Frozen in despair, the cries and screams of Lucifer’s monsters had been a battlefield chorus as the last of them fell and the earth above him closed over. On his knees with his hands joined, he finally saw the truth he had been too blinded by rage to see. All along, Gabriel had been right. Once again, he had failed her, and himself. As Gabriel’s face charged with acceptance and hope for his unworthy soul had vanished, he had been powerless to tear his eyes away. A black sky laced with cloud-like mist that reflected the fiery lakes red light beamed down over Lucifer, locking him in, suffocating him. Despite it all, Gabriel had forgiven him. Even after all he had committed: the bloodshed, the death, defying God and her hope, and…mortally wounding her.

Gabriel had forgiven him.

His fists clenched at the repeating memories and his body cramped from having remained frozen on his knees for so long. Shame sat like a blanket of lava over his flesh, burning his nerve endings without hope of reprieve. The guilt he suffered ate away at his insides like tunneling worms, a poison that had no cure. Darkness that had nothing to do with this ashy landscape descended upon him.

He would never forgive himself.

Staring blankly ahead, the screams of the monsters who had fallen into the winding, fiery lake had doused long ago as their flesh was eaten through. When only bone remained, sinking out of sight below the glowing lava, everything had quieted. Only the soft groaning and shifting from the other fallen soldiers who had been lucky enough to escape the lake of fire remained, along with the persistent belting of his fractured heart. Each of the surviving men were bleeding, their leathers and armor stained with blood from battling the angels above. The fall from the seemingly infinite depth of the swirling black and red above had secured their internal injuries too and even more splits to their skin. But they were healing…slowly. Slower than himself.

Looking down at himself now, Lucifer saw the once raw and melted skin that had draped in strands over his muscles and bones continue to heal, removing the proof that he had ever hit that fiery lake. Even his long golden hair that had burned away was in a state of repair. His scalp tingled as growing strands teased at his neck and shoulders.

Lucifer had survived the lake when so many had perished…but he wished he hadn’t.

Rising to his feet, Lucifer lifted his face to the sky. Delicate ash swirled around, dotting his face and raw body. Remnants from those that had burned while clawing up the river’s bank only to die half in and half out of the lake. The despair at finally losing Gabriel permanently kept the painful memories of his many mistakes alive in his mind. It was too much to bear, too much to suffer. But after all he had done, Lucifer knew how to make things right. He knew what punishment he deserved even though God refused to terminate him. And, if he was being honest, Lucifer knew what steps he had to take to end his suffering. Now trapped in Hell, there was no hope for him. Gabriel was gone, safe from him and up in God’s kingdom. The only angel Lucifer had ever cared for…the only woman he had ever loved…and he could not live knowing he would never see her again. That he would forever be in this desolate, dark place, while she was so far away and eternally out of his reach.

“Forgive me, Gabriel. I cannot—will not—exist without you.”

Mind made up, Lucifer stepped closer to the riverbank that was alive with licking flames that danced over the glowing swells of lava. Some of the monsters behind him gathered, murmuring quietly while others remained debilitated by their injuries as they lay on their sides or slumped on their knees, unable to get to their feet. He hesitated for only a moment, remembering the day his wings had been burned from his shoulder blades. Fire was his fear, a weapon that had been used against him, that had changed him. Yet he felt no fear on making this final, fatal decision.

After falling into a shallow section of the lake, he had fought to drag his shattered body from the agonizing lava. He had fought to survive. And that he was glad of. His survival had given him the chance to save Gabriel, to show her that she meant more to him than himself, and to realize she had been right all along.

Now fire would change him for good.

A few called out his name, their rough voices betraying fear as Lucifer dipped his toes into the lake. His entire body clenched in uncontrollable reaction, sweat sprouting and heart racing as the lava kissed his skin. He ignored their shouts and his body’s need for self-preservation, determination edging his burning toes into the unrelenting heat. The pain was worse than anything he had ever felt—at least on the outside. On the inside, the eternal loss of Gabriel burned him more.

With another few quick steps, his shins were covered, disintegrating his damaged leather leg guards. His soldiers called out louder, more persistent as a number of them staggered closer. Instantly bathed in dripping sweat and with every muscle clenched at the burn of having his skin melted from his body, Lucifer kept walking. Faster now, he stumbled into the lake of fire that would deliver his end. His peace. Now up to his waist and melting leathers, he drove his hands down into the blistering water and bit back a scream as he cupped the lava in his palms.

With a fleeting look above, he smiled through the pain. Tears he gave no permission to well fell from his eyes, driving silvery black lines through the dirt and ash coating his face. A few of his men yelled, some rushed forward only to stall at the banks. They couldn’t help him now. No one could. And that was fine with Lucifer. “I will love you eternally, Gabriel. Even when I am coal and dust, even if you forget me…my love will never die.” Lifting his hands up high, he was ready to end his suffering, ready to end himself. With lava spilling down and burning tracks in his forearms, he pried open his jaw that so badly wanted to clench shut at the agony. Bringing his hands to his lips, he tipped his palms up—and swallowed the lava.

Scorching fire tumbled down Lucifer’s throat, burning him inside now as steadily as he was burning on the outside. His torment at the loss of Gabriel was finally overcome with pain that was so excruciating it blackened his sight and took away his ability to stand.

And then Lucifer dipped under the licking lava, the fiery lake eating him up as if he were a meal to be devoured.

Lucifer screamed beneath the surface, taking more lava into himself as his whole body burned beneath his melting armor. He was ready. Even feeling every physical fiber that made up his skin and bones melting, he had no regret. At least, not in this act. He was ready to die. Ready to find peace—