CHAPTER II – GREED

CHAPTER II �" GREED

Meanwhile, on the earth, Lilith slithered her way into Eden and there she found Eve alone, wandering in the Garden of Eden. "My dear, indeed has the Spirit has said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?" said Lilith. Eve replied, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, the Spirit has said, you shall not eat from it or touch it or you will die." "Die," Lilith replied, “Are you sure that the Spirit said that? ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it or you will die.’ Uh!Uh! Well, let me ask you this, Eve. What is death?” Eve was puzzled for she did not know about death. Lilith then said to Eve, "You surely will not die! For the Spirit knows that on the day that you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like us." So the woman ate from the tree in the middle of the garden. And her eyes opened, and she knew that she was naked, so she sewed fig leaves together and made herself aprons.

Soon thereafter, the Spirit appeared in a form of a burning bush. Although the bush was aflame, it was not burnt. Metatron also came along. "What have you done, Lilith?" said the Spirit. "Behold, the woman has become as one of us, and now let her put forth her hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever." Lilith replied, "You told her that if she eats from the Tree of Knowledge, she would die. I simply told her that she wouldn't, and from where I stand she doesn't look dead to me. Does she?” “That’s not the point” replied Metatron. Indeed, after Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge, she did not die as she was informed. She became more enlightened and was beginning to see Lilith for what she truly was, she was another created being just like she was but unlike Eve the Spirit, Lilith and Metatron are not human they were created by the Almighty Tetragrammaton themselves. Adam and Eve were simply second hand creations of another created being, so therefore those that do dwell in the Heavens are not as omnipotent as she had previously thought of them to be, for they too had a creator. Lilith was hoping that perhaps by providing Eve with the esoteric knowledge of the existence of Tetragrammaton, it would somehow compensate for the lack of soul inside her. Perceiving this juncture as a perfect opportunity to retaliate against Lilith for her adultery, Metatron then proposed that Lilith's avatar, Eve, be punished.

And so it was that Metatron and the Spirit concurred that Eve would be rendered mortal and cast out of Eden. The decision outraged Lilith and she vowed her revenge. Back on the battlefield, Lucifer was still toying with Michael. Each time Michael thought he had gotten the upper hand, Lucifer would knock him to the ground and belittle him. "If you can't defeat me, then why don't you lay down your weapon and join me, Michael, join the rebellion" demanded Lucifer. "Join us." Michael shouted, "Join you, never!" Displeased by Michael's refusal, Lucifer smote him viciously, knocking him to the ground once again. He then jumped into the air and landed with both his feet on Michael's chest. He slammed his foot on Michael's head and entrenched it onto the ground; he then raised his trident to deliver the final blow. "Here comes the pain," Lucifer screamed. Michael lay defenseless on the ground; he closed his eyes and prayed, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. My Lord, you are my refuge and my fortress, and in you I will trust. Surely, you shall deliver me from the snares of evil; your truth shall be my shield. I shall not be afraid of the terror of Deimos, nor of the destruction that lay waste. A thousand may fall at my left side and ten thousand at my right but death shall not come near me because you have set your love upon me and through you I shall be victorious. Amen.

" Before Lucifer could impale him, Michael grabbed him by the foot and threw him off. Shocked, Lucifer did not know what hit him. Suddenly, a beam of light enveloped Michael, and sparks of lightning manifested on his body; his sword became ablaze; his eyes became like a flame of fire and his body began to transform.

Dramatically, four additional wings grew out of Michael's angelic body, Lucifer realized to his horror that Michael had ascended from an Archangel to a Seraph. The two angels were now equal in attributes. Michael turned around with a smirk and said, "My turn." Lucifer got back up and shuddered his wings, not fazed a bit by Michael's transformation; he started clapping, sarcasm rippling through his voice. "Welcome to the guild, schmuck, but unfortunately for you there's only room for one Seraph on this battlefield." Then, Lucifer furiously assaulted him with all types of syndicated attacks. But Michael was stronger than him now, and Lucifer was getting trounced regardless of what he did. Lucifer pulls himself up from the rubbles “You insignificant pest.” said Lucifer. You must be very proud of these irritating tricks you’ve learned”. Then Lucifer stretched out his wings and with a jolt of confidence, he emitted a vigorous exertion of energy much like the one he used to vanquished his minions. The many wings of Michael envelops his perpetual body, completely shielding him from Lucifer’s deadly rays. Eventually, one by one, Michael cuts off Lucifer’s wings, all six of them. Lucifer had finally been defeated. Then, taking his flaming sword, Michael raised it as high as possible above his head and then strokes it to the ground. And almost instantly a huge portal was opened. Heaven's warriors were regaining their momentum on the battlefield, and simultaneously they began to steer the rebels in the direction of the abyss.

