Hours before...
Somewhere in the world, darkness enveloped a time-forgotten temple. Within walls covered in ancestral runes and unholy symbols, a group of hooded figures knelt in concentric circles around a black stone altar. Blood dripped from mutilated bodies, strewn across the floor in an unholy sacrifice. Heart-rending screams filled the room as sharp blades sliced flesh and tore bones.
-Vash'na gorth, shael'kath mor'vath! -the high priest intoned in a guttural, unnatural voice.
The followers repeated in unison, their voices distorted by macabre euphoria. Their hands, dyed red, traced symbols in the air as the cursed energy crackled in the air. A pentagram of blood glowed beneath their feet, throbbing like a cursed heart.
A new sacrifice was brought to the altar: a woman with terrified eyes. She struggled in vain as two cultists held her firmly. The ritual blade descended mercilessly, tearing her throat and bathing the altar with her life. Blood flowed like an unholy river, feeding the portal that was beginning to open in the center of the room.
-Vash'na gorth, shael'kath mor'vath! -the chanting intensified, and reality itself seemed to shudder.
An infernal roar rose from the shadows. A crimson crack opened in the air, tearing the structure of the temple as if it were made of paper. From within it emerged a gigantic figure of charred skin, with curved horns and flaming eyes. Its claws dripped with a dark, corrosive substance, and its presence flooded the place with a suffocating pressure.
The high priest fell to his knees, arms outstretched in absolute reverence.
-Oh, great Zorvath! -He gasped, with a mixture of ecstasy and terror. Your prey awaits you, the young man of the prophecy must perish!
The demon bowed his bestial head and growled in a cavernous voice.
-I know my purpose," he whispered, his voice echoing like thunder that shook the temple walls. And none shall escape my judgment.
Without warning, he raised his claw and with a single motion, tore at reality itself. A dark, swirling portal opened before him, revealing an unknown landscape beyond human comprehension. The cursed energy sucked in the inert bodies, decomposing them in the process.
The cultists looked on in awe, some in devotion, others in terror. But before they could react, the demon stepped through the portal, disappearing into nothingness.
Presently...
The demon staggered back, his eyes filled with terror at the appearance of a presence even more imposing than his own. His laughter died away like a spark extinguished in the storm. The crack in the sky widened, letting out a blinding light that illuminated the battlefield.
Gabriel descended from the sky, his figure glowing with a light that was pure and glorious. The very air grew warm with his arrival, and the demon, once so confident, recoiled, his body writhing in fear.
Gabriel landed in front of him, his gaze cold and calculating.
-Are you all right, Rafael? -he asked in a deep voice, his tone soft but charged with power.
Rafael, still with the claw piercing his torso, nodded weakly.
-I am well. Thank you, Gabriel.
Zorvath roared, his fury returning with inhuman intensity. With an animalistic scream, he lunged toward Gabriel, his claws extended like steel blades. Gabriel, with a single swing of his sword, sliced the air, creating an explosion of light that split the demon in two, forcing him back once more.
But then, Zorvath, in desperation, launched a brutal attack towards Gabriel. With an inhuman movement, his claw slammed into the sky, fracturing the very firmament itself. A dark rift opened, and through it surged thousands of lesser demons, like a tide of darkness overflowing onto the battlefield. The air was filled with screams of horror as these infernal beings emerged from the depths of the abyss.
Gabriel did not hesitate. With a flap of his wings, the clouds parted, and lightning flashed down from the sky, piercing the demons with such force that their bodies burst into flares of darkness and light.
The air was filled with howls of pain and terror as the demons fell one after another, but they were not few in number. Their numbers were overwhelming, and for every demon that fell, more arose, moving with a fury blinded by evil.
With a roar, Zorvath lunged at Gabriel, hurling his claws with the speed of a snake. Gabriel dodged by a millimeter, the demon's edge slicing the air where his face used to be. Without hesitation, he spun in midair and, with a single swing, his sword plunged the blade into the demon's abdomen, opening a deep wound. Zorvath snarled in fury, his body writhing as the wound began to heal unnaturally.
With a cold expression, Gabriel stepped on the head of a fallen demon, causing the earth to tremble with the weight of his power.
-They were once my brothers.... -he said, his voice deep and emotionally charged. But now they are but lost sheep, without shepherd or hope.
The demon under his foot screamed, but Gabriel did not stop. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, teleporting to the side, where a larger demon awaited him with fangs sharp as daggers. Gabriel dodged perfectly, but this time it wasn't just any dodge. His figure flashed and he reappeared at the creature's height, his hands raised to the sky.
