Dark Fall 2: The Devil's Harbinger

by ATGS

Zack's wife Maya stormed out one night after a fight and vanished without a trace. His search leads him to a bizarre little town out in the middle of nowhere that's not on any map. He's also been having unusual dreams, of a strange lighthouse out in the ocean, beckoning something demonic from the skies... what of the strange, abandoned lighthouse in this town?

38. Archimedes' Fear

Dark Fall II

Part V: The End

Chapter 37: Archimedes' Fear

(1)

Archimedes kept up his regal style of walking as he walked away from the cell block where he had just been conversing with Zack, pausing only for a moment to pull out and stick the golden demon mask over his face. But if one were to give a closer inspection, one might notice he was walking just a little quicker than normal.

He didn't want to admit it, but his head was in a turmoil right now.

He was trying to ignore his thoughts, shove them away, and have nothing to do with them. But inside his head they raged on nevertheless.

He knew that what he was feeling right now was not very well befit for a god upon the Earth, especially not for a future god of the universe.

Why, indeed, had the words of Corbin Hart and Zack been penetrating his mind and heart so deeply? Dare he even admit to himself that was the case?

He was so close! This was not the time for foolish and inane fears rising to the surface. Not now! Not when the universe was finally on the verge of being recreated.

Perhaps I am a fool.

He winced, and stopped suddenly, practically recoiling with horror at the realization that the thought had just passed through his mind unrepressed.

Still stunned, he resumed his walking, walking at an even faster pace now. The Abaddon Collective that were wandering the vessel like zombies paid him little to no attention. The rest of the cult of Belial was amassing elsewhere, and some were prepping the engine room to rise at his command.

And, indeed, he was glad he wasn't running across his subordinates right now. His state of mind was not in its most optimum state!

He had to get alone, he had to regain his bearings, he had to commune with the darkness.

No, he needed to check the records first! And get his mind straight!

Surely Zack was wrong in the things he'd said. But he'd soon find out for sure.

Lord Abaddon might be mad with him for checking into such things, for giving even the slightest nod to the things Zack and Corbin had said, either delusionally or intentionally, to mess with his mind.

But he had to know!

Maybe I'm weak.

Another horrifying thought. One that struck terror into his bones even deeper.

No, he could not be weak! He could not afford to be weak! If that were the case, then he would then surely fail!

The people of Atlantis were destroyed because they could not handle the darkness they summoned. The God of Light had used this as an opening to gain an iron grip on this realm.

He was going to summon the darkness, and he needed to harness the strength to stand firm and be able to handle it. He needed the iron will to do what others in this realm had not been able to do, to look straight into the face of El and laugh.

Maybe Abaddon is simply a Being, and El is not a Being. Maybe I've been wrong and lied to and everything is in the process of collapsing apart, just like I've not been able to control every minor little detail. Not now, nor ever!

He struggled to restrain a prolonged scream from echoing out of himself. That the thought should even cross his mind! It shouldn't! He couldn't afford to be wrong. If he was wrong, then his life was over; indeed, if he was wrong, then his life had never had any meaning at all. Everything he'd spent his existence fighting for would be a waste. He'd have never truly been anything more than a mindless slave after all, no different from the zombie-like Abaddon Collective beings around him.

The memory returned to his mind at this moment, the memory that had stayed firmly with him even after thousands of years. It remained on the forefront of his mind every day, never once having decreased in vividness.

That day: taking his brother out into the fields one day for a talk, intending to exact vengeance. He'd never meant to kill! No one had ever even seen death before in their world. When he'd struck his brother, again and again, the sight of the flow of blood only excited him and spurred him on to strike his brother harder and harder. He'd never guessed in all of eternity that by the time he was done, his brother's bruised and broken and mangled body would never move again. He'd only meant to teach him a lesson! Teach him the power of Cain's own self! He'd intended to teach him that all his piety didn't amount to much, never had, and never would. He'd only meant to humble his brother down and regain his own self-worth. What he had not been able to get from "sticking with the program" and subservient obedience, things that had always sickened him to his core anyways, he sought to gain through power and force, and to prove that such things were the only path.

But then his brother had stopped moving! And then El appeared in the skies before him, and he realized he had been entrapped…

Archimedes shook his head.

He shouldn't think on these memories anymore. As far as he was concerned, that was a very long time ago, anyways. He was a completely different person now. He'd had many identities over thousands of years. He was simply the 'him' that was now. The other was a 'him' that was now long dead. Even if the memories would never leave him alone, all that had been a lesser him from before he had found purpose.

And is your purpose now going to amount to anything? Are you really as wise as you'd like you want to think that you are? Or have you simply become trapped again, struggling futily, convincing yourself there is something to gain, when really, you're just setting yourself up for disappointment again?

Corbin's words echoing strongly in his mind, though the way it was running through his mind was strikingly paraphrased, and strangely he couldn't make it be anything otherwise: "You're like a ten-year old child trying to push the boundaries and get a reaction out of the God you never believed truly loved you!"

Archimedes would have screamed if he was certain no one under him might be around to hear it. Since he was certain nobody was in the immediately vicinity, though, he allowed himself the briefest moment to pound his fist several times on the metallic green walls of the DEOS facility.

El gave you his mark. His protection.

With horror he realized he was indeed getting weak. He was so close. Why was he sabotaging himself now!

He walked on quicker, eventually coming to a particular room he had set up for his own private use, and entered it.

He closed the door, locked it, and barely turned the lights up, leaving it as dim as possible.

The room was pretty bare, with no furniture, except for several bags he had in the room. He opened one of the bags and pulled out some stuff. One was chalk, and there were several small symbols that were made of different elements and metals.

He hadn't used alchemic magic in a long time. He hadn't needed to, especially since gaining the TimeSight. But he also knew that this way he'd get the most accurate reading. He couldn't trust his own mind at the moment.

He got a bowl out of a cabinet in the room and filled it with water using the sink in the room.

Then he placed it in the center of the floor and sat down. Opening the book, he began flipping to various pages to make sure he drew the chalk circle exactly.

This one was more elaborate than normal. Accuracy and precision was key. He needed to make certain he was honing in on the right timeline, his own source timeline, and seeing the exact, correct sequence of events that he was seeking.

Having finished the circle, he began placing the elemental symbols in key places around the circle as prescribed by the book, a text he had actually contributed to himself, yet was consulting at the moment to keep his memory fresh.

Of course, the text only taught diving by correct symbol placement and focus. But he knew a few extra tricks to make it more potent. He placed his hands out in front of him over the bowl and began reciting some words, words from the Language Zero that had once been spoken in the entire world until it had been ripped from humanity and replaced with the thousands of inferior magic-less languages used today.

After some time, he looked down at the bowl and saw the water rippling. As he had long ago trained himself to do with expertise, he let go of his mind and let himself descend into the hole.

Still thinking the few words of the language he knew in his mind, he took control of the vision journey and began directing it to where he wanted to go.

His mind was no longer completely one with his body. But he could use the language to dictate his body back on the physical side to shift the symbols around on the circle to pinpoint exactly what he wanted to see.

