Dead End 2: Deathly Di-Di-Doo Ch.11 (Patreon)

[Prelude to Great War]

— Sean Caine —

“(✧ω✧)ﾌﾌﾌ” Cass gave me a sparkling-eyed, waving salute as she practically threw herself down at the bar. ‘Howdy, Gothboy~! Mind introducing us to your angel?’

“Not at all,” I replied. “Everyone, meet Gabriel, my wife from the life I lived as Cain. Gabriel, this is Cass, a superheroine. And these are her adopted siblings-…”

I went around, introducing the Dead End’s guests for the night. Cass, Barbara, Jason, and Damian were present, as were my Gotham Rogue regulars in Catwoman, Two-Face, Riddler, and Penguin. Kara seemed to be tagging along with Barbara, and it looked like Diana had found the free time to come along as well — I’d never say no to more Wonder Woman in my night.

“Superheroes?” Gabriel cocked her head. “How odd…”

She physically couldn’t be rude, though; it wasn’t in her nature, and not just as an Angel — bemusement quickly turned to pleasant greetings all around.

Gabriel smiled, immediately taking to the role of Lady of the Dead End right alongside Didi. “Welcome! It’s my first night in Cain’s Dead End, but I’m happy to host you all! I’ll do my best to ensure you make all the pleasant memories here!”

She gave a bow that did wonderful things to all her bouncing bits — as above, so below. Gabriel was as soft and plush and voluptuous as I remember-… No, even more so. Somehow, I’d half-forgotten just how divinely gorgeous my wife as Cain was.

Faced with Archangelic beauty, those she bowed to tried their hardest not to stare, but it was futile.

“… Holy Angel Titties,” Barbara repeated.

“I don’t care if it’s fair or not, that sight is a blessing,” Catwoman said.

“( ˇωˇ人 )” Cass ‘said’ sincerely. ‘Praise God. Truly, His works are for the good of all.’

Diana paused and turned her gaze down at her own breasts. “… A warrior should not succumb to envy.”

Even trying to remind herself of that, it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

“Hmm?” Gabriel straightened and cocked her head to the other side.

“Just silly mortal things, Wife,” I assured her. “Next, this is-…”

“Savage, Vandal Savage, Wife of Caine!” Savage introduced himself — he’d become just as regular at the Dead End as the Gotham Rogues, Bat-kids, and my Dead End staffers. “I consider myself a friend, a peer, and an IMMORTAL RIVAL to your husband in this life! ’Tis an honor to meet you! Unfortunately, I was absent for Sean’s first story of you; I shall make up for that absence here! Consider me your most attentive audience, YES!”

“Savage, yeah,” I deadpanned. “He’s a lot. But given he’s lived for longer than I did as Cain, I can’t blame him for his eccentricities.”

“Truly? That is certainly a feat!” Gabriel praised. “I have heard all about the canon differences of this Creation from Michael, but I would love to get a mortal perspective on history at some point.”

“It will be done!” Savage declared. “And though he is younger than me, my ‘plus-one’ for the night may be able to contribute to that mortally immortal perspective as well!”

The Light — Savage’s pet project secret society that advocated for humanity — was here in force tonight, it seemed, for Ra’s al Ghul was Savage’s mentioned ‘plus-one’. It was actually my first time meeting him, so I let Savage take that introduction.

“My fellow immortal, Ra’s al Ghul-!” Savage began.

“Head of the Demon?” Gabriel asked, frowning slightly.

Ra’s didn’t flinch at her disapproval, simply stepping forward to explain himself. “A simple moniker, Lady Gabriel. I have sealed no pacts with true demons. That said, I will accept your judgment if you deem my immortality sinful, for I have surely bathed in the Well of Sins.”

“While I don’t like that name, I also don’t think it’s my place to judge your immortality,” Gabriel said pointedly, glancing at Didi.

“He walks a thin line,” Didi deadpanned. “For the most part, though, I’m leaving him as a matter for later.”

“As much as I dodge you, Lady Death, I do try not to outright cheat you,” Ra’s claimed.

“Again, a thin line. The immortality and resurrection are not the issue; that comes down to intent and malice,” Didi said.

Ra’s nodded. “I shall keep that wisdom in mind. When my true death comes, it will not be cheated.”

His daughter Talia al Ghul, Mother of the Bats, was here to back up her father, much to Damian’s visible enjoyment and Jason’s awkward embarrassment.

