"I appreciate all of you being so calm thus far, though that may be an influence my presence has on you." Vega/The Father said to the others, all of them having moved from the temple back to the garden.
Despite the fact that everyone's entire understanding of what was going on, what had been going on, and what will be going on was balled up and thrown out the window, none of them said anything in the moment of his reveal. Even when he approached them and suggested that they continue this in the garden, as he wanted to do this in a far more comfortable environment, they all obeyed without a single word our sound being uttered. And while he had been correct partially, that the reason they'd been so docile was because of the effect his soul had on others, it was in combination with the fact that not a single one of them knew what the ever loving fuck to say. For everyone that wasn't Lucifer, Azrael, and the Khan had known this entity as Vega first, so they were trying to accept the reality that they had unknowingly been speaking to and had been in the presence of ACTUAL FUCKING GOD.
Which was the exact opposite for the aforementioned three, they had known this entity before the existence of Vega as their father. So the fact that he had been among them this entire time in a state that he would hopefully explain in great detail, because they certainly had no idea how the most powerful being to exist could be turned into a freaking computer, they just didn't know where to start the conversation. But then you had the Slayer, and whether it was because of everything he had endured in his life, or maybe he actually had some suspicions none of them knew about, he was the only one besides Samur along with the Heavenly Seraphim, who was unphased and just stood there silently.
"Now then, I know I have a lot of explaining to do, so if it is alright with everyone I would like to take care of that first before I begin answering each of your questions, is this acceptable?" He asked receiving a unanimous slow nod of all their heads in response, "Wonderful, thank you, I promise that this will be short but will give you the full picture." He promised as he began, "When my children had tension come between them a myriad of new potential futures appeared, now I could have prevented them if I intervened, but I refused for even as their parent it wasn't my place to control their lives, however when the fighting started and escalated into war, their choices and the resulting consequences led to the realm of Doom's conception, and once it was brought into reality I saw a new future that could splinter into three potential paths, all starting with William." He revealed as he looked to the Slayer, "I have always been truthful in saying that what happened to you was never fate or something that was planned, but if everything in your life happened as it did including your ancestor with whom you share a name, when the time came that you met the demons it would be a war between one virtuous soul and those of unrivaled corruption, this is where your future had the potential to split into three paths." He explained before going on to list them, "The first was your death by their hand should your rage not consume you immediately,
though surprisingly it would not be the end of you, if you had fallen to the demons they would have converted you into one of their kind, and upon seeing your new twisted visage your war would continue from within, using the dark power they'd grant you to destroy them, the second would only differ during your fight with the Dark One, for one potential outcome was that he out of desperation would send his soul into your body, causing the two of you to forever battle inside
your flesh and turning it into a shared prison, finally there is the third which is the one we are in now." He stated.
Pausing for a moment so they could all let that sink in, once he was certain they were ready to hear more he continued.
"That takes care of William and how he fits into everything, now it is time I explain how I could be Vega in addition to how much I prepared for this." He said as he looked to the sky, "When I first saw a vision of Doom I knew preparations must be made, so I created Urdak to serve as its counterpart in every single way, for where they use sorcery and science in grotesque abominable fashions, Urdak and the Maykrs do the same but with restraint and care, I also made the realm itself as spacious as it is for this potential outcome, for just as before once William defeated Doom there were three potential futures that could follow." He explained going on to list them as well, "The first was that Doom would remain sealed forever, this was the most hopeful outcome that I had seen and it was just as probable as the one we are faced with now, the second though another where Doom would remain sealed was actually the worst, where instead of choosing to work with William Lucifer decided to wage another war, bringing all of the devils together to try and do what the Dark One couldn't, which would have been met with unprecedented genocide." He revealed, "That brings us to the final mystery, how could the creator be condensed into an artificial intelligence? To understand this we must look to the soul itself, and while the notion that it cannot be destroyed by any force is completely true, this does not mean that a soul cannot be divided only that whatever pieces are removed, just like the soul when it is whole, cannot be erased or altered in some way, because of this when it was certain William's future would be this one which led him to the Maykrs, Samur used the device to separate my consciousness from my soul, the only thing tied to it was my intelligence, where as my emotions, my memories, and of course my power stayed safely in the matrix, for if the present we live in now came to be and The Fortress of Doom was destroyed, it would return to my soul and I could be made whole again." He concluded.
