After Adam's death, Abel opposed Cain, but he and all who sided with him were executed. Among them were several huntresses, a small group of warriors loyal to Adam, and a couple of hunters who considered Cain's victory unfair. A total of twenty-four people, including Abel himself. Their last battle was not heroic: unarmed, weakened, they could not resist Cain's detachment, which was armed and battle-hardened. Justice? Nope, never heard of it.
Meanwhile, Adam ended up in Heaven, becoming the first soul to reach this place. Which in itself hinted that humanity was already going the wrong way back then. He found himself in a dazzlingly bright place, where the air was permeated with a sense of peace and grandeur, and the design was clearly created with the idea "white and gold – best combo." Heavenly expanses stretched to the horizon, and Heaven itself resembled an ideal city with soaring golden spires. However, this Heaven was empty. No guide for you, no "Welcome to Heaven" brochure; even Saint Peter and the golden gates weren't there back then.
At that moment, his "parents" – the Seraphim – appeared before him. Adam expected answers. Yeah, right. They simply praised him for his efforts and disappeared to different corners of Heaven, once again leaving him in uncertainty. Great upbringing, thanks. He was left alone, with those who had also ended up here, abandoned without explanation or guidance. He, a man forced to rule, was again forced to take on the role of ruler. At this point, he was clearly beginning to suspect there was a bug in this system somewhere.
Now Adam ruled not on Earth, but in Heaven. New souls appeared extremely rarely, and he himself devoted himself to studying his power, striving to understand what he truly represented. Deep down, questions tormented him: why couldn't he prevent the fall of humans? Why couldn't he raise Cain properly? Why didn't the Seraphim, who created him, intervene? Why did no one answer his questions?!
But he didn't forget about his "children." It was during this period that he mastered the ability to create windows between worlds, allowing him to observe earthly life; in other words, he got his own heavenly Netflix. The more he watched, the stronger his horror became. When he lived among people, he didn't see the whole picture, but now, from Heaven, the whole truth was revealed to him. Cruelty, violence, betrayals – people were degrading, plunging deeper and deeper into Darkness.
Cain ruled, guided only by his desires. He subjugated the tribe with an iron fist, following his instincts. He could be characterized by the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride. He drank, ate in excess, amassed wealth using the labor of others, was too lazy to work himself, raged at anyone who contradicted him, hated everyone who seemed better than him, and finally, considered himself chosen. In short, he was the first influencer in history.
It was then that the term "seven deadly sins" was born. During one of his conversations with Abel in Heaven, Adam first voiced them, generalizing the essence of his fallen son. Someone nearby heard, remembered, and passed it on, until the idea spread. However, Adam himself never considered these qualities true sins; he knew: this was just his view of the world, his pain, embodied in words. He realized that he had defined Darkness, but the concept of Light remained unclear to him. He himself was the only one Darkness couldn't influence, but was he right in his judgments? A philosophical question, but the answer was clearly lost somewhere in the vastness of the universe.
It seems this is how Adam's new path began, a path that eventually led him to who he became in canon. Sad. Though, considering this world isn't particularly logical, it's not surprising.
Meanwhile, more than one hundred years had passed, the heavenly city had finally come to life a bit, and Adam had managed to build a society that practically didn't need his rule.
Well, "come to life"... Souls, of course, began to appear more often, but this was Heaven, so no drug parties, no scandals. Just pure spiritual Zen, which could bore even the holiest saint after a thousand years.
And then – oh, a miracle! – the Seraphim finally returned. According to official data (well, Wikipedia, of course) they had "managed to stabilize the universe." What, where, when, and how – remains a mystery. Maybe they were sorting heavenly bureaucratic documents, or maybe deciding how much honey to pour into the nectar bowl so as not to overdo it. One thing is obvious – help Adam with even a word? To hell with that!
He hadn't seen them since he arrived in Heaven and, frankly, wasn't expecting them anymore. But now they returned – pure, radiant, and, of course, full of wisdom, which, unfortunately, they forgot to convey to everyone else.
The Seraphim looked at what Adam had achieved, nodded, like, "well done, you're trying," patted him on the shoulder (well, in their case it was more like a gracious look filled with approval), and then… they meddled in the management of Heaven. They began to communicate with souls, help them, build something like "heavenly consultation centers." Adam, one might say, retired, albeit not of his own volition. But, admittedly, he was even fine with it – he had much more time for self-discovery.
