An Eternity of Eclipse

by Con Template

  I gazed thoughtfully into his eyes, reveling in the feel of wind sweeping past us.

  “You asked me earlier in the night why I disliked you so much, why I found it despicable to be around you. I’ll be honest with you, Eclipse. I like you—a lot. You’re very intriguing. I’ve become quite bored with my life. Though I can’t say that you’ve been the bearer of good news, I can say that you’ve livened up my life. Although I find you very entertaining, I don’t trust you. I find you to be tempting, yes. I find it hard at times to control my own whims around you, yes. But what I despise most about you, the big reason why I hate your presence is that I loathe being around someone who knows more about me than I do about them. For as long as I can remember, no one has ever seen my true colors—the type of person I truly am, which is a sadist in sheep’s clothing. But then you came along and pretty much threw everything out of order.”

  Bitterness infused my eyes.

  “Suddenly there is someone out there who knows my secrets, who knows what makes me tick, and who is aware of the shame I have for myself.” I smiled dryly. “I’ve always led a solitary life and I don’t let anyone in. I’m always more cunning than my fellow human beings and for that, I feel safe with my existence. Yet with you, the great omniscient Demon who is more cunning than me, your presence is poison. You threaten my existence in more ways than one. You know far too much about me. And for that reason and that reason alone, I will always loathe you because I do not like it when someone can see through me and I can’t see through them.”

  “I know what everyone else knows,” he responded after an extended period of silence. His brown eyes held my own with ease. “Your state of affairs in life and your propensity towards sadism is obvious. Anyone with some semblance of deductive reasoning can see that. All they need to know is some small surface information about you, which is that you were the one who killed your family and you’re still exhibiting sadism—if only in small dosages. Because all of that is public knowledge for a Demon like myself, figuring out what makes you tick isn’t intrusive. It’s simple fact.” He offered me a gentle smile. “Take me for instance. I’m sure you’ve figured out all the coated layers there are to me. You know more or less what type of individual I am and my set personality—just as I know yours. However, we do not know why the other is the way they are.” His eyes implored mine to see reason, to see that he wasn’t the enemy. “I am not a threat to you, Gracie. Contrary to what you may believe, I do not have you figured out. I have my theories, but certainly nothing concrete. You’re actually very complicated, which is one of the reasons why I find such fascination with you. You may feel that I’m a mystery to you, but you’re a mystery to me as well.”

  “But you still know more about me,” I argued. Inwardly, I felt slightly better to hear his side, to hear that he found me to be just as complex and puzzling as I found him. “No matter what you say, our relationship is very skewed. You still know more about me than I’ll ever know about you. My background, my world, and certain things about me may be public knowledge, but your background, your world, and your beliefs aren’t.”

  He nodded in understanding. “Very well. Ask me.”

  “Really?” I blurted out, flabbergasted that he was giving me this concession again.

  He nodded again, his features showing no bluff. “Ask me then, Teacup. Just like the other night. Anything you want that will help give you some knowledge of what makes me tick, what has helped embody me to be the entity that I am, and anything that will make me less threatening to you.”

  “What’s Hell like?” I asked immediately, going right into one of the things that were such a big part of someone’s upbringing and background: where they were from.

  “For me, it’s beautiful.” A favorable smile danced in his eyes at the reminder of his home. He gazed at me with confidence. “For you it would be as well.”

  I shot him a curious look. “I take it the pit of despair and misery only exists for the humans who lost their way?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Can you explain more?”

  He took a moment to ponder my question. He slowly began to enlighten me on the inner workings of a world that we humans could only dream (or have nightmares) of seeing.

  “There are seven Kingdoms in Hell,” he shared, holding every inch of my attention. The dark sky began to rumble slightly while he spoke, giving me knowledge about something that few humans would ever know. “It is ruled over by the Devil’s seven sons—the seven Dark Majesties. For those residing in any part of the seven Kingdoms, you will never see a more beautiful place. But for those residing underneath the tomb—the pit of Hell—then there will never be a more miserable place. That’s where the assumption of Hell rests for your world, but for our world, it is merely the inverted tip of a much bigger iceberg.”

