SAVED BY THE DAMNED

Image: Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel

This is the crossover that no one ask for: The son of Lucifer and Daughter of Lilith in one story of how they save the world that despise them.

What am I doing here?

These words echoes without the usual hint of existentialist dilemma inside my head as I found myself inside the most unlikely place for someone who is a blatant practitioner of dark arts.

It’s been a years but I still found the ambiance inside the holy grounds of St. Benedict’s Basilica as profoundly powerful. The last time I step my foot on its unfading red carpet was when I decided to pursue the life of a magician. Since then I never enter any church or any sacred place (except maybe those who are “esoterically” sacred) not because I am afraid that I will burn into ashes once I enter it like how they always indoctrinate  those poor souls who never even understand a single grain of truth about the occult.

“You are not supposed to be here.” Coming out of the darkened corners of the pew is a tall figure donning a typical medieval monk’s garment in jet black color. Once I saw a rope coiled around his long neck as if it resembles a noose that once pulled will quickly end his life, I knew for certain that I am dealing with not just a simple priest whose daily life is centered on Sunday mass and charity works.

“Forgive me father...I am not here to desecrate your holy figures or steal the relics of St. Benedict underneath your floor.” I answered with a smile trying to lighten up the heavy atmosphere emanating from him with my futile humor.

This priest is surrounded by terrifying aura which I can already taste with my own tongue; death, punishment and vengeance. Such qualities are not even fit for a holy man but for the members of the secret order of monks called Judas Priests, those are the basic tenets they follow to serve in the name of their faith. In the name of the church.

In lay man’s term, they are the divine assassins and demon exterminator of the Holy See. You can never see their names in the Pontifical list of the Vatican and its member underwent different trainings and ordination. Cloak and dagger is their version of chalice and communion wafer. Instead of guiding the flocks, they opt for killing those who endanger them. Their hands is filled with the blood of everything the church considered as enemy: witch, warlocks, occultist, free thinkers and of course magicians which is their long time quarry.

“You have entered the lair of God’s very own executioner and there is no kind of sorcery you can cast upon as long as you in the four walls of this Basilica.” His intimidating voice that seems to imitate the rumble of thunder complements the keen blade he unsheathed from the silver crucifix hidden from the wide sleeves of his clothes.

“More likely the lair of snake if you ask me. Why I am not surprised that your order is named after the supposed betrayer himself. I never thought the church will actually adapt the teaching of Gnostic on Judas of Iscariot.” Maybe what I said is a bit too much this time as I see his gray eyes glare at me sharply and his grip on his crucifix tighten.

Judas according to the Gnostic scripture happens to be a good guy that plays the role of a bad guy to execute Jesus’ plan. It’s all written and prophesied as they say. It was also stated that he instead of the Peter is the closest apostle to Christ. The church of course deny it and label the Gnostic scripture as blasphemous and twisted. Calling it the works of the devil again and whoever who read will be officially damned to hell.

“Enough of your charade!” He lunge towards at me as he swing his long sword with such force it nearly graze my face if my reaction delayed for just a mere second. A fine swordsman he is but what is more deadly is his weapon. Enochian script is engraved on is steel; the language of the angel that turn his sword into a potent soul slaying tool. Yes, it will not just cleave my flesh but also my soul.

I try my best to avoid fighting back as well as avoiding getting any hit from the blessed blade. Of course I can cast a spell inside the church contrary to the stupid popular belief. But I made a promise to St. Benedict that I will never desecrate his church. I still hold some respect on it knowing that its become a part of my innocent years.

“Fool! You doomed already once you step inside this church.” Snarling like a mad lion, he took four daggers from his cloth and throws at me with blinding speed. I duck into the nearest seats and manage to evade the attack though it punctured the seats where I am hiding. Then like an apparition waiting for its victim, the monk appeared behind me. His smile is so unnerving that even I felt a chill that stun me momentarily.

“Die,Warlock!”

