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THE HEAVENS

As one the first of many angels in the Heavens, the Morningstar family were among the most respected and skilled. Consisting of leaders, builders, and guardians of the realm, each had a divine purpose and a gift from God to protect the realm and its inhabitants. The family were among the angels who didn't have a childhood or the fantastical imagination it accompanies. Through many tests and lessons, most of them had to learn quickly. However, the people saw Liam Morningstar’s potential to help grow the realm into something magnificent. Their innovational skills and ambition made them stand out amongst the other realm builders of The Heavens.

 

Memphis Aurelius, Liam's mentor and second to God, appointed them as the head of realm maintenance not long after their arrival in the world. Determined to prove themself, Liam presented their ideas for the realm's improvement.

 

Liam's communication and organisation skills increased, working alongside many angels, including Caric Withers, a council member's son. The two became fast friends, Liam developing an unspoken affinity for him as they continued to work together. However, having to seek approval for their ideas or accept the council’s denial, he realised he didn't have the freedom to expand the domain however they wanted. They always felt they could do more than holy buildings and system improvement. They wanted to expand the realm and make it into something breathtaking. A power to behold and something everyone could partake in. However, God and the Council of The Heavens were the only ones to gain significant power from the realm.

Of course, their reason for existence was to help protect and maintain Heaven. That said, most of the Morningstar family felt that their gifts were neither appreciated nor used to their full extent. Liam’s older brother Lucifer was the most outspoken about his dissatisfaction with their way of life. As one of the Head Archangels, alongside the oldest of the Morningstar family, Lucifer felt he wasn't getting the title nor power he deserved. He convinced most of his family, and others around him, that they might as well be slaves who worked for a god they had never met. Lucifer brought together his siblings and other displeased angels in the hope of changing the way those in charge ran the Heavens. He asked Liam to create a place where they could speak without anyone's knowledge.

After scheming and interrupting Heaven's business, the council brought the Morningstar family in for questioning, asking about Lucifer's intentions and activity over the last few weeks. They each lied, denying allegations, and defending their rebellious brother. When it came to Liam's questioning, Memphis was already afraid that not all Morningstars were being truthful. He hoped Liam could shed more light on things.

 

The moment he stood in the council hall, he had to make a decision. His brothers, angels and the council members were all watching him, listening for any truth he had to give. But, Liam lied to them all, claiming he had no knowledge of any hidden locations or scheming when he was the one who built such a place for his family. To Memphis, to his eldest brother Michael and even to Caric, he lied so easily. He wanted to defend his family no matter what the consequences may be and he disliked how they were being used for their abilities.

With questioning completed for the day, and Lucifer let off with a final warning, they told the archangel not to disrespect or dishonour those around him ever again. However, Caric knew Liam well enough to know something was wrong, as the internal guilt of their lie was affecting their day-to-day work.

Caric confronted Liam, asking what was really going on, yet, despite their unspoken love for one another, Liam refused to tell him, not wanting him to get involved but also not wanting to betray his family. Upset with his secrecy, Caric warned Liam about the dishonesty of his brother and the consequences they could receive, banishment being the worst thing that could happen to an angel.

 

With his companionship broken and his lie taking root, Liam felt there was no turning back, dedicating himself to his family's endeavours no matter what they were. However, unbeknownst to him, Caric had gone straight to Memphis with concern for his friend.

Memphis was already keeping an eye on the Morningstar family. However, he'd decided to have faith in Liam, due to their father-son relationship and trust he had for him. That was until Caric came to him, expressing his worry for Liam and his possible involvement in Lucifer's schemes. Memphis called a meeting to discuss their next steps, assigning different angels to watch those who were questioned before the council.

 

Enraged by their pitiful second chance and frustrated with his lack of power, Lucifer gathered his siblings at their hideout , excluding Michael who made his position against them clear. He was the reason they even had eyes on them in the first place. Enough was enough, and they were going to rebel against the heavens for using them and lying to them for centuries. However, while this was their main reason for the rebellion, Lucifer true desire was to take control of the Heavens and gain the powers of a god.

