Screams rang out all around, from people on the ground, the entire block seeming to come to a standstill to watch. Luce yanked her body into his arms, leaving mass hysteria in his wake as he apparated, vanishing into thin air.

He made his choice.

He chose Serah.

He left Abaddon alive on the ledge.

He didn't have another second to spare.

Luce popped back up in Chorizon, right in front of Serah's home. The chaos had dwindled, the rebel angels defeated thanks to Michael. The moment Luce appeared, Hannah rushed toward him, frantic, but his eyes were solely on his brother.

"Save her," he said. "I beg of you, Michael."

Michael stared at Luce, gaze drifting to Serah, limp and bleeding out in his arms. His eyes met Luce's once more. Seconds passed, long torturous seconds that were accented by Serah's fragile heartbeats.

He was squandering those seconds, wasting too much fucking time.

"Michael," he yelled. "Please!"

Michael looked away, and Luce knew it then. He wasn't going to do it. He wouldn't help him.

Not again.

Luce couldn't be surprised. He knew how it went. Serah was a mere mortal. Sooner or later, she'd die anyway. Since that day in the garden, they'd watched over a hundred billion perish.

She was just one life.

But she was important to him.

Lucifer felt drained, the energy seeping from his body as he clung to Serah. Dropping to his knees, he sat in the yard, staring down at her. Devastation rocked him, the one feeling that he'd never grow used to nagging at him. Remorse.

"I'll find Abaddon," Michael said, his voice strong and steady. No sympathy. "He'll pay for what he has done."

In an instant, Michael was gone, all hope whisked away with him. The other lingering angels slowly followed, leaving Lucifer alone.

Alone.

So fucking alone.

He still wasn't used to that.

"You're not alone."

The unexpected declaration tingled Luce's spine as it rang out just behind him. Luce closed his eyes as that voice washed through him.

When he opened his eyes again, He stood in front of him. His Father, in all His glory, stood on Earth's soil again. It had been a long time since He last ventured down here. A very long time.

"Since that afternoon in the Garden," He said, adding to Luce's thoughts. "That was the last time I came."

"Why are you here now?" Luce asked, a bitter edge to his voice he couldn't restrain. It came from a place deep down inside of him. "I'm not in the mood for an 'I told you so'. I'd rather be alone with her, to have a moment... just one more moment... before they take her."

A reaper hovered above. Luce hadn't looked up, probably couldn't even see it in the darkness if he did, but he could sense it lurking. He didn't want to consider what that meant at the moment. Reapers only delivered souls one place.

She didn't deserve that.

His Father looked up at the sky, staring for a moment before glancing back at Lucifer. "It's not here for her."

Lucifer met his eyes. "It's not?"

He shook His head. "A lot more angels fell tonight, Lucifer."

"So she's not..." Luce glanced back down at Serah. So she's not going to Hell...

"No, she's not."

Lucifer closed his eyes, relief rushing through him as he absorbed that information. "I wasn't sure. I can't see her future. I've never been able to."

"I know," He said. "Nobody can. I've kept it to myself."

"Why?"

It was a question asked of Him often, but one He usually never answered. This time, though, He didn't ignore it. He offered Luce what he craved—the truth. "You two are so entwined it's difficult to distinguish where you end and she begins. Her future was never set because you hadn't decided yours. I gave you what you wanted, Lucifer. I allowed you free will. Every choice you made altered what happened to her."

Free will. It didn't quite feel as freeing as Luce thought it would.

"That's the thing about free will," He continued, once more reading Luce's thoughts. "Decisions have consequences. They don't just impact you, but everyone around you also. Every choice you made somehow altered what happened to her."

"So I did this," Luce said. "I destroyed her again."

His Father stepped closer. "She's still breathing."

"For now."

"Yes, for now," He agreed. "So you have a decision to make, son, and it's not going to be easy."

"What is it?"

"Whether or not you want to keep your wings."

Lucifer stared at Him.

"You can keep them," He explained, "and I'll welcome you back home."

"And what? If I give them up, I get dragged back to the pit?"

"You get a second chance, Lucifer." His eyes turned to the Barlow residence. "Just like Samuel did. You'll have a true clean slate, something you asked for often the past few months, and not just from others. You get a clean slate from yourself, too."

"That's not an option," Luce said, brushing hair out of Serah's pale face. "I don't want to exist a single moment without remembering the sound of her heartbeat."

His Father nodded. "So wings it is."

Reaching out, God pressed a hand to Luce's forehead. Instantly, intense warmth filled him, consuming every inch of him. It was familiar, the sensation like a hit of a drug he'd tried to kick.