To the two Nox and one Morningstar, time was an option.
Space too.
There
Could
Be
Many spaces, between words. ThereCouldBeNoSpacesBetweenWords.
But whatever the case, it was an option.
- You've grown and you'll grow so much more, child.
Lucius was slightly confused, those words weren't said. They were written. Lissandra had written them into…
- This is something you'll need to grow used to, Grievous Lord.
Lucius chuckled, there was a playfulness to his mother's words. He found pride in the title he held now. This place, where they were now existed beyond what she had shown him as a child.
This was a place where his mind was, a place where he could see all versions of himself, before and after. But not in the sense of time. He knew everything, because he saw it all. But he couldn't comprehend anything. He was only able to read it all in the same way his mother's words came out.
- This one has to apologize, a limit still exists for you.
All of it was written in chapters, in pages of a book. He saw the being he was all the way up until the end of chapter 4. A character who knew nothing. He knew more now, but there surely was… a limit.
- The wager this one has made with Lazari Rion must go on, until then, this is your story.
Lucius saw those italics, your was italicized, there he italicized it again. Bold. He laughed, he wrote that he laughed, so he laughed. Did he always laugh like hahaha? Or maybe he laughed like hihihi or hohoho. None of it made a sound, but from the perspective of a reader he could imagine himself in all those different types of laughter.
- Your authority remains, but what exists in the future chapters will be unknown to you. This self may not directly interfere with the lower worlds.
The prologue, chapter 1, 2, 3, and 4. Those were all the chapters he could see. He remembered his life before he was a character, but none of it was written in these pages.
- Congratulations, for becoming truly Grievous.
He had no control over this story just yet. Rest easy, Lucius Nox. The narrator will ensure that it all returns to you in the epilogue. The narrator will ensure that you'll reach the end.
Though, even the end is an option, the same way this scene could end at any moment without the classic italicized transition to the next one.
Ha, that won't happen, not this time.
Lucius Nox learned one cool thing about his life.
His story was called Keep Your Enemies Close.
"Thank you, mother." Lucius bowed, accepting the cosmic cloak he had always been in awestruck by. Nothing seemed to change, nothing happened in the perspectives of his subjects. But it wasn't like the only thing given was a title here. The absolute authority over this lesser world was handed over, similar to a child having to donate their old toy. Soon, as he turned around to face the crowd, Lucifer came closer, whispering into his ear.
'Choose two that you want to bless, that's your purpose now, as The Grievous Lord.'
Lucius contemplated what he heard. Bless two? Really?
He gave a half-hearted smile to the audience, waiting for them to stop cheering for him. Solely then, would he give out his decree.
Soon enough, the applause died down, the anticipation regarding his first command devoured everything else. Even though Lucius loved the attention, as either way, their full focus was on him, he found it offensive that all they wanted was to hear about his gifts. Did they not see it fit to clap for him some more?
Regardless, his main issue with them was not that. Rather…
"I'm aware that some of you have waited hundreds of years for the opportunity to be blessed." Lucius spoke confidently, more assured with himself than ever, if that was even possible. "However, I believe it's best for me to hand that out when everyone is present, no?"
Lucifer knew that a lot of these creatures disliked that. Some of them had come to every meeting, purely in hopes to gain the advantage over others. If Lucius decided to postpone his decision until it was fair for everyone, then there would certainly be a degree of anger regarding his role. Well, it's not like anyone had the power to stop him now.
A certain ogre roared, causing the adjacent ogres in his faction to do the same. Not that Lucius gave it any mind.
'What are you doing?' Lucifer asked the porcelain boy. However, Lucius entertained no answers.
The Grievous Lord, his Lordship, didn't want to make a decision here and now. If he's meant to choose two hands that will stay with him for centuries, he better find two people who are very reliable, preferably ones that will stroke his ego with every breath.
"For now, thank you," Lucius wasn't thankful at all, really, in fact he found it annoying that he had to keep being thankful, "consider this session done, until next we meet."
The Grievous Lord, Lucius Nox, turned to face his mother. For the first time ever, he reached a smile that was truly elated. He was about to ask her if they should leave, but;
"You can't do that! You have to choose someone!" It was a singing voice, belonging to a harpy.
"Our great lord! Please reconsider your first decision!" Another shared the sentiment, a goblin of sorts.
"You mustn't hassle yourself with making things fair!" …Was that a crow just now?
Irked, Lucius forced himself to face them all again, the smile from his face had morphed into something more devious. "Dear stars, do me a favor, and please, don't overstep my authority." He felt satisfaction from those words, my authority repeated in his head dozens of times. "I must admit that quite frankly, the reason I require a second gathering for my decision is vain," Lucifer readied himself for whatever supernova Lucius was about to spurt out. He was allowed to rest easy on one thing, at least Lucius wouldn't say anything short of being 'extra', "it's because…All present tonight are simply stellar, it overwhelms me. And so, I beg your pardon, as I would like to consider all the creatures of the night, as astronomers do, and divine the blessings for the utmost deserving stars."
