Gabriel snapped his neck forward with the same speed at which it was previously sent backwards, gasping and huffing.
"Was that a revelation…no it can't be.I haven't had a revelation since father" Gabriel said, trying to catch his breath
He looked at Emory who was now passed out, Gabriel watched him with a cautious yet sympathetic expression, contrary to what he had seen in his revelation Emory looked harmless, he was just a boy trying to do his best with the hands dealt to him by fate, Gabriel could not imagine this boy being the same person as the crazed human he saw in his revelation.
"What happened here?" Michael asked, appearing out of nowhere like usual, his eyes glanced at the unconscious Emory held in Gabriel's hand "And what happened to him?"
Gabriel looked up at Michael and stood up, carrying Emory in his arms in the process.
"You may want to sit down for this brother but before then, a hand would be appreciated" said Gabriel
***
In the backroom of the bookstore Gabriel gave a rundown of the training incident, Emory laid unconscious on one of the couches whilst Gabriel sat beside him on a wooden leaving a whole couches to Michael.
"You're telling me you had a revelation? How? That's not possible" Michael said incredulously after hearing Gabriel's account of the whole training ordeal
"Of all our brothers who would you trust not to lie, especially on this subject" Gabriel said
"But if you did have a revelation, then does that mean…father is here? But how? I would have known" Michael said, pondering on the matter at hand
"What should we do about it?" Gabriel asked
"About what?" Michael asked back
"About him, what I saw was not something we would want to happen..at all. The blood, screams and pain. It was hell on earth and he was at the center of it all and smiling nonetheless." Gabriel said, making it clear to Michael what would happen if they don't do something.
"And how do you suggest we do that, stop it from happening?" Michael inquired
"There can't be a future where he ends up killing all those people, if he doesn't exist to have a future" said Gabriel staring directlyat Michael, furrowing his brow and serving an intense look
"I won't accept that. He is a but a boy. Besides you revelation isn't trustable, afterall father isn't here " Michael objected
"It's a revelation! I know what i saw and it's bound to happen. Revelations always come to pass" Gabriel declared
"What's a revelation?" Emory asked groggily, waking up from his sleep
"You're awake and still functioning properly it seems, thank goodness" Gabriel said, a hint of relief in his voice
"He was chosen by the record, he would not die that easily" Michael said, focusing his gaze on Emory.
Emory sat up groaning, slowly rubbing his temples with his index and middle fingers.
"Are you okay?" Gabriel asked concerned for the boy's safety
"Yeah…I think. What the hell happened back there with the record and all?" Emory said, turning to Gabriel for an answer
"We should be asking you. You had the first hand experience, so please let us know" Michael piped in
"Maybe we should let him rest a while" Gabriel suggested
"I'm fine and i think i remembered what happened. I feel like you guys should know this since we are in a rush with Zalos waking up" Emory said
"Let's have it then"
"When I tried to 'commune' with the record, I felt a connection between me and I felt like it would be easy but as soon as I touched the first page, I saw it…I saw it, it was big, it was small, it was large, it was deep, it was wide, it was slim and fat, it was…endless" Emory said, his hands trembling as he recollected his experience
"And what exactly did you see Emory?" Gabriel inquired
"...Everything about everything, all of it, none of it and i felt so tiny, so….smal. I was to be consumed, I should have been confused and then I was saved." Emory answered
"Emory…." Gabriel said, giving Emory a pitying look "Saved by who?" Michael asked, keenly anticipating Emory's answer
"I…don't know, it was like a person made of pure light " Emory replied, he rubbed his temples again
Gabriel and Michael exchanged glances quietly, before the two angels slowly began to smile and from a smile it evolved into an exchange of laughter. The entire room echoed with the sound of laughter for a whole until they finally calmed down, regaining their posture.
Gabriel turned to Emory, held him by the shoulders and said "You saw him, you saw the father!", tears of joy running down his cheeks. Emory startled and not knowing what to do or say replied with an unsure tone "Yes?" he said
After a few more minutes, the angels had gotten more composed and regained their ethereal aura and posture, it Gabriel a lo her while to fully calm down and finally he looked like an angel again but sadly for Emory, the images of Gabriel crying could not be burned out of his head thus shattering whatever image the angel was now projecting.
