Theresa sat across from Elvira at a small round polished oak table, slowly sipping some scalding hot tea. She struggled to avoid slurping the tasty beverage, letting the mint and raspberry flavors wash over her. Taking a moment to enjoy it, she contemplated her next words carefully.
"I like hanging out with you, Elvira, but today I've come for another reason," Theresa implored.
"Is it about my father and his antics towards Arn?" Elvira asked, her brow furrowing.
"No, it's about Abel," Theresa answered, her tone shifting to something more serious.
"Abel? Who is Abel?" Elvira cocked her head to the side, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes.
"You know of the ancient Will that has become a part of Arn?" Theresa inquired, hoping to gauge Elvira's knowledge.
"Yes," the young Lady Grey nodded.
"Its name was once Abel," Theresa confirmed, her gaze steady.
"Ah... I've never heard of a hero named Abel," Elvira said, scratching the side of her face, her brow furrowing in thought.
"That's because he is not from this world. The truly tragic part is that the world he came from doesn't know him either. He was never one to bask in glory, but always came to save the day when no one else would. His influence was woven into the fabric of life around him, and one drop of sunlight in a very dark world made a difference."
"I would like to hear more of this story," Elvira said, leaning forward, eager to listen.
"So would I, which is why I'm here. I want to talk with her," Theresa emphasized the last word, letting Elvira know whom she meant.
Elvira dropped her teacup onto the table, spilling tea everywhere. A maid rushed over to clean it up, but Elvira held up her hand, signaling her to stop. "Leave us! All of you!" Elvira ordered, her voice commanding. The staff quickly dispersed, leaving the two young women alone.
After a moment of silence, Elvira said, "I don't know how to summon her."
"She is as much a part of you as you are of her—two sides of the same coin. Close your eyes and will her to be here," Theresa explained.
Elvira Gray closed her eyes, and at first, nothing happened.
"Focus inward and desire her presence," Theresa instructed.
Still, nothing occurred. Minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity, and Theresa began to lose patience. "What are you thinking of?" she asked, pressing gently.
"Cute kittens playing with string," Elvira blushed.
"You're such a princess," Theresa huffed, suppressing a grin.
"Okay! I'm doing it! Just hold your horses," Elvira conceded.
Once again, she focused, and suddenly, Theresa felt the room's temperature drop several degrees.
"Hello, Death Goddess," Theresa appealed, her voice steady.
"Greetings, old Seer," Death coolly replied, her presence filling the room like a shroud.
"Sorry to disturb you; I know you're very busy and all, but I need to know more about Abel," Theresa implored.
Death's dark eyes met Theresa's, and a slight smirk crept across her lips. "I bet it's been frustrating to piece together his story when all you can see are possible futures."
"I want to know how he came to be a part of Arn. What happened that would destroy a person's soul? Why does he sometimes lose himself?" Theresa pressed, her voice thick with urgency.
"That's quite a long story," Death sighed, her tone shifting to one of recollection.
Theresa replied, "I have the rest of the day."
"Well, I guess that's a start," Death chuckled softly.
Death filled the fallen teacup with more tea and took a sip before starting. "Once long ago, when even I was young, there was a man named Abel and his brother, Cain. There was a fight, and Cain accidentally killed Abel. This was the first time a sentient creature had ever killed another, especially a kin, and it angered my father. He had especially loved Abel, you see—one of his favorite creations."
"So what did he do?" Theresa leaned in, captivated.
"He cursed Cain to live forever in a broken world."
"Why didn't he just kill him?"
"Abel pleaded for his brother's existence. Ultimately, my father promised to spare his life, but did so forever."
"If he died then, how did his soul get destroyed?"
"Remember when I said it was a long story? Abel returned to the world of the living by another name. It's called reincarnation, and it poses a huge risk for a mortal's soul."
"Why did he return?"
"Two reasons mainly: the first was an issue with the world that even my father could not directly fix, and the second was that Abel worried about his brother."
