by KT Webb
They didn’t have time to talk about the losses they’d suffered or the loved ones who had given their lives. The members of the cloud of witnesses gathered around them.
“Your part in this fight is over,” Romulus told them.
“And that means it’s time for us to go,” Keira said.
Nora’s eyes traveled over the people who had probably saved what was left of the world’s population. Without them, this battle could have ended in a very different way. Their lives had been taken from them because of this centuries-long battle that none of them asked to be part of.
“We can never thank you enough.” Nora was interrupted before she could finish.
“Your thanks are not necessary. This is what we have been waiting for. Some of us have spent centuries in Eternity watching and waiting for the day we would put an end to this,” Kieran said firmly.
Nora nodded. It was time to say goodbye.
Thatcher
After tearful goodbyes and tight hugs, the Evolved bid farewell to their ancestors and future children. The white smoke swirled around them, and they drifted on the wind back toward the mountain they called home.
“Where’s Dorian? Romulus?” Tahlia’s eyes traveled across the crowd.
“Romulus was shot. He took the bullet for me,” Kerr told her.
“I died,” Nora said through her tears. “My daughters were able to trade Dorian’s life for mine.”
Kerr looked as though he could be sick at any moment. Thatcher pulled Hadley close. He knew the fear in Kerr’s eyes was directly related to the idea of losing his wife. Tahlia turned into Eric’s wounded shoulder.
“Callie’s dead too,” Hadley whispered.
“No!” Naomi cried as she collapsed.
“Ezekiel didn’t make it either,” Joe explained.
Thatcher looked at the faces nearby. Imaan stood with a gash in his head, surrounded by what was left of the once great numbers of Islam. He recognized some other faces but didn’t find a number of people that should have been there.
“So what are we doing here? Why are we still in Eternity?” Whitley asked.
A distant rumbling grew in volume and intensity. The survivors held tight to each other as something approached them. Thatcher shouted for the others to take cover and readied himself to face Absalom, even if it meant his death.
Kerr
“It’s alright. There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s the Creator,” Kerr called out.
Everyone stood tall as they felt the peace that accompanied being in the presence of this ancient power. Kerr inhaled through his nose as the air around him was permeated by the smell of freshly baked oatmeal butterscotch cookies. He noted the collective inhale and exhale from those around him. When he opened his eyes, the Creator stood directly in front of him.
“You have done well.” His sentiment was met with silence as they hung on his every word.
“The Angels were meant to serve me and be my messengers. When they chose a different path, I created the Old Immortals. They were meant to be the catalyst for change and growth in mankind. When the Old Immortals were divided and disgraced, I called the Virtues to guide you through the most trying times in your life. I called you, the Evolved, to prepare the world for the New Era.
“The pain and loss you’ve endured has brought you to this point. It made you the warriors you needed to be to bring me this moment.”
Kerr’s brows furrowed together. He didn’t understand how their actions could possibly have such an effect on the Creator’s plan. Hadn’t he always known it would end this way?
“You are the product of one of the biggest mistakes your ancestors made, and yet you stand before me surrounded by an army that fought for you, that fought with you to restore hope and life to the world. You didn’t have to do this. I planned for this outcome, but it could have ended very differently.”
Kerr understood. They had the ability to use their gifts for either good or evil. They could have chosen to ignore their mission. The Virtues could have refused to help restore balance to the world after the Old Immortals mated with humans. So many individual choices brought them to this moment, and to this outcome.
The Creator looked to Kerr and nodded solemnly. “And now, it is my turn to fight. While my children are locked away in Eternity, I must return to the world to face my son. Absalom has caused too much destruction. He has absorbed far too much energy and power. The balance he so desperately seeks has been destroyed because of his actions. He’s just too blind to see it.”
The Creator turned to leave but faced them once more before he did. “Regardless of what happens next, know that I am proud of my creations. All of them.”
When he finished speaking the sky seemed to open up on the horizon, like a tear in the barrier that separated Eternity from the real world. The Creator walked to the opening without looking back.
Chapter Thirty-Four:
THE FINAL BATTLE: Part Five
Hadley
“So are we just supposed to sit here and wait? How do we know what’s happening out there?” Naomi demanded.
Hadley looked at her with a heavy heart. They didn’t have the answers any more than she did. She gathered what was left of her family together.
“I killed Malice. Did anyone kill Avarice?” Hadley asked.
“Keira killed Avarice,” Nora told them.
“What about Pain?”
“Dorian sliced his head off when he tried to attack Imaan,” Nora said with pride in her voice.
“Rage?”
Hadley was met with silence. No one had witnessed the death of the final Malady. Hadley tried to think through the battle. It didn’t end until they’d defeated every enemy in Eternity. He had to be dead.
“It’s okay, Had. If he’s still out there, we’ll find him.”
“He’s dead,” Naomi said evenly.
They turned as one to face her. She hadn’t joined them initially. She must have sneaked up on them as they talked.
“How do you know?”
