Phantom Pain (trilogy)

Lucifer

Chapter 34: Lucifer

The first thing I felt was the absence. Without the light the sword had provided I was a shell, a junky going into withdrawal. Did I have any of my own, or was I really only human?

The second thing I felt was panic, as I raised my head and saw what was happening in front of me.

The demon still held Ambriel close to him, like some sort of feathered stuffed animal. He placed the sword upright on the ground in front of him, kneeling down, head pressed to the metal.

“My lord.” The tip of the blade rested in the center of the circular pattern. “Finally the time has come, for the golden age of hell, for your freedom.”

The doors were still closed behind me, and I could sense none of my brothers. I called out for help in my head, for Gabriel. I begged and pleaded—desperate. There was nothing there. I was completely cut off, alone, in a coffin all over again, this time of my own creation.

Something glinted in my peripheral vision. It was Ambriel's sword. Sonneillon had discarded it for Lucifer's. I had nothing to lose. I had worse than nothing. I hated myself with every inch of my being: with the parts that were angel, with the parts that were human. I would go out swinging. The demon was so engrossed in his prayers he did not see me get to my feet, and retrieve the blade. The light it exuded was different, familiar, but not disorientation beautiful as Lucifer's had been.

Holding Ambriel by the neck, Sonneillon moved towards the cross.

“No!” My voice boomed, power coming from desperation.

I ran, but he was faster, plunging the blade into Lila's heart. Light exploded. I did not falter. Ambriel's sword slid through Sonneillon's back, through the heart. She slid from his grip, and I caught her. The light was spreading, getting hotter. Ambriel weighed nothing in my arms, and I carried her to the furthest corner of the room.

“It will be alright.” I rocked her close to my chest, lowering my brother's petite form to the ground, careful not to damage the wings. “You will survive this. You will be okay. You have to be.”

I knew she was listening. From the cross, the light kept growing. Only a weapon as powerful as that sword could blast its way to the place where Lucifer was being held. It was the only thing in all of creation known to kill an archangel.

“I'm so sorry.” Tears welled up, sliding down my cheeks. “I am so sorry you had to feel the things you did, all of you.” A sob. “...all my fault. You'll tell them I'm sorry, right? When you live through this.” There was no formality at a time like this, no chain of command. “You have to tell them.”

Kissing her forehead, my hand running over her broken white feathers, I got to my feet. Then, bracing myself, I went into the light. I was unsure how I made it. The power should have reduced me to charred bones, but I pushed through until I could feel it—I could have recognized the sword anywhere. Even blinded as I was, my hand closed around it.

The light was fading. I was too late. A burning, humbling, glorious presence, of pure power, stood behind me, in the circle. Tears froze on my cheeks. This would go no further. For Penemue, for Lila, for Micheal, I would end this.