Born of Phyre: The Avenging Angels

By Frank Underwood Jr.

As Born of Phyre: The Avenging Angels opens, ASMOUSDEUS, LUCIFERS second-in-command, must silence the Choir of Ten Trillion to carry out his masters orders and wreak havoc throughout the Heavens. If the demons are exposed to Heavenly music, they become disoriented and are unable to follow commands. Therefore, Asmousdeus has cursed the Choir of Ten Trillion and stolen their voices, thus allowing the demons to gain access to the Heavens. Infuriated by the demons infiltration, the Supreme Seraph Michael delivers a rousing, rallying speech to the celestial body and directs them to war against the invading forces of the Dark.
Asmousdeus and a protective cadre of demons rescue Lucifer from captivity in the 5th Heaven and take him to Marintiba in the 4th Heaven where Lucifer plans his revenge. When Asmousdeus suggests they flee back to Hell, Lucifer declares he will leave only when he is sure the Heavens will be left in complete shambles. In Asmousdeuss first attack, he directs Lucifers demons to destroy the Alphorum fields in the 7th Heaven. The Alphorum are vast fields of human spirits awaiting birth on earth, and their destruction will halt the procreation of humanity.
When the celestials arrive in the 7th Heaven, they notice a huge black cloud of demons moving towards the Alphorum fields. Just when it seems the fields will most certainly be destroyed, a magnificent White Light emerges from the mountain and consumes many of the attacking demons. The remaining demons escape to the lower Heavens through a Phyrux, which is one of the many cylindrical passageways that connect each of the Heavens.
A preemptive Asmousdeus dispatches a small liberating force to the deep prison that houses the many Nephilim who were captured over the ages. The Nephilim, three-hundred foot demons spawned from fallen celestials and humans at the beginning of time, are held in the House of Forever Atonement in the 5th Heaven. The demon forces break into this prison and release the juggernaut of giant demons to replenish their numbers. As the demons wreak utter chaos throughout the 7th, 6th, 5th, and 4th Heavens, Leo views a war of deviant destruction that is unlike any he has seen on Earth.
The demons decimate and destroy many celestials and Celestine places. While the forces of both the Light and the Dark suffer losses, only demons fall dead under the celestials blades. Although celestials can be wounded and their phyre taken, they never die. Demons, on the other hand, are susceptible to death because they lost their phyre long ago when they fell to the dark.
In the melee, Gabrielle is attacked by multiple demons, and Leo saves her. The demons are shocked to see a human fighting in this realm and aware that the celestials are bearing down on them, retreat to the lower Heavens to further execute the will of their master. In their dark wake, the whole of the heavens become a war zone.
In a final gesture to further spite the Heavens, the demons have created a defensive barricade between the celestials and the Secdernas, the exit and entrance to the 1st Heaven and the World of Men. They attempt to taunt the celestials with the hopes that they will follow them into Hell.
The celestials turn the tide and push the demons out of their beloved Heaven.
The demons flee through the Secdernas and, rather than go directly to Hell, they enter the earth realm and attack humans in an attempt to divert the celestials from an immediate pursuit. All over the world, demons manifest themselves before humanity. Bent on diversion they capture unsuspecting humans, carry them high above the clouds, and drop them. They do this knowing that the benevolent celestials will fly in to save the humans instead of following the demons. When the celestials finally appear in the earth realm, they instinctively move in to save the humans. As a result, the demons are able to escape into Hell where they anticipate a home team advantage.
After sav

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781462898381

Frank Underwood Jr.

Frank Underwood, Jr. is a full time writer and artist who spends his time between Los Angeles and the Washington D.C. area. He currently has several projects underway, both written and visual. Frank optioned his first screenplay through Tim Reid’s New Millennium Productions and has optioned additional screenplays to several other companies, including Top Line Productions, Quiet Fury Productions, and Charter International Pictures. In 1997, Frank’s screenplay, My Soul to Keep, from the bestselling novel of the same name, was optioned and eventually sold to Fox Searchlight Pictures. This project is currently in development at the studio.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Through and because of him,

I have known love since the

Very beginning. He is forever to

Me, yet I am forbidden to him.

