Re: [The piano bar: Misha & Lucifer.]
"They say many things about me." He could hear the quote in Misha's words, that rote repetition of something heard and regurgitated, often without deeper thought. He knew that many opinions about him were of that particular sort: heard and repeated without much thought. He wasn't going to take Misha by the hand to lead him to what he, Lucifer, felt was the truth. The boy would have to come to his own conclusions, confusing as it might be. He could answer questions though, and Misha certainly had a lot of those.
"The world sins whether I'm here or not. People want shortcuts to things they think they deserve. Everyone Below is there for a reason. I don't hate humanity, and the only one I'm truly angry at is my asshole of a Father." The answers came quickfire, though the last earned a bit of a smile. "I don't believe I'm jealous of humanity. Their lives are difficult and confusing. Though there are things about them... I suppose it's a bit like families with more than one child. The eldest is the only, and thus the most loved, until they're not."
Lucifer saw the interest in Misha's expression, the way the boy leaned in, greedy for knowledge and understanding. "A bit, yes. I think He has plans, and sometimes they require a sacrifice. And I mean less a volunteer and more a lamb to slaughter." He wasn't shy about his opinions of his Father, and he pulled few punches in the telling of it. "I never saw it as a war. To me, it was just like getting kicked out of the house and told I couldn't come back." The conversation was definitely digging into old wounds, and though it wouldn't numb a thing, Lucifer reached for the bottle that was just there, on the table, and refilled his glass as questions continued to pour from Misha. He took a drink, let a silent moment pass, before answering.
"You give someone free will, and you have to accept that even with a good person, there is the possibility that their choices might not all be 'right'. So what do you do then? Some of those people will feel guilt about the choice, and will desire punishment for it, in their mind and their heart. They're unable to forgive themselves, so they can't accept that they'll be allowed into Heaven. Where would you have them go? More than that, with that same free will comes the possibility for those who make even worse choices. And some of those won't feel guilt at all. Where do you put them, when they die?" The words dried his mouth, and he took another sip from his glass, swirling the liquid in an amber eddy. "If you're planning to create someone who can choose, you have to plan for the outcome of whatever choice they might make."