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Jason opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of his office.
The space station hummed around him the soft whir of life support, the distant murmur of crew members going about their duties, the gentle vibration of engines that kept Pantheon's headquarters suspended above the Earth. Everything was exactly as he had left it.
He looked at the clock on his desk. Five minutes. He had been gone for five minutes.
Nothing had changed. The reports were still stacked where he had left them. The viewport still showed the curve of the Earth against the black of space. His coffee had gone cold, but it was the same cold coffee he had abandoned before jumping into the Nightmare Realm.
The door opened.
Diana walked in, her expression carrying the weight of news she hadn't yet delivered. She was holding a tablet, her armor still dusted with whatever training she had been doing in his absence.
"Jason. I've got some news...."
She stopped.
Her eyes found his face, and whatever she had been about to say died on her lips. The anger. The rage. The grief that he couldn't quite hide, no matter how hard he tried. She had seen him in battle, seen him furious, seen him cold and calculating and terrifying. This was different.
This was someone who had lost something.
"Jason..." Her voice was softer now, careful. "What... is wrong?"
Jason didn't look at her. He couldn't. His eyes were fixed on his hand, on the ring he was still holding, on the silver light that had gone still and would never flicker again. Dove's ring. The first Cursed Lantern. The woman who had trusted him.
He closed his fingers around it.
"Did you send the alert news?" His voice was flat. Dead.
Diana hesitated. "Yes." She took a step closer. "We're conducting a meeting soon to discuss it."
Jason turned to her. His eyes were hollow, but something burned behind them—something that made Diana's hand drift toward her sword.
"Cancel the alert. But keep the meeting." He stood up from his desk. "I want all important figures to be there. There's something important to talk about." He reached up and touched the Ankh around his neck. Dark energy swirled around his fingers. "I'll be back soon."
"Jason..."
The door opened in front of him—a tear in reality that led somewhere else, somewhere Diana couldn't see.
"Jason! Jason! Wait!" Diana stepped forward, reaching for him. "There's something I need too.."
He stepped through the door.
It closed behind him.
Diana stood alone in the office, her hand still extended, her words still unspoken. She sighed and let her arm fall.
"Guess... I'll tell you later."
...
Jason emerged into Death's kitchen.
The same house. The same modern fixtures. The same impossible stillness that existed outside of time. Death stood at the counter, pouring something amber into a glass. Dream sat at the table, his pale fingers steepled in front of his face, his expression distant.
They both looked up when Jason arrived.
Neither looked surprised.
Jason didn't wait for pleasantries. He didn't sit. He didn't accept the drink that Death pushed toward him. He stood in the center of the kitchen, his fists clenched at his sides, and spoke.
"I want to kill him."
Death's eyes narrowed. Dream's expression didn't change.
"I'm going to kill him." Jason's voice shook....not with fear, with rage. "And I want your help."
Silence filled the kitchen.
"Kill the Empty Hand?" Dream's voice was soft, almost pitying. "That's impossible, boy."
"Nothing is impossible." Jason took a step forward, his shadow falling across the table. "That fucking bastard. He... he did all of that for fun. And it didn't even matter that I destroyed the gate or not." His voice rose. "He destroyed it himself. He was walking around like it didn't mean a thing!"
Dream's eyes widened. Death set down her glass.
"You said!" Jason pointed at Dream. "You said destroying the gate would stop him! But it didn't do shit!" His fist slammed against the table. "He didn't even seem effected!"
Dream and Death exchanged a look—something passing between them that Jason couldn't read.
"He... walked?" Death asked slowly. "You met him?"
"That's impossible." Dream stood up from the table, his chair scraping against the floor. "He doesn't have the ability to do that. He's bound by laws beyond him."
"Bullshit." Jason's voice was cold now, the rage settling into something sharper. "He stepped right into my face. He killed someone....a friend of mine...right there. My life was in his hands." He met Dream's eyes. "I watched him. Whatever laws you speak of... he doesn't care about them."
Death turned to Dream. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice carried weight.
"If what he says is true... we need to talk to Mom and Dad."
"They never do anything." Dream's voice was bitter. "They won't do anything."
"Then I'll find someone who will." Jason stepped back, his hands opening and closing at his sides. "I know someone who'll help. But I need your help to find him."
Dream's eyes narrowed. "And who exactly do you know that will help you defeat a force older than time itself? Older than us?" He spread his hands. "A force only God stands against?"
Jason met his gaze.
"God's favorite son."
The words hung in the air.
Death's eyes widened. Dream went still.
