PROLOGUE

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:1–4).

Now behold the fallen one, once hailed as the king of kings—a challenger to God's will. He watched as God abandoned the dark in a void separate from the light. Scared was the dark. Offered out hands weighed down by sheets of old parchment paper removed sigils from the hole. The abyss churned and heaved; Black tendrils of ink spilled forth malice like malevolent tides from the depths of its welling. He christened that place the Morningstar until one day it dawned.

Lucifer came back to see that the spill had stopped, and the light had been restored. He said, "Sin is born," and their sin was made. Death followed shortly after. Then, finally, "The Finem Deus" (The End of God), or the devil's grand plan. It was to be the reason for Heaven's capitulation, complete collapse, and total subjugation. The stepping stones to a new kind of God, one who holds onto everything sacred and does not forget the past, were that there was to be a change, like hot seasons due to winter. And things were made to be remembered.

He believed, with his great intellect, that if he were to die and do nothing, he would be paraded in shame. Angels from all the heavens should come and humiliate him. He was to be stoned and give his livelihood to the grave if he did not at least do the bare minimum, which meant for him to do the impossible.

At the summit of Kingdom Come is where he resides, basked in gold air and fine wines. He looks down only to see ants and dust mites crittle and crottle along pave paths. The high life for one, for all. Visions that never came fully to fruition. Struck back down by the very entity that got him near and dear in the first place. He stood defeated. No choice was to be given to him, for God had given up, leaving to continue working on Paradise.

The pages of this story have long passed, and the book is now closed. Where he is now? No one knows.

*Several hundred years later

In Rome, large stands were used where people would sit to watch events such as those found in the Colosseum. Tiers of stone seating rose up and around from the other sides of their facades. Before the Romans did this, they did it here. It was before the Mesopotamians created writing before the Stone Age and before the invention of the wheel. Before the worlds formed all together, before even that. There was the ample space used to facilitate worship and church in heaven.

These pillars of stairs surrounded a tribunal. Instead of the rugged stone of the Colosseum, the cathedral had seating consisting of wooden pews arranged in rows. Arranged in such a way, these benches were in connection with each other, wrapping around one another and laddered on, filling the corners of the room creating spirals. The pews seem to be sunk abysmally going upward to remote distances acting as rings where the smallest of these wooden pews are at the bottom and the smallest towards the top. Above the tribunal, closer to the ceiling than the floor, was an altar. The height, which is the distance of each floor tile to the ceiling scarcely exceeded that of a colosseum's and, furthermore, could house a legion. The cathedral was home to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of angels.

Now envision this: An architectural structure, a masterpiece composed of marble and glass. The distribution of which the building could be inverted in any way, shape, or form. Everything was uniform; everything was equal. Identical, symmetrical, and plain. The color was nonexistent in the church. Were it not for the ethereal light filtering in, its atmosphere would be bland. Without it, this place and everyone in it would stay static.

There was grace to silence, the stillness, brought forth with a sense of order and solemnity, along with religious iconography on walls, the stained-glass windows, and the congregation themselves bowing their heads and shutting their eyes in solitude, charged with reverence and contemplation. The angels weren’t gathering for worship but rather for reflection and community. They were all there for each other and to listen to the voice of God as he spoke.

"I've been where you are. I felt the weight of the world crashing down on me. Do not worry, the Aristotle is in absentia and with it, our fears. An astute foundation, that’s all I'll say about it, is withdrawn. "Footslog and journey into this new world. We must now, after loss and heartache, traipse reconciliation and not repeat the mistakes of the past. "So that we may remain headstrong, faithful, and hopeful, persistence is key. To stay dedicated to oneself, in faith, and in hope for a brighter tomorrow. Then, and only then, will the kingdom come. "The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the tragedy that has befallen you, unless you realize that the tragedy is over, we will not and cannot move forward. "Pain is an agonizing process. It can feel like a heart attack sometimes, and other times it can be death. It is this prospect that can keep us from obtaining true peace. Delve within yourselves to find what cannot be found."

God stopped, and his voice got shaky there at the end. In those chapel halls for all to hear.

