Lucifer…
Father had given them forty days to prepare for the flood that he would unleash upon the world.
Yet even with the looming threat approaching them, he couldn’t help but focus on what would come after.
If they managed to survive the flood, then that would mean that Father could be defeated.
The very notion of God almighty losing in any way shape or form brought up some doubts about the situation that Lucifer didn’t realize he had.
Why would he even suggest a contest like this with the thought of losing in mind? If Father was truly all powerful, then losing would be an inconceivable thought.
The idea behind this contest itself also didn’t make any sense.
Why would he give them forty days to prepare? Why allow them enough time to gather resources and allies in preparation for the coming flood if it meant such a significant difference in winning or losing?
Why allow them a chance at all? What is Father trying to prove?
However, that was not what bothered him most.
If Father lost and he made good on his word of leaving this world, then what did that mean for the future if he wasn’t here?
What would it truly mean for a godless world to exist?
“We’re here,” said Cain as they finally came to the land that would later be known as Greece.
This was the land that hard the highest concentration of spiritual energy that Lucifer could sense across the entire planet.
The very fabric of space and time seemed...distorted here. The flow of souls within this land felt murky, chaotic, and disrupted.
As the two of the looked up at the black and stormy sky, they spotted two beings of immense power clashing together.
One of which flashed with sparkling energy, lightening and wind swirling all around him.
While the other…
Lucifer squinted his eyes to try and understand what was happening with the other being but for some reason his senses were dulled.
The more he tried to rely on the grace that he took from his father to sense the mysterious power coming from that being, the more his senses seemed to dull.
However, when he separated his senses from father’s light, he felt greater clarity, but he still could not perceive what it was.
“What...is that?” Cain asked breathlessly as he stared at the mysterious being with wide eyes.
“What’s wrong? What do you see?” Lucifer asked.
For some reason, Cain was able to see something but Lucifer could not. Whatever strange power was coming from the other being, its nature was hidden from him.
“I...don’t know how to properly describe it. Its like when seeing your own reflection in a pond, but many of them, and in so many directions all around him. I don’t quite understand it,” he said.
They watched as the two beings laid waste to the land that they were fighting over. The being ruling over the storms in the sky raised his arms and numerous bolts struck at his hands as if he was charging up for an attack.
When his hands fell, the lighting screamed as it slammed into the other being and reduced him to a blackened, charred husk.
Then, in the very next moment, charred corpse of the other being seemed to reverse all the damage that had been done to it. It was almost as if the being could…
As the realization finally came to him, Lucifer’s eyes widened as he realized this being’s significance.
“There will be nothing left for them to rule if their battle reduces everything to rubble. We need to find a way to stop-,” Cain started to say as he took a step forward but Lucifer held a hand up.
“I...I must have them. I need that one’s strength,” Lucifer said with a voice that sounded like he was struggling for air.
The nature of this being, the one that battled against the lighting god, it was such a nature that eluded Father’s eyes.
Lucifer was sure of it.
How else could Cain perceive what Lucifer could not even when aided by Father’s light?
There was much that he needed to think about regarding this problem, but it would have to wait until after he put this battle to an end.
The beings of time and storm roared at one another once more as they prepared to throw all they had at each other, yet Lucifer was the first to act.
With Father’s light coursing through his body, Lucifer jumped into the air, in-between the two gods and spoke with a harsh voice.
“Enough,” he said, and upon hearing his words, the two gods stopped in mid air. Their heads spun around to stare at him with mixed emotions of rage, confusion, and arrogance.
“W-what?! Who are you?! What business do you have with interfering in this war?” said the god of time.
The storm god spared few words as he roared, “I have no time to spare for outsiders! Be gone!”
He pulled back his fist and lighting arced all around him as he aimed to strike him down.
Before he could get the chance, Lucifer raised his right hand and caught the storm god’s fist.
Strangely, the immense power emanating from the storm god’s fist seemed to leave his body and was instead absorbed into his own body.
“Fascinating…,” Lucifer said as he drained all the energy and strength from the storm god’s body, whose eyes began to roll back into his head.
He did not know why he was able to absorb the power of others but he would make the most use of it.
As the storm god fainted, he dangled in the air from Lucifer’s grip much to the time god’s horror.
“Now then, shall I do the same to you or are you willing to open a dialogue with me?” he asked.
The time god backed away in shock at what he had seen and was rendered speechless.
