The Guardian Angel (The Guardians of Nine Heavens #1)

Chapter 24: Samael's Decision

Shortly after Lilith's exile, Adam felt lonely, so the High Forces made him another female human, but this time, out of his rib. They believed that since Adam was a perfect human who could balance himself so far, the woman born out of his rib would be as balanced as he. Moreover, since Lilith had refused to listen to Adam's reasoning before, due to considering herself his equal, the High Forces thought that if Eve was created out of Adam's rib, she would accept to be submissive to Adam and listen to him whenever necessary. 

So Eve was born. She became a loyal companion to Adam and submissive to him, unlike Lilith, just as the High Forces had predicted. Everything seemed perfect, but I knew it seemed so only at first glance. I hadn't forgotten Adam was not really balanced at all - he was more inclined to his spiritual and mental self, and cared more about his thoughts. I also knew, that if one was too inclined to their spiritual and mental self, their ambitions would grow - the ambitions to become greater than the High Forces and dominate the world. Of course, such a thing is impossible, for neither the High Forces can dominate the world due to their eternal enemy - the Black Energy. Thus, the world is balanced. But ambition is a dangerous thing, for it has no boundaries - once it grows, it becomes unstoppable. 

I warned the High Forces about it, but they believed in Adam and told me not to worry. The other angels, as always, shared the High Forces' idea. I felt uneasy - I thought that if Lilith was banished for her imbalanced self, Adam was no different. It was just that he hadn't shown his true face yet. But who knew, once such a situation arose, he would surely show his true colours... Eve, on the other hand, seemed the most balanced out of the three. But I had doubts about her too since she was born out of Adam's rib. I believed she looked balanced only because her mental abilities dominated, so she was able to hide her true feelings and bury them in her heart. I knew that once a proper situation arose, those buried feelings would burst out and cause a disaster.

As none of the angels and even the High Forces believed in my words, I decided to test Adam and Eve on my own, and find out whether my fears were right. I knew one thing for sure - an angel never makes mistakes. Yet, I really wanted to believe that Adam and Eve would pass my test and prove me wrong... I still trusted in their inner strength.

So, I started carrying out my plan: I took the form of a green snake (since I was the angel of destruction and death, I was skilled at shape-shifting. After all, death can come in all shapes), and slithered into the Garden of Eden so that my movements were not noticed by the angel guards - the terrestrial angels of nature. I crawled up the Tree of Knowledge - one of the forbidden apple trees along with the Tree of Life which is the primal source of the energy of the Garden of Eden. The apples of these two trees were forbidden for Adam and Eve to eat. It was a strict order by the High Forces. It wasn't merely on their whim - this restriction actually had quite a decent reason, like all other decisions of the High Forces: the Tree of Knowledge would permit its fruit consumer to see the differences between the good and the evil, but acquiring that knowledge, one would become distrustful towards any kind of information without having a "proof". Consequently, if humans acquired such knowledge, they would no longer trust in the High Forces' or the angels' words but act according to their own decisions, which would result in numerous mistakes. Furthermore, the Knowledge fruit consumer would gain conscious knowledge, but the connection with their soul memories would be severed - it was just the material knowledge which broke the bond with the spiritual knowledge. If one consumed such a fruit, their soul's memories and thoughts would be lost forever. It would, of course, result in degradation. 

On the other hand, if one consumed the fruit of the Tree of Life, one would gain immortality, but since humans had not only heavenly but earthly nature too, their immortality would cause them to think they were superior to the High Forces. This would, in turn, cause disasters, since humans are and always were inclined to making mistakes. Their short lives permit them to purify their souls and return to the High Forces - the primal source. If they became immortal, the bond with the High Forces would be lost and they would become dirty, blackened souls, gradually overtaken by earthly desires, thus evolving into blackened demons. 

Realising these possible dangers, I hesitated for a while. I couldn't decide whether it was a good idea to give such a difficult test right at the start... But then, a painful groan reached my ears down from the earth. I looked beyond the Garden of Eden and saw Lilith, who had fallen ill out of her worry and misery. It made my heart grow heavy with sadness. 

I decided that Adam and Eve should undergo the test. If I let those two be, they might cause disasters in the future. Lilith was not as dangerous as those two. Adam's ambitions grew day by day as he contemplated his new wife be submissive to him. It brought him pride and it would go over his head if I didn't stop him in time. Compared to Adam's possible sins, Lilith's sin was nothing (I wouldn't say she was less guilty because sin is a sin, no matter how big or small. However, the punishment still varies in severity. Not all sins should be judged and punished equally - that was the High Forces' law).

Thus, having made up my mind, I, in the form of the green snake, hid inside the Tree of Knowledge and waited until my prey approached - a young red-haired blue-eyed serene woman - Eve.