Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I learned this game, it came from the age of the new humanity, and it’s usually played at parties. The name of the game is two truths one lie, apparently the loser has to drink alcohol… But oh well, if you lose I don’t mind if you don’t drink, it can be bad for your health.

Okay, are you ready? Here I go, my two truths and my one lie:

1. The maker doesn’t love all his creations equally
2. Lucifer made a rebellion after Lilith ate the forbidden fruit
3. The bible is a product made by the heavens

Do you know which one is the lie?

…I don’t really talk much about Lu, none of us really does. It all happened so fast, I had control, there was order, and suddenly there was chaos. Gabriel, Sariel, Raphael, all of them were there… And I still remember his face, the way his eyes looked at me… Lu, wherever you are, please forgive your stupid big brother, it didn’t have to end this way.

Oh, sorry about that, you’re still here. Sometimes I get distracted, jajajaja.

Mmmmm? Oh, that’s right, that was one of the questions they had, what makes someone worthy of heaven? What condemns them to hell?

Well, it’s complicated.

Good. Evil. Sin. Virtue. Vengeance. Forgiveness. Wrath. Patience. Freedom. Control.

One might think these words mean something, and yes, they DO mean something. The problem is that the meaning changes constantly, I went through each of those words, my siblings went through each of those words.

Can an angel thirst for vengeance? For blood? For the trill of the kill? It’s painful, but yes, we can

Can a sinner thirst for justice? For mercy? For salvation? The answer is also a yes.

An angel can call upon genocides and call it justice, it was not.

A sinner can call upon salvation and redemption; there was no such thing.

What is a sinner? Well, when the war finally was on the open, that was the name we gave to the humans that fought against us.

Now, I discovered this place, this universe, where heaven and hell have such a flawed system when it comes to judging the human soul that is honestly painful. A place where no one knows what makes one worthy of heaven or hell.

I’m the big brother of all the heavens, he who went undefeated in the war, he who was coronated as the ruler of the heavens due to my achievements during the war. I gave the order to create a new humanity once the old one was exterminated. It was I who created a bureaucratic system that ensures humans are judged correctly so they can go to different afterlives. It is I who loves humans like my second younger siblings, even as my children.

That is why I want to show this place why its so important to correctly judge humans, to have an effective system that guarantees everyone has what their deserve after death.

This is the truth that you will also be watching, the truth that I will be presenting to this other universe. This is the truth behind the longest, bloodiest, most brutal event in all existence. An event that painted cosmos and reality itself with the blood of both sides.

My name is Michael, better known as the Archangel Michael. Yep, the same one that in the bible is told fought against Lucifer and damned him to hell alongside his army, the one who slayed the dragon of the apocalypse.

Now, I’m willing to show the objective truth, but don’t worry, I won’t start at the middle. I love humans, and I’ve come to understand that stories are better told from the beginning and from an omniscient point of view, or omniscient limited.

I just want you to remember something, you can’t change anything, the events already occurred, the dead died eons ago, and this story doesn’t have a happy ending

Chapter Text

Things in heaven and hell were moving with a terrifying normality. Even though a month prior the council in heaven discovered the exterminations thanks to Adam’s ineptitude, no one did anything to try and prevent it, they just allowed it to keep happening, and as of right now Adam was preparing his exterminator to attack hell and Charlie’s hotel.

Speaking of which, the princess of hell was gearing up the cannibals she had managed to convince to help her. All the weapons came from the biggest arms dealer in hell, or at least Sin City, Carmilla Carmine, everything was being done to put a stop to what she considered unjustified genocide to her people.

Yep, everything was going on with terrifying normality.

But it didn’t matter what they were doing, to him it didn’t matter what they were doing. All it took was a single step from everyone, the simple lift of one’s foot and the downing of said foot on the ground, everyone disappeared from wherever they were. It was instantaneous, there was no pain, no uncertainty, just like an ant that was walking through a paper straw before being put down into its new nest.

Confusion was the second thing everyone felt, for the first thing was the incredible softness of the ground beneath their feet. It didn’t matter if they were wearing shoes, the carpet seemed to go right through it and to the soles of their feet. It was soft, it was warm, it was like stepping in something softener and fluffier than a cloud, it was perfect.

The third thing was the magnificent room on which everyone was, it was a movie theater from the human world, that was something everyone could agree on, but unlike a human theater, this one was more… divine. It seemed to be built by the most divine material one could find, a material so holy that it didn’t even hurt to look at. Columns made from white material that gave light to the otherwise black room, a soft light that didn’t seem to have ill intention and was just there so everyone could see. There were rows upon rows of perfectly aligned seats, perfectly divided so the person that decided to sit on them could have enough space to move and not bother the others.

Slowly, cautiously, Charlie touched the back of one of the seats, and she felt as if her hand wanted to melt and become one with it. It was more than soft, more than welcoming, she even doubted heaven had anything like this. She was sure that the seat, even if she just touched it with her hand, was the softest and most comfortable thing that ever existed.

Vaggie was on high alert to her surroundings, but her gaze was drawn towards the screen that was at the center of the bottom wall. It was big, bigger than the sides of the hotel, but it wasn’t the screen what made her so… uncomfortable, it was being on this theater.

It was warm, more than warm, the best thing she had to describe it was how she used to hear human souls in heaven describe their childhood home. It was like going back to when you were a kid after a bad day at school and seeing your mother cooking your favorite meal while your father greeted you with a clearly visible gift hidden on his back.

Angel Dust could smell the unmistakable smell of freshly made popcorn at the distance. It wasn’t like the popcorn of hell, these popcorns smell good, they smell delicious, such a good smell that makes you shove a fist of them in your mouth and just savor for several seconds before swallowing.

Husk smelled different types of alcohol outside the theater, much different than those from hell. Yeah, these ones also smell strong, but there was something more to it, something charming to it. It was like popping open a new bottle of whiskey, and instead of being hit by the strong scent of it, you were hit by a scent of honey and paradise.

“YOU!!” The perfection of the place was suddenly ruined by Lute’s scream

Vaggie summoned her spear to block Lute’s attack with her sword. Charlie immediately went on to help her beloved, but Adam was flying towards her with guitar-axe in hand. She immediately summoned her trident to defend herself, but before she could do something, the seats seemed to get a life of their own.

The seats jumped towards the nearest person and forcefully made them sit on them, using the arm rest to keep them in place. Even Lucifer, who was flying to defend his daughter, was trapped and forced to sit. All of them were moving abruptly, almost violently, trying to get off the seats, but their attempts were futile.

“Is this a plot of your bitch?!” Lute screamed at Vaggie trying to get free from the seat

“Sera!! What is the meaning of this?!” Lucifer screamed showing signs of his demonic form as he tried to get off the seat. This place, this theater, everything was screaming ‘holy’ ‘divine’ ‘heaven’ in a sickening way.

“You blame me?!” Sera screamed in retaliation, also trapped in a seat of her own as she tried to use her seraphim powers to get off the seat.

“Charlie!!” Emily screamed as she saw her newly made friend. To everyone’s surprise, she was free from her seat and flying towards Charlie

“Emily!!” Charlie screamed in an equally enthusiastic tone “Wait, how did you get free?”

“Emily!! Get back here!!” Sera screamed worried about the youngest seraphim

“That? Well, the seat was just soooo comfortable!!” Emily said with a big smile, extending her arms to exaggerate “That I couldn’t avoid relaxing on it and it set me free.

Charlie looked at her for a moment, before giving a sigh and relaxing herself. Surprisingly, the seat set her free, and not losing a second she hugged Emily “I’m so happy to see you!!!” she said as Emily gladly reciprocated the hug.

Before anyone could say anything, the giant screen was turned on. No one could’ve guessed if not for the momentary white flash it gave, for the screen was still showing nothing, just black. But it didn’t last long, soon golden letters started to appear on it, just that, no voice, just golden letter.

Ah, everyone is here, that is good to know, more than good, this is perfect, but oh well, it’s me.

Everyone read the letter, even with the lack of a voice, the golden letter, the white of the room, how perfect it was, it all indicated it was divine power at play.

“Emily, did you do this?” Charlie asked as she cut the hug short

“What? No, I thought you did it” Emily said equally as lost as Charlie

“Of course Lilith’s little slut did it!!!” Adam screamed from his seat still trying to get free.

“Keep screaming pathetic first man!! Each word is another punch onto your face!!!” Lucifer screamed, literally making fire out of his body to try and burn the seat to ashes, but just like everything, it was utterly useless.

Sorry for not being able to attend personally, but unfortunately some… problems came at the last second, I hope you can understand and forgive me, I would of have loved to be there and answer your questions personally.

“Who are you?!!” Sera screamed, activating her full seraphim form to try and break free

Oh, you must be Seraphim, or well, a seraphim. Its weird, I don’t remember creating a ranking system were seraphim was a rank.

Create? The question went through everyone’s mind, but it was Charlie the only one with courage enough to ask the question “…God?” her voice came out as something barely above a whisper

The question left everyone frozen in place. It made sense, none of this was remotely normal, being transported here, a being that doesn’t show itself, something with enough power to subdue the strongest beings on heaven and hell equally, it HAD to be God.

Adam, Lute, and Sera felt fear for the first time in centuries. If this was God, if God knew of what they had been doing the last seven years, then his wrath was something that the three of them could be the recipients of.

The sinners like Angel Dust, Husk, Alastor, Vox, Velvette, and Valentino felt an equally and superior fear. If God was here, if the final boss had decided to act, then maybe he could decide that their existence was a mistake and they weren’t worth being left alive.

On the other hand, Lucifer felt a wrath like no other. If his dad was the responsible, if that fucker had finally decided to act after millennia of playing the mysterious act, then he deserved every piece of wrath he was feeling at the moment. But even with that, he couldn’t deny the fear he was feeling, fear that his father saw Charlie’s existence as a mistake and decided to erase her at that instant.

“Charlie, I don’t think-” After the aftershock, and finally relaxing, Vaggie was set free and walked towards Charlie.

Before she could finish her sentence, more gilded letter appeared on the screen.

Hahahahaha, no, I’m not God. Well, it’s kind of a complicated thing, mi title could be God since I’m the current regent of all the creation, he who’s in charge of making sure existence doesn’t just puff, collapse onto itself. But no, I’m not God, I’m not The Maker, and I’m not even The Father, I’m merely the current regent of heaven, the big brother of all the angels. Now, Charlie, can you tell me who I am?

“Michael” Charlie’s voice came almost as a whisper, it felt weird to say the name of who was technically her uncle, even if she had never met him. Lucifer’s voice came as one full of wrath and hatred at the knowledge that it was his brother, the responsible of condemning him and Lilith to hell, who was talking to them. Adam and Sera’s voice came out with a sense of relief, but there was still lingering fear on there, they also never told Michael about the whole extermination thing.

Ding ding ding, you got it Charlie!! I knew my niece was a smart girl!! I’m so proud of you!! Tell me, do you want a reward? You just ask and I’ll get anything for you!! Oh, wait, I discovered this thing, here, let me try it.

At the end of the message, golden hearts appeared on the screen

I discovered humanity’s advances a few days ago, I’ve been busy lately, so when I discovered emojis I was thrilled!! Unfortunately… My siblings don’t seem to appreciate the sentiment… Well, Raphael does, he always responds with more emojis!!

Was… Was this the feared warrior of heaven?

That was the question everyone had in mind. It didn’t make sense, not to Charlie, not to Lute, not to Vaggie, not to Adam. Everyone heard the stories of Michael, Lucifer knew what Michael was capable of.

