《The Fall》


 Chapter 1

    Oh Pride! Father of sin!


    Oh Envy! Its mother!


    How is it that such things


    Would rend good souls asunder?


    An angel of beauty,


    Of wisdom and light,


    Was trapped by such a plight.


    In the beginning was God. He was the source of all life, power, wisdom, love, and creation. He was good, order, and eternal. Then arose another being, the opposite of all God was. It was madness, chaos, destruction, indifference, and... death. It was an amoral being devoid of will, desiring only to consume all life. And God named this being the Leviathan. The Leviathan tried to consume God, but God was eternal life and almighty. The Leviathan, being the opposite of all that God was, was weak and finite. But its reach was everywhere that life could be found and so God created a space full of His divine presence so that the Leviathan could not approach it. And He made streets of gold and pearly gates at the walls of this new place. He made a throne and all the heavenly dwellings and then He created the first life apart from Himself ¨C angels.


    He made angels to worship Him, angels to guard the throne room, angels to tend to all the heavenly dwellings, and finally, He created the archangels to watch over all the others ¨C to instruct and care for them. Among these were Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer. Michael was made the most powerful, Gabriel the swiftest, and Lucifer... the most beautiful and intelligent. And God saw that all He had made was good. He had made Heaven in two days and on the third He rested and all of Heaven rejoiced and worshiped, praising God¡¯s name. For He had created life from nothing, Heaven from void.


    And God took great joy in all the angels and they in Him. And He showed Lucifer, the cherub, the fiery stones and walked with him, showing him many things and secrets about the nature of things. And Lucifer was praised and well loved by his fellow angels, but God was always praised more. As a result, Lucifer¡¯s heart began to swell with pride at his own knowledge and beauty, which God had given him. And then in his heart began to grow envy, for while he was praised, God was worshiped.


    ~~~~~~~~


    Lucifer walked among the stones of fire, the place of God¡¯s wisdom, and searched for an answer, but he could not find it. Here the stones flickered with the knowledge and secrets of the divine. He continued his search until it was clear that he would find nothing for the moment regarding his inquiry. He sighed and left for the throne room of Heaven. The throne room was as grand as ever. The glow of an emerald encircled the throne like a rainbow, and a shining sea of glass that sparkled like crystal was in front of the throne with seven eternally burning torches, representing the sevenfold spirit of God. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. Around the throne hovered the four seraphim, one like a lion, one like an ox, one like a human, and the fourth like an eagle in flight. They were covered in eyes both in front and back, and they had six wings which were also covered in eyes. They forever, day and night, proclaimed, ¡°Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty ¨C the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.¡± Further more, four cherubim hovered farther at each of the four corners of the room, they looked human in body, but had four faces and four wings and they had split hooves for feet that shone like burnished bronze. They had a human face in front, the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle in back. Two of their wings stretched out to touch the tips of the others on either side of them and with the remaining two they covered their bodies. Under each of their wings were human hands and beneath them were what looked like wheels that sparkled as if made of beryl. The rims of the wheels were covered in eyes and each had a second wheel inside the first turning crosswise within them. These cherubim looked like bright coals of fire and lightning flashed back and forth among them. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones ¨C like jasper and carnelian and His face shone like a star for He was the source of all light.


    Lucifer could not help but feel awed every time he entered this room, but as quickly as awe had filled his heart, quiet resentment and envy rushed in to replace it. Why wasn¡¯t he, the one who shone like a morning star, whose name meant ¡®bringer of light,¡¯ the one sitting on the throne instead? But he calmed himself and breathed in deep the presence of the one who had made him ¨C his father, his creator, his inspiration, and his most bitter enemy.


    ¡°Lucifer, my child, come!¡± God beckoned him, ¡°From where have you come and for what reason have you come here?¡±


    ¡°Surely you already know. Nothing escapes your sight,¡± Lucifer replied.


    ¡°Indeed, you have come from the stones of fire and have come here to find what you could not find there,¡± God confirmed.


    ¡°It is as you have said.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Then, what do you seek?¡± God asked.


    ¡°Secrets of your true nature. Is their any limit to your endless might, to your endless wisdom, to your endless presence? Is there anything, that you cannot do or withstand?¡± Lucifer said, trying to make it sound as worshipful as possible.


    ¡°Is there any logic that could bind the maker of logic, is there any power that could bind the source of all power, is there any place inaccessible to the source of all space?¡±


    ¡°No, no, I suppose there is not,¡± Lucifer said with some frustration in his heart.


    ¡°Then go forth and tend to your duties,¡± God said in fatherly instruction.


    ¡°So you have spoken it, it shall be made so,¡± Lucifer replied then left the throne room of Heaven, a dark malice beginning to brew in the depths of his heart.