Also from The Light, Klarion was here tonight — I introduced him as the Chaotic little magical menace he was. And Deathstroke was also present, along with the familiar new mercs he’d taken under his wing: David, Lucy, Becca, and Falco from a cyberpunk future, and-…

“Ah, this is a treat.” I genuinely smiled. “Gabriel, Ciri here is from another of my past lives. She joined me in this one due to her unique mantle of power. I’m a bit surprised to see she hasn’t wandered off yet~”

Ciri rolled her eyes at my teasing. “Without the Wild Hunt in pursuit, I can actually set down roots. Here seems as good a place as any, Sean.”

“If she needs to run again, she won’t do so alone,” Damian said flatly.

Ciri blushed. “… Yes. As good a place as any.”

Becca grinned behind her and leaned to ‘whisper’ to Harley, “Choomba’s down baaa~aaad, I tell ya!”

Harley cackled, “So is Boy-Murder! It’s adorable!”

“They are precious.” Talia nodded in agreement. “I have already prepared a suitable bride price.”

“The frak’s a ‘bride price’?” David asked Lucy.

“Noble shit, even higher than corpo shit,” She told him.

“Huh.” David blinked. “Guess that does fit for Witch-Girl. Good on her.”

Gabriel took a moment to look over the Dead End and its guests for the night. It wasn’t a setting she would be too familiar with, but when she glanced and smiled at me, I knew she would throw herself into hosting with the same level of energy she’d once brought as the Might of God.

“Can I get anyone anything?” She asked. “I’ve never worked a bar like this, and I’m not really sure how this works… but Cain’s hospitality is mine, too! I want to do my best as the lady of his household!”

“I’ll show you the basics,” Didi reassured. “Really, though, the Dead End serves itself. You shouldn’t find yourself overwhelmed. Plenty of time to help Sean tell your story.”

“Entertaining is an important aspect of hospitality as well,” I said.

Gabriel beamed at me and at our audience of guests. “Then I’ll do my best there, too!”

Everyone came to settle at the bar, and after refreshments were passed around with Gabriel’s clumsy but enthusiastic help, I brought her back to my side so we could tell the story of the Great War and our parts in it.

With all of the attention focused on us, Gabriel worried at her lip. “Ah… I don’t really know where to start, Cain.”

“The beginning?” Jason suggested.

“Father’s beginning?”

Several people winced as they realized what asking an Archangel to start from ‘the beginning’ would actually mean.

Lucifer chuckled, “For the sake of the mortal minds in your audience, I would recommend against starting fiat lux.”

Ra’s hummed. “As fascinating as it would be, it would also rather overcomplicate things.”

“Chooms, we’re out of our depth like a NUSA president in Dogtown here,” Falco commented, shaking his head.

“No doubt, but I’m still gonna hang on for the ride!” Becca chimed back.

Gabriel frowned in thought. “Then…?”

“Why don’t we start with Lucifer? He does set the stage for everything,” I said.

“Oh, I’m honored,” Lucifer drawled.

Michael smirked ever so slightly. “You did, brother; don’t deny it.”

“Freakin’ score~…!” Jason hissed. “I’ve always been curious about the actual divine side of that history!”

“I would call you a nerd, but nah, that’s just valid,” Klarion joked.

“(-◎ω◎-)━━━━ﾝ” Cass said. ‘I’ll do it for you, then! NEEERRRRDDD~!’

Diana argued seriously against Cass’ teasing, “There is no shame in studying the past, especially not the divine side of it all. It defines the world we live in — all the work of our ancestors — and it defines the framework of that world, too — all the work and victory and tragedy of the gods.”

“There’s not as much difference there — between mortal and divine history — as you might expect,” Hecate said, immortal exasperation coloring her tone.

“(-◎ω◎-)━━━━ﾝ!!!!” Cass had no shame, not even in the face of a literal demigoddess. ‘NEEERRRDDD~!’

“Why I-!” Diana sputtered for just a moment before finding her fire again. “Proudly, you irreverent, impossibly-loud girl!”

“( ˃○˂ഃ )°・。” Cass put on crocodile tears, turning to me. ‘WAAAAA~! Gothboy-Daddy, the demigoddess is bullying me!’

“You deserved it,” I deadpanned.

“N-Now, now,” Kara hesitantly spoke up as mediator. “Can’t we just enjoy the story and the company without name-calling and s-snitching?”

Becca smirked. “I’m here to enjoy the show, choom, but go off.”

“Child,” Talia reprimanded Cass. “Master yourself; this is no irreverent debate for you to twist to your whim.”

“(￣^￣)” Cass pouted petulantly. ‘Never master-debating solo again, Momma. I have Gothboy-Daddy to masterly debate me now.’

