by David Walker
The enraged King of Hell lifted his sword high into the air, ready to strike the King of Heaven and his hosts. The Judge of Heaven loudly banged his gavel, and the King of Hell and his citizens dropped out of the courts of heaven like a series of rolling lightning bolts during a thunderstorm. Their descent into hell turned into a dynamic fusion, creating a colossal meteor that crashed into the earth. The meteor's impact killed many of the animals, including Pythius' elder reptiles, initiating an ice age, and the forming the earth's Arctic Circle. Rachel clasped her hands around her mouth in unbelief.
Chapter 10
Lieutenant Insurgo nervously made his way to Overlord Abbadon's crimson, fiery throne. Abbadon had charged Insurgo with the task of sparking a war between the Unified Republics and Elextria. Due to interference from the hosts of heaven, Insurgo was unable to complete his task. Insurgo delayed his report to the Overlord, hoping that time would allow Abbadon's infamous temper to subside.
Abbadon tapped his shiny, black nails on his throne's jagged armrests. Thick smoke piped out of his dark-red, bullish nostrils and floated upward along his dark, curved horns. His fierce, amber eyes bore deep into Insurgo, causing the black-robed lieutenant to tremble.
“Mighty Lord Abbadon, I'm here to report on the mission that you had assigned to me. Unfortunately, we encountered unforeseen circumsta–” Insurgo was interrupted by a scorching blast of wind that propelled him toward Abbadon. The Lord of Shadow House of Mars tightly gripped Insurgo's neck with his right hand, lifting him slowly into the air. Insurgo clutched unto Abbadon's steely grip as he struggled against asphyxiation.
“Why did you wait so long to report your failure to me?!” Abbadon shouted.
“Lord...please...don't rob...Lord Beelzebul...of...one of his faithful servants,” Insurgo pleaded, choking on his words.
“Do you really think Beelzebul cares about a cretin like you?” Abbadon countered.
“Abbadon, we wouldn't want to deprive the third legion of its leader, now would we?” Overlord Pythius said as he slithered towards Abbadon's throne. Abbadon's shifted his gaze to Pythius and released his grip on Insurgo's neck. Insurgo dropped to the floor, sucking in a deep breath of air. Demonic entities did not have physical bodies, but they still require consumption of the elements of life.
“Get out of my sight!” Abbadon bellowed at Insurgo with disgust. Insurgo scurried away from Abbadon's throne.
“Did you really think it would be that easy to start a war? The King of Heaven won't let the final human war happen until he's good and ready. I doubt he'd even need to use his turn to stop any wars that we try to plant before then,” Pythius said.
“No, I didn't think it would be easy. I saw an opportunity, and I went for it. You might be comfortable in this joke of a world that Mammon and his harlot Jezebel are running, but I grow weary of it! I'm sick of feeding off of these controlled conflicts. I need more blood to be shed,” Abbadon complained.
“I definitely agree it's time to establish a new order. But I don't think war is the way to go about doing it. I think the most optimal way to stir up mayhem is to penetrate the physical world,” Pythius suggested.
“And how, exactly, do you propose we do something like that?” Abbadon asked.
“The elemental Odei has already been released into the physical world. He's made quite a stir, but he is still invisible to the human eye, so he hasn't caused any real chaos. But, what if we could fuse him with a dragon? Just think of all of the carnage and terror you could feed off of,” Pythius offered.
“How would we manage something like that? We would need one of the Shadow Queens to yield their dragon signet ring,” Abbadon replied.
“Indeed. Let's take a trip to Terra's castle,” Pythius suggested.
Pythius and Abbadon flew to the Amexem regional realm, which was ruled by Shadow Queen Terra. They passed over many glowing skyscrapers; massive structures that were formed by the subconscious desires of Unified Republic's citizens. Various shadow constructs directed the flow of subconscious thought, bending entire cultures to the will of the realm's Shadow Queen. Pythius and Abbadon approached Terra's colorful castle and entered into her ostentatious throne room. She sat upon a golden throne, dressed in elegant purple and scarlet robes.
