In the Abattoir, the Mikaelsons gathered around Klaus, checking to see if he was alright. Elijah kept a firm grip on him, steadying his posture, while Freya chanted softly, checking his condition.
"I'm alright," Klaus said between labored breaths. "A bit exhausted, but my head is clear. I can't feel the Hollow's magic anymore."
Hope let out a shaky breath, her eyes misty—not with fear this time, but joy. "He really did it. You're okay, Dad."
"And where is our mysterious benefactor?" Elijah asked, glancing around.
"He flew away," Caroline said quietly, her gaze drifting to the sky in the direction Caelum had vanished.
"I'm sorry, flew?" Rebekah blinked. "Witches can fly now?"
"Yup. Wings and all. Although according to Hope, he called himself a devil," Caroline replied.
Kol raised an eyebrow. "So devils exist? And our darling niece made a deal with one?"
Hope looked sheepish. "I made sure to ask what he wanted in return for helping Dad. He said it was his first contract… so he didn't ask for anything."
Caroline plucked something from Hope's shoulder—a single feather, still glowing faintly. "Well, I'm not the most religious person, but I'm pretty sure devils don't have white feathered wings."
Kol exhaled in mock disbelief. "So now angels exist too? I have so many questions and I'm not even sure I'm ready for the answers."
"But where did he go?" Hope asked, voice tinged with regret. "I didn't even get to thank him."
"I'll go look for him," Caroline said, already turning toward the door.
-------------------------
As Caelum soared through the city skies, his flight slowed and eventually carried him to the rooftop of a church. Ironic, he thought, folding his wings tightly against his back before letting them fade away. Of all the places he could land.
He hadn't meant to break down like that. His father had always told him to show confidence, to never let the world see weakness. If they see it, they'll use it. But something had cracked today. After everything that happened, he couldn't hold it in. He thought this world might finally offer him a fresh start.
He expected suspicion. Even told Hope as much.
But the hostility? The cold judgment in their eyes?
It felt like the universe whispering the same thing he'd always feared: You don't belong here.
He didn't hear the soft landing behind him until a voice broke through the quiet.
"You know, jumping up to a church roof in heels wasn't really on my to-do list today."
He turned slightly, startled. Caroline Forbes stood behind him, heels clicking softly as she approached, her presence steady but calm. She didn't ask permission to sit—she just did, settling beside him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, voice quiet.
"You left so suddenly," she said. "Everyone probably has a million questions."
"I didn't think anyone noticed." He kept his gaze forward. "I figured they'd be too busy with Hope's dad. They didn't want me there anyway. They made that pretty clear."
"You don't know that," Caroline said gently. "They're just cautious. They've lived a long time, made a lot of enemies. When someone shows up claiming they can solve the unsolvable, they assume there's a price. In their world, no one helps for free."
"I expected suspicion," he admitted. "But not the hostility. I let my guard down, and I broke. My father would've scolded me for that." His voice wavered. "He wanted me to do good, but to never appear weak and get taken advantage of. I didn't even ask for a price. I just wanted to help."
Caroline tilted her head. "Hope mentioned you're a devil. But when you flew away, you looked more like an angel to me."
Caelum gave a hollow laugh. "Would you prefer I looked like this?"
With a thought, he let the glamour drop. Black, leathery wings stretched out behind him, a long tail flicked once behind his back, and his eyes shifted into an unsettling crimson glow. Then, just as quickly, it was gone. The wings and tail disappeared, and his eyes returned to their usual stormy grey mixed with flecks of gold.
Caroline blinked, then composed herself with a small, impressed shrug. "Okay. That was intense. But I've got a trick or two myself."
Veins darkened under her eyes, and her fangs extended, her voice steady. "So… are angels and devils just the same thing? You just choose which one to be?"
"A vampire," he said, observing her transformation. "And no. Most devils don't have angel wings. That's something I inherited from my father."
