I first soulstepped back to New York, because she was most likely to be in the US, and then I soulstepped in the direction the pendant pointed me to. I opted for more frequent, shorter soulsteps to not miss too much. After a bit of calibration, I found her in Philadelphia.

  She had a penthouse apartment in a skyscraper in the city center.

  I soulstepped onto the roof and spread out the detection field.

  She was home alone. She moved, so she wasn’t asleep. Then again, the moon wasn’t all that high in the sky, so the night was still young, especially for her.

  I moved myself to the side of that room, a massive living room. In front of a large mirror, Evelyn practiced dancing, wearing only underwear and her dancing pumps. A swift-paced music thundered through the apartment, and she didn’t react, so she most likely didn’t notice me at all.

  Evelyn looked the same as always. Young, with bright crimson hair, body sculpted from dancing at least eight hours a day.

  I watched her for a moment.

  She moved like a living flame. Tireless, flawless. She was a homunculus, an artificial human created by Lucielle because she couldn’t spawn a daughter naturally.

  Yet she didn’t turn out the way Lucielle hoped for, so she kicked her out the moment she had a better replacement.

  My sister, Amber, was that replacement.

  I loved Evelyn once. In a way, I still did.

  But when I wanted to settle down with her, to start a family, she wanted to become a pop star instead.

  Now, she had her band, and I was about to leave Earth to try to settle down in another realm.

  The song changed, but the new one played at half the volume. “What do you think?” Evelyn asked without looking at me. “Do I still dance well?”

  No. Her moves were perfect, and beautiful, but lacked a bit of the fire they once had. “Better than before.”

  “Liar,” she snapped. “I’ve lost some of my edge. I know that, and I am certain you can see that.”

  “You didn’t mind me lying before.”

  She sported a short laugh and started the next dance. “And I still do. I’ve got no idea what people see in truth. A well-spoken lie is so much better than any truth.”

  “I’ve come to say goodbye.”

  “Oh, don’t sound so dramatic. I am ageless, and you are immortal. I know the whole buying a house by the Jackson Lake thing didn’t pan out, but it’s not like the lake is going anywhere. I’ll be around the next time you return.”

  I snorted. She always said that. “I’m not sure I’m ever coming back.”

  “Oh, but I am sure.” She stopped dancing and glanced at me over her shoulder, green eyes piercing, face covered in makeup designed to make her look older. Since she didn’t age, she had to use trickery to hide that she didn’t age a second during her career. “No matter where you go, no matter what you do, no matter who you fuck, you will never find anyone like me. You will return to me one day, so keep the amulet I gave you close.” She continued her dance.

  Great. On the one hand, I loved her confidence in our relationship. On the other hand, I hated that I couldn’t prove her wrong. Not yet, at least. “But you are too busy for a relationship.”

  “For now. I’m a pop star, so I need to maintain some mystery. In particular, I always make sure that it looks as if I have potentially both a boyfriend and a girlfriend. That way, all my fans can keep up their dreams of me, the press can keep guessing, and I get a ton of free publicity.”

  “And I am too jealous for that. I get that.”

  “More importantly, you actually are my partner, the only one I ever had, and the only one I will ever have. If people ever see us together, they will realize that there is no space left in between or next to us. I can’t allow that to happen. That would be an absolute disaster for my career.”

  The worst part was that I understood her. I even appreciated the perfect efficiency of her approach.

  “If you aren’t in a rush,” she said, “There’s booze in the fridge. I’ve got band practice tomorrow morning, so we could catch up tonight.”

  Well, I wasn’t in a rush. I soulstepped to the wardrobe-sized fridge and opened a door. She had at least two hundred bottles of booze inside, and absolutely nothing else. I picked up two whisky bottles. “I see you’re still into a healthy lifestyle.”

  “Oh, yeah, totally. I’ve found out that my body makes up for lack of nutrition by absorbing magic from the air.”

  And she danced away all calories anyway. I let her finish the dance, and then we drank. We drank a lot, and then we danced and drank some more, after which we ended up in her bed.

  We had more than a lot of sex before, and just like all the previous times, she put full effort into it.

  Even after I’ve banged half of Hell, sex with her was still the best one of my life. By a mile.

  I still loved her.

  That she had infinite stamina didn’t hurt either, especially in combination with my own succubus magic.

  An alarm clock rang. I stopped moving, confused.

  “Damn it,” Evelyn shouted and slid out from underneath me.

  Evelyn bolted from the bed. “You need to move,” she shouted and started picking up my clothes.

  For a few seconds, I stared at her, confused. Slowly, I started getting up from the bed.

  “Here,” Evelyn shoved my clothes into my lap. “My band will be here in three minutes, and they really cannot see you. So, if you could vanish, that would be awesome.” She waved her hand over her face, and her features changed.

  A second later, she looked fifteen years older. Of course, she had to naturally age to be able to stay in the limelight. That also meant her career had a hard ceiling.

  I grabbed the clothes and soulstepped to the roof. The wind hit me with an icy fist.

  This was the problem with Evelyn. It was all great until the relationship intervened with whatever held her focus on the given moment.