"So you saw father; the Creator. That should explain the revelation Gabriel had" Michael said but he soon realised he made a mistake as he planned to keep the revelation and it's content a secret from Emory for the time being.
"A revelation is something personal between father and I" Gabriel chipped in "You remember that I am an angel of messages, I am but a message bearer. A revelation is a fragment of the future given to me to deliver to whoever it is for by the father. Though the future is ever shifting, revelations are almost never wrong, many have tried to escape the inevitable outcome shown by a revelation and none have succeeded well, there are a few exceptions" Gabriel explained further, shooting Michael a knowing look
"Revelation huh? it's certainly an interesting concept. Wait, you said it was something personal between you and the creator and can only be given to you by him? Then how did you get one now?" asked Emory
"Exactly what we were brainstorming over, but it seems, we've found our answer within you story" Michael said
"My story? You mean the being of pure light is.."
"The creator " Gabriel interrupted "And that explains the revelation" he continued
"It's not much to go by, but it's a step forward. With this, we know the creator can be found using the record" Michael added
"I see...I'll do my best to help!" Emory said, furrowing his brow in determination
"We will need that help and trust me we will need it soon, but right now you need to rest up. You just survived being overloaded with endless information, it's a miracle how your brain isn't fried." Gabriel said
"Fried?!" Emory exclaimed
"That's behind us now, here take these and make sure to read and understand them, it will help you control your aether better" Gabriel said, handing a pile of book to Emory
"Great, more homework" Emory said sarcastically but in reality he was very interested and excited about reading the books, especially since they were not something everyone had access to. Emory picked up one of the books and read the title aloud 'Sensing the Aether for beginners'.
Michael cleared his throat " Um excuse me, I have..matters to sort" he said doubtfully before vanishing with haste
"Excuse you my a**, you're telling me this book was here and Michael made me go through hell just to sense aether!" Emory yelled at the space Michael occupied before vanishing.
***
Emory sat in the class, practicing the exercises from the book Gabriel gave to him. The exercise involves Emory constantly circulating aether throughout his body and the goal was for him to be able to do it unconsciously. As he sat concentrated, he noticed a pair of sharp eyes staring at him, it was Athena.
Ever since her declaration about studying him, she had made it her mission to always be around him, constantly watching his every moves and jotting it down in her notepad like a scientist watching a lab rat, it made Emory uncomfortable and he was starting to feel like Liam's advice was wrong as well as his deduction of Athena's declaration.
She was always whereever he was, in class, at the cafeteria, on the basketball court, she was everywhere and Emory found himself visiting the toilet very often, as it was the only place he could truly be free from her grasp and it was soon taken away from him when he discovered she paid one of his classmates, a short chubby, glasses wearing boy named 'Sean' to tell her whatever he was doing in the bathroom! Madness!
That was it, the final straw for Emory, her littleexperiment had gone too far, she may be cute but he wasn't going to have it anymore and he was going to find Athena and shut her down…hard. Emory exited the bathroom and unsurprisingly found her peeking at him from behind a corner wall. He walked towards her furiously, ready to blast her with words…harsh words but his anger subdued immediately he stood in front of her.
"Hey Em, what's up. Something wrong, ready to tell me your secret?" She said cheekily
"I want you to stop your 'study'. Its getting out of hand" he said cooly
"Why? It's fun and I'm getting tons of intel. Do you know that you always chew on the left side of you cheek and never the right?"
"I don't care, stop it"
"Come on, it's fun" she said, jotting down on her notepad again. This made Emory well up with anger, he felt that he was not being heard.
"Stop it, all of it. No one spying on me and no more paying people to spy on me. Enough of your 'studying' it's annoying and uncomfortable" Emory bursted out, letting her have it without giving her a chance to speak. Soon a crowd had formed around them and murmurs and whispers began to fly about.
"F**k, now the whole school is here too, so much for laying low. Thanks a lot Athena" Emory said before storming out and leaving Athena stunned, her back pressed against the wall as if she just faced a monster, but Emory didn't care.
"Em…" she whispered as he walked away, not turning back even once