“Preach!” Harley called out in support.

“Ew,” Alice deadpanned at the same time.

Gabriel frowned in confusion, slightly clueless. “Preach? I failed to hear the prayer or Father’s teaching there, I’m afraid.”

“Just silly mortal things,” I assured Gabriel again. “Don’t worry your head about Cass’ corruption. She’s a lost cause already.”

“None of Father’s children are a lost cause, Cain!” Gabriel insisted, always able to see the good in a soul. “I’m sure you could redeem her!”

Didi covered her laughter with a hand. “Oh, trust me, he’s been trying. She’s a stubborn one.”

“(￣¬￣)ｸｸｸ…” Cass smugly wiped a bit of drool from her lip. ‘Heh, all the ‘stubbin’~…’

“We are getting distracted,” Damian said flatly. “Will I need to silence my sister more than she is not by default?”

I shot Cass a pointed look. “… No, if she wants any future ‘stubbin’, I’m sure she’ll behave.”

“(￣ω￣)ﾆﾔﾘ” Cass gave a smug little sign of confirmation. ‘Heh, all the behavin’~…’

“Back to your angelic love story, then?” Ivy asked.

“More than just angelic love, as noble and glorious as it must be, I would hope!” Savage exclaimed.

“Much more. Don’t expect the setting of this story to be a happy one,” I warned. “The Great War that Lucifer sparked consumed the known world for a millennium.”

Ra’s clicked his tongue at the lackluster name for the war between Heaven and Hell. “Great and Terrible, then.” 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but ‘just’ a millennium?” Barbara asked. 

“Oh, the tensions were boiling throughout all of prehistory.” I waved. “But all-out war only began after the Death of Christ and the inception of Christianity. That said, Lucifer still set the stage, as I’ll let Gabriel recount.”

The suggested starting point earned me a relieved smile and a renewed enthusiasm. “I can do that!”

Just as quickly, though, Gabriel’s enthusiasm waned. “Oh, I can do that… Lucifer, my Lucifer; he drove Father’s work towards ruin. It never quite recovered, and while that must’ve been to His plan, a great, great many suffered along the way.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Uncle Luci I know.” Elaine frowned.

“I, too, rebelled against Father’s yoke, niece,” Lucifer nonchalantly said, giving no weight to the statement of discord in Heaven. “There, I imagine the differences between myself and my counterpart are not so great. There were countless eons between fiat lux and my rebellion — and we did all of nothing during them as far as I saw it. All of Father’s power, all of His planning; I felt He wasn’t putting it to any use at all, and I felt I could do… better…”

“Pride.” Michael nodded. “And your Fall. We were not doing ‘nothing’, but outside of Time and Night, time ironically passes rather slowly. I do not agree with your ancient actions, brother, but I can recognize your reasoning for them.”

“You know…” Destruction began awkwardly, looking as if he wasn’t sure he should share. “… Destiny once told me that those eons of ‘nothing’ in the Presence’s personal canon were actually according to a plan He shared with him. He… I do not know how else to say this, Lucifer, but He needed you to rebel. It was always destined to be the second note in Creation.”

Lucifer stared at Destruction, unknowable Demiurgic emotions burning behind his eyes. He glanced at Didi for confirmation. She nodded sadly.

Lucifer scoffed. “Hn. That’s just like Him. Even now, I do not regret my rebellion for a second.”

“My canon, by the sounds of it, was never so removed from the whole of Creation,” Gabriel said. “We spent eons before it all preparing the world for Father’s work, yes, but we were always working to that end, to His plan. My Lucifer’s Pride came not from a place of boredom, but from a place of discontent instead. He was closest to Father. Father shared His plan with Lucifer, and he found himself… dissatisfied, especially as he saw other pantheons being allowed to prepare their own canons in the empty world alongside Father’s.”

“Hmm,” Hecate hummed in interest. “A concurrent Creation? Now, isn’t that fascinating… Here, the Sphere of Gods and all within it — including myself, though I was the first stone in that foundation — came about after Lucifer’s rebellion broke the Biblical Canon into Time and Night as we know it.”

“Largely, it happened simultaneously,” Destruction explained. “Fiat lux was first by just an instant, and in the next, the Presence’s eons outside of it all and Time and Night came to be. The instant after that birthed the Endless.”

“An eventful trilogy of instants,” Klarion joked, though he was very clearly fascinated by the metaphysical origins of Creation.

“I get Time — kinda… No, not really, but still,” David shook his head in disbelief. “But what’s all that about ‘Night’?”

