Chapter Ten

 

At the gate to the promiseland, sat a very drunk angel. Antithesis approached him and upon closer inspection, he felt as if he knew this one.

“The fuck you starin’ at?” the angel barked.

“You, sad one. What is your name?” the spirit asked. The angel look up through his messy hair and peered into the eyes of Antithesis. 

“Michael.”

Antithesis stood straight up but kept his gaze. 

“The archangel of the military,” he said. He actually had no idea how he knew this. Yet the answer was the knowledge was bestowed upon him when he was reborn. “Have you been cast out?”

Michael chuckles.

“No. No, I just like to come on the outside sometimes. Away from all that glorified bullshit,” he said, throwing the wine he was holding in the white, clouded abyss. 

“What upsets you? You are the greatest of the archangels, are you not?” the Heavenborne asked.

“Used to be. ‘Til I lost that battle to Apothael, and he began to rule over my domain,” Michael said. “Wait, hold up the fuck up. How’d you get up here? Is that Axel’s belt?”

“Indeed.”

“How the fuck did you manage to steal that?”

“A challenge of wits and speed.”

“And that’s how you’re able to be here,” Michael said. “But why are you here?”

“Your brother killed my family.”

“Who? Wait, don’t tell me. Apothael, right?” Michael said. “Bastard’s always up to some shit about improving the army so we stop warring with Hell.”

“Why do you think he did it?” Antithesis asked, not intending to battle this angel.

“Probably something to do with creating an ultimate killing machine. Sent you to Hell as a test,” Michael said. “Wanted to know if you were efficient enough.”

“This wasn’t the first time I’ve tried either,” Apothael said, entering the conversation by appearing to be made out of holyflames. Antithesis was about to attack before Michael held out a hand.

“You can’t physically hurt him,” he said. “Think of it like a hologram.”

“So, you’ve found out what I’ve been up to. Congratulations, James. But what comes next is up to you,” Apothael said. “You can join my army, knowing you’re serving a greater cause. Or you make the foolish decision of going against me and the archangels, getting yourself banned from Heaven.”

“He’s not gonna let you see your family either way, James,” Michael said. 

“Then how do I--”

“Simple, you don’t,” Apothael said. “You have a decision to make. The choice is yours.”

The flames dissipated, leaving Antithesis alone with the drunken angel. He turned to Michael and opened his mouth to speak.

“Stop, I know what you’re gonna say and no I will not join you in helping you take him down,” Michael said. “But, I will give you something I think might help.”

Michael pointed to Antithesis’s weapon and it sparked gold. Then he pointed at the spirit, sparking his head as well.

“There, now you have a connection to your sword and can call it back to you from wherever or whenever you are in the universe or multiverse. It will always come,” Michael said. 

“How will this help?” Antithesis asked, holding Dimension Splitter in his hands. 

“Oh, you’re going to want to use your sword against them. That sword is the most efficient way to kill them,” Michael said. “I would know. The combined might of the angels can ironically take them out.”

“Why are you okay with me killing them?”

“‘Cause they won’t permanently be dead when killed here,” Michael said. “Need to be taught a lesson about abandoning brothers. They left me to wallow in my sorrow.”

Antithesis reached out a hand. They clasped each other’s forearms like an ancient handshake. 

“I thank you for your assistance, Michael,” the Heavenborne said.

“Good luck, brother,” Michael said. “And godspeed.”

 

As Antithesis approached the golden gate and it easily opened for him, he wondered why there was no one judging the spirits that arrived or why there was no gate guardian at all. As he walked through he took in the sight of the dimension. Everything he imagined it looked like was true. Gold and white as far as the eye could see. Waterfalls. Golden paved streets. Statues. Large pillars. Even businesses, like restaurants, though dead people didn’t need to eat. 

But, no souls. The streets were completely arid. Not even cherubs fluttered around. This gave the spectre the uneasy feeling that someone had cleared it out for his arrival. 

