by Leo Ndelle
“This one is mine!” Marcus raged, forcing his peers to back off.
“Get the filthy Nazarene, Marcus!”
“That is right, brother! Show him how we do it!” cheered Marcus’ peers.
Marcus ignored them. His heart was heavy for what he was about to do, but it was the only way he could prevent any disrespect of the Great One’s body. Marcus aimed his spear at Yeshua’s right lower ribs and thrust. Blood and fluids gushed from the stab wound as Marcus retrieved his spear, some of which landed on Marcus’ face and stabbed eye. Immediately, Marcus’ missing eye began to heal and regrow. In that moment, Marcus’ sight, beyond the physical, was opened. Even in his death, the Great One was till there to guide and help him through dark times, like now. In that moment, his conviction about his purpose became unshakable as Marcus caught a glimpse of the Dimension of Time. He saw his past, present and future and in that moment, Marcus knew exactly what to do.
Marcus stared at the spear in his hand. He broke it off about a foot from the tip and let the remaining piece of wood fall into the mud. Even in the heavy downpour, the Great One’s blood remained fresh and unwashed. Marcus nodded. Slowly, he removed his helmet and armor, even as his friends gazed at him as if he was mad. But none could react because Marcus had frozen them to the spot. Marcus turned around and started walking away with unbridled focus. He walked towards a future he had beheld, clutching in his right hand his spear of destiny.
THE END OF PART TWO
PART THREE
THE KEY
YOU DO NOT have to say anything. All I ask is that you listen and you will not regret it, I assure you. I understand you are in a very happy place now; that you will want nothing more than to pause your current situation for as long as time exists. For the first time in your tumultuous life, you have found what you were looking for but never quite knew what it was. As such, I see how what I am about to tell you may not be what you may want to hear. What I am about to tell you may shock you out of your current state of mind. But then again, someone has to remind you about the realities that surround you, your future and certainly your past.
You have made many enemies; enemies in high and low places. Every deed you have done, every choice you have made, every sour taste you have left behind and every existence you have ended have left trails a-plenty that converge at a common junction. That common junction is you! Yes, you! The dead may be dead, but as you may have noticed already, even the dead can remember and the dead can come to haunt you. So far, you have had the best of fortune with the dead remembering and the dead forgiving. So far, you have had the best of fortune with the dead not demanding retribution. But what if the other dead ones remember and decide to not be so forgetful? What if the other dead ones decide to not be so forgiving?
And that is just the dead! The living certainly do not forget and mark my words, my dear, they have not forgotten about you. They will come for you and when they do, they will come with the anger and cry for vengeance of Creation itself. It is only a matter of time and that time is running out. Like I said before, the list is long and the trails leading back to you come a-plenty. I admire your wit, your strength and your survival skills. But alas, in all your wisdom and might of mind and body, you do not stand a chance against a pissed off mob of Creation. This is a cold and bitter fact that you needed to be reminded of and this reminder is best served without any sugarcoating.
And speaking of cold and bitter facts, who do you trust? Who CAN you truly trust? Look around you! Go on, look! Look at all the faces, and minds, and souls, and hearts of all those around you! Now, tell me something, my darling; tell me, who among these goodly creatures do you think trusts you? You got that right! Absolutely no one! But take another look and tell me, who among these good creatures do YOU trust unequivocally, with all that you have and all that you are? You got that right as well! And in a million lifetimes, given the same scenario, your answer will remain unchanged and you know why.
And would you not give all that you are and all that you have for this one person? Would you not burn down all of Creation to protect and preserve this one person, if it came to it? Would you not? You have been a lone rider all your life! You have never depended on anyone for anything and you have always come out on top of everything; except recently, when everything started falling apart, including your current good fortune. Yes, even your current good fortune has been a setback. But therein lies the perfect opportunity for the next phase, my dear one; because every setback is a setup for a spring back. Remember that!
And maybe you have spared yourself some moments of reflection during your entire existence to ask why is it that you are able to do what you are able to do. No? You never have? Oh, dear! I shall enlighten you; unless, of course, you prefer to remain in ignorance. But why bury oneself in the bliss of ignorance when there is power in knowledge? Imagine what you can do, knowing just how special you truly are. But most of all, imagine what you can do, knowing WHY you are so special; because, my darling, you are truly, truly special. Once, I showed you me in my entirety to the best your essence could handle. However, I cannot show you the deeper, truer you without your consent. The choice is yours.
Ah! You want me to show you! I am truly honored to be the one to open your memory and point you in the right direction. And by ‘right direction’, I simply mean bringing you up to speed with your true identity and hence, your full potential. For only in this knowledge will you find the path to protecting yourself against all the enemies, dead or alive, you have stocked up for yourself. Only in this knowledge will you find the path to protecting the only person you can trust and the only person who ever truly mattered to you. Again, I thank you and without wanting to bore you with my constant chats, I shall proceed to opening the doors to your hidden memories.
