Chapter 38 Good Night's Sleep Before the End

Once again I saw myself in Mineral Town as a child. Playing with that girl. But who was the girl? Why was I plagued in my sleep with these memories.

'You see that you will never find that girl again. She has left this island forever. All your hopes and dreams have crashed and burned.'

"That is a lie."

'You loved that girl, didn't you?'

"I was five years old. I loved her as a friend. I never thought of our relationship as anything more than a friendship."

'Will you see her again? No. And even if you do, she has already fallen to the will of the Goddess.'

"You are an Agent of the Harvest Goddess, aren't you?"

'Half correct mortal. Only half. Her servant I am, but I am the voice of the truth. Tomorrow the Right Hand will come, and all of you will die!'

"Our God is stronger!"

'Yet he failed to protect that little girl from harm.'

"She... she..."

'But I am right. Do you know who was the girl that you knew back then?'

"Was it... Ann?"

'No. It was Karen. But you don't love her now, do you?'

"No."

'Prey she is. Prey to an agent of the Goddess. Remember you, she does not. But by the time she does, it will be too late. She will burn. And you will burn with her.'

"I will not!"

'Don't you see? You are the only darkness this town has ever faced. You are the liar.'

"Back demon! In the name of God!"

'You wish to send me crashing down? You wish to destroy me like you destroyed Spiritloosener? Or like you destroyed those spirits who were with May? You are a Reaper Zach. You force Spirits to hell.'

"I am an exorcist. I force only guilty Spirits to hell. I force down only those who pose a threat to me, or to my friends!"

'Even though you are stronger than them.'


I awoke with a start, angry with that Spirit that constantly tormented me in the night. It was wrong, I knew it, but it sure could sound like it was right at times. It was smart, but it had let slip some information about the Spirits. Yes. Now I knew for a fact that I was indeed stronger than the Spirits. The Goddess always spoke of them being greater than God, but this one servant of hers had revealed the truth to me. My courage grew stronger.


The Goddess roared with anger, and flung the hapless Spirit away from herself. When the Spirit crashed back down, it got up, and began walking backwards, away from its master.

'I didn't mean to... to tell him that... it just slipped out!'

'It just slipped out?' the Goddess roared, her eyes burning. 'You revealed the truth to him! Since when are you the voice of the truth! YOU WERE MADE TO SPEAK NOTHING BUT LIES!'

'It was an accident.'

'And I suppose that if I gut you, and fling you down from this world, that also will be an accident.'

The Spirit's eyes widened.

'No great and awesome Goddess. No! Have mercy!'

'Have mercy? I have no mercy. I am a servant of Satan, the Dark Lord. Crawl back to Him for mercy!'

The Goddess then shot forward towards the condemned demon. As she charged, her soft, feminine hand immediately changed into a dark, shadowy claw. The Harvest Goddess plunged her claw into the chest of the Spirit. It cried out in pain as its flesh was scorched by its own energies. The energies of the Devil.

'Go to hell and burn among the other failures!' the Goddess shrieked, before flinging the dissolving shadow away from herself.

The demon cried out in eternal agony as it flew through the air. The wound in its chest grew larger and larger. The demon dissolved into a cloud of darkness, bound for the Abyss.

'And you!' the Goddess shrieked, turning on another demon. 'You failed! You lead the army of Spirits through the town! You should have defeated the farmer when you had the chance!'

'I tried my best Goddess!'

'You will burn for your mistake!'

'I...' the demon looked around it, looking for an escape. It knew that their was only one. 'I refuse to live this way any longer!'

'What?'

'You are unforgiving! You are hateful! Even to demons.'

'You are as hateful and as fallen as I am you insolent Spirit!'

'Not anymore.'

Then, with a shriek, the Harvest Goddess leaped upon the Spirit, and slashed at him with her claw. But a white light surrounded the demon, and the claw bounced right off. The Goddess looked in surprise at her claw. It had been burned by the white light.

'What?'

'I depart from my evil ways now, of Father in Heaven. Forgive me, and please help me to turn from my demonic nature.'

'You will not return to him!'

'I need you Jesus.'

'Don't say his name!'

'Amen.'

The white forcefield then began to rise up into the sky, with the demon still inside. The Goddess watched in anger as the dark shadowy figure of the demon began to find structure. The black, shadowy shade of its empty skin found color. And its bare back received wings. The Goddess shouted up after it, crying out in anger.

'You will pay for this Spirit! You will die!'

'Will I? Or will you?'

