Sophia's Chronicles

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

As you will see in this chapter, there is going to be a new main character who will be vital to the story so I may be reverting to and from a third-person narration and a first-person one, depending on whose side of the story I'm telling. So don't be confused by that. Also this chapter will be in third-person and takes place in Season 5 of Supernatural, when Lucifer has risen from Hell.

Chapter 15: The Vessel

SEVERAL MILLENNIA FROM THE BEGINNING

It was the hour of Saturn, six hours after sunset on a Thursday. In the darkness, a young woman sat on the floor of her apartment. She wore a black robe, her dark wavy hair resting comfortably on her shoulders and her back. A single flame illuminated her tan-coloured skin in the dark room and her keen brown eyes were focussed. She knelt before a pentagram she had painted on a cloth that was modified to resemble the sigil of infernal union. On the Western side of the pentagram she had placed a wooden cup of water to represent Leviathan. On the Southern side, she had placed a lit black candle to represent Satan. On the Eastern side, she had placed her ritual knife, the athame, to represent Lucifer. Focussing her mind on the present, she began to meditate. Once she judged herself to be ready, she began her prayer:

"In nomine de Luciferi, Rego mei spiritus

In nomine de Luciferi, Annuo me tui scientia

Oh Lucifer, the Adversary! The Angel of Light, The Lightbringer, The Dawn Bearer

The Morning Star called Venus, Grant me thy wisdom and knowledge

for I hunger to know it. Guide my spirit, for I wish to come to know thee.

Oh Lucifer, I am thy servant. I adore thee, I praise thee.

Grant me thy dark gifts.

In nomine de Luciferi, Rego mei spiritus

In nomine de Luciferi, Annuo me tui scientia"

With that, she picked up the athame and heated it using the candle, keeping her mind centred on her apotheosis. She then made a small incision on her palm and bled a few drops into the bowl of water. She then made her statement of intent, reciting it as follows: "I, Zara Joshi, seek to light the Black Flame within myself. I seek the wisdom of the cosmos, the wisdom of Lucifer, the wisdom of Sophia. Grant me your strength so that I may become a better individual and rise above everyone else." As she remained in meditation, her attention was abruptly grabbed by a vision. Her eyes squeezed shut as she received visions of the deep ocean, a bronze hawk and a bright green light. As the light intensified, she was released from its grasp and her eyes opened, and she heaved deep breaths.

"Okay, um," she stuttered. "That's… never happened before."

Though utterly confused by the vividness of the images that flashed in her mind, she just chalked it up to her tiredness. She commenced the banishing ritual and when she was done, she sprinkled a few drops of water from the bowl onto the cloth and then on herself. Releasing a deep breath, she blew out the candle and kept her ritual items back into a box. Stretching out her arms and legs, Zara released a tired yawn and retired for the night.

The sun rose again. It was another day. Zara woke up as usual, put on her work attire and left for work. She was a PhD student at a university in Rapid City, South Dakota – at least by day. She was just like anyone else her age, trying to find her way in life, trying to get a good job. Quite unlike anyone, however, she had a completely different destiny awaiting her. It was no wonder she had a natural curiosity about supernatural things, though she didn't have much of a reason to believe in them. She was completely secular in her beliefs about the occult, using the figure of Lucifer purely as an inspiration for achieving greatness. All that ritualism she practised? She didn't really expect anything to happen except for a change in her own attitudes. It was what all the modern occult thinkers preached – ritualism as a meditation to engineer a change in one's own life.

On her way to work, Zara mulled over the strange beam of light that was said to have shot up into the sky from a church in Maryland. The religious zealots were already calling it an act of God and if it weren't for the pile of dead nuns and priests in the church, she may have been inclined to give it some consideration. Some were even calling it the beginning of the apocalypse. Zara scoffed at the notion. They've been saying that for centuries, she thought. Everything's a sign of the end of times.

That fateful Friday, she entered her lab as usual and did her experiments. She collected and analysed her results, new streams of thought helping her piece together the puzzle that was the human mind. It had come to a point where the initial excitement of pursuing a career in science had worn off. Months were spent repeating the same old nonsense and receiving nothing in the way of results. Science is fun, they said. It will be satisfying, they said. Now she wanted nothing more than for it to be over. She should have been more careful in what she wished for.

