What it means to be a God

Ezekiel was sitting opposite of Gremory's heiress inside their club building. Besides her was Sona and their respective peerages were behind them. Since they already knew of him and the enemy was dealt with, he had no reason to mask his strength anymore. Even if he didn't display it openly, it was something one would instinctively feel. Proving that point were the clearly nervous devils behind the two heiresses, especially the ones with sensory skills. Though he had to salute Rias and Sona for keeping their composure. It seems they are used to facing strong people due to their status. They even asked him about his heritage to make sure they didn't hear wrongly when he introduced himself to Kokabiel.

„So, you are saying that my brother and the other Satans knew about you staying in Kuoh?" Rias asked. She obviously already knew that from her brother but even Sirzechs was a little surprised that they would send a Seraph and an unknown one at that.

"Yes and no. Since talks about peace were long underway, it was decided to hold the meeting here. To make sure nothing would go wrong I came over. That there are some spies in every faction isn't surprising, honestly. What surprises me though is that you both didn't know about anything." Ezekiel replied.

Sona and Rias didn't seem pleased about that comment, but It had nothing to do with Ezekiel. He then turned his attention to the blonde knight at the side.

"Kiba, was it?" Ezekiel asked, earning a nod from the swordsman.

"The two exorcists told me about the deal you had with them, but that is no longer necessary I presume?" Ezekiel said. Kiba seemed sad but not like someone living only for the thought of possible revenge. He obviously came to his senses after being confronted with his tormentor.

"No, the death of the one responsible and meeting my friends is enough." He answered, but Ezekiel could still hear the bitterness in his voice.

Ezekiel only nodded. An apology wouldn't be what Kiba would want to hear and in the end, it wasn't Ezekiel's responsibility. He himself was young when the Holy Sword Project has been conducted and even Michael didn't know about before It was too late.

As he scanned the other peerage members, his eyes rested on the new Red Dragon Emperor for a second who quickly avoided his gaze. As Ezekiel arrived earlier with Jeanne and Asia in tow, Issei didn't act his position and learned the hard way where his limits were. If Ezekiel didn't control his aura, he projected on him, he might just have peed himself. But it made Ezekiel wonder why hereditary titles for holders of certain Sacred Gears were a thing. He didn't really see anything emperor like when looking at the youth and he didn't care enough to look under the surface. Who knew what he might find? He made a note to himself to inquire how Sacred Gears choose their hosts.

"I won't meddle with anything other than possible threats you cannot deal with. I just came to avoid any misunderstanding and to have a short word with your knight." Ezekiel stated, indicating the end of their talk.

As unamused Rias and Sona felt, they kept it to themselves. It was clear that it wasn't their business since decisions concerning the whole faction would be handled by their leaders.

"Thank you for your time." Sona shook his hand, before Rias did the same and Ezekiel excused himself.

After the Ezekiel left with Jeanne and Asia the other devils released a breath. The leading figures of factions sure were something else. To think that he was the same age as them, was at the same time depressing and motivating for most of them. Issei himself had second thoughts about ogling and bothering every beautiful woman he would meet in the future. If he offended the wrong person, he might just perish without realising it. The supernatural world held much beauty, but it was just as dangerous.

-o-

"You have gotten a handle on your current powers and strength." Shiva said. He and Ezekiel held their usual spar a moment ago. Ezekiel stayed silent and waited for his father to continue.

"What you should concentrate on now, is the question of what it means to be a god. That part is important because of your mixed heritage. To become a full god, you need an understanding and training with your own nature. There are two ways presenting themselves to you now. The first would be that you concentrate on our destructive nature, which is your godly part. The other option would be to gain a better understanding of both of your sides and try to bring them into balance, to make them one. When you reach a perfect fusion or you unexpectedly decide to sacrifice your holy nature, you wouldn't be different from other gods aside from their nature and unique abilities. I would advise you to cultivate both of your powers since both are part of you, of who you are." Shiva explained.

"Isn't that what I have been doing all the time?" Ezekiel questioned.

"You are right, but only partly. You are using destructive properties in your light-based attacks. That would be one of the easier steps you can start with. But you didn't explore your powers enough to understand their limits yet. Let me show you an example."

"Your aura can be projected actively as well as passively. It is a projection of your strength of sorts. It can show your intent and emotions to a certain extent, like anger, dominance, or others. But is it actually limited to that?" Shiva questioned while spreading his aura. It was suffocating and felt slightly uncomfortable even for Ezekiel. It was shown why Shiva was regarded as the only one who came close to the two monstrous dragons.

As they were currently training inside the dimensional gap, there wasn't much around them, but everything that came into contact with his father's aura just vanished, clearly showing Ezekiel that there were far more possibilities than he thought. After a moment, Shiva stopped and seeing his sons surprised expression, continued.

"That is just one of a multitude of possible applications and you shouldn't try to copy me. Destruction itself has many facets. It can be viewed as a force to break things apart, even until they don't exist anymore. On the other hand, it can be viewed as the natural counter to creation. A force that only shows its true colours in conjunction with its nemesis. Destruction doesn't only have a physical aspect and it is up to you to find your own understanding and preferred nature. Now fusing It with your light-based powers and finding new applications might just bring some unexpected results."

"I understand father." Ezekiel replied, half in thought on how to proceed with his training. It was clear to him that his father wanted to push him in the right direction without influencing him strongly. Ezekiel understood that he had to work on this one himself to make it truly fitting. Until now he mostly used his powers and energy in its easiest form, mostly how they existed since his birth. His father showed him that his perceived limits were only because of his misconceptions. Maybe he could even fuse his destructive and holy powers with his unique abilities?

-o-

Abelia was currently painting. Most of the canvas was full of golden colours which obviously belonged to the flying form of Ezekiel. It was hard to notice, but he looked just a tad bit grander than he actually was the day before. Opposite of him was a beaten fallen angel, the scene depicting the last moments of the former cadre. Kokabiel however was not in the centre of the painting but seemed like an addition that exists only in the background to uplift his opponent. Her passion as an artist forced her to record the scene for future generations.

"I wonder how many moments like this I will get to see in the future." She mused to herself as she applied the finishing touches.