EVENT #18: EMERGENCE - IC EVENT LOG

[abraxasmods]

Event #18 - Emergence

OOC Plotting Post ⦁ Pre-Event Info ⦁ Setting Descriptions

Whether voluntary or by force, you find yourself transported to the Singularity's crater. There probably aren't many resistors - officials have taken great pains to convince you to come voluntarily, reserving force as a last resort - but it's clear that everyone is required for this to work. It takes multiple mages to stabilize the portal, but you make it there in one piece. If you cooperate, you'll be asked to walk towards the ancient relic. If you resisted, you might be forced to do so while restrained. Regardless, a heavy fog soon descends around the area, obscuring you and your vision.

If you have thoughts of turning back, it's too late: for some of you, the second you step across the threshold, a force pulls at your chest and absorbs your psyche at once. For others, a mystical call beckons you to walk a little further before the same effect takes hold. And for a rare few, the call brings you to the Singularity itself, where you're compelled to touch it - and are subsequently swallowed up like the others.

The Horizon doesn't greet you like you might expect. Instead, something far stranger awaits.

Please communicate with your fellow players as needed! We also recommend discussing with us if you plan on a major environmental upheaval. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid changes to the landscape that will significantly alter the established map.

We've also posted comment sections for WORLDBUILDING and HANDWAVED submissions. Instructions can be found at the respective links.

Year 20,879

When you open your eyes, it feels like you've only blinked. If your body has transformed or you're someplace that shouldn't exist, it doesn't strike you as odd. You were always here. Everything around you was always here, and your physical alterations and new abilities - while perhaps not originally there - have been a part of you for a long, long time.

The world of Abraxas isn't completely foreign. Familiar territories remain, as well as the familiar faces of those with long lifespans. But a lot has changed in 800 years, too, especially where the Gods are concerned. Alongside the Old Gods of the Ancient Pantheon and the Cardinal Gods of the New Order, a third class of deities formed from you and your fellow Summoned: the Ecesis Gods of the Iterum Pantheon.

Politics, People, & Gods

Abraxas's political landscape remains complex, with continued tensions over land, worship, resources, and power. Nonetheless, since the Free Cities is no longer intent on destroying the Singularity, conflict over the ancient relic has lessened. All territories agree that the Godlands - and the Singularity - belong to the Gods themselves.

Beliefs and Gods

The active presence of the Summoned confirms the existence of the Gods. As a result, most Abraxans turn to the Summoned and other Gods for aid or protection. Extreme reverence exists in certain areas, especially on the Isle of the Lost and in parts of Solvunn. In other places, though, the Gods are merely acknowledged as a facet of life - a force that helps or hinders depending on temperament and should be respected, much like the sea. The Gods play a crucial role, sure, but so do the rain and stars. This is particularly true in the Feywilds, the Nether, and the Free Cities.

Small pockets of non-believers actively denounce the Gods. They claim the Summoned should be wiped from the world and the Singularity destroyed to prevent future invasions. Labeled dangerous heretics by Thorne and Solvunn, and "regressives" by the Free Cities - whose scientists and philosophers liken such thinking to be as foolish as declaring the sun unworthy or the earth to be flat - these people are shunned from society. In Solvunn, the consequences are more severe: heretics are exiled to the Barren, where they are subsumed by the desert, the Maw, or whichever Gods may punish them.

At the other end, some sects revere the Godlands so much that they believe feeding themselves to the relic will enhance Abraxas' good fortune for generations to come. Such cults are quite rare, but there are reports of mortals throwing themselves into the Singularity's crater and disintegrating as a gesture of their devotion to the divine.

International Relations

Due to the combined change in their priorities, Thorne and the Free Cities are less at odds. The Free Cities believes in protecting the Singularity; Thorne no longer seeks to control it. Nonetheless, mistrust flares on occasion.

While things are peaceful during these three months and have been for a few decades, Abraxas hasn't found a cure for war in the Gods. Conflict has broken out in the past and will again. Eyes are on the Nether as it grows in power, and who knows how long Thorne will be content with its losses? Will they convince the Velan Republic to reunite and turn against the Free Cities? For now, though, the territories have found their stride and appear more interested in progress than fighting.

Magic & The Singularity

Magic is relatively unchanged and is a vital part of Abraxan life. The small kingdom of Thorne continues to practice Academic Magic. Meanwhile, Wild Magic plays the same important role in the Velan Republic (formally Nott). Meanwhile, the Free Cities has developed New Magic further. The goal of decoupling magic from technology is less of a focus. Instead, researchers are eager to find new ways to fuse magic and innovation, including aspects of the Gods. Portable shrines, for example, are popular with traveling merchants.

High Magic no longer exists as a specific school of magic now that offerings, pacts, and requests to the Gods are a part of everyday life across Abraxas. Solvunn has returned to its roots, using the ancient Academic Magic practiced by the Lunae for standard tasks while turning to the Gods for greater blessings.

The Singularity has been relatively stable for the past two or three centuries. While occasional disturbances rumble, for the most part, the presence of the Summoned has strengthened it, alleviating its displeasure and ensuring that Abraxas - and possibly the universe itself - continues to exist. Indeed, academic writings from Thorne and the Free Cities across time suggest that the Singularity's devouring of the world has considerably slowed. It is now as much of a threat as the eventual collapse of the sun, something that is bound to occur but not for eons.

Of course, this could quickly change if the Summoned or any other Gods provoke the Singularity by rejecting its connection or denying its magic...so all should take care not to upset the nature of things.

Old World, New World

The map of Abraxas has undergone some notable shifts, although many names and places are the same.

Setting descriptions are HERE for your reference.

Mechapolis, the Witchwood, and the Barren/the Maw contain prompts related to the event itself. Information about those areas can be found under "Exploring the Land" in the section The World as the Divine (Month 1-2).

Month 1-2: Submersion

What do you last remember? Well, that depends. You might recall most things perfectly clearly. You might have new memories that don't feel new at all. Or, you might only remember the most recent year or two. Regardless, there is something missing: an important face, a handful of key events...maybe you don't remember having ever lived anywhere except Abraxas. You might find this unsettling, or you might accept it as just the way things are.

You've transcended those old memories, anyhow. You feel a little distant from the person you were centuries ago, and you most likely look different, too. Perhaps you've sprouted giant wings, become a formless void, or you're now a shapeshifter with no permanent appearance. You've gained a substantial amount of power and influence, the type that people of this world attribute to the Gods.

The first half is a more sandbox-like environment designed for scenarios that emphasize CR and personal character moments. Active conflict between the emergent reality and the world will not arise until the second half.

The World as the Divine

The mortals have bestowed you with a title and possibly a new alias. Do you know your mortal name anymore? Some of you might've taken on a new identity, or you might have held very tightly onto who you were. Regardless, your abilities have grown. Your new powers and appearance are as unique as your dominion, influenced by your interests, subconscious desires, or personal relationships.

While in your full God form, you'll move through the world unperceived. Only when you're sought by a mortal - followers, believers, cultists - can you consciously make your complete divine presence known. To be seen freely by all, you'll have to take on a less overwhelming shape to the mortal gaze. Those who have met the Old Gods or Cardinal Gods in the past finally understand why they seldom reveal their true selves, often arriving in hazy visions or speaking through animals.

Exploring the Land

◎ The Witchwood

As the Summoned continued to ascend, their power began to coalesce, creating a new ecosystem never seen before. The dense woods, originally a temperate climate, warmed and grew into a thriving jungle. The air is humid and heavy with magic, the sky locked into an eternal sunset. Reds and oranges filter through the thick canopy. Birdcall and animal cries echo throughout the jungle. Trees and rocks seemingly move at night, meaning the Witchwood is impossible to map. Foolhardy souls who venture too deep are rarely seen again - unless divine intervention prevents a tragic fate from befalling them. Perhaps one of those intervening Gods is you?