A brilliance enters the cathedral through the stained-glass windows, portraying Saint Ann holding the infant Christ. Within the paneling itself, a consistent monograde of hue envelops every element. The blue dress she wore, the hardwood of the shed she was in, herself, and the child she held. Each part was subtly tinted, creating a harmonious interplay of colors. Whatever had been used for painting was opaque, but often these effects are created by lighting fire in a furnace or kiln to such degrees that when the glass is ready to be relayed for its design, it does not reflect light so harshly. The shade provided by the stained glass was as if winter's chill had been brought indoors. It set the stage for Jehovah on this very important day.

At the podium, he panicked, and several began to notice. Ariel the Archangel being one of those few was worried.

“Sire?” She said in parliament,

Jehovah didn’t respond. The cat had his tongue. Was it the crowd? He has always spoken to his people with such delight and has been in front of broader audiences before, so why here and now?

Jehovah alone walked through the shadow of the valley of death. Never defeated throughout the eons of life, battled in the greatest wars ever fought. He is not scared of anyone, yet anxiety crept up, feelings infant to someone like him. He was sweaty, choking up, and clearing his throat once more rubbed his face with his right hand as if to reset himself. The glove on that hand contrasted with the bare one, and the fine blue himation-like silken drapes he wore concealed most of his face until this moment.

He, older and resembling a sage in many ways had become pale. Wrinkles adorned his facial features especially under the eyes, carrying a bit of baggage and crow's feet. A deviated septum and cartilage buildup at the bridge, a result of countless nose breaks, imparted a slightly crooked charm to him. Though his face retained a trace of youth it was not quite what it used to be. Long wavy white hair went to his shoulders, and his scruffy gray beard was a garden of follicles, to the point where his chin could no longer be discerned. Like an object concealed behind curtains, hidden from view, one refrains from seeing his full face and imagining what it might look like.

His right eye, the only functioning one, was a bright blue. You couldn’t see the pupil or any coloration besides what was overtaken by energies deep within. The other eye was out of commission. A scar ran down from his forehead and cheek, intersecting the retina on its way down. The per sunder of the scarring, departed, was also burned. The eye was held shut and hasn’t been opened since the accident, shrouded in perpetual darkness.

From the podium high up on the altar, there was Jehovah, and his people awaited his every word.

God’s vision had gone in and out, his depth perception fluctuating. In the back rows, the angels seemed to drift further away, as if the crowd itself had becometh a tidal wave carried by the currents of the ocean. Curious where all this excess color was coming from, he did not discern it was from Saint Ann’s hood just abaft. Whatever was happening, the abstract glow from the window heightened it.

Ariel, trying to get God's attention, said it loud enough for the chapel to hear.

"Sir!"

Jehovah waved her off. He thought to himself: Delve within yourselves to find what cannot be found. I didn’t say that. It was him. Lucifer told me that first.

He felt his chest tightening, and he fell to one knee. The audience gasped, and the noise lasted for several seconds.

“Get him out of here!”

Ariel was aided by having the guards pick Jehovah up and down the stairs of the altar and out of the doors below her. From the pedestal she looked down at the other angels. Everyone was left in awe as they witnessed their God fall for the first time.

One man struggled to be heard. Jumbled through the overloading volume of noise rocketing within the chapel, he asked, “What happened?”

Another answered, “I hear he’s weak since he fought—you know who.”

An angel whispered to him, “Don’t say his name. You're pushing your luck by even saying that.”

From the inner heart of the agitated crowd, a woman screamed out, “Lucifer!”

The halls stopped. It went from cluttered to clear in a second.

No one spoke a word until another screamed, “He’s right there!” She pointed at a dense crowd.

One angel pointed back at himself saying, “No, not me. Seriously, why is everyone looking at me like that?”

Everyone judged him out of fear of Lucifer tricking them. The acts against heaven he had committed left scars that would last forever.

Ariel left the chapel more worried for Jehovah than anyone else.

Several hours later, the chill of night ricochets off the brick and mortar of the kingdom. So vast it was, and at the center of the walls was the highest castle of them all, and in it, Jehovah slept tossing and turning. Ariel who stood by God jumped out of the chair she was sleeping on. She didn’t want to wake up, but she also didn’t want anything to worsen.

