So I was right after all, Lunok thought.
Lunok screamed and pushed back against the darkness trying to take over his essence. Remaining in a state of mid-teleport seemed to buy him a tinge of a moment and he was unsure how much longer he could hold off the darkness.
“You think that tiny artifact can stop me?” the darkness smirked derisively. “For a while it worked. But now you know better.”
Lunok did know better. He could no longer hold the darkness. As such, he emerged from mid-teleport and appeared in an unknown location in Creation.
“Lunok! The coordinates!” Mashok said and sent him the coordinates.
Lunok received the coordinates, but his essence was failing terribly. There was only enough life force left in him to teleport one last time. The darkness would not have his essence and he was at peace with that. His existence would come to an end, but the sacrifice was worth it a trillion times over. And as the darkness went in for the takeover, Lunok used the last of his life force to teleport to the location Mashok had sent to him.
“Why did you do that?” asked a female’s voice via telepathy.
Lunok’s eyes snapped open. Is this what a Shemsu’s death felt like? Where was he? He looked around and there was… nothing. Nothing except for his form. He was hovering in oblivion, with no sense of direction.
“Why did you do that?” the voice asked again via telepathy.
“Where am I?” Lunok asked out loud as he looked around hoping to see someone or something… anything.
The voice came from everywhere around him and within him. It was a strange feeling that elicited awe and reverence in him. As such, Lunok dropped to his knees on instinct and bowed his head.
“Why did you do that?” asked the voice the third time via telepathy.
“Do what?” Lunok asked reverently.
“Give up your existence,” the voice replied.
“It was the only thing I could do,” he replied. “To save as many as I could.”
“A noble gesture,” the voice said in a monotone. “You save as many as you could and yet you sacrifice others. Tell me, what criteria did you use to determine whose life is more valuable over another’s?”
Lunok did not know what to say. As good as his intentions were, this being just made him realize the shortcomings of his good intentions. But as he gave it some more thought, he found an answer.
“Great one,” he said respectfully. “I did not value any life over another. I asked Mashok to find a location with the least number of creatures. I do not know where this location is. I do not even know if my home is within these coordinates. All I know is that I am dead, or I am about to die, and the darkness is about to be free. And with his freedom, a countless number of creatures will die, including me. I am at peace with that and it is the only thing I could think of, given my limitations.”
There was a moment of silence. Lunok dared not speak in the presence of this… entity, whatever this entity was.
“What do you want, creature?” the entity asked out loud.
“To stop the darkness, Great One, but I do not know how,” Lunok replied. “I have done all I can, and I have gladly paid the ultimate price for it.”
There was another moment of silence before the entity spoke.
“You have not done all you can, mortal,” the entity said. “You have done the most of what you believe you can. You have done what your level of awareness has allowed you to do. But there is more you can do.”
“Great One,” Lunok said. “If there is more I can do, I will gladly do it, if only I was still alive.”
Another moment of silence followed.
“The darkness is not the only biproduct of the vibration of free will,” the entity explained in a monotone. “There is another biproduct of the vibration of free will called the light. Just like the darkness, it too wants to be free. The darkness knows only death and destruction, while the light knows only live and creation. Both energy forms exist in every aspect of Creation in various degrees, from the dormant or non-polarized, to the polarized.
To stop the darkness, you must use the light. You have both in you; but so far, you have only drawn from your darkness to fight the darkness. That is why the darkness in Fallok was empowered the way it was and that was why you were able to contain it for as long as you did. The darkness in Fallok was feeding on your darkness and becoming more powerful by the moment.”
Lunok felt vindicated and enlightened at the same time. There was hope after all. But as joyous as the prospect of hope was, Lunok recalled that he was already dead, and his disappointment was palpable.
“Thank you, Great One,” Lunok said with deep sadness in his voice. “I wish I knew this earlier before I-”
It hit Lunok like a Necheru lightning bolt. This entity never commented on his death, despite his repeated reference to his death. This meant that he was not yet dead, and if he was not yet dead, there was still hope. That notion of hope was as empowering as it was invigorating. Gone was his fear, doubt and sense of powerlessness. He held the key to it all, and that key was within his very essence.
“Thank you, Great One,” Lunok said again and stood up.
“You are welcome,” the entity replied.
This time, the entity did not reply in a monotone and the voice was not that of a female. The entity replied in Lunok’s voice.
“I know who you are,” Lunok said in a smile. “You are the light in me.”
The moment Lunok said those words, his eyes snapped open. He was somewhere in the cosmoscape and Fallok’s form was completely gone. The darkness was hovering over him and two smoldering orbs stared down at him.
“Finally, I am free!” the darkness cried.
“Indeed, you are,” Lunok replied calmly and stood up.
He leveled his gaze at the dark, viscous energy that was the darkness.
“What are you waiting for?” Lunok asked. “Do as you wish.”
There was a look of confusion in the smoldering orbs of the darkness. It realized it could no longer draw from Lunok’s darkness and that brought forth a level of rage that Lunok had never, ever imagined.
“Damn you, Shemsu!” the darkness cursed out loud. “Damn you!”
