Sophia's Chronicles

Chapter 10: The War

The symphony of the stars echoed. Swirls of colours appeared in sight as galaxies became visible. I felt the harmonious vibrations of the matter surrounding me. Free from distractions, I sought revelation. What could the stars tell me about Death's message? I could only wonder. And so I waited in meditation. In my state of heightened awareness, I felt my consciousness being tugged in the direction of a particular star. The star was massive – larger than a typical one. It cried. Cried for an end. I gently touched it and it burst, sending large waves of energy outwards before collapsing on itself. It created a rift in the space-time continuum, forming a black hole. I stared into its deep, empty void. Even in stark bareness, there was beauty. The all-consuming void that did not discriminate. To think that this utter destruction was the product of creation was truly something to behold.

Perhaps this was the eternal balance after all. Creation was natural, as was destruction. But not at the pace that Amara was going at. God was guilty too of hasty creation. This unstable mix must have led to rising complexity in the universe – rising unpredictability as well. More disorder, more ways to manipulate the primordial energies. Anything could happen, regardless of what powerful beings like God or Amara did. But if all that was to be created was also to be destroyed, what was the point in anything? Did we have no choice but to continue as pawns of a game? Whose game? Theirs. This was when I noticed someone watching me. I stared into the black hole and I could have sworn it was staring back at me. "Who's there?" I asked.

"Hello, Sophia," a voice said. I flinched. "It is our pleasure to finally meet you."

"'Our'? So there's more than one of you?" I peered deeper into the black hole, finding no semblance of a being. That was… odd.

"Numbers are meaningless to us. We exist as a collective, not a singular. To think that a singular 'I' exists is a simple illusion."

"Alright…" I was at a loss for words. "Who are you?" I asked again.

"We are the ones who made you possible. We have been observing you."

"Sure, that's not strange at all," I remarked dryly. "So you won't give me a name?" I crossed my arms and waited for a response. None came. "Fine, don't tell me. What are you doing here? Did you come to lecture me on the evils of what I'm doing?"

"We have little interest in defining good and evil," the voice reverberated. "Who do you serve, Sophia?"

"Who do I serve?" I repeated the strange question. "I serve the truth. I serve knowledge. And you?"

"We serve the same thing, then. We just wish for you to know that we are similar," the voice said.

"Okay… what good will that do?" I probed.

"We wish to establish… rapport. Soon you might find yourself Godless and then who will you seek for assistance? It seems you will be in need of divine support."

"And you are supposed to be that support?" I huffed. "I will not lose my love for God so easily. Sure, He may need me to speak some hard truths but this changes little. I love Him as if He were my true Creator."

"You are allowed to think that now. A time will come when you find yourself serving us instead of Him. As we said, we already share the same goal." A shiver coursed through my veins. Something about this being did not sit right with me. And in any case, talking to a stranger who wouldn't even reveal their name had to be a bad idea. "It is time for us to leave. Keep us in mind."

"Wait," I called out. "You say I will require your support. But how will I find you again? What if I need to ask you something important?"

"You do not seek us. We seek you." With that the black hole emitted a blast of energy so large that I was shot across the universe with great speed. When I regained my balance, I headed back to Heaven. Well that was strange. But I really shouldn't be surprised at this point.

When I returned to Heaven, I could practically smell the fear and panic in the air. As I walked through the corridors of the main office building in the citadel, angels rushed back and forth, clearly flustered. I was about to enter Michael's office when I heard murmuring from inside. It sounded like… an argument. I neared the door, tuning my ears to listen to the conversation.

"Tell me what I'm supposed to make of it," Michael's muffled voice sounded. "Why has the Watcher in the Garden named you, Lucifer?"

"How should I know?" Lucifer's unmistakable voice sounded exasperated. "Like I said, he's insane."

"He's insane? And what about you? After everything you've done? The Leviathans, the unhinged fighting… am I supposed to think you're incapable of this?" Michael accused. My mind raced with worry. He sounded so… angry. It was almost unlike him.

"It doesn't matter," Lucifer argued. "What's happened, happened."

"Doesn't-" I heard a sigh. "What exactly do you think you're doing? How could you betray Father's trust like this?"

