BOOM—!!!
A meteor came crashing into a shrouded part of Elysia's land. The crash was heavy, causing destruction to the natural tree life that surrounded the area. When the dust had finally settled, the meteor was revealed to be a cluster of Moon rocks packed tightly together. In a few settling minutes, the rocks began to unravel and tumbled to the ground. The energy used to keep the boulder contained was finally being released.
"Ough—!" A head popped out of one of the holes. It was Uriel, who began puking onto the ground. Suddenly, the boulder completely disassembled itself, revealing all the High Priests inside whom were disheveled and weak. They looked around with confusion, surprised to finally see green, indicating that they were free of the rocky haven and back on earth.
"Are we in Hovenburg…?" Jophiel asked.
"Yes." Gabriel recognized the environment. "This is my province. We seem to be a fair distance from civilization though. The closest city should be about a mile away." He noticed some buildings in the distance.
"How long has it been…?" Ariel now asked, wiping her eyes. She could only remember passing out as they were all sent flying by MONA's force back to earth.
"I'm not sure, but I'm worried about the people. They must have seen what had happened on the broadcast and must be terrified. We must return to Santorium and reassure everyone in person," Chamuel made the suggestion.
"No…" Was all Raphael could say, as he pointed at a screen on a building nearby that played out a live broadcast.
[ CARDINAL NEXUS HAS BEEN ELECTED AS LEADING POLITICAL PARTY | NEW GOVERNMENT POLICIES ESTABLISHED ]
A man was shown speaking live in front of the camera. "Hello Elysia, and welcome to the new era of the Cardinal Nexus! I am just one of your five Ministers, Dune Cane. The other four will come to your attention later on as we fully establish ourselves in this country. As of now, we are known as Elysia. But in given time, we will officially erase the name of this country and leave it unlabelled as to remove correlation from the rest of the world and remain independent. We will also disband the separational use of provinces and instead divide the country into hundreds of districts. A renaming process will take place over the next year. As for religion, it will be permanently banned from this day forward. Violating this principle will result in arrest. These are just among some of the newest changes that will be implemented with our new leading party. The rest will be revealed to you all in given time. Other than that, we, the Cardinal Nexus, are glad to be creating change with you all, and we hope that you are all just as mutually excited as we are to create history for this country moving forward. Thank you."
The broadcast then continued to show other irrelevant news.
"What the… What did I just watch?" Uriel muttered. "Why does it say the Cardinal Nexus is the new party?"
There was growing concern among the High Priests, and especially in Ariel. "Are we not the leading party…?"
Michael pointed to a corner of the broadcast's screen that showed the date. "It's been three days..."
"Huh…?"
"It's been three days since the Reverence." Michael turned to everyone with utter shock in his eyes. "The election has already passed."
"What?!" Raphael couldn't believe it. "B-But we just came back from the Moon! The election wasn't supposed to be until a day after the Reverence and—"
"It took us three days to land back on earth from the Moon, Raphael." Chamuel sensed unease in the world. "Subside the panic, everyone. We need to look at this with a straight perspective."
"How in the hell can we relax when we've witnessed MONA die!? And now apparently the Cardinal Nexus is the government!? Did you see what they said? They plan on completely rewriting Elysia as a whole!"
"Raphael, listen to me. All of you, listen to me." Chamuel spoke with a stern voice. "Mother was targeted with a nuclear missile, ever so coincidentally just as we began our Reverence broadcast. The goddess to our religion, the Menesis—the very heart and soul of our government and its ideals—has died, and what do we come back to here on earth? An apparent loss in power for the Elysian Congregation, and a sudden election of the Cardinal Nexus. Look at it properly. Look at it! This is not a coincidence!"
"There's no fucking way…" Jophiel grabbed the sides of his face, stretching it apart with overpowering stress. "You're saying the Cardinal Nexus did all of this? Mother's death was all just part of a plan to be elected…?"
