"I, uh. . ."

"Do not speak," he commanded, moving toward her as she retreated more. "Nothing you say will absolve you of responsibility. You shamed yourself. You shamed the world. You shamed me. And for that, you must be held accountable."

Another crack echoed down the street. Serah’s eyes darted that direction, her gaze falling upon Lucifer. Before she could look back at Michael, panicked, she was overpowered, viciously thrown to the hard asphalt. Michael's foot slammed into her chest, knocking the air from her lungs. She gasped, tears springing to her eyes, as the blade of the sword pressed against the dip in the throat. She swallowed thickly, feeling it almost pierce the skin.

"Have you come to watch, Satan?" Michael’s gaze remained on Serah as he addressed his brother. "Come to bask in the glow of her Grace one last time?"

"And they say I’m the cruel one," Lucifer said. "You’re supposed to be merciful when you take their wings."

"Oh, I have no intention of taking her wings," Michael said.

Lucifer’s brow furrowed. "No?"

Michael shook his head. "No."

Hope washed through Serah, energizing her, but it faded quickly as Michael’s sword trailed along her skin, away from her throat. He pressed it against her chest, over her racing heart, the burning blade ever so slightly slicing the skin.

"Don’t do it!" Lucifer howled, his livid voice vibrating the structures surrounding them. "Stop!"

A scream tore from Serah, and she arched her back as the flames intensified, burning away at her flesh. Searing pain ran through her body, scorching lava pooling deep inside of her where blood should be. Her skin bubbled and blistered bright red as the black char mark formed, the ritualistic symbol carved into her chest.

She writhed on the ground, the ferocious sting building and building inside of her, overtaking all of her senses. Her vision blurred, tears streaming down her cheeks and splattering the cold asphalt. Her chest felt like it would explode, light collecting in the area of the wound and streaming out through her skin, the mark pulsating with the beat of her heart.

Lucifer was upon her in the blink of an eye, crouching beside her on the ground. He pulled her into his arms, cradling her. His thumbs brushed along her cheeks, wiping away her tears. When he pulled his hands away, she saw they were covered in red.

She was crying blood.

"Am I dying?" she asked, the words barely audible. She stared up in the sky as a ruddy cloud was swallowed by sheer blackness.

A reaper, she realized.

"Fix this!" Lucifer demanded. "Fix it now!"

"It’s time you learn a lesson in humility," Michael said. "You can’t command me. You have no hold on me. You are nothing to me. Nothing."

"That may be true, Prince, but it’s not for me. Do it for her."

"Why?"

"Because she’s not nothing to you! You love her!"

"Not anymore."

"You can lie to yourself, and everyone else, but you can’t lie to me, Michael," Lucifer sneered. "We’re connected—always have been, and always will be. And I know you love her, brother, because I can feel it. I feel it in every beat of my fucked-up heart. I feel it every time I look at her, or smell her, or am within twenty feet of her."

"You’re wrong," Michael insisted.

"Stop this!" Lucifer yelled. "Don’t punish her for what I’ve done!"

"Why?"

"Because. . ." A growl ripped from Lucifer’s chest. "Because maybe I fucking love her, okay?"

"Impossible," Michael said. "You're incapable of love."

"And you're fucking blind," Lucifer spat. "How easily you flip a switch. I can accept you turning your back on me, but her? She's done nothing but show compassion for everyone!"

"She succumbed to your evil!"

"No, she looked past it!" he spat. "She found something in me, something no one else could see. She cared, when no one else gave a damn. She tried, when everyone else said it was pointless. And you discard her! You damn her to an eternity in Hell for it!"

"You wanted her, Satan? You can have her." Not a speck of emotion could be found in Michael’s voice. "Let her forever exist in the lake of fire, trapped between the living and the dead like you."

Michael took a step back, giving her a lingering glance before slowly closing his eyes and turning away. He vanished in a crack of thunder.

"Michael!" Lucifer howled, his voice cracking as emotion poured from his chest. "Come back here!"

"I am dying," Serah whispered as more blackness overtook the sky. "The reapers have come."

Lucifer groaned, before screaming again. "I know you can hear me! Don’t ignore me!"

"It’s okay," Serah said, turning her head slightly to look at Lucifer. His face was turned to the sky, blocked from her view. "Look at me, Luce. It’s okay."

Lucifer glanced down. Shock ran through Serah in waves when she saw his eyes were glossed over. His expression contradicted the sadness in his eyes, his lip curling as he bared his teeth. "It’s not okay!" His attention darted upward again, and Serah’s gaze followed his. The reapers had quadrupled in a matter of seconds. "Michael! Fucking show yourself!"

Through the haze of her vision, she could see a few fluffy, white flakes drifting from the sky, like tiny balls of cotton. Snow.