Silence blanketed itself over the ceremony, tucking in the many ignorant children of the night.
Lucius understood the implications of his words, their interpretation of it meant nothing to him however. Although in a sense, he'd allowed everyone to look down on him. But in his eyes, the sole thing that mattered were his own definitions. With a frail hand, he slowly covered the lower half of his face, a shade of pink began engulfing his porcelain ears and cheeks. This man, Lucifer thought.
If the crowd wasn't swooning prior to this, then now was when the floodgates opened.
It started with the ogres, the anger they had previously dropped and swapped instantaneously with what could only be described as 'aw shucks' behavior. Domino bricks fell one after another, in a flash, the consensus changed, the perspective around The Grievous subtly converted from fear… to whatever this was.
"What a sweet lord…"
"Ah… this boy is so kind, Lady Nox has truly raised the perfect heir."
"We're far lesser than you, our Lord! Don't be shy with us!"
That last part came from goblins, a loyal bunch to their kind. Lucifer wondered if this display and overall status of The Grievous somehow caused them to consider Lucius one of them. Lucius as a goblin? Lucius is… no… he might literally be one of them, if not in looks, then the narcissism makes up for it.
Lucius smiled behind his hand, hearing tidbits of praise from the swooning creatures fueled his ego. This was gonna be his life, an army of yes men by his side at his every beck and call. Another round of praise went his way, a never ending source of fuel both for Lucifer and Lucius. The pride from that man was intoxicating.
Both of them failed to notice a raging red-eyed boy, barely being held back by one Luan.
"Oh yeah? If we're stellar, then you're a star!"
A voice cut through all the praise, familiar to Lucifer in an unpleasant sense. It seemed that Lucius was caught completely off guard, all the pink drained from his face, and the smile was long forgotten. His hand dropped to his side and though there was no way for any of them to see it. Lucifer could. A fire, the heat death of the universe, Lucius' irises reflected that.
The sweet sentiment swept through and became a consensus. No longer were people calling him sweet in those exact words, rather, now the chant became 'He's a star'!
Lucius walked down the small steps, from the corner of Lucifer's eyes, he noticed that Lissandra had left, trailing behind the Vain Lady.
Lucius stopped right at the final step, remembering himself. In a way, if he dropped down to the same physical level as the crowd, it'd be a sign of actual humility. The small elevation which they stood at served as a wall between Lucius and these lesser creatures. Lucius had many aspects, humility wasn't one of them. So, even if it was just ever so slightly, the porcelain boy remained one step away from the floor, scouting the crowd and trying to analyze who it could've been who said such things.
"...Ah, well, whoever you are," he began, ending the chanting, "Thank you… but truly, you're all stars here." If Lucifer listened closely, it was highly possible that he'd be able to hear the boy grinding his perfect teeth. He was seething even now. "I'm the farthest thing from one."
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"Don't be shy, you're our guiding star!"
Ah, there was no shaking that off. There were two options for Lucius, he could either bite it or tell everyone what a star meant to him. He's been through the latter before, yet that option wasn't attractive here. Unlike with humans, Lucius had to bite that silver tongue of his if he wanted things to go smooth sailing for the next couple centuries. Not that he wasn't able to rule with an iron fist, rather the reason remained with what he and Lucifer spoke of hours prior. Similar to his partner, Lucius was simmering all the way here, he simmered not in discontent but in an emotion he tried to deny, deny, deny.
Lucifer placed a hand on the small of his Lordship's back, a sign of ease to wash away temptation.
In the end, Lucius had to endure this for the next hour, all until the guests began pouring out. What kept him from bursting was the sweet idea of vengeance.
Michael and Aleron had successfully hidden themselves from him, however the noiret made the assumption that there wouldn't be any major consequences to his words. Sadly, he had never experienced the persistence of one Grievous Lord.
Quickly, as they gained permission from their mothers to leave, they made their way into the inner gardens, where the sky was visible, where stars gazed down on them within the stillness of night. They hadn't the faintest idea that 'night' was very literal. Lucius had glimpsed at them as they were leaving, he recognized Michael's silhouette.
Ideas bubbled in his head, soon, he drew a connection to the disrespect he was shown with the boy he caught a snippet of. He took note of the ladies Solun and Luan waiting for everyone to leave and he made his way to them.
"Lucifer, I'm going on a stroll, leave me be, for a moment."
Lucifer nodded at his request and he watched Lucius make contact with the hostesses.
"I heard that you two have sons."
Michael and Aleron hurried without air. Running wasn't quite too bad for them, it was their shared laughter which prevented them from breathing normally.
