Exit Darkness, Enter Light: Book One of the Earth Cycle

by Ahadi, Kion

  “Ok, we can watch a film after dinner. Who needs men?” Aiyana said with a cheeky grin. Megan laughed.

  ***

  Nadia and I had trekked along the mountain path for nearly two hours. We had maintained a leisurely pace, taking our time to enjoy the beautiful scenery of trees and wildlife. I could see Horse Camp in the distance. The weather was beginning to become cooler.

  “Not far now,” I said.

  We continued walking hand in hand as we had done for most of the hike. The terrain had been reasonably hospitable just some large rocks and stones on the path. Evidently it was a well-used route. After a few minutes we reached Horse Camp. There were several tents scattered around the area near the trees. There was a hut nearby with running water and a toilet. We walked to a nice spot near a clump of trees which would provide some cover from the wind. I dropped the backpack down. Nadia gave me a hand and within a short time our tent was up. We sat down tired. I offered Nadia a bottle of water and a packet of crisps from the supplies in the backpack. I looked across at the path and could see some weary-looking people coming down the trail.

  “They must be returning from the summit,” I told Nadia, gesturing towards the exhausted hikers.

  Nadia looked at me for a few moments then slowly her gaze shifted to something behind me. Her expression morphed to wonderment.

  “Can you feel that?” Nadia whispered.

  As she asked me the question a powerful sensation of euphoria swept over me. I turned to see a man approaching us. He had long flowing black hair and reddish skin. As he got closer I could sense the power exuding from him. He walked straight over to us.

  “I am Cheveyo,” he announced with calm confidence. His eyes were shining in the fading light. Cheveyo was a Native American Indian, his name meaning ‘spirit warrior’ in the language of the Hopi.

  “I am Cyrus, this is my wife Nadia,” I said standing. I extended my hand in greeting. He took it and as we shook hands I felt a surge of energy from his touch. I knew without a doubt this person before me was no ordinary human.

  “It is good to meet you Cyrus and to speak with you while I am in my physical form, and of course I am honoured to see you again,” he said with a curt bow directed at Nadia. She shook his hand. I was slightly bewildered by his greeting.

  “You were the one who guided me in the light vortex,” Nadia said.

  “I am the one. I have been waiting for you both. We have to go, there is much to do,” Cheveyo said.

  Without a further word he kneeled down and began to dismantle our newly raised tent. I helped him. Everything was repacked quickly as we were eager to leave.

  Cheveyo led us away from the official mountain trail. We made our way across less travelled ground instead. It was after 6 p.m. when we set off and the sunlight was gradually vanishing. Nadia and I held hands and followed our mysterious guide without speaking. He moved quickly and gracefully like a mist blowing swiftly over a mountain. We trekked for well over three hours passing wilder and harsher terrain, Cheveyo always a few metres ahead. I watched him captivated, he reminded me of a mirage in a desert promising to quench our thirst if we could reach it. The sky was darkening as we continued up and across the sacred mountain. I felt intoxicated by the moment as the natural splendour of the environment enveloped me. My lungs welcomed the rich fresh mountain air as each breath I took became deeper and slower. Cheveyo stopped some distance ahead of us near a series of large boulders then beckoned us to him. The stars began to sparkle more vividly in the night sky when we reached him.

  Cheveyo closed his eyes and stretched his arms out to the side. The world seemed to stop in this instant and utter calm descended. Even the wind was still. Cheveyo began chanting, uttering beautiful rhythmic words in an unknown language causing a golden light to fill the night air:

  “Great Spirit I honour the glory of your creation. Around and around we go, following the seasons of Gaia. On the sacred mountainside of Shasta, Shambhala we seek. Open it before our eyes. Cycles within Cycles, till the end of time. Cycles within Cycles, till the end of time…”

  I watched Cheveyo as he glowed like a mystical apparition before us. He tossed his hair around as he moved in rhythm with his words, calling to the earth’s energy. I began to recognise the real Cheveyo; he had been the calming golden presence I had sensed in my bedroom the first time I had an out of body experience. Cheveyo had surrounded me in energy form to remind me of my choice as I stood over Nadia with a dagger during the sacrificial ceremony in Valletta. I was overcome with emotion as I watched the ‘spirit warrior’. Then, boulders slowly vanished before our eyes and a portal appeared as the earth responded to Cheveyo’s call.