"What was the issue even a God could not fix?"
"The fight between good and evil in the hearts of men," Death replied.
"I do not understand," Theresa shook her head.
"You see, a good person may lay down their life for another, but a wicked person never will. There was an inherent imbalance between good and evil. So the world became overrun by the wicked, and my father found himself interfering in the world constantly. First, he flooded it, killing all but one family. Then he destroyed a corrupt kingdom with burning brimstone from the sky. It was never-ending, but Abel came up with a solution. Someone needed to be an example and spread good in the world. My father first thought he should appear in human form himself, but Abel convinced him he was mistaken. It would take a human being to teach kindness to others. God's interference would be artificial, and that would ultimately show. So Abel decided to keep returning until mankind no longer needed him."
"When did they stop needing him?"
Death scoffed lightly. "They never did; he was destroyed first."
"H-how many times did he return?"
"For over 5,000 years, in more faces than even I can remember."
Theresa squeezed the cup in her hand so hard that the handle broke off. She seemed to be holding back tears.
"What is your relation to him?" Theresa asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Ah, the most classic of love stories," Death cooed.
"I was just a girl myself when he died the first time. He was tall for someone of that era and so handsome. Suddenly, seeing me before him in a dark place, he introduced himself and asked who I was. I told him he was dead and that I was the Angel of Death. Then we started talking pleasantries. He wasn't very concerned about being dead, and we sort of hit it off," Death stated matter-of-factly.
Theresa's eyes glazed over as she tried to picture the impossible.
"Pleasantries?" Theresa questioned.
"Well, he said he felt cold, and I said, 'Yeah, that's how it feels when you have no physical body.' I made a blue flame appear, but its effects were only visual. Death cannot warm, and I explained this to him. Then he thanked me and said I was a very kind person for being so considerate. No one had said this to me before, and few ever did after that either. At some point, after what must have been days of talking, he mentioned I was very beautiful and he felt it was sad that all I saw were dead people. That I must be so lonely, and that's when I realized I liked him," Death recounted, her tone filled with nostalgia.
"I see..." Theresa mumbled.
"Then, after what must have been a few hundred years after his death, Abel returned for the first time. The influence he had on the Lord was evident. He had begun to change from an angry God to a more gentle one, especially after seeing the changes Abel was bringing into the world. Some people were now helping the sick and poor. My father no longer needed to interfere in the world so much," Death explained.
"In time, Abel spread good, stood against adversity, and even on occasion fought against great evil."
"He is, at his core, something very special. I've never met anyone else like him," Death said, and Theresa could feel the love in her words.
"How was he destroyed?" Theresa asked, changing the subject.
"You sure you can handle the truth?"
"Just tell me, please," Theresa demanded.
"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you," Death coughed.
"In a world with no magic, mankind became very good at making things, but these things needed a fuel source—like firewood for a stove. One of those devices used to make the energy that fueled their technology went out of control. It leaked poison into the very air. Abel was already dying at the time—a slow and painful death from something called cancer. It's an immortal disease that consumes you from the inside, made from your body's cells."
Theresa instinctively placed a hand on her stomach, feeling a surge of self-consciousness.
"Relax; you will never have it," Death assured her.
Theresa exhaled slowly, her tension easing as she slouched in her chair.
"Abel was supposed to have died long before the incident. Yet, with every person he helped, his will grew stronger. His desire to stay and help one more person-directed his will against me. When I tried to reap his soul, I failed," Death's shoulders slumped, the weight of the past bearing down on her.
"What do you mean, failed?"
"I showed an angry God that day a broken scythe."
"A scythe?" Theresa asked, confused about what a farming tool had to do with anything.
"The tool I use to end a life and claim the dead. Abel wasn't ready to go and refused to die. I caused his cancer by holding onto him for years. Yet all my touch did was weaken him. During that time, he handed souls to me from his warm embrace, ready for the afterlife," Death teared up, recalling past events.