He had only one request on the forefront of his mind: Show me myself writing the report on the Tipton Hotel incident.

And so it was. He was seeing an out of body memory, looking over his own shoulder as he penned the words of his report that would later be entered into a word processor, printed, and filed to himself in his own personal room in the Fetch Rock Temple.

He was shocked to find that he was indeed writing the words pertaining to Cody Martin, Zack's brother, who had indeed out-foiled the being in the Tipton Hotel, thus preventing its historical reign of terror.

But that didn't make any sense! This was completely different from what he remembered!

He asked another question of his vision journey: Am I really me? Am I the one and the same Archimedes Demarion who penned this report?

He could suddenly see many himselves, and one bolder in color than the rest, in a continuing, flowing sequence of events amidst many other possible timelines. What he saw answered his question. Yes, he was indeed the same Archimedes Demarion. Not from any different timeline whatsoever.

And Zack?

Zack was indeed the same Zack. But for some reason Archimedes had completely forgotten that Zack had a brother named Cody, something he was absolutely cognizant about from the very beginning and absolutely should not have forgotten.

How could he have forgotten! The revelation was just a shocking as it was terrifying. In fact, he knew now he had been right on the verge more than once of dispatching assassins to take out Cody. Despite what he had penned in the report, his original intention had been to take vengeance on Cody, and he was going to use it to mess with Zack. But then he had changed his mind for some unknown reason. He had penned in the report that he didn't intend to mess with Cody, that Cody didn't matter to him.

But he also realized that the Tipton Hotel had been more than an experiment or something he'd simply let happen. The unleashing of the demon would have, in fact, allowed circumstances to come under his control and speed up the summoning of Abaddon.

But after Cody had changed history, Archimedes had sought vengeance, but then abruptly changed his mind and decided that it hadn't mattered after all and had been nothing more than a diversion.

Something had messed with his mind! Something had changed it! The revelation was as scary to Archimedes as anything he had ever imagined. This kind of thing didn't happen to him! This was the kind of thing he did to other people!

For the first time, he realized that he was the one terrified and not knowing what was real and what wasn't. Too many timelines! Too many possibilities! Had they all gotten mixed up in his head? Who was he really? What was he really experiencing?

With desperation his hands were moving around the symbols on the chalk line as his mind struggled to reorient his thoughts:

Why didn't I take vengeance on Cody? What happened? Why did I forget he even existed? He asked the Circle as his hands rearranged the symbols on the floor around him.

Cody Martin's face was now right in front of him. Archimedes had another shock when he saw the familiar yet slightly different glowing symbol on Cody's head.

It was unmistakable. It was a Mark of El!

Cody had a special type of protection, just like him! It meant that in the same way that others were not allowed to harm him lest they feel the effects of the Sevenfold Curse, apparently Cody had a similar type of protection. No one could harm him! Not the likes of Archimedes! Not the cult! Not the darkness! For this time being, at least. In this present world that El held onto with an iron grip, it was simply the way the rules played out.

And it was too shocking to behold! As far as Archimedes had known, he'd been the only one in all of history with a mark of El. Now, he frantically found himself asking: Does anyone else on the planet have a Mark of El?

The visions came flowing to him at once.

Yes, there were a handful of other people on the planet walking around with a Mark of El in what could be called the 'present.' They were very rare and few and far in between. None of them even had any clue they had special protection that most others hadn't.

His next question: How many people throughout history have had a Mark of El?

And as the images came flooding even faster, he could see, oh, yes, there were many. Never more than around a handful in each generation. But he was shocked that there had been at least a hundred or several hundred such people in the world per generation, going all the way back thousands of years.

Why? Why do all these people have the mark?

And now he was seeing not so much of a series of historical scenes, but a vision that was overlapping with the historical scenes. He saw great darkness encroaching upon the world and trying to envelop it. But the Sons of El, certain people who existed on the planet in all generations, were given special marks, with little regard to specific pattern or reason of choice.

In the historical scenes he had found that these people had come from all walks of life, some of them quite ordinary and unremarkable, but they had all encountered and faced the darkness in ways most normal people hadn't. Most of them had had normal professions in life, yet they had also functioned at some point doubly as exorcists and fought against the dark forces of the paranormal.

These were the people tasked with the special act of dealing with particularly huge cases of darkness and had driven its invasion back in ways that the normal world wasn't even aware of and probably never would be.

There was suddenly a lot that made sense to Archimedes, why his own Cult of Belial hadn't been as successful as he'd wanted it to be in taking over the world.

El had been doing this right under his nose! Why hadn't Lord Abaddon told him?

He remembered how just minutes ago that he had been bragging to Zack that no one had ever been able to lift a finger to him in all of history. Now he saw that that wasn't true. It had been happening all around him, and he had not been allowed to see it! El had been making a fool out of him! It made him angry, humiliated, and insulted all at once.

And the mark! He, Cain, was not as special as he'd once thought himself to be!

He felt a strange response to this. He certainly ought not to care what El did or thought, but still! Something ached inside his being which incited sheer rage, a rage he had never known before in all his years of raging.

He lost his grip on the vision journey. Suddenly, he found himself forcefully back in his own mind, and he looked up to see another great shock.

It was his brother, Abel, standing right above him, alive! With his mangled body, covered in blood, staring down at him with an intense gaze. The scene caught Archimedes of guard and made him jump back in shock. And then the image of Abel was suddenly gone.

Archimedes was shaking at this point. What had he just seen? An aftereffect of the vision journey? But he immediately realized that that was the least of his problems at the moment.

The room was darkening. The shadows were moving and shifting in a very familiar way. It was at this point that Archimedes knew he had been caught. He had been caught, much like someone far lesser than him. He had been caught being weak. Now he was about to face the music.

The black figure began materializing before him. The familiar red eyes gazed down upon him. The body, tough and firm and humanlike, also showed forth its many animal-looking qualities. Firm legs that were like hooves except with feet of a man that had dragon-like claws, along with big, strong clawed arms that looked like they could rip any normal being to shreds; and finally, long ram-like horns that protruded from the head. And wings: giant, bird-like wings spreading to fill the room as the being continued to materialize.

The darkness that had entered the room would normally be enough to paralyze any normal mortal to death. But Archimedes was no ordinary mortal. He was not and would never deign to act like one.

But Archimedes, having had a very rare moment of acting in fear, had indeed stooped ever so slightly down to the level of an ordinary mortal, and now he had been caught in it, and he would have to answer for it.

Fear struck his resolve for the moment, but then he quickly got his bearings and pushed it away. A new resolve welled up within him, and he stirred it up within himself and let it take him over. Let Lord Abaddon have his say, he told himself. Archimedes now had questions for him as well!

Lord Abaddon stood before him, his words piercing through Archimedes' mind, in the familiar telepathic way he'd always known.

WHY ARE YOU ENGAGING IN THESE ACTIVITIES, CAIN, SON OF ADAM? SUCH FEAR DOES NOT BEFIT YOU. SUCH FEAR IS NOT WORTHY OF MY SERVANT, MY RIGHT HAND HUMAN MORTAL WHO IS TO BECOME A GOD ALONGSIDE ME.