The Scribe then proceeded to unlocking the hidden memories of which he spoke with one esoteric touch to the space in between this person’s eyes as this person’s third eye became fully opened. The memories rushed in from as far back as when this person was but an embryo. The Scribe was certainly not lying! With this newfound knowledge came newfound potential and power. With this power came a sense of invincibility. With this sense of invincibility came the fear of no one and nothing. And with this fearlessness came freedom, the kind of freedom that was liberating and made one completely unhindered
“Finally, I know why our paths crossed,” The Scribe exclaimed. “Everything is so clear now and there will be no stopping us!”
He then turned towards the fourth member of his quartet of creatures.
“I finally have a plan for you,” The Scribe offered telepathically. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, Scribe,” Lithilia replied in kind. “I am!”
BEYOND THE EDGE
Where was I?
The darkness was so dark and engulfing
It felt like an extension of my physical form.
I had no sense of time and space
Only a sense of identity; only a sense of existing
And then, there was panic and confusion
My mind raced through a miasma of mental simulations
Indulging in a quagmire of questions with no resolutions
For this seeming situation was sapping on my sanity
Like a sonar set on sacrilege to my psyche
I’m on the edge of history
The challenge is clever and it’s now or never
The darkness is my light and this den is my prayer
For pride, for glory, for ego, for victory
The chant is loud, with fist to the sky
I’m on the edge of illusion
On the borderline of everything finite
The very edge of the precipice to my identity
Where all my conceptions and perceptions
Become exposed and sum up to naught
And all that is left is me
Dark becomes light, light becomes dark
One is the absence of the other
Both of them mus
t coexist.
This I accept, this I embrace
It is all One, seamless and timeless
This I Am, and therefore I Am.
Leo E. Ndelle
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
GETTING ACQUAINTED
“MAY I COME in, please?” Beelzebub asked after knocking on the door.
“Of course,” Keerim said amicably. “Please come in!”
Beelzebub opened the door and stepped in. He smiled as he sized the cherub sitting on a chair. Nothing special about this paradin, he thought. However, when Keerim stood up, Beelzebub cocked an eyebrow in surprise. Keerim was over two feet taller and looked more muscular than he did. Beelzebub extended his right arm, expecting Keerim to clasp his right forearm. Instead, Keerim bowed. Beelzebub quickly retreated his arm and bowed as Keerim extended his arm. The two creatures chuckled at their awkwardness.
“In my realm, we bow at one another in salutation,” Keerim explained.
“Here, we clasp forearms,” Beelzebub said with a polite smile.
“As your guest, I will succumb to your customs,” Keerim offered.
“It is for this reason that we will succumb to yours,” Beelzebub countered and bowed his head slowly.
Keerim bowed back and when Beelzebub straightened, Keerim extended his arm. Beelzebub smiled and the two creatures clasped forearms.
“Please, sit,” Keerim offered.
Beelzebub summoned a seat opposite Keerim.
“I’m Beelzebub, top general and second-in-command to Luceefa,” Beelzebub said. “Luceefa is our leader and Metatron is the third-in-command and our lead adviser. I don’t know if you’re already aware of this. I have been briefed on who you are. It is an honor to have you among us.”
“The honor is mine, Beelzebub,” Keerim replied with a poker face. “And no, I was not invited to these details. So I thank you for extending me this courtesy.”
“The honor is mine, Keerim,” Beelzebub said. “I must say you are not what I imagined you to be.”
“How so?” Keerim asked in a monotone. “We do look similar, physically.”
“But you are a giant compared to me and I am taller than average,” Beelzebub rebutted. “I apologize if my comment offends you.”
“Not at all, Beelzebub,” Keerim said and flashed what looked like a smile.
A moment of awkward silence went by.
“Well, uh,” Beelzebub stuttered. “I wanted to meet with you for the purpose of getting acquainted. I understand your stay with us is only temporary, correct?”
“That is correct, indeed,” Keerim replied flatly.
He really is not going to make this any easy for me, is he? Beelzebub said to himself.
“Most unfortunate, but I understand,” Beelzebub said. “My situation may not be similar to yours, but I have had my share of… uh… trials and tribulations, to say the least.”
He was unsure why he was taking this route, but if this stuck-up paradin was not going to make this easy for him, he might as well bore the paradin’s ear out. Beelzebub then proceeded to narrating the highlights of his existence, from when he was spawned, to his promotion to archangel, the rebellion, being cast out of Celestia and being imprisoned, until he was eventually set free. Beelzebub talked about his squabbles with the creatures of Earth Realm.
“Wait! Did you say, Earth Realm?” Keerim asked, bolting from his seat.
Beelzebub noticed the polite attention, also called boredom, that was written all over Keerim’s face was gone, replaced by an acute alertness and interest.
“Yes, Earth Realm,” Beelzebub replied, faking ignorance at Keerim’s reaction.
“Do you know something about Earth?” Beelzebub asked.
“I will share with you later,” Keerim replied. “I apologize! I did not mean to interrupt your story. Please continue.”