"Lucifer," she murmured, realization dawning. "He's supposed to be an angel."
"He was my father." Caelum's voice softened. "He raised me. The world sees him as evil, but he wasn't. Not to me."
He paused for a beat, gathering himself.
"He got rid of all his servants after I was born. Said he didn't trust anyone else to keep me safe. So he did everything himself—cooking, teaching, protecting. Said he couldn't risk losing me."
Caroline frowned. "Who would he need to protect you from?"
"Everyone," Caelum said simply. "I'm half-human. Humans would want to purge me. Devils see me as impure. Angels would never allow someone with angelic essence to exist unless their 'Father' created them. Which he didn't."
Her tone gentled. "Sounds like he really loved you."
"He did," Caelum whispered. "He used to say I was his salvation. That I was proof that he could be better. That I was born from the only woman who ever made the devil fall in love—and love him enough to bring out the good in him that no one else ever saw."
Caroline was silent for a long moment. When she finally spoke, her voice was low. "You talk about him like he was a hero. Not a devil."
"To me, he was," Caelum said, a bittersweet smile tugging at his lips. "He was my home. And now he's gone. I haven't even had time to grieve."
Then, unexpectedly, Caroline wrapped her arms around him. Her touch was firm but gentle.
"I won't say I understand everything you're going through," her voice was soft, "But I do know what it's like to lose a parent. So go ahead—let it out."
And he did.
When the tears finally stopped, Caelum pulled back and wiped his face. "Thank you," he murmured.
"You're welcome," she said with a smile. Then she stood and offered him her hand. "Now let's go back. Give them a chance. After what you've done for them, there's no way they're letting you go that easily."
"You're very persuasive. You would have made a good devil. Hold on tight," as he stood up, unfurled his wings, then grabbed Caroline, as he flew them away.
------------------------------
Above the Abattoir, the Mikaelsons heard the heavy beat of wings as two figures descended from the sky—Caelum and Caroline.
"Okay, that was fun," Caroline said, straightening her blazer. "But a little warning would have been greatly appreciated."
"Well, you did complain about your heels…" Caelum replied with a faint smirk. "I thought I'd save you the inconvenience."
Rebekah arched a brow. "So he does have wings. I thought for sure Caroline was having us on."
"Told you. Found him brooding on top of a church," Caroline added with a smirk.
There was a beat of silence—then Hope ran forward and threw her arms around Caelum, startling him.
"You came back," she said, her voice thick with relief. "You left so suddenly. I didn't even get to thank you."
Caelum hesitated for a moment, then carefully returned the embrace. "You don't need to thank me," he said softly. "I just fulfilled my side of the contract. You trusted me, and I delivered."
They stepped apart as Klaus moved closer, his expression finally unguarded. "Well, allow me to thank you," he said. "You've given me something I thought I'd lost forever—more time with my daughter. And for that, you have my gratitude."
"As do I," Elijah added, his voice calm and sincere. "Please accept my apology for our earlier encounter. In our long lives, trust has been both rare and costly. We hope you can forgive our caution."
Caelum nodded, his tone quieter now. "It's alright. I'm used to it by now. But… I appreciate the apology," and for the first time, he thought maybe there is a place for me here.
Freya stepped forward. "I'm grateful as well—but I have to ask. Are you certain the Hollow is gone?"
"It won't be a problem anymore," Caelum said. "I absorbed it. Not exactly pleasant, but… it gave me a decent power boost."
Relief swept through the family as the weight they'd carried for so long finally lifted.
"Okay, but real question," Kol cut in. "What are you, exactly? I've seen a lot, but I've never seen someone swallow a spirit whole."
Caelum blinked. "Didn't Hope tell you? I'm a devil."
"Yes, but the angel wings are a bit of a curveball."
Caelum shrugged. "My father was Lucifer Morningstar. He was an archangel before he fell. Rebellion tends to change things. And apparently, the devil falling in love makes things a bit more complicated."