Immediately, a rain of light swords descended from above, piercing the demons with such speed and precision that their bodies were cut as if they were made of paper. Gabriel moved among them with supernatural agility, his sword glowing with a heavenly radiance.
A giant demon, larger than any other, appeared from the shadows, its claws like sharp knives ready to tear him apart. Gabriel did not hesitate. Instead of retreating, he advanced with lethal speed, dodging its attacks and teleporting to appear behind it. With a burst of divine energy, he raised a celestial spear that materialized in his hands, and with a single motion, hurled it at the demon's heart. It fell to the ground with a dull roar, disintegrating into a cloud of ashes.
Lucian, trapped in the chaos, watched as the demons began to move towards him and his family. Raphael, with a cry of fury, spread his wings, creating a barrier of light that protected Lucian and his mother. However, the onslaught of demons was too much.
-I can't... I can't hold them off for long," said Raphael, his words filled with despair as his light slowly faded.
Gabriel, seeing the situation, turned to him.
-Do it! Open it now!
Rafael did not hesitate. With a brutal gesture, his hands were raised, and reality itself began to tear apart. The air trembled, and space curved as if it were a canvas being torn. A portal opened before them, the curtain of the world itself yielding to their power.
The blinding light dissipated, and before them appeared an unfamiliar landscape, a vast snowfield stretching to the horizon.
-Go away! -shouted Rafael, pushing Lucian towards the doorway. Now!
Lucian, stunned and confused, felt the pressure of Rafael's hand pushing him hard. He looked back, searching for his mother, but she had not made it through the portal. She was there, with her younger siblings at her side. Raphael's light barrier had fallen, and the demons were advancing with inhuman fury.
-No!" cried Lucian, but before he could do anything else, his mother, her eyes full of sadness and bravery, removed a ring from her finger. She looked at it for a moment, as if making a final decision. Then she threw it toward Lucian with all the strength she had left.
-Go to Valtheris, Lucian. Find your father. -He shouted, his voice cracking with pain and fear.
Lucian reached out, reaching for the ring quickly, but before he could say anything else, Raphael pushed it harder, until he found himself stepping through the portal. His mother, looking one last time at Lucian, gave him a look full of love and despair. The door closed before he could say anything else.
-Mother! -cried Lucian, but the doorway closed with a bright flash, leaving them all behind in the cold of the snowstorm.
The instant Lucian disappeared into the storm, Raphael reopened another portal, a smaller one, but large enough for Lucian's family. The family members, fighting fear, hurried through.
Rafael turned to Lucian's mother, his gaze intense, knowing that time was running out.
-Run, now! -he ordered, his voice low and urgent. -This is the only safe way. There is no time.
The mother, with bated breath, looked at the doorway, but worry stopped her.
-But you...!
-There's no time to argue! -he interrupted, with the determination of someone who knew what he had to do. -You and the children will be safe. Go now!
The mother hesitated for a moment, but the near roar of the demons pushed her to act. With one last glance at Raphael, she took a step toward the portal.
-Go! -Rafael shouted, gently pushing her toward the portal. The door closed behind her in the blink of an eye.
Gabriel, without missing a beat, continued his fight, throwing bursts of light and destroying the lesser demons with each blow.
But the demons kept coming, and Gabriel showed no signs of stopping. Each one more monstrous than the last, each one more eager for blood and mayhem. Gabriel, however, was undeterred.
A gust of wind swept across the field, laden with darkness. From the background of the storm, a shadow materialized, darkening the sky with its presence. Zorvath had appeared.
-We've overtaken you! -Zorvath growled.
Gabriel looked up at him, his face impassive, and replied with fierce determination:
-Maybe. But you have already lost the battle.
With a last-ditch effort, Gabriel summoned a burst of energy so intense that it lit up the battlefield like a sun. The force of the attack obliterated everything in its path, disintegrating the lesser demons in a shower of ash. The earth itself trembled before the celestial fury.
Zorvath fell to his knees, his body writhing under the pressure of the blast, but his endurance was to be admired. Despite the devastating attack, he managed to remain standing, albeit dying, breathing heavily as darkness surrounded him.
Gabriel, now enveloped in a blinding glow, rose into the air, his divine presence being more than palpable. With a gaze full of power, he reached out his hand toward the cracks tearing the sky.
-The shadows you have brought? -Gabriel said, his voice echoing like a final judgment. They have no place in this world.
With a gesture, the cracks began to close, the light of the celestial sun drying the scars of the sky, purifying the air. Zorvath, trapped in his agony, looked up at Gabriel, his gaze filled with hatred, but also terror at the power that surrounded him.
