A great silence plagued the first city; the hosts of Heaven wept in silence, and the twenty-four elders hummed in quiet worship.
Somewhere in the First City, out in a meadow of assorted flowers, seventy-one archangels gathered. Some sat in the tall grass; others stood and paced around. They were restless.
Michael was grieving quietly but cleared his throat.
"Brothers, I know you are heavy with grief, but we owe it to Metatron to find his killer." Michael paused for a moment, then quickly added. "Although I doubt any resident of Heaven committed such a great crime—sin. It is known there is failed life residing outside the omniverse itself. We will begin our investigation ther—"
"Sorry to interrupt, but shouldn't all the archangels be present for such a decision?" The question was asked by Gabriel, the only timid member of the archangels, his brown eyes darting rapidly to avoid eye contact. He was also smaller and younger than the rest.
Michael scanned the crowd with intent.
"Lucifer." He muttered under his breath. "Who has seen Lucifer?"
Azrael scoffed; he wasn't a fan of Lucifer's erratic behaviors.
"I'll look for him," Gabriel suggested. "He's probably busy."
Michael nodded; Gabriel took his leave.
Michael hid his pain well but was hurt the most by Metatron's death. Metatron was the only archangel that truly understood the importance of their responsibility.
"I'll be leaving the heavenly realm on the progenitor's orders," Michael began. "I'll be tracing Metatron's steps prior to his death and hunting whatever was capable of killing him."
His voice was dripping with hurt, but it was his job to be the stoic wrath of God, so he composed himself more tightly.
"I wish to volunteer to help," Zadkiel interjected.
"No," Michael countered steely. "This is my solemn task."
Michael unfurled his wings and took to the air.
.....................
Gabriel wondered to himself as he soared, What sort of beast could kill one of the most powerful archangels? It had to have some sort of cosmic relevance.
He spotted Lucifer in his garden, sitting on the plants, eyes closed, legs crossed in meditation.
Gabriel quietly dropped beside him.
"Brother, brother?" His voice is cautious. "Michael seeks you."
Lucifer slowly rose, his golden armor clanking as he stood; he regarded Gabriel slowly and deliberately.
Gabriel understood as he locked eyes with Lucifer; he was broken, sad, and angry.
Very angry.
"I'll let you rest." Gabriel spread his grey wings at full length; in one silent effort, he was soaring away.
Lucifer was feeling helpless again; meditating on his memories with his mother was no longer helping him calm down.
His anger was rising as hot as it was when the progenitor refused to fix Metatron.
A silent whisper brushed past his ears; he swung around, and no one was there. He sensed no presence.
He brushed it off as a trick of his grieving mind.
"Kill him." This time the voice was loud; the words tore through his brain.
Lucifer fell to one knee.
"Name yourself, coward." Lucifer held his head in pain. "Face me."
"I'm not the enemy" was the simple reply he got. "And we both want Yesh dead."
Lucifer's heart skipped a beat. He recognized that voice.
"Mother?" His voice cracked.
"No, better," the voice answered with a taunting tone.
Then who are you? Lucifer's voice now carried hostility.
There was a silence for a second, then another.
Then she appeared, a black stain in the atmosphere of heaven; she was dressed in shadow in a highly regal manner, and her hair, dark as night, flowed upward in an alluring dance. Her ghostly white eyes were sharp in movement.
She was so odd in contrast to the environment around them.
Lucifer has lived in heaven all his life; he has seen every wonder and beauty. In fact, he was one; nothing could amaze him, or so he thought.
He was intrigued by her darkness, her wrongness. He has seen nothing like her in the eons he has lived.
Finally, she spoke, interrupting his adoration of her.
"Αρε του της προμισεδ σςορδ"
Lucifer has learned every tongue that is predestined to exist, but every word that came out of her lips were strange to him.
She was expecting a reply, but he simply did not know how to reply.
She was annoyed by his silence; she switched to the language of angels.
"Are you the one Asher'ah promised me?"
Lucifer was now on guard at the mention of his mother's name. He slowly reached for his sword.
She noticed.
"That will be unwise," she warned.
Lucifer gauged his options; her face resembled his mother's.
He hesitated.
Fortunately he didn't have to decide to attack her. It had already been done for him; tendrils of sound waves bound the lady in black. High above, Gabriel hovered, his hands extended in control of the sound tendrils.
An unnatural shriek escaped her mouth. Vertigo took place, but not in Lucifer's mind; instead, the world around him became distorted. With one final disappointed look at him, she vanished in a fog of darkness.
