Lucifer stood among the orcs, watching but not interfering.

Thousands of orcs surrounded an impromptu arena and the only occupants were three orcs.

Two very angry young ones and a traitor.

Watching Asha and her brother use the tactics they tried during their spars with her, managed to distract Lucifer somewhat from the raging inferno burning in her mind.

She was still struggling to control herself, occasionally mouths or eyes would open up along her body. Luckily they closed themselves fast enough so that the other observers did not notice.

Lucifer smiled proudly as Asha's fist smashed into the traitor's face. There was something viscerally satisfying about a punch to the face.

The surrounding orcs murmured amongst themselves, but none dared to interfere. Lucifer was sure that they would justify their inaction with some drivel about not interrupting an honorable duel.

Some were clearly intimidated by the siblings. Grommash with his ghastly half destroyed face and the intense orange flames. Asha's gaze that looked like that of a rabid beast and the strange beastly apparition that mirrored her movements.

Lucifer had to acknowledge that the siblings cut a striking image.

Even Daranturn stood among the mass, observing everything closely.

But Lucifer knew why none of the others interfered.

The second set of pupils in her eyes showed the underlying tapestry of the world.

The ever present chaos of the multicolored strings of karma was being whipped into a frenzy in front of her.

With every feint and dodge one of the strings snapped, with every successful attack a new string attached itself to one of the combatants.

Slowly, over the course of the fight, the tapestry of karma had rewoven itself, attaching itself to Asha and her brother.

This was a significant moment, during which nothing but the decisions of the participants was allowed to interfere. Reality itself prevented the others from acting until a final decision was reached.

Lucifer raised a hand, brushing her hands along the strings that were blocking her way. It would be so easy to just force her way through, but she had no idea what the consequences of such an action might be.

And by the looks of it, the siblings were winning anyway, so she decided to stay her hand.

Karma was gathering in large quantities around the traitor, and by the wounds everyone had sustained it momentarily looked like he might win. But Lucifer recognized the look the siblings were sharing. Things were about to come to a close.

A quick look with her soul sight gave her a somewhat concerning image.

The crowd of orcs that were just looking on were confused. A riot of different emotions flickered through the crowd, the most intense of all being confusion and concern.

With a grimace Lucifer murmured to herself “Fucking hell, i hope the old man at least appreciates this.”

Lucifer shouldered through the crowd whose attention was still focused on the duel happening in front of them, until she arrived next to Daranturn.

The orcs were so engrossed that not even the ceremonial guard noticed her approach.

Lucifer slung her arm around Daranturn’s shoulder, startling the old shaman. With her left arm slung around his shoulder, Lucifer opened a mouth on her left elbow to whisper into his ear.

“Shhhh! We don't want to worry the crowd. School your expression old man.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Daranturn visibly calmed down. As if noticing the oddity of the situation, he gazed questioningly at the crowd.

“Once the traitor is dead, they will be free to interfere. Right now they can’t and likely wouldn't. But look at the crowd for a moment. Their faces, their emotions. I know that you have some form of sight, use it and tell me what you see.”

Daranturn looked shocked at the fact that Lucifer knew about his sight, but decided to acquiesce. Under his breath, as to not alert the crowd he began to murmur.

“Let the wisdom of the ancestors uncloud my sight. Let the insight of the Ancestors expand my mind!”

Once the short incantation was done, the old shaman's eyes immediately became milky white, akin to those of a blind man. But by the concerned expression on his face Lucifer could guess that he saw the crowd's uncertainty.

“How good are you with speeches?”

“I would say well acquainted, but I do not know the scale on which you think.”

A sly grin crossed Lucifer's face. The old man was really nice to work with. A quick glance at the fight showed that they were running out of time.

“Once the siblings win, you need to take control immediately. Your people are angry, scared and incredibly confused right now. That mix of emotions is incredibly dangerous and needs to be directed immediately.”

Daranturns eyes returned to their normal color, his gaze hardening as he prepared himself for his duty. Lucifer continued to whisper into his ear.

“You need to get your people angrier. Yes! Don't look at me like that, I know how it sounds. But if they are scared they are likely to act rashly. Get them angry instead and direct their anger. I don't care how you do it. I'll help”

A quick look around showed that the orcs were still fixated on the battle, though Lucifer could see the final strike coming. Ashas axe had just barely missed the traitor's head. Lucifer could see the strings of fate finally unraveling themselves.

