Lynn listened intently.
He knew.
Had she not trusted him completely, the Matriarch would never have told anyone these things.
The Self-Binding Angel took a deep breath and said, lost in thought:
"And precisely because of that endless chaos and strife, through countless ages of slaughter and competition, rulers wielding immense power emerged on each plane of the Abyss. The strongest being on any given plane was naturally called its Monarch, and that was where the title of Abyss Monarch came from."
"But because the planes differed in strength, as the Monarchs slaughtered and fought one another, titles such as First Monarch and Second Monarch arose to reflect their relative power and distinguish them more easily. That tradition seems to date back to an even more distant past."
Lynn listened carefully and asked solemnly:
"So... were you once the... Monarch of the seventh plane of the Abyss?"
But the Self-Binding Angel shook her head slightly, her lips parting.
"No. I was born in the First Abyss Plane. That title of Seventh Monarch was merely something I inherited after defeating the ignorant demon who once tried to seize the first plane. In truth, I never actually ruled the seventh plane of the Abyss."
Lynn focused.
She continued softly, "And the reason I was called Lucifer's archangel was that it was once my mission. Although I never knew why, and had never truly met 'Lucifer,' every teaching I received from the moment I was born told me, over and over, the sole reason for our existence."
"It was to guard the gate behind us until it opened once more."
It was as though, in an instant,
those ancient, fragmented memories pieced themselves together again, parting the surging mist beneath the blood-red full moon.
That ancient castle seemed to have stood in the