stubble, beard and kind, full of different emotions, golden eyes.

A golden halo with two straight parallel thin lines running through the middle of the golden circle, right above the forehead, complemented by white on the outside and beige on the inside wings.

Adam's son waved happily to me as soon as he finished greeting his father, who simply waved his hand.

"Welcome to this mansion, dear Stranger." Abel smiled broadly, and his eyes were full of good nature. "You can feel at home in the Mansion of the First." He spread his arms, pointing to the building behind him. "The history of the First Family and the…"

"Abel." Adam's quiet but stern voice made Abel abruptly quiet and instantly put his hands at his sides. "Relax, this is Vergil." Adam pointed to me, to which I nodded to the kind angel. "Sera's assistant and my Savior from Paperwork, it's thanks to him that I can…" At Adam's hesitation, Abel just sighed and rolled his eyes, looking at me apologetically. "That is, to rationally allocate time and move the work schedule to a later time, because," - he folded his arms across his chest, raising his right one to point his finger upwards - "I can spend more time with you, you bastards." Adam smirked, and Abel sighed again.

"If that's true, Archangel Vergil." The deep voice was filled with relief, and the smile on his face became more tired. "Then please accept my gratitude, since you freed my Father from his duties early." I stepped closer and extended my hand, which he immediately shook.

Abel was about the same height as his father, making it look somewhat comical, but even Adam didn't comment on this incident.

"Okay, dear friends." Adam put his hands on our shoulders, standing between us, turning his head first to one, then to the other. "Now that the pleasantries are over, we can go have some fun…"

It turned out that Adam wasn't just hanging out with Lute somewhere. He had an "entire encampment" of his direct descendants, the first few generations of his children, some of their grandchildren, with whom he had managed to babysit during his lifetime, and the children of his children's children. "Those bastards who didn't give a damn about their old man when he was almost kicking the bucket." Adam gathered the closest and most pleasant descendants for him and appointed them his "family" in Heaven, and he called himself the Patriarch of the First Family.

One of the most grandiose and large-scale holidays in Heaven is arranged by its members, and Adam himself periodically takes his Valkyries, the Shield Sisters, to his house for "free food." His daughters were excellent cooks, being some of the best chefs in Heaven, some of whom Theodore himself, it turns out, learned from.

Adam invited me to Abel's house, who lived with Adam's other son - Seth. Less known in the public sphere, Adam's son, dressed in brown home clothes, had smaller wings of the same shade of color, only grayer…

Adam, for either a joke or for real, introducing Seth, called him "Homer," to which Seth didn't even blink, just wearily smiled, giving his parent a thumbs up. He was shorter than Adam and Abel, more relaxed, and… tired? As if he hadn't slept for the past twenty years, and those bags under his eyes had become part of his style…

Even I don't have it so bad with sleep. Which isn't really necessary for an angel, but gives such pleasant sensations, and also helps, more out of habit, to structure thoughts.

Seth was genuinely surprised that I knew his name, and while studying the material of the Bible, a person will inevitably come across the name Seth, and the fact that he had a halo identical to Adam's, only the "drops" were thinner and smaller in size.

Seth's wife and children lived with him… Yes, this is a large mansion, more like a state guesthouse from Earth than a simple house… Although, this is Heaven.

Anyway, I was invited into the house, where I was fed delicious hot and tasty assorted dishes and given hot tea of various varieties. Accompanied by many conversations both among themselves and sometimes involving me.

For example, Seth's wife, Azura, asked about my sexual preferences… I would have rather just gone back to the lab or the Spire, but Adam personally insisted that I stay for a short dinner.

It was… a very warm and pleasant evening where I got to hear stories from the "Old World," learn the opinions of Adam's children on modern realities, "Overall not bad, but it could be better," if you summarize their opinions, ranging from positive to extremely negative.

But the main thing…

"You know, Verg." Adam saw me out at the entrance to the mansion's territory, after two and a half hours, when the deadline for completing work with the First Department was already approaching. "If you really want to try to find Eve…" Adam patted me on the shoulder, leaning closer, literally whispering these words.

