| Table of Contents |
|---|
| Chapter 17 l Chapter 18 l Chapter 19 l Chapter 20 l Chapter 21 l Chapter 22 l Chapter 23 |
| Chapter 24 l Chapter 25 l Chapter 26 l Chapter 27 l Chapter 28 l Chapter 29 l Chapter 30 l Chapter 31 |
| Chapter 32 l Chapter 33 l Chapter 34 l Chapter 35 l Chapter 36 l Chapter 37 l Chapter 38 l Chapter 39 l Chapter 40 l Chapter 41l Chapter 42 |
Ragna
I didn’t feel any wind. I held Gabriel’s hand as we ascended, I could certainly tell we were moving upwards.
“My mother said time worked differently in Sheol, have we met on the mortal plane yet?” I asked Gabriel.
“Yes,” they said curtly.
I looked away, “...So, you know St. Michael chose poorly, then?”
“If you think St. Michael chose poorly, then I suppose he did,” Gabriel spoke, their words soft and demure, “Had you said nothing on the matter, I would not agree with you.”
I furrowed my brow, “But I failed.”
“You were defeated,” Gabriel clarified, “Whether you failed or not has yet to be determined.”
I felt hopeful, for a moment. Maybe in Timothy’s hands the Sanctified Blade of the Guardians would find better use? Maybe that’s why Michael gave it to me? Because Michael knew I could lead the Archangels with it symbolically, knowing that I would give it to the right person?
“Your intuitive mind takes little to reach its conclusions,” Gabriel noted.
“...Oh,” I paused, “You can hear my thoughts?”
“I can see your emotions,” Gabriel explained, “It’s why I am unable to tell you why you have been called upon. If I gave you even the slightest clue, you’d likely already have deduced the nature of your meeting with Our Father,” Gabriel sighed. “You share that trait with your father: Far too wise for your own good.”
I was unsure how to take such an assessment of myself, but decided I had best remain quiet going forward.
As the scene around me changed. Towering over us was a massive silver wall of light. At almost 10 meters high, was a huge golden gate with white alabaster accents glimmering in surreal white light.
Standing before the gate, with a massive bronze staff in one hand and an oversized tome in the other, was a Cherubim Angel, clad head to toe in bronze armor. Over the armor were long white robes, covering them from the shoulders to their knees, tied to their armor with a large silvery belt.
The helm of the Bronze Angel turned to me, “... Melinoë Walters, also known as Sellenia Misho, the Ragnarök.” As the Angel spoke, its massive book opened, pages turning on their own as it did.
I paused, “Walters?” I turned to Gabriel, “Wait, Persephone had a last name on Dei?”
“Her first name was Cleopatra,” Gabriel’s voices echoed through the nearly endless space we stood in.
“Cleopatra? But Teryn called her… oooh… Pat, okay, yeah, that makes sense for Teryn, yeah,” I sighed, “...Guess she did that to everyone she met.”
“Only her friends,” Gabriel said, one head smiling, “...She calls me ‘Reia’.”
“...Huh,” I said, unsure how else to react.
Teryn would know Seraphim, wouldn’t she? Especially if Gabriel and other angels ferried souls to and from Sheol.
I wondered what she called the Angel Duma?
“...Your sins are so numerous, I am unsure, even with Gabriel ferrying your feted soul, how you do not sink into the depths of Hell,” the Bronze angel spoke, the gates opening, “I would carry that knowledge with you. For should Gabriel release you for but a moment behind these gates, the weight of your sins would drag you downward to eternal damnation.”
**“**Thank you, Brother Cephas,” Gabriel whispered, as we passed by, “For educating Ragna on her current predicament,” Gabriel looked down to me, “Come along, Ragna. We should not keep Our Father waiting.”
I turned to Cephas, looking at their visor, “Who did I hurt the most, in my life?”
Cephas did not hesitate in the least, “Our Father.”
