He said nothing to Hannah, no goodbye, no words of well-wishing. They weren't friends. One thing connected them, and that thing knew nothing of either of them anymore. He strolled to the community center and stepped inside, his footsteps methodic.

What do you know? I didn't catch on fire.

The preacher still stood at the front, absently flipping through his worn bible, taking notes.

Lucifer paused right in front of him, their faces mere inches apart. He was skimming through Genesis, his next sermon to focus on the beginning of time, the rise of man and the fall of Satan.

It would be easy, so very easy, to just flip the switch and become visible, literally terrifying the life from the man. But what was the point? Another human dead, gone from the world, but there were seven billion more just like him out there.

Last time Lucifer stood on Earth, there were only two.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Over and over.

Again and again.

It was Lucifer's first time on Earth. He stood deep in the Garden of Eden, shielded from weak human eyes, surveying the one called Adam.

For creatures that looked much like him on the surface, Adam seemed inherently inferior. He wasn't even advanced enough to sense an angel in front of him. Why did he deserve such a gift like paradise?

The thumping came from Adam's chest, strong and steady. Most other living creatures on earth had the same rhythmic sound echoing from them, but Adam's was louder. It was his life force. Where Lucifer was filled with Grace, the warm glow of radiant energy, burning as bright as the stars now viewed above, Adam was filled with something else.

Blood.

Lucifer had seen it, had watched as the man accidentally pricked his finger on a thorn and spilled a drop of red onto the earth. It caused the man pain, something as harmless as a beautiful bush of roses injuring him.

How fragile.

How weak.

The thumping in his chest had grown louder, harder, more frenzied when it happened, like something in his chest was tied to the pain.

"It's called a heart."

Lucifer turned away from Adam at the sound of his Father's voice, finding Him there in the garden. He'd heard his thoughts. He'd been watching.

"The sound you hear is his heart beating," He continued, stepping closer. "Its what keeps Adam alive."

"How long will he live?"

"Forever."

Forever.

Inferior yet blessed with the same eternal life as Lucifer.

"I wouldn't call humans inferior," He said. "Just different. They have weaknesses you don't possess, but they also have gifts. They can't sense you, but they can sense things that you can't."

"Like what?"

His Father motioned toward the rose bush, the same one that Adam had injured himself with. "Smell this."

"What?"

"Place your nose to the flower."

Lucifer did as he was told, but nothing happened.

"You can't smell it," He explained. "Everything around you has a fragrance. You can see these things—these flowers, these trees—but Adam experiences them. He breathes them in, he tastes them, lives them. He's one with Earth; you're one with Heaven. You're different creatures, Lucifer."

Lucifer turned back to Adam, observing him as he interacted with Eve. Both were filled to the brim with love—love for each other, love for their Father. "What's their purpose?"

"To exist, and to love, and to worship," He said. "They're my children."

Lucifer hesitated. "And what's my purpose?"

"You know yours."

To see their Father's will through, to serve Him, and obey Him. "Does that will include these humans? Does serving you mean serving… them?"

Lucifer didn't have to wait for Him to respond. He knew the truth. But it still nearly knocked him over when the answer resounded around him. "Yes."

Lucifer stared at the humans. Just moments ago he'd viewed them as inferior, but now he felt differently. If anything, it was clear to him now that he was the subordinate here.

"That's not it at all, my son," He interjected.

"Son," Lucifer said quietly. "Am I your son?"

"Of course you are."

"It doesn't seem that way." He shook his head, turning away from Adam to glance at his Father. "Not anymore."

Serah's heart was racing fast, battering her ribcage like a jackhammer. Luce heard it the moment he apparated in the parking lot outside the motel. It was coming from a room on the far end of the second floor. He tensed, straining his senses, trying to make sense of her excitement, but it was a puzzle that wouldn't come together without seeing the picture.

He had to see.

He had to know.

In a flash, he zapped straight up, appearing just inside the open door of the dingy motel room. He sensed no one else, spotting Serah right away, the tension in his muscles receding as confusion washed through him.

She was dancing.

He could faintly detect the music from this distance, streaming straight to her from the tiny speakers lodged in her ears. She danced to the beat of the song, swaying and bouncing, oblivious to everything around her as she absently changed the sheets on a bed.

Luce could do nothing but stare. Common sense told him to back away, to put some distance between them before he did something stupid, but it was hard to be logical when you're a passion-fueled creature not known for doing the right thing.