Despite their hate for the realm, Liam tried to argue other alternatives to rebellion, thinking it was too drastic a measure to take when it came to endangering innocent angels' lives. However, due to his brother’s ability to project sin into others and majority support, they convinced Liam to agree to their plans and fight for their ‘freedom’. Using their desire for impact to convince them that the Heavens were holding him back, Lucifer told them they could finally use their realm-building abilities without limit, telling them that Memphis only ever cared for him because he was using them. With Liam's impressionable mind and their devotion to family, it didn't take long for them to agree and produce battle plans for their fight against the Heavens.

 

 

 

FAMILY BEFORE HOME: THE REBELLION

 

The moonlight glowed upon the midnight realm, The Heavens at peace as its inhabitants had retired for the day. Each Morningstar sibling had their own party of angels to lead, separated, positioned around the realm, and awaiting Lucifer’s signal to let the battle commence. With their group, Liam was waiting alone atop a large tower that overlooked the holy domain, ready to announce Lucifer's signal to all other parties around the realm using his environmental manipulation. However, as he waited, Caric confronted him, attempting to reason with Liam and convince them to stop this before anyone could get hurt. Trying to make Caric understand, Liam repeated the words Lucifer told him. However, as Caric continued to argue that innocent lives were at stake, Lucifer's fire signal was lit in the distance.

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"I'm sorry", Liam said. "I don't believe in god anymore. "

 

Using his abilities he brought the highest towers of the Heavens crumbling down all at once. Not wanting him to be killed, he grabbed Caric and brought him to safety before going to return to the battle as each group began closing in on the realm's centre.

 

However, Caric wouldn't let him go, fighting Liam to stop him from helping his brothers succeed. Liam didn't want to fight Caric. Despite their disagreement and Liam's destructive lies, he didn't wish for Caric to be hurt. However, due to his skill in combat as an archangel enforcer, Caric bested Liam in their fight, Liam being forced to retreat. Running to help his brothers, he was met with the gruesome spoils of war. Angels lay dead on the ground, their wings and limbs torn from their bodies. He searched for his brothers, fighting the angels that opposed him along the way.

At that moment, Liam looked around him, finding that he just wanted all of this to stop and feeling intense remorse as he realised that his lie had caused so much pain and death before he found Lucifer and Memphis in one of one combat. When he witnessed Lucifer kill Memphis, Liam's heart shattered as guilt began to destroy him. With Lucifer occupied by Michael's sudden attack, Liam ran to Memphis, who struggled with his final breaths. With a bloodied hand on their shoulder, Memphis transferred his ability to imprint powers to the young Morningstar, giving Liam the power to copy and gift others with supernatural abilities. It was one of God's gifts to the Councillor, and Memphis was giving it to him?

 

"Limbo… Listen to me!" the dying angel said, referring to him with the nickname only those closest to him used and desperately trying to convey a final message as he bled out. "You cannot… tell anyone you have this power…". Liam felt it happen, felt the power imbue itself within them, but before they could question Memphis and apologise for betraying their trust, he died, unable to push his final words from his blood-filled throat. Liam screamed apologies at him before suddenly being knocked unconscious by Michael's sedative abilities and detained.

Occupied by Memphis' ability transference and death, Liam was unaware of what had happened to Lucifer, who was defeated by their oldest brother Michael. The Heavens were flooded with opposing angels from God, and the Morningstar family was overwhelmed by their numbers, ultimately losing the rebellion they'd fought and lost so much for.

 

 

BANISHMENT

 

Any angel who betrayed the trust of the heavens or spilt any of its inhabitant's blood was to be banished. But it had never happened before in the realm's history. Unsure of what to do and with their Lead Councillor now dead, Michael took charge. Named the saviour of the Heavens, he had his family detained and prepared for banishment with no forgiveness or mercy. They had gone too far this time, and even after being warned, they still betrayed everything they stood for. Trust, loyalty, companionship, and love. They'd thrown it all away for power. Lucifer had corrupted so many. Therefore, he would be the first to fall.