  “We can enter now,” Cheveyo said ending his chant. He turned and walked through the portal.

  Nadia and I looked at each other for a moment. I could feel her love radiating towards me. We followed Cheveyo into the portal and emerged into a brightly lit tunnel. Behind us the portal disappeared, leaving behind just a wall of rock. Cheveyo was just ahead of us and we followed him down the tunnel until we reached a capsule. It seemed to be some sort of transporter.

  “Hold on,” Cheveyo said as he pressed the only button on the panel.

  Nadia and I grasped the railing on the side wall as the door to the capsule closed. I had the sensation that we were moving at great speed in what seemed to be different directions. I felt slightly disorientated. Nadia also looked to be in discomfort, but Cheveyo was unfazed. Eventually we came to an abrupt stop. The door opened and Cheveyo walked out without saying a word.

  Nadia and I followed. We gasped simultaneously as we took in the scale of the grand courtyard we had emerged into. In the centre was a gigantic white crystal. It must have been hundreds of feet high. The crystal pulsed with golden energy. All around the crystal were humans of different ages, sexes and races going about their business.

  “This is a base of light,” Cheveyo said. “Here we transmit positive energy to the inhabitants of earth.”

  “This is where the column of light I entered in energy form penetrates the earth,” Nadia told me.

  “The crystal captures and amplifies the positive energy from the column of light and sends it out to the world. The vortex of light itself is connected to the sun,” Cheveyo added for my benefit.

  “I feel sick,” I said, my head was beginning to throb and I was starting to sweat. Images of animals, human and non-human faces suddenly flashed across my mind. I felt pain, not the physical type, but a deep cutting anguish. I staggered. Cheveyo took my arm.

  “Cyrus your conscience has been jolted and your energy field is reacting,” Cheveyo said, trying to support me. I fell to my knees. Unfathomable sorrow and regret overwhelmed me. Nadia and Cheveyo each took one of my arms and helped me get back to my feet. They held me to keep me steady. My eyes were streaming uncontrollably with tears and my vision blurred. The regret and remorse piercing me was unbearable. Breathing became more difficult. Then I started to scream.

  “Stay calm Cyrus you are experiencing the pain you caused others during your numerous lifetimes in service to darkness. It will pass,” Cheveyo said sympathetically.

  Some of the people in the courtyard turned to look at us. I carried on screaming as I became increasingly oblivious of my surroundings. It was as if humiliation, torture, rape, murder and all other imaginable negative acts and the feeling they engender were being revisited on me in unison. I became delirious, begging and pleading for forgiveness.

  “It will pass,” Cheveyo kept saying to me.

  My vision cleared as the terrible anguish began to lessen. I looked around me; everyone in the courtyard was standing still observing me silently. A giant form was approaching us. It was a creature of great stature. As it got closer I could see it was not a human. It resembled a bipedal lion. Fur covered its skin and shone with a golden hue. The creature stood before me, towering like a lighthouse. It was well over eight feet in height. My heart was pounding as it peered down at me.

  “T
eerzad… a human? It cannot be!” the creature gasped, its voice brimming with bewilderment.

  I looked up at the magnificent specimen with shame and regret in my heart. The eyes regarding me were dark green with striking golden pupils. The feline face was noble.

  “I am Teerzad, Jibreel. But I am not here as your enemy,” I replied passively. I had no will to fight. I recognised my former nemesis. Jibreel was a commander in the Council of Light. We had engaged in warfare numerous times across the galaxy in prior cycles. The creature stepped back in confusion. He wore a silver one-piece body suit. His body was athletic and perfectly proportioned. Nadia and Cheveyo remained by my side.

  “He is transforming,” Cheveyo said quickly sensing Jibreel’s confusion could turn into hostility.