A sound of gunshot instead of my flesh being teared apart deafened the whole bowels of the Basilica. The priest is already lying down on the floor but there is no blood oozing from his body yet. That’s strange I said to myself.

“You are a lousy fighter, aren’t you?” Another voice, a feminine one, emerge from the altar. If the priest that attack me a minute ago is a sword wielder, this time I have this rare chance to witness a nun holding a still smoking desert eagle pistol. I am seeing a disturbing pattern here but I still have to take my chance. I have a handful of reason why I return to the church and its not suicidal; its urgent and I need their attention or possibly their help even that means taking a bullet from them.

“What do you expect from a magician sister? I am not born for violence.” I joke while observing her whole figure basked in the dim light of candles. She looks like an ordinary nun with the veil on her head except for the long slit on her skirt that reveals her thigh partially covered with holsters and sheaths straps on it. Once her face was illuminated, I found out that she is on her 20s. Her black eyes have this sharpness when she stare at me which is both beautiful and fierce at the same time.

“Cut the silly games you’ve been playing mage, tell me why are you here?” She sternly ask as she pointed her gun on me. Suddenly the monk begin to gain consciousness as his body twitch. Quickly the nun aim at the monk’s once more and pull the trigger. After five shots she unload the magazine and insert a fresh new batch of real bullets and point it at me once again. It only took her three seconds to do all of this and I am really impress how he can manage to do that.

“Father Salazar has some beef with the likes of you. He witness how a group of occultist burn his mother and father in front of him as a human sacrifice for the unspeakable gods of necronomicon.” She explained without taking her eyes on me.

“You’re in luck because I am willing listen to your reason but make it sure you will not waste my time or else...” She pulled the trigger and with just a blink of an eye I found my cheeks bleeding from the graze it received from the bullet she released.

Alright. No more fooling around then.

“I need you assistance sister...something is terribly wrong with the consecutive fire incidents all around the globe.”

“And what does Church has something to do with it?”

“In general there is none, but your group is.”

It’s hard to believe, even  I have a difficult time believing it but the vision don’t lie. Once I saw the news about the ravaging fire that occur in different parts of the globe, I felt that this is something done not by accidents or arsonists. It is entirely far from any mortal doings.

And I was right, As I peer into this flames while my third eye was opened, the hungry tongues of flame shift its color and behold I saw what cause this massive conflagration; salamanders. The living elemental of fire realm. They are all over the place with their reptilian forms. But what made this trouble so serious is that the flame surrounding their body is corrupted and teeming with malice. A darkened fire that turning them mad and doubles their tendency to be more destructive.

“There is a pattern as to where the next location will be engulf in flames and I need your help in guarding those place to prevent casualties. To prevent more deaths.” I steadfastly look at her and try my best to show my sincerity.

“Wow, so you will use our order as security guards?” She laugh with lustful sweetness and mockery in her voice. An odd combination coming from a supposed figure of gentleness and meekness among the maidens that served the Lord.

“We might kill for the name of the church but we will never follow a scum like you whose way of life has something to do with dealing with demons and spawns of nightmare.”

“I am not saying that you will follow me, all I am asking is your aid. Your group are the only one I knew who can help me on this...we need to save the people and this city.” In all honesty, they are the only people I knew who are capable of doing this feat. The police obviously would not believe it. Fellow mages will not even give a fig if the city will turn to dust. The government? What else those people can do? They can’t even run the whole city properly.

“I don’t understand you mage, the city? The people?” Finally I caught her attention. I’ve never been the communicative and the persuasive one but this period compels me to opposed my nature otherwise.

“The next target is our city. And there is not just one but five area that will be literally put in hell if we don’t act immediately.”

“So you grew up in the Basilica before?”

