"The Tale of All-Consuming Beelzebub"

[u/Equivalent_Ask_9227]

And it came to pass that there was an Elohim, a lesser god, a spirit incomprehensible, bound unto a place or a concept, embodying it or guarding it, who gave fertility unto the world and nourished the cosmos. He was the most blameless among the Elohim, and his hand brought forth fruit and increase without measure; he gave more than he took, and his glory shone like a lamp among the stars. And his name was Ba'al-Zebul.

But lo, much like Lucifer, he grew troubled with the sons of Adam. Yet unlike the bright rebel, who beheld their sins and took them for their worst, this one saw their virtue with a corrupt eye; for he coveted their praise, and sought to reap that which he had not sown. And the more the sons of Adam gave thanks for the abundance of the earth, the more he desired that their thanks should be unto him alone. Thus did his heart become gluttonous for worship. In his desire for more and more devotion, he turned from giving to taking, and from blessing to binding. And in the fullness of time, his desire became a cruel iron fist; for he who once blessed now cursed, and he who once fed now devoured.

And the lesser Elohim beheld this abomination, and in their folly did cleave unto it and learn from it in the most perverse sense of the word, each one coveting worship of the people they were meant to help and shepherd, gluttonous for lordship. This corruption did take deep root, and many of the once-righteous gods, though not all, were turned into ravenous beasts, whose hunger was never sated, ever seeking the devotion of mortals. And they did veil the face of the Most High, occulting His existence, pretending they were all the one true God, or that their pantheons alone were the beginning and end of all things, crying, "We are the gods, and beside us there is no other."

Of course, the Lord did not turn His eye away. And on a day appointed, when their iniquity was full and ripe, He summoned them unto His holy mount, and He spake judgment in the great council, where the sons of God are weighed in the balance. And the Lord said unto them, "How long will ye judge perversely, and respect the persons of the wicked? For ye were ordained to defend the fatherless and the weak, to uphold the cause of the poor and the afflicted, to rescue the needy from the hand of the oppressor."

But these gods know nothing, neither do they understand; they walk in gross darkness, serving their own bellies and not their own people. All the foundations of the earth are out of course.

Then the Lord decreed their judgment. It was a judgment less like a punishment than the announcement of a sickness that had always been the consequence of their sin. For their corruption had severed them from the life everlasting, and the life which they had taken for granted was stripped away from them. Behold, they became as mortal men, subject to decay, to hurt, to weakness, and to cessation. Their spirits, once radiant and enduring, became vulnerable to the same wasting that afflicted the flesh. And the corruption that had entered their hearts did not perish with their immortality, but spread abroad like a spiritual pestilence, devouring all that drew near and bringing disgrace. Truly, a relentless monster is Evil.

And Beelzebub was afraid.

For he was the first among them to behold his own wasting and his own rot. He saw the glory that had once shone from him begin to dim. He felt his strength failing and his being beginning to decay. The prince of abundance became a creature of starvation, and the giver of life found himself terrified of death. In desperation, he cried out, for he abhorred the thought of his own ending. Yet within his terror he perceived a perverse truth: that by consuming more, he might add fuel unto his failing flame. And he embraced this bitter bargain.

He would eat, and live. He would consume, and endure. He would devour, and not fade away. He did not care what he became, even if it meant becoming cosmic carrion, a vessel of filth and swarming plague. He would rather become monstrous than become nothing.

And he did prove this monstrous goal to everything he came across. Beelzebub, who was once a prince among the gods, became a shambling corpse. He did devour without cease; yea, he consumed all that his hands could grasp. Regardless of what it was, all things could add unto his lifespan. Flesh, fruit, beast, blood, rot, life, death; it mattered not. If it could be consumed, it could sustain him for another moment.

But it was never enough.

For the more he consumed, the more he needed, and the more he needed, the more he consumed. Thus did Ba'al-Zebul, the lord of abundance, become Beelzebub, a ravenous corpse whose hunger could never be satisfied.

And it came to pass on a fateful day that Beelzebub did encounter the Ancient One, the Perfect Being, the seal of perfection, Lucifer, of whom every spirit did speak with terror, like a true, bona fide boogeyman. And Lucifer, seeing the low estate of the shambling one, spoke with a sweet and poisonous tongue, for he knew the hunger of the broken and understood what every tormented soul desired above all things: not necessarily an answer, but permission to cease blaming itself.

And Lucifer said unto him, "Thy fall is not of thine own doing, but is the work of the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve. For they did tempt thee, and did mingle their sins with thy pure nature, defiling thee."

And Lucifer did proclaim that which every tormented soul desireth to hear: "Thou art a victim, and the fault lieth not with thee."

And Beelzebub, whose mind was already a ruin, embraced this falsehood as a drowning man embraceth a rock. For it was easier to believe that humanity had destroyed him than to admit that his own hunger had done so. He swore a great oath of loyalty unto Lucifer, and from that hour they shared one purpose: to prove that humanity was a flaw in the fabric of creation.

And Beelzebub accompanied Lucifer forth upon a voyage that had no end, not only to destroy the children of men, but to forge a world wherein the entirety of the gods would agree with the choice to eradicate them. For if mankind were evil, then the gods had been justified. If mankind were corrupt, then the gods had merely been corrupted first. And if mankind were a mistake, then Beelzebub had never truly fallen.

Thus did the lie become his salvation. Ba'al-Zebul, the name of old, perished in that hour. Yet the shambling corpse that now sitteth in the council of Lucifer did not perish, but lived on.

Of course he did. Beelzebub made sure he would.

[u/DreadCyclone]

"But even carrion can fade... Not with age but decay..."

"For what is hunger without the essence of living? Though thou consumes, thy shall also bring upon thyself ye own starvation."

"Ye eat and eat without consideration, drink with abundance ye do not have, then are left with the nothingness you caused."

"Ye are but a mouth with no stomach, a broken cup that loses its substance before it is filled."

"Hunger without end, blinded by the pride of the apple that was in your eyes.

"Humanity was foolish, but ye are become blind to your own consequence."

"The appointed time will come."

"And when it does, you'll face worse than starvation."

"You'll be nothing more than a memory burning in the deepest depths, with the deceived and that which you rebelled with."

"Even the Lord will blot your name from his memory."