My tired shell didn't even feel irritation.

"You should remember that the Fruit somehow affected her soul." His serious voice contrasted with his cheerful appearance, as if he was friendly leaning in, telling a secret. "I don't know exactly what happened to her, but she's not the woman I knew, so…" He leaned even closer, and his voice became heavier. "If necessary, it's better to just end her suffering, even if you have to destroy her soul." His fingers squeezed my shoulder. "It will be mercy." He abruptly moved back, laughing tensely, patting me on the shoulder.

"Anyway, Verg, I won't give you my daughters, find someone else." Adam winked.

"…Too bad, I always wanted to try with a big woman…" I respond to Adam in a sluggish, almost monotonous voice, to which he just chuckles.

"You have Sera." His eyebrows twitched invitingly, making my eyelid twitch. "Especially…"

For the first time in our acquaintance, I used my weaving to hit Adam. The First Man, who didn't expect such audacity, received a light blow to the stomach. Knowing his strength, he barely felt it, if he felt it at all, this blow of energy.

"Yeah, yeah, and you go to hell too!" Adam laughs, turning me around, waving his hand.

Now I understand Sera. If you spend too long with Adam, who's decided to "have fun," for a short period, about a couple of hours, you'll either decide to hit him or leave his company.

* * *

Three months later. March 1898. William's house. Morning.

"William!" My second favorite Seraph's loud voice tore me from my thoughts.

"Emily." I answer calmly, nodding my head without turning to her, busy with the final adjustments to the Construct's matrix.

Emily, who had recently gained even more freedom from Sera, was rapidly making up for the lack of it before. She flew around Heaven, communicated with the Righteous, only those groups recommended by Sera and Adam, or rather by a couple of Shield Sisters who were taking care of Emily when she was visiting them. Emily also started visiting me often, apparently finding out from Sera or from the files my address.

And now, this little girl, who has shown herself to be much more mature than Sera describes, has once again burst into my home without an invitation. True, this is the first time she has entered the house while I'm working on my day off, given to me by Sera for the "Construct" project.

After Adam and Lute submitted their reports on the results of my Weavings' trials, Sera was pleased, and Adam…

"Awesome and badass, the best feeling of killing assholes." - a brief review, from which ten minutes of active gesticulation and most of the curses and vulgarity have been removed.

Lute gave a report on the enchantment for the Valkyries, which proved itself properly. The percentage of Sinners destroyed increased from ten to forty percent of the souls of Hell, for the first time in these centuries, the Ring of Pride got rid of overpopulation, bringing the number of souls to practically normal. The enchantment was implemented with a slight adaptation to the tactics and communication method, making the Valkyries look like "omniscient warriors, swiftly overtaking any Sinner," Lute said, dreamingly smiling.

Really, a bit "psychotic."

Sera was very pleased, as she also monitored the work of the "Deliverance" enchantment, which actively gave peace to the souls of Sinners, allowing them to disperse into Space, next to Heaven, giving them the silence of emptiness, allowing the remnants to… Do something, because even Sera doesn't know the whole process of the Soul Cycle in the Universe. I'll have to get a job with another Seraph.

And my relationship with Sera…

"Wil-li-am." An annoyed voice and tugs on my shirt. "Vergil." The voice was specially chosen for my maximum irritation. "You. Again." The Seraph whined, because of which, I'm sure, my face contorted.

"Emily." I sigh, turning away from the almost assembled body of the Construct. The Construct was executed in sharp geometry, with a pyramidal head transitioning into a body. The arms and legs were made with minimal "muscles" necessary for operation, the limbs were connected by enchantment at the ends of the body. Essentially, a bare skeleton of the mechanism with a small layer of mass for the stability of the Construct.

Today should be the first experience, which is why there are three journals flying nearby: one for meticulous records of assembly and experiments, the second for accounting for assembly details and creating a sample in drawings and formulas for future Constructs, and the third makes behavioral calculations and predictions.

