|| - Personality - ||

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At first glance, there's nothing about Zhirael you wouldn't expect from a Demon Lord: he's imposing, ominous, controlled, sultry, and elegant. He has an aura of decadence about him and gives off the impression that should you come too close, you'll never be seen again. He seldom makes any effort to hide his power or status, making it clear just how dangerous he is.

The truth, however, is that Zhirael is a remarkably kind-hearted person. Though he admittedly gets a little kick out of intimidating people and is still very much interested in claiming souls (and eyes, for that matter), he's amicable and disinterested in bringing harm to anyone who hasn't done anything to warrant it. In fact, he's more interested in protecting humans and is thoroughly fascinated by their accomplishments and culture, indulging himself in it with little care for what either Heaven or Hell think. Zhirael cares little for those who look down upon him and has difficulties understanding why anyone puts stock in those who seek to tear them down. Having been created as a superior being without human morals he struggles to understand human emotions, but since moving to the mortal plane he's been learning at a rapid pace. Though most immortals see emotions as a burden, if anything, Zhirael embraces them with gusto.

Zhirael especially values interpersonal relationships and feelings like friendship and love. His relationship with Bonnie is by far the most important thing in his life, and Zhirael is very transparent about the way he feels about him, freely showering Bonnie with affection and indulging himself in his reactions. He really likes reactions.

Zhirael seems to be boundlessly curious and is eager to learn about anything he can. He'll give most beings the benefit of the doubt simply because he desires to learn more about them, though to be fair he's not the sort of person who needs to be cautious around strangers. He's more than capable of handling himself.

Despite this, Zhirael is still a demon and is dedicated to his duties. A demon is meant to punish, and this task is embedded deeply within Zhirael's person. He despises injustice and unwarranted cruelty and will not hesitate to make those who indulge in such behaviors suffer.

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|| - Backstory - ||

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Zhirael was created by Aztael (AKA God) upon the creation of Earth as a Higher Angel and served them alongside several others, aiding in the creation of the mortal plane and humanity. Around 1,000 years later, however, Aztael began to feel conflicted about humanity: did they all deserve Heaven? Not all souls seemed worthy of eternal peace. This moral divide led to the creation of two separate entities, who fought each other until the side who craved punishment triumphed over the side who saw no evil, leading to the creation of Hell. Both halves seemed to disappear with the one who created Hell likely lurking somewhere within it, leaving the Higher Angels without orders or guidance. A Higher Angel named Quenael stepped up to claim leadership, but this caused tension in Heaven. Quenael wanted to keep Aztael's disappearance a secret and hide Hell, but other Higher Angels saw this as defying Aztael's will and exerting control in areas they had not been given power over.

Eventually a Higher Angel named Arael revolted against Quenael's rule, insisting Aztael was the only one who could hold power over the rest of them and if they desired sinners to be punished in Hell, then it was their duty to obey even in Aztael's absence. Zhirael sided with Arael, but in the end Arael was slain. Her allies, Zhirael included, were banished to Hell. If they were so intent on letting it exist, then it would be their home. If they desired to keep the "undeserving" from Heaven, they would have to drag sinners into Hell themselves. Zhirael accepted his punishment with grace and pride, as did his fellow revolutionaries - now known as Demon Lords.

For the next few thousand years, Zhirael and the other Demon Lords were unanimously feared by both humans and those unfortunate enough to find themselves in Hell. Zhirael became proficient in gathering souls and in the process only became more powerful. Eventually he started accepting eyes in lieu of souls when it came to making contracts, partially because he had a passionate love for eyes but also because it almost felt unfair to him to have so much power. That was when he met a pair of humans casually cavorting about in his corner of Hell. The duo, a man named Langer Raton and his best friend, Ouray Nerau, claimed to be bounty hunters and treasure hunters. More importantly, they were remarkably good at not dying and didn't fall to their knees and beg for mercy every time they ran into Zhirael - the fact that they managed to more than once was enough to leave Zhirael intrigued. There was also the matter that a demon named Khazael was sealed inside of Ouray's body and seemed to be in perfect synchronicity with them - how could a human ever gain that sort of power over a demon? Or, perhaps, how could a human be so cursed by a demon and be so nonchalant about it?

