by David Walker
“I want to thank you all for attending. This celebration is not about me; it is about all of us. We have created countless wonders in our glorious kingdom. But now it's time for us to focus on the earth. The alignment of our luminaries will affect everything that happens there. Therefore, we must carefully organize our kingdom so that life on earth is properly managed. We will do this together, and life will flourish both in heaven and on earth!” The King of Heaven's words were met with a show of approval from the council.
The Council of Heaven deliberated about the organizational structure of heaven. The King of Heaven agreed to Prince Jaoel's suggestion that each area in heaven should be divided into a spirit realm. The King of Heaven also agreed to Prince Metatron's suggestion that similar spirit realms should be grouped together into spirit levels. The council collectively agreed that heaven should be governed through the twelve pillars of life: force, energy, harmony, causality, authority, resource, balance, accountability, knowledge, growth, expression, and diversity.
Prince Michael and Prince Mastema were in charge of the sun realm, which was governed by the pillar of harmony. Prince Gabriel and Prince Baal were in charge of the moon realm, which was governed by the pillar of causality. Prince Jaoel was in charge of Eden and Prince Metatron was in charge of Sheol. Eden and Sheol were both governed by the pillar of diversity. These were the structure pillars. They determined a spirit realm's charge, time, and location attributes.
“This is quite a brilliant design,” Ramael told Rachel. “Choice comes from the pillar of harmony and consequence comes from the pillar of causality. With respect to morality, Eden and Sheol represent the ultimate consequence of one's position toward the harmony of life.”
Cherubim Reuben the Bull and Cherubim Fenrir the Wolf were in charge of the earth element realm, which was governed by the pillar of energy. Cherubim Judah the Lion and Cherubim Phoenix the Hawk were in charge of the fire element realm, which was governed by the pillar of authority. Cherubim Aquila the Eagle and Cherubim Anu the Sky were in charge of the wind element realm, which was governed by the pillar of accountability. Cherubim Melchizedek the Priest and Cherubim Leviathan the Dragon were in charge of the water element realm, which was governed by the pillar of expression. These were the power pillars; the source of the very substance of the spirit realms.
The Luminary Dukes were in charge of their respective luminaires. Mercury was governed by the pillar of resource. Venus was governed by the pillar of balance. Mars was governed by the pillar of force. Jupiter was governed by the pillar of knowledge. Saturn was governed by the pillar of growth. These were the throne pillars; the organizational heads of the spirit realms.
The King of Heaven appointed Principalities to govern regional realms, which operated under Mercury, luminary of the green soul state. He appointed Virtues to govern the energy of procreation, which operated under Venus, luminary of the orange soul state. He appointed Archangels to govern mastery realms, which operated under Mars, luminary of the red soul state. He appointed Dominions to govern observation realms, which operated under Jupiter, luminary of the blue soul state. He appointed angels to govern the process of transformation, which operated under Saturn, the luminary of the yellow soul state. He allowed Prince Gabriel's time rings to govern the flow of physical time, which operated under the moon, the luminary of the violet soul state.
The King of Heaven submitted his proposed governance of the Realms of Life to the Judge of Heaven. After deliberating with the Parliament of Heaven, the Judge of Heaven authorized the usage of the King of Heaven's realms of life. Lady Lilith's darkness brought an end to the fourth age of history.
Chapter 9
Matthew read through all of the voluminous Annals of Heaven during his vacation time. After he started reading, he did not stop until he was finished. He had learned much about the kingdom of heaven, which served to strengthen his newfound devotion to his king. Isaac and Nathanael met up with Shade during one of his training sessions inside of his heart realm.
“Good. It looks like you've completed the first phase of your training,” Nathanael said.
“Wow, look at you. At this rate, you'll be a Knight in no time,” Isaac added.
“A Knight?” Shade asked.
“The kingdom of heaven has combat ranks: Pawn, Knight, Bishop, Rook, and King. Our ranks are more than mere titles. The higher your rank, the more you'll be capable in combat,” Isaac explained.
