Hazbin Hotel: Another Adam

Reflections on the nature of Darkness, Light, and my new position continued to occupy me. Generally, it might seem utterly foolish to voluntarily take Darkness into oneself, especially after everything I'd learned about its influence on the Seraphim. Their stories and their almost animalistic terror of it had really gotten to me, because I, like my "esteemed" former wives, Eve and Lilith, was created in the image and likeness of the Seraphim themselves, which means Darkness should affect us just as it affects the Seraphim. This is also supported by the fact that Lilith, like Lucifer, was "infected" by Darkness from fleeting contact with it in Eden, and they were only able to preserve their personality, their will, thanks to God's direct intervention, who somehow "stabilized" them by integrating Darkness into their essence, but not allowing it to consume their Light.

So why didn't that happen to me back then, in the battle with Alastor, when particles of his shadow magic got into me? Fuck knows, to be honest, but even so, that foreign Darkness strongly affected me, causing short bouts of uncontrollable anger and aggression, and if I hadn't burned it out of myself almost completely then, I wouldn't have had a chance of preserving my sanity, and possibly my life. And that, I repeat for the especially gifted, was just a battle with ALASTOR! Who, even buffed by Eve, wasn't even in the same league in terms of power, not just with Eve herself, but even with ordinary Deadly Sins! So that case was very telling and clearly demonstrated the danger.

At the same time, the already mentioned Lilith and Lucifer, already being "infected," felt perfectly fine in Hell, and the Darkness surrounding them there could no longer seize their minds or consume their essence, because they themselves, in essence, had become its sources, only "independent" ones, controlling their own Darkness, not подчиняющимися it. That's precisely why I decided on that risky experiment with creating a "combat form" from pure Darkness. In the upcoming battle with Eve and her "contractors," I won't be able to relax for a second, and if I also have Darkness, like Lucifer… that will change a lot. It will give me new opportunities, passive protection from Darkness, and increase my combat potential.

By the way, it's worth saying a little about the local combat system, if you can even call it that. Here, essentially, it's not technique that decides everything, but raw power. Yes, yes, the most primitive, brute force. The harder you hit – the cooler you are, and various tricks like teleportation, regeneration, throwing fireballs from your ass, and other magical nonsense also come into play. In this world, there's no point in becoming a master of some weapon, because while you're waving your little saber, a stronger opponent will simply blast you with a beam of concentrated energy, and that's it, now you're a decorative stain on the wall.

At low levels of development, of course, all this still works somehow. Technique and skill are quite relevant there, but when you reach at least the level of the Sins… Hmm, how to put it mildly?.. All these fancy ear wiggles become useless nonsense.

But let's get back to the topic. What's just fucking confusing me right now is that I, a being supposedly of pure Light, for some fucking reason ALREADY have Darkness in me! And I fucking don't feel it at all! Not in any way! And Sera, when she checked me last time at my own request, didn't feel it either! Although, I've already mentioned that there's no mystical "sensitivity" or "sensory perception" here, like in Naruto or Bleach… So, maybe the Darkness in me is just hidden too well? Or is it somehow… special?

Alright, to hell with it for now. We'll deal with this later. Right now, I need to pull myself together after all these revelations and… I don't know… rest a bit? Wait until Lute's specialists properly "interrogate" those two cherub-traitors, and then I can personally conduct a more thorough check of all of Cherub Town. I'm sure there's still a lot of interesting stuff to be found there.

Lute, of course, has already given all the necessary orders for mobilization and strengthening patrols, and poor Abel was forced to postpone his planned trip to the heavenly water park with his whole family because of this. Well, it's no big deal; let him achieve success in his service. For some reason, he still thinks he's "not worthy" of his father, so let him surpass me! I'll only be glad for such a thing. Let him become stronger, wiser, more decisive; maybe then he'll get rid of his stupid complexes.

All in all, for now – rest. I need to calm down, gather my thoughts, think everything through properly. After that, I can start thinking about what to do next. Because my schedule is quite packed now: soon another trip to Earth (I have to take Octavia to that concert, since I promised), then a meeting with Lucifer to discuss the details of joint cooperation in a possible battle with Eve, and after that… a meeting with all the Deadly Sins. They seem to have some kind of очередных court hearing or fuck knows what they usually arrange in a month or two. That's when I'll be able to catch them all at once, in one place, and have a proper "chat." I'm not running around collecting signatures for a student ID, after all.

