Rooftop, Sara's underground bunker, Conley, Clayton County, Georgia. Monday, October 7th, 2019. 18:00f.
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"Daughter." The Throne spoke without a mouth.
The gold rings rotated upon one another in random directions, stopping and reeling back on a whim. The eyes remained trained on Sara, which was fucking eerie and unnerving. Sara was more annoyed than scare. Why would this truant parent show up now, of all times? Would she burn her last jump to get away from them?
"Congratulations on your promotion, I guess?" She said sarcastically.
"There's no such thing as hierarchy between Celestial types but for the Archangels above us. Each of us has their own tasks. It is good to see you, daughter."
And her father's task now was probably being sat upon by God's holy butt. She felt just a bit bad for blaspheming. Sara was livid but the paralysis type of angry. She let the scythe drop. Chloe jumped on the roof and approached. The Pale Horse nudged Sara with her chilly nose. that broke her out of her spell of bedlam and seething rage.
"What brings you here, dad? I know you didn't come here just to see me. What happens now? You erase your mistake?"
She clenched her fists as her heart raced and her Mana caused the temperature to drop ten or twenty degrees around her.
"I am sorry for the pain I caused you. No, siring you was not a mistake. Though it went against the rules of Heaven. The Lord was lenient with me."
"I guessed that much," She glared. Sara opened and closed her hands. Part of her wanted to forgive her father but found not the will to do so. "I am afraid our fate is to remain estranged."
The myriad eyes on the gold rings closed and even the rings tilted down in what evoked the image of a person bowing their head. "I am sorry."
She knew it was honest and heartfelt. Yet, Sara remained a person too petty to embrace the full meaning of her heritage. She was hurt, wounded. Tired. Tossed from reality to reality, each worse than the one before. This was no exception.
Sara floated and approached the ring. Compared to her size, it was enormous. The biggest eyes were larger than her head. She touched the metal. It was warm.
"I need to know one thing," she paused. The eye squinted softly. "Is... was mom in Heaven?" Heaven had broken down.
"Do you want the truth? It will break your heart." Her father asked.
"It'll heal." She defiantly quipped.
A long and silent pause. Sara dreaded the answer. Was her mother condemned to Hell for the crime of siring her?
"Your mother was not in heaven. She is elsewhere, waiting for the Fifth seal to open."
Sara dropped to the ground like a stunned bird. She wept silently. She knew of the Fifth Seal. It was there, in the book she'd read a hundred times since everything began.
> When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Her mother was a martyr.
A god-damned martyr.
Forever doomed to wait in some Celestial staging area.
Sara's shoulders shook erratically with her sobs. How could the Fifth Seal happen if the Fourth was forever forestalled? Was it her fault her mother was denied her reward? A petulant child who refused to grow up and take the mantle God himself set for her? She didn't want to be tossed in the lake of fire. Discarded, once again.
That's was the core of her issues. She was always the outcast, always the undesirable one. Used, then discarded. Tossed here and there, without a place to belong. Whenever she thought she'd carved one for herself, it was taken away from her.
And now she had to choose between her mother and herself? She cursed God for being so cruel and wicked. She cursed her fate. At that moment, Sara's faith was nonexistent.
She couldn't bring herself to raise her head and face her father.
"Do you understand now? You fell prey to the machinations of the Fallen and strayed from the Path. In all dimensions where you meddled, your mother was denied her reward."
Sara didn't climb on her knees. Her legs had no strength to move. She rolled on her back and laid down on the ground facing the broken sky, wings splayed, tears running down the sides of her head and pooling in the crevices of her ears of dampening her hair.
"I beseech you to allow the Lord's plan to proceed." The Throne prayed softly.
Sara stared up (from her perspective) at Chloe. Then at the scythe a few yards away.
"I won't become Death," she drawled between sobs. "I refuse to play that fool's role."
Her father floated up and forward, until the rings were once more facing her.
"The Lord has witnessed your struggles, daughter," he declared with pride. "He saw your love for your fellow humans, your struggles to save people. For that, He declared you to be blessed."
She almost flipped the bird. Sara was so tired. The girl just stared at her father's eyeballs silently.
"You don't have to assume the mantle of Death this time. The Lord took pity of your suffering and has offered you a boon."