“How do I move up in rank?” Shade inquired.
“Your rank increases as your degree of synchronization with the spirit of our king increases,” Isaac answered.
“Your rank also determines the potential range of your spirit attributes: vitality, capacity, strength, speed, precision, dexterity, potency, projection, offense, and defense. Your spirit attributes will increase as you train your spirit body, but they're also connected to some of your personal characteristics,” Nathanael explained. He and Isaac went back and forth with the details of each attribute.
“Vitality is your spirit's health resource. As long as you have some available, you're able to stay in whatever realm you're in. It corresponds to your personal fortitude”
“Capacity is your spirit's power resource. As long as you have some available, you'll be able to channel elemental energy. It corresponds to your ability to concentrate.”
“Spirit strength is like physical strength. It corresponds to your personal willpower.”
“Spirit speed is also like physical speed. It corresponds to your intellectual capacity.”
“Precision determines your accuracy. It corresponds to your ability to discern detail.”
“Dexterity determines your reflexive ability. It corresponds to your versatility.”
“Potency determines the power of your elemental abilities. It corresponds to your emotional passion. ”
“Projection determines how much volume your elemental abilities are able to generate. It corresponds to your ability to multitask.”
“Offense and defense determine your offensive and defensive capabilities. These correlate with your intuitive capacity. Let's say you were attacking an enemy who had speed and strength comparable to your own. If their defense was higher than your offense, it's likely that they would be able to block or evade most of your attacks. If their defense were lower than your offense, most of your attacks would likely hit their marks. Precision aids your offense, while dexterity aids your defense.” I see. These are like battle statistics in Celestial Warriors.
“We've noticed that your speed is very high, while your vitality leaves much to be desired,” Isaac said.
“How can you tell?” Shade asked.
“Your spirit attributes and rank are visible in your spirit spectrum,” Isaac answered.
“Would my opponents be able to view them?”
“Possibly. Not everyone is able to read information from spirit spectrums like we can, but some of our enemies are able to.”
“Can we hide our spirit spectrums?” Shade asked. Isaac's face lit up with a sly grin.
“As a matter of fact we can. I happen to be a master of the Stealth Knight combat class. Spirit spectrum masking is our specialty. Once you've learned how to do it, you can make yourself invisible in the spirit realm that you're in,” Isaac explained. Nice. Just like Obfuscation's warrior in black.
Shade spent the next few days training with Isaac exclusively until he could effectively use the art of spirit spectrum masking. Afterwards, Shade had elemental training with Nathanael. Shade learned the cycle of elements. Water worked harmonically with earth and was strong against fire. Fire worked harmonically with wind and was strong against earth. Wind worked harmonically with fire and was strong against water. Earth worked harmonically with water and was strong against wind.
Despite his knowledge of the elements, Shade was unable to channel more than one element at a time, so he could not take advantage of their harmonic properties. He learned that he would not be able to channel more than one element s
imultaneously until he reached the rank of Knight. Shade also learned that he had an affinity with light, which made his light-based abilities stronger than his other elemental abilities. After enduring much of Isaac and Nathanael's intense training, Shade followed them into a mysterious rift. There, Shade saw a foreboding, stone castle.
“This is the observation realm of knowledge. Observation realms have access to the various streams of time. They are also where some of the Holy Trials are located,” Nathanael revealed.
“We've decided that you're ready to take your first Holy Trial. Once you've completed your trial, you'll have access to a powerful combat asset. Your trial begins inside of this castle,” Isaac said, motioning to the castle gates.
Shade slowly made his way into the dark castle. When he entered the main hall, a white, glowing figure approached him. The figure began to glow with an amber color as flame engulfed it entirely. Shade could feel the intensity of the heat emitting from the figure, yet it stood unharmed.
Shade's inner voice recalled a line from the Annals of Heaven: Apply your heart unto wisdom. The flaming figure attacked Shade with fierce, rapid strikes. Initially overwhelmed, Shade began to use his water elemental combat style. He evaded the fiery attacks with fluid, circular motions. Shade counter-attacked with an icy double-palm thrust to its chest.
