The cracks that had appeared around the place continued to dismantle the skies above them. The process Lucifer had started, the process that was now slowly destroying him raged on.
Rays of light spilled from Lucifer who stood still, his jaws wide open and his body shaking. The beams of light danced. They tore through the fabric of space, leaving trails of discoloration and distortion as they passed through the skies. The beams razed the land, and like the sky, they tore when they passed and from the ground, both the grayness of Purgatory, the Light of Heaven, and the fires of Hell mixed in mangled distortions.
Enoch took deep breaths, trying to muster up his energy. "We should leave!"
Gabriel dodged a beam that almost sliced her hand. Gabriel felt the intense heat of the beam, but at the same time, felt a burning cold from it.
Lucifer's form vibrated and caused the space around it to ripple. From the holes in his body where the godly energy spilled, a multitude of ghostly faces, all in anger and pain, seeped out. The souls he had gathered raged uncontrollably.
Ariel was awed by the event. Never had she seen such chaos ensue in one concentrated form. She felt her world tumble as Caelum grabbed her. "Damn it!" Caelum shouted. "I can't use the shadows!"
Ariel tried to concentrate, but no matter how much she thought of the light to transfer her will into any place, she would feel a wall that pushed her back.
Caelum pushed Ariel aside as another beam tore between them. Caelum tried to reach for Ariel, but a large rift of distorted space burst hellfire, almost burning Caelum's hand. "Ariel!"
Her name was the last thing Ariel heard before a powerful light filled her vision.
Caelum closed his eyes as the light consumed him. Before darkness overtook everything, he saw a shining figure on a horse.
As the light filled his vision and pierced his eyes, the world around Enoch was plunged in darkness. He shielded his eyes for what was to come, and after a few moments of silence, nothing came and he dared to open his eyes again. The images before his eyes were still a blur, though his vision caught the vibrant green color that surrounded him. His ears heard the soothing sound of a running river, and he smelled a faint flowery fragrance.
When his vision cleared, the scene before him came into focus; he was back in the Garden of Heaven. From the dead and dusty remains they had witnessed before, Enoch smiled at the resurrected beauty he beheld. He looked around and saw all three Tenneys laying on the grass eith peaceful smiles. Enoch managed to giggle when Jenny moaned and curled on the soft grass, as if dreaming.
He looked around for others but could see no one. The Tree of Heaven was behind him, and like the garden, it was restored to its heavenly glory. Enoch looked up to the great Tree and admired it.
A rustling sound alerted him. When he whipped his head in the direction of the sound, he saw a white figure approaching him. Enoch immediately dropped to one knee to pay respect to the being.
"Hail, Holy Spirit, absolute will of our Lord."
In its golden armor and white robe, the first of the Horsemen approached Enoch. "Stand, Scribe," it said softly. Enoch followed the command and watched as it walked towards him and hovered above the sleeping family.
"There's my main man!"
To Enoch's surprise, he saw a man in a gray coat with a messy mop of hair walking towards them. "Oi!" He waved, and despite his ragged clothing, a soft white aura permeated like smoke from his form. As the man approached, Enoch recognized the trace of his energy. The immortal man!
In the garden, with the Great Tree as their witness, Enoch assembled with Scott and the Holy Spirit. The realization of this event sparked an overwhelming joy in Enoch's heart. "Does… does this mean…" He could not finish the question, although he smiled as if he knew the answer.
"Yup." Scott strongly nodded. He raised his hands and said with the utmost exaltation, "The Rapture is complete! The preamble to the new flow shall begin anew!"
The Holy Spirit spoke. "The Trinity has come together once again, and God has returned."
Enoch could not contain his excitement, but he had to ask questions, still not truly understanding the Holy Spirit's words and how this had come to be. "How come this didn't happen earlier, why now and what do you mean by the Trinity?"
Scott shook his head. "The Trinity must gather first, but a lot of things were not ideal, were they? I was dead and swirling in Michael's body, the first Horseman was stuck in Purgatory, scolding that demon, and you, you were huddled in the library."
Enoch snapped his head up to them. "Wait, when you said Trinity, did you mean—"
Scott smiled. "Yeah! I mean, nearly everyone knows the sign of the cross, right?" He then pointed to himself, "In the name of the Father…" Then pointed at him, "The son…"
Enoch was in absolute awe. He looked at the Horseman and completed it. "And the Holy Spirit."
Between the three of them, Enoch then understood. "We are the components of God, the Almighty…"
Enoch's brows slanted upwards, and he exhaled a warm sigh. "Scott…” He remembered the name David had mentioned. “All this time…" he murmured, almost to the point of crying, "you were..."
Scott winked. "Kind of, yeah. Sorry about that, Son."
Though tears suggested sadness, the tears from Enoch's eyes were of bliss. After a few happy sobs, he wiped his eyes with his arm and asked Scott, "What of my family?"
Scott looked at Ann, then David and Jenny. "They are a part of you, Enoch. Their memories, their hardships, and their joys shall be reflected into the new world, and soon, they shall be reborn in it." His finger pointed enthusiastically at Enoch. "And yours will be the will of man. You have seen the world of God through man's eyes."