"His— his face dropped," Michael repeated, snickering at the memory, "he looked like he was about to scream."
Aleron sat down on one of the benches, holding a hand over his mouth to try and calm himself. "That was the first time I've seen him bite that shitty tongue of his." As Michael sat down next to him, the noiret shifted, fixing his eyes on the mixture of flowers, "Michael," Aleron said, a seriousness dressing him, "we have to promise not to fold, it doesn't matter what title he has, I'm not— we're not kneeling."
Michael agreed, stomping his foot down, "he needs us more than we need him, I'm not gonna let him of all people control my life."
The two sat there, laughing in their lonesome. A minute turned to 10, and a 10 turned to 20.
It was by the 20th minute that someone encroached on their space. It was Mayla.
"Oh there you are Michael, all our guests have left." She said, a sigh of relief escaping the brunet, "we've been looking for you two." Her smile was comforting, she gently placed a hand on Michael's shoulder, waiting.
Although Michael didn't question it, Aleron was a tad more perceptive regarding her choice of words, "We?" He asked, slowly rising from where he sat. Michael followed his form, the other's wariness seeped into him, he had to ask the question himself.
"What do you mean we?"
There was no reason to answer that at the moment, the sound of footsteps came from their other side, and when they looked, Alera was making her way to them… with Lucius right behind her.
Repulsed, both Michael and Aleron flinched, trying to get away. However, both their attempts failed, the former was forcibly sat down by Mayla, and Alera reacted quicker, outspeeding Aleron to the point of tripping him over. Alera glared at her son, as if to say 'oh come on, be more mature'.
"This is my son, Michael." Mayla expressed herself in glee, gesturing at Michael with an open palm, "He's a handsome young man isn't he? One of the prides of my life, my Lordship."
"Mom!" Michael yelled, flustered. His eyes never left Lucius, similar to how you'd never want to leave your sights on a house spider. They could disappear at any moment, and you'd be left scared shitless trying to see where it went.
Next were the Soluns, with Alera leaving her son to stumble up from his humiliating position down with the flowers.
"That there is Aleron, although he's… dirty as of now, you can lay your trust on us, my lord." Alera was glaring at Aleron, helping him just as he was about to make his way up by himself, "Very sturdy and reliable, a Solun guarantee."
Lucius had been staring between the two this whole time. Neither of them had an idea on what he was thinking, whatever it was, he was not allowed to find out that Aleron was the one to fuck him over. Very subtly, a smugness began forming on the porcelain boy's features, so subtle, that neither of the ladies noticed. The duo knew him well enough to see it however. They grew up with him after all.
"Miss Mayla and Aunty Alera," Lucius spoke, commanding the named's attention. "Would you care to give us some alone time? I'd love to speak to your heirs."
Mayla and Alera both simultaneously bowed and nodded. Something like this coming from the night themselves would make any creature burst out in excitement. Yet here they held themselves, they were the Solun and Luan, this wasn't the first time they'd gain attention from the Nox. So they held themselves together, with the little bit of status they'd acquired through their history. Hastily, they left together, mumbling 'he switched us up…' as far as either Michael or Aleron heard.
Soon, as their shadows escaped the inner gardens, all barriers broke down. The night had taken a good look at the sun and moon. He deemed them guilty.
"...What was that about me being a star?" Lucius began, the smiley facade he held throughout the event had since faded into the more degrading glare he always held in school. The face of narcissism, of someone who has never thought of anyone as an equal.
He wasn't looking at them. Almost in a way where he didn't mean to speak to them. Lucius had his eyes set on the stars up above.
At first, neither Michael nor Aleron said anything, though they debated Aleron's claim of seeing him earlier… neither of them wanted to believe it. Especially not the part where he's by all means their ruler. Their combined silence lasted for about a minute longer until Aleron decided he'd face reality head on.
"You were calling us one, we were bound to return the favor." Aleron said, puffing his chest to seem more certain in himself. Frankly, there was a lingering fear in the back of his mind, sure, back then it was him and about five other humans who ganged up on Lucifer. But knowing what he knows now, he wasn't sure if him and Michael were able to take him on. Whatever Lucifer was, he didn't want to face him. "If you were as nice as you pretend to be, there wouldn't have been an issue with the title of star, right?"
Lucius gave him no time, "The way you say that sounds awkward, try 'pretended to be' instead." For a moment, Aleron had no clue what Lucius had just said to him, out of all things. "Though you defy me, what happened to your 'fuck's and 'shit's? Was your vulgar tongue cut off as divine punishment?"
Aleron caught himself then, as Lucius mentioned. There was something innate he held towards the boy before them. It was a feeling which forced him to act out of character, unable to curse him like he'd done as kids.
Michael knew that Lucius was being overly verbose to fuck with them, "You—"
"Quiet, dog." Lucius barely raised his voice. Yet, if Michael had dog ears, they'd have laid flat on his head, cowering. The porcelain boy stilled his gaze on those shining clusters, there were galaxies, solar systems, large stars, and exoplanets up there.
