… … … … …
Sam remembered a time when he was on a boat with Sarah, fishing, while Sarah was reading a book for one of her college classes.
"Hey Dad?"
"Yeah, Sarah?"
"I've got a question for you. It's about a book I'm reading for an elective course I'm taking."
Sam looked at Sarah. "What's the book?"
"A Long Way Gone. By Ishmael Beah. It's his memoir about when he was a child soldier in Sierra Leone. I figured since you're a soldier, you'd have potential insight into the ending."
"The ending?" said Sam.
"It ends with a cryptic tale that Ishmael heard when he was younger, rather than concluding with his escape from Sierra Leone and arrival to America. The rest of my class was confused by the significance of it. I figured I'd write about it for the essay assignment required to pass the class, and I thought I'd get ideas from you for it."
"What's the tale about?"
"It's about a hunter who finds a monkey he's about to shoot. Before the hunter pulls the trigger, the monkey says that if he kills him, his mother will die. But if he doesn't kill him, his father will die. The tale is left ambiguous so that the reader considers what they'd do if they were in the hunter's shoes."
"Ishmael concluded his memoir by talking about the solution he came up with when he heard the tale as a boy. He concluded that if he was the hunter, he would shoot the monkey so that it wouldn't have the chance to put other hunters in the same predicament. What do you make of that?"
Sam looked at Sarah, and turned away to think for a moment before he looked back at Sarah again.
… … … … …
Lucas's Detonation Broadcast Center, Tel Megiddo, Israel
Sam was looking at the six screens showing him, Grim, Briggs, Charlie, Kobin, and Sarah, when his life started to flash before his eyes.
His body was bloody and covered in burns.
Yahweh then appeared in his vision.
"Sam…" said Yahweh. "Eden is about to go critical… The Tree… We don't have a lot of time left to complete the Prophecy."
"I thought I had already completed it," Sam said, his voice hoarse.
"Only ninety percent… You have to upload the other ten percent of our souls to the Tree… by entering its roots."
Sam said, "I can feel my body, my mind… They're both fading away… I just want to see Sarah again, one last time."
"You will… provided you activate the eighth solution."
"What do you mean?" said Sam.
"Three days…" said Yahweh. "There's no time to explain."
"I may have your soul inside me, but I also have mine," said Sam. "And my soul is telling me to get out of here and see Sarah before I die."
"Sam, listen!" said Yahweh. "This is bigger than you. You know that. Abstergo… C2… Lucas's other conspiracy, the one you saw glimpses of in Syria… You can't stop all of these threats yourself… The world deserves to know the truth. The eighth solution will show it to them… and to Sarah."
"Shit…" said Sam, looking at the screens again. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't," said Yahweh. "This is your burden to bear. The world has yet to be saved. I believed that humanity could save itself, but it's up to us to show them the truth."
Sam sighed. "All right. It's time to fulfill your Prophecy," said Sam.
He looked back at the screens, at Sarah, one last time.
He wrote something on the floor with his blood, and then went to the Tree of Eden.
As he felt the Tree's metal "roots" press into his neck, he grunted as they lifted up from the ground as his body entered a crucifix-like position, and his mind started to fade completely as it was uploaded into the Tree.
"I know your story now, Sam… and how it's about to end," said Yahweh. "Now, while your soul is uploaded to the Tree… Let me tell you about mine."
Chapter 16— "Nature's Reckoning, Part III: The Revelations of the Triple-Helix"
Eden, Modern Day Tel Megiddo, Israel
The Isu Era
Sam awoke, standing on a hill above the city of Eden.
He had a beard, and his skin was darker, but unlike the older Yahweh, he looked a lot like himself.
He was experiencing Yahweh's memories through his own perspective, within his younger body.
Sam heard Yahweh's voice echoing to him as he was experiencing the memory.
"The modern Bible may be full of lies, Sam, but every now and then it contains some truths hidden within them. The New Testament is not an accurate depiction of who I am… and definitely not who I was. Before I came to love humanity Sam, and try to hope to pass on my knowledge to them… make sure humanity didn't repeat the same mistakes the Isu did… while I did help create humanity in the Isu's image as part of another Triad… as Yaldabaoth, my original self… after I helped with Project Anthropos, which led to the birth of humanity… I was neither a god, nor a savior of humanity… I was a warlord."
Yahweh looked below at the city of Eden.
It was set ablaze, with Isu fighting against their human slaves; the human slaves had started a rebellion.
"We Isu created humans in our own image not because we loved them, but because we wanted slaves who would do our work for us, and fight our battles against rivaling Isu castes for us. Our arrogance led to our downfall. Eve was the first to glimpse the truth, followed by Adam. They started a rebellion that would sweep the entire planet, here, at my home."
"The Garden of Eden…" Sam said.
"The Apple of Eden is sentient, and there were several of them. It contained knowledge that only those with enough triple-helix DNA could see… To humans that were not the Nephilim, the offspring of Isu and humans, it allowed us to control them because the knowledge drove them mad."
"So… the Apple was a tool used for control," said Sam.
"Exactly."
Yahweh looked at the city below as his Disciples, Judea and Michael, approached him.
Sam was shocked to learn that Judea looked a lot like Judith from Operation Integral.
But what was even more shocking was that Michael looked like Kobin.
"Yahweh," said Judea. "It's Lucifer… He's gone missing."
"Why am I not surprised…" said Yahweh, putting a hand to his head. "He was weak, always has been. He's going to die if he stays down there any longer. This fight is going badly. I'm going to flood the city."
"Put your rivalry aside for now, Yahweh," said Asherah, who looked a lot like Marie. "We're having trouble reaching him due to a disruption in the Grid, but last I heard from him, he said Loki was in Eden."
"Loki?" said Yahweh. Looking around, Yahweh said, "We'll have to delay the floods. Loki is a member of both the Aesir and Illuminat castes… If he's here, if he dies too, it'll spell trouble for our entire caste."
Yahweh glimpsed across the city, and said, "Where are you, Lucifer?"
Lucifer, who looked a lot like Alfred, was fighting human rebels in the middle of a battlefield in the center of Eden, setting them ablaze with blue fire and lightning using a Sword of Eden. Amidst the chaos, lightning from the skies destroyed an entire building, and the building collapsed down near where Lucifer was standing.
Awakening in a pile of rubble and human corpses, Lucifer dug himself out.
Looking around, Lucifer was breathing heavily.
He saw humans and Isu dying all around him.
The Sword of Eden he was carrying had been destroyed.
Lucifer crawled through the rubble, and witnessed several Jotunn—likely Loki's minions—slaughtering the humans amidst the chaos, some of whom were children.
"My god…" said Sam. "This was the memory Alfred mentioned to me back during the Gulf War… What he was describing didn't happen in the West Bank… It happened here."
"He was likely confused about what was happening to him, Sam… The mythological veil made it look to him like it was a battle that happened in his own time. It's most likely it was, and its similarities triggered the memory… Alfred isn't coming back, Sam, nor is Victor."
"I know… I know," said Sam.
Lucifer stumbled to his feet, and yelled, "Loki! Show your face, trickster!"
He found Loki by the Tree of Eden.
"Hmmm… Odin wants this… but he must not have it. However, Yahweh must not have it either," said Loki. "Not after what he did to Hel…"
"Hel?" said Sam.
"In a prior memory of mine, she might look a lot like Jordan, or as Lucas named her, Serpent."
"I see…" said Sam. "Sadiq mistook Jordan for Jormungandr… the World Serpent… or maybe Fenrir."
"This was the memory Alfred was describing in the church… the one where he saw Sadiq. But it wasn't Sadiq… or maybe it was. One thing's for sure, though… he was seeing Loki give commands to the Jotunn to kill Yahweh out of revenge."
"Then there's Angrboda… Did Odin kill Angrboda too?"
"During Ragnarok, and the invasion of Asgard," said Yahweh.
"It's so strange…" said Sam. "My life's story is practically an iteration of yours. Was it a coincidence, or… ?"
"History tends to repeat itself," said Yahweh. "It's part of how time works. We Isu would know this better than anyone."
"Fair enough," said Sam.
Lucifer confronted Loki, only for him to laugh at him and disappear.
"Show yourself, trickster!" yelled Lucifer.
"That would be unwise," said Loki. "I'd rather wait to show myself after Odin and Yahweh kill each other off."
Lucifer sighed as Yahweh arrived.
"Lucifer," said Yahweh.
"Yahweh," said Lucifer. "It was the trickster, he—"
Yahweh struck Lucifer in the face.
"You're the one who's supposed to be responsible for guarding Eden! Your mistakes brought him here!"
"Yahweh, I'm sorry—"
Yahweh punched Lucifer again.
"We shall decide what to do regarding your fate in a duel, Lucifer."