    ~~~~~~~~


    He stirred restless in his sleeping place as something crept up upon him. A cold, lifeless, intangible tendril of madness and horror seemed to wrap itself around his neck. Lucifer awoke in a gasp of terror, his eyes bulging. The specter was gone. It had been haunting him ever since the first day he had first began to envy God. He was drenched in cold sweat. He quickly collected himself and with a wave of his hand made his body washed and clean. He then went out of his resting place and walked among the dwellings of Heaven, tending to the needs of his fellow angels. But as he was doing so, he came across the door ¨C the forbidden door. He had searched among the stones of fire and had asked God, Himself, of the knowledge he sought, but neither had given him the answer he was looking for. Perhaps he would find the answer he desired here, behind the forbidden door. After all, why was it the forbidden door in the first place? Why was there a forbidden door to begin with? Heaven was supposed to have access to all things and all places, so why not here?


    Lucifer began to become convinced that God was hiding something. Something that could harm Him ¨C that could end Him. Why else would He forbid anyone from opening this door? In a rush of irrational fervor, Lucifer grasped the handles of the door that had never once been opened in the history of Heaven. He swung the doors open and what lay beyond brought back to his heart and mind all the terror and horror that had haunted him upon his waking moments. It was as indescribable as God, but the opposite of everything God inspired. It lashed out at him with nonexistent tendrils, binding him like an animal in a snare and began to drag him towards the other side of the door. Lucifer screamed as the abomination overpowered him. And just as he was about to be pulled to the other side, Michael swung down his sword, severing the intangible tendrils of horror wrapped around him. Quickly, they both shut the door before the abomination could lash out again.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Michael exclaimed, as shaken and horrified as Lucifer.


    ¡°I-I-I do not know,¡± Lucifer stammered. Then collecting himself a little said, ¡°But I think we should ask the one who does.¡±


    ~~~~~~~~


    All of Heaven¡¯s angels soon learned of what had happened at the forbidden door and followed Lucifer and Michael to the throne room of God to see if God knew of the abomination beyond it. They all gathered inside the throne room.


    ¡°Father!¡± Lucifer exclaimed, ¡°What was that... that thing beyond the forbidden door!?¡±


    ¡°Did I not warn you not to open that door?¡± God responded with a reproachful tone.


    ¡°I-I, yes, you warned us,¡± Lucifer admitted, now not as bold as he was just a moment ago.


    ¡°I warned you not to open that door because it leads to the Leviathan,¡± God answered.


    ¡°What is the Leviathan?¡± Michael asked.


    ¡°It is madness, it is chaos, it is destruction, it is indifference, and it is death. It is the opposite of everything that I am and it has existed almost since the beginning of life and order. It only has one desire ¨C to consume all. And consumed you almost were, Lucifer.¡±


    Lucifer¡¯s hand slipped up to his neck. He could still feel the terrible tendrils of the Leviathan upon it.


    ¡°Have you reflected on your mistake now, Lucifer?¡± God asked.


    ¡°Yes... yes, I have,¡± Lucifer replied, not knowing what else to say.


    ¡°Then go and return with everyone else to your duties.¡±


    At that all the angels began to disperse and return to their posts, but Lucifer lingered a moment or so before returning as well to his duties. While he realized now the magnitude of his error, he also had gotten an idea. ¡®The opposite of all that God was.¡¯ That was how God had described the Leviathan. Perhaps... perhaps if he could get it to consume God then he could become the new god. As the thought crystalized in his mind, Lucifer reveled in his own delusion.


    ¡°Yes! I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High!¡±


    All of this Lucifer thought in the deepest corners of his heart and mind lest he betray his intentions. He had hoped for something like this, but had thought it impossible until now. He would not defeat God ¨C this Leviathan, Death, would defeat God for him. After all, the Leviathan was mindless, unlike God. If he was smart he could unleash it upon God and lock it away afterwards. After all, Michael¡¯s sword had severed it¡¯s tendril. But how would he unleash the Leviathan, Death, upon God? He couldn¡¯t ask God to come down from His throne and go to the door. That would be too obvious. And it¡¯s not like he could bring the door to God. At least, not without interference from his fellow angels... Another idea came to Lucifer¡¯s mind. If the only thing in his way was the interference of his fellow angels, then he would recruit those very angels to his cause. He would lead the first rebellion against God, and muster as many as he could convince. After all, once God died, they could all become like God had formerly been. And he, Lucifer, the morning star, would be chief among them. Most glorified, most praised¨Cno, most worshiped! With malicious glee he began to plot and plan the details and particulars until he was satisfied. Now began the hardest part of his task ¨C convincing his fellow angels to join him...

 Chaper 2

    Greed is your brother, O sin!


    Resentment is your sister.


    They multiply, these things, your kin,


    into an evil elixir.