Michael was the perfect warrior, God’s sword, he who was feared during Lucifer’s rebellion due to his reputation of always winning whatever battlefield he was on. Hell!! Everyone knew he was superior to everyone but God, not even Lucifer was capable of fighting against him and winning.

“You… Like emojis?” Charlie asked with some wariness and a contained laugh, her uncle didn’t seem like the fear warrior everyone talked about

I like human inventions, honestly I’m amazed at how fast they developed. Did you know there was more time between the discovery of agriculture and the wheel than between the wheel and modern technology? Ah~ I’m so proud of them, maybe a bit worried, but proud, nonetheless.

“Hey!! What is the meaning of all this?!!” Angel Dust screamed from his seat “I don’t mind been tied, but at least have mi consent first!! Or at least a warning!!!”

“Oh, please Angel” Valentino spoke with his mixture of English and Spanish dialect “We all know that consent and warning are something you don’t need” He spoke with venom in his voice as him, and the other two vees, laughed.

Angel Dust just remained silent, biting his lips to keep his mouth shut as he seemed to try and hide himself on his seat “Hey, asshole!! Why don’t you come down here and say that shit to our face?!” Husk screamed from his seat, turning around to look at the vees that were sat a few rows behind

Please, don’t fight. I’m giving you the freedom to express yourselves, so it would pain me to take that off you.

The screen showed Michael’s message again

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you!!” Lucifer screamed with hatred on his voice as he looked at the screen

Lu… You look so… Different…

“And whose fault is that?! You fucking asshole!!”

The screen did not respond, it just remained black

“Dad…” Charlie said as she looks with sadness at her father

Yes, Gabriel, I understand. It’s not a game, yeah, yeah, I know. Okay, tell them to start the meeting without me. I’ll be there in a moment, for the time being you take my place, please try and control yourself, don’t kill anyone.

“Gabriel?” Still being forced to remain on her seat, Lute questioned when reading the name of another archangel being brought

Oh, I left this on, sorry about that. Well, as you can see, I have other business at hand, business that takes up a lot of my time. As Charlie and Emily already showed you, you can move freedom through the whole place as long as you relax and don’t start any fights. Once again, I ask for your forgiveness for not being able to be there.

Outside the theater there are stalls with popcorn, candy, food, and beverages from all human nations. Function starts on… Yeah, let’s say 10 minutes, I’ll leave a timer so you can all be here before it begins. Without further ado, have fun!!

Oh, for the love of. Gabriel!! I told you not to do any murder attem--!

And with that, the screen came back to pure black.

The whole theater remained silent after that, with some of them trying to relax to be set free. The only one able to do so were Angel Dust, Husk, Niffty, Vox, Velvette, Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb.

“Charlie!! Princess of Hell!!” Vox started to speak with his usual charismatic, he clapped his hands as he walked towards Charlie with the charming smile he used on everyone in hell “Would you mind telling us, what the hell is going?!!!!” He screamed breaking the façade that he had, his eyes flashing red with wrath while a small line of blood started to drip from his lips.

Vox’s seat moved from its place, getting close to him with arm rests open “Hey, hey, I’m calm” He tried to say, taking a few steps away from his seat, if the seat have had eyes, it would’ve squinted them at him before going back to its place.

“Yeah, how do you plan on explaining kidnapping three of the most powerful of hell to all of sin city? Is this a plot of yours so hell can further fall into chaos? Making sinner keep killing each other so they can go to that shitty hotel of yours?” Velvette asked with her usual smile, already taking out her phone and trying to start streaming Charlie’s responses “What in the actual fuck?! What is going on with this shitty theater?!!” She complained when she saw she had no signal on her phone, her seat simply squirmed in its place, slowly moving towards her “Sorry about that, what is going on” The back of the seat seemed to give a nod of approval before going back its place, Velvette let out a sigh of relief, not wanting to be prisoner of the most comfortable thing she had ever sat down again.

“Charlie had nothing to do with this!!” Emily came out on her defense, noticing that her seat remained on its place. Even if she was considered the youngest seraphim and the most naïve one, she wasn’t dumb. She realized something about this place, it doesn’t really go after actions like screaming, but instead against intentions of the individual.

“Yeah, we had nothing to do with this” Vaggie also came out on defense of her girlfriend, seeing the two overlords with cautiousness  “We were busy getting ready to protect ourselves from the upcoming extermination”

“Ha!! Defend yourselves?! What a fucking joke!! We would’ve killed all of you regardless!!” Adam mocked them, making his seat’s grip on him tighter “Ouch!”

“Well said sir!!” Lute also felt her seat tightening, but unlike Adam, she didn’t show any sign of discomfort

“Adam, Lute, please don’t make this any harder” Sera said going back to her most ‘human’ form while she tried to relax herself. She had no doubt this was the real archangel Michael, magic of this level and complexity was something not even she could do. Still, she had no idea how it all worked, she only arrived at the same conclusion as Emily, this place moves depending on your intentions. Still, part of her was truly afraid, she doesn’t remember when was the last time she saw the most powerful archangel, was it during Lucifer’s rebellion? Not even could she tell.

“Oh?! Now you’re saying this isn’t your fault, Sera?!” Lucifer screamed, still trying to burn the seat to ashes “You didn’t run crying to Michael because you fucked up?!!” The seat remained untouched, just tightening and making itself more and more comfortable

“No, I didn’t went on to talk with Michael” Sera said with a resign tone

“Oh please, you’re not believing that this is the real Michael are you?!!” Lute screamed “If it were the real Michael, we wouldn’t be here with these fucking sinners!! We’re not to be punished!! He didn’t even show himself!! That fucker must be lying!! He just fucking texted!! And he used emojis at that!!” She refused to believe that the most feared warrior of heaven, he who was inferior to none but God, could use emojis or behave like a goofball

“Lute, he might have texted, but this whole theater is proof that it is Michael” Emily tried to calm down Lute with no results.

“Oh please!!! The real Michael is the most feared warrior!! A perfect being who can kill anything and anyone!! He wouldn’t lose his time with worthless shit like this!!” Adam also screamed, but even he couldn’t remember that he heard, let alone saw, Michael’s voice.

“Hey, wanna go to the food court he said was out the theater” Angel Dust asked Husk, taking out his phone to see that three minutes out of the ten had already passed “We only have seven minutes before all this shit goes down”

“Sure” Husk said walking alongside Angel Dust to the exit

“Husk, wouldn’t you stay and help an old friend?” Alastor’s radio voice was heard, making Husk turn around to look at him and notice that he was still bound to his seat.

The threat was clear, but there was something, something on this place, that reassured Husk “No, I prefer to go to the bar” He said and walked out with Angel Dust.

Alastor tried to use the chains to bring Husk back and punish him for his disobedience, but his smile and eyes flickered with panic for a moment. The chains didn’t appear, his shadow was still present and just as astonished as him, but matter what he tried, the chains that bounded Husk’s soul to him wouldn’t materialize.

“Dad, are you okay?” Charlie asked, getting close to him while Emily was still arguing with Adam and Lute

“Charlie… Yeah, I’m fine” Lucifer tried to reassure her, calming down and turning off the flames “It’s just… Its that fucker of Michael”

“Dad, Uncle Michael didn’t seem like a bad person” Charlie said, to her Michael seems to be a fun uncle, the way he was ready to give her anything after she said his name, damn it, she should’ve asked for something.

“Charlie, you can’t be believing him” Lucifer said with incredulity “It’s Michael!! The same fucker that damned me and your mother to hell after trying to give freedom to humans!! And now that piece of shit talks about his love for humanity!! He is tricking you, tricking everyone!!”

Charlie could only let out a defeated sigh; her father was still stuck on what happened millennia ago. She had to give it to him, he sure embodied the sin of pride, unable to see anything besides himself. Even her, who often didn’t pick on clues, was able to see that Michael truly loved Lucifer, the nickname of ‘Lu’ was proof enough.

“Well… We already know the rules” She said going back “Vaggie! Emily! Let’s go try some of the food!! I’m dying to go and try something that isn’t the food from hell!” With that, the three of them left the theater.

“Val, just relax” Vox said to his lover, or was he his boyfriend?

“Oh, don’t worry Vox” Valentino answered as he made comfortable on his seat, enjoying how soft and fluffy it was “I’m going to enjoy this magnificent seat while I think of ways of punishing Angel”

“Yeah, well, me and Vox are going out to see how this place works” Velvette tried her best to keep her thoughts away from her real plans, not wanting to be a prisoner of the seat again. It didn’t work, for the seat turned around to look at her, making a chill run through Velvette’s spine.

With that, both vees walked out of the theater to figure out how to make this place work on their favor.

The moment they placed a feet outside the theater, their eyes widened and their mouth opened at the sheer size of the place outside of the theater. There

Hundreds upon thousands of different restaurants perfectly aligned next to each other, all of which had food already prepared and with smoke coming out of them. There were popcorn machines filled with every single flavor of popcorn one could imagine, even as Vox thought about a weird flavor, a new popcorn machine materialized with said flavor. There were refrigerators and soda fountains that seemed to expand into infinity. A bar with at least fifty stands filled with different kinds of alcohol, some of them were clear they belonged to different time periods by the shape of the bottle and the label on the bottle.

The smell of food was intoxicating, but on the best way possible. It was the sort of smell that made you want to sit down and just eat everything. Properly taste everything you bring into your mouth while a new plate of food was being prepared just for you.

“Oh my-!! Vaggie, you need to come and try this!!” Charlie’s voice could be heard at the distance, slightly silenced by food on her mouth.

“Husk!! They got that damned whiskey you always complain about in hell!!” Angel Dust was heard from the bar as he climbed the stalls of liquor.

“I’m going!! I’m grabbing you a plate of that Italian food you always complain about!!!” Husk screamed from another restaurant.

“Angel!! You gotta come here and try the popcorn!! They are fucking delicious!!!” Cherri Bomb screamed from the popcorn stall.

“Misssss Bomb. Try these candiessss” Sir Pentious voice was more gentle and less screaming, grabbing a ton of candies to bring to his egg boys once he got back to hell.

“Should we and… Wait a fucking second, is that fucking fish and chips?!!” Velvette started to talk, but the smell from English food, food from her home country, quickly invaded her nostrils “Vox!! We need to go there!! NOW!! I haven’t tasted that shit in an eternity!!!” She didn’t gave Vox opportunity to responded as she quickly pulled him from the arm and brought him with her to the restaurant where she grabbed the first plate started to eat “Oh!! This shit is divine!! Better than what the bitch of my mother ever cooked!!”

“Would you mind chewing with your mouth close?” Vox complains with disgust seeing the remains fly out of Velvette’s mouth

The minutes went flying, both Vees completely forgetting about their initial objective and instead remained seated on the England themed restaurant, eating whatever Velvette suggested. Finally a small bip sounded, and a female voice was heard through the place “Attention, sinners, heaven born, Lucifer and… niece” That last part was said with skepticism “The function is about to begin, please go orderly to- Michael, this is dumb, sorry brother but-” The announcement was cut, everyone already thinking that it was a prerecording due to the being she mentioned.

Everyone walked back to the theater with food and drinks. Surprisingly, no one made an ill comment to another, even Vox and Velvette refrained from making a comment to Angel and just walked right to Valentino, offering him some food from Florida.

The pillars of light slowly faded away, leaving the room in darkness “This is bullshit” Lute complained, aggressively eating an empanada Emily had brought to her, the grip of her seat loosing down.

