Averie threw the vibrating phone onto the mattress, where it bounced twice before swiftly settling down, playing music.

As the actor stepped out of the bathroom, his bathrobe fluttered. Feet inclined, he tapped dance towards the jar of water. With the grace of a swan, he swayed his bum, poured himself a glass, and drank as if it were the blood of Christ.

Bobbing his head and shaking his shoulders, he walked to the middle of the room.

With an expression so sublime, he wrapped his hands around an imaginary pole and ground his pelvis against it.

"Saddie, you should’ve never danced to my songs," he sang in a passionate voice. "Daddy, where’s my purse, where’s my car?"

As he moaned and danced, Miss Meow watched from the corner of the room, frozen while grooming herself.

Her eyes shifted back and forth between the man and the phone. One simple leap, and she would snatch it before he could react. After that, running to the balcony and jumping off would be a piece of cake.

She would die for sure, but it would put an end to this auditory harassment.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to resort to such extremities, as the devilish actor turned off his smartphone.

He plopped himself on the bed and closed his eyes.

His mood shifted drastically.

***

It was a pink sky, as if some divine being of unknown origin had spilled paint.

"Did you predict this?" Satan intoned, finding the scenery breathtaking. "Did you think he would create this?"

"No," the Warden of Hell answered. "I doubt anyone could’ve predicted this. This—" He spread his arms towards the pink firmament. "—was a surprise, even to me."

Satan contemplated. "How did you gain entry?"

"The laws of this domain are yet unwritten. I found a way."

’What’s he planning?’

"Do you want to know?" Lucifer asked, as if he could read his colleague’s thoughts.

Facing the devil’s back, Satan could scarcely tell what expression he wore.

He wanted to know, but before he could answer, something caught his eye. Something caught their eye.

A ripple in the very fabric of the place.

Satan raised a finger, feeling the air shift around him. "A pulse."

He could feel it even without seeing it.

"It is imminent." His hollow gaze shifted to the pink skies. "They have arrived."

He was proven right.

With golden hair, luminous wings, and bronze skin, they had descended.

There were three of them—Camael, Jophiel, and Zadkiel.

Once, they were three of the most revered archangels.

But that time had passed, and Satan knew it.

He flashed his sharp teeth. "If it isn’t the sorriest of our brethren."

The angels remained quiet as they surveyed their surroundings, their feet now hovering only a meter above the grey liquid.

"It’s only us here, and you still wear those false perfections?" His crooked grin widened. "Pretention runs through your veins, doesn’t it? Tell me, does it not burn your retinas, that venom in your eyes?"

The angels spread apart, keeping their distance from the pair of devils.

"Divinity flows through this land," Camael said, his face passive. "You have killed the gatekeeper of Purgatory, then."

Satan fell silent.

Honestly, this situation wasn’t favorable.

He wasn’t the one responsible for the death of that angel, but he knew the other party wouldn’t care about the details.

In this situation, leaving without confrontation seemed like the best-case scenario.

’But would they allow it?’

He hoped they wouldn’t, because he was itching for a fight. His nostrils were flaring. His teeth were clattering. And his fists were trembling with excitement.

It had been centuries since the last confrontation. "Show me those true versions of yours. Show me that large eye."

He hummed sarcastically.

"That horrific sight, how I miss it, dear brothers. If my eyeballs were still in their sockets, I would be crying tears of joy."

Satan was afraid Lucifer would interfere, but for some reason, the devil remained silent. It was creepy in a way.

Finally, one of the archangels stepped forward, his mane of golden hair gently cascading down his shoulders.

"Zadkiel." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Satan always found him a little funny.

"For an archangel of kindness, benevolence, and mercy—goodness in all forms, one should say—you certainly do love your dagger."

As the devil said, the archangel held his robes in one hand and a dagger in the other. With a placid expression, he let go of his robe and spread his arms.

"My fallen brothers, why do we quarrel?"

"I don’t know, man. Our vibes are kinda different."

The angel frowned. "Vibes? What’s that?"

"Aura, bro. Aura!"

The angels looked at each other, confused as to what Satan was saying.

The unhinged devil placed his hands on his chest. "Our styles don’t match. It’s like you feel me, bro?"

"I believe it’s human influence speaking," Camael said.

As an archangel of love, peace, and harmony, he was quick to adapt and accept the inauthentic speech of Satan.

He gazed into his chalice, his eyes watery.

"What a pity," he whispered.

The staff in his other hand tapped the surface of the liquid, sending ripples across the land.

"My love for you hasn’t waned, brothers. But we must retrieve what is left of the guardian of Purgatory."

For the first time, Lucifer stepped forward, blood streaking down his cheeks. "Don’t disturb the womb."

His scraping voice carried a clear warning.

Suddenly, the tension soared.

A bloody confrontation was imminent.

Or so it should’ve been.

"Beautiful."

That single word broke the tension.

Finally, Jophiel—the third archangel—had spoken.

When he drew the eyes of his brethren, a heavy silence spread.

He was standing before a foreign figure—a lady dressed in eastern attire, her red wooden umbrella lifted ever so slightly.

Exposed, her exquisite red lips moved. No words fell out.

But Jophiel was compelled by the movement of her flesh.

He drew his flaming sword, mesmerized, bewitched... and drove it through his torso.

The Lady smiled, her apparition fading.

"Beautiful," muttered Jophiel, the angel of beauty, as the grey liquid swallowed him.

Another angel had disappeared within Lilith’s Womb.