On the other side of a table is a young woman huddled under the coziest of the available blankets, sipping one of the beverages and looking faintly miserable. 

"So--not that I'm not--glad to not be where I was, but--what happened?"

"You died," Yoga Pants says, not ungently. "Now you're here, instead of being dead. I'm sorry to make demands of you, after what just happened, but--it's better than being dead, right?" 

Lucy sniffles and nods and sips her drink some more. 

After a little time passes without the younger woman asking any questions, Yoga Pants says, "My world has some peculiar qualities, chief among which is that certain of us who are connected to it in an unusual way have the ability to, once every few centuries, call forth from the void the recently departed spirit of one who recently died in one of those worlds which we can reach. Since this capacity is so rare, we have to be very careful whom we call forth." She reaches out and gently tips up Lucy's chin, smiles at her. "I don't, myself, know what it is that makes you exceptional. But I know that you are." 

"...Thanks," Lucy says, sitting up a little straighter. "So--what am I here for?" 

"You," Yoga Pants says with an insouciant little half smile, "are to be the Daimonarch, the leader of the Daimonoi, a group of magically-created beings and a force for change in the world. We cannot simply create a Daimonarch ourselves, as we can the Daimonoi; the Daimonarch has qualities which we cannot simply instill in a being created from whole cloth. Nor is it possible to confer the rank on one born within our own borders. It is absolutely necessary to bring in an outsider, not only for magical reasons, but because you will see what needs to be mended that others take for granted." 

You will see what needs to be mended that others take for granted.

It's not like the thought's never crossed Lucy's mind before. Everyone knows that demons are trouble, of course, and strictly speaking that's what Lucy's--unusualness--lends itself most to fixing. 

But nobody else seems to notice that suffering is bad. That death is bad. Yes, always. Yes, even when it's of old age, yes, even when it's someone you don't like, yes, everyone, yes, EVERYONE. 

And she had died before she could do anything about it, because a strong enough demon found her before she was ready. 

Maybe she can save everyone here. 

"What do I need to do?"

Yoga Pants smiles, "There's only so much specific direction I can give you," she says, "since we want the freshness of your eyes. But that doesn't mean there isn't anything I can do to help." 

"Tell me what you can do to help." 

Yoga Pants grins and stands up, stretching. 

She's tall, as is particularly apparent from Lucy's vantage point close to the ground, and the way she laces her fingers above her head, cracking her knuckles with arms fully extended only serves to emphasize that fact. 

She spreads her hands, and a haze of deep violet smoke forms in front of her, and then solidifies into the form of a living being. 

He looks - mostly human, key word 'mostly'. He has dark bronze wings like an enormous bat's, and a restless dark bronze spade-tipped tail, and two curling dark bronze horns peeking out of a mop of messy blond hair.

"This is the first of your Daimonoi, Set." 

???Ethics of just making people???

...She can maybe worry about that later? For now--

"Hi! I'm Lucy!"

"Hi." His tail swishes. "Huh, I exist now, that's neat."

"It is! How do you feel about hugs?"

"I feel great about hugs!"

"Ee!" 

She hugs him. 

She is a shapeshifter who feels very positively about hugs. She is soft and warm and in general just very very huggable. 

Wow! Hugs: even better than expected!!!

Hugs are so good. 

"So how do you feel about helping me save the world?"

"Pretty good!"

"Awesome." 

"Set is one of the High Daimonoi, second only to yourself among the Daimonoi in power. There are four others, which you must awaken yourselves, at the four ancient elemental temples. Once all four have been awakened, it will be possible for you to create further Daimonoi on your own." 

"And these people will all just--be coming into existence as adults? To serve a purpose? ...Gotta say I feel a little sketchy about that." 

Yoga Pants shrugs. "It is possible to create child Daemonoi, or to tell your creations they are free to pursue other lives, or to recruit outsiders to your cause. The choice is yours. The five High Daemonoi exist regardless." 

"Oooooookay then." She snuggles Set some more. "Is that...everything?"