Floating in front of him, from seemingly out of nowhere were two archangels, Jegudiel, the archangel of love and responsibility, and Cassiel, the archangel of tears and solitude. 

“Turn back now, Antithesis,” Cassiel said. “I do not wish to weep over your corpse.”

“I love it,” Jegudiel said. “So straightforward.”

“I have slain demons. What gives you any hope?” Antithesis asked. 

“Your holyfire is much less effective against us, for we are holy in the like,” Cassiel said. 

“All I demand is Apothael’s head,” Antithesis answered. “Bring him to me and no harm will come to you or your brothers and sisters.”

“I’m sorry, love. Wish we could, but,” Jegudiel said. “Don’t wanna go against his orders.”

She then rushed at him while Cassiel concentrated on awakening another spirit that dwelled within her.

Antithesis set his fists ablaze blocked Jegudiel’s punch, but it still sent him flying down the street and smacking his back against a street pole. She laughed as Cassiel’s inner self materialized before their eyes. It was nothing but a larger angel that was connected to her. 

“What other abilities do you two possess?” Antithesis asked, getting to his feet.

“Why would we tell you?” Jegudiel asked. 

“So you can get them all out now before I retaliate,” Antithesis said confidently. The angels didn’t realize, but he was getting exponentially stronger by the second. In Hell, the longer he was there, the weaker he became, but in Heaven, the opposite occurred. And though he had no use for his holyflames, he was sure this power increase was more than enough to make up for it. 

Jegudiel and Cassiel now rushed at him in unison, Jegudiel connecting her punches first before tossing Antithesis off to Cassiel who used the larger angel of herself to pummel the spectre into the street.

Antithesis stood and laughed for the first time since his rebirth.

“Is that all?”

Cassiel hammerfisted him, but Antithesis simply caught it as he had had enough with these two. From underneath the giant fist, Cassiel could see Antithesis using only one hand to hold back her hammerfist as he used the other to withdraw his sword. He threw it at Cassiel and she dodged out of the way before Jegudiel sicked herself onto Antithesis, who kept up with the archangel’s speed.

Then using his new found power, he called Dimension Splitter back to him, and the sword ripped through Cassiel’s torso and killing her, before finding itself traveling straight for Jegudiel’s back. She was too fast though as she hopped out of the way, while the sword returned to the owner. 

Jegudiel looked back at Cassiel’s body and instead of weeping, became furious. She turned back to Antithesis who planted his sword in the ground.

“Fisticuffs?” Jegudiel asked. 

“No, nothing like that,” Antithesis said, teleporting behind Jegudiel and calling his sword to him. She was so distracted from not seeing him teleport before, that she turned to see that he was right behind her. But she didn’t she the sword coming straight for her neck and it sliced cleanly through, cutting her head off, before finding itself in Antithesis’s grasp once more. 

As he stood victorious over the archangels’ corpses, five more landed in a circle around him. Uriel, the archangel of the arts. Metatron, the celestial scribe. Raziel, the archangel of secrets. Zadkiel, the archangel of freedom, mercy, benevolence, forgiveness. And Jophiel, the archangel of wisdom. 

“None of you learn, do you?” Antithesis asked before they began to attack him. He let them hit him with a barrage of varied attacks from punches to weapons to elements. He simply bided his time and fought back when he felt it necessary.

As they finished their coordinated attack, they watched him rise again. Then, the Heavenborne lept into the air, wrapping his chains around Zadkiel and Jophiel’s necks and then pulled his arms together, sending their face crashing into one another. He withdrew Dimension Splitter and sent it out at Raziel, who thought he could phase through it, but it caught him in the stomach. 

As Antithesis fell back through the air, he hit both Zadkiel and Jophiel in their heads with a flurry of attacks before landing on top of the unconscious two. Uriel and Metatron attempted a coordinated attack, but Antithesis called Dimension Splitter back to him and the sword ripped out of Raziel’s stomach. This also sent the archangel flying into the back of Uriel and Metatron, throwing them off balance and leaving them open. Antithesis lept into the air and plummeted through Uriel’s skull before turning to Metatron, and shooting out a chain. He pulled her towards him and sent his fist straight through her forehead, killing her like Uriel. 

