The moment Lucifer finished speaking, he rose from his simple wooden chair as though answering a call only he could hear.His presence grew heavier—like the air itself feared what was coming.He tilted his head slightly and said without looking at me:
"Stand behind me, Sammael. And watch closely."
I obeyed. Not out of loyalty. Out of instinct—like prey obeying a predator.
From the surface of the black sea, the dead kept rising—bodies burned to ash, bones shattered, bodies twisted beyond recognition. Yet somehow they remained upright, held together not by flesh, but by hatred.
They all shared a single feature:glowing crimson eye sockets, like the cracked moon overhead.
But then… seven corpses emerged that were unlike the rest.
The others recoiled, instinctively stepping back from them—even in death, they feared these seven.
But the Jester…He was gone.Vanished in the crowd, or hiding—no idea which was worse.
The seven corpses moved forward.With each step they took, my breath shortened.It felt like the air was rejecting my existence.
And then, I understood why.
Their bodies weren't just corpses—they were symbols.
The First:A skull lifted high, refusing to bow.Its empty sockets burned with sickening pride, as if demanding the universe itself kneel before it.
Pride.
The Second:A twisted expression, almost pouting—but the kind of pout that makes you envy a corpse.Every time I looked, I felt a bitterness I didn't know I had.
Envy.
The Third:Teeth cracked from grinding, fists clenched so tightly that bone splintered.Its silent presence alone made my blood boil.
Wrath.
The Fourth:A slouched posture, dragging itself forward lazily, as if bored with existence.
Sloth.
The Fifth:Hands extended upward—open, trembling, bleeding—reaching for everything and nothing at once.
Greed.
The Sixth:Jaw hanging half-ruined, hands clutching its stomach as if eternally starving.
Gluttony.
And then the Seventh:A pristine skeleton—female, undeniable in its shape.Lower body drenched in fresh blood.Its cracked skull tilted with elegant corruption, as if admiring its own reflection.
Lust.
They stood at the front, and all the other damned knelt behind them.
The crimson moon cracked louder overhead.Every fracture spread across the sky like veins in diseased flesh.Blood rained harder.Wind screamed.The underworld trembled.
Lucifer stood untouched—no blood, no wind, no fear.I, however, was soaked and shaking.
The seven knelt first.The rest followed.
Only I remained standing.
Lucifer turned slightly, smirking.
"Still on your feet, Sammael. Just like your mother."
His laugh was different this time—not mocking, not joyful.It was angelic and terrifying at once, like hearing a hymn played backward.
Then he said:
"Sammael. This is not personal. But everyone kneels before me.So will you."
I gritted my teeth.My legs were trembling but I forced them still.
"No."
Lucifer sighed softly—as if disappointed.
"Kneel. That was an order."
My legs buckled instantly.Pain tore through me as I hit the blood-soaked ground.I tried to stand, but it felt like the weight of creation pressed me down.
Lucifer raised his hands.
The crimson moon shattered.
Black matter rained down like molten tar.Where it touched corpses, they screamed—bones cracking, flesh reforming.The screams merged with distant, manic laughter—The Jesters.Countless of them.
The underworld shook violently, collapsing around us as the Damned regained their bodies—a grotesque rebirth.
The first to fully revive was the Seventh—Lust—her flesh knitting itself together, beauty and horror intertwining.
Lucifer's voice cut through the chaos:
"Damned and Firstborn of Hell… behold me."
Every corpse—newly reborn—bowed deeply.
"I am Lucifer,""The Firstborn of Heaven, and the First to Fall."
His wings—burned, ruined—unfolded behind him.
"You have been punished for sin, for rebellion, for freedom.""Four billion years I promised you release.""And today, I grant it."
He pointed toward the black sea.
The water spiraled upward like a vortex.
"Spread corruption.""Reveal God's lies.""Tear down the world that cursed us.""And reclaim what was stolen."
The Damned roared.The Sins lifted their heads.And something inside me—something ancient and hungry—stirred awake.