“He killed Ezekiel. I was going to kill him, but I couldn’t. Your son killed him.” Naomi seemed slightly traumatized by the experience.
“Whose son?” Hadley asked.
“Yours, one of the ginger lumberjacks. Sliced his head clean off. It was . . . ” Naomi shivered at the thought.
“Naomi, it’s alright. None of us wanted to kill anyone today. We did what we had to do. Malice killed Callie. I killed Malice. I will never forget the way Callie—” Hadley couldn’t finish her sentence.
Naomi threw her arms around Hadley and they cried together. She didn’t know Naomi the way she’d gotten to know Callie, but the bond they now shared was stronger than she would have thought possible.
Nora
She was exhausted. The battle had left her emotionally raw and mentally depleted. Her body ached, but she refused to let Kerr heal her. There were too many people around her that needed healing or would never feel anything again. She couldn’t justify the use of her husband’s abilities just to avoid a fleeting moment of pain.
“We can’t just wait here until one of them comes strolling back through from the real world, can we?” Thatcher asked with his head buried in his hands.
Nora shrugged. “What choice do we have? None of us have the ability to return. We don’t even know how far away Keira is. We can’t even see the mountain.”
Kerr placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned into him for a hug. She buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes. The familiar smell of the man she loved gave her the only solace she’d found on this battlefield.
“What’s that sound?” Hadley was on high alert.
The sky opened above them again. Nora felt Kerr’s arms tighten around her as he prepared for the arrival of a victor. She knew it was useless to try to protect her if Absalom came through, but she took comfort in the gesture.
Instead of someone coming through the opening, it appeared to be a screen through which they could view the fig
ht between the Creator and Absalom. A collective intake of breath surrounded her as Nora watched the two most powerful beings ever to exist circle each other.
Kerr
Kerr found that because he could see the fighters, he could also sense them. He caught a rare glimpse into the mind of the Creator, and a terrifying peek at Absalom’s thoughts. He watched in wonder as the battle began to unfold both in his mind and before his eyes.
Absalom attempted to goad the Creator into making the first move. “Come on, dad. Don’t you want to punish me?”
The Creator stayed silent, watching every move Absalom made. Absalom sent bubbling globs of lava flying at the Creator; he met them with torrents of ice cold water. Absalom swung a fiery fist. The Creator evaporated from the spot, only to reappear behind Absalom. A scream erupted from Absalom as he created a fissure in the ground below the Creator. The Creator snapped a finger and traded spots with Absalom in the blink of an eye.
This continued over and over with various forms of assault, until finally it appeared as though Absalom had gained the upper hand. He appeared to be meditating as he called upon the dark souls he had absorbed through the centuries. The black cloud surrounded him in tendrils of smoke as the sins of humanity came forth.
Absalom pulled his arms back before flinging them forward to send the shadowy cloud rushing toward the Creator. Upon impact, the Creator grasped his chest as though his very heart had been ripped from his chest. He fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath.
“That’s right, feel the darkness your creations are capable of. You thought they belonged to you, but see how many belong to me? You give your humans too much credit. This free will you’re so proud of will be your downfall. These souls came to me willingly, and now they will destroy you because I command it.”
The Creator attempted to stand but fell back to his knees as he clawed at his heart. It was almost as though the darkness was trying to find a way into his soul.
“You don’t even know why I’m doing this, do you? You think it’s all about you and my daddy issues. Well, it’s not. This putrid place that you’re so proud of was crawling with disease. There were people consumed by their own lives, completely ignorant to the world you worked so hard on.”
Absalom circled the Creator as he spoke, leaving a trail of molten lava in his wake. His opponent warily followed his every move but didn’t budge.
“You made the angels to be perfect and clean, but they screwed up. You made the Immortals to be down in the trenches, to get their hands dirty and help your bumbling human creations. That worked out well, until me. Until I found the secret you’d been keeping. The neglected child in the basement, if you will.”
As Absalom continued to circle his prey, the trail of lava slowly became a wall that surrounded the Creator on all sides.
“The Maladies only wanted what you had given everyone else. Free will. They didn’t want to blindly serve you without making their own decisions. They didn’t want to watch their successors get everything they ever wanted. But you couldn’t give them that. I did. Iblis spoke to me. He told me what to do to make myself powerful enough to restore the balance.”
The Creator was completely encased by swirling lava. Absalom laughed. He was narcissistic enough to believe he would win without a fight. His laughter was cut short as the cracks began to form in the prison he’d created. The light burst out of the encasement, sending hardened chunks of lava rock flying in every direction. One struck Absalom in the shoulder, and he hissed from the pain.
“Keep fighting, you’ll see who the real, all-powerful one is here,” Absalom jeered. “It was easy, by the way. It was easy to corrupt your humans. That free will thing that everyone is so crazy about turned out to be the catalyst for their downfall. They quit caring, and the ones who cared practically lined up to die at my hand.”