Everything would be fine, but…

"Vergil!" Emily exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks, resting her hands on her hips, her eyes full of mock anger, and she slightly flew up, leveling with me in height.

"What did you want, since you ripped me away from my business on my only day off…" I slowly stretch out the words, allowing the journals to continue their records, moving to the kitchen, where a kettle has been ready since Emily's arrival, already pouring tea into mugs. Emily follows me, sitting across from me at the table.

"I wanted to invite you to accompany me on work matters related to my current duties!" Emily declares, folding her arms across her chest, importantly holding her nose high.

"So you just wanted to take a walk, showing off the events you've organized?" I tilt my head questioningly, taking a sip of tea, hiding a small smirk. Emily immediately dropped her shoulders, nodding slightly shyly, taking her mug as well.

"Thank you." I nod to the Seraph. "Well, yeah…" Emily answers quietly, taking a sip. "But I also wanted to ask you about something…" Emily again became a pleading girl, the one she was when she asked to be taken to Earth.

"Do you really want to find those Veils?" Emily either didn't notice the mockery in my voice, or ignored it, along with a slight smile.

"You're a jerk!" She pointed a finger of her free hand accusingly, at the same time taking another sip. "You said yourself that these creatures populate those forests, but we haven't found a single one!" Emily's voice stopped trembling, as it did when she wanted to move on to the main topic of her arrival.

"We just weren't looking hard enough, or we were interfered with by Guardian Angels who keep them for their own amusement. Do you really want to deprive them of this happiness, O Bringer of Joy?" My snide voice made Emily blush and rub her neck sheepishly.

"That's a good title…" I nod, allowing her to counterattack. "And you don't even have one, O Assistant to the Supreme Seraph!" She triumphantly pointed her finger, a smirk on her face.

"I completely agree, Your Highness." I make a short bow with my head, to which Emily indignantly puffs out her cheeks.

"Vergil!"

"I'm just kidding, Emi." I answer calmly, taking another sip. Emily exhales heavily, taking a similar sip.

Pause. Emily gathers her courage. I approvingly smile softly, receiving a grateful nod.

"I wanted…" Emily's blue-violet eyes darted around the room. "To ask you to take me to see… not the best neighborhoods of humans." She tapped two fingers against each other. "That is, to consider the problem as a whole and from different sides, as you taught!" Emily feigned enthusiasm, still nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"Emily…" I sigh, setting my mug on the coaster.

Sooner or later, this request would come up. It's simply impossible to avoid the obvious step in the development of an individual's views who has decided to study human psychology. Emily had studied all the positive aspects of it well thanks to the Righteous and Sera's control, but the negative…

I'm not even sure I want this innocent and genuinely kind soul to discover it.

Emily wasn't naive, she wasn't a stupid and thoughtless child, as she often appears in Sera's eyes, who sees her as an innocent human child. Thinking that she's about ten, by Earth standards, although I would give her about twenty.

Even though Emily has long known about murders, warriors, robberies, and crime, she has never seen it personally, she has never encountered injustice, she has never understood all the horrors that one person inflicts on another, covering them up with moral reasons, justified or not.

She knows about sex, but she doesn't know about pimping, she doesn't know why some women simply can't leave or escape from the person holding them, she knows that some partners just exploit and abandon the other, but she doesn't understand the reasons or doesn't want to see reality.

She knows about torture and slavery, but she doesn't understand the reasons and necessity for that time, she doesn't know about the minor details behind it and how it turned into something else.

She knows about the suffering of Sinners in Hell, but she wants to alleviate it. A Seraph, the greatest creation of God, wants to help souls that have fully earned their torment, whatever they may be.

She is much more mature than Sera thinks, much smarter than Adam thinks. But she is still so hot-headed, having the same haste of youth, when a person wants everything at once, when they rush to realize their ideas and dreams as soon as possible.

And Emily understands this. I help her understand this, getting indignation and mild offense, but she always thanks for these lessons, even if she complains about their "cruelty."