In spite of my folly I will never

Leave the spirit and the man

Which has painted a masterpiece

Across my soul. Now, that I

Know his true purpose, I Am

Intrinsically melded upon his

Journey, as I have always been.

We are one, and as one our

Singular path will forge and direct

The course of always.

—ARCHANGEL GABRIELLE

S even years of self-loathing, guilt, and immense anguish had transpired in the wake of that most horrific of days. Leo Cinq-mars had achieved what popular culture of the United States had coined as the American dream. For a time he found what he believed was his soul mate in his wife, Maris Cinq-mars. Together, they began Faith Food Baptist Church in their living room that would grow to become a beacon that drew believers both old and new to its hall of comfort, faith, and hope. Maris had led the church with her inspired word and, thus, solidified her place as the heart and soul of the church. She was also the heart and soul of Leo’s life. Through their coupling, three sons were born. How could he know? How could anyone know when evil would lunge from the darkness to touch the lives of men. It seemed that at the precipice of Maris’s true explosion into worldwide success, evil decided upon its move. Through Russell Mohr, an old boyfriend of Maris, evil exacted its touch and ripped Maris and the three boys from Leo’s life.

Seven years.

The time passed oh so slowly for Leo in the wake of his murdered family. It was a tortuous journey of which he only desired death to escape the mortal agony of it all the mortal agony of his hell on earth. Yet death eluded him, almost taunted him to continue through a life that was lacking in worth. However resolved he was to a hasty death, his faith would not allow him such a cowardly exit strategy. Leo would have to endure his coil of mortality a decade or two—possibly another half of a century—before he would finally leave his corporal shell for the spirit realm. The thought of living another minute, much less another moment, on earth was sheer torture for him, but suicide was not an option. Life, as it so often does, supplies serendipitous moments. So was that moment when she, the guardian of his spirit, revealed herself to him. She was a seraphim, a celestial being of the highest order; but not only that, she was Gabrielle, the archangel of legend. Almost since the beginning of all existence, she had loved Leo’s soul in the spirit realm of heaven. Once Leo was born into a fleshly body, she continued to love his mortal soul with such a passion that she denied the precautionary heavenly edicts of loving a human. For Gabrielle, she had no choice; their hearts had been interwoven and tied off with an unbreakable knot. Defiant in her rejection of the laws from on high, she broke the plane between the ethereal and the secular. For so long, she longed to be with Leo’s spirit, but his spirit was in the shell of a man—her man, her Leo. The overwhelming power of love caused even one of the greatest of the angelic ranks to rebuff her celestial mandates. As close as she believed she was to the Supreme Being, she would soon discover that her Father had a larger plan for her. Through that plan, the mortal, Leo Cinq-mars, would fall in love with her. That love would insatiably drive him to follow her to the ends of the earth and beyond. The extra-added drive would propel him to a journey in which he would follow her into a heaven that was about to be torn asunder by the minions of hell. That divine plan, which had laid their union together from the very beginning of time, had now matured just as the supreme being had fashioned it. That ancient plan of the original being was poised to explode into full bloom and enact a power that would cause any and all from that ilk of phyre to proclaim in ardent unison:

Let us make war on the Bhāhnūscūn obīsno-cū; our brothers and sisters, the sons and daughters of the dark!

PART ONE

INTO THE MAELSTROM

A sense of doom has gathered on the horizon

Of our perceptions and grows everyday

—ROBERT MORRIS

I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the

I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

—WINSTON CHURCHILL

1

THEN, THERE WAS WAR IN THE HEAVENS

Gather yourself in troops;

A state of siege has

Been placed against us.

—MICAH 5:1 (Paraphrase)

