by Jorge Silva
Gabriel caught sight of a familiar face. Even though he appeared younger than the last time he had seen him, Gabriel had no trouble recognizing him. Despite the torments, he had the same proud look that he had kept until the moment he’d been put in the ground.
“Dad.”
“Gabriel?” said his father, as he slowly moved closer. “Gabriel!” he exclaimed, finally, hugging his son. He looked at Gabriel’s wings and asked then, with a voice that was a mixture of worry and admiration. “Are you an angel, come from Heaven?”
Gabriel remembered how his father had been religious, especially in the final year of his life. How he’d taught Gabriel to pray, thinking that the presence of God in his life would help. If he knew how different Yahweh was from what humans imagined Him to be, he would undoubtedly be surprised.
“It’s… complicated,” said Gabriel, finding no better word to explain his situation.
Lucifer motioned for them to follow her and Gabriel took his father, who hadn’t quite gotten over his awe, in his arms and they ascended.
After crossing dozens of lakes of fire, full of agonized cries, they arrived at a place that Gabriel had seen in his dreams. Gehenna, Lucifer’s palace. Unlike the bucolic paradise it had once been, it was now no more than a ruin. Her palace completely destroyed, She sat on what was left of Her ancient throne.
“Use your old room. Speak at your leisure,” She told them while She closed Her eyes.
Gabriel knew that She had been waiting thousands of years for his return, and he was grateful She was willing to do so a bit longer.
He recognized the room, or at least the ruins of what he had seen in his dreams. The blackened stain on the floor hadn’t disappeared, and upon seeing it Gabriel couldn’t help but feel a slight pain in his wings.
When he and his father were seated on the floor he noticed that his father was crying.
“You have no idea how happy I am to find out that Lucifer was wrong.”
Gabriel gave his father a confused look.
“Here in Hell they say that all humans come here when they die, that it’s a punishment from God for our entire species. That none of us will ever become angels, that we will never get to know Heaven,” said his father, while he extended his hand and touched one of his son’s wings, with the same gesture that once used to muss his hair.
“No, Dad, what Lucifer says is true. When humans die, they do go to Hell. All of them.”
His father pulled his hand back from his son’s wing, and covered his mouth in shock.
“Gabriel? Does that mean that you’re dead and condemned to stay here too?” His eyes filled with tears, having jumped to the wrong conclusion. Gabriel shook his head and sighed.
Before his father had gotten sick they’d talked for hours about life and death, good and bad, what was right and what was wrong. They had practice with tough subjects. Gabriel told him all that had happened. He explained to his father about his ability to travel between the Realms. About Ignacio and Mr. Galen, about the battles against the angels, about his trip to Purgatory. About Heaven. About what Azrael and Tiberias had done.
“They must have been good friends, to have sacrificed themselves for you.”
Gabriel held back a tear. He remembered the allusion that Tiberias had made about the punishment he would receive. He thought about what they would be doing to Azrael in Purgatory for allowing him to escape, for having saved him yet again.
As they talked, his father had the hardest time understanding how the soul of the Phoenix and the one of his son came to be in the same body.
“I remember that your mom told me about her dream. That an angel told her that our son should be called Gabriel and that’s why we named you that.”
Lucifer knocked softly on the wall next to the doorway and came in. Gabriel and his father got up immediately. Even though one was an archangel and one was a tormented soul, neither of them were immune to Her beauty.
“Your son would be Gabriel, the Archangel of Mercy, the one destined to save us all. He has finally returned to begin the Apocalypse.”
Lucifer gestured for them to sit down again, and joined them. She raised Her hands and brought forth a fire in the center of the room. Just as Gabriel had seen in Uriel’s sphere of light, he saw images appear in the crackle of the flame.
A winged figure appeared, with brown hair and eyes, and shining white armor the same color as the sky. With a powerful voice, almost like a trumpet, he exclaimed: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I am he that lived, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Hell and of Death.”
In front of the figure, Gabriel saw a giant animal. It was covered in something like scales, but they appeared to be made of rock. Its wings were folded against its body, but it was clear that if extended, they would be of a magnitude that would be hard to comprehend. Even though it was difficult for him to conceive of the size of the reptile, if that’s what it was, the angels that flew around it helped him to understand its size. Its almond shaped pupil was much larger than any of the angels.
The winged figure made a shining sword appear in his hand. The animal extended its own wings and they both flew at each other.
The vision ended there, before the battle began. Gabriel recognized the winged being. He had seen it in the book that Tiberias had shown him. And, in dreams, he had worn that white armor, and carried that shining sword.
“What would happen to the human souls if I were to fight in Heaven?”
“They would be under my protection here, where Yahweh cannot reach them.”
His father was about to say something, but Gabriel beat him to it.
“What would happen to my mom?”
Lucifer sighed, and leaned forward.
“My powers are considerably weaker since I ceded part of my soul to make this Realm. I don’t have the strength to get around the wall with which Yahweh has trapped us, so I can’t do anything for those who inhabit the Realm of humans. Because of Him I can’t help them, because of Him my children are abandoned to their fate in their own home. The only place where I can help her is in this Realm, where the celestial hosts can’t enter. At least, they cannot as long as I have a say.”
