Bet

HANNAH'S POV

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"How could you do this, Hannah?" God's voice spoke to me with anger in his tone.

I was on my knees, with my hands over my face, sorrowfully weeping for sinning against my creator.

"Forgive me, Father, I didn't mean to defy you. I don't know what happened to me while I was on Earth. I felt so many things that I had never felt before and I couldn't stop myself." I told Him, trying to get Him to understand.

"If you had fallen for a human, I would have understood that. You wouldn't be the first of your brothers and sisters to fornicate with Man but, a demon? That is unforgivable." He said to me in anger.

I ran to His feet and begged Him to forgive me but He couldn't even look at me. I tried to convince Him that Garin had a good heart but that wasn't why He was angry with me. I disobeyed and would have to face the consequences. Father could be very lenient on Man whenever they sinned against Him but, He was a lot stricter with Angels.

"I'm sorry, my child but there must be punishment for what you have done!" Father said and walked closer to me. 

He bent down to look at me and stroked my head. I could tell that He wasn't happy about what He was planning to do to me, but He had to do it anyway.

GARIN'S POV

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"How dare you fraternize with your direct opposite? An angel! A freaking angel!" Father yelled at me while the Tormentor beat me with a whip made of nails.

I was chained up to four pillars, suspended from a pit of fire by my hands and feet while Sagarus, The Tormentor hovered over me with his whip that he occasionally beat me with under father's instructions.

"What was going through your head at the time? Did you think I would approve? Did you think I would give you my blessings and watch the two of you get married and live happily ever after? You're a demon, Garin! The only future you have involves carrying out my wishes and sending souls to hell until the day the Earth runs out of souls." Father yelled at me while Sagarus continued whipping.

"I don't want that future anymore, Father! I want to live on the earth as a man, I want my freedom." I demanded from the devil, which angered him greatly.

He got up from his throne, flew up to me, and grabbed my chin. His nails dug in my face as he looked at me with abhorrence.

"I knew I shouldn't have sent you to the Earth. You're just two thousand years old and you weren't ready for such a task. You weren't mature enough to walk in human flesh and resist the temptations that come with it." Father said.

He turned around and contemplated my punishment. He thought really hard about how to punish me severely for my insolence.

"Normally, I would chain you up and let you burn for all eternity but that would be mercy. You will face something far worse. Do you think being human is a good thing? You're so wrong. You were there for just a few days and didn't spend enough time there to witness the horrors and suffering that take place on earth. As your punishment for having feelings for an angel, I will cast you to the Earth to live the rest of your life there, as a Man." Father said to me.

"Thank you, father!" I replied, happy that he was granting me my wish.

"You should be begging for mercy instead of thanking me," Father said and I didn't understand what he meant.

AUTHORS POV 

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Lucifer broke the chains off of Garin and he crashed into the hot ground. He telepathically lifted him and stood in front of him.

"You are no longer my child. Today, I strip you of your immortality." The Devil said and phased his hand through Garin's chest, ripped out his immortal fire and threw it in a pit.

"I strip you of your powers!" He said again and removed Garin's powers out of him.

"I strip you of your fertility so your days on earth will be darkened, without the joy of bearing a child." He said and pulled out Garin's fertility from between his crotch.

"I strip you of your horns and your wings, as you are no longer a demon." He said again and ripped off Garin's horns out of his head and his wings, right off his back.

It was extremely painful but Garin stayed strong and refused to scream. Lucifer grabbed Garin by the neck and threw him into a gateway that would take him to earth.

Meanwhile, God was doing the same thing to Hannah, although not as violent as Lucifer was to Garin.

The other angels could only watch as their sister was disowned by their father. 

"The worst thing that can happen to an angel is being cast out of heaven. Hannah, I take away your powers, your immortality, and your wings." God said and Hannah's brightness dimmed as her power drained out of her. 

Her wings withered away and her white hair became ebony. Hannah shed her final tear as an angel and then God threw her out of heaven.

She plummeted to the earth in a ball of fire and crashed into the ground. She picked herself up and immediately realized that all her clothes had been burned off so she quickly looked for something to cover herself with. That was when a pair of hands wrapped a blanket around her. She looked up and saw Garin beside her.

"Garin?" She asked, surprised to see him.

"Come on! Let's go." He said to her and held her hand and they walked off together to begin their new lives on earth.

Hannah looked up at the heavens and whispered to God.

"Thank you!"

Because she knew that he sent her exactly where Garin was so they could be together in the little time they had on Earth

**********

Hannah and Garin spent the remainder of their lives together on Earth. They got married, traveled the world, experienced the ups and downs of life, but their joy never faltered and their happiness was abundant. The lack of children in their lives made them a bit dissatisfied but they were happy nonetheless. 