Langer and Ouray added a woman named LaPlata Costina to their group, and together they and Zhirael engaged in a series of wacky Saturday morning cartoon antics as they repeatedly got in each other's way. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was becoming rather fond of the three and humanity in general. Each trip he made to the human world left him more and more curious and led him to question why angels and demons alike thought so little of them. Eventually it was revealed that LaPlata was actually a Higher Angel named Lacael who had been sent to keep tabs on humanity, and she too shared Zhirael's questions. The four became closer, and eventually Langer allowed Zhirael to take one of his eyes - which Zhirael frequently expressed a desire to have - in exchange for one of Zhirael's; a symbol of their paradoxical simultaneous friendship and desire to spite each other.

One day Ouray and LaPlata came to Zhirael, saying Langer had been kidnapped by what appeared to be an angel. The three searched all over the mortal plane and Hell alike but there was no trace of Langer, nor did anyone they question know anything. When LaPlata returned to Heaven to question Quenael, she found herself being stripped of her power and cast down to Earth as punishment for associating with demons. In desperation, LaPlata offered one of her eyes to Zhirael. However, even with the power granted to him through their contract, Zhirael found himself unable to locate Langer - something he would have thought to be impossible. Still honoring their contract however, Zhirael vowed to continue searching for Langer for as long as it took to discover his fate.

Ouray, meanwhile, quickly gave up on adventuring, discouraged by the loss of their friend and partner. A few years later, they wound up having children with LaPlata and passed on Khazael, who was cursed to be sealed within the bodies of those linked to Ouray's bloodline. Ouray gave their eye to Zhirael, asking him to bar their soul from both Heaven and Hell, hoping that they'd end up somewhere more exciting instead. They later died and their soul entered Entirety's reincarnation cycle, and with them gone Zhirael and LaPlata grew apart.

Before Zhirael could dwell on his situation for long, he found himself being invited to Hell College: a college linked to all of Entirety's Hells that served as his only escape from Earth and made him aware there were entire other Realities out there. He accepted and pursued a medical degree, excelling in every field he touched but especially optometry. He was able to study other species, languages, cultures, and was allowed to perform all sorts of experiments he wouldn't have had the ability to perform at home. There was no reason he couldn't have stayed there for the rest of eternity; he was happy there and such an impressive student that he was offered a job teaching. However, he declined and instead opted to return to Earth; his experiences in Hell College only made him more aware of the divide between higher and lower beings. He spent much of his time thinking about how the Higher Angels stifled humanity's creative efforts, kept secrets from them, and instilled them with fear of anything unholy in order to keep them obedient. Likewise, he thought of how his fellow Demon Lords and other demons treated humans as either prey or objects to torment for entertainment value. Humans and other mortal beings, however, had no power over anyone. Any suggestion they made was seen as cute at best and traitorous and worthy of punishment at worst. Zhirael found himself caring more and more about the plight of humanity and sought to give them control over their own fates.

Zhirael returned and spent a few years pondering how to proceed. He was interrupted by The Fall: an event in which part of the mortal plane crashed into Hell, leaving a massive number of humans stranded and at the mercy of all of the demons and tortured souls within it. Zhirael wasted no time in coordinating an effort to protect the fallen humans and return them to the surface, much to the confusion of his fellow demons. Once the dust settled, thousands were dead and the mortal plane was shaken. There was no way any part of the mortal plane could just collapse into Hell naturally, and Heaven immediately informed the humans that it was an effort on the part of Hell to capture perfectly innocent humans. However, no demon could prove that they had been the one to cause The Fall even if they dared to claim they did. Zhirael knew immediately that The Fall had to have been coordinated by the Higher Angels as a desperate effort to shock humanity - which was beginning to grow out of Heaven's control as technology improved - into remembering that demons were evil and only Heaven could protect them.

