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The battle was fierce; there was blood and fire all around, the weapons roared and the skies trembled. We were losing — it was obvious — but surrender was out of the question. There was no other way but forward.
I was hurt, and my wounds and those of my comrades were taking much longer to heal, surely a punishment for our rebellion. There was no going back; we all knew that.
The legion I was commanding was fighting brutally, trying to win ground. We needed to push inland and secure our position inside the Silver City — that was our only hope.
Then, there was silence. The whole battleground held its breath as both sides watched Lucifer and Michael fight for victory. Each army looked on in awe at their champions — our very own David and Goliath, Hector and Achilles. We all understood that the winner would determine the outcome of the war.
I knew in my heart that Lucifer was no small opponent; I had seen him battle before. He was always so courageous, so fearless, so strong. And yet something tightened in my chest at the sight of him crossing swords with none other than Michael. I had followed him knowing full well the consequences of that decision. I did not regret it.
I wanted to see him bathe in the glory of victory and conquest, rise tall before his peers. I wanted to see him rule. What I could not bear was the possibility of seeing him dead — my heart would break.
I had no other option but to watch in sheer horror as Michael, with his flaming sword, made Lucifer bleed. And I knew him like the palm of my hand: for him, death came before dishonor. He would happily die before admitting defeat.
Unfortunately, that was not a price I was willing to pay. The world would be far less beautiful without its light bringer, and his followers needed him more than ever. They would need their leader.
* * *
Lucifer. I had followed him since the very beginning. It did not matter to me whether he was right or wrong. I had been willing to leave the Garden of Eden and its dull male inhabitant just to be by his side. He had taught me so many things — about the world around me, about myself, about how it was better to be free than to be comfortable.
For him — my angel, my mentor, my light bringer — I had turned my back on God himself, and I was glad to have done so. I wished with everything I had that he would succeed, that he would get what he wanted, even if I was not there to see it.
The sword duel was coming to its end. Michael had Lucifer trapped in a corner, the fire of his blue-flame sword burning dangerously close. That was it — we were defeated. Although the Holy Father is all-forgiving to his children, no matter how great the transgression, the same could not be said for Michael.
The self-righteous bastard was looking for the killing blow, completely convinced it was his mission to destroy Lucifer. Of all the angels in Heaven, I hated him the most. He was the perfect soldier, obeying the designs of the Lord without question or hesitation, never asking himself why he had been ordered to do something.
He represented everything we were fighting against: blind obedience to a plan plotted before any of us were born, whose details were withheld from us to this day.
I saw the blue flame of the sword burning furiously. Lucifer had cuts all over him and was bleeding profusely.
I am sorry, Lucifer. I was simply not strong enough to watch this.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Michael ran toward him with the sword aimed at his heart — the damn coward — and I could not stand by and watch. I was not important. If I died today, the plan stayed the same. Lucifer would live to fight another day. I was expendable. He was not.
I put myself between him and Michael. The sword came out through the middle of my chest, tears running down my cheeks as my blood stained his face. I fell to my knees, but before I hit the ground, he caught me and cradled me in his arms.
* * *
"Why?! What did you do? Stupid little human —" His desperate shouts were filled with anger.
"It is alright, Lucifer. It needed to be done. You still have a job to finish here." I whispered, reaching up to touch his face with a trembling hand.
He was as breathtaking as the day I first laid eyes on him. I would never forget that day — the day I met the most beautiful star in the sky. He had looked so imposing, so bright, so tall and mysterious. I had come to love his cocky grin and his arrogant demeanor, the way he walked through the Garden of Eden as if he owned it.
Adam had been terrified of him. I always found that hilarious. He had not liked how much time Lucifer and I spent together, but he was too much of a coward to say anything about it. I was going to miss our talks, the two of us wandering through Paradise, Lucifer using his ridiculous strength to carry me on his back while he flew.
We had lost ourselves in passion and longing beneath the starry sky. They say my first and greatest transgression was eating that apple — but in truth, giving myself to him was my first sin, and I would gladly do it again.
* * *
"I know I have given up every right I once had to ask anything of you, Holy Father," I said to the blue, infinite sky, tears spilling down my cheeks as the last breaths left my body. "But if I could ask for one last thing — please, please let Lucifer live. I will take the punishment for all of this. I will pay for it with my life."
"No!" His voice cracked like thunder. "How dare you — I will not have that. You are not taking the fall for this, Eve! Father of all, King of Heaven, Master of the Universe — she cannot die here. If you spare her, I will surrender and leave the Silver City forever."
"Who are you to ask anything of our Father, Lucifer?" Michael spat with venom. "You and that woman have committed the gravest transgression. It is a sin that either of you are still breathing."
"Say that again." Lucifer's voice dropped to something low and terrible. "I was willing to let you beat me, Michael. I had made my peace with it — even if you destroyed me. But then you had to hurt Eve and be glad about it. Now both of us are going to die today, brother."
The air itself seemed to change. The space around him grew heavy, suffocating. His eyes darkened, and his beautiful glow began to fade, slowly swallowed by a pitch-black darkness that threatened to consume everything around him.
Even God's bravest warrior took a step back. Thunder rolled behind Lucifer, his wounds began to close, and he seemed to grow larger than he already was.
He was like a predator waiting to strike. Everyone could feel his hunger for blood. Michael recovered some of his nerve and raised his stance, flaming sword ready in his right hand.
This was different. They were no longer battling for ideals. This would be pure and primal — killing for the sake of killing. Lucifer had always been frightening, far darker than any of his brothers, but this was something else entirely.
