1 HOW YAMA FELL?

"You, come with me." She shrieked at him. He was still stunned by all the information that he had just received. Her sharp voice broke him from his reverie as he followed them.

Soon, they reached an office building and entered a closeted room in the basement. There she tapped on one of the walls a few times and chanted, "APERI IANUAM, O POTENS DUOS, DATOR VENIAE VOTUM CAELESTIA, ET VINCTUM DRACO." After a mild rumble, the wall magically collapsed and behind it was a whole new dimension.

The whole dimension was empty except for the ground filled with grass and a small hill. The sky was filled with changing vibrating colors, and an eerie silence pervaded the air. There was also some holiness and a majestic aura that belied defiance.

"You, what are you trying to do?" The man, or so to speak, the devil, stammered in disbelief as he asked the girl.

"I remember all my lives. But enough is enough. You have been too reliant on your father. You have never cared for me for the sake of caring for me. You have only ever enjoyed life. You have never been serious. You do not understand me. You have never been a shoulder to rely on. You are weak. You are filled with jealousy. All your decisions have always led to my demise. Each and every time. You are too childish, and I am sick of you. The party was the last straw that did it." She spoke with increasing agitation as they walked towards the mound.

The man was barely registering her words and was still bedazzled by the display in front of him when he was pulled back to the conversation by the Devil's voice.

"Haha, is that so? The party was the last straw?" The Devil laughed with mournful sarcasm. "You don't even know what happened or care to listen." He mumbled.

"Dear, this is the residence of the Duos. Duos is an entity that is on a higher scale than even God even though God created him. Special circumstances made it even more powerful than God. But Duos still has limitations and one of them is that it cannot leave this place. Duos still interacts with the celestial beings. It is like a genie for us. But it requires something of equal value in return. A long time back, I gave up my life to fulfill a task for the Duos." She told the mand before she turned to the Devil and asked, "Do you remember?"

"I do. What do you want to do?" The Devil was still stammering as he tried to figure out her intentions. A bad feeling rising up in him.

"Duos. I, Lilith, the Queen of Hell, the daughter of Azmelia, invoke thee to grant me my wish. I am here to encash my wish from 80,000 years ago." She shouted to the sky while standing on the mound.

"WHAT IS YOUR WISH, LILITH, DAUGHTER OF AZMELIA?" A voice boomed from the sky as light started pouring in from the top.

A white and yellow light, interchanging and mixing every moment was formed to form a small Chinese dragon. It was like a long and thick snake, with whiskers, two horns, big eyes, the tail like a feather, big scales, and hair like a horses mane along the top of the entire body. Oddly enough, if one tried to focus on any part of the body, it would blur and turn to light.

"I have an immortal soul, but not an immortal body. Every time my body dies, I need to regain my memory. I want you to etch the memories of this lifetime in my soul so that I never forget it, even if this body dies." She spoke to the dragon.

"No. Don't do it. Are you mad? Do you know what will happen if you do that? Don't make a rash decision, Lilith." The Devil shrieked from the side as it finally dawned on him what she wanted to do here.

"I have thought about it. I really wish to give up on you. I will always remember him"-as she pointed at the man- "and even if you kill me, now. I will still remember him. From now on, you will no longer have to find me and help me remember my memories. I FREE YOU." She replied calmly to the Devil.

Then she turned to the dragon and gave a slight nod. On the other side, the Devil started going on a mad but mournful laughing spree while clutching his head and tears in his eyes.

"Hahaha… you FREE me? Then I do need to thank you, don't I? Duos, I, Yama, The King of Hell, son of God, invoke thee to grant me my wish before hers. I use the rights granted to a direct son of God for you to grant my wish first." Yama shouted to the dragon before her wish could be granted.

"VERY WELL, WHAT IS YOUR WISH, YAMA?" The booming sound reverberated throughout the dimension.

Yama, the Devil, turned to Lilith and said, "Since you have made up your mind, I will no longer strive to change it. But I need to tell you something first. The universe is being attacked by another universe, a race called the Silver Monkeys. They are strong and possibly only the immortals will survive. So, good luck."

Then he turned to the dragon. Lilith stood stunned as she took in this new information.

"Duos, I give up my immortality to become powerful, make me powerful. Duos, I give up my sadness to become powerful, make me powerful. Duos, I give up my happiness to become powerful, make me powerful. Duos, I give up my anger to become powerful, make me powerful. Duos, I give up my human form to become powerful, make me powerful. Duos, I give up all of my other forms except for the King of Hell form to become powerful, make me powerful. Duos, I give up all my emotions to become powerful, make me powerful."