With a gesture, the cracks began to close, the celestial sunlight drying the scars of the sky, purifying the air. Zorvath, trapped in his agony, looked up at Gabriel, his gaze filled with hatred, but also terror at the power around him.
Raphael, who had been protecting the family with his barrier, relaxed when he saw that there was no longer any danger. With superhuman speed, he healed his still bleeding wound, his healing power restoring his body in the blink of an eye. However, his gaze remained fixed on Zorvath, who, seeing that the prophecy was still alive and that Lucian had escaped, tried to flee, staggering with difficulty, his body weakened by the impact.
Before he could take a single step, Raphael dematerialized in the blink of an eye, reappearing in front of the demon in a flash of light. With inhuman speed, he grabbed him by the neck, lifting him into the air, without Zorvath being able to react.
-Escape? -said Raphael, his voice as deep as a roar. You have neither the strength nor the right to flee.
Zorvath, eyes wild with fear, struggled for breath as his neck was squeezed by Raphael's hand.
-Please! -the demon whimpered, his voice trembling, barely a whisper. Have mercy... No... I am but a messenger.... Let me go!
Raphael squeezed harder, his eyes burning with restrained fury.
-Messenger? -he repeated, almost contemptuously. You are the source of the storm, Zorvath. And now, the final judgment has overtaken you.
Without another word, Raphael raised his other hand to the sky, and from his palm emerged a spear of light so bright that it seemed to pierce the very air. The spear cut through the space between them with a blinding glow and thrust into the demon's torso, pushing him to the ground with indescribable force. Zorvath screamed, his voice wracked with pain, but to no avail. The spear of light shone with a searing intensity, piercing his body, until the demon, consumed by celestial energy, began to disintegrate.
Zorvath's last words were a whisper, now inaudible, before he turned to ashes.
The light of the spear slowly faded, as Zorvath's ashes, carried by the wind, scattered in the air, vanishing as if they had never existed.
Gabriel, approaching slowly, watched the scene in silence. His gaze was one of solemn certainty, and though the enemy had fallen, the war was not yet won. Raphael, without looking back, let the wind carry away the remains of the demon, his mission accomplished.
On the horizon, the sky was beginning to clear, but the coming darkness still hung heavy over them. The future was full of uncertainty, but for now, at least, the immediate threat had been defeated.
Gabriel approached Raphael.
-Will they be all right? -Gabriel asked.
Raphael, his expression serene, nodded with a deep look.
-Yes, they will be fine. I sent them to a safe place.
Gabriel, with a look that seemed to see beyond the present, nodded.
-And Lucian?
Rafael, with a calmness that belied the intensity of the moment, answered in a whisper:
-Tranquilo, I sent him with him. -His tone was mysterious, leaving a sense of something yet to be discovered.
Gabriel smiled, then, without another word, rose into the air, his form diffused in the light of the rising sun.
From on high, he began to restore the world. With every gesture of his hand, the scars of the battlefield began to close. The land, once scarred by chaos, began to flourish again. The trees, the mountains, the very air itself, regenerated with supernatural rapidity.
When Gabriel finished, a blaze of pure light enveloped the entire landscape. The fallen demons rose into the sky in a stream of energy, their remains dissolved by Gabriel's purification. As they faded, a portal in the sky opened, sending them far away, to another corner of the world where the judgment of their existence would continue. There, destiny awaited them, in a land where their evil could not touch.
Below, Raphael watched the process with a mixture of calm and determination.
Gabriel exhaled slowly and, without need for words, they both took flight. Their wings spread majestically, leaving behind a golden glow that illuminated the wreckage of the battlefield. Heavenly light enveloped their figures as they ascended, crossing the sky that now cleared, free of the darkness that had plagued it.
As they ascended, the firmament seemed to respond to their presence. The clouds opened in a divine radiance, revealing a portal of pure light that expanded like a rift between worlds. An ethereal breeze, laden with the echo of ancestral hymns, swept across the field, carrying with it the dust and ash of what was once war.
As their bodies crossed the threshold of light, the sky closed behind them with a serene flash, as if the universe itself recognized that the battle was over. And so, with a final golden glow dissipating in the atmosphere, the earth fell silent, with the promise of a new dawn.
Meanwhile, Lucian, trapped in the stormy snowscape, stood motionless, his mind clouded with confusion. It had all happened too fast. The battle, the separation, and now the cold that enveloped him like a silent prison.
He hugged himself, trying to take it all in, but the answers were not coming. Only the storm roaring around him, the wind howling like an echo of the war he had just witnessed.
He took a deep breath, clenching his fists. He didn't know where he was or what fate had in store for him, but there was only one way forward.
Without further hesitation, he took a step forward and lost himself in the snow.