He tried to question the Seraphim – after all, so many questions had accumulated over several hundred years that they could have been published in ten volumes under the title "1001 Mysteries of the Universe." However, he received practically no answers. To briefly recount their dialogue, it looked like this:
Why didn't you intervene when Cain staged a coup?Everything has its path.Why did I end up in Heaven alone and without instructions?Such is the Lord's will. You managed! Well done!What is good and evil?Trust the Light, don't rack your brain.Will you tell me anything at all?Yes, you're doing great!
On this note, the dialogue can be considered closed.
Another thousand years passed. Adam continued his development and never stopped watching humanity because, well… what else is there to do if you're immortal and don't have Netflix?
Cain had been dead for a long time by then (finally), but society, to put it mildly, hadn't changed. The strong still devoured the weak, and "the law" only worked for those who had more clubs, strength, and cunning.
Adam watched this, watched… and finally decided: "To hell with it! If the Seraphim don't intervene, I'll do everything myself."
He descended from the heavens and began to establish order.
He introduced the same three laws he had established during his lifetime, but this time – with an upgrade:
Killed without a valid reason – you yourself go to the next world. (No discounts or special offers.)Caused harm to another – we gouge out an eye and starve you for two weeks. (Well, what do you know, humane, since we don't kill them right away.)Stole – you lose a hand and sit in a pit for a week. (Serves you right for taking what's not yours, here's some personal space for you to think.)
In a few years, he truly built a new society. True, half of its citizens ended up crippled, and the other half quietly hated him. Well, maybe not so quietly…
Honestly, it's not very clear what exactly Adam expected. Perhaps he thought people would suddenly realize how wrong they had been and live happily ever after. Yeah, right. What "thank you for giving us light" – more like, "thank you, now we have no hands, eyes, or chances to stab you in the back."
And then, in the midst of his enlightenment mission, an urgent message arrives from the heavens:
"Return immediately."
No explanations. No details. A purely bureaucratic brush-off in the style of "you have an unpaid fine, report for clarification."
Well, Adam, of course, returned immediately. Even then, he remained loyal to the Seraphim and, surprisingly, held no grudge against them.
And what awaited him? A heavenly court! Well, okay, not a court, but something like an official condemnation in the spirit of:
Adam, what have you done?I fixed society.You were cruel!But you did nothing!Yes, but YOU were cruel!
And voila – "house arrest" for three thousand years. Now he couldn't leave Heaven.
By heavenly standards, this was a severe punishment. The Seraphim, after all, are beings of pure light, created by God. For them, the concept of cruelty is so repulsive that it cannot be tolerated even for a good cause.
(Interesting, and when Cain staged his coup, were they, like, picking their noses? Or was it "free will" and that couldn't be touched?)
So Adam sat in Heaven, quietly stewing in his own thoughts and rarely getting close to anyone. He had already seen the darkness in people and couldn't trust them completely.
Except Abel remained that rare exception.
Abel was the complete opposite of Cain: kind, caring, patient. In short, the ideal son who gave out free hugs and read motivational self-help books.
He was like Charlie… only male. And without her naivety.
By the way, another difference: Abel was… chubby. Yes, yes, for Heaven this was strange, as everyone arrived here in "perfect" shape. Perhaps it was a side effect from Adam, who also hadn't changed after death – didn't acquire beastly features, but simply remained himself.
Abel loved tasty food, cozy clothes, and pleasant conversations. He was lazy but never refused to help. The people adored him. For what? Well, at least because he didn't treat them with arrogance and didn't try to gouge out their eyes for misdeeds.
Adam, on the other hand, looked at him and thought: "How did this guy remain so kind after everything that happened to him?"
When Adam's punishment term ended, the first thing he did was go to the Seraphim. To demand, not to ask. The time for requests had long passed.
To his surprise, he was actually allowed to speak. Moreover, he was able to gather everyone except Lucifer. He was ruling in Hell at that time and, it seemed, had already become disillusioned with his charges. Sinners turned out not to be whom he wanted to see in his kingdom.
Adam had been preparing a set of laws and plans all this time that could help humanity "come to the light." Even after millennia in exile, even seeing all the darkness of the world, he still wanted to save his children.