As the archangel bled out, Antithesis sauntered up to Raziel and drove Dimension Splitter through his chest, killing him. As Zadkiel and Jophiel rose, he twisted his body and chucked the sword through Zakiel’s forehead, then teleported to it and sliced Jophiel’s head off through the back of her neck, killing the two of them. 

Antithesis landed and the bodies dropped. He turned to see another archangel, larger than the others, but he had a benevolent presence, so the wraith felt no reason to fight this one. 

“Such anger,” the archangel said. “No amount of healing will fix the loss you feel. Perhaps if you reach your goal…--”

“State your business, angel. Are you here following your general’s orders?” Antithesis asked. The archangel shook his head.

“I’m afraid not. I’m actually here to see if you need any healing done after your… warmup,” the archangel of healing, Raphael, said. 

“I… am fine. Be on your way,” the phantom said. Raphael nodded and floated off. Antithesis began to follow him further into the city.

 

After a while of trailing Raphael, he stopped as he came across a mountain range. The spirit stopped to think about just how large this dimension was. Did it have an edge? Was it the size of a planet? If so, which one? 

His questions would not be answered though, as lightning struck at the base of the mountain, letting Barachiel, the archangel of lightning, appear before him. 

“Turn back, spirit,” the archangel commanded. “You do not want this fight.”

“I assure you I do not, but I will fight if it means reaching Apothael,” Antithesis said sternly. 

“Hmmm… so be it.”

Barachiel opened his arms and the entire area around the two became encased in a lightning storm. Antithesis dodged the strikes that came for him while trying to figure out a plan of attack. 

“Fast enough to dodge lightning, eh?” Barachiel asked. “Fine.”

Barachiel opened his palm and a ball of lightning energy formed at the base. It began to spark and spin before shooting out streaks along with the lightning striking from above. Antithesis dodged them at first, but found it difficult to focus on the strikes from above and the strikes in front of him. The strikes in front of him began to strike him and they slowed him down enough so now the lightning from above struck him. 

Though it wasn’t that painful, Antithesis was slowed down so much, to the point where Barachiel ceased the storm around them and concentrated a bolt directly on Antithesis. However, the Heavenborne resorted to his teleporting and teleported behind the archangel before leaping and driving his fist through Barachiel’s stomach. 

Barachiel clutched his stomach to try and stop it from bleeding white blood and turned to face Antithesis once more, and started up the lightning storm again. 

“Insignificant worm. I will make you suffer like you never have before,” Barachiel proclaimed as he clasped his hands together, causing lightning to raise from beneath the ground and chain Antithesis to it.

“What is this?” Antithesis demanded to know. 

“Are you honestly questioning me?” Barachiel questioned back. “You are in no position.”

The archangel then crafted a bolt in his hand, made sure it was charged, and chucked it at the Heavenborne. The bolt when directly through Antithesis’s chest and seemingly killed him. 

“Not even you can resist the might of my lightning,” Barachiel bragged, referring the fact that his lightning was stronger than normal lightning. Sort of like a holylightning. 

But to the archangel’s surprise, Antithesis raised his head once more with his eye streaming with plasmic holyfire. 

“What?!” Barachiel exclaimed.

Antithesis looked at his own wrists and tried to burn the lightning off, but it didn’t work. Neither was his teleporting. So, he did what any insane person would do and made his wrists tear through the chains, ripping both his hands off.

Barachiel growled as he formed two more bolts, one in each hand. As he did, Antithesis’s severed hands regenerated. Barachiel then began throwing a flurry of bolts at the spectre, but Antithesis was able to dodge them. Barachiel dropped a bolt directly in front of him, but the spectre lept into the air, letting his body graze the lightning and letting it course through his veins as he charged his plasmic holyfire fist. 

