Realm Of Light

By kassandra kulsbjerg

When we are young we are taught the difference between good and evil. Who is the hero and who is the villain of the story. 

 

19-year-old Grace's life changes forever when her father gives her a mysterious key. Telling her to protect it with her life, only to not return as he had promised her.

In the search for her missing father, Grace ends up finding a portal that takes her from Heaven to Hell.

The portal leads her in the company of the devil's children. 

The only problem being, that the devil himself is after the key, willing to kill anyone that stands in his way.

Even his own children. 

Facing bigger threats than anyone could ever have imagined, the three newly formed friends must ensure the key stays with them. As heaven's fate is now in the palm of their hands. 

 

A retelling of the classic story of Good vs Evil.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: kassandra kulsbjerg
• Release date: Mar 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201634919

Book preview

PROLOGUE

The door into my room broke open.

My father ran in with fast steps. He had a worrying look in his eye. The type of look nothing good ever had come out of.

He left the door open, as he barged into the middle of my bedroom without warning.

He was usually too caught up with work to bother me at this time of day—Unusual, I thought to myself.

I stared into his light grey eyes. They matched his completely white gown to perfection.

He walked over towards me, stopping a few feet away from me.

I looked up at him, waiting to say anything until he had spoken.

His pale big hand was curled up tightly, holding something.

Hiding something.

Dad, are you okay? Is something wrong? The words flew out of my mouth.

My voice echoed off the walls in my bright bedroom.

He stood with his filthy boots on my fluffy grey carpet. I looked on the ground. A trace of mud and dirt had followed him into my room.

Grace, I need you to listen to me very carefully.

He was already starting to get a few grey hairs. Normally it wasn't something I would have noticed about him, but he looked worn out and tired today.

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

I knew whatever he was going to say next, would not be good news.

I wondered for a brief moment what could be wrong. Maybe someone had rebelled against him again? Maybe heaven was under attack? Whatever it was, it could not be good, since he was in here—and not buried in work.

My father held out his arm towards me, slowly opening up his palm op to reveal a small silver key in his hand.

He didn't say a word to me. Not even as much as a whisper.

He nodded slowly down towards his hand. I took my hand out, keeping my pale hand just below his.

He opened up his hand and let the tiny key dump into my hand.

I locked eyes with my father for a brief second, giving him a fake smile.

I looked down at the small silver key, moving it around in the palm of my hand, with my thumb. The key was small enough to be completely covered up in my hand if I closed my fist.

I looked back at my father, just staring at him. I watched as he exhaled, slowly moving his chest up and down.

What is this? I asked, breaking the silence, that had formed in the room.

He looked down at me with a neutral expression, before opening his mouth to speak.

This key is really important. I need you to protect it with your life, Grace. If it falls in the wrong hands it could have catastrophic consequences for all in heaven. We would all be as good as dead.

He tapped his foot up and down on my fluffy rug. Spreading the mud a small bit more.

Okay?... Dad, are you sure you are okay? If anything is wrong you can just say it to me. My voice was almost a whisper in my large almost empty room.

I bit my lip and looked down at the floor.

The light wooden floorboards had small scratches on them. Probably from me running out of my room with my shoes on when dad called on me.

I'm not a kid anymore you know, you can tell me stuff like this.

I met his light grey eyes again.

He didn't say anything about what I had just said, only ignoring what I had said as usual.

Grace, you are not listening to me, He narrowed his brows at me, staring into my just as pale eyes.

Look, I'm gonna need you to not lose the key, He nodded down, towards my still open palm. "I'm gonna be going away for a little while. I can not stress this enough, you must protect the key with your life."

Well—what makes the key so important that I have to—

A small sound escaped my lips as I looked up at him from the floor, meeting his eyes again.

Going away? What are you talking about—For how long—Where will you be going? The Words came out of my mouth so fast it was almost hard to hear, becoming a slur as the words streamed out of me.

I looked at his slight stubble. The sun shined in through the window giving it a golden glow.

Why are you even leaving? For a second I was convinced he hadn't heard what I had said at all—until he laughed.

You know there are certain things I just have to do. It comes with the job. But I will be back before you will even notice, He gave me a small smile.

I promise, you just need to not lose the key. All of heaven depends on it. He reached out and took my free hand, holding his pale hand in mine.

B-But you are god, I struggled to get the words out of my mouth, my tongue not wanting to let the words out.

You can't just leave heaven—Who the hell is gonna watch after this place? The shiver in my voice was a dead giveaway to showing I was scared, there was no way of pretending everything was fine now.

The fact that I knew exactly what he was going to say next did not comfort me in the slightest.

As long as I come back within a few days, heaven is gonna do just fine, He took in a breath before continuing to speak.

In the meantime—I have my strong daughter to look after the place.

I shook my head slightly as he spoke, while a small smile formed on my lips.

