Chapter 453: Heh (2)

Vince POV

And here I thought that I finally had a nice sleep, only to be brought to a dream world where I see a man whom I recognize based on Perseus' description, God himself.

"I see you have acclimated to your new body well." God said

"Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Of course, Lucifer."

"Why? After everything... after what I went through... why grant me this second chance now?"

"Your journey has been fraught with pain-"

"I prayed to you countless times... begged for mercy, for release. Why did you forsake me? Why help me now?"

"You were not forsaken, Lucifer. You were given a chance. A chance to begin anew, y-"

"No, don't take credit for this, you bastard. I'm grateful for a second life, but you're not forgiven."

"Your anger is justified, Lucifer. I do not seek absolution, nor do I claim perfection." he said in this stupidly calm tone.

"No, you gave me nothing but suffering in my previous life, turned a blind eye to my agony, and now you claim this as some benevolent act? You're a fucking joke! Worse, you're now working with the scumbag in charge of the program, what the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"My intentions were not to subject you to suffering, but to grant you an opportunity-"

"Shut the fuck up! Opportunity? Don't cloak your neglect in cryptic words! You let them experiment on me, and exploit my abilities, and now, you collaborate with that same scumbag, your way of repaying me should be killing him on the spot, what sort of God are you."

"You know that I can't do that." He shook his head

"Can't or won't? You stand by and watch as they toy with lives, as they manipulate and inflict suffering, and you claim impotence? You're complicit! You're no worse than a murderer!"

"The balance of existence is delicate, Lucifer. My actions, though often misunderstood, serve a greater purpose beyond mortal understanding, a god is not allowed to directly interfere in mortal affairs."

"So, you're bound by some cosmic rule to watch, to let atrocities unfold, to let innocent souls suffer while you remain idle? Do you know how many people died in that experiment? Do you know how many I watched DIE in front of my eyes?! Screw off!"

God's form seemed to waver, a mixture of solemn regret and a hint of understanding. Which is the best thing he's done for me so far, show some regret, because no amount of apology could get me to forgive this guy.

"I just wanted to check up on you. I'm glad you're doing well." He said before leaving.

Perseus POV

"First of all, why the name, Tanner? That name sucks."

"The author initially named him Rusty." Jerah replied, "Besides, his full name is quite long, he's the only Rose who later changed his name a bit, the gods...well, as you know, they all have last names that they've given to themselves."

"Rusty sounds like a good name, I'd have a drink with him."

"That's not the point."

"Well...no offense, he and his lord are starting this rebellion thing on their own, they should have known about their fate if they were to lose, meaning that they were already prepared for the consequences, so why are you asking this of me? Vince could use some additional power."

"I know about that." he sighs, "They even had a son in secrecy before this just so that their legacy could continue, Tanner plans on becoming mortal if his lord were to die, and as a father...I will not watch one of my children die another time."

"What am I getting out of this? Because my plan is to live peacefully after eliminating the world's biggest threats and saving Tanner would mean saving his lover as well, and saving the leader of a rebel group will only earn me animosity from the demons."

"Then marry Lilith. I'll personally vouch for you and will try to no longer get in your way."

"Marrying Lilith is easy, we've discussed it many times. And it's not like I need you to vouch for me when I got Dawn here."

"What if I offer to create another companion for you? One like the fox you have."

Buddy then barked in protest of such an idea.

"Create one for my brother or at least grant him a power that he will need if buddy is still against it, since I planned on giving the orange rose to him in the first place, if you want me to give up on that opportunity, you'll have to grant something equivalent to the orange rose."

"...Fine." he nodded

"Seriously? Vouch for me? Come up with a better offer even if you wanna be cheap, it's not like she needs your decision, she's already pregnant."

"I'm sorry, what?" Jerah and Dawn exclaimed, one in horror, and the other in slight amazement

"Anyway, Dawn, let Lucifer out first as he's the more annoying one, and let's cast a barrier to contain us both, don't make it too small, but not too big either."

"Hey, you can't just brush over-"

"Let's get going, we don't have a lot of time."

Jerah then grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off my feet.

"What is this about Lilith being pregnant?" he gritted his teeth Jerah's face contorted in a mix of shock and anger

"Oh, yeah, she's having triplets."

"Wah..." he then dropped me in shock, "Oh...no...not with his child of all people...are you sure it's your children? I mean, she could have gone for a better man."

"No...it's my children."

"Since...since when...?"

"You're seriously not believing this, right?"

"It was a joke?!"

"Duh, Lilith? Having triplets? She would have a panic attack every week."

Jerah shook his head in disbelief, trying to regain his composure.

"I swear, you and your twisted sense of humor..." He sighed, clearly still ruffled by the unexpected turn of events.

"Yeah, she's only having twins."

"WHAT?!"

"Or was it Leilah, I don't remember who I did it with that night."