"I didn't betray anyone! I have an alibi. Ask Sophie where I was that night if you're so worried," Lucifer shot back.

"So now you're dragging her into whatever crazy scheme you have? Just because she cares too much about you to say no…"

"Hey! You know nothing about what we have!" Lucifer snapped.

"Maybe I don't. Maybe she wants to lie for you. I don't care. But tell me, is it fair that she suffers with you? Is it fair to turn her away from her own morals for you?" Michael probed. There was a silence. I could already envision Lucifer's jaw tightening as he glared at his brother with a fiery gaze. "I want to help you, brother. But I can't do that if you won't help yourself. Whatever it is that you've done, seek forgiveness from Father. There may be redemption yet."

I heard footsteps. I backed away from the door. The door swung open and Lucifer paused mid-exit as he noticed me. He didn't seem to be in the mood for talking. He simply walked past me wordlessly, a cold breeze passing me by with an intensity that could create a storm. I felt like my heart was stabbed by an icicle as I watched his back disappear around the corner down the stairs.

"Sophia," I heard Michael's voice more clearly. He awaited me at the doorway. "We need to talk."

Any frustration from his earlier conversation with Lucifer was dispelled so quickly that one could barely tell that he'd been upset. Perhaps he had plenty of experience by now at hiding his emotions for the sake of getting his job done. We were both seated at his desk in a familiar position which over time only seemed to get less pleasant for both of us. "Is this about Eden?" I asked. If he'd been talking to Lucifer about it before, it might make sense to investigate me too. Had Gadreel also revealed my presence?

"It is," Michael confirmed. If he'd been so mad at Lucifer, I could only imagine what he'd feel towards me and again, I felt a tingle of guilt tugging at my heart. Would this be another… moment of pain? Like the one I had with Gabriel? This time it'd be worse because evidently, Michael never thought I would be capable of such a thing. I'd utterly let him down and I wasn't sure there was a chance of coming back from that. But I had to try. "I need your help in keeping the peace there."

"What?" That was not the direction I expected the conversation to go in. "What's happened?"

"It seems that chaos reigns in the Garden," Michael said. Sometimes the news comes out of his mouth and you could tell he was completely bewildered by it but he was expertly trained in maintaining a straight face, which, really, he didn't have to have in a moment like this. "The Leviathans have invaded and a number of new creatures seem to have arisen. The humans are in danger."

"New creatures?"

"Some mutated abomination spawned from human individuals. I'm not sure how this came to be, but it's happened and we need to do something about it," he informed me.

"Of course," I agreed. I knew how it came to be. It looked like Eve had been using her new gift. "How did the Leviathans get involved? Weren't they cornered far from Eden?"

"There is little about this situation that makes any sense, unfortunately. I want you to go down to Earth and assess the situation. Then come back, gather as many troops as you need and end this madness," he ordered. "I'll have the angels briefed and ready before you get back."

"I'll get started immediately," I promised, standing up.

"Oh and one more thing. Have you seen Gabriel?"

"No…" I tilted my head. "He isn't… here?"

"He hasn't shown up since the day of our meeting. I'm not sure if I should be worried," Michael's burdened eyes roved over his desk. I certainly was. I was the last person to see him. He'd left with a heavy mind that day. Maybe he'd just gone somewhere to ruminate. Hopefully, that was it. But the thing that worried me was the possibility that it was our conversation that made him shut off from everyone else. Had I really hurt him so bad?

"I'm sure he's just shocked by the whole thing. Maybe he just needs some time. He's not used to this sort of thing," I reasoned to cover up my real thoughts.

Michael sighed. "You're probably right. But I was hoping to have him be by your side when you lead the charge against the Leviathans. Give him some experience in war," he posited. "He's not a child anymore. He should be taking more responsibility."

"Go easy on him," I suggested. "There's no rush in raising him. These things cannot be forced."

"I suppose," he accepted. I made a mental note to try and find him myself. But first, I had a mission.