A beat of silence followed Caelum's words. The Mikaelsons exchanged glances—some wary, some intrigued.
"Lucifer Morningstar?" Klaus repeated slowly, as if tasting the weight of the name. "As in the Lucifer?"
Caelum gave a slight nod. "The one and only. Though I never knew him as the world does. To me, he was just... Dad."
Rebekah let out a low whistle. "Well, that explains the wings and the brooding. I think. I'm still not sure if this is real or we're dreaming."
"Wait," Caroline said, raising a hand. "You said you absorbed the Hollow. Does that mean it's still in you? Should we be worried about you going dark side?"
"I don't think things get darker than a devil. But no. It has no consciousness anymore. Think of it like it became spirit juice and I'm still digesting."
Kol eyed him skeptically. "You do realize how utterly mad that sounds, right?"
Caelum shrugs.
"You know, I miss the times when vampires, werewolves, and witches were the only supernatural creatures we had to deal with," Kol quips.
Elijah's brow furrowed slightly. "Will there be more devils coming here?"
Caelum shook his head. "No. What I did… It's not something that can be duplicated. Not easily. I used something called Telos Karma. Even if I didn't know about it initially."
Klaus narrowed his eyes. "And that means… what exactly?"
"I'll explain as best I can from the beginning. Do note that my knowledge is quite limited since I've never really encountered something like this before."
"It's okay, we're here to listen," Hope says, as she pats his arm.
"So to begin with, in my world, the supernatural was a lot more active. Besides devils, angels, and fallen angels, gods and creatures from every mythology exist as well."
"Of course they are, because why not?" Kol said dryly.
"So to make sure the humans have a fighting chance, the biblical God created artifacts called Sacred Gears that are distributed through basically a cosmic lottery at the time of their births. And since I managed to get one, you apparently qualify even if you're only half human."
"Things just keep getting weirder," Rebekah said.
"The abilities are varied from something that just doubles your power, lets you create swords, or lets you heal someone. Then among the top are the thirteen Longinus. Artifacts that when mastered, lets their wielders kill even gods."
Kol let out a low whistle. "Lovely. And here I thought white oak stakes were dramatic."
Freya tilted her head. "And you… You have one of these?"
Caelum nodded slowly. "Yes. Mine's called Telos Karma. In my world, it's known as the History Breaker."
Elijah folded his arms, tone skeptical but intrigued. "History Breaker. That sounds… excessively ominous."
Caelum gave a faint smile. "It lives up to the name. Telos Karma manipulates probability—what could happen, what shouldn't happen. It tilts the odds, not just in battle, but reality itself."
Klaus raised a brow. "So it's just a glorified dice roll?"
Caelum chuckled lightly. "Not quite. It's more like loaded dice. If the outcome I want is possible, then the universe will make it happen. Probabilities turn into certainties no matter how small the chance of it actually happening."
Hope leaned in slightly, fascinated. "And if there's no chance at all?"
Caelum looked at her, his expression more serious now. "If the wielder fully masters it—achieves what we call the Balance Breaker—then even impossibilities become reality."
Freya, frowning slightly, asked, "Is that how you got here?"
Caelum nodded. "More or less. I didn't understand it at the time. I thought I'd stumbled into a crack in reality—a void between worlds. We call it the Dimensional Gap. I thought even the slight possibility of there being a way to a new place in the gap was better than staying in my world. At least if I died in the Gap, I died on my own terms. But I didn't."
Rebekah frowned. "And why not?"
"I met someone. Or something. A being called Great Red. The Apocalypse Dragon. He didn't speak much—just appeared, looked at me, and nudged me in the right direction. Before he left, he told me that Telos Karma led me to the gap."
Kol blinked. "A reality-bending artifact and a dimension dragon. Fantastic."
Caelum offered a dry smile. "When he said that, it gave me the idea to send out a summoning flyer… with one wish: to be taken somewhere I might find where I belong."
