14 SHK INTERLUDE: ...TO EMPRESS (Patreon)

Was it destiny?

Tiamat loathed thinking so. But there was nothing she could do a this.

Rather than complaining about something so abstract, she wished to spend every moment in training.

Only by becoming stronger could she control her own Destiny.

"I am indeed Tiamat. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that someone as strong as you didn't completely die."

"*Chuckle* You are too kind. Saying that I am alive would be a stretch. I am just a small part of the complete soul of Lucifer. Nothing but a shard."

"I guess not even the false gods in Chaos side could kill you completely."

The shard simply gave a bland smile,

"Do you want power?"

–and directly cut to the heart of the matter.

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Because you are the only way for me to keep my sense of self.”

“So even the great Lucifer had been reduced to this.”

More than disappointment, what Tiamat showed was sadness. Lucifer was her predecessor. Her destiny was clear for all to see.

Still, this sadness did not last,

“Well, in the end, your proposal does not interest me. I have my own aspiration.”

“What if I told you that…I knew the secret to becoming a false god?”

Tiamat stopped, before turning around.

Lucifer expected to see interest in her eyes, but all he saw was disdain.

“Do you take me for an idiot?”

She sneered, “Why would I exchange my current leash for another one when my real goal is to break all restraints?”

Even as she spooks, her aura began to change. A regal atmosphere covered the entire seemingly crushing around her.

This was her <<Pride>> the concept she was born with. Even though she had voluntarily fallen to a level below that of a Duke, the concept of Pride was a power branded in her very being, something she could never change.

“Oh? I see. Your pride is praiseworthy, but…Who the hell do you I am, little queen?”

If the aura of Tiamat was crushing, then the one from Lucifer was devastating.

Like this, two pride clashed. The world screeched and cracks appeared everywhere as if this pocket dimension was about to break.

Neither of the two could use their full power, but they were already beyond all measure.

Feeling Lucifer’s power for herself, she immediately knew that if the two of them were at their peak, she would have lost. This was undeniable.

But—did this truth hurt her?

Not all.

In order to seek power, one had to understand that they were powerless. In order to reach the top, one had to start from the bottom.

Failure was the mother of success and defeat was the seed of victory.

“Let’s me witness the might of the first Divine Beast!”

With a smile filled with madness and battle thirst, Tiamat fought her greatest battle.

Golden scales covered her body like an armor as wings seemingly made out of steel appeared behind her back.
Her menacing golden eyes narrowed while her curved horns shone under the calm light of stars.

<<Dimension encroachment: Blazing Sun>>

<<Dimension encroachement: River of stars>>

Like two forces of nature, the two clashed. The large black wings behind Lucifer seemed to cover the sky while the world changed under his will.

Tiamat was not to be undone though, after all, “Do you know…At the end of the day, no matter how much the sunshine…It’s still nothing more than a star.”

Lucifer gave a bitter smile as he watched his dimension shrink down while Tiamat’s own covered more territory. At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a small amount of pride.

At the end of the day, Tiamat was created from him. In a way, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he was Tiamat’s father. How could he not feel pride at the sight of his daughter's strength.

“Your strength is really befitting of the crown. But—This isn’t enough. The Sun is not just a star…It’s the source of all life.”

Like a tide, all the ground Tiamat had managed to take vanished, and the two fell back to a stalemate,

“Kuh!”

Tiamat grunted as she felt a sweet and slightly metallic taste in her mouth when she swallowed the blood that she was about to vomit. Lucifer, on the other hand, showed no particular emotion as he continued,

“Your understanding of the world is still too shallow. You still focus too much on the physical aspect when you should focus on the metaphysical ones. Never forget…”

“What matters the most in this world is the weight of the stories. As such, for a short instant, let me show you what lay beyond.” At those words, everything seemed to stop.

Tiamat felt goosebumps and her eyes opened wide. she could feel that what she was about to witness was something that would be seared in the deepest part of her mind.

Lucifer knew that what he was about to do was not wise. His existence was already faint and using his power would put him in even more danger.

But his pride would not allow him to yield. If he had to die, it would be in a blazing glory.

He would show her, the power of his inheritance. The power of his <<Rebellion>>.

<<I am lucifer. The torch-bearer.>>

<<I am the morning star, the source of all light>>

<<I hereby declare: Let there be darkness!>>

In an instant, all the stars in Tiamat’s dimension were extinguished like candles blown out under the wind.

Watching the defeated Tiamat fight to stay standing up despite the immense pain she should be under, the faint soul of Lucifer muttered, “Never forget little queen. My power is the power to change the world. This power shall be yours too.”

This was her first and her last defeat.

—-

“What’s the matter?”

Looking down at the young golden-haired young man, Tiamat showed a small smile as she ruffled his hair.

“I was just reminiscing about the past.”

On the day of her first defeat, Tiamat understood that what Lucifer wanted her to inherit wasn’t just a type of power.

It was a will.

The will to stand up against the world and bring it to its knee. The will fight against the oppression brought by this entity that was Fate.
Thanks to this will, the young queen that she once was, grew into an Empress. Even those goddesses that once seemed so all-mighty were not so anymore in her eyes.

But…Like Lucifer said, this wasn’t enough.

Lucifer <<Rebellion>> wasn’t enough.

Michael <<Servitude>> even less so.

Her own <<Defiance>> did not make the cut

Dahlia or rather Nihil <<Freedom>>> was doomed to fail.

Then…Would Sol be able to make the cut? Would it be enough?

Tiamat smirked at the slight uneasiness in her heart and simply crushed it with her will her steel.

So what if the first and second generations failed? So what even if the third generation failed? There would always be a fourth, a fifth, or even a hundredth one.

This wasn’t what she had to care about. All she had to do now was to be the umbrella that shielded him from all harm until he showed his might.

In this world, what mattered the most was the weight of the stories.

How much did Sol’s stories weigh? The answer to this question would soon be revealed.

“Sol, let me show you the power to change the world.”

(AN: Thus end Vol 8. Hope you liked it. What do you think of Lucifer? Next chapter will be. A special chapter.)