The comedic Tragedy of Asmodeus and Raphael

Prologue

Cold seeped through his skin. It was always that way, every time he attended a funeral. His best friend of over 70 years laid eerily still in the coffin. He looks like he's asleep, with how calm his expression is. Charles looked down on him. He never liked this part, having to stare at the corpse that used to house the soul of a beautiful person. He started to shuffle away, his body's arthritis acting up. It took a lot out of him to pretend like he's not in pain, but he managed.

He needed to keep the peace of the cold room.

With one last look at the corpse that used to be his friend, Charles left. He never stayed too long or witnessed the burial. He was always somber and depressed afterwards and he never liked those feelings. On the way out of the funeral home he heard something, something faint. "Goodbye, Charlie." A spectre called out. Charles turned around and gave one last smile and wave as a transparent vision of a man in his mid 20s with russet hair and kind, light green eyes ascended to the heavens. That was the only way Charles knew that he did his job correctly, completed his task. Some of his sadness was lifted by knowing his dear friend had successfully "gone to a better place". Nonetheless, he would still miss him, he particularly liked that one.

He stepped into his cream 1974 Ford Pinto and started to drive to his small house, deep in the forests of Newberry. His tidy house was waiting for him, his bookshelves, houseplants, instruments, and especially a small yappy dog who greeted him as soon as he walked through the door. "Hello Chloe, you rambunctious mutt. How did you fare today?" he asked, she only barked in return. "Good, I have some bad news about Denny. Would you like to hear about it now or later?" another bark, Charles nods his head,

"I completely understand. Sometimes one doesn't need such problematic words on such a happy day." He walked over to where he set down the book he was reading before he left and then settled down in his favourite reading chair. Chloe jumped up and also settled on his lap. Charles started to read out loud, "The scene was about as confusing as a beautiful sunrise on a wartorn evening-" He was cut short by someone knocking at the door.

He placed the book back on the coffee table and creaked along towards the door. When he opened it he was greeted by a man which looked to be in his 40s wearing all white, which was a contrast to his dark skin and hair.

"Good to see you!" the man said with an artificial smile. "I've seen that you've successfully completed your assignment. That's great!" Chloe was still on the chair, lazily glaring at the man, the man saw this and stared back, still violently smiling, until she looked away.

"So anyway, we have your next assignment planned. You'll get the information soon, but know that you'll have a bit of a break this time. About 15 years, so keep up appearances!"

"Okay." Charles said flatly. "But make sure you keep up appearances. You almost blinded me with your- ...outfit."

The man had already disappeared, but Charles was fine with that. He always liked when he got breaks, it gave him time to gather information on the new generation. But, he wouldn't be doing that now. Now, he would go back to reading his book with his dog. Now, he would enjoy the still quiet and peace around him, the eerie calm of his empty house.