I had expected Eve would do something abhorrent but what I saw on earth… that was truly something to behold. Humans fled en masse away from the Garden. Several human-looking creatures were running amok, some in pursuit of the fleeing humans who did nothing but scream in terror as they were caught. Upon closer inspection some of them had sharp teeth, sharp nails and several other strange modifications. I stopped to look at one of them. This one had just ripped out the heart of a human woman and began devouring it. Blood oozed from the fresh heart as new tears were introduced by the teeth of the creature. The eyes of the dead woman had rolled back and the creature's torso and hands were stained with her crimson blood. His shoulders shook greedily as he satiated his inhumane hunger.

This was… fascinating. Just like I did with Eve, I made appear the illusion of a creature through which I could speak. This time, it was a hawk the perched on another human corpse in front of the human-like thing. "You, creature. What are you? Where did you come from?" I asked.

His shoulders abruptly stopped moving. He looked at me. His hungry eyes did not bear any remnants of being human. He lowered his arms, revealing his blood covered mouth. What I saw in those splintered irises was a hunger unlike any carnivore, a lust stronger than reason, a power so unholy that it would disgust any angel. "She calls us werewolves. Eve… our mother… she made us. She made us like this," he snarled. Then this was my doing too. A human-based monster that wanted to destroy humans. If I was being honest, this seemed like an interesting turn of events more than anything. My keen scientific senses wanted to study these creatures further. It hadn't even occurred to me that this wasn't the appropriate reaction but when it did, I realised that maybe I was too far gone, like what Gabe said. I sighed.

"Alright, werewolf. I'll leave you to your… savoury meal. But first, can you tell me where Eve is?"

The werewolf pointed a blood-soaked finger with an elongated nail in her general direction. I found Eve in a cave near Eden. I was surprised she hadn't gone far off. She was with Adam and they had just walked out of the cave, or rather, Adam had stormed out and she followed behind. My hawk and I sat on a branch of a tree above them and listened in. Adam seemed angry at Eve and she looked upset as well.

"What have we done? We've sinned. God, we've sinned!" he exclaimed. He seemed terrified and hysterical. I noticed how they seemed to have a certain clarity about them ever since they'd taken a bite of the Apple. They no longer seemed blank behind the eyes, like the Fruit had made their vision clearer. I couldn't help but feel a little proud. I wondered why I felt so guilty earlier.

Eve appeared dejected at her husband's despair, but not for the same reason, it seemed. She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Adam, we have to be strong now. Our people need us now more than ever. There's no point looking back on the past," she consoled him.

That didn't seem to help at all. "How can you say that?" he seethed. "We failed God. We must seek forgiveness for what we've done."

"What good will that do?" she argued. "Like you said, we failed Him. I fear there will be no mercy for us. The leviathans say that they will help us."

Adam jerked his head towards her. Infuriated, he pushed her hand away. "Are you satisfied with what you've brought upon us? The storm set off by our sin hasn't even died yet and you've already been conspiring with those monsters." He paced away a few steps, running a hand through his hair. "Why did I listen to you? Why did I bite the Apple? For a vision of becoming better? I should have been happy with what God has given me. I feel… ashamed!"

That was disappointing. Adam did not appreciate all this clarity. How is it that being able to know things brought him shame? I supposed if I was a human I'd be ashamed of all those physical limitations too. Hm. Eve looked at him with longing eyes, the kind that every person had to see someone they cared about in such pain. "I did this for us. Don't you see… how we've become better? I feel more powerful already. Imagine the things we could do with this new ability. Imagine the future of our children and grandchildren. And we can finally live in the Garden without being watched by those angels all the time."

"You stupid woman! We already had everything. We had the Garden. We had God on our side. We had the angels as protectors. All we had to do was stay away from that Tree! You've ruined us, and you've angered God by inviting those Leviathans in to kill the angels and creating these abominable creatures out of our own people. Yes, I know that you did that. Don't think you can hide any more from me. I've had enough."

Eve's fists clenched. "What are you going to do then? You can't go back to the Garden – the Leviathan have taken over it now. We can't afford to argue about this anymore. What's done is done. We need to think of what's next. This cave is pretty safe, and I am sure I can negotiate with the Leviathans so that we can live in the Garden peacefully with them."