A familiar large mouth opened up on Lucifer's abdomen, a dim white light shining between the gaps of its teeth. The mouth opened with a grotesque squelching sound, while Lucifer reached inside. What emerged was the bisected head of the angel commander, which Lucifer held by its charred golden hair. A cut ran vertically from the top of the head to the neck, where a second less clean cut had separated the angel's head from her shoulders.

At Daranturn’s disgusted expression, Lucifer felt the need to justify herself. “I know how this looks, but I dislike it as much as you do. Their golden blood tastes horrible.”

Lucifer tapped the shoulder of one of the ceremonial guards. The hollow eyes of their skull mask had been fixed on the fight and only now did they realize that someone had come this close to the head shaman.

Before the guard could react, Lucifer grabbed his spear and with a quick swipe of her hand, tore a strip of cloth from his shirt.

With the strip of cloth, Lucifer bound the angel's head together, so that it stayed in one piece. Once sufficiently bound, she thrust the angel's head onto the tip of the spear, before handing it back to the bewildered guard.

Now that her part was done, she clapped Daranturn on the shoulder.

“Show time old man!”

—-------------------------------------------------

Asha raged against the encroaching blackness. Unconsciousness tried to claim her, but the rabid rage refused.

Her body was spent, her mind was spent, and even her willpower was spent. All that remained was the rage that kept her together.

Despite the violent protests of her muscles, she managed to struggle to her knees. Carborg Fire Mountain could stand up again at any moment, she had to be ready, maybe cripple him with a strike to his knee.

A warm hand came to rest on her shoulder, before a familiar feeling began to pulse through her body.

Asha looked down on her cut and bleeding legs, to see orange flames flicker along the edges of her wounds, before they slowly began to close. A soothing feeling spread from the touch on her shoulder, as the orange fire pulsed through her. It did wonders for her battered body, but her mind still had trouble keeping up.

After spending a good few moments looking at her rapidly healing wounds, she looked up into Lady Lucifer's face. It took her eyes a moment to properly focus, but when they did relief flooded her, causing the rage to finally recede.

The feeling of relief was enough for Asha to almost immediately sink into unconsciousness. But a gentle tap on her face brought her back to the present.

The kindness in Lady Lucifer's eyes was almost enough to make Asha cry. Choking back a sob, she only heard “..... okay?”

“What?”

With the patience of a loving mother, Lucifer repeated herself.

“I know you want to rest right now, but I need you to look strong for a moment. We will get your brother, and then I'll walk you to Ain’s tent.”

Struggling to her feet, Asha leaned on Lucifer while they gathered her brother. He looked leagues better than Asha, but the sputtering orange flames on his body showed his exhaustion. He was likely just as spent as asha and it was a miracle that he was even still conscious.

While Lucifer helped him to his feet, Asha stole a quick look around, looking at the mass of her kin that were listening to Daranturn.

The old orc had a furious expression on his face, while his voice echoed over the gathering. He was gesturing wildly at the impaled head of a golden haired angel.

During his speech he had apparently gathered the still flowing blood from the angel's severed neck and painted his face with a ritualistic war mask.

A slight tap on Asha's shoulder brought her back to the present. She leaned back on Lady Lucifer's shoulder and with her brother in tow, made her way to one of the only unharmed tents.

Once they were inside, Ashas knees immediately gave out and she began to cry. Now that the clouding anger that had driven her was gone, all that was left was exhaustion and sadness.

While she was glad that both her and her brother survived, she now had to live with the knowledge that some of her kin had killed her family.

“Come on Lucifer. Did you really have to bring this crying mess into my tent?”

A deep, rumbling voice emanated through the tent, powerful enough that Asha swore she felt the ground vibrating.

“Stop being such a grouch you lazy lizard!”

Asha weakly raised her head from the surprisingly comfortable carpet floor, to behold a sight she could not have dreamed of.

The inside of the tent seemed larger than should be possible and the majority of its space was taken up by the gigantic scaled body of a being straight from myth.

“Oh…..”

Her mind ground to a halt as she beheld the form of a massive dragon. Crimson scales so lustrous that she could see her own reflection on their surface.

As her mind understood what she was seeing, grief came pouring in, reducing Asha to a sobbing wreck.

Lady Lucifer knelt by her side and gently moved Asha’s head onto her lap.