“Lord Pythius and Lord Abbadon. You both honor me with your presence. Although, I don't think my Overlord Mammon would appreciate either of you approaching me without his consent,” Terra warned.
Even though Pythius and Abbadon out-ranked the fallen Principality, Order protocol dictated that an Overlord was required to contact one of their fellow Overlords regarding any requests to be made of their subordinates. Abbadon typically did not care about keeping the protocols of the Order, whereas Pythius was usually very careful to observe them. Pythius, however, did not want Mammon to know what he and Abbadon were up to.
“Surely the esteemed queen of the most powerful nation is able to rule her domain autonomously. Every small matter doesn't warrant the attention of our Order's honorable ruler,” Pythius injected smoothly. Abbadon masked his disdain for the Order's ruler, Overlord Mammon, whom he considered unworthy of the Mantle of Hell–a relic which represented the King of Hell's authority.
“Okay, Lord Pythius. What is it that you want?” Terra asked sharply. She was the youngest and least experienced Shadow Queen, but could easily see through Pythius's guise of flattery.
“The elemental Odei has been released into the physical world. If a human were to possess his control relic, along with your dragon signet ring, Odei would be able to fuse with your dragon, Ladon. We're asking that you give us temporary access to your signet,” Pythius requested.
“So, you want some elemental dragon terrorizing my humans in the physical world? How would that benefit my nation?”
“I have a zealous group of humans who are on the verge of learning how to create dynamic fusions. We can set them up to be powerful heroes in your nation. They'll fight against the elemental dragon that we release. Sure, there will be casualties, but the heroes will certainly add to your nation's renown,” Pythius offered. Terra considered the idea for a moment.
“I know why you'd want something like this, Lord Abbadon, though I'm not sure about you Lord Pythius. What's your angle? What do you get out of stirring the pot like this?” Terra asked, looking skeptically at Pythius.
“We cannot keep humanity blind to the spirit world much longer. It's best that we initiate their major encounters with the spirit world, and stay ahead of any mass awakenings.”
“I see. Well, this plan sounds interesting, but I simply cannot help you. My signet has already been granted to the head of House Felsen. He is my faithful servant,” Terra said.
“That's quite alright, my queen.” Pythius said, resisting the urge to laugh. He was well aware of who possessed each signet. “We want to give the signet to someone in House Felsen, anyway.”
* * *
Matthew's spirit sank when his vacation ended. It was difficult for him to return back to the normality of his career after his recent experiences in the heavenly realms. In light of his new calling, his job seemed more pointless than it did before when he was unable to find meaning in life. Even so, he had learned that heaven's kingdom protocols deemed it proper for him to be diligent in menial work as if he were doing the work for the King of Heaven himself. The Alverezes were excited about Matthew's return to their group chat.
“Matty! Welcome back bro, how was your vacation?” Domingo typed in the group chat.
“It was good, thx. How have you guys been?” Matthew asked.
“We've missed you,” Leila replied with a heart emoji.
“I didn't know anyone else to annoy with my hosting problems,” Carmen typed with a smiley-faced emoji.
“Good thing I was around to help Carmen out with the tech stuff,” Domingo jested. They laughed, knowing that technology was not his strong suit.
“Lol. I've missed you guys,” Matthew replied in kindness, rather than complete honesty.
>
“We had to save the world like 10 times without you,” Domingo joked.
“I bet,” Matthew replied.
“Have you had time to clear your head, sweetie?” Leila asked.
“Yeah. I'm definitely in a good place now,” Matthew answered.
“I'm glad to hear that. Are you coming to the next meeting?” Leila asked. Matthew knew that she was referring to the next Ordered Chaoz guild meeting. He was not sure how his allegiance to the kingdom of heaven would affect his involvement in the guild. Despite his uncertainty, he agreed to attend their next meeting. After his work shift ended, Matthew met up with Kylie and Garret at the Secov Coffee Factory.
“How was your time off, dude?” Garret asked.
“It was relaxing,” Matthew replied. His best friends knew about his vacation, but he had conveniently omitted the fact that he did not travel anywhere. He figured they assumed he went to go visit his family in the Republic of Laverei.
