The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule - H.L. Mencken.
Intermission 2: Belated Prologue, or "Nativity in Black"
"THE AFTERMATH"
Nothing else was left standing in the Mare Serenitatis Palace. Neither friend or foe survived the onslaught that Beryl had mounted. Queen Serenity, the Eternal, paid with the lives she wanted to keep as everlasting as her name in order to wash away the infernal hordes that completely razed the queendom she mounted and expected her daughter Selyne to inherit. The amplified power of the Silver Crystal, the primordial item that gave its owner God-like powers and longevity, eventually made her perish before her intended time. For even a human turned Goddess still retained her humanity, and as such, her mortality when facing powers beyond her reach.
Serenity's sole hope was for the inhabitants of her empire to live again, this time under the guidance of the reborn Selyne... But she knew well that, for that to happen, the Galaxy Cauldron had to be in full function to receive the Star Seeds of the fallen. And by the time the Cataclysm triggered by Beryl took place, the Cauldron was taken over by one of the last usurpers of the Hades' throne, the Fallen Angel himself, Lucifer, who previously turned the Hades into a dimension for all souls to be damned forever to quench his own capricious wickedness. By then the Cauldron was solely used for the creation of souls without a proper cycle, the energy required for the fabrication of new Star Seeds being taken from an unknown source. As such, Sailors Uranus and Neptune sealed Lucifer and his Legionnaires in the Hades at the cost of their own life, and Sailors Saturn and Pluto were summoned to guarantee the gathering and rebirth of the fallen souls in the far future, so that the Lord of the Underworld would not be able to reach and torture them before their due time.
What nobody knew of the tale, however, was how exactly it all came to be. No empires fall so easily, especially one that spanned nine planets - For such an unthinkable thing to happen, the structures that held together the castes had to be in severe disarray with one another, its members dissatisfied and yearning for change, no longer apt or willing to carry on their roles for the pretense of a greater good. And indeed, such was the state of the Commonwealth, even before the jealous witch managed to chant her first demonic spell.
The arrogant actions of Serenity made her queendom become a figurative firepowder keg, ready to explode at a moment's notice. And one woman, one single unassuming woman, was the spark that made it blow up, taking entire eons-lasting civilizations down with her. All because her own desire of being with the Prince of Earth could not be fulfilled. Let it be registered: Her name was Beryl, and if there is any justice left in this chaotic Universe, she will pay for her crimes and rot in the Hades forevermore.
Book of Titor (tentative title), Chapter XX: The Fall of the Galactic Commonwealth, Section IV.
The original tome is still in possession of the Department of Linguistics of Harvard University, with only one scanned copy in the hands of the Japanese postgraduate student Mamoru Chiba.
To this day, the true origins and veracity of the writings of this codex remain up for debate.
(~~)
Silver Millenium, Year 4404 of the First Age of Humanity...
"I have finished the scouting," Sailor Saturn spoke as she pointed her Silence Glaive upwards, with several shining dots floating across the sky of Mares Serenatum. "They're all gone. No traces whatsoever of survivors."
Sailor Pluto then pointed her Garnet Rod towards the sky and opened some kind of vortex in its middle. It looked like the sky tore open a hole, through which the countless dots passed and disappeared until the perennial star-studded sky of the Lunarian Kingdom was seen once more. "I have sent them through the Time-Space Gate to be reborn in the far future. May the Gods have mercy upon them..."
She then went to the corpse of Queen Serenity, laying upon one of the broken pillars that once formed the Pax Lunaria Monument. As a last movement of reverence, she kneeled in front of her body, propped up on her Rod.
"Was it all worth it, my liege? Eden is no more. The Galaxy Cauldron has been taken over by the Fallen Angel. Your bartering of the Hades has only turned it into the worst possible fate for all to suffer. The Sailor Guardians and their Heavenly Kings died fighting each other. Your own daughter and heir perished. And now, the queendom you wanted, completely razed and salted upon. Wherever your soul has gone to... I can only hope you contemplate this, and see if this was all worth it."
"It was not," spoke a gravely male voice from behind her. "If the people picked in meager arms against it, then it was definitely not worth keeping around."
