Chapter 8 - Fate

The ride to New York was nearly complete, Gabriel soured past the large amounts of cars on the highway and straight past the 'Altoona' sign. Riding down a street he noticed a ready decrease in speed and the faint sound of the bike running out of fuel. He pulled into a nearby diner and got off. Finally looking around at the place around. There was a crowd of people surrounding the diner, watching him. They stared blankly as he put up his hand in greeting and went about his business. He lifted up the seat and grabbed the fuel canister, using it to fill up his bike. As he finished he placed the canister beside a bin and looked around again. The people were still there, unmoving. Gabriel sensed something was wrong, at first he thought they weren't used to seeing outsiders but now at closer inspection he realized that they were completely still. Frozen. He moved towards the closest one, waving a hand in front of the blonde mans face to no avail.

The fallen angel looked around, time wasn't frozen because he could still see trees moving from the wind. This wasn't witchcraft of any sort as they weren't bound in place but frozen. He summarized in his head of what this could be and it finally dawned on him. He focused on the diner, its windows blacked out which Gabriel hadn't noticed before. He tried reaching out before remembering he wasn't an angel anymore. He looked around, before picking up an umbrella of the floor and walked towards the diner door. As he approached it, the hairs on the back of his head stood up. He felt extremely uneasy as his hand reached for the handle and before he even did anything the door swung open. Inside the diner, everything was moving normally. Waitress' were running to a table and there were several people with their eyes glued to the TV.

Gabriel looked over at the table and noticed what the waitress' were fussing about. Three young women sat in the end booth. They were beautiful, each with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The fallen angel started walking towards the booth and the three woman looked up in sync. 'Gabriel, how awfully nice of you to finally join us,' The first began, she pulled out a clipboard and glanced at it, 'This is the longest you've ever taken,' the second continued, 'Cut him some slack, he had wings the last 100 times,' the third said, pointing to the seat in front of them. Gabriel sat, he knew the women, all angels did. These were the three fates, Atropos, Lachesis, and Clotho. In charge of making sure everything works out in the correct order for God's plan. If not then they change it so it does. The talk wasn't lost on him, they had played this day out hundreds of times, and there were some where he kept his powers. He tried to think what he could have done differently but a voice cut across his thoughts, 'You went to the Library first, if you'd gone to see the Archangels first you'd have your wings,' Clotho said, she was the thread reader, she could see all the outcomes.

"How could such a small action-" Gabriel began but was cut off again, "This isn't important, time is relative that's your answer. We brought you here for a different reason" Lachesis spoke up. She was the one Gabriel was afraid off. She was the one that would cut your thread, end your life. "We want you to stop God's plan, the big guy is getting too demanding," Atropos said finally, she explained how recently God was telling them to change the future drastically based on his demands. "It's tiring work, especially what he has planned lately, its a drastic change to the thread." Clotho continued, finishing her sisters sentence, before pulling in the direction of Gabriel. Suddenly, the fallen angel felt a deep pain, within him, and as he watched in horror, a single golden thread exited his body. "How clever, the other is hiding, even from the thread, time to meet him" Clotho mused, as she said this, the fate extended one finger and separated the thread from Gabriel down the middle, revealing another thread, one of pure light. Then with one swift movement she threw the thread into a man sitting near them.

The man groaned slightly before slowly turning, examining his arms and tensing his hands, finally he looked at the fates and blinked and in that infinitesimal second, Gabriel saw what he did in his first meeting with Myers. His eyes changed into pure abyss with only one focus point, a fire that raged within it. Within the second it was gone and Gabriel realized what they did, they gave Myers a new host. "Its you, but that's..." Clotho began but as her eyes met Myers she looked away, the look on her face. It was primal. Her eyes widened, and her throat tightened. Fear. Atropos glared at Myers, her face unchanged, however her eyes showed the same tale as Clotho's. Lachesis was the only one who wasn't affected however, her expression hadn't changed ever since she saw his eyes. It wasn't fear however, but rage, a rage that Gabriel could sense was deep rooted in her core. "Ladies, it's been a while, has it not" Myers spoke up from his vessel. A measly looking man, who on the outside looked like he couldn't harm a fly. However, the way Myers spoke within him, from a vessel fully capable of emotion unlike the former angel. It was cold, every word deliberate, judging, every word he spoke was like an order to be obeyed. "You know who he is?" Gabriel asked looking at Clotho, who tentatively looked up, "It's not a who but a what, he is-" She was cut off as her words stopped flowing, her mouth formed a gagging sensation, all eyes turned to Myers, his hand was outstretched and his face was plainly visible.