The most dangerous beasts in the Witchwood are the demigod spawns. Creatures born from the Summoned, demigods are powerful enough to affect the world around them should they ever leave the magic-encased forest. See Impact & Consequences for more details on the demigods and how, as the Summoned, you can help maintain Abraxas' ecosystem.

◎ Mechapolis

Heartwood Syndrome persisted in Fomalhaut long after the quarantined population died out. The port city stood as a monument to loss for nearly a century until about 200 years in when the Summoned gained notable influence as Gods. This resulted in a slow but steady acceptance of the Singularity's power as a positive force for potential advancement. New Magic boomed, leading to increased sophistication in technology and the refinement of automatons.

Originally designed to clear and guard Fomalhaut, they were eventually used to rebuild it. Fomalhaut became known as the City of Machines and was renamed Mechapolis. Although humans are barred from entering for safety, the automatons gather soil and air samples for study and perform fishing duties. The clockworks require routine maintenance and must return to a hub city or outpost for recalibration. Clockwork birds are used to communicate with Mechapolis. They can broadcast through the Free Cities's primitive "radio" towers.

You can enhance clockwork performance, boosting the towers or providing additional energy to the automatons. Scientists often have "rituals" when performing maintenance or experiments to earn the Gods' favor, hoping this will prevent their inventions from breaking down.

◎ The Barren/The Badlands

Once contested territory between Thorne and the Free Cities, the Badlands was split into two by a large ravine shortly after Thorne retreated to Hayle. With neither side able to breach the gap, Solvunn naturally laid claim to the western half while the Free Cities retained its eastern half. On the eastern side, the chasm swallowed several well-known bandit camps and the presence of a new entity further drove them away. Bandits now occupy the mountains northeast of Aquila. Due to the entity's threat, the Free Cities increased its military presence in the Badlands to keep careless or foolish travelers from straying too far.

Meanwhile, Solvunn has named its portion of the wasteland the Barren and sought the Gods' assistance to form an enchanted forest. Those who enter are lost forever. Meant for more than just protection, the forest and the Barren serve as a place of exile. Heretics are taken into the woods and left to wander towards the Barren's harsh desert. There, they will face the elements, be devoured by the waiting Maw...or encounter a God.

As a God, you can lead the exiles to their salvation or doom, but choose carefully: the Maw is hungry and must be fed. These exiles want you dead. They don't care for you, and should their lack of faith spread, they might revive attempts to destroy the Singularity - and with it, your home. Is it so wrong to leave them to their fate? On the other hand, saving them might convert them by demonstrating your kindness.

◎ The Maw

The Maw lurks beneath the chasm dividing the Badlands. Named for its gaping jaws, the Maw waits at the widest part of a jagged canyon, mouth open and salivating in the desert heat. Rows and rows of teeth as tall as a man spiral downward into a bloodshot throat. When sated, it retreats deep into the gully, barely visible aside from the shine of a tooth. When hungry, it draws closer to the surface. Hot and heavy winds often carry the putrid scent of its half-digested meals.

Solvunn is not the only territory that uses the Maw. The Free Cities will occasionally march criminals and bandits in that direction, as well, tossing them into the gaping mouth, although this method of execution is much rarer. Desperate exiles from Solvunn will try to cross the chasm despite the danger. None ever make it - at least, not without divine intervention.

Horizon, "Death," and Dormancy

Your domain in the Horizon is no longer constrained by size. How it's changed depends on you. The more detached from your mortality, the more likely it'll have surrealist elements: bizarre statues, physics-defying architecture, odd visual or psychological effects. The Horizon feels like home to all Gods, although you ought to take care not to heed its call beyond reason. Shutting yourself off from the physical world can result in unintended consequences...but completely refusing to enter the Horizon will do the same.

Additionally, Gods are beyond true death, but that doesn't mean you can act with impunity. Engaging in an exhaustive battle with other Gods can weaken you into dormancy. In this state, you will enter an ethereal void inside the Singularity. As you heal, you'll slowly be able to return to your Horizon domain and then the physical world once more. Depending on the extent of the damage, this process could take anywhere from months to decades. For instance, losing your head could take a few months, total dismemberment might take a year, and being vaporized into atoms can take a few decades.

Mortals cannot achieve this level of damage, even if they seemingly "succeed" in striking true. Only a God can weaken another God into dormancy. If a mortal removes your head, you can merely pick it up and put it back on.

Impact & Consequences

In the early years of your ascension, you might've wondered why the existing Gods seemingly intervened so little. Why did they not demonstrate their powers more blatantly over the thousands of years? Is it apathy? A desire to watch rather than act? As you come into your abilities, you realize that the Singularity and the universe are significantly more delicate than you thought. You begin to understand why the Gods have behaved the way they do.

Of course, whether you care to keep the world (and yourself) in balance is another story, but to be sure, some of the other Gods and the Summoned do - and you may have to defend your choices.

The equilibrium mechanic is described in OOC terms HERE. The Singularity and a character's ascension will not inherently sway them one way or the other. Any temptations will result from individual personality and development.

Instability Effects

To maintain the universe's equilibrium, you need to be cautious of when and how you interfere when using your status to alter the state of the world. Conversely, you'll also need to take care not to withdraw entirely. Several Gods have undergone periods of instability, though others haven't. Which category you fall under is up to you. It depends on who you are, your experiences, and your desires.

◎ Should you refuse to ACKNOWLEDGE your Godhood or enter the Horizon, you'll find yourself losing time. You may forget how you got from one place to another, or names you knew yesterday slip your mind. Lapses in memory or time can be temporary or permanent, but one thing they are is certainly confusing. With magic building inside you and nowhere for it to go, your power will begin to spill over, causing the Singularity to exhibit bursts of power that spawn demigods in the Witchwood.

◎ Should you give into the temptation to OVERINDULGE your Godhood or retreat to the Horizon for excessive periods, you'll lose more of yourself and your history. You may make decisions that feel unlike you, forget larger chunks of old memories, or struggle to distinguish what's real. Unrestrained use of magic will cause you to absorb yet more power, causing the Singularity to lose power in brief spurts, which can spawn demigods in the Witchwood.

These effects can be halted or even reversed in some cases. You might need someone's help to bring you back or convince you there's another way, or maybe you're the one seeking others out to assist. What you do soon understand is that your ability to manage your powers and stabilize your connection to the Horizon directly affects the Singularity and Abraxas...something that may have been true the moment you were summoned.

Demigod Spawns

Under the red haze of the Witchwood, monstrous creatures known as demigods or spawns emerge from crimson waterfalls and claw their out through the mossy soil. Born out of instabilities caused by careless actions from all Gods, they're usually contained to the Witchwood. For the most part, the older Gods - and the Summoned, if they choose - keep the demigods from leaving. However, now and again, one or two might escape, damaging towns, destroying villages, or causing ecological destruction in ways that are similar to natural disasters.

Demigods are not sentient. How they look can vary, but their appearances are often corrupted and disturbing: twisted animals, amorphous blobs, or alien-like parasites. They may resemble a monster you recognize from home.

Defeating one is possible but a challenge even for the Gods. Most crucially, you cannot kill your own spawn. Another God must deliver the killing blow, so working together is imperative. Should too many demigod spawns be allowed to invade the Witchwood, they will overwhelm and disrupt the Singularity further. Culling them is the only way to maintain stability.

You can submit demigod spawns you create to the WORLDBUILDING section if you want. Similar to using character powers, just keep the scale of destruction at a reasonable level.

Hearing Echoes

Echoes are a form of prayer that resonates through your connection with the Singularity. Solvunn has dedicated a monument to where the "First Echo" was heard, though the accuracy of this is debatable. Like the Network, you can hear an Echo regardless of where you are and can shut them out with concentration. However, your ties to Godhood may compel you to listen every so often. Mortals can entreat you through more formal methods (rituals, offerings, seasonal ceremonies) or in a moment of duress or desperation. They may seek you specifically or call to any God who will listen.

