A Song of Creation

A Song of Creation

…

Commissioned by Citino

Wordcount: 2500

…

The massive construction takes the whole of the room. Extracting yourself from the various implements that had been stuck on you, you follow a mixture of technology and magic to massive cylinder at the center of the room. Suspended in midair, the cylinder is composed of composite material meant to withstand reentry, which is in turn inscribed with silver and gold lettering that even those unversed in magic can determine is holy in nature.

Mustering your strength, after your long sleep, you tap Lucifer’s prison.

It shakes rather aggressively.

“Well, I imagine that he’s rather pissed that his attempt to become an Aspect or reenter the Cycle of Reincarnation got fucked.” Celeste hums idly, checking over her most recent creations, while you attend to her room. You’ve been under for a week, whilst she fiddled with your soul, so the room is entirely, completely trashed. “Oh, thanks. The maids tried to help, but they just don’t get how to clean my room, you know?”

The trick is to keep everything organized, but in Celeste’s peripheral vision, because she has no clue where anything is if it’s out of sight.

“I am indeed a baby that cannot into object permanence. Please, pamper me at all times.” The Aspect of Creation brushes off your latest attempt to have her clean up her act. You examine the tanned South American woman with a critical eye. Plainly, you ask her when was the last time she bathed. “Uhh, I got stuck making a prison for my boi here, so… a few hours before you went under? I put on deodorant and fresh clothes, though.”

A shirt and sports shorts are not clothes, especially when bereft of underthings.

“I didn’t leave my room, so it’s okay!” Celeste does the thing. The irresponsibly cute thing where she taps her head with her knuckles, winks, and sticks out her tongue. It’s more difficult to deal with now, since you don’t have a voice screaming at the sight of it. “Besides, guys love it when girls steal their shirts… well, technically I own this shirt since I bought it for you, so it’s mine. But, that’s beside the point!”

You cross your arms and attempt to look disgusted with the Aspect of Creation, Celeste Thomas, and the woman you trust more than anyone else in the world.

It doesn’t take.

“So, what’re your plans now that you don’t have Mr. Violence-Is-The-Only-Way in your head? Dinner, a bath, or me?” Celeste grins with sparkling white teeth and a huff of pride. Spinning on her chair, until she’s leaning her chin upon the backseat, she awaits your answer. “Now that you’re no longer the reincarnation of my son, it won’t be weird anymore. Care to try out our relationship, now that we don’t have to deal with spiritual pseudo-incest? HMMMMM?”

Bluntly, you tell Celeste that she smells, her flirting is terrible, and you’re tired from dying.

The only thing you want to do is clean yourself up, have a meal, and shoot Lucifer into the depths of space beyond the reach of anyone or anything.

“Theennnnnn, we try out gratuitous affirmation of our love for one another without spiritual pseudo-incest.”

You sigh.

Relationships are built on compromise, you remind yourself.

Since you’re very grateful and happy with your lover, the two of you can do it during Lucifer’s exile, but only if she showers and changes first—

“OkgonnagogetcleansoIcangetdirtybye!”

You have no doubt that the whole of Heaven and the Church will have a crisis of faith the moment she reveals herself.

…

Celeste droops in her chair. Typically, rambunctious, ever-filled with energy, and unceasing in her pursuit of her desires, the Aspect of Creation is defeated soundly by early mornings.  Though more than capable of working weeks on end without stopping, the moment she decides to sleep and rest, awakening and staying awake will be difficult for her to accomplish for nearly an entire day.

She does nothing, while you poke her cheek, besides lean against you.

“Li… feed me.” Celeste mewls, while you explore the pinchable texture of her cheek. The Homunculi maids giggle, while they set her breakfast next to your own, not even bother to place the medley of eggs, cured meats, and potatoes in front of the stomach they’re supposed to reach. With habit born from experience, you take her coffee and thank a maid for giving you a soup spoon. You spoon feed coffee like broth into the Reincarnation of God, the Creator of Heaven, and humanity’s most fervent protector. “Mhmm… tasty… more…”

Looking to one of the maids, you ask what’s planned for today, especially now that Lucifer has been dealt with.

The backlog of jobs left to Celeste is quite horrendous, but given the fact that you’re expected to assist her… it’s marginally more manageable, even with your requested amount of time set aside for training. The Chimera need to be culled more, so that no Monarchs arrive on Earth again, so humanity needs assistance in clearing the various “neighboring” Earths that lead to your own. There’s the matter of Concepts, who you and Celeste still need to talk to, before you activate their various powers by removing their restraints.