  I swallowed tightly, astounded that even though I had known that Eclipse’s home was in Hell, I had always considered it to be a place with lots of fire and a place filled with miserable souls. It was insightful to learn that there was more to Hell than misery. I recalled the love in Eclipse’s eyes as he thought about his home. A dangerous thought crossed my mind. If Eclipse was so fond of it, then it couldn’t be that bad, right?

  Luckily, that dangerous thought was obscured by another prevalent realization. I instantly brought his attention to a certain anomaly in the information he just disclosed. “You said that Hell is ruled over by the seven Dark Majesties—the seven Princes. If it’s ruled over by you and your brothers, then where is your father?”

  The light in his eyes dimmed marginally at this question.

  “In hibernation,” he said quietly, gradually taking his gaze off of me. He vested his attention to the dark Heavens above.

  Bewilderment spread over my face. “He’s in . . . hibernation?”

  Eclipse let out a confirming breath. “My father hasn’t been around in a very long time.”

  My curiosity was unquestionably piqued. “Tell me.”

  His cautious demeanor told me that he was hesitant to share any information that dealt with his father. Yet, as though recalling my dislike of him for keeping so many secrets from me, Eclipse relented.

  The world around us grew quiet as he inhaled deeply from his cigarette. A contemplative expression presided over his face. The wind had stopped howling, the city below had grown silent, and the storms in the skies had stopped brewing for the time being. In that suspended moment, it seemed that the entire world had fallen silent to listen to the biblical story Eclipse was about to tell.

  “It is said that after my father fell from Heaven, his first act in the new world order was to create his seven heirs,” Eclipse began, fixing his attention on the full moon in the distance. “Pride was his first heir, the first son he ripped a part of himself to create. Pride was considered the most powerful sin of all and the one that caused him to fall from grace. Then came Wrath and Envy, the next two sins he felt when he fell. Several more long centuries passed, and in that time frame, he created Greed, Gluttony, and Sloth. It was said that by the time he reached me, more than several centuries from the time he fell, he was losing power. In order to create his last son, he had to wait for the moment where God turns a blind eye.”

  “A blind eye?” I repeated slowly.

  He nodded. “When the moon passes between the sun and the earth, something extravagant happens.”

  “An eclipse,” I supplied.

  Eclipse nodded again, reverting his gaze to me. “The phenomenon is more than astronomical—it is biblical. Eclipses are rare and total eclipses where the moon covers the entire body of the sun is rarer. But for those few times where a totality occurs, those are the times when time stops. It is the time when God is blinded from the world he created, it is the time when the Heavens are powerless, and it is a time when God’s grace is overshadowed, as it is the forces of evil that humankind falls mercy to.” He went on, staring at the incandescent moon with unrivaled interest. “The meaning of ‘Lucifer’ i
s ‘Light-bearer.’ The root of my father’s powers stems from the control of the luminescent skies. When the eclipse occurs, his power for that brief moment in time is renewed.”

  He stopped smoking, flicked his cigarette away, and breathed in the fresh air.

  “He created me when his power was at its weakest and when it was at its strongest. Everything that my father had left, he gave up to create me. It is said that because the Heavens were blinded when I was created, my powers are beyond anything they’ve seen. Because unlike my Elder brothers, I was gifted with the last ounce of my father’s powers before he was thrown into exhaustion—before he had to go deep within the pit of Hell to renew his powers. It is said after he went into hibernation, he hasn’t risen since.”

  “Is that why you were given a name other than Lust?” I asked, awed by the true significance of his name.

  He gave me a confirming smile. “It is an homage to my father and an homage to how I was born—under the cloak of the eclipse, under the veil of evil in its most powerful form.”