“No need for apologies, Keerim,” Beelzebub said. “Please feel free to interject or ask any questions as you please.”
Keerim nodded his thanks.
Beelzebub then continued to share his story about his return to Earth Realm to release his mark on the creatures there. However, they never considered that Earth Realm was going to have a guardian.
“A guardian…” Keerim hissed.
Beelzebub saw and felt the cherub’s anger flaring in the cherub’s eyes.
“Have you had experiences with a guardian?” Beelzebub asked out of genuine curiosity and the pleasure of seeing the cherub react to something, anything.
“Indeed, I have,” Keerim replied with less anger in his voice. “But my story may not be as interesting as yours was.”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll be the judge of that,” Beelzebub spoke with a little humor in his voice, humor that Keerim completely missed.
Beelzebub listened to Keerim’s story. What a megalomaniac this one is, Beelzebub thought. And the wings of him, hiding our Zarark from us; if paradins have wings, that is. He did not steal it, but he might as well have! He should’ve asked where that Scribe had obtained the Zarark from. Anyway, Hell had the Zarark now and while that may not be all that mattered, this cherub had partaken in a sacrilege of dimensional proportions. He had to be punished. How? Beelzebub had absolutely no idea.
“Your story is more fascinating than you imagine,” Beelzebub lied. “And it looks like we share a few things in common, Keerim.”
Keerim relaxed into his seat and smiled. He could see where this was going. His answer was still going to be ‘no’, but he would listen to what this creature from Hell had to say out of common courtesy. He was their guest, after all.
“Pray tell, Beelzebub,” Keerim said.
“We both have visions greater than the status quo of our realms,” Beelzebub explained. We both got judged and sentenced for wanting something better for our people. Thirdly, we both met with guardians and they forced us to escape. And here’s the best part. Do you know what these guardians have in common?”
“Earth!” Keerim spat.
“Indeed,” Beelzebub concurred. “And do you know what I plan on doing?”
“Please enlighten me,” Keerim replied with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
“I’m going to face my guardian and only one of us will be left standing!”
Beelzebub suppressed a smile when he saw Keerim wince. He watched Keerim writhe in his seat as Keerim tried to soothe his bruised ego. Keerim was afraid of his guardian, a sentiment Beelzebub picked up when Keerim was sharing his story. He used that as a pressure point and to dish out subtle humiliating jabs at this condescending, arrogant paradin sitting in front of him. There was even a moment when Keerim glared at him. He was certain Keerim wanted to rip him apart to shreds, but Keerim could not. Keerim was a guest- no, a fugitive- in their realm and Keerim better behave himself or their accord would be severed. Keerim’s bruised ego was taking a continuous beating and Beelzebub was loving every satisfying moment of it.
“I will face him, Keerim,” Beelzebub continued as if he was innocently sharing a plan with a friend or possible ally. “By Hell Realm, I will! And like I said, only one of us will be left standing. Regardless, I will face him.”
“Very courageous of you, Beelzebub,” Keerim complimented Beelzebub, more to distract himself from his boiling emotions than anything else.
“Thank you, Keerim,” Beelzebub said. “There is a small problem though.”
“What is that?” Keerim asked.
“This guardian placed an auric shield around Earth Realm and we cannot get in,” Beelzebub explained. “If that shield was not there…”
Beelzebub left the statement hanging and facially expressed his frustration as best as he could.
“Is that the only thing holding you back?” Keerim asked calmly.
“Absolutely!” Beelzebub replied with zeal. “If I can get in, the rest is history. But I will not let a savage creature of Earth Realm think that he chased me away. My mission on that realm is far from complete. Earth must pay for its insolence!”
Beelzebub flared
red-yellow flames from his eyes and mouth.
“Earth Realm is the same realm your guardian fell to,” Beelzebub said slowly. “Earth Realm is the realm on which she regained her memory. I am certain that Earth Realm would also be a great place for you to face her. The creatures of Earth Realm could be used as necessary distractions. She won’t harm them or let anyone harm them because she is attached to them. But you, Keerim, are not! You don’t care for those insignificant creatures! You don’t care for those savages! Your victory over her would be a lot easier.”
Beelzebub knew he had crossed the line, but he was done with semantics and beating around the feathers. Keerim was either in or out. Keerim either allied with them or not. The moment of silence seemed to last in eternity as he waited for Keerim’s reply. What in the name of Hell is taking this paradin so long to make up his damn mind? Beelzebub thought. Beelzebub was disappointed. Seeing this cherub behave as such was causing him to change his perspective about paradins. Even the weakest of demons had more courage than this supposedly superior creature. He decided to sweeten the deal, or better yet, the proposal.
“I would be your backup, if you would like, Keerim,” Beelzebub offered.
Beelzebub could not make out the meaning of Keerim’s glare.
“I’ll fight by your side as you take down Fazim, if you’d like,” he explained. “All I ask is that you help me go through that shield and I will pledge my allegiance to you, until you defeat your guardian. What do you say, cherub?”
