"GARDEN OF EDEN"
(PROLOGUE)
fun fact: this book was originally going to be hazbin hotel AND helluva boss, but i scrapped the helluva characters
Big warning for Christian religious imagery and stuff
•••
Heaven, from the moment of its creation, has always been the vision of perfection. Everyone worked in unison, never fought or disagreed, bonded by their loyalty and love for their creator. Then, God's favorite 'archangel', though probably possessing a rank even higher than that, Lucifer, began to have thoughts unlike any of his peers. He began to spread his nonsensical ideas to the others, explaining how, with the creation of humanity, the humans should be granted 'free will'. To be given the choice to fall to holy arms or to not, to let their own individual lives lead them down whatever path suited for them. To have the ability to say 'no', to create their own works, to encourage art and science and to let the humans have full control of their own fates.
It worried you.
Neglecting to consider Lucifer's lofty ideas, God created from the dust of the Earth, Adam and Lilith. Adam and Lilith were to fall in love, to reproduce and begin to populate the Earth. While given the free will to think for themselves, the freedom of spirituality was not a luxury they were given. To disobey their creator was not an option, nor a consideration.
You could tell that Lucifer was planning something... that he was having thoughts he shouldn't. You often found him sitting on the edge of Heaven itself, gazing longingly at the world below. You never said anything, however, only watched him watch.
Until today.
You find Lucifer where he's been the last week or so, staring at his hands. As you get closer, you realize that in his palms he's projecting the activity of Adam and Lilith, watching them with a curiosity only he possesses.
"The humans are doing well, I hope?" You smile softly, advancing toward him and taking a seat beside him. Your wings stretch out before folding against your back.
"She's refused to submit to him." Lucifer whispers breathlessly, pushing his hands forward. The imagery once on his palms instead appears in the sky before you, images of a beautiful blonde woman arguing with a handsome brunette man. You lean forward, your smile morphing into a focused pout. "He wants to be the leader, but she wants to be his equal, instead."
"Oh." You look at the blonde angel beside you, admiring the way his lips curl into a dreamy smile. "Good for her."
"She's beautiful." He says, grinning wider and resting his cheek in his palm, gazing up at Lilith's image in the clouds.
Some time passes, and when you next hear of Lucifer's dreams, it's anything but good. Asked by your creator to descend to the Earth and persuade the humans against Lucifer's fantastical temptation, 'no' is not a word in your vocabulary when given a command.
So, you descend. You find Lucifer with the bare human woman by a body of water, waving his hands smoothly and manipulating the water, creating beautiful shapes and even changing it's color, as Lilith 'ooh's and 'ah's. Behind a tree is Adam, watching the little show with his own amazement.
You allow your feet to touch the ground, your wings extending behind you. You land beside Adam, tilting your head. "Hello, there."
He widens his eyes and flinches, turning to look at you. His eyes linger on your wings, then on your face. "Hello...!"
You grin and offer your hand to him. "I am Y/N, and you must be Adam. A pleasure to meet you."
"Y-yeah." He chuckles, shaking your hand with both of his own. He turns his head, looking to Lilith and Lucifer, who have since turned their heads toward the two of you. Lilith, amazed, Lucifer, concerned.
You carefully remove your hand from Adam's and advance toward the budding couple. "Lilith, hello." You take her dainty hand in your own. "It's an honor to finally meet you."
"Y/N, what are you doing here?" Lucifer asks, his wings fluttering behind him as he raises a hand to his chest. His concern slowly turns to excitement, a smile tugging at his pretty lips. "Have you come to show the humans the magic of individuality, too?"
Your smile weakens. "Lucifer, I'm here on account of the Lord." You clear your throat and shake your head, smiling genuinely once again. "Come, let us leave the humans be."
"No, you can't go!" Lilith protests, reaching for Lucifer's hand. Your gaze locks onto their entwined fingers. "You must show us more, Lucifer."
Adam glances between you and the couple, crossing his arms. "He has shown us some very beautiful things..." He agrees, looking away. "His ideas sound... amazing."
You take Adam's hand, putting it to your chest and leaning closer to him. "Of course, Lucifer is a talent, a vision. But it isn't a life meant for humans. You were given a single rule, don't break it for fleeting pleasure." You plead. "Do not trade pleasures of the flesh for the eternal pleasure you will receive in the arms of the Lord."
This persists over the course of the next several days. Lucifer, laughing and showing Adam and Lilith the joy of rebellion and base pleasures. You, following frantically, torn between your devotion to upholding God's will and the beauty that is Lucifer's dream.
You find Lucifer by the river, Lilith in his arms as the two stare out at the sky ahead. You smile weakly. "Lucifer, may I have a word?"
He looks up, grinning. You've never seen the angel so happy before, and it seems he's found what he was always looking for in Heaven. He carefully gets up, caressing Lilith's hair and following you into the forest.
"Is everything alright?" Lucifer asks, smiling oh-so-sweetly at you. He's absolutely beaming, the poor sap.
