Interlude

The two weeks following the incident with Apollo and his son Agreus passed by in the blink of an eye. Unable to interact with the real world due to my comatose-like state, I focused on training and studying for what would inevitably be another encounter with some other fantastical being.

Lucifer struggled to teach me Latin as best he could, and while physical training had become relatively easy, and I could continue to multi-task while doing it; Language learning was proving to be concept I needed exclusively devoted time with, as it was clearly a subject that I lacked any sort of natural affinity for.

Four days had passed since our battle and from what I understood of the situation, we were heading to Athens. Theseus had decided that due to their having killed one of the core gods of Greece, his status in Athens would be required in order to allow us to survive what remained of our -as of yet undetermined- length of stay.

Several times over the course of our extended journey I had attempted to awaken myself from my slumber. However, my body seemed to understand better than I, that it needed to recuperate. Each time I would forcibly attempt to wake up, I would simply find myself dreaming, fast asleep just like my physical body.

After two weeks of this, I was beginning to feel frustrated, as I had no way of knowing when my physical form would permit itself to awaken. This frustration was further compounded by the fact that each time I looked in on my companions, I would hear some comment or another from Lilith about how 'sick and tired' she was of having to transfuse such a vast quantity of nutrients into my body.

With great daily effort, I reminded myself of the pains she was taking to ensure that my body had what it needed to recover. Due to the fact that I was unable to eat or drink anything, she was forced to use her blood magic to not only alter her own blood type to what would be compatible with my own, but also pass along the nutrients required to sustain me via a transfusion. It was an extremely tedious and time consuming process for her.

In addition to the high number of calories my body was burning just to heal itself, Lucifer and I were hard at work training not just my mind and my spells, but also my body. This meant that despite my comatose state in the physical world, my muscles were now growing in definition, and my body type was no longer that of an obvious nine to five office worker, but rather that of an unkempt athlete.

Much to mine and Lucifer's dismay, I had not yet learned any new spells, though in these past two weeks I had improved my mastery over Vacuus to an almost perfect degree. I was now able to increase its size, density, shape and movement with near pinpoint precision. What need did I have for swords or shields when I could simply create one with a black hole? Despite my desire not to admit it, Agreus and Apollo had taught me much during our encounters... Magic was not so linear as I had thought as the applications were proving to be neigh limitless, and I had only just learned the one spell.

*****

"Are you simply going to brood in there for the rest of your days? Or will you allow me to trounce you through yet more grammar studies?" Lucifer's voice beckoned through the door to my Wizards tower, rapping several times on its wooden surface. I peered back over my shoulder, willing the door open as I had learned in the days prior.

Since this place existed within my soul, I had come to the realization that I could change certain aspects of it as I pleased. Opening and closing doors was the first application of this I had found.

Dabbing the pen dry on a piece of cloth beside my growing stack of parchment, I tidied my desk as Lucifer approached, peeking over my shoulder with his usual paltry curiosity. The scent of fresh cut roses permeated from him like a thick dense fog that forced me to stifle a sneeze.

"Oh please, Desmond. The smell of roses are pleasant to all who take in their illustrious beauty, how dare you rebuke their advances!" His teasing pulled a smirk from my face as I rose from my chair for the first time in hours, retreating to the other end of the empty room.

"Roses are nice in moderation, Lucifer. Something you've still yet to grasp..." I mocked in return, following up with a serious nod and pinch of my nostrils. I hoped that despite our joking he would remove the simulated sense before we settled into our studies. Instead, Lucifer ignored my gesture and leaned over my desk, drawing his fingers faintly across the drying ink of my Journal.

"I still do not understand your fascination with having a diary of all things... Your soul contains an entire library of books filled with your memories, should you ever choose to view them again." He carefully picked up the growing stack of parchment, inspecting it lazily. "It is not as if you can take these writings out there with you..."

"I told you, it helps me process everything... Put it all into my own words, remember the way it made me feel without those feelings taking me over like those books do... You know, someday I'd like to be able to share these thoughts and feelings with someone other than you." We chuckled aloud at that. Which felt nice, almost natural.

