I had settled into my cage like a trapped animal. I wasn’t tired enough to sleep. The heat from the lava pool was overbearing, but somehow I endured. I was worried about Captain Douglas as his fur coat made the heat even more unbearable. He slept beside me, dreaming about things I would never know.
Hycus had left some time ago; I did not know where he went. After he departed a veiled darkness descended upon the lands. It was a twilight eventide filled with a dark red gloomy sky; it left me feeling solemn. No sun or moon existed in this place. I didn't know how the sky was illuminated. The randomness of day and night in Limbo mystified me. It definitely took some getting used to. Each day lasted an unpredictable length of time. On occasion the day moved by quickly, like a swift passing arrow. Other times it dragged in an unending parade of visceral moments.
Introspection gripped me as I waited in silence.
My odyssey in Limbo felt like a grand hallucination. I had arrived cold and wet, laying on the road like discarded trash. My clothes and my Plymouth Satellite were all that had reminded me of my normal life. Embracing my circumstances took a big mental leap as no one ever expected to wake up dead. I had met an Angel, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and the three sisters known as the Oraculum. Each of them had provided me with knowledge as to who I was, but I still had trouble accepting it. I was a wisp, whatever that meant, and their leader. The Potentate as everyone called me. As this figurehead I was preordained to bring peace to the heavens; to end a war between angels and demons. A conflict that had been raging since time immemorial. I didn't understand how everyone saw me as the leader of the wisps. They saw something in me that I couldn’t fathom.
Had I lived previous lives, like some kind of transcendental being who slipped through the realms of reality?
Who was I to possess this power?
How did I have a life on the earthly plane that I remembered so vividly, but also had a persona in the afterlife. Could I have existed in both places at the same time?
I had so many questions... and so few answers!
Not having my token, a key part of my essence, was proving to be problematic. My token was an inorganic part of my soul. I didn’t understand it fully, but I perceived that something was missing. When I searched deep into my consciousness there was an emptiness that pervaded my senses.
Limbo was a vast realm of secrets; a land of unknown unknowns. The sensations that I felt in Limbo were lost in an ocean of possibilities. The realm was so vast and difficult to grasp that I tried not to think about it.
The angel Adathan had given me a book: the Tome of Uriel. He said that it was to replace my missing token. It was a strange book with statistics on creatures, places and things in Limbo. It was useful when I encountered something new, but I still needed to translate its secrets for my own understanding.
Who was Uriel I wondered? Was he another angel or some kind of celestial? Would he want his book back again if I ever encountered him?
The tome had provided me with valuable insight into my journey. The types of creatures that were inside Limbo seemed quite varied. I had encountered an angel, an archdemon, drudes, monsters, and a celestial. I still didn’t grasp the classifications, but I knew that the celestials were creatures native to the kingdom of heaven. Many of the creatures in Limbo seemed to possess no soul. They were empty inside and lacked enlightenment.
So I was stuck in a cage above a molten lava pit.
I was tired, so I slumped inside my cage and awaited my fate.
Captain Douglas had previously mentioned that we were being watched, but I didn’t see anything. The creature hid in waste piles near my Plymouth that was hung in chains. Somewhere in the mess of metal debris there was a being who wanted to help us. A voice had spoken to the Alsatian; like breath upon the wind he had said. My canine friend had the ability to sense the presence of creatures. Even though I couldn’t see anything, I trusted what he said.
I still had the Tome of Uriel with me. I had forgotten to use it when Hycus was nearby, so I decided to open it. I was searching for any guidance to help in my predicament.
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[Celestial Hybrid]
Name: Azazel
Points: 438
Power: 11
Type: Angel-Demon
Location: Limbo
Immunities: Psychic Damage, Mental Powers
Abilities: Telepathy, Mind Control, Teleportation, Warp Reality, Shapesifter
Realm Effect : Invisibility Upon Demand
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"Hanna Jones?" A voice spoke to me.
"Who are you?" I spoke aloud.
"My name is Azazel."
I looked around as the voice seemed to be resting upon my shoulder, but there was nothing near. The closest creature was the drude sentry stationed past the lava pool.
"Where are you... I cannot see you, but I can hear your voice."
"I remain hidden, for both of our safety. You can hear my voice through telepathy. Your mind makes you believe that my voice is nearby."