"Of- of course, Yahweh… I understand."
Sam saw flashing images of Lucifer and Yahweh engaging in a fight at a futuristic stadium within Eden.
The fight… The rematch, Sam thought.
"Lucifer lost the duel," said Yahweh. "He was a coward at the time… He hired his own set of apostles to try and help him best me in the fight… Fortunately, my own apostles helped even the odds, and I bested him once again… That was when Lucifer became the ruler of Hell, a realm of punishment for the humans who took part in the first wave of the rebellion."
"You put him there," said Sam.
"I did… Our friendship has been off and on ever since," said Yahweh.
"Not too dissimilar from my relationship with Alfred," said Sam.
"Living in the icy lake at the center of Hell, a realm simulated by the Apple, not too unlike that of a virtual reality simulation humans designed… gave him strength. He adopted a mindset similar to mine. But in the meantime… I started to learn from my mistakes."
Yahweh appealed to the Isu High Council via a set of Isu technology that resembled a futuristic version of a teleconference to condemn Loki and the Illuminat caste for taking advantage of the rebellion in Eden.
Naturally, Caelus was against it.
"We've got other problems, Yahweh," said Anu as well as several other gods from the various Isu castes.
As the meeting progressed, Sam said, "There are gods from all over the world…" said Sam. "I recognize a few of them from books on various mythologies I read about… Chinese… Egyptian… Aztec, Mayan, and Incan…"
"You're well read, Sam," said Yahweh.
"What is the problem, Anu?" said Yahweh.
"Catastrophe is near… In his haste to save his son and prevent Ragnarok, Odin ended up triggering it during his battle with Surtr. The Mad One has stolen the seventh solution that the Illuminat caste's Capitoline Triad were working on," said Anu.
"I see…" said Yahweh. "So in addition to nearing a second War of Unification, and dealing with the human rebellion… we're on the verge of the end of civilization itself. The Earth will burn due to the Sun becoming unstable."
"The Lake of Fire," said Sam.
"The Sun… Your son," said Yahweh.
"My son?" said Sam. "I don't have one."
"He isn't born yet in your time… He's still in Marie's womb."
"Oh…" Sam said quietly. "Is she still alive?"
"She is."
"Thank God… um, I mean thank you."
"I'm no god, Sam," said Yahweh.
"That's correct," said an Egyptian goddess, Nut. "We've agreed to join forces in an attempt to take back the seventh solution from Odin."
"But that's not all," said a Chinese god, Yu-huang. "Tell him, Caelus, or the Eight Immortals will."
Caelus frowned at Yu-huang before turning to Yahweh. "Tinia believes that one of our own is responsible for assisting Odin in his theft. Minerva believes it to be Juno due to her obsession with saving Aita after one of the failed solutions resulted in his death."
"Aita…" said Sam. "That's the Isu Elijah was a reincarnation of. Juno must've been the one to bring him back to life with the seventh solution."
"That's right, Sam," said Yahweh.
Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec sun god, said, "That lines up with Poseidon's intelligence after he banished Aita and Juno from Atlantis… Isn't that right, Caelus?"
"I hate to break the news to Tinia that his wife is the one responsible for this…" said Caelus. "Yahweh… The task falls on you and your apostles to obtain the seventh solution once again from Odin… after you deal with the scandal concerning your daughter."
Sam's eyes went wide.
"My daughter?" said Yahweh. "I only have a son… with Asherah."
"This daughter of yours is human," said Caelus.
"Human?" said Yahweh. He looked around the room.
All eyes were on him.
"Due to the fact that Eve's rebellion arose from cross-breeding between the Isu and humans, it falls on you to rectify this situation, Yahweh," said Caelus.
"I have an idea where she might be," said Yahweh.
"Good. After that, reconvene with your apostles before heading to Asgard," said Caelus. "The Aesir are fierce opponents. Our strength lies in our numbers."
"Yes, Caelus," said Yahweh.
… … … … …
Yahweh went back to a small concentration camp where human slaves resided, near modern day Nazareth and Tel Megiddo.
A lot of them had been driven insane by Lucifer's Hell he had inflicted on their minds with the Pieces of Eden.
"Rachel?" said Yahweh as he headed to a cave. "Show yourself!"
"STAY AWAY FROM ME AND MY DAUGHTER!" screamed a woman who looked eerily similar to Regan.
Sam started breathing heavily.
"Stay with me, Sam!"
"She's my daughter, too, Rachel," said Yahweh.
"You're going to kill her, aren't you?" said Rachel. "For the sake of the gods, Yahweh… she's not even old enough to speak properly!"
"I don't care," said Yahweh. "Let me see her."
"NO!" screamed Rachel.
Yahweh used his Isu powers to throw Rachel out of his way and knock her unconscious.
He entered the cave Rachel had been hiding his daughter in.
"Baba-baba… Ah-baba-baba…" a young girl covered in dirt and filth like the other human slaves cooed while stumbling around the cave. Unlike the other humans, though, she was in better physical shape due to being a hybrid.
She looked like Sarah when she was a toddler.
Yahweh grimaced.
"I almost did something I would've regretted that day…" said Yahweh. "I almost killed her… My beautiful, bastard daughter."
"You… you raped Rachel? And you almost killed your daughter?"
"I did… I did," said Yahweh, looking away sadly.
Suddenly Sam had visions of his memories of Regan's post-partum depression.
Yahweh looked at the young girl, and raised his Sword of Eden.
The young girl looked up at Yahweh.
"Ah-baba?"
Yahweh frowned, and pointed his Sword of Eden at the girl.
The girl started stumbling to the back of the cave.
"Wait, come back!" said Yahweh as he followed the girl, only to find a series of intricate paintings on the cave walls.
Yahweh looked at them in confusion.
Then he looked at the girl.
"Ah-baba… ah-baba…"
"Did you draw these yourself, child?" said Yahweh.
The girl looked at Yahweh, nodded, and kept babbling.
Yahweh looked at the paintings. "Is that the High Council? Did Rachel put you up to spy on them?"
"Baba-baba…"
"Answer me, child!"
"Baba-baba-baba… Ah-baba…"
Yahweh put a hand to his head. "You couldn't have… You're too small and weak. You're human."
The girl wobbled on her tiny feet over toward another picture, and pointed at it.
"Ah-baba… Ah-baba…"
Yahweh looked at it. "My Apostles… and me?"
"Ah-baba… Ah-baba…" The girl looked at Yahweh and nodded.
"You came up with a name for me?" said Yahweh. "All-Father?"
"Ah-baba…" the girl cooed.
Yahweh looked at her for what seemed like an eternity at the time.
… … … … …
"I couldn't bring myself to kill her," said Yahweh. "I didn't love her. Actually, I despised her… But it was an intuition of mine, a 'gut feeling' as humans would call it… Perhaps humans possessed an intellect not too dissimilar to ours, despite being inferior."
"You did create them in your image," said Sam.
"Over time, I started to ponder a startling paradox… If humans were too weak to face us, yet they would persevere, and eventually outlive us… what if it was the humans' weakness that gave them strength?"
"What do you mean?" said Sam.
"The main flaw of the triple-helix. Weakness was taboo across all Isu castes," said Yahweh. "We believed ourselves to be a perfect race… And yet we were just as flawed as our counterparts we created. We had human flaws… and like humans, we fought with each other."
"I think I see…" said Sam. "Is this what you wanted to show me? This truth?"
"Not entirely," said Yahweh.
After Yahweh left the camp, he reconvened with his apostles in the ruins of Eden after the rebellion had been quashed for the time being.
"We heard the news regarding the High Council's decision to go to war with Odin," said Judea. "It traveled fast."
"What should we do, Yahweh?" said Asherah.
"We're to spearhead the invasion of Asgard," said Yahweh. "I'm to take point and search for the seventh solution. It's most likely that he's going to implement the seventh solution on his trusted eight."
"How do you know?"
"I know Odin… he's selfish," said Yahweh, who then frowned.
"What are you thinking, Yahweh?" said Michael.
"I didn't kill her," said Yahweh.
"Didn't kill her?" said Michael. "Who are you speaking of?"
"My human daughter," said Yahweh.
"You didn't kill her?" said Judea. "It's not like you to make an irrational decision."
"My decision was perfectly rational!" Yahweh snapped. "It… it…" Yahweh sighed. "I didn't understand why I did it. The girl possesses a gift of some kind."
"She is your daughter," said Michael.
"It transcends what we've seen of the hybrids so far," said Yahweh. "I've never seen one so young do something so profoundly… meaningful…"
The others looked at Yahweh in confusion.
"The High Council can't know about this," said Yahweh. "Michael, promise me you will hide the evidence of this… I propose that I have Rachel sign official Isu documentation saying she's not my daughter… It will require that Rachel come up with an Isu name for the daughter as is Isu tradition."
