Chapter Text
He opened his eyes.
In front of him was a beautiful garden illuminated by a radiant sun. Somehow he knew what it was and that it was safe. He didn't remember seeing it before, but then realized that he didn't remember anything. He simply was.
"Be at peace, Adam. You are in paradise, where all your needs will be met."
A gentle voice spoke in his head, startling him.
Adam.
Was that his name? It made him feel better, somehow.
He looked around, but didn't see the speaker. Instead, his eyes found a woman with flowing blond hair covering her naked body, standing a few feet away. The garden paled in comparison to her.
The soothing voice continued, "We, the angels of Heaven, have created you, the First Man. You will live in Eden with your wife Lilith, the First Woman, made just for you."
It was a lot of information to process, especially the "wife" part. He was married? But he had never met this stunning woman! She was looking at the garden calmly despite their situation.
"Together, you will create humanity."
Adam's throat tightened. He wanted to protest, but still didn't see the source of the voice, this angel, and he didn't want to look bad in front of Lilith—his wife. So he did what he thought was the most logical thing, and spoke for the first time in his life.
"Hello, I'm Adam." His voice broke the silence of the garden, making him self-conscious. Lilith wasn't startled as he got her attention, and her reply was two words said with no emotion.
"I know."
The silence returned like the tide at the beach. Of course she knew who he was, the angels probably spoke to her as well. Why did he think he was special? This was a terrible start, but he couldn't give up.
Adam broke the silence again, trying a smile, saying, "I… like the way you look."
The words sounded awkward the moment they left his mouth, and her expression stayed neutral. Why wasn't she smiling back? He said something nice, hadn't he?
In reply, Lilith fidgeted with her hair with one hand, looking away. Was she annoyed with him? She must be. Desperate for something to say, Adam turned his head, searching for ideas. They were standing in literal paradise, there had to be something nearby to talk about.
There.
A clearing big enough for the two of them, surrounded with flowers, the perfect place to relax. He pointed towards it, giving a bigger smile, words tumbling out of his mouth.
"L-Let's go and lie down over there!"
Lilith took a step back, eyes wide. What was wrong with his idea? Maybe she didn't like flowers? He made things worse the more he tried.
Lilith suddenly turned away from him and ran, disappearing into the garden before he could even say a word. Something about the way she left made him feel like he shouldn't chase her, even though he desperately wanted to.
Adam stared in the direction she went long after her footsteps couldn't be heard anymore.
And just like that, Adam, the First Man, was alone.
Lilith ran through the garden.
No, she was running away. Away from Adam, the First Man—her husband.
"Be at peace, Lilith. You are in paradise, where all your needs will be met."
The echo of the angelic voice that had spoken in her mind haunted her.
"You will live in Eden with your husband Adam, the First Man, made just for you."
She wasn't strong enough to deal with her sudden existence, the pressure of Heaven, and, least of all, Adam.
He had looked so confident despite being in the same position as Lilith, trying to be friendly by introducing himself, even though it wasn't needed. She had been so focused on trying to appear calm that she answered dismissively.
The hurt in his eyes had been as clear as the sky above Eden.
She had fidgeted with her hair when he complimented her. Lilith hadn't trusted herself to answer, in fear of hurting him again. Adam was so sweet, smiling at her. Why couldn't she relax like him? They had been husband and wife for less than a minute, and she was already making things difficult.
And then he told her to lie down with him.
The angel's command rang in her head: "Together, you will create humanity."
Incredible flora and fauna passed by her in a blur as she sprinted. She didn't know where she was going, her only goal was to keep away from Adam so she could hide and think. After running for what felt like forever it was getting hard to breathe.
Lilith noticed a sparkle that appeared ahead through the trees. Distracted, she tripped on a root, falling and rolling down a hill…
… to find herself in front of a vast lake of crystal-clear water, sunlight sparkling over its calm surface.
Lilith groaned in pain as she got into a sitting position. She had scrapes and cuts all over her naked body, and her long hair was taken over by dirt. It looked like Heaven hadn't made her impervious to damage.
Seeing the shining lake made her realize how thirsty she was from her run. She ignored her pain and crawled to the water so she could both hydrate and bathe.
The water was pleasant, reaching up to her waist, but her injuries stung as they came in contact with the water, making her wince. At least the water tasted wonderful and refreshed her in an instant.
As she washed her hair in silence, Lilith finally let the tears fall.
Here she was, the First Woman, wounded and alone, making a mess of this lake. Now that she had the time to think things through she thought about her escape. She hadn't heard Adam chasing her, which was odd, given how insistent he had been about taking her to a clearing.