“It ends right here, right now,” Lunok said confidently. “Your end is nigh!”
“And so is yours!” the darkness promised.
Lunok felt the surge of energy around the darkness as the darkness prepared to unleash its power. It was now or never. Lunok summoned the light from his essence and unleashed its power as well. The darkness released everything it had and so did Lunok. As the darkness and the light clashed together, their energies cancelled each other’s. Fallok’s form was already gone but Lunok still had his form. As such, there was nowhere else for the defeated darkness from Fallok to go to, but the defeated light from Lunok returned to Lunok’s form.
Lunok drew from the light within him and reached out to the darkness from Fallok. At first, the darkness recoiled from Lunok, but Lunok drew deeper into the energy form of the light and overpowered Fallok’s darkness. Fallok’s darkness had no choice but to become absorbed into Lunok’s essence. The threat was over and countless lives in Creation were saved. Lunok teleported back to Asah. Where he was given a hero’s welcome by his team, The Council and the rest of the realm.
“Dear brethren, thank you all for your support,” Lunok addressed the realm. “As you all know by now, we have a fundamental flaw in our esoteric makeup in the form of non-polarization. The secret is out and you all know what can happen if we do not address this fundamental flaw in our esoteric makeup. It is my belief that The Council will update you all on the situation while I am gone.”
“Gone?” Mashok asked. “What do you mean ‘gone’?”
“I must fall again,” Lunok replied. “There is a much bigger threat to Creation. We have this victory, but this is far from over.”
“Dear Council,” Lunok squared his shoulders with confidence he never had before as he address
ed The Council. “I recommend every Shemsu fall to a lower realm and become polarized and also that the private databases be made public. Knowledge is power, power over ignorance.”
“We could not have said it any better, son,” The Council chorused and bowed their heads towards Lunok.
Lunok returned The Council’s bow. Since the darkness in The Council was induced via the crystal on Fallok’s necklace, and not by a tainted Zarark, The Council returned to their normal state with Lunok neutralizing the darkness in Fallok. Their esoteric makeup did not receive a transmutation from Fallok’s necklace. Fallok’s necklace only caused a superficial takeover of their essences and that takeover was only temporary.
“With your blessing, I would like to fall now,” Lunok said firmly.
“Go with our blessing, child,” The Council said. “Whatever the reason for your second fall is.”
Lunok bowed towards The Council and turned around to face his team.
“I will see you soon,” he said with pride in his voice. “I want you all to be the next in line to fall. Can you all do that for me.”
“Thought you would never ask,” Hikok said and the team chorused their agreement.
“You all are the best!” Lunok beamed with pride. “Come now, Team LOHIM. Our fall awaits!”
Team LOHIM stood in a line and held one another by the shoulder.
“Ready team?” Lunok asked.
“You talk too much,” Obok said jokingly and the team laughed together.
The Realm of Atlantia watched as Lunok and his team closed their eyes and fell backwards together, marking the start of a new era of Shemsus falling to lower realms in Creation.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
SERENADING A SUPREME LEADER
“MAY I COME in?” Uriel asked.
“Sure, Uriel,” Michael replied.
“Are you sure?” Uriel asked. “I’d rather not find you in a compromising position, or two.”
“Get your wings in here, my silly friend!” Michael said and chuckled.
“Okay now,” Uriel called out as she inched open the door to Michael’s domain. “Here I come… Don’t say I didn’t warn you already.”
“Not like you haven’t seen me naked before,” Michael retorted.
“I was referring to you and Luciel slapping hips,” Uriel said and laughed.
Michael summoned a seat for her and she slid into it.
“You’ve been too busy to hang out lately,” Michael said. “Found some new, cooler friends I need to be jealous of?”
“You’ll always be my Number 1, Michael,” Uriel replied and blew him a kiss. “Your place in my heart is forever sealed.”
“Semantics,” Michael said and rolled his eyes. “So, how have you been?”
“Busy,” Uriel replied. “But for other reasons.”
The atmosphere in Michael’s domain suddenly turned chilly. Michael shifted in his seat and Uriel steeled herself. The uncertainty of how Michael would react to what she was about to tell him was eating her up inside. She summoned her wings and flapped them once to gather herself. Then, she heaved her shoulders and dismissed her wings. Michael stared at her with an expressionless face.
“I was someone’s guardian in a lower realm,” Uriel said.
“Without my knowledge or permission,” Michael said firmly.
Let the scolding begin! Uriel thought.
“Yes, but not out of disrespect I assure you,” Uriel explained.
“I’m listening,” Michael said.
Uriel saw Michael’s jaws tighten and his eyebrows furrow. It was going to be a long, tricky one.
“It had to be a covert operation- ” Uriel said.
“Operation…” Michael reiterated. “We are still training everyone on being a guardian and you’re telling me you’ve already been a guardian?”
“Please let me explain, Michael,” Uriel pleaded.
Uriel could feel the change in Michael’s mood. She had witnessed the upset version of Michael before but what she felt was something beyond him merely being upset. Michael heaved his shoulders and leaned back in his seat.