“But for her to enter Hell she’d have to die.”
“Yes.”
What Lucifer proposed was simple, but it wasn’t easy. Gabriel would have to go to his world, kill his mother, and thus send her where she would be protected. Without doubt, there were many things that would be easier to do if he lost his humanity.
“Yahweh will suspect that you’re here. You must go to find her as soon as possible, before one of His archangels decides to go after her first.”
He had just been reunited with his father, after a year of missing him, thinking he would never see him again. Now he had to leave him once more, but this time he knew he would see him again, once he brought his mother to Hell.
“If I return to my body, it won’t help. It’s tied with chains, in a cell guarded by angels.”
Lucifer sighed again, allowing a glimpse of thousands years of weariness.
“Then you must find someone who can free your body.”
“But who? No one in Hell can leave.”
Lucifer remained silent.
“Azrael?” Gabriel asked, unsure.
“If what you told me is true, he has changed. I hope you’re not wrong, once again, about who you can trust.”
They stood, and Gabriel hugged his father. He told him that they would see each other again very soon, that he would bring his mother, and the three of them would be together. His father seemed about to say something to him, but he kept silent when Lucifer took Gabriel by the arm.
“I’ll explain everything to him.”
He didn’t dare hug Her, even though the desire inside him was strong. He imagined that he wouldn’t be able to leave so quickly if he did. He took Her hand and he kissed it instead.
“See you soon.”
Gabriel w
as much better at controlling his ability to get to the different Realms. Focusing his mind on the memory of Azrael fighting in the Heptagon to protect him, he ascended to Purgatory.
13
He focused on a memory of Azrael, expecting to arrive at his side. Around him he saw only angels, who seemed surprised by his sudden appearance. He regretted not being able to call on his sword like the rest of the Seven.
“Don’t be afraid, Gabriel. They are our allies.”
He recognized the voice, and a small smile crossed his face. The angels moved to allow their superior, Raphael, the Archangel of Restoration, to pass through. He had wounds on his hands and a cut on his cheek.
“Azrael is recovering in one of my chambers.”
Gabriel lowered his head and the smile disappeared.
“I’m sorry.”
Raphael laughed.
“Why are you apologizing to me now?”
“I left you alone to fight Uriel and Cerviel. If I had helped you, perhaps Azrael wouldn’t be wounded.”
“No, Gabriel, you did the right thing. I told you to flee. Besides, the angels from my legion created a distraction and we were able to escape.”
“The angels helped you?”
Raphael invited Gabriel to follow him as they advanced through narrow hallways. The walls were made of a rough-hewn stone, as though they had been dug by hand. It wasn’t the work of Yahweh with his predilection for precise geometry.
They arrived at a circular chamber, where Azrael was lying on a rectangular slab of stone. His eyes were closed and his body was covered in injuries, but at least he was alive.
“As you know, Tiberias warned us that the Phoenix would appear in this time period, and he even told us the school where the young man who would merge with him was studying. The soul of Gabriel the archangel, will define the future of Creation.”
Gabriel listened to Raphael, who began placing his hands on Azrael’s injuries as he continued to speak. Little by little Azrael’s wounds began to heal and his skin recovered its color. When Raphael pulled his hands away, there wasn’t so much as a scratch left on him.
“For Him, Lucifer and the humans are the problem. If everyone were to follow His Word, there would be no suffering.”
“But what is His Word?” interrupted Gabriel. “I’ve been hearing about it for a while now and no one has really explained what it is.”
Raphael smiled.
“What He wants is to destroy all the inhabitants of the Realm of humans. To do that He wants the Phoenix bring the celestial hosts to Hell to finally eradicate Lucifer and Her children from Creation.”
“That’s His Word? Destroy humans?” Gabriel asked, incredulous.
“Not exactly, but it’s one way of carrying it out. Have patience, Gabriel. You’ll soon understand,” the archangel said to him, before speaking again. “Lucifer can’t escape from Hell, much less the human souls that wander there. For that reason She needs the Phoenix, so that he can liberate the suffering souls and take them to Purgatory. It does not matter if She does so to stop the pain of Her children in Hell; even if She doesn’t wish to fight, She’ll have to protect them. As soon as they arrive here He will send his hosts to remove them all from Creation.”
One of the angels entered the chamber and whispered a few words in Raphael’s ear. Without thinking, Gabriel turned to look at Azrael. He had many doubts about what he had done to the Archangel Gabriel. Regardless, he trusted him. Surprised, he saw that the archangel opened his eyes a bit and, with difficulty, extended his hand to take Gabriel’s arm. He said something in a whisper, but Gabriel couldn’t understand it. Raphael placed his hand over Azrael’s eyes.
“Let’s go to my room, he needs to sleep. There are wounds that need more time to heal.”
Gabriel followed him, but not without glancing back at Azrael, apparently unconscious again. They went through hallways that descended and penetrated further and further into the depths.
“Either of the two alternatives brings much pain and suffering,” continued Raphael. “A desolation that even I wouldn’t be able to restore completely. Only the Phoenix can decide who he will aid.”