“Where'd you go, anyway?” Kylie asked. Matthew could only dodge her inquisitive tendencies for so long.
“I stayed home,” Matthew admitted.
“Stayed home? What the hell? Why didn't you call us?” Kylie demanded, with a raised fist. She had no qualms about punching Matthew or Garret in the shoulders when her anger deemed it necessary.
“Don't beat me, Speedball,” Matthew laughed, taking on a defensive posture. Speedball was the nickname that he gave her because of her tendency to hurl objects at people when she was really furious. “Sorry, I had to stay focused in the spirit world. I've learned a lot.”
“Oh yeah?” Garret asked. Like many others who frequented Callisto, Garret believed that the spirit world was in actuality, a simulation.
“Yeah...the spirit world is nothing like what I had been told. In fact, you guys need to be careful in Callisto. I don't think it's as safe as I thought,” Matthew said, as he recalled seeing Callisto in the orange underworld.
“Are you sure that you're not just being paranoid? I've seen crazy things going on there, but I haven't seen anything dangerous,” Garret said.
“Same. I've been having fun and making tons of coins. I even bought a house in the Old Town district,” Kylie bragged.
“Wow, really?” Garret asked. “Those are expensive.”
“Yeah, I probably could've bought another one if my herb supplier wasn't such a slacker,” Kylie teased, squinting at Matthew. Matthew and Garret chuckled.
“Speaking of, thanks for getting me all of those materials before, Matt. I was able to craft an epic deck. I made it to the Combat Cards Championship semi-finals,” Garret expressed with a smile.
“That's awesome! Congrats!” Kylie exclaimed.
“That is awesome. Grats bro,” Matthew agreed. “...Look, I know Callisto is fun, but I just want you guys to be careful. Things aren't what they seem.”
“Well, what is the problem?” Kylie asked.
“It's...hard to explain,” Matthew said, as he tried thinking of the best way to explain the nature of heaven and hell to them. They were both clearly enjoying themselves in Callisto. How could he explain to them that hell was literally their playground? “...Let's just say it has to do with the battle between heaven and hell.”
“Heaven and hell? What kind of mushrooms did you find on your vacation? Can I try some?” Garret joked. As usual, his delivery was stiff and somewhat awkward. Kylie giggled. Matthew knew that Garret would be skeptical. He did not feel comfortable enough with his understanding of the spirit world to debate with Garret about the nature of reality. Not yet.
“Never mind,” Matthew sighed.
“I'm just kidding, dude. Come on, elaborate,” Garret said, taking a sip of his espresso.
“Yeah. Tell us what's on your mind,” Kylie added, with a hint of concern. The trio frequently teased one another, but she knew that Matthew got easily frustrated when someone made light of something that he was serious about. Matthew closed his eyes and slowly rubbed his forehead.
Time seemed to stand still, and Shade found himself inside of the dynamic realm associated with the time and space that his physical body was inside of. He saw Garret's shadow, a snarling figure who held onto a rusty chain attached to a shackle that was yoked around another figure's neck. The sickly, imprisoned figure also bore Garret's likeness; his spirit spectrum was dark and predominantly blue. He saw Kylie in the same predicament, but her spirit spectrum was predominantly dark green.
Shade looked above and saw a sparking time pulse complete its revolution around the realm's silver time ring. Matthew opened his eyes in shock, realizing that only a moment went by in physical time. There is no way that I can explain the reality of hell to them while they're imprisoned by their shadows.
“...Another time,” Matthew replied.
* * *
Shade's ability to access dynamic realms without descending into them took him by surprise. He found that he was able to ascend into any dynamic realm that was above him, by simply closing his eyes and focusing on it. With a few moments of inactivity in physical time, he could stay inside of a dynamic realm for its entire time ring cycle. In the blink of his eye, he could quickly scout the dynamic realm above him. With this new ability, he viewed firsthand how ugly the spirit world was.
