They began to eat their breakfast. Cain was quiet, turning over his questions, trying to find ones that would not cause her more distress.
"How important is this mark," he finally asked, setting his spoon down and extending his forearm toward her, "that your first thought was to leave?"
Lucifer paused, a bite of egg halfway to her mouth. She chewed slowly, taking her time to consider. "Are you familiar with the events described in the Book of Revelation?"
Cain thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Not really. I've never been one to read the Bible."
Lucifer nodded, as if this explained much. "The Mark acts as a beacon," she began, her tone instructional. "It signals to the Aspects, to demons, and to the host of Heaven that the time of humanity's final harvest approaches. What mortals call the Rapture. The gathering of all souls, living and dead, who are deemed uncorrupted, to be taken unto the heavens."
Cain's spoon clattered onto his plate. He stared at her, his mouth agape, searching her face for any hint of a joke. He found none. "Okay, wait. Use smaller words. Words that don't mean 'apocalypse.'"
Lucifer looked at him plainly. "Because the Mark has awoken, the end of your world has now been set into motion."
"You're joking," Cain breathed, a nervous laugh escaping him. "A tattoo shows up on my arm and that's it? Game over for everyone?"
"It will not conclude on this specific day," Lucifer clarified, picking up her spoon again. "But its course is now inevitable. The process has begun."
Cain let out a long, shaky breath and rubbed the back of his head. "Okay. Okay. You scared me for a second. I thought you meant, like, today."
Lucifer tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. "You are not troubled by the certainty of an ending, only by its immediacy?"
Cain shrugged. "Look at the world. Look at what we've done to it. To each other. If it ends someday because of us, that's almost… fitting. It's an ending we earned." He took a bite of egg, then pointed his fork at her. "Is being a beacon the only thing this mark does?"
"It is the only purpose of which I am aware," Lucifer admitted. "After my fall, my connection to the greater knowledge of Heaven was severed. I lost access to the Book of Creation. It is likely Archangel Michael understands the Mark's full nature. That is why she seeks you."
A new worry surfaced. "So… will she send more angels? Like Zephon?"
Lucifer gave a single, definitive nod. "Zephon was one of the Ten Commandments. The ten elite Cherubim of the highest choir. Should one fail in a task, others will be dispatched to complete it. They will come for you."
Cain watched her as he ate. It was strange to see her shift so completely. Moments ago she had been trembling with guilt, vulnerable in his arms. Now she spoke of celestial hierarchies and impending doom with detached certainty. A human would need hours, maybe days, to transition between those states. For her, it seemed as simple as changing a thought. He kept forgetting what she truly was.
After he finished his meal, he pushed his plate away. "Should I start packing? Go into hiding? Make it harder for them to find me?"
Lucifer shook her head, finishing her own breakfast. "Do not trouble yourself with such anxieties. I am here. There exists no greater safeguard than my presence." Before he could reply, she vanished from her chair. He heard the soft clink of porcelain from the kitchen sink. She had taken both their plates.
Cain stood up and walked to the counter to make coffee. "You always seem so confident," he remarked, pouring hot water into his mug. "Just how powerful are you? Where do you rank on the… angel tier list?"
Lucifer, now washing the dishes, let out a soft, genuine laugh. "I assure you, I am counted among the most formidable of my kind."
As she scrubbed a plate, a question of her own occurred to her. "Why do you remain so calm? Even with the influence I exerted upon your fear, this knowledge is grievous. It would drive many mortals to madness or rage."
Cain chuckled, stirring his coffee. He leaned against the counter, watching her. "Maybe it's because I feel safe. With you."
He carried his mug into the living room and turned on the television. The screen lit up immediately with a breaking news banner.
BREAKING NEWS: MARS ROVER CAPTURES UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENON. "ANGELIC" FIGURE SPOTTED IN COMBAT WITH UNKNOWN ENTITY.
A series of grainy, digitally-enhanced images flashed across the screen. They showed a stark Martian landscape. In one, a figure with vast, luminous wings was poised mid-air. In another, monstrous shapes seemed to erupt from a pool of inky blackness. A third, the most startling, showed a colossal, shadowy maw engulfing an entire section of a Martian canyon.
Cain froze, his coffee forgotten. The footage was jerky, blurred by distance and poor resolution, but it was unmistakably a battle. He leaned forward, squinting at the screen as the news anchor speculated about digital artifacts and pareidolia.
The camera zoomed in clumsily on one of the clearest frames of the winged figure.
Cain's breath caught.
That angel… she looks familiar.