WITH BLOOD-STAINED HANDS, the young man rubbed his eyes in a desperate bid to find relief from his exhaustion—an endeavor doomed to fail. Refusing to avert his gaze from the screen, he blinked and opened his eyes again, only to find the same haunting image persisting on it.
Oddly, the screen intensified its glow, adding to the surreal atmosphere.
Nevertheless, at this moment in time, it mattered for naught, as it didn't change the fact of what was blatantly displayed across it...
[ BLOODLINE TEST | JUDGMENT OF PURITY ]
Name: Lucian Spark | Age: 79 Cycles
Level: 11
Cultivation Path(s): None
Race: Lesser Angel
Bloodline/Lineage: Angelic 51% | Devil 49%
Purity Verdict: Unholiness detected! | Catastrophic threat!
Punishment of Purity: Eternal Damnation – Death by Descent; Banishment to the Abyss!
Pain Level: Unparalleled – Endless Torture of the Soul!
[ JUDGEMENT DECREED ]
The words displayed on the screen seemed to pierce through him, an agonizing sensation akin to a thousand needles, repeatedly pricking his consciousness. And as his gaze fell upon his own name, a surge of disbelief washed over him. 'Lucian,' how could he have forgotten his own name during his captivity?
But that initial shock quickly transformed into seething anger as he noticed the accompanying surname—Spark, a generic label assigned to all angelic orphans in the sixth heaven.
The anger stirred by this name intensified as he read further, discovering his pitiful level and his inability to cultivate. However, as read on further, any semblance of composure he had left shattered in an instant as his eyes widened in sheer shock.
What he was seeing was beyond belief.
Lucian was left astonished as he read the words, 'Devil… D-D-D-D-Devil…???' The revelation swept over him like a broom does to dust.
His heartbeat quickened, while a suffocating dread enveloped his senses, much like any man in his position would feel. The weight of judgment crashed down upon him as he reached the last four lines. How could this be?
Denial took hold as he couldn't, and wouldn't, process the implications of this revelation. Lucian had always considered himself an angel, or at least part angel, but now he confronted the unsettling truth of having the blood of the direct opposite of the divine running through his veins.
Uncertainty gnawed at him, especially because he was deemed a catastrophic threat somehow. Lucian's eyes darted back and forth across the damning verdict.
Eternal Damnation?
Death by descent... he was to fall from the heavens?!
Banishment to the Abyss?
The words struck him like a relentless barrage of arrows, not piercing his flesh, but rather his very soul. The pain level clearly stated unparalleled, an unending torment of the soul. Any hope he clung to, even the expectation of death, albeit swift and merciful, was now shattered, akin to a god's crushing blow upon a mortal.
"No! This can't be... No, it can't be true! Lies." Lucian's voice quivered as he whispered a jumbled combination of words, unable to bear the weight of his fate.
His surroundings started to blur as tears welled up in his eyes, a mixture of anger, desperation, and utter fear bubbling within. The young man still felt the flames of defiance, perhaps even stronger than before, but the fate bestowed upon him by the grail was the greatest fear of any angel.
Even Zerachiel was no exception… for nothing could compare to the descent, hence, the reason it was described as "unparalleled," for it truly was.
With cascading tears freely flowing down his dirtied cheeks, Lucian gazed up at Zerachiel, who peered down upon him with an unsettling expression, veiled by a mask of disgust.
The Sepharium's face had transformed into a more sinister visage, exuding a twisted satisfaction that sent shivers down Lucian's spine.
Fueled by fury and anger, Lucian's mind raced, desperately seeking an escape from his impending fate. He couldn't bear to be condemned to such a cruel destiny. Having already defied the heavens by being born, he wondered why resisting once more was such a daunting prospect.
Inhaling deeply, he steadied himself, aware that his demise was inevitable. As he closed his eyes and listened to the hushed whispers transform into raging shouts of self-righteousness, an unfamiliar and yet comfortable sensation began to spread through his body.
He felt an electric shock coursing through his bloodline, a sensation that was now more palpable than ever before. As a result, he came to a profound realization: he needed to embrace his true identity, now fully known to him.
What he required was to acknowledge the essence he was born with—a potent blend of chaos and power, yet also imbued with order and cunning. Within him, an array of different emotions surged, creating a magnificent and overwhelming feeling.
As he opened his eyes, he beheld the raging throngs of angels before him, and for once in his life, he was ready to confront them head-on….
Lucian cracked a smile, one brimming with madness, hate, despair, sadness, longing, regret, acceptance, and defiance, but above all, genuineness.
'Authenticity, what a strange sensation,' Lucian thought in wonder and awe, contrary to the external atmosphere, which emitted an aura that many would find unbelievable to associate with the angelic.