"No,"

Jehovah broke out in a sweat, restless in his sleep as he spoke on his bed. Who he was speaking to, no one knew.

"Don’t do it."

Ariel approached the bed, curious about what he was saying.

"Delilah! Why?"

He woke up abruptly as if from the dead.

"Ariel?"

Surprised Ariel backed away and said, "Sorry, sire."

"There is no need for an apology," Jehovah, still sweating profusely, asked. "How long was I out for?"

She paused to get water for him, then settled back into her chair. "A few hours."

“Thank you.”

“No problem." She was hesitant to address the elephant in the room. But her curiosity grew to the point where she could no longer bottle it: “How long have these blackouts been happening?” She finally asked.

Jehovah coughed and wheezed, then uttered, "For far too long."

“It’s rapidly worsening, isn’t it?”

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Jehovah didn’t speak, and when he did, it did not pertain to the discussion at hand. God then said, “Will you go outside with me? To the yard. Please.”

Ariel, as if she weren’t the only person in the room, pointing back at herself, said, “You want me to go with you?”

Jehovah kindly replied to the young lady, “Yes, you, Ariel. Can you come? I would love for you to accompany me on this beautiful night.”

Stumbling over her words, she said to him, “Uh. But you are sick, my liege. I... no."

"Oh, forget about that. I'm as healthy as a jackrabbit.”

Jehovah kept what he had on, and he, along with Ariel, walked out of his chambers.

Torches hanging in the corridors revealed the path. They didn’t speak a single word. Ariel looked up at God, who stood about 6'6 to her 5'4 and saw such sweetness in him. He had that kind of aura around him; he was approachable to anyone. She smiled, as this was her first time actually speaking with God.

They arrived in the backyard of the palace.

Ariel asked, “What are we doing out here in the cold? I may not be a doctor, but I know this is bad for your health. Let's go back in.”

“No.” God said to stand ground. He stared at the moons; there were two of them. It was much brighter out here than it was in the palace, and he explained, “The fresh air. Some fresh air is all we need.”

Ariel suddenly became suspicious. “Okay…”

They walked down a flight of stairs to a maze-like bushel area.

Ariel spoke up again, "What is this really about, Sire? Even if you fill me in a little, that would be a big help. I can tell something's off and it's not the sickness."

Jehovah vaguely said, “There has been something on my mind lately. I've been having these recurring nightmares. It's so vivid.” They walked down the pathway and when they were obstructed by a wall of shrubs, they would turn around and find a new way through the backyard.

“What is it? You can tell me.”

Jehovah was not reluctant to speak with her. This is the reason he wanted her to come along—to tell her stories, about the dreams, and about who has been on his mind as of late.

He said, “It’s about..." He spoke the forbidden name that shall not be spoken. “Lucifer.”

Ariel wanted to freeze up completely but kept her cool and replied, “Oh yeah? Um, what about him? That he was evil?”

"Who, Lucifer? That guy? He wasn't too bad, you know," Jehovah chuckled. "I’m sorry, Ariel." His laughter grew louder. "That guy could barely harm a fly. Trust me, I watched him try one time."

As Jehovah laughed, his previous concern seemed to dissipate and the sweat running down his forehead disappeared. "No, it’s…" You could feel his heartache in his voice now. “If I could’ve gotten through to him sooner."

Ariel didn’t understand what he was talking about, asking him in a flutter of emotions, blurting out, “Do you care about the Devil?” She didn’t really mean to ask him this, but what she was going to say was far worse, and as a secondary option, this was the best thing she could’ve said. It wasn't difficult to choose the lesser of two evils; she automatically knew.

God did not answer this question directly. Instead, he said, “He was a fool, but a lot smarter than I could ever be. All that quantum mumbo jumbo,” God shook his head and smiled. “Who would’ve known he was right about all of it?"

Ariel was beginning to understand where the conversion was going when she said, “How did you meet him?”

God rubbed the back of his head, saying, “I met him by accident, actually. These two angels, whom I knew from years and years ago, had broken through Lucifer’s apartment floors.”

“Really?” She said it all in surprise.

