“How did you find us?” I asked. My eyes analyzed the wounds scattered throughout their bodies.
They all looked at each other and then set their eyes on Devin and Adawnas. “It is not hard for us to find your kind.”
Devin immediately released the deer.
“I suppose you are here to destroy not only Shadows, but my kind as well?” Adawnas said sharply.
“But they are not like the others,” I contested. “They have been nothing but brave and loyal on this journey.”
“We are not here to kill any of you—not even your kind,” Adamo spoke. “We noticed you were different the moment you walked into Valley Hills. That is why we joined with you in battle.”
Devin had already started the fire. The temperature continued to drop as we spoke.
“What are Underwarriors? I have never heard of your kind in all my years of existence,” Adawnas affirmed.
“Which I assume you have many long, well-lived years on this land, am I correct?” Gluglielmo added. We all chuckled softly.
“Well, where to begin?” Alexander scratched his head. “We do not differ from your kind in many ways, but we have something that…” There was a sudden pause, and then he continued, “Privileges that you were not given.”
“You mean the opportunity to be redeemed?” Devin interrupted. At this question, Alexander became apprehensive.
“We are humans now, but this was not always the case,” he stammered. “We can even consider ourselves to be related, if that is even possible.”
Silence fell.
“We were sent from Tristar in human form long ago, shortly after the fall of the Brightest Star. We do not age, and we cannot die.”
“But you’re still wounded and many of you
did
die,” I affirmed, my eyes boring into his. “How can this be?”
“Our bodies have retained vulnerability to war and the slaying of swords, but we do not die once these bodies are corrupted. Our souls return to Tristar where we stay until ordered elsewhere.”
As my eyes examined the severity of the Underwarriors’ wounds, I noticed they possessed a few traits resembling those of the Nephilins.
“I can see you are also wounded,” Adamo spoke as his eyes gazed at the bite marks on Devin’s arms and neck. Even though they were quickly healing, they were still very visible.
Devin placed the deer on a wooden stick and set it over the fire, ignoring his comment.
“What is your objective, exactly?” I asked them. “You sprung out of the ground like ants, came to our aid, eradicated the Shadows, and then you found us. What is it you have been charged to accomplish?”
“We have come to aid the humans and the Council in protecting the Diary.” Alexander’s words fell heavy and weary from his lips. “They have chosen their own ruin, and yet the Creator still gives them a chance for redemption.”
“It might upset you to know that Nephele has the Diary,” I said with grave distress.
A smile began to curve at the corners of Alexander’s mouth. “They may have the Diary, but they do not have you, young one,” he said.
“I will assume that you are on our side then—all of you, that is,” Devin said hotly. He began tapping his fingers against his arms in a sign of impatience.
Alexander smiled again and placed his right hand on Devin’s shoulder.
“Indeed, indeed we are.” There was a slight pause. “Who would have ever thought that we would see Nephilins and Underwarriors working together? Who knows…there might be redemption in the future for your kind, after all.”
“You say that you are from Tristar—does that mean you have met Lucifer?” After my horrifying encounter with him in Valley Hills, I couldn’t resist the impulse to ask him.
Silence hung in the air momentarily. Nathan scoffed.
“Yes, we have seen him. Better yet, we served him in Tristar for thousands of years. He tried coercive persuasion to defect over to his side, but we did not approve of his evildoing nor his malevolent intentions,” Nathan answered with a strong and authoritative voice.
“Have you also seen the Creator?” Adawnas asked.
Alexander smiled. “Why, yes! We have seen him many times. I clearly remember the day we came to life through him. We are created differently than humans, or your kind. Humans he molded with his bare hands—us he breathed upon the shining stars of the night sky and out of each star, we were born.”
As they spoke of the Creator, their faces lit like torches. Of course, as they spoke, I could not help but recall the divine moment when I first heard his voice in that ocean. To hear them speak of him brought me a serene peace.
Afterward, we sat by the fire, eating deer, enjoying the silence. I attempted to read the Underwarriors and I could discern that they were indeed not from here. Their thoughts were difficult to see and understand. It was like listening to many men speaking at once and trying to understand what each one was speaking.
“We must be off,” Alexander said, wiping his hands against his legs, cleaning his fingers. “We will be heading to the Gates of the Fourth Dimension to see what can be done there.”
“Just the four of you?” Devin asked.
“Yes.” Alexander walked closer to Devin. “You know, I really hope that your kind will find redemption from the Creator. I never thought that I’d meet a Nephilin with such an amazing soul. I still wonder why you are so different from the others.”
Devin was speechless. His eyes glimmered with joy as he peered over at Adawnas, but his joy was met with coldness. She remained stoic, arms crossed.
“I am really glad we met, Alexander,” I said. “I do hope our paths will cross again soon.”
“Don’t worry, we will,” he affirmed as they all stood to their feet.
Slowly they walked to the woods, disappearing in a matter of seconds. After this visit, I felt hope springing forth once again within me.
I was so absorbed with our conversation that I failed to notice that the landscape around us had been completely covered with snow.
I was amazed to see how fast the snow covered the trees. A never-ending white road leading us deeper into the heart of the forest appeared ahead of us.
We walked in silence. I could tell Adawnas and Devin were as apprehensive as I was, entering the unknown depths of the forest. We did not know what to expect. Even Devin and Adawnas, who had been alive for so long, were completely oblivious to what was in store for us.
“It does not even feel like this is Elysium anymore.” Devin broke the silence. “So many changes taking place…” he mused as we walked.
“How difficult will it be to convince Mag Mell of everything that is going on?” I asked.
Devin shrugged.