Taunting, Aleron assumed he was taunting them by not giving them his full attention.
"You… there's no way you're our ruler, there's no way you rule over anything." Aleron seethed, he walked over to Michael, pulling him out of his dumbfounded stupor. "I don't believe for a second that this is a world that loves you."
Silence grew. Either none of the words were considered by Lucius, or all of them were, and maybe, just maybe, he'd come out and say it was all a prank and that Aleron deserved an apology for this nightmarish scenario.
"...Why not?"
Cold air laced the garden, had Lucius' eyes always been that bright purple? A tingling sensation made waves on the spines of Aleron and Michael. This was Lucius, the same Lucius they'd known since they were kids. Certainly, before the ceremony, not much changed in his aura since they last saw him a year ago. He glanced at them, finally, with the side eye of the century;
The smugness of someone who knows their worth.
Michael swallowed the tension building up in his throat, there was something so different, something that made the boy in front of them now… untouchable.
"Because…"
"Because…?" Lucius repeated.
"You're narcissistic, near-sociopathic—"
"And nobody could differentiate you from an actual red flag!"
As they finished each other's thoughts, they watched with anticipation to see how Lucius would react. He faced them fully and… he smiled, of course he did. An amused chuckle escaped the Nox. There was something captivating about his features, something about the way the corner of his eyes creased whenever elation filled his chest.
"Wow, you know me so well." He mumbled, words preoccupied by amusement, "But you're forgetting the most important part."
A shudder enveloped the two of them, vampire and werewolf alike. Nothing good ever came out of this dark haired menace, especially not when he meant it with a wide grin.
"You're forced to kneel for me." Lucius laughed, a guttural laughter, the most genuine laugh they'd ever heard stem from him, and; it was ugly. "I don't care if the world loves or hates me, I was born and the world knelt, it will continue to kneel as long as I want it to." There was something in his eyes that didn't sit right with the two, a swirling of something grand. It was impossible to see, but they knew something was there, beyond the self-satisfied glint.
"You're dead wrong if you think I'm gonna kneel to you." Aleron scoffed, glaring at him the best he could, "F… Fuck you."
Michael, alarmed, watched how the smile on Lucius' face was shrinking. Luckily, it didn't drop fully.
"There are two types of people in this world," Lucius gazed up at the stars again, narrowing his eyes in deep thought, "...There are losers— stars and then there's me." He caressed his own cheek, turning his head to look at Aleron and Michael. He knew then, that in a moment, he'd be attacked, one way or another. But he was already set on his own scheme, why should someone as important as him be touched by a puppy and a leech?
Aleron's fangs started to show. It was a sign of aggression. Not that it mattered.
"You should've brought Lucifer with you." Just as Aleron readied himself to attack, Lucius put his hands together in a finger gun gesture. Confused, he hesitated.
"So, you two, tell me, as two among a sea of great losers, which loser star were you born under?" The gesture wasn't towards either of them, rather, Lucius aimed it at the night sky. He moved his hands around, never settling on a particular target. "Come on, I'm waiting."
Dazed, Michael pointed at a random spot in the sky, a bright red astral body. Aleron almost ripped his arm off wondering what the hell had been up with him these past few minutes. Still, it was too late. Lucius shifted his aim at the 'star' which Michael pointed at. He murmured a soft 'bang' and recoiled his hands, in a way that resembled having an actual gun and shooting with it. Aleron thought he had gone insane, though quickly dismissed that idea since he already knew that Lucius wasn't right in the head.
"That was a galaxy, not a star, but the message is the same." Lucius pointed at Aleron, "Now you, pick."
Aleron had his fists clenched since the original request. There was nothing in his fists but the will to defy.
Understanding that this would go nowhere, Lucius found the target on his own. With the second point and bang, the porcelain arms fell to his sides, a satisfied smile on his face.
Nothing happened. The two boys were dumbfounded.
"...147 million light years away… that's no good, I guess you'll see its effects in a few million years."
Aleron, fully enraged, strode with the purpose of punting the little shit. His fist flew with the entire force of his upper body, a ripping sound from his suit accompanied his action.
"Or maybe you'd prefer to see it right now."
The red eyed boy was completely taken by surprise, he knew surely that his fist would've connected with Lucius' face. He anticipated it even, the satisfying crunch of the bones in his oh-so-pretty face. What he was met with wasn't that. There was a crunch, yes, but with it came a crushing pain from his bloodless-fingers. His fist had been caught by another, larger hand. A peachy one.
Lucifer blocked his punch, yet the appearance of the man he feared wasn't what caused the horrified gazes which Michael and Aleron held in tandem.
Before their eyes,
Stellar objects disappeared from the night sky.