“Night as in Space,” I answered. “Didi and Destruction’s mother, while Time is their father. They’re why the Presence’s first children and the Endless are considered cousins — though the actual relation isn’t nearly that clear-cut.”

“… Nova,” David slowly nodded. “Yeah, nova, choom. Definitely understood all of that. Definitely not feelin’ like a ‘ganic gonk past the Blackwall.”

“A ‘ganic gonk past the Blackwall would still have more context than we do here,” Lucy deadpanned.

“Don’t think about it too deeply,” Didi consoled. “The origins of Creation aren’t truly relevant to anyone nowadays. Even I consider them mere background dressing.”

“They happened, Creation exists now, and that’s about all anyone needs.” Destruction shrugged in agreement.

“Mew!”

“Yeah, simple,” Alice snarked. “Just don’t stress the details of Creation, choom.”

Becca shrugged in all-too-easy agreement. “Alright. Say less.”

Damian nodded. “Perhaps we should, in fact, say less.”

Savage barked dismissively. “Bah, primordial history! Let us focus on mere ancient history, yes! ’Tis much more interesting!”

We all looked at Gabriel. She was looking back, watching the guests I tended to surround myself with, and still in the process of adapting to the Dead End’s usual chaos. I smothered a laugh as I saw her expression shifting between bemusement and amusement.

Gabriel realized everyone was staring at her a moment later. “-Oh! Yes, that’s my cue, isn’t it? As I said, my Lucifer Fell for Pride. He cast himself out of Heaven before Father could do anything to stop him. It was… quite the scene; none of us quite knew what was happening at the time. We… could not even comprehend leaving His work behind.”

“If I may…?” I asked, placing a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder.

“Hmm? You always may, Cain,” Gabriel replied with simple, unconditional trust.

That trust opened a link into her mind, and I projected the mentioned scene onto the mirror behind us. Gabriel gasped at first, seeing the recreation from the corner of her eye, and then fell into a regretful silence.

Massive golden gates appeared in the mirror. A pure white canvas sat on one side of them. Beyond them, the ‘land’ of Heaven turned to infinite Purgatory. Far farther than any eye could reasonably see, that graying gradient turned to the churning darkness of the unknown.

A beautiful man walked through those gates. His departure was witnessed by all of Heaven. He was crimson of hair — bloodfire — and 12 of wing. Pure Light shone in his eyes. As he passed Heaven’s threshold, that Light turned to blood, with crimson tears streaking down his cheeks. His wings flickered a blood-red so dark it settled as black, and the formerly pristine feathers began to fall out one by one to reveal Devilish black leather beneath as he marched into the churning darkness.

“Properly dramatic,” Lucifer smirked and nodded in approval.

Michael rolled his eyes. “You would say that.”

“I would also have — and did, as you well know — tried to wreak havoc on my way out,” Lucifer pointed out. “That my counterpart did not is interesting. His Pride burns colder than my own.”

“We did not know where he would go.” Gabriel sadly resumed her exposition. “The world was still empty. All of His plans were still being prepared. Some of us Archangels — me, Azazel, and Metatron — searched for him upon that world that was just beginning to bloom with life. We failed to find him, and later, we learned that he’d ventured straight into Hell.”

“Literally, I assume?” Ra’s asked.

Gabriel nodded. “Hell stood apart from His work from the start. The system of the Underworld was a collective effort in Creation, though He shouldered most of the burden. The other pantheons were running through their own Creation myths at the time — all true simultaneously — and some of them required worlds under the world.

“Still, His section of the Underworld — true Hell — was the last place His plan would see to. Lucifer knew that, and took advantage of the inattention. There were Devils there already, but they were pathetic things. Lucifer, in his rebellion, set out to make them great.

“His aim was an ascendant Hell, to rival Father’s work. To that end, Lucifer taught them to harness their power in the darkness, and molded that darkness to his Prideful vision. Away from the eyes of Heaven, he elevated the strongest, culled the weakest, and shaped a natural race into the purest antithesis of His work. For a century before Man even emerged, Lucifer bided his time, for he knew he was still missing all of the tools he would need.

“Above, His work continued with Man. Father created the Garden and Adam, Eve… and Lilith before her.”

“Oh!” Jason snapped his fingers. “I remember this one! Lilith was-! Right… The first time hearing this life’s story, Sean showed us Lilith.”

Ivy shuddered. “I’d been trying to forget that image, but yes. The poor, poor woman. I don’t know how much of a conscious party she was to Lucifer’s evil, but even if she was there willingly, I can’t help but empathize with a mother, the very first woman, slaved to the Devil and forced to birth his armies and send them to die.”

