Paradiso

Part XII - Premonizione 3

The Princes of Light and Dark clashed with the force and heat and brightness of a supernova. They were equal beings, rulers of Heaven and Hell, born of the Almighty King and the forsaken, exile Queen. They were brothers, and yet they fought. They intended to kill each other, and they would not stop until they did. Yet, there was pain on each of their faces.

Sael walked the Earth for the first time in centuries. From where she stood, she watched Uriel as he fought Lucifer. She saw the conflict in her friend's face—in both of their faces. She wondered why. Why they had gone through with this. Did they feel they had to? Did they want to? It didn't seem like they did. And yet there they were, fulfilling their destinies at last.

But was that a good thing? Was the fulfilment of destiny good? If it wasn't, was it bad? Was it even a moral matter for something destined to happen to come true?

And what was destiny? Was the word of the King destiny? The King was meant to be a completely impartial force above them all; and yet he was the one who had set the world in order, forsaking the Queen and her ambiguity and chaos to the depths of space. He forsook disorder and the unknown. What was impartial about that?

He forsook his own son, Death, too, but he was much harder to get rid of—the Queen had made sure of that. Still, he consigned him to a liminal life of isolation. Was that good? Was that right? Was Death evil? Sael's brow creased a little and their gaze darkened. No; that couldn't be. Death was not evil, or bad, or good. Death was truly impartial. Then was the King evil? Was the Queen good?

Sael sighed. It was a sigh of both resignation and relief. Maybe there is no such thing as evil and good. Maybe it doesn't matter in the end. Maybe... nothing is absolute. Nothing is perfectly anything. Not the Princes, not the Queen, not even the King. And maybe... that's fine.