One foot after the other.
That was all he was capable of at that moment.
Lucifer had followed Nitha?l without much conviction, as they set off towards Irkalla, the city of Amun. According to the fallen one, many of his people, just as fervent as he was, were still there, safe behind the city walls.
After Beelzebub's coup, Irkalla had gained the status of a semi-independent city, beyond the reach of the Prince of Demons but not the Lord of Hell. Thus, he hadn't been able to reduce the city's fallen population, which was tied to the numbers of mages and demons, but he had frozen it. No fallen soul could find refuge there unless a place became available, rendering any internal sabotage futile. Whether for the sake of the Kingdom's peace or out of fear of his own losses, Beelzebub had chosen to avoid civil war.
Nitha?l and Lucifer had to use cunning to infiltrate the city. While his guide’s secret passage initially led to the demons' quarter, Nithael guided them through other underground tunnels beneath the city to reach the fallen devils' abode. At every intersection, with every obstacle, the Devil questioned the wisdom of Nithael's plan. After all, there was no guarantee the fallen devils would receive him as he had promised since their departure. And what if this only made things worse? Although he had no idea how to make his situation more critical, Lucifer felt his anxiety steadily rising until, inevitably, they found themselves beneath a manhole cover leading to the heart of the fallen devils' quarter. Nithael nodded to him and then began climbing the metal ladder.
Seeing a manhole cover move in the middle of the street was probably what stopped the fallen ones Lucifer glimpsed clustered around Nithael's exit. Though they approached to help the fallen man, the Devil's arrival froze them. His guide helping him out, Lucifer soon found himself dusting himself off amidst a motionless crowd, a murmur beginning to rise within it. Never before had Lucifer felt such apprehension, and he scanned the incredulous faces of his former subjects. Finally, one of them broke away from his companions, stepped toward him, and in an uncertain voice asked if he was indeed the Devil. Space froze, time stopped, and after a moment, Lucifer nodded, silencing the crowd with a single word.
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“Forgive my lateness,” he added, pained. Alas, nothing but silence answered him, and eternities passed without a sound. Suddenly, a clamor erupted, shaking the cobblestones of the street and the stones of the walls as it spread. Lifted by countless hands, Lucifer found himself carried in triumph, caught in a torrent of jubilation and paraded through the streets of the district of the fallen. Nitha?l had to wrest the Devil from his own people before the crowd finally calmed its frenzy. Resting amidst the throng, one of the fallen then questioned him about the reasons for his return and silenced the jubilation more effectively than all of Nitha?l's attempts.
Before a myriad of questioning eyes, Lucifer hesitated for a moment over his answer, certain of only one thing: he owed them the truth. Then, rising above them so that everyone could see him, the Devil held forth for a long hour before the fallen of Irkalla. He told them absolutely everything: the reasons for his departure, where and what he had done in the human realm, what had brought him back to Hell; he omitted no detail, not even those that tarnished his image as a monarch. Whether to apologize or justify himself, Lucifer concluded his address by reminding them that before becoming Lux Fero, the Light-Bearer, the ruler of Hell, he had been a fallen one, like them, who had turned away from God to forge his own path.
His words restored a gleam of pride to the eyes around them, which grew more numerous with each passing minute. In his fervor, he disregarded the advice Nitha?l had given them during their journey and revealed to the fallen ones his battle against Beelzebub. He explained the date and conditions of their fight and promised that, victorious, he would reclaim the realms of Hell and begin a new chapter in their abode. Alas, he had to ask them to wait a little longer. "We have hoped for your return for ten years, Lord Lucifer. We can wait two more weeks," the fallen ones confided in him.
Unfortunately, such commotion did not go unnoticed in the city, and soon the announcement of the city guards' arrival stirred the crowd. Escorted back to their secret passage, Lucifer and Nithael quickly vanished, encouraged by every soul around them.
Alone once more with the fallen one, the Devil grasped his shoulder and humbly thanked him: he had restored hope to Hell. Though he offered a rueful smile to Nitha?l's anger at the revelation of the battle, Lucifer didn't dwell on it, invigorated by this encounter with his people. Now, all that remained was to deal with the problem raised by Beelzebub, and in this case, who better to help him than Lilith, one of his oldest friends?
