In the Forgotten Bookstore, Shiller and Red hood were cleaning up the remnants of an earlier fight. As Red hood scrubbed at the blood stains on the floor, he asked, "Now that the angel named Gabriel has taken away Constantine's corpse, where do you plan on finding him?"
"I don't need to find him, someone will come looking for me."
"Ding dong," the doorbell rang, and Shiller turned around to see the figure of Lucifer through the window.
Red hood went to open the door. Shiller looked at Lucifer, who stormed in, but gave a grunt the moment he saw Shiller's eyes.
"Is Arrogant not here?" Lucifer asked.
"He has finished a stage of teaching and went on vacation." Shiller lowered his head to wipe his hands with a towel, then said, "If you need him, you can come back later."
"I do need to see him." Lucifer sighed. He stood by the door, hand on the frame, his face a mask of unsaid words. It seemed as though only he and Arrogant had something in common.
"I guess...you're here to ask me about tackling Gabriel?" Shiller smirked and said, "Coincidentally, he had taken something of mine as well. I hope to get it back."
"So you...you..." Lucifer struggled to find his words. He wasn't embarrassed to ask Shiller for help, but he knew that Shiller equally despised everyone. If Shiller were to help someone against another, he feared he'd have both parties pay equally.
"It's simple, actually," Shiller headed to a table by the window and sat down, motioning for Lucifer to take a seat opposite him. He reassured, "Don't worry, I won't lie or ask of you anything in return. Helping you would also be helping me."
Lucifer immediately took two steps back in protest. However, after a while, he sat across from Shiller after all, since he was genuinely curious about how Shiller planned to deal with Gabriel.
"Even if you hadn't come to see me, I would have reached out to you. Only you can handle Gabriel." Shiller leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands in front of him, and continued, "It's not because you have enormous power, but because you are unique."
"You were the first light at the beginning of creation, the brightest star in the sky, and the most spectacular fallen angel. However, these aren't what makes you special."
Lucifer raised an eyebrow, and Shiller continued, "Your uniqueness lies in your status in God's heart. His love for you goes beyond mere favoritism. To God, all other creations are equal. Be it the human race or the angels, he loves them as a god would."
"Angels and humans are God's believers, but only you are his child, his son, and he is your father. Hence, even if you have left your original home and stopped believing in him, he still loves you."
Shiller took a deep breath and said, "Between you and God, between God and you, what you share is not faith but kinship. You are God's only kin."
Lucifer lowered his gaze and tilted his head to the side, seemingly wanting to say something but remaining silent in the end. This was the undeniable representation of the original sin of pride.
Lucifer knows better than anyone that the so-called fall from Heaven to Hell is ridiculous. Whether it's Heaven, Hell, the Human World, or anywhere else in the cosmos, everything falls under God's control.
He's more like a rebellious son who's picked a fight with his father, not willing to be constrained at home and choosing to go out and live by himself. It may seem that he's independent, but he's always under his father's protection. As Satan, would he have been able to act so freely if he wasn't Lucifer Morningstar?
"What Gabriel is jealous of, is precisely that." Shiller stretched a hand out onto the table, tapping lightly with his fingers, "He's not jealous of your power, but of your current carefree status."
"Because your current state is entirely a result of God's indulgence. The all-knowing and omnipotent God has not punished you for your audacious conduct. He has allowed you to fall from Heaven and then flee the position of Satan and go to the Human World. If God indulged you any less, you would not be so carefree."
Lucifer pursed his lips, lacking any possible response. He muttered a few words under his breath but eventually didn't retort since, indeed, what Shiller said was undoubtedly true. If God had made an attempt to hinder his fall from Heaven, even if he managed to escape, he'd definitely lack the power to contend for the position of Satan.
Nonetheless, God didn't intervene at all, allowing him to cause chaos in Hell with the power of Lucifer Morningstar. He created complete disorder in the original system, then ascended as Satan.
He quickly grew tired of the environment in Hell and took a liking to the Human World. God greatly values humans and almost never allows any angel or demon to mess with them. Regardless, Lucifer brought his immense power into the Human World but merely opened a bar and idled about. However, God made no objections.
Such behavior would be considered spoiling in any parent's book. Lucifer thought, no wonder Gabriel had to instigate a war between Heaven and Hell - didn't he just want to keep Lucifer busy?
Shiller also added, "Unable and too afraid to retaliate against God, Gabriel vents his dissatisfaction with God's favoritism by disrupting your life."