With the full picture now painted for them everyone remained silent for the next ten minutes, to assess the information and figure out how they felt. For the most part they all felt a massive weight be lifted from their shoulders, as he had managed to clear up and answer a lot of their questions and concerns in one go. Of course there were still a few that needed to be answered, but now they'd be able to voice them in a composed manner rather than teetering on madness.
"...Father." Lucifer spoke first which honestly made the most sense, "Although I understand all that you have said, a few things still confuse me." He admitted.
"As expected, but know that all of you can ask or say anything to me, please do not let my position or what I am intimidate you, I know that is a difficult thing for me to request but I assure you nothing has changed, to my children I am still your parent and to those I have met recently you are my friends, there is no need for forced formalities or any particular approach to speaking with me." He assured.
"That's...good to hear." Lucifer said with a sigh of relief as that did help with some of his tension, "Now, the first thing I'd like clarification on is how can you remember us from your time as Vega? If your consciousness was the only thing removed to make that version of you, wouldn't it be like a split personality or even just cease to exist once it returned to the soul? Which would include the memories associated with it?" He asked.
"The answer to this is simple, as said you can remove aspects of a person's soul, it is entirely possible to remove every single thing from it actually, however the energy that makes that particular soul is entirely its own, shaped by the pieces that can be removed such as their personality, their memories, and etcetera, this means that when my consciousness returned to my soul all that it had experienced in its separation was simply added to what I already possessed." He answered.
"I suppose that does make sense...I'm sorry it's just this is still a lot to take in all at one time..." Lucifer replied.
"Of course, that is why we are working through it slowly, speaking of are you ready to continue?" He asked receiving a nod in response.
"The next thing that is still confusing is Will's involvement in this, now I do not doubt that you did not interfere in his life like blessing his ancestors or having the Maykrs get involved without anyone knowing, but it still seems very...prophetic, that he and Doom would eventually stand against each other as they have." Lucifer said.
"It does doesn't it?" He asked genuinely before proceeding to explain, "The truth is William's resistance to the demons and his unwavering conviction to kill them all came from his great grandfather, if William J. Blazkowicz hadn't done the same when he faced a great evil of his own then he would have never been made into a hero and would have never inspired him, it is because he was able to stand against a force that had conquered the world despite the odds being against him, that his great grandson too felt he could do the same, even with his adversaries being Nazis and not demon, though to be fair there isn't much difference between them." He stated.
"So the person we have to thank for Will being the badass dude he is, is his great grandpa who just like Will singlehandedly fucked up every asshole on planet earth?" Angel Dust asked, as he and the others were now feeling comfortable enough to join in.
"Correct, again this all stems from the choices that each of them could have made at any point in time, if the first William Blazkowicz had accepted the outcome of the second world war, or perhaps had allowed himself to be careless in one too many instances, then he could have very easily died thus meaning our William would never be born, which in turn would have allowed Doom to consume earth when it did." He answered.
"Damn, if we ever get to meet your grandpa Will I'll be sure to pour him a drink." Husk said.
"So wait, if he had never been born what would've happened then? Would Doom just be allowed to continuously ravage his universe?" Vagatha asked.
"No, though we waited to see if the history that occurred would indeed be realized, we made plans to create our own Slayer if things did not work out so well." He answered.
"Are you saying that there's TWO Slayers?!" Katie questioned.
"As it stands no, however what remains of that project has been turned into a new suit to help him with our current predicament, right Samur?" He responded before addressing his attendant.
"Yes father, the Maykr suit is finishing its modifications as we speak, it is safe to assume that once we are finished here it will be ready for him." Samur replied.