That weekend, she told herself she would do absolutely nothing of value. To be able to do nothing is a luxury, she thought. And so she got off work that day and collapsed on her bed, from both tiredness and relief. As she dozed off into a deep sleep, her dreams would take on interesting forms. Once again, the sight of the bronze hawk appeared to her, its bright green eyes beckoning her. This time, a voice called her name. "Zara…" the voice whispered. This awakened her. Her tired eyes stretched open and she let out a soft moan as she waited for the muscles of her limbs to awaken. "Zara!" the voice whispered again sharply, and this time Zara was snapped wide awake.

She shot up to a sitting position on her bed. Her eyes scanned the darkness. Not a single movement caught her eye. She was certain that no one was there. The voice didn't sound external anyways. It was clear and distinct, like a thought in her head. She checked her phone. It was 1am in the night.

Great. She wanted nothing more than to sleep for two days straight, if that was possible. But her mind was alert and there was no way she would be able to fall asleep again without considerable effort. Sighing, she dragged herself over to the window of her small apartment. The sky was clear and the moon was full, shining in the audience of the distant stars. The sight of stars always pleased her. They reminded her how insignificant everything was in the cosmic scale of things, and so how she would be undisturbed in revelling in their beauty. At times, she wanted nothing more than to melt into the fabric of the universe, to be nothing and something at the same time. It was a beautiful night, and Zara thought it to be the perfect time to explore her inner self. And so she took a tab of LSD – she had done this a few times before so she knew what she was getting into – and went out for a walk.

There was a forest nearby that she loved visiting, especially during fall. As she walked down the familiar path, the visual hallucinations had begun. It was a cool autumn night. Various shapes appeared in her vision, colourful spirals and breathing objects fading in and out. With no one there to disturb her, she experienced true calm and bliss. Well, there was one person.

She came upon a lake and took a seat on a bench to enjoy the reflection of moonlight on its surface. As she looked up to see the moon in its entirety, she saw a man standing a few feet in front of her. In the darkness, she only saw his silhouette, outlined by the moon as he stood, blocking her view. His back was towards her, and his hands were rested on his hips, as though he was trying to get a good look of the moon himself. Funny, I thought I was alone, she thought. "Excuse me, sir, but you're blocking my view of the moon," she said, trying to be polite. In her acid-stricken state, she felt slightly vulnerable and wanted to avoid conflict. In fact, she felt herself being pulled towards ego death and knew she needed to stay calm. The man slowly turned around. And that's when she saw it. His eyes – they glowed a deep red.

"Oh I'm sorry, miss," he replied, taking a seat next to her. "Is that better?" he asked, his deep voice becoming distorted as Zara's eyes closed and she lost all sense of self.

In her trip, she was falling. Falling through a strange world of mirror fragments, she fell, and she fell, and she fell. The mirror fragments glowed in all sorts of colours but the surroundings were all pitch black. In this strange world various figures appeared to her. They were all talking at once and she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Finally, she fell through a portal and landed in a place whose beauty she couldn't capture in words.

The grass was a strong red and the trees a brilliant green. The sky was bright but she didn't feel the heat of the sun. The wind was strong but she didn't feel cold. She walked through this strange land and as her feet entered a cool pond she realised she was barefoot. She continued to the centre of the pond and there she found a golden lotus. It was beautiful like nothing she had ever seen before. As she picked it up, the droplets of water gleamed like crystals on its petals. Its stem fell away, like it was meant for her to receive this lotus. When she looked up, she again saw someone in front of her. This time, the figure was a good several meters away, and in front of what appeared to be a shrine.

Through the knee-high pond she treaded, holding the soft lotus in her palms. As she moved closer and closer, she noticed that the being was wearing a white robe that exposed his muscular back and arms… and wings. The smoke from the incense became clearer as she climbed out of the pond onto the land. Zara stood before the being, observing the temple he was in. The stone pillars of the temple were carved with elaborate symbols, some she recognised as sigils. The being turned to face her.

He was much taller than she – she had to crane her neck upwards to see him. His skin was radiant so she could not make out his features clearly. But there was one she identified distinctly – his scarlet eyes. He looked at her stoically. "What do you have with you?" he asked. Instinctively, she knelt before him and extended her palms, showing him the golden lotus. She didn't know who he was, or why she did what she did, but it felt right, like she had been preparing for this her whole life. "Very well," he said. "Let's see if you're the one I need." He took the lotus from her, his palms embracing the back of her hands as she parted her palms to release the lotus. His touch was warm like fire and cold like ice at the same time, and this intrigued her greatly.