 

One by one, the treacherous Morningstar family fell. Lucifer, Asmodeus, Satan, Leviathan, Beelzebub, Mammon, and Belphegor were all thrown to the Abyss, their angelic abilities taken, and wings ripped from their back. When it came to Liam's turn, he tried to beg for a second chance, but no one would listen. They were all too hurt by his lie, a lie that allowed the rebellion to happen, that contributed to so much wanton death. Liam didn't understand how Michael could naturally put home before family. But he was too afraid to argue, too consumed by grief after Memphis' death and still trying to wrap his head around his new ability and why he'd gotten it after betraying one of the only people who truly cared for him.

 

As Liam was dragged out to the gates of Heaven, he begged and cried for forgiveness. What was even worse than his banishment, however, was that Caric would be the one to rip his wings from his back. As he fought against the angels that held him down, he begged Caric not to do it, sobbing profusely as he apologised for lying. However, his efforts were futile as Caric cut and tore the wings from his back. His screams would be heard across the Heavens before he was overcome with pain, Liam passing out as he was thrown from the realm he once loved.

​

 

THE ABYSS

 

Liam was the first of the fallen to awaken in the Abyss, surrounded by the thick, mist-like dirt that filled the harsh sand-stormed around them. The pain that pulsed mercilessly in his back made it almost impossible to stand. Days went by as Liam felt the realm around him drain him of his energy. However, knowing his family had also fallen here, they were determined to find them.

 

Eventually, he found Lucifer's unconscious body, embracing him as they both cried in pain. They were determined to find their other siblings, Liam helping Lucifer to his feet as they began to search for them, calling out their names as loudly as they could to bypass the sandy winds that carried their voices away.

 

After a few days of searching and gradually feeling the energy drain from their bodies, the two managed to find their other siblings, carrying them to a small, withered tree, the only notable landmark in the realm. Once the Morningstars were reunited, their bodies encumbered by the agony of their wingless backs, they waited to waste away with the realm, Lucifer accepting that if they were going to do so, they would at least die together.

 

However, Liam didn't give up so easily. He was more angrier than he was hopeless, enraged at their brother Michael for his betrayal and disgusted by how easily he'd vilified them all. He wanted to prove that they wouldn't be the tragic waste of potential the Heavens now saw them as. He wanted to prove they could be more powerful than anything this world had ever seen. That family was greater than the home in which it resided.

 

After he began to despise the realm they grew up in, he no longer wanted to be referred to by the name god had given him. Liam disowned his Christian name and changed it to the Limbo, a nickname used by his family and friends and one he always preferred. However, he mainly chose this name to keep the memory of his mentor alive, Memphis being first the one to call him Limbo.

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CREATING HELL

 

Once reunited with their brothers, Limbo began to devise a plan that would change the course of history forever. A way to not only save himself and his family but also the provide them the ability to gain incredible power. So, doing what he did best, he designed a realm that could house the myriad of souls that the Heavens had turned away from their divine and righteous paradise. He planned a system in which they could gain power from these souls.

What made it different from the systems in other domains was that rather than having one person lead and run the realm, the Morningstar family would run it collectively, each sibling putting in equal amounts of effort that were unique to their abilities and skills in order to gain twice the amount of power than their predecessors. It would take years to create. Then again, Limbo had never unleashed his full potential before. He was made to do realm maintenance when he wanted to build something glorious and magnificent. Now was his chance, but he couldn't do it alone.

 

After seeing Limbo model and plan out this new realm, Lucifer fully supported him, bringing the others together to help in any way they could. Thus, the creation of Hell had begun.

Over the next decade, each family member got to work, using their unique abilities to contribute to their new realm's construction. Limbo and Lucifer worked together to quickly establish the soul system in order to gain power from them and avoid wasting away in the Abyss. Creating a whole new plain from scratch, Limbo used their abilities to create the base foundation for their realm before forging his first ever realm core, a source of power that kept realms and power systems intact and connected. Limbo organised different areas of it into sectors where his brothers could thrive and generate their own power before it would collect itself at the realm's centre and be shared among them. This design was unheard of, a completely new realm structure at the time. Surprised by their youngest sibling's abilities, Limbo's brothers commended him and got to work on their specified sections of the realm. Each sibling was marked with an upside-down cross on the back of their necks, a mark that would connect their power to the realm and provide the strength they received from its souls. Despite some of his siblings questioning the realm’s design and its effectiveness, the results spoke for themselves, the Morningstar family gaining power much quicker than anyone had ever seen.