Enoch completed the saying again, remembering the slab of stone that the Tenneys had seen. "And you have seen the world of man, through God's eyes."
The Holy Spirit held out both hands. Scott held the left hand and motioned to his head, encouraging Enoch. The angel smiled and held the Holy Spirit's right hand.
"I am the Beginning," Scott proclaimed.
"And I am the End," Enoch stated.
The Holy Spirit shined a glorious light and said, "Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
The light consumed the Garden. Enoch, Scott, and the Holy Spirit disappeared. As the Trinity was completed in the holy light, a demon woke from his slumber.
Caelum was in a great white expanse bathed in a soft glow. His first thoughts were of Ariel, but he recalled the last few moments that had transpired, and he sighed in relief. He wondered why he’d woken up in such a place. No matter what ill thoughts or worries he tried to think of, an overbearing sense of assurance filled him. He recalled the moment when he was separated from Ariel.
At the moment when Lucifer's form exploded, Caelum had seen a white horse. The beast stomped the ground with thundering hooves as it approached him. Caelum held his hand out and allowed the Holy Spirit to grab it. He was hoisted up, and in the few seconds of turbulence, he saw what gave him reassurance.
Running along with the First Horseman, Caelum saw the pale horse and its beautiful rider, Death. Cradled in Death's arms was an equally beautiful woman; his beloved Ariel. When Caelum looked around, he caught a glimpse of War's red armor. Though he could only see Jenny's sleeping form cradled in War's first two hands, he somehow knew that David and Ann were with her. When he dared to look at the spot where Lucifer had stood, he saw a glint of green as Famine cast a shadow. Near Famine, he could almost see a mirror of himself, Power.
These were the last few moments he remembered. In that world of light, Caelum had walked around for a few steps before a voice called him. Though it was more of a thought than a voice, it was as real as he could have imagined.
"Hello," Caelum greeted.
The voice then said something. Caelum translated the words in his thoughts. I want to ask you a question, Caelum.
"Is that why I am here?"
Yes.
"I have all the time in t
he world, I mean if this world right now has time." He chuckled.
Shall we take a walk then?
There wasn't any place to walk to, but Caelum knew what he meant. "Sure, it's nice to talk while walking."
Caelum started walking. As he expected, he wasn't going anywhere. It was simply a world where there is light. He felt everything his mind assumed such as gravity and air. What amazed him was the sense of relaxation, contentment, and the total absence of worry. I could stay here forever. Is this what being in Heaven really feels like?
A few steps further and Caelum finally heard the question.
To you, what did it mean to live?
The question was as philosophical as Caelum had expected, knowing the identity of the voice. He didn’t answer for a while. Instead, he reflected on his answer, recalling what had happened to him.
"What did it mean to live?"
When Caelum had first turned demon, he’d lost all his memories. From then on, life had a whole new meaning. Being a demon meant immortality, but robbed of the simplest comforts. Though small, these were the comforts that brought about the best happiness. The simple hunger for food was gone, along with the perspective of its taste. Sleep also alluded him, and along with it, his ability to dream.
In this demonic life of his, the greatest entertainment became torture. Not unlike many demons, the most satisfaction he could get was seeing mortals in anguish. He had a specific taste though, wanting to see the worst kind of anguish humans could inflict upon themselves, one they did to either receive a twisted sense of comfort or happiness.
Perhaps that was what Caelum really wanted. Demons caused suffering to reflect the kind of suffering they felt upon their damnation. Caelum was different. He had been damned without the torture, a VIP pass to demon-hood. He did it for the sake of finding happiness, his solace from the world, from Ariel.
In this world of light, he could see the night it happened; how Azazel had appeared to him and offered him a chance to meet his lover again. The desperate Cornelius Wells was swayed by the offer of the demon, and in the moment he’d accepted the deal, he was immediately turned into a demon, ridding himself of the past he held dear. The joy he’d asked for was taken from him along with his memories, and this unconscious frustration was what led to his unique palette of suffering; people finding happiness by doing the worst things to themselves.
In the end, however, Azazel’s deal had come to fruition when he met an angel on the balcony of John Maxwell Saunders’ apartment. Of course, he met her at the worst possible course of events. From their tug-of-war with the prophet’s mind as the prize, a dance with the monsters of the mortal world, paddling in Hell's pits, and facing the first angel in his cage until the last moments of the world they had come to know, she was always there with him. When she was the stiff and chest-puffing angel who’d constantly threatened his life until her wings burned so she could save him; she was always there.
From their twisted fates, their hearts had tangled and only made their affections and trust stronger. Her care and attention helped Caelum when he’d turned mortal. Though Caelum had now felt the pleasures of being human, it was through this mortality that Caelum realized how helpless he was.
Being unable to fight as both the forces of Heaven and Hell drew them apart, this was the most damaging to him. He even felt envy for Jenny and David who still managed to help in more ways than one. Caelum hated the fact that most of his actions simply got in the way.
It had all crashed on him the moment he’d been caged by Lilith. With Azazel's help, he turned into a demon once more. This redeemed him, but at a cost he never would have thought would be charged.
