by Jorge Silva
He descended, and the humans stood back. While the look on the face of Ramiel was of surprise, Lucifer’s children looked at him with hope. He knew what they saw, an angel like the ones from their stories, one who had come to defend them from the demonic man who would turn everyone into statues of salt.
“I see that you’ve finally rid yourself of your humanity,” said Ramiel with shining scarlet eyes.
“I’ve come for the broadsword,” Gabriel said, extending his hand.
“He hasn’t said anything about that to me,” said the Archangel of Vengeance, hefting it over one shoulder.
Gabriel called forth his sword but, in the same instant that it appeared in his hand, the body that Ramiel had possessed fell unmoving to the ground. He approached it and used his foot to push it over, revealing that the eyes had turned green. The Archangel of Vengeance had fled to Otherworld, knowing that tied to matter she couldn’t possibly confront an archangel who was free of it.
He opened the body’s hand and took up the broadsword. The humans around him cheered and came closer to touch him.
“Save us,” they pleaded.
In a flash Gabriel returned to Hell. He would save them, yes, but to do that they had to die. He only wished that the waters would rise as quickly as possible and that the children of Lucifer would dream in the depths without suffering too much.
When he returned, a look of surprise crossed his face. Hell had always been a bit crowded, but this was ridiculous. Due to the flood caused by Yahweh, billions of humans had arrived at the exact same time, and that there wasn’t enough space for them was even more evident than usual. Surely it had been the speed with which the new inhabitants had arrived that prevented Lucifer from being able to prepare enough caverns to protect them.
They pushed each other to avoid the lakes of fire which endlessly burned the souls that were no longer tied to matter. Now that he was an archangel he saw the punishment of Yahweh in its true form. It wasn’t just fire; each flame was the memory of a terrible consequence of decisions made in freedom.
Gabriel knew that he had only been gone a few hours in the human Realm, which meant that in Hell a few days had passed.
He flew towards Azrael, who had once more taken up the work of repelling fireballs. Upon seeing the broadsword in Gabriel’s hand, he followed him without exchanging a single word. The same happened when he encountered Raphael, who had wandered without rest, trying to diminish the suffering of their inhabitants.
The three archangels returned to Gehenna, where Lucifer stood waiting for them. Without a doubt, She had sensed Gabriel’s return.
A stone cube appeared at a gesture from Lucifer and Gabriel placed the giant broadsword on top of it with great care. He told them about the flooding and how the Archangel of Vengeance had run away.
“Sooner or later, we will have to deal with her,” said Lucifer, sitting on one of the cubes.
“How can we be certain there’s another universe inside of the broadsword?” Azrael asked.
Raphael stood up and took it in his hands. He examined it for some time, but then he shook his head.
“There’s no indication that it contains a universe within it,” he said, raising one hand to his chin. “We know that Gabriel can fly through the Realms, unlike the rest of us. What would happen if, anchored to the memory of Tiberias, he were to try to enter the broadsword?”
Lucifer replied, “I don’t think it’s difficult to enter and prove the theory. For that, all you’d have to do is be cut down by the blade; the problem is how to leave.”
“Perhaps he could escape, in the same way that the limits of the Realms don’t trap him,” said Raphael, saying the words cautiously. Gabriel understood the apprehension of his brother. Lucifer certainly hadn’t forgotten that Raphael was an ally of Yahweh, and that he had manipulated not only the Seven, but also Her, to force Her to go to Otherworld. Furthermore, it was well known that She could eliminate him with almost as much ease as Yahweh. The fact that Her appearance was that of a beautiful woman made Her no less dangerous. Quite the opposite.
“Perhaps,” Lucifer replied. “Perhaps he could leave.”
Gabriel gave a small smile, exhausted from flying between Realms. Even so he preferred that alternative to sitting and speculating.
“What if I go ask Yahweh about the broadsword? He created it, so if He put a separate universe into its interior, He’ll know.”