As he reached the end of the bolt and got in Barachiel’s face, the lightning added itself to the plasmic holyflames, creating an electrical plasmic holyflame fist. Antithesis used this to plummet straight through the archangel, leaving behind a gaping hole with energy surging from it, killing the archangel of lightning. 

As Antithesis landed and Barachiel’s body toppled over, the wraith looked to the top of the mountain and saw a faint, golden glow in the distance. He knew this is where Apothael would be residing. Antithesis saw no choice but to begin ascending, climbing in most spots, but cheating by teleporting here and there because he saw where he needed to teleport. He could just teleport to the top, but he was still growing in power in this dimension and wanted to see what other surprises Apothael had for him along the way.

As the mountain began to drop in temperature and snow, Antithesis knew the next fight was upon him. Climbing up the next ledge he saw the messenger archangel, Gabriel waiting for him.

“Hey, man. I’m guessing you’re Antithesis,” the archangel said. “Kinda wish you’d stop killin’ my brothers and sisters, ya know?”

“They give me no choice,” Antithesis said, sensing this archangel was different than the ones he fought before. “What it your name angel?”

“Gabriel-- please don’t call me ‘Gabe’,” Gabriel said.

“Gabriel, should you let me pass, you will not befall the same fate as your brethren,” Antithesis said.

“Yeah, but I will if I let you pass. Apothael said so himself. He’s kind of a dick. I miss Michael. We were part of the handful of original archangels, along with Lucifer-- who’s bad now--, Raphael, Azazel, Uriel, and Azrael and Samael, the grim reapers,” Gabriel explained. 

“Then join me in killing him,” Antithesis proposed. Gabriel cringed.

“Eh, not so sure we can actually take him, my guy,” he said. “Have you fought Lucifer yet, ‘cause he’s stronger than I am, but Apothael is stronger than him.”

“I did combat him. Our skirmish ended rather quickly,” Antithesis informed.

“That seems unlike him…” Gabriel trailed off. “Did he… kinda surrender?”

“It seemed so.”

“Then he was setting you up,” Gabriel said. “That bastard wanted someone else to take care of you. He didn’t actually try.”

Antithesis fell silent.

“S’why I’m not really willing to join you in fighting Apothael. If we were to teleport him to another dimension so he’s not reborn, he might kill me there too, so I can’t be reborn,” Gabriel said. 

“Sounds like cowardice.”

“More like ‘not willing to die for someone else’s cause’-ice.”

“Fair enough,” Antithesis said. “If you cannot let me pass, then so be it. I will not slay you though, angel. I have taken quite a liking to your personality.”

“Thank… you…?”

“Let us commence our battle,” Antithesis said.

“Godspeed.”

Antithesis unwrapped his chains and let them drag along the ground as Gabriel formed two icicles just above his palms. Antithesis began sprinting at the archangel, and nearly dodged one of the icicles Gabriel just threw. Antithesis heard a crackling sound behind him and turned to look and see the ice freezing over the snow. Instead of a clear color, its was a royal blue, similar to blue ice, the coldest ice on earth. 

“Like it? It’s made from holywater,” Gabriel said with a smile. Antithesis let flames loose on the ice to see if it would melt. It would not. “Yeah, it’s even colder than holyflames. Crazy, right? Like even though fire is supposed to be able to melt ice, your fire can’t.”

Antithesis felt the ground tremble. Gabriel’s hands hovered over the ground.

“You’re also surrounded by snow, which puts me at an even bigger advantage. I think that’s the reason Apothael wanted me here,” Gabriel said. 

Antithesis stayed on his toes, but being surrounded by, and standing on, snow, Gabriel caused the snow to form into ice spikes beneath him and stab him in multiple vital organs. He was rendered unable to move due to the position and nature of the situation. And to add insult to injury, the ice began to creep along the spectre’s body, freezing him completely. 