"No, I am not going to play along with your wretched plan anymore, Eve. I'm taking our children and bringing everyone far away from here. God knows we do not deserve the Garden anymore. I'm going to beg God for mercy for all of us and I don't care if you come along or not."

"Adam, no, please," she pleaded. "Listen to me."

"I'll not make that mistake again!" He marched off back into the cave, leaving Eve as a weeping mess. She sat with her back against a tree and her knees pulled up to her chest. Some sniffling was heard. She wiped her tears away, but nothing could change that heartbroken look on her face. And I had to admit I had some sympathy for her. She'd just lost the man she loved.

"I know you're there," she said, looking upwards though not in any specific direction. "I can feel your presence now that you've blessed me with your gifts."

I sent the hawk to land in front of her. "I'm sorry for the hurt you're feeling," I said.

"That won't change anything," she weakly mumbled. "I've lost everything. I don't know what to do."

"Only those who have lost everything are free to do anything," I reassured her. She met the hawk's eyes hesitantly. "You are a special thing, now. Neither fully human, nor monster. Who knows what you'll become. There's a bright future for you yet. You just have to reach out and take it."

She swallowed more tears, nodding. "You never told me who you were," she said out of the blue.

"I am your only friend," I stated. "My name is Sophia. I am an archangel."

"Arch… angel…" she repeated to process the term.

"The most powerful of angels," I clarified.

"But you were a snake. And now you're a bird," she frowned in confusion.

"This isn't my true form. It's merely a… a projection. To help us communicate. If you saw my true form, your eyes could burn out," I explained. "The snake wasn't my idea, though. That was Lucifer's. He was there too."

"Then you're both… servants of God…" she inferred. "Why did you tell me to defy God?"

I smiled, pleasantly amused by her curiosity. "You are part of a greater plan at work. What you did was an important part of the plan," I simply said.

"So you used me?" she accused.

"To simplify things, yes. But it was you who bit the Apple, let's not forget." She seemed disappointed by this revelation. "I can help you, you know. But I need your help too."

"I've lost everything that ever had meaning to me because of you…" she spoke with a tear-choked voice.

"To quote you, 'there's no point in looking back on the past'. I understand that you are burdened, but it seems clear that you have a choice. You can wallow in misery, thinking about everything you've lost till the end of time, or you can fight for me and have a purpose. What will it be, Eve?" I gave her a moment to think. "You have won the favour of the leviathans. They'll be looking to thank you for the feast you've given them. I need you to gain command of them."

"What for?" she asked. For the first time, a semblance of hope reached her eyes though her lips were still pursed in a grave expression.

"The angels may be planning an attack on Eden to recapture it. You need to convince the leviathans to stand down and surrender," I ordered. "Will you do this for me?"

She nodded meekly. "And how will you help me in return?"

"When the time comes for your soul to be judged, I will save you from punishment," I vowed.


Lucifer caught me just as I returned to the citadel to report to Michael. "Is it true what I heard about Eden?" he asked me curiously in the privacy of his office. "It's infested with leviathans?"

I nodded, just as surprised as he was. "And that's not all. Remember Eve? She's been using her new powers," I informed him.

"And?"

"Now we have wolf-like humans, blood-sucking beasts and I think I even saw one that could morph into a canine," I recalled. "I don't even think they could be called humans anymore."

Lucifer's head tilted slightly as he considered the possibility. Then his lips curved into a dastardly smile and he burst out in laughter.

"Shut up, it's not funny," I gently pushed his shoulder before someone heard his obnoxious laughter.

"It's a little funny," he insisted, sighing and pressing a hand to his cheek just to regard the thought.

"This is serious. We've just altered the course of human evolution irreversibly and now monsters are running about and ruining the green earth," I lectured. "What we've done is absolutely horrible."

"You're smiling. Even you don't believe that," he teased. And it was true. It was a little satisfying to see what Eve had accomplished, totally destroying the perfect image that God had painted. Again, I knew that this was not something to be proud of, but Lucifer's malice seemed to be rubbing off on me.

"I'm trying, okay? Grow up, Lucifer," I put my hands on my hips as if that would revive my cordial tone. "But the leviathan problem is something that I actually need to deal with."

"I would help with that but…" he sighed. "It seems I'm not even allowed to save lives."

