Through Aeons Enchained

It was a relatively quiet day at work until I got a phone call from a man claiming to be the exiled archangel Lucifer. He said he had finally escaped his prison in Hell and was now on the run in the world of the living. I was initially planning on leaving the office early, but hearing this man’s pleas of needing someone to talk to, I couldn’t help but schedule an immediate appointment for him.

The man arrived not long after. As he entered the room, a strange presence enveloped the air around him—as if space itself was undulating with every step he took. The man sat down and buried his face into his palms.

“I don’t know where to go; I’ll stand out in the other realms. As long as I suppress my powers, I can pass off as one of you, but even that won’t work for long.”

I was unsure where to start. “For how long have you been running?”

“It has been a week now. I’ve been hiding in alleys and abandoned buildings.”

I started taking down notes when he looked at me with shock in his eyes. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

I reassured him that I did, and that I needed to note down information so I could keep track of his story, but he didn’t accept that I was being honest. “No. no, no, no, no… You think I’m crazy.”

I was about to deny his claim when he cut me off. “I’ll prove it,” he said, crouching and placing his hand on the floor. Symbols I had never seen before spread across the entire office, and before I knew it, he was back to his feet. The room was then engulfed in a golden light. I covered my eyes and hid under my desk until it receded back to the man… Or at least what I thought was a man.

Six wings sprung from his back, stretching as far as to reach the ceiling, the walls, and the floor—and countless eyes spawned across his face and body as all traces of hair and clothing disappeared to reveal a genderless, grey, humanoid form with amber eyes. I stood there, speechless, as this being I now believed to be an archangel retracted its wings and released a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry this was so sudden, but I cannot hold this form for long for the reasons I just stated,” Lucifer said, closing their countless eyes while retracting their wings. The symbols began to vanish, and as they did, the archangel took their previous human form once again.

“Now do you believe me?”

I gulped. “Y—yes. What… How did this happen?”

We both sat down before they unravelled everything that had happened. According to Lucifer, they were not the one who tricked Eve into plucking the Forbidden Fruit. As a matter of fact, it was Adam who had conspired against Eve—and there was an archangel pulling the strings from the shadows: Gabriel. Lucifer said that Gabriel was envious of their status in Heaven and thus, conspired with the obnoxious Adam who was exhausted by the fact that Eve would not comply with his every command.

Gabriel had exploited this trait, enticing Adam with the idea of replacing Eve with another partner in Eden if he were to trick her into eating the Forbidden Fruit. They had asked Adam to tell God that Lucifer was manipulating her. Adam agreed, and he, too, paid the price for it: Gabriel fabricated a story about Adam and Eve conspiring against God, and that Lucifer was aiding them in their schemes.

“I tried to plead my case, but Gabriel was ten steps ahead: they had stolen some of my spiritual energy and placed it at the scene at the time the incident had taken place, and they brought it up just as I was speaking on behalf of Eve and Adam.”

Believing Gabriel’s lies, God had made their final judgement and had ordered Lucifer to be exiled in Hell forever. Lucifer had made no further arguments and had willingly descended into the fiery depths, but after an eternity of solitude, their endurance had reached its limit.

“What do you plan to do, now that you’re out? Where will you go?”

“I want to prove my innocence. Earlier, it was just my word against Gabriel’s, and I had not the heart to stand against my younger sibling, even though they stabbed me in the back. But my mind and soul has borne enough torments all this time. I need to be rid of it!”

I took a deep breath. “How can I help?”

Together, we formulated a plan to end Gabriel’s reign of deceit. Lucifer said Gabriel’s pride would be their downfall. And so, we moved forward. Lucifer warded the entire office as they had done before and performed a spell to summon Gabriel to the room. They emerged in human form and bore a smug smile as they recognised their sibling standing before them.

“I did not expect you to bring me to therapy. It’s pitiful to see you this way, Lucifer.”

“Don’t mock me after what you did. I have endured aeons of loneliness because of you!”

“And who’s to blame for that? You were too weak to discredit my schemes. I expected as much. You were always too soft, and way too fond of these insufferable beings.” Gabriel said that last sentence whilst glancing at me.

Lucifer smiled. “Well, I’m sure you’ll find it displeasing to see that I’m not as soft as I once was.” They kicked the chair behind them and revealed my mobile phone taped to the underside of the seat, several runes engraved onto its screen that was broadcasting the conversation directly to Heaven.

“You fil—”

A beam of blue light suddenly burst into the room and from it emerged a humanoid mass of energy that gleamed like a flame. Gabriel and Lucifer knelt before the figure; I followed their lead.

Is this God? I thought.

Yes. Yes, I am. I heard an instant reply in my head.

God went on to condemn Gabriel for what they had done, saying that deceiving all of Heaven and orchestrating the exile of their kin was an unforgivable act. Gabriel begged for forgiveness, turning even to their estranged sibling with dread in their eyes, seeking some semblance of lenience. But it was far too late. Neither God nor Lucifer had the patience for their pleas.

God created a rift across the office floor and cast Gabriel into the fiery chasm. As their screams were swallowed by the void, the floor returned to its normal state. God then turned to Lucifer and enveloped them in their embrace. “I’m sorry for not believing you. Please, return with me to Heaven at once.”

Lucifer smiled but hesitated to answer. They looked around my office, and then towards the window, peering into the vast outdoors. “Will it be acceptable if I were to take a look around here first? Humans have developed countless amazing things. I’d like to explore this changed world.”

God smiled. “I’m glad your curiosity is as strong as it was back then.”

Lucifer smiled back.