"NO" Lilith shrieked as she heard him give up everything.

"You have given up on me, haven't you? What gives you the right to stop me? I have pursued you since the beginning of time. Do you remember why I became the King of Hell? I did it for you. I rebelled against my father to protect you. You had taken a fruit from his garden, albeit unknowingly, which granted you immortality. That fruit was meant for someone else, someone whose mortality caused a tragedy. Father had banished you to spend a long time in Hell. I rebelled to stop that decision. However, my father was too strong, but he still loved me and made me the King of Hell to be with you. I resented him for a long time before I understood. There you suffered for some time, but did you know? You suffered only half what was meant for, the rest was borne by me. Then you were given a task by Duos. That task obliterated your immortal body and almost vanquished your soul. Do you know why it takes so much effort to make you remember all your memories, it is because your soul was in shambles when I found you. I carried you here and had Duos grant me a wish. I wished for your soul to be immortal again and in exchange, I gave up my right to enter Heaven, forever.

"However, your soul was too fragmented, and even with Duos' power, he could not make it whole and hence your situation arose. I loved you too much to give up on you. So, every time, that your mortal body died, I would grieve. I would wait beside your soul to become whole again before you went to Earth as a new baby. Every time, there would be some defects that would arise because of your soul, and every time I would learn or invent something for you. The key to making you remember your memories was to make you laugh, to make you happy. You were born blind once, so I learned jokes from all over the universe, I learned every language there is just to make you smile and laugh. You were born deaf once, so I clowned about to bring you joy by making fun of myself visually. You were born mute once, so invented sign language so that we could converse properly.

Every time you died, your soul would fragment again before it would take time to join again and be reborn. Every time I would wait by your soul for a thousand years and then wait for you to be born. Then I would do all I could to make you happy for the rest of your life. I would fall in love with you every time and I would lose you every time. I grieved for a thousand years, then I would search for you for a decade or two, then I would try to make you happy for another few years, and finally, when you would regain your memories, your mortal body would be on the verge of collapse and in a few measly years, you would die and I would follow the cycle all over again.

Now, that you have 'Freed' me, I no longer must suffer. There is also no need for immortality to take care of you and your soul. There is no need for emotion. There is no need for the different forms that I made to amuse you. Now, I no longer need to make a mockery of myself in front of the entire universe just to amuse you. Now, I no longer need to go to parties and bear insults to protect you only to have you turn on me. After all, I thought that once you regained your memories, you would show me a bit of trust and believe me. Now, I no longer need to exist because you have 'Freed' me. I will give up my life in the battle against the Silver Monkeys to repay my father for giving me life."

Saying so, the Devil turned to the light dragon and gave a slight nod.

"YOUR WISHES WILL BE GRANTED. HOWEVER, YOU ARE NOW TOO POWERFUL IN A MORTAL BODY, YOU CAN ONLY SURVIVE FOR ANOTHER THREE YEARS. YOUR SOUL WILL COMPLETELY VANISH AFTER THAT. GOOD LUCK. YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME HERE AS YOU ARE NO LONGER IMMORTAL."

A change came over the Devil. From his handsome human form, he began taking on different forms. A fish, a bird, a goat, different faces, a mixture of humans and animals, forms from the deepest of nightmares to the funniest of species only found in books, until finally, only his devil form remained. A huge pair of red shiny wings, two horns on his forehead, and bright red burning skin, long and strong hands, and yellow eyes that invoke fear into anything; the stuff of nightmares.

What no one noticed was the pain and longing that fleeted through Lilith's face each time a form came into being and then vanished after. There were no more tears on her face and only a blank look was seen. Her eyes were blank. There was fear creeping into her eyes slowly as she finally understood the gravity of her situation and that of Yama's, her real significant other, whom she had now lost forever.

Soon, the transformations came to an end, before the Devil started growing in size, bit by bit as his wishes were granted and he became more and more powerful. Right now, he was probably even more powerful than God, but all of his powers were destructive and not magical.

Then he vanished from the dimension without even turning to look at her. His memories now flashing as if a bad movie, invoking no emotions from him. Lilith was now a character whose story had ended for him.

"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED, LILITH." The voice boomed and broke her out of her reverie.

Soon, agonizing pain shot through her as her soul was seared and symbols were etched on them. These symbols were the memories that she would remember forever. These symbols would remind her of her lack of trust towards someone who gave up everything for her. These symbols would remind her of her betrayal. These symbols would remind her of her rashness. These symbols would remind her of Yama, who will no longer be there to take care of her soul and make her happy in life.

