Greetings, my children. I have long watched as you all blamed and prosecuted my first man for being who he was, for being broken beyond repair.
But maybe today, you will all see him in a new light and see how even the most broken souls can change.
---
As the bright rays of the sun pierced the veil shielding Adam's eyes, slowly the first man stirred from his slumber.
Groggy yet awake, Adam began to slowly sit up from his bed, and with a loud yawn he fully opened his tired eyes.
His golden irises shined like the very sun itself, but beneath that golden shine lay a broken and sad man.
No matter how much he tried to drown his sorrows in booze and women, he was unable to fill the void deep within him—the void that was made when he lost his family.
Eve had just given birth to their third son, Seth, but as luck would have it, Eve died shortly after giving birth.
Adam blamed himself every day, always asking the same question to me.
Why?
Why, God?
Why must you take her from me too?
Have I not lost enough?
He would always ask me for an answer, and yet I would never tell, for if I gave him the answer, would he believe me? Or would he simply despair even more?
So many branches, so many lives.
Yet despite his loss, Adam never gave up living. He pulled himself up from the abyss and took charge of his life, taking care of his sons alone and teaching them how to survive and thrive.
During this time, when Seth had finally turned a hundred, Adam thought it best to celebrate his birthday by giving offerings to me as a form of respect and to show that no matter what happens, he will always have faith.
During the coming days, Cain would harvest his largest and most delicious crops to be held as an offering. Abel the shepherd would bring meat to offer, and finally Seth would bring his own written book about me.
But before they could begin their journey, Seth was stricken with a fever that left him unable to make the journey.
Adam, not wanting to place his son in danger, went ahead of them to make sure everything was safe, and once he did, the two boys followed not long after.
But we all know what happened after they all went up the mountain—Cain.
Blinded by rage and manipulated by the root of all that is evil, Cain, despite loving and cherishing his family, attacked Abel with a stone, causing him to slowly bleed out.
Adam, shocked and unable to think clearly, charged at Cain with righteous fury and intended to subdue him. But as Adam moved to apprehend his wayward son, Adam, still in shock, tripped and fell off the mountain toward his own demise.
As he continued to fall, only one word was present on his mind.
Why?
And without even letting him see his son Seth one last time, he hit the ground, and everything went to complete darkness.
As Adam floated within the primordial darkness, another would soon join him—his son Abel. They floated together for what seemed like an eternity, but as they continued to float in this vast darkness, golden hands began reaching out toward them and pulled them out of the sea of darkness.
As they opened their eyes, a shining city of gold and silver greeted them, and the smiling face of Sera greeted them.
"Greetings, and welcome to the Silver City," Sera greeted with a kind smile.
Adam didn't return the greetings, for he only stared at the angel in front of him, and slowly he began to laugh—not of joy but of sorrow and pain.
Why did he laugh? Because he saw the cruel joke being presented to him—how all his life he spent fighting for a place here in heaven, and now that he was here, he couldn't help but laugh. Laugh at the cruel joke being told.
And what was that joke?
Him. He had just lost everything to be here, and yet his own son—the one he cherished and loved—killed him and his brother, leaving their younger brother all alone.
But as he continued to laugh, tears began to spread down his cheeks, and when he tried to get up he felt something holding on to his hand.
Looking down, he saw his son Abel holding his hand with tears in his eyes. Though they were closed, Abel felt his dad's sorrow, and even despite everything, he still cared.
Adam stared at his son for a long while before quickly moving down closer to him and picking him up. Once his son was in his arms, he began to slowly walk toward the golden gates to begin his new life.
As for what happens to Seth, well, let's just say a mark of my own was in order.
---
Today was meeting day. Adam had a rather important audience with the crowned prince of hell for further pushing back the exterminations of hell.
Adam wasn't particularly fond of the prince or how he had a massive sway in the decisions being made here in heaven.
And despite being the first man in heaven, he had no say on what goes.
As Adam walked alone toward the meeting hall, he began scheming on what to do to either get rid of the prince or make him look bad.
And as Adam planned and schemed, an angel guarding the halls greeted Adam and opened the doors for him. Entering, Adam immediately saw Sera holding documents and sitting patiently alone.
"Sup, Sera!" Adam greeted, lacking any semblance of decorum.
"Good morning, Adam. I see you finally arrived on time... for once," Sera spoke with a deadpan tone.
"Well, I had a really wicked headache this morning, so I thought I might as well bitch about it here," Adam told Sera, smirking.
"Sigh... anyways, Stygian has informed me that he will not be attending this meeting. Instead, an emissary of his own will be attending," Sera replied.
"Oh! What's the reason? Guy's too good for us now?" Adam told Sera condescendingly.
"I am not sure, but the letter he sent did involve something about the sin of gluttony."
"Ah! So he's boning someone. Gotcha."
Sera opened her mouth to reprimand Adam, but before she could, the doors opened, causing her to stop. Adam turned toward the door to see what demon was allowed inside heaven.
But what he saw was no demon. No, what he saw that day was something close to a—
"Angel." That was all Adam could say as he stared in awe at the individual entering the room.
She wore a beautiful white dress that complemented her complexion, hair that flowed in the ethereal wind. And once she moved inside, she spoke:
"Greetings. I am Celestia. It's a pleasure to meet you all." She gave a courtesy bow and a warm, welcoming smile.
Adam stared at the angel in front of him, and before he knew it, he was in front of her, kneeling.
"What am I doing?" Adam asked, confused. What was he doing?