"And you're telling me that you… have Darkness in you?!" Lute wasn't just in shock. She was in fucking shock. Complete and unconditional. It seemed she clearly hadn't expected to hear such a confession from me, and anyway, in her mind, my image was associated almost with God himself. Just as pure, bright, infallible. An ideal, to put it simply. And then – this… "How… how could something like this even happen, Adam?!" she pressed a trembling hand to her face, her golden eyes staring blankly into space.

"Lute, sunshine, you misunderstood things a bit," I gently kissed her forehead, trying to calm her down and bring her to her senses. She flinched but didn't pull away. "This Darkness… To be honest, I absolutely don't feel it myself; it has no effect on me. And Sera checked me just recently, remember?" This was true. After that "battle" with Alastor and especially after "communicating" with Asmodeus, I often asked her to check me for the presence of Darkness. Just in case, you never know. Apparently, her checks didn't help much back then… Or is the Darkness in me somehow hidden too well? "So this bullshit doesn't affect me in any way. Or so it seems…" I paused for a moment. That burst of anger at the bird-aristocrats' ball, when I almost killed that little shit Seviathan… No. That was different. That was the influence of my past. And Adam's past too. Our shared dislike for "devils" and those goddamn possessive instincts that just explode in your head when someone dares to touch what I consider "mine." "No one dares to hurt MY little owl! No one dares to threaten MY Heaven!" Something like that…

"But it's Darkness…" Lute began, her voice trembling. Yes, she was my main "hater" of Darkness in Heaven, if not in all three worlds, and anything that contained even the slightest amount of that very Darkness, she loathed fiercely and told to go far, far away… True, for some reason, she treated all the inhabitants of Heaven quite normally. Why did I clarify this now? Well, because I've already said: sins committed by souls in life somehow affect their appearance after death and entry into Heaven. That's why most of the local inhabitants have all sorts of "bestial features" – horns, tails, wings, hooves, fangs – which, in fact, are reflections of these very sins. My Exorcists, after I "cleansed" them with my Light, become absolutely pure from this filth, their appearance almost approaching human, but the other inhabitants of Heaven… they still carry this burden of their past sins. And even if everyone in Heaven mostly doesn't give a fuck about it, that doesn't change the fact itself, right?

"Lute," I gently took her face in my hands, making her look me straight in the eyes. Shock and incomprehension still flickered in her golden eyes. "Listen to me. I am me. Your Adam. The same one you know and love." I allowed myself a slight smirk. "You can see that I'm not some evil monster possessed by Darkness, can't you? Even if all the Darkness of this world settles within me, I will still remain myself. I will protect Heaven, no matter what. I will love you, and nothing will change that."

"Adam…" Lute's voice trembled. She got overly emotional and even shed a tear. I hope it was a tear of happiness, after all… After which she abruptly reached for me and pressed her lips to mine in a long, passionate kiss. Oh no. I know these kisses of hers all too well… It seems that for the next couple of hours, my sweet valkyrie will once again conquer the bed, and I, as a true Warrior of Light and a loving man, will be forced to stay with her and… fulfill my marital duty. And yes, of course, I am absolutely not against such a development of events. Very much "for," even.

"Adam, please, be extremely careful," Sera admonished me in her usual, slightly detached, but with notes of motherly concern, voice. This was the day after she had listened to my report on what my "interrogation specialists" managed to extract from those two idiots, Deerie and her ram, whose name I plan to laugh at a bit later...

"Yeah, yeah, Mommy, whatever you say." I waved her off, not paying much attention to her face after I called her "Mommy." I opened a portal leading directly to the main square of Cherub Town.

I needed to check everything here personally as well. Of course, I completely trust both my girls and Abel, who have already cordoned off all of Cherub Town and begun a total inspection there, but still… it's better to see it once for myself.

By the way, the story these two "fallen" cherubim told was some kind of clusterfuck and revealed many new and interesting things.

Let's start with the simple and most shocking: Eve personally visited Deerie. Yes, yes, my dearest ex-wife, in person. It turns out this bitch can somehow penetrate not only Hell but also Heaven! Yes, I've already yelled at Sera and the other Seraphim about this so much that they're running around with their tongues hanging out looking for breaches in the defenses.

