Chapter 96 The Flood
It rained.
At first, it was a light drizzle, unnoticed.
Until the first seven days passed, people noticed the rain hadn't lessened, but rather intensified. Those in the low-lying areas complained bitterly, lamenting that the floodwaters had inundated their grain and storehouses.
On the second seven days, the lowlands were flooded. Homeless people flocked to the higher ground, smashing and looting the granaries of landlords, without any remorse for their sins.
On the third seven days, even the higher ground was flooded. People clung to trees, watching the torrent below, and began to feel fear. They confessed and prayed to the gods, but it was too late.
On the fourth seven days, the rain had submerged the tallest tree on earth. It had nowhere to escape, and the Elf King only managed to break off a branch from the Elf Tree.
He stood there, staring blankly at Heaven, his face a mixture of tears and rain.
On the thirtieth day, the floodwaters poured into the fissures of Hell, colliding with the lava and creating vast amounts of steam. All things are destined for destruction. The creatures of Hell are wretched, demons grieve with the world, and ghosts howl in despair. Lucifer is forced to erect a barrier to protect his people.
But it's no use.
"Your Majesty, we must leave," Beelzebub said, wiping his head of water.
Leave? Where to go?
They shifted their position, only to find no place to land on earth. The only refuge was in the heavens.
Lucifer crawled wearily from the ground, water dripping from his hair. A fallen angel reported to him that Hell had suffered heavy losses.
The corpses of all things floated before his eyes. He looked at the nine heavens, shrouded in thick, dark clouds.
"Jehovah."
This rain came so suddenly, so inconspicuously, yet it was precisely this seemingly harmless rain that nearly destroyed the entire world.
"Your Majesty, look..."
A ship bobbed on the vast ocean. Lucifer's dark eyes were fixed on it.
The flame of humanity still lingered.
The rain turned into a torrential downpour, engulfing everything. The world fell silent, as if nothing had ever existed.
Such desolation had once been witnessed only by the gods, but now, the beings of Heaven silently observed this scene.
This was more terrifying than when the angels were cast down—true divine punishment.
Extinction.
They truly understood what real ruthlessness meant, yet they dared not utter a single cold word in their hearts.
Silence reigned.
"God is the best God in this world."
The Messiah gazed at the mortal realm shrouded in thick clouds, remaining silent to the words whispered in his ear, but the Archangel of Power did not yield to his silence.
"If he is angry, then it must be bad to provoke him."
He wearily rubbed his temples. Edna knew this was his silent spur, but she pretended not to understand.
"Methuselah is dead. He lived to be 969."
"God promised me that he would live in peace all his life," she choked back a sob, "until he breathed his last."
"He died peacefully in his sleep."
"I don't know why you fear him."
"If God wants to destroy this world, I am willing to be his instrument of destruction."
"Enoch said something similar to you," the Messiah began, "He said, 'If God wants to destroy this world, it will be when it is beyond saving.'"
"You two are truly husband and wife," he said, half-jokingly.
Edna froze. She turned around, and Enoch stood behind her.
She was silent for a moment, then left.
The Messiah patted Enoch: "I think she still likes you."
It's just that angels are always a species that says one thing and means another.
"Is that so?" Enoch simply said, gazing in the direction Edna had gone, saying nothing more.
"You seem to have come to terms with it."
"What else can I do? Like you say, this world was created by God, and He can do whatever He wants."
"You harbor resentment."
"Young man, if you see through something, don't say it. What's the point of arguing about it?" Messiah parted the thick clouds, looking down at the world below.
"You know, I used to herd sheep there."
He pointed to a place in the mortal realm, saying this, as if transported back to the past for a moment, but the more he spoke, the less he said.
They looked at this vast ocean, the water seeming to overflow from the depths of their hearts.
Humans loved this land more deeply than any other creation, a love that didn't waver with changes in status or identity.
Messiah wiped away his tears. Enoch looked away, pretending not to notice his son's distress. Just then, he saw a ship adrift on the water.
Messiah followed Enoch's gaze downwards, then couldn't help but stand up.
"What is that!"
The ark drifted with the current, struggling forward in the raging storm.
From the heavens, it appeared so small, so small that it was almost invisible to the naked eye, yet in the Messiah's eyes, it was larger than anything else.
Raindrops dappled his face; the Son of God had even forgotten to cast a waterproof spell on himself.
But he didn't care. The instant he saw the ark, he knew that God had left humanity, the world, a glimmer of hope.
He cautiously touched the gopher wood cabin, his eyes gleaming with an unprecedented light.
He looked at Enoch and asked, "Where is God?"
The sound of water drowned out their conversation. They returned from the mortal realm to Heaven, searching everywhere for God.
But they found him nowhere.
The Great Cathedral was empty; without a trace of God, it was no different from an abandoned temple on Earth.
"Son, the Ark has been discovered in Hell!"
He had no choice but to temporarily abandon his search for God and instead command the angels to protect the ship with all their might.
Looking at the thick clouds beneath the vast expanse of water, he suddenly saw a figure shrouded in darkness. The angels, unable to resist, plummeted into the sea. Messiah, unable to restrain himself, descended himself.
"Do not approach that ship, Hell!"