While all of this happening, the man who witnessed all of this was still standing there, stunned. He could not imagine what could be going through someone who had lost their loved ones in such a way. He was initially feeling a bit elated that his plan worked but now the gravity of the situation finally dawned on him. He had become a great sinner.

He started scratching and clawing at his head. Pulling his hair out as a deranged smile came over him.

As her pain ebbed, Lilith turned to him and asked, "What happened to you?"

The man was falling into madness. Incoherent gibberish was flowing out of his mouth. The full realization of what he had done was smashing him over and over again. "I did it. I broke you two up. I killed the King of Hell. I widowed the Queen of Hell. I killed God's Son. I did it. I am a sinner. I broke apart two loved ones. I orchestrated it. If only my ego was not there. If only she had not rejected me the first time. If only I had not found out the truth a long time ago. If only… hahaha… if…"

Lilith, still in her reverie, heard a few of his words. Bringing her back to focus, she comforted him, "What do you mean? You did nothing wrong. I chose you first. You are not a sinner. Okay?"

This prompted mad laughter from him as he began crying.

"I did nothing wrong? Haha… Do you remember the first time that you met me, and I hit on you, but you refused? That hurt me so I went about making your life difficult. I sent those loan sharks after your father. I prevented you from getting work anywhere else. I was making your life a living hell in my company. Everyone hated you because I told them to. It was then that Yama came to me. He was mad with fury and came to confront me.

But at that time, another friend of mine was there and he persuaded him, thereby becoming his 'friend'. We have done this many times, so it was easy for us to manipulate him. We make a girl's life difficult and when their loved one comes knocking, one of us becomes his trusted confidante and then we manipulate him to madness while the girl feels like her loved one is in the wrong. That time all of us thought that you and Yama were normal humans, so we continued our scheme.

Brutus was the one who befriended him. That was when we found out that he was even more naïve than we thought. He did not know technology or anything else for that matter. Making him angry, him coming to confront me and on the verge of hitting me and you barging in because a secretary told you that I called for you so that you see him hitting me while I acted innocent.

Brutus showing him how social networking works and making him believe that uploading photos of you and getting likes would make you happy. So, he followed you and took pictures of you and uploaded them. Making you even angrier while you didn't know it was him that did it, I deleted them in front of you so you would like me even more.

Brutus would bring him around to places he would not visit, like brothels and strip dance clubs, to drink and you would see him at the same time. I would visit you more and more and he would get angrier and angrier.

Brutus sent thugs after you to hurt you while telling the thugs that Yama was trying to get together with you by showing off his strength and to act out a play. All of this was orchestrated. In the hospital, while you were feeling glad about Yama, the thugs would say these in front of your room. Then I swept in and made you believe in me. After that, it was a piece of cake and you fell in love with me. At that time, your memories were still that of a human.

The party was the last straw that we would act out. Brutus would invite him and the people there were all friends of mine. They would taunt him and make him say that those nude photos of you were spread by him purposely when at that exact moment, we would enter the party. After that, I would show you my true side. I have 2 mistresses and 3 girlfriends. I also visit the brothel daily and engage in sex parties. If you were naïve enough or not strong enough mentally then I would persuade you to join those parties and have sex with different men. Haha. We have done this many times, so we know it works.

This was all on the premise that you were both normal humans and not immortals on whom the fate of the universe hinged."

Saying all these, he fainted with tears still streaming down his face.

Lilith was fell on her knees as realization dawned on her. She never believed in Yama even when he said that he did for her. He just did not know that it was a bad thing to do. Yama actually came to save her from those thugs, and he didn't know they were hired using his phone.

Lilith started bawling out loud as she felt herself lose reason. Darting her eyes about, thinking about what she could do to rectify the situation, her eyes fell upon the light dragon. Grasping at the last straw, she stammered towards it and bowed before asking.

"Duos, is there any way to undo the wishes that you granted to me and Yama?"

"NO. TO UNDO A WISH, YOU NEED TO GIVE ME SOMETHING IN RETURN, SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY GIVEN. YAMA MADE SEVEN WISHES AND YOU HAVE MADE ONE. YOU NEED TO GIVE ME 8 THINGS OF EQUIVALENT VALUE TO UNDO THOSE WISHES OR MAKE NEW ONES THAT COUNTER THEM. AS OF RIGHT NOW, THERE AREN'T ENOUGH THINGS IN THIS UNIVERSE THAT CAN UNDO THOSE WISHES. EVEN GOD DOES NOT HAVE THEM. YAMA WILL DIE IN THREE YEARS AND YOU WILL REMEMBER FOR ETERNITY."

"No, there has to be something. I cannot allow this to happen."

