Who dug up Azrael‘s blade?

As a Lucifer super-fan, I was on the edge of my seat watching the scheming unfold in season 5B. Lucifer‘s devious twin Michael clearly wanted Azrael‘s mythic Blade for his master plan against Lucifer. But how did he manage to uncover this divine weapon lost in another universe? The answer is one hell of a celestial scheme. Let‘s break down the twisted tale…

Michael – The Puppet Master Behind the Blade‘s Comeback

Michael Demiurgos, cunning twin of Lucifer Morningstar, is revealed as the mastermind who engineered Azrael‘s Blade back into his grasp. According to series lore, Michael dispatched the formidable angel Gabriel on a dangerous quest to retrieve the Blade from "the mother universe" – an alternate dimension outside Heaven and Hell.

Gabriel succeeded in this impressive cosmic heist, proving extreme power is required for interdimensional travel. So why did Michael send Gabriel rather than go himself? Likely because the mother universe is the one place Michael‘s authority doesn‘t fully extend. And he refused to leave our plane unsupervised lest Lucifer gain advantage. So Gabriel became Michael‘s unwitting celestial mercenary.

The Blade – Michael‘s Insurance Policy Against Lucifer

But why did Michael orchestrate the Blade‘s return? What use did he have for Azrael‘s weapon that eradicates immortals from existence eternally?

Here‘s my theory as an obsessed fan: the Blade was Michael‘s insurance policy in his endgame against Lucifer. If persuasion and allies failed to convert Lucifer to his side, Michael planned to wield the Blade‘s absolute annihilation power to eliminate his rebellious twin forever.

In my opinion, Michael never planned to triumph over Lucifer purely by skill or strength. He knew Lucifer‘s power might exceed his alone. So like the scheming mastermind he is, Michael stacked the deck fully in his favor by uncovering the Blade before his climactic confrontation with Lucifer. Devious…yet clever too.

Statistical Analysis: The Blade‘s Destructive Power

To appreciate why the Blade was so key to Michael‘s ploy, let‘s analyze just how staggeringly powerful Azrael‘s weapon truly is using some series data:

So according to canonical data, the Blade has only slain one angel – Uriel. But it did completely erase him from reality in the process. That‘s an imposing 100% extermination success rate against celestials. No wonder Michael wanted the Blade as a failsafe against possibly stronger Lucifer!

Mission Impossible: Returning Azrael‘s Blade

Retrieving Azrael‘s Blade was no simple task, even for formidable Gabriel. Let‘s analyze what we know about Gabriel‘s dimensional raid:

The Dangerous Celestial Crew

• Gabriel – Lucifer‘s loyal brother and Hell‘s former ruler
• Power Level: Very strong, but not as powerful as Michael or Lucifer
• Mission Role: Interdimensional burglar sent to steal back the Blade

So why did Michael entrust recovering the almighty Blade to Gabriel rather than an even stronger celestial? Perhaps because Gabriel‘s loyalty was proven by guarding Hell for millennia in Lucifer‘s absence.

And who better to command a cosmos-crossing quest than the former Lord of Hell used to mystical plane-hopping? Gabriel‘s millennia as warden likely honed interdimensional skills vital for entering and exiting the mother dimension unharmed.

The Impressive Interdimensional Heist

Now let‘s chronicle Gabriel‘s literally death-defying mission based on clues from Lucifer season 5 part 2:

• Objective: Infiltrate the alternate mother universe and capture Azrael‘s Blade
• Challenge Rating: Extremely High
• Details: Required tremendous power just to physically enter a forbidden dimension and safely return. Sneaking and stealing under the nose of The Goddess herself was surely dangerous!
• Outcome: Glorious success! Gabriel avoided erasure and managed to snatch the Blade undetected.

We still don‘t know much about Gabriel‘s thrilling trip. But razor-focused Gabriel clearly risked it all and defied deadly odds to accomplish Michael‘s mission and satisfy his own desire to return permanently to Heaven. In the process, he uncovered one of the most devastating devices in creation!

Lucifer and the Blade – A History of Heartbreak

No discussion of Azrael‘s Blade is complete without examining fallen angel Lucifer‘s painful past with this celestial WMD. Let‘s review some tragic history:

• Former Wielder: The Blade was once the tip of Lucifer‘s angelic Flaming Sword used to guard Eden.
• Stolen By: Lucifer‘s brother Uriel swiped the Blade from their sister Azrael‘s collection to try killing their Goddess mother.
• Used Against: A vengeful Uriel then attacked Lucifer with the Blade.
• Fateful Strike: Lucifer regretfully used the Blade in self-defense…utterly destroying Uriel from existence. The first and (so far) only time the Blade has been used to erase an angel.

Lucifer remains haunted by terminating his own brother with the Blade. Yet its latent power also remains tempting despite the heartache it carries. Perhaps Lucifer too wonders if the Blade could truly eliminate even God…

So while Lucifer loathes what the Blade represents, its vast power continues enticing his recurrent rebellious tendencies. After all, the Blade‘s raw might originally helped Lucifer wage war against Heaven!

The Future of Azrael‘s Blade

• Angelic WMD Status: The Blade remains one of the most dangerous celestial weapons in the physical and metaphysical planes.
• Current Location: Returned to Lucifer‘s possession at end of season 5. But for how long?

With such sweeping destructive aptitude, various factions surely crave controlling Azrael‘s almighty Blade. Will angelic extremists attempt to claim the Blade to regiment heaven? Or demonic hordes steal this bane of immortals to expand Hell‘s reach?

Perhaps God or The Goddess desire the Blade as a means to permanently dissolve creation without getting their hands directly bloody? Ascertaining the Blade‘s location and next wielder could drive the direction of future supernatural conflicts regarding Earth‘s fate!

As a passionate Lucifan, I‘m excited to see where the saga of the Blade goes next. Will cosmic battles erupt over this valuable instrument of extermination? Can Lucifer safeguard this divine WMD without using its absolute annihilation himself? Or might the Blade‘s terrifying power tempt even benign angels into acts of unspeakable cosmic genocide?

The cataclysmic capabilities contained within Azrael‘s Blade open exciting narrative avenues! I can‘t wait to see new schemes surrounding seizing control of Heaven‘s most dangerous uncaged weapon!