Then suddenly out of the blood red water came the breathing tube, forcing its way into his mouth, along with the collar clamping onto him. But unlike last time, it continued to push him down into the pool.
Beneath him the bottom of the pool opened up, revealing a greater depth that he was slowly but surely pushed down into. Above him streamed the blood red swirls and beyond that he could see the swirling green mixing with the red and purple to create shimmers of colour. Beneath him loomed only darkness.
The collar came to a stop, he was suspended in dark water, the light from above blocked. He had no idea how deep he was, but he guessed it wasn’t anything significant. He could probably swim back up to the surface.
His collar illuminated with a soft green glow. It was eerie in the darkness, especially as it only highlighted the blood red water around him. What kind of fucked up medical treatment was this anyway?
Light flickered slowly awake beneath him, in jolting blinks until it stayed on, before slowly strengthening. A huge crystal sat beneath him, formed out of the crystal network surrounding it. He was in some sort of underground cavern made entirely of crystal, its focal point being the massive diamond shaped crystal rising out of a cluster of crystal needles. It was beautiful, hauntingly so as the whole cavern started to illuminate from the spreading light.
The water turned from black to rosy red as the light started to penetrate the swirls of red water. Why was that still gathering around him? To his surprise, he also saw swirls of purple sinking down from above.
The collar shoved him down again, pushing him down until he was within reaching distance of the crystal. It was stunning, pulsating and sparkling with iridescent light, spreading from the heart of the crystal outwards then shimmering down the outside and spreading out into the rest of the crystals.
He reached out to touch the crystal, curious and fascinated.
As soon as his hands connected light flared and his hand sank beneath its surface before solidifying. He was trapped while light blazed, making the whole cavern shine, chasing away all the shadows. His hand and heart grew warm, he saw green lights flowing from his heart down his arm and into the crystal which had started to glow a soft green, brightening until it shone with emerald brilliance.
Streams of emerald light danced through the cavern shooting light lightning through the crystals and dancing like Oriental Dragons through the water. The heat and light intensified. He couldn’t look at the crystal anymore, even with his eyes closed. There was nowhere to turn as the whole cavern grew to such intense brightness that his eyes started to hurt. His hand and heart felt like they were on fire. He was screaming, for all the good it did him, water just raced in but still he screamed at the agony of it, trying to yank his hand free from its surface.
It was just too much to bear.
Then everything disappeared.
He woke up groggily as once again someone was stabbing his ass with a syringe, followed by the several others into his arms and neck. Blessed coolness supported him, holding him up as the air stole his burning heat away from his wet body.
“All is in order Mistress. His body has been completely awakened, and he is indeed the strongest we have found.” It was that doctor’s voice, the green haired one.
“Excellent I was beginning to think that all the sorcerers’ bloodlines had been lost. And one so strong, when he is fully in his powers he will be more powerful than a demigod.” The voice was strange, beautiful but not all together Human sounding.
What on earth were they talking about? Sorcerers and Demigods, God this was a cult.
He felt his body lifting up, he opened his eyes to see that he was floating in the air before the doctor, her helper and the most stunning and terrifying woman he had ever seen. Some instinct told him she was more than dangerous. She could have had red and yellow markings, and that still would not have been sufficient warning to the world.
“Welcome Kyle to your true nature,” she said, smiling with a predator’s smile.
“My true nature?”
She flicked her eyes at the others “Has nothing been explained to him?”
“This is only his second treatment, there hasn’t been the time, we did not expect such a violent reaction or such a successful reawakening.”
She smiled in satisfaction “Then he is even more powerful than anticipated, it must be the blending of European and Oriental bloodlines. Such a fusion was beyond rare in the past, but I have a feeling it is common in this day and age.”
“Yes mistress, there is all manner of mixed race Humans, the potential is vast.”
“What the Hell are you lot on about?”
She turned her attention back to him “You have had your latent genes and talents reactivated, oh and your disease cured. You now have powers, beyond even your own comprehension. You have the power to change the world and believe me you will.”
“Powers?”
“Magic, you now have magic.”
“Phht, you expect me to believe in magic, what kind of moron do you take me for?”
“Then explain how you are floating in mid-air.”
He looked around “Some form of strong anti-gravitational field.”
She looked amused before she suddenly burst into violet flames, she stood up and walked towards him.
“Think whatever you like Kyle but magic exists, it always has it has merely been suppressed under the Angels’ rule, but it is a natural part of the world. Some people only have the merest taste of it, the Lifeforce that gives them life and keeps them alive. Others have more, they can touch a power and use it to affect the world around them, some like you have the power to reshape the world, the innate ability to resonate with the natural forces of the planet. Then above you lie those with powers so vast their battles tear the world asunder and destroy entire empires.” She smiled “Gods and Goddesses, but your time without us has made Humans forget us, it is long overdue that you were reminded.”