"You made him sick?" Theresa questioned, a mix of surprise and anger coursing through her veins.
"Yes, but had I known what would happen later, I would never have done so. Maybe if I had not done my job, he would have bested Cain that day."
Silence hung heavily in the air as a cold rage overtook Theresa. "What did his BROTHER have to do with it?"
"If one fails to learn from the past, then they are doomed to repeat it. Isn't that why you're here, Seer?" Death asked mockingly.
Theresa responded only with a piercing stare. A moment later, Death continued, "It was Cain's foolish attempt to try and end the world that caused Abel's destruction."
"E-end the world?!!" Theresa exclaimed in surprise, her perception of Abel's journey shifting to encompass far more than she ever imagined.
"His idea was that if he destroyed everything, he would have to be sent to the afterlife. Previously, a system of climbing the ladder up from hell by becoming a better person had been put into place. Abel may have had something to do with it."
"Would Cain's plan work?" Theresa asked doubtfully.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"In theory, yes, but in actuality, no. The reactor's meltdown would be contained by a radiation-absorbing material that a factory nearby was producing. This material absorbs radiation and releases it harmlessly over time."
"Then what happened?" Theresa prodded, urging Death to continue the story.
"A dying Abel dragged his broken body through a river of poison and into the reactor chamber. There he fought his brother, taking a knife through his back first. Somehow he bested Cain in his weakened state. As weak as he had become, he could no longer carry another object to interfere with the reactor's functions and threw himself in instead. The device destroyed his body and soul," Death explained.
"Why would Cain fight the brother he so desired to see?"
"Because he didn't know it was him until it was too late. He didn't recognize his brother after all that time alone. As Abel sacrificed himself, Cain screamed for him to stop. Abel thought Cain was just crazy and said, 'I hope you find the help you desperately need,'" Death recited, her tone heavy with grief.
"What a messed-up story," Theresa said, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Most of Abel's mind was saved thanks to the power of the Angelic title I gave him."
"So how did he end up in Arn?"
"A real miracle caused by your brother," Death answered, her gaze piercing.
"By Arn?" The Seer asked, astonished.
"Avo and Skorm foresaw their destruction by the corruption, and through them, the corruption of all realities of Albion. So they sought to make the strongest Hero who would ever live in Albion stronger. Strong enough to change their fate."
"I see, but what was the miracle?" Theresa implored.
"When the two lesser Gods asked the souls of heroes with great willpower for help, they all demanded the impossible. It was then that Arn turned to the strongest Will present—one missing its soul—and begged it for help. Abel's mind hadn't functioned since his death. He was missing a core piece, the part that says 'I think, therefore I am.' So he would always say the same thing over and over again: 'Hi, I'm...' and then repeat forever. It hurt me to see him like that, so I rarely visited him. But then the impossible happened. Abel conversed with your brother. He was lucid for the first time in forever and agreed to help your brother. All he needed was someone to truly need him, and all they had to do was ask. I should have known it would be the pure heart of a child that could reach him," Death recited as if it were poetry.
Sniff
"Are you crying?" Death acted surprised.
"You were right; I couldn't handle the truth," Theresa wiped tears from her eyes.
"With Abel's Will overlapping Arn's own and his soul, he functions, but sometimes your brother's sense of self conflicts with parts of his own. This leads to those identity crises incidents you were referring to," Death explained.
"So there's nothing we can do to fix him?" Theresa pleaded, her voice thick with emotion.
"In time, Arn and Abel will fully fuse together, becoming one being. Neither will be destroyed, but both will become one," Death assured her.
The old version is below.
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Theresa sat across from Elvira at a small round polished oak table and slowly sipped some scalding hot tea. She struggled not to slurp the tasty hot beverage. Taking a moment to enjoy the tea's mint and raspberry flavor, Theresa contemplated her next words wisely.
"I like hanging out with you Elvira but today I've come for another reason, " Theresa emplored.