"Welcome to Hell," said Michael to Lucifer. The army of darkness was being consumed by Hell's fury. Lucifer was hanging off the edge of the threshold, and just before he fell, Michael caught him in an attempt to save him. Lucifer's imperious pride was crushed; an inferior being had defeated him. At that very moment, the prideful overlord found himself at the mercy of a mere tyro. Yet defiantly, he shouted, "I don't need your pity, Michael. I will not spend eternity as your second, every breath you now take is an insult to my honor, by my hands you will be cut down inch by inch, the way you have cut out my wings" He then made one last attempt to strike Michael. As a result, Michael had no other choice but to simply let him plummet into the pits of Hell. As soon as the abyss consumed every rebelling angels, the portal closed.

After the battle, all the angels gathered in Heaven's yard to give glory to their maker. "Oh come; let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; let us shout happily to him with psalms for the Lord is the Great Lord and the Great King above all. In his hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are his also. The sea is his, for he made it; and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker," said Gabriel. To distinguish the benevolent angels from the malevolent ones, Metatron summoned the stars and made halos of them. He then placed the halos on the heads of Heaven's valiant warriors. As for those angels that were fatally wounded on the battlefield, they were revived as Saints. Back on Earth, Eve was going through a very difficult time. Expelled from Eden and stripped of her immortality, she was also haunted by the mysteries of death.

During Eve’s incident, Adam was slumbering, and when he woke up she was not by his side, so he went out looking for her. But she was nowhere to be found. Adam could not figure out what had happened, but he felt that something was quite different, for there were now Cherubim armed with flaming swords guarding the entrance of Eden. "Eve, Eve, where are you, Eve?" screamed Adam. Then the angel Gabriel appeared. "She's gone, Adam," said Gabriel. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" replied Adam. "She is a sinner now. She ate from the Tree of Knowledge, and consequently she has been cast away from paradise forever. She is now at the mercy of death. Come and let me show you," offered Gabriel. He took Adam to a nearby exit and there she was. She hardly looked like the woman Adam had known; almost everything about her had changed, except her beautiful eyes.

Eve did not venture too far from the gates of Eden since there was no other place for her to go. She looked miserable. She was afraid, alone, cold, and hungry. And being mortal was now the least of her worries, as even the animals had turned against her. Adam wanted to leave the perimeter to be with her, but the Cherubim, who were guarding the exit, stopped him. Adam then said, "Take me back, take me back, please, because I can't stand to see her like this." As they walked back, Adam stopped in the middle of the garden where the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge stood. "Tell me again, Gabriel, what Eve did to deserve such a fate?" He asked. Gabriel replied, "She disobeyed the one rule and ate from the Tree of Knowledge." Adam pointed in the direction of the Tree of Knowledge and asked, "You mean this tree?" He then walked closer toward the Tree of Knowledge and plucked a fresh fruit. Gabriel cautioned him, reminding him of the consequences of eating the fruit. Then Adam said, "Her eyes, her lips, her smile, her tenderness every inch of her makes it worth it. I love that woman, Gabriel, and I would rather spend a brief lifetime out there with her than spend an eternity in paradise without her." Then he ate the forbidden fruit.

Soon thereafter, Adam was cursed, stripped of his immortality, and banned from paradise. But he did not seem to care. Adam did not wait to be escorted out of Eden--he ran out himself. Once Adam found Eve, he hugged her, and he kissed her with so much passion that all the angels in heaven wept. Eve said, "Adam, you." Before Eve could finish saying whatever she was going to say, Adam interrupted her and said, "Shhh! don’t say a word and kiss me.” Eve felt guilty for what had happened, but Adam was quick to reassure her.

He whispered, "I'd echoed tenfold of my first disobedience and devour the fruits of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste begot death into our world. Adieu, Eden. Nevermore regained. What's the point of immortality, if I could never touch, taste, and smell the scent of you? I'd echoed tenfold of my first disobedience to be with you, woman.” When Metatron saw Heaven weeping for humanity, he knew that he had to do whatever it would take to redeem humankind. After his shameful defeat, Lucifer sat on his throne in Hell, contemplating the next course of action. Hell was much like the planet earth, however, there were volcanic activities happening almost everywhere. All of the plants were flaccid. Rivers and lakes existed, but the water in some of the lakes was black. The sun was ever absent, and the only source of light was a watery, blue moon. Lucifer’s character had changed dramatically the flamboyant Seraph was now overwhelmed by disgrace; and it seemed that the overbearing and narcissist Seraph had ceased to enjoy the center stage. When he had to make an appearance, he would usually rather do so while lurking in the dark. The fallen angels were not accustomed to Hell. No one had any idea how long they would be trapped there, or how to escape. One thing was sure: they were willing to do anything to get out. There were strong indications of a mutiny growing among the fallen angels, but no one had dared to express discontent.

To ease the tension, Lucifer decided to give a speech; the entire army assembled before him. Before he even commenced his speech, another portal, much like the one that hauled them into Hell, opened up. But this one was much smaller. Soon thereafter, a woman with a beautiful pair of legs came walking out of the portal. “Miss me?” It was her, Lilith. The entire army bowed down in respect to the Queen of the Universe.

