After sensing the disturbance in the distance, Wu Heng brought Dean and Sam inside and shut the door. The click of the lock was soft, yet it made the room feel even more sealed off.
"Here?" Dean looked around, even scuffing the gray carpet with his boot. "We're waiting for those two guys here?"
"This place is ordinary enough, and sealed off enough." Wu Heng walked to one end of the conference table and pulled out a chair, sitting down as naturally as if he were about to hold a quarterly report meeting. "But that's only on the surface."
Sam understood the implication. "You mean..."
"Yes. This is the place we prepared." Wu Heng nodded.
Dean did not fully understand all the twists and turns. He cared more about the practical issue. "Outside, you said we should agree to become vessels, and say something about leaving a place for humanity. What exactly does that mean? If we really agree, our wills won't get swallowed up?"
Wu Heng looked at them calmly. "What you need to do is act. Act out a compromise born of despair. Act out a 'voluntary' sacrifice made to protect humanity's last spark."
"If you become vessels, Lucifer and Michael must promise to preserve a human autonomous zone on Earth, one untouched by the Apocalypse war. It doesn't need to be large. Its symbolic meaning matters more than its practical value. It's a bargain that fits their logic—especially for Michael. It can even be packaged as 'the Father's mercy.'"
"As for your wills..." Wu Heng paused. "What Lucifer and Michael want are perfect 'vessels' capable of bearing all their power, not empty shells whose souls have been erased."
"Completely destroying the host's will to resist would itself damage the vessel's stability, especially during the initial stage of