“Shit… why are you taking my power?”
“Not everyone believes I should have this kind of power. People with the means to kill me and everyone I have given a piece of my power to. My power makes you an anomaly in this universe. They were made to take care of them, to right the wrong.”
“An anomaly?”
“The amount of power I will use to open up a tear in the gateway will be a beacon to these men. The Executioners.”
“The Executioners?”
“I will allow you all to keep the finite weapons. They should be able to fly under their noses until you use them again. But that will be on you and the rebels.”
“So, you’re just going to leave us with your problems?”
“You people are the ones who asked for this power! The power to kill gods! The power to usurp your oppressors! To live free, to escape the grasp of those above you! If anything, you should be thanking me for getting your people this far.”
“These aren’t my people, this isn’t my universe, remember?”
The Omniscient Man sighed. “This universe is more yours than you realize… Sorry about the trouble I brought. I thought about taking back all the power I gave the humans in this universe, but it’s too late for that. Once I open the portal, they will come for me, and if you use my power, for all of you. I thought about asking Kevan and the rebels to delay their plans, so I could take the finite weapons back from the rebels not involved in today’s plan, but…seeing how far you all came, I couldn’t stop them. I couldn't stop the momentum, the revolution I caused. Maybe I’m being selfish. I have never really been successful in anything. To see the happiness I brought in the people’s eyes around me… it did things to me.”
“It’s not your fault. We would’ve never gotten this far without you. I would still be dead, even though I have lived through millions of hells.”
“Thousands.”
“Still, when this is all over, I’ll help collect the weapons, to store them and to never be used again.”
“Thank you, August. Even with all your demons, you do have some glimmers of a hero inside you.”
“Enough of this sentimental shit, let’s get on with it.”
The Omniscient Man raised his hands and a hole opened from nothing. Inside of it, was a stairway shrouded by darkness. At its end was a small light.
“Well, get on.”
August stepped into the darkness and the hole closed behind him.
Queen coughed herself awake. She was laying on the ground in the remains of her office. Black and orange raged around her, flames engulfed everything. But yet, in front of her stood the twenty workers who betrayed her, covered in a colorful transparent shell.
Kevan stood unhurt behind them. Staring at her with a smug smile. Queen wished she could wipe that smirk off his face.
The button on the desk lay in the remains, blinking. She hit it in time. She just needed to make it to the roof.
Twenty-four more workers push out of the rubble. Bright colorful weapons appeared in their hands.
Shouts echoed into the room as minor gods and soldiers ran into the office and started to fight the rebels.
Kevan glanced away from Queen as one of them rushed him.
Queen got up to her feet and ran to a door and up the stairs behind it, leaving the fighting behind her.
She was glad that she had reinforced the entire building when she had it built. It was a prerequisite for starting a human revolution. Even though her entire plan had back-fired. She had never expected the humans to be able to fight back.
She cursed under her breath. This was all the Omniscient Man’s fault.
She made it to the rooftop door and ran out onto the roof. In front of her was an archway that stood a story high.
The gateway to heaven. It was on a raised platform, with a set of stairs leading up to it. There was nothing in the archway at the moment. Queen could see right through it.
Svante and thirteen other gods suddenly appeared in front of the gateway.
“Late as always, Svante,” Queen said.
One foot after another. August walked up the nearly endless stairway that was the entrance to the Wavering Radiant. About a hundred meters ahead of him was a bright light, emerging from a doorway. He was finally close.
He didn’t know how long he’d been walking. Fifteen, thirty minutes? He was having a hard time telling how much time had passed. Were the effects of the Wavering Radiant already happening?
His voices had been nagging his head the entire time. But this time, they told him to do one single thing.
To throw himself off of the side.
He glanced off the sides of the stairway. There was an infinite black surrounding him.
He wondered if he would find the bottom if he was to fall. He didn’t want to find out, so he ignored his voices’ useful suggestions.
After what August believed was a few minutes, he made it to the door. The light from the doorway was blinding. He couldn’t see into it.
“Let’s make this quick,” he said to himself.
He stepped into the light. A strong heat rushed over him. He panicked as the light blinded him.
Then a sudden coolness rushed over his skin and slowly his vision came back.
He stood in a sea of silent clouds, all crashing together in a turbulent manner. He looked down at his feet. His legs were engulfed to his knees, and yet the clouds felt like nothing.
Above him were the same turbulent clouds, swirling and twisting in madness, yet never making a sound.
“Whoa,” his words seemed to echo out into the eternity. The light was dull but bright, it was like he was in a cloud. It was like those times when he was younger flying in a plane, and he would stare out of the window, watching as they ascended into the clouds and out into the blue above.
It was like that, except that he never left the clouds, he wasn’t flying nor falling, he was simply there.
August shook his head of the awe. He had a mission to accomplish. Right in front of him, miles and miles away, he saw a break in the clouds. A black filled with… he squinted. With what he believed was swirling colors.