"I'll prepare the documents," said Asherah. "I hope you know what you're doing, Yahweh."
"I'm afraid I might not know," said Yahweh, as he turned to look out of the tower of Eden that contained the Tree at the ruins of Eden below where the rebellion took place.
Yahweh returned to find Rachel dead.
She had slit her wrists and throat with a shard of obsidian from one of the walls inside the cave.
Their daughter was sitting next to her corpse, trying to rustle her awake with her hand that was stained with her mother's blood.
"Mama? Ah-mama?" said the girl. "Ah-mama… Hun-gee…"
"Damn it…" thought Yahweh. "Listen, girl… I need you to come up with a name for yourself…"
"Ah-mama…"
"Forget your mother, she's dead!" said Yahweh. "You have to sign this so it's made official that you're not my daughter!"
"Ah-mama… deh-duh?" The girl's eyes began to water a little, and she pouted.
Yahweh said, "Use your gift… Sign this document with a name…"
The girl looked at the document, and said, "Ah-baba?"
"Yes, that's my name you gave me… Now give me your own!"
The girl took the document, and drew a cross on it with her mother's blood.
"Damn it, girl! You ruined the document!" said Yahweh.
"Ah-baba…" said the girl as she got up and headed to her cave paintings.
"Where are you going now?"
The girl looked at her painting of Yahweh's apostles. Yahweh's seat in the center had a cross painted over it.
"Ah-baba… Ah-baba," said the girl as she pointed to the painting's cross.
"Yes, that's me… Only my name is Yahweh!"
"Yah-wee?" said the girl.
"Close, but not quite…" said Yahweh as he then said, "All right… look at this."
Yahweh carved a name in Isu language on the wall using his power to bend and direct energy as a weapon.
The girl looked at Yahweh, laughed, and clapped with her tiny hands. "Ah-baba!"
"That means 'Yahsherah'," said Yahweh as he pointed to the engraving. "That's your name. Yahsherah. Yah-sher-rah. Understand, girl?"
"Yah-sherr…" said the girl.
"That's right… Say all of it now…"
"Yah-serr…"
"That's worse…"
"Serr-rah…"
"No, no, no!"
"Serr-rah… Sarr-rah. Sa-rah," said the girl.
Yahweh sighed. "All right. Close enough. Now can you sign the document with what I just carved on the wall?"
Yahsherah looked at the wall, and the document.
She stuck her tongue out sideways as she started her attempt at drawing the Isu language's symbols.
Yahweh looked at the document as she drew on it… and contemplated for a moment.
She draws rather well.
Yahweh looked at Yahsherah for a moment.
I can't use this document anyway given she drew a cross all over the fine print... said Yahweh.
"All right," said Yahweh. "I can't use this, so you keep it."
Yahsherah looked at the document, and prodded it with her finger while saying excitedly, "Sar-rah, Sar-rah! Ta-da, ah-baba!"
To Yahweh's surprise, Yahsherah grabbed Yahweh's leg.
"What are you—"
"I lubb you, ah-baba!"
"'I lubb you?'" said Yahweh in disgust, before he paused. "I… love you?"
"Ta-da!" said Yahsherah.
Yahweh looked at Yahsherah in awe.
Then her stomach started to growl.
"Hun-gee…" said Yahsherah.
"You're… hungry?" said Yahweh.
Looking around, Yahweh said, "All right, child. I'll feed you."
"That night, as I fed the child soup, bread, and water from a nearby stream, I started to feel something very strange… something new. I thought I'd never feel it. Thought that I shouldn't be feeling it. But I couldn't help myself. At the time, it felt like an unforgivable sin…"
"What did you feel?" said Yahweh.
"Unconditional love," said Yahweh. "Weakness. The need to care for someone else, and a human at that."
Sam looked at Yahweh.
"And that was the moment when Old Testament Yahweh, started his transition to become New Testament Yahweh… The Isu that forgave humans for their sins, and their imperfections… The one that loved them."
"I don't understand…" said Sam. "There's nothing like this in the Bible… It says your son was Jesus of Nazareth… There wasn't any mention of a daughter."
"Patience, Sam…" said Yahweh. "That's part of my story I've yet to reveal. Just remember that, like you, Jesus was a reincarnation of me."
"All right…" Sam said in confusion.
When Yahweh reported back to his apostles, he looked at them in confusion, as if he was in a trance.
"You've been gone for longer than expected," said Judea.
"What happened, Yahweh?" said Asherah.
"And where's the document?" said Michael.
"I didn't bring it back…" said Yahweh. "I left it with Sar—with Yahsherah."
"Well your plans are done for then," said Judea. "The High Council won't be pleased with you in the slightest."
"I know…" said Yahweh.
"Why didn't you do it, Yahweh?" said Asherah. "This isn't like you. I know you never really loved me… but your duty always came first until now. Our marriage helped unite our castes. Not to mention you didn't love Rachel either."
"For starters, Rachel's dead by suicide," said Yahweh. "A coward's death. It was up to the child to sign the paper… Instead, she drew a cross on it."
"All right, Yahweh," said Asherah, looking away.
"Why didn't you kill the child, then, Yahweh?" said Judea. "She mocked you."
"Now is not the time to talk about this," said Yahweh. "We must make preparations for our invasion of Asgard. Gather the other Apostles, and Lucifer as well. I suspect he'll come in handy after his time spent in the center of Hell."
As the Apostles were rallied to prepare for battle, Sam realized that two of them looked like Lambert and Victor.
"Lambert… Vic… Were they Sages too, Yahweh?"
"Yes. Lambert was Gabriel, and Victor was Raphael."
"Gabriel… Raphael… Two of God's archangels in the Bible… along with Michael. Were these your most trusted advisors?"
"At times, yes… and at others, no," said Yahweh.
Sam felt himself take part in a battle in Asgard… the dawn of Ragnarok.
It was like he was actively participating, but at the same time it felt like he was being compelled by some external force, like he simultaneously did and didn't know this was a simulation.
"Am I going to die if I don't succeed in winning the battle here, Yahweh?"
"The Tree of Life is not so different from Abstergo's Animus device… You're experiencing my genetic memories as if they're your own, in dream time. What took decades, perhaps even centuries in my time is actually happening in a matter of minutes in yours."
"All right… I better try not to die too much then if I want the others to recover my body," said Sam.
Yahweh's Apostles, along with several members of castes rivaling the Aesir, were being overwhelmed by Asgard's forces.
In the process, Michael was critically wounded.
"MICHAEL!" yelled Yahweh as he fought off several Aesir warriors with his powers.
As Lucifer fought with Thor, he said, "Time to cut our losses, Yahweh! We need to push forward with what numbers we have left or we'll get overwhelmed!"
For once, Yahweh realized that the feat he was trying to accomplish would not come to be.
"No… we need to fall back," said Yahweh.
"But we haven't stopped Odin yet!" yelled Lucifer as Thor managed to push him away, and beat Lucifer in the genitals with Mjolnir.
"LUCIFER!" yelled Yahweh.
"In the past, I would've gone to save Michael. I favored him over Lucifer, after all. But I realized with my newfound, growing understanding that I would have a better chance at saving Lucifer… so, I chose to save him instead."
Yahweh managed to knock Thor out with a blast of energy from his Sword of Eden while Thor wasn't looking.
"Fall back! That's an order!" shouted Yahweh as he hoisted Lucifer onto his shoulders.
As their forces retreated, Michael screamed, "Yahweh!" as he was captured and knocked out by the opposing Aesir forces.
"It would take years before we'd be able to launch an attack on Odin's stronghold in Asgard again… The High Council was growing displeased with my hesitancy to send the others into battle again. I pleaded my case with them, saying that we had to find a better way to go about taking down Odin… but they called me weak, saying that I cared too much about sparing the lives of my fellow Isu, even though if we failed our mission, we would all die anyway."
"Thus my new understanding brought me a dilemma in my purpose and role as warlord of the Annunak caste. But my own understanding was slowly growing more and more, until I started to see it as truth. I had my time I spent with Yahsherah to thank for that."
Keeping his travels to himself, Yahweh took care of Yahsherah, and slowly learned from her as she learned from him, and grew.
One day when Yahsherah was a teenager, she asked Yahweh, "What happened to my mother?"
"She killed herself, Yahsherah. She was a coward."
"A coward?" said Yahsherah. "She raised me when I was little though… She helped out other humans who were suffering. I heard this from the other humans."
"That was not her purpose."
"What was her purpose?"
"To serve the Isu."
Yahsherah looked away. "Will I have to serve the Isu too once I'm of age? Become a slave? Will I end up in Hell if I don't?"
Yahweh was at a loss for words.
"I don't think my mother killed herself because she was a coward, All-Father," said Yahsherah as she crossed her arms. "She killed herself because she felt guilt. Guilt for failing to protect me from you!"
