Lucifer pulled himself back from the female's grip. His dull eyes scrunching up from realization of why everything went the way it was. When everything was an unnecessary banter.

A vain memory.

A ruthless attempt to quell his story. A choice that he failed to find the right answer for. His teeth clenched, the subtle wave of anger drowning him at the moment.

" ̸̹͖͔̝̩̲͕̟̥̺͓̔ͅ ̵̡̠̄ ̷̪̌ ̶͕̌ ̸̼̔ ̸͖́ ̶̰̞̂̿ ̶̼̭̉̕ ̸̤̪̀ ̶̬͘ ̴̩̅̑ ̷̧͌̔ ̷̺́ ̵̪̏ ̴̦͌ " 

The light in his eyes died the second he uttered words of origins even Micheal lost to the eons of memories he had to have saved up.

That would be the moment. The moment he would realize the darkness never really died. It just changed hosts. A parasite. A filthy parasite that cast the body of an angel aside just so it could survive another day.

Lucifer lost the little sanity he had left when he realized if he were to live, he would bring about the death of all life. Just like the monster brought to Micheal, so did he to his student. The reason being that his mentor hoped that Lucifer would unearth a solution to this calamity.

But it wasn't all truth. It stunk of deceit.

*****

Lucy wondered why Lucifer's nerves tensed and his body stumbled back into the bed, holding his fist over his heart, clenching with terror as her view slowly flooded back with colour, exiting the Phantom Plane.

Her thoughts were rotating between maybe he was flustered, for the first time. Maybe the kiss worked as an elixir of love would, even though he didn't blush as she'd seen in soaps and as other forms of media said or showed it would.

But for some reason, Lucy didn't like this one bit.

She was scared. Terrified, even.

Scared of something she didn't know of. Something nagging at the ends of her mind, telling her something was amiss. Maybe he would leave, like the few other times she's used the being stranded.

A primal instinct.

Flashes of the boy she knew from her classes flickered by, the mad whirlwind of emotions almost closing in on his eyes which seemed to almost reel her in. It felt like a different person altogether. Like someone that died in the past and this new form would be one of change through hardships.

The erratic moments, the frantic behavior and the remorse in his eyes when the control was regained, albeit for a mere couple seconds, made him act. The fear that came after made her clutch his hands. Just like he always did when Lucifer's mind would freak out back into his primary motive. A drive filtered across all of the other possible emotions when a crisis arises.

To her, his skin felt like ice, even if it was her who lost the warmth in her like the blood had been frozen still.

Intrusion.

*****

The world was turned pitch black for a second as Lucifer fought a fight he didn't know the solution to. He knew the sudden feeling in his hand was real. The chilling cold. Something was up with him and that very thing would continue to be so.

His emotions were real. Her warmth was real. But this Plane wasn't his or the Realm of the living.

When he finally opened his eyes, the world before him was something out of fifty shades of gray. The colour palette not the book, notice how the words aren't capitalized or in quotes? God this isn't " A Game Of Shadows". Out of muscle memory, he snapped his hands and when his eyes took into consideration what or more accurately, WHOSE plane he was in nagged him.

The Plane reflected it's user. And he knew he didn't succumb to the darkness at much as Michael. But what he saw behind the shadow that Lucy became was never his nor hers since she possessed no such power over this. Through the dozens of activations he attempted over the past years was nothing more than a vibrant world and nothing short of a world devoid of any colour.

Feall never projected a world where the concept of pure white was absent.

This world.....was just that.

Shades of black. More so than anything he had seen before. And among the culmination of all the dread, hatred and the anger somethin-

Someone felt...off.

But who, was up-to Lucifer the decide. Rather, he will be the one to end this no matter what the cost.

Either he dies or he reigns at the conclusion.

Lucy could feel what was happening but couldn't see. Her hand was firm on the arm of who she loved, and could feel every twitch which came to pass. Still, the feeling that she was somewhere she wasn't allowed to. Like the time she first saw Micheal. The sense of overwhelming danger filled all of her to the point of breaking apart.

Lucy Madison would be powerless here and that was a fact. And all she could do is watch helplessly once more as self proclaimed guardian angel suffers once more.

" -" She tried to open her mouth but she couldn't even feel where it was and much less the sound that failed to escape. She felt like a vague spirit in the premise of two God like creatures. Both of which had a tremendous aura of animosity.

Lucifer who held the blood of the darkest angel and the angel who saved him from himself.

Or the shadow, the literal incarnation of all the evil. It looked like a hopeless battle.

And it was.