Lightning surrounded her in a nexus of fire and ice, blooming outwards as though it were a magical flower. She spoke with a voice made of pure thunder “Magic exists Kyle, and you have it.”
He collapsed to his knees shaken to his core. This was too much to take in, this wasn’t right, this couldn’t be happening.
“And what do you plan to do with me? What if I refuse to be trained?”
The two mortals gasped, but she simply smiled at him “You are under no obligations to remain, but I do warn you that without training you powers will be wild and erratic, flaring at the worst times. How long until you inadvertently kill someone, or destroy part of the city due to uncontrolled powers. Do you really want that on your conscience?”
He didn’t, and they both knew it.
Hera owned him now, she finally had the sorcerer she had been looking for. She had the Maenads completely, as well as the Sirens, she had most of the Lilin and more than half of the Were. Now she was awakening the latent powers within the genes across all species, and her current focus was on Humans. They were the largest percentage of the population, and Humans often had the strangest mix of powers due to their excessive breeding with the other species and across their own races.
New York, she could pass off as her own, even in her absence it was converting to her, San Francisco was now a stronghold of hers, and now her attentions were turning towards New Orleans. A city still rich in magic, especially of the Daemonic kind.
It was time she started raising her army. The War was coming again and this time, all the races of the world would be involved. And this time, the Angels would not succeed by surprise, this time, she would. They had done their best to eradicate magic from the world, it was why she was going to such pains to reactivate magical genes. The magic left to mortals was pitiful, the Angels eradication efforts had been most effective. They would not be prepared to face a sorcerer led army of fully powered Daemons.
And with the increasingly powerful Lilin inserting themselves into all levels of business and government she was
now becoming the unknown puppet master all across the United States. Things were going accordingly to plan with only the merest of stuff ups. The Angels truly had no idea what was coming their way.
A meeting had been called between all the Arch Angels, and the Governing Council was waiting in trepidation on the results of their meeting. Nuriel, on the other hand, was fearing to enter the room. They were currently busy interrogating the Captain of Gabriel’s Seraphim. She had much to report about the magical state of the world, as did all the other Captains. She had waited as one by one they were all called in. But she already knew what most of them had to say. She had already seen the evidence of what they were reporting.
The darkness that had tried to engulf Heaven had not actually been some form of Divine attack, it was a side effect. Something had allowed Primordials Gods to unite with the night sky and blanket the Earth with darkness.
In doing so, it had saturated the planet with magic. All traces of lesser magic, even the powerful traces of Brigid and Hera had been completely smothered. Even New York City, which had been a brightly burning beacon of Hera's power, had been silenced. All their traces had been lost, all leads covered over. The planet was currently a blank slate, magically speaking, the only detectable magic being the Lifestream or the blanket of darkness magic.
Of course, each of the captains would only have a fraction of that knowledge, they didn’t have her skills, connections or access to information. And she was still scared to face the Arch Angels.
Zerachiel was probably one of the strongest people she knew, and one of the few who casually withstood Gabriel’s temper. It seemed she and Michael were the only two who did not cringe at Gabriel’s rants. She certainly needed a strong stomach and will to be Gabriel’s Captain. It also made her one of the most politically powerful figures in Heaven. Her loyalty was unquestionable, her manner unshakable. And yet even she walked out of the chamber looking shaken. Not as bad as some of the others, she did, after all, have an iron will, but she looked worn out and worried.
It did not bode well.
She smiled at Zerachiel as she stood up to answer her summons, the pitying look she gave back did nothing to comfort Nuriel. Still she walked in with her head held high right into the tensest room she had ever entered. Lightning sparked along the length of Gabriel’s hair, fire was sparking over Michael’s wings, Ariel’s hair was bathing in flames, Uriel’s feathers were richly covered in both electrical and fiery sparks. Even unshakable Raphael’s hands were clenched tight, a sure sign of anger and irritation.
The only Arch Angel showing no signs of anger, irritation, annoyance or impatience was Azrael. Nuriel sometimes wondered if his death magic had killed all his expressions. She quickly silenced such thoughts. He might be able to read her thoughts, there was no telling what other powers he held.
Michael urged her to start with her reports while the others watched her like she was prey. She recounted the Darkness, what she had concluded from it and all the subsequent effects. As expected none were happy with the loss of the traces on the Goddesses. Even less so when she told them about New York City. That had been their best chance at catching Hera, so much magic had meant a Divine trace was easy to construct and had been in the process. They were unhappy that all traces of Brigid had vanished.
They were even less happy with her research.
Since the Darkness, even more, people had turned away from the Angelic Religions, sin was on the ever upwards rise, lust and greed had Humanity firmly in their grips. But even more worrying, was the sudden spike in Demonic races. Vampires and Were had started increasing their numbers through infection, the Lilin were on a breeding rampage, feeding off their desires and empowering themselves. Even the remaining Maenads would be looking for mates. There was no telling what else could come out of the woodwork.