“Hmm,” Lucy hummed with a wince. “Yeah, that’s rough, choom.”

“Lilith fell out of favor with Adam — I never much approved of how he treated her, but it was Uriel’s place to Judge, not mine.” Gabriel frowned. “Like Lucifer, Father did not cast her out of the Garden; she fled of her own will. And then, in the yet-to-be-molded wastes of the world, Lucifer found her.

“He knew the power Father had invested in the first of Man — pure potential. Any of the three would’ve fit his plans, but Lilith fell to his manipulations especially easily. She was vulnerable and desperate, with nowhere in the world to go; Lucifer offered her a place at his side.”

“She… She looks so normal,” Kara mourned.

"Just a woman." I nodded. "The first."

“If only I’d gotten to our Lilith first,” Lucifer joked. “I had to settle for her daughter.”

Elaine elbowed him. “… I’ll tell Auntie Maz you said that.”

Lucifer just grinned. “Please do! The hate-sex will be glorious!”

“(¬ ͜ʖ¬)” Cass smirked. ‘… Based Devil-Demoness Hate-Sex.’

“You know~…” Lucifer ‘innocently’ added. “Here, Lilith ended up as the wife of Cain.”

Gabriel pursed her lips in acknowledgement, an ever-so-slight pout. “Hmm. I don’t think I like that idea.”

“I’ve never met the first woman of this Creation,” I defended myself. “And I have no intention to. I’m not ‘Cain’ here; when, where, and while I am ‘a Cain’, you are the only one I’ll call wife, Gabriel.”

“Completely different souls in this Creation.” Didi nodded, backing me up. “Our Cain is… of the vampiric interpretation. Him, Lilith, and their get have long been a cheating thorn in my side.”

“Oh, okay!” Gabriel perked right back up. “Doesn’t count, and this Cain sucks, yay!”

“(´•̥ ω •̥` )” Cass sniffled with happy tears. ‘Beautiful, blessed with… bounty, and quick with a pun, too; she’s perfect.’

“Pun?” Gabriel gave her head a little tilt with the question.

“The Devil takes advantage of the first of Man, the First Woman at her lowest!” Savage interrupted with an outraged shout, getting the story back on track. “How did that fiend use Lilith in his twisted plans and aims?!”

“I’ll take this one.” I chuckled. “I’m starting to feel a bit left out, and I spent much more time in Hell than Gabriel did, anyway.

“The Devils of Hell were always a natural race, but as Gabriel said, Lucifer shaped their development to his vision. He molded them into the antithesis of God’s work. He personally culled the Devil race down to just 72 individuals — all hand-picked for power and bloodline.

“Then, with Lilith secured as his broodmare, he built pillars upon that foundation. He bred Devils by the tens of thousands for each pillar, while keeping a single main line to rule them. If you’re familiar with the Ars Goetia, you’ll already be familiar with the names of those bloodline pillars.”

“Bael, Asmodeus, Beleth, Paimon, Valefar, Gremory, Belial, and so on?” Klarion rattled off, surprising all of no one with his knowledge of daemons.

I nodded. “Later, ‘Extra Demon’ lines would also arise — other demonic names you might recognize such as Abaddon, Mammon, Belphegor, and such — but the 72 Ars Goetia-named Pillars remained the core of the Devil race during Lucifer’s reign.”

“That’s…” Jason muttered. “Pretty damn fascinating, and pretty damn brutal, too.”

“I really shouldn’t have expected anything less from this Lucifer,” Barbara sighed.

“That does not seem like enough diversity for a healthy population,” Ra’s noted. “Though, if Lilith and Lucifer were handling the breeding of Devils, I suppose the point is moot.”

“There is also nothing to say that Devils suffer the perils of inbreeding, Father,” Talia added.

“During Lucifer’s reign, you said?” Diana asked. “What came of the Devil race after?”

Gabriel gave a sad but accepting, even slightly hopeful smile. “Just as Heaven did after His death, Hell too needed to change. These days, they’re in a much better place-… Well, no, they’re still in Hell. But without Lucifer’s influence, they’ve started to drift back towards a more natural state; merely another race in the Underworld rather than the purest antithesis of His work.”

“The influx and integration of Reincarnated Devils from every corner of the supernatural world helped facilitate that change in perspective as well,” I added. “But they’re a fair bit down the timeline from the focus of tonight’s story, so I digress.”