“Even though you’re free of matter, Yahweh can destroy you with ease,” said Lucifer. “I don’t want you to risk yourself again.”
“You think He would attack me?” asked Gabriel.
“I’ve never known how He thinks. Yahweh and I saw each other only once, when we had recently come into being, and in the eons that have passed since then, we have both changed too much. If it weren’t for the memories I have of the beginning, I wouldn’t even be sure that I’m the same Lucifer that arose from the division of the One.”
Gabriel looked at Azrael’s wingless back; banned from entering Heaven, his brother wouldn’t be able to accompany him. He would have preferred not having to confront Yahweh alone.
“I’ll go with you,” said Raphael. “He knows that I agreed with His plan to force you to bring the tormented souls and Lucifer to Otherworld. Perhaps He’ll be more understanding if I’m the one that explains our idea to Him.”
Not only could he not imagine what Yahweh might think of their plan, but he didn’t know how the three remaining archangels would take it. Gabriel turned and gave Lucifer a long kiss. He hoped he would see Her again, but an audience with Yahweh was always unpredictable. For the same reason, he left the broadsword on the cube in the Realm where neither He nor His archangels could enter without the permission of its creator.
Gabriel took Raphael by the arm, preparing to leave. He heard Lucifer ask Azrael, “And now what?”
“Now we wait,” said the archangel, hiding his features as he pulled his hood up.
With a flash of light, the Archangel of Mercy and the Archangel of Restoration disappeared from Hell.
22
Gabriel and Raphael appeared in Heaven, in front of the door to the Throne Room. Time passed considerably slower in this Realm than the others, and consequently Uriel was still on the bridge. Her hand covered the tear in her armor, trying to contain the lightning that still sprang from it.
“Here again, traitor to His Word?” she asked, coming forward with her rapier in her hand. “And you as well, Raphael?”
Gabriel said nothing, but rather turned to face the giant doors. The Archangel of Restoration made a gesture with his hand, and Uriel’s armor returned to its former state.
A moment later a great boom sounded and the doors opened, allowing them to enter.
“Come with us,” Gabriel said to Uriel, who remained unmoving. “Are you so afraid of Him?” he asked her, turning to look at her.
Uriel hesitated a moment, and then began to walk towards Gabriel.
“I’ll enter to bear witness to your trial.”
When the three archangels had been standing for some time inside the Throne Room, they heard the doors finally close. Yahweh descended, hovering in front of them.
The last time that he had seen Yahweh, He had appeared to his soul as a gigantic dragon, but now that he had freed himself of his humanity he knew that he would see him according to his mission. Yahweh appeared before him as a small child. He recalled that long ago, he had asked Lucifer how She saw Yahweh. She had said that he appeared as a man, and that She had created the humans in Their likeness.
“We have come to discuss a strategy to defend Creation from It,” said Gabriel, hoping that Yahweh would choose to cooperate. No one could force Him. “We understand that nothing that has been created will be able to survive Chaos. Dominion won’t have anything on which to exert its strength. Restoration won’t be able to heal the wounds that It leaves in Its wake. Even the Light isn’t fast enough to escape It.”
Before Uriel could open her mouth to int
errupt he continued, “Nothing that would be in need of Mercy. And that which isn’t alive, cannot be reached by Death.”
Raphael began to speak, making his staff appear.
“Neither the celestial hosts nor the humans will be able to do anything against It; we’ve known this always.”
Uriel spoke then.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What is It? What is this Chaos you speak of?”
Since no one answered her, she continued.
“Ever since the Luciferian disorder made it necessary to rid Creation of Justice, I have tried to impose, via my own actions, some semblance of it. I am sure that following His Word to the letter is the best form of protecting Creation, and with the same conviction I can say with certainty that He can overcome It. Whatever that is.”