Without realising the shadow melted into the very ground the plane was on as everything turned into a pale palette. There was nothing to see. Everything disappeared except the floor of the world. As if a blank canvas to paint on.

And it itself was the brush. The author of a story.

" HNNGH!" Lucifer tensed, instinctively leaping into the air, breaking out of Lucy's grip but it was too late. His shadow was in the snare, as the being pulled him down into its body. The Angel froze as he felt a similar presence in the darkness that coiled him.

" Muh-Micheal?" Lucy felt something was wrong. 

A familiar presence.

Far worse than what witnessed. And when she opened her mouth once again, certain that her words will reach him, it didn't. Only her room appeared before her, like fizz from a soda can. Sudden and jarring and without a certain angel.

" LUCI!!"

*****

Feeling his mind fall behind the pain and his chest aching to the point that he could feel it tear in two, Lucifer struggled as his body was being ripped apart. The tendrils that resembled that of the archangel drilled themselves into his arms, every ounce of the pain he left over the entirety of his short life clawing at him with every passing second.

Until it...stopped.

As abrupt as the screams of damned or of a victim at the foot of a guillotine, the euphoric release was welcome with warm hands.

A little warmth speared him wherever he was impaled.

The coldness of his body slowly vanished.

" HAAAAAAHHHhhh-huh?" A snap of hysteria.

And in the second he relaxed, his body broke like a twig. Like a cloth rag torn after use. The tip of a blade snapped to make it sharper.

Lucifer Feall wailed in confusion of torture he was subjected to. His body felt burning yet comfortably warm.

Freezing yet it felt like the chill you would feel down your spine occasionally.

" -HNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Yet he didn't feel the aftermath of cruel pain like usual.

He never snapped.

He never felt pain.

The shadow was the one ripping the slither of the curse he let into himself when he killed Micheal. A parasite that would move on and on until it would eat away at every single being it could attach to.

But no, that wasn't everything.

The memories that poisoned him from the moment he woke up. The ones which bled into his own. The ones which plagued his thoughts. His hallucinations.

The voice he heard was true, but the woman wasn't.

There were never other angels. Only three unnamed forces of balance.

One that hails with destruction, one that restores all and one which mediates the balance.

But the balance had been the only sane one left behind after the damage that the other two caused. Still, the scales were tipped to the chaotic counter.

" ...." The man bit his lips and them bleeding in exchange, far from any of their encounters yet connected all the same. Downing his last sip of scotch, he threw the glass into the wall as it shattered across the room, disappearing into the wooden floor below.

He clicked his tongue. He fiddled with his nails. A storm of unwinding rage, slowly tearing up every single thing that they stood for. He felt the scales start to fall to his side. But the Devil didn't move. He sat still, like a chest that had been lost in time, his own chest heaving with slow breaths.

Not until his body didn't obey logic.

He could have all the power. He could control the movement and the progress of humanity. Like he was accused of from the dawn of humans. And if he could just wait a few minutes...

The morning star would be the demon they thought he was. And Lucifer would take on the mantle of being the good and the other being carrying his namesake, the bad. Simple as that.

" Don't do it kid." The one who would raze licked his lips, an instinctive habit.

He who would bring down the balance's eyes shuttered.

He felt a shiver up his spine.

A ringing in his ear.

" Help me, brother." Lucifer walked out the room, casting the final die to topple the scale.

*****

Lucy shrieked in shock as the man she began to love started to pale in colour, more than he already was before and grabbed his body before something else happened. She had no idea to what was happening. She felt helpless and useless like she did with every other instance involving her. Her hands found themselves cradling him like the Angel was going to wake up any moment from his slumber.

" Lu, wake up! Stop this now!" Lucy choked as her voice gave out a breathless voice.

Tears began to form and Lucy suddenly felt something pierce the back of her neck.

" Hush, my pochka. sleep..." The person sounded as smooth as honey but that wasn't what her focus was on. She felt a blade pass through her neck, like it just impaled her. And when she looked down, there was nothing. Not even the unconscious angel.

Then the world blacked out, like a tape which ran out before the climax of a flick.

Without any reason or any explanation, no exposition or any pay-offs, a movie which just ended abruptly.

The Balance lifted the body of the Angel who defeated the good and absorbed what was left of the evil. If not for his now beating heart, he would have died the moment he was exposed to the darkness.

He clicked his tongue.

" Of all the things you could do...why do you hold back even now brother? After all that ensued?" Sensing the presence still lurking within him, the man raised his left hand and speared it into the Angel's chest, breaking open from the other side. A man with his powers and the leniency he had right now made him the most powerful being on the realm of the living.