  Sure, I could kidnap her, and chain her up in the Tokyo Tower. Her mother would thank me for it.

  But that wasn’t who I wanted to be.

  I soulstepped back to the Tokyo Tower basement. And I wasn’t going to wait for her to finish her career to make time for me either.

  Not to mention, she could always pick up a new obsession and put me on the bench again.

  I dropped my clothes on the floor and moved into my new body.

  I got up from the table and dressed. The body felt alien at first, but within a few moments, I got used to it.

  It felt much better than my current form. Since I didn’t put any scars on the new body, the muscles had no limitations. Thanks to making the body physically on Earth, my soul naturally merged with it.

  The suit still fit me perfectly. I liked this suit. Actually, I liked all of my suits. I took the cross pendant and put it around my neck.

  While I didn’t originally plan to take anything with me to Mirrorrealm, I could bring a few things. After I arranged my clothes, I laid back down on the table and returned to my original body.

  I reached into my soul chamber and pulled out my armor. That one was staying here on Earth.

  I changed into that and made sure everything fit tight. Afterward, I towered above my new body. One more finishing touch.

  With a few careful adjustments, I changed my face. Not too much, just enough to look as if I was in my mid-thirties.

  After I had worn my current face for three lives, it was time for a change. To let go of my current life, the face had to die with it.

  Now, I realized I had one more preparation to do. I soulstepped to the Hell Gate, and had it throw me into the Earth’s orbit in the Void.

  I moved myself to where Philadelphia was and found Evelyn’s soul chamber. The globe of flame was very noticeable but actually had no real defenses.

  I moved myself inside and started working on a very specific defense. In particular, I reached out to the energies of the Void and created a copy of myself.

  As if I was creating a new demon, I made the body and worked up an artificial soul. This time though, I didn’t make a new soul, just a copy of my own. For materials, I used many of the millions of souls I have devoured in my life.

  The copy was going to have all my techniques, the personality of my twenty-year-old self, but wasn’t going to speak, have any emotions, and have no sexuality.

  No, I wasn’t letting Evelyn replace me with a copy of myself.

  I also imbued the copy with a purpose. First of all, it was going to draw energies from the Void to empower itself. Not now, but in a year or so, it was going to fill itself up with power to match mine, at least mine without devoured souls.

  And I gave it a purpose. If anyone or anything endangered Evelyn, the copy of myself would soulstep into reality, and protect her by obliterating all threats.

  Since neither Evelyn nor I aged, we could indeed meet even a thousand years from now. The main risk was a violent death. I was the strongest after God, so I wasn’t going to die.

  And with a copy of myself protecting her, neither was she.

  Once I finished my creation, I returned to Earth.

  There, I soulstepped to Trisha’s office.

  She lay passed out on the table.

  Impressive.

  I didn’t consider that possible.

  I left her to it. All I needed to do now was to die in a believable way.

  Come to think of it, I needn’t my army for that.

  I soulstepped to Alaska, about five miles away from the base where the other members of the Hand of God researched my relics.

  Now, let’s see how long my daughter needed to detect me.

  Lillith 8

  On Earth, Lillith allowed herself a short celebration. The combination of hobby smiths, scientists, and Gilgamesh, figured out how to replicate the metal of the casket.

  What was left to do was to optimize the process. The materials were exactly what the analysis told them. The basic crafting process used half of the numbers from the casket.

  Was there a more optimized method?

  Definitely. Her science team up in Alaska was going to figure it out.

  Now, the progress on the aliens looked worse. Or well, they made none. Nobody had any idea how they operated, from where they drew energy, or anything else about them.

  They still didn’t tire, endlessly fighting against their containment.

  A telepathic connection touched Lillith’s mind.

  Her projection has arrived.

  Since Kallisto went to guard the portals to Mirrorrealm, Lillith had the projection return to Earth to deliver the spear.

  Lillith turned into light, moved through the base’s hallways, got out through a gap under the door, beamed to a nearby mountain, and materialized there.

  Her projection materialized next to her, holding a long, thin spear, and wearing an all-white outfit made by Kallisto.

  Well, damn. Through the synchronization of minds, Lillith received the information that the outfits looked great. But this one was something completely else when seen with her own eyes.

  In a puff of violet mist, Elsha appeared near them. “I don’t want to spoil the party, but we’ve got a problem.”

  Lillith and her projection both turned toward the demon princess. “What happened?” they both asked at the same time.

  “Your dear father has just appeared up here in Alaska. He’s about to light up a cigarette, and he’s wearing his armor. Old Lucifer’s armor. I’ll sit this one out, so I wish you good luck. If you get killed, I’m dragging your soul into my realm. Just saying.” Elsha vanished in a flash of violet light.

  Was that an overreaction?

  Lillith couldn’t tell. Though she didn’t like that thought. She raised her hand, and the projection tossed her the spear.

  The weapon felt light to Lillith’s hand, yet familiar thanks to the mind synchronization.

  “I’ll go talk to him,” the projection said, turned into light, and beamed away.

  Lillith also turned into light and returned to the base.