"GIVE THIS PERSON TO ME AND I WILL TELL YOU HOW TO RECTIFY YOUR SITUATION."

Lilith felt hatred bloom in her heart when she saw the fainted person, the cause of all this. She initially wanted to torture him for all eternity in hell, after all, she is the significant other of King of Hell. After some agonizing moments of thinking, she made the decision.

"I agree. Please tell me how to rectify this situation."

"BRING ME THE GENERAL'S HEAD OF THE SILVER MONKEYS TO GIVE YAMA HIS EMOTIONS BACK. FOREGO YOUR LIFE IN THIS UNIVERSE TO MAKE YOUR SOUL WHOLE AND POWERFUL. BRING ME YAMA'S HEART TO PREVENT HIS SOUL FROM VANISHING, BUT HE WILL NO LONGER EXIST IN THIS UNIVERSE. BRING ME HIS TITLE OF THE KING OF HELL TO MAKE HIS SOUL IMMORTAL AND POWERFUL."

"These are all impossible conditions. The General is stronger than God. Yama only has his title left; how can I even take that from him? I can only bring his heart after he dies, but by then it will be too late. How do I do this? No… give me other conditions, please."

"YOU DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO EXCHANGE FOR THAT INFORMATION. THESE ARE THE EASIEST CONDITIONS AVAILABLE. OTHERS ARE EVEN MORE SO IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU. NOW YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME HERE, PLEASE LEAVE. COME BACK ONCE YOU HAVE SATISFIED THE REQUEST."

Still in disbelief, Lilith vanished from the place.

Once the silence pervaded the dimension, the dragon took on a more corporeal form and defined features. He went towards the unconscious man and flicked him with his tail, hard.

"GET UP, O' ALMIGHTY GOD. TIME FOR YOU TO REMEMBER YOURSELF AND STOP BEING A DOUCHE."

The dragon spoke in a mocking tone. The man stirred before sitting up and stretching. All signs of madness lost, and a sense of holiness and saintly feelings emanated from him.

"I WAS TAKING A GOOD NAP. DID YOU HAVE TO WAKE ME UP? THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO SLEEP. I DON'T GET TO SLEEP LIKE THIS IN HEAVEN. SO MANY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, ALL WITH THEIR OWN PROBLEMS, PEOPLE ASKING FOR THINGS HERE AND THERE, AND NOW TO ALSO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THOSE USELESS SILVER MONKEYS."

The dragon harrumphed before seating beside the man.

"HEH. YOU AND SO MANY TROUBLES. PAH. YOU ARE THE MOST CAREFREE PERSON I KNOW. YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE SILVER MONKEYS WERE CREATED BY AN AVATAR OF YOURS IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE. OR THAT YOU PLAYED THIS WHOLE DRAMA WITH YAMA BECAUSE YOU SAW HIM SUFFERING WITH LILITH? NOW YOU WANT TO GIVE HIM HIS OWN UNIVERSE. HAH… I MAY HAVE MORE POWERS THAN YOU, BUT I CANNOT EVEN LIGHT A CANDLE TO YOUR SCHEMING BRAIN. ANYWAY, VISIT ME MORE OFTEN, IT IS LONELY HERE, OR MAKE ANOTHER DRAGON FOR ME."

The man smiled slightly as his true scheme was exposed.

"YOU THINK IT WAS EASY TO MAKE YOU? YOU WERE MADE BY A FREAK OF NATURE. EVEN I CANNOT CONTROL NATURE, AND YOU KNOW IT. THE CHAOS REGION IS VAST AND MAYBE THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER DRAGON WAITING FOR YOU. YOU SHOULD VISIT THE CHAOS REGION. YOU SHOULD GO WITH YAMA; HE WILL BRING YOU THE HAPPINESS YOU SEEK."

The dragon started pondering. He was really lonely, even with all his powers. But, as he thought more and more, some realization also dawned on him as anger surfaced on his face.

"YOU. YOU WANT ME TO DIE AND REINCARNATE ALONG WITH YOUR SON. YOU WANT ME TO GIVE UP MY POWERS. NICE SCHEME, BUT NO THANKS."

The man smiled lightly and replied.

