Chapter 2
Through a portal that swirled in the back of the Cathedral where the meeting room was, Artrix stepped through. He gave a satisfied sigh and began his stroll when suddenly Kayle returned and met him.
"You know what you've done?" she immediately asked.
Artrix was instantly annoyed.
"It had to be done, you should know better. For justice. Is that not what you stand for Kayle? The Void has dared challenged the might of Heaven, and I responded," Artrix bitterly said.
Kayle knew how stubborn he was, too much pride perhaps, on the brink of egoism. She was truly worried for him but knew that whatever words escaped from her lips will be as meaningless a summer breeze to Artrix.
"You have just provoked the Void, now, millions, if not trillions of innocent will die. Because of you," Kayle accused.
Artrix turned his head, avoiding her accusations. He clenched his teeth but made no sound, making his best efforts to tolerate her. A brief moment of silence followed, with Kayle's head hanging heavily, deeply concentrated in solemn thoughts.
"What does justice mean to you, Artrix. To be able to rule over others and tell them what is right, is that justice?" Kayle questioned.
Artrix looked almost shocked but his expression was then quickly changed to condescension.
"How do you not see this? We are Lords of Heaven, mightiest ruler of all. What else is there other than rule over and subjugate them. Why else would we have all this power?" Artrix argued.
"As a tyrant, and no more. You see mortals as below you," Kayle said.
Artrix was angry now, "Because they are!" he hollered. Then he proceeded to storm off back to his palace.
"Such recklessness…" Kayle sighed.
Who was she to tell me what is what, I am a God damn it! She knows nothing. Artrix angrily thought. He kicked a puff of cloud on the ground which gently lifted into the air and then fell back down with grace. He then sat down, and continuously punched the ever shifting ground.
"What's with the gloom big boy?" a female voice playfully cooed. Artrix turned around and saw a strikingly beautiful winged figure approach him with a suggestive stance. She was swinging her hips left and right, further emphasizing her lithe figure. She had long, purple hair that gently flowed all the way down to her arm like a river of silk.
"Morgana…" Artrix muttered.
"Did my sis piss you off again?" she teased.
Artrix stood back up with a hint of annoyance.
"Now is not the time," he promptly said.
Morgana smiled devilishly began slithering around him like a snake with her chest brushing awfully close to him. Artrix then lightly pushed her away and shook his head.
"Aw don't be like this," she coquettishly said, "you are ruining all the fun."
Artrix sighed, not sure whether he should be angry or just give up to Morgana's seemingly charm.
"Do you always do this?"
"What, just because you are easy, doesn't make me floozy," Morgana said, ending her sentence with a playful drop to her tone.
Artrix's anger seemed to be disappeared, only because he was now focused on avoiding Morgana's attempts at temptation. After some time, they settled down and a brief period of silence followed, only to be quietly broken by the angel.
"You know… You are in deep shit this time," Morgana said with a more serious tone.
"The old man probably treats this as a daily routine, it happens every time," Artrix scoffed.
Morgana shook her head, "No, I mean deep shit. He's really pissed this time. You've really gone off grounds man."
"What's he going to do, ground me?" he joked. "I'm ready for whatever awaits."
Morgana's uncertainty remained; she knew something that he did not. She quickly glanced around as if scouring for eavesdroppers. She then leaned closer and cupped her hands around his ears as if telling a great secret.
"I've heard talks of your incoming exile, Artrix. You need to set things right with your dad, or else dire consequences," Morgana whispered to his ears.
Artrix looked at her with slight disbelief.
"He will never do that," he said with confidence, "I'm the heir to his Throne. Without me, what does he have?"
Morgana backed off and shrugged.
"Well, just wanted to let you know," she said. "By the way, Kayle and I are going to leave Heaven for our home world soon."
"Is your bound of service over?" Artrix asked.
"Yes that and there have been words of tension and calamity, maybe even war. We are to return to tend to it," Morgana said.
Artrix answered with a nod when suddenly a loud bell rung and shook the very grounds of Heaven. Both of them looked up with surprise.
"Well then, looks like the Royal Court is summoning you, Artrix," Morgana said. "Good sweet sweetheart, you're going to need it."
Inside the Royal Court upon Heaven, an assembly of men lined up two sides from the gates to the throne. They were all dressed in an impeccable manner, clearly identifying their importance. Upon the throne, an aged man sat. Every bit of him seeped with wisdom, and power. His perfectly trimmed beards, albeit greyed, rested on his lower half of his face. His eyes, though dull, seeped an eternity of experience and insight that could pierce anyone it saw. He was dressed in surprisingly bland white robes, when compared to the others. They waited patiently but their grim expressions filled the court with a heavy sense of solemnity. Outside, a lone figure strolled towards the court accompanied by two young female servants. As he entered, the row of heads that waited looked up in anticipation while the aged man stared endlessly both at the entrance and Artrix. Artrix stepped through the giant gates but were surprised to see all the men inside the court. Suddenly, he knew this was serious.
"Father…" Artrix began but was silenced by a single gesture of the man's hand. He knew what was coming for he had done this too many times. Too many times his father has told him of his foolish recklessness and scolded. However, this time felt different, much graver than the last.
Artrix quickly glanced around and noticed that all the men were dressed in official wear, only worn in the most important of occasions. He turned back to his father, who had remained an uneasy silence.
"Father," Artrix began again, "I'm sure you know what had happened. But I think you know why I did it."