Gabriel then received a multitude of images in his soul, and he supposed that the other archangels were seeing the same things that he was. In the images, in a way that was impossible to put into words, Yahweh showed them that He too had limits. I Am what I Am was his name, as his limits were those of being. Conversely, It wasn’t limited by any law. It was Chaos, It wasn’t defined and It never would be. It wasn’t even nothing, because that would require being. No, He couldn’t do anything against It.
The only hope, even if no one could be sure that it would work, was for all that is to return to being One and then to try to cancel out its complement, everything that isn’t, protecting Creation from the Void that It left in Its wake.
The images ceased, and Gabriel noticed that Uriel lowered her head, and looked about to fall until steadied by what seemed to be Yahweh’s will alone. It was the first time that she had been told of a darkness that even the Light of Heaven could not illuminate.
Gabriel remembered what the Archangel of Light had said, when she had recently emerged in Creation; for her, Yahweh was the only light that didn’t cause shadows. But after eons of following His Word she finally knew its true meaning. From the beginning He had needed to make everything created disappear and thus return to being One.
Gabriel asked Raphael to explain their plan. In deference to Uriel, Raphael explained in detail the theory behind pocket universes, of how there could exist a separate universe within the limits of another.
After a few short minutes, the time that it took the archangel to understand the mathematical and physical theories of the humans, they were ready to ask the question that had brought them back to Otherworld.
“The interior of the broadsword that you gave to the Archangel of Vengeance, is it part of this Creation or is it a separate universe?” asked Gabriel.
Gabriel heard an infantile laugh, pristine and innocent, even though Yahweh’s mouth remained still. New images appeared in his mind. The Phoenix could overcome Order that He had imposed, and cross through the various Realms. Thus, Mercy could travel not only to the celestial hosts, but also to the humans, and the tormented souls.
He saw how Yahweh, after their last encounter, had separated His soul in two once more, sacrificing His supremacy over Lucifer. He had taken half of His soul and He had polished it with thought until it had become the broadsword. He had created it solely to contain a new universe, a new Creation, where the Archangel Gabriel could not interfere. Thus, the humans wouldn’t go to Hell, but rather a place even worse, as no Mercy would exist there. Lucifer would find herself compelled to ask Gabriel to take Her to Otherworld along with the souls of Her children to stop Yahweh and save them.
Raphael couldn’t help but laugh.
“That means that we can save the souls of this Creation! All we have to do is make them enter the sword.”
“But can’t the Void undo the blade as well and, with it, all that is?” asked Uriel.
“I’ll keep it safe,” said Gabriel. “I’ll make sure that It never finds the broadsword.”
In that moment he didn’t understand why Yahweh accepted the idea, but he saw in his mind how Raphael and Uriel were ordered to take their legions to Hell. He supposed that Cerviel and Ramiel were receiving the same instructions.
Uriel flew away without saying a word. Clearly willing, as always, to carry out whatever Yahweh ordered. Raphael made a bow, and after saying “Thank you”, he left to find his angels.
Gabriel and Yahweh remained alone in the Throne Room. A child as old as Creation, and his son the Archangel of Mercy.
“What will happen to you?” asked the archangel.
The boy closed His eyes and Gabriel saw images that told him that He must remain outside of the broadsword, but Gabriel didn’t give up easily.
“What would happen if you went in?”
Yahweh showed him that if He made contact with the broadsword they would meld together again, since it was part of His soul. That had been His original plan, that Ramiel capture the souls of all the humans so He could meld with them. Wouldn’t Lucifer join with Him then?
The images stopped, and Gabriel understood that he wouldn’t only have to run from It for all eternity; he would also have to make sure that He didn’t gain control of the broadsword.
Yahweh sat cross legged, floating in the air. Gabriel said a silent farewell to his creator, hoping that this would be the last time that they would meet.
He descended to Purgatory and saw the celestial hosts gathered together. More than a hundred thousand angels, organized in their respective legions, had been called. Their generals, the archangels, were there as well; Uriel, Raphael, Cerviel, and Ramiel, all obeying the designs of Yahweh.