Mikaela, the secret joy in Caelum's demonic life. His daughter, who he loved with what love a demonic form could muster. She was the very thing that made Caelum different from all others. At her passing, Caelum was never the same.
Filled with doubt, he set himself on a kamikaze plan to gather all the souls before Lucifer could. He admitted this was out of desperation, that this plan had no assurance of ever working. He also partly admitted to himself that he chose this path because everyone else wanted to do something to help, but he had little to offer. The Horsemen he’d dreaded, however, seemed more than happy to help him. Their reasons were apparently due to him starting the Rapture and freeing them. With their help, Caelum knew what he had to do.
Finally, when they’d confronted Michael and Lucifer, a battle had ensued. This battle wasn't to win, or to have a convoluted plan ahead, or to even save the world. For Caelum, this battle was not to prevent Michael and Lucifer from achieving their goals. The end didn't matter as long as it would not be Lucifer or Michael who wrote the next chapters of the universe's story.
Now that he had succeeded, that they had succeeded, he found himself in this place, this world of light, being asked what it meant to live.
Caelum smiled. He took a deep breath, and in his most theatrical voice, proclaimed his answer. His voice echoed across the expanse of the world, his final words resounding in the very halls of creation.
"To walk the road of darkness; road of life.
Step as darkness beckons, a journey of love and strife.
As light wavered, I kept my soul aflame,
To defy the damning maws of death and despair.
I lived a life to save my light, to avenge the fallen,
To continue down the path they have trodden.
I lived as life would have me, to survive and endure,
For all who have lived, the Damned and the Pure!"
Epilogue: Caelum and Ariel
Under the clearest blue sky, a wide meadow of verdant green grass swayed with the soft cool breeze. A blade of grass tore from the soil and fluttered in the air until it landed on the soft bronze curls of a man who slept soundly under a great tree. Beside him was a woman with ebony hair and fair skin, breathing in and out, her face calm and angelic. Above them, witnessing the start of the new world, were beings tasked to guide them.
"I am now the princess of all angels who will come after me, and from me, a new Heaven shall rise. I shall sit at the left hand of our Father," said Gabriel who hovered over the clear water near the throne of God. "To this I am thankful to my Father, our Lord."
A black figure walked near her. Silken black hair spilling where black wings sprouted. "The days of new creation have ended and a new flow shall begin," Azrael stated. With gentle steps she peered into the world below. "I am to be the new Scribe, she who shall write our Father's glory, our Father's suffering. I shall be she who keeps the worlds at balance and I shall be His right hand." Azrael faced the throne, where she smiled at her Father's ever warm visage. "For this, I am thankful."
"Is this the new Thanksgiving? I suppose I am thankful too, then." Gabriel and Azrael turned to the man walking towards them. Still in his casual business suit, Azazel walked with an air of pride. "Now, if I recall, apart from those angel brothers, aren't I the naughtiest being who could ever be?" he asked with a tilted head and an unsure grin. "Why am I here?"
Azrael closed her eyes, and with an easy breath, said, "Azazel, you have been recognized, your sacrifices, your efforts, and your contribution to the balance of the previous world has earned you a place here." She opened her eyes and said with a smile. "Hail, Azazel, you shall, and will always be, the King of Hell."
"Balance, eh?" Azazel sighed, mindful of the fatherly figure that gazed at him with warmth. "I don't think I'm cut out to be king anymore. I'm done with all of that."
Gabriel cleared her throat and grinned, trying to match Azazel's foxy trademark look. "Then, allow me to sweeten the deal, dear brother."
Azazel heard footsteps from behind, blissful delight appeared on his visage. A voice he had grown fond of greeted him, "Shall I stand by your side for another few millennia?"
With the components of the new Heaven ready, and the appointed supervisor of Hell almost clicking his heels in joy, Gabriel once again looked down on the world below to witness the first st
eps of God's new world.
The man took a deep breath, opening his eyes to the beautiful world around him. He felt a soft tug on his hand. When he looked, he saw his hand connected to another’s, whose beauty matched the glorious world around them. Her sapphire eyes slowly opened, and a slight breeze waved on her silky black hair. Upon beholding the captivating figure before her, she smiled.
The two stood up and gazed upon the land bestowed upon them.
Thank You So Much
Thank you for reading The Damned and the Pure series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. As an independent writer, my books do not get the same marketing, financial and promotional support as those published by the traditional publishing houses. Instead, the success of these books relies heavily on reviews and word of mouth recommendation by readers like yourself. If you enjoyed this series, please tell as many people as you can in as many places as you can– Tweet it, Pin it, Blog it, post it on Facebook, post on a forum, recommend it to a book club, or any other social media platform. Tattooing it on your body, while very cool and flattering, may not get a wide audience reach ;). Please don’t forget to leave a review. Any assistance on your part is highly appreciated.
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J.D. Stonebridge
If you liked this, please check out my other books:
The Damned and the Pure Series:
Beckoning Darkness, Book 1
Wavering Light, Book 2
Defying Damnation, Book 3
Avenging Salvation, Book 4
The Charlie Hartley Series:
The Unlocked, Book 1
The Enlightened, Book 2
The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set) Page 86