The past two weeks had done much to improve the relationship of Lucifer and myself. While I still viewed him as a potential threat, not to be taken lightly, he was still held a vast quantity of knowledge I would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.

In light of that, I had eased him back into the role of mentor and teacher. Each day spent together proved to be doing much to continue our building of mutual trust.

"Now seriously, get rid of that stench! I'm not gonna study anything with you like that" I scolded, folding my arms with stubborn obstinance. Lucifer barely chuckled as he flourished his right hand into the air, making the essence of rose pedal dissipate.

Sighing with relief, I moseyed back to my desk to prepare for the brutal cramming of Latin grammar. Lucifer was nothing if not a perfectionist. It was of no concern to him if we learned one thing that day, or if we learned ten, what was of concern to him was that I learned correctly...

He would not move from one subject or example, until I demonstrated that I understood its use and its meaning. Each new day this week had started with a test of my knowledge from the previous. If I hesitated or failed any one question, it meant that we would be going over the entirety of the topic again...

Lucifer sat himself upon the circular staircase in the center of the room, one leg crossed over the other, his suit creased perfectly as if he were a model awaiting the photographer to snap the image for a men's weekly coverage.

"Now then, let us start with..." I dipped my pen in ink and prepared myself for the studies to come.

*****

Sweat dribbled down my forehead as I moved through the combat forms that Lilith had ingrained within me. Despite the effort and focus put into my physical exercises, I enjoyed them more than any of my other trainings. It offered me time of quiet reflection through physical exertion.

The calm twilight air filled my lungs as I took another slow deep breath, moving from one stance into another. This may have been within my soul, but the grass of the courtyard felt real none the less, each blade swishing under my foot and between my toes as I moved. The cool air chilling my skin as the beads of sweat rippled down my bare chest.

My legs burned with effort as I went from a deep balanced crouch, into a high kick that I never would have been able to perform just a short month ago, and rather than my leg muscles resisting the stretch of the strike, it was my pants. Since I had discovered how to will doors opening, I had also discovered the ability to change my clothing while I was here. No longer was I bound by whatever clothing items -or lack there of- that I wore while in the physical world.

I had been toying around with various styles of clothing at the behest of Lucifer. He had instructed me that one should always practice with what they plan to perform in. If one practiced in sweat pants or a toga, they should expect to use those in battle as well. So while I had opted not to wear a shirt at the moment, I had decided to just wear typical jeans as I normally would.

It was teaching me that there were significant limitations to movement in standard attire, I now needed to be consciences of what I was wearing and how practical it was. Unfortunately I would not have much to choose from once I woke up, seeing that I was still wearing the tattered rags from my previous battles.

"Desmond!" Lucifer's voice called out from the large wooden double doors of the castle entrance. "Come, I believe your extended stay here is at an end." His words immediately pulled me from my trance, and I lost my balance, crashing awkwardly into the grass and dirt below. Groaning at the mistake, I rose and raced over to him.

Lucifer was wearing his favorite suit again, black pin stripe with a dapper blue collard shirt underneath. He was fiddling with his cufflinks as I approached.

"What do you mean? How do you know?" I asked curiously, creating a towel for myself to begin wiping all the excess moisture off myself.

"Your body has ceased its usage of my divine energy to repair itself. I do not for a moment believe it is at one hundred percent, but I do believe you should be able to wake up and resume your daily activities." His cool and calm demeanor was refreshing as always. Despite the gravity of this news that I was no longer bound here, we both knew how worried I was to return and begin to take an active roll in what was to come.

Theseus, Asterion and Lilith would all have questions, need explanations. Some I could not answer, or could not give, not yet...

I sighed deeply, taking a moment to gather myself before looking up to match my gaze with Lucifer's. Staring him in the eyes with a look of confidence that he undoubtedly knew I had copied from him.

"Well, no point in putting it off, eh? See you 'round big guy." I quipped, closing my eyes and letting the familiar sensation of falling overtake me. This time, it did not fight or refuse me. But rather sucked me in, desperate for my arrival.