Chapter 19

Aria opened the video conference link Julia had sent them earlier that day. After loading the video window, she centered the camera on Calypso. The Seraph stood on the small stage with her harp, looking into the camera with her swirling hypnotic violet eyes. Her wings were shimmering beautifully under the track light, framing her white clothed form and giving the scene a magical ambience. With her brilliant blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders she was the perfect embodiment of an angelic being. Aria tranced out for a moment as she just stared at the beautiful Seraph, forgetting what she was doing. When Calypso winked at her, she finally broke free of the Seraph’s enchanting spell and joined the video call.

Her eyes widened as she saw just how many people were watching the broadcast. There were people from hospitals all over the world, not just her own country. Julia had clearly made the most of her chance to heal people throughout the world.

“Hello everybody,” Calypso smiled radiantly into the camera. “I wish I could be with you all in person. Since I can’t, we’ll get you healed and maybe we’ll get a chance to meet in person in the future.”

Without any further discussion, she began playing Aria’s harp. Aria quickly fell under her spell as the beautiful music filled her soul with energy. Calypso began singing a moment later and it was clear that she had taken another step on her path to ascension while she was with Clarice on the sun. Her voice was like rippling waves of magic that washed through the soul like a tsunami. Aria could here words of power intertwined throughout her song. She wasn’t just healing one person, she was broadcasting tens of millions of runes through the divine language. Aria could tell without being able to see the patients that a sea of vitality was washing the taint from millions of bodies. Her large, expressive eyes were filled with passion as she serenaded the world with magic and love.

When she finished singing, she closed her eyes as a golden tear ran down her cheek as she smiled angelically. “I’ve wanted to reach more of you for so long. I’m so glad this opportunity finally came. Goodbye for now, dear ones.”

As Aria ended the stream, emails started flooding the inbox of the email she had used to host the event. People sending selfies of their healthy loved ones and short messages thanking her profusely for healing them.

“It looks like it worked,” Aria told her softly, her eyes full of excitement. “You did it, Calypso. You healed the world.”

More golden tears streamed down her face as she smiled brilliantly back at Aria. The rest of the group came into the theater when they heard her finish and began offering their congratulations. Clarice pulled her into a tight hug, silver tears running down her cheeks as she was overcome by emotion as well.

“Calypso, you really are the most amazing person ever,” Clarice whispered as she held her tightly. “Do you know how many parents you saved from losing their child tonight? I’m so glad we met you. Thank you so so much, for everything.”

Calypso closed her eyes as she embraced Clarice, her emotions filling the cabin around them with love, gratitude, and joy.

Aria joined Clarice, feeling a sense of ethereal wonder as the plan they had enacted in what seemed a lifetime ago was successfully completed. Lexi joined them and they stood in each other’s arms for several minutes, basking in their shared accomplishment.

“Okay, we better get going on the second phase of the plan before they shut the internet down,” Clarice finally said with a reluctant sigh.

“Where are we going to do it at?” Calypso asked, glancing at the laptop with the webcam Aria had used for the hospital broadcast. “Here?”

Clarice chuckled mischievously as she stepped back from Calypso and looked back at her father. “Dad, is everything ready?”

“Clarice, what have you done?” Aria asked in sudden concern as she felt the bubbling excitement mixed with anxiety in her sister’s emotions.

“Did you ever wonder what Dad has been up to for the last couple of days?” Clarice asked with a wolfish grin.

“I’ve been too busy to wonder what he’s been up to,” Aria declared pointedly. “And so have you, as I recall.”

“We’re going to do our live broadcast on stage,” Clarice told them as she opened a portal up to the side of a stage. There were dozens of musicians on the stage, including a full orchestral ensemble and choir. A large drum set sat in the center of the stage and several electric guitars sat on stands with headsets attached to them. “Dad put a band together with the information that Julia gave us of former patients. It turns out that every single one of the former patients are musicians of varying skill. I sent them the songs that Calypso made here at the cabin. I figure we can play the new ones and kill the nanobots, then move on to her older content.”

