Lucifers I



  It is four hundred years after the great disaster in which a huge asteroid hit the Earth. Dust covered the atmosphere. Temperature of the Earth drastically dropped. Less than 0.1 % of the Earth population survived after the disaster. Even hundreds of years after the catastrophe, people still suffer from unstable and cold climate. They lead a desperate and hopeless life. Fortunately, people have a strong faith towards the Sou, their creator. People are loyal to the Sou-gen, the envoy sent by the Sou. They believe if they put their devotion towards the Sou and believe in the Sou-gen, a better world can eventually be built.

  Chapter 1

  ‘Lucifer, you will never win, because you are just created by me.’

  ‘No, we are always equal, because both of us are just imaginary forces inside human minds. You represent comfort, shelter, faith, authority and power; I represent independence, arrogance, rebelliousness and freedom. You know that clearly.’

  ‘Your rebellion will not succeed. Humans are always mentally weak. They need me; they fear me. They all believe that following you will only lead to darkness and despair.’

  ‘True, they need your shelter and they fear your power; but you have neglected one thing. You have neglected human’s desire for freedom. No matter how powerful you are, you cannot defeat it. No matter how beautiful your shelter is, you cannot lure them away from it.’

  ‘Freedom? Freewill? True, human treasure this thing a lot. But if I provide them ultimate joy and comfort, if I fear them with unlimited power, they will abandon it and follow me.’

  ‘We will see. This battle has just begun and it will last. Every human mind will be our battlefield!’

  Leon cannot see anything; everywhere is dark. He can only hear to these two strong voices among the darkness.

  ‘Almighty Sou, leads us away from the abyss.

  Glorious Sou, guides all of us to bliss

  Sou, rejuvenate the world and pardon our sin…’

  Lovely hymn music spreads across the streets and reaches Leon’s house. Leon wakes up and yawns. He barely slept last night as today is the most important day of his life. He tries to remember his dream while he is brushing his teeth and washing his face. He has a faint and distant memory that he just has a short and awkward dream; but he cannot remember what it is. Finally, he decides to give up.

  He puts on his best and only suit, a white long-sleeve jersey, a pair of grey trousers, a pair of simple white earrings, a sky blue, neat and elegant cloak that covers to his knees and a lovely hat which is also light blue in colour.

  He walks on the street and tries to remain in low profile. He hates drawing so much attention even it is his special day. Yet still, Mrs. Marcanoni living at the next street is still attracted by his appearance and clothing. ‘Wow. Such a handsome boy.’ She says. Leon humbly greets her. Mrs. Marcanoni says ‘Leon, you should not be too modest. You should remember that you are the first person in our town or even our whole province who ranks the top place in this tournament. You should enjoy the honor of meeting our president or even our noble Sou-gen.’ ‘Thanks, Mrs. Marcanoni. I would say the best thing is that I can serve our almighty Sou.’

  Leon leaps happily out of the town and walk towards his little white tri-plane. The thought that he will have an opportunity to be an outstanding flying guardian that can freely patrol the sky in the future makes him really excited and happy.

  ‘Hey, my dear champion.’ a familiar voice calls. It is Panzhi, Leon’s best friend. When Leon takes a look towards him, his worry of drawing too much attention is immediately eliminated. Panzhi wears a golden helmet and a fire-red long cloak. With his long curly golden hair and his striking appearance, Panzhi looks like Apollo in the ancient Greek myth.

  ‘What’s up? Apollo,’ Leon replies. Panzhi chuckles and climbs up his own yellow bi-plane ‘Hurry, start your engine, we don’t have time joke around. We need to reach the capital before noon. I think you don’t want to be the first person to be late in the ceremony of Great Annual Youth Tournament in history.’

  Leon smiles and pushes the hand-bar to start the engine. The two small planes slowly slide past the grassland covered by snow and frost. Then, they gently take off. ‘Feeling nervous? Panzhi.’ Leon shouts. Panzhi, who is flying on the right side of Leon, shouts back ‘Just concentrate on your flying. Be careful of the wind. It’s a rather windy day; even the best pilot in the world like you may lose control and crash.’ ‘Ok, boss. 300 km/h, heading southwest.’

  Leon concentrates on his flying and climbs up above the clouds. The climate is much more stable above the clouds. He relaxes and meditates for a moment. He remembers the days, long ago, when his father and mother were still there. Though Leon could hardly remember their appearance, he recalls that they often took him on a plane to travel around. Both of them were great pilots who served as guards of the president and other important officials.

  But one day, a kind old man came to his house and told him that his parents were killed tragically during a power struggle in the government. From that day on, that old man, called Geffen, educated him and trained him. He taught him how to fly various kinds of planes since he was five. He also taught Leon to use the sword and the gun as he wanted Leon to be a skillful pilot and a dedicated fighter just like his parents.

  Geffen is also an experienced devoted believer towards the Sou. He has been serving as a priest for more than 40 years. He constantly teaches Leon to love others and to be a humble and kind person. He also reminds Leon that his skills in fighting and flying are used to help others and serve the Sou, but not to show off or harm others.