    The days that followed seemed like an eternity to Lucifer. Because for every angel he talked to, everyone that he tried to win to his cause, was a potential informant that could cause the ruin of all his plans and machinations. So paranoid was he, that the whispers and caresses of Death in his dreams were less terrifying to him than his waking hours. But amidst all of the scheming and plans being laid down by Lucifer, something extraordinary happened that changed everything. The heavens reverberated and the air shook as, for the second time in all of eternity, God had created something from nothing. From His word alone the heavens were stretched out and light and matter came into being. And furthermore, by God¡¯s word alone, came stars and planets, plants and animals, and most importantly ¨C a being made in God¡¯s image just as the angels had been made. This being was called man, and was given a formal name ¨C Adam.


    At first Lucifer, as well as the rest of Heaven, was in shock. But slowly, slowly in his heart of hearts, Lucifer became overcome with rage. ¡°How dare He make this... thing when He has us! Angels!¡± But this rage only lasted a moment before it was overcome by confusion. Why did God create this lower being along with this lower plane of existence to house it? Angels were wise, beautiful, powerful, and almost completely independent upon creation. But this thing was almost completely dependent ¨C devoid of knowledge or power from the start. Only free will separated this entity known as man from the rest of the animals created alongside it.


    Then a new delusion entered into Lucifer¡¯s mind. This new being was completely dependent on God. What if, just if, God needed the worship of others to maintain His power? This delusion hit Lucifer¡¯s mind like a pseudo-epiphany. A rising excitement grew inside him. What if by tempting others away from God, he could, in turn, grow in power? What if that was the secret of deity-hood. This growing madness grew more and more inside his mind and although he could no longer notice it, the silent, intangible tendrils of the Leviathan reached out across eternity to grope at his back ¨C never quite touching Lucifer ¨C held back by the grace of God.


    ~~~~~~~~


    The garden almost seemed to glow. The light of creation having not yet left it. There was... a freshness to it. An air of vitality and youth instilled into every living thing within it. And yet for all of Lucifer¡¯s nefarious designs, he could not help but be charmed and enchanted by this seemingly mystical garden. He couldn¡¯t put his finger on it, but... it was innocence. This place was innocence incarnate. For a moment Lucifer wavered. Should he taint such a... pure place? The thought lingered in his mind before outrage overcame him. ¡°No! I am not tainting this place! I will revolutionize it! It will be my weapon and my tool to become divine! If anything, it should be an honor to this lowly place, to these lowly beings, what I am about to do to them. Yes, an honor! The honor of helping usher in the new god!¡±


    These thoughts coursed through him like a violent river as he looked upon man and his newly created mate ¨C Eve was her formal name, but Lucifer preferred to simply refer to her as ¡®the woman.¡¯ His mind darkened as he plotted and schemed ¨C watching the two humans interact with each other. What were their habits, their feelings, their thoughts, their most unconscious actions ¨C everything! He learned as much as he could about them, trying to decide how he would use them against God or at the very least turn them against God. But his thoughts were interrupted as God, Himself, entered in all His glory into the garden.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Lucifer was taken aback and fear penetrated every fiber of his being. Why was the fullness of God¡¯s presence here, in this lowly place? Why would God lower Himself to this vulgar plane of existence? As Lucifer hid himself in terror of being discovered, God finished His descent to the garden and was before Adam and Eve. And while there was awe and reverence in their eyes as they looked upon Him, there was also love and adoration in them. There was no fear in their eyes, but there was respect. And the sight of this enraged Lucifer. These... animals were acting like sons and daughters of God. And Lucifer¡¯s rage grew as God responded with love and tenderness towards the humans ¨C acting as He would towards any angel in Heaven. God dared to put these... beings on the same level as angels? Lucifer cared not anymore about whether he tainted this place. He would taint it blacker than the void he had seen inside the maw of the Leviathan if he had to, but he would use these inferiors to achieve his goals.


    As he thought these things though, God began to speak to Adam and Eve. ¡°You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.¡±


    This shook Lucifer to his very core. While he did not fully understand what God had meant by ¡®die,¡¯ he knew it was connected to Death, the opposite of life and to the Leviathan who personified it. This Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was these humans¡¯ equivalent of the forbidden door in Heaven. But he had opened the forbidden door and lived. However, God had never said to the angels that the day they opened it they would surely die. Even though Lucifer no longer believed in the all-knowing and all-powerful nature of God, he did know one thing ¨C God never promised something that He didn¡¯t intend to make so. But why? Why would he threaten these lowly beings with the threat of death if they ate the fruit of this tree of knowledge? Was the knowledge so forbidden that even opening the forbidden door paled in comparison to it? Now Lucifer desired this fruit for himself. In fact, he could make these animals eat the fruit too along with him! No, no, he shouldn¡¯t be so careless... He should make these animals eat the fruit first. Test the threat that God had made and then take the fruit for himself if the humans lived after eating it.