"That is good, the suit is the greatest invention of the Maykr race since the Unmaykr, for just like the weapon it is an artifact made through a perfect unison of refined virtue and technology, it will not only offer protection unlike any armor that has ever been forged, but as he slaughters the hordes it will absorb their sin, convert it into pure safe virtue, before then adding it to his soul to make him stronger." He explained.
"Holy Mary mother of fucking god he's gonna get even more powerful?!" Blitzo questioned only to immediately clasp his hands over his mouth, not realizing what he just said in front of who.
"Ahaha, do not worry Blitzo, the whole presumption that I am angered by someone using my assumed name in such contexts is untrue, for as our friend has shown us actions carry far more weight than words." He replied sincerely, greatly amused by his reaction.
"Oh, oh thank fucking god, I thought I was about to get smited..." Blitzo said with a sigh of relief.
"But yes, the suit will increase his power even more, for the truth is there are no limitations on the soul, with enough time, effort, and training anyone can become as powerful as he is." He revealed.
"Does that mean someone could be as powerful as you?" Cherri asked.
"Unfortunately yes, which is exactly why I was not able to do anything to the Dark One when he first appeared, for his power is equal to my own." He answered causing all of their eyes to widen.
"No fucking way, you mean the thing that Will's been fighting this whole time, the thing he fucking beat single handedly is just as strong as you?" Loona asked.
"But father how is that even possible? You are the creator the first being to exist! It doesn't seem feasible at all!" Azrael exclaimed.
"To make sense of this we must examine the very nature of my soul." He responded as he put a hand to his chest, "Most mortals assume that before there was anything there was darkness, but the truth is there was not even that, much like the theory of the big bang when I came to be it was instantaneous, there was no reason other that it was nothing, and it is because of that absence that something could happen, but when I appeared several things happened at the same time, light, virtue and by relation purity, the first of the Heavenly realm where I would create my tower all coincided with my arrival, from this we can reach the logical conclusion that I am the source of all purity, my existence allows for virtue to be possible and thus I am unrefined unrestricted purity, while the Dark One..." He trailed off as he wanted to see if they could realize it.
"...He is the same...but for sin..." Lucifer said as they all understood.
"Precisely, even though he appeared long after myself the fact remains that he is my opposite, everything in creation that is a part of its foundation and balance must have an equal, this does not just apply to such forces like good and evil or light and dark, every single force that allows everything to function and exist must have this, otherwise there will be a power that has no opposing force to keep it in check." He explained.
"But didn't Lucifer and your other children make the Dark One? By combining their powers to make this unrefined sin?" Alastor asked.
"That they did, however similar to Will and how he has become what he is this all stems from me allowing other entities beyond myself to have sentience, if I had never given any of my children their own souls from which they'd develop minds and personalities, then the only way anything new would happen from there is if I created it myself, I made the choice to not be the only true sentience in creation, I wanted everything that came after myself to have the freedom to make their own choices, but in doing so this did mean that they could make choices I would not, and it is those very actions and decisions which led to the Dark One." He answered.
"So in short, if you had wanted to be the only person to exist then nothing would ever really change, you'd have full control over everything and thus nothing unexpected could happen, but because you didn't this allowed the introduction of unpredictable chaos, which means that you and the Dark One represent order and chaos, not just good and evil." Vox deduced.
"Precisely, which is why I must say this now." He began before looking to his son, "Lucifer, you and your siblings are not to blame for what has happened to Gabriel." He told him.
Upon hearing the immediately look away, balling his hands into fists as he didn't believe that at all.
"No, don't say that." He replied as he closed his eyes, "If me and the others had never rebelled, if we had just kept our mouths shut then we wouldn't have caused the war and everything that has happened now would have been averted, I don't want you to just forgive us and let us off the hook!" He exclaimed while tightening his fists, "Before I may have accepted it, no I definitely would've, but thanks to Will I have realized that we were to blame and it wasn't anyone's fault but ours, it's because of us that Gabriel isn't standing here right now!" He argued.