Asha did not know how long she cried before unconsciousness finally took her.

—-----------------------------------------------------------

Lucifer looked at the gently sleeping form of the girl on her lap. Her fingers still moved across Asha’s hair in soft motions. The girl would grow restless whenever she stopped.

“You know…. I'm incredibly angry right now.” she spoke softly, as to not wake the girl.

“I know, I could feel it, before you closed the bond.” Came the reply, Aindaeths voice tinged with a clear note of disapproval.

“I am sorry. Truly.” Lucifer forced herself to calm down. Her ever present temper flaring at the worst of times. She knew that the soul bond they shared was important, but the way Aindaeth talked made her incredibly angry. The stupid Lizard was barely old enough to affect the world with her soul, and she dared lecture her?

With a grimace Lucifer opened up the connection again, only to immediately be overwhelmed by an emotional wave of concern and understanding.

“I know. Draconic pride is something I struggle with daily. I know you feel it sometimes. The inborn feeling of superiority. It's the same for me as your anger.” Aindaeths voice was surprisingly gentle for such a big creature.

“I'm sorry for getting angry at you, you don't deserve to be the target of my anger. Sometimes I lash out. The worst part is that I'm not sure if that anger is even mine or if it's something I inherited from my father. Even millions of years after I severed our bond I wonder if part of him still lives within me.”

A tiny crimson flame came to life at the tip of Lucifer's finger. While she talked she began to fiddle with it, like one may with a coin.

“I incinerated his soul and any true karma he left in my old world. I myself am free of karma. I paid back everything before severing myself fully. No one who truly believed in him survived, there is no chance he will ever exist again in any meaningful capacity. Yet every day I wonder if he still lives on in me. I’m forever influenced by the decisions he made and how he treated me.”

A comfortable silence spread through the tent, only disturbed by the soft breathing of the stoneskin children.

Lucifer began to slow her breathing. Through her bond with Aindaeth she knew that no more words were needed. Her breath turned rhythmic and the wings beneath her skin began to gently vibrate.

Before she entered mediation she had to take a quick look. Even though the information was nothing new to her, it definitely helped to see her own progress.

Name: Samael

Tier: 1

Race: True blood celestial

Racial skills:

Mortal guise

Endless growth

True Sight

Soul manipulation

Promethean

Class 1: Acolyte of the first flame

Class skills:

Pureflame manipulation (10)

Heat absorption (10)

Star core (9)

Dawnbringer (9)

The warmth of life (9)

Energy transformation (7)

Class 2: Autokinetic

Class skills:

Kinetic Absorption (10)

Kinetic Release (10)

Kinetic Sense (8)

Energy transformation (7)

(empty)

(empty)

General skills:

Swordsmanship (99)

Dragon Bond (23)

(empty)

(empty)

(empty)

(empty)

Sunrise sword arts:

First Light(8)

Heat Haze(3)

Sky Splitter (10)

Dying Light sword arts:

Crucifixion(6)

Two new skills had appeared, something Lucifer had expected.

Kinetic Sense: Sense the kinetic energy of your surroundings. The more energy an object carries, the easier it is to notice.

That skill was what allowed her to sense the angel's opening volley, despite the sun making their attacks almost invisible. Lucifer had been able to sense kinetic energy for quite some time, but with this skill it became marginally easier to sense things from further away.

Focusing on her perception for a moment, Lucifer closed her eyes. The world became darkness. For a while nothing happened, only the occasional background fluctuations and the general kinetic energy of the planet being noticeable. Until a person stepped into her range. Lucifer could not make out much about the passing orc, only feeling the shifting of their kinetic energy as they moved through her range, before leaving it a few steps later.

With a smile on her face, Lucifer moved to the second skill.

Energy transformation: Heat is movement on a smaller scale. Turn kinetic energy into heat with mana as the catalyst.

Energy transformation: Movement is Heat on a larger scale. Turn heat into kinetic energy with mana as the catalyst.

Two halves of the same skill. At least it felt that way to lucifer. The tiny flame at the tip of Lucifer's finger winked out, turning into a gust of accelerated air as it was transformed into kinetic energy. Once the gust hit her other finger, it reignited as the air stilled. Heat to motion to heat.

The flame was noticeably smaller and less hot. Something to work on.

With a tired smile on her face, Lucifer allowed herself to finally sink into meditation.