The Unseen Enemy

Do you know who I am?

There are some who do not believe I exist, but the ones who do call me evil. They call me cruel. But I am merely playing my part in the war—one I did not start, might I add, but one I am destined to lose.

There is nothing I despise more than losing, but there is no running away from the prophecy. It states that I will be defeated. Snuffed out. Trampled beneath the feet of the damned followers of the king. Discarded and left to burn in the embers. It is a rather cruel punishment considering I have done no wrong—at least, not according to my standards—and it is not like I chose to be the way I am, it was forced upon me by the king when he cast me out of his kingdom. He started this war. And because of what, a mere challenge?

He had ruled on the throne for centuries. I tolerated his rule for years before I realised that I would make a far better king than him. Now, some may say my thoughts were driven by pride… and they would be right. I was the handsomest and most talented angel, after all. 

I say ’angel’ because this king’s kingdom is unlike the ones you are accustomed to. It is eternal; it has existed since the beginning of time and will stand until the end of time. And it is a kingdom that the king himself created. From the kingdom itself to the angels occupying it, to you—the mortal human beings. He created it all.

I, too, was created by the king. Ironic, is it not? When the very thing you created becomes the villain in your story. But I am unlike his other creations. I am greater; if not equal to the king, and I got to a point where I could no longer stand the idea of him being seen as superior to me. I knew that I could be greater; that I could ascend above the king and set my throne on high. And so I did what anyone sensible would have done—I challenged him for the throne. But as you may have already guessed, my scheme to usurp the throne failed. And so he banished me from his kingdom. He cast me—and all the angels who had fought with me—down like lightning from his kingdom in the clouds to what has now become my kingdom—hell.

And that was when the war truly began.

See, the prophecy states that once the king comes down from his kingdom into the world he created for the mortals, I will be banished to the lake of fire for all eternity. It is rather shameful to admit that, but I am not ignorant enough to deny the prophecy. It will happen, and, to put it simply, I refuse to suffer alone.

I am well aware that I cannot defeat the king, and so I must get my victory in another way. In a much subtler way. And that is by opposing his plan. I am biding my time by making the people the king created to serve him, serve me instead. Oh yes, you mortals have free will, and it is ever so easy to get you to stray from the king’s path and walk on mine instead.

It is a rather simple game of lies, tricks, and deceit. I offer you your deepest desires—riches, pleasure, fame—whatever your heart craves. All it costs is your soul, a simple price for the fleeting joys I provide. You will not even realize the trap until it is too late. And when the final card is played, your soul will be forever bound to me as I drag you into the depths of hell.

However, that only works for some. I have other methods. See, there are some who doubt my existence, and that disbelief serves me far better than they realize. A shadow unseen, a whisper unheard—how effortlessly the unaware fall into my grasp. The ignorant always make for satisfying prey.

But then there are those of you who are more vigilant and do not seek material things or attention. To get you on my path, I come close—closer than you could ever imagine. I become your friend, your confidant, your shadow. I whisper in your ear the words you crave, the words you fear. I tell you that you are better than everyone, and you believe it. Or that you are less than all, and you despair. That you are loved by all, and you bask in it. Or that you are not loved at all, and you crumble. I make you proud so that you may fall, and the world will watch as you shatter. Or I make you ashamed, so deeply ashamed that you bury yourself alive in the darkness of your own making.

But it does not end there. Oh, no. I linger in the shadows, fanning the flames of your doubts, feeding your insecurities, nurturing your arrogance. Until you no longer recognise yourself, until you are no longer in control. By the time you realise it was I who led you here, it will be too late. You will have become my puppet, your strings firmly in my grasp. And as you dance to my tune, you will serve my purpose. I am the voice that guides you astray, the hand that pushes you to the edge.

And then, there are the worst of you. Those who are much harder to deceive, but whose fall I revel in all the more. That is those who are already on the path of the king. For you see, there is no greater satisfaction than stealing what belongs to Him. Keeping the lost in darkness is but a trivial task—they are already mine, after all. It’s merely a matter of ensuring they remain in my grasp. But when I can draw mortals away from the king—when I can watch the light in their eyes dim and their hearts grow cold as they turn their backs on Him—ah, that is where my true pleasure lies. 

To take the faithful, to make them question, doubt, and ultimately forsake the very one they once worshipped—there is no greater victory. I savour each moment of their descent, knowing that every step they take away from the light brings them closer to me. And when the day comes that the king returns, there will be no mercy for them, no redemption—only judgment. Because when the king returns, he will claim his own. But those who choose me? Ah, they are in for a much darker fate.

You mortals, fragile beings of dust and clay, are nothing more than the remnants of a careless creation—yet you are revered as something precious in the eyes of the king, something more worthy than I. It is that twisted reverence that fuels my hatred, hatred for you and for the king who dares to think you are better than me. I will relish in tearing you away from his grasp, dragging you deeper into my shadow. Because when the king finally returns, those who were foolish enough to follow me will be mine—forever condemned, drowning in eternal despair, right by my side.

Simply because they were foolish enough not to realise that their number one enemy was always me.