N ot a moment passed before a rash of reports from around the heavens bombarded Michael’s consciousness. As he delivered the celestial education to Leo, so likewise did his commanders deliver the status of the conflict arising in the realms of celestial light. From diverse places throughout the realms, Michael quickly discovered celestials were randomly falling victim to cubus mischief through ambushes and skirmishes. Primarily, the bedlam of the cubus was central to the fourth heaven, but they were on the move to the higher heavens. Upon his release, the vindictive Lucifer directed his minions to incite mayhem, inflicting as much damage and chaos as demonically possible. Before Michael was able to receive the details of the cubus’ movements, they were already carrying out or, in some cases, had already accomplished their dark assignments. He summoned his commanders, who were also his sibling seraphim. All but Gabrielle was in attendance, for she was on special assignment in the earth realm. The entire attendance of the seraphim was mandatory in a moment such as this. Even the seraphim on duty in the Divine Presence were allowed to leave their post. Indeed, they were ordered by their Father to leave and defend the heavenly realms. Through his excursion through the heavens, Lucifer had wreaked havoc, destroying and causing great turmoil in this most sacrosanct of places. He, with his cubus cohorts of erroneous tendencies incited in the Heavenly Host an audacious directive. The objective of the dark minions would soon be none other than the abolition of not just the various heavens but the deepest recesses of hell from the influence of evil.

Between the celestial download of Michael and Gabrielle, Leo’s had been impressed, overwhelmed, and horrified. On earth, Leo believed he had seen a lot if not all. In the midst of the explosive images he was viewing, Leo reminisced on the sweet rush of bygone events. These memories, as memories go, were not only satisfying but also often distressing. Experiencing the epicenter of the present war momentarily traversed him to the recollection of the second quarter of his freshman year of college. Having the magnetic personality of Leo in any one’s fraternal order would have been a feather in the cap of any Greek brotherhood. He had been approached by the best the campus had to offer, yet it was the brothers of the historical African American Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity that captured the attention of his multicultured, multiethnic sensibilities. Already, he had been accepted into the Squires, the interest group of ΦΒƩ Phi Beta Sigma. With a tray of college cafeteria food in hand, the youthful Casanova moved on a lone beauty with the dogged precision of a heat-seeking missile. Before he could acquire his equally adolescent target, he was intercepted by Ross, Todd, Rodney, and Julian, future big brothers of the blue-and-white frat. Suddenly, the relative peace of the university eatery had been thrust into chaotic fervor. No one had seen the inciting incident, but once the proverbial box of Pandora had been opened, the evil, which came forth, could not be returned. Rodney Williams, the hulkish and hunkish star of the football team, had been struck on the side of the head by a biological projectile. Rodney’s inanimate opponent was a drumstick fried in a soybean-based crust. His primal rage erupted as he whipped around, trying to spy the culprit out of the throng of mostly innocent students. Unable to access the perpetrator, Rodney grabbed and threw a handful of synthetic mashed potatoes topped with brown gravy. His launched football of sustenance splattered some twenty-three students. Their reprisal was immediate and fierce, for not only was Rodney covered in various artificial items mimicking food, but soon the whole of the cafeteria’s populace was. As the food and beverages soared through the air, Leo thought of the adage:

All hell’s breaking loose.

Then, he remembered an unsettling but appropriate Shakespearean line—or was it another of his favored English literature scribes? Nevertheless, he silently recited the words while ducking under fire of an assortment of airborne ciao:

What manner of madness has infested the kingdom?

Never did Leo ever conjure that he would be witness to events in which the quotes of that juvenile food-slinging moment would be truer.

