Because I'm a god, I have a responsibility. But sometimes, I don't want anything to do with it. Especially now.
The world is riddled with complex problems. If we defeat darkness, will it be enough to restore justice to the world?
What will come after?
The fog has started to roll into the marshes. As we leave the entrance to the graveyard, we walk onto a wood deck that extends over the water. I lower a map onto the ground and t
ry to find our next destination, but nothing is clear to me anymore. Not that it ever was.
All I can do is stare at the city and think back to when I first met Raven. She hated me then, but a part of me believes it might be better if we could go back to that day and change the events that led to when we met.
The truth is... I love her.
But within that love is the understanding that if we push this to the next level, we could lose everything.
That's scarier than any demon combined. If I lost her, I don't know how I would last. In the past, I'd call that thought weakness. Now, I can see things with clearer vision. Everything happens for a reason, and allowing yourself to put down your guard for someone is about as real as it gets.
"He's desperate," Loki says.
I blush, hoping he's not talking about me. "Who is?" I ask.
"Lucifer," he says.
Heimdall chuckles. "What makes you so sure?"
"Even if he found the angels, he'd need to awaken them somehow," he says.
"You don't think he's already found them?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "He's looking for a loophole," he says.
"A what?" Heimdall asks.
It looks like the answer just came to him. "If the world ends tomorrow, he'll have nothing. No throne to sit on. No people to rule over. There won't be any red wine to sip as the citizens bow their heads. All of that would be gone with an apocalypse," Loki says. "He would die alongside his enemies. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't think he's that crazy."
"Then explain Beelzebub and the army of the dead because it sure looked like they were gearing up for the end of the world," Raven says.
Heimdall gives a smile of understanding. "A marriage of convenience. Plenty of nations have banded together, despite their differences. I'm sure Lucifer has planned for their divorce."
"So what is the loophole?" Raven asks.
Loki continues to elaborate. "No man can be cast into the realm of the gods. It is not something you can earn. It is a birthright. At least, that's what my father taught me. If Lucifer can find a way back in, he will find what he's truly looking for. But to do that, he needs a loophole."
I sigh and hold my head. "Oh, God," I say.
He nods as tears form in his eyes. "It's so much worse than we thought."
A world built in Lucifer's image is a world without love.
The gods would be eradicated. All, except for him. The people would be enslaved.
He'd defeat both heaven and hell.
Ash whispers, "He wants a chance at becoming the clockmaker."
"He wants to be the god of all gods," a voice says.
All four of us turn. I draw my weapon, but the figure is standing within the center of the fog. It's hard to get a good aim on him.