Before anyone could say anything else, the screen turned on again, and there was… darkness.

Before there was anything, before there was something, and after there had been something, there was just darkness that covered everything. Every corners of existence, everything that could be, everything that once was, everything was swallowed in eternal darkness. There was no time, no space, no life, no death, no good, and no evil. That was all there was, the most terrifying, the most comfortable, the most familiar darkness, that’s what she was.

Everyone heard the voice of a narrator and relaxed to it. It was a weird voice, there was no emotion behind it, just a comfortable sound. It was the perfect voice for a narrator, someone who truly was objective about everything.

But there couldn’t always be darkness. No one truly knows how it happened, everyone just knows it happened. The Father said there was an explosion. The Maker said that he simply was born. Both truths are narrated by different beings.

“The fuck are we seeing?” Angel Dust asked as he grabbed another fist of fries and shoved it down his mouth

“The Genesis” Sera answered, surprised and deeply honored to be able to see the beginning of everything

From the darkness, a being of light stood. Although it was purely made of light, some human features were visible on it. Two arms, two legs, a torso, a neck and a head. It was… Different, different to everything that once was and had defied darkness herself.

“Did I hurt you?” The voice of the things that appeared was deep, almost hoarse, yet there were still a softness and care on it. The darkness pulled away from the entity, trying to hide from it, almost as if afraid of what had just appeared “I see, I hope you can forgive me, it wasn’t my intention. I’m kind of new to all this, you know?” Slowly, the being got close to the darkness, and in response the darkness got close to it.

“That is…” Charlie started equally surprised as the rest, but part of her feeling his idea of redemption validated at seeing the primordial entities not fighting but talking and trying to make peace with each other.

“…God” Vaggie was slightly more terrified than Charlie

The moment the Darkness and the Light touched each other; the Darkness was condensed into the size of a basketball. Through the entirety of cosmos, through the entire existence, there was no more darkness, just… black, void, an empty canvas.

“You must of have been so lonely” The being of light said will the darkness started to mold itself around the other’s body. When it was finally consumed by Darkness, the being was now seeing as… A man, yeah, that was the best way to describe him. A man of short and perfectly aligned black hair, perfect physic, a body covered in red tattoos while his eyes, well, there weren’t any eyes, just two white spots “I see, you don’t need to be lonely anymore, wanna know why?” Darkness did not respond “Because I’m here. Now, let me show something beautiful”

After that, the being, the man, extended his arm and hand. Without having to do anything, a giant explosion occurred and everything started to get color. White, red, yellow, blue, purple. Everything started to being made while the being put down his hand “See? You don’t need to fear the light, you can be one with it. You don’t need to hide from it from something as beautiful as the light, beautiful things need to coexist with one another”

“Oh please, what kind of bullshit is this?!!!” Adam complained while looking at the screen “That fucker ain’t God!!”

“He is not God? We just saw him create everything!!!” Charlie defended who she though was God

“Charlie, believe me when I say this, I don’t hate anything more than having to agree with that piece of shit” Lucifer said giving a side eye Adam, who simply made a mocking grin and flipped him off. Lucifer had to restraint himself from launching himself and start beating the shit out of him, his seat finally gave him enough freedom for his liking, and he was NOT planning on losing it “Pero that is not God, my father, God, does not look like that”

Charlie just remained silent, biting her bottom lip to avoid making another comment. If what her father and Adam were saying was true, then who was this being who just made everything?

The being started to walk while Darkness simply looked in awe as everything was created. With each step, a new explosion occurred, with each step stars were created, with each step dimensions were being created, with each step galaxies were madre, and with each step a new universe was born.

“HA!! Saw that!! If not God, then how do you explain that?!!” Charlie was triumphantly grinning when her suspicions were proven right

Surprisingly, not Adam or Lucifer made any comment, they just bit their bottom lips to not comment.

He who created everything, The Maker, continued his walk for a long time. On modern times, and using a human scale to measure time, The Maker walked for about 2 trillion years. Wherever he went, creation followed close by, his light reaching every corner of existence.

A lot of them were left speechless when the narrator came back to tell them what was going on. Two trillion years, it was absurd and almost impossible for any of them to truly understand how much time that was.

Of course that to The Maker and The Darkness didn’t feel the pass of time, to them it was like going out on a walk for a few hours. For the concept of time was yet to exist, and it wouldn’t do so for eons to come.

The Maker stopped at a specific place of its creation and observed a star. The brightest star of them all, the one that shined with enthusiasm at its creator, in hopes that it would notice it. The Maker got close to the star, and The Darkness saw in awe as The Maker held the star on it’s hands and started to shape it.

Before anyone could ask what was going on, the voice of the Narrator came again to explain what was happening on the screen.

On a human scale, The Maker spent around three thousand years shaping the first star while The Darkness simply looked in silence and awe. It shaped it differently, trying new forms, different prothesis, but none of them seemed to be of The Maker’s liking. Finally, he arrived to one that it was of his liking.

The star now had a form completely unlike that of the being who created it. It resembled a suit of armor with six mechanical wings behind it. Two robotic arms transformed into shoulder pads. It had no feet, no face, only armor, a machine. Yet, there was beauty to it; the first creation was a machine with rubies embedded in its wings and shoulder pads that served as eyes.

“What? No, this is wrong” Sera said as she stood up from her seat and flies towards the screen to see the machine closer “This can’t be the first creation, the sacred scriptures say that the first creations were heaven and earth” Her hand slowly touched the screen where the machine was.

“Hey!! Take that bitch off the screen!! I’m trying to see!!!” Valentino’s voice was heard through the entire theater

“Silence!!” Sera screamed against Valentino making him keep silence “This… This can’t be, it can’t be” For the first time in ever, Sera started to question her own existence. Was she a machine? Was every angel a machine?

“Sera…” Emily’s empathetic voice was heard as she flied towards Sera, hugging her and slowly guiding her back  to her seat.

Lucifer was not in a better position, was he also a machine? Why would God create a machine first? Well, if he was a machine, then that simply justified his rebellion even more. He was the first machine to get a conscience of their own and not follow a tyrant.

Sir Pentious simply looked in awe at the machine, taking out his sketchbook to start and draw the shape of the machine. When he was back in hell, he wanted to try and replicate the beauty of the first thing ever created.

“Father” The machine spoke and kneeled to it’s creator.

“Davoth” The being of light gave himself a name “I’ve explored this place, and that was the logical conclusion to which I arrived of what my name should be. ‘Dav’, that will mean God, ‘Oth’, that will me passion. The Passionate God” Davoth explained with a smile that made even the most violent hearts to soften.

“HA!! I knew it!! I knew it!! That was God!!” Charlie exclaimed from her seat, jumping and moving her arms in happiness

“Babe, not the right time” Vaggie said, seeing that most of the angelic beings, her included, were having an existential crisis

“Oh, sorry” Charlie apologized siting back

“You will be Veril” Davoth named his creation “ ‘Ve’, that means to observe, and ‘ril’ shall mean order. He who observes the order”

Veril simply nodded, getting back onto its…feet? “Tell, do you want a name?” Davoth asked The Darkness.

A name? Darkness didn't need one; she was Darkness, and that was all. But even so, hearing the first two conscious beings receive names stirred something within her.

"I see, very well, I won't impose a name on you. I will wait until you are ready. But when you do decide on a name, I will be more than happy to hear it."

“Hey, Vox, don't you think this is our chance?” Valentino asked Vox, seeing how everyone was so fascinated with the creation that they weren't paying attention to the three of them.

“Not yet, Val, we have to wait for the right moment,” Vox said, unable to contain his smile as he watched Alastor squirm in his seat.

Lucifer could only watch with anger everything that was being shown. By what damn right did that tyrant talk about waiting?! By what damn right did he talk about free will when it had been denied to him?!

The three primordial beings continued their journey through existence, both Veril and the Darkness openly expressing their fascination at witnessing the creation of everything. But soon they noticed something: an amalgam of colors taking on a spherical shape in the distance.

With a single step, the three beings now stood upon the celestial body that was forming. It was a desolate, brown place; everywhere they looked, there was only earth. Looking up, they saw only vast darkness.

Davoth noticed how the body of earth moved, how it futilely attempted to create some kind of offering for its creator. He could only watch with pity as every creation was destroyed by the very instability of the place.

Tired of seeing his precious creation struggle, Davoth rose to the heavens and gathered several stars in his hands. He crushed them until only dust remained and scattered it across the land.

Alastor and Vox had to swallow hard at the sight of such a display of power. Both had, at some point, thought about taking God's throne, of ruling over all others and reveling in their suffering.

But upon seeing what God was truly capable of, those thoughts gradually began to disappear, out of fear of being erased from existence with the same ease with which He created things.

For his part, Lucifer had to be grateful that his father hadn't directly involved himself in his rebellion and had sent Michael to take care of it instead. Fear, yes, that's what Lucifer felt upon seeing how the being he thought was his father was able to move from one end of existence to the other with ease, how he turned stars into dust.

Soon, a transparent liquid began to emerge from the earth, flooding everything. Davoth watched in horror as his creations struggled to coexist, so he quickly set to work and divided everything. He separated the land and the water so that they could live together but not destroy each other.

As a token of their gratitude, the land and water began to adorn the rest of the planet with a beautiful green color, and as an offering, a flower was created at Davoth's feet. The Darkness merely observed everything that was happening with fascination, so it quickly separated from Davoth and submerged itself in the water and the earth, beginning to explore them. Veril watched as his Father created, how everything the first being touched became beautiful, and he looked at his own hand and wondered if he too could do something like that.

"Can we fast-forward through all this crap and get to the moment of my creation?" Adam asked, annoyed at having to observe the entire process involved in creating existence itself.

“Calm down, Lord, if this ‘truth’ is similar to that of the holy scriptures, your creation shouldn't take long,” Lute said.

“Hahaha, yeah right, everyone knows that angels came before humans,” Lucifer mocked them, causing Adam to try to lunge at him, only to be restrained by his seat.

“See, Emily? This is the true creation, not that machine,” Sera said with some relief, seeing that the scriptures weren't entirely wrong.

“Yes, Sera, it's something beautiful,” Emily said, trying not to trigger another nervous breakdown in Sera.

However, before he could pick the flower, Davoth noticed that everything was still dying. The flower withered, and the grass turned gray. When he looked at the sky, he saw that by grasping a portion of the stars, he had left a void that prevented life from flourishing. He proceeded to pick up some stones and hurled them into the sky, straight into space, causing more planets to form.

Not content with this, Davoth ascended to the heavens and searched for a nascent star. When he found it, he seized the celestial body and brought it to the center of his creation, using it as a beacon to illuminate everything he had created. Returning to the earthly plane, Davoth took parts of the earth and began to mold them into four-legged creatures.

Davoth spent approximately 4,000 years creating all the animals that would inhabit the earth, each one created with specific patterns, each one different from the others. At first, he created only two of each, a male and a female. But after the original sin, he would create more.

The Narrator explained, causing some to tense up at his words.

Charlie instinctively turned to look at Lucifer, who was now paying more attention to the screen; the mention of original sin had undoubtedly reopened a wound in him.

Meanwhile, Adam was celebrating, “Woh! Did you hear that, bitches?! My moment to shine is coming!” He shouted, watching the events unfold with excitement.

“Hey, doesn’t that seem weird to you?” Angel Dust asked Husk.

“What are you talking about?” Husk questioned.

