Celestial Crisis

by Leo E. Ndelle

  ***

  Uriel watched from a distance. She was confident about the mission, despite her concerns about Malichiel’s possible reaction or reactions to the mission. She saw Drusiliel walk and knock on his door.

  Why even bother knocking? Everyone already knows you two are flapping the wings out of each other. Uriel said to herself.

  Uriel knew Malichiel was already waiting for Drusiliel; all hard and worked up. He did seem like the type who liked to fantasize and be told what to do. He was certainly not her type. Uriel guessed Malichiel would love to be Luciel’s plaything, given Luciel’s repertoire for domineering, except when it came to Michael, the only one who could tame her. Uriel shook her head in amusement. Drusiliel pushed the door open and disappeared into Malichiel’s domain. Uriel stayed her mind from conjuring images of what could be happening in there.

  “Poor Drusiliel!” Uriel said. “Do you even know where his mind is when he’s with you?”

  Anyway, it did not matter. Uriel was on a mission. Her esoteric tracker on Drusiliel revealed that Drusiliel had teleported away from Malichiel’s domain.

  “Thank you, Lunok,” Uriel said. “Shemsu tech is flapping cool.”

  Uriel waited a few moments before teleporting closer to Malichiel’s domain. She waited for Malichiel to exit his domain. The wait was starting to drag a little too long. She cursed in Necheru tongue. Thoughts of a mission that was not so successful started crossing her mind. She cursed again in Necheru tongue. She loved that curse word. It felt so good saying it. But just when she was about to teleport to his domain, she saw his door open and she saw Malichiel walk out of his domain. He looked like he had just been beaten down in a very grueling training session and Uriel took that to be a good sign.

  “Well, look who we have here!” Uriel said out loud as she sauntered in his direction, holding a tablet in her left hand. “Just the right archangel for the job.”

  Uriel finally raised her eyes from the empty tablet and faked shock.

  “By Celestia!” she gasped.

  Uriel cupped her mouth and dashed towards Malichiel.

  “What happened to you, brother?” she asked.

  Uriel wanted to pat herself on the shoulder for an outstanding performance.

  “That bad?” Malichiel asked rhetorically, savoring the caring touch of Uriel’s hand on his cheek.

  He wished she were smacking him across the face repeatedly ordering him to stop being a weakling. If he was not still suffering from the after-effects of the ‘attack’ on his essence, he would have been seriously extended down there.

  “Just a very long and grueling training session earlier,” he added weakly.

  “My oh my, my love!” Uriel said, shaking her head. “You need some time to relax your body. Does that mean you will not be able to help me out with some research work?”

  “Right now?” Malichiel asked.

  “I was hoping, yes,” Uriel replied and moved to rub him on the back. “It will just be the right thing to get your mind destressed, you know.”

  Uriel winked playfully and rubbed him on the back, just above his shoulder blades and right below his neck. Malichiel recoiled and swatted her hand away as if it held a weapon and she meant to do him harm. Uriel faked shock and stepped backwards. Malichiel realized his reaction must have been too harsh and his eyes immediately reflected his regrets. But Uriel was even quicker to apologize.

  “I’m so sorry, Malichiel,” she cowered. “I did not mean to startle you in any way. Please forgive me.”

  Uriel lowered her eyes and turned her head away slightly.

  “No, it is I who has to apologize, Uriel,” Malichiel countered and managed a weak smile. “I truly am not myself this moment. The, uh, training took a serious toll on me. I just have to relax a little, that’s all.”

  He hoped Uriel could not tell how bad a liar he was.

  “I understand, my friend,” Uriel replied assuringly. “I'll let you be so you can get back to your regular self and…” she smiled mischievously, “maybe you will be ready to help me out with this research? I can only count on so few archangels on something like this you know, and YOU are my number one.”

  She grinned and winked again. She had to admit that she was a little extra playful today, but Malichiel did not seem to mind.