Michael struggled within, trying to comprehend the evil breach of the heavenly realms. The supreme seraph was consumed with anger, boiling as the molten lavalike metal of a furnace. Effectively, Michael was pissed off. Rally the host! Michael’s fierce voice demanded, his vocal quality thunderously dispersing as expanding ripples in a pond. He did not know when his fury from the hellish intrusion would subside if ever. The trumpets resounded, summoning the collective of celestials, the Order of Phyre, the Nquem Phyre to Michael’s presence. As it was, the bulk of the Heavenly Host was currently present. While Michael readied himself to address the host, the stadium was quickly refilled while still a multitude of celestials flew in hovering. The numbers of the unseated celestials were so great that their bounty mimicked a temporary wall, which raised at least half as high as the stadium’s total height. Michael took flight as he addressed the forces of heaven. Lucifer and his cubus were on a rampaging course of destruction. Already, they have left much of Corcyra-Sēpricoa burning as a diversion to their greater evil. They are attempting to enter the higher heavens, and if they are allowed to intrude the seventh heaven, more than just their pollution of the heavenly realms is at stake. What Michael shrewdly left absent of his proclamation was that the souls of human souls awaiting to be born on earth dwelled there. The cubus knew this, but this raid, this prison break of sorts, had never been attempted. It was disturbing enough that their bravado had led them this far, but now they seemed to be bent on securing the future essence of humanity. "Today, this day, when the head of evil was to be blotted from our midst, the ‘hordes of hell’ have violated this most holy of places. Yes, evil has been unleashed! It is all about the realms of heaven and bent on subjugating our divine light. The Supreme Being’s peace has been unbalanced, and His wrath is ripe for the harvest. His fury is against the dark nations, but in spite of their immense numbers, He will utterly destroy them and deliver them to slaughter. Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land, and the mountains will flow with their putrid blood. When our swords have finished in the heavens, then watch, for they will fall down on the nether regions of hell. We will unreservedly destroy the cubus! We, the weapons of the Supreme Being will be drenched with the blood of Lucifer’s cubus, and they will be gorged with flesh as if they were used for butchering a lamb or a goat for sacrifice. Through us, the Supreme Being will slay a great sacrifice in the heavens as well as in the darkness of Lucifer’s kingdom. We will descend into the realms of hell and there will compose a mighty symphony of slaughter. Lucifer’s diseased land will be soaked, not with the blood of the lost souls of the damned but of the cubus that manipulated them there. The dust beneath their feet will be soaked as well. This will be the long moment of the Supreme Being’s vengeance, and His retribution will be fierce. The streams of hell’s rivers will be filled with the rotting carcasses of our foes, and the ground will be covered with fire. This judgment of hell will never end, for the will of the Supreme Being will not allow this offense to ever be rectified. The seven hells will forever smolder in the smoke of our retribution, and we will be the righteous tools of this justifiable end. Yes, the smoke of their ashes will rise up throughout eternity. For the Supreme Being has observed and tolerated the Netherlands and its cubus and found it most worthy of destruction. When His disgust has emptied its fury over their land, it will be most worthy of title ‘the Land of Oblivion.’ Through us, the Supreme Being will stretch out His right hand over hell as the righteous weapon of their chaos and His left hand as the cleansing shield of their desolation. Follow me, my brothers and sisters, and with full and deliberate intentions, let us forever rid ourselves of our lost brother, Lucifer and his perpetually lost followers. Follow me and know that no weapon formed against you will prosper!" Michael’s motivating speech did little to further inflame the celestials. Their percolating passion had already reached its head the moment the cubus fled Ethnilus. The celestials were poised to make war against the darkness of their fallen brothers and sisters and, in effect, launch a supernatural juggernaut against those who dwell far away from the overwhelming warmth of the light, the phyre of the heavens. The seraphim commanders—Raphael, Cassiel, Zadkiel, Uriel, and Anael—took flight, flanking Michael. An explosive directive emerged from the minds of each seraph that roused their individual battalions to combat. The great court stadium of Ethnilus was completely vacant within the palpitating time of a single human heartbeat. Michael and the legions of the Most High Supreme Being spread out to the various regions of the heavens. Battle of the supernatural assortment was now unleashed! As foreseen and written down by the disciple John two thousand years ago, so began a war. So began the great battle between the sons and daughters of light, the Bhāhnūscūn narū-kā, and the sons and daughters of dark, the Bhāhnūscūn obīsno-cū.

Then there was war in Heaven; Michael and

the angels under his

command fought the Dragon and his host of demons.

—Revelation 12:7

Not since the inconceivable and divisive war of Lucifer’s insurrection during the Cū-zuram-ēt was there an equal turmoil in the heavens. Revelation 12:7 spoke specifically of that particular war when Lucifer was actually cast down from the light, the heavenly realm of phyre. Once again, Michael would wage war on his wayward brothers and sisters. Now, there was not an ounce of love between the two, whom at one time loved like no other siblings ever had: one’s passion, to exact a sobering justice and ultimately bring low the serpentine culprit. The obsession of the other to totally destroy the glorious kingdom, their Supreme Father, the molder of all had built.

