The angel rose from his throne, spread his wings, and shot off into the darkness, further, and further, past the dying stars and floating asteroids. Until the gravitational pull was no more, he shone his light into the darkness, but he saw nothing. He strained his eyes and shone brighter, but it was folly, for he saw nothing. He sat there, cross-legged, in the weightless void for hours until he felt cold, hollow, and alone. Time stood still, experience widened, and a new emotion began to emerge.
“Are there limits to your love, God? Is this what is meant by understanding how it falls apart, like how I fall apart? That the further I stray, the less I am able to feel love, because you’re the source of it all? Yes. I feel cold, hollow, and alone, but there is another sense that is new to me. Is it fear—fear of being alone, of no hope, no future? Fear of the things that will come to pass, a fear that since my story hasn’t ended that my fate is not saved yet? What a cold feeling this is, Lord. Is that the sign of when it has fallen apart?
He sat there, and closed his eyes, and calmed his emotions. And stayed meditated, and he sensed the most peculiar thing. He sensed a pull, a gravitational pull, but it wasn’t coming from God, so where is it coming from he thought to himself. It wasn’t of Love, it was some other strange sensation. It must be the cause of his confusion and fear. He then flew in its direction further and further, until he caught the faintest glimmer of a grey blur ahead. So, he shot further still, and discovered it was a moon without an orbit shrouded in darkness. He circled it, and saw no life, just dust, until he saw one gate leading to a toppled tower. He then landed in front of the gate. Across it had strange markings that read:
מריבות
He passed through the gate, and he felt a cold chill and a growing unrest. As he stepped further, the unrest grew into fear. As he came close to the rubble, he tried to imagine what the tower originally looked like, it was very functional in design if it weren’t for its monstrosity in size, It looked to be 450 feet long by 75 feet wide, he couldn’t discern the original height though, maybe 45 feet high he thought. He took a deep beath in and then gave a long exhale to try and calm his nerves. Something seemed off, he never head of this place. Why hadn’t God said anything, he knew everything, or maybe he didn’t, or maybe he did… The A large stone door was in front of him. It was cold to the touch. One swift of his hand and his powers almost opened it, but it detached from its hinge and fell forward. The path was now clear. He stepped onto the door and there was a great room, There was nothing to really see, rubble really, but he could see half of the sky on the right hand side due to the damage of the structure. It was on the right hand side where a great window use to be, it faced the stars of God’s kingdom. He went to it and saw an object so corroded, that it seemed unrecognizable, He dust it off and on it a number appeared 13,821,062,001 then it clicked to 13,821,062,002. It was still counting. Very strange.
He turned around and explored further In the middle of the room was a seat made of stone that stood out. That’s all there was though, just to the right of it was dust, maybe there was something that use to be there, but he couldn’t know now. In front of the throne was a round stone object that looked like a well, so he walked up to it. Something seemed off though, he felt dissonance, but he pressed forward. In it was a dark liquid. It looked like ink. On it a perfect reflection appeared. Half scared, but still curious, he had to see what the liquid was, so he lowered his hand, and took his finger, and slowly went to dip it, and it descended into the liquid.
Then his heart was struck with panic, and images crossed the liquid’s surface, of fields on fire, blood-red skies. It was him flying over Earth. Fear flushed his face with horror as he saw explosions hitting the ground and buildings toppling, and he passed out. Then, while dreaming, poetry passed into his stream of consciousness. He saw himself clear as day watching in third person, static, then he saw a man destroying a world, but it wasn’t just any man, he had the face of God. He was gathering his forces of angels, against… The true God. He saw him destroy a village, commit every sin, plunder villages, He felt what it was to be God himself. The anger, the rage, the frustration.
Then he saw static again, then heard an old man ask “Who are you?”
God Replied, “Mephisto.”.
Then it cut to static. Then he heard God say, ”Chaos is what brings sight.”
It cut to static again, and he heard a woman ask, “But that’s not all you see.”
God replied, “I see one curious being, exiled
The woman replied, “Yes, he is different and marks the beginning of the end, the Son, who is the first to find his freedom truly. It is only when one is opposed that they discover their freedom. I feel it within you. I see through your eyes as you see yourself in him, but beware, this dignity within comes at a tragic cost!”
“At what cost?”
And Dragon awoke. He was sweating, with his heart beating hard. He then went to the throne and sat down, and tried to piece together, the vision that he saw, of God… No Mephisto, bringing destruction upon everything. He was a monster.
“How could I be fooled these many ages? It’s all a lie, a charade, all of this suffering, this pain, he’s not benevolent, it’s because he’s really Mephisto, he’s a demon. What do I do now that I now the truth, that he’s a fraud? Do I march back and challenge him? No, no, I’d never win, I should attack him from afar, slowly attack his reputation, destroy him from the inside… But fist I must learn more, what else can I learn from this well… the well of Chaos is it? Yes…”
And He stood back up and walked to the well of Chaos and peered into it, hoping for more answers, answer to his question, a question he did not know yet. And there across the surface appeared himself, grand and glorious, gaining an army of angels against the deity, then on the map of Earth, he saw the history of Humanity spread bare. And in it, he saw…
“He planned all of this. God just obfuscated his true purpose. Love just blinds us, it misguides us, it isn’t the truth it is just another lie. Yes! I may not be able to beat him one on one but from afar, I can destroy him with the aid of fellow righteous angels. Yes, what other chance do I have? Once they know the truth—what other choice will they have? If they won’t believe me I’ll bring them here and they can see it for themselves. But they’ll believe me, I’m God’s chosen angel. I can feel the beat coursing through my veins. This will be glorious, mapped out across the stars, I will drag him through the mud and make him see an imperfection in his reflection that disturbs… wait, haven’t I heard these words before? Nevertheless, armies will have to decide, truth or lies. It’s time, no time to waste, I must begin to weave the truth, and topple a tyrant!”
The angel then spread his wings and shot through space and rounded further and further, and began his campaign, whispering ancient truths into angel’s ears. Some stayed loyal, others stood firm. But the truth stuck, and people began to talk, and it took on a life of its own, and sooner rather than later everyone knew.
Stephen C. Pedersen 