The white flames engulfed Lucien completely.
Unlike ordinary fire that consumes from outside inward, this holy conflagration ignited simultaneously throughout his borrowed body.
Every cell, every molecule of Stefan Salvatore's form burned with righteous judgment. The pain transcended the body, reaching into the very essence of what Lucien had become.
He gritted his teeth, refusing to scream.
Katherine's anguished cry echoed through the vast chamber. "LUCIEN!"
She fought against Klaus's iron grip with all her strength, her eyes wild with desperation as she watched the divine fire consume the being she had come to see as her everything.
"Let me go!" she shrieked, twisting violently in Klaus's arms. "LUCIEN!"
Elena stood at the edge of her protective barrier, hand outstretched, her face a mask of wonder and horror.
The blue-white dome of nephilim grace continued to shield the others from the divine wrath that saturated the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah, but Lucien remained beyond its protection.
"It's calling him back," she whispered, her young voice carrying an otherworldly knowledge that belied her thirteen years.
Inside the flames, Lucien fought to maintain consciousness as divine judgment seared through his corrupted soul. Within Stefan's body, his demonic essence writhed in agony.
'Get out!' Stefan's voice cut through Lucien's pain, his mental tone urgent and desperate. 'You have to get out now!'
'Shut up,' Lucien responded through the haze of torment.
'I can feel what you're thinking,' Stefan pressed. 'You can save yourself, but not while protecting me. You have to leave me behind.'
'I said SHUT UP!' Lucien roared internally. 'I promised you safety, peace, care and friendship! I am no weakling coward who cannot follow through on his words! Only the weak lie, and I am anything but weak!'
Dracula's laughter rose above the crackling flames, his bloodied face split in a triumphant grin despite his empty eye sockets. He pushed himself to his knees with trembling arms, his body still broken but his spirit reinvigorated by the sight of his tormentor's suffering.
"Do you feel it, Son of God?" Dracula called, his aristocratic voice dripping with mockery. "Your Father's judgment? His abandonment? How familiar this must feel – a God casting aside his child! But in your case, you are his LITERAL ONE!"
Lucien continued gritting his teeth, before he responded with a roar of pure rage that echoed throughout the castle.
He hurled himself against the nearest wall, the impact cracking ancient stone as he began acting on instinct- trying to douse the flames.
His body smoked and charred, flesh burning away only to regenerate and burn again in an endless cycle of agony- but each time slower as the divine flames destroyed the very vampiric magic.
"Yes!" Dracula crowed, rising higher on unsteady legs. "Struggle! Fight! It changes nothing! Even the Son of God falls before His wrath!"
Katherine's eyes blazed with fury as she finally broke free of Klaus's grip. She rushed to the edge of Elena's protective barrier but could go no further without exposing herself to the same divine judgment consuming Lucien.
She grit her teeth, and clenched her fist- knowing going out would only be her death and completely USELESS!
"FIGHT IT!" she suddenly screamed, her voice raw with emotion. "You can overcome this! You're stronger than His wrath! Show your Dad who's boss!"
Klaus seeing what she was doing raised a surprised eyebrow, but gained a slow smile on his face, despite his internal geniune concern and rage for Lucien, as stepped forward to stand beside her, "She's right," he declared, surprising everyone.
"You're my son now, Lucien. And my son doesn't bow to anyone – not even the God who abandoned him. Him being your original father or not."
Elijah moved to his brother's side, his eternal composure momentarily cracked by genuine emotion. "Niklaus is right. You've overcome everything else. This is merely another obstacle."
Kol stared at his siblings in disbelief. "Have you all lost your minds? That's DIVINE WRATH! Are you actually encouraging him to defy GOD? Trying to antagonise his Heavenly Father to rain down His wrath on us TOO?"
"Shut up, Kol!" Rebekah snapped, stepping forward to join her brothers. "Stop being a coward. If anyone can survive this, he can."
Kol looked desperately toward Finn, seeking support from his typically pious brother. To his shock, Finn merely shook his head begrudgingly, offering no objection to their blasphemous encouragement.
Trevor Belmont, who had remained silent throughout much of the ordeal, suddenly stepped forward. "If you're going to burn either way," he called out, his gruff voice carrying across the chamber, "might as well make the bastard work for it. My family's been fighting monsters for centuries – show them how it's done, Winchester!"
Inside the flames, Lucien heard their voices through the haze of pain.
Something shifted in his burning chest – not resignation, but determination.
If he was damned, he would not go quietly.
With a savage growl, he pushed himself up from the floor where he had fallen. The divine fire continued to consume him, but he forced his burning legs to move, each step leaving charred footprints on the ancient stone.
Dracula sensed his approach, his head tilting as he tracked Lucien's movement despite his blindness. His triumphant smile faltered slightly.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, taking an instinctive step backward.
"HAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Lucien suddenly roared in hatred and fury as he launched himself forward with explosive force, tackling Dracula to the ground. The impact drove the air from the vampire lord's lungs as they crashed to the floor together.