As we rode inside the subway transit, a sudden question caught me off guard. We were discussing a minute before on how I manage to locate the area through laylines or dragon lines; the veins of the world wherein instead of blood, spiritual essence are flowing inside of it. Each of the fire incident happens in specific areas where laylines are situated. It’s good to note that the mysterious incident seems to move towards the northern direction; the occultic direction of the element of fire. Unfortunately our city is found in the northern most part of the globe and the only one left untouched by the flame for now.

“Hey did you hear me?”

But before I can formulate an answer to her question, a nauseating heat  started to prick my skin. The overpowering scent of burnt matter diffuse all over as I begin to curse this bloody elementals from acting too fast. What do you expect from salamanders who knew nothing but to ravage and get wild on their tracks. With so many people packed in this carriage rubbing their bodies on each other, how can we save them for the incoming hordes of scorching reptilians?

“Sister, they are here.”

Fire is somehow the most closest element to humankind. Since stone age,fire is considered as a gift by gods to mortals in order to survive. Later on, it becomes an object of their spirituality; worshiping its beauty and its usefulness.You can say that there are periods that our race was so enamored by fire that they turn into a god too and making our ancestor the first benign pyromaniac. Yet like any other elements, fire is dualistic in nature. It brings life and vitality but it can annihilate them too. It is a living element that must be tamed patiently and cautiously or else it will unleash horrors that demented arsonist can only love.

Unfortunately, we are about to experience this kind of horror now.

Flame starts to appear out of nowhere inside the train randomly as if someone is rolling dice that will decide who and what will be burned every second. After a minute, screams are the only music you can hear inside as the train is now officially become the Inferno Express.

“Damn it, what is happening?” Strings of curses are flowing continuously in the mouth of companion as she drew her guns and started to aim at fast moving fire that consume whatever on its way.

“Don’t shoot sister, you don’t want to put a hole in the head of innocent people.” I said calmly to her. Its too risky but I am really itching to do something to stop the rampaging elementals.

“Just watch me mage.” I am not sure if I am seeing it right but the way she smile makes my blood run cold; it was an expression of glee that when push further become a terrifying image of sadistic joy especially when she lick her lips and started shooting the salamanders.

Panic erupted as gunshots joined with the music of pain and helplessness. Shit. I need to think fast before this crazy nun or the salamanders starts to pile up their kill.

I can almost see in the window the next stop of the train but we are not slowing down yet.I guess the driver has turn into a burning corpse already now. There is no possibility for an escape. Except maybe in another dimension...

And that is how I came up with an answer. In our current plane,  the train is on fire but in other dimension, this train is empty and safe. Good thing this world exist in multi-dimensional manner. Thanks be to multi-verse and the geeks.

“Duat, Akhmat, Ra, Maphesh, Duat.” Opening a dimensional gate is easy when it comes to Egyptian magicians. It is one of their basic spells that allow them to travel in different dimension. All I need is just a little alteration to transport multiple people.

“What are you doing mage? Summoning your demonic familiars?” The nun is entirely amuse as  observe in her voice as  she keep on pulling the trigger of her gun but I can’t be distracted; I need to focus or else I might transfer this people in the wrong location.

Arcane energy begin to rise inside of me as I repeat the chant all over again. Hieroglyphs surrounds my body as I attune myself with Duat; the magical dimension that will act as the bridge for this people to traverse into another plane of existence. Now the hardest part is to match their frequency with the place I am about transfer them.

 As I open up my eyes, shards of psychic force shoots from my mind into these people.This will serve as an astral antenna that will so that I can personally manipulate their spiritual frequency. Their mind is clouded with fear and distress which I found very useful since I can probe into them much easier without any hindrances.

I harmonized all their frequencies to the target area  and when it seems everything is all set, one by one the people disappear out of thin air. Its so simple and yet I know the danger of inter-dimensional transportation spells but one risk at a time for now. We need to deal with the salamanders and hope that I’ve sent the innocent people in the right place.

When there is nothing left but the fiery beings inside the carriage, I signal the nun to keep on firing as I take on the last spell that will ensure those who caught in flames will not turn to ashes.