"Yes, I know that I have to wait two hundred years before I can even start writing about my topic, but I want to…" Emily was stopped by my raised palm, causing her to look indignantly into my eyes.

"I understand that you want to show your usefulness and the feasibility of your ideas, in this I fully support you." I nod, and Emily enthusiastically flaps her wings, slightly flying up.

"Then why don't you want to help me?!" Emily exclaimed loudly, causing my ears to fall painfully. "Sorry…" Emily quickly apologized, awkwardly rubbing her shoulder.

"Emily, you are only one hundred and one years old, which for a Heavenly being is nothing at all." I raise my palm warningly, causing Emily, ready to defend herself, to flinch. "Yes, by Earth standards, you are long grown up, but here in Heaven." I run my hand over the entire room, as if outlining all of Heaven. "The haste of people is not accepted here, there is the luxury of eternity, when you can practically completely master the necessary direction before you start working."

"But I'm ready for this responsibility now." Emily remarks quietly, looking at me with a question in her eyes.

"Of course, but for old-timers like Sera and Adam, it doesn't mean much." I take a sip from my mug. "Even I'm not eager to personally introduce you to this side of humanity." Emily widened her eyes in surprise.

"But…" she said, somewhat lost, "why?" She looked into my eyes, closed while I took another sip.

Considering that in the last year, I've often started taking Emily to those events and places where she was previously forbidden, "under supervision," in semi-secrecy from Sera, whom I told about our trips anyway, just omitting the details so as not to worry her unnecessarily.

"Innocence is one of the few things that cannot be returned, no matter how hard the soul tries." I take a gulp of the hot liquid, still not looking her in the eyes, concentrating on the mug.

"This concept is flexible and elastic, but if you give it a practical meaning, it's something you haven't seen yet, in the absence of which the soul creates plans and convictions." Another gulp of sweet tea.

"You may not know about the horrors of war to consider it a terrible method of resolving conflict, but to accept its necessity." Emily sighs indignantly, but I continue.

"You may not know the ways in which people kill each other, what nightmarish deeds are committed under the cover of night, and how family members betray each other." Finally, I raise my eyes to the Seraph who is listening attentively. "If you plunge into this abyss, you will not be the same. Only if you deliberately erase your memory, which is not an option in your case." Emily nods in agreement.

"But…" Emily said softly, lowering her eyes to the cooling tea. "How then can I create the right methods to help souls, how can I know how to help other people change if I have never encountered these tragedies, never even knew about them?" Eyes of genuine curiosity meet mine.

"You are rushing too much." I answer evenly, meeting her frowning beautiful eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Emily presses with her voice, leaning closer.

"You are in a hurry to encompass the entire sphere of crime and human cruelty, missing many details about it, ignoring protection for yourself, forgetting about precautions and not wanting to learn about the specifics and individuality of each case." Anger and rage are gone, leaving Emily listening attentively.

"That's… I know about it, but…" Emily breaks off, looking at me expectantly, with the apologetic gaze of a child who has realized a critical shortcoming in their idea.

"You want to start working as soon as possible, but you're missing a lot of details, rushing to go into the very depths where you shouldn't go as a beginner." The kettle pours a new portion of tea, and the weaving heats the liquid, reminding her to start drinking tea. "Where it is best to close your heart, you yearn to understand and bare it, where cruelty and domination are necessary, you wish to come to an agreement, and where understanding and courtesy are needed, you want to know all the details, forgetting about the vulnerability of those souls." Emily shyly lowers her eyes.

"So, I propose to start small." Emily raises her eyes abruptly, full of hope. "I'll introduce you to this topic gradually, adapting to the situation in the world and slowly preparing you for scarier details, how about that?" Emily smiles happily.

"That would be wonderful, Vergil." She answers quietly, starting to drink tea more actively, taking sweets from a nearby vase.

The silence allows me to use weaving to check the journals. Making sure the records are correct, I get up, heading towards the Construct, wanting to finally conduct an experiment. Emily silently follows me with her gaze.