  “Of course, Uriel,” Malichiel responded with a weak, but genuine smile. “I will certainly seek you out whenever I am ready. Thank you very much for being so understanding.”

  “You’re quite welcome, my friend,” she replied, smiled and teleported away.

  “See you later,” she called out telepathically to Malichiel.

  Uriel appeared in her domain as Malichiel continued his walk. She was very, very pleased. Even though she had not seen the mark, she knew Malichiel had just received it and it was right where Lunok had said the mark would appear. And what a lousy liar Malichiel was. If he were just ‘really tired’, why did he not just rejuvenate himself? Was he not an archangel after all? She laughed out loud and hard before she tapped into the Shemsu communication frequency. Lunok could teleport to her domain but she was not sure if he was caught up in some Atlantian business. Recently, he had been very busy with a special project of his, which he had said he would not share with her. Not because it was private, but simply because it had nothing to do with her or Celestia and there was nothing she could do to help with the project. Uriel felt a stab of jealousy for whomever he was working with; but she understood that, as wise as she was, there were certain things that were and would be beyond her reach.

  “How did everything go?” Lunok asked telepathically.

  “I have confirmed everything went very well with Malichiel,” Uriel replied. “He has the mark. I still have to confirm with Michael though; it should he a lot easier to confirm.”

  “You sound very confident about your situation with Michael,” Lunok stated.

  “Michael will tell me as soon as he receives the mark,” Uriel said.

  “And he should have told you by now then, based on your assertion,” Lunok countered and as soon as he said those words, there was a knock on Uriel’s door.

  Uriel smiled.

  “Stay connected, Lunok,” Uriel said and sat on the edge of her bed.

  “Come in!” she called out.

  Michael almost flung himself into her domain and half-slammed the door behind him.

  “Something really strange just happened to me!” Michael exclaimed.

  His demeanor was laden with concern and confusion. Uriel quickly got up from the bed and rushed towards him, faking as much concern and care as she could before she spoke.

  “I have never seen you like this, Michael,” she said.

  Uriel summoned a chair from the floor and she guided Michael into it. But as soon as Michael made himself comfortable in the chair, he suddenly sprang back to his feet as if the chair were made of very sharp objects.

  “What’s going on, Michael?” Uriel asked, faking as much worry as she could possibly fake. “You are making me very worried here, you know?”

  Michael then proceeded to recount the events that just transpired. He talked about the excruciating pain that seared through his spine the first time and the pain that seared through his entire body the second time. And then there was a mark on his back, between his shoulder blades and right below his neck. He was very concerned and confused about the meaning of all what had just happened.

  “Have you shared this with anyone else?” Uriel asked.

  “No, just you,” Michael replied.

  “Good! Let’s keep it that way for now until we understand what’s going on,” Uriel offered. “In the meantime, I need my archangel supreme back.”

  Michael met her eyes. Uriel’s eyes were encouraging and soothing at the same time. Michael nodded and heaved his shoulders. Celestia cannot afford to see their fearless leader in such a state.

  “May I?” she asked, gesturing towards his back.

  Michael hesitated before nodding. Uriel wal
ked around Michael. She reached for his garment and gently stripped it from his body. She shuddered at the mere exquisite nature of his physique as if it was the first time she ever saw his bare body. And there it was! The mark of a seven-faceted crystal.

  “It’s there, Lunok!” Uriel exclaimed in Shemsu frequency. “By Celestia! I see it! We did it!”

  “I never doubted us for a moment, Uriel,” Lunok replied.

  Uriel gently placed her left fingertips on the mark. Michael recoiled slightly from her touch and stiffened.

  “It’s alright, Michael,” Uriel said soothingly. “I will never do anything to hurt you. Okay?”

  Michael nodded. Uriel touched the mark again and this time, Michael did not react to her touch. The mark was a part of his skin; smooth and unnoticeable to the touch. Uriel replaced Michael’s garments over his shoulders and walked around to face him.