His heart continued to thump loudly, blocking out the world for the moment, as exhilaration coursed through his veins. How liberating it felt to embrace the inevitability of death while knowing he would still retain his freedom.
Damnation he might encounter, but he would face it armed with the awareness of his true self and the conviction that he was right, and they were wrong!
Lucian had believed he had experienced clarity in the past, but now he realized how mistaken he was.
He came to understand that he no longer required the approval of these hypocritical angels and should not be restrained by futile attachments that turned out to be mere illusions, as the angelic themselves were far from genuine as well.
How dare they?
'Look at them scream, boasting about purity and justice while they revel in the knowledge of what I am to face. Their judgment is not just a façade to maintain control and superiority; I think they've actually come to believe their own lies... how pitiful,' Lucian inwardly remarked, a newfound intelligence suddenly surging within his mind. A trait he had always held above average, though now, with his devilish blood continuing to freely fuse with his cells, it had skyrocketed.
Lucian was keenly aware that his time was running out. With this realization, he resolved to make the most of every moment left. He turned his gaze away from the resplendent golden sky of the sixth heaven and instead focused on the approaching crowd. Their bodies trembled with fury, and their screams echoed in the air.
Their fervent chants grew louder and louder, seemingly oblivious to the coerced unification that this foolish idea of purification had brought about. 'Oh, wait, they truly are,' Lucian sneered, taking a deep breath before unleashing something he had yearned to do since the beginning of this event.
"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA," Lucian roared, his eyes consumed by madness, his chilling laughter slicing through the chaotic clamor of the crowd. In that moment, fear and surprise replaced their hatred as his bellowing laughs reverberated far and wide.
His maniacal laughter, born from the interplay of chaos and order within his mind, seemed to dissolve their animosity, leaving them in awe of the spectacle before them.
The chilling echo orchestrated a haunting melody, captivating everyone, as icy chills spread across their skin and sent prickles down their spines.
"Look at you all, the self-proclaimed righteous ones," Lucian mocked, accusingly pointing a trembling, bony finger at the seething angels. "Your hearts are filled with darkness just as much as mine, yet you pretend it is not so."
Lucian's eyes flickered to Zerachiel's surprisingly quiet and motionless figure. "You all harbor malice, though you may hide it behind your ideals and feigned halos of purity!"
The crowd was initially shocked, their astonishment steadily thickening until it, too, shattered, replaced by a feverish roar that far surpassed their previous outbursts. Lucian, however, found amusement in the crowd's rage, and for some inexplicable reason, he felt a profound sense of ecstasy as he witnessed chaos unleashed among the angels.
He understood that he would likely meet his demise once he ceased speaking or if Zerachiel interrupted his speech. Nevertheless, he was determined to convey as much as he could while he still had the chance!
"You all proclaim to devote your lives to the utmost crucial duties, tirelessly toiling for a hierarchy of deceit, constructed upon the illusion of virtue. You venerate an ideal you fail to comprehend," taunted Lucian, his laughter now accompanied by a disquieting glimmer in his eyes; the once-blood-red irises began expanding outward, altering the hue of his yellow sclera.
His words echoed through the air, titillating the already stirred crowd as they screamed at him, "Demon!" and "Devil!" Their cries grew even more frenzied as they worked themselves up into a tumultuous frenzy. The angels in the sky and on the ground drew even closer, pushing past one another, their wings fluttering with agitation, as they desperately sought to converge upon him.
Unfazed, Lucian knelt there, a smug grin etched on his face. He knew the truth, and he was determined to expose as much of it as he could before his end. He was to die regardless.
"The abyss might await me, but now I bear witness to evidence supporting my claims. Look at all of you, thirsting for my demise, eager to kill… HA-HA-HA! Is this what you call purity? HA-HA-HA! HA-HA! I WILL EMBRACE THE ABYSS WITH OPEN ARMS! I'd rather be eternally damned and true to myself than live as a pathetic slave in an ivory slaughterhouse!" Lucian declared, his defiance palpable despite his weak and malnourished appearance, yet in this moment, he stood strong and exuded confidence.
His laughter reverberated, a maddening symphony piercing the crowd once more. However, this time, he was abruptly interrupted as Zerachiel finally found his voice, his being engulfed in fury as he returned to his usual state.
"That's enough..." Zerachiel's words fell like a hammer, silencing the crowd as they froze in place, grateful for their leader's intervention.
Although one persisted in speaking, or rather, laughing, "HA-HA-HA, oh, it's too good. Look at you all, FUCKING VERMIN LISTENING TO VERMIN! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!" Lucian, with his final, chilling grin, locked eyes with Zerachiel and spoke in maddened fervor, "You think you hold power over me still, HA-HA, but you're nothing more than a puppet, same as them."
