by Jan Kopia
Patrick shook his head. “Wait… I don’t understand.”
“Cronus revealed himself to a group of humans,” Diane explained. “He showed them his power and they were enthralled. They were captivated by his beauty and his apparent invincibility. He called himself a Titan, but they called him a God. They built shrines in adoration of him. They constructed statues in devotion for him. They got on their knees and prayed to him. And their worship of him made Cronus stronger. Without even knowing it, they gave him fragments of their own souls. Cronus realized this was his pathway to immortality. He could live forever, just as long as humanity continued to worship him.”
“So he stayed on Earth?” Patrick asked.
“Indeed he did. And he basked in the love he received. He believed he'd found his home. But it was different for Lucifer…”
Patrick understood immediately. “He had lost his wings.”
Diane nodded soberly. “Lucifer was no Titan. He was a guardian, and his decision to abandon his calling and cross over to Earth caused him to lose his wings... and his immortality. He had no place on Earth. He had lost his place on Tartarus. He was an outcast in every world, and he burned with anger and revenge. He hated Cronus for luring him away from his sacred duty. He hated the human beings who shunned him but worshipped Cronus. He hated himself for succumbing to the temptations that Earth had promised but never delivered.”
“But Lucifer wasn't willing to fade away into non-existence. He was determined to live and, just like Cronus, he found a way to survive. But while Cronus fed on devotion, praise, and blind loyalty, Lucifer fed on pain and suffering. Just as Cronus had realized that he could make himself immortal by seducing mankind into worshipping him, Lucifer realized he too could continue to live. All he had to do… was consume the souls of his victims.”
Patrick felt his chest tighten. The light seemed to dim and even Diane stopped talking for a moment. She glanced towards the window and Patrick saw her shudder. “Go on,” he encouraged.
“Lucifer had learned his powers of manipulation from Cronus. He whispered in the ears of men and encouraged them to do terrible things. He found those that were in pain and pushed them to suicide, he drank in anguish, torment and heartbreak, and basked in the tortured fragments of broken souls.”
“But there was something else Lucifer realized. If he manipulated man into losing faith in Cronus, Cronus’s strength and power would start to weaken. Unknowingly, Cronus had bonded himself to his worshippers. Their souls were linked to his, and he realized that their loss of faith would eventually lead to his downfall. It became Lucifer’s mission to see Cronus fall.”
“He wanted revenge,” Patrick said softly.
“Yes, he did… but he had underestimated Cronus.” Diane continued, her eyes bright with visions that Patrick couldn't see. “Cronus used the Olympus Key to open the portal to Earth in order to let other Titans pass through.”
“To what end?” Patrick asked.
“To reinforce his strength, to overpower Lucifer, and to make sure that the Titans' worshippers grew so numerous and strong that no amount of manipulation on Lucifer’s part could weaken them. And, for a long time, it worked. The Titans were thrilled at the adoration they received and they bestowed humanity with gifts in return for their faith. Zeus blessed the earth with rains, Poseidon took control of the oceans and Helios seized the sun. Aphrodite blessed marriages and Athena blessed battles. As for Lucifer, his plan for revenge seemed to have failed before it had even begun.”
“Except it didn’t,” Patrick said, beginning to understand.
Diane nodded. “The Titans began to compete with one another for worshippers. They became greedy, selfish, controlling and demanding. Love was replaced by fear, and humanity’s faith in the Gods started to fade. When the Titans realized the mistake they had made they tried to rectify it, but it was too late.”
“Zeus called a meeting with the rest of the Titans and the consensus was overwhelmingly unanimous. The Titans should never have interfered in another world. The portal should never have been opened. They feared they had done significant damage to the humans, to Earth, and to themselves. It was agreed that they would return to Tartarus for good.”
“But Cronus was in possession of the Olympus Key… he was the only one who could open the portal to Tartarus, and he was the only one who didn't want to abandon his life on Earth. Left with no choice, Zeus and the other Titans joined forces with the guardians. They managed to take the Key from Cronus and they cast him out into another world, one from which he could not escape.”
“The Titans captured Lucifer and dragged him back to Tartarus, knowing that without human souls to feed off of, he would eventually die. But he would no longer dissolve into nothing, as he had believed. No, Lucifer’s consumption of suffering human souls had affected him just as the Titans' time on earth had affected them. His death would not be the end; it would be the beginning of an eternity of suffering. Lucifer could feel the souls he had consumed, suffocating him… and he knew that his death would be followed by punishment for all the atrocities he had committed.”
“If the Titans took possession of the Olympus Key,” Patrick said slowly. “How is it that it’s here, in my possession?”
Diane’s eyes were piercing bright spots of light amid the darkness. “The Titans tried to destroy the Key so that no one else could use it to cross through worlds and upset the natural order of the cosmos. But for all the Titans' power, nothing they did left even a scratch on the key. The angels tried to destroy it too, but they failed as well.”
Patrick stared at Diana for a long time. “Why?” he asked.
The key was throbbing hard against his palm. He half expected to see a welt on his skin when he looked down, but he saw only the shiny dark wood of the key that had been forged in a different world.
