Pride was alone. Her soul sat in a box floating in an infinite sea of holy water. At any moment it could open and she would be overcome by the water. Her soul painfully burned.

She tried to not think about it though. It wasn’t the death itself she was afraid of. She wouldn’t die fighting for Lucifer with her last breath. The death she was hoped for. Instead, she was betrayed by another demon. She probably should have expected it though.

She broke from her daze by the sudden shake of the box. So, this is it. She thought. The box suddenly fell onto a hard surface and began to make creaking noises. A hand reached into the box. Removing her soul and shoving it into a body. She took a few seconds to get accustomed to it. A female of decent height. Long ashen hair.

She opened her equally grey eyes and was met with the glares of several angels. One, in particular, stared down at her with hatred in her eyes. “Hey Diligence, how are you on this fine day?” Pride stretched her limbs and brushed a hand through her hair.

She was met with a kick to the gut. Not that it hurt. She didn’t want to damage a decent vessel. “I did not give you permission to speak, demon”. Diligence motioned to the two angels directly at her side. In a matter of moments, they had teleported behind Pride and picked her up by her arms. “Bring her”.

“What’s going on?” Pride questioned as they dragged her throughout the labyrinthian halls of Heaven. Angels don’t just let demons live. Unless they’re going to torture her. They should know I’ll never betray him. They stopped abruptly at a single white door not irregular for the blank white halls. How they were able to know that this was the one while they had passed dozens the exact same was beyond her. They opened the door and threw Pride in. Unable to catch herself with her weak legs she landed on the floor. “How dare you just-”

“Greetings Pride.” An eerily kind voice rang out.

“Greetings, Kindness.” Pride dusted herself off and rose to sit on her knees. Her eyes met with Kindness. She was not usually the first pick of the virtues to meet demons. That honor was usually bestowed upon Diligence or Temperance.

“Come now sit”. Before Pride could react two chairs were teleported in the room. Pride was forced by magic to sit... “Would you care for anything to drink? We don’t usually do so but I’ve been told you demons are quite fond of... consumables”.

“Why have you not tanked me? Usually, you have a no-tolerance policy towards my kind”. Pride stared into Kindness’ eyes trying to read any emotion in her bank gaze.

Kindness sighed. “No pleasantries I guess... We have a job for you.”

Pride leaned forward in her chair. “Heaven has a job, for a demon”. She chuckled. “Since when does heaven employ demons”.

“It was not our choice,” Kindness interjected. “They sent me because I was the only one who could keep a level head around you”. A rare look of disgust flashed upon her features. “The task came from higher up, from who exactly I don’t know”. She raised her hand and a medium-sized box appeared on it. “I’ve been told everything you need as well as any information is inside here”. She dropped the box and it teleported into Pride’s lap. “I have been instructed to not do anything except release you.” Pride could see the worry on her face. Looks like the angels aren't keen on letting go of Lucifer's right hand.

“Release me?” Pride scoffed. Picking up the white box and examining it.

“Yes, release you,” Kindness raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

“Wait, where are you… taking me?” Pride blinked as she realized that she was no longer in those blank halls and looking at Kindness. Rather she was on a busy sidewalk clutching the box. “You bitch” Pride whispered quietly. She knew that the angel was listening in on her. “You can’t just do this to me. Do you know who I am? I am one of Lucifer’s most trusted generals. I will not be forced to do your dirty work.” Pride closed her eyes and concentrated on teleporting back to hell. She was met however with searing pain. Doubling down on the ground. A few humans looked at her before continuing on their way.

“I wouldn't try that again.” Pride heard Kindness’s voice whisper in her ear. “If you try to betray us or go back to hell, the pain will be worse.” Pride grumbled, grabbing the box out of her other hand and beginning to open it. “Open the box in a location without possible witnesses.”

She made her way through the bustling streets until she found an entrance to a small isolated alleyway. She checked for people before she removed the lid. She dusted shards of broken glass and other items out of the area as she laid out each item. She had everything humans in the 21st century needed as well as a cellular phone, a credit card, an address, and a… book. Pride lifted the book and began to examine the pages. Detailed in the pages was the entire life of one Ria Smith, whose part Pride was now to play. At least they gave me a head start. Pride thought as she held up the address. She grabbed her phone, pulled up a map app, and typed in the address. Good thing Lust taught me about these devices, the whore is good for something.

