Chapter 3

Back at the Pantheon, all of the Angels had gathered together, standing around and talking amongst themselves.

“We must figure out who shall be the leader.” One Sister whispered to another, the two sitting on the roof of the structure.

But then they both turned to look towards the entrance, seeing someone making their way to the front gates.

“No…he can’t be here.” The other Sister said softly.

The entrance gates, which stood tall and golden, flung open with a violent gust of wind.

All of the Angels turned to face them, seeing a figure slowly walking through them, seeming to emerge from shadow that stuck to their skin, moving off their body as if a cloak that was being disregarded.

“My Brothers and Sisters! What an honor it is to see you all once again!” The person spoke with loud, verbose speaking.

They were dressed entirely in tattered, ruined black robes that flowed freely.

All of the Angels, all dressed in armor, stared at him.

He had long, unkept black hair compared to the brown, blonde, or orange hair of the others. His face was wrinkled with massive bags under his dark red eyes, compared to the perfectly smooth and clean faces with no blemishes and a array of blue, green, and brown eyes. His finger nails were long and dirty, compared to the short and piercingly white clean nails of his Brothers and Sisters. His teeth was yellow and jagged, like some of them had been broken or chipped, while the others all had perfect mouths full of white teeth.

He moved closer, it being obvious that the robe was drowning out a thin, unathletic body.

“Ash-Shaytān, why are you here?” One Brother asked.

Ash-Shaytān only laughed to respond.

“Well, I learned of our Father’s untimely death. I came to pay my condolences and show my respects.” He replied, yet the sinister smile on his face made it obvious he was lying.

“You shall return to your home at once! You were banished to Hell for eternity, and the Bottomless Pit.”

Ash-Shaytān shrugged and waved their hand, an apple appearing in his grasp before he took a large bite, the crunch filling the Pantheon.

“This might come as a surprise to you, but the pit isn’t actually bottomless. It's a hot, barren world full of demons that listen to me and obey my commands. So I would think very carefully about how you speak to me. Otherwise…”

Ash-Shaytān disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, all of the Angels gasping and mummering.

The one he was talking to stared forward as Ash-Shaytān appeared behind him, leaning in to whisper directly into his ear.

“We will have a war on our hands.”

His Brother jumped, drawing his sword and spinning around to face him.

Ash-Shaytān simply laughed.

“Oh my Brother Azrael, we used to be inseparable. Yet I get banished and you become just another one of them.”

The other Angels all backed away, giving the two space.

“I became what I needed to be Brother Ash-Shaytān. I listened to and obeyed our Father in order to survive with a duty to fulfill.” Azrael responded, their sword still drawn.

“We were the ones who were going to free this Universe. We were going to help it survive, and not let it devour itself. So what changed Azrael?” Ash-Shaytān asked, beginning to slowly move in a circle, Azrael stepping in unison the opposite direction, the two constantly the same distance away.

“I had my eyes opened Brother. I will only protect the Universe from what is uncertain.” Azrael said.

“And how will you protect a world from that which is uncertain? If you are unsure if it is to be done or not be done, then how will you know? Do you really wish to disrespect our Father this way?” Ash-Shaytān asked.

Azrael’s face was beginning to change.

Their sword began to lower.

Their Brother was beginning to get to them.

“Brother Azrael.” Another Brother stepped forward.

“Oh Brother Gamaliel, you were always a favorite of Father. You never thought for yourself, only doing what you were told to do.” Ash-Shaytān said with his smirk still wide across his face.

Gamaliel stepped in front of Azrael, pushing them back to keep them safe.

“I did what was asked of me. I was given my responsibility and I did everything in my power to fulfill it.” Gamaliel said.

Ash-Shaytān laughed maniacally.

“Responsibility? You must be joking.”

“How so?” Gamaliel asked.

“You…all of you…are blind followers. Our Father did not care if people died. If worlds ended. He would not care if this very Universe that we were told to protect ended. He would not get involved and simply watch on with contempt. He claims to be a guardian and a loving Creator, an Artist, yet he wouldn’t bat an eye if his very creation was destroyed in front of him.” Ash-Shaytān shouted.

