The forest was too quiet.
Lucifer knelt beside a stream, washing blood from his hands. The cool water did little to soothe the burning brand seared across his back — a symbol he didn't yet recognize. The mark pulsed with magic older than Olympus… older even than Eden.
Tartarus left me something, he thought. But is it a curse—or a key?
His reflection rippled in the water. For a moment, he didn't see his own face.
He saw someone else.
A shadow of himself.
A future?
Or a past?
He blinked. The image vanished.
> [System Alert: Tartarus Mark Sealed - Classification: Unknown Tier (???)]
[Warning: Celestial Eyes Tracking Your Aura Signature.]
Lucifer stood slowly, scanning the trees.
They were watching him.
The gods weren't wasting time.
His escape would trigger more than celestial alarms.
They'd send someone personal.
A rustle. A whisper of wind.
He turned, eyes narrowing—
And saw her.
A woman stepped from the shadows between trees. Her armor was dark steel lined with feather-like carvings. Her long braid fell over her shoulder, silver-blonde like starlight. But it was her wings—half-material, half-spirit—that gave her away.
A Valkyrie.
But not just any.
Lucifer's smirk returned. "They sent her."
The woman stared at him with ice-colored eyes. No words. Just judgment.
Lucifer raised a brow. "No hello? No dramatic speech?"
Still silence.
He stepped forward. "You're not just a warrior, are you, Astrid?"
She finally spoke. "You should have stayed in Tartarus."
Her voice was calm. Too calm.
Lucifer grinned. "If I had, you wouldn't get the pleasure of watching me kill your gods."
Astrid didn't flinch. "This forest is warded. You can't summon Chaos here. You're vulnerable."
Lucifer tilted his head. "And you walked in anyway. Brave. Or suicidal?"
She drew her blade — a longsword engraved with runes of Yggdrasil and Niflheim. Its edge shimmered like frostbitten steel.
Lucifer's eyes narrowed.
That wasn't a Valkyrie weapon.
That was divine relic-grade.
"Who gave you that?" he asked.
She charged without answering.
Her first strike sliced the air beside his throat—only missing because he twisted at the last second. The second came for his ribs. He blocked it with his forearm, hissing as cold energy burned his flesh.
Lucifer stepped back, shaking his arm.
"You're not fighting like a servant. You're fighting like…"
He stopped.
Her stance. Her blade. Her silence.
It hit him.
"You're not hunting me for the gods," he said. "You're testing me."
Astrid slashed again, this time driving him toward a clearing. Lucifer dodged, spun, kicked at her ankle, but she twisted midair and landed light on her feet.
Her expression never changed.
Cold. Unreadable.
Lucifer growled. "Talk to me, dammit. Why are you really here?"
Astrid paused. Lowered her sword.
Then said, "Because he's awake."
Lucifer's eyes narrowed. "He?"
Astrid looked skyward. "The throne beyond the pantheons. The First God."
Lucifer's blood ran cold.
"The One Who Sleeps," he muttered. "He's real?"
Astrid nodded. "You triggered his awakening when you tore through Tartarus."
Lucifer exhaled slowly. "So that's why Olympus is panicking."
"No." She stepped closer. "They're not panicking because you escaped. They're panicking because they need you to win."
Lucifer laughed. "That doesn't make any sense."
Astrid said nothing.
Then slowly, she raised her hand.
And turned her blade—on herself.
She stabbed it into the ground and dropped to one knee.
Lucifer blinked. "What…?"
Astrid looked up, eyes fierce now.
"I was never loyal to the throne," she said. "I was born in the era before Valhalla. Before the councils and systems. I remember the True Flame."
Lucifer's breath caught.
"…Prometheus."
Astrid nodded.
"I was his final student."
---
Flashback — Thousands of Years Ago
A young Astrid trained under the shattered ruins of Asgard, surrounded by fire and wind. Prometheus, chained and bleeding, whispered to her between lashes.
> "One day, a king of rebellion will return. He will carry both the gift and the curse. You must test him. Break him if he is weak. But if he survives…"
> "…Swear to follow him."
---
Present
Lucifer stared at her. "And you think I'm that king?"
Astrid rose. "Not yet."
He laughed. "So all of this? The blade, the silence, the threats?"
"Was the test," she said. "And you passed."
A glowing sigil burned above them—faint but pulsing.
Lucifer stepped forward. "You said the First God is awakening. What happens when he does?"
Astrid lowered her voice. "He's not a god. He's what came before gods. Before systems. Before creation had rules."
Lucifer nodded slowly.
"I saw… something. In Tartarus. An eye."
Astrid turned pale. "He's watching already."
Lucifer clenched his fists.
"Then we don't have time. I need allies. And I need power."
Astrid met his gaze.
"I'll guide you to the Vault of Fractured Names. It holds the names of those erased from divine records—gods lost to history. If you reclaim them, their powers become yours."
Lucifer's eyes gleamed. "A weapon made of forgotten divinity."
Astrid nodded. "But we'll be hunted every step of the way."
Lucifer grinned. "Good. I'm in the mood for blood."
Suddenly, the air shifted.
Astrid spun.
So did Lucifer.
From the woods, ten armored figures stepped forward, glowing with divine flame.
Angels. Olympians. A few Egyptian enforcers.
One stepped ahead—a man wrapped in golden cloth, face hidden beneath a lion's mask.
Lucifer's smile vanished.
"Amun-Ra."
The masked god's voice thundered. "By command of the Pantheons, you are hereby condemned, Lucifer. We cannot allow you to unseal the Vault."
Lucifer stepped forward, fire already dancing across his shoulders.
"You can try to stop me," he said. "But just know—every name I reclaim… is one more god I'll bury."