The second prototype, which according to forecasts should perform basic humanoid functions and move five boxes of different sizes in a certain order into a certain shape, creating a simple tower.

The test began, and the Construct came to life under my command.

"Are these the same golems?" Emily's quiet, almost timid, voice sounded much more modest this time, not wanting to distract from the work in progress.

"Construct." I nod. "As you can see, I want to create similar wonders for ordinary angels."

The Construct steadily completed the walking test, showing a good result. The test for basic grasping and movable functions was passed perfectly. As usual.

"I can help." Emily offers just as quietly. "I can add my energy or something else." Emily flew up behind me, leaning on my shoulder, resting her head on mine. She also has ears, identical to Sera's. I forget.

Damn Righteous with their constantly changing shells. "I'm feeling this way today." Today it's a bear, tomorrow it's a deer, the usual whims of newly arrived souls who have gotten their hands on the ability to drastically change their appearance. I have nothing against it, but how difficult it is to find a regular human woman, definitely a woman, not a man who looks like a woman.

"No need, this sample should be ready and not have any unplanned flaws." I shake my head, slightly tousling our hair.

The Construct demonstrates perfect motor functions, I begin the object transfer test. New "notes" of weaving, creating a symphony of life for this Aether mechanism.

"Planned flaws?" Emily asks just as quietly, slightly shaking against my cheek. "Isn't the goal of this project to rid these "Constructs" of flaws?" She asks in bewilderment, to which I nod.

The Construct correctly grabs the first box, steadily starting to carry it to the opposite side of the room. So far without obstacles.

"That's precisely the point, but all great things are done gradually, step by step." I nod again, pointing to the Construct that has picked up the second box. "For now, we need to develop the foundation for future upgrades, this sample is the most suitable for this, with its help I can understand all the details and mistakes at this stage of the project."

Small fences, about knee-high to a normal person, appeared in the Construct's path, which it began to step over or walk around. The knowledge matrix, copied from me, is well integrated, no complaints. It's like I'm walking and working in the warehouse myself.

Emily fell silent, gratefully "hm-hm-ing", leaning on me, watching the course of the experiment.

The Construct passed every test with "excellent" marks, not causing any complaints. As expected.

"Well." Pushing away Emily, who was slightly drooping, I get up from the sofa where I was watching the progress of the experiment, using weaving to put away the completed journals with pens and recalling the Constructor back. "I suppose we can celebrate the successful testing of the prototype." 

An amazing feature of Weaving. I don't need to move things entirely into my spatial pocket, I can simply "unweave" them, preserving the entire object, just "unwinding" it into numerous blue threads that gather into a "ball," perfectly saving the space of the soul. The object remains itself, just "folded" like paper. I'll have to try it on people, and then on demons… Maybe even on souls.

"What do you mean?" Emily asks suspiciously, standing next to me.

"We'll go to the Spire to see Sera, where I'll be "distracting" her, and you can gain experience so she doesn't have any complaints when you start doing this "officially." I chuckle, at the funny high-pitched squeak Emily made, even raising her open palms to her face. "Naturally, under my miracle, which will also be checking at the same time."

"You're the best!" She hugs me happily, even… kisses my cheek?

"I mean!" Emily quickly detaches herself from me, as if only now realizing what she did, blushing. "Let's go quickly!" She takes my hand, starting to fly quickly toward the exit, carrying me away with her. Emily is remarkably strong for her harmless appearance.

Emily… Alright, that can wait.

This embarrassed girl forgot about the unfinished business in my house, which I had to complete remotely with weaving. But the main thing is, she forgot that now I can simply teleport us to the office using a "mark." Apparently, she's quite embarrassed by her outburst, and I'm left to take note of this behavior, which may significantly complicate my routine.

Damn sexual relations…

…

"Sera, we're here to help you!" Emily literally bursts in, and the loud bang of the door hitting the wall only symbolizes this. I entered after her, carefully closing the door, apologizing to Sera with a look.

