Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"That’s not an easy question to answer."

Mephisto tilted his head with a smile.

"Every kingdom has its own sovereignty. We respect one another’s borders, so I don’t make a habit of prying into other people’s affairs."

The answer was so polished it practically sparkled.

Evenson, Salora, and Aureseus all gave him the same unimpressed snort.

"Please."

Salora folded her arms.

"We may be different from most demons, but we still hate people who refuse to answer a simple question directly."

"Don’t make yourself sound like some model citizen."

Aureseus stepped forward.

"If you really respected sovereignty that much, you wouldn’t be here in the first place."

The unspoken thought was obvious.

You keep wandering into the mortal world whenever you feel like it. Do you even have a passport? Who approved your visa?

"Ah, hypocrisy."

Mephisto smiled proudly.

"One of my most charming qualities."

He produced a small mirror from somewhere and casually checked his hair.

"With that particular trait, I’m sure I’ll have no trouble finding plenty of women."

Evenson stared at him.

Should I write that down? Might be useful someday.

"I suddenly feel like you’re thinking something disrespectful."

Salora narrowed her eyes and leaned toward him.

"Of course not."

Evenson maintained an admirably calm expression.

"I would never allow my mind to wander at a time like this."

He decided against writing anything down.

He already had enough complications involving women in his life. Adding another one might leave him drowning in them.

"If I were you, I wouldn’t be nearly this relaxed, Mephisto."

Evenson smoothly changed the subject.

"We need the information you’re holding to determine Lucifer’s current condition. More specifically, we need to know whether he can enter the most dangerous state."

"Believe us."

Salora’s expression became serious.

"If he reaches that state, even the two of us working together would have to keep our distance."

That finally wiped the amusement from Mephisto’s face.

His eyes sharpened.

Mephisto had always been exceptionally good at reading people. As one of Hell’s Lords, he had dealt with countless souls desperately trying to hide their crimes from him.

Most failed.

He could already tell that the Eredar Twins were not weaker than him.

Of course, fighting them in Hell, where his authority was strongest, would be another matter entirely.

But if two demons of their caliber openly admitted that there was a form Lucifer could take that even they feared, then Mephisto had no choice but to take the matter seriously.

"Are you two actually serious?"

Evenson lowered his voice.

"You’d really be afraid of that form of Naaru?"

"At the Sunwell, why do you think Kil’jaeden placed M’uru in front of us as the last line of defense?"

Salora answered in the same low voice.

She didn’t sound happy about admitting it.

"Even I don’t particularly enjoy saying this," Aureseus muttered, "but M’uru in his ordinary state, whether Light or Shadow, wasn’t much more than an opponent."

She frowned.

"But once he entered that other state..."

She clicked her tongue.

"Then things became very different."

Evenson quietly nodded.

That explained a lot.

Mephisto had finished thinking as well.

"Lucifer never developed his territory."

His tone was now completely serious.

"He hasn’t even moved his location since he arrived in Hell. It’s been roughly two thousand years, and he’s spent the entire time in the same place."

Mephisto had evidently decided that, for the sake of the larger problem, he might as well tell them everything.

"That doesn’t mean no souls enter his territory."

A faintly troubled expression appeared on his face.

"Small numbers are still assigned there naturally. But Lucifer doesn’t seem to care about them."

"He doesn’t judge them."

"He doesn’t torture them."

"Nothing."

Mephisto shook his head.

"I always assumed those souls were incredibly lucky. Compared with the rest of Hell, their existence should have been practically a vacation."

"Until curiosity got the better of me."

He paused.

"I wanted to know how such a strange territory actually functioned, so I sent a small team to investigate."

Mephisto looked at Evenson.

"Take a guess. What do you think they found?"

Evenson rolled his eyes.

"They were sitting in a circle playing a children’s game."

Mephisto laughed under his breath and ignored the joke.

"Empty."

His expression became strange.

"Lucifer’s territory was far too empty."

"Especially the enormous area surrounding Lucifer himself."

"There wasn’t a single soul there."

Mephisto frowned.

"According to my records, the soul density in his territory should have been much higher."

"So I ordered the team to keep exploring."

"They eventually found the answer."

A disturbing smile appeared on Mephisto’s face.

"Any soul that comes within a certain distance of Lucifer is drawn toward him."

"Every single one."

"The souls are pulled closer and closer until..."

He slowly closed his hand.

"...Lucifer devours them."

"Demons aren’t exempt."

"Several members of the team I sent never made it back."

"They got too close."

Evenson’s expression hardened.

That changed things considerably.

Mephisto finished explaining and looked directly at him.

"Now it’s your turn."

"You’ve heard what I know."

"So tell me what you know about Lucifer and these beings you call angels."

"We call them Naaru."

Evenson nodded.

"They’re energy-based lifeforms."

He wasn’t going to hide anything now.

Lucifer was sitting in the middle of Hell, and if they were going to deal with him, Mephisto’s cooperation might become essential.

"You were right about one thing."

"Lucifer isn’t technically fallen."

"That Shadow form you’re talking about isn’t corruption."

"It’s simply a normal stage in the Naaru life cycle."

Mephisto listened carefully.

"Most Naaru exist primarily in the form of Light."

"But when their Light energy is depleted, or when they suffer severe enough damage, they naturally transition into Shadow."

"It’s as normal for them as sleep is for us."

"Light and darkness are two halves of the same existence."

"They alternate between them."

Mephisto nodded slowly.

"That’s almost philosophical."

Evenson continued.

"I call the Shadow state ’sleep’ for another reason."

"In that state, their conscious awareness is greatly diminished."

"But more importantly, Shadow is the regenerative phase of the Naaru’s life cycle."

Mephisto’s eyelids lowered.

"Let me guess."

"The energy they use to restore themselves is souls."

"Exactly."

Evenson didn’t hesitate.

"Once a Naaru consumes enough souls and replenishes its energy, it transforms back into its Light form."

He gave a thoughtful little hum.

"Imagine a creature of pure Light suddenly appearing in the middle of Hell and illuminating the entire place."

He smiled faintly.

"That would certainly be interesting."

"It would."

Mephisto didn’t seem nearly as alarmed as Evenson expected.

"If Lucifer restored his Light form inside Hell, he could certainly make things inconvenient for me and my old colleagues."

"But do you know how powerful the Lords of Hell are in our own territory?"

He shrugged.

"That isn’t enough to constitute a serious threat."

"Besides, I only need to discuss it with the other Lords."

"We can intercept the souls that would otherwise be assigned to Lucifer."

"Cut off his energy supply."

"Without a source of souls, he won’t be able to restore himself."

Mephisto looked satisfied with his own solution.

"Problem solved."

"That’s a wonderful plan."

Evenson’s smile was completely insincere.

"Now, please take your brain out of your heel and think about this carefully."

Mephisto’s smile disappeared.

"Naaru exhaust their Light and enter the Shadow state."

"Fine."

"But what happens when they don’t receive enough energy to replenish themselves?"

"What happens when even their Shadow energy is completely exhausted?"

Mephisto’s expression stiffened.

Evenson waited.

Finally, Mephisto groaned and dragged a hand through his hair.

"Oh, come on."

"Can’t it just die when it runs out of energy?"

"Plenty of people have thought the same thing."

Evenson sighed.

"I know I did."

"But reality is a lot uglier."

"When a Naaru completely exhausts all of its energy, it undergoes a process called entropy."

His expression turned grim.

"It transforms into the most terrifying form a Naaru can possess."

"The Entropius."

Mephisto went completely still.

Evenson’s voice dropped.

"It becomes everything."

"And nothing."

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