"You can't just say that. Wh- What if something happens, Or- Or even worse—what if you don't come back? What am I supposed to do then?" The forced smile washed off my lips as I spoke.

He looked at me for a second, leaning his head slighting, before walking over towards the door out of my room. Grace, I promise you. I will be back before you even realize it.

I clenched the small key firmly in my hand, as I watched his every move.

He turned his head around to look at me, with his back facing the door out of my bedroom.

Oh—and Grace, he said, putting his hand on my wooden doorknob. There is some paperwork down on the kitchen table. Can you take that down to The City Hall when you have time? He gave me a small smile, turning his head back around.

We wouldn't want the souls to be waiting too long to get into Heaven. He chuckled quietly while turning the doorknob completely and walking out of my room.

No, We wouldn't want to keep the souls waiting, I whispered, standing in the middle of my room all alone.

I stood too long alone in my room than I would like to admit, just staring into the thin air.

I looked down at the small key one more time before putting the key into the back pocket of my light-washed jeans.

---

That was two days ago now.

He didn't return as he had promised me. But then again, my father never keeps his promises.

CHAPTER ONE

When we are young we are taught the difference between good and evil. Who is the hero and who is the villain. The good are in heaven, and the bad are in hell. It's as simple as that.

---

My eyes adjusted to the darkness, as I went down the stairs to the basement of The City Hall.

I clenched the paperwork so in my hand so tightly, it got slightly wrinkled.

Whatever, I thought to myself as I reached the first step of the short stairway down to the basement.

I'm used to this, He is probably doing something really important, and had just not had time to tell me he was staying a bit.

It was wishful thinking—a distraction from the inevitable, yet I kept telling it to myself.

I clutched the files in my hand, as the stairway came to a stop and the narrow hallway began.

The darkness swallowed me, and all I saw around me was pitch black.

I walked into the darkness completely, letting go of the slight light that came flooding in through the top of the stairway.

I kept my hand on the slightly bumpy wall in front of me, guiding my way into the dark.

My hand ached after only a few steps into the pitch black, feeling every small bump in the wall.

My hand chilled as I passed cold, heavy metal doors. Each and every one being locked as always.

The City Hall Is the tallest building in all of heaven. Extending far beyond the hologram clouds. It is also the most important building. The heart of the town—If you will.

The City Hall is where the most important angels work, it is where the angels decide if the souls go to heaven or hell after having been waiting in the void.

A shiver went down my spine.

My white tennis shoes squeaked as I walked down the pitch-black hallway.

The hallway seemed to be infinite, never reaching the end.

Suddenly, as I was standing in the pitch darkness, the light turned on.

My eyes blinked on instinct. The light burned quietly in my eyes.

Slowly—I opened up my eyes again.

I stood in the narrow hallway for a second. Taking in the view of the crusty basement.

The doors in the hallway all looked the same. Grey, Metal, Heavy, and always closed.

I took a step forward, before imminently stopping.

The hell? I whispered under my breath.

In the near distance, there was a wide-open metal door.

I slowly approached the large metal door, my legs shook beneath me as I walked.

Hello? I called out into nothing.

No one answered.

There was a bright light coming out of the room. Shining even brighter than the unnatural lights in the ceiling.

I rounded the backside of the heavy metal door and came into the room.

I immediately squinted my eyes.

The bright white light shined into my grey eyes like an uncontrollable wildfire.

Slowly I stopped squinting my eyes—even relaxed them a bit—as my eyes adjusted to the light.

The room had all grey concrete walls and floors, unlike the hallway which just had grey floors. There were pipes on the ceiling and walls of the room, in the same grey color—so they blended in with the background.

Right in the middle of the room, there was an opening just like a doorframe. Perfectly cut around the edges, giving a perfect window into another world.

The portal was glowing white, which explained where the shining bright light came from.

The white color distorted, changing ever so slightly, but never changing away from the bright white color.

There was a distinct and loud buzzing sound coming from the doorway in the middle of the room. The sound was hard to explain—It was like nothing I had ever heard before.

I stood tall, right in front of the portal.

The portal drew me towards it.

Like two magnet parts, bound to collide with each other. Waiting for the right chance to swallow me whole.

I stared at the portal, not letting the shiny white light bother me.

I wanted to close my eyes, to turn my back towards it, and run away.

But I didn’t. Something inside of me—forced me to keep standing on the ground.

The portal was supposed to have been extinct—yet it was just standing there—right in front of my pale eyes.

The portal made small sounds that blended in with the background noises of the underground basement.

Without moving my legs the slightest—I began sliding across the floor. Towards the white portal.

The sparks and heat that came from the portal grew more and more intense. Hitting my arms and face, filling me with warmth.

I held up my hand towards the portal, despite the blinding heat I opened up my hand.

I instinctively held my palm up towards the portal, with a straight arm.

