Season of Mists – Part 2 of 3 – “Welcome to Hell.”

Greetings and Well returned to The Sandman – Season of Mists” special.

Today we continue following Morpheus, the Lord of the Dreaming, on his quest for redemption, forgiveness and peace for his Eternal soul. For this he is traversing the endless Nowhere, to reach the Legion Gates of Hell and undo the harms of his younger, pained heart.

Oh, and let us not forget about a certain fallen angel who still holds a special place in his heart for spite and revenge.

Nonetheless, one must always respect and see their responsibilities through until the end. That is the mantra of the King of Dreams.

A figure of great royalty in his own right, the Sandman had sent word of his arrival to his adversary. For that is the way of such things.

He passes through the deformed doors of demon bones that stand as its entrance, and walks into Hell.

And no one is there. The gates are not guarded, the entrance is empty. No beasts, no demons, not even the damned ones or their screams.

Dream is naturally suspicious (for this is Lucifer we are talking about), but one cannot look a gift hellhorse in the mouth for too long.

With just a thought, he is at Nada’s cell, still unopposed in his way. The Dream King is cautious, but now he is slowly relieving himself in comfort...then in actual hope.

And then Hell strikes.

Punishment and torture are what Hell is best at, and as a certain goblin once said:

Morpheus is taken aback, but this gives him the clarity he was so desperately missing. He stops, he listens, and hears that Hell is completely empty.

With nothing left to lose, he calls out to the Lord of Hell himself. Not very gallant or gracious, but there is a time and place for everything.

Lucifer answers (because of course he does) and is in a…. disturbingly chatty mood, for the Prince of Darkness. He just wants to “talk” with Dream, and promises to not cause any harm to him while they are within the boundaries of Hell. Words have power, even to the Devil himself. That is why he never breaks his.

Dream accepts and trusts the Prince of Lies. Now he simply wants to know why Hell is empty. Lucifer answers:

I've QUIT.
Side-note: You guys know that show Lucifer, that is all about The Devil quitting Hell because he got bored of it, so he owns a bar and just has fun messing with people?
Yeah, that came out of this comic. #comictrivia

The conversation that follows between the two is heavy in weight, but carried with the ease befitting two Entities of Existence. There is one line in the beginning, where Lucifer states: “You need not stare at us---at me rather”, and the Dream King catches this: “You…you refer to yourself in the singular, Morningstar”. A small change to some, but deeply meaningful when it comes to Lucifer. “I am no King, Morhpeus. Not any more”.

The act of changing a pronoun, used in such a way. It points us to the path that the Morningstar has walked: from selfless king of the damned, to a man who is just tired of having done the same job for over 10 billion years.

The Dream King follows Lucifer on his last walk through Hell. It is not nostalgia that drives the former Devil, but a few annoying stragglers who do not accept that Hell is closing. Or better yet, that their King has given them up.

They find the nuissances, who actually challenge their former Lord. The question his choices, and demand to know his motives for turning his back on daemonkind. Lucifer answers their concerns with one simple line.

With that settled, all that remains is locking up the final gates to Hell (with a key and everything). The conversation between the two continues, speaking volumes not through the words themselves, but through the fact they are there in the first place.

Morningstar is pouring his heart and….um…“soul”, out in front of the Dream King, who seems to be content on accompanying and listening to the sighs and sorrows of the former Devil.

Lucifer reminisces over his entire existence, ever since before his fall from grace and his banishment from the Silver City. He is...regretful. Not of his actions, for those were never actually his to choose.

He stops himself, fearing he has said too much…but when you are in the presence of he who collects and IS all stories, even the Devil’s tongue cannot stay sharp for long.

His monologue about "a day in the life of The Devil” is at the same time amusing, thought provoking, and surprisingly touching. Look at this piece of their conversation.

From the tone you feel coming from him, to his palpable exasperation. You can even hear the mocking dismissal in his voice as he says “The Devil made me do it.” This entire expression comes together and creates the richest, most subtle layer of genuine humanity that I have ever seen in any portrayal of the Prince of Darkness.

With the final gate now closed, the two monarchs step outside the boundaries of a now defunct daemon kingdom. Lucifer asks his first and only request towards the Dream King: to cut off his wings.

Befitting. For as Lucifer admits, it was Dream’s message of conflict that pushed him over the edge. The idea of another fight was too much for him to handle. He did not care or wanted to care anymore about the ruling of Hell.

With that final connection severed, the Greatest of all the Angels denounced his aspirations for the greatest heights. He instead embraced the nature that had always defined and moved him: rebellion.

For being the final budge that his mind needed, Lucifer has two offerings for the Dream Lord.

The first is information about his love: Nada was taken by a group of demons, but which group of demons exactly is a mystery. Morpheus sighs, for he is now further away from saving her than when he arrived.

The second gift is the key to Hell.

For Lucifer always keeps his word, and they are no longer within the boundaries of Hell.