7. Jinyoung: Descent

“Well,” Youngjae said, folding the letter he'd just received from the heavenly messenger and setting it on the table in front of them. “I think we've finally managed to piss them off. The Ace of Angels has agreed to come to a council, and have kindly informed me that they will be voting to relieve me of my position when I arrive. Considering that the Hyde Club just sent me the same message this morning, I'd say it's about time we figure out what we're going to do next.”

“What exactly is the punishment for a dismissed Median?” Jaebum asked. “Is there any precedence?”

“Actually, yes. Several centuries ago, a Median was imprisoned by the Ace for 'revealing censured secrets' or something like that. That's probably what's going to happen.”

“Except it isn't,” Jaebum said, cracking his knuckles.

“I'd love to hear some good plans to prevent it. The messengers have been telling me that there's been rioting in Hell and demands for The Corrupted One to show himself, while there's been mass exoduses in Heaven through the Pool of Rebirth, but if the Ace or Hyde Club manage to defeat us here, we can say goodbye to that progress.”

“Negotiating and forcing them to sign a peace treaty will be difficult if they no longer accept Youngjae as the Median,” Jinyoung mused. “How are we supposed to outmaneuver them?”

“We could use arresting Youngjae as a catalyst for a Limboite revolt,” Mark said. “As for Heaven and Hell, I don't think there's any chance for reform under the current leadership. The two rulers are so set on abusing power, that I think the only thing to do is rob them of people to have power over.”

“And how would we do that?” Jaebum asked.

“Send the Seraphim, Demonkin, and Limboites through the Pool of Rebirth.”

They fell silent for a moment. Youngjae tapped his chin thoughtfully. “It's possible,” he said. “I've been having my special researcher look into both Seraphim and Demonkin going through the Pool of Rebirth, and it's been safely done in the past before. The Pool doesn't judge sin. It's just a portal—anyone can go through.”

“Which is easy for those who make it to Heaven,” Jinyoung pointed out. “The Ace of Angels have someone guarding it, but it's easy enough to sneak in when they open it up for fresh souls, and if the Ace is going to be in Limbo, security won't be at its best. But what about the Limboites and Demonkin?”

Youngjae nodded. “We'd need a Seraph to let them in. That's how it is whenever I visit Heaven on a delegation. The gate reacts to the touch of a Seraph.”

Jinyoung's eyes widened. “In that case, I could do it. Mark and I could both help! Mark could round up the demons in Hell while the Hyde Club are away and slip through Limbo while the council is occupied. I could open the gate and lead them to the Pool. With the Ace gone and the Seraphim riled up against them, I'd bet there would only be token resistance.”

“We'd need to keep the Limboites in place to deal with the Ace and Hyde Club if they turn against Youngjae, but once the two ruling bodies are captured, we could safely get the Limboites to the pool, too,” Mark said enthusiastically. “It's so simple, but no one's ever tried it before since we've all thought we need Heaven, Hell, and Limbo. But we don't. There's no real forgiveness or resolution in the afterlife no matter which realm it is, so what's the point of it? Why shouldn't we be allowed to enter the cycle of rebirth and try again?”

Youngjae pursed his lips, considering. “It could work. It's risky, but it could work. If The Corrupted One and The Divine One were former humans like the rest of us, then that means Heaven, Hell, and Limbo are entirely inhabited and ruled by human souls and can be abandoned by us just as they were managed by us. I'm sure someone would try to reform them again somewhere along the line, but maybe they'd do a better job than we have. But I think this plan is as good as any. There's just one thing.”

“Yes?”

“You and Jinyoung can't be the ones shepherding the Demonkin to Heaven. Your presence is requested at the council.”

Jinyoung stared. “What?”

“In your case, Jinyoung, the Ace of Angels want to put you on trial for failure to complete divinely ordered duties. Judging by how they worded the message, I think they want to make you an example of insubordination to the remaining Seraphim. They probably plan on imprisoning you.” Youngjae turned to Mark. “In your case, they're planning on offering you a place in the Hyde Club. I'm assuming they think if they give you power, you'll get greedy for Demonkin dominance like them and stop cooperating with Limbo. Either way, they'll have you back under control.”

“So if we can't participate, who will?” Jinyoung asked.

“I have several perfect candidates for a Seraph helper already here in Limbo,” Youngjae said. “Several people will have their sentences in Limbo wrapping up over the next few days, and if they choose to stay on as Seraphim when they ascend to Heaven, they'll be there to let everyone in to Heaven when the time comes. As for Demonkin, we have several souls here the demons were bargaining for. If one took the risk to descend into Hell, they could gather the demons for us with the promise of rebirth.”

“I could do that,” Jaebum suggested.

“Not you,” Youngjae said quickly. “It's going to take a lot of guts for me to walk into a council where I'm going to end up stripped of power and imprisoned, and if possible, I'd like you to be there. For encouragement, you know? If I managed to save you, then I can manage to save all these other people who are depending on us.”