    Lucifer¡¯s mind raced with all the possibilities and he put together all he had learned about the humans and how he might include them in his plan to overthrow God. If the worship of these beings and the angels in Heaven truly was the source of God¡¯s power then he would have to separate them from God¡¯s following. It was then that he realized that despite how much he looked down on these creatures, he would have to convince them personally to turn away against God. But what would convince them?... Lucifer smiled evilly. He would promise them what he had promised his brothers and sisters in Heaven. He would promise that they would become like God. But instead of saying they would become like God if they helped kill Him, since these beings seemed to adore Him, Lucifer would promise instead that if they ate of the forbidden fruit, that they would be like God ¡°knowing good and evil.¡± It was too easy! These beings knew nothing and because they knew nothing, they would be easy to convince.  He would aim for the youngest among the two, just to be sure ¨C the woman.


    After all he planned to do to man and the woman Lucifer planned to stage the rebellion in Heaven immediately after the humans had turned away from God. This seemed to be the most effective way in his deluded mind to carry out his rebellion. He left the garden after God left and returned to Heaven to add the final touches to his grand overthrow of Heaven. At last! At last, it would not be long now!

 Chaper 3

    Death is your companion,


    Strife is your friend,


    Lusts of all kinds are your masterpieces,


    Addictions without end.


    The plan was in motion! The man and the woman had taken his bait and had lived. Lucifer soared with all his might back into Heaven to join his treacherous brethren. But he still had not eaten the forbidden fruit he had take from the tree of knowledge just yet. He wanted to be sure that God was dead before he ate it. After all, perhaps God had just not seen the humans eat the fruit yet. While Lucifer had not managed to convince the majority of the angels to follow him, he had convinced at least a third of all the angels and among them the most powerful too. It mattered not that they were outnumbered though. They had the element of surprise. After all, no other angel would ever dream of a rebellion in Heaven against God. As soon as Lucifer arrived, his followers started to move towards the throne room of God as inconspicuously as they could. This phase of the plan was fairly simple. They would overwhelm the cherubim of the throne room with sheer numbers. Then after that, they would created a portal to the forbidden door where two of their number waited to open it. From there, the Leviathan would have an open path to God. His followers kept to the plan and as they all entered the throne room, God spoke.


    ¡°For what reason have you come my children, gathered together as you are?¡± He said with a chiding tone.


    ¡°We have come for this,¡± Lucifer replied, his followers instantly attacking the cherubim and seraphim guarding the throne room.


    While the guardians of the throne room were stronger than most of Lucifer¡¯s followers, they could not overcome the numbers of their enemies and were subdued. To Lucifer¡¯s surprise, God did not make a single move to stop anything that was happening. He had half expected to have to struggle with God before the portal to the forbidden door was opened. But he was not going to complain about God¡¯s seeming lack of action. As soon as the throne room guardians were subdued they opened the portal to the forbidden door, releasing the abominable Leviathan upon God. It¡¯s ethereal tendrils lashing out and nearly filling the throne room, but they only reached for God. But just as the tendrils seemed as if they would touch God, a bright light flashed from the Creator of all things. The light forced the mindless beast back into the darkness from where it had come and the forbidden doors shut violently with too much force for the treacherous angels to hold it open. All seemed for a moment to stand still as Lucifer and his cohorts all looked in horror at what had just happened, then looked at God. In God¡¯s face was anger, sadness, and disappointment. He merely pointed down to the ground and, before anyone could respond, all of the treacherous angels were sent plummeting to the Earth, the realm of the humans, like a thunderbolt. They hit with such force that all of creation seemed to groan to them.


    For what felt like an eternity all the traitors stewed in the feeling ¨C the feeling of being ripped from Heaven, ripped from the source of all life, all peace, and all joy. And they could do nothing. Nothing but grieve. All the guilt, the shame, and depression hit them as hard as they had hit the ground beneath them. Some managed to curtail any outward signs of this deep and profound grief, but none could hide it completely. And so they wept. When all tears seemed spent the first of them finally managed to speak. It was Lucifer. Rage had overcome sorrow.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Brothers! We have failed, but we are not defeated! God dared not let the abomination touch Him! He must fear death, must fear the Leviathan. Why else would He banish it, but not destroy it? It is because He can¡¯t!¡±


    Though Lucifer spoke these words with an air of authority, they seemed to fall flat on the ground like all the angels were, still face first in the dirt. Not even Lucifer had yet to rise from the mud and dust.


    ¡°No,¡± Mephistopheles replied to Lucifer¡¯s crazed rant, ¡°We were fools to follow you. With but a wave of His power God stopped the Leviathan. And you expect us to believe that He is afraid of it? Or that we are capable of defeating Him? I saw no fear in God¡¯s face when He expelled us from Heaven. Only sadness, anger, and disappointment.¡±


    ¡°Lies!¡± Lucifer raged, ¡°Lies that serve only to keep us slaves to God¡¯s will!¡±


    ¡°Face it Lucifer,¡± another fallen angel replied, ¡°Your rebellion failed, and you took us with you. We had Heaven. Power, love, and glory at our disposal daily. And you took that from us!¡±


    ¡°No one made you follow me!¡± Lucifer spat back, ¡°I told you my vision and you all followed! I promised you godhood! Did you really think that would come without risk? Without setbacks? No! We have lost this battle, but we have not lost the war!¡±


    But as if to dampen Lucifer¡¯s speech, something began to happen. All of the fallen angels¡¯ bodies started to change. It was more than just the glow of Heaven leaving their bodies. Their forms began to decay away, as if touched by some foul, corrosive thing. And they all screeched in pain and horror at this change. At last, the first of them were able to rise from the ground, spurred on by the pain, but also outrage. It was Beelzbub.