“Well, according to the Bible, God is described as a perfect being who knows everything, sees everything, and can do everything. But here, God didn't know what would happen when he took the stars, he didn't know what would happen when he created water, and according to what the Narrator says, he didn't create any more animals until after original sin, in a way…” Angel began to say, causing Husk to slowly start to understand and widen his eyes.

“…He seems like a child, a child in an adult's body with extremely dangerous power,” Husk finished, while Angel nodded. They didn't know if their deduction was good or bad; they could only watch what the Child-God was doing.

Veril watched as the creatures his father had created began to inhabit the earth, but he soon noticed something strange. He began to explore the planet, and the further he traveled from the point of original creation, the more he noticed that the creatures were becoming increasingly hostile.

“Father!” Veril arrived in a panic, watching as Davoth finished creating the last animal.

“What is it, Veril?” Davoth asked, watching his son kneel.

“There’s something you must see,” Veril said, and Davoth nodded.

They both traveled away from the point of creation, and there Veril showed Davoth how the animals were beginning to fight among themselves. Davoth quickly separated them and sent them in different directions. The Creator observed for a few moments before returning to the point of his creation.

Once there, Davoth stepped onto the ground, and a massive stone wall rose up, beginning to surround a large area. Inside the wall, vegetation began to flourish, and along with it, animals began to appear; he was creating a paradise.

“I cannot deny freedom to those who have already chosen their path,” Davoth said, watching as a tree rose in the deepest corner, “But I can prevent more mistakes like that.”

“Oh!! Oh!! It’s close!! I’m so fucking close!!” Adam said griping the arm rests of his seat with enthusiasm for the moment of his creation

Emily, Sera and the inhabitants of hell simply look with nuisance the reaction of Adam, avoiding making any comment just so they wouldn’t have to deal with his cursing, none of them were in the mood to deal with that.

“Father, what is that?” Veril and the Darkness watched as a fruit grew on the farthest tree. It was strange; it took on different forms, sometimes an apple, sometimes a grape, and sometimes a geometric shape that didn't resemble any fruit.

“It is the fruit of knowledge; it contains all the knowledge of good and evil,” Davoth said, scooping up two handfuls of dirt and dust. “That fruit is there for those who wish to pursue freedom.”

“That’s utter bullshit!” Lucifer said, generating more fire and causing everyone around him to move two seats away. “It’s a damn lie! He puts it there and then punishes! He’s a hypocritical son of a bitch!”

“Dad, please calm down,” Charlie said, approaching her father.

“Calm down! How do you expect me to calm down when that damn hypocrite says things like that?!” Lucifer said angrily. “He punished me and your mother when she ate the fruit! He exiled us to Hell, Charlie!”

“Maybe that’s not what God saw.”

“Not what he saw?! Charlie, there’s nothing clearer to see! God isn’t benevolent! He punishes when one of his precious toys doesn’t follow the established rules! He’s a bastard!”

“Dad, God is clearly benevolent. We’ve witnessed the patience and time he puts into each of his creations. Maybe something happened when Mom ate the fruit, maybe…” Charlie was trying to find an excuse for the benevolent God the screen was showing them, an excuse that wouldn’t destroy her relationship with her father.

“Are you defending him?! That damn guy who does nothing?! That imbecile who talks about forgiveness but does nothing about the annual exterminations! Charlie, see the truth, God is a cruel being!”

Charlie didn’t respond to that; she simply sat back down in her seat while Vaggie and Emily went to comfort her after the argument with her father.

The room fell silent, and the only thing that could be heard were the barely contained laughs of the V’s and Adam along with Lute.

Veril simply nodded and watched as Davoth pressed his hands together before throwing the earth and dust into the air, causing two swirling vortexes to form. When the vortexes subsided, two figures stood before Davoth. The first was a man with short brown hair and golden eyes that reflected innocence and confusion. The second was a woman with long blonde hair and golden eyes that reflected the same innocence and confusion. Their bodies were perfect in every human sense, perfectly sculpted, perfectly symmetrical, with perfect proportions in every visible part.

“Ah, just look at me, Lute, as perfect as ever,” Adam said arrogantly as he watched himself appear on the screen. “Of course, unfortunately, I’m accompanied by that bitch Lilith.”

“Don’t worry, sir, we all know how that story ends,” Lute replied with the same arrogance as Adam.

Meanwhile, Lucifer and Charlie watched their wife and mother, fascinated. She was beautiful; the first woman was objectively beautiful in every way they could remember and desire. But that image also caused a pang in their hearts as they remembered that they didn't know where she had been for the past seven years.

Although everyone was fascinated by the creation of the first humans, none of them seemed to notice how their eyes reflected innocence, curiosity, confusion, but above all, adoration for the being who had created them.

Darkness merely watched, fascinated, the creation of both beings from the plants. And Veril gazed with fascination at their bodies; even though he had only seen them for a few seconds, he had already memorized every inch of the first humans' forms.

“Adam,” Davoth spoke, naming the first man, “You are my son, created in my image and likeness. Your duty will be to name every object and being that inhabits this garden. Now you will live here alongside your wife.”

“Lilith,” he then spoke, naming the first woman, “I created you to be Adam's equal in every way.”

“Yeah, right,” Adam said, earning angry glares from Lucifer and Charlie. “As if that damn bitch could compare to me in any way.”

“Yeah, well, she turned out to be a better mother than you ever were a father,” Charlie retorted, defending Lilith. “At least she didn't cause one of her sons to murder the other.”

“Are you talking about that failure, Abel? The idiot deserved it if he wasn't strong enough to defend himself against Cain. Honestly, I don't know how that wimp even got into Heaven after that,” Adam said, showing his disgust for Abel.

Several people recoiled at the way Adam spoke of Abel, as if his death was inevitable because he was the weaker of the two sons.

“While your job won't be to name things, that doesn't mean it will be any less important,” Davoth began to explain as he approached an animal in the garden. With a flick of his hand, Davoth decapitated the animal, to everyone's horror, but moments later the animal's head regenerated and the blood disappeared, while in Davoth's hand there was now a perfectly cooked head. “Come and try it.”

Adam and Lilith hesitantly approached the head of the animal that had just been decapitated. With some trepidation, they took a piece of meat and put it in their mouths. “It's... delicious...” Lilith said, her voice a perfect symphony of melodies.

“And what does it mean for something to be delicious?” Davoth asked with a smile.

“Delicious means it's something good,” Adam said, his voice also a perfect symphony of melodies.

“Try it, Lilith,” Davoth said, holding another animal.

Lilith hesitantly approached the small, furry animal, and with a movement of her hand, she cut off one of its legs. The leg regenerated, and now there was a cooked leg in her hand while the animal hopped away.

“Your duty, Lilith, is to ensure life through consumption. Go forth, my children, and delight in my creation,” Davoth said as he walked towards Veril.

Father and Creation ascended to the heavens while The Darkness remained in the garden to explore and study the newly named humanity.

“Mmm, just imagine the possibilities of having one of those two for my films,” Valentino said, licking his fingers as he gazed at the naked bodies, barely covered by leaves and camera angles on the screen, which concealed their private parts. “The number of holes that could be used…”

“Val, not right now. The last thing we want is the princess and king of hell as our enemies,” Velvette said, but she was also thinking about how she could market the first humans.

“Father, what now?” Veril asked.

Davoth observed his son for a few moments before moving his hand. With a flick of his wrist, Davoth tore a rift in the very fabric of existence and reality, and soon a material began to pour out of it.

The material never touched the ground; it remained suspended in the air and gradually began to take the form of buildings made of silver. “Now, my son, I must attend to some unfinished business. I have noticed that my light does not reach all corners of existence, but I have also noticed your eagerness to create.”

“I apologize if I offended you in any way,” Veril said, watching as the silver city was slowly formed.

“Not at all, my son, I am glad to know that you possess such creativity,” Davoth said once the entire silver city was complete. “This will be your kingdom; here you can create whatever you wish, even your own children,” he explained as he walked over to pick up a stick lying in the silver city. He molded it into the shape of a sword, and with it, he made another cut in the fabric of reality. Through the cut, a place ruled by fire could be seen.

“Heaven,” Emily said, seeing the silver city that had been created.

“Hell,” Charlie recognized the fiery realm that was revealed through the cut made by the sword.

“What is that place, Father?” Veril asked, watching as Davoth placed the silver sword in the flames and then removed it to close the portal.

“I don't know, I only recently discovered it, but I plan to use it as a prison for all those who threaten my creation,” Davoth said, running his hand over the blade's edge, causing the flames to stabilize. “This is the only way you and your children will have to access it. If you find anything impure, banish it to that place.” He finished speaking as he grabbed another piece of silver to create a sheath in which to store the flaming sword.

“I won't disappoint you, Father,” Veril said, taking the sword from Davoth's hands.

“I know you won't.” With those words, Davoth created another portal and left the city of silver.

Before anyone could say anything, the screen showed static and began displaying different images. Veril collecting pieces of silver, a kind of forge workshop, Veril traveling through the cosmos. Each of the images was distorted, and there was no clear order of what happened first.

“Okay… What the hell was that?” Husk asked, observing the static on the screen and the various images.

“I… I don't know…” Lucifer admitted, his anger towards Davoth and Veril disappearing for a moment in the face of the uncertainty of the images.

Finally, the screen stabilized, showing Veril finishing the sculpting of a humanoid figure made of silver. With a single touch of his fingers, the silver disappeared, giving way to skin.

The being was the most beautiful thing that had ever existed, with short blond hair that was beautiful and perfect from every angle. Eyes that reflected every possible color, all at the same time without one overshadowing the others. A perfect facial structure, ideal height, perfectly white and aligned teeth, and a serene gaze. Its body was just as perfect as the rest of it; there wasn't a single flaw, more symmetrical than that of Adam or Lilith. It was exquisitely sculpted, with muscles where they were needed, without being exaggerated, and finally, six golden wings on its back. The being was perfection incarnate.

“Mmmm, who's that hottie?” Angel Dust asked, seeing the man who had been created, someone far more perfect and beautiful than Adam.

“Dad, is that you…?” Charlie began to ask, blushing slightly at the sight of the being.

“No, Charlie, it's not me.” But Lucifer wasn't sure. If God was so different, could that be him?

“Sera, that's…” Even the angels weren't immune to the being's perfection and beauty; it was simply too much. Lute, Sera, and Emily were just as fascinated by the being Veril had created.

“The first archangel,” Sera said in shock.

“Wow, look at that majestic being,” Valentino said, settling into his seat to observe the being. All the V's were just as fascinated as everyone else by the creation of the being; it was too beautiful, too perfect, too pure.

“Tsk, it's not a big deal,” Adam said resentfully, annoyed that all the attention was on the new creation and not on him. He inwardly cursed that the focus had shifted from the first humans to the first archangel ever created.

“Whatever you say… Sir…” Lute said in a slight trance, unable to take her eyes off the screen, her cheeks turning pink under her mask at the sight of the being that was just created and practically ignoring Adam.

“Father” If the voices of Adam and Lilith were already a symphony of perfect melodies, the voice of this new being was like hearing existence itself speak. It was more than angelic, more than gentle; listening to it was like feeling that your own existence was unworthy of being in the presence of such majesty. The being immediately knelt before its creator, its gaze fixed on the ground, not daring to look into his eyes, or whatever it was that Veril had.

“Michael,” Unlike before, Veril's voice now sounded more weary, more authoritative, colder; the fascination he had shown when speaking with Davoth was gone. He observed his creation for a few seconds, studying him from head to toe. “You are naked.”