You can answer or ignore these cries for help as you like, but your choices carry consequences. Answer too many too eagerly, and your increased interference in mortal lives can upset the world's equilibrium - and the Singularity. Ignore your impact on the world, and your refusal to accept your ascension will equally destabilize the land as prayers go unheard.

Interacting with Other Gods

The Old Gods and the Cardinal Gods are an equal part of this world. For the most part, you coexist peacefully, though personal pacts and tensions can play a role. Each of you is aware of the impact of your actions on the Singularity: extreme displays of power are reserved for substantial transgressions, considering the price it carries.

Further, the older Gods have also walked the earth for centuries before you came. To them, you're still young, and rising against one of them won't end well for you. Nonetheless, many older Gods are more interested in giving advice or guiding you, ensuring the health of the Singularity and the universe so as not to doom all of you - Gods and mortals alike - to the void.

You can REQUEST AN INTERACTION with a God. Interactions will be brief but informative.

You will not be able to request a specific God. For logistical reasons, we have curated the list of Gods available ahead of time. However, we'll do our best to pick one from the pool that suits the purpose of your request.

Month 3: Awakening

Over the past 2 months, you've existed in the emergent reality without question. As you enter the third month, however, everything you've known over the past many centuries begins to shift. You might decide to investigate further, wondering if there's more out there that you aren't seeing. Alternatively, you might choose to ignore it, believing that your awakening is damaging the world and your life.

Catalysts

A catalyst can occur at any time through any circumstance. Do you see a familiar face you've forgotten in the eyes of a stranger? Do you recall a moment in your past while watching the mortals? Has a friend approached you specifically to try and remind you of the things you've forgotten?

With each memory returned you'll gain another piece of yourself. Depending on how much you've lost and how hard you'll cling to this reality, the effect may be clarifying or it might cause you distress and confusion. You might begin to encounter temporal cracks: buildings or areas that normally don't exist will flicker in and out of existence, or your reflection will briefly show an image of you from before your transformations took hold.

If you allow yourself to doubt your abilities or divinity, you might have trouble controlling your powers. If you've made alterations to your Horizon domain, it might start to revert to its original design.

These cracks are difficult to ignore, but if you bury your head, you can make them disappear - briefly, at least.

Shattered Skies

The effects go beyond the individual. As more of you and your fellow Gods reawaken, the sky also begins to form cracks that spread like broken glass. Through the fractures, you glimpse flashes of lightning and a swirling fog. The fissures only grow larger.

Soon, you realize you can see the Singularity itself, reflected upside-down in the crater. Disconcerting though it is, it may serve as proof that something is very wrong. Of course, you can also refuse to acknowledge this disturbance, closing your eyes to the crumbling sky. Doing so will let you remain unaware to the very end, but your friends who are seeking the truth might find your denial distressing.

The sky won't hold, though. Eventually, it does shatter completely - and you awaken abruptly, your body and others scattered several feet away from the Singularity's crater as if you were physically thrown out. The fog begins to dissipate. The lightning has stopped, the unrelenting storms fading across Abraxas. Whatever you went through, it seems to have done exactly what the territories hoped: stabilize the Singularity.

Characters will be returned home afterward. They will be thanked for their assistance regardless of if they cooperated.

Resistors will not face any consequences, as long as they don't cause excessive trouble upon their return. Officials will issue an apology for the heavy-handed action, stating that they saw no other way to keep the world safe. With the portals and weather returning to normal, it does seem to have worked...even if characters may not find the method agreeable.

---

Comments

I'm blessed lol

[magicalarchaeologist]

"That doesn't mean ---"

Istredd is about to say more but he's so utterly shocked by the forced movement that he's shut up. Lucifer is so rarely physical with him, outside of times that they both want it, and he moves with Lucifer without thinking, allowing himself to be slammed back as if this is a joint decision. He isn't afraid although the confusion could easily turn into anger, eyebrows furrowing, back against the wall.

There are times he doesn't entirely understand Lucifer, and normally it means he is missing something. The way he reacts to the storm and the surge of whatever is going on in his head means there is something more than him being cruel going on. Istredd graciously gives Lucifer a minute to decide if he's going to talk or not, because otherwise, they are about to really have a fight.

The truth of what Lucifer reveals is just as surprising, but it does explain, and his instant sadness is genuine. He liked Gabriel a great deal. And he's getting from their bond it didn't happen yesterday, it happened some time ago. Lucifer's been keeping this inside. It does not go by his notice that the 'Jack's gone' dark energy is similar here.

He reaches out to cup Lucifer's face in his hands, gentle. "I'm sorry he's gone, Lucifer." Did the when matter? He's unsure. "Why didn't you tell me?"

[thedevilwhorose]

He snaps away almost immediately at the touch as though that's answer enough. Because Lucifer didn't want this. He didn't want kindness or sympathy and that is Istredd's go-to. And even if Lucifer was the World's Greatest at Communication and could get across to Istredd that he really, really didn't want that, they're connected!

A completely closed off wall isn't good either though and, well, Istredd is Istredd.

He's going to care.

So Lucifer's #1 strategy: Avoidance!

If not for the storm, he could've made this work. Seen through the light at the end of the tunnel, gotten through without snapping. But the storm Kept. Going. and with it Lucifer's sanity peeling away.

Nott was supposed to be his distraction, through his flute playing, and then his help.

And then they lost it. He couldn't garden, he couldn't train.

Of course he was going to crack.

"I didn't want your help," he says, cutting. Despite his wrath, there is the barest flicker under the words that he does not mean 'I didn't want you' though he can't ultimately control if Istredd takes it that way or not.

He can't control most things.

That's the whole point.

Similarly adding to the dig, he's surprised to see two guards in the doorway and wonders the gall of them showing up for a lover's quarrel. Did someone actually report them?

"Go away," he snarls, "can't you see we're busy?"

He trains one of them, when the weather and work aren't overtaking everything else. Enhardt.

"Forgive the interruption," Enhardt's sidekick says. "The Summoned are to be taken to the Singularity."

Istredd likely focuses in on the word Singularity, ringing loud and clear through Lucifer's thunderous thoughts.

Lucifer just hears take.

"Why?" Lucifer demands.

"The Summoned have always had a greatest connection with the Singularity," sidekick continues, as though it's obvious, "if they're able to reach out maybe this will stop."

"That's nice, don't care. The adults are talking."

"This isn't a debate," Enhardt says. Little shit's gotten good at standing up to Lucifer after being tested on his footing numerous times. "We're under orders."

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd is who he is and it's impossible for him not to care. He loves Lucifer and his pain is shared, whether that is what he wants or not. He doesn't take it personally but it's still confusing. He doesn't go after him or try to touch him again though, just crossing his arms.

"That didn't stop you with Jack, why would this be different?" If anything, Lucifer seemed to want his presence, his comfort. It was new to him at the time but he accepted it, he gave into it. He's about to push more when they are interrupted, his attention shifting there.

"What?" He does hear Singularity and he's surprised. "Oh that would ...." Make sense, honestly. Istredd feels the pit of his stomach drop at the word take though and he steps forward. "Wait, Enhardt, give us a moment. Let me go talk to Ambrose, surely we can let the kids stay here." He thinks about River, who is fragile as it is, and the new youths who came. They aren't ready.

"This isn't a debate," Enhardt repeats, and he reaches out to grab Istredd by the wrist. "Let's go."

Istredd is overwhelmed with a sudden fear, and it's not because he is being manhandled. No, he's afraid of what Lucifer will do when 'take' becomes real, looking over at his lover a second before he can react. "Don't ----"

[thedevilwhorose]

Because it just is. Lucifer is a finicky creature. A cat with an exposed belly that might just shred through skin or pull someone in.

