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It was always fascinating to watch. The Sky Dwellers would have their small villages with rickety homes and shoddy clothes on each of the islands, miles apart with no method to visit the other. Many didn’t even realize other islands had life on it. They still interacted with each other, copulating and reproducing to increase their numbers. As the years went by, their homes got sturdier and their clothes more refined. They started their own cultures, their own history. They were evolving, but not forgetting the roots they were born from. There was so much progress it paled in comparison to the steady flow of the Astrals. Nothing but stuffy immortals only caring about their superiority over the Skies. Anything they did was to keep their positions as they were. Never changing. No rocking the boat. Lucillius was the rare Astral that wanted to create new and exciting things-the Primals. The Primarchs, especially, were able to control and support the Skies. Lucillius was fascinated by the growth of these weak mortals. His first creation, the Supreme Primarch, reflected his observant nature. It was a Primal that could oversee the Skies and act impartially as he watched the lands continue to prosper. His second represented his curiosity and need for change. Lucillius was plagued with dreams of fire and destruction that were then overshadowed by creation. At times he wondered if he dreamed of the birth of the universe itself. The more he slept, the more the dreams haunted him. So, he tried not to sleep. He whittled away at his work, trying to create the correct Primal for each aspect of the Skies. He had wondered: if he could create the same conditions as the Astrals, would the Sky Dwellers become capable of overtaking them? He wanted to find out. His curiosity was not one to be quenched.
Belial would watch over the Skies with Lucifer whenever they had free time. Lucillius kept Belial busy, but he also granted the Primarch permission to descend to the Skydoms. Belial was able to disguise himself and explore each of the islands first hand. He saw growth, corruption, peace, war, justice, laws being formed and governments being dismantled. It was always evolving and each of the Sky Dwellers would use their mind, wit, and cunning to achieve their dreams. Belial, as the Angel of Cunning, was able to intervene and assist in many of these acts. Sometimes he would help end a war. Other times he would start a rebellion. Over and over again he would help put into motion radical changes that would help the Skydom grow as quickly as possible. It was always a fine line between pure destruction and reconstruction, all depending on how much pressure he exerted. There were times where he pushed too hard, too fast, and civilizations fell because of him. He just saw it as weeding out the weak. After all, it was only the strong who survived. Only the cunning.
The Astrals were getting restless. They were using Lucillius’ research to create lesser Primals-weaker than the Primarchs- to spy on the Sky Dwellers. Their progress was worrying them, especially after the first airships were created. The Astrals were starting to meddle where they didn’t belong, and it was noticed. As this was happening, Lucillius’ nightmares were getting worse. His dreams continued to show him horrors of the Crimson Horizon and beyond. Then one day he had an epiphany. He realized he was being used by the supposed creator Bahamut. He had gone into a rage, realizing all the curiosity and desire to see the Sky Dwellers’ progress was all a construct of Fate. Belial chose not to mention how he, himself, was created for a specific purpose, as was all the Primals. It was interesting to see his own creator in such dire straights, though. His creator even came up with a fascinating idea of destroying the existence Bahamut cherishes so much.
Belial had pondered the thought of how the Astrals would react to such a plot. He enjoyed the idea. All the wars he had caused among the Sky Dwellers would bring them to higher success than their neighboring islands until proper Skydoms were formed. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses, each deciding to work together to lessen those weaknesses. It was easy for him to manipulate the Primals-especially the Fallen Angels. He helped his creator wage war against existence. It was at the climax that Belial watched the Supreme Primarch behead his beloved creator. He couldn’t help the smile on his face.