"Luci, please," I begged, tugging at his armor. "Just leave. Live to fight another day."
"That is enough."
The voice rang out far and wide, and all who heard it trembled. The skies shook.
"Michael, stand down. Lucifer — do you really have time to battle your brother when the mother of your children is between life and death?"
Lucifer's grip on me tightened. He looked down at me, his impossibly large hand cradling my face. I felt so small against him.
"What are you talking about, Father? What children? Eve —"
"I am sorry, Lucifer." I gasped for air. "I did not have the chance to tell you before all of this. I did not want you to be distracted by it."
The faces of every angel on that battlefield were something to behold — a mingling of joy and horror. Lucifer's followers lit up at the news of their leader's heir. Michael's legion looked as though the ground had been pulled from beneath them.
"It does not matter," Michael said flatly. "She will be dead within minutes. It is a miracle she is still breathing after being run through with the flaming sword."
"Say that again, Michael." The softness in Lucifer's voice was more terrifying than a shout. "Say it once more, and not even our Father will be able to stop what I do next."
"SILENCE."
Lucifer and Michael had been pressing their luck, and the Holy Father's patience had worn thin.
All at once, a golden light wrapped itself around me. The wound in my chest began to close on its own, and I drew a long, full breath. I was healed.
Lucifer did not release me. He watched, eyes fixed on my face, until he was certain I was whole.
"You can let me go, Lucifer. I think I am alright." I looked up at the sky. "Thank you, Holy Father — but why? Please tell me this does not mean you will not forgive him."
"You are healed, as are the fruits of your transgression. But you are Eve — wife of Adam — and you still have a role to fulfill on Earth. I have chosen to show mercy to Lucifer and to your sons, on one condition: you must return to Adam. You will go back to his side, be his devoted wife, and bear his children. In return, Lucifer and his heirs will be cast out of Heaven and imprisoned in Hell. Forever."
"Ha." The word came out of Lucifer low and sharp. "The hell she is going back to that man. She is carrying my children, Father. Her place is at my side. You can make another toy for Adam to play with."
"She has a role in creation. Her task is not finished. She was never meant for you, Lucifer. And should she choose to remain with you, I will destroy your children and ensure she never carries another. So — what will it be, Eve? A future in which your sons and their sinful angel father both live? Or one in which you remain together, and your sons are never born? Choose."
"Father!" Lucifer's shout was raw with grief.
"Lucifer, please." I reached for his hand and pressed it gently against my stomach. "We have a chance to save our children. Please."
"For what, Eve?" His voice broke. "So you can go back to Adam? You told me you love me, and yet you want to leave me alone with two children who will never know their mother. Why?"
"Because I do love you. If the Holy Father had asked for my life, I would have given it gladly. But do not tell me you would choose your revenge over our children. This way, at least they get to live."
He looked at me for a long moment, something unreadable moving behind his eyes.
"Do not make me do this alone," he said quietly. "Do not ask me to let you go."
"You are not going to be alone." I held his hand tighter against me. "You will have your sons. And I know you — I know you will make them into warriors, brave and strong, just like you. Promise me you will keep them safe. Promise me you will protect them."
I would never forget the pain that crossed his face in that moment — the weight of it, the depth. I could feel his grief like something physical between us. The enormity of what he was being forced to accept.
"I promise, Eve." He lowered himself onto one knee so his eyes were level with mine. "I will keep our sons safe. And someday, we will all be together again. You have my word."
I held his face in both my hands and kissed him — slowly, completely — because it was the last time I would ever have the chance. When it ended, he pressed his forehead to mine, and we stayed like that for a breath, sealing everything we could not say into that single, quiet gesture.
"I accept your terms, Holy Father," I said to the sky.
"So be it. You will give birth to your sons outside the Gates of the Garden of Eden, in the presence of Michael's Legion and Lucifer's rebels. Once the children are born, Michael will escort them — and Lucifer — to the Gates of Hell."
"Fall back," Lucifer said to his army. "We go to Earth."
* * *
When his legions and Michael's had complied, Lucifer lifted me into his arms and spread his enormous black-feathered wings. We descended together toward the world below, followed closely by Azazel and Belial, his most trusted generals.
The moment his feet touched the earth outside the Gate of Eden, the pain hit me like a wave. My belly was swollen, my whole body shaking, sweat pouring down my face. I could not help but cry out.
"Eve — Eve, I am here." He set me down gently on the ground and stayed close behind me, arms wrapped around me. "You are alright. I am right here."
"Lucifer — I can feel them. They are coming."
Azazel dropped to his knees before me and covered my legs with part of his garments to give me what dignity he could. Belial appeared with a white cloth and fresh water. Lucifer used his sleeve to wipe my forehead. Michael and his legion stood in silence and watched.
Azazel received the first baby, and Belial took him and cleaned him gently — followed moments later by his twin.
"Two boys, my Lord," Azazel announced, his voice thick with pride. "Healthy and strong."
A cry of joy rose from the rebel angels, welcoming the birth of their lord's heirs — all of it under the cold, contemptuous gaze of Michael and his legion. Lucifer and I looked at each other, and in that moment, I had never seen him look more like himself.
As soon as the children were placed in my arms, I studied each of their faces, kissed their foreheads, and gave them their names. Kaileth, to my eldest. Azaroth, to my youngest.
The last thing I saw was Lucifer carrying our sons — one in each arm — walking away into the dark, flanked by Azazel and Belial.
That day, I watched my heart, my soul, and my spirit disappear into the darkness of Hell.
Forever out of reach.