The silence had been instigated. Absolute silence fell upon the High Priests that stared at the floor, or at the rocky remains of their Mother they'd been sent back to Earth with. In the near distance, the background noise of a news reporter could be heard speaking highly of the new Ministers that now ruled Elysia, or what was to become of Elysia.
"The Cardinal Nexus killed Mother…?" Raphael felt his innermost soul ignite with hellish flames. He slowly walked over to the rocky parts that made up the meteor, and caressed it with sorrow. But the feeling was quickly wiped aside by a new establishment of wrath in his heart. There wasn't much he desired in the moment, other than one single thing.
"Death to the Cardinal Nexus." He took a deep breath. "Death to the Cardinal Nexus!!!"
Raphael began erratically scavenging across the Moon's debris, seeking out the gifts they'd been given by MONA. It wasn't until he'd found what he was looking for that a smile grew on his face. The setting sun's glare shone around its rim. Raphael brushed off the dust that dirtied the Watch of Talitem, and he began wrapping it around his wrist.
"Wait! Raphael, you can't—!"
"MONA said to use this when we need to defend those who worship Her honour!"
Before he could be stopped, Raphael finished locking it around his wrist. He suddenly experienced every inch of his body shiver with energy he'd never felt before. It was unnerving, yet awakening. Raphael's eyes rolled back for a second, but when he was back, everything felt normal.
"Raphael…" Ariel looked at him with concern. "MONA said if you don't use it for the right purpose it could corrupt you…"
Raphael scoffed at her, moving his hands and arms around. "I feel fine. In fact, I feel better than before! This is for the right purpose! Those Cardinal Nexus Ministers are threatening us! Imbuing myself with power as such is only appropriate."
Everyone's looks of concern grew into upsetting frowns. Although they worried for Raphael's safety in impulsively equipping the Watch of Talitem, they couldn't disagree with the fact that there was a threat at large. The Cardinal Nexus needed to be stopped, so the other High Priests began scavenging for items just as Raphael did.
"I almost forgot about these! The wings!" Jophiel dug through some rubble and pulled out a large pair. "How do I put this on? I don't really see anything to equip it…"
"It must be surgically inserted and connected to the nervous system."
The dreadful voice came from atop the pile of debris, taking everyone by surprise as it was a voice none of them recognized. There, standing naked and covered in dust, was Azrael, the contracted Angel of Death MONA had assigned to the High Priests.
"The Angel of Death…" Michael looked at him with amazement. "Tell me, Azrael, are you truly the Angel of Death?"
Azrael stepped down the rubble slowly and stood before Michael. Then it hit him, the absolute terrifying aura that was emitted from Azrael's body. It smelt like the sensation of walking through a graveyard filled with millions, upon millions of graves. Michael stumbled backwards. "Oh my… You're the real deal…"
"I am here to ensure the safety of you seven against the opposition. Have you recognized any threats?" Azrael asked.
"Yes. The Cardinal Nexus." Chamuel pointed at the broadcast on the screen, displaying to Azrael a group display of the five Ministers. "They are MONA's killers. In the Menesis religion, deicide is considered to be the absolutely most evil sin that could possibly be committed by man. They are currently trying to overtake our positions as lead political party as well—"
"It has already been done," Azrael said. "Your Elysian Congregation has been overtaken and overwritten, erased even, long ago already."
"What do you mean?"
"From what I can sense on this planet, there is absolutely no recollection of you seven, nor the Elysian Congregation, nor MONA, whatsoever. Your religion has died along with your goddess."
Ariel couldn't believe Azrael's words. "But how!? How could there be no recollection of us? We ran Menesism throughout the whole country! Everyone worshipped together!"
"My instincts can sense there's been a disturbance in the field of the world. It feels as though those Cardinal Nexus individuals may have used a brain interference system to overwrite the memories of everyone."
"You can sense something like that?" Chamuel was amazed.
"When you are born in the Angelic Plane, you develop a keen third eye. It is called the All-Knowing-Vision. I can sense and see things that you humans cannot. But as I spend more time in the Mortal Plane, my All-Knowing-Vision will subside. Therefore, you must all take advantage of this ability of mine before it dissipates completely in the next decade."
