Chapter V
Adam and Lilith
The Abyss. Cold and dark. A place of desolation and torment.
After the Fall, for what seemed like an eternity, demons wandered at random as specters of pain through that vast prison, lost in dark thoughts, fueling hatred for their defeat. The malignancy of the Abyss has been present since their arrival, ingraining itself in their spirits like a disease, consuming the little light they had left. Only Lucifer retained his natural brilliance in that pit of darkness, even though his spirit was also corrupted. However, unlike the others, he did not wander without destiny, preferring to sit on a large rock to meditate on everything he had done and could have been.
Its light inadvertently functioned as a beacon to his peers. Slowly, they awakened to the appalling reality that surrounded them and came to their master in the lack of another option. Among the first to gather around Lucifer were three of his wives, Prosperine, Astarte, and Eisheth. The remaining two, Rosier and Verrier, as much as they loved their husband, had refused to betray God. Rosier was eventually married by Gabriel and Verrier was taken by Camael.
At that time, though in secret, many demons were already cursing Lucifer for their misfortune. However, they were too disorganized and too scared to face him. Moreover, the leadership of the Firstborn proved essential in those early days of chaos and uncertainty. Lucifer commanded them to scour the Abyss for natural resources and gather the still-stray demons. They soon found rich mineral veins. Iron and copper sprouted within the soil, as well as gold and silver. There were also numerous hot springs that spat out heat and sulfur. In addition to vast plains of a sticky and fetid mud.
Scouts were sent to the Great Seal, discovering the gaps leading to the surface. However, the demons had spent too much time in the Abyss. The influence of its darkness had grown so much in their hearts that it became impossible for them to turn away from it. Their wills were unable to break the invisible shackles that held them to that place of eternal damnation. Only the fallen Seraphim proved powerful enough to gain the surface. However, not even Lucifer could stay away indefinitely. Every month in freedom, three others followed in the confinement of the Abyss, when Lucifer would take advantage of his notorious ingenuity to erect his empire in the underworld.
Lucifer ordered the conversion of the hot springs into immense forges, using them to manufacture a whole new generation of copper and iron tools and in the cooking of mud from the plains into huge building blocks. These formed the basis of the first palaces of what would become the Dark City, the infamous dwelling place of demons in the Abyss. Smaller, distorted; an evil version of the former Silver City, mirroring each other in the design of the streets and avenues, and in the layout of the centers of power. However, the Dark City was stripped of any sign of beauty or harmony. There were no parks, gardens, or herbal shops. Instead, it looked severe, cold, and melancholy, surrounded by a wide wall interspersed with hundreds of imposing towers, assuming itself more as a cruel fortress than metropolis. At its center, the widest of all buildings rose so high that it could be seen from the farthest corners of the Abyss: Lucifer's palace. A grim pyramid, dirty and macabre. On its peak burned a colossal pyre, symbol of the light and power of the Prince of Darkness. Fueled by the channeled fire of the depths, its ghostly glow and its sulfur clouds covered the city like a cloak of oppression upon the heads of its unfortunate inhabitants.
The forges worked tirelessly, producing utensils, statues, and busts of Lucifer. And weapons, lots of weapons. Leviathan, Great Gunsmith of the Abyss, personally oversaw a new sword for his sovereign. With a dark blade and a fist carved in the shape of a two headed metal serpent, it was a foe worthy of the legendary Enoli. Leviathan named it Mephistopheles in honor of the greatest achievement of the one who wielded it. Soon there were tridents, swords, daggers, shields, and armor sufficient to heavily equip the army of darkness.
Arming to the teeth the various factions that emerged among the demons, it made easier for the Firstborn to manipulate them against each other and thus secure his crown. To this end, Lucifer selected seventy-two fallen Seraphim, whom he appointed Lords of Demons. They were followed by the fiercest of the ancient Cherubim, in numbers of thirty-nine, including Azazel, among whom Lucifer distributed the titles of Dukes and Earls. These privileged hundred and eleven were the generals of the Abyss, each commanding a legion of six thousand six hundred and sixty-six demons. That was how the fallen were organized and controlled. And cursed were all of them, who hated themselves and the Dark City almost as much as their dreaded ruler.
Eden was a vast region situated in the far side of the world, chosen by the angels to house the most beautiful of gardens. To do so, they had adorned it with tree seedlings brought from the four corners of the world. There was, however, a rare and unique specimen that stood out from the others, chosen from the most magnificent of the Second Heaven and planted by Michael himself in the heart of Eden. It was called the Tree of Life and its magnificent fruits carried the knowledge of good and evil.
Capricious and dedicated, the angels excavated rivers to bathe the garden and selected the most docile animals to inhabit it. There were four rivers that cut through Eden, and their names were Pisom, Giom, Hidéquel and Euphrates.