God watched them from heaven for all those years with indifference. He was still angry that Hannah chose a demon over her family in heaven but He still loved her and was happy that she was happy at least. The Devil, on the other hand, was enraged that Garin's life on Earth was peaceful and free of suffering. He had expected that Garin would go through all the traumatic experiences that Man faces during their lifetime and was upset to see that it wasn't as bad as he had hoped.

Garin and Hannah were married for eighty years of their lives and they were a good eighty years. They occasionally reminisced about their former lives as an angel and a demon, they remembered their brothers and sisters, and how it felt to be immortal but, if they were given the choice, they would not have traded their new lives for their old ones.

On their deathbeds, the lovers lay side by side, hand-in-hand, face to face, with their hearts and souls connected. That was when they made the promise to always be together, even after they die.

"Hannah, my love?" Garin said to her.

"Yes, Garin?" She answered.

"Let's never go back. Let's never leave each other or this world." He said.

"But how? We're mortals now. We are going to die and you'll go back to hell and I'll go back to heaven." Hannah said sadly.

"I don't want to leave you, ever!" Garin proclaimed.

"I don't want to leave you either," Hannah replied as a tear streamed down her eye.

Their grip on their hands tightened and Garin leaned in to give her one final kiss and they waited for Death to claim them. They fell asleep but never woke again. It was the perfect end to their love story except it wasn't the end, it was only the beginning.

The devil had been waiting anxiously for Garin's soul to return to hell for eternal torment as he was enraged that his attempt to punish Garin by casting him to earth was unsuccessful. He stood by the gates of hell and waited with The Tormentor beside him but Garin never came.

God stood by heaven's entrance, waiting for Hannah's spirit but she never came as well. He immediately realized that she wasn't going to come because her spirit had remained tethered to Earth by a metaphorical chain made by the love and bond between her and Garin. They would remain on the earth forever, reincarnated with the sole purpose of finding each other in their new lives.

The lovers' bond was so true and powerful that their souls held on to each other and even the finality of death couldn't quell their forbidden love, couldn't end it, couldn't separate it. As soon as they died, their souls left their bodies but instead of crossing over to heaven or hell, they remained on earth and were reborn.

For centuries, Hannah and Garin were reborn as different people with parents, siblings, friends but they had no recollection of their lives before their first reincarnation. Each time, their lives were always different but one thing remained constant; they always met each other and fell in love. Whenever they met, it wasn't always in the best of circumstances as they were always hostile with each other, just like their first meeting but, it usually always took a week or two before they warmed up to each other and slowly but surely fell in love with each other once again.

When love is real, it always finds a way and they had found a way to be together forever and although they couldn't remember their former lives, it didn't dwindle the strength of their love. They were connected forever, their destinies intertwined, their souls joined in eternal matrimony beyond the physical; A love eternal.

This didn't make the Devil happy at all. He couldn't stand seeing them always reunited. He tried to come between them several times but he never succeeded. He even went as far as to kill Garin a couple of times but it didn't matter as he was always reborn and their love cycle continued. 

After multiple centuries, The Devil decided to try to prevent their reunion once again. He deduced that if he successfully prevented Hannah and Garin from meeting and falling in love in their new life, that would be enough to break the cycle of their love chain which would in turn untether Garin's soul off the earth and return him to hell. Before the Devil could put his plan in motion, he decided to kill two birds with one stone so he paid God a visit.

He wasn't received with open arms but God permitted him entry into heaven. He approached his Father and spoke to him.

"Hello, Father! You look good. Have you done something new with your hair?" Satan asked with mischief in his eyes.

"Save your compliments, Lucifer. Why are you here?" God asked.

"Can't a son pay a visit to his father?" Lucifer asked.

"You are not my son anymore, Lucifer. Say why you're here or leave." God demanded.

"I'm here with a proposition for you, a deal of some sort, a chance for you to finally get rid of me and save all of humanity," Lucifer said.

"What do you mean?" God asked.

"I'm sure that you're aware that my son and your daughter remain tethered to the Earth. For some reason, they are defying the natural laws of life and death and we cannot let this continue any longer. When a person dies, they either go to you or they come to me, not remain on Earth for eternity." Lucifer said.

"Get to the point!"

"The point is that it should not be so. Their union can't be allowed to continue and I know you agree with me. I propose that we make a bet. You versus me to see who can end their love chain."

"And what are the stakes?" God asked.

"Our kingdoms; Heaven and Hell, and the Earth as well. Whoever wins will dominate all three."

God laughed at Lucifer's proposition because he knew it was just a scheme he had cooked up but He decided to play the devil's game. He didn't hate Hannah or Garin but he couldn't deny that Lucifer was right. After death comes judgment and they have avoided it for multiple lifetimes. It had to end.

"I accept your bet, but on one condition," God said.

"And what condition is that?"

"You must accept my rules!"