Date: Unspecified Time: Unspecified Location: Lil. Red Storm, Seed World, Devil Merchant Code, Inter-Realm City, Sector WS9909, Infinity Library, Study Room
Wyatt believed that Lucifer resembled his own darker side. He feared that Lucifer might not hesitate to experiment on a fellow primordial spirit, just as he had done with him. He knew that honesty was the best approach when dealing with Lucifer and spoke the truth to him no matter how harsh, "I'm afraid you'll end up making the same mistake I made with you. Fortunately, you're smart, and you turned out okay—though a little quirky."
Hearing Wyatt's reason to deny his request, Lucifer fell silent. After some thought, he realized his master's point made sense. The only reason he had been asked to mentor a primordial spirit was to test whether he could do a better job than Michael had done with Gabriel. The moment this realization crossed his mind, he knew he had already failed. He understood that he could not mentor as well as Michael with such a mindset.
Seeing that Lucifer had grasped his intent, Wyatt sighed, knowing the road ahead would be hectic. He would have to repeat this process hundreds of thousands of times with the other primordial spirit and those yet to be created. His only comfort was that the soul division power system he created ensured that daughter souls could not exist without the parent soul, let alone harbor thoughts of rebellion. Thus, he could focus on learning from his mistakes and doing his best. After all, nobody is born a father—you just have to rise to the occasion.
Noticing Lucifer lost in contemplation, Wyatt tried to cheer him up. "Second Star, if you prove to me that you're capable of taking on such a task, I'll let you train the other thousand primordial spirits alongside Gabriel and Michael."
"Wait, what? We have to train the other primordial spirits?" Michael protested. "Now you're asking us to do your job, Master!" He felt that if he were stuck training another thousand primordial spirits, he wouldn't be able to make any progress on his Martial Path.
"Hey, you don't get to complain," Wyatt replied. "That's the responsibility that comes with being the first. I designed it this way: I train the three of you, you train the thousand, and they'll train the next to come. That's how it should be. Or do you expect me to personally train each and every one of you? Remember, I created you to make my life easier. If you're going to complicate it, you should be smart enough to realize where you stand." Wyatt's brutally honest words gave Michael, Lucifer, and Gabriel something to think about.
"Master, don't worry. We can do it," Gabriel said confidently, his faith and trust in Wyatt evident.
"I guess we have no choice," Michael grumbled. His focus was on the Martial Path, but since he was bound to serve Wyatt without question, he could only obey. Complaining, however, was still allowed, as Wyatt never prohibited it.
"Master, how do I prove myself?" Lucifer asked, knowing that, unlike Gabriel and Michael, he needed to demonstrate his worth to take on the task.
"That's for you to decide," Wyatt replied. "But remember, how you choose to prove yourself will also be part of your evaluation. Good luck, Lucy." With that, Wyatt left after reminding them of the importance of martial arts and their joint task. Leaving them to continue their combat training, Wyatt headed toward the thousand clones who were studying on his behalf.
"Lucifer, how far has your training progressed?" Gabriel asked, noticing that neither Michael nor Lucifer showed any initiative to take the lead.
"I've mastered the footwork Michael created," Lucifer replied.
"Then you're not far behind me," Gabriel noted. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he added, "Is Second Star the nickname Master gave you? Like how he gave Martial Mad to Michael? What does it mean?"
Michael perked up, intrigued by Gabriel's question.
"Second Star means Second Son," Lucifer said, generously twisting Wyatt's words, referring to when Wyatt had told him, 'Just think of it as better than being called Second Son.'
"You're close enough with Master for him to call you his son?" Gabriel asked, shocked, only to see Lucifer neither confirm nor deny it.
"No way. Why wouldn't he just call you Second Son then?" Michael asked skeptically.
"Because he said being called Second Star is better than being called Second Son," Lucifer explained again, generously interpreting Wyatt's words to fit his narrative.
"Whoa," Gabriel gasped, astonished. A thought struck him, and he asked, "Then, who's the first son? Is it Michael? Does that make me the third son?"
Michael, who had been about to argue with Lucifer, paused. He liked the idea of being Master's first son and asked, "Is that it?"
"No, I don't think Master meant it that way," Lucifer admitted, clearly uninterested in Gabriel's theory of Michael being the first son. "After all, he keeps saying we're all one and the same. I think it's just a nickname he found amusing for me."
"Yeah, that sounds more like our Master. He wouldn't differentiate between us. After all, we're just extensions of his will," Gabriel agreed. Michael nodded, finding Gabriel's explanation reasonable.
"But enough of this," Michael announced. "Let's get back to training. We'll start together with Lucifer so he can catch up, and we'll get a good warm-up and revision too."
"Great," Gabriel exclaimed. Then, turning to Lucifer, he asked, "What do you think?"
"Okay, let's get started," Lucifer agreed, showing no objection. He was grateful that Gabriel and Michael were being so accommodating.
Michael quickly equipped the training card and summoned the intent of Martial Demigod Lorn to begin the second phase of their training. However, the Card Intent looked at the other two clones in doubt. As what Wyatt had said was true, without monitoring the reactions of the clones it wasn't able to tell Wyatt apart from his clones. "Relax, instructor, our master has left to handle other business. We are all his clones," Lucifer clarified immediately deducing the reason chatty card intent was quiet for so long. "I knew that, I was just reorganizing my training regime since another one of you joined us." ...
AN: Please check out my other work 'The Strongest Cursed Master.'