From a Different Angle

The First Meeting Part 3

As soon as we landed in the middle of the ancient forest I realized that my own powers weren't obeying my commands anymore, I was planning on teleporting us to the top of a mountain where damage would be minimized, that is if he proved to be more than just a simple thug that managed to recognize me. Regardless of the place we were, it was far away enough from civilization to allow me to use my abilities to the limit I set them to. I quickly threw him away from me, and checked for anything that may be around us, to my luck there was nobody here but him and I

"Look kid, like I already stated. I am in a good mood, if you just drop your weapon I will let you go. You just gotta walk back to the nearest city"

The man kept his composure, standing straight and tall as he fixed his glasses with a look that showed nothing but murderous intent and determination

"That isn't an option I am willing to take, old man. I don't care if I die here and now. I will at least do so knowing I tried to achieve my goal"

He said as his right arm turned into a sword that glowed a bright blue, there was something about him that was different from everyone that I met so far but I could not put my finger on it just yet. He planted his feet down on the ground before I knew it he was in front of me, aiming his sword to my chest with no hesitation. I barely had a moment to dodge his attack, landing away from him as I attempted to figure out just what he may be.

"That's some pretty cool tech you got there kiddo, you made it yourself? What's up with that glow? Guess it's an elemental add on?"

I asked trying to buy myself even a second to see the quickest way to win this fight, but he did not fall for it instead I was met with another close call followed by an attack rush with no mercy

"If you have time to talk, then you have time to fight me old man. Now fight me for real."

He said in such a calm manner as he viciously swung his sword at me. He did not seem to be the normal bounty hunter, there seemed to be a familiar presence emanating from him that I could not quite understand why it felt that way. I went against my better nature and decided to fight him as an equal, not pulling punches or attempting to charm him into giving up

"Very well,if that's what you wish for."

I said as I dodged another one of his attacks, giving me enough distance to concentrate my power to the limit I have been keeping it at so far. I reject the true powers that I have been given by heaven, instead I have been using the true inner power that has been given to me by my own soul. As it turns out every living being in the universe has such ability, however it is within their own will to awaken this power that resides inside their soul. In the mundane day to day world one may see this take place when someone is in imminent danger, or when something that they love is being put at risk. Many try to pass these moments as a kick of adrenaline in heavy doses however they could not be any more wrong. The size of the vessel does not matter, it could be a five year old child that wants to defend his mother from an abusive father or a woman in a vegetable state hearing how their little brother is crying for them to come back. It does not matter, it is the will in their soul that proves the most difference nothing more, nothing less. Some people go their entire lives without even knowing they could become gods among men because they do not know the power they hold, the easiest way to awaken this ability is by help from the beyond. Whether you choose to side with a devil, an angel, a greek god, or even a pagan god is all up to you, all they really do is open your eyes to the world that you have been blind to. I was lucky enough and had mine activated as soon as I became God, however I also was given the holy power of God which on its own was able to even create life or wipe it from existence. I was still in shock when the angels were explaining what my ability was, however from what I could gather and find out from battle experience was that I could boost myself with some weird dials that appeared in front of me like holograms. For example, if I wanted to boost my strength I could set a dial up to do so but I would have to lower another such as intelligence. I would be able to boost my own strength from seventy percent to eighty percent but would need to lower my intelligence from sixty percent to fifty percent.

I looked at the man readying himself for another feracious attack and turned the dials that were directed to my offense as high as I could, suddenly all pain and fatigue went away as I felt all my energy build up on every part of my body

"Alright kid, ready yourself because I don't even know what I am able to do in this state"

I felt the way I could sense everything around me, the way the wind blew, the exact spots to walk on to gain an advantage, and even where to hit this man to finish him. His sword was the only problem that I was facing, I could ignore the pain that they would give but it would put me at a disadvantage. The only other option was to use the powers of heaven to create a sword, but I refused to even give that a thought and decided on using my own hands no matter how much I would bleed. Even without a sword I managed to trade blows equally with him, from speed, to strength. He did not flinch at all, and the way his facial expression stood still, not a sign of fear, excitement, or even courage was what made me put everything I had on this fight. This was a man broken beyond belief, alone in the world, where nothing even appealed to him anymore, he lost something in the past. Something truly precious was taken away from him, and he is hoping that the angels can give it back to him, he wants to defeat me to get back what he lost without knowing that the council of heaven will simply ignore his request or make him disappear.