  “I’ll start researching and I’ll get back to you as soon as I learn something,” Uriel said. “You may return to your domain now. Don’t worry, my friend. I’ve got your back.”

  Both Uriel and Michael winced at her last sentence.

  “Sorry,” Uriel said. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Yes, you did,” Michael rebutted and the best friends erupted in laughter.

  Michael teleported to his domain. Uriel waited for a few moments to make sure that Michael was really gone.

  “Assessments?” Uriel asked telepathically.

  “Everything is going according to plan so far,” Lunok replied. “We can officially declare the first phase of the mission a success.”

  “So Michael and Malichiel both have replicas of the key to Emok’s incarceration chamber,” Uriel spoke calmly but her concerns were all too apparent.

  “Yes, they do, but like I said, they are not powerful enough to open Emok’s incarceration chamber,” Lunok explained. “Only the five of us can and the five of us must be in accord for the key to work. So, do not worry about your friends. They are fine and safe. The pain was just for show. Nothing wrong with a little dramatization, is there?” Lunok added and Uriel could have sworn on her wings that she could feel Lunok grin many dimensions away.

  “Still not willing to share any information on your other mission?” Uriel teased.

  “How about we concentrate on THIS mission?” Lunok offered.

  “Come on, Lunok,” Uriel pleaded. “Give me something. The suspense is rustling my wings!”

  “Where and when I am is no concern of yours, child,” Lunok replied.

  Uriel furrowed her eyebrows as she pondered for a moment on his words.

  “That’s a loaded sentence, Lunok,” Uriel prompted.

  “The mission, Uriel!” Lunok scolded Uriel.

  “Very well, then,” Uriel conceded. “On to Phase Two!”

  “On to Phase Two!” Lunok concurred.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  PHASE TWO.

  MALICHIEL WAS NO longer afraid of the mark on his back. He still did not know why he had received the mark in the first place. And who was behind it? Or was it a what? The Shemsus maybe? But why? He was good with research. However, several moments of research later and Malichiel was still as ignorant as he was when he had just received the mark. There were a few manuscripts on numerology, which alluded to possible meanings of the number seven. However, all the speculations within the manuscript amounted to naught. He did not feel any changes within his essence and there was no pain anywhere on his body, even pain from the mark. Maybe the mark was gone? He would find out when he returned to his domain.

  Malichiel teleported to his domain and made to summon a mirror. Suddenly, he was seized by a very powerful, alien force and he lost all control of his body. His body tensed up and he was yanked into the air by this powerful force. Then, a surge of energy charged through his body, infusing his essence with something he could not describe. The energy surge began building up in him, causing his body to glow brighter than normal. As petrified as Malichiel was, he was grateful he felt no pain. This ‘attack’ on his essence was different from the first one. Still, he was scared out of his mind as his body hovered in midair under the control of this conscious energy that had him at its mercy. Then, Malichiel heard a voice in his head in a language he had never heard before. However, he understood the language. But how? He had no idea. The situation was as surreal as it was scary. When the voice was done talking, Malichiel’s body gently floated towards the floor of his domain.

  A tablet formed and hovered in front of him and glyphs of golden light began to inscribe themselves on the tablet. Malichiel was shocked to realize that he could read and understand these glyphs, though they were not in Celestia’s language.

  “How is this possible?” Malichiel asked himself.

  Malichiel’s confusion turned into fascination and he read on.

  “By Celestia!” he exclaimed as his fear was renewed.

  The more Malichiel read, the more frightened he became. The conscious energy surge left his body but the glyphs remained on the tablet. He was glad to be back to normal. He slowly rose to his feet and walked towards the floating tablet. He cautiously took it in both hands and reread the glyphs. It was clear that the message on the tablet was not meant to be a secret. He had to show his leader immediately. But as he was about to teleport to Michael’s domain, he was seized once more by the same conscious surge of energy as a second tablet appeared and golden glyphs of light began inscribing on this tablet. Malichiel read the message and exploded in expletives.

