Second Sin War

In the Aeon of the Champion story series, the Second Sin War was an armed conflict between the forces of Lord Asmodeus, his lieutenant Princess Lilith, her accomplice Exarch Shemyaza, and the loyalist Earth Watchers led by Araqiel. The war took place around -27,896, again on the planet of Middle-Earth.

Prelude
Despite the fall of the Black Empire and the extensive clean-up efforts made by the Aesir, evil still persists on Middle-Earth, just waiting to be brought back above the surface. Contrary to popular belief, Princess Lilitu of the Succubi was still alive, scheming in the darkness for 36,000 years. She plotted with the other Succubi to free their master, the Sin Lord Asmodeus, from his prison complex under the ground. The perfect opportunity came when Asmodeus and the other Princes of Hell gained access to one of the Earth Watchers, Yeqon, tasked with guarding Middle-Earth during its infancy and recovery stage. Yeqon was already a prideful angel, with his success at managing the affairs of the planet inflating his ego. He became convinced that he was talking to a god, and thus was determined to follow this god's orders.

Corrupted from within, Yeqon presented the case for descending to earth to the other watchers. While initially repulsed, the demonic taint from Yeqon too besieged their hearts, and very soon, the poisonous proposal had reached High Watcher Shemyaza himself. Shemyaza agreed to have the Watchers go through the Fleshing - a painful, though seemingly rewarding process that would make an angel mortal.

After abandoning their watchtowers of gold and descending to Earth, the angels frolicked in their newfound freedom - until one of them, Bezaliel, tripped over a stone in a meadow and broke his ankle. This type of injury was uncommon to the angels, and it was through this experience that Bezaliel realised - they were mortals now. Reporting this to Shemyaza, the High Watcher was furious and accused Yeqon of betraying him. Not one to let a plan fall apart, however, Yeqon reminded Shemyaza of the potential for power now that they lived among the mortals of the universe, and advised the Grigori to build their own kingdom, away from the High Heavens. Agreeing to this, they pooled their power and raised the island of Terris Aurum out of the sky, with Shemyaza ruling the New Heavenly Host telepathically from his floating fortress atop Skycrown.

As time wore on and Shemyaza ruled, he rapidly became restless. At first he enjoyed his freedom, but eventually the feeling became cold, and he longed for the companionship of his fellow angels back in Arda. He turned to increasingly desperate methods to cure his depression and paranoia, all signs of advanced demonic corruption. The plan was working. All Asmodeus needed to do was get Shemyaza to locate Lilith, his agent, to execute the scheme. She would use Shemyaza as a key to open the lock that was Terris Aurum, and, having gained access to the angels, manipulate them into freeing her lord and bringing back the Black Empire. The plan could not possibly go wrong.

Indeed, Asmodeus coaxed Shemyaza into finding a female mate. Yeqon again approached Shem, and told him of a legendary wandering maiden roaming the land in search of the perfect mate. Instantly enraptured, Shemyaza abandoned his throne at a critical moment, going on an epic expedition to find this fair maiden and bring her back to Terris Aurum to marry. Little did he know that this fair maiden was Lilith in disguise, subtly tugging at his heartstrings and drawing him nearer to the deadly trap she had set for him.

Becoming aware of the danger, the angel Araqiel, along with his loyalist Watchers, realised that the prospect of the Black Empire returning and undoing the ordering of creation was very real. They convened with one another in Main Tower, and voted 46-4 to take the matter further to the Aegis Council, the attention of whom was brough to the impending doom of Middle-Earth. The Aegis Council itself voted 4-1 (1 abstention) to once again focus its might against the growing evil in an effort to protect their efforts thus far, and so began the Second Sin War: a last-ditch effort to stop Asmodeus from prison.

Trivia

 * The story of Shemyaza betraying the High Heavens and becoming a mortal overlord is borrowed from Christian texts.
 * The author disliked the minor role that Lilitu/Lilith played in the story, so he retconned the Mythos era in order to give her a bigger role. He also wanted to introduce the Earth Watchers and their fall in a way that seemed plausible.
 * In the old lore, Anariel defeated Lilitu in combat and arrested her in a light halo. In the new lore, it is unclear whether they fought or not, but even if they did, it is evident that Lilitu avoided prolonged capture.