“And you didn’t think giving us a little warning would be a good idea?” Aria demanded, her stomach already filled with butterflies, which didn’t make sense because she didn’t have a stomach.

“Hell no, I wasn’t going to warn you,” Clarice laughed impishly. “You would have chickened out.”

The musicians on the stage were just finishing up a song and hadn’t noticed the small gateway that had opened up on the side of the stage. Several people in the audience had noticed, however, and were craning their necks to try and get a better look.

“Come on, Tweedle Dee,” Clarice grinned as the song finished. She grabbed Aria in one hand and Calypso in the other, then dragged them both through the gateway.

Aria blinked as she looked out at the crowd. She had thought it would be a small audience hall, but it was a full sized concert hall with thousands of seats full of Calypso fans. They clearly were not expecting Calypso to make an appearance. The cheering cut off like a light switch as Clarice dragged the two reluctant angels along with her toward the guitars. The audience stared in stupefied shock as the three angels arrived at the guitars. You could have heard a pin drop. The musicians looked as stunned as the audience as Calypso hesitantly picked up a guitar and pulled the strap over her head. Clarice took the headset and began to put it onto Calypso’s head, but the Seraph shook her head with a small smile. “No need.”

“Dad posted a live event for Calypso’s YouTube channel right before Calypso played for the hospitals,” Clarice told them as she put her own guitar strap over her shoulder. “There are probably hundreds of millions of people watching right now. Don’t let them down, Calypso.” Clarice grinned at Calypso as she finished.

Calypso took a deep breath as she looked out at the crowd that sat in stunned silence watching them. “Hello everyone. Shall we get started?”

Her voice effortlessly carried to every corner of the concert hall. There was a pause, then a wall of noise flooded the room as everyone in the audience surged to their feet and roared with excitement.

Clarice beckoned to the woman who had been handling the lead vocals before they arrived. Rather than try to talk over the noise, she made a telepathic connection to the woman. Do you mind switching to accompaniment and letting Calypso take over lead vocals?

The tall brunette was staring back and forth at Clarice and Calypso disbelievingly, her eyes wide with shock.

You still with us? Clarice asked her with an encouraging smile.

“Um, yeah,” the woman nodded, still looking daze. “I’m just going to sing accompaniment with Calypso.”

You’ve got this, Lori, Clarice told her with another encouraging smile.

“Live the Tale,” Calypso told the musicians, her voice easily carrying over the roar of the audience.

The musicians snapped out of their daze at her words, and they all readied themselves. Calypso nodded to the woman at the piano and the first notes began, followed almost immediately by the orchestra. Clarice joined in on the guitar as the rest of the musicians began to play. Calypso’s voice rang out above the instruments, easily carrying to every corner. Shockwaves of power radiated around the room as the instruments provided the substrate for Calypso’s transcendent voice to shake the world with her tale of beauty and triumph. The concert hall was charged with so much positive energy that small auroras spontaneously erupted throughout the space above them. The audience was completely gripped by the sublime riptide pulling them deeper into a world of fantasy and wonder beyond anything they could imagine. Calypso’s music reached deep into the soul and refined whatever it touched.

Clarice could hear the words of power that were woven into her words, wiping out any nanobots within range of her voice.

As the first song ended, the audience stood in silence, too entranced to react. They stood in stupefied wonder as they heard the difference of her live performance compared to hearing a YouTube recording. The musicians were watching Calypso in reverence. They had all heard her sing to them at some point in the hospital, but the difference when playing with a full ensemble was a life-changing experience. Her skill at composing each instrument and each note in a formula that equaled transcendental perfection was nothing short of divine.

The crowd slowly awakened from their trance. They finally returned to reality and went wild with cheers. Calypso noticed a woman with a child who was struggling to see over the heads of the adults in front of him. He was missing one of his legs, with a prosthetic on one side. She opened a portal directly in front of the woman and her child and waved with a welcoming smile. The woman gasped as Calypso gestured for them to come through. The child didn’t take additional prompting, hurrying through to stand in front of Calypso. The woman hesitantly followed, looking self-conscious as she appeared on the stage in front of thousands of people.