  THE FIRST PROPHECY

  We are One, and we are Seven. We are from the Realm-Dimension of Valla and transcend your notions of realms and dimensions. We are a creative entity; all of Creation hails from us, all of Creation is us. All is One and One is All. Here is our first message to you, mortal creatures.

  One who has fallen will fall again. One who has fallen will fall into the shadow of oneself. One who has fallen into the shadow of oneself will have to make a choice that ultimately will spell the survival or annihilation of your kind. This is our message to you, for now.

  Your kind will ask you for proof. Ask your leader to look between your shoulder blades. Therein lies your proof that it is We who have spoken to you.

  After reading this prophecy, Michael immediately summoned the archangels of his inner circle. Some brief deliberations later, Malichiel was elected as the transcriber to these beings we referred to themselves as ‘We’, since he alone was able to read and understand this strange language. The inner circle had seen the mark on both Michael’s and Malichiel’s back. This was enough proof that the prophecy was genuine and was not to be ignored. It was clear that the ‘fallen’ one referred to in the prophecy was either Michael or Luciel because these two were the only ones who had fallen as of the prophecy. Michael called for observations on both himself and Luciel and on that note, the meeting was adjourned.

  Uriel returned to her domain after the meeting and immediately tuned into the Shemsu frequency to provide an update on the recent turn of events.

  “So, they still do not know that you too can understand and speak our language,” Lunok remarked.

  “No, they do not, Lunok,” Uriel replied almost sarcastically. “You say Malichiel did not feel any pain this time, right?”

  “No, he did not,” Lunok assured her. “But he did feel the surge in energy. That was necessary and it was part of the perks of his upgrade. He is not yet aware of this upgrade.”

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Uriel asked. “You never really answered me the last time I asked you this same question.”

  “I did give you a reply,” Lunok said. “That it depends on his level of polarization.”

  “Will he become more powerful than Michael is, or will be?” Uriel asked.

  “Alas, I cannot tell,” Lunok replied. “Free will is free will.”

  She could feel Lunok heaving his shoulders in exasperation.

  “I understand you place a lot of trust in Michael,” Lunok continu
ed. “I do as well. But let us not forget that he carries Emok’s tainted essence within him. We cannot afford to have the leader of Celestia succumbing to the darkness, without a contingency plan, can we?”

  Uriel understood exactly what Lunok was saying.

  “So what now?” Uriel asked.

  “Now we wait and observe before initiating Phase Three,” Lunok replied. “Phase three will depend on the information we obtain during this period of observation.”

  “Alright, then,” Uriel replied. “I will remain watchful and vigilant.”

  “I know you will,” Lunok replied. “We will talk later.”

  Lunok severed his telepathic link with Uriel.

  ***

  Luciel thought about visiting Michael but changed her mind. She returned from her fall right before the start of a new Celestial cycle. Her experience was invaluable, but she did not think she would want to fall again. Luciel believed she had gained enough insight about the lower realms and no further research was needed. Her perspective was grossly at variance with Michael’s. She could not see how anyone would enjoy dealing with or cultivating any affection for these savage creatures. How could anyone fancy a bunch of creatures who dedicated so much energy killing one another? Wars, pillaging and violence in general were a part of these creatures’ construct. Why, for Creation’s sake, would a group of creatures blindly walk the path of self-destruction?

  And they, angels and archangels from the much higher Realm of Celestia, were expected to be guardians to these savages! Luciel shuddered at the thought. ‘Purpose’ was the universal term the Shemsu had used to give them, the angels, a drive for existence. ‘Free will’ was only mentioned in passing, as if it bore no importance. Luciel still could not see how ‘purpose’ and ‘freewill’ could be used in the same instance and not create conflict. So, was it the purpose of these creatures of Earth Realm to live like savages or was it freewill? Either way, this logic was not as messed up as the logic of her, a being from a much higher dimension that Earth Realm, being expected to be a guardian to these savages!