I walked out of the building stretching like I had just finished a workout, then started to roll a cigarette, a combination that made Eve chuckled briefly before Astrael reminded her of one of the darker moments in that meet.
"Lord, what made you use that particular method? It was... Not your style." I didn't answer, I just moved between her and Eve and offered a memory orb, making sure Eve couldn't get to it.
"Is there something you wish to keep secret?" She asked, a bit wounded by the implication.
"Not in the least, I'd just rather you didn't have to witness their acts in the same way I did. You are welcome to get the details from Astrael, but I'd rather not dwell on them personally if that's alright?" Eve nodded, my feelings all the proof she needed that I was truly concerned about the effect those scenes would have on her.
"Lady Eve, my Lord is correct, you shouldn't ask details. For what it is worth, I personally think he was far more lenient than he should have been in retrospect."
"Can you at least tell me what you did to them? If both of you feel it justified, then that is enough, but that doesn't exactly enlighten me much." Eve asked as she scrunched the shoulder of fabric of my shirt.
I made a gesture to give Astrael permission to explain. "He used a spell similar to the empowering one, the same he used on that man Idir. It allowed him to make contact with their souls and separate them from their bodies, the experience is unpleasant in itself. He decided that wasn't enough however, and destroyed their bodies piece by piece while their souls watched... They didn't feel any pain though, the soul was completely detached and possessed no pain receptors... It was more for psychological impact."
"You truly think they deserved that?" Eve asked seriously.
Astrael moved over and hugged her, seeing her discomfort. "My lady, if it were me, I'd have only partially removed their soul so they felt everything. People like them are why I lost my creator in the first place. I can't say much, but his duty was to cause just enough pain to motivate humanity to strive to make the world a better place, people like them drove him made and we found ourselves abandoned, left to tend the domain of black in his absence."
She stopped and separated before continuing, her own empathic power telling her Eve didn't see how that related to me. "What angered my Lord so much was their treatment of women however." She stopped speaking, letting the eye contact and tension in her hands communicate what she couldn't say outright in front of Quatal.
Eve nodded when things fell into place, then hugged her back for helping her to understand. She then made her way over to me. "Adam, my love, I'm sorry you had to see things like that, sorry you had to see such things from those monster's perspectives. I know how much it must have hurt, to know you couldn't stop any of it from being done. Thank you, my love, for making sure our daughter doesn't live in the same world as them." Eve speak softly, pulling me down to her to stroke my head.
"Is Papa sad? He seemed happy a second ago." Quatal asked curiously, moving closer but hesitating with every step.
"Yes he is. He had to do something he took no pleasure in because it was the right thing to do. This made him think about it." Eve explained, with a motherly approach. "Right now, Papa needs to go home for a bit while we cuddle him and make him feel better."
"Lady Eve, thank you for this.. It means more than you know." Astrael said as she lifted Quatal onto my back. "I'm going back to the pocket dimension, I need to get the taste of those memories out of my own mouth. Perhaps you should go to the cabin, you would be less likely to be disturbed on that side."
It was a good suggestion, and exactly what we did.
Astrael went ahead, more eager to blow of some steam than I thought, though it did mean she ran into the teleportation engineer alone, which meant when we walked passed he was a gibbering wreck singing what sounded like the demon version of "one-hundred bottles of beer on the wall".
When we got to the other side, Eve went to the kitchen to make some drinks whilst Quatal dutifully led her depressed father to one of the couches, sitting in my lap and telling me to stroke her head.
I gave a faint smile, then said. "I think you got the comforting backwards little one."
"Nuh uh! Papa always looks happy when he's petting my head, the fact it makes me feel better too is just a bonus." She declared with confidence before placing one of my hands on her head.
When Eve came back, she said the same thing I had and Quatal repeated her argument word for word. I made a half-hearted shrug to show she wasn't wrong, then Eve smiled and laid down behind me, then used enhancement magic to give herself the strength to pull me into the same position we had been in the other day before Valo and Kriel interrupted.
"Hard to believe we had a daughter since the last time we did this." Eve laughed as I melted into the feeling of peace and safety like I did back then.
"Well, I'm really happy you did!" Quatal added as she seemed to melt into the same sensation.
"Not as happy as us sweetie. Having you has been the best thing to happen to either of us, though it helps having a nanny that can wear you out a bit."
"Nuh uh! I wear her out. Grown-ups get sleepy a lot."
"Actually, deva's don't get tired, I think she is just being lazy." I sighed.
After a few hours the sky outside turned black, not a night sky, but perfectly pitch black and we made our way outside to see if it was something Astrael was up to.
"Sorry if I disturbed you. I was thinking about the domain of black and I think I effected the dimension more than intended. Isn't it beautiful though, exactly like my home... The darkness is so deep it feels like it could swallow you, but it makes even the smallest lights seem so much brighter..." She released what seemed to be some dimly glowing balls, like fireflies and proved she was right. "Compared to the darkness, every colour seems more vibrant..." Her voice was filled with longing, I didn't need to be an empath to know she was hurting. "My creator always used to say "The darkness is selflessness, enduring fear and hate, denying itself everything... Everything except the joy of making others shine before us." He was great creator, the best creator in my opinion." She started to weep as she spoke, so I approached.
"Your right and so was your creator... This darkness truly does make us appreciate everything so much more. So I say it stays here in our home away from the world and if you think they will enjoy it, you are welcome to bring the others from domain of black, just make sure they know Quatal and you are in charge."
"One day I would like that, unlike the domain of white, we are never called and I think they would like it here in your garden." Tears gave way to hope and she jumped up to hug and thank me, then she looked at the others awkwardly when she realised they were staring. "Sorry, my creator had a thing for quirky deva, well I was the only one he only made me, besides the feathered serpents got most of the affection, not that I can blame him, I love them too. Just don't let Quetzalcoatl drink..."
She told us to return indoors, that she was ok and that the others should focus on me since I was most affected, but that wasn't how we done things in our family and I pointed at her before saying "Quatal, snake hug." In a flash, she was coiled around the deva lapping at her with her tongue whilst gently fanning her with a wing.
"Good girl! You make sure Auntie Astra's ok, I'll go make Papa happy." Eve said before turning around and blushing when she realised how that sounded. Though that didn't stop her from leading me upstairs. 'Why not after all? wouldn't having a woman take them to bed and kiss them make most men feel better?' Is what she thought... Aaaand she wasn't exactly wrong.
Half an hour later when we left the room we definitely no longer depressed, though we were both infinitely more frustrated. In all honesty, it wasn't exactly better but it was easier to recover from than depression, so... silver linings? I think.