As the two rulers sat across from each other, an awkward silence filled the air as Sera was unable to speak and explain herself.
Stygian, ever patient, simply waited for her to speak in order for her to properly explain herself, and finding her wearing clothes depicting himself and Emily smooching did not help her case in the slightest.
After a few awkward minutes had passed, Sera finally decided to explain herself and why she was wearing the shirt and hat.
"Pure Vassal... I know this seems... damning... for someone like me, but I assure you I... simply had no choice," Sera explained.
"...Elaborate," the prince replied.
"Well, to put it simply, Emily has been... energetic... to say the least. Whenever I would take these off, she would always slip them on me whenever she's around, and after the eighteenth time today, I simply gave up and just accepted that these clothes are a part of me now... well, until the wedding, and by then I'm practically free," Sera said while her eyes were closed, dreaming of that day.
"Hmm, well that explains a lot, but what I really want to know is why does everyone else know, and why does everyone think I'm marrying Emily?" Stygian asked the daydreaming angel.
This caused her to snap back to reality.
"I'm sorry... but could you repeat that?" she said nervously.
"Sigh, I was asking why does everyone think I'm marrying Emily, and why does everyone know?"
Those simple words made Sera feel a form of terror she had never experienced before.
In that very moment, the world seemed to slow down. Was she cursed to wear this unsightly garb forever? Would she never be free?
As Sera began to spiral into a pit of depression over clothing, Stygian, not wanting to deal with this right now, simply snapped his fingers in front of Sera to snap her out of it.
"Hey! Sera, snap out of it," he said while snapping his fingers in front of her.
Thankfully, this was able to pull Sera out of her depressive spiral and allow her to think more clearly.
"Oh! My apologies! I didn't know what came over me. I don't really have the exact details on how the information spread throughout Heaven, but what I do know is that Emily was the one who informed everyone that you and she were to be wed in the near future," Sera explained.
"I see... thank you, Sera." Stygian got up from the chair and began walking toward the exit door, but before he could leave, Sera called out, getting his attention.
"Wait! Pure Vassal... if it isn't too much to ask... why exactly does Emily think you two would be getting married? I mean, I certainly know she's been dreaming of the day that she finally meets you... please, if it isn't too much," Sera said, standing up and getting Stygian's attention.
Stygian turned back to Sera and answered.
"Sera... do you remember... that little incident here in Heaven when I first visited?"
"That incident... no... you can't mean," Sera said, horrified at the implications.
"Emily's fine... in fact, I'd say she's immune," Stygian told Sera.
"Oh, thank the Creator... well, if that's the case, I would like to request something of you, Lord Stygian," Sera spoke, using Stygian's name for once.
"You're not usually the kind to ask things of others, but since I'm mostly the one who started this whole mess... shoot," Stygian said, letting Sera state her request.
"Thank you for indulging me... ahem. I would like to humbly request that you, Lord Stygian of House Lucifer, marry my sister..." Sera said openly and without fear.
This caused Stygian to be rather confused and baffled. After all he had said and explained... this was her request?
"Sera... you know I can't marry Emily. I already have someone back home, and besides, I barely know anything about her," Stygian explained.
"Then please get to know her... my sister has never known what it's like to love another person romantically, and if her first love were to leave her... I worry she would fall into a pit of despair that she would never crawl out from. I should know... I experienced something similar before," Sera said with sad eyes.
"Sera... haaaa, fine... I won't break up with Emily... even if we weren't even dating," Stygian said, the last part to himself. "But I will be going to her to talk it out, if that's alright," Stygian told Sera.
"That would be fine," Sera said, giving a small bow, grateful to Stygian for doing this request.
"Alright... I'll be going now... also, you can take off the shirt. I'm sure I can convince Emily to stop forcing it on you."
"Oh, thank God!" Sera said, removing the shirt from herself and throwing the hat on the floor. She felt relieved that the nightmare was finally over, but as she took a deep breath, a golden glow enveloped her body, and once it faded, a new set of merchandise was on her.
"EMILY!" Sera cried out.
Stygian watched as Sera began to shout to the sky as new clothes appeared on her, and with a faint smile on his face, he left the room, but not before picking up the shirt.
Once he was finally outside Sera's office, he looked down at the shirt now in his hand, and opening a rift, he pulled out the book his mother had given him all those years ago.
Flipping through it, he searched for a spell to help him find Emily, and after flipping the pages for a few minutes, he finally found what he was looking for—a tracking spell.
Reading the spell and understanding its mechanics, he used the shirt as a conduit for the spell. After only a second had passed, the shirt began to glow bright white before slowly fading into a small stream of light to guide Stygian.
Shedding his material body once more, Stygian entered the shadows and began following the stream of light. As he followed the light toward Emily's home, he noticed that the citizens of Heaven were having a grand old time preparing for the wedding that was literally months away.
The streets were lined with decorations depicting him and Emily kissing and holding hands.
It was quite absurd to Stygian. Why would they be decorating and celebrating something that was months away?
After a few minutes of following the light, Stygian ended up in a rather large building. Going inside, he began looking around for any sign that this was actually Emily's home, and after literally looking around for a second, he found the evidence he needed.
A trail of rainbow glitter.
Following the trail of glitter on the floor, Stygian ended up in the highest part of the building, where multiple guards were posted.
Stygian, not wanting to cause any trouble for the angels simply doing their jobs, began rising out of the shadows, scaring and alerting the two guards.
"Halt! Who... who goes there!" One angel pointed their spear toward Stygian, though they were shaking uncomfortably.
Stygian, now fully out of the shadows, began regenerating his body into a material form, which caused the guards to calm down slightly... but that was for naught.
Not long after, the two angels began to squeal in joy as the Pure Vassal of Hell stood before them.
"Oh my God! Nomina! He's here!" one angel said, grabbing her friend and shaking her in excitement.
"Jessie... please... stop... shaking... meee," Nomina said, her face green with nausea.
"Oh shoot! Sorry about that, sis!" Jessie apologized before letting go of her friend.
Stygian, still there watching the scene unfold, decided to speak.
"If it isn't a bother... I would like to see... my bride," Stygian said, cringing at what he had just said.
"Oh! Of course!" Jessie replied, letting Stygian pass through.
Once Stygian had gotten past the sisters and now stood in front of Emily's door, he took a deep breath before entering.
Once the door was opened, his eyes quickly narrowed in annoyance when he spotted someone who shouldn't be there.
"Hey, bitch," the Radiance said, braiding Emily's hair.
---
Hello, children. A short announcement.
Since the holidays are soon to arrive, the author has asked me to tell you all that chapters may slow down.
And to tell you all that the next chapter shall be a backstory for a side character, but you shall decide.
Charlie vs. Hornet, round two.
Lilith gossiping about Stygian's love life.
Maylin gaining a longer life span.
Please decide and don't spam. The voting shall end this Friday, and have a wonderful day.