My brow furrowed, “I don’t-”
“All sinners harm Our Father the most, above all!” His mighty voice boomed through the air. “For He sees all and He loves most. For Our Father loves His children more than any. To see them falter, to see them suffer and to bring others suffering, pains Him more than any other being on this or the next plane!” Cerphas declared.
I flinched as I felt Gabriel tugging me.
“Come,” Gabriel’s voice called. The large gates began to open before me. “...I should warn, those whom you vanquished that were found to be worthy are likely to be here. Your coming was, indeed, heralded.”
“And what does that mean?” I asked.
“It means keep your anger in check,” Gabriel chided.
I heaved a sigh as we walked through the gates.
As we passed through the towering gates, the scene changed entirely.
We were not standing near a gateway at all, but rather we were surrounded by towering white marble structures that defied all logic and physics.
Huge marble spires floated, upside down, on the horizon. Some were not even angled, but smoothed out hive-like structures with many windows and doors.
A yellow light filled the air, with both a flawless sunset on the far eastern side and a beautiful sunrise on the west.
I looked straight up and saw the shimmering twinkle of a night sky. Depending upon where I looked, the entire landscape took on the time of day I had last glanced upon.
My voice was caught in my throat as Gabriel began to lead me through the vast and almost infinite reaches of this place.
The horizon stretched out in every direction. The ground my feet treaded on was both yielding and firm. Looking down showed me the material looked like clouds, but felt like a sort of padded floor.
I noticed angels flying in the air. They began to land nearby.
It wasn’t long before I felt a chill running down my spine as I realized I recognized some of their faces.
Some gazed at me with somber eyes.
Others fixed me with glares full of anger and in this place I could see they felt a mixture of aversion to my presence but a satisfaction of justice. A sense of retribution filled the air.
“...These are the angles of the Guardian Temple I slew, aren’t they?” I asked Gabriel quietly.
“Yes,” Gabriel spoke succinctly.
One walked before us, the angel’s white wings opened. He had long blonde hair and his gray eyes fixed me with a look of disdain.
“Hastapher, clear a path,” Gabriel instructed.
Hastapher. Oh.
I frowned.
The old leader of the Guardian Temple’s defenses.
I gritted my teeth.
Hastapher pointed to me, his eyes narrowed on me, “Did you taste love but for less than 5 years, wicked one? Spawn of the Morning Star?”
I paused, narrowing my eyes on him, “...What?”
“Hastapher,” Gabriel growled, “Not now. Father has requested her presence.”
“Answer me, Cursed Daughter of Lucifer!” Hastapher shouted.
“No,” I quipped.
I recalled the words Hastapher spoke before I slew him: “May any happiness you ever have be tainted by greater sorrow. May the feat of victory always turn to ash in your mouth.”
Hastapher’s angry face changed and he moved, “Good.”
I gritted my teeth.
That curse upon me was real?! I nearly leapt at him until I spotted someone out of the corner of my eye.
Standing next to a mighty black-skinned Niten Dragon was Rachel.
Her red hair was down and her eyes were once again a soft blue. She looked so pure, so serene, but so heartbroken watching me.
My eyes filled with tears and I pulled away from Gabriel.
I heard Gabriel call out as my hand left their’s.
I watched Hastapher’s armor appear on him as he moved to stop me.
I jumped into the air and I soared towards Rachel.
Rachel pushed the Black Niten Dragon away from her and flew towards me.
“Rachel!” I shouted as I flew towards her.
Rachel smiled and shouted to me, “Ragna!”
We embraced.
I held her tight. The scent of her hair was the same. As we latched onto each other and landed on the ground, I could feel the memories we shared.
It was as if I was reliving every moment I had with her, however brief.
Memories of us on our little Eden. Visions of her pregnant with Lucilia.
I pulled back just enough to kiss her and she kissed me back.
At this moment, nothing else existed. Just her.
Just my Rachel and I.
My Dream. My Amaranthe.
When the kiss broke, her forehead pressed to mine and I couldn’t help but laugh through my tears of joy, “My Amaranthe…” I whispered, barely able to speak.
