novus au

prologue

It all happened so fast, everything was perfect... until it all went wrong.

The soft green field was filled with the echoes of the long-overdue cheers. Rin stood proudly, flames ablaze... He had done it.

Years of relentless training thousands of exorcisms, Rin had done it, Satan was no more. He had done it.

The Nephilim felt an abundance of pride and glory, a feeling that was all to a line to him. For years he was a disappointment, a monster... That was the past, His legacy wouldn't be one of a monster or a freak, but a story of triumph.

He had proven that everyone was wrong to try and put him down, he only rose to the occasion and fought the battle no one else could.

Samael stood proudly amongst the singing, and praising crowd.

"It appears you were wrong to assume so much about him so quickly Azazel," Samael purred happily to his younger brother. Though the demon king wasn't there in person Samael still knew the message would be relaid.

For the first time in thousands of years, Samael felt a burst of satisfaction and glee. Years of delicate planning and scheming accompanied by adapting to the circumstances Samael had crafted the perfect timeline not only for him but for his flamed youngest brother.

The years of skillfully crafting and manipulating had paid off tenfold, now his only problem was Lucifer. His eldest brothers would not take kindly to this new development, but he would handle it with poise as he normally did. Samael had to rely on that truth, if Lucifer were to snap the only being capable of stopping him would be Rin. At the moment Rin was far beyond tired, though still awake, large portions of his energy had been drained during the battle.

Samael was unsure if Rin could make it out of a battle with Lucifer intact at this point, after all, word of Satan's defeat would spread like wildfire through Gehenna and soon word would reach Lucifer if he hadn't already found out...

While trapped in deep though Samael was unaware of the being who snuck up on his startling him out of his train of thought.

Rin laughed softly as Mephisto broke his professional facade.

"I guess I owe you a thank you," Rin says with a smile. "I wouldn't have gotten here without you, I wouldn't have even lived this long without you. So thank you,"

Mephisto returned the soft smile and chuckled softly.

"You still manage to amaze me, after all, this time,"

The roar of the joyous crowd died down over time and it faded to bountiful chatter amongst the crowd, drinks, stories, and laughs were exchanged in celebration. At that noise came to halt when a soft tapping altered their attention to the Grigori.

"Today is a day to be celebrated. Rin Okamura conquered the lord of all Demons and here he stands. He avenged hundreds of souls and for that, we are eternally grateful for all the sacrifices you made for us,"

The soft words brought a wide smile to Rin as the words of praise slipped through him. Everything was perfect, Rin got the acknowledgment he deserved, Satan was gone, for once the world was going right for Rin.

Karma was working his favor, the evil was gone and the good guys had won at the end of the day... right?

Yukio walked up to Rin with a smile on his face. His hand was hidden behind his back and Rin lit up with excitement. Yukio had a gift for him. Rin's mind snapped to what all it could be.

The words out of Yukio's mouth were silent as the tone of the entire celebration quickly turned dark as all light seemed to fade: heat, light, color, it all slipped from the world it was being harvested, drawn in by a force stronger than human comprehension.