"Lucifer Morningstar."
Silence.
Then Dream sighed—a long, weary sound that seemed to come from somewhere deep in his chest.
"You think Lucifer will help you?"
"It's not a bad idea," Death said quietly.
Dream turned to her, incredulous. "What? Why would Lucifer care about a mortal's struggles?"
"Because it was he who brought that mortal into our world." Death's voice was calm, certain. "Whatever the reason... Lucifer cares about him. And he will help."
Dream stared at her for a long moment. Then he turned back to Jason, his expression unreadable.
"Lucifer isn't someone who can be found easily. Especially not if he doesn't want to be found."
"Then help me find him." Jason held his ground. "If he knows it's me... he'll respond."
Dream was silent. His pale eyes studied Jason....searching for something, weighing something, calculating the cost of involvement.
Finally, he nodded.
"Fine. If I get a lead... I'll tell you." He turned toward the door, then paused. "This time, I'm not helping you for a favor. I'm doing it because I, too, care about the safety of this world." He glanced back at Jason. "And if the Empty Hand is truly walking freely... then the world is certainly in danger."
....
Meanwhile, somewhere, anywhere and nowhere at the same time...a man sat on a wooden chair, his feet planted in warm sand, his face turned toward an ocean that existed only because he willed it to. The waves rolled in endless cycles, crashing against a shore that had no map, no coordinates, no place in any world that mortals could reach.
Lucifer Morningstar took a slow sip of his whiskey and turned the page of his newspaper.
The headline was irrelevant. All headlines were irrelevant when you had seen the rise and fall of civilizations, the birth and death of stars, the slow crawl of existence toward an end that kept receding like the tide. He read anyway. It passed the time.
Behind him, another man walked.
Lucifer didn't turn. He didn't need to. The presence behind him was as familiar as his own shadow—annoying, persistent, and utterly incapable of leaving him alone for more than a few millennia at a time.
"Ah." Lucifer's voice was light, almost cheerful. "Well, if it isn't my favorite brother."
"Lucifer."
The voice was colder. Sharper. The voice of someone who had spent eternity doing what he was told and expected everyone else to do the same.
"Michael." Lucifer took another sip of whiskey. He still didn't turn around. "What brings you to my little corner of nonexistence? Come to admire the view?"
Michael stepped closer, his boots sinking into the sand. He was dressed in white—pristine, immaculate, the perfect opposite of everything Lucifer pretended to be. His wings were folded against his back, hidden but not gone, their presence pressing against the air like a promise.
"A piece of Darkness has managed to escape its hold." Michael's voice was flat. "It now roams the world freely."
Lucifer's eyes didn't leave the newspaper. "Oh. And why are you telling me this? Why don't you just go... handle it?"
"Because this is your fault."
The words hung in the air, heavy and accusatory. Lucifer's hand paused, his glass halfway to his lips.
"God has disallowed our intervention due to the deal He made with Darkness." Michael's tone was clipped, precise, the voice of someone delivering a verdict. "But because of your actions with that Beyonder mortal... Darkness has now released its own Beyonder."
Lucifer set the glass down on the small table beside his chair. He folded the newspaper with deliberate care and placed it beside the glass.
"Meh." He picked up his whiskey again. "I don't care, though."
Michael's jaw tightened. His wings shifted beneath the fabric of his coat, feathers rustling with barely contained frustration.
"Well, you should." He stepped closer, his shadow falling across Lucifer's chair. "It is YOUR fault. And God said that if you have an ounce of care about the human you brought in....then you SHOULD do something."
Lucifer said nothing. He stared at the ocean, at the waves that curled and broke and reformed, at the endless cycle of something that meant nothing and everything.
Michael turned to leave. His boots crunched against the sand, each step carrying him further from his brother, further from the beach, further from the conversation that had gone nowhere.
He paused at the edge of the shore.
"Or stay here." His voice was quieter now, but no less sharp. "Continue being the disappointment you've always been."
He left.
The beach was silent again. The waves continued their endless dance. The sun...if it was a sun...hung motionless in the sky, casting light that came from nowhere and everywhere.
Lucifer sat alone in his chair, his whiskey warming in his hand, his eyes fixed on an ocean that reflected nothing
"Well...I suppose I should help the little slob....He did become the King of hell just like i desired...Perhaps a reward is in order"
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If you Like this story! Check out my other story ! Shadow Monarch in Danmachi!
AND
If you wish to read more or simply support me just because ? than check out my patréon at
"https://www.patréon.com/Riadooo"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want !