  “You have been my adversary for thousands of cycles, Teerzad. You conquered and destroyed countless worlds, enslaving millions of souls in the process. You deserve pain and so much more,” Jibreel said forcefully. His body tensed readying for attack.

  Nadia stood in front of me protectively, “He is here for union with me,” she said passionately.

  “She knows the consequence of what she says,” Cheveyo added raising his hand in an attempt to placate Jibreel.

  Jibreel considered Nadia with surprise for a few moments, but his regal face did not soften.

  “I am wise to your treacherous nature Teerzad and cannot forgive so easily what others have,” he said with a distrustful look.

  “I do not come seeking your approval Jibreel. I did all those things you said, that will never change,” I replied, dropping my head. I could no longer look him in the eye. Nadia took my hand.

  “I trust your judgement Cheveyo,” Jibreel said, then turned and walked away.

  “We need to go to the unification room, follow me,” Cheveyo said to Nadia and me.

  “Can you walk?” Nadia asked.

  “I am fine,” I said as we followed Cheveyo hand in hand. I looked around as we walked. The light in the vast courtyard cast by the giant crystal was enchanting. Now the feelings of remorse had subsided, the positive energy all around began to instil me with a sense of peace and hope. I was healing. We arrived at a passage leading away from the courtyard and followed it until we reached a small room. Inside the faintly lit room there were two marble platforms. The heads of the platforms touched, but they parted diagonally from each another at the bottom. Cheveyo stood in the gap between the two platforms.

  “Come and lie down,” Cheveyo said looking over at us.

  Nadia lay down on one of the platforms. I discarded the backpack on the floor, but then hesitated.

  “What did you mean when you mentioned ‘consequence’?” I asked Cheveyo.

  “After your suicide on the mountainside of Clyses, you appeared at a light vortex begging to be with Eskh. The only way to make this a reality is through your unification,” he said, not really answering my question.

  “Cyrus there is no need for doubts. I want us to be bonded for eternity. Then everything will be as it should,” Nadia said, as she lay on the platform. I walked over to the other platform and lay down.

  “You both need to leave your bodies and float above them,” Cheveyo told us.

  He began to chant beautiful words that relaxed my senses as they washed over me. A large crystal slowly emerged from the ground in front of him and began pulsing rhythmically in sync with his chanting. The urge to leave my body became overwhelming. The marble platform shook as my energy was released. I could see Nadia’s body shake then her energy was free as well.

  “You are so beautiful,” my thoughts said to Nadia as her golden white energy radiated before me.

  “So are you,” her thought returned to me.

  The crystal continued to pulse. Cheveyo was still moving before it, he now appeared as a luminous ball of brilliant gold and green energy.

  “Merge together,” was the telepathic message from Cheveyo.

  Nadia drifted towards me until we melded. I could see the silver cords connecting our energies to our physical bodies coalescing. As we mingled our energy I began to gain an insight into the purpose of the path of light: visions of utopia, perfection, order, beauty, creativity and unity blazed my mind. The universe was the promise of these things manifesting physically. The only way energy could create an exalted existence was with love. Love was the bond that could interconnect all humanity in harmony. If our energies radiated love, we could conquer any physical challenges. Genuine love was pure and unconditional, it was limitless and soared. There were no barriers or obstacles that could contain love. It was the most powerful force in the universe.

  “Return, return!” came Cheveyo’s thought.

  I re-entered my physical body with a jolt and opened my eyes. I sat up. I looked over at Nadia. She was still asleep. I got up. The crystal was gone. Cheveyo stood looking at me solemnly.

  “What is the matter?” I asked him.

  “Nothing, it was a success.”

  I got off the platform and went and stood by Nadia’s body. She looked serene as she slept. I waited watching her, but as the minutes passed she did not wake up. I began to feel concerned.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, looking at Cheveyo. He stood silent with a sombre expression on his face. I rushed over to him and grabbed his shirt.

  “Where is Nadia?” I shouted, shaking him.

  “As your energy separated from Nadia’s and you returned to your body, her energy disappeared,” he said calmly.

  “Disappeared where?” I demanded, tightening my grip.