The Creator conjured a ball of radiant white light in his hands. Absalom’s face showed the tiniest hint of fear just before the ball was lobbed at him. He tried to divert it, and when that didn’t work it was too late for him to get out of the way. He was struck right in the middle of the chest with pure light. Absalom collapsed.
“You . . . don’t get it . . . do you? You can’t . . . win.”
“Absalom, you are not strong enough to fight me. Lucifer fooled you into thinking you could face your Creator and come out on top.”
Absalom trembled on the ground and cowered away from the being he’d just been fighting. Just the sound of his creator’s voice seemed to send fear surging through his body.
“You have taken far too many lives. You have wreaked far too much havoc. You have set out to destroy everything I hold dear. I now address you soul to soul; Iblis, Lucifer, Absalom, my son. I swore to delay your punishment until the end of days, and I am not one to go back on my promises.”
The Creator held his hands out as he wrapped Absalom in the light emanating from them. “Hear me now, the end of days is upon us because you have made it so. You were given countless chances to denounce the life you had chosen, but instead you opted to draw others into your darkness. I cannot forgive what you have done to my world, to my family.”
The light was so bright, it was nearly impossible to see Absalom’s terrified form beneath it. As the light lifted him from the ground, Absalom let out an agonized howl.
“You will never again walk this or any other land. Your time is finished.”
And with that, the light imploded around Absalom, leaving nothing but the horns he had on his head. The Creator stooped down to gather them, then tucked them in his robes and returned through the gap in the sky.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Nora
She watched as the Creator approached. He walked with confidence and squared shoulders. At first, Nora didn’t think he had suffered any wounds during his battle with Absalom, but when he got close enough to touch she saw the tears in his robe. The bloody skin below revealed scratch marks from where he tore at his own heart.
Kerr stepped forward to offer his assistance to the Creator, but he held up a hand to stop him.
“This is the one wound that will leave a scar on my body. It is to serve as a constant reminder to us all that there is darkness in each of us.”
“But . . . you’re pure light,” Naomi interjected.
“Ah, Naomi, welcome home. I am no longer pure light. The only way to defeat Absalom was to embrace the darkness he infected our world with. I tore at my chest to draw the darkness into myself.”
He was met with silence as everyone let that information sink in. The Creator now bore the sins of the world within him.
“They were my children before they became his. What father wouldn’t accept the return of his children, regardless of the path they had traveled?”
“So, they’re just inside you?”
“It’s not like that. I accepted the darkest part of humanity into myself. Although his methods were not what I would have chosen, Absalom did succeed in one thing: restoring the balance between good and evil. Both now live within me. I am now the yin and yang. I am both sides of the coin. It was the only way for my world to continue.”
“The alpha and omega,” Joe whispered.
“Now, if you’ll all join me in my home to celebrate with our fallen brethren and reunite a family with their daughter.”
Nora turned to find they had somehow been transported to the foot of the mountain. She could hear the familiar call of laughter and family. The Evolved exchanged looks of relief and accomplishment before taking off at a run, followed by the remaining population of the world.
Before they reached the mouth of the cave at the base of the mountain, Keira came running out to greet her parents. Tears sprang to Nora’s eyes as she saw her little girl excitedly approach. She picked up the pace until she collided with her daughter in her arms. Kerr crashed into them next, followed quickly by Thatcher, Hadley, Whitley, Tahlia, and Eric. They held on tightly to what was left of their family.
“Mommy! Papa
and Grandpa are here,” Keira said sadly.
Nora’s happy tears were accompanied by tears of pain and loss as she explained to Keira that Dorian and Romulus wouldn’t be returning home with them.
Keira nodded firmly. “But momma, they will always be here. They’re finally home!”
Keira leapt down from the family hug and took off running back toward the cave. Her family followed suit and quickly arrived at the biggest, strangest party they would ever attend. The people they had lost were waiting for them, whole and perfect. Nora saw familiar faces that she hadn’t even realized lost their lives. She accepted hugs from Pastor Jeff and his wife before they moved on to the others. So many lives taken before they should have been, but so many souls that had bravely taken a stand for what they believed in.
Nora locked onto one man and walked straight to him. Dorian welcomed her with open arms. She allowed herself to be enveloped by something that was more than a hug; it was a hello, a thank you, and a goodbye that held far too many emotions for her to pinpoint a single one.
“I am so proud of you.”
“I love you, Dorian.”
“I love you too, Nora. Your life means more to me than my own. It always has. Laying down my life for yours was the easiest decision I’ve ever made.”
“But I’m afraid to live in a world without you. No matter what has happened in my life, you’ve always been there. The idea of going home and not having you or Romulus there breaks my heart.”
“You have a family. We used to be all you had, but now, you’ve got so much more. And you’re going to have much more in the future. Your story isn’t over yet. Mine is.”
Nora nodded and pulled the only father she’d ever known into another strong hug.
Chapter Thirty-Six:
Kerr
Kerr watched as Nora said her goodbyes to Dorian. He looked around trying to find Romulus, but came up empty-handed.