Nocturne Symphony
Somewhere in the world, a human meets a glitch in the system, manifested as a demon. Whether through trickery or sympathy, they come to an agreement. In exchange for becoming the demon's living vessel, a single wish is granted.
This happens several dozen times with several dozen people, simultaneously, independently, with the finality of the first note of a song. Fates unmet, yet intertwined.
66 days later, the true cost of their pact is revealed: an impossible debt to a Champion of Hell. A Symphony rapidly unfolds before them as they come to know the true nature of the world and its mechanical divinity. Now banded together under a single cause, the new pactholders seek out their angelic kin and strongholds to destroy them one by one.
To make a mark upon the God Machine is a Sisyphean ordeal - their fellows in the Symphony are quick to inform them of that. But not all is lost - perhaps they will find a name for themselves all the same...
You remember Heaven, but not gladly. Heaven is an impossible factory-forge in the heart of the universe. You were once God’s loyal servant, but you rebelled. God is a machine, cold and uncaring, self-interested and self-preserving. The God-Machine’s calculations have no room for kindness or mercy.
For a long time — potentially eons — you were a part of this God-Machine, a faceless and nameless cog in this system. As one of the God-Machine’s angels, you worked to preserve the status quo with just as little grace or compassion as your master. You may have overseen all manner of atrocities, from murder and abuse to famine and plague, but you are not a machine.
Beneath your impenetrable detachment and cosmic power, you were still a being designed to think and act on a human scale, which was what made you useful to the God-Machine. It also made it possible for you to experience doubt. Perhaps it was humans — maybe you grew to love them or hate them. Maybe it was just you — maybe you wanted the power to determine your own fate, or maybe you grew weary of the purpose you had been made for.
Whatever the reason, your dedication wore thin and you disconnected yourself from the God-Machine. You are no longer an angel, but you still aren’t human. You are something different. You are a demon. By right of will and sacrifice, you have earned your Descent, falling from a world of cold calculations and into a world of squalor and darkness. You have turned your back on simplicity of purpose and embraced the human condition, with all its complications.
Every demon’s story is different. Some are fighters in a war that may be impossible to win, against a foe as old as the world itself. Others find it difficult enough to ensure their own comfort and safety. Some strive to complete their Fall, to become more human, while others try to retain a remnant of their angelic objectivity or even return to a semblance of their former state. Some demons admire humanity and aspire to remake the world in its image, while others only object to a hierarchy that they don’t rule and strive to remake the world in their own image.
All demons are united by a shared past. All demons were once angels, all-powerful slaves of the God-Machine that rules the world. All Fell, trading angelic detachment and obedience for human perspective and human freedom. And now, all demons live in a world of masks and double-crosses, where they must depend on lies and deception to keep them safe from the God-Machine and its minions.