Chapter 7: The Descent of the God
"I wished to create the world in seven days, and now it is complete."
In the Nine Heavens, the God sat high on his throne, his expression unreadable beneath the holy light. Yet, the boundless pressure within the Grand Cathedral never dissipated, as it had been since the successful creation of the world.
After creation, the God could no longer easily leave the Grand Cathedral, or the world would teeter on the brink of collapse.
His golden eyes passed through the angels who chatted and laughed freely in Heaven, past the demons who slept soundly in Hell, past the elves who played innocently on swings in the forest… All things remained oblivious, as usual. Only the God sensed the world's anomaly. If he were to step out of the Grand Cathedral, towering waves would surge from the abyss, cracks would appear on the earth's surface, and molten lava would bubble from beneath volcanoes…
And he sat calmly on his throne, while the lurking apocalypse retracted its claws.
"Have I been tricked?"
[You have devoured the laws of the world; from this day forward, you bear the responsibility of guarding order.]
Golden ink appeared on the title page of the Book of Creation, as if sensing the wrath of the gods. It closed its pages, slowly falling into the god's palm, then dissipating into particles of light.
"No!"
Nothing could imprison the ruler of this world. In the blink of an eye, this world, along with its faint protective power, would be plunged into fragmented darkness.
But for a long time, the god remained silent. Only the god himself could imprison him. He returned to his throne, surveying the palace, a beauty beyond mortal measure. The sanctuary was vast; no other palace could rival the god's domain. Yet, the sanctuary was also small, merely a tiny space within the Crystal Heaven.
He seemed to accept his fate of being confined to the Crystal Heaven with equanimity.
Under the god's gaze, the world returned to balance.
'My God, Lucifer requests an audience.'
The most beautiful Seraphim of the Three Realms awaited outside the teleportation array. God, through mind-reading, knew he had come to discuss matters related to the Creation Ceremony.
God was not in the mood for this, but still summoned Lucifer.
He was the undying light of the Crystal Heaven, and all creation believed there should be such a celebration to commemorate the great God. Lucifer's arrival gave God an unexpected revelation. He gladly accepted the Seraphim's invitation to attend the Creation Ceremony. Immediately, a surge of holy light descended, bathing Lucifer in its warmth. In a hazy state, he felt a strange and irresistible power invading his body.
When he returned to reality from that blissful feeling, he found himself on the fourth day.
Lucifer was God's first recipient of divine intervention, and this remained true for a long time afterward.
The Creation Ceremony was set for three months later.
Jupiter's Sky: It was still dark—God had granted the Sixth Day its own day and night. During the day, angels still growing would learn astronomy, ecology, and the four seasons here, resting in the angel academy's dormitories at night.
Angels had no distinction of age, but most of the new angels who needed guidance were still in their infancy, thus attracting God's special favor. The taller, faster-growing ones were mostly assigned to various celestial posts, while the shorter, slower-growing ones received unanimous pampering from top to bottom, justifying their special treatment.
Although the angels were generally well-behaved, under this corrupt influence, it was understandable that a few arrogant and ignorant little devils emerged.
Three or four little ones sneaked out of the academy, tiptoeing on the thick clouds, making no sound.
On the sixth day, fine stardust flowed through the hourglass. It was modeled after the large hourglass placed in the newly built plaza on the seventh day; almost every little angel had one by their bedside, distributed by the Dean of the Angel Academy, supposedly designed by His Highness Lucifer, to remind the angels of the four seasons ordained by God.
Anyway, they walked along the neat cloud path, slipping past the quiet dormitory buildings to the teleportation array on the west side of the academy.
This was the teleportation array of the sixth day, capable of transporting to all heavens except the Ninth Heaven, as long as the corresponding password was spoken.
"As, did you really remember the password?" one of the angels asked.
"Cupid said it," another angel replied, and everyone turned to look at the person whose name had been mentioned.
The blonde little angel was casually munching on an apple. Seeing them all looking at him, he quickly finished the apple and wiped his mouth.
"I observed the Dean using the teleportation array,"
Cupid was the smartest among them, and everyone believed him.
They formed a circle, waiting for As, the leader, to finish his incantation. Suddenly, a white light burst forth from the teleportation array, engulfing the little angels.
They were thrown into the array by the immense force, and after being flipped headfirst, were spat out by the formation.
To be honest, God was indeed a little surprised when these angelic offspring 'ambushed' him. After all, this was his first time creating an avatar with his will. While divine descent was simple, God wasn't willing to condescend to every angel's body. Lucifer clearly satisfied God in every way.
The only drawback was that he was too busy.
As the Archangel appointed by God, Lucifer bore the heavy responsibility of managing and building Heaven. Naturally, unlike God's style of creating and then discarding, this diligent angel spent twenty out of twenty-four hours a day on official business.