“The Omniscient Man’s power?”
What the hell was that? He glanced behind him and then staggered back. The door was gone.
“I guess there’s no turning back.”
He couldn’t keep gawking at everything around him. He had a time limit.
He looked to his left and saw a bright steady light in the distance. To his right was nothing.
The light must be the Omega Key. He walked toward it for what felt like hours but the light never got closer.
The voices in his head grew louder as he walked in the silence, as his forced period of reflection came into his head.
They started screaming, yelling at him. The words were unintelligible. August couldn’t concentrate, the words banging in his mind.
He grabbed his head, clenching his teeth. He had to push the voices out. He had to escape them.
His arms spun with millions of colors, his power coming into his arms. The voices slowly ebbed away, pushed to the very back of his head.
Finally, there was silence. Calm. He could move on again. He didn’t will his power into anything, but just having it move through him was enough to get rid of the voices.
He pushed himself on. Walking for what felt like an eternity. Even with his power pulsating through him, his legs felt tired, his breaths became labored, but he continued on.
In what felt like his tenth hour, the light finally started to shine brighter as he closed in.
His eyes opened wide when he got a closer look. It was a levitating blue crystal. August ran, worrying that he came too late. That the Omniscient Man would come to take his power before he could kill God.
He slid to a stop as he arrived in front of the Omega Key. There was a slight hum emitting from it.
“Is this…?”
“The Omega Key.” Michael appeared behind August. Michael wore a
grey fitted suit with his muscle-bound body jutting out of it.
August leapt back, his sword appearing in his hand.
“Where did you get that power?” Michael asked.
“None of your business, I’m here for one thing.”
“To destroy your God’s creation, to sever the Radiant from your world, to destroy the Omega Key.”
“Why…yes. Who are you?”
“I’m Michael, He’s only angel.”
“Why does He only have one angel?”
“The why doesn’t matter. I’m here to stop you from making a grave mistake.”
“This is no mistake. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
“Then prepare to return to the Wavering Radiant, human.”
The colorful blade in August’s hand grew stronger. Its colors became more powerful and vibrant.
Michael asked, “What is that power, human?”
“Once again, none of your business, just know that I’m going to use it to kill you.”
“So confident.” Michael stepped forward. He held out his hands. Some of the clouds from the ground swirled around them. In a flash, a sword appeared in each. He swung them out and they burst into flames. Sending flames toward August.
August leapt out of the way.
Michael slowly approached August. “My one and only job is to protect the Radiant and God’s children. Prepare to experience the flames of heaven.”
Michael disappeared, August staggered back. “Shit.” He didn’t see him, he glanced around, sword still at the ready.
He felt a sudden heat converging from his left. He ducked down and swung his sword up.
August felt a reverberation in his hands as his blade clashed with Michael’s left blade.
He jumped back as Michael’s right sword nearly lopped off his head. Michael charged at August.
August blocked his blows with his sword as Michael crashed into him. Michael pushed on August’s sword hard and forced him to hurtle back.
Clouds swirled around August’s legs as he skidded to a stop. August barely had time to think. Michael was fast, faster than anything he’d seen before. Stronger than he imagined, even with his new power.
August charged at him. Swinging erratically. Hot sparks flew into the air as they went blow for blow.
Never landing a hit as they kept each other on their toes.
Every time August swung his blade, Michael met it with a counter. August was getting pissed as Michael barely broke a sweat.
His second blade made it impossible to find an opening. He was fast enough where the second sword in itself was his defense.
It was his fight with Svante all over again.
August leapt back from Michael as his blade skirted across his cheek. As August landed, he wiped the blood from his face.
Michael was stalling for time, he was toying with him. The gods always liked to play games.
“No,” August muttered under his breath. This was different than before. He now had the power to fight, the power to change things.
He needed to calm down, he needed to concentrate. He was going to end this quickly.
He willed more power into his blade, the colors swirled faster. It started to whine as the wind whipped around August.
He stared at Michael. His blades got brighter, the whites of the clouds surrounding him became whiter. August’s perception of the world increased, he could see the bindings of this reality.
The clouds turned into blue numbers rushing under his feet like a river, like millions of calculations and code compiling under his feet.
August blinked, the numbers disappeared and the clouds returned to normal. What the hell was that?
Michael stood in front of him, waiting. August released his two-handed grip from the sword and held it with one hand instead. His left hand glowed bright green.
He was going to stop Michael by playing his own games. With his left hand, he could twist the reality around him.
August rocketed forward. The clouds suddenly twisted around his leg as he moved impossibly fast toward Michael.
He then came to a sudden stop. “What!” August screamed in shock. He looked down at his left leg. It was encompassed by the Wavering Radiant.
Michael appeared in front of him.
“Fuck!” He wasn’t waiting for August to power up, he was controlling the Radiant.
Michael swung his right sword. August jutted out his hand to block it. Crushing together the reality in front of his hand.