She turned around to see a man no older than twenty, with filthy locks of silver-blond hair falling on his shoulders, wearing a tattered blood-drenched robe, and a look of insanity on his face.
"Who are you..."
"It matters not who I am. What matters is what I did."
"What... How in all hells did you survive!?"
"Think of it this way," he continued. "I would not be standing here before you if I were a commom human being. And indeed, I am more than a mere human. I am the son and heir of the Fallen Angel. Mine was the hand that broke the Crests, the hand that brought down Castle Magellan, and that ultimately undid this little lie of yours."
The reports Sailor Pluto had received about the events may have been true after all. "Adonis..."
"For you see, Beryl was quite the cutthroat wench, but there was only so much one single warlock could do. We helped each other, even if she paid the highest price. In a way, her mission was accomplished and her wish will be fulfilled. The Galactic Commonwealth is no more, and she can now fornicate with Endymion in the Tartarus for all his troubles."
"Silence!" Sailor Pluto yelled as she pointed her Garnet Rod towards the man. "You will not insult the memory of the dead!"
Adonis belly-laughed at the sight. "Oh, is that not grand? All the survivors were killed, thanks to Saturn's little reset trick, and you speak of memory of the dead? Shameless to the very end, Sailor whores."
In normal instances, they would have ignored these insults. Instead, both attained to their immediate human emotions and shook of pure anger.
"What is the matter now, Aeon? Melinoe? Have I touched the nerve of the last descendants of the Gods that once oppressed humanity, only to create another system that oppressed it just the same? Are you offended that a mere human not only caused the downfall of your empire of dirt, but is also standing undaunted ahead of you? HAHAHAHAHA!"
His laughter was not of fun and satisfaction. It was laughter of scorn and hatred, of mockery of the impotent Wardens of Time and Death, of one whose sole pleasure was in evil deeds. And no more evil deed had been done that night, where the entire population of the Lunarian Queendom, plus those of all the cities and settlements of all nine planets of the Galaxy, had been annihilated.
The worst part of this, however, was that Adonis was right: By Sailor Saturn's powers, those that did survive had their Star Seeds forcefully removed and broken as well, as a twisted act of mercy.
Taken over by an inexplicable rage, Sailor Saturn impaled the strange man with her Silence Glaive from behind. Other than a short pant, he did not fall in pain, and even gave out a wicked smile towards the last standing women.
"You are menacing me with death," Adonis still kept going. "I do not mind dying in the least bit for it will only send me to my proper place! Your powers at this rate frighten me no more than the prospect of a bug bite!"
"This what you have done has no name," Sailor Pluto seethed, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "And any punishment upon you shall not be enough!"
"What a grand tale!" the man kept gloating. "First of all, what I have done has a name... Justice! For every single soul that the Galactic Commonwealth has trampled under its yoke to its tail-end. And second of all, sending me to the Hades once more will accomplish nothing. Your utopia is over already, do you not see!? Turn around and weep, for your cities now lie in dust and blood, and there is nothing you can do about it!"
The Guardian of Time did not want to hear further, so she tore open a dimensional rift, and tossed Adonis inside it with pure hatred. Complete darkness surrounded his body, with a constant chill touching his skin, even through his tattered garments.
"All of us shall be reborn once more someday," Sailor Saturn managed to speak. "But not you."
It was the last thing Adonis had heard before appearing to succumb to his fatal wound... Only for him to wake up later, inside what seemed to be a complete void.
Whatever place it was, he could still breathe in, but could not speak or hear anything. He could not feel solid ground on his feet to trod over. Nothing to grab on, nothing to see and feel. Whatever place it was, Adonis thought, it was a completely unknown dimension.
It wasn't Hell. It certainly wasn't Heaven either. It wasn't even the Limbo. It was nothing.
And for eons, he floated in the vast nothingness of that dimension.
How long was that, he couldn't even tell. Time did not seem to elapse in that enclosed space.
All he had was his mind, his memories, and his knowledge. The impressions inside his head formed simple images that reminded him of how it was to be a living person on the surface of the Universe, and avoided the atrophy of his senses.
"We have met with quite a sad fate," he spoke to himself in his thoughts. "And it seems all we will have is each other in this odd journey. Tell me now, who are you?"
