Courting Death | Book 3

S E V E N

S E V E N
Libro Vitae

HOW STRANGE THE world worked. It always made sure to take the path least expected and bring all its followers to their knees. Yet again, fate was there to color me shocked. When I thought that perhaps there was a fighting chance for me to regain a life, another trouble emerged itself that might damn the world into losing their own.

With Lucifer free and roaming the lands wherever he may be, it would only be a matter of time before both Heaven and Hell fell under his control. He was, after all, a powerful being that wielded magic beyond the ordinary. The figure that had instilled fear into many lives gained that reputation for a reason; a reason in which I prayed I would not learn in all my lifetimes.

All of a sudden, everything became so clear. The demons were rejoicing in their cells, finally shutting their eyes to enjoy undisturbed rest due to the joy simply because their leader was free and they knew it. They were waiting for him; waiting for Lucifer to take back what was once destined as his.

I feared of monarchs that knew not of kindness of the heart. Dictators and kings of treachery had always been one of my darkest nightmares, only ever increasing with every year in which I grew. That was because they held the power to not just kill me and me alone, but rather also everyone I know and love.

Lucifer, however, was worse. He's not but a simple mortal, a human that desired power above any other, but rather, he was a fallen angel. He was someone with magical capabilities and existed in places where I had once thought was mere fantasy or straight out of someone's imagination. In other words, he was a nightmare came true.

The world would be set ablaze with Lucifer running wild and free to do whatever he wished. Thousands and hundreds of thousands will fall with just a simple wave of his hand. The last time he had been in power, he was the one that dragged many angels towards Hell and created havoc, splitting friends and forcing them to fight against one another. He was the sole reason why Dimitri had become the spirit of death, and probably the driving force behind the rest of the brothers' transformations and horrific changes against their own will.

Now it wasn't just Lucius in which we had to take note of. There will be someone else out there, much more powerful and detached, ready to bring damnation to whichever brave and foolish soul that dared to cross his path.

And oh, mother of irony. Both of them had names that represented the light, the gleam of a new hope. How different that turned out, isn't that right?

It was then that I wondered, which of the two evils would I rather face again?

Would it be Lucifer, with his wild tendencies? Once a high-ranking angel and had fallen ultimately because he was condemned of a love and the jealousy that came in tow with that love. Lucifer was someone in which I didn't have the misfortune to know better and probably never will if lady luck shines on me still.

Or will it be Lucius that I rather face? My childhood friend which turned out to be the person behind my past lives' deaths. The angel that was tasked to take care of me, and yet had me killed time and time again over the course of possibly hundreds of lifetimes without batting a single eyelid. A guardian and once best friend that was driven to the edges of insanity, cursed with lunacy for possible all eternity because he was a power-hungry soul that sought for more than he could actually control.

There I came to the conclusion that death actually offered me mercy. I would never have to brave either of the two villains in my life. And yet, even though running away was a clever cowardice that had kept me alive for so long of a time, it would only lead me to my demise when I lay my choice down on the table. For the first time in my life, I am not able to run in hopes of preserving this said existence.