His blade came to a sudden halt. But it wasn’t enough, as his left sword came striking down on his neck.
August moved fast, he had to end this quickly. He swung at Michael but Michael’s blade reversed its direction and sliced through August’s right wrist.
August screamed as his hand twirled into the air. His sword wisped away. He pushed his power into his left hand and blew Michael back.
His hand landed in the clouds. The clouds moved like tendrils, tearing it apart and consuming it completely.
August fell back and tumbled onto the ground. He leapt up, clutching his stubbed arm. The color drained from his vision, the shock was getting to him.
“That part of you is now with the Radiant forever,” Michael said.
No blood was squirting out from the wound as the flames from Michael’s blade had seared it closed.
“I have a right hand, I have a right hand, I have a right hand,” August kept saying under his breath. He had to believe he didn’t lose his hand, or else…
He pushed all the will he had into his right arm. He had a right hand. It never left. If he could tear a hole in reality, then he could will his hand back.
His arm started to twirl with thousands of colors. He started to sweat as he grasped his right arm hard.
Colorful veins pushed out of his stump and twisted and melded into colorful flesh, then cell by cell his skin reformed over it.
August let out a belated gasp as his hand reformed back to its normal shape.
He unclutched his arm and panted hard. He tried to squeeze his hand into a fist. His hand followed the motions but he didn’t feel a thing.
He rubbed it and felt nothing. He had no more feeling in his hand. Because of that, he couldn’t will anything into it. He couldn’t use it to fight anymore. With the disconnect, he couldn’t use it to its full potential.
He looked hard at his hand; it looked exactly the same except that it looked like his skin was embedded with faint colorful glitter.
“Interesting power you have there,” Michael stood a few meters away from him, his suit unruffled, his face unmoving. August’s power was nothing to him.
“Fuck you,” August growled.
“I’ve seen you fight, I’ve seen the way you move, the look in your eyes, the anger. Do you know why you will never win against me?”
“Pique my interest,” August said with clenched teeth. The pain from his hand intensified thanks to his increased perception.
“It’s because you fear death.”
“I lost that fear a long time ago, you don’t know me.”
“Every creation has a fear of death, it’s what makes them intelligent, makes them Human, despite what many force themselves to believe. The hate you have for He is misguided. It is because of your own demons and fears that you drove yourself this far. It wasn’t He, it was fear. The fear of the loneliness of death. But if you submit to me, to He, I promise, you will not be alone any longer. Accept death by my hands and He will forgive you for your sins. He is in his Heaven, All is well in the world.”
“I’m sorry, but I have something to do before I can do that.”
“Then I will force his forgiveness on you.”
August willed his blade into his left hand. It felt strange, unwieldy. It would have to do.
He charged for him and Michael did the same. They clashed in the middle. A flurry of sparks and flames erupted between them as their blades met.
Sweat slicked August’s face as he focused as hard as he
could on dodging Michael’s blade.
It was impossible, Michael was faster and stronger than Svante. Svante, who was supposed to be the strongest god in the world.
Michael wasn’t a god, but an angel. What the fuck was an angel?
August wasn’t sure how much time had passed as he went toe-to-toe with Michael. They flashed around the Wavering Radiant, blade meeting blade. No one landing a blow that would end the fight.
August had to finish it. He had to destroy the Radiant.
Michael appeared over August and swung one of his blades down. August started to bring up his sword to block it but instead willed it away, ducked under Michael’s blade and sent his right hand rocketing toward Michael’s chest.
But his hand connected short and August couldn’t stop his forward momentum. Michael’s blade looped off August’s arm from the elbow down.
His other blade cleaved into August’s legs, sending them flying into the air.
August screamed out as his sword disappeared from his hand. Michael’s foot hurtled into his chest and sent him to the ground.
August landed hard, blood erupted from his lips. He struggled to move, but had no limbs, too. His vision started to blur as Michael towered over him.
He felt the clouds of the Radiant slowly start to consume him.
August read Michael’s lips as the sound went from his world.
“He is in his heaven…”
Everything around August went dark as he felt death approaching.
“…All is well in the world.”
The rooftop door burst open and Kevan ran out. Queen turned and backed up to the arch. The other gods stood their ground.
“You’re already too late, Kevan. The gods are here. Do you think you can fight all of us?” Queen said.
“I don’t have to,” Kevan said. Ten rebels ran up next to him.
“Is that it?” Queen asked.
“Ha, no. This is.” Kevan looked toward Svante. “Are you just going to stand there all day, or are you going to join this party we're having?”
Svante disappeared in a flash and appeared next to Kevan.
Queen stumbled back. “What’s the meaning of this, Svante?”
“I’m tired of this façade you put together, Queen. We gods aren’t under your rule any longer. We are tired of your corruption and what you’ve done to our reputation and our lives.”
Legends of the Damned: A Collection of Edgy Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 227