Dracula's hands came up instinctively, pushing against Lucien's burning form. Where they touched, his skin sizzled as divine fire transferred to his flesh.
He howled in shock and pain, realizing that his immunity to the holy flames didn't extend to direct contact with Lucien's burning body.
"Impossible!" he gasped. "You should be weakening, not attacking!"
Lucien's response was a devastating right hook that connected with Dracula's jaw. The sound of impact echoed like a thunderclap, the vampire lord's head snapping sideways from the force.
Dracula recovered quickly, centuries of combat experience taking over.
He drove his knee into Lucien's side, the impact cracking ribs in Stefan's borrowed body. Lucien grunted in pain but didn't relent, delivering a punishing blow to Dracula's sternum that would have crushed a human heart.
The two beings grappled on the floor, rolling through pools of nightcreature blood. Lucien's burning body left scorched trails across the stone as they fought, neither willing to yield despite their grievous injuries.
Dracula, though blinded, fought with the precision of someone who had never made a wasteful attack in his life. His strikes targeted nerve clusters and vulnerable points, each blow calculated to maximize damage.
Lucien fought with raw fury, allowing the pain of the divine fire to fuel his attacks rather than hinder them. Every punch, every grab transferred holy flames to Dracula's body, causing the vampire lord to hiss and recoil only to attack again with renewed desperation.
"You're still going to die here!" Dracula snarled, driving his elbow into Lucien's throat. "Your Father has abandoned you! Can't you feel it? The judgment? The disappointment?"
Inside Lucien's mind, Stefan continued his desperate attempt to save him.
'Please,' Stefan begged. 'You've done enough. Let me go. Save yourself!'
'Never,' Lucien responded, his mental voice strained but resolute. 'I don't abandon my promises. I will not abandon my pride! My self-respect! Never! '
Stefan's response was unexpected – not words but action.
Lucien felt Stefan's suddenly consciousness pushing against his own, attempting to expel him from his body.
'What are you doing?' Lucien demanded internally, even as he blocked a vicious strike from Dracula with his forearm.
'Saving you!' Stefan's mental voice was determined, desperate. 'You're a demon now. I didn't gave permission only to the archangel- not the demon, GET OUT!'
'NO!' Lucien roared back mentally. 'Like you said - I'm no longer an angel – even if you rescind your permission, as a demon, I can remain however long I damn well wish!
Outside this internal battle, the physical one intensified.
Dracula seized Lucien by the throat, lifting him off the ground with great strength. Lucien responded by grabbing Dracula's wrists, the divine fire burning deeper into the vampire's flesh.
"You are nothing!" Dracula hissed through gritted teeth, ignoring his burning skin. "A failed vessel! A fallen son! You cannot defeat me!"
With a surge of strength, Lucien broke Dracula's grip and delivered a devastating headbutt to the vampire's face. The impact shattered Dracula's nose, blood spraying across both their faces.
Lucien followed with a flurry of punches that drove Dracula back step by step. Each impact left burning imprints on the vampire lord's body, divine fire spreading across his chest and arms.
Katherine watched from the barrier's edge, her expression transformed from despair to fierce pride. "That's it!" she shouted. "Beat the shit out of that bastard! Kill him! You can win this!"
Klaus laughed beside her, his eyes gleaming with something almost like paternal pride. "That's my boy," he murmured. "Show them what a Mikaelson can do."
Elijah nodded in agreement. "He fights like one of us," he observed quietly. "Ruthless. Determined."
Kol stared at them in disbelief. "Are you all insane? He's literally burning in divine fire and you're cheering him on like it's a boxing match?"
"Shut up, Kol," Rebekah repeated, her eyes fixed on the battle. "He's winning."
Indeed, Lucien was gaining the upper hand.
His relentless assault had Dracula on the defensive, the vampire lord's movements becoming increasingly desperate as divine fire spread across his body wherever Lucien struck.
With a particularly vicious blow, Lucien sent Dracula crashing into a stone column. The ancient vampire slumped against it, momentarily stunned.
Lucien pressed his advantage, grabbing Dracula by his tattered shirt and tearing it open completely.
There, on Dracula's chest near his heart, was revealed a complex pentagram tattoo – ancient symbols inscribed in a language older than humanity.
Lucien's black eyes widened in recognition, comparing it to something else he knows. He turned his head slightly toward the barrier where his allies watched.
"Vader!" he called, extending his open palm toward his Qareen.
Without hesitation, Vader hurled his red lightsaber through the air. Lucien caught it, the weapon igniting with a distinctive hiss-snap as crimson energy erupted from the hilt.
Dracula, sensing the danger despite his blindness, struggled to push Lucien away. "No!" he roared, suddenly understanding Lucien's intent. "You don't know what you're doing!"
"I think I do," Lucien replied, his voice eerily calm despite the divine fire still consuming him. "Be prepared for a taste of your own medicine."
Lucien drove the lightsaber into Dracula's chest – not through his heart, but directly into the center of the pentagram tattoo. The ancient symbol sizzled and burned, lines of power igniting across Dracula's skin.
