The gaslight in Constantine's flat flickered weakly, struggling against the encroaching darkness.
Occult tomes formed unsteady towers across every surface, their leather bindings cracked with age. The air hung heavy with stale cigarette smoke and the lingering scent of incense.
Three days had passed since the Wayne Gala. Three days since Constantine had felt that unmistakable flare of angelic power emanating from Samael Luthor.
Three days of waiting for Manny to return with information, and Constantine's patience - never his strongest virtue - had finally run dry.
"Bloody angels," he muttered, taking a long drag from his cigarette. "Always playing the long game while the rest of us are stuck in the now."
He'd spent those three days researching, calling in favors, consulting grimoires so old their pages threatened to crumble at his touch.
Nothing yielded answers about the Luthor boy's peculiar energy signature. It was time for more direct methods.
Constantine cleared a space in the center of his cluttered living room, pushing aside empty takeaway containers and half-empty whiskey bottles.
Kneeling, he began to draw an intricate circle in chalk, each symbol precise and deliberate.
"This is probably a terrible idea," he said to no one in particular as he worked. "But when has that ever stopped me?"
The summoning ritual was complex, requiring rare ingredients and incantations in languages few living souls remembered.
Constantine had performed it only once before, with consequences he'd rather forget. But desperate times called for desperate measures.
As he placed the final candle, Constantine took a deep breath and began to chant. The words felt heavy on his tongue, ancient and powerful.
The air in the flat grew dense, charged with potential energy. The flames of the candles stretched unnaturally tall, then shrank to barely visible pinpoints of blue light.
"I summon thee," Constantine intoned, his voice steady despite the sweat beading on his forehead. "First of the Fallen, original rebel, knower of secrets. I call upon thee to answer my summons and treat with me this night."
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the temperature plummeted. The candles flickered wildly before settling into an eerie stillness. In the center of the circle, the air began to shimmer and distort.
A figure materialized - not fully corporeal, but rather a projection (can't summon the bloody bastard without dying, which he very much wouldn't liek to do), like light through water.
Tall and imposing, with features that seemed to shift between handsome and horrific depending on how the light hit them.
His eyes, however, remained constant - ancient, cold, and filled with contempt.
"John Constantine," the figure said, his voice like gravel wrapped in silk. "How... unexpected."
Constantine forced a casual smile. "Been a while, hasn't it? Love what you've done with your... everything."
The First's projection flickered slightly, his expression darkening. "The last time we met, you tricked me. Fed me holy water. Left me to crawl back to Hell in agony."
"Yeah, about that," Constantine shrugged, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Professional hazard, innit? No hard feelings, I hope."
"No hard feelings?" The First laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "I have existed since before Creation began, Constantine. I do not forget. I do not forgive."
"Fair enough." Constantine circled the projection carefully, maintaining a safe distance. "But you're here, which means you're at least curious about what I want."
The First's projection studied Constantine, his gaze penetrating. "Speak your piece, mortal. My patience is not infinite."
"I need information," Constantine said simply. "Something's happening in Gotham. Something big. Cosmic, even. And I need to know what it is."
"And why," the First asked, his tone mocking, "would I help you?"
"Because knowledge is power," Constantine replied. "And I'm offering you a glimpse into a universe you've never touched before. New territory. New... possibilities."
The First's interest visibly piqued. "Go on."
"There's a power here that doesn't belong. Something that feels like-" Constantine hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "Like home, to your kind. But twisted. Changed. I need to understand what it is."
The First considered this, his form rippling like heat haze. "A fair exchange, then. I will... explore this universe of yours. And in return, I will tell you what I find."
"No strings attached?" Constantine asked skeptically.
The First smiled, revealing teeth too sharp to be human. "I make no promises beyond information, Constantine. Take it or leave it."
Constantine knew better than to trust the First of the Fallen. But he also knew that direct confrontation wasn't his style - the First preferred manipulation, corruption, the slow poison of influence. For now, information was all he sought.
"Deal," Constantine said. "But just information. No meddling, no corrupting, no claiming souls. Just a look around."
"Such limited imagination," the First sighed. "Very well. Stand back."
The projection began to change, growing more a bit more solid, more present. The air crackled with energy as the First extended his consciousness fully into this plane, his power radiating outward like a dark sun.
"Interesting," he murmured, his voice deeper now, more resonant. "This universe is... fractured. The walls between dimensions are thin. Permeable."
Constantine watched warily. "Yeah, we've had a few cosmic crises. Tends to leave marks."
The First ignored him, his attention elsewhere. "The celestial architecture is unusual. Different from what I know. The heavens here are... rearranged."
Constantine remained silent, letting the First explore. This was what he wanted - insights no human mystic could provide. The perspective of a being who had witnessed the birth of creation itself.
Suddenly, the First went rigid. His form flickered violently, his expression shifting from curiosity to shock, then to something Constantine had never seen before - raw, unbridled fury.
"What is this?" the First hissed, his voice shaking the very foundations of the building. "What abomination is this?"
Constantine tensed, ready to activate the emergency banishment wards hidden beneath the floorboards. "Care to be more specific, mate?"
"This power," the First snarled. "This light. It cannot be. It should not be."
"What power?" Constantine pressed. "What are you sensing?"
