Chapter Text
Most people assume there’s three realms. Earth, Devildom, The Celestial Realm. While it’s true they exist—we’ve seen them, after all!—it’s not true there’s only three.
No, there’s four. The fourth is Gaea, land of the otherkin. Elves, werewolves, vampires, dwarves, centaurs, dragons and dragonborne; most of all the different humanoid or human-intellectual creatures you can think of.
MC is an avian. They’re not a high-magic species, but they have wings and talons and feathers, and they can use more magic than humans (perhaps a bit below Solomon’s magical ability; they have an advantage with species and magic reservoirs in their realm, but he has experience, talent, and knowledge.)
One week over summer break from their school, Croxphis Academy, they take a vacation to Earth, using magic to disguise their species and magical prowess. Oopsie, they’ve been mistaken by a human by demons. That was not their intention; so now they’ve been summoned to the Devildom.. well, they’d been intending to visit one day, and this just means they won’t have to learn how to give themselves demonic features to blend in. So they agree to stay, and keep their magical abilities secret, playing the part as a weak little human.
It’s a bit of a mess. But they’re here for the ride and they’re enjoying every second, delighting in the thrill of having such a big secret to keep.
Barbatos, meanwhile, is a feathered dragon who uses magic to appear human/demon. He was part of a noble family, the Ruiz, long ago when Gaea was the only realm that had truly intelligent life. But he wasn’t anything special, despite his siblings being great icons. Until demons began to appear in the Devildom, and he was chosen to be their guide, guardian, and facilitator.
He chose their king, he taught them everything he knew. And despite being loved back home, this was the first time he felt truly important to the people around him. So he stayed. He pretended to be a demon, blending in, staying beside the royal family year by year until his past was withered away so far not even Devildom’s written history could remember it. He does not show his dragon form, not his wings nor his feathers.
And then he meets MC, and for the very first time he feels a connection. Somebody like him. They’re an avian, from the same world as him.. and he can tell them the truth. He can tell them what he is. He finally has somebody to tell.
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Pact Info in this AU:
As they are the easiest to forge, demonic pacts are most common and most well-known. They permit the user to command and summon a specific demon. They’re as simple as an agreement and a place of contact where the pact symbol—or sigil—will appear. A sub-type of pact is a ‘blood pact’, in which a human opens an injury on their body, allows it to bleed, and the demon places their sigil there. These pacts are stronger and nearly impossible to remove—however, they allow telepathic connection and communication, as well as heightened senses when in each other’s presence.
Angelic pacts are extremely rare—in fact, little know they’re possible; even many angels are unaware. They’re a bit more complicated to forge, requiring prolonged contact at the intended placement of the sigil, as well as a steady inflow of divine energy until the sigil is placed. An Angel’s sub-type of pact is a Holy Pact, similar in forging however rather than a slow steady flow, it requires a quick, high input of divine energy—lower angels are unable to do this, as they do not have the copious amounts of divine energy required. Holy Pacts have similar properties as Blood Pacts, however instead of heightened senses, the two members of the pact have heightened regenerative properties while in each other’s presence.
Otherkin Pacts, otherwise known as Mythological Pacts, are the rarest. Not because they are the hardest, but rather because otherkin rarely interact with the other three species and are nearly entirely forgotten as a whole. A traditional otherkin pact is forged through incantations while in contact. Each species has their own form of subtype pact—for example, avians have Feather Pacts, in which they bind one of their wing feathers to their pactmaker’s body (most often behind the ear) with magic while speaking their incantation, allowing the feather to remain permanently on their body as a form of sigil.
Demon pacts are Pacts of Obedience and Presence—the ability to demand and conduct a demon’s presence and loyalty.
Angel pacts are Pacts of Ability and Life—the ability to use an Angel’s powers and inherit their lifespan, as well as minor control over them and the ability to summon them.
Otherkin pacts are pacts of friendship and protection—they command the emotional presence and support of the otherkin, and demand the protection of the pactmaker.
Making pacts with humans is most common—they can make all three types of pacts, even being able to handle angelic and demonic pacts at once as long as the sigils are not next to each other and are not heavily unbalanced.
Demons and angels can make mythological pacts quite fine, but demons struggle with angelic pacts, as they’re made with divine energy. Angelic pacts have been found to very slowly wane away at a demon’s body—and likewise, angels who make demonic pacts will suffer similarly. The symptoms will reduce if it is a mutual pact (in which an angelic and demonic pact are formed at once), but it can still go wrong and it is still dangerous. For this reason, angels and demons very rarely ever make pacts with each other—between this and the fact angelic pacts are extremely rare in the first place and not well known (not to mention the strain of relationship between the two species), not a single pact between demons and angels has been recorded for well over several centimillenniums.
Abundant demonic energy at war with angelic energy tears humans apart from the outside, starting with rashes before turning to deadly burns and severe tears in the skin, leading to bleeding out, extreme pain, etc.
Abundant angelic energy at war with demonic energy tears humans apart from the inside, twisting organs and tearing into them, causing internal bleeding and burning them up from the inside.
This can change, however, if the human is in the Devildom or The Celestial Realm. If the human is experiencing abundant angelic energy and resides in the Devildom, their body will absorb the demonic energy of the Devildom, calming the process—though it does not stop, it will slow. If they reside in The Celestial Realm, the process will speed up and become several times more painful.
Vise versa, if the human is experiencing abundant demonic energy and resides in the Devildom, their body will tear itself apart faster and much more painfully, but will do so partially from the inside and partially from the outside. If they reside in The Celestial Realm, the process will slow and calm, yet not stop.
Healing can take place if a pactmate of the lesser warring energy provides a source of that energy for the human, which can provide relief or physically heal them slightly, but it’s temporary and the only cure for Pact Energy Disease, alternatively known as PED (as I have decided to call it—I don’t like the term ‘disease,’ but definition-wise, that’s the term that fits best), is to receive pacts from the being of the lesser energy or to cut pacts with beings of the greater energy
So essentially, any contact with energy sources of the lesser energy can help the human’s body, but it’s not a cure and the human will die if balance between pacts is not achieved.
^ Information regarding PED is not widely known and MC is the one who discovers it and records it.