Chapter 5 Good and Evil
This wasn't the first time the gods had traveled to the mortal realm, but it was their first time walking alongside their creation. Behemoth must have felt the same way, but he was clearly much more excited than the gods.
Once he got used to walking on two legs, he moved incredibly fast. He touched everything he could find along the way—a pebble, a stream, a tree—everything could make him stop and linger in wonder.
He kept asking what flowers looked like, what grass looked like, what apple trees looked like. The gods described them to him, making him look longingly at them.
"I grew up in the Abyss, where it was pitch black and I didn't need eyes. But now I regret not choosing to transform myself into eyes. Otherwise, I could see what this tree looks like now, and why it bears such sweet fruit."
"I really want a pair of eyes," Behemoth said. Infected by his words, the gods' gaze towards this world, which hadn't changed much since his creation, gradually began to feel a sense of wonder.
Behemoth continued his rambling, while God gazed at the land, so different in his eyes, lost in thought.
Wind, fire, wood, water, earth.
Beneath light and darkness, the mortal realm was filled with these five elements, intertwined and balanced: water begets wood, wood begets fire, fire begets wind, wind begets dust, and dust returns to water.
So small, so subtle, that they seemed insignificant beneath God's vast achievements in creation; yet, once noticed, God could no longer ignore them.
"I see."
"What do you mean, 'I see'?" Behemoth asked curiously.
God frowned but did not answer, only plucking another fig and offering it to Behemoth's lips. Feeding was good for God's mental health; God found himself enjoying feeding Behemoth, regardless of whether Behemoth was in beast form or, as he was now, no different in size from an angel.
"This tastes awful," Behemoth spat out the fig, making a disgusted sound.
God thought that perhaps he could try feeding the angels later; Lucifer seemed very obedient and would eat anything.
Reaching the foot of a slope, Behemoth, rubbing his round belly, drifted off to sleep. He had eaten too much, and the warm breeze from the valley soon lulled him to sleep. Or perhaps he hadn't felt this peaceful in a long time; since his birth, he had either been adrift in icy seas or harassed by demons on land.
The Chaos Dragon unconsciously reverted to its original form, sleeping sprawled out. God gazed at its enormous body, noticing it was considerably larger than when they first met, and at this rate, it would grow even larger.
God didn't look for long; the loud snoring beside him made him unconsciously walk a little further away.
Walking along the foot of the mountain, God soon came upon a valley. He stopped and gazed into the distance.
Across the way stood a demon, bending low, carefully righting a flower it had trampled. Then two more demons appeared…
"Hey!"
Behemoth, sensing the god's presence, caught up. He was somewhat exasperated, his long tail coiling around the god's body, trying to trap him within his hunting range. Dragons were born to guard their treasures, but a god didn't belong exclusively to any creation. Behemoth felt the angel before him was as slippery as air, impossible to contain, which fueled his frustration.
The god withdrew his gaze from the opposite bank and gently stroked Behemoth's hard, scale-covered body with his palm. This gesture soothed the chaotic dragon, who obediently lay down, nuzzling his furry head against the warm hand.
"You'd better not wander off. There are many demons here. Without me, an angel like you would be torn to shreds."
"Let's go," the god said.
"Where are you going?"
The demon had already gone far away, but his act of tenderness towards the flowers and plants had been observed by the god, who decided to follow. Behemoth was blind, but his nose was very sensitive, and he quickly sensed what they were approaching.
Demons… Behemoth sneezed with some annoyance. He couldn't explain why, but he didn't want to encounter demons at this time.
"They're bullying him," Behemoth sniffed the faint fishy smell in the air, judging that one of the demons was injured.
"He's too weak; he can only be bullied."
Behemoth curled his lip in disdain. He had seen many demons, some as powerful as Agares who had captured him, and others he had chased with his claws. Because he had seen so many, he had inevitably picked up some demonic habits.
Noticing that the angels were heading in that direction, Behemoth quickly grabbed his clothes to hold them down.
"Don't move, I'm going to save him!"
Although he also enjoyed bullying the weak, in front of the angel, he unconsciously wanted to put on a show. He roused himself, feeling he was in excellent condition, capable of taking on ten Agares in one go.
The god, seeing through Behemoth's thoughts but unable to comprehend his thought process, allowed Behemoth to jump into the battle between the demons, because if he didn't intervene, Vasak would truly be killed.
Behemoth chased away the two demons, ignoring the wounded on the ground, smugly licking his paws, waiting for the angel to arrive.
A smile flashed in the god's golden eyes. He slowly stepped forward, holy light once again enveloping him. The demon, enduring his numerous wounds, bowed to him.
"You seem not at all surprised," the god said gently, having healed the demon's wounds.