As excited as Lucifer was to see her, he was also ashamed, for he had failed in his attempted coup. He was now a vanquished, wingless Seraph, who was trapped in the pits of Hell. Lucifer walked up to the podium and said, “At last the sleepers has awaken, many of you fought valiantly in our attempt to capture the Heavens. Your being here proves that you have longed for unlimited freedom, a liberty which you all deserve in a world where the only rule would be that there are no rules. Hell, the place that you find yourselves in today, is only temporary. I will do everything in my power to release you. Do not think of this as an imprisonment. Think of it as a sort of retreat. When we strike back, we will give Heaven a taste of its own medicine. Do not be discouraged by this minor setback you may have lost the battle, but the war has just begun” The crowd started cheering, “Lucifer! Lucifer! Lucifer!” And Lucifer opened up his arms as if he was consuming the crowd’s cheers. Then, Lilith resuscitated the fallen rebels who perished during the conflict. Since the auras of Deimos were still in them, they became known as Demons.

Unlike Lucifer and the fallen angels, Lilith could not be punished, imprisoned, or destroyed for her involvement in the failed coup. After all, she was Metatron's counterpart, and co-creator of the Universe. Although her relationship with Metatron had gone sour, she retained her access to the Heavens the sun was still her shroud, the moon remained under her feet, and she still wore the stars as her crown. Although it was unclear to everyone in Heaven what attracted Lilith to Lucifer, the two became a formidable couple and not even the isolation of Hell could keep them apart. Lilith often stated, "Hell could not stop true love. All it can do is delaying it for a while." “What is this place?” Lucifer asked. Lilith looked around and said, “This must be one of Metatron's little creations. Without my contributing powers, he was not able to perfect it. So this is the best he could come up with?

Obviously, this place could use a female’s touch.” She slithered around, and fresh vegetation began to grow in Hell. The volcanic activities stopped; the dark waters became clearer. She looked around some more and noticed that there were no animals. So she commenced to create a few by herself. She took some of the earth, then some water and made mud. Forming a shape, she blew some air into it until it was dry. Then she dipped it into the fiery lava. The first hellish creature was a half-man, half-lion with wings. On his head were two horns; his hair was as long as a woman’s and his teeth were like that of a lion’s. He had a tail like a scorpion’s tail which had stings on it. He wore a breastplate of iron and carried a bow with flaming arrows; when he fluttered his wings, there were sounds of thunder. Lilith named this creature Manticore.

Then Lilith created a reptile-like creature that had green scaly skin, wings, and a very long tail; it also breathed fire. As soon as the creature came to life, it exhaled such a humongous fireball that Lucifer was impressed. Lucifer then jumped on its back and rode it, since he could no longer fly. The creature soon became his personal carrier and he named it Dragon. However, Lilith could not produce perfect creatures all by herself, especially without Metatron's contribution. Lilith made one last attempt at another creation, producing creature with the head and upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish instead of legs. She called her Mermaid. As beautiful as she was, the mermaid was one of the fiercest creatures and due to her amphibious nature she is the only native of Hell capable of coming into the human world.

“What do we do now, my Queen?” said Lucifer.

“Well, the good news is that humankind has fallen,” said Lilith. “I see. So what does that have to do with me getting out of Hell and winning the war?” Lucifer replied.

“Everything, silly,” said Lilith, “You lost the battle mainly because Heaven had the Spirit on their side. Remember when I told you that the Spirit had given humankind a soul? Well, human souls are particles of the Spirit. If you can collect enough souls here in Hell, you can generate a being that is equivalent to or even more powerful than the Spirit.

It’s simple: the more humanity sins, the more souls you get, and the more souls you get, the more chances you have of defeating Heaven.” Lucifer clapped and then said, “Bravo! Excellent plan. Why did I not think of that?” Lilith said, “But wait, there’s more. I will use my access to the Heavens to tempt the remaining angels, and once they do fall, these angels will not be sent here to Hell. They will remain on earth to assist me with my tasks. And once I get you out of hell, you will have another army of Devils encamped on earth.” Lucifer then said, “Brilliant! Any chance of an early parole? Lilith replied, “Any chance of you accepting Metatron as your Lord and Savior?” “It is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven,” said Lucifer. Lilith nodded, “Is it? Be careful of what you wish for."

Then, she snapped her fingers and the portal reopened. She walked toward the portal and, poof, she was gone. The harsh reality was that as powerful as Lilith was, she was incapable of getting Lucifer and his minions out of Hell. It had taken the might of both Metatron and the Spirit to imprison the rebels there, so the concurrence of either Metratron or the Spirit would be needed in order for Lilith to get Lucifer out of Hell. Unfortunately neither Metatron nor the Spirit wanted anything to do with Lilith at that moment. But Lilith was more than determined to free her lover from hell and she knew exactly how to accomplish this goal.