“Y-you...what did you do to him? What are you?” he asked.
“I am Lucifer, the First Fallen Angel of God.”
With his intervention, their war came to a sudden halt, and during that time he was able to learn a lot of very useful information on their nature.
Kronos, the being who wielded the power to manipulate time itself, was a race known as ‘Titans’. They are multitudes more powerful than the gods that they were at odds against.
Zeus, the storm god that was still recovering from having his strength stolen from him, was the leader of a rouge group of gods that had emerged shortly after the titans have been around.
Oddly enough, none of the gods or titans that Lucifer talked to could recall exactly when they first emerged in this world.
They all knew that they had appeared at different times, but they couldn’t seem to pin down the exact moment of when that emergence was. Not even Kronos was able to provide an answer.
The only thing that they seemed to agree on was that their first memories were of emerging from a pool of blood, looking up at the sun or moon in the sky as if their souls were being drawn to the sight of the celestial bodies, and then collapsing into unconsciousness.
When they all next awoke, they had full awareness of self and what they were capable of.
Lucifer couldn’t quite make sense of it, however he had a feeling that it would be worth looking into.
As two days had passed, after the Titans and Gods agreed to a ceasefire, aside from Zeus himself as he was still unconscious, they all gathered around a campfire to discuss the incoming threat.
Kronos, who was the first to agree to this dialogue, seemed doubtful of Lucifer’s words.
“If I am to assume correctly, you speak of your creator or father, a being far more powerful than yourself, threatening to flood the world and wipe out all life? For what reason would he do that? What does he hope to gain in doing this?” he asked.
Koios, the titan of the North, decided to speak next.
“I think there is a better question to be asked. How do we know that what you say about your ‘Father’ is correct? You describe him as an all powerful being that holds dominion over all things, yet if that were really the truth, why is he not here right now trying to kill us all for even putting up a fight? How do we know that he isn’t listening to us right now? Is he truly as powerful as you make him out to be, or is that simply your perception of him?”
Hearing this, Lucifer was unsure of how to answer.
His brother Cassiel had said much about this very topic. He has even said that Father did not truly see and hear everything, yet Cassiel himself did. He did see everything.
In spite of that, even if Cassiel was able to see all that there was in the universe, he was choosing not to act on what he heard.
As of right now, Lucifer could not muster up an answer.
In his place, Cain spoke.
“Maybe I can provide an answer,” he said.
All the gods and titans present turned to look at him in unison, many of them holding various expressions towards him.
Many of the titans held a look of disgust towards him and looked down upon his lower existence, save for Rhea, Kronos, and Koios.
Of the gods, Hades looked at him with interest, Demeter ignored him with a dismissive wave of her hand, Poseidon stared at him curiously, Hera looked at him the same way one might look down upon an insect crawling upon their feet, yet it was Hestia who replied with an endearing voice.
“Speak your mind, please,” she said.
Hearing her voice caused Lucifer to be unusually drawn to her. As he turned to look at her, he noticed her the hollowed out eyes that were illuminated only by the tiny blue flames within them.
However, as Cain was about to speak, the Titan Hyperion charged forward with an intense look of rage and disgust aimed at him.
“No. I will not listen to the words of this useless worm of a human. You have no place to speak amongst us. Stay silent!”
Hyperion stood before Cain and stared down at him with an intense fire in his eyes that would have made most humans grovel on the ground for forgiveness.
Yet Cain remained standing firm before the Titan’s overbearing stare.
“I will not remain silent, and you will listen to what-” he tried to say but his voice was cut short as Hyperion held his head in his hand and burned it to ashes before crushing it.
If not for seeing Cain’s body get torn to pieces many times over, he would have reached his hand out to stop this. Now though, he will allow Cain to defend himself.
Hyperion then looked at Lucifer and said, “It is unusual, the lowly company you keep. Why would you allow a human to speak for you?”
Lucifer did not bother to look the fiery titan in the eyes as he said, “I think you will find it very informative what Cain has to say. Besides, I know not how old you gods and titans truly are, but I am at least certain that Cain predates all of you by centuries. Show him respect.”
Hyperion smirked as he snarled back, “Why would I bother showing respect to a human that dies at the most insignificant use of my strength?”