“Of course you can,” Jaebum said lowly. “Not that it was hard to rescue me from these two.” He nodded to Jinyoung and Mark. “They gave up after like two seconds.”

“I didn't really want to go back to Heaven,” Jinyoung admitted.

“And I definitely didn't want to go back to Hell,” Mark said.

“Well, maybe if this works out, none of us will have to,” Youngjae sighed. “Or we could ruin everything and all wind up imprisoned. At least we can't die again. Truthfully, if all four of us wind up carted off to Hell, that won't be so bad. I don't think Hell would be Hell if you all were there.”

Jaebum flicked his forehead. “You'd look dumb with those wings.”

Youngjae shrugged. “You'd probably look hot. Especially if you started rocking all the leather and lace like the Hyde Club. That would make it worth it.”

Jinyoung smiled. It would be easy to become disheartened with everything they were risking, so he was glad Youngjae could still joke around. No matter how he looked at it, the four of them were at the most risk. If they stole the domains of Heaven and Hell out from under the noses of their ruling bodies, they'd pay for it if they couldn't overcome those same ruling bodies afterwards.

“One more question,” Mark said. “What about The Corrupted One and The Divine One? I'm sure we can take down the Ace and the Hyde Club, but what are we supposed to do about two supposedly divine beings?”

Youngjae's face darkened. “Them. I've had a lot to consider about them recently. You know, I've been to Heaven and Hell several times on delegations, and I've never once seen either one of them. I've always worked through either the Hyde Club or the Ace of Angels. So I started doing a little digging through the records of former Medians and figured out that it's been two thousand years since anyone has seen The Corrupted One. And I've never seen any record of a Median meeting The Divine One, hearing his or her voice, or receiving a message from him or her that hadn't passed through the Ace of Angels.”

Jinyoung's heart dropped to his stomach. “Are you saying... are you saying that it's possible that The Divine One doesn't even exist?”

Youngjae nodded. “I did some research on the Ace of Angels while I was at it. They were only developed five thousand years ago. Before that, Seraphim had 'God' in the same way humans do. They couldn't see him and he didn't exist physically among them, but they still believed his will lived in all good and beautiful things, and 'God' was present in acts of love and charity. There was no tangible figure sitting in power in Heaven. The Seraphim didn't need to be organized by anyone because they believed in existing peacefully and purely, and there were no conflicts in Heaven.”

“So how did the Ace come about?”

“They saw a power vacuum and decided to fill it? The records are unclear at parts, but it sounds like their leader Jiminel claimed she and her followers could hear the voice of 'The Divine One' and were chosen to communicate his will. Since Heaven didn't have a ruling body and no one wanted to elect one, I guess they saw this as the most legitimate way to take power. Since they were messengers of God or a God-like figure, the Seraphim couldn't protest. After a few centuries, they grew to accept the Ace as a natural part of Heaven.”

Jinyoung's body was shaking in fury. The whole point of becoming a Seraph to him had been to atone for the burden he'd left on his parents through his sickness and death with good works. It had always nagged at him that his supposed “good works” were just shepherding souls into the Ace's service, but now to hear the Ace had willfully lied to him and all the others about the presence a benevolent figure in Heaven boiled his rage to a fever pitch. He hadn't been rewarded in the slightest for the good life he had led or the pain he'd suffered on Earth—he'd been manipulated and lied to and turned into a servant for a god that didn't event exist. Other than meeting Mark, everything else he'd ever done in his afterlife seemed pointless and hollow, and realizing it infuriated him in a way he didn't even realize he was capable of in his angelic body.

“What about The Corrupted One, then?” Mark asked, putting a steady hand on Jinyoung's arm. “He must have been real at some point, if old Medians met him.”

“He was. The earliest records of him date back six thousand years. The records confirm his name was Lucifer, and that he used to be a Seraph. Died at the age of twenty of the plague, ascended into Heaven, no damnable sins or sins requiring repentance recorded. Following a century spent as a Seraph, stained his soul with the damnable sin of taking a life and descended into Hell, retaining his angelic form. In the following century, built a palace in the lake of fire and was elected by the Demonkin as ruler. Known as Lucifer the Corrupted henceforth, until title changed to The Corrupted One to mirror Heaven's edict announcing its ruler as The Divine One. That's what Lucifer's general record stated. But there was an area of the text scorched out after that.”

Mark grabbed Jinyoung's hand, clenching it tightly. Jinyoung felt Mark's own fury in the heat of skin, and ran a soothing thumb against the back of his hand. They'd both been lied to and had their futures stolen from them, but at least they had each other to soothe the resulting pain. “What do you think happened?” Mark asked finally.

Youngjae shrugged. “The Medians stopped seeing The Corrupted One in person after the Hyde Club formed. They could have subdue and imprisoned him while leaving his name around as a figurehead to validate their power since they too weren't elected to rule by the Demonkin. One thing really bothers me about that record, though—how could Lucifer have stained his soul with taking a life while living among the already dead? And why would he retain his angelic form if he'd stained his soul—is the transformation really irreversible after all?”