"I have it under control," I reassured him. I told him about the pact I made with Eve.

"You're sure the leviathans will listen to her?" he questioned.

"If they value their own survival, they will," I reasoned. "I will be leading the charge against them so I'll attempt a negotiation and hopefully, they'll flee back to whatever hole they crawled out of before any serious damage is done."

"Hm." I could only see his eyelids as he looked downwards, lost in thought.

"What?"

Did I say something? "I had this thought," he began. "The both of us are capable of handling this just fine. We've essentially thrown out the rulebook and dealing with things as they come."

He moved closer to me. I felt the electricity again and I instinctively stepped back, inviting him to pursue me. "What are you trying to say?" I murmured softly. Soon, my back met the wall and there was no escape for me. He seized the opportunity, pressing himself against me. Surprised by his sudden movement, my hands grabbed his shoulders just as his cradled my waist.

I watched his soft, alluring lips as they moved. "We make such a good team," they said. "We don't need God to tell us what to do. We've been handling things without Him for a long time anyway."

Oh. That begun to worry me. I met his crimson eyes. They were so full of hope and strength. "Lucifer…"

"We can take over Heaven all by ourselves. We have the strength. We have the numbers," he continued. "We'll make our own laws. Laws that make sense."

"Lucifer-" He cut me off with a kiss, stealing my breath. Before I could fully lose myself to him, he deepened the kiss, destroying my protests. Reluctantly, my hands traced his neck and my thumbs pushed his chin away. "The angels are not so easy to convince."

"Of course not. But when they hear what we have to say, they'll know that we're right," he insisted. "You have a way with words. My brothers will listen to you."

His eyes were so full of optimism that I didn't have to heart to break it to him that Gabe already rejected our cause. "Listen… we need to be careful. We can't overestimate our influence," I warned. The light that I cherished so much in him appeared to fade. "You must not be so naïve to think that your brothers will follow us. I know you want them to and so do I. But their priorities may not be the same as ours."

His lips pursed. He abruptly let go of me and turned away. "Priorities…" he huffed. I watched the tensing and relaxing of the muscles on his back as he rubbed the back of his head with a hand and placed the other on his waist. Like a switch, his aura flipped. I felt the energy from the Mark radiating in waves. It was the same thing I'd felt that time when he'd accidentally struck me. "I don't get you, you know," he spat out with a tone starkly different from the one he'd just had. "You say you'd support me and stay by my side, but now you tell me to stop."

"I'm just advising caution," I defended, disappointment seeping from my voice.

"We don't have time for caution. If what we're doing is to make any difference, we must be as confident as possible," he argued.

"This isn't a question of confidence. We can't be so full of pride that we are blind to our faults," I advised. "We still don't know how any of our ideas will be received."

"Don't we?" Obviously, he was referring to the audience we had the other day.

"That may have been more supporters than we'd expected, but it still isn't enough to 'take over Heaven', as you say. The vast majority would still oppose us," I stated outright.

His shoulders moved up and down rhythmically. "You sound like you want out," he accused, turning slowly to face me. None of the passion from our recent intimacy remained.

"That's not what I'm saying-"

"Then why do you doubt me?" His voice was slow and sharp, like a snake. I had never heard him speak that way before. Actually, I had – it was the same one he used when he'd challenged his own father after killing those angels.

"Do you hear yourself? You're speaking of overthrowing God and reigning in His place. This is far-fetched, even for us." I was being as honest as I could be. Sensing his tension, however, I switched to a softer approach. I neared him a placed a palm on his cheek. "What's gotten into you, love? Our aim is to prove a point, not turn Heaven against God."

He brusquely grabbed my wrist. "Maybe that's what we need to do," he suggested. "Take control. Do things our way."

The force around my wrist grew stronger. "Lucifer, let go of me," I tried to pull away from his grasp. But he seemed entranced, staring at me blankly. I rued to think what lay beyond his distant eyes. "You're hurting me."

That seemed to trigger something him. As if realising something, he inhaled sharply and let go.

"Are you-" I didn't even finish my sentence. He just took off, leaving me to wonder what had just happened.