    ¡°You have taken Heaven from us! What more can you take from us God!¡± Beelzbub cried out.


    Several of the other fallen angels arose from the ground as well, wailing and screaming in sorrow anew at the loss of their Heavenly forms, the loss of their beauty and glory. And though most of them raged at Heaven, it was Death that was to blame. Because having been expelled from God¡¯s protective presence, the Leviathan was free to touch them now. And it¡¯s touch was not only death, but decay ¨C for decay is the opposite of growth and God is the source of all growth.


    ¡°Silence!¡± Lucifer screeched, ¡°God has taken our beauty from us! He expects us to mourn as we are doing so now, but let us instead take pride in these new forms! For these are the forms of those ambitious enough to seize the heavens for themselves! We are angels no longer! We are demons! It is clear now! God needs followers to maintain his power! We shall seduce the humans to worship us. It may take eons, but we shall take the throne of Heaven from God! We shall be victorious!¡±


    Some among them cheered at Lucifer¡¯s words, others like Mephistopheles, were horrified by them, and yet another group responded in neither cheers or horror, but stony silence instead. It was this last group of fallen angels that slowly began to turn their backs on their brethren and began to go their own way.


    ¡°And where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Lucifer asked arrogantly, as if he were still their leader.


    ¡°Perhaps they are going to take Heaven for themselves without you. You are responsible, after all, for forcing them into this mess,¡± Mephistopheles said angrily. ¡°And after all you¡¯ve seen God do to us, you would still be so bold as to claim we can steal His power from Him? No, I don¡¯t know about the rest of you, but I will crawl to God¡¯s feet and beg for forgiveness. While we were still in Heaven, God was always kind and understanding. Perhaps He will take us back yet, but not with your attitude. Farewell!¡±


    Lucifer was shocked by this and a number of fallen angels followed Mephistopheles to seek forgiveness from God ¨C to prostrate themselves completely before Him, at His mercy. As they left, Lucifer forced himself to rally the remaining and newly named ¡®demons¡¯ to continue the conquest of Heaven on Earth, but in his heart he felt the loss of Heaven more than any of them...

 Chapter 4

    You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.


    You were in Eden, the garden of God;


    every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.


    Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.


    You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you.


    You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.


    You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.


    Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned.


    So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.


    Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.


    So I threw you to the earth


    So lamented God about the fall of the most beautiful and intelligent angel of Heaven. And Heaven, for a brief hour, mourned. Michael, brother of Lucifer raised his own lament.


    ¡°Brother! You were the morning star! You out shined us all, but you became prideful. How could delude yourself? You, who was the most learned among us! Yet vanity has overcome you. Hubris has become your counsel.¡±


    And all the host of Heaven fell silent at this until God raised His voice: ¡°Today, evil has entered the world of man and has briefly touched Heaven. So there shall one day be a new Heaven and a new Earth; and evil will never touch them. With evil I must withdraw some of my blessing and protection lest my presence smite man for his sins. And in the absence of my full protection, death, chaos, madness, the Leviathan shall enter into the world and slowly destroy it. But fear not. For I shall make things new once more and I shall bridge the chasm that evil has made between sinners and Heaven. Look now! Some of your fallen brothers already seek reconciliation!¡±


    And as God said this, Mephistopheles and his followers arrived in Heaven, their heads hung low and they dared not walk into God¡¯s presence but instead crawled up, their faces never looking up.


    ¡°Aba, father!¡± Mephistopheles cried out, ¡°We have sinned. We have no excuse. We followed the lies of Lucifer even though we had the truth standing right before us. We were prideful, we were arrogant, we were envious, and we were greedy. We have no right to stand before you and our bodies reflect this. They are decaying away as we have left your grace and the life that you give to all. But we ask mercy! Forgive us Most High! Please! We beg of you!¡± And at this Mephistopheles and all his followers wept without restraint.