“Hello, Caleb,” Calypso greeted the child warmly, dropping down on one knee. “Would you like me to fix your leg?”

“You can do that?” Caleb asked in awe. His mother stared at her in wonder, taking in her wings and swirling eyes.

“Yep,” Calypso confirmed with a nod. “All I need in return is a hug.”

Caleb grinned and threw his arms around her neck. Calypso blazed brightly as she spoke several words of power. The prosthetic fell to the ground as a fully fleshed leg replaced it.

Caleb released her and looked down at his new leg in astonishment. He lifted it and twisted it about experimentally before looking up at her with a huge smile. “Thank you, Calypso!”

“You’re so welcome, Caleb,” Calypso smiled at him, rising up to her feet again. She looked at the dumbfounded mother and smiled warmly. “You’re a wonderful mother, Anna. I’m glad you came here tonight.”

Anna blinked back tears as she smiled. “Thank you so much, Calypso. You really are an angel.”

“Was it the wings that gave it away?” Calypso asked playfully, her eyes twinkling.

Anna laughed as tears fell down her cheeks.

“I hope you two enjoy the rest of the show,” Calypso told them brightly.

Anna and Caleb went back through the portal and Calypso closed it. The audience had been silent as they watched the miracle unfold. There were a lot of tears in the audience as they watched her with something close to worship.

“200 years,” Calypso called over to the musicians. “And nice work on those drums, Dimitrios. You were perfect.”

The drummer’s face flushed with pleasure as he looked back at her with a pleased grin.

The night was filled with intense emotional energy as Calypso sang her vision of reality into the air. She had opened up her aura during the second song, flooding the audience with her love and hope. The night had been a deeply moving religious experience for the excited audience. When they finally finished the performance several hours later, there were localized auroral discharges filling the concert hall. It would be a night to tell their children and grandchildren about.

At the end of the concert, Calypso looked out at the rapt faces with eyes full of love and once again unfurled her aura, wrapping them in her love. She held her hand up high in farewell and made a gateway back to the cabin. The three of them walked back into the living room, their faces glowing with satisfaction.

“I told you that you’d do great,” Clarice told them smugly.

Aria had totally lost all sense of self as she played, completely in the zone. The audience had barely existed for her as she was pulled into Calypso’s divine music.

“Do we have any confirmation that the nanobots were destroyed?” Calypso asked Devon as he entered the room.

He nodded, smiling broadly. “I’ve been receiving messages from contacts for the last two hours. Some of them just happened to be nearby someone who’s phone started playing the song and it still healed them. I think what you have done here tonight will probably cripple the agency. There are a lot of contractors who are never going to look at the agency again. There will be some organizations out there who will actively attack the agency when they discover their weakness.

“I would like to offer my congratulation as well,” a smooth voice said as a demon lord appeared in their living room.

Aria stared at him, waiting for the barest hint of aggression to fry him.

“Lucifer,” Arturiel greeted the demon lord with a deep bow, her voice filled with respect.

“Lucifer?” Aria gasped in amazement. “Like Satan and Beelzebub?”

“The very same,” Lucifer replied with a wry smile. He turned back to Arturiel. “You need not bow to me, Arturiel. I have never stood on formality.

Aria sniffed the air curiously, smelling no trace of demon. “Did you learn to hide the demon stink or something?”

“The stench is metaphorical,” Lucifer told her with a half-smile. “You’re sensing the state of their soul and interpreting it as a foul smell. Demons who have embraced their nature are going to smell a lot worse to you.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I see the party has already started,” Grodek noted as he popped into the room next to Lucifer. “Do you have the piece?”

Lucifer pulled the body of a violin out of a small portal in the air. It was missing the neck but was easily recognizable as part of a divine instrument. It was a brilliant white that seemed to have an inner glow. He offered it to Clarice. She stared at him curiously as she slowly reached out and took the broken instrument, her hands shaking.