“That you do, my friend!” Savage laughed. “Worry not; we appreciate the information — a fascinating story, indeed! Now! With Hell ascendant under Lucifer, what was Heaven’s response?”

“Gabriel?” I asked.

She shook her head. “We really couldn’t do anything at first. Hell, again, stood apart from His work. And on Earth, Man was taking his first steps. Adam and Eve gave way to Abel and Cain, of course; more and more Men were created in His image, and Creation was populated. We Angels had our hands and wings full; Lucifer chose his time of preparation well.”

“I committed Humanity’s first true Evil,” I said. “Note the capitalization there. My father in that life sinned, but there was no malice in his heart as he did. My fratricide was, unfortunately, driven by just that.”

I frowned, remembering Abel. As much as I wanted to blame fate or Him Above for making my actions fit the canon plan, I really couldn’t. When your whole world in a life consisted of three other people and God Above, even small things like one sacrifice being chosen over another could lead to some drastic action. Abel had been a smug little shit, but then, weren’t all little brothers like that?

Gabriel and Didi both saw my frown. Didi was as supportive as ever. She didn’t judge me one bit for the First Murder. Someone, somehow, had to be the first to die, after all.

Gabriel… My defining act as Cain was an old issue between us. Even now, I knew she didn’t approve. She may have forgiven me in His place, and I may have redeemed myself in her eyes, but the First Murder would never be forgotten.

“Cain was cursed by God.” Gabriel picked up the tale there. “It was quite the-… no, ‘scandal’ is too small a word. It was Humanity’s First Evil, immediately following the First Sin, and Cain was blamed for that accordingly. We knew all followed His plan, of course, but for a long, long time, Heaven considered Cain an enemy of Man and God and even Creation itself.”

“I wasn’t popular, and so I took to wandering,” I said, chuckling. “The world was beginning to be populated by both God and the other pantheons of the world. Years passed, and Man became man. On Earth, the beginning of man came as an intricate merger, the mixing between the various creation myths. Civilization followed as Creation was diversified.”

“Hey, Gothboy and Angel-Wifey?” Harley spoke up. “I feel like I gotta ask, but what’s the deal with the other pantheons and their creation myths in all of this?”

Jason eagerly nodded. “That’s an important question, yeah! Was God, like, the truest origin of Creation, and every other religion followed-…?”

“All was true in myth, all at once,” Gabriel explained, cutting him off. “Father’s fiat lux came first, yes, but it was not alone for long. For the other pantheons, Creation was raised from Chaos, built by Earth-Divers, wrought in growing Complexity or from nothing in Emergence or Ex nihilo, tricked into existence by divine totems, or born wholesale from the primordial parents of the world. All myth came together to form the world as it was.”

The mirror behind us showed Creation according to various myths, all true at once. Chaos yawned, Gaia sprang forth from the maw, birthed Uranus, the Sky, and they coupled. A Raven created the world and stole light from the gods to illuminate it. Animal totems dove into endless seas to pull earth to the surface. A world egg cracked, with Creation emerging like a slithering snake.

All of the myths ran together; they all resulted in the same. And so, Creation came to exist.

Diana nodded. “It must be so. In most common understandings of history, my own pantheon and many others predate the notable events of Christianity.”

“Not necessarily Judaism, though, and that canon is the same as Christianity’s to a point,” Ra’s pointed out.

Diana insisted, “Yet I know for a fact that we were not powerless at the time, nor were any of the other pantheons we shared a world with. Thus, the idea of ‘All Myth’ is much more palatable to me than attributing all of Creation to only one.”

“Bah, myth and history!” Savage waved a dramatic hand. “Their relationship is a convoluted one from whatever perspective you look at it.”

“Time’s a bastard,” Destruction deadpanned.

To everyone’s surprise, Didi nodded along with him. “He is; just a massive, uncoordinated, contradicting cunt.”

Alice sputtered, “Bwah-?! Mom!”

“Pardon the language, little one,” Didi soothed her. “It’s simply true. I don’t ever intend to introduce you to your grandfather.”

“That’s… a whole lot to wrap our heads around, Mrs. Gothboy,” David muttered, his eyes practically spinning — he and the Edgerunners were comically out of their comfort zones.

“Worry about the result,” Alice earnestly advised. “That’s usually the best strategy with all the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, I’ve found. How it happened? Eh, whatever; all that really matters is that the world exists now.”

“Forget the details and yappin’; treat the end as the beginning?” Becca clarified, surprisingly open-minded.

“(^q^)” Cass chimed in. ‘Yep! Just don’t think too hard about it, choom! That way, no explodey-explodey brainy, neh~?’