I knew from the start that I could not talk my way out of this fight, however I felt a sense of empathy come over me as I realized that he was simply alone like I was. I had to defeat him, and maybe I could talk to him and show him that the angel's power will only lead him to feel even more hatred towards himself. My arms were starting to bleed from the cuts made by his sword, I had to end the fight as quickly as possible before it started going south

"Why aren't you using a weapon old man? Am I not worthy of your holy grace? Are you still holding back on me, God?"

He asked as he attacked me, however the way he asked that last question was filled with spite and hatred from within

"Show me what you really got. Strike me down before I kill you, you bastard!"

He yelled out in anger as I finally saw his expression change for the first time, it was filled with many emotions but I could feel hatred seeping out from his heart and soul as he took a step back to throw one more attack that carried the emotions he carried in his heart. Something snapped inside me, as I looked at him swing his sword to possibly kill me I looked up at him and took it upon myself to fight him with everything my own human soul would allow. I balled my right hand into a fist, feeling how every ounce of energy around me was suddenly sucked into it as I raised it and hit his sword with all my might. The area around us suddenly sunk as we stared down at each other for a second, before his robotic arm suddenly fell apart and he was blown away, hitting a tree as the massive amounts of energy that he wielded slowly left him.

I stood still for a second, noticing that my dials had changed from a default white to a new bright red at three percent. It went down to two, one, zero then back to a white one hundred and slowly back to nominal levels. Either the adrenaline was being pumped into me endlessly or I was still in shock because I did not feel any of the cuts around my arms or body. I slowly made my way to the man who seemed to be defeated, both physically and mentally. He turned around to face me with the same look he started this fight with then let out a scoff as he looked at me

"I had everything taken away by you... and now I am dying by your hand. Ain't that some ironic s**t?"

He said as he kept himself awake to speak to me

"What do you mean? Kid, I don't even know you."

I said in deep confusion as I looked at him, as far as I knew I never even crossed paths with him in my former life

"Talk about adding salt to the wound. Here is a reminder, my name is Lucifer... Lucifer Helix. I opened the door to heaven on earth, and when I faced you, you took everything from me. Do you remember God?"

He said as he raised his right arm, now nothing but a stump after I broke his arm. It slowly started to hit me, the reason why his energy felt so familiar, and the reason behind his hatred.

"Kid... I am sorry to say this to you, but I am not God. I killed God by accident, and was forced to take his place so I ran away."

he stayed quiet, unsure of how to respond to such a statement, then he spoke once more

"So it wasn't you that took everything from me.. It still does not change the fact that I was willing to bring you back to heaven, they took something from me and I am planning on getting it back"

He said with a determined look, even when he is down with no energy to fight he stated his goal with no fear "What did God take from you?" I asked curiously, there was no harm in asking afterall

"It's not What, it's who... He took my wife from me, and before that you could say he technically took away what I considered my father in law. I thought you were the real god, I was planning on killing you here, bring you to the council of heaven, ask for them back and go back to my former life. Guess that plan isn't working out anymore"

His tone was more soft than before, maybe it was the lack of energy that made him more docile

"I hate to break it to you kid but heaven would not be able to bring back anyone from the dead. Not even God or the council has the power to do that, I know of certain occasions where people were brought back but it took immense amounts of preparation and such. What they would do is make two new souls, identical to those that you formerly knew as your wife and father in law and say they were revived. You would notice it though, something is off about them. That they simply aren't the people you used to know, but something else"

I said as he used his left hand to fix his glasses then cover them momentarily as he spoke once more

"I know okay?... I knew that the probability of them being able to bring them back was low and if I got lucky I would be able to get a copy of them... All I wanted to do was properly say goodbye to her, I wanted to just say sorry to Daniel that I couldn't protect her. I just wanted to talk to them one more time..."