They were not complete strangers; their ties dated back a thousand years, but this was indeed the first formal meeting between Messiah and Lucifer.
Lucifer glanced at his silver robe with disgust. He didn't want to say anything more, and stirred up towering waves, intending to use their power to capsize the Ark.
Messiah took the sky and the Ark under his protection.
"You have quite the airs, Adam."
"I will not let you come near humanity again." Anger gathered in Messiah's eyes.
"You think you can stop me?"
Lucifer chuckled, a thunderclap booming above his head. He glanced upwards, but saw no one as he expected.
"He entrusted the power of thunder to you," he said slowly, but anger blazed in his eyes.
"You think you can stop me? You think I only have myself?"
The Messiah's response was to unleash a blinding torrent of lightning from the sky.
"I told you, stay away from that ship, Hell!" He would protect this last spark, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
East of the ark, Michael and Beelzebub clashed amidst the lightning and fire. The sword of justice severed the fallen angel's crown. Beelzebub tossed off the crown, their crimson eyes meeting in a raging inferno. Suddenly, Michael shouted.
"Son, leave the four directions to us!"
"Son?" Beelzebub raised an eyebrow, making a vomiting face.
"I'm going to throw up!" With that, they resumed their battle. To the west, Uriel, crowned with a crown and clad in the robes of a Throne, pointed his spear directly at his former superior, his solemn expression showing no fear or hesitation.
To the south, Metalont had laid down a tight defense, blocking the attacks of the Chaos Dragon and Asmodeus.
To the north, Greed and the vampire leader plotted their attack, while Enoch and Raziel tacitly conjured a phantom realm.
The interplay of light and shadow added a chilling atmosphere to the chaotic apocalypse.
Haniya, watching the chaos in the lower realm, wanted to help, but Gabriel stopped her.
Why?
"The whole of Heaven is involved, why can't I go?" the golden-haired angel asked her, puzzled.
"Hell has changed drastically, and demons have had to emerge from the abyss for refuge. Heaven needs us to oversee it."
"This is a time of crisis, Haniya."
It seemed like a good reason, but Haniya didn't believe it.
"I don't understand."
"If this world is to be destroyed, what difference does it make whether Hell is in Heaven or Heaven is in Purgatory?"
"You know that God has left humanity a way out. Following God's will, angels should protect humanity, protect the mortal realm."
"I am also an angel, so why have you singled me out?"
"I told you, because Heaven needs Seraphim to guard it."
"Look at this torrential rain. All living beings only see him as cold-hearted, as ruthless, but I only know that he is grieving." He looked sadly at Gabriel, at the mortal realm below.
"Even a little bit, I want him to see that I am trying to make him less sad."
"Let me down, Gabriel," he pleaded.
"I can't make that decision," Gabriel said, speechless. "No one but God can make you leave Heaven."
"Then where is God?"
Gabriel fell silent.
Where is God?
The world was engulfed by a raging torrent; swords flashed and shadows danced above the ark, a silent battle raging on. Even the approaching apocalypse could not halt their struggle.
Hell was like this, and so was Heaven.
They were locked in a struggle, exhaustion gripping their bodies and minds, yet no one appeared to stop them.
Was it fear?
Was it trembling?
Never before had they felt such a clear awareness.
The realization that they would be abandoned by the Creator, whether of light or darkness.
The surviving human family was oblivious to this. Amidst the turmoil, they prayed to God day and night, begging for forgiveness.
Where is God?
Everyone asked this question.
God went nowhere; God resided in the highest heavens.
He was above the heavens, watching the seas overflow the land, the mountains, and everything He had created.
Fear, curses, pleas…
Finally, silence fell. Everything seemed to return to the beginning, the ocean still swelled, a vast expanse of water.
The rain stopped. The ark swayed in the raging torrent. The waters gradually receded, and the ark ran aground on a mountaintop, as if in the blink of an eye.
God didn't even blink. He looked down from the highest heavens, gazing upon the world.
He saw Noah release a dove. It circled in the air, unable to find a place to land.
There would be no place to land.
For the sea and land had overflowed, lava had surged, and not even a single fish had survived.
Life was extinguished.
The flood receded, and all things were filled with the vengeful spirits of sin, entwined in the air.
Darkness would reap its own bitter fruit; Hell, ravaged by disaster, would find itself unable to contain so much sin.
But what was the point?
God thought that by destroying everything he had created, he could return everything to its original state.
But was this truly the original world?
Then it was so tender, its hidden vitality and life force filling him with joy.
Why create the world? Why separate heaven and earth?
And now, why is it so scarred?
The god knew no sorrow, nor had he ever felt sorrow, yet looking upon the world devoid of life, a single tear suddenly fell from his emotionless face.
The divine tear fell to the earth, nourishing it, and the extinguished life was rekindled; green shoots sprouted from the saline soil.
Those in heaven and on earth witnessed this scene.
They saw that single tear falling from the nine heavens.
They ceased their nearly one hundred days of fierce fighting, watching the world regain its vitality.
That blossoming of life from nothingness was a beauty they had never experienced before.
A dove plucked a leaf from an olive branch above their heads and flew joyfully into the distance.
You provided the author, Twilight, with a tale of the arduous journey of creating a world within the framework of Hebrew mythology.