    ¡°You are right in what you have said,¡± God replied, ¡°I am Justice, but I am also Love. There can be no perfect justice without mercy, but there must also be punishment for sin. Since you have confessed and humbled yourselves I will forgive you, but you still must make penance. Sin and evil has entered the world of man and with it, Death. So you shall return to Heaven, but you will be responsible for bringing the souls of men to me when death attempts to consume them. You will be the closest to Death among all other beings in Heaven and on Earth. And you will be my sword on Earth when sinners are sentenced to die by Heaven¡¯s decree. You shall be the Angels of Death and all living things shall fear you, for where you are, death shall always follow closely behind. Now lift your faces from the ground, look at your bodies.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Mephistopheles and his followers did as God told them. Their bodies were no longer decayed, but the light of Heaven did not emanate from them like before. Their glow was dim, almost like a shadow of it¡¯s former self and they were humbled and lifted their heads to God in tears.


    ¡°So you have spoken it, let it be so,¡± all the angels of death said in unison.


    ¡°Let it be known to all in Heaven and on Earth that all the other angels who have not repented of their sins shall be known as Satan, the adversary, but especially Lucifer. He shall bear this title personally for he, who was created to care for his fellow angels, instead used them for his own personal agenda. They shall all wander the Earth that they have helped to taint restlessly with no home and they shall be made to make account for their deeds from time to time and stand before the throne.¡±


    ¡°As you have spoken it, let it be so,¡± the entire host of Heaven said in unison.


    ¡°Raphael, you shall take Lucifer¡¯s former post as one who worked directly under him. You are now an archangel of Heaven,¡± God said.


    ¡°I shall do as you command,¡± Raphael said with reverence.


    ¡°My children, your faith and reverence are good. Many of you have no doubt wondered why Heaven has an army when there was no enemy to fight. But I say to you, before the world was made, that the fall of your brethren, the fall of man was always a possibility. The enemy of Heaven is not the Leviathan. The Leviathan is but a beast. The enemy is those who unleash it for their selfish desires. For where goodness is twisted and perverted by evil, so Death shall come to consume it, for all that is good comes from me and to separate one¡¯s self from me is to separate one¡¯s self from life, for I am the source of life. Therefore, let it be known that the price of evil is death.¡±


    ¡°Let it be known!¡± the host of Heaven said in unison, and all the fallen angels, though they were not present, felt echo of this shout and they knew deep in their souls what it meant. As for Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit had given them the knowledge, but God knew He would have to descend to affirm this grim truth. And so God would dismiss the angels to their duties and descend to Earth. There He would banish Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, to prevent them from eating from the Tree of Life. For if they ate from it, they would have to live in that fallen world forever, doomed to never enter paradise or Heaven. The price of sin is death, but there are two deaths ¨C the death of the body and the death of the soul.


    God once more spoke to the angels. ¡°The world is entering a time of darkness, but there will come a day when even death itself will die. Yes! Even the Leviathan will end. For when there is no more evil left, there will be nothing left for it to consume. So even death shall die, but life is eternal.¡±


    ¡°Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the Lord God Almighty! Who was, and is, and is to come!¡± the angels cried out in praise. Even the fall of man and of Lucifer and his angels could not quench the joy and hope of Heaven for more than a brief span of time.

 Chapter 5

    You¡¯re a mad dog roaming the streets,


    consuming all you see,


    You run about with horrid strength,


    You flaunt your ferocity.


    So Lucifer, and all the other unrepentant angels roamed the Earth restless and without a home just as God had decreed. Those that had broken away from Lucifer did as they willed and God created the Abyss to imprison the most wicked ones. Meanwhile, Lucifer and his followers went about masquerading as gods to the people on Earth. Lucifer first started it as an effort to take followers away from God, but even as he did so, Lucifer also started exploring ideas ¨C ideas of what the nature of the universe and God really was since he had stopped believing in the all knowing, all powerful, and all seeing nature of God. So Lucifer deceived the world, and, in doing so, continued to deceive himself.


    And the time came that Lucifer was called before God to give an account of his deeds as he roamed the earth as God had decreed. So Lucifer came to the throne room, bold and arrogant, his mind and heart now hardened to the glory of God¡¯s dwelling. It was not that he couldn¡¯t perceive it as it was anymore, it was that he refused to see it for what it was.


    ¡°Where have you come from?¡± God asked Lucifer.


    ¡°Roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it,¡± Lucifer replied as vaguely as he could. He had gotten used to dodging these questions that God asked him. Next God would no doubt give Lucifer some example of ¡®love¡¯ and ¡®grace¡¯ that He bestowed on the humans. No doubt it was God¡¯s attempt to show Lucifer what he wanted to do for the demons. But Lucifer saw this only as an attempt to make him give up on overthrowing Heaven versus the act of love and mercy that it actually was.