The flaming energy that surrounded the figure turned into the wind, and it used its cyclonic energy to spin into multiple kicks, throwing Shade off balance. Shade recovered and became immovable as he switched to his earth style, stiffly blocking the incoming kicks. He counterattacked with heavy elbow strikes and knee thrusts. Shade's follow-up offensive put the windy figure down.
Shade continued on into the castle until he was surrounded by the same black-hooded figures that had almost killed him. Four had nearly taken him out before; now he was surrounded by a dozen of them. They ambushed him with multiple slashes from their scythes. As before, terror gripped Shade's soul and the hooded figures were able to siphon off strength from his fear. Do not fear losing your temporary life; only fear losing your eternal soul. Shade shook off his fear and projected an intense beam of light from his palms; it bounced back and forth through each of the hooded figures, like a ray of light reflecting off of a series of mirrors. The hooded figures dissipated into thick clouds of sulfur.
Shade entered the castle's throne room and saw his shadow sitting on the huge, ghastly throne. Rage swelled up in Shade's heart as he dashed at his shadow and unleashed a barrage of attacks. His shadow laughed as he easily dodged Shade's strikes. As the fight progressed, Shade felt himself growing weaker. Love your enemies, even if the enemy is yourself.
Shade realized that the dark red color of his spirit spectrum was glowing intensely. He calmed himself down and ceased his assault. His shadow launched his own attacks and Shade was able to casually stifle his offensive. As the fight progressed, Shade felt himself become stronger and faster. Shade ended the fight with a powerful, spinning butterfly kick.
Ribbons of white light spiraled around Shade and wrapped around his spirit body. The light transformed into the same pearl-colored, iridescent armor rimmed with gold that he had worn in his dream. The armor radiated with power that made Shade feel as if his spirit attributes had increased. A slender, slightly-arched sword with a diamond blade materialized in his hands. The sword reminded him of a white and golden version of the Maelstrom's Edge. Shade was beaming when he walked out of the castle.
“Well, look at you,” Isaac remarked with a smile. “The Holy Armor looks good on you, my friend.”
* * *
Rachel sat down on a grassy hill with the Angelic Special Forces in the blue overworld. They sat nearby a crystal-blue lake that was being enjoyed by a large group of joyful children. Some of the children swam deep into the lake, with the ability to breathe underwater. Other children ice skated on the frozen sections of the lake. Glimmering snowflakes slowly drifted from the sky, yet the area was not cold. The weather was balmy. Virtue Truth was off in the distance, overseeing the bottling of heaven's purified waters.
Samson reveled in the children's joy. Rachel admired her angelic companions' pure spirits. They were much like children themselves in their innocence. In another sense, they were as fierce as lions. Rachel loved spending time with such noble creatures.
“So, are you going to go back to the dig site?” Caleb asked Rachel.
“Yes. I'm going to finish my work there,” Rachel sighed. “But, my heart isn't in it anymore. I'm not sure what I'm going to do after the excavation is complete. I might see if I can live with my parents until I can figure something out.”
“You're doing valuable work for the kingdom of heaven. I'm sure all of your needs will be met in the natural world,” Jacob assured.
“You know what? Enough about me. I'd like to know more about you guys. Jacob, what's your story? How'd you become one of heaven's elite warriors?” Rachel asked Jacob, seemingly amused, as he looked up to the sky as if to recall his memories.
“Well, I started off as one of Archangel Puriel's first students. He is the greatest marksman in the kingdom. Lady Wisdom of Day selected me to be one of the king's elite warriors. She and her twin brother, Virtue Wisdom, both felt I'd make a suitable Special Forces operative. Now that I think about it, you remind me of Lady Wisdom,” Jacob said.
“Really?” Rachel asked, tilting her head in surprise.
“You both have a similar visage. Her eyes are emerald like yours, as well,” Jacob revealed. Rachel was flattered. She had not been able to make out the features of heaven's aristocracy, but she could tell that Lady Wisdom's beauty was without measure.