I looked at the trash pile where Captain Douglas had said the creature was hiding.
“Try speaking to me in your mind, so as not to alert the drudes.”
I tried saying something in my head, “okay, does this work?”
“Yes.”
"What are you... angel or demon?" I asked.
"I am neither, but I am both."
"How is that possible?
"Ner was I born unto both worlds. The unlikely mating of a demon from hell and an angel from heaven."
"An angel can mate and have children?"
"Not usually, no."
“What do you want?” I asked
“I want to help you Hannah. I have come to guide you as an acolyte.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am an acolyte to the wisp,” it said. “The Wisp Convergence choose different acolytes to aid them in the afterlife to fulfill their quests, and to bring peace to the Kingdom of Heaven. Once a long time ago you saved me and then chose me as an acolyte.”
“I don’t understand. How did I choose you… I don’t remember ever being in Limbo.”
“You are the Potentate and are reborn in Limbo when your previous body perishes. You are the leader of the wisps. I became an acolyte to help you end the war between angels and demons.”
I was frustrated that another creature seemed to know that I was the Potentate. How was I reborn in the afterlife? I must have lived previous lives that I couldn’t comprehend.
“Everyone seems to know that I am this great wisp leader but me!”
“It is like seeing a child, you know they are a child, because that is what they are. That is how all creatures can see you in the afterlife.”
Finally, an explanation that made sense to me, even if I couldn’t see it for myself.
“If you had your token then you’d understand.”
“Can you also see that my token is missing?”
“No, but it is obvious to me that you aren’t fully conscious as the Potentate. I was studying you from afar as I was confused why you let yourself be captured by the archdevil Hycus. He is a greedy archdemon, but with minimal power compared to you. I thought that you might be purposefully planning to be captured for some reason. I didn't want to interfere. Then after studying you for a short time I realized that you did not have any of your powers.”
Azazel seemed like he actually wanted to help me, but I still wasn’t sure about trusting him.
“As an acolyte you are bound to me in some way?”
“Yes. My oath to the Wisp Convergence is total and complete.”
“What the heck does that mean?”
“I am to honor and protect the Potentate, with my life if necessary.”
That seemed extreme to me, but I had experienced for myself the dangers connected with being the Potentate.
“Why did you wait so long to find me when I arrived in Limbo?”
“I was… preoccupied with other matters for a while. My apologies Potentate!”
“Azazel, where are you? I want to see you.”
A figure stepped out from the metal debris near my car. Azazel definitely looked like a demon as his skin was colored light blue and he had leathery wings. He had a pair of horns on his head and his eyes were yellow. He also looked angelic. His wings were tipped with beautiful white feathers. Azazel’s face looked extremely handsome and his musculature looked beefy, like an Olympian deity. He had long blonde hair that was braided and ran down the front of his torso. He wore no clothes except some kind of culotte at his waist made of red and gold fabric. On his feet he fitted into simple leather boots. He had a fancy bow in his left hand and an arrow ready to use in his right hand.
“I am here.” He said.
He kept conversing with me in my mind to avoid being detected by the drudes. After I glanced his way he quickly backed into the shadows to avoid detection.
“I see you.” I said.
I was taken aback by Azazel’s beauty and ugliness. He was every part a demon and an angel in appearance.
“So, you are duty bound to me?”
“Yes.”
“How many times have you seen me reincarnate into the form of the Potentate?”
“Many times.”
I didn’t understand any of this and it was frightening for me to contemplate. I had lived many past lives as a wisp, but I couldn’t remember any of them.
“Am I a different person each time I reappear as the Potentate?” I asked.
“Yes, when the potentate perishes in the afterlife the next vessel is chosen. You were always the Potentate, even in the earthly-plane, but did not know it. It is very complicated, even I don't fully understand it. This secret is to protect you from the demons that constantly hunt for the leader of the wisps.”
“It is all so confusing!”
My mind was swirling with thoughts and feelings. It was hard to imagine, but everything he said made sense to me. Like remembering something long forgotten from my childhood.
“I understand Hannah. It was a sudden change that brought you here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was with you… the other Potentate."
He paused for a moment.
“You died fighting against Thanatos, the death horseman of the apocalypse!”