He walked over to Lucifer, “How does it feel to kill your creator, Supreme Primarch?” Lucifer, in all of his perfection, held a pained expression on his face. “Belial, why did you go through with this?” Belial let out a chuckle, “You know, don’t you? Our roles are becoming obsolete. The Astrals create all of this life and technology, yet don’t share it with the world below. But you’ve noticed they don’t need it. Even as this war rages you see them persevering in the blood and death and chaos. They’re evolving to survive. Doing tactics the immortal Astrals have never seen before. They’ve grown stagnant in their immortality. Perhaps we have, too. But we are able to observe this change and use what little will we have to decide if we want to destroy this evolution- or foster it.” Belial gave a grand sweeping gesture towards the battlefield. “This won’t be the first time this happens. The Astrals will want to destroy the Skydoms to maintain their superiority. Eventually, one will be left. All your Primals will be used in the battle to kill off what you’ve been observing for so long. What will you do then? Will you kill all the Astrals? The Skies are starting to prosper without us Primarchs. Even without my meddling, they’re clawing their way to better lives. What will you do, then, Supreme Primarch? After all, the Sky was made blue long before we decided to exist in it.” Lucifer had absorbed his counterpart’s words, looking for an answer. Belial did not give him a chance to do so, however. He used his powers to push the Supreme Primarch back and once the dust cleared, Belial and the head of Lucillius were gone.
After 2,000 years Lucifer saw all the changes Belial had foreseen. The Astrals fought a bloody war, only to finally give up on the Skies and leave their home for better lands. The Sky Dwellers, like all their wars, moved on and rebuilt all that was destroyed. Then they continued to build. They built up their commerce, their society, and coexisted with each other peacefully-with the occasional small war. There was never a time where he had to intervene to save the Skies because the Sky Dwellers would find ways to save themselves. When he saw the birth of the Singularity, he knew that things were finally coming to an end for him. The Singularity went around to save islands and Skydoms that were in peril, joining people from all walks of life to create peace. If it was the Singularity, perhaps even Sandalphon can be saved, too.
Belial continued his observations and occasional meddling throughout the 2,000 years of his “hiding.” Honestly, he didn’t have to hide much when he could just disguise himself and walk amongst the regular civilians minding their own business. He would have his fun and scheme for Lucillius’ revival. He made sure to leave behind enough clues for any Skyfarer that would take up the mantle of a hero to save the Skies. He knew the greatest way to truly break the Skydoms from the Astrals was to finally rid the Skies of the Primarchs. The Skies were already breaking away on their own, but there was still the issue of the Supreme Primarch. Thankfully, Belial saw an opportunity with a being known as the Singularity. Truly a Hero in every regard, Belial could see the Singularity as the one to truly change the Skies. His plans continued to grow and the cogs of fate continued to turn.
Belial almost regretted decapitating Lucifer. He wondered if he ever found an answer for his question all those years ago. He would have liked to hear it. He at least was kind enough to leave the head intact so the baby Primarch could find him. He was sure the bond between the two would keep Lucifer alive long enough for some parting words. Belial looked forward to the anger of the new Supreme Primarch. The Singularity would have their hands full dealing with the aftermath. After a, frankly terrible, sewing job and more waiting it was finally time for the Grand Finale. Beelzebub’s presence was good for passing the time, and when Lucillius stabbed him and threw him to the Crimson Horizon, well, Belial had a good laugh. Too much Chaos would hurt the progress of the Skies, after all. Beelzebub was no longer needed. Belial played his role well, making sure to grab as much Chaos Matter as he could to put in himself. It wasn’t good to have too much of that stuff lying around, after all. He felt his mind almost lose control at some points, but he was quite stubborn. He needed to get Lucillius to meet the Speaker and then Final Judgement would at last grace them all.
It was fun watching the reactions of the Singularity at the end. The new Supreme Primarch had grown quite a bit and was able to put past his anger to seek justice. It didn’t matter too much, though, since the one to truly seal their fate was the Speaker. Belial had hoped for death, but being dragged into some kind of subspace was not in his plans. Ah, well. It just meant there was more fun to be had after all. For now, the big bad threat was eliminated. The Singularity and all of the Skydoms that banded together to defeat it will grow stronger and wiser. Belial thinks he feels proud, but one can never be too sure when you are a product of a cold and calculating Astral. As Lucillius curses and starts rattling off ideas of how to escape his prison, Belial’s thoughts drifted back to the Singularity. He made sure the transport he used was left behind so they could escape, but he did make sure to add a bomb for dramatic effect. The Singularity would survive it, he knew. They had much more in store for the future of the Skies, after all.