Lucifer chuckled morosely. He'd just sent Ticket Keeper to go see how Doll and Agent were doing. Now he was alone in his office again. While being like this, a pensive side overtook him. What was this war between Heaven and Hell really about? Oh yes, it was about power, but there was something more. Something deeper. Something that had begun since the dawn of time. This divine conflict was a mere reflection of something even more primal than the gods themselves. This war was being fought over something not even God himself could fully grasp despite his "omniscience". As Lucifer tried to understand what was going on, it finally hit him. This war wasn't just for creation or the power of creation, it was about an age-old concept of freedom and order.
Ever since time began, whether God had been there or not, there had been that battle between freedom and order. It started the very instant God created himself a companion because, the moment there was more than one of anything, this struggle would come up as a natural result. Lucifer was God's first companion and, thusly, instigated the first conflict with him. Perhaps that conflict had taken millennium to come to fruition, but it did finally come and when it did, it was nothing short of chaos. Lucifer's motives differed from God's and though this wasn't automatically bad, since it did create a difference, it was harmful. Differences created turbulence whether or not anyone wanted to admit it. The path split in two. Lucifer could either obey God and keep the order, or he could dare to dream and be different and change for the better. He chose the latter. Was it a good idea? Well, Lucifer had to admit that he still had no idea.
Of course, Lucifer valued freedom greatly, but now at last he saw its true destructive nature. All he had to do was look at his followers. Yes, they were loyal, but since they were as rebellious as he was, it was hard to control them at times and without any control, nothing could be accomplished. But, even worse, Lucifer didn't want to try to control them because that would mean he was going back on his own doctrine that, just because God made you didn't mean you owed him anything. If Lucifer were to control his creations, he'd be just as bad as the holy huckster.
At the same time, though, order was a necessity. A unified body was always stronger than one divided but unification required some level of agreement from everyone involved and since everyone was a unique individual, sacrifices had to be made. This was where the trouble started. Some sacrifice was necessary in order to create unity, but how much was too much? What was the difference between unity and tyranny? Yes, God had won the loyalty of his followers fairly and yes order and sacrifice were necessary, but God was practically a dictator! His followers had to sacrifice so much individuality to keep Heaven's machinery going that it created a flock of mindless sheep.
But again, if freedom were to exist in its raw and pure form, chaos would stem from that too. That's what Hell was. Hell was true freedom because with true freedom, nobody had to sacrifice anything for anyone else. With a mindset like this, only selfishness would remain and no one would get along with anyone because no one would sacrifice anything for anyone else. Freedom was the ability to say "You can't tell me what to do!" and have that wish respected, even if being told what to do would be beneficial in the long run. That was why this war had so many morally gray areas. It wasn't good and evil, it was freedom and order. On the one side, order kept things clean and clear. On the other, it condemned and forced people to sacrifice personal happiness. Freedom, meanwhile, allowed individuality and diversity but, at the same time, led to selfishness and a refusal to cooperate and unite for the better.
Yes, this war of freedom and order had been around since the dawn of time and, Lucifer had no doubt, it would carry on even longer. It would carry on not just because it was bound to happen the moment two things were presented to each other, but simply because that strange law of balance was written in the very fabric of creation. It was that need for yin and yang. It was a strange something that not even God could deny. If he couldn't deny it, nobody could. Freedom and order would continue to quarrel simply because change and conflict was necessary in order to keep the machinery of life turning. It was a cycle and a balanced scale at the same time.
Now, that wasn't to say God was a slave to this unwritten law of balance. That was just to say that the law of balance was written within him and the same way a person couldn't overcome who they truly were inside, God couldn't overcome this law. It was how he had been wired (did God have a creator?). And again, if God followed a law, so did everyone else. That was just because, since God created everything, everything had a little bit of him inside of it. How did that old verse go again? That God made man in his own image? Well, that didn't just refer to physical traits or positive virtues, but it also applied to everything wrong with God. Lucifer knew God to be prideful, selfish, demanding and entirely self-absorbed. Lucifer knew that a lot of humanity also resembled this. Heck, even Lucifer had his moment when he resembled God. As much as he hated to admit it, Lucifer could see the God within him. Had God done this on purpose? Had he meant to leave even the darker aspects of himself within his creations or was that just an accident because God had nothing else to model his creations after except himself?
That was another strange thing about God and his creations. Because God was the start of everything, nothing he had made was unimaginable or impossible. This meant it was theoretical that God had limits too, but just limits set by himself. He had certain limits because, as a being, he couldn't imagine the things he had no experience with. And if there was something beyond his realm of knowledge, he wouldn't know because he didn't know that he didn't know. Again, freedom vs. order, this time with God being his own worst enemy in the sense that he could do anything except something that would go against him or that he couldn't figure out himself. He had nobody else to relate to. He was on a level on his own because even the Devil had come from him. He had no equal or role model.
"He didn't make me the Devil," Lucifer admitted to himself. "He made me Lucifer. I made me the Devil."
But going back to the idea that creation mirrored creator, that would make sense. Yes, humans were flawed while God was "perfect" (he was only perfect because, as the highest authority, he could claim that and prove it), but they still bore traces of him everywhere. When God said man was made in his image, Lucifer doubted God meant it so metaphorically, but it was true. You could see all aspects of God in every time of human, like looking in a shattered mirror. Some men were lustful, some judgmental, some controlling, some perfectionists, some wasters, some hoarders. Oh yes, each had his own virtues, but after eons of watching, Lucifer noticed that each man had a trait of God in him that was sometimes made good or bad based on the scenarios they endured. It really was just like looking in a fun house mirror!
As Lucifer finished his dark reflections, another cruel smirk crossed his red war-painted face. So, this war was more and less than a war for Heaven and Hell. It was the age old war of freedom and order and Lucifer knew which side he was on. Now, the one question that remained was who would win, if it would really be good in the end, and what side you'd be on.
AN: Sorry about this way-too-philosophical tangent.