My arm was shaking slightly, as I slid faster across the floor. My feet still not moving.

I was bound to collide with the portal, in an explosion of stars.

Silver sparks hit my body, as my hand came in contact with the portal.

Though the portal was oozing heat into the room it wasn't hot to touch.

The surface was not solid, my hand went right through. Like sticking your hand in the ocean, scary—but freeing at the same time.

The white glow from the portal reflected onto my pale skin, making my skin look even paler than it was.

My thick short black hair looked almost silver from the reflection of the glowing portal.

The portal threw sparks that hit my arms, as I merged together with the portal. 

I wasn't thinking of anything. My mind was completely empty of anything even closely resembling thoughts. 

I could feel the electricity as it went through my entire body. 

With one, my shoes were lifted off the hard concrete floor.

For a single beautiful second, I was completely floating in the air.

Too late to stop what was happening.

Too late to react—before the portal swallowed the rest of me. 

A peace washed over me as the color changed from white to black all around me.

It was like staring endlessly into space, watching the whole world wither away around me. 

The portal began pulling me in one direction, the other way then I came in.

I didn't do anything to stop it, the portal had full control of me.

I began to sense light at the end of the completely black void I was in. It started as nothing smaller than a flashlight, but then evolved into a large source of light.

I  was going at the speed of sound, but at the same time not moving one bit.

In the blink of an eye—it was over.

Light again filled my eyes and I came flying out of the portal.

I felt weightless.

Flying in the air for just a second. Before my back slammed against the hard concrete floor. 

My body turned around as I impacted the floor, making me slide across it.

I laid for no more than a second on the ground after I stopped moving.

My hand touched down unto the cold floor, sending a chill up my arm.

My whole body went numb as I looked around the room. 

What the hell.

My eyes darted around the room.

Is this some kind of sick joke?

The room I was in looked exactly like the one I left behind just moments before.

The light grey color of the floor seamlessly blended into the walls. The pipes on the walls and ceiling were the same color. Everything was the same.

I snapped my head around and looked at the portal. 

It was black.

Just like the color, I was surrounded by inside of the portal.

The portal in heaven was white.

Where the hell am I? I swear—If this is some sort of joke, it is not funny anymore. I called out into the room, but there was no response.

I took my eyes off the portal, looking into the room. 

A silent scream left my lungs—as someone came charging towards me.

I didn't have time to react.

I stumbled backward.

Falling down onto the floor with ease, as we made impact.

My elbow slammed hard into the cold ground. 

The person laid themselves on top of me.

I couldn't breathe. 

Couldn't think.

Couldn't move. 

The pressure of their body on top of mine was pressing me into the floor.

I couldn't take a full breath, as my lunges were pressed hardly into the concrete smooth floor.

CHAPTER TWO

Hey, what the fuck? I screamed out. My voice came out distorted and small, not at all what I had in mind.

As soon as the words left my mouth, my body was slammed harder into the concrete.

The floor was cold. Not the kind of cold that's sort of refreshing after a small while, but the kind that chills you to the core of your bones.

Who are you, and where are you from? A male voice asked.

I stayed silent.

He pushed me harder into the concrete floor.

I coughed from the pressure.

He held my left arm at a 90-degree angle behind me, nearly breaking it off.

Answer me, the voice said in a firm but distinct tone.

The person pressing me down into the ground gripped my hair and yanked my neck back.

My short black flew all over the place for a second, before almost all of it landed in my face.

The person on top of me locked eyes with me.

He was unusual looking, not bad, just unusual. The kind of person you do a double-take on while walking down the street.

He had dark red eyes, glowing harshly into the room. His almond-shaped eyes didn't help, as his eye shape completely melted as a result of his dark red eyes.

Okay—Okay, I mumbled, trying to get the words out of my mouth.

I looked at his face.

His skin was a russet brown color, but that wasn't what struck me. There was a distinct tone of dark red in his brown skin, matching his eye color.

Look, I don't know who you think you are—but my name is Grace, and I just came through that portal. I nodded my shoulder in the direction of the portal.

The Person on top of me gripped my hair tighter and pressed my head down to the ground.

My forehead slammed down into the cold floor.

That's impossible, he mumbled.

The concrete floor felt cold against my cheek.

I could see my own breath against the reflective surface on the floor.

He got off me.

I pushed myself off of the floor and sat on my knees, looking up at the person who had just tackled me.

A tall dark-haired skinny boy stared back at me, with those dark red eyes that had just looked at me.

The boy appeared to be the same age as me—around nineteen.

A small smile formed on my face as I watched his every move.

Why are you smiling? he asked, narrowing his dark brows at me.

He had a red blade in his hand. Holding it in such a way that he could easily use it against me if he deemed I did something wrong.

Oh I don't know, just imagine the person tackling me to not—you know…

He was tall,