His father's lips opened as if he was to speak but then closed again. He looked over to one side of the row and spotted the General from the earlier battle. He too had now dressed in full formality, which was at bare, his armor but decorated with numerous badges, stripes and material of great value. Artrix recognized him instantly.
"Artrix, your acts of treason have been noted and shall be punished accordingly," the General spoke.
Artrix was taken aback.
"Treason?! You dare accuse a God for treason!" Artrix infuriatedly said.
"You have betrayed the very order of Heaven itself, you have enraged a beast of the cosmo," the General responded.
Artrix shook his head in denial. "I did no such thing! All I did was to cleanse the world of our enemies!"
"In your recklessness, you had forgo your comrades and in doing so brought great harm even your allies!"
"I, I-" Artrix could not find words to defend himself.
"Your pride took control of you. You did not think of the consequences, you did not think at all!" the General's accusations now raised in anger. "You had unleashed forbidden power on a mortal realm, causing great damage to the lands itself. You had intervened in mortal affair without approval of the High Court."
"I only aided in destroyed the filthy Void! By vanquishing them, I had saved more life than you could've by fighting!" Artrix hollered.
"ENOUGH!" the king's voice thundered through the hall.
"Father, I-"
"Do you have any idea, what you've done? Not only did you harmed your fellow comrades, not only did you changed the lives of mortals against their will, your recklessness has now brought even a greater threat to the cosmos," the king said. "The Void's might have now been unleashed across all existence. This, is their response to a God's will. Now, they will murder and destroy even more than what you have done."
"Then why do we lay idle in our seats, why do we not destroy them?" Artrix argued.
"Because even them, have their own will, just as we have our own. We are not to intervene and determine their lives. They may be mortals, but they rule themselves. They are their own beings, we are only here to maintain balance, not to cause war, not to tyrannize them!"
Artrix clenched his fist, seeping with rage.
"Then our power is wasted! We are damn Gods! Those bumbling mortals will fall without our rule."
"Artrix, you view mortals as pests, ants. You do not value what they are, what they stand for. Instead, you only see them as unworthy because of the difference in raw power between you two." The king lectured. "But let me tell you, I know that some of them have even stronger resolve than you. They are even stronger because they've accomplished more than you, even without godly powers."
Artrix shook his head in disbelief. He desperately looked around as if he was hoping for some kind of support but he was only met with piercing gazes.
"They are but frail mortals! I will not accept this!" Artrix looked down and muttered.
"You are a tyrant. You are cruel, vain and arrogant!" the king loudly scolded.
"Well you are a blind old man, failing to see how to truly rule. You are no king!" Artrix hollered. But then, he immediately regretted his words. He knew he had truly struck his father in his heart. "Father…"
"No!" the king bellowed. Then he stood up and changed to a more solemn tone as he descended the stairs. "You are right. I was blind, blind to think that I was to pass my throne to you."
The other lords now looked up. They knew what was about to happen was gravely serious, more so than all the times that Artrix had even encountered. The line has finally been drawn.
"I thought that you would've learned your mistakes time after time. But now I see you have not, you have grown worse. You are following a path of villainy," the king arrived at the bottom of the steps with a mighty click of his heel. He straightened himself and walked with surprising strength towards Artrix despite his ancient age.
Artrix was now speechless, only a mixture of surprise, sadness and fear of what is to come swarmed him. He had never experienced such ferocity and such anger from his father. As his father towered over him, he had almost fallen back.
"You've betrayed Heaven, and all your loved ones," the king softly spoke with a hint of sadness in his voice. For a brief moment, silence drowned the court as the king's eyes glared into Artrix. Then, the king turned around and suddenly, a swirling white portal, similar to the one back earlier erupted from underneath, fracturing and splitting apart the elegant marble floor.
"You've betrayed your title, your powers," the king spoke with an increasingly growing tone. "You've betrayed your friends, your allies."
With a flick of the king's finger, a snap echoed and the portal began to swirl faster and faster as if it was to draw in everything around. A surprisingly mechanical, whirling sound accompanied the increasing violent change in the portal.
The king's expressionlessness moments ago were now replaced with pure solemnity, and then contorted into a mixture of regret and anger.
"You have… betrayed me," the king's said, almost whispering. "If you think only power is what defines this realm, then you shall lose it. If you despise mortals so much, then you shall be one!"
With that final declaration, the king stopped his paces and turned to face his son. The tension and emotions in the room had now climaxed, even the Lords held onto themselves, fearing what is about to happen.
"For all that you've betrayed, I brand you, traitor!" the king said, with pain on his last word. Artrix' eyes almost teared as he tried to retaliate, but no words escaped. The portal behind him now burst with violent motion, tearing the very fabric of space that touches it. Its light outshone the room, filling it with both dread and awe.
"In the name, of Heaven, and all that lays under it. I, King of Heaven, exile you!" the king's words echoed and thundered throughout Heaven. He then lifted his arm and shot out a stream of immensely powerful energy at Artrix, instantly breaking his indestructible into pieces as he flew back into the portal. His face contorted with both pain and shock. As soon as the whole of his body exited the court, the portal swallowed up and disappeared. The Lords stared in consternation as the king sighed heavily.
"I- I need rest…" he said and then proceeded to collapse to the floor, unconscious. The lords quickly circled him and cried out for healers and other gods. From this point, the peace of Heaven was broken.