"Is it about my father and his antics towards Arn?" Elvira asked.
"No, it's about Abel, " Theresa answered.
"Abel? Who is Abel?" Elvira cocked her head to the side.
"You know of the ancient Will that has become a part of Arn?" Theresa asked.
"Yes, " The young lady Grey nodded.
"Its name was once Abel," Theresa confirmed.
"Ah... I've never heard of a hero named Abel," Evira said as she scratched the side of her face.
"That's because he is not from this world. What's truly tragic is the one he is from doesn't know him either. He was never the type to bask in glory but always came to save the day when no one else would. Mostly it was his influence day to day that changed the world around him. One drop of sunlight in a very dark world always made a difference."
"I would like to hear more of this story, " Elvira said leaning towards Theresa eager to listen.
"So would I, which is why I am here, I want to talk with her, " Theresa emphasized the last word to let Elvira know who she meant.
Elvira dropped her teacup on the table spilling the tea on it. A maid nearby ran over to clean it up but Elvira held up her hand indicating her to stop where she was, "Leave us! All of you!" Elvira ordered. There was an authority in her voice and the staff began clearing out of the room immediately.
A minute later Elvira said, " I don't know how to summon her".
"She is as much a part of you as you are of her. Two sides of the same coin. Close your eyes and Will here to be here, " Theresa explained.
Elvira grey closed her eyes Nd at first nothing happened.
"Focus inwards and DESIRE her to be here," Theresa instructed.
Still, nothing happened after several minutes and Theresa started to lose patience, "what are you thinking of?"
"Cute kittens playing with string, " Elvira blushed.
"Your such a princess, " Theresa huffed.
"Okay! I'm doing it! Just hold your horses, " Elvira conceded.
Once again focusing she went silent and suddenly Theresa felt the room temperature drop a few degrees.
"Hello Death Goddess, " Theresa appealed.
"Greetings old Seer, " Death cooly replied.
"Sorry to disturb you, I know your very busy and all but I need to know more about Abel, " Theresa emplored.
Death's dark eyes met Theresa's and she smirked slightly, " I bet it's been frustrating being unable to find out his story since all you can see is possible futures."
"I want to know how he came to be a part of Arn. What happened that would destroy a person's soul? Why does he sometimes lose himself?"
"That's all a very long story," The Goddess of Death sighed.
Theresa replied, "I have the rest of the day".
"Well, I guess that's a start," Death chuckled.
Death filled the dropped teacup with more tea taking a sip before starting, "Once long ago when even I was young there was a man named Abel and his brother named Cain. There was a fight and Cain accidentally killed Abel. This was the first time a sentient creature had ever killed another. Especially the killing of one's kin and it had angered my father. He especially loved Abel you see. One of his favorite creations."
"What kind of love?"
"Well, not the kinda parent has for their child. It's more like the love you have for a pet. If someone killed your favorite cat or dog."
"So what did he do?"
"He cursed Cain to live forever in a broken world."
"Why didn't he just kill him?"
"Abel pleaded for his brother's existence. Ultimately my father promised to spare his life but did so forever."
"If he died there then how did his soul get destroyed?"
"Remember when I said it is a long story? Abel returned to the world of the living by another name. It's called reincarnation and a huge risk for a mortals soul".
" Why did he return?"
"Two reasons mainly first was an issue with the world that even my father could not directly fix, and second Abel worried about his brother."
"What was the issue even a God could not fix?"
"The fight between good and evil in the hearts of men, " Death answered.
"I do not understand, " Theresa shook her head.
"You see a good person may lay down their life for another but a wicked person never will. There was an inherent imbalance between good and evil. So the world became one-sidedly overrun by the wicked and my father found himself interfering in the world constantly. First, he flooded the world killing all but one just family. Then he destroyed a corrupt and wicked kingdom with burning brimstone from the sky. It was never-ending but Abel came up with a solution. Someone needed to be an example and spread good in the world. Our father first thought he should appear in human form himself but Abel convinced him he was mistaken. It would take a human being to teach kindness to others. God's interference would be artificial and that would ultimately show. So Abel decided to keep returning until mankind no longer needed him."