“Well, from what I remember you were not thrilled to know our journey was leading us there,” I added. He shot me a cold look.
Devin’s silence implied that he was thinking of an answer to give me—one that would not expose his pride and morals.
“The bigger kingdoms here in Elysium are all very proud, holding dear to their hearts their traditions and cultures. To bring down these walls will not be easy,” Devin said, breaking his silence.
“Especially the people from Mag Mell,” Adawnas spoke in her soothing voice. “They are proud, Isaac; they have conquered territories, brought war upon many and proved victorious. Their thoughts will probably invade your mind as we approach the kingdom.”
As we continued on, pieces of broken concrete were scattered along the ground. Not long after we stumbled onto the concrete, towers rose from the ground of the forest.
“What is this place?” I asked, astounded at the sight. It was quite apparent that once a stately city had thrived amidst these old ruins.
“This marks the beginning of the Mag Mellian territory, and is only one of the many ruins that are scattered around this area—remnants of kingdoms that have been destroyed and their people enslaved.”
Throughout my journey through Elysium, I discovered that I truly lacked knowledge about this place. With every new mystery revealed, I felt like an outsider in my own land. A soft cool breeze blew and the still-soft snow was slowly blown away from some of the monuments, revealing faded colors, broken designs and unique patterns.
Neither Devin nor Adawnas seemed to be surprised at the sight. They had probably been here before, or expected to see these ruins.
“We have to keep on moving—there is no time to linger,” Devin affirmed, carefully analyzing our surroundings.
The snow once again commenced to fall. The dense forest was becoming nearly impossible to travel through. To our surprise, we came across a river. It had not yet been frozen by the cold, but it would only be a matter of time before it succumbed to the bitter conditions.
“I don’t think we should travel any further. The snow is getting too intense here,” Adawnas alleged as we stopped at the river bank. The visibility was barely perceivable to see what lay ahead of us.
“Devin, let us rest. We will continue our journey in a short while,” I said, my teeth chattering due to the frigid conditions.
Devin sighed, obviously disapproving of the idea. I also found no delight in stopping again to wait out the storm, but we needed our full strength where we were heading.
In the woods near the river, we picked up some old tree bark and leaves to build a shelter. Once inside, Devin gathered some wood and built a small fire. We all lay near the burning flames, trying to warm up our bodies. I tried my best to relax and rest for a while, but as time elapsed I found it difficult to get a wink of sleep.
A loud growl broke the silence. Adawnas hastily headed outside to investigate the commotion; Devin and I followed. Unfortunately, the visibility was poor, making it impossible to see anything clearly since the storm had not weakened.
“Can you see them?” she asked us as her eyes frantically searched for the creatures that growled.
“What is it?” I asked, but no one responded.
Shortly after we began searching, we spotted them. They were Aquilas. Adawnas in haste headed toward them. As we approached the animals we realized that they were all walking, their wings frozen solid from the storm. Once they saw us, they recoiled, afraid of our presence.
“They are not equipped for this type of weather…they will not last here,” she said as her voice broke.
“Unfortunately, they will not be the only ones to die here.” Devin caressed one of them. The Aquilas were struggling to move. Their heads were down and their wings were completely torn. Some of them also had deep wounds covering their bodies.
Adawnas looked at them with gloomy eyes.
It was the first time that I had seen Adawnas weeping. She laid her head against the ground and repeatedly beat her clutched fist against it, screaming in desperation.
“Adawnas, please, let us not lose our focus right now,” Devin tried calming her.
“
It is not about losing our focus, Devin
,”
she screamed. “Look at them—and many more will surely come. Is there really hope for this situation? Let us face the facts now: they have the Diary, and the world is completely covered with this dark cloud blocking us all from the sun. You know this will not be the only disaster, but it is the beginning of many to come.”
Devin bowed his head and moaned.
“You feel it, don’t you?” she asked as she wiped the tears from her face.
In haste, she stood to her feet.
“And us? Why do we fight? Why should we care? Even if we make it, and we get all the kingdoms to unite in this battle, what hope do we have? Are we really anticipating that a human army has the strength to stop Lucifer’s army?”
Devin’s expression was cold; no sign of any emotion came from him. His eyes were fixed on her every movement.
“Adawnas, you need to control yourself!” I said in a feeble attempt to calm her.
She turned her head to gaze at me.
“What do you know?
Nothing!
You should be the one going on this journey throughout the kingdoms, not us. There is no hope for us, even if there is victory.”
“You know that is not true.” Devin’s tone of voice was bitter.
She scratched her head as she again turned to face the Aquilas. They all lay on the snow-covered ground, their very breath weakened by the moment.
“We are damned just like this land, Devin. Our kind has been damned since the dawn of time.” Devin remained silent. “You remember those days just as well as I do—the days of darkness after the war where we lingered in Elysium without any direction, being disdained by our fathers.”
“Please stop speaking all of this rubbish.” Irritation was evident in Devin’s voice.
“You know this is not rubbish. You can be enraged all you want, but you know I am telling the truth. We were damned by birth. Don’t you remember how we had to grow up alone because our mothers were turned into Shadows and we were left to wander the world in solitude? Soon after, Lucifer attacked Tristar and was put to sleep. That was until Nephele decided to gather our kind.”
“But
we
are not them, Adawnas—
we
are not our parents.” He tried to calm her down but she was too desperate, too distraught to listen. This was not the time for comfort, she was too angry.
“The need to deny my natural urges…the need to refrain from catering to my own will is overwhelming.” She bore her eyes into mine, her fists tightened as she walked closer. “It would’ve been a lot easier if you had chosen Nephele’s offer Isaac, we would have all been part of the covenant with them, conquering this world right now.”