But it was worse than that she had finally managed to trace Nyx’s powers using some forgotten artefact, but she had also discovered that she was not the only Primordial that had infused the darkness. When she had said that four Primordials had infused the Darkness she had been met with stunned silence. Listing Nyx, Erebus, and Tartarus had concerned them, but it was the mentioning of Gaia that caused an uproar. The other three Primordials were unusually gifted, lifted by their nature’s, Gaia was not. They had all read that she was the first child of Chaos, that her powers were beyond reckoning and imagination. She had created life, she was the accumulation of every Mother Goddess that had ever returned to the Lifestream.
The Myths about her were many, and what was actually known to be true was surprisingly scarce, even in the records of her own blood children. But if she was freed she could wipe out the Angels with ease. She had the power to force extinction in any way she thought of.
It had taken a long time to settle them down enough to explain her conclusions. The three Primordials were still safely locked away in the Underworld. Otherwise, they surely would have pounced on their opportunity. The main question that had concerned them all was Gaia. What had caused her to rise from her slumbers? Could she rise further? She wasn’t awake yet, the whole world would feel when that happened. They all agreed to check the spells binding her and the entire Underworld. For if she awoke she could destroy them all.
Her conclusions told her that all four of them were still bound deep in the Underworld, but their powers could leak out, but they had limited control over them. Their powers simply following their own natures.
What was more troubling were the flavours of the darkness she had felt. Hera and Brigid were not the only Gods to lend their powers to the darkness. Apparently there remained quite a few still alive, though they too were bound in the Underworld.
But it was the Angelic flavouring that had her and the others most worried. Sariel’s, as well as a surprisingly large number of Angels' magic, had been in the darkness. Most had been the Fallen Angels, there were some who were not. Had their powers been willingly or forcefully added to the darkness?
She had then been dismissed while they had turned to each other in concern. She had walked out with her head still held high. She walked with a spring in her step along the corridor, despite the concerns going on in the world she had survived a meeting with the Arch Angels when they had all been in a foul temper.
The Arch Angels waited until she was gone before they resumed their discussion.
“If Sariel’s magic was in the darkness it means one of the Gods have her.”
“Which means they have access to her powers.”
“And can use them to their own means.”
“But that means they have access to an Arch Angels powers.”
“Who has her? Hera or Brigid?”
“She may be in the Underworld at the mercy of any one of them. Which means that an Underworld God has full access to the key of Lucifer’s Curse.”
That struck the wrong note. If Lucifer’s Curse were broken, the backlash would be horrific but the consequences even more so. Not only would Lucifer and his two hundred odd Elders be freed, but so would the two hundred odd Fallen Elders in Purgatory who would presumably join him. There would be twice as many enemy Elders for the two hundred odd Heaven Elders. Never mind the Ascended and Lesser Fallen Angels.
Lucifer’s powers would be stronger than a God’s, being the focal point of evil in three dominions of religion was sure to have empowered him beyond any of them individually.
But it wasn’t just that, all the Demons of Hell would be released, as well as the trapped Gods and their servants but so too would be the three Primordial Gods. Also, the last binding keeping Gaia in her slumbers would be gone.
All Hell would break loose, quite literally.
Humanity needed to be forewarned, and the masses put back on the right path. If the Arch Angels were empowered more than they could affect the Curse, perhaps sense where Sariel was and make Hell more dangerous. To break the Curse, an Arch Angel would have to be near Lucifer, which meant whatever God was controlling her would have to take them both through the
levels of Hell.
They decided that Azrael would scour through Purgatory for any intelligence on the Underworld. Uriel and Ariel would continue in the searches for Hera and Brigid. Gabriel would visit the Pope and make him aware of his duties. Raphael would visit the Patriarchs and Michael would scour Islam for a suitable Prophet. It was time they got the world back in order, and they would start from the top down.
They had their strongholds; pretty much all Arab nations or what was left of them, the Vatican, the United States of America, Israel and a handful of other deeply religious countries. There was a strong presence in South America they decided they should encourage more. It was time science was reigned back in, and Humanity once again put back under the yoke.
They needed the power.
Chapter 17
“Why are you taking me to Agra?”
“To see the Taj Mahal, the most iconic building in all of India. It is also said to be one of the greatest symbols of love in the world. It is said to be the finest example of Mughal architecture and is a jewel of Muslim art.”
That caught her attention, the love part was quaint but an iconic Muslim structure now that grabbed her attention completely. An icon renowned worldwide was also the perfect place to start laying her spells, though she would need many if she were to claim India.
She had discovered that India and Pakistan had once been united under British rule which initially had her hopes high on claiming one of the most populous nations in the world and its neighbours easily. Much to her chagrin she had also discovered that India, as a whole, had a rich and vibrant history of changing between Hindu and Muslim rulers and that it was a patchwork of the two conflicting religions. British rule had merely united various kingdoms left over after the Mughal Empire had fallen apart. Granting it its freedom had divided the country into the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
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