She didn't want to hear that. She felt herself unworthy of any Divine boon. She could only think of the tragedy. Then she questioned everything. Did humanity need saving? Who was telling the truth? Did any of them told the truth? Could she trust her estranged father? The girl was just a girl despite her magic. And she had no idea.
The girl wept and bawled. All those years of effort, of tireless toil, the SEC accusing her of doing a pump and dump on her Bitcoins earlier this year, the bunker's tight construction schedule. What for? The Throne let her daughter cry until she grew tired. Then Sara climbed on her feet and floated up. She put a finger on a nostril and blew the other clean of snot, then repeated the process. She froze her tears and flicked them off.
"Tell me. What is this offer?"
*
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Rooftop, Sara's underground bunker, Conley, Clayton County, Georgia. Monday, October 7th, 2019. 18:30f.
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"The events described in the book of Revelation are too often misunderstood. They do not foretell the doom of humanity but its salvation. Death in God is not the end but a new beginning. The Fallen preyed on this wrong assumption, daughter. You are not saving humanity but dooming them."
"Why all the suffering?"
"Martyrdom elevates the common man to the same level as the Son of God. The surrender of the self for the greater good. It is only in Christ that your species shall be redeemed."
She had no answer or witty quip for that.
"But to achieve that, Faith is necessary." The Celestial concluded.
Which she lacked a lot of, despite her wings and her blood.
Did she have a choice?
"Why drop the Demons last time?" Sara asked.
"The Fallen won in the dimension you splintered off from. Then you tampered with the Apocalypse, as you call it, as you moved away from those dimensions. Prometheus didn't give you this mark you bear on your shoulder out of the goodness of his heart. We had to give Hell that one dimension to equalize the outcomes. But now we need to move forward with God's project and designs."
"I don't understand."
"Many are the factions competing for the hearts of humanity. Pagan deities. Demons. Eldritch creatures from beyond. The universe is vast and not as devoid of life and thought as skeptics would believe."
That answered fuck all questions she had. She remained silent. She was having a headache.
"The Lord has offered you two choices."
She waved her hand, telling him to proceed.
"The first one is to leave this dimension. Use the mark Prometheus gifted you one last time. The Lord will send you to a stable reality where all the people you care about are healthy and safe."
"What about the Apocalypse? Will it happen there as well?"
"No. The Earth you are going to is one where the pagan deities remained as vestiges. Due to ancient covenants, that Earth was never entirely void of Mana and divine intervention is severely limited. The Apocalypse as foretold in the Bible will never happen there."
"What will happen to the people here?"
"They will use the tools you gathered for them and determine their fate by their own hands. You guided them well. Their faith is strong."
"And what about Chloe?"
"She also does not belong here. The Pale Horse is entwined with your soul now. She'll go with you."
"We'll need to go through everything again," Sara bemoaned. "And what about our wings, and Chloe's fire?"
"Before that, let me tell you the second choice."
"Sure, go on. I'm just dead weight here, anyway."
"The Lord will merge you back with your splinter which remained in the original dimension with the System Core. As one, you'll live on in that world from a point slightly ahead from where you two broke off."
"Will I take over my other self? How is that fair? Did she even win the fight?"
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
"Yes, she did. You did. You defeated the Fallen and rescued Mary. She's alive and healthy. And so are the hounds you cherish so much."
Sara lost control and wobbled down, her wings failing to keep her afloat. Chloe moved underneath and offered her support.
"Mary is alive?"
"Yes. She was dragged into Hades bodily but your other self rescued her."
"Thank God," she mumbled without noticing.
The Throne nodded with one ring but didn't broke her focus. Only after he sensed Sara's focus return to the world around her did he ask, "What will be your choice?"
"The Lord's bounty is endless, right?" Sara stared at the largest eye as she basically demanded to be accommodated.
*
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Rooftop, Sara's underground bunker, Conley, Clayton County, Georgia. Monday, October 7th, 2019. 18:40f.
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Sara declared her choice.
"You want both?"
"One and a half, actually. Give my other self my memories. My feelings. My regards. But after five Apocalypses and four years, we are no longer the same person. She's herself and I'm me. It would be damn awkward to merge back now."
The rings froze for a few seconds, all motion on the eyes and wings stilled to a halt. Then he spoke again.
"The Lord has granted your wish. He also brought all instances of Cecilia's existence to this dimension. I'm sorry you won't be able to meet."