Seeing the guilt that was eating him from within his family and his sister wanted to say something, or even just walk over and hug him. But before they could his father beat them to it, he came over and placed his hands firmly on his shoulders.
"Lucifer, have you not been listening?" He asked him softly, "The only one to blame for the Dark One's creation is me, I was so focused on the present back then that I ignored the futures that loomed on the horizon, when you and your siblings first began to fight I devoted my attention entirely to those moments, when I should have seen what may happen if you continued, the only one who has failed was me in not taking precautions sooner, for just as how Will may have not been the Slayer, or how he could have become a demon himself or even be trapped in his own body with the Dark One, so too any of you even with the duties I bestowed could have created Hell, and in turn whether by doing so intentionally or as an unexpected side effect of Hell's existence, he would have come to be and I would be having this same conversation with any of your siblings, so please son, do not burden yourself with this guilt and pain, for it is mine and mine alone to bare." He told him.
If he hard heard this from anyone else, even his own family or his siblings, Lucifer would have responded with anger refusing to believe that. But this came from the one person whose opinion mattered most to him, the very same who he had spent most of his life fearing he'd hurt beyond forgiveness. So the devil didn't say anything in response, he chose to embrace his father for the first time in so long, for he was happy beyond words that he wasn't angry with him, and that he still cared for him as he always did. Unfortunately now was not the time for him and his father to work through their past, they needed to focus on the problem that was only getting worse with each passing second.
So after a few more seconds of hugging and a few sniffles to boot, he pulled away from him so they could speak properly.
"Thank you father." He said with a smile before looking up to him, "But there's still one question that needs to be answered, what now?" He asked.
"In the Slayer's own words my son, it is time to rip and tear." He answered.
It had only been close to an hour since the demons of Doom invaded Lucifer's circle, but because this was a part of Hell as a whole, its transformation into a landscape that matched their own was far quicker than it had been on the Slayer's world. Though the Dark one chose to remain in Doom specifically as a precaution against their enemy, his minions were more than capable of doing what was needed. Every building and structure was torn down and their parts collected, as they would be sent back to the forges of Doom to be repurposed for their legions and other devices. Any wildlife that was encountered was slaughtered and piled to form gore nests and blood pools, which would be used in the creation of more demons.
And while there were objects found that held some value, such as potions or tomes that the arcanists could use, ultimately the most valued thing the circle had to offer besides increasing their lord's power and adding to their domain, was an unexpected soul that shouldn't have been there.
With his form rendered helpless by the overwhelming raw sin that had been delivered to it by the
Cyber Demon, Gabriel was dragged by his assailant all the way back to his master's domicile. Once they arrived the doors that led into his inner most chamber opened preemptively, allowing the demon to carelessly throw his offering inside before leaving to return to its duties. Lying there on the cold stone the archangel was covered by darkness as the doors closed, unable to even speak due to the pain and exhaustion he felt.
"What should we do with him?" The voice of the Dark one questioned speaking to an unknown second presence, "The other who arrived before him is currently being fitted with a new vessel, one that will ensure his obedience and compliance, do you think he deserves the same? Or should he be cast in chains and made an example?" He asked
Hearing what sounded like a cane hitting the floor as its owner's footsteps accompanied it, Gabriel was just barely able to see the feet of this unknown individual, which confused him as whoever this was looked to be a person.
"Heh, well from my experience with angels they're pretty feisty little bastards, give'em an inch and they'll take a foot." They jested as they prodded him with their cane, from the voice alone he could tell it was a man, "However I'm pretty adept at putting them in their place, so how about you let me have a few hours of alone time with him while he's all limp and what not? And if I think he'll still try to put up a fight once he's got a little more pep to his step, we can start making him a brand new set of skin to wear, sound good?" He asked.
Responding not with words but by opening the doors a second time, this brought a smile to his associate's face, though Gabriel could not see it. Letting out a grunt in pain as he grabbed onto one of his burned wings, he then dragged Gabriel out of the chamber just like the Cyber Demon had, the door closing behind them once they crossed the threshold.