Rachel sniffled, “...Ragna. I missed you. I’m so sorry… I… I didn’t mean to leave you.”
My lip trembled as I heard footsteps behind me.
“...An enigma you both remain,” Gabriel’s voices spoke softly.
All around us, angels had cleared a circle, as if we were toxic or could somehow harm them.
Hastapher was closer than others, but held back many, “Do not touch them…” He spoke softly “...Ragna hangs here but by a thread.”
I looked at Rachel and I felt my knees sinking into the floor.
Rachel held me tight, “Don’t leave me again!”
Gabriel’s hand seized my shoulder, my knees no longer sinking. “Even with pure love, you nearly fell. It is a miracle you did not, Ragna. That was reckless of you,” Gabriel warned.
I turned to Gabriel, glaring, “I thought you lived for reunions.”
Gabriel’s three heads all raised their eyebrows.
I turned back to Rachel, looking at her beautiful tear filled eyes. I kissed her forehead and dried her tears, holding her face in my hands, “I will come back for you. I swear to you. Nothing here can keep me from you.”
Rachel just pursed her lips and nodded. She kissed me once more and I returned it.
“...That is enough, Ragna,” Gabriel whispered.
I broke the kiss and stood, my hand lingering on Rachel’s face as she looked up to me longingly.
“I promise,” I shouted as Gabriel led me onward, “I will come back for you!”
Rachel reached out to me, the Black Niten Dragon holding her back by the shoulder, Hastapher standing between us as Gabriel led me onward.
“Ragna!” Rachel cried, “I love you!”
“I love you too!” I answered back before I was taken far from her.
“...You should not make promises you cannot keep, Ragna,” Gabriel explained once we were out of earshot.
I took one of Gabriel’s hands as they led me onward, glaring ahead, “If anyone here… and I mean anyone thinks they can keep me from my Rachel, they’ll be sorely mistaken.”
Gabriel scoffed as they led me onward and I noticed less and less structures around us, “You are indeed, your father’s child.”
I glared at Gabriel as we continued forward.
Eventually, I saw a golden staircase looming out of the horizon.
It was narrow, but towering. Reaching high into the sky, where it ended I couldn’t see, outside of a pin-hole of white light where the stairs top could no longer be seen.
The base of the stairs had black obsidian-like flooring.
Gabriel stood there and turned to me, “Here you may release me. You will not fall from here onward.”
I let go, looking around, “So… where is ‘Our Father’?” I asked.
Gabriel pointed up the stairs, “They are there,” Gabriel turned to the steps, “Upon the top of these steps is the Throne of Heaven, where Our Father sits and waits.”
I looked up the dizzying steps.
No railings, no structure holding the steps together.
Each step floated on its own accord, suspended by nothing, connected to the other steps by nothing. All only half a meter wide.
“And I’m climbing to meet Them?” I asked.
“You will attempt to climb,” Gabriel said as they turned from me, “Only Angels have survived the journey. Fall from the steps and you will burn in Hellfire. But that is the least of your concerns,” Gabriel explained.
“The least of my concerns?” I scoffed, “What do you mean?”
“To climb upon these steps is to face the Creator of our universe. The raw power of The Almighty is so grand that even to stand near Their Radiance is to stand before a burning star. Those souls who lack the constitution to weather such power will burn away, until nothing remains,” Gabriel spoke firmly to me.
I shrugged, “So, I need to climb up the stairs, not fall and face the power of a star unprotected?” I spread my wings.
“You’ll find your wings will not help you here, Ragna,” Gabriel chuckled, “The power of The Almighty would cast you down immediately.”
I narrowed my eyes, “...Thanks for the warning. Are you hoping I will fail?”
Gabriel nodded, “As I said, you should not make promises you cannot keep. I suspect this will be the last time we see one another.”
I turned to Gabriel, “If I don’t make it… What happens?” I asked.
“God shall enact His final act and His children shall be with him,” Gabriel sighed, “The mortal realm will be left to those immortals who would call themselves Gods and the damned left at their mercy.”