Gabriel ended the work satisfied that the Lord's orders had been carefully fulfilled. Gabriel, who now exhibited a glow identical to Lucifer's as the new Bearer of the Sacred Light, the Herald of God.
Then, the Breath of God came by raising the dust from under the fresh grass of the garden, forming two dusty clouds that grew and swirled ever faster, until they formed both man and woman. And the breath entered them through their noses, making them living souls of flesh, blood, and bones. Creatures that should never know death or pain.
Gabriel and his fellow Seraphim knelt before Man. And they realized that they shared the same language with the new creatures, who approached the winged beings with light hearts.
Gabriel stood up in a salute.
“I come at the behest of the Almighty Father to welcome you, Adam and Lilith,” Gabriel said, calling them by their names chosen by God. “You are the Creator's most beloved children. Here we are to serve and protect you. God offers you the lands of the garden of Eden, its animals to feed on and its waters to be satisfied, from every tree eat freely, but not from the Tree of Life, symbol of the covenant with the Lord, for on the day you do, you will surely die.
And Adam was given prevalence over the woman, and to all living and inanimate he could name, as Lucifer before him in the Four Heavens.
As it never rained and the weather always remained pleasant in the safety of Eden, Adam and Lilith slept where it suited them, under a sky of silver stars, in quantity and beauty never seen since then.
By day, Adam hunted, grazed, fished, and praised, while Lilith cleaned the food and cooked. But when night fell, and Adam sought the pleasures offered by the flesh of the woman, she despised him, finding his appearance miserable before the splendor of the Seraphim. A behavior that generated deep resentment in Adam, who was impatient, every day, with the refusal of his wife.
One morning, when Adam was sowing the northern fields, Lilith was visited by an angel even more handsome than Gabriel.
Lilith stopped washing her hair on the banks of the Pisom as the splendid being confronted her for the reasons which made her deny her husband.
Embarrassed and surprised, Lilith confessed that she preferred death to be touched by that rude man. She said that without taking her eyes off the angel's gorgeous hands, which seemed so soft and gentle, quite different from Adam's, calloused and dirty for work.
The angel reminded her that God had created her for Adam, and therefore she had an obligation to satisfy her husband. After all, Man had inherited the Earth to grow and multiply on it.
Helplessly, Lilith wept a death wish. Still, that was not a way out. For humans could be wounded, but not killed in those days. Not even by angels.
“There is, however, a chance for you to free yourself from the call that torments you,” the winged being revealed. “A power capable of even taking you away from the Seraphim who will surely come after you. But to do so, you will have to deny God. Until the end of time.”
The price was too high. Lilith hesitated.
“Think carefully, woman,” said the angel. “If you decide for my offer, just return to this place and call my name.”
The angel then left as unexpectedly as he had arrived, leaving Lilith beset by doubts and uncertainties.
The following days dragged on amid a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. However, when Lilith began to accept the idea of remaining faithful to Adam, especially after the apparent cooling of his advances, tragedy descended on Eden.
Adam got tired of Lilith denying him what was rightly his. That night, he sought his wife's virginal lips, only to again see his kisses refused. This time, however, he was determined not to hold back. With brutality, he grabbed the woman by the arms and forced his mouth into hers.
Lilith struggled to unravel, but, much stronger, Adam threw her back to the ground, imposing the weight of his body on hers and his path through her legs. She scuffled like a cornered animal, feeling her husband's sickening breath against her face.
Adam easily subdued her, but suddenly Lilith managed to release an arm. With her nails, she opened the right side of his face from top to bottom. Adam's blood sprang from the wound, splashing into the woman's eyes, and followed by a terrifying roar.
Surprised and furious, experiencing a pain he had never imagined possible to exist, Adam slap Lilith. Instinctively, she hit him in the groin with one knee and was amazed to see him roll to the side, writhing in tears.
Lilith took the opportunity to escape. She ran as fast as her legs allowed her toward the banks of the Pisom, where she had seen her guardian angel for the first time. There, she called for his name.
The angel soon appeared in a flapping of wings. His warm, tender hands touched the woman's face, marked by the blood and slap of Adam.
Lilith did not even have to ask. The angel whispered the Name of God to her.
She smiled and pronounced it.
With the power of the Name, she flew beyond Eden.
The angel saw her disappear on the horizon and smiled at himself. From within the Abyss, he had felt the change of the natural order of the universe at the time of the appearance of Man. His thoughts had peered the Earth after the new being and discovered something different from everything he knew, a creature made of matter and spirit. A receptacle of flesh blessed with a novelty called soul. And Lucifer hated humanity even more because it was endowed with the miracle of souls. And his envy and desire for vengeance against the Lord grew, an opportunity that presented to him in Lilith's revolt. For Man's mind was transparent to angels as the waters that shone in the oases of the Third Heaven.
