OfficialKatWolf
In the beginning, the Devil didn't waste his time with fire and brimstone. No, that was too obvious, too theatrical. He knew humans were simple creatures, desperate for meaning, for rules, for something bigger than themselves to clutch in the dark.
So he gave them a book.
It was perfect: stories of hope, redemption, love, and eternal life, but laced with poison between the lines. The words would divide them. They would argue, kill, and enslave in its name, all the while believing they were holy. Each war, each persecution, each whispered judgment at the dinner table was another thread woven into his grand tapestry.
The Devil smiled as churches rose higher than homes, as voices thundered from pulpits louder than the cries of the hungry. He saw nations kneel to kings who swore their crowns were kissed by God. He laughed as children were taught to fear eternal flames instead of questioning the hand that wrote them.
The greatest irony? The people who clung to the book were convinced it was their shield against him. They called others "lost," never realizing they were the pawns, marching straight into his design.
But there were some who saw through it. Those who noticed that love was used as a mask for hate, that "faith" was wielded as a weapon. These few were mocked, exiled, branded as heretics. Yet, quietly, they understood: the Devil didn't hide in shadows. He sat proudly on the altar, wearing a crown of scripture.
And when the final revelation came, not of heaven or hell, but of the con itself, the faithful would wail. They would realize too late that they were never saved, only played.
The Devil didn't need their souls. He only needed their belief.
And he got it.