Archimedes steeled himself and resolved to remain strong. He slowly stood to his feet and stood before Lord Abaddon in a firm, unwavering posture.

He had to remain strong in his answers and show no fear or weakness, not even of what Lord Abaddon might do to him. Such strength was the only thing Lord Abaddon respected. Cowering and sniveling would not have been right. Lord Abaddon would destroy him right there if that were to be the case!

Archimedes focused his mind and directed his thought-responses along the same telepathic channel: My engaging in these activities is only due to new developments that have caught my attention. Something's wrong! I've started to forget things. I didn't realize it until Zack mentioned it to me. I'm concerned that the things I'm seeing and the things I think know may not be accurate. I am not sure why this is the case. I am trying to get a handle on the truth and regain control. We are very close to our aim, and I do not want to mess anything up!

But Abaddon's words had a tinge of anger to them: DO YOU THINK I AM FOOLISH! YOU CAME HERE BECAUSE LET THAT LESSER MORTAL'S WORDS GET TO YOU. YOU CAME HERE BECAUSE YOU WERE FEELING FEAR. YOU ENGAGED IN THESE ACTIVITIES ONLY BECAUSE YOU WERE BEGINNING TO DOUBT ME! WE ARE IN THE WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS AT THIS PRESENT MOMENT. EL'S POWER FIGHTS FOR DOMINION STRONGER HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE. HIS LIGHT IS LIKE AN INFECTION. IT WILL DO ANYTHING TO MESS WITH YOUR MIND, EVEN USING THAT MORTAL TO GET TO YOU. WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING WITH ALCHEMIC MAGIC WHEN I HAVE HELPED YOU GAIN THE TIME-SIGHT, NOT KNOWING WHETHER WHAT YOU ARE SEEING ON YOUR LITTLE VISION JOURNEYS IS THE TRUTH OR SIMPLY AN ILLUSION OF EL!

Archimedes stood firm and held his ground: I have been fearing that what I've been seeing by my time-sight is not true! I wanted to strengthen my faith by dispelling the illusion. I saw something on my vision journey that confused me. Zack Martin's brother is alive and well, even though that was not my original intention. He has the Mark of El!

Lord Abaddon responded: WHAT OF IT? NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE INTEGRAL TO THE PATH I HAVE SET BEFORE YOU AS MY PARTNER. WE ARE ABOUT TO WIN AND BEGIN A NEW ERA. SIMPLY STICK WITH WHAT I TOLD YOU TO DO, AND NO OBSTACLE CAN STOP US.

But Archimedes had just tricked Lord Abaddon into confirming his greatest fear: So! There really IS a Cody Martin! What I saw in the visions were real! What I remember and see with my time-sight is not real! Answer me this! Why are there so many people with the Mark of El? How have they been beating back the darkness we've tried to create for so long without my knowledge? Why didn't you tell me about them?

Lord Abaddon's words rang sharp in Archimedes' mind: IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT SO MUCH? WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT OTHERS HAVE THE MARK OF OUR ENEMY? I DIDN'T TELL YOU BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK IT WORTH MENTIONING! I AM COGNIZANT OF IT ALL, AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COGNIZANT OF IT. THAT IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW. I HAVE COVERED THIS WITH YOU ALREADY: EL'S LIGHT IS INFECTIOUS, BUT IT CAN BE WIPED OUT, SO LONG AS WE STICK TO PATH AND IGNORE PETTY INCONVENIENCES!

Archimedes challenged back: I couldn't kill Cody! The mark protected him! It caused me to change my mind without realizing it and eventually forget he even existed! Why couldn't I, who am dual marked, carry out my plans against him?

A prolonged growl seemed to come from Lord Abaddon's body: I WILL NOT TELL YOU THIS ONE MORE TIME! WORRY NOT ABOUT THE SONS OF EL! THEIR TIME IS COMING TO AN END. WE WILL DEAL WITH THEM AFTER THE ASCENSION. THE POWER OF EL WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PROTECT THEM OR THIS WORLD AFTERWARD.

Archimedes had clenched his hand into a fist: Yet I can't kill them! I can't get past this! This news is utterly disturbing! I am supposed to be your right hand person. You have withheld this against me! Tell me, have I ever faced one of these people directly? How can I know that, for sure, it is truly you who is the strongest? How do I know you are telling me the truth?

Lord Abaddon: WE FIGHT IN A REALM WHERE THE LIGHT STRUGGLES FOR SUPREMECY. THERE ARE SOME SETBACKS WE SIMPLY CANNOT FIGHT AGAINST AT THIS TIME. IT IS SIMPLY THE RULES OF THE GAME. THE WAGER OF POWER AGAINST POWER. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY. THE GODS MUST WAGE WAR WITH EACH OTHER BEFORE TRUE SUPREMECY CHOOSES A VICTOR. IT MUST BE THIS WAY FOR A TIME, TIMES, AND HALF A TIME. IT IS ONLY FAIR. WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF BRINGING THE STRUGGLE INTO OUR FAVOR. MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, ARE YOU STILL ON BOARD WITH THE PLAN? CAN I STILL TRUST YOU AT THIS POINT? ARE YOU COWARDING OUT NOW, AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR YOU OVER THE MILLENIA OF THIS WORLD? IF YOU HAVE LOST ALL FAITH IN ME AND MY POWER, THEN IT CAN BE EASILY TAKEN FROM YOU AND GIVEN TO ANOTHER. I'M SURE THAT I CAN FIND AT LEAST ONE OTHER PERSON ON THIS VESSEL WHO STILL HAS FAITH. I WILL TELL YOU SOMETHING ELSE, SINCE YOU STILL DOUBT ME: THE ONE THAT SOMETIMES MESSES WITH YOUR MIND AND MAKES YOU FORGET THINGS IS NONE OTHER THAN OLIVER DRAKE. HE HAS BEEN RESISTING US FAR MORE THAN YOU REALIZE. YOU ASSUMED THAT SINCE HE WAS UNDER THE TOTAL CONTROL OF THE XETRACH HE WOULD BE BENIGN AND A PERFECT SLAVE. HE IS NOT. WHILE YOU HAVE NOT BEEN COGNIZANT OF THIS, YOU HAVE LET HIM ENTER INTO YOUR MIND AND WREAK HAVOC WITH IT A LITTLE. I HAVE KEPT YOU FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THIS ERROR UNTIL SUCH A TIME AS THIS TO REVEAL IT. I HAVE DONE THIS FOR A REASON. I HAVE DONE THIS TO SHOW YOU THAT I HAVE BEEN FULLY COGNIZANT OF EVERYTHING ALL ALONG AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN FULL CONTROL. DO YOU UNDERSTAND IT NOW? I ALONE HAVE BEEN WATCHING OVER YOU AND KEEPING YOU SAFE. NOTHING HAS HAPPENED THAT I AM NOT AWARE OF. NOTHING HAS HAPPENED THAT I CANNOT CREATE A COUNTER PLAN TO! I KNOW ALL THE THINGS YOU KNOW NOW, AND FAR MORE THAN THAT. YET I DO NOT FEAR! YOU DO NOT SEE ME TREMBLING LIKE SOME WORTHLESS HALF-WIT! YOU STILL DOUBT MY POWER, BUT I ALONE CAN PROTECT YOU FROM HARM AND SEE THAT MY WILL SHALL COME TO PASS. YOU CANNOT SEE THIS YET, BUT I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOU FROM YOUR SHACKLES OF MORTALHOOD AND MAKE YOU INTO A GOD LIKE MYSELF: A TRULY BLESSED AND PRIVILEGED BEING! BUT STILL YOU DO NOT TRUST ME! IS THIS HOW YOU REPAY ME? HOW LONG SHALL I PUT UP WITH THE LIKES OF YOU?