You chuckle nervously. "Not exactly. Why do you insist upon turning the humans against God's will? All He asked of them was to remain obedient to His will, and you are purposefully luring them away from it." You avert your gaze. "We are not to meddle with the humans."
"But it isn't fair!" Lucifer protests, laughing jubilantly as he waves his hand, projecting a rainbow into the clear blue sky. "Humanity is fleeting! They are not soldiers like us, but individuals! They should embrace the humanity of their nature, they should chase their next high, see the world, explore, feel everything there is to feel!"
"How could you willingly turn souls against their savior?" You ask, your 'heart' dropping. "Especially you, Lucifer. You hold a title never before seen by an angel. You, the favorite, the... the golden boy. Stop now, please, before it gets you into trouble."
Lucifer shakes his head. "I can't do that. You've seen their faces, Y/N. The joy, the excitement! I'm... I'm like their idol."
"There is only one idol."
"Yes, but... it feels wonderful." Lucifer chuckles nervously. "The humans love me. And... and Lilith... the most beautiful soul I've ever seen. She's determined, independent, not held down by the rules. She— humans— are beautiful."
You nervously fidget with your gloves, feeling a bead of sweat drip down your cheek. "Lucifer... to fall for a human, it's..." You shake your head and clench your fists. "Come home."
"I love her. And if He loves the humans, He'll understand, too." Lucifer insists, smiling and ruffling your hair. "Don't be so uptight."
———
You find Adam slumped against a tree, his face buried in his hands as his shoulders shake. You furrow your brows and rush over to him, your wings carrying you as fast as they physically can. You stop in front of him, kneeling down. "Adam?"
"Lilith left me," He sobs, looking up at you through teary lashes. "She fornicated with the angel, she- she— how could God do this to me?"
You widen your eyes, a plethora of thoughts racing through your head. You clear your throat and bring yourself back to your feet, pulling him up with you, as well. "Don't cry," You smile softly, taking a step back. "It isn't His fault. This was never the way it was meant to be. She's been tempted." You put your fingers to the grass, slowly pulling them up. In their place, a woman is made, sitting in the grass with long, brown hair cascading down her back. "Eve." You address the woman, who stares up at you and Adam curiously.
"Hi!" She greets enthusiastically, bringing herself to her feet. She clasps her hands together and takes a step forward, toward Adam. "I'm Eve!"
"I'm Adam..."
You leave the two be, instead flying toward the river, where you're certain the forbidden lovers will be. Sure enough, Lucifer and Lilith lie there, in the grass, holding one another in a loving embrace.
"Lucifer." You say, hitting the ground gracefully and drawing back your wings. "You've ruined the order."
Lucifer grins, tilting his head back to look up at you from his spot on the ground. "Y/N! Lilith and I are going to get married!"
"But you're not yet." You argue. "You've sinned, you've dragged a human to sin with you. I-I can't... I warned you. You'll be punished and you know it! Why would you do this to yourself— to her!?"
"As long as we're together." Lilith says, burying her face in the crook of Lucifer's neck.
For potentially the first time in your existence, you scowl.
———
When Lilith and Lucifer introduce Eve to their ideas of base desire, to acting on impulse and 'living in the moment for yourself and not for God', you can't take it anymore. Lucifer's angelic smile, once directed at you, has found it's way into Lilith and Eve's hearts, and Adam, once Lucifer's greatest admirer, has had his heart broken by the rebellious dreamer. Tears, fornication, affairs. None of this was supposed to happen.
You thought that, perhaps, Lucifer would be stripped of his title as 'favorite', demoted to a seraphim and forbidden from visiting the human world. That Lilith would be scolded, that Eve would be forgiven for her curiosity.
You thought that reporting Lucifer's sins would serve justice. Not this.
As Lucifer's halo is stripped away, being held alongside his lover just above a portal to a newly created underworld, you realize the severity of your choice to turn him in.
"All of humanity will suffer for your actions," The loud voice booms to Lilith and Lucifer, their bodies shaking and their eyes wide. "Those who follow in your footsteps will be damned, and you, damned to watch. You will see the damage done by your actions, the effects you've had on humanity."
As they're shoved through the portal, you fly forward, clutching your hands to your chest. Lucifer falls, reaching a desperate hand out for you to catch, to pull him back up, to make up for your mistake.
But you don't. You stand beside your creator and watch as the man you'd once loved is stripped of his holiness and thrown to a pit of darkness.
"Y/N!" Lucifer pleads as the portal closes, and all is quiet in Heaven once again.
The angels gathered to witness his fall don't dare speak, holding their peace now and forever. You wipe away your tears and turn on your heel, taking off in a separate direction.
This is the price of sin, you tell yourself. You are not the one that sinned. You did nothing wrong. If you had, God wouldn't be rewarding you so handsomely, giving you Lucifer's old position by his side.
'I'm sorry, my friend.'