“Proceed!” Michael commanded.
“It was the best experience of my life, so far,” Uriel said.
Uriel gave a compendium of her experience being a guardian to Deni. She was as excited with telling the story as she was during the assignment. Gone was the fear and worry about Michael’s reactions.
“Necheru is a very beautiful realm, but they are so,” Uriel searched for the right word. “I don’t know. Primitive? They have to make everything; like every single thing. They don’t summon stuff like we do.”
She explained the notion of conception, birth, growth, death and everything in between. She was glad to notice Michael’s demeanor changed. He started to warm up to Uriel’s story and his curiosity got the better of him.
“So you’re telling me they can’t even teleport?” Michael asked.
“It would take about a century of their time before Deni would invent some kind of device that helped them do that,” Uriel replied. “Still, the Necheru did not call it teleportation. They called it a leap. And if they wanted to sound fancy, they called it an interstellar leap.”
“Does sound fancy, though,” Michael admitted.
“Yeah, I agree,” Uriel concurred. “Oh! And they have something called time. It’s how they measure the passage of moments…”
Uriel proceeded to explain the concept of time as best as she could. Day and night were easy to grasp, but time was another matter altogether. The questions were unending and Uriel did her best to provide answers. She was very relieved Michael was no longer going to have her head.
“You should consider falling, Michael,” Uriel offered.
It was then or never. She could not continue talking about Necheru. She was there for one major reason: to convince Michael to fall.
“Why’s that?” Michael asked.
It was a question that Uriel had hope he would not ask. She cursed silently.
“Because I think you will benefit from the experience,” Uriel replied. “It is my belief that falling will help you to become a better leader when you return.”
“I don’t need to fall to be a better leader,” Michael rebutted.
“Maybe,” Uriel said. “But how would you know? There’s no arguing that experience is the best teacher. We were made to be guardians. If we learn to live among the creatures of the lower realms, we would become better guardians.”
Uriel waited for Michael to say something. Michael was silent. Good sign! Uriel thought. At least, he’s considering it now.
“You don’t think having firsthand experience will help us fulfill our purpose better?” Uriel prodded.
“It’s not that I disagree,” Michael replied.
Michael was deep in thought and Uriel let him be. Best not to push her luck. She was glad about her progress so far. If there was anything she loved about Michael, it was the fact that Michael was diligent, logical and always put Celestia first, even before himself. These, among other qualities, would always make him a very special archangel in her life. The best part of it all was that this archangel she loved, trusted and respected so dearly reciprocated these same sentiments towards her, and maybe even more. The thought was as comforting as was scary because if it ever happened that she betrayed him…
Michael heaved his shoulders, summoned his wings and flapped them three times. Flapping one’s wings once or twice may mean a number of things; a form of relaxation, letting off some steam, just because et cetera. But flapping one’s wings three times was usually an indication of worry. So, was he worried about leaving Celestia without his supervision or was it a worry of the unknown? Uriel could understand both concerns. He was a protector and a damn good one! But if a being like Lunok, from a much higher dimension than Lemuria, could worry about falling, then why would Michael not share the same sentiment? Michael was taking too long in his state of contemplation. The moment had come to up the pressure some
more.
Uriel stood up. She dismissed her chair and turned Michael’s into a sofa. She walked towards him and rested her head on his lap. On instinct, Michael started stroking her hair. Uriel closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his fingers running through her hair. The silent message was clear to both of them. Uriel was telling her best friend not to be afraid of anything; that everything was going to be fine. She would have his back, as always, and Celestia would be fine. It had been too many moments since she had experienced this feeling and she had herself to blame for it. It was she who redefined their bond, anyway. Hopefully, Luciel does not show now. It would not be a pretty sight! A few moments went by and Michael still did not say anything. Uriel had one final, desperate move.
“What if I told you Deni was someone you already know?” Uriel asked.
“You mean the Deni in Necheru?” Michael asked.
“Yes, that Deni,” Uriel replied.
She sat up and met Michael’s eyes as they stared at hers in confusion.
“Deni, from Necheru, is someone you know already,” Uriel reiterated.
Michael continued staring at her until she was confusion by his non-reaction.
“So are you going to tell me or what?” Michael asked.
Uriel flexed her shoulders. This is it! She thought.
“It was Lunok,” Uriel said.
“WHAT?!” Michael exclaimed.
He leaped from the sofa, causing Uriel to shift backwards involuntarily.
“You heard correctly, Michael,” Uriel said. “He’s the first in Creation to fall voluntarily. And he did it because of what happened to Emok.”
“What are you talking about?” Michael asked.
Michael was a conundrum of emotions. Uriel patted the space next to her on the sofa.
“Sit, Michael,” she said. “Please.”
Michael glared at Uriel and summoned his wings. His eyes and wings glowed but he did not flap his wings. He then dismissed his wings and sat on the sofa.
“He fell to Necheru because he wanted to find a way to defeat the darkness,” she said. “He saw what the darkness had done to Emok. He thought the only way to understand the darkness was to experience a mild dose of it. But he could not do that as a Shemsu.”
Celestial Crisis Page 21
