Azik met Lucifer three days later.
It was a rare sunny morning, unlike the usual gloom where the sun barely appeared. Klein had left for a new commission, and Jack and the Red Angel had business to attend to, leaving the villa early. Azik, theoretically a guest staying temporarily, was alone in the sprawling residence.
Lucifer knocked on the villa's door under these circumstances. When Azik set down his newspaper and opened the door, he saw the black-haired, golden-eyed angel standing there.
Lucifer's attire had shifted to something more casual than formal dress but still elegant, and the thick, familiar book remained in his hand.
"Good day, Azik." Lucifer said, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses with a relaxed smile. "Jack told me you wanted to see me."
"Good day, Your Excellency Lucifer." Azik replied, noticeably more tense. He ushered Lucifer inside, awkwardly brewing a pot of tea and offering a cup before continuing, "I do want to meet you. Jack may have mentioned why in his letter... I wish to face my past self, the Death Consul."
Alaric, disguised as Lucifer, smiled. He sipped the tea Azik prepared, then met his gaze. "That's dangerous. You know your situation. Confronting the Death Consul could flood you with memories from your time in the Balam Empire, when you were most influenced by Death and divinity. Are you ready for that impact, Actor?"
"I don't know." Azik admitted, shaking his head after a moment's silence. His eyes hardened with resolve. "But I refuse to wait passively for death."
Azik had reflected deeply over the past days. At times, he dreamt of fragmented memories... blurry glimpses that revealed how different the Death Consul was from his current self.
He'd felt fear and resistance but ultimately chose this path.
At least this way, he had a chance to seize control of his fate rather than being passively consumed by his other soul half.
"Perhaps it's not consumption?" The black-haired angel seemed to read his thoughts, chuckling lightly. He opened his blank book to a page and said, "Azik, want to know your future? Since you're a fine actor, I don't mind giving you a sneak peek at the script."
Though he said this, the youth's face carried unmasked mischief, clearly eager to stir some drama for his own amusement.
Azik pursed his lips, not refusing. "So, what was my original future?"
"You…" Alaric's gaze fell on the blank page. Though it held no words, scenes from the original story flashed in his mind. He smiled. "It was a decent ending, I suppose. You gave up your other soul half, and someone helped you avoid fusion. But the cost was eternal entrapment in a cycle of reincarnation."
"Do you like that ending?" Alaric looked at Azik, smiling. "If you do, you can still choose it."
Azik fell silent again. After a few seconds, he sighed, then smiled. "A few days ago, I might've chosen that. But now, I want a different path."
"Oh?" Alaric raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.
Azik met his gaze, his eyes firm yet gentle. "I want to merge with my other soul half. I want to break free from reincarnation. I want to overcome divinity with my humanity."
"What sparked this change, Actor?" Alaric asked, sounding like a director or a probing journalist.
"There are many reasons." Azik said slowly. "If I had to pick one, it's that the world Jack and the others described is too beautiful. I want to help them, so I can't keep sinking into this cycle."
Alaric's expression showed surprise. "Didn't expect you to be an idealist."
"I'm not." Azik said, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "These past days, I've dreamt a lot. I saw myself dying and awakening repeatedly. I saw myself on a throne, watching people fall around me, only to rise as skeletons…" His voice grew distant, like a dream's murmur.
"It felt wrong. It shouldn't be like that. But another voice in me said it's how it's meant to be…" Azik lowered his head, lost in his recounting, as if drowning in memories.
Alaric watched quietly, aware his actions had caused changes. Compared to the original story, Azik had recovered more memories, likely due to reuniting with his children. Unlike the original, where memories made him colder, Azik now seemed more tormented.
Tormented by the tug-of-war between humanity and divinity.
"What else did you dream of?" Alaric asked suddenly, his voice gentle like a priest soothing a troubled soul, only to turn cold in the next moment. "Did you dream of your children?"
"Did you see them among those corpses, their faces full of disappointment?"
Azik's head snapped up, staring at him.
Alaric smiled, his voice like a verdict. "You know your children wouldn't accept a father like that."
Azik's body trembled, his lips quivering, unable to form a word.
Alaric's gaze held a trace of pity, perhaps mixed with an indifferent smile. He stood, placing a hand lightly on Azik's head, like a deity comforting a lost lamb. "You're atoning, Azik. For the sins you committed, for the bloody past you can't tell your children…"
"When Jack described the world we want to build, you were happy, weren't you? You finally had a chance to atone, to make up, even slightly, for…" Alaric paused, chuckling, "Your past as the Death Consul."
"…Yes." Azik finally managed, looking up at Alaric. "I want to atone."
"I know I can't fully make up for past mistakes, but now, I want to contribute my part to that beautiful world."
***
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