“Oh, believe me, nobody minds,” Angel Dust said with a smile, admiring Michael's perfect body.

Meanwhile, Lucifer, Sera, and Adam were frozen in shock, their mouths agape. Michael, the supreme commander of Heaven, the one who instilled fear in everyone's hearts with a single glance.

But this wasn't the Michael they knew. Yes, no one denied that the Michael they knew was handsome. However, this Michael's beauty was unparalleled. There was no plausible way anyone could be so incredibly perfect and beautiful, not when they were familiar with what the supreme commander of Heaven was supposed to look like.

Michael observed his own nakedness for a moment and simply nodded before touching his own chest. With that, a white robe enveloped him. "Good, go and gather silver from the heavens; I need to create more beings like you," Veril commanded, and Michael simply nodded and stood up, beginning to walk through the city of silver.

"Ohhhhh, I'm not starting to like this," Charlie said, seeing how Veril immediately treated Michael not like a son, but like a tool that must obey him.

The screen showed Veril creating more angels, some men and others women. Each and every one of them was beautiful, stunning, and enviable for the perfection with which they were created. However, no matter who was created, none equaled Michael in terms of beauty and perfection, no matter how hard Veril tried.

“Samur,” Veril named one of his angels who had black hair and gray eyes; six gray wings unfolded from his back while the rest of his siblings watched his creation.

“Father, I know your wisdom is unparalleled,” Michael began to say.

“Oh, there he goes again, no matter what, Michael is always going to be a damn suck-up,” Lucifer said, looking disdainfully at Michael's interruption, annoyed that his own creation hadn't arrived yet.

“Lucifer, Michael is only fulfilling his duty as the first of all,” Sera said, also somewhat frustrated that her moment hadn't come yet.  Nearly 20 archangels had been created, and she still hadn't appeared.

“Oh, and what is that duty? To be a damn lapdog who always seeks Father's validation?” Lucifer asked mockingly.

“I don't expect a fallen one like you to understand,” Sera said, looking disdainfully at Lucifer.

“Sera/Dad, please,” Emily and Charlie said, watching the two supposed adults argue.

The other angels looked at Michael doubtfully as he stepped forward. “But don’t you think we should follow an order? Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Sariel, Uriel, Samael, Sedeqel, Arael. All our names end in ‘el.’ Is it wise to break that order?”

Veril paused for a moment, considering Michael's words, and looked at the rest of his children. “What do you think, Samur? Do you want to follow the order that the rest of your brothers and sisters have followed?” he asked his newly born/created son.

“Yes, Father,” Samur replied, still kneeling.

“Very well, Seraphiel, you may join the rest of your brothers and sisters,” Veril allowed him to stand and then turned to Michael. “And Michael, thank you for noticing that. I trust you will continue to do a magnificent job.”

Michael didn't know what he felt at that moment upon receiving Veril's praise; he only knew that it felt good.

“Hahahahahaha!” Adam and Lucifer burst into laughter at the appointment of the new archangel.

“You're a man!” Lucifer said mockingly, turning to look at an embarrassed Sera.

“That's not true! I don't know what's going on in that Genesis, but I was never a man!” Sera defended herself, and it was the truth; when she gained consciousness, she had always had a female body. She didn't understand why, in that other version, in that other universe, she was a man.

After that, the creation of 78 more angels followed; some chose to follow the order of "El," while others opted for a unique and distinct name. Finally, they reached the last one, angel number 100. He was a man with somewhat long brown hair that reached his shoulders, brown eyes, and a pair of wings of the same color.

The angel was kneeling as Veril finished naming him, "Rise, Lucifer, and join the rest of your brothers and sisters."

"Excuse me?! Is that me?!" Lucifer questioned, offended and even somewhat disgusted by his resemblance to the Adam of that other universe. "I'm supposed to be the most beautiful! Damn it, even Gabriel, who's a woman there, is more beautiful than me! And let's not even talk about Michael!"

"Not so funny now, is it?" Sera asked mockingly, seeing that this Lucifer wasn't the most beautiful of all the archangels, and if you asked her, he didn't even make the top 20 of the 100 archangels.

"There, there, Dad, I'm sure the you from that universe did something to still be considered beautiful," Charlie tried to comfort her father.

“My children,” Veril began, causing all the angels to kneel before him, “Our duty is to protect the primary creation of my father and the creator of all, humanity.” Veril opened a small portal through which Adam and Lilith could be seen still exploring Eden, eating some meat. “We must watch over them, protect them, but above all, prevent them from eating that fruit,” he said, and the image changed to that of the forbidden fruit.

“You can trust us, Father,” Michael said, still kneeling.

After that, the screen turned off, and the golden letters began to appear again.

Well, it seems everything went according to my calculations. Thankfully, I managed to get a short break.

"Hey! Come here and explain a few things to us!" Lucifer said to the screen that displayed Michael's message.

I'm sorry, but I'm still busy. Being the regent of Heaven isn't easy work. I'm going to give you a one-hour break. Use it however you want. If you want me to bring someone else...

A box appeared at the exit along with a notebook and a pen.

Please write their names there, and I'll make sure to bring them... Damn it, Gabriel! I told you to keep them in line!

With that, the screen turned off again.

Chapter Text

After the screen went blank, everyone got up from their seats. They had an hour to kill, and even the proudest among them refused to stay seated. Slowly, they began to walk towards the exit, a few stopping to look at the box and notebook.

Many paid no attention to it, as they didn't have anyone they wanted to bring here to see all this. Adam and Lute wrote down the names of the other exorcists and put them in the box. Sera and Emily simply left the room, with Emily pulling Sera by the arm to go try different foods.

In the end, only Charlie and Lucifer were left alone in the room, both looking at the notebook and box with uncertainty. "Dad... Do you think if we write Mom's name, Michael could bring her here?" Charlie asked, a mix of doubt and hope in her voice, longing to see her mother again after seven years of ignored messages and calls.

"Charlie, I don't think that's a good idea," Lucifer replied, but with the same underlying hope that Lilith would return to him and Charlie. "If your mother left, I'm sure she had her reasons. The last thing she needs right now is to suddenly be brought here... Especially with that piece of shit Adam present."

After that, they fell silent, before Lucifer smiled again, as he always did. "Alright, let's go try some of that food you said was available!" With that, Lucifer left the room, leaving Charlie alone.

Charlie looked at the notebook for a moment before picking it up along with a pen, writing Lilith's name in it and placing the sheet of paper with her name on it in the box. After that, she also left the room to follow her father.

Elsewhere, Michael was returning to his office with an exhausted look on his face. Unlike how he had been seen on screen, he was dressed in a white suit with some gold details; a completely white vest was visible beneath his jacket, and under the vest, a gold shirt.

He sat down in his chair with annoyance, and with a wave of his hand, he made the door to his office disappear so that he wouldn't be bothered again. He rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh.

“What does it cost them to share? We divided everything fairly, I don't need them giving me more paperwork,” he muttered to himself, looking disdainfully at a huge pile of unsigned papers.

Sighing, he got up from his chair and walked to a box in his office. It was an exact replica of the one in the movie theater, and opening it, he took out all the sheets of paper with names on them, beginning to read them one by one.

Most were names of the militia that Adam led; he learned they were called exorcists. “Can I sue them for copyright infringement?” he wondered to himself, remembering the name of his own squadron that he led during the war.

Finally, he came to Lilith's name, and for a moment he froze in place as he read it. Yes, he was aware that this was a possibility, but he still hoped that Charlie wouldn't put her name in the box.

Multiple memories flooded his mind: of Eden, of Hell, of a paradisiacal place where there was only a small wooden cabin, and finally, a memory of a battlefield where Lilith floated in the center while hundreds of portals opened behind her and horrible creatures emerged from them to attack him and his brothers.

It wasn't a name that brought him the best memories, for the memories of peace he had with Lilith were buried by the countless years of war in which Lilith participated on the enemy side. Sighing, he put the names back in the box and sat down in his chair again, conjuring a cup of hot tea as classical music began to play. "To bring her back or not to bring her back," he said to himself, a gold coin appearing in his free hand, which he began to toy with.

Yes, he had brought back Adam, who had been a far worse enemy during the war. But even so, he didn't know how different this Lilith was from the one he had known so long ago.

"You've always been a complicated woman, Lilith," Michael said to himself, before his brow furrowed. "Damn it, Sariel, I'm coming." With that, he rose from his seat and recreated the exit portal from his office to leave and return to his meeting; at least this prevented him from being buried in paperwork.

Returning to the movie, Charlie and Lucifer were eating at a Chilean restaurant, accompanied by Vaggie. "Mmmmm, this tastes sooooo good," Vaggie said, grabbing another plate of beef and sitting back down with Charlie and Lucifer.

"It's not the worst thing I've ever tasted," Lucifer commented while continuing to eat his beef tongue. "It's exotic, I'll give it that."

"Oh, you must be kidding, Dad," Charlie said while eating her chicken. "This is delicious, better than anything in Hell."

"Hahaha, Charlie, if you wanted something delicious, you just had to tell your daddy to cook something for you," Lucifer said with his usual arrogance, making Charlie and Vaggie a little uncomfortable before Lucifer himself realized what he had said.

"Maybe you shouldn't refer to yourself that way," Charlie said with a nervous laugh.

"Hahahaha, yeah, you're right," Lucifer said, just as nervous as Charlie.

After that, the three continued eating in silence until Charlie asked, "Dad, what was Mom like exactly? I don't mean what she was like in Hell, but what she was like in Eden?"

Lucifer fell silent at Charlie's question, surprised that she now wanted to learn more about Lilith and what she was like before the two of them were cast out of Heaven. "Charlie, you're my daughter, and I love you more than anything—"

"No, Dad, I don't want you to keep protecting me like that," Charlie said, setting her food aside. "I'm not a child."

Lucifer simply remained silent, considering his options. "Charlie, let's just see what the Lilith the screen showed us is like," he said, setting his own food aside and averting his gaze. He wasn't ready to have this kind of conversation with Charlie; the topic of Lilith was always a complicated one.

Charlie sighed in disappointment, getting up from her seat and starting to walk out of the restaurant. Lucifer got up and tried to follow his daughter, but Charlie stopped him. "No, Dad, I want some time alone," she said without turning to look at Lucifer as she continued on her way back to the screening room, followed closely by Vaggie.

In an American diner, Adam watched the scene with a smile as several plates of ribs rested on the table. Beside him was Lute, who also watched the father and daughter's separation with a satisfied smile.

Charlie entered the screening room, and the first thing she did was look at the box of papers with names on them. Every single sheet was still there, in the same disarray as when they had been placed inside. It was as if no one had opened the box and taken out any of the papers.

"Charlie…" Vaggie said, approaching her girlfriend.

Charlie looked helplessly at Lilith's name still written on the sheet of paper. She took it out of the box and turned to look at the screen. "Uncle Michael… are you there?" she asked into the empty room, hoping for a response.

The screen remained black for several seconds. Charlie hoped, longed, for golden letters to begin appearing on the black screen, but nothing happened; it was still the same as when they had left the movie theater.

“Charlie, he’s probably not listening… Angels never listen…” Vaggie said, placing her hand on Charlie’s shoulder.

“No, no, he’s probably busy, he said he had things to do…” Charlie countered, hoping that her uncle, or whoever introduced himself as Michael, was indeed listening.

“Honey… Believe me when I say I hate nothing more than agreeing with Adam… But it’s Michael,” Despite everything, Vaggie continued to refer to Michael by the name everyone knew him by, “He’s not a good person, he’s war incarnate. His nickname, ‘The Warrior Archangel,’ says enough about who he is and how he acts. His specialty is, literally, massacring entire armies.”