“I don’t know what have you done mage but that really turns me on.” She grin at me as he reloaded once more her gun and and click on something on its handle. Once she starts shooting again, I notice that her guns roared more louder and fires more bullets in a single pull of her trigger. Everytime she hits a salamander, they instantly degenerate into piles of ectoplasmic crap.

I don’t have much time to wonder what kind of bullets is she using. I need to send some aid for those people are inflicted with burns in other dimension. I took a vial of clear water from my trinket bag and starts to call upon the antithetical spirits of fire; the Undines.

“Hear me o spirit of water, heed my call in the name of the seal of Solomon your master.”

Once I inscribed in the air the reverse triangle symbol of the water element, a half human and half fish being appears in front of me. Her whole body is glisten like sapphire and her hair is a mass of virile sea weeds. She bears two black eyes without an irises and spoke in a language that sounds like a gurgling water.

“What can I do for you who summon me from the depths of the sea?”

“Please help my kin who are attacked by salamanders. I’ll open up the dimension where they are currently residing.”

And with a smile and nod coming from her, I open up a portal that will lead her to the civilians.

“Oh, you’re full of tricks black mage. Now you are sending a demon to help the people? How nice of you.”

“Shut up. Its an elemental and not a demon.”

“Tell that to the people who have no idea what is the difference between the two.”

I am getting irritated with her never ending comments but I know there is truth in her words. People will always call the unknown and the unnatural as demons or devils because that is how they programmed. And I pity them for that. It is hard to just accept everything they feed you without even knowing that it poison your mind and eventually ridding away your ability to think for yourself.

How many times did they efface the old gods, the spirits who once aid our ancestor before and turn them to monsters? How many times they erase the trace of lost knowledge and force us to accept their man-made laws and doctrines? We even forget the fact that once we live with the elementals and treating each other like brothers and sisters but now even the mere sight of them is enough for us to point our finger and call them hellspawn.

“Just shoot sister. That’s where you are good at.” I look at her scornfully but she replied with vicious smile knowing she hit a nerve with her argument.

Countless heap of ectoplasm scattered in every busted chairs and shattered windows of the train. A sight which can only be painted by an artist with a twisted inclination in violence. The scent of gun powders and charred steel swirls in the air we breath. Smokes slightly obscure our vision but the good news is that the only remaining reminder of what damnable thing happened here is embers and ashes.

“I guess we are all done here.” The nun unload her steaming magazines and check the barrels of her gun if there was a damage it received from almost three minute of non-stop carnage.

“No we are still in the game sister.”

“What the hell are you talking about? All the lizards are dead now thanks to me.”

Suddenly her phone rings and lazily she picks her up and answer.

“Sister Erika...h-help us...” The call ended with the crackling sound of flames that dominate the halted scream of torment.

“Son of--.” She angrily throw away her phone as she realized that the salamanders are still on the loose. And they are feasting already to her comrades who are guarding the remaining four areas that will be attacked by fire elementals.

“I told you awhile ago that there are five locations in the city that the salamanders will lay waste upon. We stop the first area. Four more to go, sister.”

I am not quite sure if I’ll be able to cast the dimensional spell to teleport other people but when push come to shove...I have to seek his help once more.

“Shit just got real.” She sneer as she look above and saw black soot that wipes away the former clean, white color of train’s ceiling.

“You said earlier that the locations are found when you follow railway of this train isn’t?”

I nod back at her and notice that something is moving on her back. Squirming in such erratic motion and just biding enough time to explode and God knows what will happen next.

“We need to hurry then...” She direct her sight on me and all of a sudden her black eyes turns into scarlet and the feature of her face sharpened making it a bit more bestial or perhaps slightly demonic.

“No way...they let you in inside the ranks of your mother’s enemy.”