Together they vowed to work to prove that no one should underestimate them. To prove the potential they were never allowed to convey in their previous home. It was the first time any of them felt truly free. That was until Michael cursed them.

 

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A FALLEN ANGEL'S CURSE

 

For saving and protecting it from evil, Michael took charge of the Heavens not long after the rebellion. However, despite the cruelness of their banishment, he felt that his siblings needed to be taught a lesson. One that could redeem them or save their souls from disgrace. So, he used God’s power to curse his family and any fallen angel that followed them. These curses were personal, each reflecting their mistakes or the crimes they had committed as a sort of punishment.

 

Limbo was busy working on the realm's environmental design when he first felt the effects of his curse. It started as a slight throbbing pain down his spine. Ignoring it, he continued his work until it suddenly jolted through him like a bolt of lightning, pain coursing through the scars on his back where his wings once were. The sudden surge took the air from his lungs. Limbo stopped his work, falling to his knees as he gasped and groaned in agony. As the pain began to sear throughout back, he screamed at the torture, digging his fingers into the dirt as he felt the pain of his wings being ripped from his back all over again. Belphegor was nearby, hearing his sibling's screams before coming over to investigate what had happened. He went to Limbo, profusely asking what was wrong, but Limbo couldn't hear their words. It wasn't because of the pain that he couldn't hear his brother. It was because Belphegor's curse was that his voice couldn't be heard. About twenty minutes had passed when Limbo could finally bear the pounding in his spine, blood seeping from his scars and running down his back as an encumbering exhaustion consumed him.

Later that day, when the family reconvened from their duties in the realm's creation, those who had felt the effects of their curse informed the others. Mammon said he couldn't touch, grab, or feel anything with his hands. Belphegor was still unable to speak, only being heard periodically throughout the day. Some weren't yet aware of what their curses were, some of them being more long-term than others. However, when they asked what Limbo's curse was, he only talked about the exhaustion that overwhelmed him. He didn't mention the pain, not wanting to be seen as weak or be told to stop his work, making Belphegor swear not to tell anyone. Limbo was afraid of being underestimated because of this debilitating affliction.

 

Despite this, they continued their work, supporting and making adjustments for each other. They weren't going to let these curses stop them. However, none of them were aware of how devastating these curses would become as they continued to reveal themselves.

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THE IMPRINTER'S PROPHECY

 

Hell's construction began to slow a little after the curses had affected them all, especially with how devastatingly it affected Limbo. Despite this, it never stopped them from making consistent progress, the realm beginning to grow into something that even the balance of nature began to accept.

Other than their unique gifts, none of the Morningstars had any special abilities, their angelic ones removed after their banishment. However, Limbo still possessed the power given to him by Memphis.

Imprinting is the ability to copy powers from and grant others with whatever power its user possesses. It was one of the highest abilities God could gift, Memphis proving he had enough responsibility to respect it’s as its original and exclusive owner rather than abuse it. Limbo was still trying to understand the ability Memphis had given to them as he died, testing it on the souls they accepted into Hell and copying some of his brother's unique abilities.

Over the years during Hell's construction, Limbo slowly gifted his brothers some abilities, wanting to help them grow in power as their realm began to gain the attention of others. Healing, strength, realm manipulation were among some of the abilities he gave them. However, the realm core produced most of their other abilities as Hell grew in population, its souls feeding them power. This enabled Limbo to keep his ability secret, the fallen angel continuing to do as Memphis said and never telling a soul about it to this day.

But why? Why couldn't he tell anyone? What could possibly go wrong if he did? Surely he could help his family more if they knew, right?

As Hell's established position within the balance of nature was fast approaching, a prophecy began to spread throughout the realms. Rumours spoke of a prophecy that showed either chaos or justice. It revealed a person with the power of a god. The ability to give powers to themselves and others. However, one decision could change the fate of the universe.

