Chapter Text
It wasn’t until several days later—one quiet night when Lilith and I lay together beneath what my Father had named the Tree of Knowledge—that Lilith finally asked the question.
“Do you know why Eve is so different from Adam and me?” Lilith asked curiously, idly playing with my hand.
“Different how?” I asked calmly. I vaguely remembered Michael telling me that Eve had been created because Adam and Lilith never truly got along, even after years together—and that their incompatibility was delaying the progress of the Eden Project.
“Eve is… soft. Submissive,” Lilith said with a grimace. “It’s like she doesn’t have a will of her own. She only does whatever Adam tells her,” she finished, frowning.
Truth be told, I hadn’t paid much attention to Eve’s behavior lately. I had been spending far more time with Lilith, introducing her to new ideas and concepts.
“I’m telling you, Lucifer—there’s something wrong with her,” Lilith said quietly, her gaze drifting toward the red fruit hanging above us.
Lilith didn’t know it then, but with that question she planted a seed in my mind.
A few days later, I stood outside Samuel’s door, knocking softly.
“Come in,” Samuel replied.
I opened the door and stepped inside, smiling gently.
“Lucifer?” Samuel asked, surprised. “Is everything alright?”
“What? Can’t I visit my favorite brother?” I teased, chuckling as I approached his desk.
“Oh, please,” he replied with a smile. “Ever since you were assigned to work with the humans, you barely come by anymore.”
Lucifer couldn’t help but smile at that. Maybe I had been more absorbed in my work than I realized.
“Speaking of the humans—how are things going with Eve?” Samuel asked curiously, scanning a document.
“Everything’s fine,” I replied lightly. “Adam and Lilith fight less now, and Eve seems to get along well with Adam.”
Relief washed over Samuel’s face. “That’s good. We were falling behind schedule. By now, Lilith and Adam should have already produced their first offspring.”
“It’s just…” I hesitated. “Don’t you think Eve behaves a little… strangely?”
Samuel lowered the document and looked at me. “Strangely how?”
“I’ve noticed that Eve does everything Adam tells her,” I said slowly, sitting down. “Lilith never obeyed Adam—but Eve does. Completely.”
Samuel sighed. “That’s why you should read the project notes, Lucifer,” he said, pulling out a document and handing it to me.
I took it—and froze.
“What…?” I murmured, reading it again and again.
⸻
New specimen introduced to the Eden Project. Codename: Eve.
To avoid further conflict between Adam and Eve, Eve has been created without free will to better integrate into the project.
⸻
“What?!” I exclaimed, horrified, slamming the paper onto Samuel’s desk. “She doesn’t have free will?!”
“Oh, yes,” Samuel replied calmly. “Father thought the project was progressing too slowly. So when He created Eve, He removed her free will to accelerate things. The idea now is that Adam will lead, and Eve will follow.”
“And what about Lilith?” I asked sharply.
Samuel sighed. “You really need to read the notes. Eve will replace Lilith for the remainder of the project. As for Lilith…” He shrugged. “Father may erase her and recycle her later, once humanity is more developed. Who knows.”
“That’s wrong.”
Samuel froze mid-writing. The room seemed to grow colder.
Slowly, he looked up—and for a brief second, he could have sworn Lucifer’s eyes flashed from blue to red.
“Not again…” Samuel muttered. “Lucifer, this is a project. They’re a species. I’ve told you many times—you shouldn’t get attached.”
“If you can’t separate your emotions from the work,” he continued sternly, “then perhaps it’s time I spoke to Father about transferring you to another department.”
“You know this is wrong, Samuel,” I said, trying to reason with him.
“ENOUGH, LUCIFER!” Samuel shouted, standing abruptly. “Just because you’re Father’s favorite doesn’t mean you get to question His will!”
I had never seen Samuel so angry.
“This is wrong—and you know it,” I said quietly, hurt, turning toward the door.
“There’s nothing we can do to change it,” Samuel said, sighing as he sat back down. “It’s Father’s will.”
I walked out into the glowing halls, my thoughts racing.
There’s nothing we can do.
“Oh…” I thought, a smile slowly forming. “But there is something I can do.”
I flew straight to Eden.
I found Lilith and told her everything. To say she was horrified would be an understatement.