"My name is Adonis Satrapas, member of the Enkidu Defense Legion of Venus. Son of First-Commander Mereana Satrapas and... of the Lord of the Underworld, he of the many names, Lucifer."
"Good. Remember who you are..."
It was like two different entities sharing the same body, speaking to each other. It's all he had. It's all they had. And for the immeasurable amount of time he spent in that void, he could only imagine a constant back-and-forth between these two voices.
But one day, for some reason, a point of light appeared in that vast, all-encompassing nothingness. Adonis tried to reach it, but it kept its shape and position constantly. Running, swimming, floating towards, or just flapping his limbs about did not seem to make him move any further towards the only sight he had seen in what must have been millennia.
The point emitted a very quick flash, and afterward he could no longer speak to his sole imaginary companion.
"I am... Adonis. Son of Lucifer. Yes, that is who I am. And yet... What else there is to me?"
His memories became more and more muddled the more time elapsed. All he knew was that he was the son of Lucifer, Lord of the Underworld. But whatever else he knew about himself was lost after the mysterious flash of light.
"I remember. I am... the son of Lucifer."
The single spot of light inside that empty dimension was still visible, but the figure of Adonis no longer wished to seek for it.
The spot instead shined once more for him.
(xx)
Countless years later...
In the day the world died, enclosed inside a candle-lit chamber, ten men in purple cloaks chanted fiercely for the rebirth of their personal God.
"Nostro Dis Pater, Nostra Alma Mater. Nostro Dis Pater, Nostra Alma Mater."
A ball of dark matter formed and floated above a blood pentagram. The men rubbed their blood-drenched hands, and chanted even louder than before.
"COME UNTO US, O FALLEN ANGEL! O STAR OF THE MORNING! BRING FORTH THE PURGE AND THE END OF THE WORLD!"
In the middle of that candle-lit room, Adonis saw himself materialized, able to touch, hear and see once more. Alive, once more, but something was strange... He did not breathe, but could release a voice. His arms were bandaged beneath the large sleeves of the yellow tattered robe he wore. Touching his face, he noticed it was some kind of thorny mask. Whatever he was, it was not human anymore.
Dead people surrounded the summoning circle, their blood flowing towards the pentagram upon which he laid. All of them, except for one that stood ahead of him - Naitou Kakusareta.
"Lucifer?" The man asked.
"Ah! AAARGH!" the figure screamed in a guttural voice while using his hands to protect his face. "The light! IT BURNS!"
Naitou blew out the flames of the candles with a wind swipe. Turning to the figure, he kneeled towards him. "Are you not the Fallen Angel..."
"Where... Where am I?" He moaned out.
"This is Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. It is the month of December of the year 1996, Anno Domini."
"The Sailor Guardians!" He suddenly shouted. "Are they here?"
"They have been appearing in this very city for quite some time," Naitou answered. "But where exactly they are, I cannot tell."
"So there is a reason I was taken from that void," the figure reflected. "I have to... No, we have to... Impede them. They... They have stopped the Fallen Angel once, and... May do it again."
"So you do know Lucifer in one way or another... And if you say the Sailor Guardians are our biggest menace, then we should do something about them. If you can help me-"
"Of course I will," the figure interrupted. "You freed me from the nothingness. Just like Fréamund had done..."
"Fréamund?" Naitou puzzledly asked. "What is that?"
"It is... A tale from the time I came from."
(~~)
"THE LEGEND OF MANI AND FRÉAMUND"
Humans were considered inferior beings akin to the beasts, but even more dangerous due to their ability to learn skills and discern concepts, so the Gods kept them imprisoned beneath the surface of the Universe's planets, to be used merely as spare parts, mere diversions, and sometimes even food for the Gods in times of dire need.
Until one day, the minor God Fréamund, tasked with the maintenance of the crop cycles on Planet Terra, took the pains of a sobbing girl he met while seeing a tomb-like stone lid, and started to bring water and other refreshments for her. Every night, he would descend from his outpost and bring the gifts to the girl, with whom he became acquainted.