Jinyoung shuddered. He didn't want to think it was possible for there to be a second death possible in the afterlife, but knowing there was even the slightest chance made him deeply unsettled. What if someone in Heaven knew how Lucifer had done it? What if it could happen again, and this time fall upon one them?

Like Heaven, Limbo was temperature controlled. It was never hot or cold, just a comfortable degree of warm where no one could complain unless they were trying to stir up trouble. But that night, Jinyoung felt cold. He knew it was all in his mind. He knew it was fear of what could happen coursing through him and making him incapable of resting calmly. In a few short days, the Ace and Hyde Club would be here. Either they succeeded and liberated Heaven, Hell, and Limbo, or they failed and Youngjae wound up imprisoned, Jinyoung made an example of by Ace, and Mark pressed into the Hyde Club to rebuild the forces of Hell. If they failed, Mark and Jinyoung would probably never see each other again. If they succeeded, they'd probably be able to go through the Pool of Rebirth, but it still might be years of being apart on Earth before they found each other again.

He could live with that separation as long as they were able to be together in the end, but he still felt strangely empty at the thought. Ever since they'd first kissed, his body had felt different, as if he couldn't shake the traces of Mark from it, not that he wanted to. He still felt the phantom touch of fingers on his wings, a hot mouth on his lips, and warm hands on his thighs. Maybe it was because he was a Seraph and these things weren't supposed to influence him anymore, but desire was sweeping through him like disease, draining and inescapable. When the two of them were alone, he could barely think or talk with how heavily it sat on his heart. When Mark kissed him, it became harder and harder for him to let go afterwards. The fact that it could all be over one way or another in a few days nagged at him agonizingly. How was he going to extinguish this fire in his body before then? What if he never had the chance to?

He glanced over to where Mark was resting on his bed. What was now if not a chance to make it happen? Jinyoung was pretty sure he couldn't go into potential imprisonment without ever knowing. Mark was always saying the worst thing in the world was living with eternal regret. He couldn't damn himself to that, not when it was in his power to have what he wanted.

Quietly, he crept out bed and crossed the room to Mark. Mark stirred in his sleep instantly—since neither of them were alive and sleep was technically unnecessary, they were both light sleepers, and it was rare for them to be drowsy even right after they woke up. “Is something wrong, Jinyoung?” he whispered, sitting up a little.

Jinyoung pushed him back down. “Yes, something is wrong. Your little ert trick has royally messed up my body.”

“Oh?”

“I can't stop thinking about you touching me.” He grabbed Mark's hand and placed it on his chest. “Whenever you start, I don't want you to stop. What did you do to me?”

“Do you hate it?”

“I love it too much. But it's not enough, especially since you and I don't even know what's going to happen to us.” He shifted on the bed, straddling his legs over Mark. “I want to be with you in every way, while we still can.”

Mark's eyes widened. “Jinyoung. You do realize there are probably taboos in place for this. You're going to stain your soul.”

Jinyoung nodded. “I know. But if we succeed in overthrowing the ruling bodies, we'll go through the Pool of Rebirth and it won't matter if I'm Demonkin or Seraphim. And if we fail, I'd rather be cast down to Hell with you than live in Heaven forever as a prisoner.”

Mark still shook his head. “You don't know what you're asking me to do. There's this part of me that wants to corrupt you, all right? I want you to feel desire in every single part of you because of me and for your being to be colored the same shade of black as mine. But I can't do it, Jinyoung. You are an angel. Those wings, that elegance, that voice, that pureness of heart...all of it belongs to you. How can I take that away from you? How?”

“It won't be taken,” Jinyoung whispered. “Demonkin and Seraphim are just words, Mark. They don't mean anything other than what we pretend they mean. Whether my wings are black or white, I'm still me. Being with you won't change that. Love isn't going to destroy me so easily, okay? Love has made me into this person, this person you also love, and you don't take that away by loving me, you just make it better. If that damns me to Hell, then I'll embrace becoming Demonkin with all my heart. All I want is this. What it does or doesn't stain inside me makes no difference.”

Jinyoung waited as Mark shifted beneath him, his expression going through several swift changes. He knew what the answer would be. He trusted in Mark. He trusted in the truth of his own words.

Slowly, Mark's hands lifted to run against Jinyoung's thighs. “Well,” he said, his voice coming out in a quiet whisper. “If you're determined to fall from grace, we'll just have to make it an enjoyable descent.”

Jinyoung smiled, leaning in to brush his lips against Mark's. “I'll treasure every second of it.”

A/N: "But SonicBom-authornim," says the thirsty percentage of my readers, "we've been asking you to do again ever since If Not Right Now! Why would you cut the scene short?"

"Don't worry, readers," says SonicBoom. "The second request fic I've been working on is coming out tomorrow. It is . It is a one-shot. It will hopefully satisfy your thirst."

Please anticipate!