The Goddess said nothing after this, for she knew what the answer was. But she would not think about this, for she resented the fact that it was true. And so she became angry. And what a severe anger it was. She wanted to kill all who opposed her. She wanted to torment those who worshiped her. She wanted a home of her own. She screamed towards the sky, her eerie cry echoing across the plains of Mineral Town, causing ever passing Spirit to tremble in fear, and many people felt a chill run through them. 'It is time,' the Goddess said to herself.

'It is time! It is time! It is time!'

The Goddess turned towards her domain, the mountains, both reaching high into the sky.

'They think they will win,' her words dripped with anger. 'But Mother's Hill stands between my mountains. And the mountains are taller than Mother's Hill!'

The Goddess gazed off at the lake below the hill. The buffer from the great hill. Soon it would be more than just a buffer. Soon Mother's Hill would be cast into the sea, along with all of the Angels who defended it.


Up on the hill, the Angel guardians were thinking similar things about the two mountains which loomed above them.

"She controls the mountains," one said.

"That is true," the other said.

"When will she attack?"

"Sometime today," Julius said, stepping up to the two Angels. "We don't know exactly when, so we must be ready at all times."

"How are the witnesses of God?" a third Angel asked.

"They're all right for now," Julius said. "I have healed their wounds in their sleep."

"Good," said Tarana, the captain of the Angelic Legion of Mother's Hill. "We must all be ready. We will have to fight soon. Now tell me, have any of you ever fallen to the blades of the enemy?"

Tarana looked out at all the Angels in the legion.

"I have fallen three times," he said. "For I have fought in very fierce battles against the enemy. And let me tell you, it is far from a pleasant experience. The power of Satan splitting through you is not a feeling anyone should experience. But we must. We must. Do not fear it, for when the power casts you away, you will be caught by our Lord and brought back to heaven. The energy of Satan can force nonbelievers and evil spirits to Hell, but those who believe cannot be dragged down into the Abyss. But we will be cast back. If there is anyone of you who is suffering a spiritual conflict with your position as a servant of God, by all means, solve it before we go to war. Return to Heaven, and speak to God of your troubles and resolve them, and then return. For if you are scarred by the power of Satan and have no faith to protect you, you will be dragged down into Hell."

A couple of the warriors immediately flew back towards the sky, back towards Heaven.

"Are you sure that was wise?" Julius asked Tarana. "What if the enemy attacks now?"

"Then at least we didn't allow good servants of God to be taken to Hell when they could have gotten through their loss of faith, Tarana replied.

"Right," Julius said before turning to the masses of Angels which stood before him. "Warriors! Extend the Glory of God!"

All the Angels immediately held their hands out, and the Glory of God extended out from them again. Except for one Angel, who held his empty hand out, while expecting a bright white light to extend from it. The other Angels around him looked over curiously. The one Angel looked rather ashamed. Tarana extended his wings, and flew over to the Spirit.

"You don't feel fully right with God today, do you?" Tarana asked.

The Angel nodded sheepishly.

"The Glory of God will not come to you if you are not right with God," Tarana said. "Didn't I just say that if you were suffering from a lack of faith, you must immediately return to the Father to solve them again?"

"Yes," the warrior said, looking at the ground. "But I felt too ashamed to admit it."

"Do not be ashamed," Tarana whispered so that only the one Angel could here. "It is better to admit to your lack of faith and be saved, then to hide it, and fall into Hell, no better than Satan. For unless we maintain full faith in God, we are no longer Angels, are we? We are demons."

"I'm a demon?" the Angel said, drawing in a breath.

"Yes," Tarana whispered again. "You may ask why you don't look like one, but that's because Demons forsook their angelic forms. Sometimes some Demons return to their Angelic forms. You know that Lucifer never gave it up? No, he kept it. If you ever see Satan, he does not look like the dark creatures that Demons commonly are. He was once the most beautiful of the Angels, you know? And he is still as beautiful. Go back to God. Repent and regain your faith. And be careful not to let any of the other Angel's blades touch you. I'm afraid as a demon, you can not take the powers of God. Go, regain your position as an Angel."

"Thank you sir," the Demon said, before flying up towards Heaven.

Tarana turned to Julius again.

"We must be ready," he said. "We both know what will happen today. This hill is the only stronghold in the town which we still hold. Thandrana claims the rest of the Island. We must be ready to begin immediately as it begins to happen."

"To tell you the truth," Julius said, "I'm scared. I used to be her servant. And now I will be fighting against her. When she sees me I..."

"Do not worry," Tarana said with a smile. "The old you is gone. Sardana is no more. Julius has risen up again. You are no longer a demon, sent to torment a child. You are now an Angel. The Guardian Angel of the one whom all our hopes of taking this town depend upon. Blessed be him. And blessed be you, for being assigned to watch such a wonderful man. I must go now. I have matters to attend to in the town. Be careful." Tarana placed a hand on Julius' shoulder, and looked him in the eye. "I trust you with this Legion. Keep it safe while I am gone."