  The projection of Lillith found their father in an instant and materialized ten feet in front of him. He wore a really strange, black armor with plate boots, gauntlets, and a white cross painted on the chest. He smoked a cigarette and greeted Lillith with a smile. “I see you like Kallisto’s style.”

  The projection returned the smile. “Your armor looks like it has been eaten by a bear. Twice.”

  He took a drag from the cigarette. “You should know what the armor means. Hand over the relic and everything in it.”

  “Or?”

  “Or I will take it by force.” He flicked his fingers, and twenty portals appeared in a line behind him.

  Beyond each portal, a small army of demons awaited. Some with monsters, and many with heavy military equipment, including heavy tanks.

  Many of the demons played cards or dice on the equipment, visibly surprised the portals lit up. Lillith smirked. “Do you truly expect me to believe that you will invade your homeland with an army of demons?”

  He shook his head. “No, of course not.” He waved his hand, throwing away the cigarette. All portals vanished. “But I am taking the relic. Last chance, Daughter. Get out of my way, or I will make you.”

  “Will you really fight me?”

  Lucas smiled. “For your whole life, I failed to find you a motherly figure. None of my lovers were ever suitable, and because of that, I could never enter a conflict with you because you had no one else to turn to. But that problem has solved itself. The four demon princesses are more than happy to help you with whatever you need. So, I will take this opportunity to teach you one last lesson, the one I never could.”

  He raised his hand, and a small black hole appeared in his palm.

  The spell pulled on Lillith, but only for a split second before a pull from behind her equalized the forces. Lillith’s projection looked over her shoulder. A dozen more miniature black holes formed behind her, each larger than the previous one.

  “Observe, and remember,” he said. “I will show you the practical application of my art, the art I have taught you.” The black holes exploded into a focused blast. Lillith’s projection vanished in the explosion, torn to shreds. The released shockwave blasted through the nearest mountain, the next one, and slammed into the protective shield around the base.

  The shield blew up, and the shockwave hit the base.

  The wall behind the real Lillith exploded and threw her across the room. The impact threw her across the room, and she slammed into the opposite wall with a force that knocked the breath out of her lungs.

  She spat out a few droplets of blood and fell off the wall.

  Lillith landed on her feet and spread out her detection field. Lucas style, Temple of Steel.

  Due to the focused nature of the blast, most outside defenses weren’t touched. But inside the base, everyone other than the four members of the Hand of God lay dead.

  Was that… a warning shot?

  Lucas 11

  Hmph. That projection didn’t have the shields I expected it to have.

  They could have also put some effort into the barrier that protected the base.

  Ah well, that didn’t matter now.

  I pulled my helmet out from my soul chamber and put it on.

  I headed for the base at a calm pace.

  Since I made a direct path through the mountains with the spell, I had a comfortable path ahead of me. That was going to take about an hour, which should be enough time for Lillith to evacuate the base.

  Yes, she could use that to take away the relic.

  But I didn’t care about that. I was here to die in a believable fashion and to do so while showing my daughter the practical application of our powers.

  The only way to do both of these was in battle against comparable opponents.

  So, I needed to give the Hand of God a reason to fight me.

  I intentionally didn’t spread out my detection field.

  Let them come.

  My phone buzzed in the pocket of my pants.

  I should have put it on silent.

  I ignored the vibrations until they stopped.

  Suddenly, I realized dark clouds covered the sky, not a single direct ray of light piercing through.

  Dark shadows covered the entire area where I walked.

  I empowered my shields.

  From the darkness ahead, Vlad walked out.

  This time, he wore a semi-medieval, semi-modern armor, everything fashioned black and red. The hilt of a greatsword loomed over his shoulder. “I will ask you again, Lucifer,” he said. “Shall you release my mother?”

  I smirked and spread around me a small, but sensitive detection field. This was an ambush, and vampires weren’t easy to detect. Plus, one of them was actually strong. “My answer remains the same. Now, get out of my way, or I will make you.”

  From the ground behind me, a woman jumped out, not colliding with anything, and stabbed with a dagger at my back.

  I whirled and rammed my elbow into her head, at full strength.

  Her head exploded into a mess of blood and hair.

  The dagger still reached me and passed through the armor as if it wasn’t there.

  I slipped to the side, but the dagger still carved a line into my back. The woman looked like the mirror image of Casey, but being much stronger, I estimated her to be Ophelia, her twin sister.

  The blood and bones from her splattered head floated mid-air. Eyes formed in the blood, glaring at me. I caught on fire.

  But I already wore an anti-heat armor, so that did nothing.

  I stretched my hand toward her, formed a miniature black hole in my palm, and let the spell explode. The shockwave blew her apart.

  At the same time, Vlad arrived at me, swinging his greatsword. I caught the blade, the steel unable to cut my gauntlet. I clenched my fist, shattering the steel, and stepped in to punch his chest.

  My fist’s impact exploded his chest and sent him flying away.

  The ground underneath me turned into sand.

  I released a short burst of power, which pushed away the magic that did that. The sand turned back into the ground, and I watched the energy retreat behind a rock by the side.

 

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