That Stiles girl worries you, but Coda’s assurance that she’ll be able to deal with her puts you somewhat at ease.

Deprogramming the Silver Maiden is still an arduous affair. Miyakuro is still hunting down himself from the future, who has an army of Valkyries at his disposal, and it’s proving to be a very difficult quest even for the Reincarnation of Odin. Even with Celeste’s assistance in his various projects to make artifacts that will allow him to match his future self, the both of them are Sorcerers to whom distance means practically nothing. Only time will tell whether or not he shall succeed in his task.

Politely, you ask the maid if there’s any traction in your proposal to gather a team of sorts, so that you and Celeste can be further assisted.

“Mrph, no. I dun wanna share.” Celeste munches through some sunny side-up eggs grumpily. The hazel-skinned, black-haired young woman leaning against you yawns. An errant gesture on her part has her Communicator fly out of her pocket and project a holo-vid atop the countertop. The quiet dinner is soon filled with the silly antics of middle-aged individuals playing video games for a living. You have to admit, it seemed silly at first, but once you got used to the characters they played, you earnestly began to like watching them interact and play games together. They’re a joy to watch. “I bet you can be a streamer, Li. I can be the pretty girlfriend that walks in wearing too little clothes and makes lots of people jealous. Echs Dee.”

Oh, no she’s talking in chatspeak. More coffee is required. Immediately.

“Mmmm, coffee.”

Whilst the Aspect of Conflict reaches for a state of mind that can be considered sentient, you ponder the current issues at hand. Given your own abilities, combined with Thomas’s own, the two of you are a pair to be reckoned with. Between the both of you, there’s no shortage of firepower or tricks that can decide the course of just about every battle. However, even with Miyakuro’s aid, the two of you cannot be everywhere at once. Celeste’s existence is secret. While you can certainly strike out on your own, people will look into you, and then you’ll lead them to Celeste in turn.

So, recruiting others is a difficult, terrible affair, as you must keep Celeste secret and protect her from those who would wish to do her harm.

Celeste burbles as you give her too much coffee, so you have to take some time to rescue her from her sleepiness and your inattentiveness.

There is much to do, so you can’t help but be worried.

…

The Cradle is thankfully so packed with life that walking around with Thomas is a simple enough affair. The two of you are relatively unknown, so with your power, the two of you can appear like regular human beings. You’re somewhat taller than most of the crowd, but there’s one or two individuals who are blessed with height too, so you’re not that strange amongst others. Though your girlfriend’s dark skin and fair features attract understandable attention, your presence dissuades those who are interested in her for merely her looks.

At least, that is the case in normal sections of the city.

Where the outcast virtual-lifers spend their days getting physical accommodations, you have to practically shield her from hungry gazes. She is beautiful, much like the perfect avatars most use in their virtual lives, so those who are finding it difficult in the real-world flock to her like moths to a flame.  You’re sure that Thomas just wants you to hold her hand in public, since that’s what you must do to properly dissuade the countless insects that wish to bask in her presence.

Soon enough, the two of you reach Celeste’s favored place in the Tokyo Arcology.

The thrift/junk/retro store is as relentlessly oppressive to the senses as always.

“Li, don’t talk about this place with a tone like that!” Celeste admonishes you and tugs you forward. The warehouse-sized building is an affair of multiple stalls, stacked atop one another and beside one another, that is staffed by actual human beings who’ve scavenged the junkyards and recycling facilities of Arcologies as a hobby, or to fuel their online wants and wishes. There are strict policies on maintaining hygiene, and everything is disinfected and cleaned, but it’s still a hive of humanity filled with bodies, garish signs, and old systems wrapped in thick, transparent plastic, then hung up on racks for all to see. “This place is beautiful!”

Yet, she never visited it without someone beside her before, you point out.

“Eh-heh, you got me there. It’s a really pretty place, but it’s certainly too crowded for me alone.” Celeste emphasizes her words by clinging to you and winking. It would be a very salacious and flirty sight, if not for the noise that followed a moment thereafter. As nicely as you can put it, she laughs beneath her breath with an equal measure of perversion and mischief.  “Eh he he~.”