Antithesis had no energy to teleport and was losing consciousness fast as he began to doze off like one would do when suffering from hypothermia. And as the last bit of ice began to creep over his right eye, it began to smoke like it did when he fought Satan. His will to survive personified took over and the heat actually began to cause the holyice to reel back. Gabriel’s eyes widened.

“The fuck, dude? What kind of main protagonist bullshit is this?” he asked. He took a closer look and realized the ice wasn’t really melting, but cracking as Antithesis’s body was attempting to break out of the ice. “Okay, that’s a bit more plausible, I guess.”

Gabriel then held out his palm and shot ice to finish freezing Antithesis, but the Heavenborne was able to break an arm out of the ice and held out his palm to challenge the ice. The two elements met at a stalemate. Gabriel then lowered his arm to see Antithesis punching the ice to break himself out. 

“Do you have self-control right now? Can you, like, hear me? Or speak?” Gabriel asked. Antithesis looked up from his punching and glared at the archangel before raising his fist high and giving one last good punch to free himself from the ice. 

“I do.”

“So what’s this form, bud? You gone super-angel or something?” Gabriel asked. Antithesis looked at his own arms that were now searing with whitish-red flames. 

“I… I do not know,” he said. “I remember doing this once before in my battle with Satan. I thought I had lost. Then again, there was a time before that when I regenerated from nothing in my battle with the Council Domination.”

“Only thing I can think that’ll do that is your willpower,” Gabriel said. “You really wanna see your family, I guess.”

Antithesis nodded. 

“You know what? Fuck Apothael,” Gabriel said. Antithesis cocked his head to the side. “I wish Michael could’ve assisted you. Did you see him at the gate?”

Antithesis nodded.

“I would’ve been down if he was with you,” Gabriel said, sounding somber. “Too much of a coward. Heh, like you said.”

Next, Antithesis did something he didn’t plan to do. 

“Come with me, archangel,” he said, extending a hand. “Together we can win this fight against the bloodthirsty tyrant.”

“You really think so?”

This wasn’t Gabriel’s voice, but a voice much more slurred. A hand appeared on the edge of the ledge before Michael hoisted himself up to their level. 

“Can’t you fly, bro?” Gabriel asked. 

“I don’t fly drunk.”

“I feel a little bit better knowing he’s by our side,” Gabriel said to Antithesis. “And don’t worry, he can still fight drunk. He might even be better at it while intoxicated.”

Michael, without warning, grabs Antithesis by the shoulders and flies to the next enemy, with Gabriel following close behind. The temperature has dropped further, but none of them feel the cold. 

On this level of the mountain, there is an ancient, golden-looking structure that resembles a temple. The three exchange looks and venture inside. They traverse down a dark hallway until they come across an open room with an angel of Michael and Gabriel’s size fluttering about in the center without a care in the world. He’s going from area to are within the structure, carrying books as he moves within his library.

“Zaphkiel!” Michael shouts. If the archangel could display fear through turning their skin pale, they would, but their body language was enough. They immediately froze at hearing the echo and slowly craned their necks to lay their eyes upon their older brother. “If you’re so smart, you’ll let us pass.”

“Zaphkiel, the archangel of knowledge,” Gabriel whispered to Antithesis. 

“I am aware, friendly one,” Antithesis said. “He was there with him when I was resurrected.”

“Do you just come up with little nicknames for everyone you come across? Ya know, instead of addressing them by their real name?” Gabriel asked. Antithesis held a hand up as he wanted to hear the conversation Michael would have with his younger sibling. 

“Michael… to what do I owe the--” Zaphkiel paused to look at Antithesis. “Pleasure…”

“We’re going to… see Apothael,” Michael responded. “Let us through your library, since it’s faster.”

“I have strictly been ordered to not grant you access, by the general himself,” Zaphkiel said. Michael cringed at hearing Apothael being called a “general”. 

“We won’t kill you if you do,” Gabriel proposed, side-eyeing Michael, who did want to kill Zaphkiel. “But we will force our way through if necessary.”

“Are you both not older than he?” Antithesis asked the two archangels by his side. “Then why does he match your size?”