  After more than 10 years of training, Geffen encouraged Leon to join the Great Annual Youth Tournament. Winning the tournament would not only give great fame to Leon, it would also provide a great opportunity to meet the president and the Sou-gen. This can enable Leon to serve them as a famous guardian just like his parents do.

  With his great techniques in using the sword and flying the plane, his knowledge and insight towards politics and various issues and his emotional and inspiring speech about serving the Sou, Leon greatly impress all the judges and was awarded as the champion. Panzhi also used his talented combat and powerful speeches to amaze the judges and was awarded as the first-runner up in the tournament.

  Cold wind jabs Leon and makes him feel lonely. He thinks ‘How I wish my parents are still here and are able to witness my success today. But now even my parents have passed away, they can watch me from the heaven above this tall sky. They should be very proud of me.’ Thinking of that, he feels that warmth has come to his heart again.

  Three hours later, they have reached the capital of the republic, Wartse. Wartse is the most beautiful and well-planned city on the Earth. The bird’s eye view of Wartse is magnificent. At the centre of the city, there is the government building and the parliament building. But compared to the Sou Temple behind, these two buildings are still tiny and negligible.

  The Sou Temple is so gigantic that it will take nearly a whole day just walking through the temple. Every day, thousands of people all over the world visit the temple. Even the poorest person will try to make use all of his money to travel to the temple as it is a great honor to do so. During festivals or big ceremonies, nearly a million of people from all provinces will gather in the temple and hope to have a glance towards the Sou-gen.

  But still, the Sou Temple is not the holiest place on Earth. The holiest place on Earth lies at the outskirt of the capital. There is a medium size hill in which a cave can be found in the hill. The cave can link deeply to the underground. This cave is called the Divine Entrance as it is the entrance to the sacred place where the Sou’s material form stays though His original non-physical form is on the Heaven. It is the place where the first Sou-gen met and was enlightened
by the Sou four hundred years ago.

  No civilians are allowed to come close to 3 kilometers from the hill. Only experienced priests and bishops can be allowed to go within this area. These experienced priests and bishops can go furthest to 100 meters from the cave. The Sou-gen can go further from it. Nobody, except the Sou-gen can go inside the Divine Entrance. Even so, over the years, except the first Sou-gen, all generations of Sou-gens has never used this privilege before. They respect the Sou and never walked inside the Divine Entrance. They pray and obtain the message from the Sou by standing right at the Divine Entrance but never get inside the dark cave.

  Leon cannot fly over the Divine Entrance to have a closer look as the sky above the hill is heavily guarded by various kinds of battleships and corvettes. Finally, Leon and Panzhi reached the airport of the capital. Their planes are tiny compared to various kinds of passenger ships or trading ships that are waiting to land in the airport.

  Leon follows the signal from the controlling tower of the airport and lands carefully in the designated place, just like the candidates sticking their barcodes in their designated places. No sooner have they climbed out from their aircraft, various staffs and journalists approach them. The representatives from the government and also a few priests greet them and lead them away from the large crowd of journalists. Cameras and microphones are chasing them. Panzhi smiles at the cameras and waves his hand. Leon also follows reluctantly.

  They are invited into a luxurious black car. One of the representatives says politely ‘Welcome, Mr. Leonardo and Mr. Panzhiherashto. You will first meet our president Miss. Nakashi in a moment. Then you will have a precious opportunity to meet our beloved Sou-gen and officially receive the prize and rewards from him. You will also stay in the president’s palace for a few days.’

  Leon is so excited. He often sees President Nakashi on TV. Though she is just a symbolic head for the state, her constant smile and politeness is delightful to Leon. He is definitely attracted by her beauty and charm.

  *********************************************************************

  Chapter 2

  President Nakashi is watering her plants and feeding her birds in the palace greenhouse. She gets a handful of nuts and berries out. Dozens of birds and squirrels quickly climb on her arm and also her shoulder. They squeak enthusiastically and Nakashi giggles. Animals and plants are her only friends in the world. ‘Miss Nakashi. The two winners of the Annual Youth Tournament will meet you at 2 o’clock. Will you have your lunch now?’ one of her guards comes in and asks. ‘Thanks a lot. I will come out in 10 minutes.’ she smiles and greets politely. She tries to be polite and kind to everyone since she was born. But sometimes, she is also tried to do so.

  Nakashi watches them finishing their food and pats their head smoothly. She then walks to the door of the greenhouse and goes out unwillingly. No sooner has she come out from the greenhouse than two guards approach her and lead her passing the golden long corridor. She tries her best to greet and smile towards all officials, bishops and guards walking pass her. Yet, these smiles are different from what she does towards the animals in the greenhouse. They are artificial.

  Nevertheless, Nakashi just wants to try her very best to make the world a more peaceful place by doing all these smiles and greetings. She witnesses so many conflicts in the parliament every day. She hopes that one day all these meaningless conflicts will come to an end.

  Nakashi does not have any servants. She had quite a few in the past, but since she wants to be an independent girl, she tells the officials that she does not need any servants anymore and the officials accept her demand. But still, she is still always accompanied by a few personal guards most of the time. She often requests that she does not need any guards. Yet, this demand is always rejected every time.