Sara was sorry too. But perhaps it was for the best. This reunion would be damn awkward. Though the realization left a huge hole in her heart. A void that would never be filled.
She failed to recognize that she had one of her parents right in front of her. One that had probably moved Heavens and Earth for this meeting. The regret of not enjoying the moment, of not letting go of her grudges would live forever with her.
The world moved on.
"Regarding your wings, allow me to teach you one trick. Excuse me."
Two of the massive wings touched Sara's and grabbed firmly. How did her father do that, she had no idea? It wasn't as if his feathers grew hands. She let her father move her wings up, down, to the left, right, back."
"These are the three physical dimensions. But your wings extend further out. They are not entirely enclosed in the three baryonic dimensions. Close your eyes and pay attention."
He then pulled her wings in a direction orthogonal to X, Y, and freaking Z at the same time. They bent in a non-Euclidian way and just vanished. Sara could still feel them but they were nowhere to be seen with her flesh-and-blood eyes. And she was flexible enough to almost pull out the Exorcist head spin.
He let go. Sara flexed her wings and they fluttered back to reality.
"Now, try moving them yourself. This will hide your wings from mortal eyes."
She tried to remember the feeling. It took Sara a dozen tries before she managed to fold them away from reality. She still didn't fall down.
"What about Chloe?"
"I already taught her a physical illusion spell. She will appear as an ordinary horse whenever she wills it."
Sara glanced down. She saw Chloe as a chestnut mare, healthy as a fiddle. "Huh, neat," she gave her horse a thumbs up.
"It is time, Sara."
"Dad, I have one last thing." She said in the sweetest voice she could muster.
"Speak. if it is within my power..."
Sara floated right in front of her father's biggest eye out of a few hundred and grinned. "I'm gonna punch you in the eye with all my might."
And punch she did.
*
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United States, Earth. Where and when, exactly, remains to be seen. But definitely not in Kansas.
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Sara opened her eyes and inhaled the cold air. It was snowing. She panicked for a moment, then looked behind her. Chloe was there, with her saddle and saddlebags. They were in a massive parking lot of used cars. Staring to the west, she saw Hickory Ridge and its solar farm. She was right where she left, in Conley.
She looked at her hand, closed it into a fist. Punching her father provided no catharsis, no closure. The damn Throne's eye was as hard as the metal of his rings. Her hand still hurt. Her wings were hidden. Chloe was disguised.
All was well now. They had a fresh start, in a world where everything wouldn't go to shit.
Sara sucked a deep breath. The Mana in the air was faint but it was there. She checked her Status and saw her regeneration cut to a tenth of the normal value. It still was better than nothing or the barebones eleven per day of pre-Armageddon Earth.
Sara hugged her horse, brushed her mane. She felt soft hairs instead of cold flames. "How are you holding up?"
Chloe licked Sara, then bopped her nose on the girl's cheek. She giggled. For once, it wasn't cold.
The girl lowered her head. "I'm not meeting my mom, after all," she cried.
Chloe offered all the emotional support she could. Sara was no longer alone. And her other self would get all of her experience, all of her knowledge. All the survival courses she went through, how to fly a helicopter, how to play the guitar. How to not be an antisocial bitch, though she wondered if that lesson really sank in.
The girl was about to move out of the junkyard when she heard a helicopter approach. Looking up, Sara recognized it. A Chinook military personnel transport version. She saw a redhead woman in civilian business clothes by the open door, waving at her. Sara waved back.
Before the helicopter touched down, the woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, just a bit older than her, jumped down from a handful of yards up and landed as if she had jumped two stair steps down instead of two stories. From her movements, it was obvious someone with physical enhancements. Also, the redhead had an earpiece like the ones the secret service agents used. The helicopter went up and away, leaving the two women and one horse alone.
She noticed the redhead had a sheathed sword partially hidden under her suit jacket.
"Greetings. We mean you no harm," she said. "I'm Catriel Wallenstein and I do not work for the government. May I have your name?"
The woman, Catriel, extended a business card. Sara snorted at that. A name that was quite similar to what a Celestial would call themselves. Came in a military chopper but claimed to not work for the government.
"Sara Ann Bernard," she saw no reason to lie and decided to own her mother's middle and last names. "And this is Chloe."
Finally accepting a last name was a huge step for her.
"Welcome back to Earth, Sara and Chloe. I won't assume I know what you went through. We have some people in the same situation as you."