It was illogical, but part of her wanted to go back to Adam and apologize, perhaps due to the expectations of the angels. Lilith sighed, looking down at her reflection in the water. Most of the dirt was gone from her face.
Quack.
She startled, then spotted a yellow duck swimming towards her. Where had it come from? The lake had been empty, but the creature was too cute to worry about its origin. Lilith gently picked it up with her hands, and it didn't resist.
Quack.
She giggled, her worries temporarily gone.
"I had a feeling you'd like it."
A voice from above made her jump and fall into the water, submerging her entire body, making her drop the duck, which quacked in surprise. As Lilith emerged she noticed a stunning figure in the air above. Unlike Adam, he had pale white skin and blond hair, and wore a white robe and top hat.
Also unlike Adam, he had a golden halo floating above his head, as well as six wings, which he was using to stay in the air.
"Sorry, uh, don't be scared! I come in peace and bring ducks!"
His voice was cheerful and honest. Lilith squinted at him in confusion.
"Are you… a bird person?"
He laughed, wings shaking. "No no, I'm an angel. A seraphim, in fact!" he replied as he hovered over her. "Not that it matters much as of late," he added with a sigh.
Lilith felt silly for not identifying him as an angel right away, then gasped and brought her hands to her mouth.
"Are you… here to punish me?" she whispered.
To her immense relief, the seraphim stared in confusion.
"What? No! Why would I punish you? I just saw you in the lake, injured, dirty and alone, and my first idea was to, er," he said, gesturing vaguely at the duck, which still swam around. "That. I like ducks— I'm the one who created them, actually! Did it help?"
The situation quickly went from scary to awkward, perhaps even silly. Lilith relaxed a bit, looking at the duck the angel had apparently created, smiling.
"Yes, I think it did. Thank you, angel."
"Lucifer," he smiled. "Lucifer Morningstar. And you must be Lilith, the First Woman, right?"
Lilith looked at herself, naked and waist deep in the lake, and replied, "What gave it away?"
She regretted the words when he winced, his wings drooping. "Oh, right, it was that or the First Man, haha," he said in embarrassment. "Speaking of which, where is Adam? Aren't you supposed to be together?"
Her anxiety returned in a flash. "We were. Are. But I…" she struggled to speak, looking down at the water. "I ran away."
Lucifer said nothing, and after a moment of quiet he landed by the edge of the lake, extending one hand towards her.
"Hey, how about we talk over here at eye level so I can look at your injuries?"
Seeing her hesitate, Lucifer said, "Lilith, I'm really not here to punish you. I found you by coincidence and I want to help you."
She relaxed and found herself wading towards the seraphim. Once she was out of the lake they stared at each other for a long time. Lilith was the first one to giggle as they realized the comical height difference: She was twice as tall as Lucifer. Once they both stopped laughing she sat down on the grass so Lucifer could look at her wounds.
It was awkward to have someone examine her this closely, so she played with her hair with one hand to distract herself. Blessedly, his eyes didn't linger, he didn't say a word, and his face remained focused through the entire check-up.
This let Lilith look at Lucifer up-close in turn. She hadn't put any thought into what angels looked like, and this one didn't look too different from her. Except for the wings, they had the same number of limbs.
The angel's skin was white and smooth, with two red circles on his cheeks, and had straight short hair the color of the sun. His eyes were yellow, with a red iris. The robe he wore hid most of his body, which was a shame—oh no, she was staring.
"So how did you get these?" he asked right then, startling her, but missing her spying. The angel took her silence for an answer.
"I mean, you don't have to tell me, the healing works either way," he chuckled. "It will only take a moment and won't hurt a bit." Lucifer lifted one hand that started glowing with golden light and waited for her permission.
Bracing herself, Lilith nodded silently, and watched the pale hand land on her knee… and felt a wave of warmth expand to her entire body. Lilith gasped, suddenly pain-free, and realized that the injuries had vanished, leaving no scars.
"You're welcome," the angel said with a wink. Lilith blushed, realizing that she had spent a long time admiring the results of the healing.
She gave an embarrassed late thanks, to which he tipped his hat with a smile.
"That was my first time, by the way," Lucifer boasted.
Lilith blinked, lost, deflating him a bit. "Your first time…"
Lucifer spread out his arms and wings. "Healing someone, of course! I never got to do that, what with angels being practically invincible, heh."
Lilith finally understood the short angel. "So you have the power of healing just for humans?"
