Chapter 2: Warning

That little scuffle I had with that half-breed at the warehouse attracted the attention of the police. Apparently, throwing him at break-neck speeds from thirty thousand feet wasn't such a good idea. After I heard the first sound of sirens coming, I immediately bolted. In just ten seconds, I was a good distance away for them to notice me.

I flew to the edge of the city where my safehouse was located. It was built by my parents as a refuge for me if ever something bad happens to them. It looked like your typical cottage in the forest, but looks can be deceiving. The front door was made of solid oak decorated with intricate ornate engravings. The center of the engraving had a unique symbol that's different from the rest on the door. The Eye of Horus. A protection sigil that my mother taught me when I was young. Apparently she was an acquaintance with the Egyptian god and had the privilege to learn the spell. As of today, Horus and other chosen deities from different pantheons have been reborn in this modern age.

The cottage may have been small on the outside, but its contents was vast and enormous. It was filled to the brim with different texts. Scrolls, texts, and tomes, it had most of the magical scriptures that my parents collected in their lifetime.

I scanned through the sea of books looking for a specific one containing the names of different beings. When I found it, I took it out and sifted through the pages, looking for the very image of the demon that I saw. The face of Belial.

It said in the text that Belial was one of the very first angels to have been created, giving him a degree of power equal to that of a Seraph. When he fell from Heaven along with Lucifer, he took a portion of the fallen angels with him and staged a rebellion for throne of Hell. Lucifer the Lightbringer, being the third  angel created possessed immense power that even Belial can't match. He was then defeated by the Lightbringer and cast out into the far reaches of Hell's boundaries. There are still demons who are loyal to him, and together they plot to corrupt mankind and take down Heaven.

It is said in the passage of the book that Belial was once an angel of independence. He represented the alternative, a means of finding answers through self discovery. Yet along the way, something inside him changed. When the war in Heaven broke out, he sided with Lucifer to take the throne of God and when that failed, he tried to usurp the leadership in Hell. He saw himself as the ultimate alternative, to God and to the devil. He never wanted to serve anyone other than himself. This is what makes him so dangerous. With all the information I gathered, I left my safehouse and made my way back to the city to investigate any other developments.

On the way, I felt something powerful following me, something dreadful looming like a shadow creeping up to me. I stopped for a moment and looked at the sky. A gust of wind suddenly burst from above and hit me like a tornado on a rampage, then it stopped. What I saw next were two grey wings covering the sun. It carried a humanlike figure that descended slowly in front of me. It was an angel, and he was carrying a sword made of adamantine. He looked up to me and smiled. It felt warm and comforting, even though an air of dread hovered above him. And with a gentle voice, he spoke...

"Hello Danny", he said.

"Azrael", I replied.

"It's been awhile since I saw you. Back then you were a little boy"

"What brings you here, Azrael?"

"I presume you already know about Belial"

"I do"

"Good. This is gonna make things a lot easier"

"Make what easier?"

"Calm down kid, I'm gonna get to that. Though this may take a while, might as well find a nearby diner and get a bite to eat"

"You're joking, right?"

"I may be immortal but I still feel hunger. After ten billion years of existing, food has gotten a lot more tastier"

"Fine"

We found a diner just two blocks away from where we were at and went there. We took a seat and Azrael ordered what could be a meal for five people. I, on the other hand, just had black coffee.

"So why are you really here, Azrael?"

"Have you ever heard of how Lucifer fell from heaven?"

"Of course I do. Everyone knows that"

"I mean the real reason why he fell"

"You mean to tell me that the Morningstar fell for another reason?"

"It wasn't pride that led to his fall. He NEVER rebelled"

"I'm finding it hard to believe that the embodiment of pride didn't try to usurp Heaven's throne"

"Your two grandfathers are an interesting pair. While Michael was the angel of humility, Lucifer was the angel of dignity. One was humble and led the rest of us angels through wisdom, Lucifer inspired us to have self-confidence"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because when Lucifer fell, he was leading an attack against an invading force that targeted Heaven. He gave us a rousing speech that motivated us to fight to the end. And when the attack came, Lucifer led the regiment that took the brunt of the invading forces. I was there, and we were winning"

"What happened next?"

"One of his generals betrayed him, and stabbed Lucifer in the wings"

"Let me guess, Belial"

"Correct. With his wings impaired, he plummeted down like a shooting star towards the Earth. Before we went to battle, he told us that if anything should ever happen to him, we should continue to repel the invasion regardless. We were nearly overrun when Michael arrived with reinforcements. We won the battle, but lost our general. Michael told us that if we wished, we could follow Lucifer and help him recover. A third of the host flew down to the Earth and did just that. The rest, they say, is history"

"That sounds a little hard to believe"

"That's the true story behind Lucifer's fall. It wasn't his own hubris that caused it, but the betrayal of one of his subordinates"

"You still haven't answered my question. Why tell me this?"

"To serve as a warning. Not just from me, but from Michael and Lucifer as well. Especially Lucifer. It may not look like it, but he does look out for you"