In an instant, Anatoli and Lucifer were submerged. To be precise, Anatoli was swept into the passage by the water, but Lucifer was slammed against the door. Because if he didn't adjust his angle, there was absolutely no way the water could push him through the door along with his wings; instead, his whole body lay across the door.
His wings significantly reduced the impact of the water, preventing the passage from filling up immediately. This not only left breathing space at the top of the passage but also ensured Anatoli wasn't swept too far away. He could still swim back on the surface. Although the water was still rising, its speed was manageable enough for him to make it back.
But things were grim for Lucifer. His wings were already injured, and the rush of water caused him such pain that he instinctively opened his mouth to scream. However, he forgot he was now mortal and needed to breathe; opening his mouth caused him to choke on water.
Anatoli swam back as quickly as he could and found Lucifer struggling in the water. Taking a deep breath, he submerged and swam back from the other side of the door's space, arriving in front of Lucifer.
Once again, he clamped his hands around Lucifer's neck, trying to pull him over. But because of the water flow and pressure, Lucifer was pinned against the door, and the maneuvering didn't have the desired effect. In the murky water, Anatoli glanced at Lucifer's condition and felt he couldn't hold on much longer.
Anatoli, holding his breath, pulled out a steel needle. Just as the water finally stopped pouring in and the flow wasn't as strong, Anatoli embraced Lucifer, bringing his hand around to his back, and then jabbed the base of Lucifer's wings with the needle.
At this moment, Lucifer was on the brink of unconsciousness due to drowning; the instinctive pain made him reflexively retract his wings. Once the wings retracted, the water finally flooded into the passage, and with the pressure equalized, Anatoli swam with Lucifer toward where the water filled in through the ceiling.
At this point, Anatoli was also nearing his limit, but he still struggled to hold onto Lucifer, swimming towards the door. Lucifer, with his wings out, couldn't get through, so Anatoli had to figure out a way to adjust his body posture.
However, the sharp pain from the previous jab brought Lucifer back to his senses. He began to realize their situation—his consciousness was dim, with only a few seconds of clarity. Anatoli, having held his breath to the brink, had at most a dozen seconds left. It seemed impossible for both of them to get out together.
The best option now would be to abandon Lucifer, allowing Anatoli to get out alone. A dozen seconds should be enough for him to reach the surface. But Lucifer was very clear that Anatoli would never give up. If he were the kind of person to abandon someone in such a situation, their relationship never would have come this far.
Perhaps becoming human also gave Lucifer adrenaline. At this moment, his mind was clearer than ever, even temporarily putting aside the burning sensation in his windpipe and the sharp pain in his lungs caused by drowning.
First, he followed Anatoli's strength, wrapping his arms around his waist, then retracted his wings to squeeze through the door. Inside the room, he fully extended his wings and flapped forcefully—this was far stronger than what human flippers could produce. The vast surface area of the wings played a crucial role, generating a powerful thrust in the water. With just one wing beat, they were propelled to the center of the room.
Anatoli also realized what Lucifer intended to do. With his air supply depleted, he could do nothing but open his mouth to gulp down a mouthful of water—this at least delayed drowning, though it might cause stomach rupture. However, this gulp of water bought him two more seconds.
With a burst of strength from his waist, he grabbed Lucifer and leaned back, and the two shifted from vertical to parallel with the floor. Anatoli was on top, Lucifer below. In the murky yellow water, their blue eyes, like stars and seas, floated as if in the silent universe.
Lucifer contracted his wings again and then abruptly opened them. This downward thrust pushed them directly to the water's surface. Anatoli broke through the water first, taking a huge gasp of air.
But by then, Lucifer was already starting to sink. Anatoli hurriedly grabbed his arm, but Lucifer was too heavy with his wings, and without any support, Anatoli couldn't hold onto him.
So, after catching his breath, Anatoli dove back underwater, adjusting Lucifer's posture so he was heads up, supporting him from below to let his head surface.
Once Lucifer was back in contact with the air, he immediately spewed out a large amount of water, but his breathing was so weak he was nearly motionless. Anatoli adjusted his position as well, letting Lucifer lean on his shoulder to stay afloat. He dragged Lucifer slowly forward.
Soon, they reached the edge of the ceiling. Anatoli put one arm up, but with his broken collarbone, he let out a low growl of pain.
Although they temporarily escaped drowning, getting up was another problem. Lucifer was on the brink of unconsciousness, and Anatoli only had one good arm. The whole process was long and arduous, like a dying struggle.
