Haemar stared creepily at the beings before him, baring his fangs, "You who knows me...dare to fight?" He'd say in a deep voice, his tone like that of a toddler who'd just learned to speak. The fallen angel shifted his weight onto the other leg, ready to pounce into action should anything go wrong. "No, I have no quarrel with Chaos, I'm here to honour an invoked challenge," He would say clearly, moving his hand behind his back, the fallen blade appearing in it. Haemar paused, his beady black eyes staring at Gabriel's lower body. "You speak peace...yet have burning sword" The champion of Chaos would snarl, stepping forward of his podium.
Gabriel sighed bringing the blade in front of him, igniting it as he did. "I mean no harm Haemar, unless you do" He would reiterate, moving slightly right, to stand in front of Jane and Dowling, who stood motionless watching Gabriel deal with it. Haemar grunted, looking over his shoulder suddenly. He'd look back over at Gabriel, who narrowed his eyes, trying to see what Haemar looked at. The champion of Chaos suddenly stepped back onto his podium, as his body slowly turned back to stone. A slow cap would emanate from behind the statue, as Gabriel dismissed the fallen blade. Lucifer would emerge round the back of Haemar, still clapping, a bemused expression on his face.
"My oh my, Gamaliel's staff, a ring from the forgotten realm...and a fallen blade, you've hit the rebellious trifecta dear brother," The Devil would say as he approached the group. His hands clasped behind his back. His ruby eyes peered across to Stuart, who still had his handgun ready, and Jane who peered curiously over Gabriel's shoulder. "Oh please put the gun away, even if you use it...Non Omnis Moriar...Not all of me shall die" He'd say to the detective with a wink, before turning his attention to Jane, "Captain Cooper...a pleasure" The Lord of Hell would smile widely, as Dowling holstered his sidearm. "So...you're the devil? I expected more-" Jane would begin.
"More what? Red horns and a pitchfork? A goats head? Please, I find the Christian portrayal of me rather offensive, and YOU Gabriel! Are you sure you wish to take Foiros' place in the challenge?" Lucifer would ask suddenly as he looked at his younger brother, a token of pity in his voice that was barely audible. The fallen angel smiled. "Yes, Samael" As he spoke, thunder would crackle somewhere near them, Lucifer's smile would drop as they were all teleported to the middle of a pit. Much like the one Gabriel had seen in Foiros' mind games. Two men, wearing black suits, would approach Dowling and Jane, leading them away to the stands as Lucifer squared of against his brother. His raw power overwhelmed Gabriel's mind, filling every thought he had with darkness. Yet he stood his ground.
"As the challenged! I set the game, and lay down the rules. So, since my little brother here so wishes to reminisce...Time to remind him who holds the power!" Lucifer shouted as he looked into Gabriel's eyes. They stood there, staring at each other, both completely still. Jane watched Gabriel, seeing him so unmoving was unnerving but she trusted the process. That was until she saw the blood. Suddenly, out of nowhere, blood started dripping from Gabriel's eyes, nose, and ears. Slow at first, then quicker until it was a constant flow. However, Lucifer and Gabriel remained unmoving. Not reacting to the clear effect of whatever was going on. Then came the snap. A deafening noise amongst the silence. Gabriel's arm would flail backwards, the snapping sound accompanying it, as his shoulder audibly broke. The captain hid her face in her hands just in time to avoid seeing Gabriel fly across the room and bash into the pit wall before collapsing. Lucifer would turn his head to the audience slowly, a smile creeping on his face, yet his eyes showing clear pity.
"As promised, the challenger has fought valiantly, yet he was no match for the Lord of Hell!" The Devil would say, revelling in the applause of the crowd. As he bowed to them and chuckled at their cries of admiration. Gabriel lay broken against the wall. His eyes bloodshot as he slowly opened them, struggling to pull himself up. "By the laws of the challenge, he will now pick the punishment!" The room would go quiet again, as Lucifer looked over at the bag of blood and bones which rose up in the corner. Jane and Dowling, who were still prevented from moving, stood close to each other watching their friend. "Punishment...by Iudicium damnatorum" Gabriel would say between the blood as he spat it out. The mood on Lucifer's face changed. The pity which was hidden in his eyes, manifested throughout him. He walked towards Gabriel, whispering in his ear. "Are you insane?"