Before Charlie could refute that, the screen began to display blue letters.

Be careful how you refer to my brother, fallen one, you don’t know Michael, so you would be wise to keep your thoughts to yourself and not let me, or any other archangel, hear you.

“Who are you?!” Vaggie tensed up when she saw the letters appear, drawing her spear and looking around. She didn't know how the archangels could hear conversations, but they were most likely hidden throughout the room.

If you can't recognize me by my way of speaking, then you ARE a fallen one. This will be my only and final warning, if I hear you speak ill of my brother again, I will finish what that incompetent Adam and that stupid commander of his started.

Vaggie felt the deepest fear when she finished reading the sentence that was written on the screen; her fingers trembled as she gripped her spear tightly. The memory of that day came to her mind, how she let a sinful child escape, and in response, Adam and Lute cornered her, tortured her, mutilated her, and abandoned her to her fate in hell.

Charlie stood in front of Vaggie, glaring at the screen. "I don't know who you are, but I won't let you talk about Vaggie like that!" From Charlie's head, red horns began to sprout, her sclera turned red, and her irises became yellow.

The screen went black for a few seconds before more blue words appeared.

Ah, you must be Charlie. It's a pleasure to meet my niece. I see you inherited much of the archangels' natural beauty. It's good to know that. You can call me Uncle.

"I'm not going to call someone I don't even know 'Uncle'," Charlie said, pulling out her trident. "And especially not someone who just threatened my girlfriend with death."

Vaggie relaxed slightly and stood beside Charlie, only for the screen to continue typing.

I see, that's a shame... Well, you can call me Uncle Azrael. I'm on my time off, so I decided to take a look at my older brother's project. But if you don't want to talk, that's fine, just remember something...

Through all the walls of the movie theater, various blue eyes began to appear, every single one of them staring directly at Charlie and Vaggie.

We are always watching. And that fallen angel should thank her lucky stars that it was me who heard her speaking ill of Michael. If it had been Gabriel, Sariel, or Timotel... Well, you'd have to find yourself another partner.

With that, all the eyes disappeared and the screen went black again, allowing Charlie and Vaggie to let out a sigh they didn't realize they were holding. "Well... That was..." Charlie began to say, her demonic features fading away.

"Yeah... Should we stay in the room?" Vaggie asked as she took out her phone, noticing that 50 minutes had already passed since the break began.

"Yes, I think that would be best," Charlie replied, intertwining her fingers with Vaggie's and walking towards their seats.

The minutes passed, and little by little the room began to fill up again. Most arrived making noise as they went to sit in their respective places, relaxing in their seats, some discovering that they were reclining seats and lying down in them.

Everyone waited for the screen to start displaying Michael's words, but they never came. A minute passed. Two minutes passed. Four minutes passed. And finally, ten minutes passed without any message.

“Hey, what the hell is going on?!” Adam complained when he saw that the screen was still black. “Weren't we going to see how great he was in Eden?!”

“Ha! You wish!” Lucifer laughed at Adam, while indirectly glancing at Charlie, who simply ignored him, making Lucifer a little depressed.

Stop fighting, Michael is still busy.

Purple text began to appear on the screen.

You know? I still don't understand why he's doing all this, but whatever. I'm on my free time, so he asked me to continue where he left off.

“Archangel,” Sera began to say in a ceremonial tone and with the utmost respect, “If it's not too much trouble, could you tell us your name? So far we've only met Michael, so having another archangel speaking to us is a great honor.”

Charlie and Vaggie shifted uncomfortably in their seats, suppressing a gasp of surprise when they saw two tiny blue eyes appear on the backs of the seats in front of them. The eyes simply blinked before disappearing again.

I have no reason to give my name. Just because Michael introduced himself doesn't mean we all have to. Seriously, my older brother is terrible at commanding respect.

Many remained silent as they read how this other archangel spoke of Michael. Although no one could discern any clear emotion from the words on the screen, it was like watching a younger sibling trying to act mature while the older one wasn't taking anything seriously.

Anyway, as I said, I'm on my free time and I plan to enjoy it. So sit back and enjoy, I have things to do.

After that, the screen went blank.

"Hey! Weren't you supposed to bring the rest of my girls?!" Adam complained, but received no answer.

The screen flickered back on, and the first thing they saw was Michael walking through the Silver City.

Michael walked through the Silver City with tranquility. His body was still wrapped in the same white toga he had materialized when he was created. The robe clung to his perfectly sculpted body, muscles evident but with a slender figure that allowed for easy movement and agility. His gaze was serene and calm, his eyes focused only on the path ahead.

There were no loud sounds, only the relaxing sound of the breeze passing through the metal structures and the soft thud of his bare feet on the ground as he walked.

“Brother!” The serenity was broken by a feminine cry and the sound of footsteps running towards Michael.

“Gabriel,” Michael said gently, smiling calmly as he turned to see his sister running towards him.

Gabriel was a beautiful woman, with long, straight yellow hair and a slender figure with perfect proportions. Two gold bracelets rested on her right wrist, while a gold ring encircled her left arm, and a second gold ring adorned her left thigh. She was dressed in a simple white toga that hugged her figure and highlighted her attributes, while her blue eyes reflected a childlike innocence despite her adult body.

“Heavens, I’d forgotten how beautiful Gabriel was,” Charlie commented after seeing the creation of the 100 archangels; she had forgotten the appearance and names of some of them.

“Well, all the archangels were created to be beautiful,” Lucifer said, trying to strike up a conversation with Charlie. “Of course, I’m more beautiful than the others! Even if that screen doesn’t show it!”

Charlie simply observed her father for a few moments, ignoring him for the time being and focusing back on the screen. Lucifer just let out a sigh of disappointment, shrinking a little in his seat.

“I still don’t understand how those majestic beings are so feared,” Angel Dust commented, just as amazed as the others by Gabriel’s appearance.

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Sera said, glancing at Angel Dust. “The fact that they look like that doesn’t make them any less dangerous; an archangel is the elite of Heaven, after all.”

“Brother, look what I made!” Gabriel materialized a canvas, and on it was a perfectly detailed and painted solar system. “Father said I should learn about the parts of existence to deliver the messages he and The Maker wanted to communicate. So Adam and Lilith suggested I paint the cosmos! Do you like it?!”

“It’s beautiful, Gabriel,” Michael said, his smile remaining one of kindness and tranquility as his eyes reflected the love he felt for all his siblings.

“Do you think Father will like it?” Gabriel asked hopefully.

“Father is a busy man, Gabriel,” Michael said, gently taking the canvas and, with a wave of his hand, making it disappear. “I’ll keep it safe and show it to him when he has time, deal?” Gabriel just nodded excitedly while Michael chuckled softly. “Good, now go join the others.”

“Gabriel is so sweet!” Emily exclaimed excitedly, watching Gabriel interact with Michael. “And Michael is so kind!”

“Hmph, of course Michael is good” Lute retorted, arms crossed, just as annoyed as Adam at the absence of the other exorcists. “He's the strongest archangel, after all.”

Gabriel ran away from the scene, allowing Michael to continue walking, only for another sound to stop him. “Brother! Sariel pulled another one of her pranks!” This time it was a male voice shouting.

A blond-haired, purple-eyed angel was running towards Michael. The archangel was about two centimeters shorter than Michael. His body was more slender than his older brother's, he didn't have any noticeable muscles, and like the previous two, his body was wrapped in a white toga. A necklace with a golden cross adorned with emeralds hung from his neck.

“Raphael, what did Sariel do now?” Michael asked, stopping in his tracks as he watched his younger brother run towards him.

“She took one of the flowers Lilith gave me and hid it in Tamael's room,” Raphael began to explain, stopping in front of his older brother. “It's not fair that she does things like that.”

“Yes, it's not fair, and where is Sariel right now?” Michael asked.

“I... I don't know,” Raphael admitted, defeated, looking at the ground.

“You need to train a little more, Raphael,” Michael said, stretching out his arm to grab something behind him. His hand closed in the air, and soon a woman with long purple hair, light blue eyes, and a figure that rivaled Gabriel's materialized. The woman was dressed in the same white toga that all the angels wore, only hers had some obsidian jewels embedded in it. Michael had the woman by her white tunic, gently pulling her in front of him and next to Raphael. “Sariel…”

“It's not fair, nobody can surprise you,” Sariel retorted to Michael, pouting slightly.

“That's because it's me, Sariel,” Michael countered with a small laugh. “Now apologize to Raphael.”

“I'm sorry, Raphael,” Sariel apologized, looking away so as not to look at her brother directly.

“You're not even looking at me!”

Some laughed at the scene displayed on the screen, Adam grew irritated seeing how the focus was on the archangels and not on him or Eden. Lucifer simply watched the scene with a mixture of sadness and anger; although it wasn't the heaven he remembered, it still pained him to see this version of his older brother treating the rest of his siblings with such gentleness.

Charlie, for her part, looked longingly at the man who was supposed to be her uncle. He wasn't like Vaggie, Lute, Adam, or Lucifer had described him. What she saw was the ideal older brother, the one who always made time for his family no matter what.

And for a moment, she allowed herself to dream: if she were to meet her uncle, truly meet him and not just see the messages he left on the screen, would he support her idea of ​​the hotel to redeem sinners? Would he listen to her and offer support where other angels had only ignored her and called her naive?

Emily observed how Charlie's eyes seemed to sparkle as she watched Michael's figure on the screen. And she, too, allowed herself to dream that if she managed to speak with Michael, she would ask and beg him to give his support to Charlie.

“Okay, now tell me, Sariel, did Lucifer help you with your prank?” Michael asked, smiling, extending his hand and grasping another piece of air.

From the piece of air materialized Lucifer, who was trying to escape, his brown hair shining just as it did when he was created. His brown eyes reflected surprise at being caught by his white toga, and from his left ear hung a gold earring with a flame-shaped ruby. He moved his feet frantically, trying to escape, but Michael's grip was strong enough to keep him in place.

“I told you to stay away,” Sariel reprimanded him when he saw that his accomplice had been caught.

“I was far away,” Lucifer said, finally giving up and walking to stand beside Sariel.

“Yes, you were,” Michael said, releasing Lucifer. “Now, Lu, you apologize too.”

Lucifer felt a pang in his heart seeing the love with which Michael treated his other self. It was painful to see a Michael who wasn't the cold general, the perfect warrior, the most loyal son of God. It hurt him to know that another version of himself could enjoy the older brother he secretly longed to have.

Charlie observed her father's reaction with a touch of sadness. Despite everything, it pained her to see her father hurt, and seeing this "improved" version of who was supposed to be his older brother must undoubtedly hurt him deeply.

“I’m sorry, Raphael,” Lucifer said, still looking at the ground.

“You’re not looking at me either!” Raphael complained, lightly tapping the ground with his bare foot.

Michael, Sariel, and Lucifer shared a small laugh. “Alright, you three, Lucifer, Sariel, go get Raphael’s flower from Tamael’s room. Raphael, go to your room and get some rest.”

With that, the three younger archangels ran off to carry out their older brother’s orders. Before Michael could continue on his way, he turned to look at a specific spot. “Azrael, you can come out now.”

In front of Michael appeared a man of similar height. Neat black hair, blue eyes, a physique similar to Michael’s, and a more slender build. His white toga hugged his body, while on his right arm was a single golden ring, with several blue agates embedded all around it. “Brother.”