As he spoke those words, Cain’s body stood up behind the titan as his head regained its form, grabbed hold of his shoulder, and said, “Because I have stared into the eyes of God and spat in his face. I did not squirm in fear in the presence of his horrifying power, unlike all of you when you stand before Lucifer, holding the smallest sliver of God’s true strength.”
Hyperion’s head slowly turned around in fear upon hearing Cain’s voice and looked at him.
“That’s...not possible. I killed you…,” he said with a shaky voice.
“It would not be the first time I have died, nor will it be the last.”
Hyperion backed away and stared into Cain’s eyes.
“No...there is no creature in this world that can survive such a thing. How are you alive? What...are you really?”
Cain tilted back his head to look down his nose at Hyperion and said, “I am just a simple human. Nothing more, nothing less. Though I am cursed by God to remain in this corpse body of mine for eternity. No matter how many times you kill me, no matter how creative you get, you will never succeed in keeping me dead. Now, will you allow me to speak?”
“Hyperion, take a seat at once and let him speak,” Kronos said firmly.
Gritting his teeth, Hyperion obeyed.
Cain looked at Kronos and nodded his thanks before he began speaking.
“I believe it is possible that God does hold authority over all forces in the universe based on what Lucifer has told me. I don’t think there is any reason to disagree with that statement right away. However, I do think that there are significant limitations to how much of that authority is granted to him. I have my own example to pull from. Before I was cursed to live in this body, my brother and I were chased by a tiger and while I barely survived and managed to slay the tiger, my brother was killed. Soon after my brother died, God’s voice spoke into my mind and he decided to punish me by trapping my soul into my brother’s corpse.”
As those last few words left Cain’s mouth, all the gods and titans alike had the same reaction.
Their eyes seemed to regard his story with disbelief but looking at his eyes and knowing that he was not lying, their faces changed to dread and horror. Their eyes widened in shock and many of them were unable to look at him.
Rhea held her hands to her face and knelt on the ground as if she were going to vomit.
Poseidon’s face went pale as he stared at him.
Hades looked upon Cain’s body with a sympathetic look of understanding.
Even Hyperion had trouble hearing of such a horrible fate.
Hestia’s expression seemed to stay the same as she urged Cain to continue.
“Putting that aside for now, when God discovered what had happened, his words seemed to indicate that he did not know what had really happened and claimed that I had murdered my brother. I don’t know if he had seen it and that he was simply lying, or if he was truly ignorant of what had happened and thought I was lying. Either way, it doesn’t matter. God is immensely power, but he is not completely unstoppable. I do not think that he is truly all seeing and all knowing unless he was purposely listening in for us. With that being said, I humbly ask for your cooperation in defending us all from him.”
“How exactly does this ‘God’ plan to wipe out all life from this world?” Koios asked.
“He wishes to cast a flood so massive that it will rise beyond even the tallest mountains in this world, and that no place on earth will be spared from this flood.”
Hearing this, Oceanus and Poseidon looked at each other with confusion.
“He aims to ‘wipe out all life’ with a flood? Is this ‘God’ a fool? Not all life is bound to the earth. Many forms of life live not only within the seas as well, but in the skies. Beings like Oceanus and myself would be able to survive just fine,” Poseidon said with the water titan nodding in agreement.
Hearing this, Hades shouted at him and said, “That’s all well and good for you, but what of the rest of us who call this world our home?! Would you abandon us to drown to death while the two of you relax in the safety of the waters? I would think not!”
Poseidon put up his hands in surrender as he said, “Ah! Of course not! I would not abandon my kin like that… Clearly I had not thought far enough ahead. My apologies.”
It was at this point that Lucifer decided to speak up once again, “I do believe that there is a way for us to survive this. In a land not far from here, there is a large structure being built that is meant to house many animals and peoples. It is not being built by us, but rather by a human who had foreseen this catastrophe happening ahead of time. I think that we should all put our efforts into reinforcing his structure so that we can weather the incoming storm.”
Hearing that, the titans seemed reluctant to place their faith in the power of a human’s ingenuity yet Kronos seemed willing which was enough for them.
“The Titans will lend you our strength if it means the survival of all of us,” Kronos said firmly.
Lucifer and Cain looked over to the gods for a response but they seemed hesitant on giving an answer.
Hades then stepped forward as he said, “I would be willing to offer you my assistance, but as of right now, Zeus is still incapacitated. As our leader, the choice would fall onto me but I fear that he will not appreciate it if his authority was put into question while he was still recovering.”