“I suppose that’s all us little people can really do,” Falco chuckled.

“If you are looking to expand your horizons, I’m sure Ciri could find a few Creations in the process to show you,” I offered with a smirk.

“I would not know where to start-!” Ciri hissed back at me.

“Field trip!” Becca cheered, ignoring her choom’s protests.

“Back to my counterpart,” Lucifer drawled lazily. “He was not stagnant during all of this — the beginning of the world as it would come to be. I’m already certain of that much. But building an ascendant Hell and challenging both Earth and Heaven are two separate matters.”

“Are they, though?” Kara asked. “Like, I think I can pretty easily connect one to the other.”

“Oh, certainly.” Lucifer nodded. “Motivation and prepared means to ambitious execution. That said, speaking from experience, my counterpart must’ve spent centuries getting Hell in order. I had ideas to do the same initially, but very quickly, the reality of ruling Hell set in. It is impossible to describe the sheer chaos that Hell operates upon — a system of Devils. It should’ve ruined the best-laid plans of my counterpart.”

“Clearly, it did not,” Michael noted.

Lucifer nodded in agreement. “And I am burningly curious about the intervening years.”

“I’m afraid it’s hard to answer that question in full detail,” I replied. “Lucifer was intentionally passing the reshaping of Hell beneath the notice of Creation. The most I can say is that he, using Lilith, rebirthed a whole race in his image. They refined their Devilish magicks and, here and there, preyed upon the emerging civilizations of man above, regardless of pantheon.

“Things continued like that, with Hell building its strength, all the way up to the birth, life, and death of Christ. Only then, as Christianity was taking root in the minds of man, did Lucifer and his Satans truly rise from the bowels of Creation to wage war.”

“An eventful era, for sooth!” Savage exclaimed.

Didi chuckled. “There are centuries where nothing happens, and years where centuries happen.”

“Huh.” Barbara blinked. “I don’t know why, but I was expecting the Great War to have started earlier than that.”

“Same.” Jason nodded. “Probably because so much of the Biblical canon takes place before Christ and the New Testament.”

“Lucifer was active during the times before Christ,” I explained. “Just not active to the point of outright war.”

Gabriel pouted. “I still say he had something to do with the Fallen that followed him. I have no proof, but at the very least, he was the one who showed Azazel and the others that Falling was possible.”

“Azazel was an overly curious bastard long before he Fell to Lust,” I reminded her.

Sadly, she nodded. “He was Father’s Wonder…”

“In the years between Lucifer’s rebellion and the Four Satans sparking the Great War, other Angels Fell as well,” I explained for the benefit of our audience.

“Azazel was the Second to Fall — with man populating the world, he grew enthralled with them, obsessed, and eventually gave in to Lust with a woman. He didn’t join up with Lucifer, though. He formed a third faction in the Biblical canon: the Grigori. Over the years, as more Angels Fell, they joined the Grigori rather than Lucifer — they were His Perfection turned to Sin, not Devils.”

The mirror showed an Archangel, black and blond of hair. His white wings flickered black, and he despaired as His grace became distant. The Archangel was not alone for long. Other black-winged figures joined him, a bulwark of their own sin.

“Of the Three Factions, I got along best with the Grigori,” I said. “Never enough to join them, though Azazel tried and tried to sway me. They were also… well, the third party for almost all of the Great War.

“They were caught between Heaven and Hell, and while no one would call them innocent, everyone knew that the best they could hope for was survival.”

“What actually sparked the Great War?” Elaine asked. “You said… Other Lucifer was the instigator, right?”

“It was a four-pronged attack, each led by a Satan. They fell upon Heaven and Earth equally. Heaven was their eternal enemy, while the civilizations of man were treated as mere points in their conquest. Anything — everything — to ruin His work.” Gabriel scowled.

“Father was in seclusion, forging his system of Sacred Gears as blessings of protection for humanity, so we had no warning when Asmodeus was sent to storm the Gates of Heaven. The battle he started would rage without pause for the entire war, occupying the majority of Heaven’s lower-tier forces.

“I rallied out at the time, thinking it would be as simple as putting down the attack with His Might,” Gabriel said, shaking her head. “I did not know that Asmodeus was just the distraction.”

In the mirror, an endless War in Heaven appeared — an eternal battle at the Gates. We saw Gabriel as the Might of God in the reflected recreation, clad in crimson, imperial purple, and gold, and wielding a shining spear.

She carved through entire cloud-fields of Devils; the black blood that spewed forth failed to taint Heaven’s purity.