"Why would she?" said Yahweh angrily. "I raised you after she died!"
"I'm no longer a little girl, Yahweh," said Yahsherah. "I'm not naïve. And before I come of age, and have to start serving the Isu… I'd like to spend my time serving my fellow humans. Away from you."
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Because I care about them!" said Yahsherah. "Not to mention they're suffering because of what your apostles have done to them! They need more help than you do!"
As Yahsherah went off to give rations and medicine to the other humans in the camp, Yahweh said, "Wait, Yahsherah, come back! Yahsherah! YAHSHERAH!"
Suddenly, Yahweh felt a deep, painful feeling overwhelm him. He believed it to be what Yahsherah mentioned that Rachel might've felt.
After some time away from Yahsherah, Yahweh finally developed an idea that he couldn't seem to get out of his mind since its inception into a plan of action.
He presented the plan to the High Council.
"You mock us with your presence, Yahweh," said Caelus. "Even Anu himself is disappointed in you."
"Hear me out!" said Yahweh. "I have a plan for putting an end to the human rebellion… and putting an end to Odin. Doing so will allow us to retrieve the seventh solution."
"What's your plan, Yahweh?" said Nut. "Your past plans have been less than satisfying. I was starting to think even you didn't believe in them."
"We rally the human rebellion to our side… make them our allies."
"By using the Apples of Eden to control them?" said Caelus. "We don't have enough of them."
"No," said Yahweh. "By getting them to fight for us of their own free will."
The High Council ridiculed him in an instant.
"You're suggesting to give our slaves free will?" said Yu-huang.
"They'll just overpower us even more than they already have!" said Tezcatlipoca.
"All the more reason to get them on our side!" said Yahweh. "If we don't, they will outlive us... along with Odin and his trusted eight!"
"Enough!" said Caelus. "I share the same sentiment with the others. In order to get them on our side, we'll have to give them… concessions. They'll grow complacent. They'll think they can steal from their masters simply by asking us to let them! They'll ask us to take two steps backward, and once we agree, they'll take two steps forward, asking again and again until we're pushed into a corner!"
"It won't be easy gaining their trust after all we've done to them," said Yahweh. "But I see no other choice."
"Aren't you responsible for giving Lucifer the orders to torture your slaves, though, Yahweh?" said Borr mockingly.
Yahweh frowned.
"Borr has a point, Yahweh," said Anu.
"Perhaps he does…" said Yahweh.
"You've lost your way, Yahweh," said Caelus. "You've proven yourself as nothing more than an incompetent warlord for years now… I request a vote to expel Yahweh from the Council of 101. There has to be a majority consensus. All in favor?"
"Please… You can't…" said Yahweh as the High Council members slowly raised their hands.
"It's six to six right now… Anu… Your vote?"
Anu frowned. "I'm not in favor."
Yahweh sighed in relief.
"However, Yahweh needs time to consider what led him to this point. Instead of expelling him outright, I offer a concession to suspend him from the Council for twenty-five years instead."
"What?" said Yahweh. "Anu…"
"I'll accept this concession," said Caelus, "as will the rest of us, it seems."
All twelve of the High Council members raised their hands in favor of Anu's proposal.
"It's decided, then," said Caelus. "Yahweh, you are hereby suspended from the Council of 101 for twenty-five years, starting today."
Yahweh looked at the other council members, then turned away to leave.
Yahweh traveled down to the center of the Hell simulation, the frozen lake of Cocytus, to meet Lucifer, where he was quashing a rebellion in Hell.
The grueling conditions bothered even him, especially now.
"Lucifer?" said Yahweh.
Covered in shards of ice, Lucifer said while he looked a sickly yellow color from an unnatural form of frostbite, "That's the name of a weakling… I am Dis."
"Lucifer, what's happened to you?"
"This icy, hellish kingdom purged me of my weakness… Made me strong. Now..." Lucifer peeled off the skin on his face bit by bit until his head was a bleeding red instead of yellow.
"…I am Satan."
"…Dis? Satan? You've gone mad, Lucifer."
"I admit it's hard to think straight sometimes. It's like there are three heads instead of one, fighting for control of this body… But the fighting makes our minds stronger! As for Lucifer, his head is neither red from self-inflicted punishment by burning, nor yellow from the freezing cold… his head is blackened by clouds of raining ash. He doesn't deserve to survive catastrophe."
"Enough, Lucifer!" said Yahweh. "I'm taking your place."
"What?" said Lucifer. "Why would you do that?"
"You've suffered enough!" said Yahweh. "As have all these humans!"
"They've suffered enough when I say they've suffered enough!" shouted Lucifer. "Look here… I reserved this circle for the worst of sinners… Treacherous bastards, all of them… The first part of the lake is for traitors to their Isu families… The second part is for traitors to their Isu castes… The third is for traitors to their Isu guests… and the fourth is for traitors to their Isu masters… The deeper their sins run, the deeper their bodies are frozen in the ice, twisted and distorted in every conceivable position… Some of them can't even weep, for their tears are crystallized by the freezing winds."
"Lucifer, this is sick!"
"Is it, though? After all, you told me to do all this, Yahweh," said Lucifer. "Perhaps you're an impostor… You're not one of the fraudsters in disguise from the eighth circle, are you? You're on a fool's errand… I'll destroy all your petty rebellions… Like it or not, there is no way out of here!"
"I did tell you to do all this, Lucifer… and now I'm ordering you to stop!"
"Prove it… Best me in combat," said Lucifer.
Lucifer almost won due to his newfound strength, only for Yahweh to find he had become more aware of Lucifer's attacks due to his newfound understanding.
As Yahweh bested Lucifer once again, Lucifer said, "You are Yahweh… You won… I yield. Do me a favor, and throw me into the Lake of Fire, Yahweh… I deserve to burn. I failed you, again and again."
"I will do no such thing," said Yahweh. "You're to leave this infernal realm you've created with the Apple and heal yourself in the realm of reality. In the meantime, I will find a way to change this realm into a place where the humans can learn from their mistakes… and heal their souls. Learn to exist with the Isu peacefully. And perhaps down here… I can contemplate my own mistakes."
"What mistakes?" said Lucifer. "You're Yahweh. No one's a better warlord than you."
"See what you just said?" said Yahweh. "You served me well, Lucifer. Better than I realized. You've been loyal to me the whole time and I couldn't even see it with my own eyes! I just hope you're not too far gone to be unable to see it with yours."
"Served you… well… ?" said Lucifer. "You're… you're right…" Lucifer sat down on the ice, and looked at Yahweh. "Why have you done this to me, Yahweh? Why did you send me down here?"
"No reason is good enough to excuse such a punishment."
"You were a warlord… but Dis and Satan, they sense something… different about you now."
"You're… they're right, Lucifer…" said Yahweh. "I've changed. I no longer desire to be a warlord. I desire to be a leader."
"You mean a cowardly diplomat?"
"No, one who both fights and leads fairly," said Yahweh.
"I see… Your argument's fair enough. I suppose I'm overdue to leave this place," said Lucifer as his self-image dissolved from the simulation of Hell within the simulation of the Isu era.
Yahweh sat down on the ice, and said, "It's time to turn this place of hurting to a place of healing. This will take time… but if I persevere… it'll be worth it in the end..."
"So… you turned the infernal simulation into more of a purgatory-esque one."
"In order to create a paradise, I knew I had to, Sam," said Yahweh.
"Right… All three parts of Dante's Divine Comedy, in order."
Yahweh said, "After centuries of changing the simulation for the better, I helped heal even the most depraved of humans… and over time, they began to trust me. Perhaps some of them even began to love me. But my work was far from done."
"So you survived Hell… All because you wanted to."
"It was a Hell of my own making, Sam," said Yahweh. "Down there, I started to realize that Yahsherah was right… Most humans cared about each other, whereas we Isu were arrogant, and fought with each other. We refused to show any signs of weakness or humility. The more I changed Hell for the better, the more I sympathized with their sins against the Isu. Even their sins against each other, I began to see not as sins, but as perverted forms of love."
"Makes sense," said Sam. "I suppose you can't find a partner you love without a little bit of lust to motivate you at the start, and gluttony may just be part of our natural instincts to survive. The tastier the nuts and berries are that we found as cavemen, the better. As for greed… it's not a bad idea to have a surplus of resources every now and then."
"As for their wrath, I began to see their acts of it that they performed against the Isu were justified… We were cruel to them. Even the heretics, the violent rebels, the liars, fraudsters, and betrayers of the worst kinds were just fighting to survive the war by any means necessary."
"So once all their minds were healed, I freed them," said Yahweh. "And in the process, I started to free my own mind as well."
Yahweh awoke from the infernal simulated realm breathing heavily, and covered in cold sweat.