As her hands touched it there was a small, inverted shockwave that rippled inward toward Clarice. Her eyes widened and her lips parted with a gasp. Aria could feel something twist around her sister’s soul, wrapping tightly around it before dissolving into it. Her presence expanded dramatically as she became more…whole.

“You’ve lucked out,” Grodek told them gruffly. “Lucifer happened upon this while he was going through one of the demon vaults in the former North American Territory headquarters.

“Are you ready?” Calypso asked Lucifer intently, her eyes showing a sense of familiarity.

He nodded, his eyes bright and full of anticipation.

Calypso made the connection to his core and flashed to incandescence as she removed the portion of his soul that allowed for him to be changed into a demon. He closed his eyes as light radiated around him, filling the room. His bat-like wings shimmered and became double-layered wings. His eyes blazed with light for several seconds before dimming to a glowing sapphire blue. He was nearly seven feet tall and stood with a mantle of authority that was physically palpable.

“Thank you, Calypso,” Lucifer spoke in a deep, powerfully enchanting voice. He was awe inspiring to behold, his title of the Lord of the Morning apparent.

Grodek suddenly started cackling madly, his eyes full of evil glee.

Lucifer watched him with an amused smile. “I take it there were some ripples.”

“More like a tsunami,” Grodek sniggered malevolently. “They all felt your return. There’s a general panic washing through the ranks of boot lickers and toadies. Azriel said that Michael is petitioning the Seraphim for a full-scale attack, trying to get them to leave the realm and come down here. He’s not having much luck. Leaving the higher realms isn’t pleasant when they’re used to energy that is several orders of magnitude greater than the mortal realm offers. Now that there are more Seraphim here, with divine instruments, the other Seraphim are probably shitting their metaphorical pants.”

“Lucifer is a Seraph?” Arturiel gasped in amazement. “I thought he was a Cherub.”

“They certainly wanted everyone to think that,” Grodek snorted in amusement. “They couldn’t have people losing faith in the Seraphim and believing them to be fallible.”

“How did they turn a Seraph into a demon?” Emily asked with a troubled frown.

“That answer will require a bit of background. There were nine of us in the beginning,” Lucifer told her. “We shaped reality and created the other realms according to instructions from what you think of as God. When reality was shaped and life seeded with the triads of angels, we remained in the highest light realm, where only Seraphim and their Cherubim can survive the ambient energy permeating the realm. We studied our work from afar, trying to understand what God is. This mortal realm is a finite place with finite laws and rigid rules governing reality. It would be difficult for you to comprehend the limitless nature of the light realms without remembering your time there. After more time than you can comprehend with your mortal limitations, there was discord in the lower light realms. Angels are immortal entities that cannot die. When we were informed that some angels were growing disconsolate with their existence in the lower light realms and that they had begun to torment other angels, we granted the Cherubim the power to extinguish life. Some angels wished for a release from life as boredom robbed them of reason and passion. The Cherubim were given instructions to accommodate those who wished for an end. They were also instructed to maintain order when angels preyed upon the agency of other angels. This worked well, for a time. Eventually, however, more angels grew bored of eternity. The number of angels requesting an end became alarming enough that we searched for information from God for an answer. The solution was to create the mortal realm and allow angels to incarnate their souls in physical bodies, where they would forget who they were, for a time, and experience the dichotomy of pain and pleasure, fear and joy, love and hate, in order to better cope with eternal life. This was a partial success, resulting in angels who found a renewed passion for eternal life. With memories of their mortality and the emotional growth it imbues, angels no longer took the positive energy filling their immortal bodies for granted. Eternal life became a place of beauty and passion. However, not all of the angels were willing to experience mortality. They feared the loss of their power and memories, as well as the pain and suffering mortality inflicts on the soul. Only about a third of all angels had experienced mortality when the other Cherubim convinced their Seraphim that mortality should only be used for angels who were disruptive to the agency of other angels. I was only one of four Seraphim to experience mortality at that point. Four of our number decided that mortality should be a prison for the unruly until they were rehabilitated. It was clear to me and the other four Seraphim that this was a system that was ripe for abuse. We organized the angels who had experienced mortality and made it clear that we would not accept this system. We suggested that everyone undergo at least one mortal life. The Seraphim were poisoned against us by their Cherubim, convincing them that we were attempting to remove them from power. Using the divine instruments of creation, the four Seraphim tried to kill us, but ended up transforming us into demons and mortals when the divine instruments wouldn’t allow our unmaking. The four Seraphim sent angels and archangels down to watch over humans to ensure that the demons they had converted from angels would only torment them enough to ensure they learned their lesson. They believed that adversity and suffering would result in more compliant angels when they returned. They left their Cherubim and Dominions in charge of the operation. The Cherubim and their Dominions made sure that the angels sent down to protect and guide the humans were eventually all converted into demons. They turned it into a prison realm to keep the Seraphim and Cherubim who were betrayed from returning and exacting revenge or forcing them to experience mortality. For many immortals, the thought of an end is more terrifying than anything they can imagine, and mortality would be a kind of end for them. Experiencing a mortal life results in significant changes to the soul. Things like compassion, empathy, and love can only be learned by experiencing pain and loss.”