As he turned to place the lotus on the shrine, she inspected the sigils more carefully and to her surprise, she recognised one. Among others, hidden so discreetly was a sigil she had adopted as her own – Lucifer's sigil. She stared at it, trying to understand where she was. "Come now," the being beckoned, and she looked at him. She stood up and approached him, standing next to him in front of the shrine. The shrine was made up of a stone pedestal that stood attached to a wall, the top of the pedestal leading into a hole in the wall. The pedestal was bordered by flowers of all kinds. The hole in the wall was surrounded by more elaborate carvings that she could not recognise or understand. In the hole, she saw a glimmering bronze statue of a hawk, just like the one she had seen in her visions. She felt it calling to her, whispering her name, and begging her to take it.

As Zara stood staring at it, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "What you are seeing is more than just an object. It is a decision. If you wish to serve a cause greater than yourself, if you wish to find all the answers you have been searching for your entire life, then by all means, give in to its call. But know that once you make this decision, there is no turning back. You will be giving up the life you have had so far, for a new one," the being said. Zara looked up at him.

"Who are you?" she asked.

To that, he replied, "I am the one you prayed to last night. I am Lucifer." Zara was absolutely dazed, eyes wide and mouth agape. "I heard your prayer. And here I am, I've come to answer it." For a person who was tripping balls, this made all the sense in the world. Of course, I prayed to Lucifer yesterday, and he is actually here to grant my wishes, because… that happens… right? "This decision, it is for the sake of Sophia – wisdom. You believe in serving the cause of wisdom, don't you?" Lucifer continued.

"Yes, of course. Wisdom is the only goal worth seeking," Zara replied.

Lucifer smiled. "Will you let Sophia in?" he asked. Zara stared into the emerald eyes of the bronze statue. Hypnotised by its knowing gaze, she recognised this opportunity as something she had always wanted. A way to escape her mundane life of deadlines and stress. What was there in normal life but an endless road of nonsense and boredom…

"Yes, I will," she said, picking up the statue, its green eyes suddenly glowing brightly and enveloping her in its light. "I… must…"

When she woke up, Zara found herself in an unfamiliar room. She was in last night's clothes, but she awoke in a bed she didn't recognise. She looked around. The room she was in was a lot bigger and more elaborate than her own apartment. She opened the curtains and as she squinted her eyes in the light, she saw the sun rising over the city. She could see the room more clearly now that sunlight streamed in. There were framed artworks on the wall, some lamps attached to the wall and a TV in front of the bed. Judging by its aesthetic, it was definitely a place she wouldn't be able to afford.

There was a small coffee table and two chairs around it. Her black coat was placed neatly on one of the chairs and her boots on the floor next to it. That was when she noticed a note on the table. It read:

'Breakfast on Level 1 at 8am'

"Breakfast? Level 1? Am I in a hotel?" she wondered out loud. She found a digital clock on the wall. It read 7.30am. As she entered the toilet to do her morning chores, the presence of neatly placed towels and toiletries confirmed her suspicion. As she unwrapped the package containing a toothbrush and toothpaste, she noticed the name of the hotel – Royal Inn. Looking at the richly-designed bathroom, she remarked, "Definitely 4 stars or above." When she came out of the shower, she noticed a bag full of her clothes on her bed. Whoever wanted her there wanted her to be comfortable, she thought. As much as it was disconcerting to wake up and not know where she was or why she was there, she couldn't help but think that whoever put her there was trying to impress her.

"The ultimate fantasy… getting nabbed by a rich sugar daddy…" she muttered somewhat sarcastically under her breath.

She pulled her hair into a bun and put on a plain grey t-shirt with black leggings and boots, as well as her dark grey fleece cardigan. With mixed feelings she left the bedroom to find herself in a large living room. There was a fancy table at the centre, with a flower vase on it. The windows covered the entire span of the far wall, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. There was expensive furniture laden around the room. "A penthouse suite? This is starting to freak me out," Zara said to herself. She knew better than to trust someone who would shower her with luxury, as that usually meant they wanted something equal in magnitude in return, but her curiosity was irreversibly piqued. Grabbing her room keys, she left for breakfast. Time to see who this mystery person is.

As she entered the restaurant, she looked around for any indication of who she was supposed to meet. The restaurant was quite crowded. People of all sorts dined and drank their morning coffee, engaged in conversation. "This way, madam," a waiter said, gesturing her to follow. As they made their way around tables to the back end of the restaurant, the waiter stopped at a table near a window. As Zara observed, there was a man sitting on one of the chairs, his face obscured by a newspaper. As Zara took a seat, the waiter asked what she would be having for breakfast. "Uh… some pancakes, salad and some black tea. No sugar," she replied. The waiter nodded and left, leaving her face-to-face with a strange man whose deal she didn't know yet. Her heart beat faster, not knowing whether she was in danger or not or how to start conversation.