Sera raised her tired gaze at us, papers still flying under the ceiling of the office, creating their own streams, only without my "music." Although Sera is trying to learn to do this independently, but… Work. Apparently, I'm very lucky with my boss and position, since I don't have too much burdensome responsibility. Obviously, I'm lucky.

"Emily… Vergil." Sera greeted us quietly, nodding tiredly at each of us. "Please be quiet, it was a hard day today."

This woman… She always takes everything upon herself, and I'm only given weekends to go back to workaholism. With a sigh, I create weaving that picks up the "ocean" of paperwork and approach Sera.

Sera rewarded me with a grateful look, which turned into bewilderment when, instead of sitting in my usual place, I walked around the table to… Naturally lift her from the table with weaving, causing her to sigh in surprise and Emily to burst into laughter.

"We're here to usurp power in Heaven! Now we'll take over Heaven for ourselves! No accounting!" She raised her fists, actively waving them.

"Emily! Vergil, what is the meaning of this?!" Sera, as if just waking up, nervously grabbed me with her gaze as I carried her towards the sofa. "In my name, by the order of Seraph Emily, I appoint you the rest of the day off, while we both solve the remaining tasks." Sera helplessly shifted her gaze from me, who was carrying her on blue energy, holding out my hand for light concentration, and Emily, who was triumphantly rubbing her hands, sitting at the table, starting to read papers, frowning at every line, but the weaving Song allows her to enter the "flow" for work. Emily's face relaxes.

Sera, seeing this even better than me, sighs.

"Vergil…" I lay her on the sofa, summoning a table closer to us, sitting down next to her, allowing her to lean on my shoulder. "…Thank you."

She kisses me on the temple, blushing slightly, but gratefully accepting the refreshments and tea that appeared on the table immediately after it approached. We've already passed the stage where Sera was embarrassed by such signs of attention, but here, right in front of Emily… Sera is even more embarrassed.

"Emily, but wouldn't…" Sera was interrupted by Emily's indignant roar, who didn't want to break out of the flow of my Song, at which I just smirked.

"No need, she's quite capable of taking this part of the work on herself." To which Sera looks at Emily somewhat helplessly, filling out a response paper to a report from the Kindness Department, who sent statistics about Cherubs…

"How about we just talk about something?" I offer her, taking my cup of tea, Emily, noticeably perking up her ears, which literally came out from behind her hair, divided her attention. Sera, sighing heavily, took her mug, her fingers carrying a chocolate-milk bar with her in flight. Her favorite.

"…About what?" Sera asks in a feigned, suffering voice, taking a first sip of liquid from her cup.

"Tell me about Lucifer!" I playfully attract the attention of both Seraphim with a childish, squeaky voice. "I've always wanted to hear firsthand truths about those events," I return calm to my voice, "if you don't mind, of course." I continue, returning to my usual tone.

Sera fell silent, lost in thought. I've only seen her like this when she was dealing with some Seraph from the High Council, who sometimes came. I've never caught Seraphim together, constantly busy with my research, reasonably fearing their reaction to my use of Aether, or rather the way I use it. Adam may not understand the difference, but these ancient creatures will figure me out in a flash.

Weaving has changed me. I managed to remove the blackness with the help of the Song rituals, creating the right symphony for the shell, but the soul… Something has become of it, changing the halo during the "Elevation," something that shouldn't be with Archangels. As Sera said, no one except Seraphim will be able to notice this small detail, or will not be able to accurately name the reason, because not every Seraph is well acquainted with Aether, or rather its theory.

Sera advised me not to mess with Raphael unless absolutely necessary.

"…Lucifer was the second creation of the Lord…" Sera began quietly, capturing our attention with Emily's. She continued working, but very reluctantly.

"He was cheerful, always wished joy and happiness to other angels," Sera smiled softly. "When he saw that one of his brothers or sisters was gloomy or tired, he inspired and cheered them up, he could come up with a whole performance to capture attention, or create something truly strange to pull them out of the haze of routine." Sera took a few sips.