A metamorphoses whose nature is infernal happens right before my eyes and put me in strange awe as I witness how it unfolds like a butterfly shedding its cocoon and breaking free from a long period of hibernation. But what differs however is instead of translucent wings that should grace this world, large leathery wings and long lashing tails come forth from her body. Yet whatever it is, it still sends the subtle beauty of unraveling. Of rebirth.

“Set aside your horny look mage. We still have some business to finish.” Her smile is now tainted with malice as she approach me and lift me in the air with her strong yet slender arms. I feel like a prey on a clutch of a predator about to deliver me in her nest before consuming on me. Her wings with their clawed tips ripped apart the ceiling and then we soar in the middle of the night. Two damned beings trying to save the world. I can’t get enough of that joke already.

“Who would have thought that among the priest and nuns, someone carries the blood of Adam’s first wife.”

Now its my turn to throw some questions that seem to pinch a not so good history of her. I am baffled by the fact that though she belongs to a shady group of clergy people, the truth that she is a daughter of Lilith pique my entire interest.

“It is rather a long story to narrate. No one knows about this and you are the first to witness my transformation without even dying.” Nonchalantly she said while we are following the railway of the train. So far we haven’t seen any signs of smoke and fire but our eyes are peeled and our senses are sharpened.

“You concealed your demonic aura very well, even I can’t see nor feel it.”

“It because of this talisman I took from a powerful warlock.” As she spoke, he took a  pendant hidden from the tattered clothes she wear. It’s an all original item that I’ve never encountered before. The seals and glyph engraved in red stone, which I suspect to be a petrified blood, are mixed of Sumerian and Kabbalistic origins.

“Of course I have to pay the lecherous warlock in exchange for the talisman. And what can I offer to him but my own body. But the catch is, once he is about to reach the climax inside of me during of love making...little did he know that I am already sucking every ounce of his life force....I still can’t forget that joy of seeing his face soaked in sweat, wracking in tremendous pain but he can’t spill out anything from his..”

“Enough of that.”

Her laughter was terrible to hear but it didn’t lost its charming quality. I need to guard myself on this one.

“I am just kidding mage. Never thought you easy to toy with just a simple erotic story.”

At the moment when I am about to reply with my own rebuttal, a booming explosion reach our earshot. Then came the quaking motion of the subway walls; the impact hits like a wrecking ball and it continuous on and one. Rubble and dust begin to rain upon us. Soon we come face to face with a raging stream of fire moving towards our direction.

“Shit, we need to get out of here!” Frantically flapping her wings, he dug her nails upon my shoulder as he quicken her flight. I patiently endure the pain for I’d rather have some wounds than seeing myself drown in the sea of flames.

“Damn it, where is the exit? Where?!”  Just a meter behind is the the fire that seems to have its own mind for it follow us further even though it supposedly took the left track where we evaded.

The trembling inside the subway grew worst as the ceiling begin to collapse. Large chunk of earth and steel makes our escape difficult.

“Come on mage, cast again that spell of yours summon anyone or anything that can save us!”

Think. Think. Think. We are surrounded by rocks, steel and soil. They can be easily called upon in this environment. I catch some of the falling debris of ground and chant the evocation for the earth folks.

“Spirit of the earth hear me. In the name of your king, Solomon the wise and his seal obey my command.”

I draw upon the sign of an inverted triangle with a vertical line on its zenith and then the ground moves beneath us. First it was a tremendous hand embedded with rock and crystal that surface from it then with every moment comes another hand and lastly his face. Its eyes are green crystals glowing in the dark and her mouth is amiss. I never thought that a powerful elemental resides in the subway. It must be the affect of the laylines that attract such powerful beings.

“Who the idiot awakens me from my slumber!” He growl at us. A dormant elemental with a short temper. This is bad news once more.

“We need your help ancient one! The salamanders are ruining your dwelling place!”

He turn around and confirm what I am saying, the fire is fast approaching. For a split second I notice something in the fire that nearly startle me. It has a face too and it was something that is utterly familiar. I try to open my third eye to have a closer look on it and alas, I saw the doom that was about to happen on us. We are not dealing with just a simple pawn of the fire realm. We are facing their king himself and he was clothed in the same malign black flame that I observed before.