The fallen angel would shake his head, "Trial of the Damned" He'd reinforce as he summoned his wings, before slamming his shoulder back into position. The fire illuminated the gaunt man next to him, causing the Lord of Hell to look away. He'd turn to the demons near Jane and Dowling and nod, at which point the two were let out. As they ran towards Gabriel, Lucifer put out his hand in a stop motion. "Say your goodbyes" He would say simply, before letting them pass. The two would run over to Gabriel, the warmth of his wings a pleasant sensation. "Trial of the Damned?" Jane would say, nearly crying as she examined Gabriel's condition. "The only other way to get the Book of the Damned" Gabriel would cough out, "An ancient rite, created by the book itself"
"I know we need the book, but honestly Gabe, can you do it? Whatever it is?" Jane would say, as she put her hands around his face. He smiled reassuringly, blood still staining his face, "I don't know, no one knows. Except the twenty or so people that have been through it" He would reply, as he looked around the still silent pit. "Then we need to ask them!" Jane said defiantly, but as she closely studied his face she realised the inevitable truth, that was soon reaffirmed by the Lord of Hell himself. "You can't. I'm the only one that has survived. Some died within it, some went mad and ended their lives. The others, saw enlightenment, and did the same" Jane turned to the Lord of Hell suddenly, walking up to him and turning him to face her. "And you?" She'd ask, studying him, the fear inside her overtaken with worry for Gabriel.
"My strength was supreme, I saw the truth behind the lies of enlightenment, and my will was unshakable to the madness within. Can the same be said for my brother? We won't know until he begins. So let us see" He'd say, impressed by Jane's demeanour, "You pick well brother" He'd lift his hands into the air, as a black hardbound book slowly grew from dark vines. It's pages were golden in colour, and there was faint whispering coming from it. Whispering dark secrets of the universe, corrupting everyone that heard them. Lucifer would click his fingers, a set of mufflers appearing on Jane and Dowling. The Lord of Hell would walk over to Gabriel, holding the book out to him, and as the fallen angel placed his hands on it. The vines that formed the book, lashed out of it wrapping themselves around him. The fire prevented them fully taking control, but as they reached his face he took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and when they opened, a bottomless void remained.
As Gabriel opened his eyes he found himself in a void, standing on a blank golden page. Letters of ancient languages, and forbidden tongues, floated around him. Some would be calm, staying far away from him. Others would fly right at him, embedding themselves within him. Implanting their knowledge on him. Secrets of the Universe unheard by mortals, and celestials alike. The trial had begun.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘥?
"I do, and you will show it to me!" Gabriel would shout into the empty void, that whispered to him.
𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭?
"I am a warrior. I need to stop my father from causing the biggest celestial catastrophe since the fall of the City of Gold!"
𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯...
"SHOW YOURSELF!" Gabriel would shout as he used his wings to burn the page beneath him, leaving a charred mark across from him.
𝘏𝘮𝘮𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦....𝘚𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭...𝘜𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮...𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘥
Those words placated Gabriel, as his eyes widened in shock. He stayed silent, watching the letters and words around him until he saw it. The eyes, watching him...observing him. It was an uneasy feeling, the secrets he'd already absorbed had allowed him to see...𝒎𝒆.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩....𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥
The whispers drew Gabriel away, as he instantly forgot what he was looking at, he continued looking around. "Then do it! Test me!" As soon as he said those words, the page beneath him started filling. With names. Unknown ones at first, but then. 'Jane Cooper', 'Stuart Dowling', 'Archangel Raphael', 'Archangel Michael', then it would abruptly stop with one name. 'Gabriel Myers', "What does this mean? What are these names?"
𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮? 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧?
The fallen angel looked shocked, it could be lies. But the secrets of the Book of the Damned could possibly foresee the future. Only Lucifer would know. "My hands are clean of these deaths. Because I will not let them happen!" Gabriel responded. The silence deafened him, there would be no response. Instead the page below him would begin turning. With considerable effort, Gabriel took off into the air watching page after page turn. Finally, they settled, allowing the fallen angel to land once more.