Archimedes was stunned at what Lord Abaddon had just said. He thought on these words for a period of time, chewing them over in his mind. Suddenly, an awe and fear swept through his mind toward the being standing in front of him. Something a lot like love spread through his body, permeating every emotion. It was just like in the beginning, out in the wilderness, when he had first encountered this stunning being for the first time, the one who always spoke words that seemed wise and true. Archimedes/Cain finally responded: Please accept my apology for having doubted you and falling into error, risking the plan and our partnership. I should have not come to the point of doubting myself nor you after all this time. If you will continue to accept me as your willing partner, I promise that I will, from now until the very end, shut all else out and stick to the plan as it has been given. I shall finish the plan as it was conceived in the beginning!

Lord Abaddon simply gazed down upon Archimedes with his piercing red eyes: NEVER FORGET I WAS THE ONE WITH THE FOREKNOWLEDGE THAT LAID OUT THE PATH OF DEFEATING EL. NEVER FORGET IT WAS I WHO DIRECTED YOU WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO PULL THE XETRACH FROM THE DIMENSIONAL HOLE IN THE SECOND GALAXY BEYOND THIS ONE. NEVER FORGET THAT I WAS THE ONE WHO SHOWED YOU HOW TO ALTER THE DIMENSIONAL PROPERTIES OF THIS WORLD AND GAIN THE TIME-SIGHT AND LEARN HOW TO TIME TRAVEL! NEVER FORGET THAT I WAS THE ONE WHO TOOK PITY ON YOU EVEN WHEN YOU WERE WALKING AROUND SNIVELING IN THE WILDERNESS AFTER BEING BEATEN DOWN BY EL! NEVER FORGET THAT IT WAS I THAT UNLOCKED YOUR POTENTIAL AND GAVE YOU THE TRUE FREEDOM YOU'D ALWAYS WANTED! NEVER FORGET THESE THINGS! I AM YOUR SAVIOR, YOUR LORD, YOUR FRIEND, YOUR MASTER! I AM THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD AND OF ALL THE UNIVERSES IN EXISTENCE. MY DARKNESS IS POWER FOR THOSE STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE HOLD OF IT, TO GRASP IT CLOSE TO THEIR BREASTS, TO UTILIZE IT TO THE FULLEST. IT IS POWER FOR THOSE WHO WOULD BE SAVED BY IT. I HAVE TOLD YOU THUS FROM THE BEGINNING. YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THE FEW WHO IS STRONG ENOUGH TO BE SAVED. DO NOT WAVER IN IT!

Archimedes, looking up at Abaddon, straight in the eyes, puffed out his chest and said: I shall not waver in it anymore! I am your partner, and the sworn enemy of El through and through!

Lord Abaddon continue gazing at Cain/Archimedes, and said: BUT IS YOUR HEART FULLY INTO IT? I SEE HOW YOU GAZE AT THE MARK ON YOUR HEAD AT TIMES WHEN YOU ARE ALONE AND THINK NO ONE IS WATCHING. I HAVE SEEN THE SOMBER MOODS BY WHICH YOU THINK ON IT THROUGHOUT THE MILLENIA. I HAVE NEVER ONCE SOUGHT TO BRING IT UP OR CONFRONT YOU WITH IT, BUT NOW, IN THIS MOST IMPORTANT OF HOURS, I NEED A REASSURANCE OF YOUR FAITH. I NEED YOU TO FULLY RENOUNCE EL! I NEED TO KNOW FOR SURE YOU ARE WITH ME THROUGH AND THROUGH. WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF FAR TOO MUCH TO FALTER SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU CANNOT HANDLE WHAT I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU WHEN I MAKE MY PERMANENT RESIDENCE INSIDE OF YOU.

Archimedes puffed himself up stronger: My heart is fully dedicated to you! I solemnly swear that from this day forward, as in the past, I renounce all things of the Light! I renounce the chains of El! I renounce his light and the weakness of love and the detestable emotions and lower ideals that come with it! I vow to purge this realm of the Light once and for all! I spit in El's face, laugh at his gifts, and state once and for all that I outright despise him and will have nothing further to do with him for as long as I exist! With my very hands, I will seek to cast him into the bottomless abyss and throw away the key! When I become God, I vow to rip El to shreds with my very hands!

Lord Abaddon laughed, laughter Archimedes could only hear in his mind and not physically: IT IS GOOD THAT YOU SAY THAT! I CAN SEE THAT YOUR HEART IS FULLY AND TRULY DEDICATED TO ME! DO YOU KNOW HOW I KNOW? IT'S BECAUSE UPON SPEAKING THOSE WORDS, EL'S MARK HAS DISAPPEARED FROM YOUR FOREHEAD AND DEPARTED. YOU WILL NOT SEE IT ANYMORE EVER AGAIN! EL HAS TRULY ABANDONED YOU! ALL HOPE HE HAD OF WINNING YOU BACK AS HIS SLAVE IS NOW GONE, AND HE KNOWS IT, AND THUS HE HAS NO FURTHER USE OF YOU. YOU ARE NOW AS BUT DUST TO HIM. HE HAS LEFT YOU, AND RENEGED ON HIS DEAL OF PROTECTION. NOW, TRULY, I AM THE ONLY ONE LEFT YOU CAN TURN TO. TELL ME, CAIN, SON OF ADAM, DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL SADNESS AND DESPAIR ON THE INSIDE? ARE YOU GOING TO NOW REPRESS YOUR TEARS UNTIL I DEPART AND YOU THINK I AM NO LONGER WATCHING? ARE YOU GOING TO CRY AND WEEP FOR THE ONE WHO ABADONED YOU, WHO WAS NEVER EVEN THERE FOR YOU FROM THE BEGINNING? DO I STILL HAVE YOUR FULL SUPPORT AND TRUST, EVEN IN THE LIGHT OF THIS COMPLETE AND FINAL REJECTION BY EL? OR ARE YOU GOING TO LET YOUR HEART BECOME SO SADDENED THAT YOU FALL INTO WEAKNESS AND FAIL ME?

Again, Archimedes was stunned beyond knowing what to say. He felt the sudden urge to run over to the mirror and test Lord Abaddon's words, just to check and see if the mark was truly gone. But he knew that would be a bad idea. He swallowed, and focused on all the anger and rage he could muster.

El had rejected him! He had indeed never truly been loved all along! It had always been conditional! He had never been nothing more than a slave.