“Deceivers! This is not just a salamander! Its their blasted king, the Djinn!” The poor earthen folk spitted out as he return back to its underground dwelling place out of fear for the salamander’s most powerful leader and arguably the most dangerous among the elementals. But before he can manage submerged himself in filth and dirt, Djinn already opened its great maw like a dragon ready to take a bite with its dinner.

“Damn you magician!” and the last thing we knew, the gigantic elemental was crush into pieces rocks and crystals as Djinn ram itself and covering half of the meter between him and us.

“There is the exit, Come on we can make it!” I shouted to the flying nun which I think she didn’t really need to listen for he speedily glide upward into the light that awaits us.

The earth elemental temporarily delayed the onslaught of Djinn and allow us to escape the subway but once we are floating about hundred feet above the ground, the answers and revelations we found tell us that we haven’t reach any climax yet.

Stampede of people possess by chaos  and terror are all over the city as the streets are littered with nothing but the old Viking’s brutal words; blood, fire and death. We have never realized that the damage done in the subway will reach the surface. What’s appalling is that the salamanders have only just begun.

“I think should need to see this mage, the Djinn is trying to do something that only you can explain.” Sister Erika urged me to look into path made by the serpentine head of the fire folk and cold sweat starts to trickle on my body as I watch slowly yet surely, Djinn is drawing on the face of the city a symbol that even an initiate in the art of occult will recognize instantly. It produce the same sensation I felt the moment I realized the truth of this symbol when I cast my very first spell which changed me drastically after.

“A pentagram...the whole rail tracks was forming a pentagram.” With jaw agape and a mind that tries to swallow a large chunk of truth down on his throat, I curse myself for not checking the city old maps before venturing into this mass. I know for certain that railways in the city trace the laylines but I never imagine that the laylines here are formed into a pentagram that act as an arcane circle. The five points of the occult star is the five location where the swarms of salamander attack all at the same time to buy some time for their king to start his abominable plan.And who knows what kind of nightmare that will raze the city once Djinn finish tracing the whole abhorred symbol.

“Don’t tell me this is the end as we know it?”

“No.” I answer firmly the nun’s query. Though there is this conspiracy that the world will end in flame after it was cleansed by the great deluge before, I believe that the end is still yet to come. Humanity might be doomed but the world is still alive and kicking and as long as she shows the signs of struggling to survive the more we must help her to get up and keep moving. To keep on living.

“Dropped me at the top of the pentagram. Then fly as far as you can.”

“Are you nuts? So you think you can really stop the mad fire lord in completing the circle?”

“Just do it. I’ll take care of the rest.”

A look of disgust and concern was written briefly in the face of the nun before he swoop down below and fly at the location I sad to her. Woman are complex creature no matter what kind of blood is running in their veins.

“You are crazy mage...the most dumbest people I’ve ever known.” More curses was uttered for me before she finally landed at the top of the sky scraper. This is the last area where the Djinn will have to traverse before he managed to lighten up the remaining path of hell.

“Don’t die or else I am the one who will going to torture you in after life.”

“Thank you sister Erika.” I muttered and smile as she flew away and turn away her back.

“You are attracted to her isn’t it?” For the first time today, I heard once more his voice.

“Not a chance.You know I can’t afford the luxury of romance in this kind of life I have.”

I was only replied by silence for half a second and then he come back once more with his gem.

“You have swore an oath that you will abandon the intricacies of humanity as you plunge into the depths of arcana...but that doesn’t mean you will never live like a normal man. My only concern is you need to pick an appropriate mate...”

I laugh as I hear the word mate. That’s a bit ridiculous phrase for a lover. But then again, I have dedicated this life for magic alone and nothing can ever change that. Even my own longing for companion and  my desire to feel something human be it from a mortal or from other beings can not bend my will.