As his feet touched down his ears were filled with an incredulous amount of noise. The shouting of war cries, the pleas of dying mortals and celestials, and the screaming accompanying incredible loss. The fallen angel covered his ears but the noise was not quietened. It filled his head and reverberated painfully through his skull. He couldn't distinguish anything, his concentration not being enough to silence the voices in his head. He fell to the ground.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦…𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸…𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦…𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬
He heard one voice louder then the others. One that seared into his brain. One he wouldn't forget. It was Jane. Screaming in pain. Screaming 'Gabriel'. Despite just wanting to shut it out, and never hear it again. He focused on it. Every syllable was like a knife to the gut, his emotions were overpowering. Fear. Pain. Something else. For the first time since his creation the fallen angel felt a strong sense of security, longing. For once he truly felt a connection to something that if it were to be gone...would change him unfathomably. This raw emotion, propelled him forward. removing his hands from his ears he opened his eyes. The voices subsiding as he stared at the shadow in front of him. The same shadow he had seen so many times. The shadow that had started everything. "You...I know what you are" He would say stepping towards it. The shadow stayed unmoving as a mouth formed within it, full of sharp teeth.
𝘐 𝘢𝘮...𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴...𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦...𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪-
The shadow stopped speaking. Staying completely still as it observed Gabriel, almost mimicking his actions. Suddenly, it began forming a shape. Becoming more and more corporeal. A suit forming around its now human body. Brown hair began growing out from its head, and before long. Gabriel was looking at himself. Himself at the beginning of everything. Still an angel. High and mighty. Uncaring. Loyal. "You are what I could've been. If I was weak, if I didn't question my father. You are inferior" Gabriel would say as he slowly pulled the fallen blade from the copy's stomach. The other Gabriel smiled, as he began transforming, into words and letters.
𝘖𝘩...𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵
The shadow uttered as it fully disintegrated, all the knowledge of the book began flowing into Gabriel. The knowledge he required to progress. To regain his power, and put a stop to whatever God was planning. As the final bit of knowledge was absorbed Gabriel opened his eyes in the real world. He looked at Jane who breathed a sigh of relief, as the vines began regressing into the book. Leaving the fallen angel standing there, holding it. Dowling chuckled as he patted Gabriel on the back. The fallen angel smiled, the book still in his hands he walked over to Jane and kissed her.
Jane was confused at first but after a short moment returned the kiss. As Gabriel pulled away he looked into her still shocked eyes. "I lov-Look forward to seeing you" He'd say with with a small smile, as she scoffed slightly, hiding the obvious smile. Gabriel then turned to Lucifer, the smile still on his face, as the Lord of Hell finally understood how his brother had overcome the challenges. As Gabriel approached him Lucifer shook his head slightly, "I had my doubts, but it seems I missed the bigger picture" He'd say motioning Jane. The fallen angel nodded, as he handed the Book of the Damned to Lucifer who raised an eyebrow. "Don't want to peek inside? I know what you seek Gabriel the book will tell you,"
Gabriel would lean in slightly, "We both know the pages are all blank Lucifer." The Lord of Hell would smile again nodding, "Quite a practical joke by father, 'the real power is free will', what a joke" Lucifer would say with a chuckle, "I'm proud of what you've become Gabriel, not just since I've left. But recently, you've done well," He'd continue, as Gabriel's face suddenly turned serious. "Up there, I've seen signs of the horseman; pestilence, war. Is there something I should know?" Lucifer furrowed his brow in concern. He'd turn around suddenly, looking at the gathered crowd before settling on a dark alcove in the corner. "Horsemen!" He'd yell. A voice somewhere in the room would say 'Come' and a white horse emerged from the dark room. Upon him sat a armoured soldier, with a bow in his hand. Conquest had emerged.
A pale horse would emerge after it, an old, frail looking man saddled on it. His eyes piercing black and a long scythe in his hand, the figure looked upon the three mortals, as he stopped next to his fellow horseman. "Conquest, Death, Where are the others?" Lucifer would ask, an anger in his voice. "Gone my lord. The seals we're broken. They were released." The deep voice of conquest would answer, "I RELEASE YOU, NOT THE SEALS!" Lucifer would shout as his blood red wings erupting in anger. "Apologies my lord. They were summoned by a higher power. Your father." Gabriel's eyes would widen in shock. "He started the apocalypse?"