I frowned, “So… Eris… Xyphiel…” I winced, “...And every demon in Hell.”
Gabriel nodded, “Yes. But worry not, your love will be safe. I can promise that much.”
I looked to the steps and then back to Gabriel, “Thank you for that.”
“This may come as a shock, but I know what it is like to lose a loved one, only to find them on the other side,” Gabriel explained, “This is something I only discovered recently… after I suffered a remediation from my Father.”
I scoffed, “And what did you do that angered your father?”
Gabriel paused, the eyes on two of their heads closing as the eyes on one faced me sternly, “I loved a mortal and kept him on the mortal plane without an edict or any other logical reason. For this, I was punished.”
“Well, even the pious can err, huh?” I mocked.
Gabriel’s eyes opened, all fixed upon me with wrath, “If you fall now, none would know if it were by my hand or by your own failing.”
“I think someone would know, since They know everything,” I chuckled as I shook my head, “But I will not fall. Not to you and not as I climb” I declared as I made my way to the steps, moving to the first and already feeling a potent heat hitting me in the face.
I moved to the second step and nearly stumbled back as a powerful wind pushed against me.
“It starts with one~” Gabriel’s voices began to sing.
I growled and started slowly up the next step.
“All I know,” Gabriel’s voices called out, “It’s so unreal.”
I walked further, at the fifth step at least, I found the heat was nearly unbearable, like facing into the exhaust of a powerful engine.
Gabriel’s voices rang out in song, both mourning and joyful, “Just to watch you go~”
I grunted, pushing myself up to my feet and moving up farther. I pushed past several more steps before I fell forward, gripping the hot golden metal before me.
I felt my hands searing from the heat and turned back to see only a dozen or so steps had been cleared.
Gabriel remained below, their voices ringing out, almost taunting as they sang. “I tried so hard, and got so far. But in the end, it doesn’t even matter. I had to fall, to lose it all, but in the end, it doesn’t even matter.”
I growled and pushed myself higher, feeling the heat through the soles of my feet as I climbed.
The hot wind blew my hair wildly and the heat penetrated my clothing as I climbed, keeping my eyes fixed on the next step before me.
“I try so hard,” Gabriel’s voices sang, “Got so far.”
I gritted my teeth and started a mad sprint upwards, trying to ignore the heat, the pain and every bit of chaos around me.
I focused on one step before the other.
I moved up at least another dozen steps before I had to fall to my knees, the heat overwhelming me as I felt my clothing start to burn.
“In the end~” Gabriel’s voices rang out, the final word holding for what seemed like eternity as I knelt.
I tossed my jacket off, watching it ignite in the air as I pulled my belt off. The soles of my boots had already burned away, my bare feet sizzled on scorching gilded steps.
“Pain is temporary,” I tried to encourage myself, as I pressed onward.
Gabriel finally changed from their long note, their voices somehow still reaching me, “I tried so hard, and got so far! But in the end, it doesn’t even matter. I had to fall, to lose it all! But in the end, it doesn’t even matter!”
I grunted and pushed onwards, the song Gabriel’s voices sang now seemed far more personal. As if they hadn’t been personal enough, I now set myself to a slow, steady and grueling pace of setting one bare foot before the other on burning step after burning step.
“I’ve put my trust in you. Pushed as far as I could go. For all this, there’s only one thing you should know-” Gabriel’s voices called out as a potent wind made me pause for a moment, their voice taking on a venom I didn’t expect. “I’ve put my trust in you! Pushed as far as I can go! For all this, there’s only one thing you should know! I tried so hard and got so far. In the end, it doesn’t even matter! You had to fall to lose it all - but in the end, it doesn’t even matter!”
I pulled myself up, gritting my teeth as I continued, the wind growing in strength both in intensity and heat.
My hair ignited and despite this I pushed on. Gabriel’s last words that I could hear were ringing in my mind.