  “Are your brothers given other names as well?”

  “No,” he laughed, shaking his head. “They each go by the name of their sin.” A coy smile tilted on his lips. “I’m the only special one in the family, Teacup.”

  I smirked at Eclipse, appraising him with a newfound light. It was remarkable how a mere question about his background—or his family’s background—could give me such insight into Eclipse. It astounded me because, at that second, he appeared larger than life. A real life powerful Demon, Satan’s youngest spawn, was sitting here beside me, speaking to me instead of wreaking havoc over the world. I couldn’t imagine why someone of his caliber would waste time with me. Granted he did appear like the type of Demon who would risk life and death for the fame of garnering a coveted soul, I somehow felt there was more to Eclipse’s motives as to why he was so attached to me.

  I suppose I was still intoxicated by all the alcohol I downed because before I could even think twice about my query, I asked him a question that was so out of the blue that I couldn’t believe I had the nerve to voice it.

  “Are you in love with me or something?”

  Sounds of cars screeching on the road beneath us could be heard, which was an appropriate companion to Eclipse’s face. He wore the “wait-what-the-hell-did-you-just-say” look on his handsome face.

  He gawked at me, and I knew he was trying his best to not laugh at me. He was looking at me as though I had just asked a computer if it had fallen in love with me. The notion sounded ridiculous and hilarious to him. Though he did his best to stifle back his laughter, I could hear the mocking amusement pour out through his voice.

  “Demons don’t fall in love, Gracie,” he told me, acting as though that was the most obvious fact in the world. He bit his lower lip, suppressing his smile because he deduced this was a sensitive topic for me. Albeit he tried to take it seriously and answer me in a civil manner, it was obvious that he thought this was the funniest thing he had ever heard. He cleared his throat and buried his scrutinizing eyes into mine. “What would possess you to think that I’m in love with you?”

  I felt the mortification rain down on me. I had never felt more stupid. If I weren’t so afraid of heights, then I would have jumped off the building to save myself from the embarrassment that was engulfing me. Of course a Demon couldn’t fall in love. What was I thinking?

  “I . . .” I shifted edgily, trying to pilfer through my thoughts to deduce what would possess me to ask such an improbable question. “I–I just can’t understand why you would risk your life to get my soul . . .”

  “So your only conclusion was to think that a Demon has fallen in love with you?” he provided lightly.

  He was making fun of me, and I did not appreciate it.

  I frowned, feeling defensive and angry that he was making light of this conversation. I was aware that it was a dumb question to ask a Demon, but he didn’t have to make me feel so shitty for asking. “You can’t blame me for asking.”

  He nodded, giving me enough respect to no longer mock my naïve question.

  “Let me tell you something about ‘love,’ Teacup,” he launched seriously, eyeing me with conviction in his gaze. “Love is over-the-top lust in its most powerful form. It weakens humans, blinds them into believing that there is a certain magic in the world that could be attained through the mere acts of love. The truth is: such illusions do not exist. All that exists is lust and what’s left is just companionship. You humans mistake the two separate feelings and combine them into one, thinking that companionship coupled with lust equates to love, which is not true at all. Lust is lust—when you’re in lust, you enjoy someone else’s companionship for all that it is worth. And over-the-top lust is when you would kill anything that threatens to take the companionship you cherish so much away. This is what you humans mistake for love.”

  The city lights twinkling behind Eclipse made him appear more divine as he continued enlightening me. “So to answer your question, Gracie, no. I’m not in love with you nor will I ever be. Love is an illusion. It is not a silly thing I allow myself to fall fool to.” His smile was kind once he took inventory of my offended frown. “Do not mistake my amusement for your question to mean that my feelings for you aren’t genuine—because they are. I like you, Gracie. I happen to like you a lot. I don’t love you, but my lust for you—my desire for you—is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt.”

  He stared into my eyes, holding my unyielding attention with the dark pools of his gaze.