 

One path spiralled into chaos. If they gave this imprinting ability to others, everyone would become all-powerful. However, If everyone was omnipotent, then no one would be. The world would descend into chaos, and all higher powers would cease the exist.

 

However, if they chose to keep this power for themselves, the balance of nature would one day be destroyed, triggering a universal apocalypse and rebirth.

 

Many people searched for whoever had this ability, The Heavens, The Shadows, The Kingdom of Light. All of them were looking for this power. Some wanted to use it for themselves, while others wanted to destroy its beholder and abolish this prophecy of chaos.

 

When Limbo heard of this prophecy, he became extremely paranoid, anxiously trying to understand why Memphis had given it to him in the first place. He didn't want the prophecy to come true. He just wanted to help his family gain power. He'd often considered telling his brothers the truth and sharing his imprinting ability. However, around the time this prophecy became common knowledge, Lucifer had slowly become more and more challenging to deal with, especially after the arrival of Lilith.

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LUCIFER'S COERCION

Lilith was infamous as one of the first humans to betray God. Being made from the same dust of Earth as Adam, she always believed they were equal. However, when he disagreed and tried to assert his dominance over her, she left the Garden of Eden to gain her independence. After God sent angels to kill her children for disobedience, Lilith became responsible for the deaths of children and stillborn infants everywhere, wanting revenge on those who had wronged her.

 

Among the first souls in Hell, Lilith caught Lucifer's interest in her spite towards God and The Heavens, the fallen angel growing closer to her as she shared his beliefs and desire for power. It was around this time that Lucifer became much more difficult to reason with, Limbo becoming concerned and frustrated with how differently his brother acted.

 

The others didn't see it, but since his brother's new love interest arrived, Limbo noticed how conflicted Lucifer's judgment was becoming, suspecting that she had something to do with it. With the prophecy becoming everyone's focus, Lucifer began to express his more violent desires, telling his family how he wanted to force whoever the Imprinter was to give them all his ability before killing him to stop it from spreading to the other realms. As the true Imprinter, Limbo finally understood why Memphis had strongly advised him not to tell anyone. Not only was his own family out to get him, but Heaven's angels were also hunting him down. Even Darkness wanted to know who this Imprinter was and use their ability gain power. This paranoia and inability to trust anyone with the truth persists even now because of Limbo's fear of being discovered.

Despite her evidently bad influence over his brother, Limbo decided to give Lilith the benefit of the doubt, introducing himself to her after he'd done his work for the day. However, upon meeting her, he saw her powers and coercive ability rooted within her soul as if she had used it daily. It was a reasonable explanation for Lucifer's recent behaviour. Had she used it on him?

 

As time passed, Limbo expressed his distrust for her, the fallen angel threatening that if she manipulated or hurt his brother in any way, he'd destroy her. He couldn't predict what would happen next, Lilith attempting to use her coercion and make a sexual advance on him. However, because he felt no attraction to her at all, it didn't work on him. He pushed her away and told her he would tell his brother what she had done, making Limbo her number one enemy.

Limbo was frustrated by the disagreements he and his brother had about the realm's structure and after Lilith's advance and attempt to coerce him his concern only grew. However, Limbo decided not to tell Lucifer what had happened. His brother was clearly infatuated with her and whether or not their love was true, Limbo didn’t want his brother hurt.

However, Lilith was the one who went to Lucifer and claiming Limbo had made a pass at her. Lucifer's mind was too far gone, poisoned by Lilith's influence. Enraged, he confronted his little brother, accusing Limbo of what Lilith had him. The two argued, Limbo telling him it was the other way around, that he was the victim of her lust. He didn't believe his brother, claiming that Limbo was jealous that someone loved him when Limbo had no one. Deeply offended by Lucifer's words, Limbo argued and pleaded with his brother to listen to reason. But when Lucifer disagreed, they began to fight, the two having separated by the others.