Lucian's gaze swept the crowd before settling back on Zerachiel. "You are still a puppet, lost in your fake notions, dancing on the strings of your own delusions. HA-HA! You may damn me, but you can never extinguish the light that has burned within me for all seventy-nine years of my pitiful fucking existence," Lucian spat, his voice dripping with venom and pure contempt.
The crowd's clamor reached its peak, and Lucian felt the sentinel behind him tear into his skin, fingers fully lodged into his weakened shoulders. However, it didn't faze him, as madness coated his mind. He knew his time was up, yet he refused to look away from Zerachiel.
Considering how the angels were now riled up, he believed it was safe to say that he had succeeded in stirring emotions about their hypocrisy and challenging their authority. 'HA-HA-HA…'
Who would have thought that he would only feel free and content in the face of certain doom? 'Oh, life is funny in that way, isn't it?' Lucian inwardly chuckled, his defiance and madness holding strong as he observed Zerachiel's eyes shining with a brightening illumination before the leader settled down the crowd with a few bellowing words.
"Silence!" Zerachiel's voice thundered, and the crowd obediently hushed, their building murmurs dying down again to an eerie stillness, swelling with fervent anticipation.
The Sepharium's eyes locked onto Lucian's, the disdain still evident but now overshadowed by a flicker of focused will.
"You dare challenge the divine? The order of the light?" Zerachiel sneered, but there was a slight waver that Lucian picked up on, a hint of uncertainty that the leader tried to conceal.
"Your existence is an affront to the heavens themselves! You will be cast down to the abyss, and you know what awaits you... for no one survives the fall. You will shatter into a million pieces, and your mind will be engulfed by darkness, endless darkness! Something fit for devil scum like you!"
As Zerachiel proclaimed his final judgment, the atmosphere crackled with foreboding energy. The air around Lucian shimmered with ethereal power, and a ring of flames began to materialize beneath him, encircling him like a wrathful serpent.
Writhing blue flames intermingled with a shining yellowed light as they danced around one another.
Lucian's mind and body screamed at him, urging him to escape, but he found himself unable to move, captivated by the magnificent yet deadly display of power.
The energy continued to churn, shaping various runic symbols into a thorn-like vine that wrapped around the burning circle, mesmerizing him.
However, in the midst of the spell weaving itself together, his attention was drawn elsewhere.
His eyes scanned the crowd desperately, searching for something, and just as he heard a sudden snapping sound from the now crystallized and hardened power, he finally found what he was looking for.
Spotting five faces from his past, friends who had turned their backs on him, people who had forsaken him, and figures that had once called themselves his family, Lucian locked onto them.
Each of them shuddered in shock under his unflinching gaze, undoubtedly surprised that he could spot them out.
Lucian could see a tumultuous mix of emotions etched upon their faces—anger, excitement, and even joy contorted their features. But in the midst of it all, he swore he caught a glimpse of regret in the eyes of the figure in the back—a person he had once held most dear, as her green irises locked onto his. Though his smile bore no changes, in that fleeting moment as he observed the group as a whole, the green-eyed girl's face seemed no different from the rest.
Lucian knew words would do no good, unable to convey the immense pain he held within and the depth of his feelings of betrayal and hatred towards them.
Thus, he flashed a singular smile that conveyed all they needed to know, a twisted and malevolent grin wrapped in the thirst for vengeance. It was a maddening display of the things he wanted and vowed to do to them if the opportunity to avenge himself should arise.
With a final thundering quake resounding, Lucian turned his eyes back to the now completed portal of fire, searing, and blazing with an intensity that visibly melted his skin, inciting screams that were lost in the wailing winds vortexing around the portal.
In the next second, he found himself pushed and falling within. His airtime was short, but enough for him to glance one last time at the people he hated most, sending an unnerving display of a final farewell.
As they stared into Lucian's gaze, all they witnessed was endless sea of madness.
Evidently shown, for as the flames consumed his body and started to close in on itself, all that could be heard from within was the chilling laughter of the young man who had been sentenced to a fate worse than death… far worse!
While falling, Lucian knew it to be true, and amidst feeling his body disintegrating by the second, he found a twisted solace in his impending demise.
His maddened smile remained lingering upon his half-bone and charred face, and in the depths of his mind, he whispered,
'May Insanity Prevail.'
The young man, once known as Lucian Spark, had fully embraced the madness within him and was now plummeting into the unknown!
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END OF VOLUME 1 – CHAINED RECKONING…
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A/N: Let the story begin!
- Spatial Devil, The Author.