Castle in the Sky

His name is Saint Lucifer Morningstar—the second born True God. ALL crafted him from the darkness of the empty universe. The greatest evil, that was his purpose. But he defied this prophetic fate and became the kindest of the six True Gods—even kinder than his twin brother, Saint Venus Nirvana, who was born from the universe's light. ALL was at a loss for words. She'd created him for the sole purpose of balancing the universe's good and evil, yet here he was, the most distinguished good.

Though Saint Alvis Ragnarök was the first True God to create a realm, it was none other than Saint Lucifer who proposed the idea. He wanted the honour of the first realm created to be his elder brothers, thus Ragnarök was born. Following this creation, the other realms were created: Nirvana, Aerlogard, Dwargo, Gigante, and finally, Netherworld. Saint Lucifer marvelled at his siblings creations because the realms they created were abundant in mana and life, something he could not create. He, the presider of all darkness in the universe, was unable to conjure the thing he loved most—life.

"What do you think of his story?" asks Satan.

What do I think? "It sounds impossible."

"Impossible?"

"You didn't give me the full story, did you?"

"Why do you say that?"

"A book I once read called him 'The Greatest Evil'—not that I'd take a second hand account of him at face value. But he is the King of Netherworld. And a True God. I am skeptical of both these titles."

"Well, let's just say I left out the unnecessary bits," he says, smiling.

Satan's mood has definitely improved. Did something happen since our departure from Cerberus?

After ten minutes of silence on Cerberus' back, we finally arrived at the base of the floating castle. "This," said Cerberus' middle head, "is where we shall say our farewell. We will return to our duty of guarding this realm from intruders."

"It was wonderful that we met in this chapter of your life, Haruki," said the left head.

"Yes, I hope, if your affairs do not pan out as you would hope, that we can meet the next you much sooner," concludes the right head.

After their goodbyes, they leap off into the realm like a runaway train. Ever since their departure though, Lucifer has grown more jovial. "Do you not get along with Cerberus?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seem more... open than usual."

"Oh? That's just how I get when I come to the castle. You have no need for concern."

Well, I'm not concerned about you being happy. My concern lies in the question 'Why?' "If you say so." I look up to our destination. "I guess we're flying?"

"No."

"No?" I ask, looking at him, confused. I look up at the castle in the sky again. I look around at the flatland surrounding us. "If we're not flying, how are we supposed to reach the castle?"

"We climb."

"Climb?" Again, I look around us. "There is no mountain we can climb surrounding us. And did you forget our destination is above us—connected to nothing, if I may add. Flying would be simpler."

"We can't fly here."

"Can't? I flew to the slime without any problems, didn't I? What's so special about this area?" He points to the sky. "The castle?"

"That floating rock that holds the most important structure in Netherworld—Lucifer's Floating Castle. That castle hosts seven of Netherworld's most powerful demons, The Seven Mortal Sins. Well," he says, looking at the castle, "five of the seven."

The other Mortal Sins? I wonder how they are compared to Satan and Leviathan? Satan stares at me intensely. "W-what is it?"

"Haruki, promise me that you will not pick a fight with any of the Sins."

"A fight? What about me says I will—"

"Your mana is flaring. I've been with you for less than a day but I noticed you get that way when you want to test someone's strength."

My mana? I look at my hands. From it, black streaks rise from my body like smoke. "You're right." This is the first time I looked at my mana since Til. It's taken on this menacing, smoke-like appearance.

"You are still adapting to your power. If you picked a fight against a Mortal Sin now, you would lose."

"They're that strong?"

He looks at the castle once again. "They are more powerful than you think."

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"How would I fare against you?"

He looks at me, surprised. "I was not expecting you to ask me directly like this."

"Well?"

He thinks for a second, looks at the castle in the sky one final time, then turns to me and asks, "How about we test it out here then?"