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HOME BEFORE FAMILY

Lucifer poisoned mind began to corrupt his idea of justice, clouding his judgment as Lilith's influence deeply rooted within his mind. She wanted his brother gone, Limbo being the only real threat to her desire for power in Hell. She wanted Lucifer alone to run it, to control him and use him until she would one day rule over Hell. She convinced him to believe it would be better if he was in charge and the sole owner of Hell. But that's not how the realm was designed.

 

Excited to show his family, to see how happy and proud of him they would be, Limbo had finally completed Hell's structure and design. Despite their recent disagreement, he still wanted to make Lucifer proud and to have him be the first to see their complete home, waking him early to present his creation to him and him alone.

 

Lucifer looked upon it in awe, shocked that his little brother could make such a magnificent and beautiful world. However, with Lilith's coercion and his desire to rule the realm overall, he began expressing his dissatisfaction with the realm's structure and his desire to change it . At first, Limbo thought he was joking. But, when he realised his brother was serious, he began arguing, stating that if they didn't run the realm together the way it was designed to be, their goal for revenge against the Heavens and ultimate power would be nearly impossible to achieve and take billions of years to gain any significant strength. It would be a massive mistake. However, Lucifer wanted power above all else. He'd always wanted it. Ever since the Heavens, he desired control over everything, and now that his mind was being influenced by Lilith's puppetry, he was determined to get it, even if Limbo disagreed.

Neither of the two brothers would compromise. So with his charismatic and manipulative abilities, Lucifer managed to get the rest of their family on his side, convincing them that Limbo wanted to betray them and take the power for himself. Limbo slowly became the family's outcast despite his vision of Hell being what was best for them all.

Deep down, Lucifer cared for his family and despite Lilith's coercion and strong desire to rule, he didn't want to fight his brother. However, his mind was too far gone, too poisoned to see reason as he threatened to completely change Hell and leave Limbo behind.

 

Enraged, Limbo attempted to break the realm's power system, something only he had the power to fix. He tried to sever the connection between the realm and his family so they couldn't gain power from it. He wanted them to listen to him, to see reason, and this seemed to be the only way to do it. After the damage was done, Limbo was violently confronted by Lucifer. The two fought, both holding significant power from the realm they shared. However, due to his physical strength and previous history as an enforcer, Lucifer was more experienced in combat and bested Limbo, subduing him into unconsciousness.

 

After a few days, Limbo woke up to see the realm he'd worked so hard on shattered, broken into nine different circles with its unique and powerful system repaired and altered into something that could only truly benefit one soul owner. At that moment, Limbo completely lost his affection and loyalty for his brother, the fallen angel going to find and kill Lilith for ruining everything they'd worked so hard on.

 

In the Inferno, the first circle of Hell, the temple Limbo had built for his brothers to convene remained. There he attacked Lilith, immune to her coercion, as he threw her against the temple walls. "You ruined everything! Why?! Why couldn't you just leave him alone!" Limbo screamed with his hands around her neck, squeezing the life from her soul. However, before he could destroy her, Lucifer pulled him off her and threw him into the temple's columns, the collision destroying the temple and exposing them all to the fiery Inferno outside.

Lucifer was livid. He no longer saw his little brother anymore. Instead, he saw someone who hurt the one he loved the most and got in the way of his goal. Lucifer beat Limbo harshly, his fist crashing against his face. Held by the throat, Limbo began crying and begging his brother to stop and see sense, to set things straight, and return the realm to its former glory. But Lucifer, along with Lilith's coercion, had already made up his mind, knocking him out before taking him to the lowest pit of Hell. Treachery.

Treachery’s only purpose was to imprison the worst souls within Hell's care. However, it was now where Lucifer kept his enemies, drawing power from whoever resided in its icy cavernous walls. Limbo was locked up here after his defeat. As he awoke, he gripped the chain around his neck with his hands, only to be horrendously burned by its metal, blistering, and scarring his palms for eternity.