The man lowered the newspaper, his eyes still fixed on it. "Hmm… war in the Middle East, rising air pollution in China, violent murders… the news looks grim today. But then again, it does everyday," the man said nonchalantly. "How do you people live on this planet? It must be miserable."

This time, Zara got a good look at him. He was blond and had cold blue eyes. He was wearing a brown shirt with a blue jacket. Her own brown eyes stared at him, eyebrows creased into a frown and lips pursed. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" she asked.

His face changed into a sombre expression as he folded up the newspaper, placed it on the table and rested his arms on it. "I think you already know who I am," he said with a serious tone, as his eyes flashed a red colour. Zara couldn't believe it. She remembered clearly what she had seen in her trip, and she couldn't believe that she was making a connection between a being she saw in an acid dream and the person seated across her. It just didn't make sense… or rather she didn't want it to. How could it be? How could this be real? She wondered. But she had no choice but to accept it as a reality.

"So… um… Lucifer?" she began.

"Mm-hmm" the man nodded, listening to her intently. She gulped. Satan, is that really you?

"What is it that you want from me?" she asked.

Lucifer smiled. "Zara, right?" He took her silence as confirmation. "Listen, Zara, you have a greater purpose to fulfil."

"Uh, hold on," she stopped him. "Are you for real? I mean, is this some kind of scam? Am I being kidnapped?"

He rolled his eyes. "How you want to define this arrangement is entirely up to you."

"But you're… really you…?" she was stuck on the question of his identity. "You're… Satan?"

"If it helps your tiny human brain to understand, then yes, that would be me," he sighed. "Are we clear on this? Because I really do have a message for you."

Zara was frozen in her seat. What was someone supposed to feel when meeting Satan? Fear? Excitement? A little bit of both? "Okay…" she simply said. "Okay."

"I need your help to find someone," he stated, hands clasped on the table. "Someone very important to me."

"Me?" The waiter arrived with breakfast and Zara munched on her pancakes hungrily. "I'm just a girl with a past that nobody cares about. How am I supposed to help you?"

"Believe me, you're the only person in the world who can do this," he reassured her. "You are the trueborn vessel of the archangel Sophia."

"I have no idea what that means," she honestly said.

"Well, that's what I'm here for," Lucifer smiled. Perhaps this human wouldn't be so difficult, he thought. Not like his own true vessel. Patiently, he explained to her the situation. Heaven, Hell, vessels – the whole shebang. Zara's eyes simply widened at the thought of all this complexity. She never anticipated discovering the divine through breakfast with Satan. But now faced with all of this backstory from the Devil himself, how could she deny its reality?

"Woah…" she gaped. "They did what to her?"

"I know…" Lucifer agreed with her shock. "So you'll help me?"

"Jesus fucking Christ…" she muttered. He frowned at her and she straightened up in an attempt to recover from possibly offending him. "But wait… How do you know that I am her true vessel? Of all the people on this planet…"

Lucifer reached into his pockets and produced the bronze hawk statue. Taken by awe, Zara stared at the metallic object, finding it strange to see an object she had only known through visions in real life. She picked it up and held it upright in her palm and it glowed.

"That's how," he said. "It only comes alive for you, Zara." Now she knew she had to accept what the man was saying as real… that he wasn't really a man but an archangel in a man's body. "It served as a compass, guiding me towards you."

This meant that everything he said about her making an important decision was true. She realised that she was in a strange position of having accepted an offer – in an acid trip – and not fully appreciating its consequences. "Do you see now, how important you are? What do you say? I can get you anything you want."

She mustered whatever courage she had left, and she asked, "What if I refuse?"

She stared at Lucifer as he leaned back into his chair. The muttering in the restaurant died abruptly. "Then you will find that you are in hostile company," Lucifer replied coldly. Zara looked around. Everyone in the restaurant stared at her. At once, their eyes turned black. She gasped.

"Tea, madam," the waiter said, as he poured tea into her cup. As she looked at him, she noticed that he too had blackened eyes. A shiver ran down her spine. Trembling, she turned to face Lucifer.

"So I take it you'll be staying?" Lucifer asked, smiling. Taking a deep breath, Zara nodded. "Good. Finish your breakfast and I'll tell you more about what we're going to be doing together upstairs."

A/N:

The incantation at the beginning of this chapter is from Luciferian Grimoire, a blog on blogspot.