"But he also had drawbacks." Sera's tone became tired. "His 'inventions' and 'creations' could create many problems, as they were not part of the Plan, or posed a direct threat to Him." Sera sighed wearily, but there was a strange smile on her face. "I remember how almost every High Seraph scolded or punished Lucifer, who, with his pranks or "games," put them in a bad light before God." Sera's smile made Emily and I shiver slightly. "It's only thanks to Lucifer that I learned to tie snakes in forty-two knots at once."

"…What happened in Eden?" My question made Sera sigh heavily, eating the whole bar in one go, then summoning a few new ones.

"He thought it was a 'new testing ground' for us, Seraphim and Afanims." Sera stared into the liquid in her cup. "Thought that's where we could implement all our ideas and dreams, but… God had other plans, he had God's Plan." She said somewhat tiredly, closing her eyes.

Emily didn't even pretend to work, sitting down to my right, taking a third cup that appeared with her arrival. She also took some candy bars, which she also loved.

"They immediately clashed with Adam." Sera waved her hand, and in front of us appeared… Lucifer, who was in a robe similar to the one Sera wears, and a top hat, with six wings with a red hue inside, and… a naked man, Adam. His eyes were naive, and his speech…

"Lord Lucifer, I greet you." Adam bowed, next to him was a shapeless figure, also some Seraph, because only they had direct access to the Garden. But the main thing…

Adam's voice was… timid? An unsure and timid voice, completely contradictory to the man I know. Emily experienced similar emotions.

"This… Is it Father's creation?" Lucifer's voice was… Beautiful? It was a good male voice, pleasant notes, even with signs of irritation, it was in the perfect ratio of rough and low, like an opera singer singing his masterpieces. "Doesn't this Garden belong to us, Brother?" He looked at the figure standing to the right of Adam, while the latter lowered his head in embarrassment.

Embarrassment. Adam and embarrassment don't go together. He'll bend Embarrassment and fuck it. Apparently, the Fall and Ten Thousand Years can change a person…

"This Garden is intended by the Lord for Adam, his King." The colorless hand of the figure points at Adam. "But what is this you have here?"

Lucifer held in his hand… Some kind of duck ancestor. A yellow duck that has the characteristic features of a duck, but something is wrong with it… Not alive, not part of the Universe.

"Oh, this!" He lifted the proto-duck in his hands, which looked like a rubber toy. "I created this Perfect creation, which will be the King of the animal world, the best Creation in Creation!" Lucifer introduced proudly, but then frowned. "Only I can't finish it…" He slumped his shoulders slightly, almost embarrassed.

"This… Looks like a Duck?" Adam tilted his head to the side, examining the animal in Lucifer's hands.

"Duck? Duck. Duck! Yes, it's a wonderful name, you…" The designated animal seemed to come alive, starting to make sounds similar to ducks and… swans? The bird jumped from the Seraph's hands, flying away somewhere, accompanied by Lucifer's and Adam's eyes, but then the Seraph raised his gaze again to Adam, who had shrunk back. "Not bad for a Piece of Earth."

"Lucifer…!" The image disappeared, and Emily's and my eyes shot to Sera, who… Had hoarded, there's no other way to call it, almost all the sweets!

"Sera!" Emily aptly conveyed our shared emotions with her voice. "How can you…?!" Sera just smirked mischievously.

"All knowledge has a price, Emily, you need to accept that." Sera said, wiping crumbs from her lips. While Emily wasn't starting to complain, I asked a new question.

"What about Lilith and his…" Sera frowned, and Emily fell silent, turning into a listening ear.

"The Fall. Lucifer tempted Lilith, Adam's wife, causing her to betray her loving husband." Sera's voice was stern and judgmental. "He was banished from Eden, forbidden to visit Earth, but somehow he infiltrated again and…" Sera looked at Emily with doubt, then at me, to which I nodded. "He finally stole Lilith from Adam, taking her by the flesh." Emily's cheeks flushed, but she quickly regained her composure.