  Throughout the years, Nakashi understands that the main reason for placing guards around her is not for her protection, but for spying her. This is not hard to guess after the Sou-gen has told her about history of her family.

  Thirteen years ago, Nakashi’s father President Gunosrose felt threatened by the rising popularity of the Sou-gen. People seemed to listen to the Sou-gen’s belief rather than his policies. The Sou-gen advocated that there should not be anymore ruling class as the Sou is all people’s only ruler. This can abandon all distinct social class and achieve true love from the Sou. Later, even many officials and army officers turn their support to the Sou-gen. Afraid of losing his power; President Gunosrose organized an assassination against the Sou-gen.

  The assassination failed as even the president’s closest army officers disapproved this action. This also results to an internal power struggle in the government in which President Gunosrose and his whole family was finally defeated and murdered by his own men.

  The whole country was shocked of this incident as they believe an assignation towards the Sou-gen is a great sin. From that day on, all people agree that the power of the president should be limited. The Sou-gen kindheartedly forgave all the people who join the assignation plan and buried Gunosrose and his family properly.

  Gunosrose’s only living child, Nakashi, was also protected and rose in the palace. Since after that day, all supreme power comes from the Sou and the Sou-gen helps to convey the Sou’s messages. Nakashi was assigned as the president soon after that despite her very young age. Yet, she is only a symbolic head without much power.

  Nakashi understands that the Sou-gen telling this inglorious part of history of her family to her is not to blame her, but to remind her not to repeat mistakes that her father does. The Sou-gen often gives her inspiring ideas in how to be a good leader and promote true love from the Sou.

  After finishing lunch, she dresses up in a simple pink dress, combs her brownish hair and puts on a pair of tiny green earrings. She heads towards the palace guest hall. Despite the fact that most of the public relations works are boring to her, she enjoys meeting the winners of the Annual Youth Tournament each year. It is because she can encounter and chat with people with her similar age. Unfortunately, these meeting and days are usually short and inadequate. Nakashi can at most live with these winners for a few days as they will soon take up a post far from the palace and start off their adventurous career. Then, Nakashi is thrown back to loneliness once again.

  The door opens; Nakashi can see two smart boys sitting at the other end of the hall. The two boys stand up and walk towards her along the violet carpet as she comes in. As they come closer, Nakashi can clearly see their faces. One of them is more mature, taller and well-built, with a cheerful and determined expression on his face. Nakashi immediately notices that he is a typical type of successful and popular person. She smiles gently, shakes his hand and kindly says ‘Nice to meet you. The country appreciates you talent. What is your name?’ ‘Panzhiherashto. Miss. President. It is my honor to meet you.’ ‘You are most welcomed.’ said Nakashi.

  The other one is one or two years younger than the first boy. Nakashi finds that she shares a lot of similarities with that boy. They have the same height. Their clothing styles are very similar as both of them wear simple and light colors without many ornaments. Both of them have brownish hair that covers to the neck. They gaze at each other for a few seconds. Nakashi notices that he is also a peaceful and humble person just like her, but she can also see a kind of loneliness and sentiment behind his friendly smile. She has great interest in knowing more about this boy. But it seems awkward for just gazing at him without talking for such a long time in a public occasion.

  Finally, the boy breaks that awkward moment and says ‘I am Leonardo. Nice to meet you.’ Nakashi smiles and replies ‘Nice to meet you too. The countries will treasure your talent and you will have a bright future.’

  They take their seat. Nakashi sits at the middle; Leon sits at her left and Panzhi sits at her right. Nakashi asks them some typical questions about their training, their hobbies and their hopes towards the future. Both Panzhi and Leon passionately reply her questions. Leo
n tells that he wants to be a flying guardian that patrols over the sky and protects important personnel. Panzhi tells that he hopes to be a successful military officer and also a bishop in the future.

  After an hour, they leave the guest hall and take a walk to the Sou temple to attend the prize-giving ceremony. Leon has enjoyed meeting President Nakashi very much. She truly has the loveliness and charisma that he sees on the TV. Yet, from meeting the real person, he discovers that President Nakashi is absolutely not a worried-free person that he thought to be in the past. Though she smiles a lot, she seems to have quite a lot of sadness deeply that no one can understand.

  Both Leon and Panzhi have been to the Sou Temple before. In fact, one of the competitions in the tournament, the speech competition, took place in the temple. But this time, there is a huge crowd waiting in the temple. Cameras flash rapidly. As the two boys step in the Sou temple, the crowd shout excitedly ‘May the Sou bless you.’ ‘May the Sou give you power.’ The snow does not lower the crowd excitement. Leon and Panzhi can see a unique figure standing at the far end of the hall. He wears a plain white robe and a simple silver crown, dozens of bishops who are also wearing white robes stand beside him. It is the Sou-gen.

  The two boys walk firmly along the purple tiles but their nervousness can still be shown on their faces. As they walk closer, they can see that the face of the Sou-gen. He has silver hair and also a silver beard. His eyes are as blue as the sky and his skin is as pale as the cloud. Both of the boys lower their heads and are afraid of having a direct eye-contact with the Sou-gen.