(And the true difference is that Jack was someone he lost before he could ever connect with. Gabriel and him had an eternity of baggage, pulled and ripping every direction, anger and vitriol and love and spite. The sibling that didn't want his older brothers to fight. The sibling that ran to avoid the fighting. The sibling that still found himself a questionable mediator between his older brothers that didn't want to kill each other but could barely react in any way cordially but actually found some semblance of working relationship--certainly not family--when Gabriel was around.

All of that dragged crudely away with all the mixed-bag of emotions going with it, Lucifer left with a pick-up sticks game of whatever was left behind of those same emotions, fresh and bleeding, and touch and comfort were a sting, not a salve, not a help.)

Any other interruption than this would have been welcome, but every chord in Lucifer's body is wound tight and ready to spring. Thorne's trap finally about to bite down on them. He's not their test subject. He's not their experiment to throw into a pit and see what happens. That's his job.

If Lucifer wouldn't currently let Istredd touch him, he was not going to let the guards do it, either.

"I'm not going with you anywhere," he roars. He doesn't have space for a lightning shield, Istredd too much out of the cusp, and Istredd isn't supposed to be one of the mages that he temporarily paralyzes before he gets a spell off.

(Poor planning. Needs to adjust those parameters.
Include allies outside of immediate proclamation.
Hasn't thought to care about it before, hasn't needed to.
Selfishly.
Shield links, then.
He's considered that before--a chain-lightning effect,
connecting to other sources of the enchantment...)

Somewhere mid spurred-calculation Lucifer's broken the arm of Enhardt's sidekick.

He never registered Istredd's plea, though a lot of good Istredd thought it might do him. Just an instant reaction, not expecting results. Lucifer's not known for listening or polling for public opinion when his freedom's at risk. And this is much, much different than the last time he was pulled by the guards. Last time he needed to get the work done. Last time he couldn't risk fighting.

Magic protections snap up around the guard but Lucifer has him by the neck ignoring the magics eating away at the skin of his vessel. In the exact moment he remembers that Enhardt went past him to reach Istredd. Lucifer could do it. He could go through the guard, get to Istredd, and they could work in tandem from there.

(Last time he couldn't risk fighting but--he can't in the here and now either, can he?)

Lucifer's been better the last year at plotting ahead, not operating in the moment. Less reckless, back to planning, just not for an Apocalypse. The Summoned have survived the Singularity before. By all rights they should just end up in the Horizon. There's an after this. Whatever Thorne thinks they can do is just out of cowardice, not likely to achieve anything except pissing them off and risking the balance the Crown has struct with its Summoned populace.

If he murders a guard in cold blood, one of his trainees, that blows up Lucifer's well-crafted reputation in their aftermath.

"L-Let me go," the guard croaks, struggles against Lucifer's grip.

"This isn't going to work. What do they think is going to happen?"

"They have to try. I'm sure they'd love an option that wasn't relying on you." The Devil with his hand choking the guard's windpipe. But maybe the Summoned as a whole.

Lucifer drops him. Must of the skin of his hand has been filleted down to bone from the guard's shield. (It reminds Lucifer of Wanda, possessed, in the Horizon.)

There's an electrifying current to the air that has nothing to do with any of Lucifer's enchantments. A calm in this room within the storm outside. An impasse.

The ball is back in your court, Istredd.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Whether or not Lucifer wanted to have this conversation, they were going to have it, and Istredd was going to keep pressing until he had a better understanding. He doesn't jump to conclusions, such as Gabriel being his brother and he loved him, because he prefers to react to what Lucifer reveals to him and deal with it then. This is not even close to the end of the conversation. The timing is just very, very bad.

All of this is bad.

Istredd's anxiety skyrockets because he knows how bad this can get and fast, and he has vying concerns all at the same time. Finding a way to convince Ambrose to let the youths stay, keeping Lucifer from crossing the line into violence he can't get back from, and his own deep PTSD-ridden mind cringing away from the idea of being captured again. They've always been trapped, but it's different to have a hand on him, different to be thrown into a crater that is a type of pit.

Luckily his logical mind always prevails over his animal instinct. Istredd twists his hand out of Enhardt's grip and says very sharply. "Everyone stop." The command in his voice is rarely heard but he has been teaching long enough in this place that some mages can't help but react to an order from an older one. There is, for a moment, a pause.

He crosses the room to Lucifer and does not touch him; he isn't afraid of him, but he knows it will only upset him more, even if he's being touched by someone who loves him. It's too tense right then. "They're afraid and they're being stupid. We'll just go to the Horizon and come back."

They're taking everyone. Including the kids. They need us. You need to stop, you can't help anyone if you're locked up. Please, Lucifer. We're not ready to run yet.

It's always been a possibility, that they would have to run, it's something they've talked about since the beginning. They had their reasons to just make plans and wait. They aren't prepared to go, and that's the only option if Lucifer kills someone, and the two would have to leave right this minute.

"Please don't make this worse." Who he is saying that to could be anyone's guess. Everyone, honestly. "We can all make it out of this."

cw: violence, blood

[thedevilwhorose]

(He's not coming back to this conversation.

Give him a few hundred years of fake memories and he'll forget it, broken down to the bare bones that they had a fight, but not remember why. Much like how another hundred years after that he won't remember the full extent of the rift he caused in his family. And another few decades and he'll forget his Father, good riddance, entirely.

But give him three weeks of actual time on the end of waking up from where they're barreling towards and his perception might change entirely, circling back to it willingly.

Time and power are a funny thing when it comes to archangels. When it comes to him.

But he's not there, yet.)

Istredd's command gets even a pause from Lucifer, interest peering out through the rage. It's a nice look on the mage, earning a predatorial fixation from Lucifer. Not Istredd's goal, but doing something nonetheless.

Still. It's good Istredd doesn't touch him. Lucifer would likely break his arm, too, without a single processed thought.

They were never kids to Thorne. They have the same rights as the rest of us. Which is none. Pawns, fodder, just as he's always told everyone.

(They're not ready to run.)

He gets into the guard's face, gaze cold, breath even colder, ice crystals misting at the air. "You're not going to like it when I get back."

(They're not ready to run.)

The guard gives him a flat stare, broken arm limp at his side, but his other hand reaches out and loops a binding with a word of Ancient Thornean, snapped around one of Lucifer's wrists.

Lucifer jolts at the feel of it, furious, lunges forward, and sinks teeth into the man's protective shield, eats through fire, and comes back with skin bloodied in his mouth and burns along his face. Definitely making things worse, Istredd.

(They're not ready to run.)

"I'm sorry," is Enhardt's rushed-out apology to Lucifer, to Istredd, to his partner in pain. He steps up, quick, and latches the binding to Lucifer's other wrist, hooking the devil's hands together as though magnetized and Lucifer staggers as though weighted down.

(They're not ready to run.)

Lucifer slumps, exhaustion a tether itself, and maybe more involved with the less-than standard, practical guard bindings. He thinks, then, he does remember this guard. Not his name like he knows Enhardt's. But he was there when Lucifer charged after Ambrose. Knew from experience, though Lucifer restrained himself then, just how much strength was under Lucifer's surface, a snake coiled to strike.

Whatever pumping boiling anger was beneath Lucifer's thoughts cut out, left with fritzing static and solid color thrown over the usual chaotic art piece of his mind.

Reluctant compliance.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd is sensitive so he can get hurt feelings, people can harm him, but he is usually so collected and logical that he rises above it. The one thing that can break him, though, is someone he loves being broken. It hurts so much to watch that he comes very close to saying to hell with it and fighting their way out right then and there. He could get the cuffs off, he thinks, and then they'd just have to tear their way through, maybe get to Nott somehow, Lyle might give them refuge.