“(ง •̀ •́)ง✧” Cass cheered. ‘Angel-Wifey STRONK~!’

Gabriel continued. “Meanwhile, Leviathan was sent to flood Greece. The Greek Pantheon was going strong, but its center of power had shifted to Rome at that point. Greece was left open, and the forces of Hell didn’t discriminate. Every modicum of destruction, chaos, and brutality served their plans.”

Rising waters consumed all that man had built in Greece, recreated in the mirror’s reflections. An even more potent flood of Devils filled the skies and streets. They cut down those who tried to flee and consumed their souls for boosts in power. Athens, Eretria, Thessalonica, Messene, Corinth, Apollonia, and even as far inland as Thebes, Philippi, and Sparta; the waters of the Aegean rose to Devilish whims.

Diana glared at the reflection with patriotic fury. “Cursed creatures-!”

“Wretches!” Savage agreed.

“Beelzebub was sent to return the plagues to Egypt. He turned the waters of the Nile stagnant, swept the desert far past its limits, and infected Egyptian grain to be exported far and wide. They saw little protection from their pantheon, long past its ancient heights of power. Unfortunately, they saw little initial protection from Heaven as well, tied down at the Gates as we were.”

Swarms of Devils filled blue skies like locusts straight from the Old Testament. They were a blight upon the ancient, fertile, and prosperous land. Beelzebub sowed plague, famine, and drought; he reaped only death.

Jason winced. “If you’re trying to do as much damage as possible, plague one of the main breadbaskets of the Mediterranean is an awfully efficient choice.”

Becca whistled, “Daaaaammnn, choom, ancient supernatural shit didn’t fuck around, did it?”

“And Lucifer… His attack was twofold. He sent insidious influence toward Jerusalem in the form of Devilish contracts for men in power, just as Christ’s teachings were beginning to spread. The persecution they incited would follow Christianity throughout its first few centuries. And he himself fell upon Rome in secret, seeking to sow corrupting seeds within the greatest mortal power of the era.”

The last scene in the mirror was wholly different from the first three. There was no decimation or destruction or death. The Eternal City burned on like a bonfire, unaware of the Devil in its midst. Lucifer, shaped as a man, wandered the streets, bathed in the public baths, celebrated at the circuses, tendered law in the basilicas, prayed at the temples, and made his voice — reasonable, personable, and insidiously influential — known in the senate forum.

“Oh my,” Ra’s muttered. “That is not going to end well.”

“Honestly? That explains just about everything about Rome, the Eternal Dumpster Fire,” Jason deadpanned.

“The fools that once claimed me did not even realize they were being infiltrated and influenced, did they?” Hecate asked with an exasperated sigh.

“Nope~.” I chuckled. “Rome was turned into a battleground of Biblical espionage, and the Greco-Roman pantheon was the last to find out about it.”

My tone turned more serious. “Lucifer’s strategy in the Great War centered entirely on Earth. Though there was always a battle at the Gates of Heaven, and though there were many more in Hell, the true battlefield of the Great War was always the souls of mortals.

“See, a divine war isn’t won by conquering land; it’s won through influence — usually either fear or faith — and every soul that can feel such is a ‘victory point’. I couldn’t tell you how many souls got swept up as casualties of that battlefield. Exceedingly few directly, willingly, or knowingly served Hell. But when fear is all Lucifer needed to further his war goals, awareness of the Devil hardly mattered.

“Every event of that era was a battle, either directly or by proxy, and historical figures were the strategems within. From the very height of Rome and the follies that cost it its empire to the Crusades that pitted faithful of one stripe against faithful of another… history itself was the true Great War.”

Gabriel nodded along beside me, uncharacteristically solemn. I watched my audience for their reactions. Jason, Harley, Savage, Hecate, and Klarion were practically vibrating with excitement despite the existential historical horror of the topic, while Ra’s, Talia, Damian, and Diana were more subdued but no less interested.

Lucifer scoffed to himself. “Way to show up my war in Heaven, counterpart…”

“It was literally a war of hearts and minds,” Barbara realized in horror. “But oh fuck, the scale…?!”

“… And where were you at the start of the war, Sean?” Didi asked.

I waved behind me at the mirror, a small grin showing on my face. The scenery of the eternal city didn’t change, but the focus did.

Cain wandered the streets, bathed in the public baths, celebrated at the circuses, tendered law in the basilicas, prayed at the temples, and made his voice known in the senate forum, just as Lucifer did, and at the same time, to boot.

I grinned. “At the start? Funnily enough… also Rome.”