Anatoli had to first soak in the water to recover his strength. He reached into his throat with his hand to induce a gag reflex, expelling the water from his stomach. Then he kicked forcefully while his good arm propelled him upwards, using the water's buoyancy to push half his body up onto the platform.
Maintaining that position, he rested for several minutes, then slowly moved bit by bit to get most of his body onto the platform before trying to pull Lucifer up.
This step wasn't easy; Lucifer was very heavy, and his feathers weren't waterproof, making him even heavier when wet. Anatoli struggled for over ten minutes to finally pull him up.
But the effort wasn't over; Anatoli quickly laid him flat on the ground and began administering CPR. Fortunately, Lucifer's water choking wasn't particularly severe; he drank more water, but once the water in his body was expelled, he regained autonomous breathing, though his consciousness wasn't very clear. Anatoli had to wait for him to wake up.
After a few more minutes, Lucifer gradually regained consciousness. His eyes were somewhat dazed, as if he didn't know where he was. After a moment, in a hoarse voice, he said, "I had a long dream..."
"A good dream?" Anatoli asked while wringing out his clothes.
"No... All nightmares…"
"This is the consequence you face for bullying the dream god back then." Anatoli laughed, "He wouldn't even give you fond memories in that final scene."
"I dreamed of God..." Lucifer said slowly, "back when we were still in Eden..."
"Isn't that a pleasant memory for you?"
Lucifer didn't continue speaking. Anatoli said, "Expressing love isn't weakness. Disliking God's control over your life and loving him are not conflicting."
"I haven't realized his importance to me for a long time." Lucifer said, panting, "When facing Death, do people tend to recall those most important to them?"
"Perhaps," Anatoli said, "at least those most unforgettable."
Lucifer moved his body, managing to sit up from the ground, leaned against a nearby wall, turned his head, and asked Anatoli: "Who did you think of back then?"
"My previous Death."
That answer didn't surprise Lucifer in the slightest. He merely bowed his head and chuckled, paused, then said, "That was important to you, right?"
"Yes, so I didn't expect you to throw away that bullet casing."
"I thought you gave it to me because you didn't want to face it anymore." Lucifer sighed softly, "I thought you found it embarrassing."
"If I said that was the real me, would you be disappointed?"
"I thought you were the type who never gives up."
Anatoli shook his head and said, "The feeling you had when you left Heaven is the feeling I had when I left the human world. Didn't you have a better way to hurt God's heart?"
"Of course I did," Lucifer said, "but I didn't want to do that."
"Me too." Anatoli looked at him and said, "When I realized that my disagreements with the world were irreconcilable, and despite once loving it warmly, I couldn't bring myself to retaliate; leaving was the best choice. Wasn't it?"
Lucifer knew he was talking about his first death. That had puzzled Lucifer for a long time because Anatoli didn't seem like the type who would commit suicide; he was always spirited, never giving up. It was hard to imagine what kind of despair would make him choose to die by a bullet.
But now he seemed to understand. Anatoli's love for his country and this world hadn't allowed him to take revengeful actions. He simply chose a restrained and dignified way to leave, just as Lucifer had left Heaven.
Lucifer was so angry at God's control over him, yet he couldn't destroy Eden, smash the Sanctuary and the Holy Spring, because those were also places where he shared many happy times with God, embodying his love. He could only choose to leave.
In Hell, there were no such restraints. He could unrestrainedly be a malicious Satan because he didn't love that place, didn't care about anyone or anything there. He did whatever he wanted, even if it meant destroying Hell completely, he wouldn't care.
Thinking this way, Anatoli probably loved this later world too. After all, the things Anatoli did towards the power hierarchies of this world could be considered restrained. He didn't destroy the cosmos' structure, nor did he attack the Universe administrators; he simply solved the problem and then turned away.
"So you..." Lucifer's Adam's apple moved, but he didn't continue.
"I always think the worst of things," Anatoli said, "lacking the natural ability to accept goodness and joy. At the end of a lively event, believing it will never come again. Precisely for this reason, I cherish those good times, always treating them as the last."
Lucifer only felt chills all over, perhaps because he was soaked. He heard Anatoli continue, "When saying goodbye to the flames, I was already prepared for an endless snowfield ahead, with the readiness to die in the snow. Until Death, the more warm and joyful steps I took, the fewer cold and painful ones remained. So, no matter how long it warmed me, I was filled with gratitude."
"Damn it, I shouldn't have lost them." Lucifer curled up against the wall holding his legs, "I want my glass and bullet casing back."
"You better have only lost the glass and bullet casing." Anatoli's tone carried an implicit threat, "Did you?"
Lucifer wrapped himself up again with his wings.