Uriel raised her voice so that everyone present could hear.
“We shall allow Gabriel to take us to Hell.”
Thousands of voices made triumphant calls while they raised their spears.
“We are not going to fight Lucifer,” this time it was Raphael’s voice that resonated throughout the assembly. “We go to carry out His Word. You’ll receive more details when we arrive.”
Cerviel and Ramiel said nothing, but Gabriel had never seen the crimson eyes of the Archangel of Vengeance shine so brightly.
He placed himself in the middle of the formation. Until now, he had only traveled carrying Raphael and Azrael to Hell. He tried to remind himself that what counted in Otherworld and Hell were the magnitude of the souls, that it had nothing to do with matter. All these hundreds of thousands of angels, the entire celestial host, came from the single soul of Michael.
“Have you missed your teacher?” he heard Cerviel ask the Archangel of Light.
But before Uriel could reply, Gabriel took them all to Hell.
Otherworld was left empty, except for Yahweh.
23
Gabriel reappeared, along with the souls of Otherworld, in the sky high above Hell. He gestured for the rest of the archangels to follow him. Cerviel of Dominion ordered the celestial hosts to remain flying at a height that wouldn’t allow them to be seen by the damned.
“This is the Realm that Lucifer gave to Her children?” asked Uriel, apparently horrified by the suffering that she saw on the surface.
“It wasn’t like this when She created it,” replied Gabriel, before making explode a fireball that was heading for a group of human souls. “It was Yahweh who turned it into this Inferno.”
They flew together in silence to where Lucifer awaited them. Gabriel saw Uriel also stop a few fireballs along the way.
“Welcome, Uriel,” Lucifer said to her, opening Her arms.
They all saw that the archangel remained still for a few moments, hesitant about what she should do. Gabriel had read about Uriel’s broken promise, so he understood her reluctance. Before she could reach a decision, Lucifer embraced her.
Azrael sat next to Gabriel and said in his ear, “I still remember when She taught Uriel how to sing. In my opinion, the sound of the ocean is the best achievement of the duo.”
Ramiel and Cerviel sat down in silence. They had obeyed Yahweh but were vexed. Even though before their legions they wouldn’t show disagreement, surrounded solely by the archangels and Lu
cifer they expressed their opinions.
“I’m here because He ordered me to be,” said Cerviel. “But I’m not sure I want to be run through by that broadsword.”
“It’s the only way to get to the universe within it, where It cannot reach us,” replied Raphael.
This time it was Ramiel who expressed her doubt.
“I saw the images with which He tried to show us the threat that It poses, but are we sure that this plan will work? The souls within it are outside of Creation, which is why we can’t feel them. Are we sure they still exist at all?”
“We’re not sure of anything,” said Azrael. “But what we do know is that the Void will eventually replace Creation, and nothing that exists can stop It.”
“But maybe there’s another way. There is a reason that He has spent eons trying to get Lucifer to return to His side,” said Cerviel. Gabriel remembered well how Dominion had tried to carry out his mission.
“He hasn’t been transparent with all of you. Do you know what will happen if I set foot in Otherworld? Raphael will unite my soul with that of Yahweh, and everything created will disappear, including all of you, including all of us. Do you really prefer that suicidal plan over this option, risky though it may be?” asked Lucifer.
Ramiel smirked, in apparent disbelief, until the Archangel of Light spoke.
“It’s true,” Uriel said. “That is the true meaning of His Word. He Himself revealed it to me in the Throne Room.”
“I’m not willing to cease existing,” scowled Cerviel. Gabriel smiled, realizing that He had been right to hide the true meaning of His Word from His archangels. If the Seven had known, they wouldn’t have tried to return Lucifer to Heaven. “If there is no other way to continue to exist, I am willing to be run through by the broadsword.”
“How shall we do it?” asked Ramiel.
They talked for hours about It, trying in vain to understand something that couldn’t be defined. The very act of defining It would limit It, and It was limitless.