God gazing upon her said, “Yes, I was right next to the inn he was staying at. Ellenstein, I believe, was the town’s name. Nice little place north.” He stopped to clarify, “The old north, you know what I mean.”

Again, she did not know what he meant, but she nodded and went with it. She was born in this new heaven and did not know of the old world or this Ellenstein place he was speaking of. Ariel began to ask more questions, trying to keep the conversation as stable as possible. The longer this went on, the more things became clear. Jehovah knew Lucifer like no one else. He didn’t see him as everyone else did. He spoke about the fallen one in high regard.

And soon, God got to a part of the story that could not be ignored.

“Immortality is a myth," God said. "Lucifer told me he was going to end it forever. He said it wasn't fair that I couldn’t die and that I would get to live forever while he could not—a choice he decided to make on his own. Lucifer also said I could be doing a lot more. He was never entirely wrong about the issues he had. I'll be the first to admit it.”

She inquired, “Lucifer was jealous of you? How do you know this?” She was a curious young angel.

“You remind me of him." Jehovah quickly went over this and spoke. “He told me the last time I saw him. He said everything there was ever needed to say back then.” God looked at the ground and stared down.

Ariel grabbed his hand and kindly asked with the foremost concern, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jehovah waited to speak, then said, "We were fighting over who got to make the wish."

"What wish?"

In all honesty he explained, "Years ago, before you were born, before your father’s father was thought about, there was the end of all things."

Ariel listened attentively.

God continued saying, “Lucifer and I, looking back at now, fought for who was going to save heaven. That’s not what it really was. Things go out of control, you know.” He slapped the air. “Forget about it. Where was I?”

“The wish?”

“Oh, yes.” He said, “We were fighting to save the angels and heaven. Lucifer wanted to use the wish to keep the old world and revive someone dear to him. He did not care what he had to do to get his hands on it.”

"How did it play out?"

Jehovah nodded his head at her and asked, “How do you think? You are here today, Ariel.” She shrugged. He said grievously, "I... I killed Lucifer... and made a wish for myself.”

Ariel answered, “To save everyone.”

Jehovah, "Yes, but at a cost.”

She was fully engorged now. "Lucifer did something, didn't he?!"

"What didn't he do?" God said it tiredly. "He ended my immortality and started a civil war.” God pointed out the cosmos. “The end is happening as we speak. There's no running from it anymore." God sat down at a fountain nearby. "That's the myth he busted. Everything has an end. He never stopped until he was proved right."

God cleared a spot for Ariel on the fountain, and she sat down beside him.

Looking at Ariel as though he were speaking to Lucifer, God asked her, "Was it worth it?"

Stumped and unsure how to respond, Ariel hesitated before saying, "No?"

Jehovah stared into her eyes, tears brimming. "Then why didn't you say that before, Lucille? Before I went off and did what I did? I would've done anything to protect the remnants."

"I'm not him, sire." She sympathized with God to the best of her abilities and got an idea. "Tell me everything, then," she said outright.

God looked surprised. "What?"

Ariel suggested, "Why not? We'll come here in secret every night. Tell me about him and you. Tell me about your past and all the wonderful things about the old world, things you miss."

Jehovah agreed and shook her hand. "Deal," he said. "Be here tomorrow night. Let's keep these meetings on the down low."

She said she could, and they went back.

The corridor was quieter. Jehovah's gloved hand tapped on his forehead as if it were knocking on a door.

He asked, “Huh, what is it?” His right hand pointed up and then at Ariel, urging him to do something. It pointed vigorously at the ceiling and back at Ariel, slapping his own face. “Okay, what is it? Why are you so eager right now? You’re never like this.” He said this, talking with his right hand. "Actually, I lied. The last time you were like this was when.” He had stopped himself, realizing what the hand may have been suggesting: pushing Ariel onto the ground, saving her life.

From the floor right below him. There were a pair of hands that weren't there just a second before; they were signing something. The ring and middle fingers were folded into the hand, while the other fingers were raised and touching at the tips.

A red, glowing invocation circle was already under Jehovah.

Jehovah questioned himself: Lucifer? Impossible.