  “She gave some of her positive energy to you in order to assist your transformation. In return she absorbed some of your negative energy. She is in the Judgement Realm now, the only place she can release that negative energy. We have to wait for her return,” he said, gently releasing my grip.

  “The Judgement Realm…” I repeated knowingly and slumped back against the platform.

  “Yes, where all energy is transmuted and recycled. No dark or light energy being can go there without the risk of total annihilation. The Judgement Realm is the domain of the Creator,” Cheveyo said.

  “If I had known Nadia would have absorbed some of my negative energy I would have never agreed to our spiritual unification,” I replied harshly.

  “She was well aware of that and that is why she didn’t tell you. Her physical body still lives, which means she is still connected to it, so there is hope. There is nothing more we can do, let’s go, I can show you to a room to rest,” Cheveyo said trying to reassure me.

  “You go. I will sleep here.”

  Cheveyo looked at me apologetically, “As you wish Cyrus,” he said before leaving.

  I lay back on the marble platform and took Nadia’s hand.

  ***

  I don’t know how long I had been sleeping when I felt someone gently rousing me. I opened my eyes. Nadia stood over me. I got up and hugged her close to me.

  “Are you ok, what happened?” I asked.

  Nadia looked at me with a faint smile.

  “I remember us merging and feeling completely connected to you, but then I experienced a vivid understanding of the purpose of the path of darkness. It was terrible, I fell into the emptiness of an abyss. I kept falling for what felt like eternity until I came out onto the other side. Then I was in the Judgement Realm getting stripped of all the negative energy. I began to feel like I would cease to exist, but before my memories and dreams faded, I begged to be with you again. I instantly materialised back here above my body. When I opened my eyes I saw you still asleep,” Nadia said.

  I felt immense relief at her safe return. I was growing weary of the events around us; I just wanted to escape, leaving all this knowledge behind us.

  “Let’s get out of here and enjoy the rest of our physical lives in peace,” I said to Nadia.

  “No, that would be selfish. I was permitted to come back so that we can help the earth. After the destruction of Clyses and its descent into darkness, my energy should have b
een recycled because it was tied to the fate of that planet. I was only allowed to retain my identity on the conditions I came and helped this planet, as well as assist you with your transformation,” Nadia said touching my cheek.

  “It is out of our hands. What difference could we possibly make?” I said feeling overwhelmed.

  “Cyrus we have already come so far. If you want me for eternity earth cannot fall into darkness. If it does, my energy, my existence, will vanish forever. My fate depends on this planet now,” she said.

  I began to fathom the enormity of what Nadia was telling me. She was a being of light and they were connected to the stars of the universe. They bring love and order to the planets. Her planet was gone and the sun of her solar system destroyed. It was now a black hole in space. In order to continue to exist she needed to ensure the survival of Earth and our Sun after the impending cycle passed.

  “My life and my fate depend on you, if you disappear my existence means nothing,” I said as I took Nadia in my arms.

  We spent the next few days with Cheveyo in Shambhala talking and listening. He introduced us to others with knowledge. They were also preparing for the imminent ecological changes as part of the ending to the cycle. We made friends with similar people who also had families unaware of the truth. I began to accept the situation. When we were ready to leave, Cheveyo took us back to the portal. Before we set off down the mountain trail; Nadia and I decided to trek to the peak of Mount Shasta alone. Once on the summit we looked out over the land before us and made a vow that we would fight for the survival of the earth to the very end.

  Chapter 8

  “Games”

  There was a knock on the cabin door. Paymon was lying on his narrow foldaway bed trying to drift off to sleep. Again he heard knocking. Who could it be at this time, he wondered? All the workers had gone home a few hours earlier. Paymon had got used to staying behind at the construction site. He often slept in his command cabin, rather than going to the hotel, it saved time. He sat up, yawned and then stretched his arms. He walked over apprehensively and opened the door. The last sight he expected greeted him; two glamorous women stood waiting outside in long coats. They giggled at the dumbfounded look across his face. Paymon was confused, he looked past the women around the work site; was this some sort of prank? He turned his eyes back to the late-night visitors.