rad was entirely boring for lucifer. his brothers peeved him to no end, and the other students were useless. nobody challenged him, and it seemed like nobody even tried.

it had been decades since he had last felt that someone could rival him in spirit and in mind, since he had loved someone so intimately even his brothers had noticed the change in him.

yet his lover had passed, lost to an illness even he could not cure, no matter how many physicians he had called. he had closed his heart off since then, had shoved any affectionate emotions away.

not that it mattered, considering nobody could even come near what his lover had been.

he was hardly interested when diavolo had told him about a new student. they would likely be just another dunce, annoying him with their presence and lack of skill.

and then he saw the new student.

and those eyes...

he knew those eyes. had known them like the back of his hand.

yet it was impossible. he had burned their body long ago. even their appearance was different, nothing like his lover had once been.

“lucifer staring?’ manon chided as he walked past, following his brother’s stricken gaze to the newcomer.

lucifer shook himself, as though remembering who he was.

“is assessing such a crime?” he replied cooly, turning away. yet he could not get those eyes out of his head. it was impossible, surely. reincarnation was nothing more than a myth.

yet he found the new student after a class, stopping them in their tracks.

“what is your name?”

a demand, not a question.