Chapter 94 The Sky Before Dawn was a deep blue, Mercury's celestial sphere above the Moon's, the only visible sight being the celestial bodies floating below the clouds.
The planets of the First Heaven, propelled by angels, moved slowly as points of light, neither appearing as insignificant as from the distant ground nor as lofty as from the Ninth Heaven.
Enoch could see the most perfect, perfectly sized star map in the world.
Although, to Heaven, this beauty was not particularly striking.
"Lord Enoch,"
He withdrew his gaze, his gentle eyes falling on the Archangel who had spoken.
"I see the seven constellations shining brightly; is there anything unusual?"
The Archangel's gaze immediately turned admiring. "Yes, there's a problem."
The angel's expression was strange. Enoch was used to the unpredictable behavior of his angels. From his first day in office, when he was attacked by an invisible water sphere bomb, he knew how unreliable these angels were—they meant no harm, but were even more mischievous than children.
For them to admit there was a problem, then there certainly was.
"A human has come to Mercury," the Archangel said as he followed his superior. "She said she wants to see Edna—"
A human, coming to the Second Heaven to see the former Vice-Archangel of the Archangel, who had already been promoted and given wings—it was hard to say which part of this was stranger.
"What's so strange about it? I only know one angel in Heaven, Edna," the 'human' said matter-of-factly, hands resting on his desk inside the Crystal Palace.
"But it's even better to see you, after all, we're closer."
Enoch didn't expose the queen's excessive confidence. The wise man was exceptionally insightful; he thought nothing could surprise him anymore, but this truly was unexpected.
"I'm surprised to see you here," he said.
"I thought you were dead," Hormarathi said, feigning ignorance, her voice choked with emotion.
Enoch watched her act silently, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. She wiped away imaginary tears, ending the brief reminiscing.
"It's been centuries; I imagine you're eager to know how things have changed on Earth."
Enoch didn't reveal any intention to know, but Astara, as if afraid of rejection, poured out everything.
"Bad news."
"The current ruler of the world is named Lamech, and he claims to be a descendant of Cain…."
"He declared to the world that anyone who kills him will suffer seventy-sevenfold retribution, and no one dares to oppose him."
"All the city lords in the world must pay him heavy taxes."
"Before that, never so many people had spoken well of you; now the whole world misses your reign."
Enoch poured her a glass of water, his expression as calm as if he were listening to someone else's story.
"But they can't find you, not even your descendants."
"I heard your father led the remaining people away. No one knows where they went. The last time I saw them, they were with their families and belongings, passing through Horma and heading south. They said you went that way."
"They abandoned their title and power as kings, like a bunch of fools." Astaro stroked the crystal glass, feeling the liquid inside was sweeter than nectar. "Fools just like you."
"Without power, they can do nothing. They will only become the lowest of the low, commoners."
"Our commander is the wisest human being," the Archangel couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but interject.
She glanced at the angel, making him blush before letting him go, then turned back to continue speaking to Enoch.
"But I don't believe in such an ending. They don't have your abilities."
"Even if they don't give up willingly, they will eventually be dethroned—judging from that perspective, the person who made this decision was quite wise."
"Ramek revealed his brutality not long after ascending the throne. To eliminate dissidents, he killed many members of the old faction. The number your father took far exceeded the number who survived in the capital."
Enoch sat on the soft cloud chair, gazing at the boundless Mercury sky, his body as upright as a pine tree.
He knew who had persuaded them.
Methuselah.
Others called him foolish, but that child understood the final warning he left for the world; he followed his own teachings more than anyone else.
Human history is destined to be accompanied by bloodshed, and the truth is always more cruel than what is heard. He closed his eyes, then opened them again, his emotions now concealed.
"And what about you?" He no longer discussed his family on earth, but instead asked Astairu.
"How did you come to Heaven?"
He could tell that Astaro hadn't severed ties with the mortal world like the progenitor, nor had he been taken directly by the gods like him.
Astaro lowered his head, seemingly finding it difficult to speak.
"Could you let me see the gods?"
After a long silence, she refused to answer Enoch's question, instead abruptly changing the subject.
Or perhaps this was her true purpose.
The news of Heaven's plan to build Jerusalem spread like wildfire to the lower realms.
In the deepest part of the Abyss, at the center of the nine layers of purgatory, Lucifer, refusing the witch's treatment of his wounds, shattered the marble floor beneath his feet.
The demons in the Pantheon ceased their howls, and Hell fell silent, as if even the lava had stopped flowing.
At this tense moment, Asmodeus's eyes darted around. He tossed his long, now transformed, dark blue hair and whispered in Lucifer's ear.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I have brought you a gift."