I wasn’t going to fall as they wanted. I would see Rachel again. I’d see Zepherina again. My Lucilia. I would see my family once more!
As I pushed onwards, a blast of heat nearly knocked me off the edge of one step.
I could barely see as my eyes felt like they were burning.
I paused, grabbing the step ahead of me with one hand as I knelt on the other.
I screamed in pain as what little clothing remained ignited and burned away.
Now, I was completely and utterly exposed. I held my wings tight to my back, pushed myself up and kept walking.
The searing heat from each step only grew more intense as I climbed.
I glanced down to my hand, seeing my very flesh bubbling and charring.
I turned away from the sight, trying not to focus on what was happening to me.
I glanced upwards and it seemed I had made almost no real progress. The pin-point of light was still so far away.
I pushed onwards, the heat only growing, my pain only intensifying.
Still, I pushed onward.
A shot of light shocked me, a soft violet hue filled my vision.
I glanced down at my hand, noticing no flesh remained, but now a glowing essence of sorts.
A violet light, faintly glowing around me. Steam seeping from my hand in the powerful hot wind.
“Oh Guardians… My soul’s being stripped bare…” I thought as I watched violet mana slip away in the monstrously brutal wind.
I shook my head and carried on with my climb.
By no means did it get easier.
If anything my flesh was a buffer against the pain. Now every blast of hot wind felt like pins being slammed into my body. My soul?
I think all of my physical form had been eradicated at this point as I made my arduous climb skyward.
Even though my wings lacked feathers, a dangerous glance backwards showed they were bare wings. Even the flesh on them was stripped away, all that remained were glowing violet wing bones with wisps of mana between them.
Even turning nearly made me fall as the dizzying height I had reached showed I was so far away from where I started that it looked like nothing but a pin-prick of a black dot.
I began to panic slightly as I looked up at the sky above.
There, the pin-prick had changed.
Now, a fiery ball of light shimmered in the distance and gazing upon it burned my eyes.
I cast my eyes down, looking at the burning golden steps I was currently frying on.
I crawled up the steps now, one hand ahead of the other, one knee at a time.
The only relief came from when I would lift a limb up and while the pain stopped for a moment, it came back when I made contact with the golden step.
It was here that I realized my hands were withering away.
Each moment they remained on the step more and more of my hand burned away.
Now, I climbed with the stumps of my forearms, unable to grasp the step before me.
I couldn’t feel my feet as well.
I wondered what I looked like now. An unfinished model of a figure, perhaps?
Lacking all definitions that made me what I was.
My hair, my skin, my feathers.
Was I even myself?
What was driving me? Why was I subjecting myself to this horrific experience?
Rachel.
With renewed vigor, I pushed myself further.
Rachel, Timothy, Lucilia, Zepherina and even Maddy.
My family, my friends, everyone who would call me nothing more than the product of my parents.
I wouldn’t fall.
I would pass this trial, no matter how excruciating it was.
No matter how much of myself was burned away.
I wasn’t going to fail.
I couldn’t fail, not now.
I chuckled, it was just as Gabriel said, “I had come so far…”
The wind stopped abruptly. As did the burning in my limbs.
Though I still felt the heat.
I looked up and was immediately blinded by an unyielding white light.
I recoiled, trying to guard my face with my arm but still the light burned my eyes. All I could do was cast my eyes away from the source.
A cacophony of voices of all ages, genders and accents filled my ears.
It felt as if someone was stabbing my ears with a thousand needles. It was so loud.
“Ah, I see you have finally made it.”
I gasped in pain, “Please… Not so loud!” I begged.
The volume didn’t change, nor did the pain of every word, “I am sorry. These words shall pain you. I will attempt to be brief.”
I grunted as I heard the words, “Fine! Then… Speak! Why have you brought me here?! What do you want with me?!”
“Want? No.” The cacophony called out, “Need.”
I panted as I heard that the Father, Guardians or whatever, was doing Their best to be brief. But it seemed that being brief meant They were being vague. “Just… Please tell me everything you need from me. I’ll just… Bare it…” I shivered in pain.