So. My sweet ex came to Deerie, and, most interestingly, she wasn't hiding under a cloak of Darkness, as in Asmodeus's case. Apparently, Heaven's defenses would have reacted instantly to such a high level of dark energy, but that's not all. Eve fed this deer-lady all sorts of standard bullshit about "Heaven's hypocrisy," "the injustice of the system," "equality for all," "the dark side has cookies"... Well, you get the idea. A classic propaganda set for brainwashing, to which Deerie, having perked up her deer ears, at first, strangely enough, still told Eve to fuck off. But Eve, apparently, was ready for such a turn and immediately offered her… a fruit. Yes, yes, that same fucking "Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil," which two idiots, Lucifer and Lilith, fed her back in the day.

And the deer-lady… just took it. And for some time, apparently, was torn between eating that little apple and gaining "secret knowledge" or still telling the Seraphim everything. As you understand, the choice was eventually made. And the choice, fuck, was absolutely wrong, otherwise she wouldn't be hanging in a specially built cell for her somewhere under the Seraphim Council Hall right now, chained in pure Light! Yes, gentlemen Seraphim, after I chewed them out, promptly took care of building dungeons for especially dangerous idiots who, due to their peaceful nature, cannot be killed.

After eating that goddamn apple, Deerie began to actively "serve" Eve. Namely – to sabotage the work of her agency in every possible way, leak information about souls that were supposed to go to Heaven, and at any convenient opportunity, expel unwanted or too "pure" cherubim from Heaven. At the same time, Deerie didn't know exactly why Eve needed all this, or what happened to the exiled cherubim afterwards.

And at some point, this deer-lady, dazed by new "knowledge" and "opportunities," also "fell in love" (in quotation marks, because I very much doubt the sincerity of her feelings) with her ram-colleague named… Barash (God, what kind of moron gives them all names here, huh?!). And fed the remnants of that same apple to her new "chosen one." Romance, for fuck's sake.

I myself studied the influence of this "Fruit of Knowledge" a bit on this deer-lady and her ram. More precisely, what happens if a soul, initially light, "chooses" Darkness. What can I say? Interesting results. The cherubic powers they were supposed to have by default – flight, creating portals between Heaven and Earth, selective invisibility (so as not to disturb people with their presence), summoning simple weapons of Light (for self-defense against minor demons) – all this remained with them. As did the Light itself in their souls. Only now, Darkness was also in them. And not foreign, like Asmodeus's, but "native," integrated into their essence. Roughly, like Lucifer's… Or mine... Now that was leading to very, VERY bad thoughts.

I definitely didn't eat any forbidden apples in this life! Adam's memory has assimilated almost completely in me; last time, the exception was the last month of his life before my "insertion," but now this "blank spot" has shrunk to about three days. What important and traumatic thing happened to Adam in those last three days of his life that memory is so desperately trying to remain hidden? And why did I inhabit his body specifically? Why not Lucifer's body, for example? Or some other Seraph's? And why was he portrayed in that goddamn cartoon exactly like that – a dumb, lustful, narcissistic rock musician-foulmouth? After all, before that, judging by his own memories, even though he remained the same "First Man" with all that entails, he wasn't so… unhinged? And he didn't seem to particularly enjoy mass murder and genocide, more like he treated it with a "don't give a fuck" attitude… There must be some logical explanation for all these oddities?!

But that's one thing. Memory is slowly returning, albeit incredibly slowly. What interests me much more now is another, no less important thing… To both Asmodeus and this deer-lady Deerie, Eve introduced herself as… Eve. By her real name. Not "Roo," but specifically Eve. You don't understand anything, do you?

Well, I'll try to explain. Vivzie (the main writer and creator of the "Hazbin Hotel" and "Helluva Boss" universes) in her numerous interviews and streams spoke of a certain mysterious "Roo," who, according to her concept, is that very "main evil," "the main danger that no one knows about yet" in this universe. I'll admit honestly, until the very last moment, I was sure that "Roo" was just some new name for Eve. Well, like, for conspiracy, or like the "gods" of my past world, to cast off her human life and past, but no fucking way! It seems these are two completely different characters! Then… who is this Roo really? And why is SHE, and not Eve, the main danger to this world?..

Again, questions without answers. How fucking tired I am of all this…