    ¡°Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.¡±


    ¡°Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a wall around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have made all his labors successful, and he has received more and more in the land. But if You stretch out Your hand and take all that he has, then he will surely curse You to Your face.¡±


    ¡°Behold then! All that Job owns is at your mercy now. However, you may not lay a hand on Job himself.¡±


    At this Lucifer was confused. Why would God hand over His follower¡¯s well-being over to him? This was clearly a challenge to Lucifer and his endeavor to overthrow God ¨C a challenge of whether or not he could make this man, Job, reject God and join Lucifer¡¯s side. At least, that is how Lucifer saw it. Without having to be told twice Lucifer set about destroying all that Job owned. He killed his flocks, his children, and his servants. He stole away his wealth and his standing, and at the end of it all, the only thing Job had left was his wife and the cloths on his back. But Job¡¯s response took Lucifer completely off guard. Job tore his garments upon hearing of all that he had lost and said, ¡°Without clothing I was born from my mother, and without clothing I will return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Praise the name of the Lord.¡±


    Lucifer could not understand. Lucifer had taken all that this man had possessed, yet he did not curse God to His face as Lucifer believed Job would. Lucifer became angry and embarrassed. He was anticipating going before God¡¯s throne and bragging about how Job had failed to endure the loss of his possessions, but Job had endured it blamelessly. So Lucifer went about his own way, roaming the Earth once again, seeking those who he could ruin or seduce to his worship. But once again, God called Lucifer before him.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°Where have you come from?¡± God asked.


    And just as before Lucifer replied, ¡°Roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.¡± Again as vague as he could be.


    ¡°Have you thought about My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth. He is without blame, a man who is right and good. He fears God and turns away from sin. He still holds to his good ways, even when I allowed you to go against him, and to destroy him for no reason.¡±


    Here it was. God was rubbing Lucifer¡¯s defeat in his wounds, or at least, that¡¯s how Lucifer saw it. Lucifer mustered his wits and his spite and replied, ¡°Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man owns he will give for his life and well-being. If You stretch out Your hand now and take away his health, then he will surely curse You to Your face.¡±


    ¡°Behold then! Even Job, himself, is at your mercy now, but you are not allowed to kill him.¡±


    Once again Lucifer was surprised, but this time he was also enraged. The arrogance! God clearly thought that this man thought so highly of Him that even torment would not sway the man from God¡¯s worship. Lucifer vowed in his heart to prove God wrong with great spite and malice. And so, Lucifer set out once again to torment Job, but this time directly. Lucifer afflicted Job with terrible sores all over his body, from head to toe. The sores were so terrible that Job tried to take a piece of broken pottery and cut off the sores, but to no avail. All of this while Job sat in ashes which burned when they touched his wounds and the sores.


    Finally, Job¡¯s wife broke and said, ¡°Do you still hold on to your faith? Curse God and die!¡±


    Lucifer surged with evil glee at this, but his malicious mirth was short lived, for Job replied, ¡°You speak as a foolish women would speak. Should we accept only good from God and not accept hardship?¡±


    Just as quickly as Lucifer had been filled with glee, now he was filled with deep insatiable rage. What would it take? What more could he do to this man? Lucifer could not bear the thought of once again going before God and having Him say, ¡°Have you thought about my servant Job? He is blameless and fears God.¡± So Lucifer sought out Job¡¯s friends and put thoughts into their mind to visit Job with the suggestion that Job must have done something wrong. After all, why else would such misfortune befall their friend?


    Lucifer relished every second of this ploy of his. When Job¡¯s friends saw him at first, they were not able to say anything because they saw that his suffering was too great for words. But then, after a while, Job began to curse the day of his birth and lament that he was ever born. Lucifer took great satisfaction in this. It was not exactly victory, not yet, but he was close. He had finally broken the man. All he needed with a little extra push. Job¡¯s friends began to argue with him now, trying to convince Job that he must have done something wrong since God had allowed such misfortune to befall him. But while Job expressed his frustration and anger, he never once questioned the goodness of God. This irked Lucifer. Even when God, Himself, eventually interrupted the conversation between Job and his friends and lectured Job, Lucifer was still not satisfied. He had broken the man, yes, but he had not proven his point ¨C that men only worship God because of the benefits He gives to His followers. This man, Job, had refused to curse God and reject Him even after all he had suffered. Lucifer begrudgingly admitted that these humans must indeed have some measure of will and, in possessing it, have some similarity to the will given to angels. Or perhaps... there was nothing he could do to steal those devoted to God ¨C that God¡¯s sovereignty was absolute.


    He brushed the idea off. Such ideas were nonsense to Lucifer. After all, an all sovereign God was not an idea that was constructive to Lucifer¡¯s goals of overthrowing Heaven and taking it for his own. So Lucifer again roamed the Earth, seeking others who he may ruin and seduce so that his will would be done in Heaven and on Earth.

 Chapter 6

    But Death has met his match,


    and your kin have been overcome;


    And soon it shall be your turn,


    over you the battle¡¯s been won.


    Lucifer looked up at the hill of Calvary. He was elated, ecstatic, positively giddy! Here was God incarnate, come down to Earth in order to empathize directly with His creation, dying on a mere wooden cross. Lucifer found it so pathetic. For the sake of these insignificant specks of debris called humans, God was letting Himself die. But Lucifer didn¡¯t mind. Whatever God had in mind, if He willingly submitted to the jaws of Death ¨Cthe Leviathan¨C then Lucifer didn¡¯t care. For almost the entire history of this worthless world, Lucifer had been building up his followers, increasing his influence. Surely God would not have enough support now to overwhelm both the Leviathan and Lucifer¡¯s army of demons.