She eventually introduced herself as Mani, and asked the minor God to lift the stone. He at first refused, fearing the reaction of his fellow Gods, but in the subsequent days, the girl would keep asking to lift the stone and set her and her companions free. Eventually, Fréamund acquiesced and opened the lid, and enticed by the looks of every single set of shining eyes in the dark, he lifted it completely. Countless humans rushed out to the surface. In gratitude, the humans accepted Fréamund as the one and only God worthy of worship, even if the latter disagreed with the need to hail him as a superior - Amazed by the resilience of human beings, he abdicated of his God privileges and started to live among them, helping them out by teaching how to plant their own crops, hunt beasts, build shelters and live in peace with the nature around them.
This naturally did not amuse the fickle Gods in the least bit, since they did not wish to lose their subordinates. They started a bloody pursuit against Fréamund, first and foremost, for his betrayal. Portions of humanity that gathered together started to mount the first defensive methods against the deities, to no avail. Eventually, one of the Gods slit Fréamund's throat. It is said all the people shed tears that day, even if they did not see the act or heard of it.
The blood off Fréamund's neck stained the earth and nurtured it enough for it to grow the necessary subsistence for humanity. The ichor that it contained, rather than dissolving into poison gas, permeated the fruits of the land, and the people who ate from them acquired immunity to the Gods' natural deterrent, which proved important for the survival of humanity in the long run. As an adult, Mani eventually developed ways to bring these divine gifts over to other planets still under the Gods' regimes, but how exactly did she manage to leave Terra, as well as her eventual fate, remained a mystery.
But by his own petition, Fréamund gained no altars for worship or grandiose tales about his miracles and deeds, and for a long time this also served to Mani, whose fate after her interplanetary travels was unknown for a long time. No form of obligated servitude to a dead God or to a heroic woman. All that was left were their names, and a story that may or may not be the truth about what eventually gave way to the Age of Humans.
Book of Titor, Chapter V: The Advent of Humanity, Section I
(~~)
On that night, the entire world died and came back in a flash. Nobody could tell why or how that happened. For all they cared, humanity considered that a strange reverie at best, and a worldwide case of mass hysteria at worse. Eventually, the event was blocked from everybody's memories, with everyone soon resuming their daily routines as if nothing of notice had happened.
Nobody knew of what truly happened that night, except for the Sailor Guardians.
Anonymous to the rest of the world, the heroines risked life and limb as their unsung duty required, standing up to the megalomaniac crusade of Sailor Galaxia, possessed by the all-encompassing Chaos.
What none of the deceased in that battle remember was that, upon having their True Star Seeds removed from their bodies, their souls awakened in a different plane of Existence that, for all they knew, they had never seen before. It was no longer the dimension where they fought alongside Sailor Moon and the Sailor Starlights.
Complete darkness surrounded the glimmering silhouettes of the deceased Inner Guardians. Before they could talk to each other, another shining figure appeared. It had no discernible shape, other than a red swirl that ebbed and flowed in that vast nothingness, meshing itself with the tenebrous background.
"So we meet again," the grave and raspy voice of the shape spoke out.
"Who or what are you?" Rei first enquired.
"Many are my names, most of them given by humanity," the shape answered. "Today, the blandest one was Lucifer."
"This cannot be," murmured Ami. Always the most skeptical of the group, she found it hard to believe she was face to face with perhaps the most feared creature of all humanity, even if many did not believe in its existence.
"It is only natural you all look so awestruck... Even if you have been here already, before my presence."
"But... Where exactly are we?" Makoto queried, fearing for the answer.
"This is the Limbo," the figure answered in a more calm tone. "The plane of Existence between the Universe and the Underworld. If you are here, it means you are dead to your reality, but not quite far gone enough to enter the domain of the truly deceased."
"Why you!" Rei then tried to tackle the figure, only to pass through it.
"You have no power here," it spoke once more. "It seems you still underestimate my real reach. Observe."
A seemingly never-ending stream of light specks appeared to fill the dark spaces still left in the Limbo. First in hundreds, then in thousands, then millions... Until the count was lost.
Four of these light spots appeared ahead of the swirling shape. Colored dark-green, purple, beige and turquoise, they took human shapes that the rest of the Guardians recognized: The Outer Guardians.
The first to speak was Haruka. "Where are we?"