The High Priests were stunned by the amazing power an angel harboured. But they could not ignore the unjustified sins that the Cardinal Nexus had committed. Ariel decided to speak up. "How come we can recall MONA and Menesism's existence but the rest of the world cannot?"
"You seven were not within the radius of the field disturbance when it occurred, be it when you were on MONA or travelling through space back here." Azrael looked around at the sky above them. "You may even consider yourselves lucky."
"Correct me if you can, Azrael. The Cardinal Nexus planned to kill MONA in order to bring disarray to Menesism, right?"
Azrael nodded. Raphael continued.
"Without Menesism, the Elysian Congregation has no foundation. That must have been the basis to their plans... But in the end, according to your third eye, the Cardinal Nexus has practically brain washed the minds of everyone into forgetting the existence of us? The existence of MONA? The existence of Menesism?"
Azrael nodded once more. "More effectively than removing the faith from a religion is to remove the religion itself. That is what they have done."
Raphael looked at his wrist and stared at the Watch of Talitem's hands that rotated around by the second. Each second he counted, he could feel his attachment to the watch growing. But rather, he could feel the watch growing into him. He felt his mind give into the corruption that grew.
"We must kill them, those Ministers. Could you do that for us, Azrael?"
He declined Raphael's request. "The probability in succeeding with such an idea right now is less than zero percent. Do not forget that you seven are now on your own, with the civilians having absolutely no recollection of your existence. Attempting something such as a murder on the government Ministers, and you will only be tossed into death row."
"But—!" Raphael's emotion suddenly burst unlike ever before. "I WANT THEM DEAD! THEY MUST PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO MONA! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM FOR THE SIN THEY'VE COMMITTED! THEIR ACTIONS WILL NEVER GO JUSTIFIED!!!"
"That day will come when it comes. Today is not the day, nor is it the year, nor even the decade. As you are all now immortals, you will learn that with plans comes patience."
"You're just a bunch of bullshit Azrael!!!" Raphael suddenly leapt towards him with excessive speed and height. For the first time in history, the power in the Watch of Talitem had been used, giving rise to the physical capabilities in Raphael's body.
SLAM—!!!
Raphael threw his arms against the ground where Azrael stood. When he looked up, the angel was nowhere to be seen.
"Up."
A heavy foot landed directly overtop Raphael's head, striking his face into the floor. Blood was unleashed upon impact, and Raphael's brain matter had been blended within his head. The other High Priests watched in horror as Azrael lifted his bloody foot from the depths of Raphael's stomped remains.
"Do not panic. He wears the Watch," Azrael spoke calmly. Just as he made his statement, the sight of Raphael's head could been seen mending itself back together. The sounds of flesh and skin rewrapping itself to restore the original body could be heard, and in given time, Raphael looked as if nothing had happened to him. He whipped his head back, gasping for air.
"I-I'm alive?!" He shook uncontrollably. The pain and damage he'd felt had all just been undone without a trace of its existence. Raphael looked to his watch with gratitude. He now understood what power the Watch of Talitem bore. It helped the rest of the High Priests realize what kind of power was imbued in the items MONA gifted to them before Her departure.
"Tsk!" Raphael turned back to Azrael, ready to throw his fist. "I'll fight you forever now that I have regeneration like this… You coward of an angel—!"
Snip—!
The tip of a scythe was suddenly at Raphael's throat, with its edge tearing just past the first layer of skin. A tiny drop of blood trickled down his neck, past his collarbone, and into his shirt. Raphael was paralyzed with fear at the sight of a weapon at his neck, even if he knew he could heal his injuries.
"I'm warning you, Raphael. Do not move. You may have the Watch of Talitem, but this here is the Scythe of Absolution—the very countermeasure to that watch of yours. Cuts and wounds formed with this weapon can never heal. They are absolute, no matter the circumstances provided." Azrael slowly withdrew his scythe, and Raphael finally stopped holding his breath.
"Mother never gifted that… How do you have that…?"