He laid out his ideas before the Seraphim. It wasn't just a list of rules, but a meticulously thought-out system that could change humanity.
But the Seraphim, as it turned out, weren't ready for such radical decisions. They listened attentively, nodded, but constantly corrected something, simplified, rewrote. It seemed to them that people couldn't follow overly complex laws, that they shouldn't be overloaded, that the path to light should be understandable. In the end, only ten points remained of Adam's efforts.
Thus, the Ten Commandments appeared.
I am the Lord thy God – thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Beelzebub, like many other demons, had begun to infiltrate Earth at this time, albeit not in full form. They presented themselves to people as gods and founded various cults. It is unknown why the Seraphim did not intervene. Memory is silent, and there is no information on Wikipedia.)Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, and thou shalt not bow down thyself to them. (A continuation of the first law, directed against worshipping anything other than God.)Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. (To prevent the desecration of the sacred, for words have power.)Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (This law was created primarily to make life easier for slaves and give them a day of rest.)Honor thy father and thy mother. (Family is the foundation of society, and respect for elders helps maintain order.)Thou shalt not kill. (The most important law, intended to reduce the spread of chaos and darkness among people.)Thou shalt not commit adultery. (To prevent discord in families and violence.)Thou shalt not steal. (The basis of trust between people, necessary for a harmonious society.)Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Lies are the cause of many troubles, and truth is the path to light.)Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's possessions, nor shalt thou be envious. (Envy breeds greed, anger, and crime.)
Those who did not observe these laws were promised eternal torment in Hell, along with other sinners.
Adam looked at this short list and didn't know what to say. His complex, well-thought-out system had turned into a simple memo. He saw how pleased the Seraphim were – now humanity had understandable rules, short and clear.
But he also understood how easily they would be distorted in the future.
In general, the commandments looked quite good. Simple, logical, easy to remember. They could be written on stone, and then that same stone could be used to stone violators. However, something else bothered me more: the Seraphim really did nothing about the demons.
This point definitely needed to be aired out. Did they really think that demons were "good"? That they were just a little lost, but with enough prayers would realize their mistakes and come to the light?
Well, naivety is in their blood, of course, but not to that extent, right?
Nevertheless, the commandments bore fruit. Agitation, a system of churches, a clear structure of clergy – all this helped the new faith become quite popular. The number of those ascending to Heaven increased sharply, which meant Heaven began to expand.
The Seraphim even began to build new cities, further from the recently erected gates, to accommodate all the newcomers.
It seemed everything was going excellently: demonic cults were suppressed, the number of believers grew, peaceful coexistence became more and more real. The Seraphim – beings of light and goodness – sincerely believed that all conflicts could be resolved through negotiations.
They hoped that if they didn't interfere in the affairs of demons, then the demons themselves would come to the light…
Yes.
Exactly.
Because demons are known for their striving for self-improvement, deep spirituality, and lack of cunning.
Oh yes, of course.
This idea was doomed from the start. But the Seraphim stubbornly clung to it because they really wanted to believe in the best.
But such an idyll could not last long.
Three thousand years later, the war between Hell and Heaven began.
And it was a slaughter.
The war claimed the lives of millions of sentient beings. Because, of course, when the Seraphim finally realized it was time to do something, it was already too late.
They had been inactive for centuries, allowed demons to infiltrate Earth, infect people's minds, create entire empires of sin…
And naturally, the demons didn't sit idly by, waiting for Heaven's attack (which wasn't even anticipated due to the Seraphim's narrow thinking); on the contrary, they themselves were preparing an attack on Heaven. And they managed to break through to the heavens, beginning to spread chaos there too.
Especially in the new small cities that were built further from the gates and the first city.
Yeah, just try after this to believe that the Seraphim possess any divine wisdom whatsoever.
But there was someone who didn't wait for the Seraphim's protection.
Adam.
He was the first to realize that they couldn't delay any longer.
At first, he tried to convince the Seraphim to take measures. He asked, persuaded, begged.
But he achieved nothing.
And then he said to hell with it and began to act himself.
He gathered an army of righteous souls – those who were not afraid to stand up for Heaven.
And rushed into battle.
Not waiting until the demons conquered everything.
Thus began the great war.
The war that changed everything.