"You girls..." Michiru murmured as she recognized the Sailor Guardians - Including Setsuna and Hotaru, whom she had helped to kill in order to stage a defection and attempt to strike Galaxia, to no avail.
"So it is true... We are all dead," Minako recognized. "But then, where is Usagi?"
Hearing this, the rest of the Sailor Guardians finally noticed their leader was not among them.
"This is the point I wish to reach," the form of Lucifer spoke once more. "The whole world lies dead in this small instant, yet she is set to bring you back again. And this is the only opportunity I have to warn you... that I shall take over your puny planet, to take back what was once of my ilk."
If they could, the Guardians would have gasped in fright. Instead, all felt a cold shiver in their souls. The only one that believed in the existence of the Devil from the get-go, Haruka was on the verge of despair when seeing his figure and hearing his drivel. "Apocalypse..."
"You have two choices... Join me to purge this World, or go ahead with your selfish plan. Either way... Humanity shall not go away unscathed."
"There's always the choice that Usagi makes," Rei intervened with a bit of bluster.
Lucifer remained silent for a few instants, then spoke once more. "A third choice, I see. Clever. If there is a guardian Angel for you, may it have mercy for you, for I will not."
Such simple words, and yet they sounded so chilling and full of dread to the souls of the Sailor Guardians. They knew this was no bluff or empty threat.
Little by little, the shapeless figure of the Fallen Angel, as well as the spects of light in the Limbo, began to fade away. Lucifer spoke once more: "You may not remember what I warned you, or what you have said to me in here, but I will remember. And I will win, one way or the other. Apocalypse is coming, and there is no salvation for you. When oblivion takes over, you may take this to the ghost of Serenity. She will know how it all came to be."
Complete darkness took the heroines over once more. All of them heard the sound of fingers snapping... And saw themselves around their leader and best friend, triumphantly floating upon the surface of Earth. Alive, tangible, and with the lightness of a completed mission.
As they descended upon the surface, however, all of them had an impression of having seen and heard something... What it all was, they could not tell. Was it proof of an afterlife? A collective delusion upon death?
All of them returned home, safe and sound as if nothing of note had happened that night. For all the World knew, it was a normal Thursday night, and they all silently agreed it was for the better.
For all they knew and cared, the ultimate enemy was "defeated" - Galaxia had been purified of Chaos' presence and left to set aright her wrongs across the Universe. With this, the heroines all had a renewed desire to pursue their personal ambitions.
Alone with her reborn beloved, Usagi couldn't help but quench her curiosity: "Mamo-chan, what did you see when... While you were dead?"
Mamoru actually seemed to recall something intriguing he saw, but did not wish to alarm his girlfriend any further. "Well, I saw countless shining points across an empty, dark space. But other than that, I can't remember..."
"Oh, so there is no Heaven or Hell?"
The question sounded so innocent in its pronunciation, yet so serious after their deadly clash, that Mamoru couldn't help but chuckle at it. "I'm not sure if that what I saw was Heaven, or Hell, or something completely different... And to be quite frank, I'd rather remain not knowing, at least for now. Anyway, let's go home, shall we? It's almost midnight, and-"
"Oooh, Mamo-chan!" Usagi spoke out with a blush. "What will my parents think?"
"Ah, don't sweat it," Mamoru answered, amusedly realizing how his proposal sounded. "I'll give a call to your parents and tell them you missed the last bus, but caught you just in time to bring you over to my apartment. Now come on, bet you must be hungry."
"Now that you mention it... My tummy is growling. Let's go!"
Hugging his beloved under his arm, Mamoru escorted Usagi to his car, speeding up to his home through the empty streets of downtown Tokyo. Usagi remained silent during the entire trip, seeing her boyfriend's serious look while he was driving, and feeling rather guilty for asking something so delicate to him.
Four green lights, he reflected upon what he truly saw after Galaxia removed his Star Seed. I saw four green lights in the darkness. What could those mean?
Whew! Been busy in meatspace, but I finally came back. This intermission marks the intended halfway point for this fic.
I'm very grateful to all of my followers and anonymous passers-by. Especialmente tu litakino1987 ;)
Next chapter: Dis Pater and Fréamund attempt to break into the Sailor Guardians' personal space.
Greetings from the Hospitaller Knight.