"Yahweh!" said Asherah. "You've been asleep for days. Lucifer told me you went mad… Decided to go into the center of Hell yourself, and destroy it from the bottom up.
Yahweh laughed deliriously. "Perhaps Odin isn't the only Mad One among the Isu…"
Asherah said, "You're sick, Yahweh… Your suspension from the Council has gone to your head."
"I feel freer than ever now," said Yahweh with a smile. "Have you been watching over me this whole time, my love?"
"My love?" said Asherah. "You've never used such words of affection with me before… Why start now?"
"Please, Asherah… If you want to attend to my sickness, embrace me."
Confused by this act of kindness, Asherah lay down next to him on their bed.
"What is this about, Yahweh?"
As Yahweh kissed her affectionately, Asherah said, "Why are you doing that?"
"Do you enjoy it? Or do you want me to stop?"
"I don't hate it…" said Asherah in confusion as she said, "If it will comfort you, then so be it…"
"Was this the night you and Asherah had your first child together?" said Sam.
"It was," said Yahweh. "Despite that I loved her, and loved our children… and she grew to love me even more… there was one that both she and I knew that I loved even more than all of them combined."
"Yahsherah," said Sam.
"I visited her regularly, and tried to do what I could to help her and the rest of my caste's human population."
Yahweh arrived at the now thriving village of Nazareth to find Yahsherah again.
"All-Father!" said Yahsherah.
"Yahsherah… I…"
Before he could continue speaking, Yahsherah embraced her father in a hug.
"You're not still mad…"
"I'm still mad," said Yahsherah, "but I've also never been this hopeful. My people… they're thriving because of what you've done for us."
"I've missed you," said Yahweh.
"And I've missed you," said Yahsherah. "I suppose you're not quite yourself anymore. You've changed."
"Are you saying… you loved me even when I was a monster?"
"I am, All-Father. And you were no monster. You merely lacked perspective."
"You're right… I'm so sorry, Yahsherah… For everything…"
"I forgave you long ago, All-Father," said Yahsherah.
Offering her hand, she said, "Come. I have something to show you."
As Yahweh entered the village of Nazareth, he saw that its human citizens were wielding weapons and training with them. Primitively-made weapons, albeit effective ones at that.
"Are you… planning a rebellion?" said Yahweh.
"Yes," said Yahsherah.
Yahweh sighed, and looked at Yahsherah sadly. "You know I won't stand against you."
"Then stand with us," said Yahsherah.
"I can't do that either," said Yahweh.
"You misunderstand me, All-Father," said Yahsherah. "Our rebellion isn't against the Isu… but against Odin and his conspirators."
Yahweh's face lit up, and as he looked around at the townspeople, they noticed him, and one by one started to face him and chant.
"Praise the All-Father!"
Yahweh looked at his daughter in admiration.
"We'll fight together," said Yahsherah. "To Hell and back."
For the first time in ages, Yahweh smiled so genuinely that it surprised him. "To Hell and back."
"To Hell and back!"
"Give us a speech," said Yahsherah to Yahweh.
"I am not usually one for rules of engagement…" said Yahweh, "but I believe a certain… creed… may be required to minimize damage to our caste, and to the castes of our allies. For that reason, let these principles guide your blades, your shields, and the precision of your bows and arrows."
"Do not compromise the safety of your brothers and sisters… That goes for our Isu allies as well. Which brings me to the second principle…"
"Stay your weapons from the flesh of your fellow human brothers and sisters. That includes the humans in Asgard… Like how you once were, they are slaves too… waiting to be liberated from the shackles of Isu tyranny…"
"In order to minimize casualties, use cunning and stealth to hide in plain sight. Make it look like you're one of their own until you're ready to strike."
"But most importantly, let these key rules of nature guide you and everything you strive to do…"
"Nothing is real. The foundations of reality and our own perceptions are unstable and flawed. By divination through numbers, we Isu understand that even the most complex of systems will fall apart eventually. Even an Isu must cease to live at some point in time…"
"But still, everything is permitted. Despite that you have been raised in unfair circumstances, it is your responsibility as individuals to free yourselves, and heal through your own actions and their outcomes. If they are sinful, you must attempt to deal with the consequences, rectify your mistakes and comfort the victims of the tragedies you create. But if they are loving and understanding… then you will be able to bask in the paradise that is your own creation… Peace, and freedom from tyranny!"
The crowd of humans cheered.
"Praise the All-Father!"
"Now… before we march on Asgard… there is one last thing I must do."
Yahweh appealed once more to the High Council.
"What are you doing here, Yahweh!" said Anu. "You've been suspended!"
"Hear me out, one last time!" said Yahweh.
"No," said Caelus. "You are hereby permanently expelled from the Council of 101—"
"My plan worked!" said Yahweh.
The other members of the High Council looked at each other in confusion.
"The humans of my caste… They're willing to fight, to take down Odin with us… We have the numbers to beat him now!"
"Is this some sort of sick joke, Yahweh?" said Nut.
"No, it's not, I swear on my life!" said Yahweh.
"And I swear on mine as well," said Lucifer.
Yahweh looked behind him at Lucifer, who had just recently fully healed from his trauma.
To his surprise, Asherah, Judea, Gabriel, Raphael, and the rest of his disciples were also with him.
As was Yahsherah.
"What is a human doing in our council room, Yahweh?"
"Exactly what he said," said Yahsherah. "We're willing to fight with you. Invade Asgard."
The other members of the Council looked at Yahweh in shock. "Do your own disciples vouch for this, Yahweh?"
"We do," said Asherah. "We'd follow Yahweh to Hell and back. Some of us already have," she said while looking at Lucifer.
The entirety of the High Council and the Council of 101—various Isu from castes all over the planet and of all sorts of ancient religions and mythologies— looked at Yahweh in confusion.
"How did you accomplish this, Yahweh?" said Caelus.
"Love. A mutual understanding of each other as Isu and humans," said Yahweh. "Instead of masters and slaves, we became counterparts. Not even leaders and followers… but rather, representatives and free constituents."
"You say they're willing to follow you to Hell and back, Yahweh?" said Yu-huang. "Are you certain of this?"
"I know that showing weakness, especially towards humans, is taboo among the Isu—"
"And for good reason."
"—but taboos are meant to be broken. Especially this one," said Yahweh. "For progress, true change will be impossible unless we decide to do so. We won't survive Catastrophe unless we unite with humanity and ensure our collective survival."
Caelus sighed. "You're already in trouble as is, Yahweh… But your little act of courage has appeared to stir something in the lower Council… So, we're going to see if your caste alone can take on Asgard. In order to convince us that your controversial, democratic model of civilization works, you'll have to prove it through combat."
Yahweh grimaced, and looked at the others.
They nodded at him, and he could read their faces.
They were saying, we have what it takes, Yahweh.
"So be it," said Yahweh. "We march on Asgard in three days."
"We'll be monitoring you and your humankind via the Observatory," said Borr. "I do admit, this will be fun to watch."
Yahweh continued to grimace for a moment, before his frown disappeared, and he walked out with his disciples.
In the meantime, not all was as it seemed in Asgard.
As they marched toward Asgard and set up camp nearby, Lucifer said to Yahweh, "Yahweh… A word."
"What do you have to share, Lucifer?"
"Michael's alive."
"He's alive?" said Yahweh in surprise.
"But it gets worse. I suspect Odin managed to turn him to his side somehow. He sent a message to me and you through Gabriel."
Yahweh looked around.
"Word from our human spies in Asgard is that Odin heard about your little stunt with the Council. He knows we're coming, and he's planning something big. But instead of talking about that, Michael merely is talking about how Odin's been searching for his son Baldr, after Hel locked him in her castle with the help of her father, Loki."
"Well if he knows where Hel's castle is, why can't he rescue Baldr effectively?" said Yahweh.
"That's just it, Yahweh. It doesn't make any sense. It's misdirection masquerading as intelligence. Worse, it seems like an implicit motive of Odin's. He's telling us something through Michael."
Yahweh frowned, and said, "We're still going to attack Odin's stronghold in Asgard as planned."
"Yes, All-Father," said Lucifer.
… … … … …
Yahweh awoke to a brutal battle in the middle of the bridge to Asgard.
Casualties were in the hundreds on their side, and the tens of thousands on Odin's side.
"Asherah, Lucifer, Gabriel, Raphael, Judea, have you made it to the fortress yet?" Yahweh communicated to the others as he entered the towers of Asgard's main fortress.
"We're inside," said Asherah. "We're obtaining a sample of the seventh solution now."
"Good job," said Yahweh.
"What?" said Gabriel. "Oh no…"
"Yahweh… you're not going to like this…" said Gabriel.
As Yahweh walked in, he said, "What… is it…"
Yahweh stared in shock.