To Lord Abaddon, he said: You have my full and complete devotion. I will kill El. I will destroy anyone who serves him. I will decimate anyone who stands in my way.

Lord Abaddon replied: DO NOT FALL INTO WEAKNESS AGAIN. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE, LEST I TAKE MY POWER AWAY FROM YOU. THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING. FINISH THAT WHICH HAS BEEN STARTED. IN ONLY A VERY SHORT SPAN OF TIME, THE UNIVERSE WILL BE OURS!

And then Lord Abaddon disappeared. The shadows started receding from the room.

Archimedes could only stand there, feeling more stressed out than he could ever remember being.

The mirror was over the sink on the other side of the room. He had the strong urge to walk over and check. But he knew that if he did, Lord Abaddon would withdraw his power and he would lose the other mark!

To check once more against Lord Abaddon's words would be a show of once again having little faith.

He kicked the bowl of water across the room.

Standing there, he pushed down the desire to give into his temptation. Now was a time for strength, more than any other time.

He had to have faith! It was all he had at this point.

But there was something strange he was feeling right now. Something he swore he'd never felt before, at least, not in all the time since he'd met Lord Abaddon, but he was feeling it now.

Darkness was his power. Darkness had always been his power. It had always kept him fulfilled. Indeed, he was filled with it now more than ever.

But yet, it was strange.

He realized now that he felt completely empty.

It was an abysmal and despairing feeling, a gigantic gap inside of him he didn't know how to even begin to fill. But why should that be? Wasn't he filled with the power of darkness? Wasn't he marked by Lord Abaddon himself? Shouldn't that have been enough?

But why then did he suddenly feel like he didn't exist at all on the inside? Like nothing truly mattered anymore? Why he suddenly felt like he was filled with nothing but despair, longing, grief, and desire for death?

Perhaps he was simply being messed with again.

He thought back to Abaddon's words. All he needed to do was trust in Lord Abaddon. Lord Abaddon wouldn't fail him. Lord Abaddon's words were truth! He must not waver in his mission!

He gritted his teeth and, with but a single thought, summoned the interloper to his side. Instantly, the red light illuminated throughout the room, as Oliver Drake materialized right behind Archimedes. Archimedes turned around to look at him.

"Did you think you'd really get away with it?" Archimedes said angrily to Oliver, seething.

Oliver said: Can you blame me?

"Do you understand the importance of what we are trying to do? We are going to make history today! We are going to set the universe right!" Archimedes gestured with his hands as he spoke in an angry fashion, like he wanted to wrap them around Oliver's neck and choke roughly.

Oliver responded: You are a moron. He intends nothing good for anyone. I can see this just as clearly through the very power of the Xetrach that deceived me. He knows he cannot defeat the true God, so he's trying to bring as much harm and misery to the worlds as possible . His only goal is to plunge as many universes as he can into darkness and despair. It's the only way he can possibly hurt God. He's, in a sense, very little different from you. The main difference is you're only letting yourself be manipulated.

"Your lies cannot penetrate my heart anymore! I won't allow it! I am stronger than you! When I recreate the universe, you will kneel before me, and I will punish you for your sins!" Archimedes said, pointing at Oliver.

Oliver: You already force me to kneel to you, though with my heart I will never bow down to you. You are an imbecile. Even if this world falls into darkness, the sum total of the universes will never fall into darkness. You are not my god. I pray for deliverance, and I feel my prayer has been heard! Do you want to know something? I prayed for years to the false god you created for Fetch Rock, believing and hoping earnestly! My prayers never went to that god. I know it now. But then I prayed to your enemy and found out that my prayers were being heard all along by the real One! I can feel it! My perspective has changed about so many things. In the end, it's all about love. You made a mistake when you rejected love. The only reason you felt you were never loved was because you made a choice in your heart to reject love. You did that even before you killed your brother. But this same love you despise will defeat you. Stop this now! Turn back to love! It's the only way to truly be alive.

Archimedes simply looked at Oliver and spitefully yelled: "Kneel!"

Oliver at once went to his feet.

Archimedes lectured Oliver with great rage in his voice: "Just exactly to what stupid depths have you fallen to give yourself hope! The God you're talking to will never do anything to help you! You are still my slave! Under MY power! Just like El never appeared to prevent my brother from being killed by my hand, who was so pious in serving him, neither shall he save you from my power! I am your god, I will always be your god, and Abaddon will always be your God!"

Oliver: I care not about myself! You may control my spirit for now, but you will never touch my soul. I feel more pity for you than for myself. You won't even give heed to the chance that you might be wrong. You are hastening to your own destruction.

Archimedes mentally relinquished his power, and Oliver stood to his feet once more. "You are my dog. When I say jump, you jump. When I say wag your tail, you wag your tail. If I say, make me a portal, you help me create a portal. If I say, summon all the energies here together to open the hole and summon the very devil himself, you say, 'Yes, God!' and you do exactly as I say! Nothing else! Do not give yourself over to giving me lip or holding onto worthless hope!"

Oliver: And how is it going to feel when you finally find out how wrong you were? When you come to your senses and realize how many people you've hurt? Killed? Destroyed? What kind of despair are you going to live under then, knowing that you turned your back on the only true and good power in the universe! How will you feel when you finally find that your entire life has amounted to nothing at all!

"You are not in a position to backtalk me!" Archimedes screamed at him.

Oliver: And why is that, now? Can you do something else to me you haven't already done?

"I can plunge your spirit into the very depths of eternal torment!" Archimedes raged at Oliver.

Oliver: But you won't until you've have your little ritual. And by then it will be too late for you.

"No, it will only be too late for YOU."

Oliver: By the way, you still have both marks.

Archimedes was momentarily struck by those words, but quickly regained his composure.

"I do not! How dare you lie to me!"

Oliver: I'm not lying to you. But you're still too blind to see that you're the one who's the real puppet here.

"I will absolutely destroy you after I am done summoning Abaddon!"

Oliver: Why don't you look in the mirror right now? Why don't you test and see if my words are true!

"I am dedicated to the one true God of the universe! I will not disobey him once again! I respect him! I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to get me to betray his trust once more! But I won't let you win!"

Oliver: Someday you will see who has been telling the truth and who has been lying to you. But I fear you will have willingly plunged your soul too far into darkness and ignorance to be beyond hope.

"Enough of you! I need no hope. I have all the hope of the world!" Archimedes angrily waved his hand, and instantly Oliver was gone.

He was fuming.

He was also a little afraid, but he wasn't going to admit that to himself any longer.

He glanced over at the mirror, in which he could not see his reflection from the angle he was standing.

He glanced down at the back of his right hand, where the Mark of Abaddon appeared sharply, more pronounced by the soft radiance of darkness emanating from it.

What if I'm wrong?

But he silenced that thought and clenched his fist. "To the ends of the universe, I will trust you, Lord Abaddon. I cannot afford to be wrong!"

And with that, he exited the room.

(2)

There were about a hundred high ranking followers of the Cult of Belial standing in the auditorium at attention waiting for Archimedes' speech and announcement of the ceremony about to begin soon.