The girl snorted. "I doubt it."
"You came back from another world, right?"
"Kind of but no."
The two stared at each other for a while. Then Catriel started her sales pitch.
"I am part of an organization that helps people like you. Sorry. We help people who had experiences outside this world and then come back. We help with relocation, getting your documentation in order, legal advice, shelter, job opportunities, and so on. We wish to get you back on your feet and inserted into society the best way possible. We do not impose or force anyone to work with us, though. You are free to go and do whatever you want... Though we hope you don't go and break the law," Catriel winced, then exhaled deeply.
Sara could tell she wasn't used to that. "I think a few guys decided to abuse their magic."
Catriel sighed, then put on a wry smile. A tired one. "You have no idea. Some dub this the Returner Wars. I'm glad I heal fast or I'd have some nasty scars." The redhead tittered.
"Returner?"
Catriel nodded, "Every year, thousands are kidnapped worldwide and whisked to other worlds. Most of them fantasy. Few ever return. We have an advanced warning system to let us know when someone is bound to arrive from the other side of the dimensional veil, that's how we found you."
"And they send you to see if they are any danger, right? I can see you have strong magic," Sara said.
Then Sara decided took a good look at this Catriel's soul and was shocked by what she saw. She could still see people's sins and souls.
"And I can see your wings," Catriel grinned. "They are majestic."
Sara steeled her face. "Can we talk about the demonic pact you have going on?" The girl summoned her scythe. "I really hate demon worshippers."
"Uh, oh – no, it's not what you think. Wait, wait. We don't want to fight," Catriel waved her hands to forestall Sara's bladed wrath. "Listen to me, I can explain."
*
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System Administrative Dimension, Lake Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Earth too, I guess now we need to worry about that. Time and Date: Just give it up, buddy. You gotta wait for book 2 to start for real. Since we are in this time-loop bullshit yet, the dimension's letter should be "A".
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The green-haired buxom elf shook her unconscious winged friend lying down on the... glass floor? "Sara, are you okay?"
The girl's eyes opened. "Ugh. What the fuck!"
Mary giggled, "I think you're okay." She looked up at the three worried... animals? "She's okay, guys."
Bella barked happily. Brutus sniffed Sara's wings. Chloe showed her teeth in what Mary interpreted as a grin.
"I need a Tylenol," Sara groaned. "I feel like I've been hit by a derailing train."
"You passed out, what happened?" Mary helped Sara sit up.
"I had this weirdest dream. I went to another dimension, back and forth in time, found what happened to the Millers, and... I think I talked to my dad? Weird."
"Have some water and get some rest," Mary recommended. "Sort your thoughts."
"But it wasn't a dream, Mary. It was the memories from another me."
"Parallel dimension evil Sara?" Mary joked and giggled. Her elven voice was divinely sweet and captivating.
"But not evil. No. Dude, that girl went through some crazy shit. Crazier than even this."
"Stay there, let me get you that Tylenol," Mary stood up and went to the stack of luggage Sara brought from Hades.
"I know how to fly, Mary. Look!" Sara said from behind the Latina elf.
Mary looked behind her shoulder and saw Sara floating in the air, ignoring gravity. "We can get out of this place now!" She exulted.
*
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Used car junkyard, Conley, Clayton County, Georgia. Late morning but the date was still unknown.
> MDW: This section contains some spoilers for Catherine 2.0. I recommend you go and read it before coming back here.
>
> You can find it on the link below, intentionally in plain text. Or through my profile.
>
> https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/45119
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Catriel told an abridged version of her story.
"I had to make the Demon relinquish Hell's claim on my sister's soul. But I tricked them into getting nothing. I had no idea it left such a mark on my soul. It's true. The Demon got nothing out of our deal."
"You should go to a church and ask a priest for forgiveness. Work out whatever penance they set. Clean this sin from your soul before it's too late."
Catriel wiped a tear, "You believe me?"
"I thought boys didn't cry," Sara teased with her quip.
The redhead took a step back. "You can see that too?"
"Yeah. I can also see the Celestial boon you received. But your soul doesn't match your body and every single one I saw before was seamless."
Catriel fidgeted. "So, are we still going to fight? I'd rather not."
Sara chortled. "No, please no. I got enough fighting for several lifetimes behind me!" They both laughed. "Well, Miss Catriel, I don't want to start any trouble and I'll take your offer of help. But there's some people I need to find. Friends."