“I knew something was wrong,” she whispered, gripping my hand. “What are we going to do?”
We sat beneath the Tree of Knowledge and devised a plan. Simple, but dangerous.
We would make Eve choose.
If Eve made a choice of her own, it would prove that humanity was meant to have free will from the start.
Lilith would distract Adam. I would handle Eve.
The next day, we put the plan into action.
Lilith sent Eve to gather fruit for dinner. With Eve gone, Adam predictably turned his attention to Lilith, leading to a heated argument.
Perfect.
I transformed into a white serpent and followed Eve into the forest.
“What an interesting creature,” Eve said with a smile, watching the serpent slither away.
Something inside her began to change as she followed me deeper into the woods, leaving the fruit behind.
I perched in the branches of the Tree of Knowledge.
“Hello,” I said from above.
She startled. “Hello… Who are you?”
“My name is Lucifer,” I said, plucking an apple from the tree.
“We’re not supposed to touch that,” Eve said nervously. “It’s forbidden.”
I held the apple in my hands—red, perfect.
“Eve,” I said gently, floating down before her. “This fruit is a gift. If you take it, you’ll understand why you’re different from Adam and Lilith.”
She stared at the apple, trembling.
Slowly, she took it—and my smile grew.
She raised it to her lips.
Then pain exploded in my palms.
I looked down in horror as my hands turned black, the corruption spreading up my arms.
“No—” I whispered, watching as Eve bit into the apple.
Her eyes widened—but not in wonder.
In terror.
She screamed.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.
The pain burned hotter. I turned invisible and fled, Adam’s voice echoing behind me.
Present
“And that’s what happened,” I said, taking another sip of my drink. “And you already know what came after.”
Alastor had gone quiet. Truthfully, he hadn’t said much since I began telling the story.
I finished what little remained of my drink and set the glass down on the table.
“You know… my hands are what I hate most about myself,” I said quietly, listening to the crackling of the wood burning in the fireplace. “They were created for light, for creation.” I lifted one arm, looking at its color. “Now they’re dirty… Contaminated with original sin.” I tilted my head slightly. “Sometimes I wonder if Father planned it this way—so it would be a constant reminder of what I did… of how I condemned all of humanity with these hands.”
I felt a slight movement beside me.
Then I felt a hand gently brushing my cheek, fingers wiping away a tear I hadn’t realized had fallen.
I turned my head and there was Alastor, wearing a soft smile.
“Sorry,” I murmured, quickly trying to stand up from the couch. “You came to drink in peace and I’m being terrible company.” I tried to pull away—I didn’t want him to see me like this.
How pathetic.
I felt Alastor’s hand gently catch mine, stopping me.
I watched as he softly caressed the hand he was holding, his smile calm and sincere.
“So these are the hands I should thank,” Alastor said. “For allowing me to choose my own destiny.”
“I didn’t—”
I couldn’t finish the sentence, because the next thing I felt was his lips softly pressing against my hand.
I froze, feeling heat rise to my face.
The room fell silent, except for the low melody playing from the radio.
“Oh, mon ange,” Alastor said quietly, placing another kiss on the palm of my hand, lowering his gaze before looking back at me. Then another kiss, and another.
“These are the hands that freed humanity from living like lab rats,” he said softly.
I let out a quiet laugh as my expression softened, watching him continue to press gentle kisses to my hand.
So this is what it feels like to be loved, I thought.
Without realizing it, I leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Alastor’s forehead.
Alastor visibly froze, clearly not expecting it—he had been too focused on kissing my hands.
Slowly, our gazes met.
I wondered what his lips would taste like.
The thought clearly crossed both our minds as we leaned closer, drawn in by that curiosity.
Then, suddenly, the clock bells rang, marking midnight.
“Wow… it’s already that late,” I said, embarrassed, glancing toward the clock.
“Seems so,” Alastor replied as he stood up, releasing my hand. “Time flies when one is in such good company.”
“Yes… you’re right,” I said softly, looking away, certain my face was still flushed.
“We should do this again some other night, Your Majesty,” Alastor said, taking my hand once more and gently placing another kiss on it—this time while looking straight into my eyes.
“Yes,” I replied with a small smile. “ I would love that”.
The End