He went to stomp on the pair of hands, but they slipped back into the ground. Whoever was in the floors went into the walls of the hallway, and you could see him rollin through the stone like a shark’s fin on the surface of the ocean.

Jehovah in all seriousness said, “Who are you?” He looked back at Ariel, who tried to help. “Don't come near here. Run.”

She spoke back, yelling, “But sir!”

“Now! Get out of here and sound the alarms.” She ran. The walls chased the angel. “Stop!” Jehovah used a commandment. Ariel and the wall stopped all together. “Not you, go.” He said it as though he were speaking through a megaphone, because of the commandments. Ariel sprinted for the stairwells as fast as she could.

Jehovah tried to leave the circle. The rim of the invocation circle could not be passed and contained him. It was a reinforced barrier. He could do everything but leave.

Jehovah said, “This won’t last for long; you know.” He used a commandant again: “Come here.”

The roof of the corridor congealed, and something was being spit from the top of the hallway. It looked like the uvula for a moment. The sack detached from the roof, and an angel who was made of stone was returning to his normal form. He walked to the outside of the circle, following God’s every command.

He was younger than Jehovah, and Jehovah knew him from the past. He looked entirely different from what he remembered. It was not Lucifer, and that was a relief in some ways.

Jehovah asked politely, “Let this barrier down. I want to get a good look at you, boy.”

The angel said, “I am no longer a boy. I haven’t been since I last met you.”

He was known as Capacious. One of the nine stars or Lucifer's fallen generals. He had no wings. They were snipped. He wore a black patched hoodie, gray sweats for pants, and sandals for shoes—casual clothing for the fight of his life. He had a freshly shaven face, light brown hair, and brown eyes. He had scars all over his face, like cat scratches. Battle scars inflicted on him by Michael.

God asked, “Your name is Capacious, isn’t it?”

Capacious said, hypnotized, “Yes,” while waving his hand and letting the veil of the barrier down.

God stood in the circle and asked a follow-up question, “Why are you here?”

Capacious explains under oath, “I’m here to kill you. I discovered the location of Michael, Gabriel, and all the other archangels. They’re finding and imprisoning the rest of the fallen.”

God said, “It’s taken quite a bit of time to gather you all back up. You’re one of the last. Wait, so you thought because the Archangels were gone, you were going to what? Just walk in here and kill me."

"Without the others, your chances are lower. I was also informed you were weak. Ever since you fought my master.”

“I don’t need the others. Your chances alone are low as is.”

Capacious smiled like Lucifer would and said, “Whoever said it was just me?”

They were probably six stories high where they were located in the building. At the end of the corridor, there was a window. The entire wall around the window was blown apart. Another star ran a full sprint at Jehovah.

It was the fallen Archangel, Rel. He, like Capacious, had scars on his face. There were two big scars in an ‘X’ shape across his face, and his wings were clipped as well. Carbon-based armor that was normally worn by warrior angels was worn by Rel. In this new world there were no wars so armor like his was obsolete. A spiked metal bat was attached to the back of his armor. You could see the large weapon over his shoulder and off by his hip, slanted at his posterior.

He had dark brown hair and purple eyes. He was as tall as God and had a bigger build.

Rel yelled out as angry as could be. “I want my wings back! Give me back my honor!”

“You too, huh?”

Capacious did the same hand signs as before but was gently and easily stopped by Jehovah who put the gloved hand on top of his. Capacious grew two other arms from his rib cage and did the signs in reputation having his thumb, index, and pinky fingers touching.

Rel was inside the containment field now, locked in with Jehovah. Capacious stepped inside the circle with them, and Ariel arrived with help. Rel used all the momentum he had gained from sprinting and punched it into Jehovah, square in the face. He didn’t move an inch and the air shot up into the newly created contaminant field.

Ariel spoke up, “Sire, I’m coming!”

Capacious said, “And we were just leaving.”

Capacious changed his hand signs. He slapped both pairs of hands together. Jehovah went to stop him, but Rel choked God by the throat.

He looked over at Ariel, who was running towards the circle, about to summon her angelic gift, Karasuma.

The circle’s glow became brighter.

Jehovah winked at Ariel, and all three in the circle disappeared.