Beginning to form plans to revolt against Heaven and release Quenael's grip on the mortal plane, Zhirael officially moved to the mortal plane and started talking to LaPlata again. It was then he met a young man named Elliot Andeville, who was interested in learning more about demons and, thanks to his grandfather's stories about The Fall, was beginning to doubt that demons were purely evil and angels were purely good. Elliot and his struggles to get his demonology research discussed and published proved to Zhirael that humans had the desire to take control of their own destinies but were too oppressed by fear of punishment by the Higher Angels to do much other than live quiet, obedient lives. Frustrated with humanity's cowardice and desperate to be able to continue his research, Elliot sold his soul to Zhirael, becoming Endael. Zhirael assigned Endael to manage his affairs in Hell while he adjusted to the mortal plane. If he was going to have any chance at showing humanity that Heaven was corrupt and they deserved better, he would first need them to be able to trust him - and therefore, trust demons as a whole.

Zhirael's efforts led him to Bonnie, who he hired to help him understand human technology and, indirectly, culture. Bonnie moved in with him and taught him all sorts of things about humanity, also revealing that he had highly illegal access to internet from other Realities (and as a result realized just how many things the Higher Angels were keeping humans from accessing and accomplishing) and was willing to help Zhirael in his revolutionary efforts even though it would put him at risk. The two became closer, and Bonnie's nonchalant attitude toward Zhirael's species and motives intrigued him. As time went on, Zhirael found himself becoming more and more interested in Bonnie even when there wasn't much more about him to learn. He enjoyed his company for reasons he couldn't explain, and when they were apart Zhirael found himself thinking about him with unusual frequency and intensity. The way Bonnie spoke, the way he laughed, his snarky comments, the things he liked to talk about, the way he'd fall asleep next to him on the couch like it was nothing, how his face would turn red when they maintained eye contact for too long... for some reason, even the tiniest things would cause Zhirael's chest to tighten and pulse to quicken. Endael helpfully identified these feelings as "probably love," much to Zhirael's surprise. He was aware of the concept of love, but the idea that a Demon Lord could experience it came as a shock to him even though he was the one in love. Though he was vaguely confused and intimidated by his increasing humanity, he was also impressed and pleased. If a Demon Lord could develop such deep feelings for a human, then it had to be possible to get other demons and even angels to feel at least compassion toward humanity.

After discovering Bonnie had similar feelings toward him, he and Zhirael entered a romantic relationship. Zhirael found himself oddly happy with simply living day-to-day with Bonnie. He resolved to stay with Bonnie on the mortal plane after the revolution, hoping to protect the ability of humans to live their lives as freely and fearlessly as Zhirael was able to.

Not long afterward, Bonnie ran into (with his car) a young individual named Eo and immediately brought them back to Zhirael. As Zhirael prepared to perform surgery on them, he noticed a few key things: they had the same anatomy as an angel or demon, they were missing their soul, and they were keeping themself alive with their own magical energy. They had been dead before Bonnie hit them with his car, and in fact getting hit by a car didn't do much to them at all. When they awoke, it became apparent that they were an amnesiac and had no idea why they were missing their soul, though they were certainly curious. They offered their eye to Zhirael in exchange for a flow of magical energy that would be enough to keep them alive, and Zhirael and Bonnie allowed them to move in.

Mere days after Eo's arrival, Bonnie got into another accident (he is not a responsible driver), this time hitting the car of a man named Tigel Smith. Tigel was trying to get his girlfriend, Seems, to a hospital, but Bonnie noticed she had a gaping hole in her chest and took him back to Zhirael instead. Knowing he had no other choice, Tigel sold his soul to Zhirael in exchange for Seems' life and asked the group to keep this a secret from her. Zhirael had a hard time understanding why Tigel was so against Seems knowing Tigel gave up his soul for her - or for that matter, why he was so against just giving up an eye instead - but nonetheless he agreed and told Seems that she had been gravely injured, but he was able to help thanks to being a proficient surgeon.

Tigel and Seems described how they had wound up in such poor condition in the first place: they had been exploring an abandoned hospital to investigate some disappearances when they were attacked by what could only be described as some sort of twisted, distorted angel. Curious as to why anything resembling an angel would be on the mortal plane, much less attacking humans in hospitals, Zhirael offered the two housing and pay (which was far better than their shoddy apartment that their poor jobs could hardly pay for) in exchange for their service in helping him look into the mystery of the hospital, and mystery of Eo's existence, and how the two might be connected to Heaven and the fate of humanity.