"When did they stop needing him"
Death scoffed, " They never did, he was destroyed first."
"H-how many times did he return?"
"For over 5,000 years in more faces than even I can remember. "
Theresa squeezed the cup in her hand do hard the handle broke off. She seemed to be holding back tears.
"What is your relation to him," Theresa asked.
"Ah, the most classic of love stories," Death cooed.
"I was just a girl myself when he died the first time. He was tall for someone at that time and so handsome. Suddenly seeing me before him in a dark place introduced himself and asked who I was. I told him he was dead and I was the angel of death. Then we started talking pleasantries. He wasn't very concerned he was dead and we sort of hit it off," Death stated matter of factly.
Theresa's eyes seemed to glaze over as she tried to picture the impossible.
"Pleasantries?" Theresa questioned.
"Well, he said he felt cold and I said yeah that's how it feels when you have no body. I made a blue flame appear but it's effects we're only visual. Death cannot warm and I explained this to him. Then he thanked me and said I was a very kind person for being so considerate. No one had said this to me before. Few ever did after that either. At some point after what must have been days of talking he mentioned I was very beautiful and he felt it was sad all I saw were dead people. That I must be so lonely and that's when I realized I liked him," Death blushed with Elvira's face a dark pink.
"I see..." Theresa mumbled.
"Then after what must have been a few hundred years after his death, Abel returned for the first time. The influence Abel had on the Lord was evident. He had begun to change from an angry God to a more gentle one. Especially after seeing the changes, Abel was bringing into the world. Some people were now helping the sick and poor. My father no longer needed to directly interfere in the world so much." Death explained.
"In time Abel spread good, stood against adversity, and even on occasion fought against great evil."
"Who did he fight, " Theresa asked curiously.
"This one demon named Balthazaar who thought he was his nemesis, " Death shrugged.
"A monster like Jack?"
"Naw more like a bad boy who hung out with the wrong crowd at the wrong time. His battles with Abel were more a game than anything. He wanted to be defeated and his attempts at being evil we're cartoonish, " death laughed.
"What is a cartoon?" Theresa asked.
"Silly drawings," Death replied.
"Ah, okay"
"Even Abel became aware of this and knew it was because all the fallen we're damned forever that Balthazaar was forced to be bad. He had to double down on a bad decision forever. So after the next time he died, he convinced the lord to put a new system in place. One were a good soul could move up from one layer of hell to another by becoming a better person. This method later became known as Dante's Inferno due to it being dreamt by a human that named it such." Death explained.
"So even the damned we're helped by him?" Theresa questioned while thinking out loud.
"He is at his core something very special. I've never met anyone else like him, " Death said and Theresa could feel the love in her words.
"How was he destroyed?" Teresa asked changing the subject.
"You sure you can handle the truth?"
"Just tell me please, " Theresa demanded.
"Okay but don't say I didn't warn you, " Death coughed.
"In a world with no magic mankind became very good at making things but these things needed a fuel source. Like firewood for a stove. One of those devices used to make the energy that fueled their technology went out of control. It leaked poison into the very air. Abel was already dying at the time. A slow and painful death from something called Cancer. It's an immortal disease that consumes you from the inside that is made from your body's cells."
Theresa put her hand on her stomach feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.
"Relax you will never have it, " Death assured her.
Theresa suddenly relaxed slouching in her chair.
"Abel was supposed to have died long before the incident. Yet with every person, he helped his will grew stronger. His desire to stay and help one more person had directed his will against me. When I tried to reap his soul I failed, " Death's shoulders slouched.
"What you mean failed?"
"I showed an angry God that day a broken scythe."
"A scythe?" Theresa asked confused about what a farming tool had to do with anything.
