The Rise of Heaven

by nateeger

As tensions heighten between the realms of Heaven and Hell, one human girl is thrust into the middle of this centuries-old conflict. That is, one girl, a demon, and an angel. "Tisk, tisk, Shin-chan. I go through all this trouble to find out what your name is, and you don't even use mine, when I so kindly told you. In case you've forgotten, my name is Kaito."

Two silhouettes stand out against a fiery glow on the horizon. Just behind them is the tall, faintly glowing Golden Stairway. Ahead of them lay the vast Fields of Purgatory, which contains 7 hills. On the tallest of said hills stands the focus of our attention - the two men creating the silhouettes - and the lowest holding the Black Stairway, descending into Hell, where the Eternal Flame burns, causing the fiery glow on the horizon that the two figures on the highest hill, in front of the Golden Stairway, are creating silhouettes against. It is an endless loop, really, just as many other things may seem to be.

Centuries of human life have passed, countless souls have wandered the fields of Purgatory, as others are born into the world in the seemingly endless cycle that we like to call the Circle of Life (cue the Lion King). But things are about to change. There is only so much room for souls of the passed humans, after all. Only so many people can go to Heaven or Hell, so the inevitable is drawing nearer. Both Heaven and Hell are stirring, preparing for war, what some religions call the Final Judgement, the perceived end of time on Earth, the fateful day where it is decided which prevails, good or evil.

Returning to the silhouettes on the Seventh Hill, because going over thousands of years worth of struggle between good and evil would take decidedly too long.

The ones that were making the previously mentioned silhouettes were standing unnaturally still, but don't be fooled by their stoniness, they are certainly alive. One of them is known as the Gatekeeper. Some people call him Peter - his middle name - but his real name is Sango. Trust me, you'd better do as he prefers, he does have the power to deny entry into the Eternal Kingdom, and he has in the past. He doesn't make empty threats. He appears to be human, but don't let that fool you, he is very much not human. He is of a race called Azizlar.

So, maybe I do have to explain a little more. Azizlar are the Eternal King's servants. But they aren't mortals, they are, in fact, immortal. They get sent down to Earth every once in awhile, to spread the word about the Eternal Kingdom, but are often sent back the hard way. Immortality doesn't imply immunity to pain, for your information. They do feel every single thing that happens to them until their corporeal form shuts down. They can't just conveniently pass out from nervous shock like humans can, so just keep that in mind next time you decide to, let's say, crucify them, burn them alive, feed them to starving lions, or any other genius forms of painful death the Romans thought of.

Sango was sent to Earth, much to his extreme annoyance and despair, along with 11 others, by the Eternal King to guard his son, who wanted to try for himself to get the stubborn humans to believe in the Afterlife. Don't get me wrong, he succeeded to some extent, but they still misinterpreted somewhat, creating Christianity.

Oh, silly me, I'm getting sidetracked again. So, at the present, Sango is on the hill, just beyond the closed Gates, his eyes watchful on the fiery horizon, standing next to another form, an angel, the General of the Eternal King's army, Igorha Michael.

"That's disconcerting," Sango said to Igorha.

"No," he replied sarcastically. "I thought it was a good thing that Hellfire was glowing brightly." His sass was met with an overly dramatic roll of the eyes and a loud sigh.

"Seriously though, you know what this means. The End is coming, and you know it. Hell is rising, and we must rise to meet them."

"Always so dramatic," Igorha replied. "But I do know what you mean, my dear Gatekeeper. It seems that our old friend Luci is recruiting, so I guess we must do the same. I'll speak to the Council and see what we can do."

As he was speaking, Igorha stood up from the ground where he was sitting, opened up his golden wings, and flew above the stairway into the Kingdom. Sango watched his companion leave with a pained smile, then returned his attention to the Fields. "I guess we must do the same," he echoed Igorha's last words to himself as he noticed the appearance of another poor soul, lost and confused, in the midst of the vast hills of Purgatory.

Now, as much as I know that you would love to read about Igorha and Sango more, we must now focus on Earth. Specifically to a small town where our Strong Female HeroineTM resides.