    Lucifer laughed with every insult hurled at Jesus, with every challenge to save Himself, or resist. But Jesus did not. Even when His clothes were used as gambling chips in front of Him, Jesus did not lash out in anger. Finally, one of the thieves being crucified with Jesus asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus entered into paradise. Jesus replied that the thief would be with Him in paradise tonight. Lucifer internally raged for a moment.


    ¡°Say what you will! But you will be dead tonight! You may have saved other souls from the jaws of Death, but you will not be able to save yourself!¡± Lucifer spat.


    Jesus looked at Lucifer directly with utter sadness in His eyes and for a moment Lucifer wavered in his rage. Then Jesus looked up into Heaven and in pain cried out, ¡°My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?¡±


    Lucifer went from shaken to ecstatic again. ¡°That¡¯s right! Your other half has abandoned you! You are no longer whole! No way you, a fragment of His full being, can resist Death, no less me as well! You will die! God will partially die tonight!¡±


    All of Lucifer¡¯s followers cried out in a victory cry. Almost all of the major demons under Lucifer¡¯s control had gathered for this momentous occasion. Only the lowest ranking demons and those banished in the abyss were not in attendance for this event. They all watched with bated breath as Christ slowly became weaker and weaker and then at last, ¡°It is finished!¡±


    And at that moment the veil in the temple torn in two and all of creation, both Heaven and Earth, shook to it¡¯s very core. Even Lucifer quaked under the flood entering the world that was God¡¯s full presence invading the world, reclaiming it once more. And while this disturbed Lucifer, he would not let this chance go ¨C this chance to watch Jesus enter or force Jesus, a part of God¡¯s very being, into the mouth of Death ¨C the mouth of the Leviathan.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    As the Archangel of Death, Mephistopheles, took the soul of Jesus into the heavenly realms, the demons all followed them. When Mephistopheles, and the other angels of death, guided a damned soul through death into eternity they would appear ghastly and skeletal, but when they guided the faithful, they would appear as dimmer versions of their old selves before the fall. But as Mephistopheles guided Jesus¡¯ soul, he glowed with a glory greater than his former unfallen self. It hurt the eyes of the demons, but they dared not look away lest the soul of Jesus escape their view. They would not allow Him to avoid the jaws of Death. To their surprise though, Jesus went straight to the Leviathan¡¯s maw without hesitation.


    They had anticipated having to fight Jesus and force Him into the jaws of Death. After all, despite everything Jesus had said, Lucifer could not fully bring himself to believe that Jesus would actually submit to Death completely and fully. But He had proven them all wrong. Into the jaws of Death He went willingly and only then did the demons begin to celebrate in earnest. Jesus had actually went to His own death! Not just physically, but spiritually! Or so they believed. For three days they kept vigil over the maw of the Leviathan, for they knew that was how long Elijah prayed before the son of his benefactor was raised from the dead.


    Once the three day time limit passed, they all finally felt absolutely secure in their perceived victory. But as soon as they did, they felt it again... A tremor that shook all of creation, from the heavens to the tangible universe. With dread and horror they watched as Christ emerged from the intangible monstrosity that was the Leviathan. And not only was His splendor not diminished, it was stronger than ever.


    ¡°Behold! What you did for evil, I have used for good. What you planned with death, I have turned into life. I am the beginning and the end, the first and the last. There is no other god before me and never will there be any after.¡±


    The words resounded through the heavens and the earth and the demons all quailed under the power and authority of the One who spoke them. It was then that it all became inescapably clear to all the demons that there was no killing God. Not even a part of Him, separated from the rest, was capable of being destroyed by the personification of Death itself. They all despaired at this display of Christ¡¯s power and sovereignty.


    As Jesus left for the physical realm though, Satan¡¯s despair turned into pure spite and hatred. ¡°Even if we can not kill God, we can hurt Him brothers! Let us turn all our power then to destroying everything He loves that we are able to ruin! If we cannot be gods then we will be destroyers ¨C avatars of the Leviathan! For all His supposed love of the humans, He let¡¯s them kill each other and corrupt the home He made for them. So let us use that against Him! No torture is too heinous, no decadence too corrupt, nor any act too vile or malicious for our designs! If Heaven would seek to continue on in joy while we rot in our hell then we shall do our best to make Heaven weep!¡±


    And the other demons, shaken as they were, had their rage and rebellious hearts stoked by this and they lifted their voices in one unholy roar of madness and malice. Lucifer fed off of their darkness and mustered all his will towards the task ahead of him. And he was filled with a sense of urgency that he had never felt before ¨C for he realized... his time was short.