He knows how hard being locked up is for Lucifer, more than most, and he raged against Lucifer's cell, against what was done to him. Now all he wants to do when he watches Lucifer slump, very unhelpfully, is cry. Istredd swallows through something heavy in his throat and steps forward when the guard goes close to him again.

"Don't you fucking touch him. Don't." Right up into his face and while he's not as threatening as Lucifer, he is a tall strong man that everyone in this castle knows is one of the strongest mages in the Summoned. Istredd's proud for a moment, angry, but then he deflates. "He's restrained. Just ... lead the way."

This time Istredd does touch him, moving to his side and putting a protective hand on his back. He can't stop this from happening, but he is going to stay with him until the end, whatever that means. The guards do seem to listen and keep a step away, knowing this is probably better than dragging him along themselves.

[thedevilwhorose]

By this point Lucifer in unresponsive. If he were in a better place, he'd be sending out messages like birds. Kyle, Wilhelm, Kell. Heck, Yennefer, Thancred. Maybe even Jill. She doesn't have to like him to listen to him.

But Thorne is going for all its Summoned, and if Lucifer is so lacking in power that he can't escape this, then what good is he to the rest. They need a city to come back to, because they don't have a choice, where are they going to run, they come back every time, even faced with a portal that could have brought them somewhere else, they all returned to Thorne. Every last one of them.

Regretfully, and not knowing the other territories were undergoing a similar roundup, he wonders if he should have stepped through and abandoned them all. Maybe he wouldn't be tied up and led like this.

And then, briefly, far more morbidly, he wonders if Thorne is going to send them off to the Singularity and execute them with some form of magic sniper bullet. He bets they have a spell for that. Just a headshot. Drop them all at once. They are the caskets, in flesh form. Give their connection, their power, back to the Singularity.

He'll have such a sweet ride at least! Uniquely his. Everyone should be jealous.

Of his fancy locked carriage.

If Istredd tries to reach out to him, Lucifer will not respond for the rest of this trip.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd does reach out to the others and he never manages to convince them to let the kids go, because there is no point. They aren't people to Thorne. He suspects they are not the only ones suffering this, if they believe this is the only way, but he can't deal with the other two groups. Only theirs. He tries to muster up the ability to talk to others, get them through this, but his heart isn't in it.

This is all very painful to experience, but it feels worse when they pull Luicifer out of the carriage, and they are faced with the crater. It doesn't look like much but Istredd can feel the power radiating off of it. He's been on it before, during the Dimming, when it's mostly silent outside of some pain aftermath. This isn't the same thing. The storms rage on around them, there is no end to them yet.

There is no reason to be afraid. The first time this happened, everyone lost their memory, but they've been through the Horizon before. It should just put them through it, and then they can talk on the other side about what to do. Yet a part of him feels uncertain about this. It's more daunting now that it is real. What if it is dangerous to them after all? With nothing but questions and no way out, all he can do is take Lucifer's face in his hands.

Whether he is responsive or not, Istredd looks him in the eye. "I love you," he says clearly and directly. If this does go wrong somehow, if the worst happens, Istredd wants those to be his final words to his angel. If they go in, they go in together.

timeskip

[thedevilwhorose]

Istredd can look him in the eye all he wants. Window to the soul, the mind, what-have-you.

Istredd can say whatever he wants to make himself feel bolstered through this, but there's nothing answering, no power thrumming behind Lucifer's eyes, no sign that he heard him at all.

Lucifer's checked out. It's the only way they'll get through this without there being a trail of bodies at his feet.

He pulls out of Istredd's grip, and walks.

And walks.

And walks.

Aware vaguely, mildly, at the others spread through the fog, walking further, not drawn away so instantly. Enough experience pushing them on and on.

He still expects the headshot.

It doesn't come.

But a different frequency than his own static tunes through and for a moment he turns, for a moment he says, "Michael?" because that means it isn't just Thorne here, there's at least Solvunn, and then he's swallowed up by the fog.

(Just a blink, and he'll come to in his Nether garden, eight-hundred years later, settled into himself like an aged wine.

But for now...

They get to watch Thorne fall. Isn't that a blessing in itself. They fall in line with the retreat, and congrats, Istredd, you finally get to make it to Hayle.

Too bad about your partner.)

It's a disaster, so much out of Lucifer's hands so quickly. He planned this! He had it down. He hasn't learned Hayle as well as he meant to, but so what, he didn't need to, what were the locals going to do to stop him?

His full power is immense beneath his bones, rocking a high, recovered and oh so much what he needed, and if he could only just breach this useless vessel--still stuffed in and chained to it, what the HELL Crowley?!--he would have everything he could need truly at his fingertips.

And there, on a silver platter, making so much more sense than Lucifer could ever dream--the weird little stringbean human... was a smörgåsbord of power, soaked into his being like a sponge, and... oh, Lucifer thought Sam Winchester was supposed to be his perfect vessel, but this?

He thinks he could make this work. He thinks maybe, with the right tweaks to the right people, maybe he can bust his locks off and get settled into a new flat. A hermit crab needing a new shell.

He just needed Jack to be the powerhouse Lucifer knows him to be, knows him capable of, but always Just. Falls. Short! For that? He needed Sabine.

(Maybe.... Maybe he should have tried Jerry.)

He loses one strand of thread to weave into the next. A tangled mess. There was an unconscious cosmic woman, a nightmarish Jack that he thought he could control but maybe went too far, a dragon that used to be a raccoon, and Kyle thrust somewhere in the thick of it all and

oh

and

Lucifer was

Lucifer was in trouble.

[magicalarchaeologist]

They get to go to Hayle and by then it's a sort of victory on a few fronts. Thorne fleeing can only be satisfactory, and a part of him hopes desperately that it'll only be more so. It's worth it to watch. There is a secret though that has grown. Time has made him stronger. He's embraced what is changing, the powers the Singularity giving them more insane by the day.

Escape is possible. He thinks that they can. Who could stop them now? The Singularity's favoritism and constant amplification of power is so much more than what the common mages can accomplish. He's been plotting privately. Testing boundaries, testing their strengths and weaknesses. With Thorne weak, he barely cares about being in Hayle finally. Once upon a time, he told Lucifer they weren't ready to run. That's no longer the case. They haven't talked about where exactly, but it's made Istredd stronger, more confident.

Istredd knew about Jack, obviously, this entire time. Since when he first returned to them, he confessed everything, and as he promised, he didn't say a word to Lucifer about it. He couldn't pretend his lover was anyone but what he was. He may hesitate to drain the people he cares for, but he doesn't care about Jack. He'd only see opportunity. Lucifer hid what his plans were and made certain Istredd wasn't there for this.

He came too late to stop the attack, but not so late that this has already been ended. He swoops in with the same kind of frantic energy that made him shield Lucifer from Nero all that time ago. Istredd doesn't have the time to make much more than bare observations. Sabine, his friend, the victim of Lucifer's ambition, and there is nothing he can do in that moment to fix that. There will be a reckoning between them. But he looks at Jack, and Kyle, and Lucifer's sinking realization that he can feel. It's gone too far.

So Istredd makes the decision he needs to. This is not a situation where he can allow Lucifer to get the consequences he deserves. (Later on, he'll let Yennefer handle that, when he cannot.) His only reaction is to protect who he needs to, who he prioritizes over everyone else, and that is a choice. In the end, there was no other one. Lucifer first.

(Although if Yennefer was still injured and needed him to keep living, Lucifer would have been out of luck.)

He sweeps in front of Lucifer, as Kyle is attempting to do the same with Jack, and he grips him by the shoulders. "It's time. We can run." No one can stop them. They have to go. There is nothing left for them here. "We have the power." The Singularity, glowing within them. Istredd makes a portal away and for the first time since this all began, it will work for them both. Not a god yet, but they're on the cusp, they're ready to escape.