“My only lover is magic. Nothing more and nothing else.”

The great bellows of fire is already reaching us. Its blaze emanates nothing but pure disintegration. The fire spirit is truly a powerful force to reckon with. But everyone of us no matter how power we amass is still bounded by the rules of nature. We can’t perfectly invincible because the balance will be tipped off and resulting to entropy; a disarrayed cosmos without a reason. Without a cause. That is why each of us have our weaknesses. Our Hubris. And its up to us how we will use it.

And as a general rule, fire is susceptible to water. Its quiet elementary. No pun intended.

“And the water returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them”

The familiar wave of power both profane and divine begin to drown me. Heaven’s fire once more dance upon my eyes as I open them. The scripture from the book of Exodus through the language of Keter conjures one of the fallen angel who happened to be the ruler of the abysmal ocean today. The one who was a prisoner in the walls of water that devours the army of the Pharaoh who chase after Moses’ kin.

“Master of Tartarus, heed me. Consume the fire that threaten this land. Let them feel your wrath...Abezethibou.”

And it materialize right before my eyes; the fallen angel of Tartarus although the only thing that is angelic on it now is the lone skeletal wing on his back. The rest is a monstrous depiction of a sea creature chained in aqueous shackles.

“How the hell he can call a fallen angel?!” Just what I thought she leave already, Sister Erika is actually watching me lay down my ace.

The sky basking in star light was covered by black clouds and rattling thunder. First comes the pelting rain and then came the main course; the sound of gigantic walls of water screaming in delight as the run across the city towards the serpentine body of Djinn.

“Bastard! You will kill the people with that spell!” I have never heard the voice of the nun brimming with fear until now. But of course she shouldn’t need to worry about the civilians. It has been take care of. The people are inside a sturdy pocket bubbles that will protect them from being thrashed by enormous tidal waves and allow them to breath still.

Djinn is only one block away from the the point of the pentagram but before it can manage to finish tracing the eldritch symbol, infinite waves of water from the abyss itself are already erasing every tracks of fire it made. Its already futile now even if he reach our location. With just a minute, steams and smoke filled the whole city as the amok of the great fire spirit was extinguished by the undying force of water; dousing it until there is nothing left even a speck of ectoplasm for it carries back into the bottomless dungeon of Tartarus.

For the second time around, another deluge was recorded in history. But unlike the former, it was not used for punishment and destruction of human kind. It was used for salvation.

Months have been passed and the incident was still fresh in the mind of people. Of course they never aware of where did the water or fire come from nor the winged lady that soaring in the darkness of the night. However, infrastructure are now starting to be rebuild as well as the subway which is an important part of the city’s transportation. Hundreds of lives are taken and many more are injure both in their body and soul. But mankind has already know the art of resiliency. They have been dealing with destruction since the time of their forefathers. It struck them hard but they will eventually rise as long as they have one another. Such is the strength they possess that made them survive even the most merciless catastrophe.

In the meantime, I have found out what causes the salamander to start resurfacing in the mortal realm and the mystery behind the shrouds of black flames that seems to manipulate them. During my astral travel into the planes of elemental, there is something odd right above the crimson hued sky of the Bronze kingdom of the Salamander; a black sun is rising from their horizon. And apparently those who have pierced by the gloomy light it possess are infected by unknown madness penetrating within their mind and for some reason their familiar red flames on their flesh become crude black; turning them into a mindless slave driven by anonymous machination of whoever made the black sun appears in their plane.

I am fearing that even the gentle elemetal like the sylphs and undine are affected but I am relieved when I visit them that the shadow colored star haven’t reach their plane. Still, I need to investigate and watch over these malevolent force that patiently wait for its next strike. If this has something to do with the ruptured gates of heaven and hell then I must be prepared for a war as old as time itself  that will choose the fate of mankind.

For now I must observed like I always did. Like we always did,

“You’re still not answering my question.”