“Diane,” Patrick said softly when she didn’t answer. “Tell me… why couldn’t they destroy it?”
Diane’s eyes looked far away, as though she had gotten lost in her own story. She seemed to pull herself out of the maze she had disappeared into and when she did, her eyes focused on Patrick. He thought he saw excitement there. But it could just as easily have been fear.
“Because of the prophecy,” Diane replied.
“What prophecy?” Patrick asked.
“The prophecy that is carved on the shaft of the key in your hand,” Diane said, and then her tone changed. It became deeper, more gravelly, and it seemed to echo around the room as though they were sitting in the middle of a canyon. “Dust to dust, sand to sand, world to world… from immortals I sprung and to immortals I fall.”
The words seemed to echo inside Patrick, and for a moment he almost felt like he'd heard those words before. Had they always been there, inside of him?
“What does it mean?” he asked. He believed he knew what it meant, but he had to be sure.
“The Titans could not destroy it, but that is no surprise. Their immortality springs from humans, and without human worship they will age and die… eventually. The angels are immortal, but they could not destroy it either. That leaves only—
“Humans,” Patrick whispered.
Chapter Seven
It was so cold. Diane pulled her kaftan tight around her shoulders but it made no difference. The cold was inside her. She rubbed her hands together and stood from the table. She felt Patrick and Antonia’s eyes on her as she walked slowly to the nearest switch and flicked them on. Artificial light flooded the room and left her feeling scrutinized under its oppressive glare.
“Only a human can destroy the Key?” Patrick asked.
Diane could feel his connection to the Key; she could sense his attachment to it… and that made her nervous.
Diane wished she could call upon her visions at will, but that ability had never been granted to her. She saw only what came to her, and she had no control when they did. But when she did receive her visions, she never forgot a single detail. She could recall them in perfect clarity, like a
window into a memory that she had lived herself.
“I think so,” Diane nodded. “That is why Gabriel threw the Key back into the Earth. He hoped that it would find the human who had the power to destroy it.”
Diane saw something flash through Patrick’s eyes, but it was gone before she could identify what it was. “Patrick,” she said slowly. “The story does not end there. Lucifer watched as Gabriel threw the Olympus Key back into the earth. He lay patiently in his cell and bided his time. Then, after many years, he faked his own death. When the doors to his cage were opened, he killed his jailers and jumped through Earth’s portal. He roams the Earth… even to this day, in search of that Key in your hands.”
Her revelation didn't have the intended effect. Patrick didn't look scared; he only looked more determined. And Antonia… well, she wasn't ready to accept the truth yet. She, and people like her, were the reason the light was disappearing from the world.
“The Titans are still out there, Patrick… but their power is waning. Man’s loss of faith has affected them. Why do you think the Earth is in chaos? Humanity’s fate is forever linked to the Titans now. We need to restore balance somehow. We need to set things to rights, and a good way to start is by destroying that Key.”
Patrick refused to meet Diane’s eyes. She felt her heart beat faster; despite her gift of sight, she hadn't seen this. She hadn't expected any of it.
“Patrick?”
He shook his head and stood up. “I can’t promise that,” he said.
Diane felt her heart sink. “You have no idea what you’re saying—”
“Actually, I do,” he said, turning his burning eyes on her. “My daughter is out there. Her soul is out there, and I need to get it back. Now I can’t do that on my own, but from what you’ve told me this evening, it seems this Key can get me where I need to go. This Key can take me to Tess.”
A chill ran through Diane. Was this what her visions had been warning her about? She'd sensed something about Patrick when he'd walked into her home: he had the potential for great good… and great evil.
Diane started to speak. “Patrick—"
“I’m sorry,” Antonia said, darting up from her seat and looking between Patrick and Diane in desperate urgency. “But I sat there and I listened to everything. I heard the whole story and so did you. Patrick, are you honestly going to stand there and tell me you believe everything she’s just told us?”
Patrick met Antonia’s eyes and Diane could feel the tension prickle back and forth in the space that separated them. There was fire between them still: unresolved longing and desire for each other that both were denying.
“Yes,” Patrick said. “I believe her.”
Antonia shook her head in frustration. Then she turned to Diane. There was a desperation in her delicate features. “How could you possibly know all this?” she asked.
“This sacred history has been passed down from generation to generation,” Diane replied. “There was a time when every family knew it. But now, only those families that have been blessed with vision still believe. We cannot forget. Our visions will not allow us to.”
“You’ve seen visions of this so-called history?” Antonia asked.
“Parts of it,” Diane nodded. “Small, fleeting moments that have confirmed what I just told you was history and not legend.”
Antonia’s jaw hardened into a stubborn line. “Patrick… we should go—"
Patrick’s voice was gentle, earnest. “Antonia—"
“No!” Antonia snapped. “This is insane! Titans, Angels, magic keys that open portals to different worlds? It makes no sense. Those bursting lights can be explained scientifically. The answer lies in quantum theory. Black-body radiation was unexplained phenomena up until Max Planck empirically derived a formula for the observed spectrum. All the strange things that are happening are just more unexplained phenomena. In fact, maybe they’re just aggravated symptoms of global warming that… that we haven’t… been able to figure out yet.”