 

Lucifer kept him here while he tried to figure out what to do with him, conflicted by his love and hate for his disloyal sibling. His poisonous mind constantly argued with itself, making him increasingly unstable and prone to resulting to violence. However, his family continued to support his desire for power just as they did in the heavens. With Lilith's coercion and Lucifer's convincing words, the others believed that Limbo intended to destroy the realm and all they had worked for so that he could have the power all to himself. This was far from the truth, Belphegor being the only one not to believe Limbo was their enemy. However, due to his slothful ways and the curse that took his voice, he did nothing to oppose Lucifer.

 

Lilith persuaded Lucifer, convincing him that they would all fall again if he didn't banish Limbo. So, Lucifer spoke with the others about Limbo's fate, most agreeing since they believed Limbo was betraying them.

 

Dragged toward the realm's exit, Limbo begged and cried for them to stop, looking to each of his brothers for help as some turned a blind eye while others, like Asmodeus and Leviathan, helped Lucifer drag him to the realm's edge.

"Any last words, you traitor?" Lucifer spat. Limbo's demeanour changed from a terrified sadness to a venomous and hateful lividity.

 

"You'll regret this", he croaked, tears staining his dirtied cheeks. "I'll make sure you all regret this". At that moment, Limbo vowed revenge, but before Lucifer threw him over the edge, his little brother said something that made him lose himself within his wrath.

"This is all Lilith's fault. I'll make sure to kill her first" Instantly, Lucifer smashed his fist into Limbo's face continuously, his little brother's features now coated in blood as he was beaten into unconsciousness. His poisoned mind wanted to kill Limbo then and there, but instead, he let him go, allowing him to fall from his home once again.

 

 

MIDWAY

 

One can't even begin to describe the pain that comes with loss. Hope's cruel abandonment paralyses you with grief and cripples the mind as you descend into its isolating void. However, what's more cruel is when hope once again teases you with its crooked smile, luring you into a sense of ease and comfort. An imitation of happiness.

 

Limbo finally found this hope after his exile from the Heavens. They regained their freedom and discovered their purpose, rising from the ashes of defeat and exceeding the expectations once thrust upon them. The pride he felt, however, was a façade.

 

Losing everything for a second time was a far more fatal wound. Its numbness bled throughout his body forever, reopening deep wounds, burrowing into flesh, and digging deeper into the soul as it disillusioned his mind to a cruel new reality.

 

Having experienced this hopeless abandonment before, and despite feeling the poisonous blade of betrayal in his back, his pain calloused him, consuming him in an unforgiving anger that tore apart the kind and caring soul he once was. The Limbo who cared for his family and aspired to do the right thing was now dead, a forgotten dream endlessly wandering the black-duned void of the Nothing, replaced by a vengeful creature with a mind-numbing thirst for his family's blood.

 

When he awoke in Midway, the realm between realms, Limbo felt the endless stabbing sting of his curse, staggering across the pathways in search of shelter as the night consumed the land in its desolate darkness. With hope now extinct and encumbered by a deep dejection, Limbo attempted to end his life, throwing himself from a cliff's edge. However, even then, his immortality didn't permit him the relieving escape of death, Limbo surviving his fall from grace once again.

 

After months of paralysed despair, an angel approached him, its unwelcome presence teasing at the insanity within him as his memories began to resurface. However, this angel came with an offer from the one he despised the most. Michael. He offered Liam a chance at salvation, to redeem himself of his mistakes in Heaven and Hell. But he wasn't talking to Liam anymore. He wasn't talking to the aspiring young angel he once knew. He was talking to Limbo, a creature consumed by madness and hatred. However, instead of killing the messenger like he desperately wanted, Limbo inquired further.

 

"How?" was all he said, his deadly gaze intimidating and discomforting the angel before him.

 

Hell was now Heaven's competition, and the holy domain was losing power. So Michael devised a plan to level the playing field, coming up with an idea to help them gain some of the souls they had lost to the Inferno. However, he needed Limbo's realm-building mastery to get the job done.

 

 

PURGATORY

 

A place where souls could redeem themselves, Purgatory was going to be a realm that could provide dead souls with the chance of either acceptance in paradise or damnation. However, Michael was unable to build domains, and no one had ever built anything as good as the one Limbo had made for their family. He offered his little brother 'redemption', claiming that his soul would be saved if he built Purgatory.

