“Don’t tell me…this is the former human world, isn’t it…”
Putting aside all those issues for now, I had to admit, that was a rather huge secret I had just learnt there… Even though the flood had been recorded in the bible, it still felt a little unreal to me, seeing as I hadn’t experienced it myself. Speaking of which, there were actually quite a number of flooding legends from ancient times.
For example, in China, there was a well-known story about Nu Wa patching up the sky. The backstory behind that was that the Water God, Gong Gong, was fighting the Fire God, Zhu Rong, at Bu Zhou Mountain. The Fire God ended up triumphing but because the Water God wasn’t able to accept this outcome, he rammed his head into Bu Zhou Mountain in a fit of anger. According to legends, that mountain was the pillar of the world so its collapse meant that the sky collapsed as well. The rivers of Heaven started flooding into the mortal realm as a result of that… Multiple versions of that story had popped up over time but the gist of it remained the same.
(TL: Only translated that section fully since most people wouldn’t know that reference…)
Putting aside whether or not those floods on Earth had any relation to Lucifer, the fact that this world had been flooded was indisputable…
“Well, aren’t you a smart one now, you figured it out so quickly.” Amidst the taunting, he didn’t forget to explain as such: “The flood didn’t recede as the Creator intended because I pulled a little trick there.”
“…so in order to ensure Noah survived, the Creator had to create a whole new realm called the Western Human Realms?”
“That’s right. Prior to flooding the world, the Creator never expected how much negative energies would be created from this single destructive act –that ended up biting him in the rear. Naturally, such energies wouldn’t be a problem for him to handle, but what if I intervened as well?”
‘So what he’s saying that is that the destruction of the world created a mass of negative energies that could even affect the Creator. The moment the Creator tried to snuff out this miasmic mass, Lucifer ambushed him… Because of the pressure the Creator exerted on the two of them, they had no choice but to join forces and face off against the Creator…that should be the gist of what happened…’
To be honest, I still had a hard time imagining the Creator being unable to accomplish something but as facts would have it, he really had no choice but to create a new world. After all, Lucifer possessed six sevenths of his divinity. Combined with the negative energies brewing from the world…Either way, that was why the human world and hell were in separate dimensions…
‘The Creator retreated before the two of them…or did he actually? For someone who can even create a world, wasn’t that showing just a little too weak…hmm, what if he was weakened after causing that flood?’
‘Hold on…that statue mentioned Lucifer made a deal with Hades…so who is Hades then? What’s his relationship to Lucifer…what if…given all that I just learnt…what if Hades is actually that mass of negative energies…’
“Errr…Almighty Lucifer, you mentioned something about Hades, right? Don’t tell me he’s actually the negative energies created by the flooding of the world…”
“Mhm, it was precisely because we combined forces to fight the Creator back then that he understands how crucial it is for us to work together against the Creator. Without both of our powers combined, fighting against the Creator is impossible.” As the statue said that, he paused for a second. I had no idea why he did that all of a sudden but before I could even find out, he started talking once more.
“Later on, the majority of the floodwaters receded, leaving behind the Blood Sea. Because I had the Creator’s divinity, I was able to create the Devil race using the Blood Sea as a core. As for Hades, he created the Undead with my help, using the corpses left behind during the flood…in a sense, the Undead can be considered one of my works as well.”
‘In that case, Hades must’ve wanted to destroy the world because of revenge. I can buy that…being borne of the world’s resentment, I can totally understand why he would do that…but what about Lucifer? Is he only doing this because he’s bored? He can’t be that lonely right…’
‘It can’t be because humans were his enemies…the two weren’t even on the same level…at the very least, I don’t think the humans had or have any way of fighting against an existence like Lucifer.’
“Is it true that you really wish to destroy the world?”
“Of course.” Having said that, his tone took a more teasing approach: “You want to know why?”
“Why?”
“Because the Creator once said that the second Apocalypse will happen by fire and brimstone…”
“HAHAHAHA…” The statue suddenly burst out in maniacal laughter yet amidst all that, I could detect a distinct sense of unwillingness and self-deprecation. “It was only after I created the Three Hells that I realized the Creator had already made such a prediction long ago…fire and brimstone…just because you made me, does it really mean that I’ll never be able to escape your palms!?”
‘Fire and brimstone for the Second Apocalypse? Didn’t Earth have that saying too?’ Back then I was joking with one of the faithful about how the world will get wiped out by a second flood for being too dirty. The look he gave me back then seemed to say: I told you to read more books, didn’t I? Just look at you now, making a fool of yourself because of your ignorance. Right after that, he explained to me thusly in an exasperated tone: “The bible states that the second Apocalypse will be one of fire…”
‘So all the bible said was true then…to think it would be Lucifer who enacted the second Apocalypse…the former Archangel and the brightest angel under the Creator…’
‘It all makes sense now…’
‘The reason why the Creator allowed Lucifer to create the Three Hells was because of his prediction of fire and brimstone. More importantly, the Creator didn’t stay in this world anymore but instead moved onto to create another…’
‘In other words, his departure wasn’t because he was afraid of Lucifer but because it was all planned…in short, everything Lucifer did was what the Creator had intended for him…I still remember Lucifer used to be called the Angel of Freedom…when viewed in this light…it almost seems like a cruel joke now…truly sad.’
Still, why did the second-in-command of the heavens choose to become a Fallen Angel…on the surface, there shouldn’t be anyone more powerful in this world already, other than the Creator. Was there even a need for betrayal?
I had once heard a priest mention that Lucifer fell from grace because he wanted to achieve the same heights as the Creator, even going so far as to try and surpass the Creator. The clone of Lucifer also mentioned that he created the Hells, so wasn’t he, in a sense, trying to prove that he had the same power of creation as the Creator…also, from the way Lucifer spoke of the Creator, he clearly saw himself as an equal.
His pride was clear as day itself. But the question still remained, did he really fall from grace because he wanted to surpass the Creator?
For me, all that talk about floods and the destruction of the world was just a little too weighty. Rather than talk about that, I was more curious about Lucifer himself. Having seen him in multiple depictions across novels and comics, I was more than a little curious about this legendary figure.
Yet just as I was about to ask him why did he fall from grace, a purple mass of light suddenly descended from the skies. As it slowly landed, I could see a purple feather floating within that mote of light.
‘Feather? What’s that doing here?’
“This is for you, think of it as a reward.”
‘A feather as a reward? A purple feather…don’t tell me…it’s Lucifer’s feather?!’
Even though I was pretty sure of my hypothesis, I couldn’t stop myself from asking anyway: “Is that…your feather?”
“Strictly speaking, it’s the feather of the main body. At the same time, it forms the basis of my existence. Or perhaps I should say that the feather is me.”
While his words might have seemed a little strange to any newcomers to this conversation, he was basically implying that Lucifer created a clone of himself 80 000 years using a feather. That feather was like a core of this clone; after all, Lucifer needed some way of linking his clone to his main body… ‘So a single feather destroyed Sable Radiance? Exactly how terrifying is he then? I shouldn’t even think about it anymore…either way, all I need to know is that said feather now belongs to me…hold on…if that feather can destroy Sable Radiance…doesn’t it mean that I’m now overpowered as well?!’
‘A divine weapon! That’s basically a god’s weapon! I’ll slap anyone who dares tell me otherwise!’