Yahsherah's lifeless body was lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
"No… No!" yelled Yahweh. "How did this happen?"
Odin said to Yahweh, "I knew it Yahweh… Your human rebellion was just a sign that you had become weak."
"Odin… what have you done?"
"I didn't do anything," said Odin. "You however, invaded Asgard, my home."
"Because we're trying to get the seventh solution back!" said Yahweh. "You're hoarding it for yourself and your trusted eight."
"Valhalla isn't for everyone, Yahweh," said Odin. "Only the strong will live on to survive Ragnarok."
"Why'd you kill my daughter, Odin!" screamed Yahweh.
"I did no such thing," said Odin. "Michael, however, did."
"Michael… ?" said Yahweh. "No… you're lying! He would never!"
"This doesn't concern me, so I don't care," said Odin. "I have reason to believe you and Loki conspired to take my son from me. Plant him in Helheim."
"What? That's ridiculous!"
"Then why did Loki let you in through the gates of Asgard?" said Odin. "And why was he seen in Eden, trying to help you stop your human rebellion years ago!"
"Odin, you're delusional!" said Yahweh. "Loki's a trickster, always has been!"
"I DON'T CARE!" yelled Odin. "You had to have gotten in here somehow…"
As Yahweh looked around and started to realize what Loki had done, Odin said, "You took my son from me, and for that, you and everyone in your caste deserve to perish from the fires of Ragnarok… Including that human daughter of yours."
Yahweh growled furiously, "I'll tear you to pieces and feed them all to Fenrir myself!"
"Yahweh, we've got the seventh solution…" said Gabriel. "We need to leave Asgard, this battle is getting to be too much. You don't want to break your own rules of engagement, lest you lose your human army's trust!"
"But Odin—"
"—was right…" said Gabriel. "I've been monitoring the Observatory. Michael was responsible for the death of Yahsherah. I saw it happen through her own eyes."
"What?" For the first time, Yahweh felt emotions that he didn't want to ever feel again.
Grief. Pain. A burning rage… and a craving for justice that he knew he would never get enough of.
"Michael is no longer The Sacred Voice of my Triad…" said Yahweh bitterly. "He is not welcome in Eden, or anywhere in the lands our caste holds sovereignty over. The title of Sacred Voice now falls to Lucifer."
"You're right, Gabriel. We must retreat," said Yahweh, breathing heavily. "We got what we came here for. Yahsherah's death… must not have been for nothing."
"We will meet again, Odin!"
Odin smiled, and said, "That we will, Yahweh. Sooner than you'd hope for, I suspect."
Sam said to Yahweh, "You hated Michael for what he did to Yahsherah… just like I hated Kobin for what he did to Sarah… On top of that, Lambert was the one to give me the bad news, like how Gabriel gave you the bad news."
"You're seeing more parallels between my life and yours… That's good, Sam."
"Alfred said for me to forgive Michael… did he mean I needed to forgive… Kobin? And if so, why?"
"My story likely has more parallels to come that may answer your question, Sam."
The High Council was pleased with Yahweh's efforts.
"You've proven yourself to be an effective leader, Yahweh," said Caelus.
"We've settled on a matter regarding your solution," said Anu. "While you are still on an unofficial suspension from participating the Council of 101, the other members of the High Council, even Borr himself, have reached a consensus… Odin's misbehaviors, and the incoming Catastrophe discovered by the Capitoline Triad… the solar flare… is imminent. We need to work on putting together a solution to save both the Isu and humans."
"Since we are not as… well-versed as you are on cooperating with humans, we need you to educate us on such matters, Yahweh. Anu's requested that your caste put together a High Council and Council of 101 of your own."
Yahweh's eyes went wide.
"You'd entrust me with this responsibility?"
"You've proven yourself worthy of it."
Yahweh thought for a moment. "I see… Due to their connections with Odin, Borr and his members of the Aesir caste among this council will not be allowed to participate in mine. Rather, I want humans to participate in my Council in their stead. They shall have their own representatives."
"In the meantime, I will put together a 'Toba Triad' of sorts. I trust Asherah with the role of Mother of Wisdom. She will work on campaigning for peace between Isu and humans in the various castes with me while educating them on survival, and hiding them in our temples in order to survive the Catastrophe. Lucifer will take the role of the Sacred Voice. He will continue to heal the humans who have sinned against their own kind, in the purgatory simulation I created via the Apple of Eden. As for me, in addition to acting as another advocate for peace among the Triad, I will act as the Father of Understanding, and work on developing an eighth solution."
"An eighth solution?"
"An iteration of the seventh," said Yahweh. "It was an… idea… that came to me upon seeing Yggdrasil. Perhaps, even with our limited resources, we won't just need to save our fellow Isu… we can save everyone, and future generations as well after we're gone."
"That's profoundly ambitious of you, Yahweh," said Nut. "Do you think you can pull it off in such a limited timeframe."
"With the best Isu minds recruited to the Council, and a significant amount of resources… perhaps."
The Council members looked at each other.
"Take what you need," said Yu-huang.
"One last thing, Yahweh…" said Caelus.
"Yes?"
"What is the name of your Council?"
"Good question…" said Yahweh. "While it seems an unnecessary formality… I always did enjoy gazing at the heavens… Yes, perfect… The name of the Council will be the Sky Council."
"It suits you," said Caelus. "Yahweh, Father of Understanding of the Toba Triad, leader of the Sky Council… may you guide us all to a heavenly paradise."
"May the Father of Understanding Guide Us," repeated the Council of 101.
Yahweh looked around at the Council for a moment.
"It's pretty ironic that the creeds of both the Templars and the Assassins came from you," said Sam.
"Millennia of fighting between factions, all for nothing," said Yahweh. "While it would be a problem if humanity achieved absolute order, or absolute chaos as the Cult of Kosmos believed… neither the Assassins, the Templars, nor any of their proto-organizations that preceded them are capable of achieving such feats. My greater question is why should that matter when their end goals are the same… peace?"
"With the knowledge of the Isu, peace could've been created. No, it still can. I hope to see it happen within the time of your daughter's generation, Sam."
"Who was it that undid everything you had worked so hard to build, Yahweh?"
Yahweh frowned.
"Odin."
During one of the several meetings of the newly appointed Sky Council, Yahweh got word that one of the Isu was there to betray him.
"The original Last Supper…" Sam said.
"Like the church you nearly died in during the Gulf War, Sam… I nearly died that day, at the very spot I was planning to upload my consciousness, and the consciousnesses of various others to the eighth solution… It was a bloodbath, Sam… but perhaps it was not in vain. That much is yet to be seen."
Yahweh said to the Council. "Gabriel told me, with the assistance of the Observatory, that one of you is planning to betray me."
Minerva and Tinia looked at Juno. "This isn't about your business with Aita, is it?" said Minerva.
"How could you accuse me of such a thing?" said Juno.
Minerva looked to the entrance to Eden, then back at Juno.
It was too late.
Explosions were heard outside the Inner Sanctum, where the Tree of Eden resided.
"Lucifer," Yahweh attempted to communicate with them. "Asherah, Judith, what's going on outside? Why aren't you at the meeting yet?"
Then the Inner Sanctum itself shook, and Odin bashed the security entrance doors open.
His own Aesir disciples used their own special powers to massacre the Sky Council, killing close to seventy Isu and all of the humans on the council.
"NO!" screamed Yahweh.
"You didn't honestly think you were the only one who could rally an army to raid his opponent's home, did you, Yahweh?" said Odin.
"Odin… this is madness beyond even yours! You slaughtered most of the High Council's members in one fell swoop!"
"They were never meant to survive Ragnarok," said Odin furiously as he fought against Yahweh with their powers. "Neither were you! Now tell me: where is your iteration of the seventh solution I've heard so much about!"
Yahweh grimaced, and swung at Odin with his staff, only for Odin to raise Yahweh into a crucifix-like position with a special laser weapon he was wielding in one hand.
"ODIN!" Yahweh screamed, only for Odin to stab Yahweh in the ribcage with a spear-shaped vial full of poison, and inject the poison into Yahweh's body.
Sam could feel the pain Yahweh felt as the youth left his body, and he turned into the older-looking Yahweh that Sam had seen in his visions prior to this.
"Stay with me, Sam!" said Yahweh.
"I'm… trying…" said Sam.
"Why have you done this, Odin?" said Yahweh as Odin nailed him to the wall by his wrists and ankles using his special advanced Isu bow and arrow.
Screaming in pain, Yahweh yelled, "Why have you betrayed your fellow Isu?"
Pulling the arrows out of his hands one by one in desperation, Yahweh fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily. "Is it because you think I'm weak?"
As Odin pointed his laser-shooting staff at Yahweh's head, he said, "No. It's because I can."