"Now, we need to go now." He pulls him toward it, a strong grip on his arm, and Istredd has a suspicion they both know where their choice is.

[thedevilwhorose]

Maybe had Istredd, had any of them, not hid knowledge about Jack, Lucifer wouldn't have been so reckless, but they will never know a different route because once reality sets properly on its axis Lucifer will be aware of all the consequences spanning out from one attack and lasting centuries.

(And he could say he didn't care, it was irrelevant, he's dealt worse blows to more important people in his life, long, long ago, but.

But there was always a Cage between him and those mountain of issues.)

He was tired of being caged within his own vessel and this was his best bet and he could make this work (FINALLY), up until he couldn't, up until he miscalculated, and Istredd got to him, anyway. In the end. Despite his best efforts.

Lucifer should've known to plan for Kyle.

(Lucifer may not be alive if he had planned for Kyle.)

There's no surprise at Istredd by his side. Just a casual indifference. A vague feeling like of course but nothing more. The next expected result is of course running. Logical. Lucifer can't actually talk himself out of this scenario, when Sabine wakes up (because of course it's when, he didn't kill her) he won't necessarily be able to stand toe to toe with her...

They have to go.

Now.

The transport is staggering, even for him. The location not so much.

And unfortunately, Lucifer doesn't so much care for what he just did, what Istredd had to come upon. Lucifer is already walking off once he gets his 'sea legs.' He's already on the next course of action, disregarding that Istredd is Very Much Not. "Have to find the Overseer. Declare our arrival. Argue the need for being granted sanctuary without the details involved." Aster will help vouch for them, maybe.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd is also staggered at first because they've been trying to do this exact thing for a long time, and he's finally managed, after all that planning and practicing. But as much as he hates Thorne, as much as the fact being somewhere else is gratifying, the reality is he can't go back. He's cut himself off from there; he'll have to explain to Yennefer and she'll be furious, he'll have to see if there's ever a way back for him and Jack, after picking Lucifer so blatantly in a violent moment. Kyle will understand, he probably was relieved he showed up when he did. Kell will just know that he's been abandoned, although he'll make it up to him. River has Yennefer.

He had tunnel vision. Away was all he thought. Save Lucifer. Now he's saved him, and the situation is settling into his mind. They didn't have the time to get provisions, everything will have to be asked for. Who knows if the Nether will allow them amnesty, but they have a good chance, they are no friends of Thorne, who is severely weakened now regardless.

That tunnel vision clears and Lucifer isn't even grateful, he doesn't care, he's off to the next thing being logical, and Istredd loses sense of logic in an instant. They share a mind so Lucifer knows the wave of rage that swarms up into Istredd's chest and he rushes in front of him. He puts his hands on Lucifer's chest and pushes him hard. Not with any magic but with his own strength which is not insignificant these days.

"You narcissistic prick." He shoves him again. "You just attacked my friend and ruined our lives and you have nothing to say? I should teleport you into the fucking ocean!"

Apparently he's not able to hold it back in time for them to do the pragmatic stuff, so he's just going to yell at him instead. Lucifer knows him well enough to know Istredd has never been this angry in his entire life and it's unlikely to go away quickly like usual.

[thedevilwhorose]

He soaks in the rage. Basks in it, unlike the last (????) time they fought (what was time?). It feels good and yet his Disinterest is still rocking as the strongest part about him.

He goes with Istredd's shoves and that's a kindness, that he gives at all. He doesn't have to. He's stone. Immovable. The high of power reaching normalcy mixed with something else--something that should likely be questioned and dissected but Lucifer is hardly going to be the one to question it. He feels good. Himself, for the first time in so long, and Istredd is going to look at that and spit in his face?

THIS IS who he is, Istredd. You chose this. He warned you. (He feared this.) And Istredd is going to act like he's the problem?

Lucifer should be equally pushing back at him! LUCIFER! Denied a proper vessel! Denied freedom! Feeling like he was no longer chained to the useless flesh of Nick! Who CARES about Jack? What about HIM!?

His voice is chill. The air is chill. A cool mist as he talks, worsened by its mixture with the heat from the volcano. Deadened expression, near-empty thoughts. The connections are there, the ones familiar to Istredd, the wildness of Lucifer's mental map. But they're almost... slower. Methodical. Glacial.

Still hard to follow but...

"What?" Slow, drawled. His head tilt, like a snake, unpurposefully hypnotic. "What did you expect me to say? I'm sorry? Please. I'm the one robbed, here. I finally get a chance to feel like there's not barbed wire lanced around my grace, through my vessel, and it's gone, in an instant."

They needed to run, sure. But there's no gratitude pouring out of Lucifer.

Mind you... there's not much of anything.

[magicalarchaeologist]

It's the indifference that makes him both angry and edging onto fear. Lucifer did warn him about how getting closer to his power would make him, it isn't unknown, but it's still a shocking difference with what he's used to. Lucifer should be annoyed and snarling at him, feeling defensive and blaming everyone but himself, convincing himself he was right while some part of him feels guilty.

The distress Istredd feels is as intense as his anger followed by deep internal pain. Has he already lost him? Was this taste enough for him? Istredd would do anything for Lucifer to get pissy at him and throw one of his occasional tantrums.

"Don't." Istredd steps into him, gripping his face firmly between his hands. Blue eyes are intense and searching his gaze and their bond flares up like a torch. His emotions have always been strong, sometimes too strong for Lucifer to deal with comfortably, and he's going to remind him of that. His anger and sadness mix with fear now, but also with stubborn overpouring love that he's never hidden once it was revealed.

"Don't go where I can't reach you. Lucifer, please." He warned Istredd but he also told him to hold on and try anyway. "I love you even when I hate you, don't forget that." He may have brought a danger to the Nether and its people if Lucifer keeps going down that road. It's not a good feeling.

[thedevilwhorose]

Lucifer, thankfully, wasn't even a danger for Hayle. Thorne was a thrill, a role he could play into. Pity/sympathy (false) pushed Thorne's way. He was just along for the ride, maybe had nudged a few dominoes here and there, but he watched the castle crumble (metaphorically) from the outside.

It was one of the best things he's ever experienced firsthand and he's sure he's going to remember it for centuries, keep a strong mental record of it. Hold it and let it resonate through the Horizon, forever.

(It won't. Even for him, he'll hit roadblocks that deteriorate his psyche, and what's to fall? The previous memory of a Cage falling apart, gone.)

He pulls his face from Istredd's, no thought involved. Just simple action. Bored. Detached.

But for him to be gone there wouldn't be a bridge still accessible between their minds. Maybe he just didn't think about it, absentminded. Forgetful.

But maybe a part of him made sure there was a two-way street present. Open.

He deviously held back and obfuscated his plans surrounding Jack--so experienced at how to hide things from his partner successfully by now--and while there's little thoughts other than feeling robbed around the topic... Lucifer hasn't closed off. His mind is simply... deciding what to do with all the new building material.

"And I should be grateful, is that it?" He pulled away only to step toe-to-toe back into Istredd's space, a flare finally in his mind--but like the remnants of a bomb going off, threatening to bowl over into Istredd. (It doesn't.) "That you brought us to salvation?" There's some of the sneer Istredd might be looking for, but it's still wrong, wrong, wrong.

His thoughts are then a wildfire to his ice, but he continues to speak aloud: "You condemned me."

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd knows that the last warning for him will be if their minds shut, or if Lucifer's actually gone, he can just kill him easily, it'd take very little effort. Even with Istredd becoming as powerful as he is, their minds make them vulnerable. The bond is still almost too strong between them. It's all starting to catch up with him, the enormity of everything going on, and his hands drop to his sides when Lucifer moves away.

