The Fallen: The Nephilim's Stand

 

“Energy of an archangel? What are you saying, Remiel? Both my parents are human.”

“Yes, but this connection goes back six centuries, when one of your predecessors got involved with the archangel Saraqael.”

“Alright, so why have my powers been dormant all this time?”

“Because Raguel sealed it himself back then.”

My mind went blank—I couldn’t think straight. I sat on the ground and closed my eyes to take a deep breath.

“I know this is a lot to process, but we can’t linger here,” Raguel said. “You and I are the only archangels that remain free from Saraqael’s grasp now, Remiel.”

“What about Gabriel and Uriel?”

“Gabriel’s dead, and Uriel’s probably being tortured for our location right now.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; there was an all-out war in heaven itself. Remiel teleported the three of us out of the field. We arrived at a place unlike anything I had seen before: it bore neither shape nor form, and had an indiscernible nature.

“This is one of the boundaries between worlds. We’ll be safe here for now,” Raguel said.

I still had more questions to ask, and I needed answers quickly. “Why were my ancestor’s powers sealed, and where’s God in all this?”

“A human body cannot contain an angel’s powers. Over time, that energy would grow more and more unstable until it annihilates your body and soul,” Raguel replied. “And as for God, Saraqael stripped him of his powers with a siphoning mirror, same as he did me.”

“If he has overpowered God, then how are you two going to fight him?”

“With you”

“What? I thought you said my powers are unstable.”

“Yes, but we can harness it and use it against him. However, you’ll have to do it in person.”

I didn’t know what to say. There was no way I could face such a foe, could I? A long conversation ensued between the three of us, and being told that the fate of the world hung in the balance, I knew I had no choice but to make a stand, even if it were to be my last.

The plan was simple: Raguel would reconvene with the resistance and attack Saraqael and his army to retrieve the siphoning mirror. Meanwhile, Remiel and I would stay behind to summon Saraqael to the boundary world with a spell. Remiel said we would have only a small window of opportunity as Saraqael had enhanced his powers beyond what we could hope to overpower for long. Three minutes—that was all we had.

I was given a short sword and told that it would be necessary to destroy Saraqael. About ten minutes after Raguel left, Remiel told me to prepare myself. I cut my palm with the sword and poured five drops of blood into a bowl. With it, Remiel chanted a spell and summoned Saraqael. The second Saraqael appeared and saw me, his eyes widened.

“So, Remiel, you’ve reunited me with my descendent. Is this a peace offering?”

“We only offer you defeat!” he replied, volleying a bolt of energy at him.

The two archangels met in combat. Their energies clashed and swirled all around me with magnificent intensity. I stood there, frozen, questioning whether I could really pull it off. Before me were two beings with unfathomable power; I couldn’t imagine I had the power to defeat one of them. Two minutes passed; the situation was looking dire. Remiel was being pushed to his limit. My time had come.

As Saraqael laughed victoriously before him, Remiel, with the last ounce of strength he had left, drove a surge of energy to my sword. I could feel the power surging within me, erupting through the very fibres of my being. My entire body glowed in bright blue light, as did my sword. Saraqael’s victory laugh twisted into a wrathful war cry as he raced towards me with all his might. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t enough.

Even with little control over my power, I teleported myself behind him in a split second and stabbed him in the back—and through his chest. Pulses of energy began to flow into him from within me; the sword acted both as a conduit and a catalyst, having drawn my blood and connected my power to its original source. It destroyed Saraqael from the inside out, obliterating him in a blinding explosion that rendered me unconscious for three days.

When I woke up, I was in my bed. There was a note on the desk next to it. It was from Raguel and Remiel. They thanked me for my help and said everything had returned to normal. I smiled, looking out my window and up into the skies; I hoped that they saw me.

All my dormant powers were absorbed and used against Saraqael. I was no longer a nephilim.

—End—