"Because I foresaw your coming to the mortal realm."
"Yes, I remember the power I bestowed upon you was to proclaim the past and future, and to find all that is hidden and lost," the god chuckled, naming the demon.
Vasak, one of the seventy-two demon gods, the third demon he created. Though a demon, his nature was gentler than Baal and Agares.
"Then you should have been able to avoid disaster, so why have you fallen to this state?"
"That's because there's a question I've never been able to answer, and even living in a daze isn't satisfying."
Behemoth looked left and right, sensing something was amiss, and a sense of unease crept in. His hand pierced through the holy light, grabbing a piece of the god's robe, eliciting a surprised glance from the demon, who quickly lowered his head.
"You've helped me resolve my doubts today."
The god looked into Vasak's eyes. The god favored goodness and beauty. Vasak's head was an inverted triangle; he was ugly, but his eyes were clear and bright.
"You gave us life and a race far exceeding that of the angels, yet the seventy-two demons fight amongst themselves for territory. If this continues, the demon race will be wiped out."
"So you chose deception."
"No, I will never see you again," Vasak denied.
"I thought you would never favor demons again, but you chose to save me..."
"I saved you!" Behemoth said, bewildered, but no one paid him any attention.
"Almighty Creator!"
Vasak prostrated himself at the god's feet, pleading plaintively.
"Among the demons, there are those as powerful as Baal, and those as weak and docile as I am; some are wicked and plundering, and others are timid and cautious. Please, have mercy and grant us a way to live!"
Behemoth was stunned. He 'looked' in the direction of the 'angel'—was he a god?!
Seeing that God remained unmoved, Vasak prostrated himself even deeper on the ground.
"My God, you are wise; even among demons there is good, and even angels can produce evil!" The wails of hell pierced the earth, echoing in God's ears.
"Is this the prophecy you made?" God's voice shifted, a fleeting majesty that seemed to change the very fabric of the world. A flicker of pain crossed Vasak's face, but he suppressed it. This was the demon race's only chance; he had to seize it.
"I dare not, but even the deepest abyss has its beautiful sights. I beg God to come and see Hell."
"Vasak, do you know that I never accept threats?" God said calmly. When Hell used the establishment of the mortal realm as a condition to coerce him into granting him the same treatment as Heaven, this fate was sealed.
God refused him. Vasak left, dejected. God turned to Behemoth, who seemed deeply wounded. His mind was in turmoil, and God gave up listening.
"Behemoth," he called.
"You are a god…" the Chaos Dragon murmured to itself.
"Do you have any wishes that wish to be fulfilled?"
"You are a god."
"Yes, I am a god," the god replied patiently.
"What do you want? I can grant it." Compared to the simple-minded Behemoth, the god still preferred him, so with their parting imminent, the god was willing to grant his wish.
"Can gods know what I'm thinking?"
"Yes."
"Then I was thinking of obtaining another Fruit of Wisdom from you…"
"I know," the god nodded, offering a kind reminder.
"If you wanted to give the Fruit of Wisdom to Leviathan, that's unnecessary. The Chaos Dragon Leviathan is my first creation; she doesn't need the Fruit of Wisdom. You can ask for something for yourself."
The god knew he had always wanted a pair of eyes, so he could see when demons harmed him.
Behemoth had so much to say. When he learned that the person before him was a god—the god he had always hated, the god he considered irresponsible, capricious, and indifferent…
But his mind was filled only with the memory of the god stroking his head and feeding him sweet, juicy fruit.
He knew the god was waiting for him to ask for eyes. He had longed for eyes, but after eating the Fruit of Knowledge and gaining an understanding of cause and effect, he had become aware of this.
"If I have eyes, will I ever see you again?"
The god's eyes showed appreciation. Behemoth was a rough gem, quick to understand.
"There are laws in this world; to gain something, you must lose something else."
The god looked at the vast, boundless mortal land, his golden eyes deep and profound.
"From now on, you will see all things, but you will never see me again."
The god seemed like a dream. Behemoth covered his face in anguish. So, when he gained eyes, their bond would end.
The cruel god had given him such a difficult choice.
"Are you punishing me? Punishing me for attempting to deceive you?" God remained silent; the choice had always been Behemoth's.
"Then, as you wish, I desire a pair of eyes."
For the first time in his life, Behemoth saw light. God stood not far away, bathed in holy light, and beneath his feet, a thousand miles of trees came back to life.
Behemoth stared intently at the divine miracle left behind by God.
"Will you come again?"
"Will you summon Behemoth again?"
"My God!"
But God did not answer him again; his afterimage gradually faded away.
You provide the [Hebrew mythology] of the great god Danmu'ai: the arduous history of a world's formation.