"The flyer I found," Hope said softly.
Caelum nodded again. "Yeah. That's why I left earlier, before saving your father with all the hostility. I thought… maybe it hadn't worked. That there wasn't a place for me here after all."
Klaus stepped forward, his tone quiet but firm. "You saved my life. Protected my daughter from the pain of losing her father. If that doesn't earn you a place, I don't know what does."
Elijah gave him a slight nod. "Whatever your origin, your actions speak clearly. You've earned our respect and our welcome."
Rebekah crossed her arms, but her voice had softened. "You're strange, I'll give you that. But we've let in worse."
"I'm still wrapping my head around the devil-angel hybrid thing," Kol muttered, "but alright."
Caelum looked down for a moment, unsure how to respond. Then he felt a hand slip into his.
Hope.
She smiled up at him. "There's this school I go to—it's for the supernatural. Maybe you could come with me."
"Great idea, Hope!" Caroline chimed in, stepping forward with a bright expression. "I think you'd like it there. You'll meet other kids your age who are also trying to figure out where they belong."
"Plus," Hope added, "it'd be nice to go with a friend. I'm not exactly the most popular person there."
Caelum's lips twitched into a smile. "Friend, huh? I guess that makes you my first one."
Hope's expression softened. "So you'll come?"
He hesitated only a second before nodding. "Yeah. I'll give it a try."
Before he could blink, Hope launched herself at him in a hug. He stumbled back half a step, startled—but then wrapped his arms around her, holding on a little tighter than he expected.
"Well, that's settled then," Caroline said with a grin. "Now we just have to get you enrolled."
Kol raised a brow. "Is there a form for that? 'Name, age, species, magical artifacts of god-slaying power?'"
"I'll call Ric," Caroline said with a playful roll of her eyes. "I'm sure we can make some room for a probability-manipulating devil prince."
"I'll deal with getting his paperwork done," Elijah adds.
"You'll really do that for me?" Caelum asks, clearly touched.
"You're one of us now," Klaus said simply. "That comes with certain privileges."
"And an annoying extended family," Rebekah added with a smirk. "But you'll get used to that."
Hope looked up at him, still half-holding his hand. "Ready to start over?"
Caelum glanced around at everyone and then back at her. "I think I am."
"Great, now tomorrow I'll be taking you shopping," said Rebekah. "If you're going to be attending a school full of hormonal supernatural teenagers, you need to look the part."
"I can just conjure them," he said as he used magic to change his clothes, first copying Kol, then Klaus, then Elijah, then back to his old clothes.
"That's impressive, darling. But you're not denying me my shopping trip."
"Just accept your fate, she's not taking no for an answer," Hope said, chuckling.
"Fine. At least let me pay for it."
"With what exactly? Dimensional Coupons? Demonic Credit Card?" Rebekah asked with an arched brow.
Caelum didn't respond immediately. Instead, he extended both hands, palms down. Then gold coins started raining down from his hand into a neat pile on the floor, followed by gemstones of various colors and sizes, then finally, a couple of jewelry that looked like they belonged in a royal family's treasury.
The room fell quiet for a second.
Kol blinked. "Bloody hell."
"Humans still pay for these in this world, right?" Caelum asked, genuinely unsure, glancing at the reactions around him.
"That's impressive, but also mildly concerning. You'll probably crash the economy." Caroline said, half-laughing, half-stunned.
Rebekah eyed the pile, then slowly reached forward and plucked a particularly striking necklace—a delicate gold chain with a deep violet stone. She held it up to her neck.
"This one's mine," she said with a smirk. "Consider this a bribe so I don't dress you in something embarrassing."
Hope, still holding Caelum's hand, chuckled softly. "You're going to be fine. Just let her do her thing."
Caelum shrugged with a small, slightly embarrassed smile. "Guess I'll have to leave that up to you all. I'm just here to try and fit in."
"Well, you're doing a great job so far," Hope said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.