But that didn't change the fact which meant he would soon be the one breaking the balance, when his entire existence would be only to correct the same.

" Word of Creation : ę̸̧̢̨̨̗̤̰̣̪̰̺͎͍̺̩̬̱̺̰͓̪̟̯͓̬̰͕̮̥̣̤̮̮̦̭̹͈̜̱̪͇͔̳̝͓͎̦̩̩̜̗̀̿̒̐́͗̔̽̒͑̒̎̾̈́̍̀̇͌͐̍̾̏̈́̈̂́͆̏͋͌̌̋̄̎̾̏̄͆͌̔́͊̊̋̎̓̈̅̑͗̓̔̄͑͒͐̈͌͘̚̕̕͜͝͝͝ͅņ̷͉̦͎̲͇͇̩̣̗̓͑̄̓͛̽̋͆͋̾̄̒͂̅̓͗̔͌̽̅͗͂̎̾̓̇͋̓̀̎̀̉͆̀͋̈́̈́͗̊̔́̾͘͠͝͝͠͠͝t̸̢̧̢̛̻͍͍͚̮̟̦͚̹̯̹͔̹͈͚̤̬̦̱̘̮̲̪̐̉̏͗́̄͒̀̏̋̅̊̓̑́̆̃̇͒̏͛̿̃͐̓̾͆̓͒̚͜͠͠͠ŕ̸̡̨̢̨̧̧̢̧̨̧̡̛̛̦̦̟̼̦̯̱̭̪͉̹̞̭̦̱͍̟̪̪͉̯̰̳̭͔͇͎̤̪͔̟̜̜͕̭̜̩̱̫̘̤̥͖̘͕͕̙̬̲̱̫̤̹̫̰̲̖̜̣͓̦̭̤̖̬̦̪̙͍̯̯̰̟̯̭͙̝̥͎̳̅͋͑͋͑͐̔͆̃̒̌̃̍̓̽̾͗̓͋̌̈͑́̐̉̾̑̋͐̀́͗́͒͘̚͠͝͠͝͝ͅê̵̡̢̡̠͔̬̟̫̹̝̫̜̜̗̠̩̹̩̰̫̘͖̟̿̑̃̏̽͋̊̈́͛͗̊͌̈́̓̍̍̇͗̿̆͗͑̆͂̀̐̉̎̋̚͘͘̚̕ͅͅn̸̛͖̑̅͆͊̈́̈́͆͋̑̋̑̓͗̉̿͊͐̀̀͌̆̐̊́̏̇̀̎͗͆̈́͊̉̾̍̿͋͊͗̄̈́̋͊͂̄̾̇̽͗͋̌̂͂̏́͑̌̓̒͋͑̇͒̈́͗̎̽̅̕͘̚͘̕̚͝͠͝͝͝͠͝͝c̴̨̡̛̛͉̬̥̼͍̥̣̤͕̞͕͇̥̞̲̲͙͉̤̹̫̟̳̝̞̜̲͎̬̝̤̟̹̖̝̻̼̟͈͖͚͕̦̫̞̼͖͙̈́̐͒̇̑͑͗̎͆͒́̽̎͆̽͛́̽̒̇̂͑̅͗̏̿̆̔̊̑̇́̔́̀̍͛͆̾̎̀̉̿̂́̀̈̏̈́̓̋̿̋̈́̍̃̊̂̓̍̃̀̌̍͗͗̉́́͊̉̄̐͋̌͘͘̚͘͜͠͠͝͠͝h̶̨̨̨̧̛̛̟̤̟͇̬̥̠̭̘͙̣͙͈̞̳͉̝̝̩̼͔̣̦̜͚̺̙͎̲̱̲̲̗̬̱̩͙͖͙̙̰̺̘͓͇̩̭͕̫̝̠̱͕̲̜̤̋̿̀̈́̐̈́̉͌͋͋̋́̐̃̑̕͜͜͠ͅ "

The Angel's body burnt up in a sudden flash of flames, engulfing both him and the tendrils that leeched off him, shrieking in pain. Lucifer Feall felt it roast him more and more as the wounds cauterized in a flash, closing off every opening from the blood that gushed out. Gentle even in the way it burned him. And in the next moment, the world changed from a dull colour to a pitch black vacuum of space and then, bursting into a white sheet nothingness.

" You held up long enough, Feall. Let me take over." The Devil commented in a cold voice, as he pulled his hand out of his body, now with no wounds. No explanation, none given.