"We have connections with the government. We can find almost anyone on this planet."
Sara narrowed her eyes, "You said you didn't work for the government."
"I did. And I don't. We don't work for the government. We work with the government. It's a Public-Private Partnership. But our operatives, assets, and most importantly, the people we help are kept as far away from the government grubby hands as possible."
"What if I want a job with Uncle Sam?" Sara tested the waters. She had no intention to do that, though.
"The government may try to recruit you to work with them but you won't be forcefully drafted or anything. Anything else is your choice."
"That's a relief."
"Do you remember when you were taken away?"
"I never said I was," Sara chuckled. "Let me make it easy to you. I came from another dimension. One where the Apocalypse happened."
It was Catriel's turn to squint and cross her arms. "I see. Do people in that dimension all have wings and magical flaming horses?"
Sara raised an eyebrow. "You can see through Chloe's illusion?" Catriel nodded. "What else."
"The scythe’s magic. It's mighty intimidating."
"I told you that the Apocalypse happened, right? It was the biblical one."
"I see."
"They tried to make me work as Death back then. Do you see any souls floating around me?" Sara teased.
"No. Should there be any?"
"I hope not? But sometimes I get a stowaway or two. But dad told me I'd been discharged of this duty, so... dunno?"
Catriel widened her eyes, "Oh. Oh. I see it now. You didn't come from another world! You came from a parallel Earth! Man, this is huge! Wait," she pushed on her earpiece. "The feds found your file. Sara Miller disappeared early December 2015. Does that ring a bell?"
"The surname is bullshit. I'm Sara Bernard. But yes, that's me. So, the me from this world vanished in 2015?"
"It seems so. Agent Martinez should have more details but that's what she sent to me. She's with the FBI. They have the equivalent of the X-files division but for isekai victims."
"I seek what?" Sara did a double take.
"Isekai. It's Japanese for another world. A popular media and fiction trope that unfortunately is all too real."
"Got it." The girl snapped her finger. "What happens now?" Sara asked.
"We have a welcome kit and some Airbnb rentals ready for newcomers. All on us. I have a prepaid card with some pocket cash for expenses and shopping. A prepaid cellphone without tracking devices so you can make calls or use apps. Did you?"
Sara took her iPhone 11 out of her back pocket. She turned it on. The lock screen had Chloe and her cosplaying as Death for Halloween in 2018.
"Yeah, we had cellphones back then," she looked at the screen and frowned. "Invalid SIM. What did I expect? I bet the IMEI number will be cloned too."
"We can get your device straightened out if you want."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "So helpful, aren't we? You're trying too hard."
"I have a car waiting for us outside. Should we go somewhere else to continue our chat?" Catriel waved at the barely working cars rusting around them."
"Sure. I'll ride on Chloe, though."
They walked toward the front gate of the junk yard.
"Martinez will get your ID and official papers sorted, there's free housing if you want, job opportunities, or you can do your own thing. I had a script to follow, but you derailed it entirely."
"We still have time. We have all the time," Sara offered. "Twenty questions?"
"Fewer than that. Most returners get confused regarding dates. Do you have any idea what day is today?"
"It was October 7th, 2019 when I left," Sara said. "This is not 2019, right?"
"Try 2022. November 28th, 2022."
"Damn. Who's President?"
"A guy who returned with the power of super-Charisma. He's rather decent for a politician and doesn't often use his magic on other people."
"Ted Cruz didn't get reelected?"
"No? Ted Cruz is a Congressman from Texas now. He didn't get to sit in the Oval Office. He lost the 2016 Republican primaries to Trump."
Sara took a step back. She couldn't believe it. "What? Trump? Donald Trump, the orange real esteate guy from New York, host of The Apprentice TV show?"
"Yeah. He beat Hillary in the ballots and became President. Trump didn't get reelected in 2020, though. The current president defeated Joe Biden in the primaries, became the Democrat candidate, then won the election for President by a landslide."
"You're joking, right? Isn't it that joke from The Simpsons? Trump, president? For real?"
Catriel made a hand sign and reined in her expression, "Scout's honor, Sara. I'm not lying."
Sara shook her head, then shook a fist at the heavens. "I feel like I've been had. Like all this was only a setup to make a bad Trump joke. Please, tell me it's a joke," Sara begged to the Heavens.
It wasn't. Reality was a bitch.