"For animals too, not that we plan on using it on them," he said with a shrug. "It's silly, but I don't make the rules."
"Who does, then? Your boss?"
Lucifer hesitated. "W-Well, no. More like… my boss's boss."
Lilith's stare told him it wasn't enough information. The angel gave a nervous chuckle, his six wings tight. "I'll tell you later, how about that?"
Apparently, Heaven's hierarchy was a sensitive topic, so she let it go.
"Anyway," he said a moment later. "Do you want to talk about it?"
It took Lilith a second to realize what he meant, making her anxiety and sadness return. However, the short angel, who was somehow silly and gentle at the same time, made her feel safe. She barely knew him, but she felt like Lucifer Morningstar would listen to anything she told him without judgement.
So the First Woman took a moment to focus, and then slowly told the seraphim everything from the moment of her creation, which somehow felt like an eternity ago.
"And that's how I made it here."
Lilith finished her short story of her existence tired but somehow lighter. There were parts where she had wanted to stop, but thanks to Lucifer's kind and patient gaze she had forced herself to continue. Somehow she kept herself from shedding a single tear.
They walked around the lake to stretch their legs, after having sat down for a long time. She considered their significant height difference: Lucifer's head only reached her chest. Anyone watching them would probably laugh, but then again, who was here to see them?
"I made it sound so much worse than it actually is, didn't I?" she sighed, feeling guilty.
Lucifer suddenly flew up to face level, startling her. "Hey, it's your story, your feelings, and they matter!"
Just when Lilith thought she had the goofy seraphim figured out, it looked like there was another layer. One tied to his own frustration, she realized.
Noticing her reaction, he landed on the ground and sighed. "Sorry. I just don't want you to feel responsible for what's not in your control."
"That's okay, Lucifer, I appreciate it," Lilith replied. "Listening to my story, I mean."
The short angel tipped his hat to her. "It was my pleasure. Er, not literally, I mean, it was a sad story, so..." he rambled, his cheeks turning red as the circles he had. Lilith's soft laugh brought his words to a stop.
"I know what you meant," she said with a smile. It was adorable seeing him put so much effort into his words. Maybe he thought of himself as Heaven's ambassador, and didn't want to disappoint her on their behalf.
"O-Of course you do," Lucifer said, clearing his throat. "Us seraphim are masters of communication!"
Or maybe he just wanted to impress her… for himself.
Were other angels like him, awkward and charming at the same time? For some reason, Lilith hoped he was the only one like that.
A sudden flap of tiny wings brought a flock of birds that landed on nearby branches, making Lilith gasp in delight. She stared at the cute creatures that chirped and sang to her.
"First my duck, now this. You really like birds, eh?" Lucifer quipped.
She rolled her eyes, extending one arm towards the birds. One flitted to her hand, and another to her shoulder. Seeing their eagerness, she extended her other arm and got more birds, which chirped excitedly.
Something about their sounds made a part of her resonate, something had been there all along from the first second of her existence, and without thinking, the First Woman started to sing.
There were no words to her song, just a feeling of melancholy that changed to hope, then happiness. The song filled the entire area, all other sounds eclipsed by it. Her entire body and soul focused on the music, the rest of the world fading away.
Eventually the song died down, its echo lingering for a long time, and she felt relaxed and invigorated at the same time. Only then Lilith noticed that the branches of nearby trees were packed with dozens of birds, and the grass occupied by all sorts of animals.
A soft clap broke her out of her trance. She turned to the short angel next to her, who had been quiet the entire time, and his face was in awe.
"Wow," Lucifer said. "Just wow. I mean, I knew that humans could sing, but I didn't know you could rival an angel."
"You say that to all the humans you meet," she scoffed, but couldn't hide her blush. The audience of fauna that gathered to watch her sing was completely still, as if spellbound. How much of Eden had come to listen to her impromptu song? She was both flattered and intimidated at the same time.
Lilith glanced at the seraphim, who was quiet, and noticed he was staring—had been staring at her? Lucifer looked away, whistling, sure of his stealth, and Lilith giggled but let it go.
Now that she was fully at peace she thought it was time to confront the root of her problems.
"Lucifer, could I… ask you for a favor?"
His attention was instantly on her. The angel must have sensed the weight of her words. "Anything, Lilith," he said with a smile.
The angel promised it with complete confidence, but there was no way he would agree.
It was too much.
She would seem like a coward… no, not to Lucifer.
Lilith took a steadying breath.
"I want you to talk to Adam for me."