A ring of about seven members were standing on the stage. The room had been rearranged from the secondary medical bay it had been set up to be. A podium had been set up for Archimedes to deliver his speech from.

The members of the Cult of Belial were wearing dark robes, each with red lining around the sleeves along thin, red sashes tied around the wastes. The higher ranking members on the stage had light green lining on their sleeves, blue sashes, and various occultic symbols on their dark robes. There was an energy in the air despite the solemn appearance of the cult members. It would only be a very short while before the festivities began.

They came from all walks of life, the members of the Cult of Belial. Archimedes' invention, all the way down through the ages. He could still fondly remember the olden days. The Cult of Belial had been a much stronger group, then. Modern day Bibles left out so much history of what had taken place. But then again, Bibles only contained what the Judaic and later Christian writers had felt was adequate enough to convey a specific theology.

Abel's death had spawned a type of shock and horror that the world had not previously known. The world had already been fairly well populated by the time he had slain his own brother. Cain had been roughly 600 years old when he had done the deed. His parents had had more than enough adequate time to populate the world by then, and their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well.

Humans lived much longer back then. El had screwed with the atmosphere following the flood in order to decrease the average lifespan of human beings and keep them under his thumb.

But to reiterate the point, there were many people who lived in the world back in Cain's time.

After having lived in the wilderness for some time, following his meeting with Lord Abaddon and subsequent transformation and resurrection, Cain had set out into the world in order to begin his task as given. It had not taken him long to find others who were like him, others who questioned the truth and enslavement of El. The spirit of Abaddon had led him right to them. They'd founded the Cult of Belial and set off to build an entire town for themselves, a commune set off from the rest of the world. There they primarily studied the secrets of the darkness, dark magic and incantations, the secrets of the Old World, and learned about the true dark power of the universe. It was several decades after that that Cain had penned the first, short, rough draft of the Necronomicon.

In the beginning, the Cult of Belial had had a specific focus as scholars, studying the world and learning about it. But from the beginning their intention had been to return the world to the way it had been. This was the focus of their religion.

But there had been others in the world who had found out about what he was doing and panicked. It was a descendant of one of Adam's lines who started the Cult of El, the first formalized worship of El since the world was remade. The rituals had first been created by Abel, who had sought a systematic way of worship to El, but it was his father's descendant Enosh who had made it worldwide.

For the most part, in the beginning, the cults fought against each other with rhetoric. But it soon became clear that physical war was inevitable.

People had been afraid to shed blood for several decades after Cain killed Abel. But after some time, a few more deaths occurred, some natural, some by accident, and over time people came to become numb to the scary and curious power of death more and more. It became something just as natural as sexual intercourse.

And when that stupid fool Lamech decided to kill a teenager who had wounded him and decided that, contrary to the fears of most others, that El had likely given him a seventy-seven fold "curse." Of course, that didn't happen, but neither did El show up on as he had to Cain on that fateful day and judge him. Talk about a double standard! But after this people lost their fear of killing and realized what a powerful weapon it could be used as to control others.

Cain welcomed this newfound acceptance of violence in the world and only used this to spur his own cult on more. He taught his followers to embrace the power of death, not fear it. Death was the tool El used against them. Only by submitting to El could one be trapped by it. But death was transformation. Darkness was their power. Only by submitting the world to death could it be reborn. Only by controlling the darkness could the true 'light' be found.

The followers of the Cult of El began to see it as a probable good idea to wipe out the Cult of Belial by bloodshed, but Cain himself still had the Sevenfold Curse. (Lamech didn't. Cain had arranged to have this tested out by brutal means and it indeed turned out that Lamech was simply a fool.) Those who tried to assassinate Cain, though, died horrendous deaths at their own hands.

This created much confusion because it seemed El was fighting for Cain, even though no one outside his cult viewed Cain as on the side of good. Cain utilized this fear to empower his own group and spread dissension among the Cult of El. Cain even sent his own members to infiltrate the Cult of El to cause turmoil from the inside.

Around that time, his right hand man was his own son, Enoch. But in a twist of delightful irony, there also arose in the Cult of El a prominent leader named also named Enoch. Enoch was a charismatic fellow who had a way of words and rallied the demoralized Cult of El so that it reversed and grew again like wildfire. Enoch amazingly and irritatingly set Cain's work back quite a bit.

But then one day Enoch (of the cult of El) vanished without a trace, leaving much speculation and confusion. This caused the Cult of El to be on the verge of a breakdown.

While Cain was off on business in another town one week, the Cult of El took swords in hand and attacked the city he had built with his own hands and ravaged it. They put his Cain's son, Enoch, to the sword. When Cain returned, all he could feel was immense agitation and rage. But he still had the Sevenfold Curse. He took a few men with him, and came upon one of the major dwellings where many members of the Cult of El kept themselves and devoted themselves to much prayer, meditation, worship, and study. He simply walked right in and started killing people. No one could lift a hand against him due to the Sevenfold Curse. They could simply only watch (and run) as he killed them off one by one.

He had smiled. The power of El was still with him. What an inconsistent god, being against him, yet honoring the deal made, even siding against his own followers! It never made any sense to Cain.

Except as it turned out, El never needed to strike him down. Cain's own body turned against him. He realized at that point he'd been showing illness for some time and had neglected it, since the thought of him being able to die had never crossed his mind. But at this exact moment, it took on its full-fledged ugliness, and he'd suddenly dropped dead in front of his enemies.

Could El have inflicted his body with disease? He'd thought about it quite a bit. But that would have meant El had reneged on his deal. And Cain still had the mark in subsequent lives. Had El lied? He wouldn't have put it past El to be so underhanded, to cheat on the very rules he had set into place.

But Abaddon had certainly honored his deal. Cain's soul had not passed over to El when he died, but was rescued, where he spent some time in the darkness of the universe, mediating and growing stronger.

It was a mercy, perhaps, when Cain was killed as he did. His entire cult was slaughtered and wiped out, even though darkness continued to consume the Earth, against El's wishes. Cain also missed the worldwide flood, though he would have surely died naturally long before anyway.

But it was when the world got underway again, due to El's weak attempt to protect a human race that was not and would never be his own people, that Cain got his second lease on life.

An Egyptian necromancer, under Abaddon's guidance, summoned his spirit back to the mortal plane. Cain was little more than a ghost at this time, but he was able to use his influence to direct the foundation of a new cult. Then came the magic that could be used to transfer his soul into a willing body, effectively knocking the soul out of the body and creating a new dwelling place for a strong soul like Cain's. It was based off of the magic by which the Abaddon Collective had taken over the bodies of the Automatons in Atlantis.

The world was quite large and repopulated by this point, and thus, Cain's modus operendi changed.

If he was going to change the world, he needed to infiltrate every part of the world. Thus, he created not just another cult like before, but a network of loose yet firmly connected cults, numerous secret groups that were connected by a series of very thin lines. Many of them didn't even know of the existence of the others.