In all of Michael’s strength, which was far above any other celestial, he was wise enough to know that he could not go into battle without the strength of his greatest and closet ally. That particular ally was his sister, Gabrielle of the Nquem Seraphim. To that end, he would need to fetch his sister from her personal and present recklessness with mankind. More specifically, with Leo. Now, more than ever was the time that she had to come home to the heavens. Michael left the charge of the heavenly forces under the leadership of the Karibu, Zophiel. Now that the Heavenly Host was now under Zophiel’s capable command, Michael made way his exit of the heavens. In the blink of an eye, Michael departed the realm of lighted phyre and deposited himself on earth’s plane. He found Gabrielle in a park, the same park and moment where Erin first witnessed the enigmatic Serena speaking with the ebony stranger. Only a moment had passed from the time Michael had left the heavens to the moment of his return to the first heaven with Gabrielle and Leo. Even Leo’s brief education of the heavens was all in the expanse of half of an inhale. Now, flying through the sixth heaven in what humans call real time, the three of them descended on the celestialscape. A Merkabah, a heavenly chariot was waiting nearby. Leo had believed that his force of will was the reason he was admitted into the heavens before his earthly death. For the time being, that was all that he needed to know, but to facilitate the wingless Leo in that realm, he would need to be independently mobile. Up until that moment, Gabrielle had literally carried him. She was going to need all her limbs to effectively do battle with hell’s own. Therefore, Leo was afforded transportation. Gabrielle gently lowered him to the ground and joined him. Michael motioned Gabrielle to proceed while he approached Zophiel for a military briefing.

What’s going on? Leo asked, still reeling from the overwhelming smorgasbord of knowledge and visions. Gabrielle pointed to the vehicle that seemed to be some type of transportation but none like he had ever seen before. The merkabah was a chariot, gleaming from its polished engraved heavenly metal of amedar. The chariot, which was the Supreme Being’s transport, was made of amedar. No horse or any other type of beast propelled it but rather a group of Kuriotetes or Thrones. It was too difficult to actually see how many there were because the Kuriotetes or Thrones were immensely bright in their natural appearance. What was singularly obvious was the chariot of amedar rested on a cushion of white light. It seemed that there were four or six, but it could have been eight or ten Kuriotetes. All one could gleen was that there was at the very least, a group of them. Standing as the merkabah driver was a cherubim.

Leo? Gabrielle asked, a sweet tone of love gently flowing from her mouth. This is Y-waniel. He will be your escort and your driver. Not to worry. I am your covering. I will never be too far from your side. Y-waniel is here to carry you with us while we engage Lucifer.

Gabrielle leaned a glance to Y-waniel, who quickly pulled a shield and sword from a concealed place below his feet. In handing it to Gabrielle, she, in turn, handed it to Leo.

This sword will aid you if and when a cubus gets too close to you. It is made of amedar, a metal forged in the seventh heaven that not only inflicts great damage and pain to a cubus but also death. There will be times when these tools will protect when I am not able. Be well, my love. Leo took the accoutrements as an enraged Michael approached them.

They’re in the seventh heaven! Michael shouted.

What? Gabrielle exploded, knowing the full implications of his words. Michael looked at her, their eyes locked in the familiarity that eons of sibling love had nurtured. Finally …

Let’s clean house. Michael said as he arose.

The heavenly forces took to flight and headed with haste to the phyrux of the seventh heaven.

2

FIRSTBORN’S FINAL FOLLY–FIFTH HEAVEN

He is come to open

The purple testament

Of bleeding war.