Lucifer discovered that he could read the deepest secrets hidden in human thoughts and emotions. And that was Man's weakness. And thus, Lucifer had finally found the answer by which he had meditated so much. He would take revenge on God through His most beloved creation: humanity.
Lilith flew far away, as far as she found strength.
When she fell asleep, exhausted, it was on the muddy soil of a dense, distant forest.
Lilith awoke the next morning with the rays of warm, gentle light from the sun penetrating through the thick foliage of the leafy trees.
Lilith was thirsty as she walked along a narrow trail until she came across a fine white sandy beach. She tried the water, but was forced to spit it out, since, unlike the rivers of Eden, it was salty, impossible to drink. She took advantage only to bathe, yet it left her skin sticky and her hair heavy.
At that moment, three Seraphim landed by surprise around the woman. Lilith despaired and tried to escape, but their leader, Raphael, was more agile, grabbing her by the wrists.
They were going to return with her to Eden when a shadow came down on them. Lucifer sprouted from the clouds like a wind of destruction, zooming over their heads and decapitating Raphael with his dark sword. The two other Seraphim took off behind the aggressor, while Raphael's essence left for the Creator, freeing Lilith.
She saw the three creatures disappear through the higher clouds. From there, she could only follow the furious battle that erupted by the sound of blades beating each other and the sparks they caused, illuminating the sky like lightning.
A cry of death interrupted the cacophony of violence only for a moment before it was resumed. Still, it did not last longer. An angel plummeted onto the sand of the beach, almost hitting Lilith, who fell on her back in front of the crater that was opened before her. Lucifer descended victorious from the sky, brandishing his profane Mephistopheles.
Lilith got up and saw the wounded Seraph in the center of the crater. His right wing had been cut in half.
“When you see God,” Lucifer said. “Tell him this is just the beginning.”
Lucifer tore the angel's throat with a stroke of his dark blade. The essence of the Seraph left for the Creator. Lilith ran to hug her champion.
“You saved me!”
Lucifer kept a harsh expression.
“We must hurry. Others will come,” he said. “There's only one place where you'll be safe. There, no one will dare follow you. Come with me.”
Lucifer sheathed Mephistopheles and took off.
Lilith flew after him.
He led her to the heart of the ocean, holding her firmly by the left arm as he plunged with her into the cold waters. For even though Lilith was immortal, the feeling of drowning was appalling.
He guided her through one of the breaches of the Great Seal to the depths of the Abyss. There, Lilith met Lucifer's menacing throne room, excavated in the bowels of the Great Pyramid.
Feeling the wickedness of the place, Lilith wished to flee. But it was too late for that. She had betrayed God and caused the death of three of His angels. Lucifer laughed at the tears of despair that poured down the woman's face as she realized that she had been ruined by his lies.
“You are now as damned as we are,” said the Prince of Darkness. “You have no home but the Abyss.”
Lucifer tossed her with disdain into a deep, narrow pit, dug into the basement of his palace, a vast and fetid underground area, inhabited only by countless thick columns. There, he buried her slowly with a sinister shovel of twisted cable, savoring every moment.
Lilith choked on the black mud that insinuated itself through every orifice and pore of her body, carrying evil into her.
She fought for an entire era against the perversion of the Abyss. She resisted it more than an angel could expect. However, in the end, the darkness consumed her soul, turning it dreadful as the essence of demons themselves.
Upon sense of the destruction of Lilith's humanity, Lucifer released her from the prison. She was then the last remaining immortal human. More than that, a unique kind of monster. A beast embedded with soul, with the power of the Name of God on her lips.
This gave Lilith the singular ability to freely walk the Earth, returning to the Abyss only when it suited her. She employed her exceptional beauty in the seduction of kings and commoners, both men and women. With a cruelty equal only to Lucifer's, she lay with demons and humans, giving birth to terrible creatures that roamed both the Abyss and the world. The former became known as Succubus, and the latter as Incubus.
Lilith became Lucifer's sixth wife, the only one to whom he allowed infidelity, for her macabre offspring provided him with new warriors for his evil army.
In addition to the three wives who had followed him in the Great War, Astarte, Prosperine and Eisheth, Lucifer had married two more demonesses, Naamah and Agrat-batmahlaht. Lilith would be the final acquisition of his harem.
And countless were Lilith's sins. The most infamous, the murders of newborns she visited, at night, in their sleep, to suck the Breath of God from them.
As a lover of monarchs, she urged them, with lies and betrayals, to lead their peoples to war and ruin.
Lilith tarnished her name with the blood and agony of her victims. Until the end of time, she was known as the most terrible servant of Lucifer Morningstar.