He was feeling his way around Clotho's brain, a technique used by many angels to extract confessions, "Now now, enough of that. I hear the futures quite unclear, a prophesy for us perhaps?" Myers finally uttered, he was slightly out of breath, whatever he was doing it took a lot out of him, "Myers enough!" Gabriel intervened, in an instance he was out his chair and had shoved Myers' vessel against a wall. But it was too late, all the people stopped moving, time was frozen for all but the preeminent among them. Myers smiled as Clotho was surrounded in light in which the other fates were caught. Suddenly, they spoke in unison. "Summer Solstice approaches, siblings will fight, cities will fall." their voices deadpan as they continued they all stared at Gabriel, "You shall face a threat greater then all. Your wings may be charred but beware, he is coming." for the first time since they began the fates expressed emotion, possibly compassion. "Who, who is coming?" The angel intervened, moving forward towards the fates. "The Valiard." Clotho spoke alone. The light was gone and as time moved on Gabriel felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He fell onto a nearby table, clenching his stomach. Hitting his head on the way down. He was unconscious. The fates didn't seem to notice, they were consoling Clotho. Myers however furrowed his brow, he walked towards Gabriel and lifted his shirt slightly where his hand was. A stab wound, bleeding like crazy. His vessel. It had reverted to moments before he had entered him.

Myers walked to the fates, slamming his fist onto the table. "Return me, now!" He ordered, Lachesis looked at him, then at Gabriel. "Or, we could just heal him, let you wither and die. That host isn't strong enough for you, its dying already look," She said pointing at the hand that he just slammed into the table. Myers looked down, the hand was cracked, each crack had white energy forming at the crevices, she was right, this vessel was dying. "You could, but you need me, he can't stop 'the almighty' alone," Myers countered, staring down Lachesis, who despite his efforts had no fear in her. She was unchanged, not budging for his demands. Myers had enough, he looked over at Gabriel making sure he was unconscious, before cracking his knuckles. "You will put me back," he said. Then without another word, his eyes turned to raging fires. At that moment, Gabriel slipped into consciousness, his vision blurry he saw 3 shadows surrounded by a blaze of fire, he couldn't make out what was going on but he did hear a gasp from one of the fates. The fire raged around the shadows blocking Gabriel's view. Before he could say or do anything, the fire subsided and as it did Gabriel felt a sense of relief. He was back, the pain was gone and he could see clearly.

He stood up slowly and as he did he felt eyes on him. As the former angel looked upon the fates he saw rage in all of them. Gabriel was confused, but before he could ask a question, Clotho turned to her sister, Lachesis, as if to answer the unasked question. Gabriel glanced over at the second fate and what he saw scared him. Lachesis was clutching her face and wincing in pain. It wasn't difficult to tell why, half of her face was covered in second degree burns that still sizzled. The burns continued to her neck where an imprint was left, and imprint of a hand. The smell of burning flesh wasn't a new one for Gabriel, he had felt it before, but now that he was almost human. The smell affected him. It brought back a memory he had long forgotten. A memory from the first war.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳. 𝘈 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭. 𝘈 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘢 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯. 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 "𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯", 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴.

𝘈𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥. 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵. "𝘜𝘳𝘨𝘩, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴!" 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘒𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭" 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰?" 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴. 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘚𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. "𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯?" 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭" 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭, "𝘎𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!" 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯, 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦.

𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘈𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯, 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭. "𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬! 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘵!"

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘵. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦!" 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧.

𝘈𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧, 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘏𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵. "𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱!" 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭'𝘴 𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴. 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥. "𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳! 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮!" 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮!" 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. "𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳." 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥. 𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘜𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯, "𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺" 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘵. 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱" 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. "𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘡𝘢𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘭. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮." 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭. "𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥? 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐-" 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘴 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦, "𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳." 𝘈𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘙𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥. "𝘐𝘧 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 1 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭" 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Gabriel looked over at the fates. He now remembered everything. "Did, Myers do that?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. "Yes, 'Myers' did this, when we refused to connect you two again. Be wary, Gabriel, he is not to be trusted" Lachesis said, glaring at the fallen angel. "You have your memories, you know what to do." Atropos said. Gabriel nodded. Now that he remembered what was lost he knew that the only way to stop his father was by getting his powers back. There was only one way to do that. "I need to get the Book of the Damned."