He created groups and hierarchies and a very complex system of organizing it all. Often times he would withhold information about the true objectives of the cult(s) from all but those in his inner circle, preferring to let the lot of them act like they were in some sort of special club with extra powers at their grasp not available to most mortals, using only those he willed under his tighter control so long as it moved him closer to his own ends. Even those in the "inner circle" only had a true inkling of everything that was going on. Thus it was to this day.

Even now, the groups assembled in the auditorium had little idea of what was truly about to take place. The Seven knew more than the roughly hundred others gathered in the auditorium. But all of them knew that they were gathered here for a special speech by the Grand Father.

These were not ignorant members of the Cult of Belial. They were high enough to know about the system of cults, their connections, time travel, and that the transformation of the world was attainable and never far from hand. The lot of them would have vastly different philosophies of what the Order meant to them. So as it should be. Archimedes had encouraged such things, in both the Necronomicon and the statements put forth throughout the Order.

But aside from the Seven, they had little idea of the magnitude of what was about to take place. Some surely thought the Glorious Appearing was a myth or a metaphor. Others envisioned it as some far off time. Nay, not so. How surprised they would be when they found out just where they were and what was about to take place! And that was only half the fun. All of them thought this was simply some sort of rare, specialized assignment. And in a good sense, it was. But Archimedes had kept everyone but the Seven in the dark.

Surely the Seven had some degree of skepticism. But they would not doubt him for long. And they would not raise a hand against him. He had chosen them specifically for the fact their ideals aligned closely enough with his.

Not a single one of them knew that he was Cain, however. None of them knew that all the names by which they had known the Grand Father(s) all throughout history had, in fact, been one and the same person. None of them (except for the Seven) even knew that their current Grand Father was the mayor Archimedes Demarion who ran a small town out in the middle of nowhere called Fetch Rock! It was his best kept secret.

But none of it was without purpose. This secrecy, this lack of information and deliberate confusion had been spread by him as a safeguard. He pulled all the strings in the background like a master puppeteer. His Cult of Belial could never be taken down because there were too many of them, splintered all over the U.S. and in all parts of the world. They all followed different variations of the religion of Abaddon, all created by him to suit the different contextual purposes of different locations and cultures. No one group could be easily tied to the other. Some groups were not even aware they were in a Cult of Abaddon or a Cult of Belial.

The destruction of his original cult had taught him thus. Never again would he allow his cult to be centered entirely in one group. He would not have them all slaughtered at once like pigs and have his work set back more than it already had been. This was the purpose of having the tightly controlled but splintered groups.

St. Paul in the Christian Bible once referred to Satan as 'the God of this age.' If that were true, then Cain/Archimedes fancied himself the truest physical incarnation of the 'god of this age.'

His Cult of Belial had infiltrated everything. For the most part, he was content to simply let the world trudge on as it may unless something was pivotal to his plans. But there wasn't an organization nor institution that he couldn't infiltrate and control if he so desired it.

…but that was why the visions had left him so rattled. According to them, followers of El had been opposing him all over the world, all throughout the ages, and succeeding, succeeding at pushing his darkness back! And he had never even known! And they all had marks like him!

He had tried to target one that he knew of… and had failed. He had forgotten Cody Martin even existed!

For the first time, since that day when El appeared and confronted him about his sin of committing the first murder, he felt like his power was slipping out of his hands.

But Lord Abaddon! Abaddon didn't seem concerned. Abaddon seemed to have known everything all along! And if Lord Abaddon was not concerned, he should probably not be, either. Although it still ripped him a little of the sheer amount of information that had been kept from him. He fought to keep back his anger. But it was there. In the shadows. Not as bad as his rage at El, but still.

It greatly irked him! With all the power he had, he realized just how weak he still was. Worse, it was practically being rubbed right in his face!

He realized then that he had, for ages, tried to consider himself as Abaddon's equal. But now he realized he truly was not. He did not at this time have enough power as Abaddon. Abaddon could take it away from him. This produced a type of depression and despair in his spirit.

But then again, Abaddon was the true God, was he not? Abaddon desired to bring freedom to the universe, and Cain was his Messiah on the world in the fight against El.

Trust in Abaddon… hold back his fear! He must not let his fear even have an ounce of control over him! He must stand strong! Surely, salvation was at hand!

Abaddon had assured him they were going to win. It was all set. Nothing could stop them now.

El could not be the true God! It wasn't lost on Cain that El had tried to rule the world with love and mercy and fairness, or so he had claimed. But that was what made El so weak. And El was also a hypocrite. El had underhandedly tried to make Cain, as well his parents, his willful slaves.

All for all this talk of the virtue and power of love, still the darkness was just as pervasive as ever in the world.

Try to snuff it out… the darkness… it only persisted and fought back with a vengeance! That is why Cain had chosen to ally himself with the darkness. For power. The power that could conquer a thousand universes!

He could not afford to be wrong. El never tried to stop him from murdering his brother. El had never once showed him any affection in the old days, even though he had worked his butt off to be accepted!

He was treated as the lesser brother in those days… as the lesser being… under everyone's thumb…

El had set him up to do what he did! He just knew it! It was to keep him trapped and weak!

He hated El so much.

(3)

He tried to get his mind back on track as he walked briskly through the DEOS facility, past the beings of the Abaddon Collective aimlessly roaming around, zombie-like.

His God was darkness now. His God was power. Soon he would be vindicated. Soon he would have his vengeance!

(4)

Archimedes marched in an almost triumphant manner into the auditorium. He was wearing the Golden demon mask. The other cultists barely moved an inch at his entry. Everyone stood at attention, as if a well-organized military awaiting orders from their superior commander. There was a general aura of anticipation and uncertainty as to what was to happen.

A few people were eyeing the Abaddon Collective shuffling around the room curiously. The Collective simply ignored the humans in their midst. They humans here all had the mark. They could not be touched.

Archimedes stepped up to the podium. The Seven moved back to give him space.

Archimedes paused for a moment and looked out toward his audience. All eyes were on him, waiting, not knowing what to expect.

Archimedes' keen eye could see a guy who looked like he was trembling in his robes, over in the left side. Archimedes' left. He kept a mental note. He'd deal with the guy in a moment.

And then he did a gesture which surprised and shocked the crowd and generated some brief, shocked whispering. He removed the demon mask.

Never before in the history of the entire Order had the Grand Father removed his mask while speaking before a large assembly. All except the highest ranking members of the Cult of Belial had ever seen his face!

Archimedes cleared his throat. "Members of the Order, servants of his most high Abaddon, as you know, the circumstances you are experiencing right now are of the most extraordinary imaginable. For those of you who don't know, allow me to introduce myself. I am the current Grand Father of the Order, my real name is Archimedes Demarion. You may be shocked that I have now chosen to reveal my identity like this to you. As you well know, up till this point, my identity has been kept concealed to all but those in the highest ranks of the Order. This secret, of course, had to be kept, because for as many generations as this world has trudged on, there are many out there who have not seen the world the way we do, and would have loved nothing more than to get a clear shot at all of us. Certainly, in ages past, when we were less clandestine than we are now, or when the identities of a particular sect became known, the world retaliated with a vengeance.