—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Richard II

A mong the devastated atmosphere and chaos, only but a moment had passed since Lucifer’s liberation from Ethn ī lus. Throughout the heavens, they were destroying and disrupting the sublime peace. This misdirection was a key factor for Asmousdeus’s plan of safely liberating and returning Lucifer back to the hells. However, an infuriated Lucifer had other plans. His tenure on earth had been cut short, and for this, the heavens would pay dearly. Forever encumbered by the amedar fetters, Lucifer could only move with the help of no less than twenty-four, escorting cubus, two for each chain and rock of marble. While the rest of the heavens were attempting to understand this most evil of violations, Asmousdeus moved his master and a whole battalion of cubus to Marintiba. This was a beautifully picturesque mountain in the northwest region of the fourth heaven. A cloud of pristine white continuously floated above its pinnacle, but not a shadow came from the hovering mass. What did come from it was a milky and yet at the same time a transparent liquid. It tasted of milk and honey, but it did not come from any animal. The eosarsla, as it was called by the celestials, was a special gift created by the Supreme Being for the loyal subjects in loving servitude to Him. It had the benefiting quality of exhilaration, an additional source of power. The celestials eosarsla, translated into the juice of Jehovah. From Mount Marintiba, the eosarsla flowed throughout the heavenly realms in by way of rivers. The eosarsla flowed down the mountain and thus filled three pools that cascaded along the descent of the peak. For the express reason of the eosarsla did Lucifer direct his loyal archcubus Asmousdeus to come to this place. Asmousdeus took a company of cubus to accompany and protect Lucifer while they regrouped by the second pool of eosarsla. The remainder of the battalion took positions in and around the mountain. Their defensive posture was at the ready for the probable chance of any celestial reprisals. Lucifer had not beheld the glory of the heavens since his expulsion in the wake of the C ū -zuram- ē t. So many human souls had experienced not only a hell on earth because of his influence but their subsequent and eternal damnation in the nether regions. Frustrated, Lucifer jerked his arm, throwing several cubus to the other side of the pool. Master, the amedar can’t be broken.

A fact ingrained in my mind and flesh, gruffed Lucifer. Asmousdeus entreated Lucifer.

The celestials are searching every space of the heavens for you. We must get you back before—

Before? Lucifer rhetorically said. Let them search! What they will find, Asmousdeus, is merely the wake of my wrath.

Master, what wrath? What we are doing throughout the heavens is only to assure your safe passage back home.

There will be no ‘safe passage’! Do you understand? When we leave the heavens, we will leave on my terms and that will be absolute destruction and chaos. Asmousdeus, Is there any other clarity you require? Lucifer sardonically stated. Humiliated, the archcubus nodded. On this mountain, how many are with us? questioned Lucifer.

An entire battalion.

And what of our numbers beyond this mount?

Belial and three battalions are on the other side of this heaven. Mephistopheles has five battalions and two brigades in the fifth heaven.

Take all of them and destroy as many of the Alphorum as possible. A visible distress overwhelmed Asmousdeus’s face. Let’s see what happens to the next and future generations of His precious mortals then. For all the fear that Asmousdeus had inflicted throughout his time in the hells and on earth, this one task actually put fear in him. The Alphorum? Master, the Alphorum are in the seventh heaven.

Get me Belial, Lucifer demanded.

Master?

Asmousdeus, you may return to the hells. I will deal with you when the rest of us return. Get me Belial. I give him charge to complete my command and revenge on our father.

Forgive me, my master, I will do as you ask. I will lead your armies into the seventh heaven, but I ask of you this one thing. Asmousdeus looked, waiting for Lucifer’s response. Finally, Lucifer inhaled, signaling the question to come forth. I will destroy the heavens, but please allow me to take you back into the hells while we do your bidding here? Your amedar shackles have crippled you, and we need you to lead us after we accomplish your destruction here, Asmousdeus conveyed.

Lucifer nodded, his truculent resolve fueled now, more than ever before, yet he understood the wisdom of his closest subordinate. Asmousdeus, you have salvaged your status as my supreme archcubus. Assemble what you will; go to the seventh heaven. The Alphorum awaits you. Once you have done my will there, move throughout the lower heavens. Leave not a remnant of goodness in this hypocrisy of His. Lucifer paused. He looked about his surrounding and dropped his head. The pool of eosarsla sparkled before him. In a near trancelike state, he spoke almost as an abandoned child. Slowly—and dare I say, tenderly—the Prince of Darkness spoke, It has been so long. I have seen practically everything since everything burst forth into the realm of tangibility by His hand. I was the first of the celestine numbers to be fashioned from the divine phyre, and yet my eyes have almost forgotten the absolute majesty of my birthplace. Even now I cannot understand why he chose dirt over the enormous quintessence of beings made from the brilliance of heavenly phyre. Suddenly infuriated, Lucifer’s head tilted up to a dumbfounded Asmousdeus. Simultaneously, his body reared up only to be hindered by his binding chains of amedar. His fury intensified with the sudden awareness of his restrictive mobility. The Supreme Being will regret the very instance that He created those vile lumps of clay. He will regret the very instance that He placed their inferiority before us, before me! He will regret that His beloved bipeddled rodents that walk on two legs and so name themselves the human race will be the ultimate cause for the demise of heaven. As for His betrayal to breaking my tenure on earth, I will not add. After all, there is mercy among my wrath, Lucifer said, heartily laughing. The obliteration you are about to exact in my name is a retribution that He alone engineered many eons ago. Asmousdeus, go and suffer the heavens to me; the first and greatest son born of the phyre.