 

Of course, Limbo found this offer of salvation ridiculously amusing, his anger at his treacherous brother buried beneath a stoic exterior. Limbo didn't want Michael's acceptance like he did all those years ago. He wanted the power and strength to destroy his family for what they had done, seeing this insultingly stupid offer as an opportunity. So, Limbo agreed on the condition that he gained power from this new realm and that his curse was eradicated.

 

Michael needed to have this realm built. He needed the power it could provide for Heaven's endurance against its new rival. So, reluctantly, Michael counter-offered,  proposing to break his brother's curse for the duration of Purgatory's construction and rewarding him once the realm's creation was completed. Limbo would've declined immediately if he weren't in such a desperate situation. However, beggars can't be choosers. Besides, Limbo had an idea, a plan to regain his strength and follow through on his promise of revenge.

 

With his mastered ability, Limbo designed a triad system with connections leading to the opposing realms and Earth, building the land where souls could prove themselves worthy the way Michael had commissioned him to do. He thought it was despicable, relating to the souls that had to laboriously undergo back-breaking endeavours to prove they were worthy of redemption. It made him realise that he had been doing the same thing his whole life, endlessly trying to appease those around him and make up for his mistakes. What good did any of that do?

 

Limbo knew there was no such thing as salvation. Once a fallen angel, always a fallen angel. Nobody would ever support him, so why should he help others? He always possessed a drive that couldn't be quashed. He didn't want to give up and would never stop until those who wronged him were dead. However, Limbo would need a constant stream of power to gain enough strength and achieve his revenge.

 

 

THE REALM OF LOST SOULS

 

With Purgatory's system now in place and Limbo still ‘working’ on its environmental structure, the souls of the damned were starting to go through their process of redemption and failure. Limbo believed that Michael wouldn't give a criminal of the Heavens any significant power after Purgatory's creation. So, while his brother had his attention on his new realm's success, Limbo was more focused on finding a way to gain more power.

 

Human souls, Animal souls and Supernatural souls were the three main types of spirits in the afterlife, all of which Limbo was very familiar with from Heaven and Hell. Each of these souls provided different kinds of energy, some lesser and some greater. The strongest spirits typically belong to supernatural beings, particularly ones that were once human. These were the souls that Limbo had his eye on, seeing them as the quickest way he would gain power. But, how would he gain any energy from this place when his brother owned it? It became evident that Limbo had to create another realm, one he would call his and his alone.

 

Michael had given his little brother the power he needed to make Purgatory. However, Limbo stopped its construction so he could use the rest of it to make his own realm. Many souls trapped in the Abyss were too broken to claim by Heaven or Hell. However, with Limbo's system design, he could still draw power from them, using them to convert the Abyss into his new realm's foundation.

 

They collected a comprehensive selection of Purgatory's unorganised supernatural souls, creating a new pathway in the afterlife that sent them to his realm. Embedding them into the environment, Limbo invented a new connection technique that made their system more robust. Structuring the realm to accommodate each unique species, they optimised their domain to become the most accelerated power production of its time.

 

During his secretive search for souls, he found Memphis' old and broken spirit welded into the dried land of the Abyss. The longer a soul spent there, the less it resembled who they once were, deteriorating into a formidable creature that hungers for the life it once had. Limbo looked upon the memories of a man he once loved and respected. A man who practically raised him and told him he would be worth something one day. He was the reason Limbo never gave up and seeing him as this hideously unrecognisable monster only fed the hatred he felt for his brothers. Despite being an unidentifiable monster and the first Lost Soul in existence, Limbo wanted to preserve his spirit and keep it protected within his new realm, feeding from its superior strength. 

 

The Realm of Lost Souls was complete, Limbo gaining immense power from it rapidly as the supernatural dead populated the domain. However, with Purgatory's production seemingly stopping, Michael grew suspicious and decided to personally confront Limbo about its incompletion. He hadn't seen his little brother since the rebellion. The last time they spoke, Michael had ignored his little brother's plea for forgiveness and doomed him to rot in the Abyss.