After thirty minutes of walking through the winding streets, she was met with a run-down apartment building. Pride stared at the building with empty eyes. “Why do the angels want me to go here?”

“Are you okay?” Pride was startled when the woman called out to her. She was met with concerned eyes. An old lady with wrinkled skin and hair pulled back into a tight bun looked down at her. “Do you need me to call an ambulance?”

“Oh, um… I was told to come here by my friends.”

The old lady’s eyes lit up. “It wasn’t a prank!” She clapped her hands together and took Pride by the arms and began to lead her to the building. “I haven’t been able to find anyone who was actually interested in living here. Your friends were a true godsend!”

“Pardon?” Pride stared at the lady as she grabbed her hand leading up rickety steps

“Oh, did I ruin the surprise. Your friends paid for an apartment for two years upfront. Said they would cover any additional costs as well I wish I had people like that in my life. Here is the room.” She led Pride to an aged wooden door. Paint chipped by the years it has gone through“And here is the key.” She threw a single key to Pride which she quickly caught. “The entire top floor is yours. I own the first-floor room but I use it for storage so feel free to throw all the parties you want.” The lady chuckled. “The Names Ms. Willow.” She brought Pride into an unexpected hug. “I hope you enjoy your stay. I was told you're not from this area so I wrote down some addresses, emergency contacts, and my number inside. Goodbye, darling!”

Well, she’s... Nice. Pride opened the door with the key and stared inside. It was slightly nicer than the outside would entail. She stepped inside and put the box on the dining table. After examining the rooms she sat down on the old couch. She sighed and threw her head back. “I already hate everything about this.” She grumbled. I could always just send Lucifer a message. Send any demon a message. She stared at the ceiling. Whatever the angels want would eventually end in her death. They wouldn’t let her live. She could always just walk into a church or call an exorcist to kill her. With such thoughts in her head, she closed her eyes.

Later that night Pride absentmindedly flipped through the pages of the book until she landed on the third page after the introductions to her human identity. The words were written in eerily perfect script as if typed by a device.

“We were required to give you some guidance on what you will be expected to do and your mission. You are to stop the upcoming apocalypse.”

Pride sat in stunned silence as she read over the last sentence several times. “This has to be some sick joke! The angels finally decided to grow a sense of humor.” She nervously chuckled and continued to read.

“In approximately two years and three human days, the Battle of Armageddon will be waged. You are one of the few who knows this. That will signal the end of Human civilization as they know it. We have been given the order to tell you that you must try to prevent this. We will give you no aid nor help that we are not required to give. If you try to betray us you will experience the worst demise possible. We have given you advice and possible leads in these pages.“

“This… This isn’t a joke.” Pride put her face into her hands. If the angels don’t kill me. Then Lucifer is definitely going to. She sighed and threw the book into the wall in a sudden fit of rage. She crumpled into the couch as a feeling of hopelessness filled her. “I’m dead. I’m so fucking dead!”

Even if I do what the Angels say they are definitely going to kill me once this is done. If I try to stop the apocalypse Lucifer is going to get pissed off at me. She sighed. If he finds out. Pride sat for a few minutes, a smile ghosting onto her face. Lucifer may never notice. He’s waited centuries upon centuries. By the time he notices I can have a solid cover story. Then we can just destroy humanity ourselves without the use of a biblical doomsday.

“Might as well get started to keep them off my back.” She hummed and she strode over and picked up the book off the floor. She flipped through it scanning each page for some kind of clue where to start. “I know Conquest opens the first seal and starts this mess. The question is where is he.” She flipped to a page that seemed to outline demonic activity in her area. “Maybe the better question is where is his entourage.” She mused over the page lightly tapping her finger. At any given time there were demons accompanying all the horsemen except Death. They made sure there were no threats aimed at the horsemen. Lucifer made sure that each of the horsemen were happy and ready to play their part in the upcoming war. Pride knew Conquest was no different. However, the problem would be finding said demons. It was decided early on not to leave Pride to take care of such a trivial task. Instead, it was decided to leave the caring of the tools of humanity's destruction to the sin that hated humanity the most. Pride placed her hands on her face as she gave a long sigh. Knowing that things were going to get more complicated. She was going to have to find Wrath.