I floated in the earth's atmosphere, fully adorned in battle armour. I was supposed to lead the angels into battle and kill Eve first, following which the angels in Heaven would unite to smite the Leviathans. Of course, I'd promised to protect Eve. I had a plan of my own which involved storing her soul safely while her dead body was presented as a sign of victory. Technically her soul was to be destroyed so no one would be looking for that.

When we descended to Earth, the skies were dark and grey from the heavy clouds. Thunder rumbled and strong winds blew, as though setting the stage for death. In the distance we could see Eden. It was in ruins – the trees had appeared dried up and twisted, dead bodies were strewn all over, and the ground was a dull relic of what had once been fertile, fresh brown and green soil. It was an affront to the state God had left it in.

The Leviathans stood in rows, eyeing us hungrily. The battle lines were clear. I waited for a signal of surrender. But it never came. One Leviathan put a fist up in the air and yelled a battle cry. They charged forward.

The scene turned bloody in a matter of minutes. The Leviathans did put up quite the fight. After taking some of them down myself, I scanned the battlefield. Eve was in a tent, far away from the fighting. It seems that the Leviathans may have accepted her and wanted to protect her as well. A Leviathan charged at me and I threw my blade at it, piercing its skull. As it fell to the ground, dead, I saw an opening. I raised my hand towards my blade and it flew to my hand from the dead creature. I charged as quickly as I could through the battlefield to the tent. As I entered, undisguised, Eve stood up.

She covered her eyes, unable to see with all my celestial light filling the tent. I summoned the hawk again and hid myself. "You're here," she greeted, once she found that she could open her eyes again.

"What is this? I thought I told you to get them to surrender," I probed rather impatiently.

"And I did try. Yes, they were more than happy for my help, but they also had a strong lust for angel grace. There was nothing I could do to stop them. I'm not the one in control here."

I tried to control my temper. If I didn't, I might have exploded her right there and then. "Then who is?" I demanded to know.

"That would be me," I heard a voice say and I spun around to face the Leviathan. It was him – the so-called King of the beasts. We'd heard about him over the years but we had never been able to locate him. He was the one they were all connected to. Kill him and the rest of them would die with him. It was no wonder he was our biggest target with respect to his kind. "Funny I should find you here, like a lamb offered as a sacrifice."

"Do not think too highly of yourself, Leviathan. I am an archangel. You won't find it easy to take me down. Besides, I came to parley. I have a proposal you may find attractive."

"Oh?"

"Retreat your forces right now, and I'll let your people escape unharmed. Then we can go back to hating each other in peace," I suggested. "This is your only chance for a compromise. The other angels may not be so generous."

"Well that's just it, isn't it? I don't want to stop. For centuries, we have been at the heel of you angels and archangels. You kept us on lands that were scarce and let us starve for so long. We don't want to negotiate with you. We want to kill every single one of you, and then eat you."

"You don't know what's good for you, do you?" I raised my hand, threatening to blast the Leviathan. My eyes lit up with a bright green. The tent was filled with my light and Eve even had to cover her eyes because it was too bright. This Leviathan didn't know what was coming for him. "I am not asking. You better take the deal. You won't get anything better than this."

"Or what? You'll kill us all? Last time I checked, we're winning." He pulled away the entrance to the tent and revealed the battlefield. My heart stopped with the realisation that he was right. The angels lay strewn across the battlefield, lifeless. I rushed out into the open, finding myself nearly alone. How could this have happened? I frantically looked around me. The figures of thousands of Leviathans rose from the ground. No… There were far fewer Leviathans when I'd come to estimate their numbers earlier. They had tricked us? How was that even possible?

"I'm sorry, Sophia," I heard Eve's voice. It sounded sincere – she must have been their prisoner. "I had no choice."

The Leviathans had encircled me. They moved closer, growling in anticipation. My grip around my blade strengthened. "Stay back!" I ordered as I pointed the blade at them. It only pleased them more.

