Cain Whitesun stared across the table at Samael Blackmoon, who had just proposed a ludicrous, if not impossible idea.

"This is your idea?" Cain asked incredulously, "If I knew that this was what I was building the machine for, I wouldn't have wasted my time! My god, can't you see that this is pointless? It'll never work!"

Samael shook his head and sighed, "Yes it will, you imbecile. Perhaps your inferior mind just cannot comprehend the things mine can."

Cain snarled and slammed his hand on the table in frustration, accidentally hitting it too hard. He grabbed his hand and swore loudly, glaring daggers at Samael.

Samael cleared his throat, hiding a smirk and ignoring Cain's curses of anger.

"It will work, though." he repeated in a quiet but commanding voice, "You must trust me."

"You're a Blackmoon," Cain hissed, his teeth clenched. "Why the hell should I ever trust you?"

"Because I am Samael," He said simply, smiling with convincing innocence, "I am better than all other Blackmoons."

Cain glared, "That's a lie, and you know it."

Samael smiled again, though this time it was tinged with menace.

"This has been fun; but enough of the small talk. Would you like to hear what I have to say or not?"

Cain sighed and rubbed his temples. My god, this guy is killing me.

"Sure, yeah, whatever."

"Very well." Samael cleared his throat and pulled up a few files on his enhanced smartphone, "I presume you know of the prophecy?"

Cain looked confused, "What prophecy?"

Samael sighed in exasperation, "The Moon and Sun, the legend said, were born on the day that the sky ran red. When the archer appears, their day will come, time will stand still as all is undone. Have you forgotten already? I would think that you'd be living by this prophecy. It could end us all, you know."

Cain stared at Samael, "How do you remember shit like- ok, you know what, whatever. I don't remember this stuff because I don't have to. Isn't that 'prophecy' just meaningless gibberish spouted by some drunk old lady who came to both of our houses literally forever ago? Why the hell would that be important??"

"Can't you see? Don't you know what the prophecy's about??" Samael hissed, on the verge of screaming, "My god, how can you possibly be so idiotic?"

Cain's eyes narrowed and one hand strayed to the rifle strapped across his back, "Be careful, Blackmoon. Don't forget who you're talking to."

Samael's eyes glinted with malice, "You first."

Cain rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyways, spit it out already. What's the prophecy about?"

"Our children."

This statement caught Cain off guard, and he involuntarily flinched, "Our- what? What the hell do our children have to do with this?"

"Two children in particular." Samael raised an eyebrow, "Care to guess who they are?"

Cain groaned, "Don't tell me- the outcasts?"

Samael nodded, "Maybe you're less moronic than I thought. Yes, the prophecy is indeed about Mira Whitesun and Avery Blackmoon, or as you so eloquently put it, 'the outcasts'."

Cain chose to ignore the jibe about his intelligence for now, and persisted with the questions, "Why? How do you know?"

"Firstly, I don't know why. No one does. Secondly, I know because of three reasons. The first line of the prophecy mentions a moon and sun, obviously referring to our last names. The second line of a prophecy states that they were 'born on the day that the sky ran red', or in other words; a blood moon. Both Avery and Mira were born on the same day, were they not? And what day was that?"

"July second," Cain said automatically, then made a connection, "Wait... didn't that day have a blood moon?"

"Correct." Samael smiled, "Both of these reasons, combined with the third and final reason, confirm my suspicions about the prophecy."

"What's the third reason?" Cain asked.

"The third reason is in the third line. 'When the archer appears, their day will come'. The archer, I'm sure you know, refers to the constellation Sagittarius."

What the hell is Sagittarius? "...Right."

"And what day did that constellation appear?"

"Erm- second tuesday of last month?"

Samael sighed, "No, you half-wit. Yesterday. And what was yesterday?" Without waiting for Cain to respond, Samael answered his own question, "Yesterday was the party. I'm sure they met, and regained their memories in their process. Their day came. They figured us out."

"I... guess that's true. The first three lines have significance, then? What about the fourth? I suppose it's useless?"

"The first three lines were clues," Samael said, "The fourth is a warning. It says that time will turn back and all will be undone. That means that if we stay here, in our own time, it will be our undoing. So our only option?"

Cain nodded slowly. Finally, Samael's ridiculous proposition made sense.

"The only option... is to go back."

Samael smiled at him, though the light didn't reach his eyes.

"Glad you finally caught on."

He pulled out a knife from under the table, and in one swift movement plunged it into Cain's chest, blood splattering onto the walls and floor. Cain gasped and made a weak choking noise, staring at Samael with numb betrayal etched into every line on his face.

"You... what the... why...?"

Samael chuckled, as if they were simply continuing their conversation, "Some sacrifices must be made, Cain. I thought you knew that."

He clucked his tongue disapprovingly, "You know, if you weren't so idiotic, you would have made a fine assistant. Maybe even a partner someday. Who knows? But alas, it was not meant to be."

He wrenched his knife from Cain's torso with a sickening splutch, eliciting a gasp of pain. He then watched as the blood quickly soaked through Cain's white dress shirt, pooling on the floor and seeping through the wooden floorboards.

"Ah, that's going to leave a mark." Samael winced, "Good thing we had this meeting at your house, hm? I daresay you won't be needing it anytime soon."

He smiled pleasantly at the gasping Cain, "Not going to say anything? Well, it's for the best, anyways; I must be off. Good day!"

He opened the wooden door and walked away, humming.

Mira and Avery watched from the roof, aghast. This man had just murdered someone in cold blood, and here he was, looking like he hadn't a care in the world. The two exchanged a horrified look before quietly leaving the property, shaken by what they'd just witnessed.

They'd underestimated Samael Blackmoon yet again. It wasn't the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. This man was sadistic, malicious, and intelligent, willing to do anything to achieve his goals. A deadly combination. They would need to work together to stop him, and even then it might not be enough.

Mira groaned internally. Why do I always make the worst kinds of enemies?