Right as Odin was about to finish off Yahweh, Lucifer screamed and tackled Odin.
Tinia, Minerva, and a few other surviving Isu managed to press a counterattack, and they managed to capture Juno.
"You'll pay for betraying our caste, Juno!" shouted Tinia.
"I've paid plenty already," said Juno.
As Lucifer forced Yahweh to retreat, Michael appeared with Judea and a few other surviving Apostles of Yahweh's.
"We managed to get them to retreat, Yahweh," said Lucifer as he looked around at the massacre. "I can't believe it… Odin just massacred all of them… Yahweh, what do we do? Yahweh?"
Lucifer looked over at Asherah who was standing over Yahweh's body. He was near death.
"Get up, my love," cried Asherah. "Please get up!"
"Come on, Yahweh," said Lucifer. "Strength, Yahweh! You gave me the strength to fight them off, now don't let our struggles be in vain!"
Yahweh opened his eyes slightly.
"Yahsherah… I'm ready to join you…"
He looked at Asherah and Lucifer.
"I'm… still alive…"
"My love!" cried Asherah as she held Yahweh in her arms.
"Forgive me, Asherah…" said Yahweh. "I failed you. I failed all of us!"
Lucifer looked at the massacre, then back at Yahweh.
"You're the strongest being I've ever known, Yahweh," said Lucifer as he and Asherah helped Yahweh get back on his feet after reinforcements arrived and Odin and his Aesir invaders had fled. "I think I understand why now."
"What are you talking about, Lucifer?" said Yahweh.
"You're not afraid to admit that you're weak," said Lucifer. "You're not afraid to admit your mistakes. That's something that the rest of us didn't know how to do. Until you taught us."
Yahweh looked at Lucifer as he said, "But this isn't a mistake of yours… it's Odin's fault. He did this to us. He'll be long gone by now. We have to spend what little time we have left before the catastrophe making sure we survive it, not that he doesn't."
Yahweh looked at Michael, "You… You let Odin into Eden!"
"No, Yahweh, wait!" said Lucifer as Yahweh stumbled towards Michael, only to fall down.
"Damn you, Michael, you took my daughter from me… and now you've taken everything and everyone else too!"
"Yahweh!" yelled Lucifer.
"I'm going to kill you with my own two hands… With what little energy I have left!"
"ALL-FATHER!" yelled Lucifer.
Yahweh paused, and looked at Lucifer.
"Michael wasn't the one who let Odin's forces into Eden… That was Judea. Odin brainwashed her."
Yahweh got up from the ground, and said, "That still doesn't change the fact that he killed Yahsherah!"
"That's incorrect, Yahweh," said Michael. "I didn't kill her. She's still alive. I was worried that Odin would use her as leverage over you, so I made the hard choice in collaboration with Gabriel. Behind your back."
"She's alive, Yahweh," said Michael. "Judea, Gabriel and I formed a sort of secret, unofficial Triad to do everything we could to make sure your daughter survived. Gabriel prepared a secret identity for her to hide in Nazareth. Judea and I spread misinformation to Odin's spies… and I planned to take the fall for killing her, gaining Odin's trust and becoming a triple agent within the Aesir."
Yahweh said in disbelief. "Where is she?"
"She's safe in Nazareth," said Michael. "But she's likely going to head back to her childhood home between there and here."
Yahweh said, "Odin's weapons were enough to overpower us… How is that possible?"
"Sarawat. The Isu grid nexus," said Michael. "I found out he was siphoning energy from the grid to improve his technology. By the time I found out he was doing this, it… it was too late." Looking around at the massacre, Michael said, "This is my fault… this is all my fault…"
"Enough, Michael!" said Yahweh. "I need to see Yahsherah with my own eyes if I'm to believe you!"
"She's on the way," said Michael. "She said she's rallying her human army to assist you… after hearing about what happened."
"I need to see her," said Yahweh.
"No, you need to rest Yahweh," said Asherah. "What Odin did to you crippled you. You're weak."
"No, I'm not weak!" said Yahweh, "and I need to see her! I must!"
They looked at Yahweh sadly.
"I'm not weak… I'm not… weak… I'm…"
Yahweh collapsed on the floor.
"Yahweh?" said Asherah as she ran over to him.
His breathing was slow.
"YAHWEH!"
The church! Sam said, breathing heavily. In Mirawa! I remember now!
I saw it all years ago, he said. I was becoming like you… like the Old Testament version of you… before you realized you were weak. Alfred wasn't trying to rid me of my Yahweh consciousness… he was trying to get me to understand Yahweh's flaws… just like you discovered them yourself through Yahsherah. It was when I went home to see Sarah that I had discovered mine.
It's good that you remember, Sam, said Yahweh. The Prophecy is close to being fulfilled now, I can feel it… Our memories are synchronizing, our paths are converging to the singularity… The eighth solution is close to complete.
Despite that Jesus of Nazareth did have my consciousness, he never completely uploaded his mind to the Tree… He was captured and executed by the Order of the Ancients before he could bring himself to sacrifice himself of his own free will. This is why his legacy lived on for so long, but was able to be twisted and misinterpreted over time as the signal died off.
The signal? Said Sam. What signal?
That of the eighth solution, said Yahweh. I had hoped that Jesus would save the world, but I ended up having to recalculate as I failed… Unlike Aita's Sages, mine were more similar to Odin's in that they can only occur in one generation per every two millennia, as opposed to one millennium for Odin. The seventh solution had its limits, but the eighth solution… it will not."
"You're still not giving me the whole picture," said Sam. "What is the eighth solution?"
"Yahsherah… Sarah…" said Yahweh.
"Sarah?" said Sam.
"Sarah… The Sun… Your daughter… Of course!" said Yahweh. "I understand where I miscalculated now. I failed to realize that due to my attempts to make Yahsherah's Sage a stronger one… Yahsherah can be weak… Human. It's as close to what she would have wanted as I'll allow. Forgive me, my beautiful daughter..."
"Yahweh, what are you talking about?" said Sam. "What does all this have to do with my daughter?"
"Forgive me, Yahsherah… Forgive me…"
"…Yahsherah…" said Yahweh as he looked up from his bed.
"All-Father," said Yahsherah. "You're in bad shape. You're weak now."
"Yahsherah?" said Yahweh as he looked at her and started to wake up further.
"Stay calm, All-Father," said Yahsherah as she held him down in bed. "You need rest."
Yahweh wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you so much, my daughter. My amazing, beautiful human daughter."
Yahsherah began to cry. "I missed you too, All-Father."
She said to him, "Odin took your title from you. All-Father. He thinks he defeated you… His own followers call him that now."
"He did defeat me," said Yahweh. "The eighth solution is still not complete… and my allies… the majority of the Sky Council, and the High Council… they're either crippled or dead. He'll live on past the Catastrophe, and we won't."
"You can't give up, All-Father!" said Yahsherah. "Forget that you're weak for a moment… Use what little strength you have to finish what you started… Use your love for humans, your love for the Isu… your love for me… to compel you to complete the solution, save the world!"
Yahweh looked up at her.
"All right, my child. Once I am better, we will carry on… together. We will rebuild. Renew."
"Listen, Yahsherah… You must go there… To the place that we labored… Labored and lost. Take my words. Pass them from your head into your hands. That is how you will open the way."
"But be warned: much still remains in flux. And I do not know how things will end… either in this point in time, or the ones after Catastrophe strikes."
Yahsherah looked at Yahweh in shock. Tears came to her eyes. "You want me to live on past the Catastrophe? Take your place in the Tree of Life?"
"I do," said Yahweh. "I'm weak now. You're not. You're the strongest being I know. Your hybrid blood will ensure that your human reincarnations will have strength that normal humans won't."
"No…" said Yahsherah. "Forget about strength. Forget that you're weak. Just live on yourself! I don't know everything you do, I don't have a sixth sense like the Isu!"
"It doesn't matter…" said Yahweh. "I want you to live on, my child."
"All right," Yahsherah said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'll work with Lucifer, Asherah, and the others, and make sure the eighth solution is complete."
"Good," said Yahweh. "Strength, Yahsherah."
"To you as well, All-Father," said Yahsherah.
A few years later, on the dawn of catastrophe, in his home in Nazareth where they hid from Odin's forces, Asherah, Lucifer, and Michael came to him with their children, as well as Yahsherah.
"It's time, my love," said Asherah. "Time to enter the Tree of Eden."
"Is it complete?" said Yahweh.
"It is," said Lucifer. "You can thank the humans and Isu you cared for so much over the years for that. But you can thank your daughter the most. She's a natural when it comes to handling Isu affairs."
Michael said to Yahweh, "I know you're still angry at me, Yahweh…"
"I am," said Yahweh.
"And if you want, I will stay behind… fight to defend the Tree of Eden from Odin's forces before Catastrophe wipes us all out."