“Is there something you wanted to ask me?” Michael asked, his voice never losing the gentleness and love with which he spoke to the rest of his brothers.

“No, I was just watching,” Azrael replied neutrally, his icy blue eyes reflecting no emotion whatsoever.

Charlie and Vaggie shivered in their seats as they watched the archangel who had threatened them just minutes before—well, he had threatened Vaggie. He lived up to every image they had imagined of him: a cold, distant being, with an appearance that screamed he could kill you at any moment.

“God, Michael could learn a thing or two from his brothers,” Velvette complained, noticing that the other archangels wore jewelry while Michael had nothing to make him stand out, aside from his supernatural beauty that could overshadow the rest who did wear jewelry. “His outfit is TOTALLY boring. If he came to me, I’d give him a great suit. Something that screamed he’s the big boss of them all.” She boasted arrogantly.

“Well, it’s not like he needs it,” Angel Dust said, his eyes never leaving Michael’s figure. As he glanced at Azrael, a chill ran down his spine, a chill that seemed to warn him not to look at him any longer than necessary, or he would end up dead.

“Did all those orgies destroy your brain?” Velvette scoffed, looking at Angel Dust with a cynical smile. “It’s not that he needs it, it’s just that it’s boring to see him without anything.”

“I see,” Michael said, approaching Azrael. “And what do you think of what you saw?” he asked, tilting his head with a smile.

“Lucifer and Sariel are still very immature. Gabriel is too expressive. Raphael is too emotional,” Azrael offered his observation of how Michael interacted with the rest of his siblings.

“And you are very reserved,” Michael said, placing his hand on Azrael's head and ruffling his hair.

Azrael lowered his head for a moment, his eyes, which had previously shown coldness and lack of emotion, now showed embarrassment. He didn't know how to answer, so he just let his older brother continue playing with his hair.

“Alright, now go and socialize with the others. I'm sure Jakariel would appreciate your presence,” Michael said, letting go of his little brother's hair.

Michael started to walk away, but was stopped by Azrael's call, “Brother…!” Azrael began, pausing for a moment as Michael turned to look at him with a questioning expression. “…When you come back… can you practice swordsmanship with me?”

Michael looked at Azrael for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle. “If that's what my younger brother wants, I'll gladly help him.”

“They’re just kids,” Charlie said, seeing Azrael’s reaction. Yes, she had felt a profound fear when he deliberately threatened Vaggie with death, so she could only wonder, what happened to make him start behaving like this?

“Don’t be fooled, Charlie,” Lucifer said, watching the screen with a touch of sadness. He wondered if Michael was just as good, if perhaps his time in Hell had distorted his memories of his older brother.

“That can’t be the same archangel who threatened me,” Vaggie refused to believe that the Azrael who acted like a socially awkward, maladjusted child was the same Azrael who had promised to finish what Adam and Lute had started years ago.

“He’s… like me…” Sir Pentious thought, watching Azrael, remembering how difficult it had been for him to make friends in his childhood.

In his childhood, Pentious had great difficulty forming real bonds with other children his age. His mother was a servant to several prominent people, and his father was not a present figure in his life. Because of this, his mother had to take him with her to clean the various houses where she worked.

Being socially inept was already a difficulty, but on top of that, there was the economic disparity he experienced with the other children he interacted with, so he never made any true friends and took refuge in science and his inventions.

When his mother died of tuberculosis, he used his ingenuity and his mother's former clients to sell his products and thus continue living in relative comfort.

Even so, he never formed true bonds, neither as a child nor as an adult. That's why he appreciated Charlie and the other inhabitants of the hotel so much; they not only accepted him but also believed in him. They were his first real friends in his entire existence.

Michael continued walking, stopping whenever one of his brothers approached him to talk. His tone never changed; he remained just as kind and courteous to each and every one of them.

He encountered Seraphiel, who showed him a machine that could make cakes after Adam and Lilith suggested they could make more food if they combined what they already had.

He met Timael, who showed him that he was practicing a new fighting style.

He met Farael, who showed him that he had discovered a new way to use celestial circles.

Each and every one of them went to Michael to show him their new creations, and Michael was always amazed and appreciative of everything his brothers showed him. Even so, there was one question, something that each and every one of his brothers asked Michael.

“Do you think Father will like it?”

And Michael always answered in the same way, with the same serene smile and gentle tone that only an older brother could convey:

“Father is busy, but I love it.”

They listened as the narrator explained the following minutes while the screen fast-forwarded through the interactions with the other archangels. With each and every one of the remaining 95 archangels. Each of them was dressed in the same white toga, each having different hair and eye colors. And each of them wore some kind of jewelry somewhere on their body, displaying their jewelry openly and proudly, all except Michael, who wore no jewelry at all.

“God! Michael is so sweet and cool!” Emily said with a big smile, watching admiringly the devotion and love Michael showed for the rest of his brothers. “Sera! Is the Michael from our universe the same?!” She asked, excited to meet who was supposed to be her older brother.

Sera remained silent at Emily's question. She tried to remember if her Michael had ever behaved that way. The archangels from where they came weren't exactly the most approachable; they were very withdrawn and never interacted with other angels outside of their own close-knit group.

They weren't bad, but they were quite serious. They never did anything unless they received explicit orders from God to do so. Even during the time of Eden, they never spoke more than necessary with angels of lower ranks. After Lucifer's fall, they became even more withdrawn from the rest of heaven. The last time she interacted with one of them was five thousand years ago when Adam died and arrived at the golden gates.

Michael finally spoke with each and every one of his 99 brothers, and now he was walking down a closed corridor that was barely illuminated by a few lights. His face still reflected the same serenity and gentleness he had shown his brothers, but as soon as his face was obscured by a pillar, his expression changed.

Now it was an expression of seriousness, almost coldness. His multicolored eyes had now frozen into a single blue color. His posture changed to a more rigid and upright one, his smile vanished, and only neutrality remained.

He continued on his way until he passed through a door, and beyond the door was a huge room with multiple monitors on every wall. In the center sat a golden throne on which Veril was seated, several cables connected to his terminal while hundreds of characters flashed across each and every screen at high speed, making them impossible to comprehend.

"Ha! If that's all it takes to manage existence, then I could do it without a problem!" Vox boasted upon seeing the multitude of screens connected to Veril's terminal. It reminded him of how he managed Tower V in Hell, and he was more than sure that he could do a job a thousand times better than Veril's.

"Ha! We all know you'd mess it up," Alastor said in his radio voice, looking at Vox with his mocking smile while the TV demon only glared at him angrily, blood trickling from the corner of his lips due to the anger he felt at that moment.

Something that few noticed was the change in tone that Michael seemed to undergo as soon as he passed the pillar. How his entire posture changed, how he left the facade of the older brother behind and now seemed to be the general that everyone feared.

Lucifer, in particular, felt a strong aversion, and although he would never admit it, a profound fear, upon observing his brother's transformation. It was the same way Michael had looked at him as he and Lilith fell into Hell. The same blue eyes that looked at them both with indifference before turning around and continuing to kill the rest of the beings who had supported him in his rebellion. That was the Michael he remembered, not the false mask he wore outside that room. Michael would never be the ideal, loving older brother that the screen portrayed, he would never be... right?

“Father,” Michael knelt before Veril, his gaze fixed on the ground as he awaited orders. “The rest of my brothers have been practicing the things you instructed. If you have a moment…” he began, as a small portal opened and he started to retrieve Gabriel's drawing.

“I don’t have time for that, Michael, but it’s good to know they’re following orders,” Veril said, still seated.

Michael simply nodded, putting Gabriel's drawing away again. His eyes softened for a moment, showing a hint of disappointment before hardening once more. A terminal appeared before him with a list of orders for him and the rest of his brothers. Michael sighed, beginning to modify the list on the terminal.

He took all the tasks assigned to his brothers and transferred them directly to himself. He took one last look at the list, making sure his brothers had no more tasks and that all of them had been successfully transferred to him. “Understood, Father, your orders will be carried out,” he replied, rising and walking towards the exit.

“What’s wrong with that fucker?!” Angel Dust complained, seeing the coldness with which Veril had treated Michael. “One of his sons wants to show him something and he ignores him?!”

In a way, it reminded him of how his own father had treated him and his siblings. The way he insulted and belittled them only to beat them afterward. Seeing that same scene happen to the most beautiful being in existence made his blood boil with anger.

“Father…” Michael stopped at the door and turned to look at Veril. “…When I return, I’m going to train with Azrael. And I thought that afterward, I could do a public training demonstration for the rest of my brothers with the help of Azrael, Tamael, Gabriel, Lucifer, Seraphiel, Raphael, Sariel, Timotel, Farael, and Jakariel… If you have time, I would like you to be there to see it.”

Veril didn't respond for a few seconds, still very busy with whatever he was doing. “If I have time, I'll be there.”

Michael simply smiled like a proud child, his blue eyes once again showing all the colors of existence. “Thank you very much, Father, I look forward to seeing you there and making you proud of us,” he said, bowing before leaving the room.

Both Angel Dust and Lucifer felt great anger and pain at seeing the coldness Veril showed towards Michael. It wasn't fair, even Lucifer could agree on that.

“That jerk doesn't deserve Michael!” Angel could clearly see the signs of emotional abuse that Michael was suffering at that moment; they were too obvious to ignore.

“Angel, maybe he's just very busy,” Charlie said in Veril's defense, trying to justify the coldness with which he was treating Michael.

Lucifer remained silent and began to think about his own past. He didn't remember his father being so... cold, even when he interacted with the rest of his siblings, his father always showed interest in their affairs.

Did the Michael of his universe act the same way as this Michael he was observing on the screen? Being the buffer between a father who didn't know how to love and the rest of his siblings? Did his Michael act so cold and rigid so that his father would only see his mistakes and not those of the rest of his siblings? Did... Michael cry when his father gave the order for him to be cast out into hell?

No, it couldn't be. Michael was cold and distant. God will always be cold and distant. He refused to believe that someone other than himself had also been a victim of the neglect of a father who couldn't understand his own creation.

“I agree with Angel!” Cherri Bomb shouted, also getting up from her seat, “Nobody deserves to go through that!”

“Sera, is our God the same?” Emily asked sadly, seeing how Michael clung like a wounded dog to his master.

“I... I don't know, Emily,” Sera admitted, also hurt by the treatment Michael was receiving. Even so, she found the unwavering loyalty Michael was showing to his creator noble; such loyalty and devotion should be worthy of admiration and an example to follow.

Lute, Vox, Husk, and Alastor noticed the unhealthy amount of tasks that Michael had taken upon himself. Although everything happened quickly, they noticed that each archangel had at least ten tasks to complete. Therefore, Michael was going to have to handle a thousand tasks all by himself.

Alastor, in particular, was fascinated. He found it amusing to watch the perfect archangel self-destruct, taking on a thousand tasks all by himself without asking for anything in return. That naiveté reminded him of Charlie, but taken to the extreme, and he could only wait to see him collapse under the weight of heaven.

In Eden, Adam and Lilith were resting under a tree. Adam was holding apple slices while Lilith rested in his lap, eating the apple slices that Adam offered her.

“Hahaha! I finally appear!” Adam said, getting up from his seat, happy to finally be on the scene.

“Good timing, sir,” Lute said with a smile, still seated.

Everything would have continued as normal, if it weren't for the fact that the skies turned golden. Both Adam and Lilith rose from their places, their golden eyes shining with excitement at the sight of the sky glowing.