" Ta-the hell? Wa-what did you just do? How did you get here?" Lucifer, glanced at the one who just berated him of all his choices but was present to protect him.

" No. I'm just here to kill- THAT thing."

" That's...me you're pointing at..."

The Devil looked stern, as Lucifer understood he wasn't getting any clearer answers. This was a battle he still knew almost nothing about. And what he did know included the fact the darkness was still lurking, and that it was to be put down by the one he was named after. At least he hoped so.

Devil reached out his hand and placed them on the Angel's shoulder, inciting something he couldn't hear or rather couldn't hear or even hope to understand.

But it did the trick. Lucifer felt groggy, to the point a good sleep would be more than inviting. So flop towards the floor he did, before the figure caught him as his eyes turned blank from it's usual hollow hue.

" It's not like you, to be going rampant like this." He sighed.

Only grumbling sounds came from the unconscious kid, his body vibrating like a crow on a live wire, dying but effectively gouging out the ears of anyone unfortunate enough to pass by.

" STOP." Demanding it be ceased, the Devil let his knee loose on the spot behind the boy's shin, knocking him down as he picked his now once again limp body by the collar and began walking towards where he entered the Plane with one hand.

But it wouldn't stop. Lucifer was no stronger than Micheal himself but his body was made for assaults and as a powerhouse of endurance. Unlike the Archangel who had a balanced subduing set of affinities, the spawn of thoughts was never meant for drawn out battles. But for short, violent and often a crazed frenzy.

And so, the thing growled out of spite, just like an animal.

The woman who was the harbinger of all that was deemed ' Evil', bled her very essence into every inch of his being. Bringing about every other thing that erupted in demonic voices influencing negativity.

Well, not to be confused, it was specific to this spirit under the circumstances.

Lucifer pulled himself from any mercy, clamping his right palm on his throat, siphoning off any circulation of air to render it unconscious, to make the  subduing easier.

" DON'T MAKE ME HURT HIM." He growled, in a tone even the darkest of demons and the holiest of angels would shudder beneath upon hearing. It was a tone of authority. But it had no malice whatsoever.

But no, nothing paused even for a moment. The shadow had no care for what happened to anyone except itself. Far from what it knew of itself and a more potent poison than it could have ever been in life. Taking advantage of every possible outcome.

It spoke in a broken language, ciphers that can never be pieced cause it can never be understood. Like Latin, but a language no one can speak because it doesn't exist truly in a sense.

And then...

The man broke into a grin, his voice being all that existed as he worded one of his trump cards.

" Word: Ventriloquism"

The man chuckled as he felt his vision strain, pain stringing his body. But more so was his choice of words. 

" Pulling your punches even in death? So like you, brother. Why in the world does he keep doing this?" Successfully weaving the anchor Micheal buried on the Angel's body as a fail-safe for the sane to manipulate, Lucifer let that anchor bury into the soil.

The dark felt threatened when it's mobility was taken away, seeing the boy's body unable to move.

And then, everything broke.

One moment, a man struggling to keep evil at bay. The next, reality shattering.

The man who held the very fabric of the concept of existence died with a successful attempt at winding back the minds of every soul that existed when he tapped into a body that held the combined souls of what was said to be good and bad.

Virtue and Sin.

Yin and Yang.

Black and White.

And once the balance tipped, so did the very world, trying to fix what was done.

*****

Barely escaping slipping as his legs sprinted towards the girl, he reached his hands out for a desperate attempt to get her out of harms way.

But it wasn't to be.

The truck ploughed through him, the drunkard swerving into a nearby diner, resulting 2 customers dying in an instant and the driver bleeding out like the kid he ran over at he start of the blood trail. The girl's eyes spread wide as her blood chilling scream accompanied the dull moan of the truck.

*****

Barely escaping slipping as his legs sprinted towards the girl, he reached his hands out for a desperate attempt to get her out of harms way.

" LOOK OU-!" His hands managed to shove her at the nick of time but to no avail.

The intoxicated driver took a turn to avoid the very thing the kid tried to evade.

The truck ploughed through them, the drunkard swerving into a nearby diner, resulting 2 customers dying in an instant and the driver bleeding out like the kid he ran over at he start of the blood trail.

Her body was thrown at the windows, the glass piercing her face, causing her to go into shock. The light in the girl's eyes faded as her choked voice accompanied the dull moan of the truck.

*****

Ignoring, hoping that the female would be safe, the boy walked down the street.

The truck slammed into the girl as her body ricocheted off it and landed back in front of the front wheels, her ribs exploding under the sheer force of the many ton vehicle, her life slipping away into the darkness as the boy witnessed in horror, his yell piercing the air.

