While Felix was being grilled for answers about the method used to push past the sixth bloodline by his friends, an event of cosmic magnitude was transpiring in the depth of the void realm on the other side of the universe.
Here where reality bowed to mystery and the fabric of existence danced to unseen forces, the Paragon of Sins was beginning to awaken.
Her eyelids, vast expanses of cosmic canvas, began to flutter. The texture of her skin, a deep purplish hue, seemed to ripple and shimmer, as though filled with entire galaxies.
Nebulae, supernovae, and celestial bodies all were vividly represented in the tapestry of her flesh, each contributing to a mesmerizing spectacle of cosmic grandeur.
Even the void, in her presence, seemed to concede its starkness, as if the constellations within her were radiating an ethereal glow that defied the inherent desolation.
Then, her eyes began to open, a moment that turned the event horizon into the most splendid stage.
As her eyes fully opened, light erupted from them, a brilliance that spread outwards like the birth of a supernova, irradiating the void realm with vibrant, life-affirming radiance!
The magnitude of her size was staggering, comparable to a galaxy's quasar. There she floated, a colossal celestial deity, her vast silhouette dominating the void.
Here in the unforgiving void, the Paragon of Sins awoke, a beautiful gargantuan woman wrapped in the skin of the cosmos, and with eyes that ignited existence itself...And she didn't seem pleased one bit.
'He somehow failed to achieve both plans. Now that he has given his end goal and the method, the kid will make it extremely difficult for him to give it another go.' The Paragon's thoughts seemed to rumble in the silent expanse of the void realm.
Unbeknownst to Felix and the tenants, she did know about Asna's existence and a lot more about Felix than they could imagine.
She didn't care about whether Lucifer failed or succeeded in the merge, it would still serve as part of her plan if the merge went through.
But, she didn't expect that Lucifer would get blindsided this badly and end up exposing his cards inside an illusion, making Felix end him without commencing the merge.
'This is quite a setback, but nothing that can't be handled.' The Paragon murmured, 'Doing this will force me to go into slumber for a while again, but it's worth it to attain my eternal freedom...'
A subtle vibration of energy began to ripple around her, emanating from a locus of malicious energy that clung to her gigantic form.
The Paragon closed her pink, luminous eyes, her divine consciousness rippling in tandem with the void.
In the sprawling expanse of her mind, she reached in, carving out a fragment of her own consciousness.
With an ethereal grace, she reached out and took the sliver of consciousness.
The piece was trembling, vibrant with sentience and potential, a sharp contrast to the corruption that awaited it.
Then, with an act of will that echoed across the cosmos, she pushed it into the crimson energy mass.
The moment the fragment of consciousness touched the energy, a brilliant explosion erupted, cascading waves of pink and purple light across the void.
As the light subsided, a flux of memories began to flow into the nascent consciousness. These were not ordinary memories; they were the collective recollections of Lucifer from the moment he was born.
As the tide of Lucifer's memories washed over the newborn consciousness, a miraculous transformation began to occur.
The energy mass began to change, to morph, until it resembled Lucifer in form.
This was Lucifer reborn, sculpted from the raw energy of the Paragon's sin, endowed with a new consciousness, and nourished on the memories of his previous existence!
Despite the same memories, this Lucifer was different, a reincarnation infused with a part of the Paragon herself, unlike his past self!
He was born of her, and through her, given a second chance to redeem himself!
'Mother...I have failed you and I am undeserving of your grace.'
The first thing that Lucifer did was kneel down with a distraught expression, knowing exactly how big he screwed up against Felix.
While his loss had affected him badly, disappointing his celestial mother was even worse.
'I don't have time for excuses.' The Paragon spoke with a faint voice like a candle on the verge of being extinguished. 'Listen, I have bestowed upon you a tiny fragment of my consciousness and it might not be able to overpower his spiritual pressure, but it will help you resist any similar mental attacks. So, do not fall for the same trick twice and bring me desirable results. I don't care if you had to use outside help or sacrifice the entire demon race, just make the merge happen...'
As she had reached the last sentence, the Paragon's breathtaking eyes seemed to have closed on their own while the shimmering brilliant light of her celestial body dimmed down akin to a dying star.
In a few moments at best, the void realm had returned to its peaceful state and Lucifer was left all alone with a solemn expression.
He knew that his mother was punished for reviving him as the same had happened during his birth.
While the other princes and everyone else were under the impression that the seven princes were the only demons born out of evil energy, Lucifer was the only one knowing the whole truth.
He was in fact, the consciousness of the evil energy being born after getting fed neutral energy through the Paragon of Sins for a very, very long time!
Lucifer wasn't calling The Paragon of Sins his mother for no reason...He knew that she made his birth possible and without her, there wouldn't be even something called evil energy in the first place.
As an outsider Elemental, he didn't have a god figure like Foremother Siamese who could revive him infinitely in case his consciousness got obliterated without consequences.
Lucifer's consciousness was more than obliterated as it was erased from reality through Totality Collapse, which meant The Paragon of Sins had to go the extra mile to bring him back with his memories still intact.
It was more than possible with the Greed Sin laws that were capable of fulfilling any wish as long as the price was right.
In this case, it had cost her plenty of years of deep slumber.
Meanwhile, the other six princes were actually born because of Lucifer to help him spread out his roots on a wider scale without him needing to do anything.
Since he didn't give a crap about authority over demons or such as they were a mere tool to fulfill his destiny, he left them to believe that they were his equals.
This was the source of the misinformation.
'I can't disappoint Mother again as she won't be merciful the next time.' Lucifer narrowed his eyes coldly, 'That bastard must believe that I have been slain, and the only way to keep this assumption alive is to leave my race to die out and for his alliance to win the war.'
Lucifer was planning to change his entire approach to the matter.
At first, he was confident that he was unkillable and that Felix's end would be the same no matter what he tried.
But now? It was time to be smart about it and he had no problem with acting like a snake, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce, even if it meant giving up on the demonic invasion and his entire race!
'I have one more chance and I won't blow it again.'
Lucifer uttered with a suppressed tone as he exited the void realm from the darkness well and went into hiding...
***
A couple of days later...
The SGAlliance and the demons across the entire universe were rocked with the news of the Grand Supreme slaying The Demon King!
The impact of this revelation was as potent as an earthquake...Within the ranks of the SGAlliance, a seismic shift took place.
Soldiers who had once been desolate, weighed down by the rigors of war, now stood tall, their spirits soaring.
They began to fight with renewed vigor, the morale boost fueling their courage, and their tenacity amplified.
On the other side, the demon hordes were dealt a staggering blow. The news of Lucifer's downfall spread like wildfire, seeping into their ranks and sapping the morale of their forces.
Their roars of defiance became subdued, and their once fiery eyes now flickered with uncertainty...The icon of their rebellion, their prince, was gone, and with his absence, their resolve was shattered.
The fact that days went by and Lucifer hadn't come out to disapprove of the news made it even harder to stomach...
The six princes were affected the worst as they knew that their entire invasion was heavily reliant on Lucifer's overbearing strength.
What scared them even more was Lucifer's silence...They could understand him getting defeated by Felix or even killed, but the notion of him not being revived sent shivers down their spine.
"Lucifer had fought the ice primogenitors tens of times and emerged unaffected." Prince Beelzebub said nervously, "He can't have been killed for real? Right? He just can't."
"Whether he died for real or not, we are next on the menu for their leader." Prince Satan uttered with a solemn tone, "We have to go into hiding to protect ourselves."
"But the war..."
"Screw the war, I refuse to die here!"
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