"It is the handheld exclusive to the Angel of Death."
Raphael was suddenly struck with ego. "How exclusive can it be if I can just take it, like this!" He reached over and tugged Azrael's Scythe of Absolution, using as much of the watch's strength as he could in order to strip it away. But it wouldn't budge.
"H-Huh?"
Azrael looked at him dead in the eye. "I'm going to let go, and you can try taking it for yourself."
He let go.
Clang—!!!
The scythe dropped to the ground with a heavy bang, crushing Raphael's hand that was just beneath it.
"Urk—!" He tried to remove his hand from underneath, but the weight was overbearing. The scythe only began to sink further and further into ground. The pain would only stop when Azrael bent down and picked the scythe up without struggle, using only his left hand.
"Only Death himself can bear the weight of those he's killed."
Raphael looked up at Azrael with terror in his eyes. All the power he'd felt corrupting his body with pride diminished in that moment. It was an instantaneous moment of humility. Raphael looked back down at his hand—which was previously crushed and deformed—now beginning to refigure itself back into proper shape. But the tiny, nearly unnoticible cut in his neck made by the scythe's blade wouldn't heal. Raphael rubbed his finger over it, finally realizing what Azrael had meant.
"So this cut here won't ever heal because it was cut by the Scythe of Absolution…?"
Azrael nodded. Raphael sighed.
"I just wanted us all to go attack the Cardinal Nexus, especially with all this new power that we have… Azrael, couldn't we just request you to perform the assassinations for us? You are clearly suited for success with a weapon like that…"
"It is against the ethic of the Angel of Death to kill mortals when their deaths are not yet due. The Ministers of the Cardinal Nexus that you want eliminated have not yet reached their fated date of demise, therefore I am not allowed to interfere. However, the contract MONA has written for me allows me to bypass this angelic law under certain circumstances. I am only able to kill mortals if in defense of the safety of you seven, as my contract's main purpose is not only to serve, but to defend you seven."
"I see…" Chamuel picked up on the important points from Azrael's explanation. "We essentially cannot just use your skills to kill, but rather to aid us in our own plots."
Azrael nodded. "I am the Angel of Death, not the Angel of Termination. I bring about the natural and fated deaths of mortals, while the Angel of Termination is specific to kill solely on contract."
"But in the moments that you do bypass your law and kill to defend us, wouldn't you just be performing the Angel of Termination's purpose?" Jophiel asked.
Azrael shook his head. "No. If people decide to attack one of you seven and they die by my hands due to defense, that is the natural demise they have chosen. I will always serve my duty as the Angel of Death."
"How about you though? If you bring about deaths in mortals, can you yourself die?"
"That is a question I have yet to uncover, Ariel."
Silence dawned on the eight for a moment, allowing the Priests to gather their thoughts. They all came to the understanding that Azrael was not a tool, but rather a keepsafe set up by MONA for the seven of them. He was meant to prevent the deaths of the High Priests while they pursued their plots in ending the conflict with their written opposition, the Cardinal Nexus. Gabriel looked to the side, where all the gifts of MONA laid buried underneath the rubble of the meteor. "Mother gave us all those gifts to build a utopia for Elysia. But with Elysia soon gone, those gifts will go to waste, and we will dishonor Her grace."
"That is why we must take Elysia back," Michael stated. "Mother wanted us to build a utopia with those gifts. But in order to build that utopia, we must use those gifts to make the advancements in order to provide us the opportunity to do so. Those advancements consist of removing the Cardinal Nexus from the picture, and re-establishing Menesism. Then MONA's gifts won't be for naught."
"We should not let her gifts go to waste!" Ariel shouted. "We must avenge Mother!"
"You're right!" Raphael jumped in. "We must take revenge on the Cardinal Nexus. We cannot let their sins go unjustified!"
"Then so be it. Let us use the gifts—the Mynerium, the Talitem, the wings, and Azrael—to re-establish the Elysian Congregation and Menesism. Let's put Elysia back on the map."
Their century-long revenge began in that very moment.