“Very well. I do not wish to harm you, Daughter of Lucifer. But, I will tell you all now, since you are before Me.” The Guardian’s began, “No God rules forever, though all Gods are Eternal. How does this strike you, Ragna?”
I winced, taking a moment to collect myself, “Gods… Come and go with worship, right? Some rise, some fall… Eris was weak and then she started to get some praise, she got stronger when Chaos took hold of the world.”
“Yes. The Spirit of Chaos is but a trifling thing. Though the power she wields, it is very specific for one. For even she cannot peer past this moment,” The Guardians explained.
“And, I know this will hurt to hear but, what is the significance of this moment?” I asked.
“The moment when Ragna Misho comes before Us. Not every path led you here. In fact, but one path did. It was not the cleanest path, nor the one I desired, but such is free will. We know all choices made, We know all paths forward. We see the beginning and the end, for We are the Alpha and the Omega.” The Guardians declared.
“So free will is bullshit?!” I shouted, still reeling from the pain of the Guardians' words.
“Far from it,” the Guardians bellowed, “Free will is why I am, both Omnipotent and Omni-absent.”
I caught my breath, the Guardians allowing me time to understand.
“We see all choices of all people. As such, We cannot know what true path the world will take. There are endless destinies and We have seen every one of them. We cannot choose the outcome. We plan and We wish for one, but the Free Will of Mortals is a constant challenge. A blessing and a curse.”
I panted, “So, you know the outcome of every decision I could have ever made?”
“And the outcomes of those decisions you could not make. Those of your mother and father, your brother and even those whom you did not realize altered your path.” The Guardians explained.
“So,” I took a deep breath, which only served to steel myself, “What is it you want from me? Why have you asked me here?”
“We want to offer you a path to redemption. For you, Ragna, have found Love. You understand, for once, what Love is. That is how you climbed. If you did not know Love, you would fail. Either fallen or vanished. Your faith remained with your heart. But still, you have done so much wrong, your soul is unclean, unfit to rise. It will either sit in Sheol or burn in Hellfire.”
I looked up, trying to stare at the blinding light once more, but I had to turn away, “So… What are the terms? What must I do? Will you send me back to finish it? To vanquish Xyphiel?!”
“No. We will leave this plane. We shall take our children and retire. But someone must shepard the damned souls and give them a chance at redemption,” The Guardian’s voices all appeared to change tone, they were happier, for a moment, “Who better to guide a flock of those needing redemption than one who, herself, seeks a second chance?”
I paused to consider and I slowly got to my feet, “So, I cannot go back… You want me to watch over the souls of the damned and help them become redeemed?”
“Yes. For We love Our children. Even you, Ragna, who slew so many. We love you and We wish for all those who suffer to attain one final chance to join Us in Heaven. So I will ask: "Will you shepard my lost flock, Ragna?”
I let out a slow breath, lifting my face to try to gaze at the bright light again. I got as far as looking at the base of a mighty throne. “...Under one condition.”
The voices of the Guardians all grew angry with me and I staggered back from a powerful burst of heat, “Doth thou think We are bartering?! Doth thou think you can disrespect Us, Your Spiritual Father?!”
Trembling, I slowly answered, “You know what I want. You know what I’m thinking,” I said softly, “...You know all I want is Love, right?”
The voices seemed to calm, “There were two choices you could have made, Ragna.”
The voices didn’t hurt my ears now as I felt a rush of cool air surrounding me.
“We are pleased that you have made the best choice,” The Guardian's voices called to me.
I felt calm, the pain in my body vanishing as my heart felt, for once, at ease, “...Thank You. I won’t let you down. But… What about Xyphiel?”
“That is for the mortals to resolve,” The Guardians called out, “We have given them all they need. Now, the task is upon them. The most difficult part of my task, as always, is to extend to my children my most powerful gift.”
I shivered as I felt my flesh and clothing restoring, “What gift is that?”
“My Eternal Faith.”
