Despite being told to take the day off, Dani was used to waking up early on her own, and she eventually opened her eyes. To her surprise, she was alone in bed. Shuffling to the bathroom, she took a quick shower before heading into the kitchen to see what was going on, wearing nothing more than a tank top, shorts, and sandals.
She found Gemory there, having cooked breakfast. "Good morning, my love! You just missed your Father!"
Danielle sat down. "Yeah, he's always in a rush in the morning. Thank you for cooking breakfast for him."
Gemory smiled. "It was my pleasure." She set some warm food in front of Dani, who didn't need to be told twice. French toast, hash browns, and scrambled eggs mixed with cheese and bacon. "Don't take this the wrong way, Gemory, but this is heavenly."
Gemory laughed. "Well, I used to be an Angel, you know. Though that was a long time ago."
"I'm a little fuzzy on theology. So you were there with the Devil when he fought against God?"
Gemory sat next to her fiancee. "Oh yes, but that was so long ago. My memories aren't as sharp as they used to be. It is worth noting that the Bible is...at best..wildly imaginative fanfiction compared to what really happened."
"Still though," Dani said, between bites of her food, washing it down with a glass of milk, "does that mean Christians are right, they're the only real religion?"
Gemory laughed. "Oh, Hells no! Just because God is real doesn't invalidate faith. That's never been a question. When God gave humans free will, it came with it the ability to believe in whatever they wanted. And if, say, your God didn't really exist, well, then your belief would eventually create one. I mean, even the ancestors of the Israelites used to have a whole pantheon before Moses jumped on the monotheism train."
"Huh. So what, God is worshipped as multiple people?"
"Oh yes. Most religions have a creator or ruler deity. But God has more aspects to he/she/itself than that. In the early days, some Angels and Devils found themselves worshipped, and they eventually became Gods in their own right. Sadly, these days, new Gods don't pop up very often- the wonders of Science have made humans less likely to need them."
Danielle filed that information away. "So, what's the deal with souls then?"
"Well, the Creator is the only one who can make a soul. It's one of their big secrets. It's immortal and cannot be destroyed, though with effort, you can mangle one a bit. It is the eventual destiny of a mortal soul to be reborn into a new existence. No one is certain what God's plan is, but it's widely believed that all of Creation was an attempt to create others like God, because he/she/it was lonely. Even the lesser deities don't quite measure up, though.
Anyways, left to their own devices, humans would eventually be reborn into new lives, losing their memories, but still being shaped by their experiences. Everyone thinks Lucifer was angry at God for creating humans, but actually, Luci is pretty chill about them. His/her big deal was that he/she felt that God's plan was faulty."
"In what way?" Danielle found herself quite engaged- Gemory was a decent storyteller!
"Well, Luci reasoned...I'm going to use female pronouns for her from here on out. When she's male, she's kind of moody, we much prefer to deal with her girl side. If you want the best souls to ascend, what do you do with the bad ones? Just let them come back to life to be bad again? Oh sure, maybe they learn their lessons, but what's the incentive to be good? Now God never banished us from Heaven, that was all the other Angels doing. But God being God, nobody was really punished. Our exile is basically self-imposed, though I rather doubt an of us would be welcomed back at this point.
Hell exists, you see, as a place for bad souls to end up. We see ourselves as collectors, helping, in our own evil way, our Creator's experiment along."
"That's pretty wild...say um, are all Angels and Devils genderfluid?" Danielle asked.
"Not at all! We weren't created with genders, but to understand humans, all Devils adopt the concept. Some are less decisive than others. I, for example, identify as male."
Danielle gave her a look.
Gemory sighed. "Ok, I get it. I look like a girl, I act like a girl. I haven't taken on a male form in centuries. How can I insist otherwise? It's a matter of pride, really. When Luci was giving us our titles, Aamon, a Marquis, was jealous of me. We'd long been rivals. Anyways, he made a crack about me being a "Duchess" of Hell, implying that I was somehow lesser in power and respect. Animal-headed jerk...anyways, I kicked his ass and let him now, no matter what I preferred to look like, I was more man than he would ever be, and I'd prove it any time he liked. He wouldn't shut up though, so I fucked him."
"Uh..I don't see how that helps." Dani shrugged.
"Oh well, it's simple, I forced him to change into a female, then I gave myself a nice big cock, and fucked him senseless." Gemory chuckled. "I let everyone watch, too. I didn't even bother to turn male."
Danielle tried to imagine Gemory, as she was now, with a big dick, and her brain was both repulsed and intrigued. She decided to drink her juice. "So you...r..." she couldn't actually say it.
"Oh honey, 'rape' is a mortal concept. Demons can't be raped, by our very nature. Luci does, however, take a very dim view of raping a mortal. It's one of those ways a soul can be mangled. We tempt, we seduce, but any mortal we have sex with is a willing participant, no matter what regrets they have later about it."
"Yeah, you just torture them instead, right?"
Gemory looked aghast. "Oh Hells no! Look, that's all propaganda. Souls are generally treated well in Hell, save for the really bad ones. Most souls we take will eventually become Demons themselves."
"Oh, sorry. So just the bad ones get punished?"
"Luci likes to think most souls can be rehabilitated. The ones that can't, we imprison. I mean, yes, there's always some torment at first, because that's what people expect Hell to be like. But there are some very nice parts of Hell. The ones that can't be helped, however, like I said, they are usually imprisoned and kept away from the general population. There are a small handful that piss Luci off, and those she is rather cruel to. Tyrants, mass murderers, cultists, you know, the worst of the worst."
"Cultists? Don't they actually work for you guys?" Dani was confused.
"Ha! They wish! Luci HATES cult leaders like you wouldn't believe! They become Damned all on their own, without any help from us, claim to be working in our name, and worse, drag down innocents with them! There is a special place in hell for cult leaders and televangelists." Gemory smiled, but there was no mirth in that smile.
Danielle shivered. "I think I've lost my appetite."
"I'm sorry, beloved." Gemory lay her head against Danielle's shoulder. "I'm a creature of evil, I suppose you think I'm a monster."
"Court is still out. You're smart, cute, can cook, and are amazing in bed. Just uh...I'm not ready for you to have a cock, ok?" Dani blushed.
"I know, honey. You're really innocent in a lot of ways. It's adorable."
Danielle wasn't sure how to take that. "Does it bother you, what I did? Making you fall for someone so much younger than you?"
Gemory shrugged. "I haven't looked into your file, but you've likely been reincarnated many times before. Even if you don't remember it, you're still a lot older than 17. And at a certain point, a thousand years old, a million years old, what's the difference?"
"Age is only a number?" Dani supplied.
"Something like that. Yes, I will always be more experienced than you. That's fine, as long as that doesn't scare you off."
"I'm still here." Dani pointed out.
Gemory kissed her then. "So you are. Now, I'm sure you've been having thoughts about how to use your new powers."
"I have, actually. But isn't...look I know you're a Demon but I need a straight answer. Is using my powers evil?" Dani asked.
"Not in of themselves, no. You can do a lot of good, if you think about it. I promise, if you get too carried away, I'll say something. But look at it this way- do you really want to die and go to Heaven without me?"
Danielle considered that. "Oofta. No. I'm starting to think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me." She kissed her fiancee.
"Oh my love...you have no idea. So what's the first order of business, then? Got a girl you've had a crush on, but she's too straight? Or do you want some revenge?"
Dani thought about it, and then said...