Except then Lucifer's into his space and the anger comes back, Istredd not backing down and meeting him right where he's at, with his own flare. "I saved you. You would be dead without me. I picked you." He leans into him, both heated from anger and from the pain all this brings him. "I left everything I had behind so you wouldn't be alone." So another person who loved him wouldn't abandon him, so he'd be the chosen one.

Istredd looks at him and then just laughs bitterly, turning away from him, rubbing a hand through his hair. Tears sting his eyes and at least he does feel like the Nether won't be at risk. Lucifer will like a place to rest. "But you're never going to choose me, are you?" The harshest part of that is that was the lesson he was supposed to learn from Yennefer, but he thought Lucifer was different. Because he did choose him over revenge against the Winchesters, so he put all his heart and trust into this being different.

Someone picking power over him is just the same story. His fault for thinking otherwise.

[thedevilwhorose]

He snaps a hand out to grapple Istredd's neck, instantaneous, without thought, without a single pulse of synapses reaching out to their next pathway. Tight. Held close.

This is who he is, really, in the end.

"You think you're owed a medal? I told you, you were making a mistake. Everyone told you."

There's a hurricane in the depths of his mind.

(There was a hurricane when Istredd first tried to create the bond, a war within Lucifer, rebuffing the intrusion despite it being at Lucifer's request. Necessity. It was for necessity, because Lucifer didn't trust the Horizon and that link and they were out of time, Istredd didn't leave them with enough time.

Necessity warped into Dependency.

Underneath it all, at Lucifer's core, amongst a nebula of blood red, that storm still remains. Parceled out and barricaded in blocks of ice and surrounded by the spilled-paint cans of thoughts, currently not running together as they so often do. There's a hundreds of these barriers, scattered. But notably a few. Family, old and bleeding, always. Family, new and freshly bleeding for the first time and unexpected, unknown.

But this one, familiar, may as well be a shoebox compared to the rest. Inconsequential. The eye of this mini, condensed storm, holds an intricate thread of silver light, held frozen in time as a shape from Cat's Cradle.)

The snarl finds him. A beast. THE Beast. Churned up. And it's the first time that Lucifer's thoughts strike out with words, like he's remembered the bond is there despite it being so ingrained in them, moving through the chill, the numbness: And yet I couldn't be free of you even if I tried.

He could. He has the power. Istredd is King when it comes to psychic prowess but Lucifer is simply raw power. A nuke tucked under vessel, now armed and ready after a century and then some. Grace a livewire. He could sever their bond with force, but he hasn't.

Lucifer will always, always choose power over anything, he has no need for this bond now, he could break it and leave Istredd shattered behind.

But he hasn't.

In the end, this is also who he is.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd lets his hand move around his throat. He doesn't fight back. That's who he is too. He stares at him defiantly, but also hopelessly. They did know that Lucifer could kill him, and that severing the bond probably would. They were already aware that he might tear through him if he got it all back, if he stopped caring about what he did. But even if Lucifer didn't pick him in the end, even if he may have lost him for good, it's not in him to fight back.

He told Lucifer that too. He'd let it happen.

"You did. They did. And I told you it didn't matter. I love you, and I will love you until the moment I die." He reaches up to put his hand over Lucifer's wrist where he has a grip on him, not to stop him but to touch him one last time, if this is it. Yet despite his willingness to accept his fate, he has a glowing tendril of hope too.

Despite everything, with Lucifer snarling, the beast, Istredd isn't afraid of his own death, because he believes with everything in him that Lucifer would never do it to him. He has faith in him, stupid as it may be.

"Do it if you need to. If you don't love me, if you don't want me, if you don't need me, then honestly Lucifer, what's the fucking point?"

To him, to all the things they've done to get here, to the sacrifice he just made for someone who might blow apart his mind. Istredd made his choice and he can't take it back now, so he'll keep making the same choice, as stupid as it is. This has been them from the start. Istredd with his bleeding heart right out there on his sleeve, devoted to the point of insanity, and Lucifer being forced to accept that no matter what he did, he had someone who promised never to leave.

[thedevilwhorose]

He wraps his other hand atop Istredd's own, eyes locked together, unblinking, searching. Searching Istredd's mind, his face for any shift in expression, any tell.

"Tell me you'd choose this." This. That's the important distinction. Istredd's looking for signs that Lucifer isn't gone and he isn't entirely but it's not the same, "I'm not going to change for you."

That's what Michael never understood. It wasn't about changing who or what he was, not about changing for other people. It was about changing his own sense of self, so that he could accept who Time and the Cage made him into. He shifted in other ways, but in the end it was never about those.

"I'm not going to fit back into the shape you expect me to be. I am never going to do that."

He's not going to compromise himself for another person. Not when it's taken him this long to find some semblance of balance, some form of love for himself.

Istredd's always been the one to see him--his full self, his total-eclipsing darkness. But it's like watching a family movie. Looking from the outside in. Not experiencing it first-hand, not when Lucifer was in absolute control of himself.

Not when this is who he is, down to his ethereal bones. The construct of The Devil in everyone's nightmares. The unholy creature that pulled Hell together out of his anger and his desire to tarnish everyone his Father created as replacements to fill in a hole because Lucifer wasn't good enough anymore.

It's been over a century since Lucifer tried to wedge a brick between them and break their relationship. Over a century since Lucifer needed to self-destruct. But Istredd should have pushed him through the portal and left him alone. Faced with Lucifer settling into his Full Power+, that was the correct option. They're just in the same song and dance, the same game, all over again. Only now it's Last Call.

No more chances.

This is the King of Lies looking for true acceptance for what he is and cannot stomach a lie despite how many corridors to emotions have automatically been shutoff in his mind. They're on the precipice. Lucifer will walk away, kill Istredd as a courtesy, no question, if he senses any waver, any doubt, that Istredd can't keep going with Lucifer as he is.

This may've started as what Lucifer did, what damage they left behind in Hayle, what danger he could be for the Nether--and Lucifer knows that will all come back around to the forefront if Istredd is still alive after.

But in this breath of instance it's about 'don't go where I can't reach you.'

Lucifer chose power, tried for freedom. He hasn't let Istredd go, as blurry as it is for either of them to see. Istredd would already be dead if he hadn't, and simply holding on isn't enough. But Istredd didn't choose this either, not really, not yet. Istredd didn't know what his choice actually meant and now he's front and center with it.

What now, Istredd?

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd knows they're on a precipice and usually this relationship has been about Istredd loving and accepting inch by inch what he's allowed to get back. He never pushes, he always takes it, he's the devoted one, the martyr. But he did all that with the certainty that Lucifer loved him, that he could feel in their bond that it wasn't him alone.

He hasn't rejected him but he's angry too and he's starting to feel like there's more than one twist in this that maybe they've always had to talk about and never did until pushed. Until this moment when he doesn't shy away from Lucifer and he doesn't pull away either, leaving them in this grip.

"So it's always going to be about you. Never about me. Never about what I need, what I want. Am I your partner, Lucifer? Or your pet, who you expect to worship and obey and doesn't get to have a say."

There is a power imbalance in more than one way, and it's one that Istredd has allowed all this time, but now it feels like if he continues to give in eternally, that's all he'll ever get.

"Every step of the way I have had to pull you with me. I've had to beg and scrape for your love, and I've done it. And I'm done being the only one who gives a shit enough to fight." He lifts a hand and puts it over Lucifer's heart. "If I choose you, you have to choose me. You have to say that you want me, and you want us, and you don't want to lose this."

He steps away from him, out of his grip, putting some distance between them. "If you can't, then I'll make a life for myself here, and you can do what you want with your life. I want you exactly as you are, but I deserve a partner for life. I'm not accepting anything less."

7 hours later I have produced a tag maybe before you've gone to bed

[thedevilwhorose]

They were always good about never talking, never pushing, not whenever it was so incredibly necessary. They've had this problem the entire time they've known each other. They'd try to get better at it but always fell into the same ruts. It worked well for Lucifer. Perhaps too well. Why question something that seemed fine?