Dracula's scream transcended human understanding, the sound vibrating the very stones of the castle. He thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge Lucien, but the boy-turned-demon held firm, keeping the lightsaber embedded in the tattoo.
"You think you can possess me?" Dracula snarled between screams. "I am Gabriel Belmont! God's former champion! You cannot-"
"I'm taking back what's mine," Lucien interrupted, his voice cold and implacable. "And more. No longer will I let anything of God be part of you. There are more worthy ones!"
With those words, Lucien opened Stefan's mouth wide and began to smoke out – black demonic essence pouring from his lips like living shadow.
But unlike a normal demonic possession, the smoke didn't completely go in, a portion remaining within Stefan while the rest forced its way into Dracula's mouth- a technique only a Knight of Hell and above could do.
Dracula thrashed violently, trying to prevent the invasion, but Lucien's essence was too powerful to resist. The vampire lord's body convulsed as two souls battled for dominance within a single form.
Inside Stefan's body, Lucien maintained enough presence to protect Stefan's soul from the divine fire. The connection between the two bodies manifested as a tendril of black smoke stretching from one mouth to the other.
Elena watched with wide eyes, her nephilim sight perceiving what others could not. "The stars," she whispered, her young voice filled with wonder. "Lucien is smashing against the stars inside Dracula, and they're... they're making him cleaner."
Finn's head snapped toward her, his expression alert for the first time. "The holy blood," he realized aloud. "Lucien's holy blood inside Dracula – he's taking it back in, and it's purifying his soul."
Indeed, as the battle raged within Dracula's body, something extraordinary was happening. The black smoke connecting the two bodies began to change, transforming from darkness into brilliant white light.
"Everyone close your eyes!" Katherine suddenly shouted, throwing her arm up to shield her face. "NOW!"
The group obeyed instantly, all except Elena, who continued to watch, unaffected by the angelic radiance as a nephilim. The light pouring from Dracula's mouth intensified, becoming too brilliant for even vampire eyes to withstand.
Dracula's body began to glow from within, golden radiance shining through his skin as if he contained a star. His mouth opened in a silent scream as Lucien's voice emerged from his throat.
"I will take everything back from you – and more!" Lucien's voice proclaimed through Dracula's lips, the words carrying power that shook the very foundations of the castle.
Dracula's voice responded from the same mouth, his aristocratic tones desperate and enraged. "No! You cannot! This power is mine! MINE!"
The light connecting the two bodies pulsed, growing brighter with each second. Stefan's body suddenly jerked as Lucien's remaining essence withdrew completely – not returning to Stefan but propelling his body toward Elena's protective barrier with telekinetic force.
Stefan crashed through the barrier's edge, rolling to a stop at Katherine's feet. The divine flames that had been consuming him extinguished instantly as he entered the protected zone.
Elena gasped, pointing at Stefan. "Look!" she exclaimed. "There's a golden string connecting him to Lucien – like the one Dracula had to the sky, but cleaner!"
Indeed, a thin strand of golden light stretched from Stefan's chest toward Dracula's convulsing form, thought it was only visible to Elena's special sight.
The light pouring from Dracula's mouth suddenly changed direction, no longer flowing into Stefan but shooting across the chamber toward Lucien's original body – the small, seemingly lifeless form that had lain forgotten during the battle.
As the light made contact, Lucien's child body jerked violently, back arching off the stone floor as divine radiance poured into it. The chamber filled with blinding brilliance, forcing even Elena to shield her eyes at last.
For a moment, reality itself seemed to pause – sound ceased, movement stopped, even the divine fire hung suspended in the air.
Then, with a thunderous crack, the light vanished.
Silence fell over the devastated chamber. Dracula's body collapsed to the floor, empty and lifeless. The divine fire that had filled the space dissipated, leaving only the faint glow of Elena's protective barrier.
Katherine was the first to move, rushing toward Lucien's original body with desperate hope- Elena following, her protection following with her, followed by the rest.
Katerina fell to her knees beside him, hands hovering uncertainly over his small form.
"Lucien?" she whispered, voice breaking.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then, Lucien's eyes opened.
Gone were the black voids of demonic corruption. Gone too were the normal blue eyes of a human child, as well as the red hellfire of corruption.
Instead, his irises glowed with golden light, the unmistakable radiance of angelic grace.
He drew a deep breath, as if tasting air for the first time, and looked up at Katherine with wonder.
"I'm back," he said simply.
-----------------------
(Author note: Hello everyone! As promised, here is the chapter.
I hope you all enjoyed it.
So, Lucien is no longer a demon. Completely clean.
It kinda was... expected. Lucien is Raphael's destined vessel. If this didn't happen well,
Michael would've after Lucien died, in Heaven, cleansed Lucien's soul by himself, and probably kept it there for a couple years, to have the Winchester life go smoother towards the plan.
Yeah- Lucien dying has consequences, he won't just be brought back to life.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)