*****

" Look ou-!" The boy slipped, on the curb as attempted one last effort to help her. He felt his hand run across her shoulders as the only other impact was that of the crushing force of the truck before he lost consciousness from shock.

The mass continued down the road, only to crash into a bus, fortunate to have the driver on break at the café near the diner. Not so much for the non-existent insurance he forgot to reimburse.

The anchor was fixed.

*****

The boy woke up, pain striking at every single muscle in his body.

A helpless wave of numbness went up his right wrist as he attempted to lift the arm, only barely able to see a tube running right into his veins. He couldn't move them around much as he felt the small shiver of the dosage run through.

And after a few seconds of trying to understand what was around him, he felt another sting in his wrist and his eyes followed the tube into an IV packet with a blood pack hanging next to the hook, an air bubble running up the liquid and surfacing at the top.

He tried to tilt his head to the left to see what was there and lo and behold, an EKG beeping at him. It beeped the right amount too. So it was working.

yay.

" right..." A sentence escaped unconsciously. A gut feeling that he was in trouble.

He got his bearings, interrupted yet once more.

" Oh, finally. Told ya he weren't comatose." A chirp surfaced as a feminine voice chirped as mentioned before at the patient who was speaking to himself in a monotonous monologue.

As if he were being revived.

" Dammit, it hurts...what time is it?" He asked himself, trying to steal a glance at the clock hammered at the edge of his vision and continues to attempt for the moments it took to focus. But there she was, blocking his vision once again, snapping her fingers.

" About time you woke up." She cleared her throat.

What is this dialogue? An isekai? (A genre of anime where someone is transported into another world)

The boy continued to ignore her increasingly annoyed sentences with his thoughts that surfaced just as the bubble did inside the pack.

He felt inclined to make sure that the girl was safe. But he was still concerned. While he took the brunt of the impact, he did fall on her after they shot off like a ball.

" LISTEN TO ME FOR A SECOND! HELLO?!" But every band has a width and a frequency to snap at. And this was hers. Short tempered as she was, she tried to be rational.

Her legs stomped towards his bed as she yelled at him one more time.

" LISTENFORABLOODYSECONDDAMMIT!" Which got his attention, and also everyone who was in the ward, irrationally. 

" oh. Sorry! I kind of went a bit overboard! I'm very sorry!" She squealed, bowing back and forth to the curtains with no response except that of a couple groans.

" I'm all ears." The hospitalized teen shrunk back to the fluff of the mattress. His face was priceless to her but she had issues to solve and paperwork to fill.

" Thank you for grabbing her out of the way. Even if you both ended up here in the end. But she managed to get off without any major injuries. Just a minor concussion and a few ligament tears. Would be discharged within a few days, probably." This wall of dialogue hit him.

He closed his eyes.

" I see." 

" I'm...not questioning that. But the Madison's are here to thank you." Came in the paternal and maternal figures. One seemed jovial but her face turned joyous when her gaze fixed on the kid.

The woman tried to go for a hug but stopped at the last minute as a remark arose.

" Yeah, broken ribs. Might be better if you didn't-" Then it stopped.

" I'll be outside if you need me." The nurse knew better than to ruin a moment as she exited the space with a smile, albeit with alter intentions.

" Thank you for saving my daughter. I don't think anyone would know what would have happened to Lucy if you were not there when you did." Placing her hands on his palm and a second after he flinched, the mother loosened the grip and gave him a weak smile, as if she could already see the events that would have taken place while she spaced out.

" Give the kid a break, Rebecca. But she's right, you know? Lucy just had a broken nose and some other bruises but she's gonna be fine. Uh...sister? How will he fare?" The man queried the woman behind the curtain. With a dialogue that the boy couldn't hear, he thanked her as she disappeared back out.

" That's good! Hey- I'm sorry I didn't catch your name. What did you say it was?"

" Um..."

" Take your time."

" Uh..."

" But not too long since we got to get our girl home."

" About that..."

" Yeah?"

" I can't really remember it." 

" HUH? What do you mean CAN'T?"

" Honey I think he got a bit of amnesia or something."

" Oh no, how are you gonna pay your insurance? You have anything on you?"

" Sir, I am naked under these robes except my underwear. Ask the nurse eavesdropping"

" Uh...Nurse? SISTER? We might have a problem here."

" Yes, Sir? Anything the issue?"

" He doesn't remember his name."

There was no emotion on her face. And then it just faded out of colour. And one sentence slipped out.

" ohnotheinsurance" And there was concentrated fear behind those words.