“You are scared,” Diane said, knowing that this would be the only opportunity she would have to convert Antonia. “You are terrified that science will betray you.”
Antonia hesitated. “How could science possibly betray me?” she asked.
“By failing to give you answers,” Diane replied. “By proving it cannot solve your problems, and by falling short of the solutions you seek. Look around you, Antonia. The world is getting darker and colder. That can only mean one thing: Helios is dying, and he is taking the power of the sun with him. If that happens, it is only a matter of time before Earth will fall and all of us with it.”
“Helios… God of the sun?” Antonia asked.
“He has survived this long because of people like me,” Diane said. “Men and women who worship in the shadows, fuelling his life with our prayer and our faith. But it is no longer enough. The portals between worlds are weak. Lucifer’s presence on Earth and humanity’s loss of faith have upset the balance of the cosmos. It is crying out to be fixed. That is why you have been able to pick up the immortal energy. That is why you can hear them scream.”
Diane saw Antonia’s eyes flicker upwards. Her words had struck a cord. But had it caused a revelation? Had it made a difference?
“Immortal energy?” Antonia repeated. “Are you talking about—"
“The bursting lights,” Diane said, before Antonia could finish her sentence. “Human souls. They are one and the same.”
“I… I... don’t believe you,” Antonia stammered, but Diane could hear something telling in her voice. She was already starting to question the foundation of her beliefs. Her conviction was beginning to crumble. Enlightenment hadn’t come yet, but Diane was now certain it would.
“No, you don’t want to believe me,” Diane said gently. “But I can sense that you do. Deep down, you know the truth. And if you trust your sixth sense and open your third eye, you will see it as clearly as you see me right now.”
Antonia looked helplessly towards Patrick and then back at Diane. “There has to be another explanation—”
“And if there isn't?” Diane asked. “What if science and magic go hand in hand? What if science alone cannot explain it?”
Antonia’s eyes focused for a moment, as new resolve charged through her aura. Diane could sense some strange new energy engulf them. Was it coming from Antonia?
“If science cannot explain it, then I will destroy the Key,” Antonia said. “Just like you want.”
A vision flashed before Diane’s eyes, bidden by the decision that Antonia had just made. She saw Tartarus and its trees of sunshine gold. She saw waterfalls made of red umber and rose-petals. She saw Titans upon Mount Olympus and humans upon a healthy Earth. She saw unity, balance and perfect alignment. She saw a future that was suddenly possible. Had Diane been wrong this whole time? Perhaps Patrick was not the one she was meant to reach. Perhaps he was only the deliverer. Perhaps his purpose was in bringing Antonia here, and putting her on the path to saving humanity.
“Diane?” Antonia’s voice was soft; she looked concerned.
“I’m okay,” said Diane, holding up her hand. Her visions were often draining. “I just… need to sit down.”
“We should go.”
Diane looked up. It wasn't Antonia who spoke, but Patrick. His face was a mask that Diane couldn't read. His aura was suddenly closed off from her. Why was that? Diane felt something stab at her chest: a coldness that warned her of something she couldn't see. Why were her visions so unreliable? It seemed they never reached her when she really needed them. It was a fickle gift, a faithless friend.
“Patrick…” Diane whispered.
“Thank you, Diane,” Patrick said. “You have given me hope.”
Diane wondered what else she'd given him.
Patrick and Antonia turned to leave. Antonia had already opened the door when Patrick looked over his shoulder at Diane as though he had just remembered something.
“Where do souls go when they leave Earth?” h
e asked.
“A world that is a gateway onwards,” Diane replied, her breath coming in short bursts. “A place where only souls can pass through. Once a soul passes through and beyond this world, they cannot come back to Earth. It is called The Hades.”
“The Hades,” Patrick repeated.
“Be wary, Patrick,” Diane warned, seeing the resolve in his eyes. “In order to reach The Hades, you would first need to die.”
Patrick nodded. “I understand,” he said.
Diane wanted to call out to Patrick even as the door closed behind them. There was so much more they needed to know. There was so much more they needed to understand. But the warnings were frozen on her tongue; fatigue and fear gripped her tired soul, and she felt the ache of her visions consume her. Had she done her part to save humanity? Or had she only hastened the Earth to its end?
“My Lord Helios,” Diane whispered softly, knowing he would hear her prayer. “Show me the way. Give me strength, give me courage, but most of all, give me clarity.”
Diane closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She could feel him, but she couldn't hear him. He was too weak and she was too far away. His warmth could not touch her.
Long after Antonia and Patrick had left, the chill in her heart still lingered.
Chapter Eight
“Patrick?”
They had walked in silence since leaving Diane’s apartment, and Antonia couldn’t take it any longer.
“I know you don’t believe what she said,” said Patrick. “But I do.”
He sounded so certain, it made Antonia stop in her tracks. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to a halt. He faced her with dull resignation, as though he had been gearing up for an argument since they left Diane's place.
“I get it," said Antonia. "You want to believe there’s another world where souls go. And I will even concede there might be a possibility that alternate dimensions or worlds may exist in tandem with ours. But this notion of Gods—"