Once again Gabriel landed beside his brother.
"What was that?" Lucifer asked, now unnerved by what he just witnessed, turning to his brother for an answer.
Lucifer was taken aback; Gabriel's eyes were as dark as the unconceived night. His demeanor no longer his, he stood as though in pain; his face held a contradictory expression to his pained demeanor; he had a wide grin on his face.
"So this is his finished product?" Gabriel spoke to himself. "Dissapointing."
"Gabriel? You don't seem well. Let me take a look." Lucifer said, his hands now outstretched.
"It's named Gabriel. Humph. Original."
Lucifer was sure he rolled his eyes; it was hard to tell with his black eyes. Now the shock of a foreign being in heaven has now subsided; he collected himself.
"I, Lucifer Morningstar, Heaven's Fourth Legion Commander, Member of the Archangels, command thee to name thyself." He slowly unsheathed his blade.
Gabriel—now possessed—regarded Lucifer.
"Full of yourself, aren't you?" He regarded him for a second or two. "Alright, young one, you may call me Ayin, sister to Yahweh's consort, when it's time to seek me."
Then Gabriel fell to the silver floor.
.....................
All nine of the archangels sat in a circle in the throne room; it seemed colder without the progenitor's immediate presence.
Gabriel sat across from Lucifer; he looked weaker after his encounter with the dark spirit.
Lucifer was first to speak.
"Whatever harmed Gabriel isn't of heaven, and for it to weaken him so much, it is a huge threat, and it might be responsible for Metatron's death."
Lucifer sat back down in his assigned seat; he clenched and unclenched his fist, deep in thought.
"Let's consult the progenitor and ask," Remiel offered.
Lucifer hissed. Then ditched the meeting.
.....................
Lucifer was soaring as quickly as he could to get to Metatron's chambers, in the hope of finding clues, but then the splitting headaches and the voice came back, and the morning star collapsed alone in a secluded field not too far from his destination.
Lucifer sat up, but everything was wrong. The majority of heaven was a blank spread, and what stood, was just a few gardens and the progenitor's throne room.
There was a laugh; it prickled Lucifer's heart, because it was familiar, it was his mother's.
He peeked from behind one of the trees.
There she was, her garment a mess of white and blue, elegant and careless at the same time.
Beside her sat another; she was terribly identical to Mother.
Yet she was very different; she was clothed in black and gold. She laughed but with control.
They were interrupted by a male; his hair was pure gold, his lashes rays of light, his smile warm
And on his back where the largest angelic wings Lucifer had ever seen
One pair but larger than any angel's wing lucifer has seen before.
On his golden hair rested a bright white halo.
He spoke.
"Asherah, the plans are coming together swimmingly."
His voice was tired but hopeful.
With a start, Lucifer realized who he was. The progenitor. God.
But it felt wrong; all his life, the progenitor never communicated directly or was never personified.
Yet here he spoke, his face unobscured by his divine light.
The lady in black scoffed.
The progenitor replied.
Sorry, Ayin, but I'll be needing your twin for a bit.
Lucifer could hear the humor behind the progenitor words.
In the meantime, I've created a companion for you, my very first living creation. I'll dub it "The Angel."
Lucifer held his breath. Could it be Metatron?
But a young child stepped out from behind a pillar; he had hard dark hair and a mischievous smirk.
He was in shorts and an elegant white top.
"Hi," he said to the lady in black. "My name is Azazel."
Lucifer racked his brain; of his millions of siblings, none beared that name.
The scene melted into darkness, and once more the lady in black walked towards Lucifer. I thought Azazel was the one who would bring God down but, he was too incompatible with Heaven's light. But you, you wield light as an authority; you could dethrone Him if you tried.
With a flick of her wrist, a duplicate of Lucifer appeared; he was brighter and more glorious than Lucifer himself. "Look at you," she said.
The fake Lucifer took a seat on the throne; he looked content, powerful, and godly.
This is what you could be; kill the progenitor, and this is yours.
"No," was Lucifer's solemn reply.
Of course glory isn't your goal. If you become God, you'll gain the power of creation.
Lucifer's interest was piqued; with the power of creation, you could create and revive anyone.
That included Metatron. With omnipotence and omniscience, he could remake Metatron.
The lady in black began to smile; she had struck the right chord. She could see Lucifer's mind reeling.
Lucifer woke from the vision, a figure stood over him.
His vision unblurred, to reveal one of his many brothers.
"Samyaza, I was just going to find you, we have to talk." Lucifer grunted as samyaza helped him up.