“I was one of the first members of the squad along with the king's cupbearer, Laban. He was a powerful warrior, trained by Prince Michael himself. We had secured some of the king's critical assets during the Great Rebellion. Gideon remembers those days,” Jacob continued. Gideon stared pensively at the lake in silence.
“Laban was a brilliant tactician and our former leader. He had led us through many impossible battles. When we were in a pinch, he used to say: 'If we have the will, our king will provide a way!'” Jacob paused for a moment. “He was...my best friend. One day, he just fell. Nobody knew why. He was the most loyal angel I'd ever known,” Jacob lamented.
“I'm sorry, Jacob,” Rachel said, laying a consoling hand on one of his huge shoulders.
“Thank you, Rachel. We shouldn't mourn over the past when such a bright future awaits us in the kingdom. Soldiers, it's time for war counsel,” Jacob said, shifting to an authoritative tone. Rachel noticed that her angelic companions had always focused on their mission objectives. Jacob, perhaps most of all. They entered a rift into their war room which had the celestial Curse Leo on the star map holographic display.
“Rachel needs access to the authority celestial realm next, so Leo is our target. There is an alignment linking authority and resource, so Leo will be supported by Virgo. Leo is the chief Curse; he is the most powerful among them. This battle could prove to be difficult. As long as Rachel is comfortable with it, we can begin our assault despite the current alignment,” Jacob said.
“Absolutely,” Rachel confirmed. They entered a rift to their base in the force celestial realm and made their way to the authority astral gate. Leo, the mighty lion and king of the zodiac, emerged out of the astral gate. The gigantic feline exuded a powerful aura of pride and ferocity. The celestial maiden Virgo, whip in hand, was mounted on top of him.
“You dare enter my realm?” Leo growled.
“By order of Ophanim Raphael, Duke of Saturn, we are here to collect the keys to the astral gates: authority and resource. Hand the keys over peacefully or we will be forced to banish you,” Jacob demanded. Leo's eyes darkened as fire engulfed his thick mane.
“They have no idea who they're messing with, do they?” Virgo said while cracking her whip.
Leo let out a booming roar which emitted a shock-wave that temporarily immobilized Rachel and her companions. Virgo
flailed her whip above her head and it coiled around an enormous boulder that materialized in the sky. The boulder caught on fire, and she used her whip to hurl it down on top of them. The flaming boulder crashed down on them like a meteor falling from the sky, shattering into a profusion of flying rocks. Rachel and her companions were laid out on their backs, hanging on to silvers of their spirit vitality.
Rachel deployed her four astral gems to each of her companions. The gems rapidly revolved around them, restoring spirit vitality on each revolution. After they were sufficiently healed, she used the gems to restore her own spirit vitality before setting them back into her sword. Jacob shot a few arrows at Virgo, but she deflected them with fierce cracks of her whip. Samson and Caleb dashed at Leo's flank, but he battered them both away with nimble swipes from his massive claws.
Caleb tumbled into a backward roll and recovered back on his feet. A gray banner materialized in his hands and he jammed it deep into the ground. The banner pulsed, causing the angels' Holy Armor sets to glow. While the angels were near the banner, their strength attributes were increased. Gideon formed a spherical barrier over the area around the banner. Rachel and her companions took cover underneath the barrier, as he actively channeled energy into it, preventing all of Leo and Virgo's attacks from penetrating it.
Enraged that his claws were unable to pierce the barrier, Leo ran circles around it, forming a blazing ring of fire. Virgo's whip lashed through the fire, taking heavy shots at the barrier. Rachel deployed her gems around the barrier, adding to its defensive capacity. Meanwhile, Caleb propped himself onto Samson's giant mace, as Samson rapidly swung it around in a cyclonic motion. Gideon used his Judge Conviction ability, collapsing the barrier, and redirecting the energy that it had absorbed into Caleb's shield. Samson flung Caleb shield first into Virgo with the impact of a rocket, obliterating all of her spirit vitality.