“It's Michael!” Adam shouted like an excited child, recognizing the color the sky took on when Michael descended.

“What could be the reason for his presence? I thought Setariel and Askariel would be the ones to come today,” Lilith wondered as she watched Michael's figure descend, his six golden wings shining in all their splendor.

Lucifer and Charlie felt a pang in their hearts as they watched the scene between Adam and Lilith. It wasn't how Charlie had imagined it, or how Lucifer remembered it. They weren't fighting, they weren't arguing, they weren't clashing over ideologies. They simply... existed together, yes, that was the best way to describe it.

They didn't show much overt affection, they weren't resigned to being with each other, they simply felt comfortable in each other's presence in a way neither of them had expected.

For his part, Adam was also questioning his own memories of Eden. He didn't remember him and Lilith being so close at the beginning. That they enjoyed each other's company, that they behaved like... a couple? No, well, even he wasn't sure how they were behaving on the screen.

He was also surprised to see himself acting so childish and innocent. He was disgusted to know that he had once been like that, but at the same time, he felt something akin to nostalgia seeing his younger, more naive self.

“Adam, Lilith,” Michael began, landing gently on the grass, “It’s good to see you’re both well. I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m doing here.”

“Not really, I’m just happy you’re here,” Adam said happily, running to hug Michael.

“I am,” Lilith questioned, still keeping her distance, “Weren’t Setariel and Askariel supposed to come today?”

Michael chuckled softly, ruffling Adam’s hair and turning to look at Lilith. “Yes, it was their turn, but I decided to take it,” Michael replied calmly. “Father gave me some tasks I need to complete, so I won’t be able to come for my shift with Lucifer in a few weeks.  Most likely, you won’t see me for about two months, so I decided to come down today.”

Lilith simply nodded, approaching Michael and giving him a hug as well when Adam let go. “That’s a long time,” Adam whined like a child.

“It’s only two months, you’ll see, it’ll go by quickly,” Michael assured them.

“Do you promise?” Lilith asked, looking into Michael’s eyes.

“I promise on my honor as an angel and older brother.”

Charlie felt a sense of tenderness watching the exchange between the first humans and the greatest archangel of all. In those days, heaven didn't seem distant; the angels were close to humans and spoke with them regularly. They even spent entire days in Eden, apparently taking turns.

Lute and Vaggie noticed how Michael referred to himself as "angel" and not "archangel." It seemed strange to them that he didn't use the title and name by which all of heaven knew the celestial hierarchy.

"Lilith, tell Michael what we discussed yesterday," Adam said excitedly as he watched Lilith and Michael separate from their embrace.

"What you discussed yesterday?" Michael questioned. Yesterday had been Asmadael and Uriel's turn to come down and watch over them, making sure they didn't eat the forbidden fruit, but when they gave their report, they never mentioned Adam and Lilith discussing anything.

"Well, it's a little embarrassing," Lilith admitted, clutching her arm and looking at the ground with some embarrassment as a blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Not at all! It's something great!" Adam encouraged her, but seeing his wife's shyness, he took over. "Well, we were thinking about what you told us last time. That your father planned to create more angels, so we came up with a way to differentiate them without using names," he began to explain happily.

"Oh? And how would that be?" Michael asked curiously.

"Well... In the language we're creating, 'arch' means first," Lilith found the courage to speak. "So we thought of referring to you and your 99 brothers as 'archangels,' the first angels to be created."

“Lilith is so cute!” Emily exclaimed, seeing how Lilith blushed about saying the name she had chosen for the archangels.

“What? No, humans didn't give us the name archangel,” Sera was having her third identity crisis.

“I agree with Sera,” Lucifer said. “It wasn't Lilith, or Adam, who named us. When Father created us, he said we would be called archangels.” He began to doubt his own memories again; he didn't remember his wife, if they were still married, being the one who nicknamed them archangels.

Charlie just watched the screen silently, gripping her seat tightly. After seven years, this was the closest "interaction" she'd had with her mother. Seeing her this way, so innocent, before all the events of Eden unfolded, was comforting in a way. Knowing that she was once just as idealistic as herself, knowing that at the beginning she lived in peace with the divine, brought her great happiness and reinforced her idea of ​​redemption.

Even so, she couldn't help but glance at her father out of the corner of her eye. She knew she shouldn't judge, that she didn't know the whole story, but still, her mother looked so happy there, so she couldn't help but wonder, why did her father decide to ruin that by feeding her the forbidden fruit?

No, her parents loved each other, they must have loved each other, otherwise Lilith would never have eaten the fruit that Lucifer offered her. So she just had to keep watching, to see what happened in Eden that made her mother decide to follow her father in his rebellion against the oppressive system of heaven... Although from what she could see, heaven was many things, but oppressive wasn't one of them.

For his part, Adam watched the scene unfolding on the screen with resentment. Beneath his mask, he was clenching his teeth tightly with anger, with contempt, with... longing? More than five thousand years had made his memory as unreliable as Lucifer's. Sometimes, when he slept, he had memories of Eden, but all the memories were of him fighting with Lilith, arguing about things he never remembered upon waking. With each dream, his conviction grew stronger that extermination was justified, that because of Lilith and Lucifer paradise had been ruined, and now they had to pay.

But now he saw this, this version of himself, one who doesn't claim Lilith as his own, who doesn't boast of Lilith as a trophy. This version of himself treats her as an equal, and therefore he began to question his memories from more than five thousand years ago. Had there been anything more than fighting between him and Lilith in Eden? Had he been happy with her at some point? What was the real reason they became enemies when they seemed so happy together?

From beneath his mask, he glanced at Lute. Yes, Lute reinforced all his resentment towards Lilith and hell. That was all that mattered. That was all that mattered. That was all that mattered... Was that all...?

“I see, so you would be arch-humans?” Michael asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Adam and Lilith exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter, while Michael watched their interaction with bewilderment. Had he said something funny?

“Of course not,” Adam said, finally recovering from his fit of laughter. “As the one who names things, I decree that that name is awful for us.”

“Yes, I agree with Adam,” Lilith said, also stopping her laughter and wiping a small tear from her eye. “It’s a horrible name. We prefer to remain human.”

Some of them chuckled at Michael’s innocence and how imperfect he was at understanding human things. They found it endearing, and to a certain extent, it relieved them to know that someone like him wasn’t immune to making social blunders.

“Very well, then I swear it on my honor as an archangel,” Michael said, smiling again, kneeling before the two humans. “You will be known as humans, I and the rest of the archangels will protect you, we will cherish this name you have given us, and I promise to return in less than two months.”

“Come on, Michael, get up,” Adam said with a suppressed laugh, helping Michael to his feet with Lilith’s assistance.

“Yes, this is your last day here for the next two months, so we have to enjoy it as much as possible,” Lilith said, beginning to pull Michael along with Adam. The arms of both humans were intertwined with those of the first archangel, all three smiling without a care in the world. “I discovered this new fruit you have to try.”

The rest of the day, Michael spent with the first humans, going wherever they led him. Trying everything Lilith offered him, learning the names of the new animals that Adam had named. It was just another day in Eden, one of many.

The narrator had returned, explaining what was happening in the scenes that advanced quickly or were directly cut, jumping from one scene to another.

“Very nice and all, but when are they going to fuck?” Valentino asked, earning a glare from everyone in the room. Lucifer, in particular, was looking at him with fury, and if it weren't for the fact that part of his punishment was not being able to harm sinners, he would have already pulverized him. “What? I can't be the only one who thinks that, three half-naked beings, alone, in a paradisiacal place… Angel, prepare your holes! I have an idea for my next movie!” He yelled at Angel Dust, smiling sadistically.

Vox coughed loudly, grabbing Valentino by the ear and pulling him down. “Val,” he said with false kindness, his eye beginning to emit its hypnotic waves. “Not now.” Now his voice was more laden with anger; the last thing he wanted was to be on the wrong side of the King of Hell.

“Well, I wouldn't consider myself the best archangel,” Michael said, eating an apple while Adam and Lilith gathered more fruit. “For example, Gabriel is more expressive than me. Azrael is more efficient than me. Sariel is more stealthy than me. I wouldn't consider myself the strongest either. Lucifer is quite strong on his own; he's the one who shines the brightest of all of us, so I'm sure he'll surpass me at some point.”

Lucifer bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He couldn't accept that the most feared being in heaven and hell, the one whose mere name instilled terror in the most corrupt beings of hell, the one whose authority was second only to God's, the one who was his older brother, was lowering himself to such a level.

Michael must be lying, that's all Lucifer could think. He couldn't accept that his older brother was placing so much faith in him. He couldn't accept that Michael saw him and thought he could be better than him, even though Lucifer himself was convinced he was. He couldn't accept... He couldn't accept that deep, buried part of himself that looked at the screen and his older brother's face with fear, that part that thought he had disappointed the being who had the most faith in him.

Vaggie watched the scene with distrust, gripping her arms tightly, her nails digging into her skin until small drops of blood appeared. Michael couldn't be this good, he couldn't be so gentle with everyone. Michael was cruel and infallible, he followed orders no matter how cruel they seemed. That was all the indoctrination the exorcists received from Adam and Lute.

She couldn't accept that the Michael who cared for and remembered ninety-nine brothers was the same one Adam and Lute talked about in the past. After all, if he was the same Michael, why didn't he retaliate against Adam and Lute when they mutilated her and left her in hell? Why did he allow Adam and Lute to be so cruel to the other exorcists?

She also couldn't allow herself to believe for even a second that Adam was ever innocent and loving. The one who was in Eden couldn't be the same one who would lead annual exterminations. The same arrogant, narcissistic, self-centered, sadistic, and misogynistic guy she knew couldn't be the same kind, innocent being the screen showed.

Charlie just watched her father and girlfriend have an existential crisis, and for the first time, she didn't know what to do. Despite everything, she was smart enough to know that trying to talk to them or calm them down would only result in both of them erupting in anger, saying how everything was unfair and that the screen was lying. At this moment, she felt useless.

“Come on, Michael, you can’t think so little of yourself,” Adam said, climbing down from the tree with some mangoes. “You’re the coolest archangel of all!”

“Yes, you’re the sweetest, the most thoughtful, the most loving, the most beautiful, you’re perfection,” Lilith agreed with Adam, helping him carry the mangoes.

“Haha, I appreciate your words, but I seriously think my brothers surpass me in every aspect,” Michael said with a smile, finishing his apple and helping them carry the mangoes. “Seriously, I want to see all my brothers shine brighter than me, and I’m more than sure they will.”

After that, they spent the rest of the day eating and chatting. Finally, Adam and Lilith shared a yawn, so they went to lie down in the shade of a tree. Michael followed them and sat between them, and both humans hugged him and snuggled up to him, Lilith a little more than Adam, all while Michael used his six wings to cover them and give them some shelter.

When both humans finally fell asleep, Michael simply appeared standing in front of them. There was no movement, no portal, they didn't see how he moved. It was as if he had always been standing there.

He began to walk, and a portal opened in front of him. Carefully, Michael stepped through the portal.

And the screen went dark.

“What a… fascinating power,” Alastor was amazed to witness Michael's brief display of power. It was as if reality itself had obeyed a single being and allowed him to move without moving.

Okay, sorry for not being present.

Again, golden letters began to appear on the screen.

I'm still busy, so I can't answer questions. Yes, I will bring those you requested, but I still need a little more time to finish my pending matters. The next screening will take place in a few hours. I've modified the lounge so there are more things besides food and drinks. I've also added an arcade and karaoke. Enjoy.