Grigori.
Azazel stared speechlessly as the screen in front of him blatantly showed how much he had fucked up throughout his life.
Karma Value: -500 (MAX)
"....You really did not have to do me like this, brother Aetherion."
His words were met with silence as he was the only one in the room right now, as his subordinates were far too busy wrangling the rest of the Fallen Angels after the latest 'patch' in the Heavenly System was pushed through, bringing with it something that he had been dreading and anticipating for some time now.
The Karma System for all the Fallen Angels, and by extension, the possibility of being redeemed and brought back into the fold in the Heavens.
Ever since the patch, the Fallen Angels had been in an uproar as the messages that came with the System clearly showed what they had to do to rejoin the Heavens.
For those who had negative karma, they had to do good deeds as well as truly repent for the sins that they had committed, which meant that they must be feeling guilty for the sins in the first place, to regain good karma.
While the possibility of rejoining heaven would only be given to those whose Karma reaches +400 and above, it was still a possibility that shone like a ray of light in the minds of many Fallen who wished to regain their former splendor.
That is why there had been an uproar in the Grigori as Fallen Angels scrambled to go out and do some good deeds to try and 'game' the system, as the kids these days say.
Unfortunately, they soon found out that the System had already taken this into account.
Just doing some good deeds would not be enough to change their karma value.
They must truly wish to repent and must feel guilty for the sins they committed in the past. The System would read their intent and only then calculate their Karma value.
Leaning back in his seat, Azazel once again brought out a bottle of whisky and started chugging it.
"Well played, brother. You made sure that those of us who did not regret their actions in the past would never be given a second chance to go back to heaven. A cold and logical decision, but one that I support wholeheartedly."
"I knew you would say that."
Aazel nearly jumped from his seat at those words before he turned around, finding Aetherion casually reclining on his couch.
"What the hell!? How did you arrive without me noticing you?"
Aetherion grinned at Azazel's question.
"Magic."
"Very funny, brother. But seriously, how? This place is enchanted to hell and back, in some cases literally, so how did you get past those wards that easily?"
Aetherion continued grinning as he rested his face on his fist.
"Like I said, magic."
"...Fine, keep your secrets."
Taking out another bottle of Whisky, he pushed a glass full of the stuff towards the Angel, who shook his head, making Azazel shrug.
"So, how did your people find the update?"
The flat stare that Azazel gave his former brother was all the answer that Aetherion needed as he started chuckling.
"That bad, huh?"
"What do you think?"
"Hm. I am guessing, chaos?"
"Try absolute Pandemonium."
"Haha. Makes sense. Still, isn't this what they wanted after all? a chance to return to the kingdom in the sky?"
Azazel stared wistfully through his window, up at the purple skies of the Underworld.
"Yeah. That is what many of us wish deep down, even to this day. Even after we rebelled, even after we fought and killed those who we once called kin. We still wish to return to what we once had. At least, a majority of us do, anyway."
"Kokabiel?"
"Among others, yes."
Azazel did not hide anything and straight away answered his brother truthfully since it was not really a secret.
Kokabiel had always wanted to restart the Great War since he believed that the Fallen Angels were the superior race and should have won the war if not for the ceasefire that was abruptly called after the death of God and the Four Satans.
And he was not the only Fallen Angel to believe as such. That is why he and his group had always been an annoyance for Azazel, even if Kokabiel was someone loyal to his leader and would do as he was ordered, even if it went against his goals.
Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, Azazel turned to Aetherion and smiled wryly.
"Still, this was a brilliant move, brother. You directly destroyed any chance of anyone abusing the Karma System by involving intent in it, making it so that only those who truly wish to do good deeds and repent can gain positive value. This way, you can separate those who are looking to abuse the System and those who truly wish to go back to the way things were rather easily."
Aetherion nodded his head to those words.
"Not only that, I have incorporated this intent system into the overall Heavenly System, which means that this is how things will work for the Sacred Gear wielders, the members of the Church, and everyone else in the world from now on."
"Hm. That's a good plan. But what are you planning on doing with the Devils? You do know that things have been really bad down here for the past few months, right?"
Aetherion smirked at that question.
"I know, Azazel. That is why I have come here today."
"Oh?"
"In a few days, the heavens will be meeting with the Satans for a meeting. Supposedly, they want to propose some kind of treaty with us."
That caught Azazl's full attention as he put down his bottle of whisky.
For a long time now, Azazel had been making plans to end the stalemate between the three factions and establish a true peace.
As someone who had become disillusioned with war and had become tired of it, he had genuinely wanted to end this conflict and finally bury the hatchet, one way or another.
To that end, he had made many long-term plans and was even willing to do shady things to achieve his goal.
However, with the revival of Arael, now Aetherion, and said angel's subsequent actions, he believed that this dream of his would die an ugly death in the coming days.
But now, he caught a glimpse of another chance.
So, without any hesitation, he stared seriously at Aetherion.
"I will join."
Aetherion chuckled at those words.
"I haven't even invited you yet, Azazel. Acting like this makes you look desperate."
"I am desperate. Brother. I am tired of all the bloodshed and meaningless loss of life. I want peace. And if I can put down the foundations for such a future through this meeting, so be it."
Aetherion smiled sadly at Azazel.
"I do not think it will be that easy, Azazel. Especially with the plans that I am thinking about implementing, which will make us the enemies of countless powerful beings from across the world. Not to mention that I have directly taken away a large chunk of the military force that the Devils had until now, with my reforming of the system. Do you still think peace is possible under such circumstances?"
"I will not know unless I try, brother. Besides."
Azazel's power swelled as a confident grin made its way to his face.
"When have I ever been afraid of making enemies?"
"Hahaha! Alright, then. I'll send you the invite tomorrow-"
Suddenly, Aetherion's phone rang with a notification, making him look at it with a raised eyebrow before he smiled a bit.
"How interesting. Congratulate Benemune on my behalf, will you?"
Azazel gave a confused look at his brother, who teleported out. But his confusion would be soon cleared in a few hours' time when Benemune would return to Grigori with a pep in her step and a smile on her face.
Because the System had calculated the genuineness of her good deeds in the past and had recalculated her karma value to be above 100 points, which meant that she could now use a little bit of pure Holy Energy along with her tainted Light, which had a lot of its corruption scrubbed from it by the System, just like a few other Fallen Angels whose good deeds had been acknowledged by the system.
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Author Notes:
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