After-Life

Chapter 35. Convincing the Masses

Mabel felt certain that Lilith had just stood Kristoph's form upright. Furthermore, there was little doubt in her mind that they were both on the receiving end of a deeply disapproving look. The room they were in was so incredibly dark however, that there was no way she could be completely sure of either of these things. She felt Kristoph's ears twitch like a dog's at the slightest sound of shuffling bodies around the room. Whispers and confused murmurs drew closer, yet when she reached Kristoph's arms out, his hands sailed through the air, uncompromised.

There was however, one thing that Mabel was completely certain of. Kristoph's form was growing weaker by the minute and with a gut-wrenching thought, she remembered that his form was only there based on a limited amount of life essence. If either of them stayed in heaven much longer, they would both fade into nothingness, their physical body's useless husks, lying lifeless in the hospital back down on earth. The thought of Kristoph dying, without any full sense of knowing it, while she was in control of his own soul in heaven, sparked a fury inside her.

"Lilith?" Mabel asked. Everything was a mess in her mind, and she needed clarification. "I need you to be brutally honest with me."
The Queen of Hell's voice played by Kristoph's right ear, "only if you tell me who I'm speaking to right now. I hear the voice of a man, yet I sense the vague hint of someone else there, and it's certainly not a hitchhiking Duke."
"It's Mabel, as you well know;" Mabel fought the urge to be frustrated with the woman, time was of the essence. "Lilith, why have you been frequenting heaven, so often?"

Even in the darkness, Mabel sensed Lilith's form tense, as a deep intake of breath sounded in front of her.
"The Almighty is sick;" Lilith responded, coolly. "He has left matters up to his son to handle. In turn, he sent me a message, a sign if you will. It was an hourglass, filled with the sands gained from my daughter Lilim's domain. It had ceased falling and was instead pooling in the air, unable to fall."
"He was holding on," Mabel understood the imagery and pressed on. "So, you've been frequenting here to... do what, exactly?"
"Assist with his ailment," Lilith's voice was curt, and Mabel couldn't help but detect a note of sadness to it. "I was created to be by Adam's side, to nurture him and provide clarity and reason. I hadn't realised that much of what I said to my betrothed at the time, offered the same level of solace for my creator, in turn. He too, is repentant, Mab. He sees his folly from his younger years. The lives he has created and ended, the wars mankind wage on his behalf, not to mention the gluttony he has thrived upon from his follower's beliefs; all of which keep him strong... He asked me to visit him frequently so that I might be by his side, so he can reflect on matters while he rests in a prone state."

Mabel swallowed hard. The idea was almost unimaginable. What if the father of all creation succumbed to this mystery illness? Could that even happen?
"Where would he go?" Mabel wondered out loud.
Lilith breathed out a steadying breath, "The Lord will not go anywhere. He is not like a human. He's mighty. He does not pass away from illnesses; he knows every ailment out there and creates antidotes for them. Death would only come when there is not a single soul left on earth who believes in him. The faith of his human pets keeps him holding on. That being said..." The Queen of Hell sighed, loudly. "He is gravely ill."
Mabel grimaced, there were so many questions and so little time, "how can we make him better?" was all she could ask.
"We cannot. He is the superior deity, Mab;" Lilith's voice wavered. "His being ill, is unheard of."
"So, what's caused it? What symptoms is he showing?" Mabel struggled to hide the desperation in her voice.
The faintest brush of air against Kristoph's ears sent chills through his spine; as Lilith whispered "love."

"Love?" Mabel snapped.
All this time, the Almighty had been wallowing in bed because he wasn't loved enough? It was utter madness. What more could he want? People were dying with his name on their lips. Religious leaders praised him and sang out to him, they devoted their lives to worship him...
"You cannot be serious!" Mabel snapped, "he has love in an immeasurable abundance! He only needs to look down on earth to see someone call out his name in praise, valuing him. What does he want the whole world to do? Unite as one, call out his name and beg him to accept their devotion? Because, Lilith, that's not going to happen!" Mabel shook her head. "What love could measure more than that?"
There were a few quiet murmurings of agreement in the darkness around her, and Mabel was glad that she wasn't the only one to show some sense of frustration, even if it did potentially stem from what she could only assume was a small hoard of religious Saxons.