Whats with this nun? She is so persistent in interrogating me. Throwing the same old question and the same old smile she wears.

It maybe be a coincident that we see each other once more inside a bus but perhaps the world is telling me something that I need to be more socialized.

“It’s a long, boring story sister Erika.” I replied with a tired look on my face. I look stare at the window and see old stores bearing the mark of fires and destruction and people roaming around the city trying to live the life they have now after what conspire in the city.

“That’s not fair. You’re just copying my answer son of the Morning Star.”

How in the name of heaven did she learn about my identity? Is she secretly spying on me or some of my records in the Basilica are still existing in the dusky files of the Abbot?

“I think I don’t need to answer that now that you know who I am.”

“We are both the same. We belong to the lineage of the damned. Enemies of heaven and yet look at you. Look at me. We are now serving the church. Isn’t ironic?” She laugh demurely but I can still see her maniac grin during our time in the train when she pummels the army of fire spitter.

“I don’t serve any church or anyone. The heaven might took me for an enemy and so does the dukes of hell. But I don’t care...I am only here to redeem him by serving mankind.” I

“Excuse me? The Fallen is serving the race that he despised? What an ass.” And there you go. Profanities starts to come out of her luscious lips like its no one’s business.

The bus halted right in front of St. Benedict’s Basilica. Thank goodness she will depart soon.

“Come on, the mass will start in a minute.” She did something that I consider as the most unexpected gesture that never been done by anyone to me since birth and despite my somewhat anti-social mannerism, I let myself just for once, with caution still intact in my mind, to let the human in me take over.

We run across the verdant pathway of the church but instead of making our way in its main door she take to the back towards a hidden door that leads us to the music chamber. It all comes back to me then; the wooden wind tubes that still produce sonorous music with every press of the antique keyboard I once mastered and devoted my time just to play those symphonies that let me experience, although just a glimpse, the unknown sensation of spirituality through the bliss of notes synthesizing with the frequency of my own soul.

It’s been a year yet I still found the aroma inside this dust laden room to comforting, nostalgic and surprisingly sorrowful.

“Sunday mass is dead without any music...many tried playing this organ but they lack of emotion. All virtuosity but lacking of depth.” She took the small chair on the corner and put it in front of the old organ.

“Perhaps it yearns for its former master to play it once more don’t you think?” A naughty wink flash on her face as place my hand on the key board.

But when I am about to play opening salvo for the mass, images from the past flashes before eyes; the priest who dragged me outside the church the moment they saw me turn into an blasphemous fusion of an angel and demon which now I realized is the true form of the one who resides in me after his fall. I try and try to return but they keep on pushing me away further and further until one day they did something that forever haunts my memory and after that I never risk to go back to this Basilica and to any church in particular.

“That will never happen again Ethan, those pretentious priest will never hurt you again.” She tries to reach for my hand but before she even do that I slammed the key board and let a loud note in G major to ring inside the church. Anger and loneliness that I repressed for so long suddenly return to my system and it so strong that it shook my bones. I need to expel it or else I might do something that I will regret in the end.

In one fluid motion my fingers dance rapidly in the wooden keys and let them play the last song I played here in this organ; Bach’s Toccata en fugue.

The haunting music made a loud commotion among the people who are about to stand up and watch the procession of the priest towards the altar. I know its disrespectful.Vulgar. Or even sinful. But I can’t stop this now. This pain must go away. I am not the same kid anymore who helplessly snoop around from one  street to another naked and filled with bruises and wounds that sink deeper beyond my soul. I will never allow myself to be victimized and be lost in the maze of emptiness while. I will never be that kid again. Never.

That was the period when someone see my weakness. My vulnerabilities despite that I wield the force of the first fallen angels. Most of what she is saying are just bullcrap and all except for one that totally I can agree: We are both damned.

After finishing the Toccata, I ran as fast I can without even looking back at her. Without looking to the place that teach me on how to become a human and yet become the reason why I can never be back again.