"OF COURSE. BUT WHAT I SAID IS TRUE. IF YOU WANT TO SEEK HAPPINESS YOU SHOULD FOLLOW MY SON. THE UNIVERSE I AM SENDING THEM TO HAS A MUCH HIGHER CHANCE OF BIRTHING A DRAGON THAN ANY I HAVE SEEN, APART FROM THIS ONE, OF COURSE. AND YES, THIS WILL ALSO HELP GET RID OF YOU. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PLANS YOU HAVE DERAILED? ANYTIME I TRY TO TEACH A VIRTUE TO ONE OF MY PROGENY, THEY COME TO YOU AT THE FIRST SIGN OF HARDSHIP AND THEN WREAK HAVOC ON THE UNIVERSE. PLUS, YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS ALSO JUST AN AVATAR AND I DON'T FEAR YOUR STRENGTH. YOU ARE NOT EVIL, SO WHY SHOULD I MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT FOR YOU? BUT WHAT YOU SEEK, YOU WILL NEVER FIND IN THIS PLACE OR UNIVERSE FOR THAT MATTER."

The dragon pondered for a bit before realization dawned on him. Then he started laughing.

"HAHA. IT WAS FUN MAKING YOUR PLANS GO HAYWIRE. ESPECIALLY THAT GABRIEL. POOR GABRIEL. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN TRYING TO SEE HIM BRING SATAN'S SON INTO THE UNIVERSE. ALAS, SHE FAILED. SATAN IS EVERY BIT AS ANNOYING AS YOU. BUT THAT ASIDE, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY. I WILL GO WITH YOUR SON OR RATHER SHOULD I GO WITH LILITH? LET'S SEE. PAH. THERE IS STILL TIME FOR THAT. I WILL WATCH THE FINAL SHOW YOU HAVE PLANNED WITH GREAT RELISH. I WANT TO SEE HOW LILITH WILL MAKE YAMA GIVE UP HIS TITLE AND HEART WHEN HE HAS NO EMOTIONS OR FEELINGS OF ATTACHMENT TO HER."

The man was still smiling as if he could already see the drama that would play out.

"YOU UNDERESTIMATE THE POWERS OF LOVE AND FEELING. EVEN THOUGH YOU TOOK HIS EMOTIONS, HE STILL REMEMBERS THE FEELINGS. IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN A REALLY LONG TIME TO FORGET THAT FEEL OF EMOTIONS. INITIALLY, HE WOULD TRY TO ACT RATIONALLY BUT HE WILL START MISSING THAT FEEL AND THEN TRY TO EMULATE THEM. IF LILITH STRIKES AT THAT MOMENT, THEN SHE MIGHT SUCCEED. SHE HAS A VERY SMALL WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY HERE BECAUSE IF SHE IS TOO EAGER THEN SHE MIGHT MAKE HIM POWERLESS, THEREBY DESTROYING THIS UNIVERSE AT THE HANDS OF THE GENERAL AND HENCE NOT GIVE HIM HIS EMOTIONS IN THE OTHER UNIVERSE. AND IF SHE IS TOO LATE, THEN SHE WILL LOSE THAT WINDOW FOR TAKING HIS HEART AND TITLE, WHICH WOULD INVARIABLY DESTROY HIS SOUL."

"I KNOW YOU. YOU WOULD NOT LET ANYTHING GO WRONG. WHAT CHANCE, WITH YOU TAKING THE FRONT SEAT, WOULD ANYTHING GO WRONG? HMMM… UNLESS I MAKE SOME CHANGES. HEHE. SAY, WHICH OF YOUR SONS OR DAUGHTERS IS FEELING A BIT NAUGHTY? AZRAEL OR LUCIFER? MICHAEL IS TOO BORING. URIEL IS A GOOD CHOICE. BUT GANESHA LOOKS FREE. LOKI IS OVERUSED NOW."

"HEY, DON'T YOU DARE. LET THIS PERIOD PASS PROPERLY. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN FUTURE AND IT WILL TAKE TIME. THEY TOO WILL HAVE THEIR OWN UNIVERSES, JUST NOT NOW. ONCE THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN UNIVERSES, THEN THE REAL GAME WILL BEGIN. HAHA. AT THAT TIME, YOU WILL HAVE A FRONT ROW SEAT WITH YAMA AND LILITH. SO, DON'T MESS UP, OR I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU MISS ALL OF THOSE."

"OH. YOU PLANNED SO MUCH ALREADY. GOOD LUCK. ARE YOU SURE ABOUT IT THOUGH?"

"YES. THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE." As he said, the man fell silent and lamented. There was some sadness and some hope mixed with other complicated feelings of regret, longing, and love.

"THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME GOOD STORY HERE. WAS IT BEFORE I WAS BORN?"

"ANOTHER TIME. MAYBE AFTER YAMA OWNS HIS OWN UNIVERSE, AND YOU HAVE FOUND WHAT YOU SEEK, COME AND FIND ME AT THE SHUNYA UNIVERSE."

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