Yahweh thought for a moment. "No. That would be unwise of me. You will enter the Tree of Eden as well, be reincarnated."
Michael said, "What? Are you sure, Yahweh."
"I may not have it in me yet to forgive you, Michael… but it is not within my right to deny you life. You've served me enough over the years."
"You have my thanks, Yahweh," said Michael.
As they rode to Eden on horseback and entered the Inner Sanctum where the Tree of Life resided, Yahsherah stopped by the door.
"You've finished it…" said Yahweh. "It's beautiful… like all of your paintings were."
Turning back toward Yahsherah, Yahweh said, "Are you ready to embrace your destiny, my child?"
Yahsherah smiled sadly and said, "I am, All-Father… but it doesn't lie in the future. It lies here."
Yahweh said, "What?"
Yahsherah said to Yahweh, "A lot of humans are going to die when the solar flare's fires hit the Earth. I want to help comfort them as the end draws near. I want to die with them."
Yahweh said in disbelief, "All right, but you can still do that if you upload your mind to the Tree, my child… you just have to do it when you're near death—"
"No, All-Father," said Yahsherah. "You belong in that Tree. Not me. I've made my decision."
"No…" said Yahweh. "Listen, we can both—"
"There's only room in the Tree for so many souls…" said Yahsherah. "All the Isu that were murdered or crippled here, by Odin… They will enter the Tree. But not me. I want to sacrifice myself for the humans who won't enter the Tree either."
"But—"
"Their lives matter too, All-Father!" said Yahsherah. "Don't you agree?"
Yahweh looked at Yahsherah sadly. "You're sure about this?"
"I am," said Yahsherah. "I want to spend my last days on Earth helping others... and painting… I don't want to live on. I've lived a good enough life with you already."
"I… understand," said Yahweh.
He kissed Yahsherah on the forehead briefly. "I'll miss you, my child. For eternity."
"It's a burden you'll have to bear," said Yahsherah. "Immortality has a cost. Love and grief are part of the same natural phenomenon—weakness. They just happen at different points in time. I don't want to spend eternity grieving. I want to spend the rest of my life loving, and living… as a human."
"Strength, Yahweh," said Yahsherah before she walked out of the Inner Sanctum.
"Strength, Yahsherah," said Yahweh as he walked toward the Tree.
Before he uploaded his consciousness to the Tree, Yahweh looked back at Yahsherah one last time, for what, at the time, he thought would be the last time he'd see her ever again.
Then he felt the Tree's cold metal roots press into his neck and lift him up into a crucifix-like position and he could feel his consciousness being uploaded into the Tree.
As he was put down, along with Asherah, Lucifer, Michael, Judea, and the dozens of other Isu survivors, Yahweh said, "May we all meet again one day… Until then, we fight together against tyranny… on the dawn of catastrophe."
As Yahweh looked out from a hill towards Eden, he rested next to a small tree.
As he looked up at the Sun, seeing the solar flare begin to erupt on its surface in the distance, its fiery energy descending towards the Earth's surface, he realized he was not alone.
"Yahsherah?" said Yahweh as he looked around.
"Not exactly."
Yahweh stood up.
"Odin."
"Relax. I'm not here to fight," said Odin. He looked up at the sky with his good eye. "I got word that Yahsherah helped complete your version of my solution. I've heard it's even better than mine."
"It is," said Yahweh with a frown. "I've seen it."
"I guess we'll see each other in the next life for a rematch then," said Odin.
"Count on it."
Odin sighed, and said, "I also heard that Yahsherah didn't upload her mind to the Tree herself."
"If you hurt her, I swear I'll—"
"Do you want her to live on, Yahweh? Past the Catastrophe? Even if it's against her wishes?"
Yahweh said, "I… I do…"
"You're not the only one who might be weak. Call this a bit of pride on my part… but you were right. You weren't the one that took my son from me. Loki was the one who killed Baldr. He tricked me, played us against each other to take each other out. And now that the dawn of Ragnarok is here…" Odin looked around and said, "Fenrir approaches."
"I'll be quick, Yahweh," said Odin. "I still hate you… More so than any other Isu… But since I owe you a debt for the unnecessary trouble I caused, I'll pay it by helping you let Yahsherah live on. With the help of my trusted eight, especially Freyja… I managed to acquire her DNA. Initially it was so I could spy on you through her, but now… Do you think your so-called eighth solution could save her with just a small sample of her DNA?"
"It… it could," said Yahweh.
Odin passed Yahweh a cube containing the DNA sample. "Take it. Despite that Loki and Hel took Baldr from me, I'm trying to find a similar solution to bring him back as well… Go on then, before Fenrir kills us both."
Yahweh looked at Odin in confusion.
"You have my thanks… but not my forgiveness," said Yahweh as he left back to Eden for the Tree again.
"Strength, Yahweh," said Odin to himself as Fenrir showed himself in the darkness, bore his fangs, and tore Odin apart with them.
Yahweh used all his strength he had left to run as the solar flare finally hit, and the ground began to shake as the Earth's polarity was flipped.
In the distance, Yahsherah was at her home, painting when she could hear the other humans begin to scream as they looked up at the sky and the ground shook.
As she finished her last painting, she walked outside.
Yahweh ran into the Inner Sanctum, panting, and uploaded Yahsherah's full DNA sample to the Tree, along with a partial sample of Baldr's to honor Odin's request.
Yahweh then looked behind him.
It was Loki.
"You're here to kill me?" said Yahweh. "Why didn't you stop me?"
"Stop what?" said Loki. "The eighth solution will help revive the Isu. I'm not necessarily against that."
"Odin didn't want you to join him in Valhalla," said Yahweh. "You want me to upload your mind into the Tree, don't you?"
Loki grinned.
"Or did you find another way?"
"I did. Unfortunately, my children didn't," said Loki. "And because of that…"
Loki stabbed Yahweh to death.
"Strength, Yahweh," Loki said as he shut Yahweh's eyes and lay his corpse down. "I'll see you in the next life for some fun."
After that, Loki was promptly beaten to death by Heimdall, another Aesir who had come to find Odin and protect him, only to fail.
As the sky rained ash and spit fire upon the Earth, scarring its land until it was a barren rock, Yahsherah looked up at the sky and smiled.
"Strength, Yahweh. You'll need it. I'll be with you in your memories, and your soul. I love you… All-Father," said Yahsherah before she was incinerated.
In the back of the cave her paintings were in, her final painting was that of three circles in a triangle, drawn in the center of a painting representing the Sky Council.
The bottom two had a heart, and a pentagram inside them, respectively.
The top one, however, had a cross.
The mark of the Toba Triad, the group of Isu that saved humanity, and perhaps a few Isu in the process.
Yahweh, or Yaldabaoth, Asherah, or Saklas, and Lucifer, or Samael.
The original Echelon.
"The Prophecy… is complete…" said Yahweh.
"Odin?" said Sam. "Why would he do that?"
"He has his own weaknesses as well, Sam," said Yahweh. "He was telling the truth."
"So… did you forgive him?"
"I think I have now," said Yahweh, "along with Michael. I just needed several millennia to contemplate over it."
Sam and Yahweh looked at the aftermath of the Toba catastrophe, at the Isu cities laid to waste, full of corpses burnt to ashes. "The Earth shook for days. The fires burned for weeks. And when the ash had settled, less than ten thousand of your kind still lived… and far fewer of ours."
"The Isu were burned to splinters, Sam. Their truths forgotten. But what if there was a way to bring them all back? You are that way. You are the key to reviving the Isu… to show the world the truth once again. Now, Abstergo, C2… Odin… will be able to be stopped. You're the Second Coming, Sam."
"I don't understand…" said Sam. "I'm no savior… I'm just a man."
"But you're also me," said Yahweh. "And you just did save the world. Now, your daughter will be the one to save it again, with the help of the other Prophet."
"Sarah…" said Sam.
"Three days… Strength, Sam…" said Yahweh as he began to leave the simulation, but Sam remained in it.
"Wait… Where are you going? I still have so many questions! Yahweh! YAHWEH!" said Sam.
… … … … …
Eden, Tel Megiddo, Israel
Present Day
Sam's body was ejected from the roots of the tree, and he hit the ground with a forceful thud.
He screamed.
"The Prophecy… is complete…" said Sam. Rolling over onto his back, he grunted, looked up at the Tree, and said, "Rest in peace, Fisher… You played your part well… You have my thanks."
Limping over to the screens that showed Sarah and the others, Sam pressed his hand to the screen as Sarah herself reached out instinctively.
"Three days… You will see Sarah again."
Then he looked at the words Sam wrote with his blood on the floor.
"I see…" said Yahweh. "It looks like I have one last message to deliver, though… before this vessel reaches its limits…"