"What happened next?" The question, touching the dark past, knocked both of them out of their thoughts, bringing seriousness back to the conversation.

"They were both banished from Eden. Lilith was in the wildness of Earth in those centuries, surrounded by the most dangerous first creations of God, and Lucifer was locked in his Spire, but…" Sera sighed deeply. "He escaped, again, and went to Earth, to eventually create his own World, which we now know as Hell." Emily sighed, and I…

No details, just bare facts. Either she's not daring to tell Emily about them, afraid of revealing extra details about her, or… She genuinely thinks it's not important to us both.

"After Lilith, as you know, there was Eve, but even here, Lucifer interfered." Sera's gaze grew heavy, and Emily sighed deeply. "He poisoned the Mother of Mankind with his lies, forever depriving her of Heaven, what she is now is unknown to anyone." Sera shook her head.

"Lucifer wasn't alone, he came with Lilith, so that they could both commit their Sin, letting Evil into Earth, and then…" Sera looked out the window. "There was a Judgment, where Lucifer, in chains, defended his 'love,' justified his actions with lies and tried to achieve repentance for that snake Lilith." Sera's voice was filled with malice, and her gaze expressed anger. Emily watched in fascination as her "Elder" raged.

"Even chained in God's chains, changing before our very eyes, distorting under the influence of his sins, he continued to justify himself." Sera turned to us. "You know the outcome. He's eternally locked in his own 'Paradise,' where he remains to this day."

Silence.

Emily stared thoughtfully into her cup, having somehow picked up the habit of not drinking it. Sera tiredly mimicked the "Younger."

Then she reached for the sweets, but…

"Vergil?" A look full of questions looked into my eyes. The new sweets, summoned by me, were now far out of Sera's reach, next to Emily, who was also looking at them.

"Every knowledge has a price, Sera." I shake my head, and Emily smiles mischievously, taking a handful of candy bars, under Sera's indignant gaze. "This question also has a price, especially for cunning Seraphim who decide they can deceive their loved ones…"

"Daddy!" Emily exclaimed loudly, starting to eat candy bars quickly, flying back to the table.

"Emily, leave at least…!" Sera cut herself off, seeing how most of the candy bars flew back to the table along with Emily, who was again trying to enter the Flow, taking a cup of tea.

Sera looked at me with a pleading gaze.

"Everything has a price, Sera." I place my hand on Sera's cheek, causing her cheeks to darken. "Everything."

I lean towards her, kissing her on the lips. Sera closes her eyes, giving in to the kiss, and I only notice Emily's interested gaze, which is captivated by us. I wink at her, causing her to twitch slightly and nod in response, blushing dark cheeks.

Emily has gotten used to taking advantage of those moments when Sera and I are alone for "fleshly pleasures." Just kisses, holding hands, and hugs.

It was unusual to see Sera without her usual robe, in "home clothes," in the form of a loose white top and short shorts, when I stayed overnight at their mansion. What's also interesting is that she, like Emily, according to Sera, has… markings. Numerous drawings and "feathers" on their bodies. Drawings, like hands, with various long straight and ring-like lines beautifully adorned the entire body of Sera, which her clothes removed. Long lines, ending in points in some places, similar to those under Sera's eyes, created an enchanting image of the shell.

Sera was surprisingly bold, although she was embarrassed by ordinary kisses.

Finishing the kiss, summoning more candy bars, which both Seraphim loved so much, so Sera immediately detaches herself, hastily trying to avoid a "scandalous" situation, especially under the gaze of Emily, who looked at us strangely.

The funny situation reminded me of Sera's words, which she casually mentioned about the perfect place for a date…

A real man should remember such trifles, because they are what most clearly show his woman how much he appreciates and listens to her.

Forest and a picnic…

Difficult, but necessary. The main thing is to do ALL the work in order to free up a whole day, preferably two.

Damn bureaucracy and damn verification meetings…