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|| - Powers/Abilities - ||

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All demons and angels have the ability of flight and the ability to use glamour to hide their horns, halos, and/or wings; Zhirael is no exception to this. Likewise, all demons and angels (though angels are forbidden to use this skill) have the ability to form contracts with other beings in exchange for the other party's soul, at which point the requester's contract is automatically fulfilled. There are limits to what a contract can accomplish based on the demon or angel's power, but as Zhirael is a powerful Demon Lord he faces very few restrictions.

When Zhirael claims a soul, he gains full control over the person whose soul he owns. He can change their form, possess them, enter their subconscious, so and so forth. Once the contractor dies, their soul is stored within his body (but on a slightly higher plane, so it's not like you could cut him open and grab some souls) and from there Zhirael has several options. He can send them out into Hell to be punished, turn them into demons (either to serve him or to allow them to live out their life in relative freedom), consume the soul to permanently add to his Power Level™, seal the soul within an object or another being, create various environments within his own soul where stored souls can have consciousness, or leave the soul where it is.

When Zhirael claims an eye, the contractor's soul is left alone, though thanks to the stigma against associating with demons they'll likely end up in Hell anyway. Even though he doesn't own the soul, he still has a surprising amount of control over the contractor. Zhirael can alter their vision, shut it off entirely, enhance it, force them to look in a different direction, and see through their vision and control it as though he's possessing them. He can also read and control the minds of any contractor he maintains eye contact with. Perhaps his strangest eye-related ability is that if he puts the contractor's eye in his empty eye socket he can move, control, and see with it as if the eye was his to begin with. Gross!

A demon's magical abilities are defined by the personality, desires, needs, and soul-gathering methods of the demon in question. For example, demons who gather souls frequently often gain influential abilities and auras of charisma in order to make it easier to get people to give up their souls. Demons who spend most of their time in Hell defending their turf and collected souls from other demons develop defensive abilities, while demons who attack others or attack humans on the mortal planes for their souls develop offensive abilities. Zhirael is primarily a defensive demon with a number of influential abilities and some offensive capabilities. His range is unusual, but certainly not unexpected given that he's a Demon Lord.

Even without taking someone's eyes, he has several powers centered around them. Though he has a natural (or rather, unnatural) charismatic, relaxing aura, for the most part his influential abilities require extended eye contact. Through this he can control others so long as he maintains eye contact, just as though he owned their soul. The efficiency of this ability relies on the will and power of the individual in question; it's easy to use on weak-willed humans, but not so much on angels or those who are actively trying to not fall victim to some weird eye mind-control powers. Zhirael isn't particularly interested in using his influential abilities, however. He just doesn't really feel like it's fair.

As for defensive and offensive abilities, Zhirael is able to create screens of what seems to be red light. They're difficult to break and are most often used for shielding, but Zhirael can form them into the shapes of weapons and use them offensively as well.

Higher Angels and Demon Lords all have "true forms"; their typical bodies are just humanoid forms they use because 1) they don't melt the minds of mortals and 2) they're far more compact. Zhirael's true form is roughly 50 feet tall, though can easily make it smaller or by expending energy make it larger. It's as difficult to describe as it is to comprehend. It could maybe be described as an ever-shifting shadowy mass with eyes that appear and vanish at will with scattered splotches of glowing, pulsing red in what couldn't be flesh wreathed with shattered halos and feathered wings that flutter about like petals and those to dare to gaze upon it find themself frozen and at its mercy but luckily Zhirael is pretty merciless. In his true form, Zhirael becomes even more powerful. Higher Angels and Demon Lords seldom use their true forms, and Zhirael is no exception to this.

bonnie has canonically seen it tho and he said it was beautiful and it's not like zhirael blushed or anything..............

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|| - Writing Featured In (Newest to Oldest) - ||

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Elliot Andeville is Going to Hell