He then turned, and walked away, his long blond hair blowing in the wind. Then the mighty Angel raised his majestic wings to the sky, and flew off towards the town. Another Angel with striking red hair stepped up to Julius.

"Julius," the red haired Angel, whose name was Elasian said, "a messenger has come for you. A Seraph has come."

"A Seraph?" Julius said in surprise and amazement.

"Yes," Elasian said.

"Never in my time as an Angel did I ever think I would ever meet one of them in person," Julius said. "This is a great honor."

Suddenly, from the sky a mighty creature flew down towards the Legion of Angels. Out of a cloud it flew, with light shining down around it as it came. As it came closer, the Angels began to be able to make out what the Seraph looked like. It came in the form of a man, just like the Angels did. But instead of two wings, it had six. Four mighty wings extended out from behind it, flapping and carrying the mighty Seraph through the air. The other two wings were wrapped around the creature, obscuring its body from view. But unlike the Angels, who had white shining eagle feathers, its wings were brown, like the feathers of a great hawk. As it was one of the great otherworldly beings which flew around the very throne of God, singing praises to him, it was majestic in appearance. Its face was solemn, and bearded, unlike the Angel's with their smooth, hairless faces. Its hair was shorter than that of the Angels. It landed before Julius, extending its wings out towards the sky, radiating a glory greater than many. The Seraph stood at least a head taller than Julius, even thought normal Angels stood eight feet tall.

"I come with a message from God," the Seraph said, his voice deeper and louder than a normal Angel. "It will happen soon. Be ready good Angels. Wait for the rumbling of the mountains, and then draw your swords. The Right Hand will strike the town, but the Spirits will strike your position. You will be outnumbered. Fight valiantly, and may God be with you. If any of you are not right with God, return with me. I will take you to the lord himself, and there you can repent. I must go now!"

"Wait," Julius said to the Seraph. The Seraph turned and faced him. "If you can, see if you can get our Father to send in some backup. We need it."

"I will tell him," the Seraph said. "Goodbye brother."

The Seraph then raised four of his six wings, and ascended into the sky.

"Now we must wait," Julius said to the other Angels.

"Look," one of the Angels said. "Here comes Zach and Ann."

"Your right Jordar," Julius said. "Do you think I should reveal myself to him?"

"No," Elasian said. "He's trying to spend a moment alone with Ann."

"I'm so glad they are together," Julius said, "they truly do love each other."

"How holy true love is," Jordar said.

"Indeed it is," Elasian said.


"Zach," Ann said, looking over at me with a deeply caring look in her eyes. "How long have you been a Christian?"

We had just walked to the top of Mother's Hill, and sat down to look out across the horizon down towards the island which stood right next to Mineral Island. It was not Mineral Town, it was Forget Me Not Island. Someday I would have to travel there and see how it compared to Mineral Town. We were holding hands, and just enjoying the moment their together. I stroked her hand with my thumb before answering.

"Well," I began. "I've been a Christian since I was a little kid. My parents raised me as a Christian, but they did it well. I officially accepted Jesus into my heart when I was five, but I have done it again several times, just to be sure. I was baptized as a baby, but I didn't have a say in that matter. So I received a full, true baptism when I was thirteen."

"I wonder if I'll get baptized," Ann said dreamily.

"You should," I said. "It isn't required, but it is a way of showing the world that you have truly turned to God. It is also very Spiritually uplifting to be baptized."

"Don't you need to be a church minister or something to baptize someone?" Ann asked.

"No," I said. "The Bible says that any baptized Christian can perform a baptism."

Ann smiled, and gently squeezed my hand.

"The plagues are over," Ann said. "I'm so happy. I'm just so glad its over."

Ann then turned, and embraced me. I hugged her back, wrapping my arms around her. Suddenly I heard a noise. I opened my eyes, and looked up at the sky. Darkness was spreading across it faster than it ever had before as clouds began rushing out from the tops of the Twin Mountains to cover the sky. They then extended to cover the area of the sky between the two mountains, effectively forming a cloud layer directly above Mother's Hill. Ann released me, and turned and looked at the sky. I instead looked down towards the massive lake at the bottom of Mother's Hill. It was glowing an otherworldly green. Suddenly a fiery pillar leaped up from the waters, and shot up into the clouds. The clouds seemed to absorb the energy, turning partially green in color. "It is not over," I said. The Mountains began trembling, and I felt a dark presence rising.


Hehehe. It is beginning. Next chapter will be some awesome stuff.