That sparks a flash of fury, finally, something more than this stone statue, at the very thought that Istredd could be considered a pet. No, wouldn't that have been so much easier to maintain if he had been? Lord, maybe Lucifer should have treated him like one.

"Oh, I've never given you what you needed?" A grating laugh. "Screw you, I've done my best, outside of what's normal, outside what makes sense! It's not within your little parameters of what Should Be, but don't have the nerve to act like I haven't tried! Forgive me for not having a manual in a language I can comprehend!"

If their very loud arrival has garnered any attention, none have dared to actually approach them. They're definitely Unsafe to approach, even if waiting may result in a dead body.

He seethes, hand held poised, all five fingers pressed together as though considering to crush Istredd's skull with a wrench of force. He wants to walk away. Leave them. Perhaps just a break. What is it? 'Some time apart'? Space. But that's what he wants, not Istredd, and isn't that the whole point here? It can't be about what only he wants.

And anyway, that's just cowardice. Old emotion, still gunked up in the circuits.

He doesn't need to be on a beach.

Their mixture of rage does a full course through his veins before dissipating slightly. Taken in, siphoned some of its energy, let it back out into the world, like a processing machine.

Calm.

Fucking Lucifer as the calm one.

He drops the hand. Each word is enunciated carefully. Precise. "I have never. Stopped. Wanting you. Or us. Or this."

[magicalarchaeologist]

This really can feel circular at times, but they have been together for a long time now. In the first year they were still learning, but they do fall into patterns, and they both enjoy the simplicity of not making things more complicated than they need to be. They've been happy for a long time now, but it's all been a smokescreen over lies and it's been leading here.

He throws his hands up, both of them apparently using their hands to communicate. He's not shouting but there's definitely some raised voice of a kind happening. At least they are communicating. Ish.

"There is no manual! There is no normalcy! We're not normal people. We're an archangel and a human who fell in love while captured to another sphere and we've been making it up for over a century. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing either."

They are definitely making some kind of scene as their first entrance to this place but Istredd did not teleport them directly into the main area of the Nether regardless. He figured they would have to get their story straight before going, so it was in a place where he knew he could probably start screaming at Lucifer. It still doesn't mean they're alone, but anyone watching is hopefully wise enough to avoid the situation.

Istredd breathes. He can see (feel) Lucifer attempting to do the same as he figures out what he wants. Their emotions are still so strong on the surface, even Lucifer, who was cold before but Istredd always manages to drag him whether he likes it or not. He put down a demand and now that he has, his heart is ready to leap out his chest. Because this could go wrong.

That is exactly what he needed to hear and Lucifer can sense the utter relief going through him when he does. It's difficult not to fear the worst when Lucifer's been cold, when he's been warned before how easy it is to lose what they have. They've been lucky until now. This was the first real threat to that certainty he had.

Istredd breathes for real now and he steps forward to reach out to take Lucifer's hand, if he allows it. "I just watched you attack my friend to try to suck the power out of another friend. And instead of helping them, I took you somewhere safe, where I knew you'd be happy." It's not only that Istredd moved them, it's the foresight of where to go, where he felt Lucifer could feel free and good.

"I already chose you and this." So it wasn't a question to him about whether he could choose Lucifer even as he is. It's laughable to question that. Istredd is right here, as he always is.

"But." He pushes. Lucifer knows that. "I'm allowed to be angry at you and not like what happened and be furious that yet again, we kept secrets from each other." The we is intentional because Lucifer always gets defensive thinking he means only him, but he really doesn't. "I am sorry about my part of the deceit and I'm just so tired of it. Are we ever going to be able to trust each other?"

[thedevilwhorose]

There really should be a manual. Just some form of aid for Lucifer's benefit. For Istredd's. "And look how good us making it up has done us." Pretty piss poor.

Of course he pulls a rise out of Lucifer. Istredd thinks only Lucifer leads him along like he wants, can pull a particular way. It goes both ways, Istredd.

He allows the touch, though there's a fleeting thought to deny it, there and gone.

"Oh, no, I wasn't going to suck the power out of him, I was going to just rattle Sabine and knock her out for a little while, piss Jack off enough to make use of his power to sever my bonds of this caging vessel, and get him to agree to be my new vessel on the condition that with me he could save Sabine."

You know. Just for clarity.

But he didn't get that far. Things went south very quickly.

"She would've been fine. She just needs someone, anyone." (That someone will, unfortunately for Lucifer, be Kell.) "I played off Jack's tunnel-vision. Except, predictably, the idiot is actually more insane than I gave him credit for. Also, what was up Rita? Like, what the actual hell?" She was a goddamn dragon.

Forget Sam Winchester. Jack Townsend would've given Lucifer true freedom, the last he craved. Thorne had fallen, one cage down. The next was his vessel. There was no hope for that now.

He's not really helping matters, but he is telling the truth. So.

"Maybe," he allows. He's probably got it out of his system. "I've got nothing else I'm hiding from you." He doesn't think, anyway. It gets a little muddy when he's built of these obfuscations. They get lost like socks, because if he loses track of them, Istredd can't find a mental path to them, but it means he may've forgotten something accidentally. And what's the point of hiding anything else? Maybe if he had some assassinations lined up, but he likes the Nether--just as Istredd predicated--he's not going to kill anyone (here).

"I didn't think he was that important to you." Lucifer figured Istredd may be a bit put off by the new vessel arrangements and how they came to be. Lucifer could've been agreeable though to make some kind of timeshare deal with Jack, all workable, no big deal.

But Istredd made friends with about anyone, so Lucifer, who still only had a handful that he would call friends, didn't put a lot of weight to it. He knew Sabine was important, it's why he didn't really hurt her. But Jack?

I had this in my brain so I had to edit.

[magicalarchaeologist]

"Making it up has done overall well for us, love. We're still together after a long time. There are a lot of couples who can't make it." The Summoned couples have made it this far, so there is powerful love holding them together, but it doesn't mean they aren't without their faults. There is no perfect relationship. The fact that they are different species will always be part of the problem, a gap of understanding.

Istredd is actually more horrified hearing the whole plan. Making Jack his new vessel? He bristles at that and drops Lucifer's hand, crossing arms against his chest. "You didn't think or you didn't care that I might not be fine with this? Were my feelings taken into consideration at all?" That would be an outright offense if not. Lucifer assuming Istredd would just grow to accept it is one thing, and not unfounded. As long as he talked to Jack and Sabine was on the same page. That's not the point.

"Yenna and I have been working with him from the start. Yes, we're close, he trusted me above all others to help him." Istredd sighs and squeezes the bridge of his nose. So that was a long-term deception, spanning decades of time. "I didn't want to keep it from you, but I was afraid of exactly this." His fears were entirely founded. And look where it brought them.

At least Lucifer is acting more like himself. It's soothing some of his utter terror from a few minutes ago, thinking he lost him already. And whatever Lucifer says, he did change for Istredd. He's made a lot of compromises.

"Lucifer, I've proven to you over and over that I choose you. And I did it again, right now, when you asked. Clearly whatever answers you have about your whys, it won't change that I love you, that I'm right here, on your side, again."

He left Yennefer behind too. He might not have, if her life and mind still counted on his constant presence, but she's healing, she doesn't need him to keep her alive. It doesn't make it easy to have abandoned her, she won't like that, she'll always hold it against him a little. And he still did it.

"You say you won't change for me, but you did just change. You went cold. And I fell in love with an archangel who was emotional. Tempestuous, difficult, brilliant, hilarious, beautiful, with a secret soft spot for the people who got under his skin. I'm allowed to be upset about you going cold and leaving me wondering if the man I love is dying within you."