His arrogant, crimson eyes narrowed as he watched Asmodeus wave to his seat. A heavy figure was then pushed in from outside the hall.
They had seized an angel, surrounding him with shouts and laughter.
His wings were grey, almost dark; corruption was closing in on him, and his situation was precarious.
But no one could save him.
He had fallen in love with a human, revealed the secrets of Heaven, but humanity had abandoned him in the blink of an eye, Heaven had abandoned him, and even the gods had abandoned him.
"From the day you commanded me, we have been watching him."
Asmodeus gave an elegant bow, as if he had completed some mission—and indeed he had, though even the one who gave the order had forgotten.
"The Archangel Baddley," the Demon King's voice echoed, and the demons fell silent the moment he spoke.
"You have nowhere to go."
Badley was forced to lift his chin. Beneath his disheveled hair, bloodshot eyes swirled with a deathly aura. Lucifer's arms still bore the marks of the light's power, yet his feet seemed to move with the wind.
He stared at Badley, gradually recalling the scheme he had laid hundreds of years ago. His expression was so strange, filled with fanaticism, excitement, and a dark, cruel tenderness.
"How much we love you now, more than in Heaven."
"He will not abandon humanity, but He will abandon humanity that has become demons."
Cain took a sip of blood-red wine, his red eyes narrowing slightly, gleaming with a sharp, cold light.
"He will not abandon angels, but He will abandon angels who have become human."
A tear of blood streamed down Badley's face.
"What did you do wrong?"
"You did nothing wrong. You simply chose the truth." Lucifer looked at him with pity and love, as if speaking to him, yet also as if expounding a doctrine to all living beings.
"He loves the unchanging, the decaying, the closed."
"He wants all things to remain as they were in the beginning, he loves that this star will forever revolve according to his design."
"Yet he grants complete freedom of choice?" Meow Meow said.
"There are only yes or no answers, yet there are black and white factions!"
"Why blame?"
"Why abandon?"
"It was your will that made all this possible."
With that, he turned, hands behind his back, his black robes billowing in the air. The demons stared intently at their king, awaiting his words.
"This world belongs to darkness."
"When light is swallowed by darkness."
"When the end of hell descends upon humanity—"
"He loves people, so let us send him as many people as possible."
Lucifer ordered the demons to work hard to corrupt humanity.
For centuries, humanity had come and gone, and since Enoch's passing, no wise ruler had reigned for long. The polluted soil bred more seeds of destruction, and the filth of the mortal realm soared to the heavens, lingering before the gates of heaven.
The cries and the stench of blood lingered, so overwhelming that they alarmed the gods in the highest heavens.
He, usually so gentle, was now so angry.
"Man is mighty, defying my divine power and grace; the evil in the world is greater than before man was created."
In the sanctuary, only the Son dared to argue with God. He pleaded with the Father to calm his anger, saying that not all people were evil, and that the evil they had been led astray did not warrant the destruction of all humankind.
He created man to purify the world, but the world had become even more corrupt and polluted.
No matter who pleaded, it was to no avail; God was determined to destroy man.
"Blindly following others out of self-righteousness is folly. Humanity is greedy, indifferent, and swayed by desires; how can I feel mercy towards them?"
God's heart was filled with rage, an rage that had existed since the beginning of creation, surviving countless betrayals and provocations. This immense rage was beyond the comprehension of any creation under heaven.
The Son could not understand. His benevolent Father, whom he believed to be merciful, now shone with a cold, icy light.
The elven disturbances had only resulted in the Father's exile; the betrayal by his most beloved angel had only sent them to hell.
"But humanity is bewitched!" The Messiah, seeing God's resolute mind, gave a sorrowful, bitter smile.
"You spared the elven, you spared the angel, why can't you have mercy on humanity?"
He was no longer human; he had transcended the mortal realm, yet his heart, freed from earthly constraints, still held human compassion.
"My indulgence is not a justification for the Creator's repeated acts of recklessness," God's cold voice echoed in the cathedral. "Why can't you give them another chance?"
Why are you so biased?
God doesn't feel he's biased; only a biased heart can experience this.
He gazed at the Son, seeing his imperfect heart questioning himself.
God knew this day would come, yet He was still angered.
"Step back, before I punish you."
The beings of Heaven could not bear God's hatred. The Son took a deep breath and wept.
"You should know whose instigation their actions are."
Everything must have a source.
"The Messiah!" God was greatly angered by the disrespect in his words.
"Creation was difficult; have mercy on the world."
With these words, He rose and left.
You provide the great god Danmu's [Hebrew Mythology]—the arduous history of the formation of a world.