As he spoke I could see the small trail of tears slowly make its way down his face, true tears of sadness from a broken man

"You said your name was Lucifer right? Lucifer Helix?"

I asked softly, I figured that I might as well break the reason why it all happened here and now

"Yeah, why does it matter? You gonna add me to the people you saw crying?"

He asked with a bit of sass in his tone, as if he was no longer sure on how to express himself at the moment

"No... I believe I know why this happened to you. As you know, I am technically God. I did the duties of God for about a week before I ran away. I also gained all knowledge, and with that came the knowledge of Lucifer."

I sighed a bit, I did not know how to properly break down such a tragic thing to say to the person who was not even aware they were in a curse

"The story reads that Lucifer rebelled against God, like the Holy Bible said. However, Lucifer was not sentenced to rule the underworld and pits of fire and yada yada. The curse that God put on him was that he would be eternally reincarnated, always trying to get back to heaven without even noticing. He would suffer a life of nothing but regret and loss, without even knowing he is under an eternal curse. Everytime you died, you simply came back wanting to go to heaven installed into your head without knowing. From a ritual with pagen gods, to being part of the crusades, to wanting to discover interdimensional travel. It all leads you back to the same place. It was said that each time you reach heaven it's different, sometimes he would simply kill you off, other times he would make you go insane and live a solitary life and so on. However this time it seems like he wanted to play around with you a little more, and he let you live as well as gave you infinite knowledge while taking everything you loved. The old man was a sick bastard, he was the true scum of us all. It would explain why humans are the way they are since they were made in his image"

He kept his gaze towards me, but by the time I was done talking he looked away to his right arm and looked as if he was imagining having it once more

"So I am the original Lucifer?... The true myth and legend that causes mass killings and destruction...."

He said as if whatever piece of hope within him was gone

"Yeah... but God is dead kid and you never did anything besides be an innocent bystander"

I said as he looked back at me "What do you mean?" He asked in confusion as he tried to understand what I was trying to say

"God is dead. He is the one that put the curse on you right? That means that the curse is no more. You can do whatever you want, if you die you will know peace finally. But by the side of the same coin, you can also write your own destiny now because you are not tied down by any sort of chain like before. You could even be able to revive someone if you put your mind to it, you are now the only master of your own destiny. Do what you will with it."

I said as clearly as I could, every word was as true as the rays of light that surrounded us. He was a free man now, someone who could do with their destiny as they wished with no repercussion of higher powers. Kind of like me.

"I appreciate the thought... but I don't have a place to go back to. Earth might as well be a minefield, I am an outlaw that is constantly being chased by bounty hunters, and I have no one else to call. I think death is what I crave..."

He spoke with that soft tone once more as he looked up at me, almost begging me to finish the job

" Well if that's the case, you still have your gun in your coat. The one you showed me back at the restaurant, you could take it up to your head and finish it all right here and now."

I said to him as he used his left hand to feel if the gun was still there, then gently grip it as he pulled it out only to be stopped by my voice

"Or. You could come along with me. I mean we are both outlaws, both unwanted by the places we thought we would find happiness in, and we seem like we could make a good team. I have knowledge that I don't know how to use but power to back it up, you have the brains to and experience to make anything happen. All we need is just a base, then we could both just do our own thing. What do you say? Wanna be partners?"

I asked as I reached my hand down towards him for him to take, he took a second as he still held the pistol in his hand then he finally let it go

"I accept, but I have one simple question"

He said as he grabbed my hand and I helped him up, putting his arm over my shoulder so he could lean against me

"Ask away"

I said back to him with a smile

"How do you accidentally kill God?"

He asked as he gave me this look of both confusion and curiosity

"What? You wanna learn to kill me? I thought we were friends"

I said playfully, he responded to what was the first ever smile and chuckle in our long standing friendship. Me and Lucifer were the two originals of the group, the other four slowly came as time passed by but even with seniority over one another we see each other as equals, we are all a family.