The twenty-four cubus in Lucifer’s host took him away to exit the heavens and into the hells. Asmousdeus also left, moving toward the higher heavens to effect the wrath of Lucifer’s ancient and deep-seated anger against the realm of his father, the Supreme Being.

3

THE 1ST DESCENT TO THE DARK—THE Cū-ZURAM-ē

Evil is done without effort,

Naturally, it is the working of fate.

—CHARLES BAUDELAIRE

I t has been said that in order for good to exist, evil must also equally subsist. It has been scientifically proven that every action has an equal and opposite reaction—good and bad, yin and yang. As on earth, so too it was in the heavenly realms. When the celestials were created from the divine white phyre of the Supreme Being, there was nothing but the purity of the Supreme Being, the Father. However, darkness waited, Michael imparted to Leo through the continued celestial-to-mortal download. For a split moment, Leo believed his was in a dream amplified with some type of illegal drug. Then the detailed images of accounts long since passed flowed forth. This has to be real, Leo presumed.

It is, Gabrielle affirmed, interjecting like an instant message does in one’s favorite streamlined television program. Leo willingly accepted the wisdom of Gabrielle’s truth while Michael’s celestial stream of information persevered.

Through that ‘waiting’ darkness was born the Triad of Cū-zuram. The three mass falls of celestials from the light to the dark were defined through the three distinct falls. Each one of the Cū-zurams depleted the numbers of the Nquem Phyre and immediately birthed and perpetually expanding army of darkness. The first descent, the first fall, the Cū-zuram-ē, occurred immediately after the creation of all that is in and around the world of the flesh. The Supreme Being stretched out his hand and created the numbers that would become His force of celestials from the phyres of his mountain, Duwa-ef Qema-ur, translated to Home of the Supreme Being, located in the northern quadrant of the Seventh Heaven. Through His benevolence, the Supreme Being gave all the beings of His creation a choice. Their alternative was to either stay in the heavens under the servitude of the Most High or dwell outside of the light of His grace and mercy. Once the choice was given to the Heavenly Host, the decision was instantaneously made. Now that they had the chance of free will, the decision was more than easy for a great portion of them. The Supreme Being’s expectation was that His children of the phyre would relinquish their will back to the light and stay in the heavens. Without any condemnation, that willful portion of celestials decidedly left and thus departed from the light. They left the heavens and into the world where they aimlessly dwelled amid the infancy of the human race and the freshness of the new world. Eventually, the newly departed celestials drifted so far away from the light that they were utterly consumed by the darkness, becoming the first spirits of nefarious undertakings. Many of them became pagan gods, but all were of the initial cubus ranks. They are the original and most ancient of cubus. In appearance and demeanor, they were hideous: Their skin, a dark green or, some of them, a dark gray tone. The wings of these creatures have degenerated over time from bird-feathered wings to those of an enormous bat. Their movements have the ability to jet right or left as the nocturnal flying rodent would, very skittish yet controlled. In overall demeanor, they are jumpy, nervous, and uneasy with gesticulations. Their gaze is sinister, focused, and calculated. Over the millennia, their eyes have degraded to the semblance of a serpent. Their tongues too have become extended and forked, as that of a snake. The mouths of these cubus are elongated feline-type teeth, which are rotted, yellow, and decayed. This became the first descent of celestials, the Cū-zuram-ē.

4

MALEVOLENT, THE MISSION

Now is the winter

Of our discontent.

—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Richard III

C elestials—former or not, no matter what type they were—had all one thing in common: they were all born of phyre on the mountain Duwa-ef Qema-ur, Home of the Supreme Being.

The source of that phyre came from the source of all things, and thus, when a celestial was created, he or she had been fashioned at the source of it all,