"The tool I use to end a life and claim the dead. Abel wasn't ready to go and refused to die. I caused his cancer by holding onto him for years. Yet all my touch did was weaken him. During that time he handed souls to me from his warm embrace ready for the afterlife," Death teared up recalling past events.
"You made him sick?" Theresa questioned both startled and angry.
"Yes, but had I known what would happen later I would never have done so. Maybe if I had not done my job he would have bested Cain that day."
Silence hung in the air as a cold rage overtook Theresa, "What did his BROTHER have to do with it?"
"If one fails to learn from the past then they are doomed to repeat it. Isn't that why your here Seer?" Death asked mockingly.
Theresa answered only with a stare. A moment later death continued, " It was Cain's foolish attempt to try and end the world that caused Abels destruction".
"E-end the world?!!" Theresa exclaimed in surprise. The scope of Abel's destruction being far greater than she ever imagined.
" His idea was that if he destroyed everything he would have to be sent to the afterlife. Granted it would be hell but with the system Abel put in place he would someday rise to heaven and be reunited with Abel since Abel could no longer reincarnate."
"Would that have worked?" Theresa asked doubtfully.
"In theory, yes but in actuality no. The reactors meltdown would be contained by a radiation absorbing material that a factory nearby was producing. This material absorbs radiation and releases it harmlessly overtime."
"Then what happened?" Theresa prodded death to continue the story.
"A dying Abel dragged his broken body through a river of poison and into the reactor chamber. There he fought his brother taking a knife through his back first. Somehow he bested Cain in his weakened state. As weak as he had become he could no longer carry another object to interfere with the reactor's functions and threw himself in instead. The device destroyed his body and soul." Death explained.
"Why would Cain fight the brother he so desired to see?"
"Because he didn't know it was him until it was too late. He didn't recognize his brother after all that time alone. As Abel sacrificed himself Cain screamed for him to stop. Abel thought Cain was just crazy and said I hope you find the help you desperately need," Death recited.
" What a messed up story, " Theresa said wiping tears from her eyes.
"Most of Abel's mind was saved thanks to the Angelic system. It resembles the earth's video game mechanics. If an earthling saw it the would think it mimicked their games but in fact, it is the opposite. It is on earth as it is in heaven."
"So how did he end up in Arn?"
"A real miracle caused by your brother, " Death answered.
"By Arn?" The seer asked in surprise.
"Avo and Scorm foresaw their destruction by the corruption and through them the corruption of all realities of Albion. So they sought to make the strongest Hero who would ever live in Albion stronger. Strong enough to change their fate."
"I see but what was the miracle?" Theresa implored.
" When the two lesser Gods asked the souls of heroes with great willpower for help they all demanded the impossible. It was then that Arn turned to the strongest Will present. One missing its soul and begged it for help. Abel's mind didn't function since his death. He was missing a core piece. The part that says I think therefore I am. So he would always say the same thing over and over again. Hi, I'm... And then repeat forever. It hurt me to see him like that so I rarely visited him but then the impossible happened. Abel conversed with your brother. He was lucid for the first time in forever and agreed to help your brother. All he needed was someone to truly need him and all they had to do was ask. I should have known it would be the pure heart of a child that could reach him." Death recited as if it were poetry.
*Sniff*
"Are you crying?" Death acted surprised.
"You were right I couldn't handle the truth," Theresa wiped tears from her eyes.
"With Abels Will overlapping Arns own and his soul he functions but sometimes your brothers since of self conflicts with parts of his own. This leads to those identity crises incidents you were referring too," Death explained.
"So there's nothing we can do to fix him?" Theresa pleaded.
"In time Arn and Abel will fully fuse together becoming one being. Neither will be destroyed but both will become one," Death assured.
"Unless one of them is destroyed first," Theresa said darkly.
Death immediately locked eyes with Theresa and shouted," What do you mean destroyed?"
"Well, I guess you would be curious since all you know is the past," Theresa mocked.