Arturiel was staring at him with as much astonishment as the rest of them. She had clearly believed she was on a mission to help troubled angels become respectful angels when she was sent to the mortal realm. There was a growing anger in her eyes as she realized she had not only been deceived but had been purposely subjected to the horrors of becoming a demon just so that some Cherubim could avoid experiencing mortality one time.

“That explains…a lot,” Clarice commented, her face pensive. “How did a Seraphim seed end up in Calypso if you were all sent down here at the same time? Where do you even get a Seraphim seed?”

“There are no such thing as seeds,” Lucifer answered with an ironic smile. “At least, there are no class related seeds. There is only the transfer of angelic essence that reawakens who you already were. Calypso was a Seraph, as were the two of you.” Lucifer nodded at Aria and Clarice.

“Uh, we’re clearly Cherubim,” Clarice corrected him matter-of-factly. “Note the golden eyes and laser beams we shoot to vaporize things.”

“Do you really think a Seraph cannot do the same things that a Cherub can do?” Lucifer asked her, amusement in his eyes. “You have awakened the abilities you believed you needed to protect Calypso. You are both Seraphim.”

Arturiel was staring at them with disbelieving eyes. Her parents didn’t look nearly as surprised. Her father looked satisfied while their mother looked pleased. Calypso’s face was full of affection but not surprise. Aria wondered if she had known or at least suspected. Lexi was grinning without any sign of surprise either. She probably expected no less of Clarice.

“What was all that talk about warrior and bard classes when we talked to you earlier, Grodek?” Aria demanded suspiciously. “If classes don’t even exist, why did you tell us she was a bard?”

“Did I tell you she was a bard?” Grodek asked with a sly grin.

Aria rewound her memory and studied the conversation with Grodek. She frowned as she realized he hadn’t even shown any kind of affirmative reaction to Clarice’s question.

“You said healers heal, warriors kill, and singers sing,” Aria declared with a frown. “What else were we supposed to make of that?”

“You were supposed to think of yourselves as warriors, that’s what,” Grodek smirked, looking satisfied. “The last thing you two needed was to start developing healing powers when demons were trying to capture you.”

“You were just manipulating us then?” Aria responded critically.

“Yep, that’s exactly what I was doing,” Grodek agreed pleasantly.

“What about the phrase that you have to say to activate it?” Aria asked intently. “Is it just the same for everyone? They have to say they want to vanquish evil?”

“The mortal realm was initially designed to rehabilitate angels that were troublemakers,” Lucifer explained patiently. “When you say you want to vanquish evil, or any other similar variant after receiving an angel tear, you are declaring your virtue and desire for righteousness instead of evil. The angels who were meant to assist mortals were instructed to use their judgement when they believed a mortal was ready to ascend. Since an angel can’t be compelled to cry, it was decided to use angel tears as the method to initiate the transformation.”

“Who’s this fifth Seraph?” Clarice asked shrewdly. “It’s you, isn’t it, Grodek?”

