- Lovers and haters -

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"Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."

(Oscar Wilde - "The Picture of Dorian Gray")

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The following days the ongoings of both worlds were scrutinized closely and every development was analyzed and commented on vividly.

"Jach's world is much more fun. Unbelievable what they did with the steam engine. That has the potential to become a great story!" Thor expressed his opinion clearly. He preferred hard facts and hard steal. Granted he liked the development in Jachwe's world.

"Luce's hell is just hot - fires and pyres. What kind of living is that?" Michael wrote fiercely. "Don't get me wrong, I like fire. As a weapon that is, even as a means of punishment, but as the burning engine of a world? Not really. My wages are on Jachwe!"

"Fire is the greatest force there is! Hell is well organized and neatly structured. Nothing can go wrong there! Team Lucifer forever!!!" No surprise whom Asmodeus was in favor with.

"Where is the difference here?" Astaroth asked. "Whether you wither in a crowded factory or a polluted city or burn in a fire of hell makes no difference. To me, the fire seems more benevolent. It's only for those who fail to follow. It's not as if they didn't know it before. Burn those who are too weak like an infection of the body. They'll only spread their disease if you let them."

"True Asta! At least in hell demons have the possibility to rise if they work hard. That is justice. Reward those who make an effort. Destiny in Jachwe's world is unfair and unjust. Not really god-like! Team Luce!" Nothing more could be expected from Baal, whose world favored those who worshipped the hardest, resulting in concepts featuring a two-class system.

They fought with words, civilized and lead by arguments. They'd really done worse in the past. No need yet to intervene. Maybe they could gain new insight into the matter - at least some of them. For others, Gaia had long since lost hope. They were too focused on one point, not really willing to try out something new, unable to learn or progress. Every one of their experiment resembled the one before. You had to grand Jachwe one thing: He was inventive and every one of his worlds was something new. Every single attempt one of a kind. If Gaia had to bet, she would go for Jachwe. He seemed to be the most promising one of her students. He always had right from the beginning and thus had earned him enemies among his fellows as well as a few admirers.

He was creative and able to analyze, interested in learning from his mistakes and moreover able to admit them to himself. He reminded her of herself in her early years long before she set the beginning of eternity with the invention of Utopia. It had been so long ago she hardly remembered it: Create a world that is so perfect and paradisiac that it can go on forever and ever. That had been the original task. She'd figured it out eventually during the eons and succeeded finally. She'd been the first. No one ever since had managed to follow her there, though many tried and tried. It was in her hands now to guide the Gods and angels of heaven, to give them meaningful tasks and to help them by giving hints and ideas. Be benevolent. Make your beings god-like. Create an image of yourself. Give them rules. Give them guidance. Give them abilities. Give them freedom. Give them peace. Make them equal or different. She'd tried many approaches. Each one failed. And with every failure, she doubted more and more her ability to lead them. She'd proved her brilliance, but why couldn't one of her pupils follow her example?

Maybe she should be stricter. Punish them harder. Make them try more. Maybe she should intervene. Set an example. But she too was curious about each of Jachwe's concepts, and also Lucifer's eagerness and commonly thought- through creations impressed her.

Therefore it was with great interest that she observed the latest developments in both worlds: In Jachwe's attempt one race was gaining power over the rest, establishing an empire like it was unseen before. And she had seen many things.

In Luce's creation, you could see that the strict concept was working well. A small and exclusive group had established an elite by showing a sheer amount of will to follow and obey. They sided and collided with each other. One of them seemed on the winning path to success. Obviously Belzeebul, one of the seven who called themselves princes of hell, was trying to apply as the first leader of hell. Gaia was curious to learn what kind of process that would inspire.

But something else really bothered her. It had been obvious for a long time now, that Lucifer had an ever-growing number of lovers among the other gods and angels. But when you had lovers, you also had haters. That was only natural. But recently the wave of hatred seemed to heighten. Some discredited Lucifer because he was badly liked among the others for his cruelty and superficiality. Recently his bad reputation had seemed to become worse than ever.

Still, Gaia was undecided if she should intervene, and if rather clueless as to how. Making bets with one of the more popular Gods surely hadn't helped Lucifer. But it was too late, she hadn't forbidden it in the first place in the slight hope that something would come out of it.

She took a closer look upon the world: A queen had risen herself highly above all the others in an empire unprecedented. But it wasn't meant to last forever. Nothing ever was. A war evolved like so many times before. But humankind was creative and inventive and every new quarrel and measurement of forces exceeded the one before in the amount of cruelty and the number of casualties. Their weapons grew stronger and more powerful with every struggle they fought.

Kings, queens, and emperors came and went.

Whereas in hell a small circle of privileged gained more and more mastery over the others. Things were shifting as well. Every leadership – good or bad - found insurgents. It was a natural concept. Even Gaia herself wasn't equally liked and some openly doubted her competence.

Something in the room below her caught her eye. She knew Lucifer well enough to know when he was up to something. The question only was what it was this time. Her suspicion proved right the next moment when he looked around and raised as soon as he noticed that nobody was looking at him but only at the two worlds in focus of the bet.

He sneaked out of the room. Carefully opening and silently closing one of the big golden double doors behind him. She wondered if she should examine the topic further and was half arise when someone knocked on her door.

To her big surprise, her visitor turned out to be the angel in doubt himself.

"What is it Lucifer?" she asked in her sternest voice.

"I want to make a report." He explained looking her straight in the eye.

"Tell me more" she demanded to know, mostly opting for buying time.

"Maybe you are aware of the latest on-goings among us. It needs to stop. Now! It is getting out of control" he went on.

"What do you mean exactly and what do you want me to do about it?" Gaia inquired. He wasn't bad in judging and punishing so maybe there was a point in asking his opinion.

"I mean the wagers. Almost every one of them is gambling. You must be well aware of it! I would forbid it. I would stop it if I were you. I would ban them from participating in the next congregation." He suggested.

The Goddess with the many names laughed slightly. "You would?" Something he'd said amused her mildly. It wasn't out of character that he'd missed confessing the original reason for all the new bets and his own involvement.

If she followed through with his proposal, he and Jachwe would have to suffer the worst. He wouldn't want that. Would she want that? She wasn't sure. But it was time to do something about it. Only what? She needed to ponder over it a little longer.

"I will think about it. Expect my judgment today in the evening proclamation. I need to gather more information." With a wave of her hand, she bid him leave. "Thank you for your trust in me" she added more as an afterthought only moments before he was out of her realm again. But he'd heard her words and paused outside her door to prepare for his next steps – a broad smile on his angelic face.

As it often can be observed in works on WorldPad, someone else chose the time of his absence to do something fatal and utterly unexpected: Beelzebul, the first prince of hell, proclaimed himself as First Prince of Darkness overthrowing his six brothers in a swift strike. In order to prove his power and to set a statement, he let loose his two wolfs named Skalli and Hati. Shortly after that incident, Lucifer still hadn't returned from his latest venture to intervene or even stop what was to happen, stars started to fall. Sun and moon were following in their wake, hunted down by the two hungry beasts afraid of their glorious shining. Hell was shaking. The trembling could be equally felt among supporters and opponents. Trees were uprooted and the highest hills started tumbling down. Hell broke loose. Unseen and unnoticed of all eyes two other, even darker creatures of hell could break free from their chains to wreak even more havoc.