The majority of the dynamic realms that he entered into were heavily, negatively-charged. He would mask his spirit spectrum, making himself invisible, and witness hundreds of demons harshly dominate the realms with impunity. Occasionally, Shade would ambush demons; most of them fell easily upon his blade. He was astonished when he experienced the difference between a positively and negatively charged atmosphere. He considered cleaning up every dynamic realm that affected him, but he discovered that he did not have enough spirit energy to sustain such a venture.
At 10:27 AM, Matthew fidgeted at his desk at work, anxiously awaiting his first vape break. He closed his eyes to scout the dynamic realm above him. It was a typical scene: glowing objects all around, unruly shadows running rampant, and pungent whiffs of stink left by swooping demon wings overhead. Shade was shocked when two green orcs with chains and shackles in their hands casually approached him. Despite his spirit spectrum masking, the orcs knew exactly where he was, and motioned to lock the shackle around his neck.
Instinctively, Shade twisted one of the orc's arms, forcing it to drop the shackle, and struck hard into the orc's elbow, snapping its forearm out of place. Shade continued with a jarring elbow to its ribs, followed by an upward palm thrust to its chin. Shade pivoted into a backward, outward crescent kick that caught the other orc in the mouth before it could unsheathe its sword. The two orcs were banished from the realm before Shade even had a chance to warm up. He scanned the area, checking to see if any other demons were foolish enough to approach him.
Matthew opened his eyes and no longer felt an urge to vape. Of course, addiction is dark orange on the spirit spectrum. Those were probably demons of addiction. Matthew's urge to vape came upon him again right after lunchtime. Puffing on his electronic cigarette after a meal was one of his most established habits. He closed his eyes again and saw another pair of orcs, nearly identical to the first ones, come at him with chains and shackles. The orcs fell prey to Shade's surgical strikes.
Matthew opened his eyes and wondered where the orcs were coming from. The situation reminded him of being close to a hornet's nest; he felt as if there were an endless supply of orcs that might have been nearby. Later that day, he took his final break from work earlier than usual. He found a small, unoccupied conference room to relax in. He folded his arms on top of the desk and buried his face into them, closing his eyes.
Streams of white light swirled around Shade, enveloping him in his Holy Armor. He flew high up into the dynamic realm that he had entered. He no longer required winds to carry his spirit body in the air, as he was now able to channel purified winds at will. He scanned the realm for orcs, who did not normally inhabit the dynamic realms above Industria Systems. He zoomed toward two orcs that he had see
n come out of a peculiar cavern nearby.
Shade effortlessly dispatched the orcs and made his way into the dark cave. The light that emanated from his armor lit his path into the rocky hollow. After a while, Shade found a sizable fortress that was entrenched deep underground. The fortress had rows of thick, wooden pikes jutting out of the rocky ground in front of its smooth, stone walls. Loaded ballistae were mounted on top of its towers, but they were unmanned.
Shade channeled photonic energy into his clenched fists. His armor worked like a capacitor, storing the energy that he was channeling. He pointed his open palms at the fortress, and unleashed an intense beam of light through them, punching a hole right through the gates. Shade rushed in through the breach, facing off against dozens of orcs.
Shade formed multiple glass discs out of the purified earth element and swirled them around himself. He spun into a series of photon-infused kicks, shattering the disks into refractions of light. The light beams bounced around the fortress, piercing right through the orcs, banishing them from the realm. Even though he was fighting against armed opponents, Shade did not bother unsheathing his sword. He preferred to beat his opponents with unarmed attacks whenever he could, hoping to reserve his sword as a trump card.
After defeating all of the orcs, Shade explored the fortress. He found a room with a large, floating crystal, pulsating with malevolent energy. The amber crystal hit Shade with bolts of electricity when he approached it. Shade worked his way through the jolts, and thrust his sword into the crystal, fracturing it. The fortress started to collapse, forcing Shade to dash out of it.
As Shade dusted himself off, he noticed that the armor around his right finger began to glow brighter than the rest of it. He examined his finger and saw that vivid, electric-blue glyphs were newly engraved into it. He wondered what they meant as he opened his eyes and went back to work. Matthew no longer had an urge to vape for the rest of the day. Later that night, he trained with Isaac and Nathanael inside of his heart realm.