“Apothael increased my size once he defeated Michael. Me along with Ramiel are his right hands,” Zaphkiel explained.

“You can’t have two right hands,” Gabriel said.

“Oh, can’t you?” Zaphkiel asked. He then grew four more arms, two on each side of his body. “I beg to differ.”

“Yeah, that’s different,” Gabriel said. “Hang back, Antithesis.”

He and Michael prepared themselves for battle. Antithesis watched as the two archangels flew in unison at one of Apothael’s right hands. Gabriel formed two icicles in his hands while Michael opened his palms outward. His arms glowed with hexes forming around them as he summoned an arsenal of swords, knives, and daggers. 

Zaphkiel reached into the arsenal closest and plentiful to him, the entire library. He at first began tossing waves of books at the older brothers, but then as they continued their pursuit through his books unphased, he pulled from the structure out of desperation. He continuously used his telekinesis to tear at the foundation, using broken stone pillars as projectiles. But, being the smartest archangel, this was a part of his plan. He didn’t plan to actually beat two of the strongest archangels, but he planned to slow them down. 

With ease, Michael and Gabriel weaved through the onslaught of debris and the more they closed the gap, the more Michael tossed his summoned weapons at Zaphkiel. The archangel of knowledge was hit repeatedly with these weapons that would disappear then reappear next to Michael before he sent them out again. And though it was painful, Zaphkiel did not worry because his brothers did say they would not kill him. 

Gabriel then tossed his icicles into both of Zaphkiel’s shoulders and pinned him to the back wall. The ice began to freeze Zaphkiel in place and Gabriel glared at his brother while Michael went to retrieve Antithesis. Zaphkiel laughed.

“You think you’re heroic, huh?” he asked Gabriel, who continued to glare. “No, you’re just a coward. That’s all you’ll ever be. I’ll never understand why Apothael decided to spare you instead of casting you out like Michael.”

Gabriel said nothing as the ice eventually froze Zaphkiel entirely. The library was collapsing around them and Michael called out to his brother.

“Gabriel, we need to leave. Zaphkiel just tried to stop us from taking the shorter route,” he said. “Bring him with us. We said we would not kill him. You said you would not kill him.”

Gabriel thought for a second. If he left Zaphkiel frozen there and let the library collapse on top of him, though he wasn’t technically killing him, it’d make him no better than Apothael. So, with his ice-cold hands, he snatched his younger brother off the wall and flew to Michael, who was already heading through the exit with Antithesis in his arms. 

“You are aware I can teleport us out of here?” Antithesis asked. 

“But it’s much more fun this way,” Michael said.

“This is embarrassing.”

The four made it out in time and the three non-frozen ones turned to watch the library collapse in on itself. Michael looked at his brother and the Heavenborne. 

“Well, let’s get on with it,” he said. 

 

They left Zaphkiel frozen in place and flew to the next level. They were close to the top of the mountain now, but this battle would prove difficult.

In the center of a stone circle engraved in the mountain side, floated Ramiel, the archangel of hope and resurrection. He turned to the three and slightly smirked.

“Welcome, three,” he said. “This is where your journey ends.”

Ramiel raises his hands and through portals above his hands, resurrected archangels reveal themselves: Jegudiel, Cassiel, Uriel, Metatron, Raziel, Zadkiel, Jophiel, and Barachiel. 

“Damn, you killed a lot of them,” Gabriel said. He looks at Michael and they nod at each other.

“Go on ahead, Antithesis,” Michael said. Antithesis shoots him a look. “This battle will be a drawn out one due to the fact Ramiel can speed up our resurrection process. He will continuously resurrect the ones we kill ”

“Plus, we can take ‘em,” Gabriel added. “You have a quest to complete.”

Antithesis nodded. And teleported behind the flood of archangels. Ramiel turned to attack the phantom, but Gabriel tosses an ice crystal that formed into a wall to separate the phantom from the rest of them. 

“Godspeed,” Antithesis said before moving on.