The First's form expanded, darkness bleeding from him like ink in water. "The Lightbringer. The essence of the Morningstar. But not him - not Lucifer. Something else. Something new."
Constantine's mind raced, connecting dots. "Samael Luthor," he murmured. "The coma kid."
"This is an abomination!" The First's rage was palpable now, a physical force that made the candles flare like blowtorches. "The Presence has created another! A replacement!"
And suddenly, Constantine understood. The First of the Fallen, the original rebel who had questioned God before even Lucifer existed.
Who had been cast out, forgotten by most, overshadowed by the more famous Morningstar. And now, evidence that God was creating a new Lightbringer - a new vessel for divine power.
It wasn't just anger the First was radiating. It was wounded pride. Existential insult.
"He's replacing Lucifer," Constantine said slowly. "Making a new model. And that... that really gets under your skin, doesn't it? First you, then Lucifer, now this new kid. Always looking for the next best thing, your old boss."
"SILENCE!" The First roared, and every piece of glass in the flat shattered simultaneously. "You understand nothing, mortal!"
But Constantine could see it clearly now. The First's ancient grudge, his eternal resentment at being the forgotten rebel, the prototype for Lucifer's more famous fall.
And now, evidence that the cycle was continuing - that God was creating angels again, meaning he's fixing mistakes, making the First obsolete, not unique.
The First's form stabilized, his fury contained but still seething beneath the surface. "I want this boy," he said, his voice deadly calm. "I want to meet this... Samael."
Constantine's instincts screamed danger. "That wasn't our deal."
"I'm altering the deal," the First replied smoothly. "In exchange for my continued... restraint, you will bring the boy to me. I wish only to speak with him."
"And I'm the Queen of England," Constantine scoffed. "You don't just want a chat. You want to corrupt him, or destroy him, or both."
The First smiled, cold and terrible. "What I want is irrelevant. What matters is what you need. And you need me, Constantine. More than you know."
"Do I?" Constantine challenged. "Because from where I'm standing, you're the one who's rattled. This kid's existence threatens you somehow. Makes you question your whole... cosmic narrative."
"You play a dangerous game," the First warned, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I could destroy you with a thought."
"Not right now you bloody can't but even if you could, you won't," Constantine replied confidently. "Because you need me. I'm your connection to this world, to this boy. Kill me, and you're back to square one."
The First's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps. But there are fates worse than-"
A blinding flash of light interrupted him, bathing the flat in celestial radiance. Constantine shielded his eyes, recognizing the signature of angelic manifestation.
"Constantine!" Manny's voice cut through the chaos. "What have you done?"
The angel materialized fully, his human appearance barely containing the furious celestial power radiating from within.
His eyes fixed on the First's projection, his expression one of horror and rage.
"You," Manny snarled. "You do not belong here."
The First laughed, a sound like breaking bones. "Angel. How predictable. Always arriving too late to be useful."
Manny turned to Constantine. "End this. Now."
"We were just having a friendly chat," Constantine protested, though he was already reaching for the emergency banishment chalk in his pocket.
"This being cannot be allowed to establish a foothold in this universe," Manny said, his voice carrying an authority Constantine rarely heard. "He is anathema to all we protect."
"Your protections are failing, angel," the First taunted. "I've already sensed what you're hiding. The new Lightbringer. God's latest experiment. Does he know what he is? Does he know his purpose?"
"ENOUGH!" Manny's voice thundered, and the building itself seemed to tremble. He thrust his hand forward, and a wave of energy crashed into the summoning circle.
The First's projection began to dissolve, but his laughter lingered. "Too late, Constantine. I've seen enough. I'll be watching. Waiting. And when the moment comes..."
With a final flare of darkness, the projection vanished completely. The candles extinguished, plunging the flat into darkness save for the glow emanating from Manny.
Constantine lit a fresh cigarette with shaking hands. "Well, that was dramatic."
Manny rounded on him, fury etched into every line of his face. "Do you have any idea what you've just done? The danger you've just invited into your world?"
"I needed answers," Constantine replied defensively. "You were taking too long with the celestial bureaucracy."
"So you summoned the First of the Fallen?" Manny's voice rose in disbelief. "One of the most dangerous entities in existence? The original corrupter?"
"It was a calculated risk."
"There was nothing calculated about it!" Manny shouted. "You've given him a glimpse of Samael.
You've piqued his interest in a power that could threaten the cosmic balance if misused. You've potentially doomed us all because you couldn't wait a few more days!"
Constantine took a long drag from his cigarette. "So the kid really is what the First thinks he is? A new Lightbringer?"
Manny's silence was answer enough.
"Well then," Constantine said quietly. "Seems like we've got a problem on our hands."
"No," Manny corrected coldly. "You have a problem. One of your own making. And Heaven help us all if you can't fix it before the First makes his next move."
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(Author note: Yeah, look John though very good of a trickster, can make very cosmic, stupid mistakes. Just read his comics and you'll know.
So, The First aka Satan, now knows of Samael, how will that bode for the future?
Though, I just gotta say, yeah the First older than all of Creation, but he is an ant to demiurgic archangels and Samael by consequence as well, since he is on their level.
He's a tricky ant though so let's see what he's gonna do in the future.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!