You feel nothing but trepidation and fear at the noise, so you ask what the plans are for today.

“We’re looking for a film camera. Well, an instant photo camera would be good too. I want to make a photobook, you know?” The concept is familiar to you. The Tuzi had a few photobooks. They even had a camera. However, film was hard to come by and it was eventually sold in exchange for tools. The tools saved many lives, so it was regarded as a fair trade. Memories cannot be kept, if there is no one to keep them, after all. “Morbid. Really morbid. I was going for a more romantic, maybe lewd approach, you know? One for the family to enjoy in the future. One for fap—

You cover her mouth, before the surrounding crowd turns anymore red, and tell her that some information should remain private.  

Again, you think, Heaven and the Church can never know about Creation’s current circumstances.

…

Eventually, the two of you happen upon a store that has a camera. However, you are perplexed by the store owner.

He’s a Reincarnated Devil.

Issei Hyoudou.

The young man, serving customers with a smile on his face, doesn’t strike you as the type to accept deals for his life and soul. However, that’s only a cursory glance. Looking past his profile on your Communicator, you can tell there’s a great, terrible power lurking within him. It’s untapped, so you think it’s a Sacred Gear, but you also sense from him far greater power than a normal Reincarnated Devil. It’s almost as though he has more than one Piece of a Set, unlike a normal Devil would.

You decide to share this fact with Celeste, then regret it immediately.

“So, kid, how’d you go and die, then turn into a Devil, huh? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone else.” Celeste leans on the counter with one hand with a wide smile. Issei Hyoudou’s eyes practically pop out of his skull. “Not for free though. I think I’ll keep it a secret, if you gimme all the film-based cameras you have.”

You intercede by pulling on Celeste’s ear and stepping before the young man.

Apologizing, you tell him he need not explain his circumstances and that you’ll be paying full price for a film-based, non-digital camera and everything included in it.

Unfortunately, Celeste releases herself from your grip, by forcing you to slap her hands away from something she DEFINITELY shouldn’t reach for in PUBLIC!

“Ignore my tall, handsome, and commanding boyfriend. I’m the one who wears nothing, or worse than nothing, and is ravaged in this relationship. So, please make him angry by listening to me instead.” You hold your face in your hands. It feels as though you’re aflame from the tips of your ears to your toes, there’s an incessant sensation of embarrassment made manifest. Celeste, meanwhile, continues to aggressively dig herself into a hole by harassing the poor young man operating a storefront. “Like I said, give me all the cameras you have, or I tell everyone that you’re a Devil, because you wanted to liven up your nightlife with shapeshifting and increased stamina. Why? Because, that’s the only reason I’d do it.”

There’s no helping the situation anymore.

You take a deep breath and do what needs be done.

With clarity of mind and purity of heart, you call Celeste’s mother.

…

Celeste lies smoking and defeated on the store’s floor, while you converse with Hyoudou over a cup of tea, after you assure him that his secret is safe.

“I was a little worried about that, but I was sure that Thomas-san was just joking. She really just wanted you to be more insistent and take charge.” Surprisingly, Hyoudou proves to be effective against Celeste when allowed to speak. She twitches, despite her life being rendered effectively to zero. She’s going into the negatives due to his words. It’s quite the sight. “I don’t have that much of a story to tell, anyway. I really would’ve just been worried that Rias would’ve found out, since she wants me to live in Hell with her.”

You blink at the statement made by the Devil before you. Trawling through your memories for a moment, you confirm Issei Hyoudou’s statement: he’s part of the Peerage of the Maou’s Sister, Rias Gremory.

“Oh? You know about Rias? Is she that special in Hell?”

You leave that information hanging in the air, as you turn your gaze at your girlfriend, who can no longer feign death.

Instead, the Aspect of Creation sweats profusely due to fear and trepidation of the non-erotic nature.

Yes, it is as she fears, she has spent less than a day outside her room for the first time in a week… and has caused another interdimensional/international incident.

“No…” Celeste looks at you with tears in her eyes. “Say it ain’t so…”

Unfortunately, you must truly punish your girlfriend now.

“I was alone for a whole week with only Lucifer for company. I can’t survive, even if I’d just had my fill.”

You stay true to the course, despite the pleas reaching your ears.

“No. No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Once more, she will be chaste and pure for a week.

Celeste screams.

Hyoudou stares.

You, Li Song, sigh.

What a strange Yimin you have.