  “The illusion of love, like humans, dies. If a mortal man should ever promise his undying love to you, then it will die with his lifetime. But if I promise just an ounce of my affection, then it will live on until the infinities. There is no such thing as undying in human promises, but anything that I commit myself to, anything that I promise you . . . it will truly be undying. It will truly be constant and eternal. And all of that, my little Teacup, holds more gravity than any lifetime of love any mortal man could give you.”

  I smiled halfheartedly once his philosophy on love cascaded over me. I recalled all my dreams about finding that special someone to change me for the better, to help give me a normal life, and to help me experience all that life has to offer, which is “love.” No matter how worthless it might be to him, it still meant everything to me.

  “I do not want to be lusted after for all the unending eternities,” I told him with wistful conviction. I shifted my eyes to the expanse of the glittering and unrestrained vista. “All I want is to experience a moment of pure, unadulterated love that is so powerful it will last me a lifetime.” I turned back to him and smiled. “Your lust is amusing to me, Eclipse. It entertains me, it fascinates me, it may be fun to be around, but that’s all that it does. It will never have a lasting impact on me, it will never satisfy me, and it will never hold any gravity in light of what I’ve wanted all my life. For a Demon like yourself, you may not think that love exists, but I think it does. It may be rare, it may be hard to find, and it may be difficult to detect, but I think it exists.”

  The ocean in Eclipse’s dark eyes glimmered with amusement. “Such foolish words for a bright girl. Here you have the Prince of Hell lusting after you, and you go lusting after the short-lived illusion of love instead. If this doesn’t make you foolish, then I don’t know what would.”

  I shook my head with a defiant smile. “I’m not being foolish.”

  “Aren’t you?” he incited. “One of the human definitions of the love that you’re seeking is the ability to put someone else before you—the ability to put their well-being, their health, and their happiness before yours.” His eyes scrutinized me carefully. “You killed your own family when you were six, Gracie. You couldn’t care less about their deaths, and you don’t give a damn about anyone else in your life. Do you really think someone like you would ever be capable of loving someone more than you love yourself?”

  I was quiet because every part of me agreed with his statement. I
wasn’t capable of loving anyone more than myself. Hell, who was I kidding? I wasn’t even capable of loving anything, much less someone. Though he had a point with everything he said, I could not bring myself to agree with him. In lieu of replying, I simply stared into the distance in silence.

  “You and I are the same, Gracie,” he asserted thoughtfully. I could feel his gaze rest on me before his eyes returned to the panoramic view of our majestic surroundings. “We’re two different entities, but we’re both selfish beings who only care about their own self-preservation. We do not possess the genetic make-up to put the needs of others above our own. We only care for things we lust for and we only care about things that gives us mutual benefits.” A hand gently grazed over my cheek while disappointment thickened his voice. “We’re better than all these weaknesses, yet you are so anchored with your foolish desires to fit in and become human that you fail to see the wonders of being immune to all of this human weakness. Love does not conquer all, and in the end, all humans will realize this fact before their end comes.”

  “What’s so great about being a Demon?” I finally questioned, angling to face him. With all this talk about him hating my race, I couldn’t help but wonder what was so special about his. “You seem so put off with humans and everything that humans seem to live for. I can’t help but wonder what is so great about being a Demon?”

  He beamed proudly, clearly expecting me to ask this. He didn’t waste time in giving me his proud answer. “I like waking up and knowing that I have the rest of forever ahead of me, that I will always have eternity by my side. I will always have time to enjoy myself and never be pulled down by mortal weaknesses. It is a powerful gift that Demons are given, to be above mortal limitations. I cannot imagine anything ever replacing my love for it.” He flipped the question back on me. Challenge edged his voice. “What’s so great about being human? What is so special about your life that, despite the fact that you’re such an outcast, you still hold onto your humanity when I’m offering you immortality? To be greater than what you are?”