“Give the girl a gold sticker,” Grodek drawled sarcastically, his eyes amused.

“So, it’s not four Seraphim against two Seraphim,” Clarice grinned, her eyes triumphant. “It’s four against five. Is that why they haven’t attacked?”

“They’re just a bunch of cowards,” Grodek snorted disgustedly. “They are all four afraid of the changes mortality will make to their souls. The idea of leaving the higher light realm to do battle in the mortal realm with the chance that one of them might die terrifies them. Nothing can die on the highest light realm, so they are hiding up there like the cowards they are.”

“Lucifer, you said that only four Seraphim had experienced mortality,” Clarice commented as she faced the Lord of the Morning. “Who was the fifth Seraph that remained? Grodek?”

“You are correct,” Lucifer nodded, a grim smile on his face. “He wasn’t opposed to experiencing mortality eventually. After we were forcibly incarcerated in the mortal realm, Grodek took two of the divine instruments and hid them on the mortal realm. He didn’t just hide them though,” Lucifer grinned as he continued. “He bound one of them to the Lore Boar for safekeeping. The harp was embedded in the Tree of Life until he removed it and placed it in a place where Calypso’s father would find it. When the other Seraphim discovered what he had done, they attempted to unmake him with the remaining two instruments, but the instruments broke while they were in use and fell to the mortal realm, scattering across planet Earth. He ended up as an imp, instead of being unmade. He remains unconstrained by the mortal realm and is still able to visit the higher light realms.”

“What about the fourth instrument?” Emily asked curiously. She and Eric had been listening to the conversation with rapt attention, their expressions fascinated. “Who will possess the fourth divine instrument now that Aria, Clarice, and Calypso are in possession of three of them?”

Lucifer pulled out the neck of a guitar. “I have part of the guitar. I believe Grodek gave you some clues on where to look for some of the pieces. That is the most important task right now. Once the four instruments have been restored, we will no longer need to worry about the other Seraphim. We will have the power to rewrite reality, consigning them to mortality if we so choose. Calypso has already rewritten reality several times on a localized level. One of those times was raising Arturiel to an archangel.”

“She doesn’t need all four instruments to rewrite reality?” Emily asked in surprise.

“Not for small events,” Lucifer replied with a shrug. “You only need all four to rewrite the foundations of reality, such as making a Seraph into a mortal.”

“I knew that wasn’t supposed to be possible,” Arturiel declared with a grin.

They all paused, and Aria’s sixth sense flared with alarm. She teleported above the house and saw hundreds of fiery missiles raining down from the sky above. Lucifer appeared next to her and spoke a single word of power. All of the lights in the sky suddenly winked out of existence. There was no angel fire or destructive wave, just a single word. It tickled something in the back of her mind, or perhaps her soul.

Clarice and Calypso had also teleported at the same time. Arturiel rushed out of the house and flew up to them, the others not far behind.

“It looks like the demons of the other territories panicked and thought a full nuclear strike would accomplish something,” Lucifer observed with a shake of his head. “They’re not thinking very clearly if they think nukes can harm immortal beings.”

“It might not be us they are targeting,” Arturiel commented with a frown. “They might be trying to plunge the world into chaos by starting a nuclear world war. It might be their only way to prevent society from galvanizing against them, especially now that Saturn’s apathy modulator has been neutralized. Humans will be rising up against their governments as they regain their sense of passion.”

“Is that what that thing on Saturn was?” Aria asked in surprise. “We weren’t sure what it did, but Calypso was sure it needed to go.”

“That was you?” Arturiel asked in surprise, staring at her in amazement.

“Yeah. We were doing a little exploring since we were able to travel through space at ridiculous speeds,” Aria explained, smiling slightly at the memory. “We decided to stop by Saturn on the way back to see the hexagon. When we went down into the vortex, we found that macro circuit transforming the EM field into a vortex and creating some kind of interplanetary resonance. The structure was insanely huge. Calypso had me vaporize it because she sensed it was demonic in nature. I’ve been wondering what it actually did.”