I heard a grunt. The last angel fell, throat slashed. Now I was truly alone. In a land far from home and surrounded by creatures that wanted to eat me. I did not intend to die here. I charged forward, slashing and kicking and punching. I used the skies, summoning their lightning to me. I sought the ground, which shook violently to knock my enemies off balance. I spawned fire, stunning them with its searing embrace. But I was only one archangel against a thousand of them, creatures that were the first prototypes of angels gone horribly wrong. There was a reason we fought multiple wars with them in the past. They weren't easy to kill.

A sharp pain pierced my side. I looked down to see a hand clawing its way inside my abdomen. Gritting my teeth, I dug my blade down, amputating the hand at the wrist. The Leviathan screamed as I backed away. Heaving shallow breaths, I braced myself as I sought cover and yanked what remained of the hand out of me. The agony permeated all of me, taking away any sense of control I had. I tried to remain present but my head grew light. The last thing I saw before another wave of pain hit me was a number of them charging me. Soon they would crash into me and I would be forced onto the ground, victim to their sharp teeth and claws.

"Sophia!" I forced my eyes open. A large figure appeared in front of me, fighting them off. I recognised those metallic wings. It was Michael.

My vision became clearer. The pain remained, but it was more bearable now. I staggered forward and joined him in taking down the creatures. His lance was a far more effective weapon than my blade, but we both did considerable damage anyway. Once an opening was clear, he grabbed my hand and led me away. I winced. My side hurt again. I clutched my waist to prevent further bleeding. Michael put an arm around my shoulder and dragged me to a safer direction.

"Something went wrong," he said.

"I… I underestimated their numbers…" I stammered.

"No, it isn't your fault. We had multiple reports of the same numbers," he mumbled as he looked around us to make sure we weren't being followed. We were still in the Garden, weaving through the trees and bushes to find an exit. "It's the shield. They've hijacked it somehow. They created an illusion to deceive us. We couldn't even see what was happening until it was too late. Our smiting wouldn't go through either."

We kept walking and walking but no end came. I was sure that we'd passed by the same fern three times. "Michael…" I urged him to stop. "They've trapped us here…"

Michael froze in his step. "That can't be… they're not powerful enough," he doubted, eyes widened. This time, he couldn't hide his shock.

I winced again. He gently rested me on the ground and knelt next to me. "But this place is. God and I personally designed it. They could easily tap into its power if they knew how," I hypothesised. I tried to sit up straight but gave into the stabbing pain. Michael lifted up my shirt and underneath lay a large, gaping wound. It was horrifying just to look at.

Michael attempted to heal me but everything he did just hurt more. "Just a little…"

"Michael, stop," I pleaded, weakly pushing against his arm. He partially closed the wound but that was only at the surface-level. My insides were still damaged. I grabbed his arm to get him to listen. "You need to tap into the Garden's power. You can get out of here."

He had a pained look in his eyes. "What about you?"

"Leave me here. You need to warn the others," I insisted.

"I won't leave you, Sophie," he said sharply.

My hand fumbled to cup his cheek. "You need to help Lucifer," I requested. I felt the life beginning to slip away from me.

"No, don't say that," he begged, eyes glistening. Warm, silver eyes that always cared, even if he didn't show it. Eyes that I realised I would miss.

"You need to watch over Gabe. He needs his big brothers right now. All of them," I said. My body grew weaker. With what little energy I had left, I tore open the fabric of the Garden, exposing the bright light of its divine power.

"We'll get out of here together," he declared as if saying it would make it true. But I wasn't so sure of it. The odds seemed against me. By now, I was too weak to even sit up. I leaned back and Michael laid me down. "Sophie?" Black spots appeared in my vision. A great heat began to take over me. I had heard it being said before that death felt like a heatwave. I knew what was approaching. "Sophia!" I heard him call out my name. It was the last thing I heard before I grew unconscious.

I slowly roused. I'm alive? My eyes flung open. "Sophia?"

I felt someone hold my hand. It was a refreshingly cold touch. Soon, his crimson irises came into view. "Lucifer…" my voice was but a whisper.

"Shh… don't say anything," he kissed my forehead. His fingers combed through my hair and I was in bliss again. "You gave us all a good scare, you know."

"What happened?" I managed to ask. "Eden…"

"Father intervened," he told me. "Eden no longer exists on earth. He took the whole place away and made it into another realm entirely. They're calling it Purgatory."