Cain then spoke up as he said, “Whether you decide to help us or not won’t matter. It comes down to whether or not you want to survive. Regardless of your support, you would have to decide whether you want to come with us and live, or stay here and drown. I think Zeus would rather live to have the opportunity to argue his position than have things end with his death.”
Hades smirked at Cain’s words and said, “That was well said...hmm, very well then. In Zeus’s place, I will decide that we will aid you as well.”
Cain…
He let Lucifer talk with them and plan things out while he stepped away to get some space.
He may have talked a big game but he didn’t have any idea of what he was going to do when he saw God again.
Hyperion made him fully realize his powerlessness. Even against a being so significantly weaker than God, a titan like him could crush him with a mere flick of his finger.
What could Cain hope to accomplish with his own strength?
“Cain? May I speak with you?” said a kindly feminine voice.
He turned around as he came face to face with the goddess Hestia. As he looked at her more closely, he realized that she truly had hollowed eyes. There were nothing in them but fire.
He realized that he was staring at them when she turned her head slightly and chuckled.
“Do my eyes frighten you?” she asked.
“No. They are unusual but I’ve seen more than enough horrible things to scare me that this does not bother me in the slightest. What did you want to speak to me about?”
“Oh, nothing of too much importance. I just wanted to have a simple conversation with you between friends,” she said, showing him such a pleasant and heartwarming smile that he could almost feel as if his cheeks were warm with a blush, yet he knew that was impossible.
“You are quick to assume that you and I are already friends.”
Her smile dropped as she leaned forward and looked up at him while asking, “You don’t want to be friends? I do. I think it would be rather interesting to have a walking corpse as a friend. If your curse is never broken, then you might very well live forever until all of creation eventually dies. One would think that having friends to talk to would make such a painful existence more bearable, don’t you think?”
Cain looked at her with a disturbed and confused expression as he asked, “Why did you have to phrase that so morbidly?”
Seeing his expression, Hestia laughed as she replied, “Because then I can laugh at your shocked and horrified expression. Oh, don’t be bothered by my ridiculous prattling. I just wanted to joke around with you.”
Hestia then turned her head to look at Lucifer as he went on his way to the northern lands of the Norse gods.
“Are you not going with him?” she asked.
“No. I’d better not. He’s told me that the northern lands are frigid cold. Even with my undead body, its difficult to move around in the winter without body heat to warm up my frozen blood. Rather, he’s tasked me with leading the other gods and titans to the great structure while I wait for him to return.”
“Hmm...from what I’ve heard, that power of his is only as good as the amount of energy he is able to take from others. Without the ability ti absorb other people’s power, he has no power of his own to wield. It would be rather dangerous if he ends up using all that strength on his journey in the northern lands without someone to keep him warm,” she said as she pondered the possible circumstances.
“Then would you accompany him to help keep him warm?” Cain asked jokingly.
“If I leave with him, then my new friend will be left all alone to deal with the overbearing nature of the gods and titans,” she said, joking back with him.
The two of them stayed silent for a moment while she looked on at Lucifer’s back as he left.
When she finally did speak again, she said, “I think I might go with him. There are things in this world, things about my birth into this world, things about the nature of creation that I don’t understand. Maybe he will give me the answers.”
“Not even Lucifer has all the answers, yet I trust him enough that I will follow him into battle against anything in this world. If its answers you want, then it wouldn’t be a mistake to follow him in search of those answers. If that’s what you want, then go with him.”
Hestia looked Cain in the eyes as if she could see through his façade of being able to bear the burden of weakness among beings of overwhelming strength.
“I think I will join him, but before I go, I wish you good luck,” she said as she bowed her head to him in respect and left him to ponder over his thoughts alone in the forest.
The gods and titans agreed that they would wait and rest until morning to leave, which left Cain with nothing to do but wander the forest with nothing to do and no one to keep him company but his own thoughts.
Sitting on a three branch in the forest, he looked up at the brilliantly shining moon in the sky and sighed.
The sounds of birds and insects chirping through the night helped for him to drown out the thoughts that plagued his mind.
He only hoped that it would last until morning.
But then, as if someone or something had read his mind, the sound of chirping halted and even the wind itself went still.
“What is going on…?” he asked aloud.
He turned his head to look around and see the cause of the silence only to meet the red eyes of Apophis.
“Hello again, Cain.”