Some of the Angels seemed to be thinking about it, some even nodding in agreement.

Gamaliel noticed and quickly drew his sword.

“You will not disrespect…”

But Gamaliel was interrupted.

He violently coughed, blood shooting out of his mouth.

He slowly began to look down.

A silver sword was stabbed through his chest, his blood covering the blade that exposed itself through his skin.

The sword was swiftly pulled back.

Gamaliel only had enough strength to turn around, looking into the eyes of his very Brother Azrael, who had tears running down his face despite his eyes being cold and unforgiving.

“Brother?” Gamaliel asked weakly before collapsing to the ground, dropping his sword.

It was completely silent after.

None of the Angels moved from their place.

They all stared with wide eyes of shock.

Ash-Shaytān lifted his arms like he was waiting for a hug.

Azrael very slowly moved his gaze from Gamaliel and to Ash-Shaytān.

He lowered his sword, letting the tip of the blood soaked blade scratch along the ground as he walked forward, finally filling the air with noise.

A painful, irritating screech.

Yet none of the Angels reacted.

They continued to stand like statues as Azrael stood close to Ash-Shaytān.

Ash-Shaytān suddenly wrapped both arms around Azrael, holding him close while smiling wide.

“I have missed you Brother. I knew I could give you my love and trust.” Ash-Shaytān said.

Azrael was still gripping his sword tightly, even beginning to raise it away from the floor.

Yet something washed over him.

His hatred and rage was…gone.

He dropped the sword, which loudly clattered and rang out through the Pantheon.

Then, his arms wrapped around his Brother Ash-Shaytān.

“I have missed you as well Brother.” Azrael said.

Ash-Shaytān let go of the hug, and made their way over to Gamaliel, reaching down to look into the cold and dead eyes of his Brother.

“I only wish you could’ve joined us…seen what we could’ve made together.” He said.

He grabbed his Brother by his throat, carrying Gamaliel off of the ground and to the large circle in the middle of the floor.

“I loved you my Brother.” Ash-Shaytān said, but then let go.

The body fell through the hole, moving straight down into the Universe with high speed, moving quickly through without any direction or target in mind.

It raced quickly, the energy around them bursting into violently bright blue and gold.

Within a few seconds, the body was engulfed by the light.

It resembled a shooting star, racing through space with a long tail that glittered and twinkled before disappearing.

Ash-Shaytān turned around and loudly clapped his hands once, which seemed to snap all of the Angels out of their frozen trance.

“Now…are there any other objections?” Ash-Shaytān asked loudly.

It was silent.

“Good. Then we can get started.”

Back on the barren world, The Being was still sitting on the mountain.

Lava and fire everywhere.

Nothing had changed.

“When does it happen?” The Being asked themself.

But then, something became visible in the sky.

Something cutting through the thick clouds of smoke, racing straight towards the world.

Something on a collision course for this seemingly random world.

A ball.

A ball of violently glowing blue and gold light.

The Being didn’t do anything to stop it.

They simply watched on as the ball raced towards the world faster and faster.

It burst into the atmosphere, the energy and heat so vast that all of the black smoke clouds suddenly erupted into violent explosions of blue flames before disappearing, like paper being burnt up within seconds to reveal the surrounding Universe behind the clouds.

The beautiful stars are now visible.

The ball violently smashed into the ground with enough force that the planet exploded, sending most of the crust flying out into space, causing the entire world to ripple and shake with tidal waves of lava and rock erupting in every direction.

Yet The Being watched on unaffected.

They simply watched the proceedings as billions of pounds of the planet was sent away, floating around the planet due to the gravity.

Creating a ring of billions of rocks of every size.

The Being then reached out, ever so slightly turning their wrist.

They stared up at the ring of rocks, waiting to see what would happen.

Ever so rapidly, the rocks collided and bunched together. Some fell back to the world, but most began to clump together.

After millions of years, a moon was formed, rotating around the planet with its beautiful white color and peaceful light shining down on the still barren world.

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