Heaven needs a vice-ruler, and although Lucifer was willing, facing a table full of documents every time God descended was daunting, and even an omnipotent God would feel uneasy.
So he used his will to condense a spirit as pure as an angel. In this way, his physical body resided in the Great Cathedral, while his will could roam the mortal world, making his actions more convenient. However, God hadn't expected such a great gift on his first attempt.
If he hadn't appeared, these angels would have been crushed by the overwhelming light of the Seventh Heaven.
"This place is so beautiful!"
The angels, unaware that they had almost vanished from the world, and oblivious to the hidden deity, cheered and rushed towards the open-air Seventh Heaven plaza, hoping to secure a good spot before the Creation Ceremony began.
The plaza was still quite empty. Although the Seventh Heaven was a land of eternal daylight, and it was only 5 a.m., the mortal realm at the cusp of dawn and dusk, the plaza was already filled with celebratory fruits and heavenly dew.
Angels don't need to eat or drink, but after God fed Prince Lucifer an apple, eating fruit became the most fashionable activity among them.
Not eating fruit at least once a day was practically blasphemy against God.
Faced with several little angels eagerly offering him their pious offerings, God remained silent for a few moments, finally attracting Michael, who was patrolling nearby.
Michael was horrified to see these ungrateful little angels and quickly activated the protective array. Since the Creation Ceremony was held on the seventh day, second only to the Crystal Heaven in terms of oppressive power, it aimed to ensure the participation of all races. As it was the Creation Ceremony, it wouldn't be limited to angels; some beings not belonging to Heaven would also attend.
Not all beings were as powerful as Seraphim and Cherubim. To avoid making them uncomfortable, they had spent some time developing this contraption. However, the protective array was extremely energy-consuming, and even Prince Lucifer couldn't keep it active indefinitely.
The few angels, their wings not yet fully grown, naturally couldn't escape the pursuit of the Archangel's deputy. They were quickly brought before Lucifer. Lucifer understood what had happened with a single glance. God had granted him the ability to discern hearts, allowing him to judge right from wrong. The angels' naiveté was one thing, but repeated mistakes were another.
He punished the angels, along with Metatronta, the head of the Sixth Day who had rushed to the scene upon hearing the news, sending them all to be confined to the Mercury Heavenly Gate after the Creation Ceremony.
"In the end, it was still our carelessness," Michael muttered, knowing that Lucifer had shown leniency; otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until after the Creation Ceremony to punish them.
Letting the angels ascend to the Seventh Heaven alone without a guide was their negligence…
But one question remained: who protected them before Michael arrived?
"The teleportation array's password needs to be changed. I will inform my god; such an error cannot be repeated."
Lucifer's expression was cold, his azure eyes fixed on Cupid and the others. When he wasn't smiling, he exuded an imposing aura; under his gaze, the young angels, still within the academy's grasp, couldn't help but shrank their wings.
Taking advantage of the Archangel's inattention, one of them flashed a golden arrow, its gleaming light disappearing in an instant.
Lucifer, who was discussing matters with the Archangels, noticed something amiss, but when he turned around, he found nothing but innocent, childlike faces.
"What's wrong, Your Highness?"
Lucifer scanned his entire body with his spiritual sense, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Nothing, I'm probably just overthinking it. Take them away."
Several angels were led to the plaza by Metatronta. After a lecture that left the angels dizzy, Metatronta, seeing that the angels were remorseful and that he was indeed very busy, gave them a few instructions and left. The angels, who had been ordered not to run around anymore, breathed a sigh of relief. One of them eagerly grabbed his companion's arm.
"Cupid, what did you do?"
He had seen it. When everyone wasn't paying attention, Cupid shot an arrow at Prince Lucifer. But the arrow was strange; the moment the arrowhead touched Prince Lucifer's body, the entire arrow, along with its fletching, shattered into colorless spiritual light.
"You're curious?" "Want to give it a try?"
The innocent, pure-hearted, yet vindictive, golden-haired angel flashed a bright smile, conjuring a platinum bow in his hand. As he spoke, he drew the bowstring, and a golden arrowhead appeared out of thin air, gleaming with a dangerous light. The angel who had asked the question shook his head repeatedly, and Cupid curled his lip.
"Coward, even if you want it, I might not give it to you," he said, gazing at the palace complex not far from the plaza, his bright blue eyes sparkling beautifully.
This was the mother arrow that had been aimed at the Archangel; the angel struck by this arrow would be pursued by the Archangel with fervent passion.
It was just a little prank; no one would notice. After all, he had taught him a lesson.
Those who knew him well understood that this was a sign of his mischievous intentions. The angels, not wanting to provoke him and having nothing else to do, all squatted under the statue in front of the plaza, waiting for the Creation Ceremony to begin.
(You provided the author Danmu's [Hebrew Mythology]: The Difficult History of the Formation of a World)