"But I tell you that time is over! All masks are off! We are not hiding from the world anymore, nor do we any longer have any need to hide. We stand here on the precipice of being vindicated this very day! Now, I know that all of you are among the highest ranking members of the many different sects or cells that the Order operates by. I do not doubt for a second your sincerity to our faith and our cause. But – I also know full well that a lot of you have this tendency to believe that the Glorious Appearing is simply a metaphor, or some historical event far off, or a symbol representing some ideal to strive towards. Even though most of you are all far-well advanced warlocks and sorcerers in your own, yet, many you do not truly believe a day will come when we shall be vindicated and darkness shall rule the world.

"But it is not a day far off! Nor is it a metaphor, a simplistic ideal, nor a myth – It is something real and literal and tangible! It is here right now! Literally! In this very place! It will happen within the hour! The age of Abaddon has finally come! We are going to be the ones to herald it in. Many of you are not aware of what you passed through to get here. Some of you were indeed correct in your assumptions that the Day of Abaddon is a historical event 'far off.' So I've brought you through time and space to that very day! Know also that that which we know as 'time' will soon cease to exist, once our Lord makes his ascension and his darkness covers all times, all places!

"Some of you probably think this is some sort of retreat, or exercise, or drill, or some sort of extended worship service. It's not! The current year is 2166. We are in the place known as the legendary Bermuda Triangle. We are on top of THE master hole!"

This got the cultists animated all of a sudden, far more than when Archimedes had removed his mask. Whispers were passing rapidly from one to another.

"Think carefully before you doubt my words!" Archimedes said, raising his finger dramatically. "This is not an Order dedicated to jokes or silliness or pulling each others' legs. This is about an ideal much higher than us, yet one of which we can strive to attain to completion. I am the Grand Father and I am not one for petty jokes! Let any member of this Order be accursed should they speak false words to any of us, the brethren! So know that when I say I AM the Grand Father and that we ARE on top of the master hole AND we now have a way to summon the Dark Father himself out of the hole, know that my words that I say are true and guided! Know also that the spiritual and dimensional lines are even thinner here than any other hole! Know also that all times and places are connected to this hole! We are about to bring about the Glorious Appearing and plunge the entire universe into darkness, all times, all places!

"Fear not! Those of you with the mark, ALL those within the Cult of Belial all over the world who bear the Mark of the Abaddon, will be spared by our God once he finally emerges. And even better, those of us who sided with him will be blessed with godhood, to rule over the universe with him for eternity! We will be greatly rewarded for serving him! All others shall be destroyed! The light shall be extinguished! You will see that here today.

"Now, I can understand that the immensity of this situation might be quite shocking for you. The Glorious Appearing shall soon happen, you are all guaranteed of that. But to those of you who feel the ordeal may be too intense upon you or are too bewildered to keep your mind straight and focused are given freedom to leave at this time. You may leave the same way you came in and devote yourself to prayer and supplication. Again, as I say, if it is too much for you to witness the summoning in person, or if you do not believe my words nor know what to think, I give you full leave. Leave now!"

There was dead silence for a moment. Nobody appeared to know what to think. But as time passed, slowly, a small handful of the cultists began to slink out from their perfect order and walk off.

Archimedes held his right hand up, two fingers up in the air, smiled, and said, "Very good! One more thing, before you go, I now revoke your marks!"

It was instantaneous. The Abaddon Collective that had been disinterestedly shuffling around the room suddenly pounced upon the defecting cultists. The cultists screamed as those strange, black tongue-like things came out of the beings, absorbing the cultists, and turning their bodies to decaying dust.

The other cultists simply stood at attention, not keeping their eyes on the horrific spectacle around them for more than a second. They knew better.

When the Abaddon Collective were done and the cultists were no more, Archimedes smiled.

"Now you all know that the words I say are true! I AM the Grand Father, and I have mastery over life and death, demons and fallen angels! I am the one who has been running this whole operation from beginning to end! The final summoning will happen soon, and you shall all be eyewitnesses to it!"

The Abaddon Collective were boredly shuffling around the room again.

Archimedes stepped away from the podium and started walking down the steps into the crowd. Every word he spoke was accompanied by passionate gestures with his hands, as a prophet guiding his sheep into the beginning of something new and grand and glorious.

"Gentlemen, and some ladies, we are now on the doorstep of rewriting history forever! This is not a time for cowardice or backing down from your vows to Abaddon now! You are all here, chosen, because you have been faithful to our Order and for years on end. Over many years you have proven your loyalty to the cause and steadily risen through the ranks. You were not kidding nor half-assing your devotion."

Archimedes walked up to the cult member that was still visibly trembling a little, grabbed his head, and started crushing it right there.

"But things change when we are down to the wire!" Archimedes said as he exerted all his force into smashing the man's head like a vice. "Suddenly it may not be as simple and easy as it was before!" The man was writing and squirming as Archimedes' hands were crushing and mangling his skull into a fine pulp. "If you change your mind at this point, when the true king of the world is about to arise, you do not deserve to be called the sons and servants of Lord Abaddon!"

Archimedes let go and let the man's corpse drop to the floor. What had once been his head could not possibly be discerned by this point as ever having been a human head.

Archimedes held out his hand in a pointed gesture as he continued to talk, blood and brain matter dripping from it.

"This is not a game! This is not a joke! This is victory, pure and simple! Those who join in it with unwavering hearts, full of devotion, shall be elevated to the highest godhood imaginable! Those of you who renege now shall be demoted to the lowest levels of Abaddon's torture chambers! Now, speak to me, are you ready?"

The cultists wasted no time. "Yes, Grand Father!"

"Sing praise to Lord Abaddon!" Archimedes raised his hands theatrically as he spoke.

"Hail, Lord Abaddon!" They called out in unison.

"Commit yourselves and assert your unwavering devotion!"

"We commit ourselves to thee and thy cause, Lord Abaddon. Thy will is true and perfect. We will serve you to the end of time."

"Lord Abaddon gives us true freedom! For this alone he deserves to be worshiped and exalted. Let us give thanks to the god that gives us our freedom!" Archimedes exulted, pointing in the air.

"Hail, Lord Abaddon, unholy and true! The one in which we exist and move and have our freedom!"

"Spit on the Other god with your words, the one that restricts us, enslaves us, and tries to tell us what to do!"

"We spit on thee, El, god of Light! May thee be plunged into Abaddon's hell for all eternity. We will not repent! We do not change our minds! We curse you to your face!"

Again, raising his hands theatrically. "Give praise to Lord Abaddon once more!"

"We praise thee, Lord Abaddon. Fill us with the power of thy unholy darkness. Send us out into the world to fill it with thy works, and deliver unto thy unholy name."

Archimedes was practically salivating with anticipation. He wiped his right hand on his robes and pulled out an electronic device from fairly well concealed pocket. He pressed a button and it beeped.

"Are we ready?" he barked into it.

"Affirmative, sir. Everything is fully operational. We are ready on your command."

Archimedes grinned.

"This is it, then! The time has come!" Speaking into the device one more time, he gave the order: "DEOS facility, rise!"

Almost at the end. Two more chapters to go, then a series of epilogues.