They arrived in a great room with a vaulted ceiling. In the middle there was a pair of stone cubes, the same as the others he had observed in Otherworld. Azrael had told him that its inhabitants didn’t sleep, so he hadn’t expected to see beds. He wasn’t sure if they ate or drank, though he supposed not, as he’d seen no proper tables. Even still, the emptiness and monotony of Otherworld never ceased to surprise him.
A figure entered the room. His blond hair fell to his broad shoulders and a grayish tunic covered his body. He had the same face that Gabriel was now accustomed to seeing on all the angels, but this was the first time that Gabriel had seen one with a beard.
“I see you have finally recovered, Tiberias.”
Gabriel opened his mouth for a moment, in shock, then began to smile and cry at the same time. He stood up and hugged Tiberias, knowing that the angel had sacrificed himself for him, although he still didn’t know what his punishment had been.
“What did they do to you?” Gabriel asked.
Tiberias smiled, but it was obvious to Gabriel that he did so to hide how he truly felt.
“Sadly, I am not the same as before. My appearance in Otherworld is practically identical to that of any angel, but even though I can go down to the Realm of humans again should I like, I will never again be whole. Ramiel mutilated part of my soul, and she saw to it that I was deprived forever of the possibility of enjoying matter in quite the same way.”
Gabriel thought he could guess what Tiberias meant, but before he could ask, the angel began to speak again.
“Thankfully Raphael and his legion rescued me before Uriel could grant me Oblivion. After centuries communing with humans, I have many memories that I would prefer remain in my soul,” he said, caressing his beard. “Where is Azrael?”
“He’s still in the restoration chamber,” said Raphael.
“I think it would be better to wait for him to continue this conversation.”
Gabriel remained silent for a few moments, respecting Tiberias’ suggestion. He was right. He would feel better if Azrael were here. The idea of liberating the damned souls from Hell had always seemed the right thing to do, especially since it would mean rescuing his father. But now that he knew that as soon as he did, God would send His celestial hosts against them, he needed to discuss it with someone he trusted. He needed to ask him if he would help.
“Will you tell me the rest of the story?” Gabriel asked, sitting again on the cube.
Tiberias sat on the floor and smiled while Raphael raised an eyebrow.
“I believe I stopped when I was telling you that Lucifer escaped with Gabriel, while six of the Seven returned to Heaven, no?”
“How do you know what happened, if you didn’t even exist yet?” asked Raphael, with a tone that suggested he would prefer it if they didn’t talk about it.
“Because the dreams of those humans that I have possessed over the centuries have shown me many things that members of the celestial host could never imagine. Besides that, Azrael has come to my home many times in search of information. Sometimes, albeit rarely, he would share some himself.”
“I hope the story helps you decide,” said Raphael to Gabriel.
He summoned his staff and the orb on its end grew. On its watery surface Gabriel could see the back of an archangel that he had never seen in person, with bronze armor, and long blond hair that fell to his shoulders. He went through a set of doors, but the vision that Raphael produced remained outside the Throne Room, surely where he himself, eons ago, had remained.
“What happened between Him and Michael came from Azrael’s mouth. How he found out is something he’s never cared to answer.
“Michael crossed through the doors and knelt in front of Him. He explained to Yahweh the descent of the Seven to the Realm of the humans, to exterminate them. He told Him how, at Azrael’s hand
, Death had made its appearance in Creation, but how Lucifer had provided an escape for Her children by creating Paradise for their human souls.
“Considered the best strategist among the Seven, Michael suggested an idea. Yahweh should create an army to combat the humans and Lucifer. The Seven couldn’t manage to be everywhere at once. At the same time, it would be necessary to build fortifications to prevent Lucifer’s armies, be they souls from Paradise or humans from Her Realm, from besieging Heaven.
“Yahweh ordered him to explain with greater detail the emergence of Paradise. Michael informed Him of how the Seven had been witness to the separation of Lucifer’s soul, half of which She had used to create Her new Realm, and how they all could sense how Her power had diminished. That meant that now Yahweh’s soul was stronger than Lucifer’s. Twice as strong, actually.
“Yahweh took Michael by the waist. His plan had seemed like an excellent one, but it wouldn’t be He who would lose his powers to put the plan into action.
“Michael closed his eyes in understanding, resolved to obey Him. Yahweh then severed the archangel in half. With one half of Michael’s soul He built Order, composed of unbreakable walls, as high as his determination, as durable as his Obedience. And so, as no one had been able to best Michael in battle, no one would be able to pass through the walls made from his soul. One would prevent Lucifer and Her children’s souls from leaving Paradise. The other would keep the humans from arriving in Otherworld. Thus the children of Lucifer, the mortals, would never be able to attack the Realm created by Yahweh.
“With the other half, He created the celestial hosts; one hundred and forty-four thousand angels, less powerful than the Seven, but strong enough and fast enough to be able to overcome any human in combat. All of them with Michael’s beautiful face, and a spear in their hands.
“Yahweh had lost Justice to establish Death, and now He had disposed of Obedience. He was confident that the spores of Michael, the angels, His celestial hosts, would take care of defending His Realm.”