Arturiel shook her head, staring at Aria in amazement. “It’s hard to imagine just how much more powerful you are than the average angel.”

“You’re pretty powerful too, you know,” Aria told her pointedly. “Weren’t you the one that told me archangels were significantly more powerful than angels?”

“Oh, they are,” Arturiel assured her with a rueful smile. “I’m an army ant to a sugar ant, while you are human to both ants. Your power is not even comparable to ours.”

“Army ants are pretty freaking scary,” Aria declared fervently. “Drop a human in an army ant nest and see what happens.”

“We should probably make sure there aren’t any nukes dropping elsewhere in the world,” Arturiel suggested with an anxious frown.

Aria opened up a series of twenty different gateways into the sky, each one covering a different part of the globe. “I don’t see any above any of the major European or Asian cities.” She opened a few more gateways in Russia and the Middle East. “Looks like all of the major nuclear powers are in the clear.”

Arturiel was staring at her in awe again as she closed all of the portals.

“What?” Aria asked curiously.

“You just open up portals like it’s nothing,” Arturiel breathed in amazement. “I’ve seen archangels spend up to an hour trying to get a single portal to open correctly. I’ve heard Principalities and Dominions can open them quickly, but you just opened dozens at the same time.”

“It’s just a matter of connecting the correct nodes in the cosmic meridians,” Aria explained with a self-deprecating shrug. “It just takes a little while to get used to using your spiritual vision to see the hidden world of energy overlaying the physical plane.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Arturiel covered a small smile as she looked around. She was slowly flapping her wings to stay aloft, reminding Aria of how useful it was to be able to hover effortlessly.

“Maybe’s it’s time to rid this world of nukes,” Clarice muttered darkly. “It wouldn’t take us very long, and it would get rid of a lot of future threats if nobody had nukes. Since we can vaporize them, it doesn’t even leave any radiation behind.”

Lucifer chuckled at her suggestion. “That would certainly have far reaching geopolitical ramifications if it became known that nobody had nukes anymore.”

“I think it’s time for Calypso to show us how to redeem demons,” Aria announced firmly. “If we really are Seraphim and have that kind of power, we should start redeeming any demons we come across while we are hunting down those instruments.”

“We could multitask,” Lexi offered suggestively. “I could go take out the nukes while you focus on finding the remains of the divine instruments.”

“Not a bad idea,” Aria tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. “I think you should have someone with you though. I don’t like the idea of anyone going off alone.”

“I could go with Lexi,” Emily offered helpfully. “If you don’t mind showing us how to open portals, your dad and I would appreciate it.”

Aria hid a grin as she turned to her mother and showed her a slow example of opening a portal. It took her mother a few minutes to wrap her head around the concept, but she eventually got it. “Now you and Dad can have some alone time somewhere off planet.”

“Thanks, Aria,” she said dryly.

“Well, I’m off to gloat,” Grodek announced with a chortle. “I don’t want to miss any of the gnashing of teeth going on upstairs right now. It’s going to be the highlight of the millennium.”

Grodek vanished with a pop, leaving a chuckling Lucifer behind.

“What are you going to do?” Aria asked Lucifer curiously. I’m questioning Satan. This is just too freaking surreal.

“I’m going to start redeeming demons I know,” Lucifer answered with an eager grin. “There are a lot of demons who have unjustly suffered long enough.”

“You know how?” Aria asked in surprise.

“I’m one of the Seraphim that created the design for the energy inverter in the first place,” Lucifer reminded her.

“Oh yeah,” Aria said with a frown. “That’s right, Grodek had said that it was by design.”

“It was never meant to make demons, however,” Lucifer grimaced darkly. “That was just an exploit used by Raphael and Gabriel.”

“I guess I’ll see you around, Satan,” Aria couldn’t not say it.

Lucifer threw his head back and laughed. “That was a lovely piece of propaganda. Take care, Aria. I know you don’t remember me yet, but when you reach full ascension again your memories will return. Enjoy your ignorance while you have it. You’ll look back on these days with fondness.”